While the Magna Carta has gone on to be considered a hugely significant and influential document, the peace it was supposed to bring between King John of England and the powerful barons was not long-lasting. With King John reneging on his promises and the Pope weighing in on the document’s legitimacy, the First Barons’ War followed, splitting the nation in half. In this period of turmoil, some barons turned to Louis VIII of France as a successor to the throne and brutal battles ensued. In 1217: The Battles That Saved England, Catherine Hanley breaks down these hugely impactful events, and we were delighted to learn more about them from her.
What was the political landscape of England like in 1216?
It was pretty turbulent. King John had been on the throne since 1199, and he’d spent most of the intervening time making a complete hash of being king and becoming deeply unpopular. By the mid-1210s the nobility was split down the middle between those (the ‘royalists’) who still supported him –
