Born in 1208 the son of Simon de Montfort senior, a leader of the Albigensian crusade in southern France, Simon de Montfort came to England in 1230 to lay claim to lands formerly held by the Earl of Leicester. On the death of the earl in 1204 these estates should have passed to de Monfort’s father but instead had been seized by the King.
De Montfort persuaded Henry III to grant him these estates, married the king’s sister Eleanor in 1238 and became Earl of Leicester the following year. Sadly, this friendship with Henry did not last.
De Monfort's Conflict with King Henry III
By 1258 political unrest between an inept king and his barons, including de Montfort, resulted in the Provisions of Oxford which sought to restrain royal power and implement reform. Henry was forced to accept the provisions which effectively passed the government of England to a baronial council.
De Montfort, the leading advocate for change sought to extend the reforms much further than many were comfortable with and he alienated many nobles by seeking to use the King’s weak position to try and settle a personal dispute with Henry over income from his wife’s estates.
Taking advantage of the disarray between the reformers Henry gradually increased royal support and by 1261 was once again in full control of government; but political wrangling between the King and de Montfort’s reformers continued, positions polarised and civil war became inevitable.
Civil War 1264-65
The two sides met at the Battle of Lewes in Sussex on 14 May 1264. De Montfort, a brilliant soldier, won a decisive victory taking both Henry and his son the prince Edward prisoner. In June 1264 de Montfort called a Parliament, and summoned knights from the counties to attend using it to elect a Council of Nine to control the King and govern in his name. De Montfort was now effectively England’s ruler.
He sought to consolidate his power by calling a second Parliament in January 1265, this time summoning both knights and town burgesses. Unfortunately he also used his new authority to grant lands to family members in the west of England which antagonised the local aristocracy, notably Gilbert de Clare the Earl of Gloucester, who up to that point had been a supporter of government reform. De Montfort’s power base now began to crumble.
In May 1265 Edward escaped his captors and joining forces with the Earl of Gloucester, raised his standard at Worcester. De Montfort marched against him and after a long campaign the two armies finally met on 4 August at the Battle of Evesham. Edward triumphed and de Montfort was killed.
Legacy of De Montfort
Simon de Montfort was an idealist who has been called the founder of the English Parliament, but in using his position to further the interests of his own family he undermined his authority which led, ultimately, to his downfall.
Sources:
Juliet Gardner & Neil Wenborn (Ed), The History Today Companion to British History, (Collins & Brown, 1995)
Juliet Gardener (Ed), The History Today Who’s Who in British History, (Collins & Brown, 2000)
Nigel Saul, A Companion to Medieval England, (Tempus, 2000)
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