Editing First Barons' War (section)

===French intervention===
The war began over Magna Carta but quickly turned into a dynastic war for the throne of England. The rebel barons, faced with a powerful king, turned to [[Louis VIII of France|Louis]], the son and heir apparent of King [[Philip II of France]] and the grandson-in-law of King [[Henry II of England]]. The [[Norman conquest of England|Norman invasion]] had occurred only 149 years before, and the relationship between England and France was not as simply adversarial as it later became. The contemporary document, the ''[[Annals of Waverley]]'' saw no contradiction in stating that Louis was invited to invade to "prevent the realm being pillaged by aliens."

At first, in November 1215, Louis simply sent the barons a contingent of knights to protect London. However, even at that stage he also agreed to an open invasion, despite the discouragement from his father and from [[Pope Innocent III]]. That came in May 1216, when watchmen on the coast of [[Isle of Thanet|Thanet]] detected sails on the horizon, and on the next day, the King of England and his armies saw Louis's troops disembark on the coast of [[Kent]].

John decided to escape to the Saxon capital of [[Winchester]], and so Louis had little resistance on his march to London. He entered London, also with little resistance, and was openly received by the rebel barons and citizens of London and proclaimed (though not crowned) king at [[Old St Paul's Cathedral|St Paul's Cathedral]]. Many nobles gathered to give homage to him, including [[Alexander II of Scotland]], who held [[fiefs]] in England.

Many of John's supporters, sensing a tide of change, moved to support the barons. [[Gerald of Wales]] remarked: "The madness of slavery is over, the time of liberty has been granted, English necks are free from the yoke."

Pursuing John, Louis led his army south from London on 6 June, arriving the following day in [[Reigate]] where he found the [[Reigate Castle|castle]] abandoned. He moved onwards to [[Guildford Castle]] on 8 June, which surrendered immediately. [[Farnham Castle]] initially closed its gates but surrendered as the French started to lay siege. He met resistance only when he reached [[Winchester Castle]] on 14 June, but it fell after a ten-day siege. Louis's campaign continued, and by July, about a third of England had fallen under his control.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.guildford-dragon.com/2016/06/10/guildford-castle-fell-invading-french-800-years-ago-week/|title=When Guildford Castle Fell to the Invading French 800 Years Ago This Week|last=Morgan|first=Gavin|date=10 June 2016|website=The Guildford Dragon|access-date=16 July 2019}}</ref>