Battle of Lincoln (1217) - Aftermath and Effects

Aftermath and Effects

The city of Lincoln—on the pretense of being in league with Louis—was pillaged by the victorious army, in an event called the Lincoln Fair. To the south, inhabitants of towns between Lincoln and London ambushed and killed some French soldiers in the flight south to London.

The Battle of Lincoln (1217) was the turning point in the First Barons' War. Many of Henry's enemies—barons who had supported Louis, and who helped supply, organise and command his military forces—were captured at Lincoln. Reinforcements for Louis were then sent across the English Channel under the command of Eustace the Monk. However the French ships were defeated by Hubert de Burgh in the Battle of Dover. This defeat of the French fleet greatly reduced the French threat to the English crown and so Prince Louis and his remaining forces had to return to France. In September 1217, the treaty of Lambeth forced Louis not only to give up his claim to the English throne but to eject Eustace's brothers from the Channel Islands.