The two brother-laws, with each other, go to war!
‘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.