Monty, standing high above all others in the realm including the king. However, it was not to last.

The king of England was now a captive of one of his own barons; a fate which had not befallen any of his Norman/Angevin predecessors. Henry engulfed by unbearable indignation, could only reflect upon the situation with sullen stoicism. The fact that it was his own brother-law who was the culprit simply added insult to injury.

‘I, Henry of Winchester, an anointed king, now forced to obey law made by my hated brother-law!’

There is no doubt that Henry must have been angry with his son, the Lord Edward, for failing to stay on the field at Lewes and allowing Monty his opportunity to attack the royal forces in such an unexpected fashion.

‘You! My heir, Eddy proved yourself that morning to be really quite unready!

Your task was to stand foursquare with us and keep the royal flank steady!

But you could not resist the opportunity to chase those cockney knaves and put them to the sword!

Now shameful captivity for us, the royal family is your well-earned reward!’

Listening to his father prince Edward, head bowed and taciturn, mulled over his mistake and resolved to learn from it. He was intent on turning the tables on the hated Monty. In the meantime, the royal coats of arms, as the premier symbol of national authority were replaced by those of Monty.

The coat of arms of Simon de Montfort.

Symbols have their merit, but action is required to sustain their visual significance.  Monty began to implement his reforms. The Great Council, or parliament as it was known, had long been comprised of the great barons and senior clerics. However, the one that met in January of 1265 was different from those which had preceded it. Monty’s parliament included two knights from each of the shires as well as two burgesses from a number of the prominent towns. These towns included the cinque ports, one of which was Hastings in East Sussex

The seal of the barons of Hastings.

These reforms had far-reaching consequences for the development of the English political system and sowed the seeds for the modern British parliament.

Of course Monty claimed that he was acting in the name of King Henry, but no one was fooled, all were aware that the king had abhorred the Provisions of Oxford. The Palace of Westminster would never seem the same again to Henry. He was now forced to linger  away from the levers of power in his painted chamber at Westminster. Many might see his residence as a sumptuous palace, but to Henry it was as the cruellest of dungeons. From here he could hear Monty’s haughty tones as he spoke to parliament as virtual ruler of the realm. The painted walls of his chamber must have been awash with royal tears, no king of England had ever known such shame.

The King’s (Painted) Chamber at Westminster built by Henry III

Not only had Monty curbed the powers of the crown, he had installed himself as the de facto king.

‘De facto, de facto? Does this means that Monty is now virtually the monarch?

Yes! Yes! This is now an inescapable fact!

But the prince Edward, mindful of his birth right as heir, would not be slow to act!’

Prince Edward, his quick mind festering with the bitter memory of Lewes and his father’s resulting humiliation as being  king without power, was bent on vengeance. He quite literally felt his father’s pain. Only de Montfort’s death could erase these foul memories and rectify the dreadful situation. The prince, although being held captive, was allowed to hunt in the forest with his guards. One day in May, 1265, out hunting with hounds, fine horseman that he was, Edward outrode the guards and made his way to Wigmore Castle, seat of his ally, Roger Mortimer.

A reconstruction of Wigmore castle.

The time was right, Eleanor, his mother was in France preparing for an invasion of England courtesy of King Louis IX of France.

King Louis IX of France.

Perhaps even more importantly, de Montfort had alienated a number of his key supporters, principally the powerful de Clare family, and they were ready to switch sides. The grand plans of Simon de Montfort were about to unravel.

‘Oh Simon de, dear brother-in-law!

How I would like to take my royal fist to your wretched jaw!’

King Henry III.

The meeting of the Easter parliament in 1258 which had resulted in the humiliating Provisions of Oxford left King Henry seething. The mere memory of having to put his seal to that offensive piece of parchment brought tears to his eyes.

The Great Seal of Henry III.

But like his father King John at Runnymede, he had no intention of honouring the agreement. Like a bear with a sore head, he sat brooding, riddled with resentment and fury. In a moment of petulance, Henry had encountered Monty at court and angrily accused him of seducing his sister, Eleanor before the nuptials took place.

Unpleasant encounter.

‘Into your bed, you craftily enticed my sister priceless, princess Eleanor!

And this was before you had carried her over the threshold door!

Therefore the conception of your son took place outside of wedlock!

For this heinous deed you should stand in the courtroom dock!’

Unfortunately for Henry, Simon cheerfully pointed out that the baby, Henry, was born on November 1st 1238, more than nine months after the marriage ceremony. How embarrassing, but fate is fickle and Henry would bide his time until an opportunity to alter affairs arose.

Such an opportunity did arise in 1261 when the Pope, Alexander IV freed Henry from his oath to uphold the Provisions of Oxford.

Pope Alexander IV.

The king decided to move against de Montfort, and the barons who supported him. Oddly enough, the king’s eldest son, Edward was actually in agreement with much of what de Montford advocated, but in the ensuing military conflict he decided to stand with his father. The Second Baron’s War was about to begin.

On May 14th 1264, the forces commanded by the respective brothers-in-law met at Lewis. The king, in command of a larger force than de Montfort, was no doubt in a confident mood. Henry accompanied by his brother, Richard of Cornwall and also his son, prince Edward who although very young was already showing promise as a military leader. However at Lewis, Edward allowed his personal feelings to override his judgement regarding practical military necessity. Monty had deployed a group of Londoners amongst his ranks and the royal family had a longstanding acrimonious relationship with the citizens of the capital city.

Once, they had pelted Queen Eleanor with all kinds of debris as she sailed along the Thames in the royal barge. Perhaps remembering this insult suffered by his mother, prince Edward attacked them in a particularly furious charge and drove them from the field.

‘You foul cockney wretches did so greviously insult the queen, my dear mama! Yes dearest mama!

For as your blood spills, my men and I will merely smile and merrily cry, ha-ha!’Ha ha!’

This was fine, but with his blood up Edward pursued them as they fled the battlefield for four miles cutting them down mercilessly. Ignoring their pleas for quarter, he triumphantly shouted:

‘You were born, raised and dwelt miserably in earshot of Bow’s bells!

Now for eternity you will hear nothing but the deafening sounds of the bells of hell!’

Edward’s face positively beamed with grim satisfaction as he rode back to the main field of battle, his sword dripping red with the blood of the detested Londoners. However, this act of savage vengeance had the effect of leaving the royal forces exposed to a rebel attack, and de Montfort took full advantage of this development. With prince Edward and his division away from the fray, Monty attacked the king’s men and forced them to retreat to the Priory of Saint Pancras where they took up defensive positions.

The Priory of Saint Pancras, Lewes.

This was not the satisfactory scenario that Henry had envisaged amidst the early morning of optimism, but it was harsh reality by noon.

In the meantime, young Edward managed to make his second gaffe of the morning. The heir to the throne wasted even more valuable time on a fruitless exercise. Spying de Montfort’s baggage train upon a hill, he attacked and killed de Montfort’s men who were charged with guarding it. They also slaughtered some people whom they found in Monty’s very spacious personal carriage that served as his boudoir/HQ.

However, the unfortunate passengers were not Monty supporters, but leading Londoners loyal to the crown.

Whoops!

Unbeknown to Edward, Monty had quite unexpectedly turned his mobile battle bus into a travelling prison camp for those influential citizens from the capital  who opposed the Provisions of Oxford. Perhaps Monty’s idea was to rehabilitate these people by explaining to them the benefits of his proposed reforms on a peripatetic basis travelling through the green fields of Sussex.

‘This educational trip proved to be a one way ticket!

These loyal Londoners discovered that they were a lost wicket!’

 Maybe education of a sort was Monty’s intention, but the classroom soon became an abattoir. The unfortunate London burghers protested their loyalty to the crown but in the heat of battle they were swiftly dispatched by Edward’s men. The royal forces then wasted further time by spitefully burning Monty’s personal/personnel vehicle to the ground.

Anyway, the loss of his mobile home could not have caused Monty any great distress as he had won an unexpected victory. Cornered in the priory, King Henry, with the hulking prince Edward at his side, was trapped by Monty’s forces. Henry’s brother, the hapless Richard of Cornwall was also taken after being discovered lurking in a windmill. The three proud royals were now the humble captives of Monty, and Henry had no choice but to parlay with his truculent brother-in-law and disobedient subject, the Earl of Leicester. The result of the negotiations was a peace treaty known as the Mise of Lewes. This agreement reduced the role of the monarch quite considerably, and the most influential man in England would now be Monty.

Monty was now in possession of the power to change the governance of the realm. Indeed, the reforms that he was about to introduce would lay the foundations of how the country is governed today.

 

The reign of King Stephen (1135-1154).

The barons had made a solemn oath to Henry that they would recognise his daughter, Matilda as their sovereign monarch after his death.  However once Henry was dead, they made it clear what they really thought about putting a woman on the throne.

Matilda depicted in a stain glass window.

‘Waltzing Matilda?  She can go dance!’

A number of England’s most powerful barons would not countenance the prospect of being ruled by a woman and offered the crown to Matilda’s cousin, Stephen of Blois.  Stephen was a grandson of the Conqueror and was the only legitimate male available for the top job. Stephen was crowned on December 22nd 1135 and at first his position appeared secure, as the majority of the nobility supported his claim to the throne.

As far as they were concerned there was simply no alternative to Stephen, even Matilda’s half brother, Robert of Gloucester swore fealty to Stephen at his coronation.  All of this was too much for the haughty, combative Matilda and soon England was engulfed in a terrible civil war.

Double cross!

No matter!  I’ll show them who’s boss!

Matilda landed in Sussex in 1139  supported by her uncle David I of Scotland and now by Robert of Gloucester who had decided to switch sides.  Like many English magnates, Robert had become totally disenchanted with Stephen’s rule.  They had come to the conclusion that Stephen did not possess the qualities needed to rule a kingdom.  He was simply unable to impose his authority and had a tendency to treat opponents rather too leniently.  This cost him the respect and ultimately the support of his allies.

The country was devastated by the fighting and it was said that:  ‘Christ and his saints slept’.  In February 1141, Matilda defeated and captured Stephen at the battle of Lincoln, and it looked as if Stephen’s reign was now at an end.

BUT!

Another Matilda, Stephen’s wife, now entered the fray and managed to capture Robert of Gloucester!

I’ll swap you your brother for my husband’.

This led to Stephen going back on the offensive, and in the winter of 1142 he looked as if he would get his revenge for his humiliating captivity when he cornered Matilda in a siege at Oxford castle. It was snowing, and the ever resourceful Matilda dressed herself in snow white garments and slipped out of the castle unnoticed through Stephen’s lines.

The war ground to a horrible, stagnant stalemate with Matilda in control of the south-west and Stephen dominating the south-east. Neither side was able to dislodge the other.  This was compounded by the fact that Matilda had made herself unpopular through her haughty manner and it was now generally recognised that Stephen was totally unsuited for kingship.  In short, neither commanded any enthusiastic support in the country.

What a lousy choice!

Either way, we the people have no voice!

In this situation some kind of compromise had to be agreed and eventually it was. By now Matilda’s son, Henry, was playing a dominant role in the campaign and in 1153 he and Stephen reached an accord, the Treaty of Wallingford. It was agreed that Stephen should stay on the throne for life but Henry was to be his heir. Stephen died a year later.