Norman Civil War

The Norman Civil War (1273-1276) was a conflict that took place during the early reign of William I, King of Normandy.

Background
William I was crowned King of Normandy in 1268 after the death of his father, Henry I, King of Normandy. William was just 10 years old, so his uncle, Thomas, Duke of Brittany became Regent of Normandy. During his early reign, the Kingdom faced revolts in Alexandria and Damietta, which saw costly wars fought in Egypt.

The young King also suffered problems with a number of barons who sought to exploit the young King in order to gain power. In a bid to prevent this, Duke Thomas, created the King's Council, which saw 20 of the most powerful barons assist in ruling the Kingdom.

Kings Council
The twenty dukes who became part of the Kings Council in 1270 were:


 * Godwyn de Costencourt, Duke of Saint Malo
 * Andrew de Coldein, Duke of Cornouaille
 * Lance de Keindon, Duke of Léon
 * Francis de Alton, Duke of Trégor
 * James de Durlston, Duke of Vannetais
 * Stephen de Dorleon, Duke of Saint Brieg
 * Samuel de Holdene, Duke of Surrey
 * Luke de Orlyon, Duke of Sussex
 * Christopher de Dallingsworth, Duke of Calvados
 * Matthew de Harcourt, Duke of Wiltshire
 * Andrew de Pethviete, Duke of Manche
 * James de Distincourt, Duke of Seine
 * Alexander de Barrington, Duke of Wight
 * Rodger de Marlowe, Duke of Orne
 * Christopher de Warwick, Duke of Hampshire
 * Alexander de Coodenvale, Duke of Devon
 * Benjamin de Linton, Duke of Jersey
 * Daniel de Dellein, Duke of Somerset
 * Daniel de Jourburg, Duke of Dorset
 * Luke de Pernbury, Duke of Eure

Outbreak of War
In 1273 the Kings Council became divided and war broke out between the Norman nobles leading to the Norman Civil War. Andrew de Coldein, Duke of Cornouaille, had gathered support from many Breton barons and sought to overthrow the young King and his uncle. De Coldein gained the support of King Phillip III of France, whilst the Royalists gained support from Robert II of Burgundy, King Edward I of England and King James I of Aragon.

De Coldein's son, Charles had married King Phillip III of France's sister in 1270 and de Coldein hatched a plan with Phillip to overthrow William, with the support of France and place Charles on the Norman throne. De Coldein sought support from a number of Breton nobles and found allies in Lance de Keindon, Duke of Léon, Francis de Alton, Duke of Trégor, James de Durlston, Duke of Vannetais and Stephen de Dorleon, Duke of Saint Brieg.

On 8 May 1273, William I was taken prisoner by de Coldein in Saint Malo. The young King had accompanied his uncle, Thomas, Duke of Brittany to a visit of Saint Malo, hosted by Godwyn de Costencourt, Duke of Saint Malo. Costencourt had gathered the Breton barons to welcome the monarch and de Coldein bought his plans forward and took the opportunity to remove the King. It was in de Costencourts castle that the King was taken and when Duke Thomas was made aware he immediately stormed the camps where de Coldein's men were based in the city. The trap was sprung and Thomas was slain along with a number of loyal Knights. The following morning De Coldein's forces took the city of Saint Malo. Godwyn de Costencourt managed to escape the city and fled to Valenguard to raise the alarm.

Upon arrival in Valenguard, de Costencourt quickly raised an army to march on Brittany. Costencourt led his army to Brittany two months later but was met by a French army in another trap in Alencourt. Rodger de Marlowe, Duke of Orne had joined de Coldein's cause and allowed a French army to hide in the city of Alencourt. When Costencourt arrived in the city he was taken by suprise by the large French army and was promptly defeated.

De Coldein then led his army into Lower Normandy where he began demanding the allegiance of the barons. Those that refused had there lands destroyed and castles besieged. James de Distincourt, Duke of Seine and Luke de Pernbury, Duke of Eure managed to slow de Coldein's drive through upper Normandy, but with the arrival of a large French army, were forced to retreat across the Channel.

Northern Normandy Campaign
The vast majority of the barons of Northern Normandy refused to join the rebel cause but were slow to organise themselves. By December 1273 Breton armies had crossed into Devon and Cornwall whilst three French armies landed in Sussex.

Samuel de Holdene, Duke of Surrey, who at the outbreak of the war had been putting a revolt in Egypt, arrived Hastings in January 1274. De Holdene had returned to Normandy via Burgundy and gained the support of Robert II of Burgundy and King James I of Aragon. De Holdene held a council with loyalist barons at Hastings and began organising the Norman forces.

De Holdene led his army to Chichester, where the Norman forces were victorious over a French army in early February 1274. Meanwhile de Costencourt returned to Upper Normandy and retook the city of Valenguard. With the ride of the war beginning to turn to the favour of the loyalists, de Coldein led a large army to Surrey and besieged the castles at Guildford, Kingston and Epsom. De Holdene was forced to head north to save his own lands and met de Coldein at the Battle of Redhill. De Holdene won a decisive victory and went on to lift the sieges on Guildford and Epsom.

De Coldein regrouped his forces in Kingston and was joined by a French army in besieging the city of Kingston. De Holdene appealed to King Edward I of England for helped, and the English King, concerned at the thought of a French army so close to his border sent an army to support the Normans. De Holdene met de Coldein once more at the Battle of Kingston and once again defeated the rebel army.

The rebel campaign in Devon and Cornwall had proved much more successful with many castles falling to the rebels. De Costencourt had managed to retake territory in Upper and Lower Normandy and by the end of 1275 was making ground in Brittany.

De Holdene met de Coldein for a third time in March 1276 but this time suffered a defeat to the rebels, suffering huge losses. However the capture of de Coldein's son, Charles was viewed as a victory and the loyalists now held a valuable bargaining chip.

De Holdene was forced to split his army and cross the Channel after De Costencourt suffered a defeat at the Battle of Nantes against a French army. De Holdene won an important victory over the French at Lorient, which saw the French withdraw from the war. De Holdene then marched on Morlaix and laid siege to the castle where William was being held captive.

In August 1276 de Holdene refused de Coldein's proposal of a prisoner exchange and the two armies once again met at the Battle of Morlaix. The loyalist army won a great victory which saw de Coldein lose many of his supporters. With the victory over de Coldein's army, the besieged city of Morlaix had no other option than to surrender to the loyalists and William was finally freed.

Aftermath
William, now 18 years old, set about stamping his authority on his Kingdom. Many of the rebel barons had gone into hiding, with many seeking sanctuary in France. Those that had not were taken captive and faced trial in the Royal court in Valenguard. Over a hundred nobles were hung for treason and the number would have been much higher had Samuel de Holdene not spoken out at the King and advised him to show some constraint. The lands of the rebel barons were distributed among Norman nobles who had remained loyal. William ordered the execution of Charles de Coldein and demanded that his fathers head be bought before him. Andrew de Coldein has fled to France but was forced to flee to Italy when the French King agreed to hand him over to the Normans.