POLITICAL HISTORY 



southern castles, including those of Surrey. The earls of Arundel and 

 Surrey were still with him. De Clare under the pressure of the excom- 

 munication was seeking to make his peace. The landing of Louis at 

 Stonor on May 21 changed matters. John's French mercenaries could 

 not be trusted to fight against him. The king retreated hurriedly 

 through Kent and Surrey to Winchester. Louis took the damaged keep 

 of Rochester, which John had breached by a mine the year before, and 

 went to London. Thence he proceeded to secure the other castles on 

 the road between Kent and Winchester. Perhaps Blechingley had always 

 been held by de Clare. Reigate, de Warenne's castle, surrendered ; 

 Farnham, belonging to the Bishop of Winchester, Peter des Roches, 

 followed ; Guildford, the royal castle, was taken. We do not know if 

 there was any siege of Guildford. The castle is first named in 1202. 

 The earthworks are probably much older ; the keep probably rather 

 older than this. But it had been a favourite abode of John, who was 

 often there. Like his son Henry he resided in the buildings outside 

 the keep, which was a prison and a citadel. The fortunes of John 

 became worse and worse. He was driven from Winchester too. De 

 Warenne thought it time to secure his possessions by a change of sides. 

 He went over to the French about June or July. 



The scene changed rapidly after this. The pope died in July. 

 John died in October. The English barons and their French ally 

 distrusted each other. The papal legate felt himself at liberty to concur 

 in a reissue by the young king's advisers of the charter which Inno- 

 cent III. had condemned. In a few months Louis was successful in 

 reducing the eastern counties, but he had to return to France for a time, 

 and concluded a truce. He returned to England in April to find his 

 side falling to pieces. Gilbert de Clare his father Richard was an old 

 man and died in the following November had made his peace with 

 Henry's regent on March 27. De Warenne in a lordly style had made 

 a truce with his king on April I6. 1 Farnham Castle was retaken for 

 Henry and its lord the bishop. Guildford probably remained in the 

 hands of Louis' party till the defeats at Lincoln and off Dover compelled 

 them to give up the contest. The final peace was negotiated in Surrey. 

 The regent, the Earl of Pembroke, conducted the young king as near to 

 London as Kingston and Lambeth. Negotiations began at the former 

 place. The final treaty was concluded at the latter on September 1 1 , 

 1217. On September 14 a safe conduct was issued from Kingston for 

 Louis himself to depart out of the kingdom. On September 19 a 

 similar safe conduct was granted to his followers at Merton. 2 The court 

 was at Lambeth in October ; in November it had crossed the river and 

 royal documents are dated from Westminster or London. 



De Warenne had secured his own position in Surrey. He was 

 sheriff of the county from 1217 to 1226. In spite of his temporary 

 lapse he was looked upon as a far safer support to the young king's 

 government than de Clare, a pronounced baronial leader. In 1227 both 



1 FaeJera, i. 216. * Ibid. i. 221, 222. 



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