The Treaty of Lambeth of 1217, also known as the Treaty of Kingston to distinguish it from the Treaty of Lambeth of 1212, was a peace treaty signed by Louis of France in September 1217 ending the campaign known as the

First Barons' War The First Barons' War (1215–1217) was a civil war in the Kingdom of England in which a group of rebellious major landowners (commonly referred to as barons) led by Robert Fitzwalter waged war against King John of England. The conflict resulte ...

to uphold the claim by Louis to the throne of England. When the campaign had begun, baronial enemies of the unpopular English king

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

had flocked to the French banner, but after John's death in 1216, and his replacement by a regent,

William Marshal William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 or 1147 – 14 May 1219), also called William the Marshal (Norman French: ', French: '), was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman. He served five English kings— Henry II, his sons the "Young King" ...

, on behalf of John's young son and successor, Henry III, many had switched sides. Subsequent defeats at

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

in May 1217 and at

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maids ...

and

Sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

in August 1217 forced Louis to negotiate. Information on the treaties is based on three early documents but none of these is known to have been based on an original manuscript. It is known that negotiations were spread over several locations, opening on 6 September 1217 at Staines, because the royal court was nearby at

Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, south-west of central London. It grew up round Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 CE, and gained a market charter from Henry I. A bridge across the River Thames first appeared in t ...

or possibly on 5 September on an island of the Thames near Kingston. Various dates for treaties are given by the sources including: * a treaty signed by Louis and Henry's

regents A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

on 11 September at

Lambeth Palace Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the opposit ...

(the

archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Just ...

's London house), * a Treaty of Kingston on 12 September, * papal ratification from the

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

, who was encamped near Kingston on the 13 September and who issued his terms on 22 September at Merton. * a Treaty of Lambeth signed on 20 September ratifying the Kingston treaty. Whatever documents were actually signed during September, Louis left England for the last time from

on 28 September. The principal provisions of the treaties were an amnesty for English rebels. It was also acknowledged that the French had failed to take possession of the entire

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

and so possession of the individual islands was restored to the king of England. Louis undertook not to attack England again and agreed he had never been the legitimate king of England, in exchange for 10,000 marks. Scottish troops under Alexander II also withdrew. There is no known surviving copy of the treaties.Powicke

References

Bibliography

*James H. Ramsay ''The Dawn of the Constitution: Or, the Reigns of Henry III and Edward I (A.D. 1216-137)'' Oxford University Press, 1908 *Maurice Powicke ''The Thirteenth Century, 1216-1307'' (Oxford History of England)" Clarendon Press, 1962 *H. W. C. Davis ''England under the Normans and Angevins, 1066-1272'' Methuen, 1905. *''The Oxford Companion to British History'', originally published by Oxford University Press 2002. {{DEFAULTSORT:Treaty Of Lambeth 1210s in France 1217 in England Barons' Wars

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area e ...

History of Surrey

Treaties of medieval England Louis VIII of France Henry III of England 13th-century military history of France 13th-century military history of the Kingdom of England