The struggle with Lewis covers the first year of the reign. Winter was too far advanced at the time of the Bristol Council for much active warfare, and a truce was as usual concluded for the Christmas season, purchased by the surrender of some of the royal castles. Before the new reign began Lewis’s side had lost two of its representative men--Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, the leader of the old baronial party, and Eustace de Vesey, who had conducted the intrigues with Scotland and France which had brought about the present complication. The greatness of Lewis’s early success and the haughty assumptions of his French followers were already disgusting the barons, and those who had no cause to despair of pardon were contemplating adhesion to Henry. The year 1217, however, began with brisk action. Henry’s supporters assembled at Oxford, Lewis and his party at Cambridge. The military strength was all on the side of the latter; whilst the legate was treating for a truce Lewis was besieging and taking castles. Before Lent he had reduced the whole of Eastern England, except Lincoln, which held out unswervingly under Nicolaa de Camvill, the wife of that Gerard who had drawn John into his first quarrel with Longchamp. But at Midlent Lewis was summoned to France; and, although he returned in a few weeks, he found that some of his supporters had changed sides. The Earl of Salisbury had gone over to his nephew; the legate was preaching a crusade against the disloyal and excommunicated; and the loyal barons bestirred themselves to some purpose. [Sidenote: Battle of Lincoln, 1217. ] They advanced from the West, just as had been the case in the end of Stephen’s days, Lincoln again appearing to be the decisive battle-ground. And so it was. Lewis returned in an evil mood, determined to treat England as a conquered country; the barons detected his design and deserted him one by one. At Whitsuntide the king’s party advanced to relieve Lincoln under the Earl of Pembroke, the Earl of Chester, and the legate. Lincoln was relieved at the cost of a battle; but in the battle was slain Lewis’s chief captain, the Count of Perche, and Saer de Quincy and Robert Fitz-Walter, the leading spirits of the anti-royalists, were captured. Lewis was not there, but engaged in the siege of Dover Castle, which had not yet been taken. On the news of the battle he threw himself into London, and there awaited foreign succor. The foreign succor came as far as Thanet; but there, on St. Bartholomew’s Day, it was beaten and dispersed by the English fleet, which thus justified the pains and cost that John had spent upon it. [Sidenote: Departure of Lewis. ] [Sidenote: Third issue of the Charter. ]