The Pale Rebellion

**The Pale Rebellion** (1240–1241) was a civil war in the Kingdom of England in which Richard of Cornwall, Regent of Ireland, rebelled against the English king Henry III following the murder of his brother Henry, Lord of Ireland, which was reputedly blamed on Henry III, and sought to install his nephew Edward of Ireland as the King of England.

After initial success, the rebellion was defeated at the Battle of Harefield. Richard of Cornwall was marked for execution and the properties and incomes of the House of Pale were confiscated by the English crown.

## Prelude

Tensions between the House of Pale and its parent house, the House of Plantagenet, date back to the turbulent and yet famed reign of Richard the Lionhearted, whose premature death in 1199 left a disputed succession between his brother Prince John, Lord of Ireland and his young nephew Arthur of Brittany. The question was seemingly resolved by King Richard's will itself, which named Arthur of Brittany as his heir and Prince John the Duke of Normandy, as well as regent for King Arthur, who was twelve at his accession. When Prince John was stripped of Normandy upon Arthur's marriage to Mary of France, he was compensated with the Duchy of Lancaster and the Earldom of Cornwall for his second son, in addition to the Lordship of Ireland.

When King Arthur finally died in 1240, John's sons Henry of Ireland and Richard of Cornwall conspired to press their claims to the English throne, in close association with the House of Marshal of Pembroke. While traveling to present themselves to the court of Henry III, Henry of Ireland and Gilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke, were reportedly murdered by a band of French brigands who bore coins minted in Henry III's reign. Richard of Cornwall assumed the title of Regent of Ireland and rose in rebellion against Henry III, whom he accused of his brother's death and kinslaying. He was joined by Walter Marshal, 5th Earl of Pembroke, his Welsh allies and a vast portion of the nobility of northern England. Nobles in Middle France joined the rising against the English king, although they swore loyalty to Louis IX of France rather than the House of Pale, which had declared Edward of Ireland, late Henry's son, the rightful King of England.

News of the rebellion reached Henry III in France together with a bull of excommunication issued by Pope Gregory IX, at the behest of Louis IX.

## The civil war

The opposing sides were slow to gather their forces. The first engagement took place in Kent, where the Earl of Oxford defeated Hubert de Burgh in battle and forced his retreat behind his castle walls. When Richard of Cornwall, self-proclaimed regent of England, at last took sail from Ireland in August, he landed in Lancaster and was greeted by a Scottish army, provided by his brother-in-law Alexander II of Scotland. They marched to relieve the city of York, besieged by the Earl of Derby and a Plantagenet army numbering 12,000 men. At Richard's approach, Derby retreated south to Leeds in the vain hope of being reinforced by Henry III himself, but the rebels were able to force an engagement. The Battle of Leeds was a resounding victory for Richard of Cornwall, who was permitted to march south and take London while sending another army to force the withdrawal of the Earl of Oxford to Norfolk.

Nevertheless, Henry III achieved a significant victory in Wales, where he convinced the marcher lords to join his cause. Except for Pembroke, all of Wales swore him an oath of allegiance, which was consolidated when Henry III unquestionably defeated an army sent against him by the Princes of Wales. Meanwhile, at London, the Archbishop of Canterbury refused to crown Edward of Ireland the King of England and tensions in the Pale army were rising, which were only worsened when Scotsmen from Galloway pillaged a borough of London. However, the situation in France deteriorated for the Plantagenets, as Louis IX moved into English territory and the lords of Brittany joined him.

The tide of the war turned as Henry III scored a decisive victory against the rebels at the Battle of Harefield, on the way from Wales to occupied London. King Alexander II of Scotland had been slain in the fighting and Richard of Cornwall was captured, effectively ending the rising. Henry III entered London and had himself crowned a second time, before accepting the surrender of the rebel English barons.

## Aftermath

Richard of Cornwall was sentenced to death and executed in the Tower of London, his properties having been confiscated by the Crown and his daughter Joan taken as a royal ward. The young princes of Wales, Edward and Edmund of Ireland were declared outlaws and had their lands confiscated (an excessive punishment, it was said), but remained free as their uncle had seen them smuggled to France before leaving for Harefield. The death of Alexander II allowed King Henry III to claim the Crown of Scotland, which was to be secured with the betrothal of Alexander II's daughter Joan of Scotland to his son and heir Prince William.

The march north was disastrous for the loyalists, as the Norman lords abandoned the royal army to defend their besieged holding in France. At the Battle of Galloway, Henry III and the remnants of his army were defeated by Robert de Brus and Hubert de Burgh, as the rebellion was renewed.

## References

1. ↑ https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/ja-nuns-hons-pris-a-medieval-nation-game.18650/page-4#post-3602917
2. ↑ https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/ja-nuns-hons-pris-a-medieval-nation-game.18650/page-5#post-3603357
3. ↑ https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/ja-nuns-hons-pris-a-medieval-nation-game.18650/page-5#post-3603441
4. ↑ https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/ja-nuns-hons-pris-a-medieval-nation-game.18650/page-6#post-3621354
5. ↑ https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/ja-nuns-hons-pris-a-medieval-nation-game.18650/page-14#post-3700769
6. ↑ https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/ja-nuns-hons-pris-a-medieval-nation-game.18650/page-14#post-3701397
7. ↑ https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/ja-nuns-hons-pris-a-medieval-nation-game.18650/page-17#post-3738974