1217: The Battles That Saved England

A Sunday Times Book of the Week

’A thrilling episode from England’s medieval history.’ Dan Jones, The Sunday Times

An engrossing history of the pivotal year when the future of England was secured.

In 1215 King John had agreed to the terms of Magna Carta, but then reneged on his word, plunging the kingdom into war. Rebellious barons offered the throne to the French prince Louis and set off a chain of events that almost changed the course of English history.

Louis arrived in May 1216, was proclaimed king in London, and by the autumn had half of England under his control. However, the choice of a French prince had enormous repercussions: now not merely an internal rebellion, but a war in which the defenders were battling to prevent a foreign takeover. John’s death in October 1216 left the throne in the hands of his 9-year-old son, Henry, and his regent, William Marshal, which changed the face of the war again, for now the king trying to fight off an invader was not a hated tyrant but an innocent child.

1217 charts the nascent sense of national identity that began to swell. Three key battles would determine England’s destiny. The fortress of Dover was besieged, the city of Lincoln was attacked, and a great invasion force set sail and, unusually for the time, was intercepted at sea. Catherine Hanley expertly navigates medieval siege warfare, royal politics, and fighting at sea to bring this remarkable period of history to life.

Catherine Hanley has a PhD in Medieval Studies, specialising in 12th- and 13th-century warfare. She has written five books of popular history including Matilda: Empress, Queen, Warrior (2019) and Two Houses, Two Kingdoms: A History of France and England, 1100-1300 (July 2022), both for Yale University Press. Matilda was named by both the Financial Times and BBC History Magazine as one of their ’Best Books of 2019’. She lives in Somerset.