its lord to the English, opened up the road over the Dordogne towards Poitou. Richard's position was made more difficult by the disunion of his advisers (Royal Letters, i. 338), by the sickness and return home of William Longsword, and by the depredations of Savary de Mauléon and the corsairs of La Rochelle, who intercepted his convoys and straitened his resources. Richard, who sought to keep on good terms with the ecclesiastical authorities, was further embarrassed by the necessity of forming an alliance with Raymond of Toulouse, who supported the Albigensians. Early in 1226 Louis VIII took the cross against Raymond, and Raymond complained to Henry III that he could get no help from Richard (Royal Letters, i. 338). But strict neutrality was enjoined on both Henry and Richard by the pope (Fœdera, i. 185). On the other hand the pope exhorted Louis VIII to surrender the lands that the English kings had once held, and the Lusignans to obey their English count (ib. i. 181). Richard also negotiated an alliance with the counts of Auvergne (Petit-Dutaillis, p. 268; cf. Pièces Justificatives, No. viii). He sent home a proposal for his own marriage with a daughter of the king of Leon, but was told by the king and council that they hoped soon to negotiate a more advantageous union (Rot. Lit. Claus. ii. 83). Various reinforcements were sent out from England (ib. ii. 110–17; Trivet, pp. 215–16), but Richard was forced to tax Gascony severely, and to offend his ally, the archbishop of Bordeaux, by laying hands on church property. Under these circumstances there was little fighting in 1226. In the spring the French appeared before the walls of Bordeaux (Fœdera, i. 178). Richard made a vain effort to find a refuge in La Rochelle (Canon of Tours, p. 315; Matt. Paris, iii. 111). But the death of Louis VIII on 8 Nov. 1226 gave Richard another chance. Louis IX was a minor, and many of the great barons entered into a conspiracy against his authority. Savary de Mauléon again changed sides, and at his bidding La Rochelle opened its gates to Richard. The turbulent Hugh of Lusignan and the powerful Viscount of Thouars concluded treaties with Richard on 18 Dec. (Fœdera, i. 183), and a truce followed with the French king (ib. i. 186). Henry III confirmed and prolonged the agreement (ib. i. 190–2), and in May 1227 Richard returned to England.
In July 1227 the good understanding between Richard and the king, of which the latter had given abundant proofs in Richard's absence, was broken by a violent quarrel over Richard's claim to a manor which, originally belonging to the earldom of Cornwall, had been granted by King John to Waleran the German. Henry, who had just been declared of age, resented Richard's demand for the judgment of the magnates, and bade Richard resign the manor or quit the realm. Richard retired to Marlborough, where he entered into a confederacy with William Marshal, earl of Pembroke. Earl Ranulf of Chester joined the league, and in a short time a formidable force, including eight earls, met at Stamford to support the earl against the king, though they made a show of blaming not Henry, but the justiciar, Hubert de Burgh. Henry met the confederates on 3 Aug. at Northampton, and practically granted all they asked. In compensation for Waleran's manor, Richard received from the king all their mother's dower, along with the English lands rightfully belonging to the Count of Brittany (i.e. the honour of Richmond) and the late Count of Boulogne (Rog. Wend. iv. 141–3). The brothers were friends again, but the incident is noteworthy as first bringing Richard into close touch with the growing baronial opposition.
In 1230 Richard attended Henry III on his inglorious expedition to Brittany (Royal Letters, i. 363), when Count Peter of Brittany regained the earldom of Richmond, which Richard had had in his custody since 1227. On 30 March 1231 Richard was married to Isabella, the beautiful daughter of the elder William Marshal, first earl of Pembroke [q. v.] of that house, and the widow of Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester, who had died on 25 Oct. 1230 (Wykes, p. 72). The alliance closely connected Richard with the baronial leaders. The Earls Marshal and the Earls of Norfolk and Derby were his brothers-in-law; the Earl of Gloucester was his stepson. Richard in July 1232 joined his brother-in-law, Richard Marshal, in upholding Hubert de Burgh, on whose ruin the king was resolved in deference to his foreign counsellors (ib. p. 88; Royal Letters, i. 410).
Meanwhile Richard was much occupied in Wales, where he was now acquiring extensive possessions of his own. His brother had granted him the castle of Builth and the custody of the lands of William de Braose, whom Llywelyn ab Iorwerth [q. v.] had put to death. This involved him in war with Llywelyn, who had Builth in his possession. In the winter of 1232–3 Richard was fighting in person in Wales in co-operation with Richard Marshal. By March 1233 he had driven Llywelyn back and strongly fortified and garrisoned the castle of Radnor, as a check on the aggressions of the Welsh prince (Ann. Tewkesbury, p. 88).
