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THE BARONS' WAR.

©ainbutige :

PRINTEtf BY C. J. CIAY, M.A.,
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

THE BARONS' WAR

INCLUDING THE

BATTLES OF LEWES AND EVESHAM.

WILLIAM HENEY BLAAUW, ESQ., M.A,

"'Tis wonderful
What may be wrought out of their discontent."-— Shakespeare.

SECOND EDITION
WITH ADDITIONS AND COEBECTIONS.

lLotttfoiT :
BELL AND DALDY, YOEK STEEET,
COVENT GAEDEN.
LEWES: BAXTER AND SON.
1871.

AUTHOES PEEPACE.

The distant view of the Castle and Battle
Field of Lewes having led the Author to examine,
with additional interest, the causes' and circum
stances of the great event which has given them
a place in history, he felt that the mere details of
a sanguinary contest would be unsatisfactory, unless,
in some degree, illustrated rby the manners and
temper of the times, as well \ 3 by the characters
and motives of the chief actor^ _ He has not there
fore scrupled to digress widely with that object,
and the intended narrative of a day has insensibly
swelled into a sketch of many years; but on con
sidering the importance of that period of British
history, it did not appear that justice would other
wise be done to the subject.
Surprise may well be felt by those who are not
conversant with the rude materials from which
History has to be constructed, at the confusion and ,
contradictions of the various chronicles relating to
these times : many of these have been consulted by
a2

VI AUTHORS PREFACE.
the author in manuscript, and of several important
papers which have been lately published free use
has been also made. Much of their discrepancy,
however, becomes corrected by the authentic test
of public documents, and much by a due considera
tion of the circumstances of the writers. While
party bias, for they had party even in those days,
often induced some to distort facts, others, from the
seclusion of their habits, had no means of accurately
ascertaining even contemporary events; not a few
wrote a century too late for collecting original evi
dence, and many in their indiscriminate records
did not refuse even "profane and old- wives' fables."
Later writers in succession, glad of an easy path,
have often contentedly followed such authorities,
as on a sheep-track, without further enquiry. The
weight of each witness thus requiring adjustment in
the balance, a list of the principal references has
been subjoined, somewhat explanatory of their re
lative value.
Several specimens of the quaint but characteristic
poetry of the age have been purposely introduced in
evidence of the opinions then current, and the aspect
of their antique phraseology has been occasionally
rendered less forbidding by translation.
To the kindness of friends the author is much
indebted for some of the illustrations*, and for some
* These Lave been omitted from the present edition. — Editor.

AUTHORS PREFACE. Vll
notices on the family of Simon de Montfort in its
foreign branches.
The following pages were not intended as a dis
quisition on the origin and nature of Parliaments, so
ably treated by others, and being but " an ancient
tale new told," may not present many new facts to
the historical student, yet it is hoped that the details,
freshly gathered from their original sources, and
here newly combined, may impart to some readers
a clearer view or a warmer interest in so remark
able a crisis of British history. W. H. B.

Beechland, Newick,
January, 1844.

EDITOE'S PEEFACE.

After Mr Blaauw's death, I learned that he had
been preparing a second edition of the Barons' War
when he was struck down by the illness that even
tually carried him off. There was a difficulty in
finding any one who could see the sheets through
the press. Under these circumstances I volunteered
to give what aid I could. When the papers came
into my hands, I found that the author had scarcely
touched the text except to make a few verbal cor
rections, most of which had been suggested to him
by his friend, the well-known archaeologist, Mr
Weston S. Walford. On the other hand there was
a mass of notes, many of which were quotations
from modern authors or picturesque extracts from
chronicles that had struck Mr Blaauw's fancy. Al
together, I think, several pages had been transcribed
from Jocelin de Brakelond. It was clearly unneces
sary to reprint these, and I have therefore had the
difficult task of sifting what was to be retained from

EDITOR S PREFACE.

what ought to be excluded. My practice has been
to keep all that was derived from unprinted sources,
and all that related to family history : while I have
left out mere illustrations and extracts from books
that are now generally accessible. I have adhered
rigidly to Mr Blaauw's spelling, even where it is
now antiquated; and wherever I have thought it
necessary to make a change or add a note have
distinguished what is my own by spaced lines [ j
or by the initial P. In a few cases where Mr Wal-
ford's notes had not been transcribed by Mr Blaauw
(I believe merely from the interruption of illness),
I have added them and distinguished them by the
letters W. S. W.
I need not say that no care of an editor can in
any appreciable degree replace the last touchings and
remodellings of an author. Nevertheless judged by
what it is, I believe Mr Blaauw's work will long
continue to hold a high place among works of its
kind. It may serve as some evidence of the care
with which he explored the sources of history, that
the invaluable publications of the Eecord Commission
during the last fourteen years have not, I think,
contained a book except the Annals of Dunstaple,
which he had overlooked, while many of the Manu
scripts he cites are unfortunately to this moment
without an Editor. I confess to thinking that
the Barons' War is even now unsurpassed as a

X EDITORS PREFACE.
history of the particular period it deals with. "Some
day it will no doubt be superseded, for there are still
unused records to be drawn upon. So thorough and
modest a student as Mr Blaauw would have been
the first to disclaim the praise of having left nothing
for his successors to add : the last to wish that his
own work should be final.
I have to return my best thanks to Mr F. J. Fur-
nivall, who kindly collated a MS. for me in the
British Museum; and more particularly still to the
Rev. H. R. Luard, who besides doing me the same
good office, has supplied many valuable corrections
throughout the book. The Index is due to the
author's son, Mr T. St Leger Blaauw.
CHARLES H. PEARSON.

Tbihity College, Cambeidqe, '
May 28, 1871.

REFERENCES.

* denotes those who were of the Royalists' party, and + the Baronial.
Anglia Sacra  By Henry Wharton, folio, London, 1691, contains
the account of the affairs of Durham Cathedral
from 1214 to 1336, by Robert de Graystanes, Sub-
Prior of Durham, who was elected Bishop by his
convent 1332, and consecrated in spite of the
king's prohibition.— He was afterwards super
seded, and died of vexation. A graphic intelli
gent writer.
Art de venfier les Dates— 3 T. folio, Paris, 1783.
Ann. Burt.-r  Annals written in the monastery of Burton contain
many interesting documents, and end abruptly
with the King's intention to annul the Oxford
Statutes. [Edited by Fulman, and more lately by
the Rev. H. R. Luard for the Record Commission.
Annales Monastici, Vol. I.]
[Ann. of Dunstaple . . . Edited by Hearne, and more lately by the Rev. H.
R. Luard for the Record Commission. , Annales
Monastici, Vol. III.]
Anon. Langued  Chronicle by an impartial Languedocian of the Albi-
gensian war, from 1202 to 1219. Recueil des
Histoires de la France, Tom. XX. 1840.
Archiv. du Roy  There are many interestingJVISS. relating to English
history in the vast collections of the Archives du
Royaume, at Paris. An imperfect catalogue of
them has been printed'in Trevor des Chartes.
Carlav  Siege of Carlaverock (from MSS. Cott. Caligula A.
XVIIL), a poem in French, by Walter, a Fran
ciscan monk of Exeter, describing the siege of
that castle (6 m. south of Dumfries) by Edward I.,
in July, 1300, edited by N. H. Nicolas, 1828.

xii REFERENCES.
Chr. Dover t  Chronica paucorum, continued to 1286 by a monk of
S. Martin in Dover. The MS. (Cott. Julius D. V.)
is much burnt and shrivelled by fire in the pages
relating to 1264-5.
Chr. Jocelin  Chronica Jocelini de Brakelond, a monk of S. .Ed
mund's Bury, relating the affairs of the monastery
from 1173 to 1202, during the Abbacy of Samson
de Totington, or Totigtune, in the hundred of
Weyland, Norfolk, — a picturesque account in
amusing detail of the mariners, &c. of the interior
of the Abbey,— published by the Camden Society
from MS. Harl. 1005.
Chr. Lanerc.f  Chronicle of Lanercost Abbey, in Cumberland, MSS.
Harl. 3425. Cotton MSS. Claud. D. VII. 13:
" Historia Anglorum ab 1181 ad 1346— per quem-
dam Canonicum de Lanercost." — The Cotton MS.
is much better than the more recent transcript in
Harl. MS. Printed by the Maitland Club in 4to.
1839. The battle of Lewes is described on the au
thority of a nobleman there present (protestante
mihi uno nobili qui ibi fuerat), and also that of
Evesham (ore tenus attestante mihi uno illorum
qui adversus eum dimicavit).
Chr. Laud.*  Chron. Laudunense a Bruto usque ad 1338. — MSS.
Cott. Nero, A. IV., 8vo. At p. 110 is a rude draw
ing of the capture of Henry HI., and the death of
Simon de Montfort.
Chr. Lewes.*  Chronicle by a monk of Lewes to 1312 contains a
concise but authentic account of the ba,ttle. —
MSS. Cott. Tib. A. X.
Chr. Mailr.t  Cotton MS. Faustina B. IX. Chronicle by the
monks of Mailros, in Galloway, begun 1235, and
continued to 1270 by various hands, from 1262 by
one partial to the Barons in Rerum Anglic. Script.
Vet. T. I.
Chr. Oxen  Chronicle of John de Oxenede, Benedictine monk of
S. Hulme, Continued to 1293.— MSS. Cott. Nero
D. H. Cotton MS. Faustina B. XIV. is appa
rently similar. [Edited by Sir H. Ellis for the
Record Commission.]
Chr. Peterb  Chronicle of John de Raleto, Abbot of Peterborough,
and Robert Boston, monk of Spalding, continued
to 1368.
Chr. Ramsey  Chronicle by a monk of Ramsey, written before
1267.— MSS. Cott. Otho D. VIH., partly burnt.

REFERENCES. Xlll
Chr. Roll, f  Chronica de primis incolis Hybernise et de rebus
Britannicis, &c, ad coronationem Edwardi I.,
folio MS. Cott. Nero, D. H., by a monk of Roches
ter, with some rude drawings at the bottom of the
pages, one at p. 176 representing the mutilation
of Simon de Montfort's body.
Chr. Shepis  Chronicle of William de Shepisheved, MSS. Cott.
Faust. B. VI.
Chr. Taxter  Chronicle of Taxter, a monk of Bury, from 1245 to
1265, MSS. Cott. Julius, A. I., quoted in notes to
Rishanger's Chr. de Bellis L. et Ev. [Printed by
Mr. Thorpe in the second volume of Florence of
Worcester, as the continuation of that author.]
Chr. Trivet  Chronica Triveti, HarL MSS. 4322, written during
Edward I.'s reign... printed in the Spicilegium of
Luc d'Achery, and edited by Mr Hog for th.e
English Historical Society.
Chr. Wore. Wigorn. . . Chronicle of Worcester, MSS. Cott. Calig. A. 10 to
1308 A. D. [Edited by Rev. H. R. Luard for the
Record Commission. Annales Monastici, Vol. IV.]
Epist. Ad. de Marisco . Epistohe Adamai de Marisco, a Franciscan monk of
much learning. The MS. (Cott. Vitell. C. VHI.)
is much shrivelled by fire in the upper part of
each page, but is mostly legible, and contains
many curious letters to Q. Eleanor, Simon de
Montfort, his Countess, &c. [Edited by the Rev.
Professor Brewer for the Record Commission.
Momimenta Franciseana.]
Fabyanf  Chronicle of Robert Fabyan, Alderman of London,
Sheriff 1493 ; a good authority for details relating
to London.
Gugl. Pod. Laur  Guglielmi de Podio Laurentii Historia Albigensium,
a monk of Puy Laurent, near Albi, born about
1210, died after 1272. Recueil des Hist, de la
France, tome XX., 1840.
Walt. Heming.f .... Chronicle of Walter Hemingford, a monk of Gisburn,
where he died 1347. He had good opportunities
of obtaining information from eye-witnesses for
his history, which extends to 1308. [Printed in
Gale, and edited (as Hemingburgh) by Mr Hamil
ton for the English Historical Society.]
Hist. F. Fitzw  Histoire de Foulques Fitz Warin, Paris, 1840, edited
from MS. in Br. Mus. by M. Michel, who refers
this curious biography erroneously to the Fitz

XIV REFERENCES.
Warin drowned at Lewes, instead of to his father.
Some parts printed as prose appear to be verse.
Househ. Exp  Manners and Household Expenses in England in
the 13th century, comprising the Roll of the
Countess of Leicester's Expenses in 1265, from
the parchment MS. in Br. Mus. Add. MSS. 8877.
Privately printed for the Roxburghe Club by
Beriah Botfield, Esq., M.P., 1841, and contains
much interesting matter, ably illustrated by the
editor, Mr. Turner.
Joinv  Histoire de S. Louis by his friend and fellow-
crusader the Sire Jean de Joinville, born 1224,
died 1317.
W. Knight.t  Chronicle of William Knighton, who flourished
in the time of Richard II. His aecouut of the
battle of Lewes is copied verbatim from W.
Hemingford. [Printed in Twysden's Hist. Ang.
Scrip. X.]
Peter Langtoft's Chronicle in Verse. [Edited by Hearne, and more lately by
Mr. Aldis Wright for the Record Commission.]
Lib. de ant. leg.f. . . . Liber de antiquis legibus, a copy, in MSS. Harl.
690, of the London chronicle possessed by the
corporation, a register of contemporaneous events.
[Edited by Mr. Stapleton for the Camden Society.]
MS. in Antiq. Soc. . . . Habingdon MSS.
MS. of D. of Bedford at Woburn, written by Richard Fox, a prose Chronicle
following R. de Gloucester.
MSS. Harl. 542  Mr. John Stowe's Collections.
MSS. Lansdowne, 255.
MSS. Add. 5444 1 ... In Br. Mus., copied from one that was destroyed by
fire, Otho B. IH. This "son of a burnt father" is
a chronicle written by Londoners from time to
time as the events occurred from 1195 to 1307.
MSS. Harl. 548  The Rules drawn up by R. Greathead, Bishop of
Lincoln, for the Countess of Lincoln.
Mat. Par.f  Chronicle of Matthew Paris, monk of S. Alban's, is
of the best authority for events during his life ;
he died 1259. He frequently describes personal
interviews with Henry III., but his chronicle, ac
cording to the usual custom, was not made public
till after the King's death.
Mat. Westm.*  Chromcle of Matthew of Westminster, who flourished
1375, a decided Royalist in his compilation.
Mirac. S. de Mont.t • • Miracula Simonis de Monteforti, printed with Rish-
anger's Chr. by the Camden Society, from .SM

REFERENCES. XV
Cott. Vespas. A. VI. , probably written from time
to time by the monks of Evesham, between 1265
and 1278.
Nangist  Histoire de S. Louis, by William de Nangis, a monk
of S. Denis. Annals to 1300 in French and Latin
— good contemporaneous authority. Rec. des
Hist. Fr. T. XX., 1840.
Nichols, Leicest  History of Leicestershire by J. Nichols, F.S. A. Edin.,
contains an excellent account of Simon de Mont
fort by Rev. Sambrook N. Russell, in Part I.
Vol. 1.
Nobility  Catalogue of, compiled by Robert Cooke, Claren-
cieux, from MS. 1440 Harl. Art. 23. f. 17. 55.
MS. of Rev. H. Wellesley.
Nobility of England from 1066 to 1602. MS. of Rev. H. W.
Petr. Vail. Sarn  Petri Vallium Sarnaii Historia Albigensium, a monk
of Vaux Sernai Abbey, near Paris, born about
1170-80, living 1218, a furious bigot engaged in
the Albigensian war.
Polit. Songs  Political Songs of England from K. John to Edward
II., edited by Mr T. Wright for the Camden
Society ; a very curious and interesting collection
of contemporary evidences of popular feeling.
Raspe  Critical essay on oil painting, proving that the art
of painting in oil was known before the pretended
discovery of John and Hubert Von Eyck, to which
are added Theophilus, de Arte Pingendi, and
Eraclius de Artibus Romanorum, &c. ; by R. E.
Raspe, London, Cadell 1781.
W. Rish.f  Chronicle of William Rishanger, monk of S. Alban's,
continuing that of Matthew Paris from 1259 to
1312, and published with it. A competent con
temporary authority. [Edited by Mr. Riley for the
Record Commission.]
W. Rish. de bello Lew.f Another chronicle by the same author, " de Bellis
Lewes et Evesham," lately printed by the Cam
den Society from MS. Cott. Claud. D. VI.
Rob. Brune  The chronicle of English History, written in French
verse by Peter Langtoft, Canon of Bridlington,
was translated by Robert Manning, called ,R. de
Brune (from Bourne, near Deping, co. Lincoln),
begun 1303. [This is now being edited for the
Record Commission by Mr. E. J. Furnivall.]
Rob. Glouc.t  Chronicle in English verse, by Robert of Gloucester,
who resided at Oxford. Camden and Usher con-

XVI REFERENCES.
sider him to have lived in the time of Henry
HI. ; G. Ellis in the time of Edward I.
Rolls of Arms  Roll 1240—1245 made about 1308-14, published
from MS. in Br. Mus. by N. H. Nicolas, 1828.
Rymer  The invaluable series of documents relating to
English history, Rymer's Fcedera, Vols. I and II.
Starke  Historic Anglicans Scriptores. Fol. Lond. 1723,
containing Chr. Walteri de Whyttleseye, caenobii
Burgensis Hist. (Burgh, originally Medeshamstede
until burnt by the Danes, named Peterborough
when restored, A. D. 970).
W. Thorn  Chromcle of W. Thorn, a monk pf S. Augustine in
Canterbury, who flourished 1380.
Trfeor des Chartes ... To be published in 9 4to. Vols, at Paris by com
mand of Nap. III. by M. Henri Plon ; 17,000
documents from A. d. 755 to 1559.
T. Wyke*  Chronicle of Thomas Wyke, an Augustine Canon of
Osney, to 1290 ; an historian of good authority.
In Hist. Anglic. Scriptores V. [Edited also with
the parallel annals of Osney by the Rev. H. R.
Luard for the Record Commission. Annales
Monastici, Vol. IV.]

CHAP. pAGE
I. Introduction ... 1
II. Henry III. and his Courtiers 9
III. Simon de Montfort . 41
IV. The Oxford Statutes 66
V. War and Truce . . 100
VI. The Award of Amiens 112
VII. "War Renewed . . 125
VIII. Negotiations at Lewes 139
IX. The March upon Lewes 163
X. The Battle of Lewes 187
XL The Mise of Lewes . 213
XII. Government of the Barons 221
XIII. Parliament . . . 244
XIV. Treachery and Hostilities 256
XV. The Battle of Evesham . 270
XVI. The Disinherited . . 297
XVII. Eleanor de Montfort and her Sons 313
XVIII. The Murder at Viterbo . 336
Author's Appendices, A to E 354 — 363
Editor's Appendices, F. G. 363—380

ERRATA.

p. 45. Note 1, 1. 7, instead of " de Bald," read " the Bald."
p. 129. End of Note 6 from p. 128, add [John de Cranford was also
there. New Rymer, I. p. 450].
p. 149. Note 1, col. 3, 1. 3, of pedigree, instead of "1177?" read
" c. June 1240."
p. 165. Note 3, col. 2, 1. 16, instead of " ceulas " read " ceulx."
p. 169. Note 3, i. 1, for " Grenequer," read " Crevequer."
p. 251. Note 3, col. 2, 1. 1, insert " the bishop of " before Norwich.
p. 321. Note 2, dele the last sentence.
*' p. 326. 1. 9, instead of "Earl of Lincoln," read "descended from the
old Earls of Lincoln,"

THE BARONS' WAR.

CHAPTER I.
" Stand upon that elevation of reason, which places centuries under
our eye, and brings things to the true point of comparison, which obscures
little names and effaces the colours of little parties, and to which nothing
can ascend, but the spirit and moral quality of human actions." BuKKE.
The attention of the present age is not easily attracted to
the records of past times : eager to enjoy the luxuries which
commerce and science are yearly multiplying for their use,
few are disposed to turn back to a distant period of British
History, when a very, different state of things prevailed ;
when the seeds of those blessings, now so habitual, were cast
upon an unfriendly soil, requiring the watchful guard of a
bold mind, and an armed hand for their growth and maturity.
The fierce struggles for freedom or power, and the miseries
of civil war, once necessary to secure the rights of the com
munity, are now read with a traditional assent, indeed, to
the verdict of history, but with little scrutiny into the justice
which has thus stamped some transactions with honour; and
branded others with disgrace; has considered some conspi
cuous characters as patriots, others as rebels.
This has been remarkably true as to the great events of
the thirteenth century, which established the main prin-
B

2 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
ciples of liberty in this land. Magna Oharta now passes
current everywhere as a household word, the hallowed type
of a successful assertion of political rights ; while the Barons'
war and the battle of Lewes, though also great moral lessons
of permanent influence occasionally forced upon monarchs,
have dropped away as if unimportant from general remem
brance. There are, indeed, too many battlefields strewed over the
face of England, where no really national interest was at stake,
where blood flowed only to gratify or thwart the ambition of
an individual, or where some point of a disputed pedigree
trembled in the balance. From such selfish contests, if they
could have been decided by personal combat without involv
ing the welfare of a whole nation, the mind _ would shrink
with less regret ; but the Barons' war, of which the Battle of
Lewes was a main incident, does not deserve to be forgotten
or confused with such. It occurred in stirring times, when
every man readily took his side, the proud noble and the
half-enfranchised commoner uniting their strength with zeal
ous earnestness ; the contest was of a nature which we now
consider the most awful and irreconcilable, a war of prin
ciples. The conflicting claims of royal prerogative, and of
popular control, there met at length in active hostility, after
the fruitless trial, for many years, of more pacific means.
There would have been no need to revive this remote
subject, which, as Drayton1 said of his own story of some
later wars, " is surely fit matter for trump or tragedy," had
it fortunately attracted the electric spark of Shakspeare's
genius. Such alchemy would long since have transmuted it
into current gold, and would have fixed in the popular mind
the sterling worth of the personages and facts, undisturbed
by the doubts of philosophers or historians. The silence of
the dramatist, however, having prevented them becoming so
familiar to us as the events he has handled,- we can only feel
1 Preface to his poem Barons' War.

I-J THE BARONS' WAR. 3
sure that he would have depicted the chief actors in the
reign of Henry III, if at all, with their usual mixture of
good and evil qualities, as he has done all his characters,
whether historical or self-created1.
It is not from men of the thirteenth century that we
could expect the performance of great actions from pure and
unmixed motives ; it is not so in the nineteenth. Great and
gross vices then prevailed in every class, and public opinion
did not require even that decorous homage to virtue, which
modern vice is content to render. United with the genuine
patriotism of one party, no doubt ambition, self-interest, and
revenge played their part, while the conscientious main
tenance of long used prerogative on the other side, was
embittered by love of despotic power and by personal resent
ment; and though the warm incentives of religion were
sailed in aid by both parties, each at times displayed an
almost ostentations perjury. A modern hand cannot pre
sume to trace out all the various influences then at work in
¦the breast of individuals : all was not pure, for the agents
were human; but nothing can evince more strikingly the
soundness of the views adopted by the party victorious at
Lewes, than the fact that during their short year of triumph,
English freedom rose to so vigorous a manhood, and acquired
so confirmed a development, as to enable the spirit of their
principles long to survive the downfall of their promoters,
and to this day we are enjoying the full maturity of their
effects. There were some powerful engines of agitation to ruffle
the surface of society in the thirteenth century. The
1 Gibbon (see Miscell. Works, Vol. sively chose and rejected the Crusade
i. p. 106) at one time selected the of Richard I., the Barons' Wars
Barons' War for an historical sub- against John and Henry III., the
ject, but soon abandoned it. In a, History of the Black Prince, the lives
letter (April, 1761) he writes that he and companions of Henry V., the
had fixed upon the expedition of Emperor Titus, Sir Philip Sydney,
Charles VIII. into Italy ; but in the Marquis of Montrose : at length I
another letter, dated Beriton, Aug. 4, have fixed on Sir Walter Raleigh for
1761, he states that he had " re- my hero." In July, 1762, he drops
nounced Charles VIII. I succes- Raleigh for the Swiss, and the Medici,
B2

4 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
Crusades, those furious efforts of wild credulity, the glory of
their own age, though now its reproach and scorn, furnished
allurements yet sufficient to assemble hosts too vast for use
or restraint ; and the Popes of Rome, besides exciting these
outbursts of foreign adventure, put forward also at this period
their most extravagant pretensions. A war preached in the
name of God is indeed an awful matter; but not content with
sending crowds of zealots to destruction in Pagan Syria, they
wielded the same weapon against all nearer opposition, and
repeatedly exhibited the strange anomaly of organizing
Crusades against the disciples of the Cross1. The simpler
faith of the Albigenses was thus crushed by fire and sword ;
dethronement and a holy war were decreed against our own
King John and other monarchs ; the political disputes with
the Empire were decided in a similar way, although the
Popes met occasionally with a stout resistance. Gregory IX.
was thus in 1227 publicly denounced by the excommunicated
Emperor Frederick as " the Great Dragon and the Antichrist,"
although, indeed, he retorted on him as " the beast of blas
phemy, and the king of plagues." Wben this Emperor found
himself, in 1243, excommunicated for the third time, and his
crown declared to be forfeited, he desired his attendants to
see if his crown were really lost from his jewel chest, and on
its being produced, put it firmly on his head, and stood erect,
saying, "I have neither lost it, nor will I do so with im
punity for any Pope or Council. As to the Pope presuming
to depose me, his superior, so much the better ; I was before
bound to obey him in some measure, or at least to respect
him, but now I am absolved from any sort of love, venera
tion, or peace towards him2." This practical refutation of
1 Lo principe de nuovi Farisei, Close to the Lateran his war to
Avendo guerra presso a Laterano, wage :
E nonco' Saracinne con Giudei; Not against Saracens or Jews he
Che ciascun suo nimico era Cris- fights;
tiano. Inf. xxvii. 85. On Christians only he vents all
This Prince of modern Pharisees his rage.
delights * M. Paris,

I.] THE BARONS' WAR. 5
the Pope's power forms a strong contrast to the abject spirit
of King John.
The head of the Church insisted not only on the inde
pendence but the supremacy of its members, for as the soul
is superior to the body (they sophistically1 argued) so should
spiritual authority govern and punish secular power. No
civil court being allowed to interfere for the punishment of
their most heinous offences, it is said that Heniy II. found
that one hundred murders had been committed by the clergy
unpunished. These and other monstrous abuses might well
justify King Richard's satirical bequest of his favourite vices
to the different orders of clergy ; and the long enduring sub
mission to such arrogance is the strongest proof of prostrate
intellect during the dark, or, what modern courtesy terms-
the middle ages.
From such prevailing influence, even the French King
Louis IX., though eminently distinguished for strength of
mind, and resolutely maintaining the rights of his national
Church, was unable wholly to free himself. Coming to the
throne in early youth, he retained such a lofty purity of
conscience and such a mixed spirit of piety and enterprize,
that he attracted the universal respect of his contemporaries,
who frequently referred their disputes to his arbitration, as
we shall have occasion to notice in connexion with the battle
of Lewes. The love of distant adventure, and the spirit of priestly
ambition, were felt in England, as well as elsewhere, during
the reign of Henry III., while the social condition of the
country not only exhibited a civilization inferior to many
parts of the continent (for an insular pesition, until com
merce becomes general, necessarily retards its progress), but
was still powerfully influenced by the great Norman con
quest. The heaviness of a foreign yoke had not yet ceased
to gall the conquered, whose debasement had been complete.
The Conqueror had seized the estates not only of all who
1 Thomas Aquinas (who died 1274) quoted in Hallam's Hist. Lit.

(> THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
had opposed him at Hastings, but even of those who had
intended to be there; and, indeed, many of the Normans
had done homage to him before the expedition, for lands
about to be conquered1. To his fellow-soldiers, accordingly,
many of them poor and lowly at home, were vast tracts of
English land granted.
It is due to King William's discretion, to observe that
in Domesday there occurs only once, perhaps by an over
sight, a phrase indicating conquest2, the more usual term
referring to so great a change being the courteous one
"after the King came to England8;" and it is also remark
able, that there was no grant of a single acre to any of
his own sons.
When Domesday reports but two or three ploughs in a
large parish, it is obvious that land of so little value was
indeed the cheapest reward in the King's power, and of this
he made an unsparing use, giving, for example, to his son-
in-law, William, Earl de Warenne, 298 manors. The whole
sale nature of the confiscation may be made more palpable,
perhaps, by stating that all the three adjoining counties of
Kent, Surrey, and Sussex4, were thus in the hands of 56 pro
prietors, very few indeed of whom were Saxons.
Kent was the property of 12 owners, all Normans, except the clergy.
Surrey  41 including 6 Saxons, who held only 8 manors.
i of the 3489 5 hides, 2649 belonged to the King
Sussex  15 1 and Normans, 833 to the Church, and 10 only
( to Saxons.
68
The King, however, being reckoned in each county, and
10 of the 15 Sussex proprietors holding lands also in Surrey,
1 Chr. de Norm. Thierry, Conq. prising many estates that belonged
d'Angl. to Harold, his family and his ad-
2 " Postquam Wilhelmus Rex con- herents, suffered in proportion more
quisivit Angliam." than the rest of England. P.
3 "Postquam Rex venit in An- 5 The numbers given amount to
gliam." 3492. My own calculation of the
4 Kent, Sussex, and Surrey being hidage of Sussex makes it under
the first counties occupied, and com- 3200. P.

*•] THE BARONS' WAR. 7
a deduction of 12 would reduce the number to 56, In all
Domesday, which does not include four Northern counties,
there are only 600 named proprietors1.
The few Normans thus enriched, and scattered over the
face of the country, became by the very condition of their
scanty numbers, and their masses of property, too proud and
powerful for easy control, and gradually imbibed from the
soil of their new country the inherent maxims of Saxon free
dom. They who had conquered the land with the Conqueror,
were little ready to give up the privileges which they had so
earned, and as, fortunately, no difference of religious creed
separated them from the humbled Saxons, though of another
race and language,, common interests and intercourse gradu
ally led to mutual, respect, The Norman landholders were,
indeed, but little of patriots, and set slight value on the good
of the people, but being jealous of the royal authority, they
readily combined with them in the coercion of their -King.
They had grievances too of their own, heavy burthens repug
nant to their feelings, arising from their feudal tenures,
which, on every fresh occasion, revived heart-burnings and
rebellions among them. Some of these hardships — the unfixed
alienation fines, the inability to devise fiefs by will, and the
control of the crown over the marriage of wards — had been
unknown to them in Normandy3.
The more refined arts and manners of their foreign
dominions naturally attracted the early Norman kings to
frequent residence in the country of their birth. During
the 36 years of his reign, Henry I. passed but 5 summers in
England. Henry II. visited Normandy annually for 26
years, and died there. Richard I. was»abroad for 9 years,
1 Mr Blaauw here refers to a pas- ham, however, only enumerates 435,
sage in Brady's Introduction (pp. 170, besides Bishops and Churches. Sir
171), "there were not in William the H. Ellis, reckoning in Ecclesiastical
Conqueror's reign (as appears by Corporations and King's Thanes, says
an alphabetical catalogue made out " The Tenants in capite amounted
of Domesday Book) 700 tenants in scarcely to 1400." Introduction to
capite besides Bishops, Abbots, Priors, Domesday, Vol. n. p. 511. P.
and great Churchmen," &c. Kel- * Hallam, Middle Ages.

8 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH. I.
except a few months in England. The long absences of their
kings afforded greater opportunity to the barons to establish
themselves on an independent footing. After the lapse of
four or five generations, they began to consider themselves
as Englishmen, and resented as such the tyrannous caprice
and corruption of the court. It must be remembered that at
this period there was no permanent tax, and no standing
army ; the physical strength of the crown was but occasional,
and the revenue casual. When the Sovereign, therefore, in
his need grasped at forbidden profits, his rapacity was resisted
at once by the feudal Barons as an unlawful interference, not
so much with their rights as subjects, as with their individual
privileges and property. These were much more intelligible
to them and more dearly cherished, for "what we now call
public rights were then private ones," as has been remarked
by a sagacious historian1;" and it was under these impulses
that their combined efforts of resistance won the Great
Charter. 1 Guizot, Civilisation en Europe.

CHAPTER II.

HENRY III. AND HIS COURTIERS.

"Our coffers with too great a court

And liberal largess are. grown somewhat light."
Rich. II.
Magna Charta, to which it is remarkable that Shakspeare
makes no allusion whatever in his King John, required
about thirty confirmations, from subsequent kings to enforce
its provisions, although its renewal in the ninth year of
Henry III. is now referred to as an existing statute, and
was of so little avail to check discord, that it was while a
foreign Prince was occupying the country and claiming the
Crown (in behalf of his wife, John's niece), that Henry III.,
a boy of nine years old, first inherited the throne.
Nothing but the wisdom and courage of the Regent
William, Earl of Pembroke, which won over the chiefs of
the opposite party, preserved England from then becoming
a tributary province to France, and until his death (in March,
1219) the councils of the young Prince were swayed by his
prudence"; nor did the defects of the King's character become
apparent, until deprived of this statesman.
This Earl, by his marriage with the heiress of Strongbow,
the conqueror of Ireland, had acquired immense estates in
that country, which extended over 124 miles in length and
74 in breadth. Leaving ten children, his earldom was suc
cessively held by each of his five sons, after whom his five

10

the barons' war.

[ch.

daughters became, in 1245, the co-heirs of the property1.
This failure of male heirs was looked upon as fulfilling the
curse of a priest, from whom he had seized some lands.
The zealous churchman, when urged by the King to remove
the excommunication after his death, stuck steadily to his
text, while professing compliance ; and though he ceremoni
ously absolved the soul of the Earl, it was on the express
condition of previous restitution by his heirs of the lands
in question2. An ambitious native of Poictou, Peter de Roches, Bishop
of Winchester, succeeded as Regent. Having been an active
knight in earlier life, he was employed, in 1234, by the Pope,
long after his episcopacy, to command his troops3; and this
soldier-prelate made the weak King for many years the
passive instrument of his own power, inspiring him with
those arbitrary principles of government, which so often en-

1 William, the Marshal, Earl of
Pembroke, married Isabella, only
child of Richard de Clare, Earl of
Pembroke, surnamed Strongbow. He
died March, 1219, and lies buried in
the Temple Church. His arms were
" Party per pale, or and vert, a Hon
rampant, gules."
1. William, 2nd Earl, his eldest
son, a gallant soldier, one of the 25
guardians of Magna Charta, died
April, 1231, and is buried in the
Temple. He married Princess Elea
nor, daughter of King John, in 1224,
but they had no children, and she
remarried, January, 1238, Simon de
Montfort, Earl of Leicester.
2. Richard, 3rd Earl, rebelled, and
¦was killed in Ireland, 1234.
3. John, defeated Prince Louis at
sea, 1217, and died unmarried.
4. Gilbert, 4th Ear}, implicated
in the rebellion of Earl Richard
(Archasol. Journal, 1863, p. 165), a
Crusader, in 1236, suddenly dismissed
by Henry III., 1239, died at a tour
nament, May, 1241, and is buried
jn the Temple ; he married Margaret,
a princess of Scotland.
5. Walter, 5th Earl, died Decem

ber 4, 1245.
6. Anselm, 6th Earl, Dean of Salis
bury, died December 22, 1245.
7. Matilda, the eldest daughter,
carried the hereditary title of Earl
Marshal into her husband's family,
with whose descendants it still re
mains. She died 1248, having mar
ried, first, Hugh le Bigod, Earl of
Norfolk, and, secondly, John de
Warenne, Earl of Surrey.
8. Joan, married Warin de Mon-
chensi. Their daughter carried the
earldom of Pembroke to her husband,
William de Valence, half brother of
Henry HI.
9. Isabella married, first, Gilbert
de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, who
died October, 1230 ; and, secondly,
Prince Richard, Earl of Cornwall,
April, 1231. Her incised memorial
was lately found at Beaulieu Abbey,
Archseol. Journal, 1863, p. 107.
10. Sybilla, married William de
Ferrers/Earl of Derby.
11. HVe, married William de Bra-
ose (see Calend. Geneal. i. p. 227. P.),
who died 1254,
2 M. Par.
3 Ibid.

II.] KING HENRY III. AND HIS COURTIERS. 11
dangered his throne, and even monarchy itself. He is thus
described in a contemporary satire1 :
Wintoniensis armiger The Winchester Bishop— Knight
Prffi'sidet ad Scaccarium, At th' Exchequer sits paramount,
Ad computandum impiger Slow to read Gospel aright
Plger ad Evangelium, Tho' nimble the money to count :
Regis revolvens rotulum ; The King's Rolls handling all day,
Sic Lucam lucrum superat, He looks more to lucre than Luke,
Marco marcam prarponderat Marcs their namesake Saint outweigh,
Et librae librum subjicit. He ponders on pounds, not his book.
The inherent caprice of the King's "waxen heart"2 in
favour or hatred, evinced a natural incapacity for governing.
The only fixed point in his character seems to have been his
devotion, if it can be so called ; in his movements, either in
England or on the continent, he never failed to visit all the
churches and shrines of mouldering relics within reach, and
not content with three public masses a day, he attended
others in private, practising religious ceremonies as diligently
and with as little self-discipline of conduct as any man of his
times3. The anomaly of a governor without either the talent of
governing or of selecting others fit to do so, is a heavy afflic
tion upon a nation ; the obedience of a willing people re
quires to be met by the affectionate care and wisdom of a
Sovereign, especially when no system of popular control has
been devised. Imbecile virtue upon a throne, as affording
scope to the evil passions of others, often weighs as grievously
upon a people as the daring crimes of ambitious tyranny.
Dante, nearly the contemporary of Henry III., puts him into,
his Purgatory as a man of simple life, singing psalms
1 Polit. Songs, p. 10. 1860, p. 316, the same anecdote
2 " Cor cereum regis." — M. Par. fully reported irom Add. MSS. Br.
3 Louis IX. advised Henry III. Mus. 4573, p. 57; it occurred in
to hear inore Bermons, and fewer. 1259, and in explanation of K. Henry
masses, but he replied, that he pre- having been delayed by his attendance
ferred to hear of his friend more on masses in his way from meeting
seldom, and to see him the oftener. the French king in due time for Par-
Chr. Triveti.— See Archaxil. Journal, iianient.

12 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
among flowers and odours in a narrow valley, typical of his
contracted views. "Vedete il Re della semplice vita
"Seder la solo, Arrigo d'Inghilterra."— Pdkg. vii. 130.
But, perhaps, the judgment of later times would pass a
sterner sentence on the cause of so much misery and con
fusion. Peter de Roches would not allow that there were any
peers in England as in France, and considered all the barons
therefore liable to his jurisdiction. He encouraged the King
in such a distrust of his own nobles, that all the English
were dismissed in 1233, and their offices and the command
of the royal castles committed to foreigners, 200 of whom
came over on his invitation. The King was in vain warned
that, to avoid the shipwreck of his kingdom, he must shun
stones and rocks, in allusion to the names of Pierre de
Roches ; his preference for foreigners unhappily continued to
prevail long after the disgrace and death of the first sug
gested Among the aliens thus promoted was the well-known
legate Pandulf, who, on his return to Rome, after his memor
able scenes with . King John, had taken priest's orders and
was raised to the bishopric of Norwich1. This advancement
of a man, who had for three days ostentatiously withheld the
crown from the King of England, must have been peculiarly
distasteful to loyal feeling. After being employed confiden
tially in the King's service, and procuring from Rome the
unusual grant of the firstfruits of his diocese for himself
and his successors in the see, he died, greatly enriched, in
Dec. 1226.
Among other foreigners who shared the rises and falls of
De Roches, were Peter de Rivaulx, the treasurer, and Robert
de Passilewe, his underling. The latter is, indeed, sometimes
1 He writes as Bishop Elect from to H. de Burgh (Rymer), but was not
Chichester, in May, 1220, reporting consecrated until 1222.
an unsuccessful mission in Wales,

II.] KING HENRY III. AND HIS COURTIERS. 13
designated " as a degenerate Englishman1," and at any rate
was a crafty courtier, who recommended himself by his con
trivances to extort money for his master. As a means of
receiving increased wealth, he became a priest, and though
his election to the see of Chichester (in 1244) was successfully
resisted, large benefices in Durham and Ely, as well as the
archdeaconry of Lewes, were conferred upon him2.
The great rival of de Roches was Hubert de Burgh3, one
of the few nobles of unshaken loyalty to King John, for
whom he firmly defended Dover against all the assaults of
Prince Louis. Shakspeare has made his name familiar and
odious to us, representing him as taunted by the Earl of
Norfolk with " Out, dunghill ! dar'st thou brave a nobleman ? "
(K. John, IV. 2.) His father had, however, been high in office
and favour with Henry II. Hubert was so much esteemed,
that, besides obtaining the earldom of Kent, he was made
Justiciary of England for life in 1228, and though of a violent
disposition and surrounded by many enemies at court, es
pecially de Roches, there seems no reason to doubt his good
faith and loyalty. The King, however, reproached him with
personal insult as a traitor, and he was made to feel all the
bitterness of serving a fickle prince, who alternately caressed
and persecuted him in his old age, until, after surrendering
part of his estates, he died in 1243, in comparative neglect.
It speaks well for him, that in the depth of his adversity,
when the furious King was urging others to take his life, he
met with two pleasing instances of sympathy : when dragged
out of Brentwood Chapel by soldiers, in 1232, a blacksmith
refused to put fetters upon "him who had fought so well
against the French, and who had preserved England from
i " Degener Anglicus." — M. Par. fell with Hubert de Burgh. Passilewe
2 M. Par. In 1233 the King ap- died in 1252. His arms were " Bendy
pointed Ralph de Neville, Bishop of or, and azure, on a quarter argent, a
Chichester, to hold the King's seal leopard passant, guardant, gules." —
for life, and to be Chancellor of Eng- Roll of Arms.
land and Ireland. Rymer, i. 208. 3 "De Burgh" arg. on fess sable
R. de Passilewe' s election was an- 3 bezants.
nulled. Chancellor Neville rose and

14 THE BARONS' WARS. [CH.
aliens ;" and when the King was compelled by the indignant
clergy to replace him in the Sanctuary1, and was there
starving him by a blockade, his former chaplain, Luke, the
Archbishop of Dublin, offered himself as a substitute with
the most earnest entreaties and tears2.
Stephen de Segrave 3, an alien patronised by De Roches,
who had obtained the grant of many castles and lands, while
his knighthood was yet recent, for he had been a priest, suc
ceeded De Burgh as Justiciary. [July, 1232.] "Judgement (says
the indignant chronicler4) was then entrusted to the unjust, the
laws to outlaws, peace to the turbulent, and justice to wrong
doers." He became not only obnoxious to the barons, but
went through the same vicissitudes of royal favour and dis
grace as his predecessor, dying, in 1251, concealed in the
Abbey of Leicester, where he had taken refuge.
It would appear that the King had proposed to himself
perpetual continence5, and was much disturbed by the re
monstrances of his council calling on him to marry for
reasons of state. Five unsuccessful treaties for his marriage
with different princesses had been proposed, and in one
instance so far advanced that the Pope's dispensation was
required to annul his previous betrothal to Joanna, after
wards Queen pf Castile, when he was at length, at the age
of 29, in January, 1236, married to the beautiful Eleanor,
one of the four queenly daughters of Raymond, Count of
Provence. Used to the superior refinement of arts and man
ners of her own country, herself highly accomplished and a
1 Those who took refuge in a readiness. The protection ceased in
sanctuary were obliged by law to forty days, unless they returned to
Bwear before the coroner that they the sanctuary. In later times they
would go out of the kingdom, and were marked by the coroner with A
not return without leave. They were (abjured) on the ball of the right
to go to some port assigned for their thumb.— Grose.
embarkation, carrying a cross to prove 2 M. Par  Luke died 1255, after
-that they were under the protection a blindness of many years.
of the Church, and to embark within 3 " Vir flexibilis, de clerico factus
two tides, unless the winds were miles." — M. Par.
contrary, in which case they were * Wendover, Vol. iv. p. 265.
obliged to walk into the .sea up. to 6 Chr. Lanerc.
their knees daily, as a token of their

II.] KING HENRY III. AND HIS COURTIERS. 15
poet1 ; it was by sending specimens of her talent in this
respect, that she introduced herself to the notice of the
English Court.
The young Princess was brought over by her uncle,
William, Count of Champagne, an artful man, who soon
acquired great influence over the King, and from this time
all patronage was in the hands of the Queen's relations and
adherents. The Pope had given him the bishopric of
Valence, in order to secure his military talents in the war
against the Emperor, and King Henry was so bent on mak
ing him Bishop of Winchester, that he would probably have
succeeded, had not the news of his death, by poison, at
Viterbo, in 1239, prevented the scheme. The King's grief
at his loss was so outrageous, that he tore his clothes, cast
them into the fire, and with loud groans shut himself up in
total seclusion2.
The Queen's influence prevailed in welcoming others of
her own family with grants of wealth and offices of dignity,
to the disgust of the neglected English.
" Thoro the Queue was so muche Frenss folc ibrougt
That of Englisse men, me tolde as right nought ;
And the King horn let hor wille, that each was as King,
And nome povere menne god, and ne paiede nothing3." Robt. Glouo.
Peter of Savoy, another uncle, was raised to the chief
place at the council, and received grants of the vast domain
of Richmond4, in Yorkshire, soon after his arrival in 1241.
1 Arms in S. aisle of Westminster they took poor men's goods, and paid
Abbey, "Or, 4 pallets gules." In nothing.
Sandford's General Hist. p. 57, are 4 Peter deS|,voy received Richmond
two seals of Queen Eleanor of Pro- 1241, allowing John, son of Peter,
vence.' Some MS. poems of hers Earl of Brittany, who had resigned it
are still extant at T urin.— See Strick- 1237, a pension of 2000 marcs. On the
land's Queens. marriage of John, Earl of Brittany,-
2 M. Par. in 1259, with Beatrice, daughter of
3 Through the Queen was so many Henry III., Richmond was claimed
French folk brought, that English- by him, and finally surrendered to
men were reckoned as right nought, him, July 1268, by Peter de Savoy,
and the King let them have their who accepted the Honor of H? stings
will, so that each was as a King, and in its place. By patent 123i, the

16 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
The castles of Pevensey and Hastings were quickly added,
besides the wardship of the young Earl of Warenne and
Surrey1, by which Lewes Castle also came under his extended
influence in Sussex, a circumstance which may have decided
the King, at a later period, in the selection of that county
for his field of battle. The honour of knighthood was con
ferred on him with great pomp in Westminster Abbey. On
one occasion, he returned from the continent (1247) bringing
with him a bevy of fair damsels, as destined mates to the
young nobles held in ward by his courtiers ; an unnecessary
importation, sure to provoke the jealousy of all the affronted
sex. The wealthy earls of Lincoln, of Devon, of Kent, of
Gloucester and of Warenne2 were thus provided with foreign
countesses in their early youth, before they had the power
of exercising any choice. Peter became a Crusader in 1255,
and was employed repeatedly in embassies to France. The
Savoy in London still keeps up the remembrance of another
grant to him, which, with his other property, he bequeathed
at his death, in 1268, to the Queen and his brothers3.
King had granted to his executors half sister, who died 1256, while yet
7 years' revenue after his death, and, young.
1262, allowed Peter de Savoy to Peter de Geneve, a Provencal fa-
dispose of his lands by will. — vourite of the King, of low origin,
Whitaker's Hist. Richm. Rymer. was married to one of the wealthy
Gell's Registrum Honoris de Rich- daughters of Walter de Lasci.  M.
mond, 1722. Par.
1 Sept. 23, 1341. 3 On the seal Petri de Sabaudia
2 Edmund de Lacy, Earl of Lin- appended to the deed confirming the
coin (who died 1258), married, 1247, peace with France in 1259, there is
Alice, daughter of Marchese Saluces. a lion rampant, not included within
His arms in S. aisle Westm. Abb. an escutcheon. Archiv. du Royaume
are, " Quarterly gules and or, a bend- cart. 629. 10. In Roll of Arms, t.
let sable, and a file of 5 lambeaux Henry III., Peter de Savoy's arms
argent." are "gules, a cross argent," being /
Baldwin deRipariis, Earl of Devon, assumed by Amadeus V. at the re-'
married, 1257, a Savoyard, kins- quest of the Knights Hospitallers
woman of the Queen. of St John, patron of Lombardy,
Richard de Burgh, Earl of Kent, after the raising the siege of Rhodes
married another kinswoman in 1247. in 1315. [In his first edition Mr
Gilbert de Clare, son and heir of Blaauw had said : " His marble effigy
the Earl of Gloucester, married, 1253, in complete ring-armour, covering
Alice, daughter of Guy Count of An- even his hands is still extant on
goulgme. an altar-tomb at Aquabella in Sa-
John de Warenne, Earl of Warenne voy." He afterwards added in a (cor-
and Surrey, married Alicia, the King's rected) note., from information sup-

II.] KING HENRY III. AND HIS COURTIERS. 17
His brother, Boniface, exercised a similar influence over
the King, and, in 1241, tp the great scandal of the Church,
this stranger was, by dint of royal compulsion, -chosen Arch
bishop of Canterbury, although so reluctant was the chapter
to elect him, that many of its members abandoned their stalls
in disgust, and became Carthusian monks. His person was
tall and elegant, but. his youth, ignorance, and overbearing
manners' made him incompetent for such a dignity, and the
offence was the more striking from his contrast with the
sainted Edmund2, whom he succeeded, and who had retired
to a foreign monastery, where he died hopeless of reforming
the Church.
Boniface was enthroned, with great pomp, in 1249, in
presence of the Royal family, and afterwards freely mingled
in the intrigues and wars of the Continent, together with
his brother Philip, Archbishop of Lyons, neglecting his
see, and draining off its revenues for 13 years3. The well-
known anecdote of his visitation at the convent of St
Bartholomew may illustrate his views of episcopal duty,
though somewhat startling to modern clergy, accustomed to
the serene tranquillity of such an occasion. Though he was
met with every mark of respect, and led in procession, with
ringing of bells, to the choir, yet his authority being there
questioned, the archbishop so far forgot himself as to assault
the aged sub-prior with his fist, beating his breast and grey
head, and crying out with horrid oaths, " This, this is the way
to attack English traitors," while the example was naturally
followed by the attendants, who attacked the canons in the
plied by Mr Waif ord: "The eagle of scientist coruscij. " " Morum et sci-
the empire is on his shield. The arms entiaa mendicum." Add. MSS. 5444,
of Savoy as a fief of the empire were, "inutilis minister," Chr. Lanerc.
or, an eagle displayed, sable." But he "homo honestus, curialis et com-
finally wrote, " The effigy at Aqua- positus sed admodum Uteris indoc- -
bella is more probably that of Peter tus."
de Maurienne, his brother, or that of 2 He was canonized 1246, and Nov.
his nephew Thomas, Count of Mauri- 16 appointed as his Feast.
enne, who founded the Church at 3 When he died in 1270, "tota
Aquabella." P.] lastatur Anglia specialiusque Cantu-
1 M. Par. — " Plus genere quam arium." — Add. MSS. 5444.

18

THE BARONS WAR.

[CH.

same manner.

It is even said that in this disgraceful affair,
the prelate's robes becoming discomposed betrayed armour
beneath. The beaten party presented themselves in their
bruised and bleeding state to the Bishop of London, who at
once forwarded them to the King, but at the palace-door
they waited in vain for an audience, and were obliged with
out any redress to betake themselves, with prayers for ven
geance, to their patron saint, who having, according to the
legend, been flayed alive, must be considered a good judge in
matters of torture. The good citizens of London losing all
patience at such a scene, rang the tocsin, and fairly hunted
the archbishop back to Lambeth1. Such conduct justifies our
applying to this prelate the bold address of a satirical song,
composed about this time :

". Tu qui teneB nunc tenorem
Frustra dicis te pastorem,
Nee te regis ut rectorem
Rerum mersus in adorem !
Haec est alia
Sanguisuga? filia
Quam venalis curia
Duxit in uxorom." 2

Thou, with that greedy haughty face,
No shepherd' thou, but hireling base !
In all the world's intrigueB plunged deep,
In vain your forfeit rank you keep.
Spawn of the horseleach, whom weU fed
The grasping Court may fitly wed.

It was for bishops of this character, that the King's
brother, Richard, candidly expressed his wish at a later

1 M. Par. That the violence and
doubtful principles of a monk did not
disqualify him for the mitre, may be
seen by the early life of Robert de
Stichill, who was elected Bishop of
Durham, 1260. When yet a monk^
at first "nimis levis fuit, et qufidam
die Dominica cum propter levitatem
suam et rebellionem esset injunctum
sibi, ut super sellam in medio chori
solus sederet, ut sic rubore confusus
maturesceret, sellam per pedem ar-
ripuit, et extra chorum inter populum
projecit. Dicitur etiam quod, ipso
apostare cogitante, cum per crucem
ex aquilonari parte chori noctanter
transire conaretur, monitus est, per

vocem emissam coelitus, ut rediret,
et si stare vellet de episcopatu pro-
missum accepit— sic igitur dimissis
levitatibus et puerilibus ca-pit ma-
turescere." Ariglia Sacra, R. de
Graystones, p. 739.
2 Polit. Songs, from MS. Cotton,
Jul. D. vii. Boniface died abroad—
on his tomb was the following in
scription, "Hie jacet Bonifacius de
Sabaudia Cantuarensis episcopus,
operibus et virtutibus plenus; obiit
autem apud S. Helenam, a.d. 1270,
18 die Julia. Magister Henricus
Calonensis fecit hanc tumbam. " Hist.
Chron. Piedm. p. 353 in Godwyn de
Presulibus.

II.] KING HENRY III. AND HIS COURTIERS. 19
period. His letter to Prince Edward from Aix la Chapelle,
1257, after boasting of his friend, the Archbishop of Mainz,
having in person defeated and nearly captured the Arch
bishop of Treves, remarks, " See what spirited and warlike
prelates we have in Germany! I think it would not be
wholly without its use to you, if similar ones were created in
England, whose services you might then safely employ against
the troublesome attacks of your rebels1." For such hints to
be current even in a confidential letter, sufficiently stamps
the character of the court.
In 1243, the Queen's mother, Beatrice, Countess of Pro
vence, visited England, a lady of remarkable beauty, manners,
and prudence. Already mother of two queens, she lived to
see her two other daughters bear the same title, an un
common fortune, recorded by Dante,
"Quattro figlie ebbe e ciaseuna reina*
Ramondo Berlinghieri." — Pab. vi.
Before her death, indeed, in 1268, by the marriages of
grand-daughters, Beatrice saw six2 queens descended from
her. Well might she be proud of her progeny, like a second
Niobe, to whom a chronicler3 compares her.
She was received by the King with all the honour due to
accomplishments and rank. Nobles met her at Dover, and
conducted her in procession through London, where the
streets were adorned with gay trappings, and, by a very
necessary compliment, rendered passable for the occasion by
clearing away the mud and other impediments 6f the high
way4. The festivities at the marriage of her daughter,
1 Latin letter in Ann. Burton, dated poem of the 13*h cent, describes a
May 18, 1*257. similar preparation of the town of
2 Her daughters were Margaret, Dammartin to receive the Earl of
Queen of France, whose daughter Oxford :
became Queen of Navarre ; Beatrice, " La novele tost s'estendi
Queen of Sicily ; Senchia, Queen of Parmi la vile, et espandi
the Romans ; and Eleanor, Queen of Que li peres leur dame vient,
England, mother of the Queen of Dist luns a l'autre, ' Or nous con
Scotland. vient
3 M. Par. Faire la vile netoiier.'
• Blonde of Oxford, 1. 5622. — This Qui donque veist desploiier
C?

-3* &

20 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
Senchia1, with Prince Richard were of unparalleled prodiga
lity, and when she left England, she was attended by the
King and court on foot to the sea-side.
Her distinguished reception, blamable only on the score
of extravagance, naturally induced her to repeat the visit
five years afterwards, as . a widow, and she was then accom
panied by her brother, Thomas, Count of Maurienne, " both
thirsting for fresh draughts from the well-known fountain of
royal bounty2." Thomas had been previously welcomed with
such unsuitable pomp, as to excite the ridicule of the English,
but he, too, must have been merry, when he went back after
only a few days' visit with the King's gift of 500 marcs (£333.
6s. 8ii.), and a grant of the same sum as an annual charge for
twenty years upon the Exchequer. Another deed was pre
pared which would have given him a groat on every sack of
wool exported, but to this the keeper of the King's seal,
Simon Norman, positively refused to affix its authority, and
for this act of sturdy patriotism was disgraced (1239) and
turned out of office3.
Count Thomas, who had married the Pope's niece, was
besieged in 1255, in Turin, until his brothers, the two valiant
archbishops of Lyons and Canterbury, went to his rescue,
and the English court again contributed money. Although
so weak as to be carried in a litter, it was to King Henry he
once more repaired, in 1258, when in need of fresh supplies
for his ransom, and readily procured from him a thousand
marcs (£666. 13s. 4ei). He died abroad, in 1259, by poison.
Another turbulent and ambitious Savoyard was raised
by court favour, in 1240, to be Bishop of Hereford. This was
Peter de Aigue Blanche (Aquablanca), who had been chap-
Toilles de lih et couvrir rues Pat. 28° H. III., Shencia. By dif-
Si done que mis ni voit les nues ; ferent authors she is variously named
Et es costes par les fenestres, as Sanctia, Scientia, Cynthia, and
Perdre tant couvertoirs aestres, Cincia.
Tant drap d'or et tant d'escarlate, 2 M. Par. "Ad notum fontem siti-
Qui ne sont pas fourrd de nate, entes."
Mais de vair, de gris et d'ermine." s M. Par. The seal was delivered
1 Her name in the Latin treaty of to Richard, Abbot of Evesham.
marriage (Rymer) is Senchia ; in Cal.

II.] KING HENRY III. AND HIS COURTIERS. 21
lain and steward to William, the Queen's uncle, and it was
by his advice that all the preferments in the Church were
given to foreigners. He accompanied the Crusade of 1250,
and was the principal agent in Italy when the Sicilian crown
was given to the English King's son. Being at Rome in
1256, with Robert Waleran1, a knight, engaged in raising
money for the payment of the King's debt to the Pope, he
there devised the remarkable expedient of sending over bills
of exchange, drawn upon the English clergy, to which the
legate was instructed to require their signatures, each ac
knowledging the debt inscribed. This method of transacting
business had arisen but shortly before this period in Italy,
then the great mart of commerce, and Aigue-blanche derived
much credit for his ingenuity in thus perverting it to the
purposes of extortion. Fulk de Basset, the Bishop of Lon
don (who is boldly praised by a contemporary2, as "the
anchor of the whole kingdom and the shield of its safety"),
strenuously resisted this base expedient, and on being threat
ened with the loss of his mitre, made his memorable reply
that "he would then put on his helmet." Aigue-blanche
continued under the patronage of the King, notwithstanding
his bad character3, and ignorance of the language and inter
ests of England, although even that patronage failed when
attempting to procure him the sees of Lincoln or Lichfield,
On a subsequent occasion also, we shall find that he was
made to suffer the effects of his personal unpopularity.
Among all the oppressions that vexed the subjects in this
reign, none galled their pride or irritated their feelings more
than this ostentatious preference of foreigners at court. To
enrich them, the choicest gifts of the royal* prerogative were
willingly lavished; the most lucrative wardships of the
young nobles, implying the enjoyment of their estates, the
direction of their education, and the disposal of their mar-
1 Waleran the Hunter— sepulchral s M. Par.
slab at Steeple Langford, Wilts.— 3 M. Par. "infamia."
Arch.. Journal, 1858, p. 75.

22 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
riages, fell into the ready hands of these insolent favourites.
"We have nothing to do with your English laws or cus
toms'1," was their bold reply to all complaints, after acts of
violence or plunder, and their impunity induced even some of
the English to imitate them : " there are so many tyrants
already in England (they argued) that we too may as well
set up for such."
The jealousy of foreigners thus became, by force of circum
stances, the bond of union between the Normans and Saxons,
once so hostile to each other; but the one party was now
anxious to retain what they had, and the other dreaded the
fresh swarms of oppressors. High and low were therefore
eager to exclude these aliens, and it is not surprising that
Queen Eleanor herself, by whom they had been introduced,
should partake largely of their unpopularity. It was, indeed,
to her own foreign steward, William de Tarento, "who
fastened on plunder as a leech does on blood2," that she
transferred the important wardship of William de Cantilupe
and the Earl of Salisbury1, which had been granted to her.
This man, a Cistercian monk, had earned her gratitude by
raising money for her on the pledge of monastic lands.
For many years her friends had enjoyed a monopoly of
court bounties, and it was resented by them as an inter
ference, when another flight of needy foreigners, from a
different quarter, arrived in 1247, to bask in the same
sunshine. Isabella, the King's mother, had, four years after King
John's death, married4 her first affianced husband, Hugh le
1 M. Par. liam. P.
2 M. Par. — " Qui quasi sanguini 4 Queen Isabella's letter to her
sanguisnga emolumentis inhiabat." son Henry Ills announcing her mar-
He died in 1258. riage with the Lord Hugh de Lusig-
3 The wardship of the lands and nan, who had " remained alone and
heirs of William, grandson of William without heirs in Poictou," explains
Longespie, Earl of Salisbury, was that his friends would not allow of
granted 'in 1257 to Queen Eleanor. his marriage with her daughter
But according to Dugdale, whom Sir Joanna (born 1203), affianced to him,
Harris Nicola's follows, the earldom on account of her tender age, and
did not pass beyond the first Wil- therefore, lest he should take a wife

II-] KING HENRY III. AND HIS COURTIERS. 23
Brun, Count de la Marche. This gallant troubadour, whose
songs are still extant, not only avenged himself for the loss of
her broken alliance by a rebellion in Poictou, but with a
poetic chivalry remained unmarried until accepted by the
lady in her 34th year. She retained, indeed, the undi
minished charms of her English dower, and the title of
Queen, which she never relinquished. By this connexion,
King Henry was subsequently entangled in an inglorious
war with France, which rendered the Count unpopular with
the English, and on the Queen Dowager's death, in 1246, all
their children1 were sent to thrive under the protection of
their royal half-brother. Although they arrived poor, their
condition was soon altered ; the most confidential offices, and
the highest stations in the Church were considered due to
them, and, in 1256, the King even commanded that his
chancery seal should never be affixed to any deed to their
detriment. William de Valence2, the third, was, in 1247, made go-
in France, " which if he had done, Clare, Earl of Gloucester.
all your land in Poictou and Gascony 3. William de Valence, Earl of
would be lost. We seeing the great Pembroke, died 1296, buried in
peril that might accrue if that mar- Westminster Abbey, married Joan de
riage should take place, when our Monchensi.
counsellors could give us no advice, 4. Geoffry de Lusignan.
ourselves married the said Hugh, 5. Aymer, Bishop elect of Win-
Earl of March, and God knows that oheBter.
we did this rather for your benefit Margaret,marriedRaymond,Oount
than our own." M. A. E. Wood's of Thoulouse. -
Letters of Royal and Illustrious Alicia, married, 1247, John, Earl
Ladies, Vol. l. p. 38, from the Latin, of Warren.
Royal Letter, No. 392 in Tower. Isabella, wife of Maurice de Cro-
King Henry does not seem to have ham.
had previous notice of his mother's 2 Arms, burelle d' argent et d'azure
marriage, yet he wrote to congratulate de 10 pieces, orle de martlets gules —
the court on hearing of it, May 20, his tomb in Westminster Abbey,
1220, "gavisi sumus et plurimum engraved in Stothard's Monumental
lffitati."— Rymer. Particulars relat- Effigies. An enamelled casket (see
ing to the family of Le Brun are Shaw's Ancient Furniture) bearing
given in Archaeol. Journal, 1853, pp. the arms of England, Angouleme,
359, 360. Valence, Dreux, Duke of Brittany,
1 1. Hugh, married Joland, daugh- Brabant Lacy, and " azure, a lion
ter of Peter de Dreux, Duke of rampant purpure, " is extant, was ex-
Brittany, hibited in 1862 at Archasol. Institute's
2. Guy, Count of Angouleme, whose Enamel Exhibition, by G. Chapman,
daughter, Alice, married Gilbert de Esq* (Arch Journ, p. 285), and may.

24 THE barons' war, [ch.
verhor of Goodrich Castle, and married to Joan, a great
heiress of the Monchensi family, grand-daughter to the great
Earl of Pembroke, a title afterwards borne by himself, in
virtue of the estates at Pembroke, which he held (by grant,
1250) on the tenure of doing suit for them to his wife.
On the death of her father, Warin de Monchensi, in 1255,
who is said to have bequeathed more than 200,000 marcs
(£133,333. 6s. 8d.), the wardship of his son, William, was
granted to this foreigner.
It was on a solemn occasion, that the King conferred
knighthood on his half-brother. The pious monarch had
passed on foot through the muddy ard uneven streets to
Westminster Abbey, himself clad in the humblest dressj
though following a procession of full-robed clergy. In his
uplifted hands he held a crystal vase, containing what had
been sent from the Holy Land by the Templars, as the blood
of our Saviour1; he had prepared himself by preyious fasts
and watches for this ceremony, the fatigue of which nearly
overpowered him, but which he thought so important at the
time, that he charged his historian, Matthew Paris, whom he
invited to dinner, especially to record all the circumstances of
the day. The pride of his knightly belt, thus publicly in
vested, led. William de Valence to try his prowess too soon
afterwards against some English nobles at a tournament, at
Newbury, where, being yet young and not grown to his full
strength, he got "egregiously cudgelled2" by the tough
veterans. His command of Hertford Castle gave him the opportu
nity, in a hunting-party, of first poaching in the Bishop of
have been his or his son Aymer's — , On another occasion, when King
the work perhaps of the artist who Henry obtained a Papal Bull, per-
has left his enamelled coats of arms mitting him to eat meat on a Satur-
on W. de V.'s tomb : the casket is day, a very sensible condition was
7 in. long, 3| high, 5\ broad. annexed to the frivolous privilege,
' By the Pope's Bull, a promise of that he should also feed 1000 poor
six years and 116 days of pardon from persons on that day.
the pains of purgatory was made to 2 " Egregie baoulatus. " — M. Par,
all who came to reverence this relic.

II- J KING HENRY III. AND HIS COURTIERS. 25-
Ely's park at Hatfield, and then unceremoniously making
free with his cellar. The bishop being absent, he broke down
the doors, cursed the beer as sour, and pulled the spigots out
of all the casks, leaving the choicest wines to run waste, after
serving it out to all the grooms and huntsmen, until the
whole party were drunk1. The good bishop, when told of
this outrage, remarked, with a most courteous reproof, " Why
plunder and spoil what I would readily have given away on
a civil request2?"
His qualities as a soldier made him of importance, how
ever unpopular ; and he steadily adhered to, and fought for,
the King, — surviving, indeed, to share in the Welch wars of
Edward I., and though killed at Bayonne in 1296, in battle,
his body was brought over for burial in Westminster Abbey,
where his conspicuous tomb still remains, and where his
epitaph' (now destroyed) praised him with the accustomed
truth of such memorials, as placid, courteous and humble.
The next brother, Guy, though the object of profuse gifts
in 1251 and 1253, was not personally obnoxious to the
English, who remembered in his favour that he had, during
the war in Poictou, given the King timely warning of some
intended treachery on the part of his own father. He be
came a Crusader, and returned so poverty-stricken that he
could not make his way up to London without borrowing
some horses on his road from the Abbot of Feyersham, a loan,
indeed, which he forgot to restore4.
Aymer, the youngest brother, was a priest, and, in spite
1 " Usque ad nauseam."— M. Par. tute valorem,
3 A similar specimen of the abrupt Et placuit placidus sensus morum-
manner in which the clergy were que vigore,
liable to be plundered, is given in the Dapsilis et habilis immotus prselia
Chronicles of Barnewell Monastery, sectans,
in 1266. "A tall knight, Philip Utilis ac humilis devotus prsemia
Champion',, roused the Prior out of spectans."
his bed at dawn, saying, 'I want all Stoth. Mon. Eff.
your wheat, all your beer, and all Not far from his own tomb is that
your larder. Give me the keys.' " — of his son and successor, Aymer,
Cart. Barn. MSS. Harl., 3601, in whose widow founded Pembroke CoU
notes to Rish. Chr. lege, in Cambridge.
3 " Qui valuit validus, vincens vir- 4 M. Par.

26

THE BARONS WAR.

[CH.

of the King's recommendation, was rejected by the chapter
of Durham, in 1249, as insufficient in age and learning for
the bishopric. In the following year, however, the King
repaired in person to the chapter-house at Winchester, the
more effectually to influence the election there, and by
dint of his persuasion, Aymer became bishop elect of that
see, and long enjoyed its emoluments, though he was never
consecrated. When, subsequently, on a dispute with his
clergy, he shut them up in the church for more than three
days without food, they looked upon it as a just retribution
for their guilt in having elected, under constraint, "such a
youth, ignorant even of grammar, unable to speak English,
and incompetent to perform any clerical offices1.''
The subordinate offices about court, as well as the higher
dignities, swarmed likewise with aliens. The Queen's trea-

1 M. Par. Many years afterwards,
the interest of a foreign queen was
sufficient ' to bring an incompetent
bishop into the church. In 1318,
Louis de Beaumont was recommended
to the clergy of Durham for election
to that see by Queen Isabella (of
French blood), to whom he was related
by the marriage of her first cousin
Princess Catherine, sister of Philip
VI. to Robert de Beaumont. The
Earls of Lancaster, Hereford and
Pembroke with Henry de Beaumont,
his brother, a successful soldier, wait
ed during the election in the church,
threatening if a monk should be
chosen in preference, to split his
shaven crown. Henry de Stamford
was nevertheless chosen, but the
Queen made Edward II. reject him
(" ipsa nudatis genibus corruit coram
eo"), and the Pope, in consideration
of a large bribe (which was paid with
difficulty in 14 years), appointed Louis
de Beaumont. On his road to con
secration, he was plundered and
seized by Gilbert Middleton, who
carried him off 60 miles to Mitford
Castle (of which he was the governor,
not the proprietor), and who exacted
a heavy ransom. Middleton was
afterwards surprised at Mitford by
treachery and executed at London.

The bishop's consecration at West
minster, March 26, 1318, was a diffi
cult task to a man ignorant of Latin,
and is graphically described by a
contemporary chronicler (Robert de
Graystanes) : " Castus erat sed laicus
- — Latinum non intelligens, sed cum
difficultate pronuncians ; unde cum
in consecratione su£ profiteri debuit,
quamvis per multos dies ante in-
structorem habuisset, legere nesci-
vit, et cum auriculantibus aliis cum
difficultate ad ilium verbum, ' Metro-
politicse,' pervenisset et diu anhe-
lans pronunciare non posset," he
broke out into his native French,
" Seitpur dite," let it pass as if said.
Coming next to the phrase, "in amig-
mate," he again confessed his dis
tress with ' ' Par Seynt Lowys il ne
fu pas curteis qui ceste parole ici
escrite." Beaumont afterwards ob
tained of the Pope Bulls to vest the
appointment of Prior in himself, and
also to devote one-fourth of the re
venues of the Church to the Scotch
wars, but the chapter would not act
upon them: "sed quod istse Bulla?
impetratse erant tacita veritate et
suggesta falsitate, noluit ejus con
cilium eis uti." See Chr. Graystanes,
c. 33, in Anglia Sacra. Surtees'
Durham, xxxvm. folio 1816.

II.] KING HENRY III. AND HIS COURTIERS. 27
surer, Peter Chaceporc, became a privy councillor, and was
so high in favour, that, after his death, in 1254, the King
went expressly to visit his tomb at Boulogne. As he is
extolled for bequeathing money to a monastery, he probably
died enriched1. When one Poictevin Hurtald, who was the
King's councillor, died, another succeeded him, Peter de
Rivallis ; to Elias de Raban, an estate of 500 marcs (£333.
6s. &d.) was readily granted, in 1252, even when the King
was himself extremely pressed for money. The Queen's
physicians were Henry of Montpelier and the Italian Leo-
pardi; another, who is highly praised in his friend De
Marisco's letters, Peter, rector of Wimbledon, may indeed
have been an Englishman2.
Even in those remote times, a royal kitchen was naturally
attractive of foreign artists ; accordingly, we find the King
appointing Robert de Monte Pessulano, to mix choice, deli
cate beverages for him at his feast, in 1250; bestowing 2001.,
in 1258, on William de S. Hermite, a Poictevin, for holding
his napkin and carving his meat ; and following the example
of the Conqueror, who rewarded a successful dainty of his
cook, Tezelin, with a manor3. In such days of gross feeding,
1 M. Par, the kitchen. In 1233, W. Aguilon and
2 Ep. Ad. Maris. MS. Cotton, on the Excheq. Roll is allowed " non
Vitell, c. viii. John de Kaleto or debet servicium militare de terris —
Cauz, a native of Normandy, is said sed serjanteriam, scilicet, inveniendi
by Gunton (Hist. Peterb.) to have unum cocum in coronatione Regis
been allied to Q. Eleanor, and was ad faciendum cibum, qualem Senes-
made abbot of Peterborough, Jan. 15, callus preceperit in coquina Regis."
1250. Pope Innocent IV. granted In 1294, Margaret, Countess of Devon,
leave in 1250 to the monks, in con- died seized of it, by gift of Robert
sideration of the coldness of climate, Aguilon, and held it, "de Domino
to perform service in the church rege in capite per servicium unius
hooded. He was made a justiciary, ferculi die coronationis Domini Re-
and also the King's treasurer. He gis, et voeatfcr illud ferculum— Mau-
died March, 1262. See Dugd. Mon. pygernon." In 1330, on death of
i. 356. Thomas, Lord Bardolf, he had held
3 Addington in Surrey. " Teze- it by the service of serving up to the
linus coquus tenet de Rege Edintone ; King at his coronation, three dishes
valet et valuit c solidos." — Domes- of a certain mess called Maupyger-
day. It passed, by the marriage of noun, one to be set before the King,
Isabella deCaisneto (Cheney), to her another for the archbishop, a third
husband, Peter, son of Henry Fitz for a nobleman selected by the lord
Aylwin, first Mayor of London; he of the manor in lieu of all service.
held the moiety, 1199, by service of In 1379, William Bardolf held it,

28 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH,
the refined skill of a French cook must have had a double
value ; and trustworthiness, as a protection against poison,
being of the highest importance, the office was often filled
by persons of consideration. When the papal legate was on
a visit at Osney Abbey, in 1238, his own brother was his
cook, and, like other great artists, so jealous of interruption
when exercising his high functions, that he angrily threw
some of the scalding broth he was cooking at a poor Irish
student, who stood at the kitchen door, provoking thereby a
dangerous riot and even his own death1. The Queen's
favourite cook, Richard de Norreys, was rewarded hy the
grant of Ocholt manor, in Berkshire ; he died, in 1255 2,
possessed of more than 5000 marcs (£3,333. 6s. 8d.), and the
mansion, built by his descendants, at Ockwell, in Henry the
Sixth's time, still exists, to testify with its quaint gables and
the founder's wholesome mottoes, (" Jpfentfjfullj) gJtbe,"
"pJunrbU tt lotall,") that the foundations of a family may
be as firmly laid in services of peace as in deeds of war and
violence3. The rivalry between these Poictevins, Provencals and
Savoyards, naturally produced, violent quarrels, and the
court was divided into separate parties, as " King's men and
Queen's men4." Their successive plunder recalled to the
minds of the sufferers the scriptural image: "That which
the palmer-worm hath left, hath the locust eaten ; and that
which the locust hath left, the canker-worm hath eaten ; and
that which the canker-worm hath left; hath the caterpillar
eaten." Besides the grievance of these court favourites, Rome,
"in capite per servitium serjanterie liam Mountfort, of Lapworth, by
coquine, qualiter et quo modo ig- Rose Braundeston. In the painted
norant (juratores)." See Mr Staple- glass of the hall, the arms are, " Ar-
ton's Preface to Liber de Antiquis gent, a chevron between three eagles'
Legibus. heads erased, sable." — Lyson'sBerks.
1 M. Par. 3 ' Le Cordon Bleu ' of Lady Mor-
2 M. Par. — He was the ancestor gan.
of Lord Norris, of Rycote, now re- 4 M. Par.—" Regales contra Re
presented by the Bertie family. John gjnales, Pictavenses contra Provin-
NorreyB, who built Ockwell, and died ciales."
1467, married the coheiress of Wil-

II.] KING HENRY III. AND HIS COURTIERS. 29
during all this reign, turned to profit King John's illegal
homage. He has been often blamed for his baseness in
surrendering the crown to the Pope1, but the illegality of
such a transfer is still more apparent. No sovereign, even
at that time, could acquire a personal right to subject his
own nation to a foreign power, and it is remarkable that the
French nobles, in 1216, as if alarmed at the precedent,
unanimously protested in council against such a doctrine.
John's homage was void from want of consent of the party
interested, although there were, indeed, some bishops and
nobles2 (among whom we regret to find the earls of Pem
broke, Warren and Arundel) who sanctioned this degra
dation with their formal assent. At a later period, in 1301,
the barons of England boldly protested to Pope Boniface
VlIL, that they would not relinquish the independence of
their country, even if the King were willing to do so.
It may be satisfactory to know that the record of national
disgrace, "that detestable charter of England's tribute3," did
not long survive its abject author4, the document having
been destroyed' in an accidental fire in the Pope's palace, at
Lyons, in 1245.
The Pope, however, naturally would not forego the ad
vantages which the acknowledgment of his supremacy seemed
to give him, and long lists of Italian priests were sent with
peremptory claims upon the first vacant benefices in England,
setting aside all previous rights of patronage. A calculation
of the value of the benefices held by aliens, in 1252, which
amounted to more than 70,000 marcs (£46,666. 13s. 4d)5 a
1 The surrender of the crown is 4 When King John's tomb was
said to have taken place at the house examined in 1797, he was found to
of the Knight Templars on the ridge have been buried in the fitting shroud
of- the western heights at Dover. of a monk's cowl, while his hands,
The remains of a tower, called Bre- with a curious inconsistency, were in
denstone, were discovered there in white jewelled gloves.
1806, the ruins being five feet above 5 The collection of Peter's pence
ground., (Romfeoh) was irregular, and the
2 Rymer. proceeds often intercepted by the col-
3 M. Par. — He calls it also " Ilia lectors, so that Rome received little.
non formosa sed famosa subjectio." Originally a royal Anglo-Saxon grant,

30 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
year, was forwarded to Rome by Grethead, the excellent
Bishop of Lincoln. The Pope, who did not relish such arith
metic, asked, "Who is this ridiculous old madman?" and
took no notice of the letter, although informed, by a Spanish
Cardinal near him, of Grethead's superior scholarship and
piety1. The parishes thus in the hands of non-residents,
enjoyed neither the offices nor comforts of religion.
It is curious to observe, that, even in these early times,
there prevailed on the Continent, an idea of the great wealth
of England, the Pope professing to look upon it as "an in
exhaustible well of money2." When the nobles resisted his
demands, he extorted contributions with a greedier hand
from the King and clergy, from whom he often required a
tallage of a twentieth, a tenth, or even more. An unholy
barter of patronage and plunder was thus established : the
King, in awe of the Barons, relied on the protection of the
Pope, and therefore encouraged his exactions;, while the
Pontiff, on the other hand, sold his spiritual thunders to
guard the throne, for the privilege of draining the country of
its riches. No pains were taken to conceal the King's preference for
his alien clergy : how bitterly this degradation was felt, may
be seen in a contemporary poem3, written probably by a
native ecclesiastic.
" Ja fu cleregie Once was the clergy
tranche e a dessus, Looked up to and free,
Airnee e cherie Cherished and loved
nule nen pot plus ; None more could be.
Ore est enservie Now all enslaved,
E trop envilee Trampled, debased,
e abatu jus. They lie full low.
it was regulated by William I., pay- Petri) in addition to 1000 m. a year,
ment by a lord of manor being an to be paid by the King as the Pope's
acquittance for all in his demesne. feudatory. See Archd. Hale's Domes -
The popes frequently complained day of St Paul's, cxvm and cxxvii.
that the money, though collected, did l M. Par.
not reach them, and indeed they did *¦ M. Par. — "Puteus inexhaustua
not expect much, and would have quern nullus poterat exsiccare."
been content with 300 marks — it was 3 Pol. Songs from a MS. Cotton,
reserved in K. John's surrender to written,, probably, in 1256.
the Pope (salvis per omnia denariis

,U.] KING HENRY III. AND HIS COURTIERS. 31
Par iceus est hunie I dare not name
Dunt dut aver aie, Who give them shame
Je n<5s dire plus. Though help they owe ;
Li rois ne lapostoile ne pensent Neither Pontiff or King
altrement, Think of other thing
Mes coment au clers tole-nt lur Than how best to grasp and hold
or e lur argent." The clergy's silver and gold.
The legate was placed in the King's seat at a royal feast,
to the great scandal of the English nobles ; even the legate's
nephew was knighted and pensioned. In the reckless dis
tribution of Church patronage, a valuable benefice was given,
in 1252, to a Poictevin chaplain of Geoffry de Lusignan, a
mere half-witted jester, kept to amuse the court. Matthew
Paris tells us that he saw this man in the orchard of St
Alban's Abbey, pelting the King and his master, Geoffry,
with hard apples, and squeezing sour grapes into their eyes :
" The skipping King, he ambled up and down
With shallow jesters and rash bavin wits,
Soon kindled and soon burn'd : carded his state,
Mingled his royalty with capering fools. "
Heme* IV., p. 1, 3. 3.
The King's chaplain and agent, John Mansel, is another
instance of the prodigality by which a favourite becomes
enriched. The son of a country priest, he had, when young,
exerted himself manfully1 at a siege in Gaseony, and nearly
lost his life by his eager valour, though he escaped with a
broken leg ; he appears to have been a good man of business,,
and was constantly employed afterwards by the court, in
diplomacy or other matters. He had been chancellor to the
Bishop of London, and received the great seal from one king,
1246, till the feast of St Mary, 12492. Although his highest
[ecclesiastical] dignity was that of provost of Beverley, yet
he accumulated wealth to a degree and by means which
astonished his own times, as well as ours, enjoying, it is
said, no less than 700 benefices at once, calculated at 4000 3
1 M. Par. — " Inter strenuos non olause into grants and patents. John
ultimus." de Lesington succeeded him.
2 31 Hen. III., Rot. Pat. m. 2. 3 Chr. Maih*. values them higher,
He introduced the " non obstante " at 18,000 marcs (£12,000). Lord

32 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
marcs a year (£2,666. 13s. 4d). This Wolsey of the thirteenth
century, as he has been termed, gave a sumptuous feast, in
1256, to all the court, on occasion of the King and Queen
of Scotland's visit, the most choice, orderly, and plenteous
ever given by a priest. His house at Tothill being insuffi
cient to contain the numerous guests, the banquet, the first
course of which was supplied by 700 dishes, was served in
several large tents. His sister, Clarice, and her husband,
Geoffry, a soldier of mean birth, partook of his good fortune,
and received from the King grants of lands, the title to
which was disputed by the Abbey of St Albans. Matthew
Paris remonstrated personally on this injustice, but the King
justified it by the similar pretensions of the Pope, adding,
indeed, " Bye-and-bye, however, I will consider this matter:"
the memory of such promises, the chronicler remarks, jpas^ed
away with their utterance. lr~ n, f { ^Lr_
Subject to the ignominious slights of the court, the great
nobles and clergy scarcely needed additional motives for
personal resentment and resistance, but the King's conduct
in matters affecting the very principles of government, and
his avowed contempt for the restraint of law, afforded still
stronger grounds for their distrust.
His fear or his fickleness, indeed, caused him again, and
again to proclaim Magna Charta when in difficulties, but he
played this game so often, that the Barons could not but see,
that his compliance was only intended to disarm their op
position to his demands for money. He had annulled the
charter when he came of age, although he had repeated his
oaths to it on many subsequent occasions, and in like manner
his vow of a crusade was often used as a convenient form
of requiring supplies. So lightly esteemed, indeed, was the
King's faith, that even when he publicly fixed1 the very
Campbell presumes he " presented not account fully for such a number
himself to all that fell vacant and in three years.
were in the gift of the Crown while 1 This was in 1252, when he
he was Chancellor " (Chancellors, i. named the feast of St John the
p. 136). Even this, however, would Baptist, 1256, for his departure on

II.] KING HENRY III. AND HIS COURTIERS. 33
day for commencing his enterprise, " the bystanders were not
the more persuaded of his truth," and, in fact, he never went1.
On every new perjury the solemnity of the royal pledge
seemed to increase : when the oath to the charter was ad
ministered in Westminster Hall (May 3, 1258) before all the
barons and prelates of the realm, every stringent form which
honour or religion could devise to bind the conscience was
employed. The awful 'curse was pronounced aloud, " which
excommunicated, anathematized, and cut off from the thres
hold of holy Church all who should by any art or device, in
any manner, secretly or openly, violate, diminish, or change,
by word or writing, by deed or advice, either the liberties
of the Church, or the liberties and free customs contained
in the Great Charter, or the Charter of Forests." The ori
ginal charter of King John was spread out in sight, and to
this solemn confirmation of it, both the King and prelates
and barons impressed their seals, " in testimony of the truth
to posterity2." While others held a lighted taper during the
ceremony, it was remarked that the King put his out of his
hand, excusing himself as not being a priest, and it is pos
sible that even this frivolous omission may have satisfied his
conscience afterwards as to the invalidity of the oath, but he
held his hand on his heart all the while, when the torches,
amid the ringing of bells, were extinguished ; and when the
universal cry arose, " So may all transgressors be extinguished
and smoke in hell !" he added with a superriuous hypocrisy,
" So may God help me as I keep this oath, as a man, as a
Christian, as a knight, and as an anointed King3 !" So few
laymen could at this period write their names that the
utmost importance was naturally attacbfed to the stamp of
the Crusade. — Cal. Rot. Pat., 37° approaching feast of St. John, with-
H. III. " Nee tamen hoc circum- out further delay (sine ulteriori dila-
stantes reddidit certiores." — M. Par. tione), going beyond seas to the help
1 On the 20th May, 1270, the King of the Holy Land, the Lord so will-
writing from Westminster again al- ing. — Rymer.
ludes to his departure for the Cru- 2 Rymer.
sade with his son Prince Edward as 3 M. Par.
being fixed for the morrow of the

34 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
their seals as the readiest substitute of authentication, and
hence the satirical verses1, written in mixed French and
English, on a similar occasion, in Edward II.'s time,
humorously suggest that the Charter became invalid because
the wax of the seals was held too near the flames and so
melted :
"L'en puet fere et defere, To do and undo he'll dare,
Ceo fait il trop souvent ; On change too oft the King's bent ;
It nis nouther wel ne f aire, It is neither well nor fair
Therefore Engeland is shent. Therefore England is shent.
La Chartre fet de eyre, 'lis stamped on wax : none need
Jeo l'enteink et bien le crey, enquire
It was holde to neih the fire If the Charter's power decay,
And is molten al away." It was held too nigh the fire
And is molten all away.
A modern historian2 has praised Henry as having " re
ceived strong religious impressions/' but certainly he was
not ambitious of the Psalmist's eulogy of " him that swear-
eth to his own hurt and changeth not ;" and it is revolting
to state that immediately after these serious pledges, he
reverted to his old course, capriciously quarrelling with some,
and oppressing others, promoting aliens, and dealing out his
prodigal bounty to his foreign kinsmen as before. A curious
instance of his duplicity occurred in 1253, when he ordered
the public exhibition of some enormous darts, as a palpable
proof of the dangerous weapons he was exposed to in Gascony,
demanding fresh supplies to carry on the war, but concealing
the fact of his having already concluded a treaty of peace3
1 Polit. Songs from Auchinl. MS. attacked in Gascony to come over
* Lingard. with all their power, but offered no
3 Queen Eleanor, as Regent, and money— the clergy too voted no sub-
Richard, Earlof Cornwall, write to sidy, but expected the tenth levied
King Henry III. while absent in for the Crusade which should begin
Gascony at this time (Feb. 14,1254), in that year, to be relaxed; "but
that the Earl Marshal and John de from the other laymen who do not
Balliol after a contrary wind for sail over to you, we do not think we
twelve days, had arrived in England, can obtain any help for your use,
Feb. 4 ; that before and after their unless you write to your lieutenants
arrival the prelates and barons had in England firmly to maintain your
been consulted about a subsidy, and great charters of liberty, since by
had promised if the King should be this means they would be more

II.] KING HENRY III. AND HIS COURTIERS. 35
and alliance with his enemies. Some mistrust naturally
arose among the nobles of the council, when they learnt that
the Queen and her eldest son had been summoned to this
scene o'f supposed danger, and the unexpected arrival of
Simon de Montfort, who knew the truth1, completed the
exposure of this dishonest trick.
The empty title of King of Sicily, being craftily proffered
by the Pope2, was soon afterwards accepted for the King's
second son, Edmund, a mere boy of ten years old. This
" likeness of a kingly crown," so far from conferring any
national advantage, was only the occasion of draining off
more of the wealth of England to Italy. In the words of
Dante, speaking of another titular King of Sicily :
" Quindi non terra, ma peccato e onta
Guadagnera, per se tanto piu grave
Quanto piu lieve simil danno conta."
Purg. xx. 76.
Even when the royal treasury was exhausted, the King was
made a responsible debtor for vast additional sums claimed
by the Pope for the expenses of asserting this title by force
of arms. Edmund, acting of course as the instrument of his father,
lost no time in displaying his unsubstantial power3, and
strongly animated cheerfully to grant crown of Sicily, unless the money
you aid." — Wood's Letters of Royal was paid. By a brief from Viterbo
Ladies, vol. ii. p. 36: Royal and His- iii. Kal. June (May 30), 1258, the
torical Letters, vol. ii. p. 101. Pope pressed urgently for the money
1 M. Par. (rogandum attentius et portandum
2 The crown was accepted March sublato obstaculo, See.).
14, 1254, for the English Prince ; but 3 Pope Innocent IV. having autho-
Conrad, the King de facto, did not rized Prince Edmund (May 25, 1254),
die till May 21, 1254, and was then to make a seal for Sicily ; we find the
young. The Pope's grant required Prince .signiig, accordingly, " aureS
thepaymentof 135,541marcs£90,360. bulla- nostra," at Windsor, March 20,
13s. 4d.) in return. By a brief from 1261 — Rymer. The impression of
Viterbo, xiv. KaL Feb. (Jan. 19),;1258, this seal in the British Museum, re-
Pope Alexander allowed the post- presents him seated on his throne
ponement for three months of the with ball and sceptre, inscribed, "Ed-
payment of money due for the final mundus natus Regis Henrici illus-
settlement of his claims on account tris ; " on the other side are the arms
of Sicily. By a brief from Anagni, xv. of England only, not Sicily, inscribed
Kal. Jan. (Dec. 18), 1259, the Pope "Edmuudus Dei gratia Siciliaa Rex."
threatened to revoke his grant of the
D 2

36 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH
granted (Oct. 3, 1254) the principality of Capua to Thomas,
Count of Maurienne, the Queen's brother. Aigue-blanche
received the investiture of Sicily by a ring, as his proxy,
June 22, 1257, not long before the good sense of the English
barons renounced the title. ^
Twice again (in 1255 and 1256) was the great Charter
publicly confirmed, and afterwards disregarded; when the
barons, whose good faith had been so often abused, at length
resolved to secure themselves and the state from the ruinous
incompetence of their King. This they put into effect at*
the great council, summoned at Oxford, in 1258. Their
Sovereign "Broke oath on oath, committed wrong on wrong,
And in conclusion led them to seek out
This head of safety." Hen. TV. 1
The great civil struggle began in consequence from this
period, and before entering into the different events of the
contest, it will -be well to consider the character of some of
the leading actors not before referred to. Among the King's
friends, those of superior historical importance were his
brother and his son.
The Prince Richard, Earl of Cornwall, prominent by birth,
and immense wealth1, was much superior in capacity to the
King his brother, and had on several occasions expressed.
disgust at his arbitrary conduct. Although, when he con
federated with other barons (in 1227, 1233, 1237) to enforce.
the Charter, he had been as often won back to the court
party by personal or other motives, yet he fully shared in
1 Prince Richard had a grant of sable bezantee. Sandf ord's Gen, Hist.
the Stanneries and mines with Corn- p. 95 — a plate of seals of Prince
wall, to be held by the service of five Richard. One represents him as. a
knights' fees, 1239 ; the castle of knight galloping with his arms (lion
Lidford and the forest of " Dert- and bezants) on his shield. The
more " were granted to him. — Dugd. same arms larger are on the reverse,
He did not bear the arms of King on both sides the words, Sigillum
John, but those of the earldom of Ricardi Comitis Cornubise. Another
Poictou (argent, a lion rampant gules, seal exhibits him as a King seated
crowned or) united with those of on his throne, with ball and sceptre.
Cornwall, bezants used as a bordure

II.] KING HENRY III. AND HIS COURTIERS. 37
the universal jealousy of the thriving foreigners who sur
rounded the King. He often sat in council at the Ex
chequer to advise the King in money-matters1. But he
felt so strongly that his influence was not powerful enough
to sway the King to better counsels, that, on his departure
for the Crusade, in 1240, he confessed his anxiety to be
"absent from the sight of those evils which he foresaw
would, in consequence, gather upon his family and the king
dom2." Some years afterwards his prudence induced him to
repel the offer of the Sicilian throne for himself, but it un
happily yielded to the temptation of another title equally
profitless, and he was crowned King of the Romans at Aix-
la-Chapelle, in May, 1257, by the suffrages of Mainz, Cologne
and Bavaria, though never acknowledged by the greater
part of Germany. His wealth seems to have been the prin
cipal inducement with the electors who raised him to this
rank3. Prince Edward displayed, in early manhood, decided
symptoms of sound principle and energy, in remarkable con
trast to the King his father, of whom he soon became the
ablest defender and friend.
The Horatian4 maxim of sons resembling their fathers
1 He is recorded as present, 1230, Aix-la-Chapelle according to their
with H. de Burgh, the Justiciary, R. archives ; his silver crown of Ger-
Earl of Chester, G. Earl of Glocester, many is still preserved there, but with
W. Earl of Warenne, W. Earl of a modern addition. — See Archieol.
Albemarle, H. Earl of Hertford, J. Journ. 1863, p. 197.
Earl of Huntingdon, and other barons 4 "Fortes creantur fortibus et
determining, " quod tallise facta? ante bonis,
guerram, quse recognita? fuerint de  nee imbellem feroces
Scaccario et non fuerunt hucusque Progenerant aquilise colum-
allocatse.allocentur;" and on Feb. 12, bam." — 4. 4. 29.
1270, making better arrangement for Dante gives a fine religious inter-
the King's debts in Exchequer, with pretation to the degeneracy of off-
Walter, Archbp. of York, Godfrey, spring:
Bp. of Worcester, Prince Edward, " Giacopo e Federigo anno i reami,
W. de Valence, our brother, Roger Del retaggio miglior nessun pos-
de Mortimer, Philip Basset, Henry siede,
de Aleman, Robert Aguillon, Robert * Rade volte risurge per li rami
Waleran and others. — Madox, Hist. L'umana probitate : e questo
Exch. 1711, folio. vuole
a M. Par. Quei che la da, perche da lui
a K. Richard presented his regalia, si chiami."
a crown and robes, to the church at — Purgat. vii. 121.

38 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
is curiously opposed to the history of British sovereigns.
Neither Edward I. nor Edward III. were born of " the great
and good ;" nor were the dove-like Edward II., Richard II.,
or Henry VI. true to the eagle-breed of their fathers.
Prince Edward's birth, June 17, 1239, after three years'
marriage1, had been welcomed with the utmost joy by his
father and the nation. When only 15 he was betrothed2 at
Burgos to the beautiful Eleanor of Castile, receiving knight
hood at the time from his brother-in-law, King Alphonso X.3,
at whose court his gallant demeanor attracted much admi
ration ; his ample dowry consisted of Gascony, Ireland, part
of Wales, Bristol, and other lands, the value of which, if de
ficient, was engaged to be completed to 15,000 marks (£10,000)
a year. Such early marriages, or rather espousals, were then
common ; but a year elapsed before the bride came (about
Michaelmas 1255) to her husband, preceded by her brother
Senchius, Archbishop-elect of Toledo, though only in his
20th year. The surprise of the English was much excited
by so youthful a prelate, and by the unusual luxury of his
domestic habits ; they were disposed to scoff when the youth
raised his hand with the pastoral ring to bless them, and still
more when they observed his lodging at the Temple* with
1 " Natus est regi filius ex inspe- Di quel di Spagna."
rato."— Chr. Lanerc. Par. 19. 124.
2 He recorded his assent to his * " Fecit tapeciis, palliis et cortinis,
own marriage by a deed, dated Mor- etiam pavimentum nimis pompose
row of Saint Mary Magdalen, 1254. — adornare." — M. Par. The King by
Rymer. Lous IX.; when of the age a letter from Nottingham, July 25,
of 19, had married a queen of 13 1255, in expectation of the arrival of
years. Alexander III., of Scotland, the Archbishop of Toledo and Gar-
was only 9 years old when he married syas Martini, as ambassadors from
the daughter of Henry III. The the King of Castille, to whom he was
Bishop of Worcester, Peter de Mont- anxious especially to do honour (quos
fort, and Robert Waleran, were ap- rex quam plurimum optat honorari)
pointed to receive King Alphonso's desires his chamberlain, in London,
.letters of security for Prince Ed- John de Gysore, to send four casks
ward's journey (dated Toledo, Kal. of good wine to be put in the cellars
Apr.), and they were to deposit a copy of the New Temple. By another
of them at Bayonne, before they order of the same date he ordered
went into Spain, for fear of accidents. Richard de Muntfichet, the warden
— Rymer, 1254. of his forest in Essex, to take ten
3 "Vedrassi la lussuria, e'l viver deer (damos) and cause them to be
molle conveyed to the New Temple. By

II.] KING HENRY HI. AND HIS COURTIERS. 39
tapestry and curtains and carpets. At a time when our
kings' palaces were strewn with rushes1, and the windows
had no glass, the introduction of such luxuries by these
children of the South was derided as effeminacy : they had
probably adopted the use of carpets from the Spanish Mo
hammedans, among whom, as among all others of oriental2
origin, the universal habit of sitting on the ground had made
them from the earliest times almost necessaries. King
Henry displayed much gallantry in preparing the rooms
destined for the Princess in a manner similar to those of the
archbishop, and on her arrival she found silken hangings3 on
her walls, and carpets on her floors, much to the wonder and
envy of the English. Two jongleurs who came in the arch
bishop's train, received twenty shillings each from the King
in return for their entertainment ; while another attendant,
Garcias Martinez, had an annuity of 100 marcs (£66. 13s. 4>d.)
granted to him.
Prince Edward was soon forced into conspicuous action
by the circumstances of the court. . Some Gascon merchants,
who considered themselves entitled to his special protection
against some illegal exaction, obtained redress by his bold
reproaches, although this soon rendered him an object of dis
favour at court,. and of this he became so conscious that he
kept a guard of 200 horsemen about his person. These mili
tary comrades unfortunately behaved with so much insolent
licence towards the people, helping themselves to the horses
and vehicles of other persons with violence and cruelty, that

another order, July 26, he desires the the King's houses. —
mayor and sheriffs of London to | Brayley's Westm. 31.
receive the said ambassadors with 2 The Chinese are to this day the
cqurtesy and honour, and to pro- only Asiatics who habitually use
claim that no insult should be offered chairs. Even at Troy, King Priam
to any of their suite. — Rymer. selected a dozen carpets for Achilles,
1 In 1222 there is a .grant to Ri- probably small ones, for sitting. — II,
cher de Fonte of 3s. 8d. for rushes xxiv. 230.
to the King's two chambers, and3s.4<Z. 3 "Holosericis palliis et tapeciis,
for rushes for his great chamber. In ad similitudinem Templi appensis,
1223, 3s. lid. for rushes for two etiam pavimentumaulffiisredimitum,
chambers, and 15s. Qd. for rushes for invenit."— M. Par.

40 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH. II.
some disrepute was reflected back upon the Prince. Though
his income was so large, yet his expenses exceeded it, and
he was obliged, in 1258, to pledge some of his estates to
William de Valence, for a supply to his extravagance1.
It is but due, however, to the reputation of a Prince who
became one of the boasts of British history, to remark that
his household as King was both well-regulated and econo
mical; in proof of which may be quoted the account of his
expenses during three successive weeks in Lent, 1290, at
Langley, co. Bucks. In the first week they were £7. 10s. 4$d,
in the second, £5. 19s. \\d., and in the third, £51. 2s. 2£d; or, to
take a period of four months, they were but £81. 5s. \0d., a
rate of domestic expense which, even allowing for the great
difference in the value of money, must appear very small.
From the same account it appears that among the pro
visions for his Lenten fare, were some strange fish for a
King's table; besides the "Aberdeens " (herrings cured there),
salmon pasties, oysters, eels, lampreys, pikerels, gurnards,
"troites" (trout), and "morud" (cod), there are also men
tioned congers, whelks, and a gallon of "menus" (minnows).
To complete the picture of these olden times, may be added
the weekly charges for " litter for the hall and the chamber
twenty pence, and for rushes sixteen pence2." Such was the
luxury of the thirteenth century.
1 The Prince also endeavoured to July 11, 42°, 1258,) and Prince Ed-
raise money by alienating to his ward was obliged in consequence to
uncle Guy de Lusignan the island of acknowledge his forgetfulness of the
Oleron at the mouth of the Charente, clause of non alienation in his own
which had been granted to him as grant, and to revoke the life-grant to
dower on his marriage. The King Guy, from Sutwerk, iv. Nov. 43°,
wrote to the mayor and prudhommes 1258. The King wrote again to as-
of Oleron (Westm. 26 Oct., 42°, 1257) sure the authorities of Oleron that
stating that such grant had been he would never alienate them from
procured wrongfully (alio modo quam the Crown, in consequence of their
bono) without his assent, and desir- fidelity. — Rymer.
ing them not to obey Guy. He again 2 Archsol. 5. 15, from Rotulus
wrote to the same effeot, (Winton, Familise MS. in the Tower.

CHAPTER III.

SIMON DE MONTFORT.
"Always acting as if in the presence of canonized forefathers, the spirit of
freedom carries an imposing and majestic aspect : it has a pedigree and
illustrating ancestors; it has its bearings and its ensigns armorial; it
has its gallery of portraits, its monumental inscriptions, its records,
and titles." Burke.
The ablest and most active chiefs among the barons opposed
to the court at the time of the Oxford Parliament were
Richard de Clare1, the Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, and
Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, each allied by marriage2
to the royal family, but exasperated into opposition by per
gonal affronts, as well as by public motives, and each too-
powerful and ambitious not to be jealous of the other.
De Clare had, as a minor, espoused the daughter of
Hubert de Burgh, whose ward he was, but the King anxious
himself to dispose of so wealthy an heir, had compelled a
divorce, and constrained him to marry another lady. He
had distinguished himself in the Crusade and the Welsh
1 Arms in north aisle Westm. her at Beaulieu, and founded a chap-
Abbey, "Or, 3 chevrons gules." lain to pray for her soul. She had
2 De Clare's widowed mother had done the same for her first husband's
married Earl Richard ; de Mont- soul, when a widow — she bequeathed
fort was the husband of Princess to Tewksbury monastery, besides
Eleanor. Isabella Marshal, the some silver cups, and some church
Countess of Gloucester, died at Berk- vestments, a phial sent her by the
hamstead, 1239; and, though she had Pope with relics of various saints,
wished to be buried at Tewksbury, some hairs of S.Elizabeth the virgin,
near her first husband, Earl Rich- some linen of S. Agnes, de tribus.
ard, her second, who married her pueris, de Sanctis 40 martyribus, &c.
1230, did not permit this, but buried — Dugd. Monast. ii. 65, .

42 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
wars, and was beloved and trusted by all the English nobles
on account of his eloquence, prudence, and acquaintance
with the laws. The persuasions, however, of the King, and
the proffered dower of 5000 inarcs (£3333. 6s. 8d.), induced
him, in 1253, to yield his eldest son, Gilbert, then about 15,
in marriage to Alicia, the daughter of Guy, the King's half-
brother, an alliance very distasteful to his friends. De Clare
had ever been an active party in upholding the liberties of
the subject, and having personally witnessed the King's
solemn oaths to maintain them, he considered himself in
a manner pledged to insist upon their fulfilment.
The most remarkable person, however, of his party, and
the one who has most identified his name with the history of
the times, was his compeer, Simon de Montfort, a man of so
much energy and talent in war and council, that although
allied to the King and born abroad, his acknowledged capa
city and honour overcame these disadvantages ; and at a time
when foreigners were universally odious and the court dis
trusted, the barons and people of England with one accord
ranged themselves under this foreign courtier, as their leader
for the recovery of their national liberties. There must obvi
ously have been no common ascendancy of character to pro
duce such a result.
His grandfather, Simon the Bald, the third Count de
Montfort, was descended from a King of France, and by his
marriage with the heiress of Robert Fitzparnel1 Earl of
Leicester, transmitted to his son the claim of large English
estates, and of the dignity of High Steward. This alliance in
1165 with the daughter of Blanchemains, as the earl was
called, formed the only tie of connexion between England
1 Petronilla, his widow, furnished of England. In the Exchequer Roll
the church of Leicester with a curious of Normandy (Ducarel, Ant. Ang.
piece of fancy work, a rope made of Norm.) the Earl of Leicester is named
her own hair, to suspend the lamp as owing 10 soldiers and 40 servants
in the choir  Chr. Knight. She for the honour of Grantemenill, and
was the heiress of Hugh de Grante- 81 soldiers for the honour of Britolio.
menill, Baron of Hinckley, and by — See Pedigree of de Montfort, at
that tenure Hereditary Grand Steward page 45.

HI-] SIMON DE MONTFORT. 43
and the great Simon de Montfort, which enabled him success
fully to establish his claim to a place among the nobles of
England, in 1232, after a long interval of foreign absence of
all the family. On the death of Fitzparnel, accordingly,
Simon, the fourth Count de Montfort, became Earl of Leices
ter, and the estates were, in 1206, divided between Simon and
Saiher de Quincy1, Earl of Winchester. Simon's rebellion
soon afterwards caused a forfeiture of his estates, and his
own banishment ; but he must have had bold and powerful
adherents, for King John was some time afterwards startled
by a report, a false one indeed, of the barons having elected
Simon as their King4. Being a good soldier, and remarkable
for his stature and strength, he had an opportunity, while an
exile from England, of making his "name very precious to
all the bigots of that age" (as Hume remarks) by his bar
barous crusades against the Albigenses3. The cruelties prac
tised are well known, but the fanaticism of the period was
widely spread, and the merit of extinguishing heretics so
blinded his contemporary historian, that even after relating
1 Arms in s. aisle Westm. Ab. pour que Us Catholiques ne rougissent
"gules, 7 mascles conj. 3, 3, and 1 plus de la proclamer hautement.
or." L'histoire offre assurement bien pert
2 Chr. Dunst. For an account de caracteres aussi grands que le sien
of Simon de Montf ort's incised slab par la volontS, la perseverance, le cou-
at Carcassonne, see Archasol. Journ. rage, le me-pris de la mort ; et quand
1855, p. 280. on songe & la ferveur et a l'humilite
3 It is curious to mark the feeling de sa piele', st la purete- inviola-
of modern Roman Catholics on this ble de ses moeurs, a, cet inflexible de-
point. Comte de Montalembert, pair vouCment a Vautorite ecclesiastique,
de France, in his " Histoire de Ste qui l'avoit fait se retirer tout seul du
Elisabeth de Hongrie (1231)," thus camp des eroises devant Zara, parce-
expresses himself : H est reconnu que le Pape lui avoit de'f endu de
aujourd'hui que ces cruaute"s eontre guerroyer contre les chre"tiens, on
les Albigeois, &c, e"toient du moins concoit tout l'exces de son indignation
r^ciproques, et l'on n'a pas encore, contre ceux qui troublaient . la paix
que nous sachions, trouve" le moyen des consciences, et renversaient
de faire la guerre, et surtout une toutes les barriiires de la morale.
guerre de religion, avec amenite- et Son caractere et son epoque se peig-
douceur. Celui qui fut dans cette nent k la fois dans ce mot qu'il pro-
lutte de champion de Catholicismey nonca au moment d'entreprendre une
Simon de Montfort, a sans doute lutte inegale : " Toute l'eglise prie
terni une partie de sa gloire par une pour moi, je ne saurois succomber;"
trop grande ambition, et par une et encore lorsque poursuivi par l'en-
rigueur que la bonne foi ne sauroit nemi, et ayant passe- avec sa cava-
excuser ; mais il lui en reste assez lerie une riviere, que les gens a pied

44 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
Simon's order, at the capture of the castle of Brom, to cut off
the noses of a hundred of the garrison, and to pluck out their
eyes, with the exception of one eye reserved to a single guide",
he immediately praises him as "the mildest of men1."
There is, indeed, some reason to hope that the service
was unpopular among his troops, and revolted their common
feelings of humanity ; for Simon, in a letter to Pope Innocent
III. (August, 1209), not only urges his own merits for having
so rapidly marched upon the heretics, but also puts forward
this special reason why he ought to be confirmed in his
government over the country, that " he had been obliged to
hire soldiers to remain with him at a greater price than in
other wars, as he could scarcely retain them, unless rewarded
by double pay2."
This zealot has been compared3 to Cromwell, as a hero
well fitted for a holy war, and was superior to the meaner
superstitions of his time. When his wife came to him
greatly alarmed at having dreamed of blood flowing from
her arms, he replied, " Do you think we follow dreams and
auguries like the Spaniards ? If you had even dreamed that
I was to die in this war, I should go forward so much the
bolder and freer, in order to reprove the folly of such peo
ple4." The Countess de Montfort, was, indeed not unlikely
to have such dreams of blood ; for, a Montmorency herself,
she shared all her husband's perils of war, at one time
(1210) leading to him a reinforcement of 15,000 soldiers,
at others enduring, with her children, the miseries of a be
sieged town5.
ne pouvaient franchir, il la repass^ * " Omnium mitissimus erat." —
avec cinq hommes seulement, en Pet. Veil. Sarn. Besides clemency, he
s'e*criant : " Les pauvres du Christ laid claim to the virtue of truth, and
sont exposes k la mort, et moi je bore "Veritas" as the motto of his
resterais en surete"? advienne de moi seal. — See Montfaucon, pi. 88.
la volonte" du Seigneur, j'irai cer- 2 Gugl. Pod. Laur.
tainement avec eux. " — In accord- * Hallam, Middle Ages.
ance with these opinions, the bust of * Pet. Vail. Sam., anno 1213.
Simon de Montfort is placed in the 5 At Vaur, 1211, while nursing her
great Salle des Batailles at Versailles, sick son; and at Narbonne, 1217,
among those Frenchmen who have blockaded with her sons and their
fought for their country. wives.— Pet. Vail. Sarn.

III.]

SIMON DE MONTFORT,

45

From such noble and fierce parentage issued the Simon
de Montfort1 of English history, the youngest of four sons, a
youth of about eighteen years, at the time of his father's
death in 1218.
Large grants had rewarded the terrible services of the'
sword and torch of religious bigotry ; and to these Almeric,
the eldest son, succeeded, who is described as " an imitator of

1 The pedigree of the de Montfort
family includes so many historical
characters that it is here subjoined
for reference. — See Dugd. Baron.,
Nichols' Leicest., Househ. Exp.,
Gugl. Pod. Laur.
The children of Simon de Bald,
eighth Count de Montfort, were
these : — ¦
1. Almeric, Count d'Evreux, which
he ceded to the King of France, 1200;
died about 1224.
2. Simon, ninth Count de Montfort,
Earl of Leicester, 1206; banished
rebel, 1208 ; leader of the war against
the Albigenses, 1209 ; killed at Tou
louse, 1218 ; married Alice, who died
1221, daughter of Bouchard, Sire de
Montmorency and Ecouen, Constable
of France, who died 1230.
3. Guy, a crusader in Palestine
and against Albigenses, received a
grant of Castries.
4. Robert, killed at Toulouse, 1218.
5. Bertrade, who died 1231; married
to Hugh, Earl of Chester ; their son
Ranulph died 1231, having had a
grant 1215 of the forfeited estates of
the rebel Earl of Leicester.
The children of the above Simon,
ninth Count were —
1. Almeric, tenth Count de Mont
fort, knighted 1213; Constable of
France in succession to his grand
father de Montmorency, 1231; cru-
Bader 1238 ; prisoner there till 1241 ;
died at Otranto, 1241; he married,
1222, Beatrice, daughter of Count de
Vienne ; their son John, sixth Count
de Montfort renounced all English
claims, 1248.
2. Guy, a crusader, slain at Castel-
nauderi, 1220; Count de Bigorre, by
his marriage withPetronilla, Countess
of Bigorre, 1216; she died, 1251,

surviving five husbands ; Eskivat was
their son ; their daughter Alicia died
at Montargis.
3. Robert, died unmarried, 1226.
4. Simon, born about 1200, became
Earl of Leicester on the cession of
his brother Almeric 1232; com
manded the Barons' army at Lewes,
1264 ; killed at Evesham, 1265 ; mar
ried, Jan. 7, 1238, Princess Eleanor,
daughter of King John, who was
born, 1212; widow of William le
Mareshal, Earl of Pembroke, who
died April, 1231; she died, at Mon
targis, 1274.
5. A daughter, in treaty of mar
riage to a son of the King of Arragon,
1210, 6. A daughter, married 1217, to
Ademar Poictou. — *
The children of Simon, Earl of
Leicester, and Princess Eleanor,
were —
1. Henry, named after his sponsor,
Henry III. ; killed at Evesham, 1265.
2. Simon, prisoner at Northamp
ton, 1264 ; defeated at Kenilworth,
1265 ; murdered his cousin, Prince
Henry, at Viterbo, 1271.
3. Guy, wounded at Evesham, 1265;
.entered service of Count d'Anjou in
Italy ; murdered P. Henry at Viter
bo, 1271.
4. Almeric, a priest, treasurer of
York, 12dfe ; taken prisoner by Ed
ward 1. 1273 ; released, 1283 ; became
a knight in Italy.
5. Richard, left England for Bi
gorre, 1265, perhaps the ancestor of
the Wellysbourne Montforts.
6. Eleanor, left England for Mon
targis with her mother, 1265 ; taken
prisoner, 1273 ; married, 1279, to Lle
wellyn, Prince of Wales.

46 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
the goodness and energy of his father in all things1." The
forfeited English estates had been granted in 1215, to the
rebel Earl of Leicester's nephew, Ranulph, Earl of Chester2.
Perhaps the grant was only temporary and conditional3, for at
his death in 1232, Almeric, who had frequently put forward
his claims to the property, became still more urgent for its
restoration, and two of his brothers having died, he now sent
his only remaining brother Simon with a petition to King
Henry, dated from Paris, February, 12324. He described
himself in this as Count de Montfort and Earl of Leicester
(although no such title had been recognized by the English
King forHwenty-four years), referring to the lands and rights
of his " father of good memory," and offering to be satisfied,
if the King would accept of Simon to do homage for them,
in case his own claims should be disallowed. Simon, as hold
ing no lands under the King of France5, could pay a more
undivided homage, and on this plea was at length admitted6
to his hereditary possessions and honours, after the solemn
renunciation of Almeric in his favour, with the reversion
only in case of failure of heirs male. This took place in the
1 Pet. Vail. Sarn. a walking pace, each bearing the
2Inl218desRoches, BishopofWin- arms of de Montfort on his shield
Chester [had custody], of the estates. (gules, a lion rampant, with forked
3 This conjecture is almost cer- tail argent), and each carrying a ban-
tainly true, as the Testa de Nevill ner for Evreux (party per pale in-
(p. 36) mentions the Honour of Lei- dented gules and argent). — Willemin
cester as. a ward in the King's hands Mon. Fr. Montfaucon. Winkle's
tn behalf of Simon de Montfort (c. Cath. A contemporary (Anon. Lan-
1218), and the younger Simon did gued.) describes Simon^th lord" as
homage for the Honour of Leicester planting on the highest tower of a
in Aug. 1231, more than a year be- captured castle " son estendart 14
fore the Earl of Chester's death. ont era pint lo leon." Rolls of arms,
— Excerpta e Rot. Fin. i. p. 217. P. 1308-14 — " Cohte de Leister, goules
i Almeric and Simon, probably ung leon rampand d'argent, la cowe
the 6th and 7th lords of Montfort, fourchSe, et banner party endentee
counts of Ecouen (Simon being the d'argent et de goules."
father of Simon the Bald, and their B " Simon de Monte Forti expulsus
brother William being a canon of fuit de regno Francise propter sedi-
Chartres), being among the benefac- tiones suas." Cott. MS. Nero A. rv.
tors to the cathedral of Chartres, is the only authority for such a state-
their effigies appear in the painted ment.
glass of the choir, occupying the 6 Simon's homage was acknow-
roses of the 5th and 6th windows in ledged by the King, Shrewsbury,,
knightly armour, seated on horses at May 27, 1232.

III.] SIMON DE MONTFORT. 47
presence of the King, at Westminster, soon after Easter,
1232. This act was probably the result of a private division of
the family estates between the two brothers, and when
renewed by Almeric's son John, in 1248, it is expressly
stated in the deed that " on the other hand, Simon, Earl of
Leicester, renounced all the rights in France, which either
his father or brother ever had, so that neither the one in
England, nor the other in France, could claim anything ex
cept by failure of heirs1."
Thus replaced, after a long interval, in the possessions
and dignities which his family had before enjoyed in England,
Simon de Montfort was not slow in rising to favour at the court
of Henry III. Being " a gentleman of choice blood, education,
and features2," he was perhaps all the more welcome there,
because his foreign birth and habits might seem to connect
him more readily with the feelings of the other aliens who
surrounded the King. In his capacity of High Steward —
though the powerful family of Le Bigod also claimed this
honour — he attended to hold the basin of water at the feast
of the Queen's coronation. Fully sensible of the maxim of a
quaint author of his times, that " a woman who has lands of
her own is much the most desirable3," a maxim not out of
date, though six hundred years old, Simon had been twice
led by his aspiring views to seek a marriage with widowed
ladies of princely blood. The French King, from whose alle
giance he had withdrawn himself, interfered on that account,
to prohibit the alliances he sought with Matilda, Countess of
Boulogne, and afterwards with the great territorial heiress
Joan4, Countess of Flanders. t
1 " Nisi per rectam eschaetam." — Lanercost (p. 39) describes Simon as
MSS. Lands., 299. The seal of John tall and handsome.
represents him galloping on a horse, 3 " Quar femme que ad terre en
and bearing the double-tailed lion on fee serra dassez plus desirreV —
his shield and trappings. The re- Hist. F. Fitzwarin, p. 10.
verse has the banner of Evreux. i Joan, daughter of Baldwin 9,
2 Short- View of a long Reign, by Count of Flanders, widow of a Portu-
Sir R.. Cotton. The Chronicle of guese Prince.. King Louis had made

48 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH,
Baffled in these quarters, Simon next won the affections
of another widow, under circumstances of difficulty which
might well have deterred a less ardent lover. The King's
sister, Princess Eleanor, had in 1224, married William, the
second Earl of Pembroke, one of the foremost warriors of his
time, and who had been one of the chosen guardians of Magna
Charta. He had distinguished himself in repelling and
punishing the aggressions of the Welsh in 1223, and when
left by the King in command of Brittany (1230) he took
some Norman castles with great spirit; and, although on
one occasion, 1227, he had sided with Prince Richard to
compel the King by force of arms to do him justice, yet he
was so much beloved, that on his death, in April, 1231 \ the
monarch wept over his corpse and looked upon his loss as an
additional punishment for the blood of Thomas Becket. He
had but lately, in perfect health, attended the marriage of
his sister2 to his friend Prince Richard, and his death occur
ring so suddenly, his successor was refused admission to the
inheritance of his lands, until it was ascertained whether the
widowed Princess was with child, as was rumoured. There
was, however, no issue ; and the lady in the first anguish of
her grief, had publicly taken a vow3 of perpetual widow-.
hood4, in the presence of two eminent prelates, both after-
it an express condition in his treaty was earl 1231-34, succeeding Prin-
with her in 1226, " quod nunquam cess Eleanor's husband.
subtrahent se a coronS, et homagio." 2 Isabella, Countess of Gloucester,
She married, in 1237, Thomas of who died in childbirth, 1240.
Savoy, the Queen's brother, swearing 3 " Solenne votum castitatis emi-
previously that her marriage with sit, cujus postea praevaricatrix effec-
Simon de Montfort had not been ta." — T. Wyke.
completed. — Pere G. Daniel t. in. 24. 4 The following was the form of
Nicholl's Leicest. prayer used on such occasions :
1 He was buried in the Temple "Consecratio vestium viduse. In-
Church, where his effigy still remains, lumina, qusesumus, oculos majesta-
Hallam (Middle Ages, Vol. in. p. 242) tis tuse ad benedicendam hanc vidui-
confuses the persons of the earls of tatis vestem, ut quse inordinatis ves-
Pembroke, attributing to the father tibus viri sui visibus placuit, in
and regent " one of the greatest sacratis indumentis benedictionis tu»
names in our ancient history," the servire mereatur. Consolare, Do-
anecdote of the King's defiance and mine, hanc famulam tuam viduitatis
the earl's rebellion, which can apply languoribus constrictam, sicut con-
only to Richard his second son, who solari dignatus es Saraptinam viduam

III.] SIMON DE MONTFORT. 4.9
wards canonized, the Archbishop Edmund, arid Richard,
Bishop of Chichester.
To this solemn resolution she had held true for more
than six years ; but, if we may trust the King's subsequent
reproaches, de Montfort was now not only an accepted suitor,
but had so forwarded his suit, that a marriage had become
necessary for her honour. The ceremony was performed by
the King's chaplain, without publicity, on January 7, 1238,
and the King himself gave her hand to de Montfort at the
altar of St Stephen's Chapel1, within those walls which have
since so often witnessed the eloquence and wisdom of the
representatives whom de Montfort's subsequent efforts suc
ceeded in establishing.
Besides his real admiration of her as a beautiful woman,
and his pride in so lofty an alliance, de Montfort may have
been partly influenced by the dazzling hope2 of their issue
hereafter inheriting the crown, for at the time no children
had been born to the King after two years' marriage, and
Earl Richard had but one son living. Their union, how
ever, even if it had its origin in policy, continued in affection
until death, unchanged by discouragement and trials, and
the Royal Princess, with a true woman's heart, invariably
per Heliam Prophetam. Concede ei Stephen's day. The chapel was
pudicitiffi fructum, ut antiquarum begun to be rebuilt, 1292 ; was burnt
non memineat voluptatum, nesciat 1298 ; its building continued by Ed-
etiam incentiva desiderii, ut soli tibi ward II., .and renewed by Edward
subdat propria colla, quo possit pro III., 1330. The Parliament called
laboribns tantis sexageminum gra- by the barons met Jan. 20, 1265.,
dum percipere, munus dilectabile " coram omni populo in Magna Aula
sanctitatis." — Mabillon, De Liturgia Westmonasteriensi." In the last two
Gallicana, Paris, 1685. Parliaments of Edward III. the Com-
1 The marriage took place " in mons were directed to withdraw to
parvula capella Regis, qua- est in their ancie*||; place in the Chapter
angulo camera?." There are several House, " k lour ancienne place en la
notices of this chapel : in 1229, maison du Chapitre de l'Abbeye de
60s. lOd. paid to Walter, chaplain of Westminstre " (Rot. Pari. n. p. 322
St Stephen's Chapel; to Adam of the —366)— the peers to the White
King's Chapel 30s. Gd.; and annually Chamber. During some Parliaments
to the same, 21s. The treasurer is in Edward III.'s time the Commons
ordered at another time to make a met " en la Chambre de Peinte." —
new, good, and large .door at the Brayley's Westm. 241—424.
upper end of St Stephen's Chapel. 2 M. Paris.
100 wax candles are ordered for St E

50 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
adhered to her husband's interests and fortunes, even when
her own kindred stood opposed to him.
On her marriage becoming known, an immediate outcry
of sacrilege arose against the lady's broken vows, which,
though she had not taken the veil or habit of a nun, were
held to be binding on her, and Prince Richard, though so
near of kin, was prominent in anger and menaces, because
neither he nor the other barons had been consulted on the
subject. It was with great difficulty that gifts and the
mediation of friends succeeded in appeasing him.
Alarmed however lest his enemies should procure the
marriage to be annulled, de Montford resolved to plead his
own cause with the Pope, to whom he secretly repaired,
after sending the Princess to the castle of Kenilworth1. The
King did not, as yet, withdraw his favour from him, for he
furnished him on his departure with letters to the Pope and
cardinals, dated Tewkesbury, March 27, 1238. The letter
ran thus: "The King to all the cardinals, health. We
have thought it right to send our beloved brother and liege
Simon de Montfort to the Apostolical Court for certain busi
ness, touching the honour and advantage of ourselves and
our kingdom, particularly beseeching your fatherly love to
be pleased to give him equally honour and confidence in
those matters which the said Simon shall lay before you, and
which concern the good of ourselves and of our kingdom2."
These letters were strengthened by the Emperor's interest,
which de Montfort secured in his way to Rome, and by a
well-timed distribution of money at the Papal Court. These
bribes appear to have been so large, that de Montfort,
whether authorized or not by his instructions, included the
King as a security for their payment. That no success was
to be expected however without such appliances may be
1 This royal castle had been com- and Countess of Leicester.  Dugd.
mitted to his care. It was granted Warw.
to the Princess Eleanor, 1248, for 2 Househ. Exp. from Pat. Hen.
her life, but in 1254 it was again III., m. 8.
granted for the joint lives of the Earl

III.] SIMON DE MONTFORT. 51
learned from the opinion of a humourous poet1 of the times,
who even intimates that the word "papa" signifies "pay,
pay." Cum ad Papam veneris, habe pro constanti,
Non est locus pauperi, soli favet danti:
" Paez, paez," dit le mot, si vis impetrare.
Papa quaerit, chartula quaerit, bulla quaerit,
Porta quaerit, cardinalis quasrit, cursor quserit,
Omnes quarunt, et si quod des uni deerit,
Totum jus falsum, tota causa perit.
Das istis, das aliis, addis dona datis,
Et cum satis dederas, quaerunt ultra satis;
0 vos bursa turgidae, Romam veniatis,
Romae viget physica bursis constipatis.
Rich givers may hope to speed with the Pope,
Of this be sure, 'tis no place for the poor:
" Pay, pay's'' the word, if you wish him "yes" to say ;
The Pope and his Brief and his Bull cry "pay."
Cardinal, porter, and lacquey cry " pay,"
All echo "pay, pay," and if one's left unfeed,
All your right becomes wrortg, your suit goes to seed;
Give these and give those, empty store after store ;
Give freely to all, they beg a little more :
Come quick, ye fat unwieldy purses, come,
Your costive bulk get physicked thin at Rome.
After obtaining by these means such a letter from the
Pope to his legate in England as ensured a decision in favour
of his marriage, de Montfort hastened back, landing October
14, 1238, and not suffering himself to be detained even by
the joyous welcome of the King, repaired at once to his
home at Kenilworth, where he arrived in time to hail the
birth of a son at Advent. Remembering the King's subse
quent imputation on his sister's honour, which may have
been but a mean subterfuge to excuse himself towards those
who disliked the marriage, it is of interest to note the in
terval of nearly eleven months between the dates of the
marriage and this birth. As far as posterity can judge,
Eleanor seems to have well deserved the simple eulogy of
the old chronicler2, as a "god woman thoru out all."
1 Pol. Song of 13th century from MSS. Harl. 978. 2 Rob. Glouc.E 2

52 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
The royal favour continued to betray no symptom of
diminution: de Montfort was fully invested as the Earl of
Leicester, Feb. 2, 1239. He had been one of the appointed
sponsors in the following summer at the baptism of Prince
Edward, and came with his countess, as a matter of course,
to attend the solemn churching of the Queen, in Westminster
Abbey (Aug. 5, 1239), when they were unexpectedly received
by the King with the most violent reproaches as to their
conduct before marriage, and its sacrilege, to which he pre
tended his assent had been entrapped, and he angrily pro
hibited them from entering the church, as if they had been
excommunicated. What seems especially to have irritated
him, was having been made a security for the payment of
the bribe to Rome ; but as they could not pacify, even by
their tears, this capricious outbreak, they left the palace, and
going down the Thames that very evening in a small boat,
at once sailed abroad. From this moment de Montfort
ceased to be a mere courtier, and though often afterwards
caressed at court, when his services were needed, he main
tained henceforth, in active employment, the more independ
ent character of a soldier and a statesman.
When he returned indeed in the April following (1240),
he was welcomed with all honour by the King, whose resent
ment seems to have been as unsteady as his favour, but the
only object now of de Montfort, who had become a crusader,
was to raise money from his estates for that expedition.
His adoption of the cross was perhaps in penance for his
marriage, but whether it also required a peculiar hatred of
the Jews does not appear. His antipathy to them, how
ever, is curiously recorded in his charter to, Leicester, in
which, as if conferring a great boon upon the burgesses, " he
concedes that for the good of his own soul and that of his
ancestors and successor, no Jew or Jewess should ever reside
there, either in his own time or that of his heirs to the end
of the world1." The same prejudice may have indeed led
1 The Jews were banished also from Bury by the Abbot, 1190, "magna

III.]

SIMON DE MONTFORT.

53

him to sanction some cruelties on the Jews in London, which
will be noticed at a later period.
In Syria the military talents of Simon de Montfort must
have made themselves conspicuous, though we have no de
tails ; he appears to have been present at the fierce contest
near Damascus, where his brother Almeric and other nobles
were taken prisoners1, and his fellow-crusaders thought so
highly of him, that the barons, knights, and citizens of Je
rusalem, (in a deed2 still extant) sent a petition to the Em
peror Frederick II. for his appointment as governor there
during the minority of the King Conrad. This honourable
testimony to his merits, however, did not detain him long in
Palestine, for when the English Prince, Richard, had gene
rously redeemed the captive crusaders, de Montfort returned

probitatis indicium" according to
Jocelin — "et cum emissi essent, et
armata manu conducti ad diversa
oppida, Abbas jussit solempniter ex-
communicari per omnes ecclesias, et
ad omnia altaria omnes illos qui de
csetero receptarent Judaeos vel in
hospicio reciperent in villa S Ed-
mundi. Quod tamen postea dispen-
satum est per Justiciaries Regis, sci-
licet, ut si Judaei venerint ad magna
placita Abbatis ad exigendum debita
sua a debitoribus suis, sub hac occa-
sionepoterunt duobus diebus et duo-
bus noctibus hospitari in villa, tercio
autem die libere discedent." — Chr.
Jocelin, p. 33. No Jews were allowed
to be present at the coronation of
Richard I. for fear of their enchant
ments — the Lion -heart afraid! [Wen-
dover, Vol. m. p. 7. Compare the
statement in the Chronicle of Dun
stable, p. 57, that at the second co
ronation of Henry III., in 1220, " Ju
daei * in turri Londoniarum servaban-
tur * ad cautelam." P.] The Regent
Marshal, in 1218, during the King's
minority, issued an order to the
sheriff of Worcester that throughout
his (ballivam) bailiwick Jews should
bear on their outer garment, when
ever they walked or rode in the town
or out of it, two white linen tablets
on their breast (factas de lineo panno

vel de parcameno), in order that Jews
by this sign might openly be dis
tinguished from Christians. — Oxon,
30 March, . 1218 — Teste Comite.—
Rymer, In 1253 the King ordered
(providit et statuit) that there should
be no more schools for Jews than
those allowed in the time of K. John.
In synagogues they were to celebrate
their .rites in a low voice, so that
Christians might not hear (submissa
voce — ita quod Christiani non au-
diant), no Christian nurse was to
suckle a Jew's child, no Christian to
serve a Jew, nor eat with them, nor
dwell in their houses. No Jew was
allowed to eat meat in Lent, nor to
enter a church, except to pass through
(nisi transeundo).— Rymer.
1 Almeric was taken prisoner near
Jaffa; many fled to Ascalon and on
to Ptolemais.— See Gesta Dei per
Francos, 2. 216, also1 Assizes et bons
usages, &c, folio, Bourge's, 1690, pp.
221-238. 2 Househ. Exp. from MS. Cotton,
Vesp. F. 1; This letter of the
"Barons Chevalers et Citeens de
Jerusalem," dated from Acre, June 7,
1241, is signed among others by
"Philip de Montfort, Seigneur de
Thoron," whom Joinville also men
tions as Lord of Tyre, in King Louis'
crusade. ' •

54 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
to Europe with him; his brother Almeric, after his ransom
from captivity, died at Otranto1 in 1241 on his return.
During the war against the French in the following year,
de Montfort exhibited no scruple in fighting against his
former countrymen, and exerted himself greatly at the battle
of Saintes2; in England too he was one of the twelve com
missioned by the King to retrieve the confusion of his finances.
So fully did the sunshine of royal favour now again light
upon him, that his influence prevailed even over the competi
tion of the King's brother in obtaining a grant of the rich
wardship of Gilbert de Umfraville3 in 1245. This courtly
warmth, however, did not relax his zeal as an earnest re
former of abuses, and his name stands second among the
signatures to the remarkable remonstrance to the Pope sent
by the barons in 1246. The English Church had been so
long goaded and beaten, that like Balaam's ass (such is the
unsavoury simile of the chronicler), it now at length opened
its mouth in reproaches, and a threat was uttered that unless
speedy redress were made, " it would become their duty to
raise a bulwark in defence of the house of the Lord, and of
the liberty of the realm4."
The grievances at home, the prodigality of the court, and
the employment of aliens, as well as the decay of commerce
by the exactions on merchandize were sternly urged by Lei
cester and others in 1248, and with such effect as to produce
in the King a sudden fit of economy as reckless as his previ
ous bounty; his means had been indeed at one time so ex
hausted, that being unable to pay 200 marcs (£133. 6s. 8d.)
for the wages of those employed in his chapel, he had ordered
John Mansel to pawn the image of the Virgin Mary "on
condition that it should be deposited in a decent place5." In

1 Almeric was buried in St Peter's 4 M. Paris. "Oportebit nos po-
Church. — MS., Lansd. 299. nere murum jpro domo Domini et
2 M. Par. libertate regni.-"
¦* Umfraville, arms — gules, a 5 Smith's Westminster, from Rot.
cinquefoil within an orle of crosses Claus. 27, H. III.
patonce or. — Surtees' Durham, 2. 394.

HI.] SIMON DE MONTFORT.

00

his passion all his vases and silver plate and jewels were
now ordered to be at once sold by the weight, without any
regard to their real value ; his household expenses, his alms,
his customary Christmas gifts, even the number of wax
candles in the churches were reduced, and he threw himself,
an expensive and unwelcome guest, on the hospitality of many
abbeys, requiring rich complimentary presents in requital
for such honour.
King Henry tried also private persuasion to obtain loans
of money, but his credit was gone, and the Bishop of Ely,
when applied to, plainly told him so. "Turn out this boor,
(cried the King in his anger), and when out, never admit him
again1." Hugh Northwold however was no niggard, as his
beautiful and costly works at Ely remain to testify, and " this
boor " continued a pious and liberal prelate for twenty-five
years. His present refusal, perhaps, was the motive for the
rude rifling of his cellar about this time, before related.
The King did not spare even his own brethren from these
coarse reproaches, when disappointed of money. On Bishop
Aymer coming to take leave of him, he treated him with the
utmost discourtesy, and greeted him with — " Go to the devil
for not backing me up better in wringing money out of the
bishops V
In the meanwhile, Simon de Montfort had been on the
point of returning to Palestine3 with his wife, but was. dis
suaded from doing so by the King, who needed his services
to suppress the rebels of Gascony. Although he soon re
stored order in that province and sent the chief rebel, Gaston,
Count de Beam, prisoner to England, unfortunately King
Henry, who never knew how to choose veil either a friend
or an enemy, took Gaston into favour, and restored him to
his estates, thereby enabling him to repeat his rebellion a
few years afterwards. De Montfort was employed also suc
cessfully to form a treaty4 of peace in 1249 with Theobald,
King of Navarre, nephew to Berengaria, Queen of Richard I.
1 M. Paris. 3 M. Paris, anno 1248.
2 M. Paris, anno 1253. * Clarendon, Jan. 10, 33 Rot. Pat.

56 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
During his occasional visits to England, he had been honour
ably welcomed, though still preserving the same independ
ence of spirit, and on one occasion had remonstrated with
effect on some breach of the chartered liberties of London1,
a circumstance which may afterwards have secured him so
many friends in that city. His earnestness to redress wrongs
may be traced in his friend Adam de Marisco's letters, who
represents him as personally exerting himself day after day
at Oxford in reconciling a dispute between some officers of
the Earl of Cornwall, and of Bishop Grethead2, and his zeal
for the public service induced him to raise money by cutting
down his own timber, in order to renew the war in Gascony
more effectually.
Some of the castles (Egremont and Chatillon) which he
took there from the rebels had been hitherto deemed quite
impregnable, and the discontented Gascons, anxious to get
rid of so strong a master, intrigued secretly to prejudice the
King against him. Though the Archbishop of Bordeaux
and others, who headed this mission of complaint, had been
convicted traitors, they were readily listened to at court, and
de Montfort, finding himself thus accused behind his back
of extortion and tyranny, hastened to England, there to meet
his accusers face to face. A most extraordinary scene ensued,
which the King's previous loss of character could alone have
made possible within the precincts of a court. De Montfort
appeared in the Council to silence his enemies by the refuta
tion of their charges, and then appealed to the King's per
sonal knowledge of their falsehood and of his own faithful
services, reminding him with what promises of support he
had encouraged him to undertake the command in Gascony
for six years. "Let your words be made good, my Lord
King," he exclaimed, "keep your covenant with me, and
replace those expenses which I have borne for you to the
1 M. Paris. to is not identified by Professor Brew-
2 Ep. de Mar. p. 105, in a letter er with the Earl of-Leicester, and
addressed to the bishop. [The Si- seems from the context to have been
mon Fitz Simon of whom Adam de a person of inferior rank. P.]
Marisco speaks in the letter referred

III.] SIMON DE MONTFORTi 57
notorious beggary of my own earldom." On the King re
plying that " he did not hold himself bound to fulfil promises
made to a false traitor," the affronted earl lost all command
of his impetuous temper, and in direct terms openly gave
the lie to the King, intimating, too, that the shelter of his
royalty alone protected him from instantly feeling the con
sequences of such a charge. "Who. can believe you to be
a Christian, or that you ever go to confession ? of what use
indeed would such a mere form be without repentance and
atonement?" The King, though goaded by these insults,
did not dare to order his arrest, but gave vent in his reply
to his long-harboured hate; "never has my repentance of
anything certainly been more sincere, than of having ever
suffered you to enter England and to enjoy those estates and
honours which now so puff you up1."
The interposition of their friends, who were present at
this Council, Prince Richard with the Earls of Gloucester
arid Hereford, put an end to this unseemly wrangle ; and the
Prince, who had also been forcibly defrauded out of the
government of Gascony2, may well have looked on with com
placency at the humiliation of his brother now arising from
a similar want of integrity.
The friendly hand of Adam de Marisco3 has left us an
authentic account of these Gascon plots, their favourable
reception at court, and the King's contumelious reproaches
on Simon de Montfort, but praises " the calmness and mode
ration with which he endured them." There is, however,
reason to distrust this eulogy as too partial, and perhaps
even derived from de Montfort's own account, for the popular
opinion of his hasty temper and unreserwed speech appears
in many other contemporary accounts. A curious poem4 of
1 jj pariB. est contumelias a Domino Rege coram
2 It had been granted to him, 1243. multis "), the Earl observing modera-
3 Marisco mentions the accusa- tion, gentleness (mansuetudinem),
tion to have been made by both lay- and magnanimity towards the King
men and clergy ("tarn clerici quam and his flatterers (adulatores). Ep.
laici— malitibsis mendaciorum sup- A. de Mar. p. 123, &c.
positionibus, Comitem ' Leycestria- 4 Pol. Songs, from MS. in Bibi.
effrenati impetentes — comes passus du Roi, 7218.

58 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
this time reports a supposed debate on French affairs be
tween the King, Roger le Bigot, and Simon de Montfort, and
thus characterizes the quick and haughty bearing of the
latter : the King had been talking of setting the Seine on
fire, and making the French run away from Paris : —
Sir Simon a Montfort attendi ce navel,
Doncques sailli a, piez ; il ne fout mie bel,
A dit k rai Inglais, "Pars le cors Saint Ariel.
Lessiez or cesti chos: Francois n'est mi anel."
» * * *
"Que dites vous, Symon?" pona Rogier Bigot,
"Bien tenez vous la rai por binart et por sot?"
De Montford starts up, looking grim to scoff,
When the boasting King he hears.
"By the Lamb of God leave this meddling off,
"For France is no lamb for your shears."
* * *, #
"Why how now Simon?" le Bigot cries out,
"Do you set the King down for a fool or a lout?"
In no instance did King Henry's disregard of private
rights meet with a more remarkable reproof than from the
young Countess of Arundel1, widow of Hugh, the last earl
of the Albini family.
On being refused redress concerning some property, she
personally rebuked the monarch in free, but noble language :
"Why do you turn away your face, Sire, from justice 1
Placed as you are between us and God, how can you dare to
vex the Church, oppress the barons, and deny us our rights ?"
On the King taunting her with being chartered by the
-barons to plead for them with such eloquence: "No, Sire,"
she replied; "your barons have given me no such charter,
but with respect to that great Charter, granted by your
father, and so often solemnly sworn to by yourself, you stand
guilty of repeated perjury, on which account not only I as a
1 Isabella de Warenne, whose erroneouslygivenbyCartwright(Rape
husband died 1243. She was still of Arundel) to Isabella de Albini
very young at the time of this inter- wife of John Fitzalan [who died be-
view (1252) : "cum jam vix metas fore her husband, and consequently
adolescentiae pertransisset  M.Paris, before 1239].
She died 1283. The anecdote is

III.] SIMON DE MONTFORT. 59
woman, but all your true-born subjects appeal to the tribunal
of the Highest for retribution on you." Her grandfather,
Hameline, had been half-brother to Henry II., and her bro
ther, the Earl de Warenne, was married to the King's half-
sister ; these alliances suggested another answer to the em
barrassed King : "You ask this favour perhaps on the strength
of being my kinswoman V " No, Sire," was her abrupt reply
on leaving him ; " how should I expect any favour from you
when I cannot get bare justice1?" The contempt of the royal
person must have been widely spread indeed to have embold
ened a young noblewoman thus to address her Sovereign.
With something of the policy of David towards Uriah,
King Henry now desired de Montfort, as he was so fond of
war, to go back to Gascony, where he would find plenty of
work. " I will cheerfully go," he answered; " nor will I return
till I have made the rebels your footstool, however ungrateful
you may be." There is an interesting letter of Adam de
Marisco, which describes the anxious consultation of Simon
and his countess to provide for the education and discipline
of their children during his absence at this period : after
entrusting them to the care of Grethead2, the Bishop of
Lincoln, he is represented as "embarking with his eldest
son Henry for this expedition, cheerfully rejoicing in the
protection of the Most High, and proceeding without delay
towards Gascony, while the countess earnestly implores the
bishop's prayers in behalf of her husband and family at so
anxious a period, which had kept them all in suspense, not
only day by day, but from hour to hour3."
i M.Paris. this the foreisp countess, Alice, daugh-
2 The bishop was in the confi- ter of Marclrese Saluces, 1247? See
dence of another countess, and has p. 16 ante.
left us the rules he drew up for her [Mr Furnivall has kindly examined
guidance in the management of her these rules for me, and finds that
household. " Commences les 27 they differ from the seventeen called
Reules que le bone Evesk de Licoln Grosseteste's, which Professor Brewer
Robert Grosseteste fist a le Countesse has printed in the Monumenta Fran-
de Licoln de garder et gouverner sa ciscana, and Mr Furnivall again in
terre et son hostel. Ky cestes Reules the Babees Boke. P.]
tient bien et biel, occu bien purra 3 Epist. A. de Mar.
vivre." Harl. MSS. 548, f. 21. Was

60 - THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
The malcontents of Gascony had, in the meanwhile, ac
quired such strength, that de Montfort found himself sorely
pressed by them, in a manner to call forth all his energies
as a soldier. It was with the utmost difficulty that he was
able to preserve the mastery over them in a battle, during
which he was himself unhorsed, and his life in great danger ;
at another time he was blockaded by them in an unpro-
visioned town1, from which, however, he extricated himself
by personal activity.
These perilous services were rendered to a thankless
master. Soon after his back was turned, the Queen had
prevailed upon King Henry formally to strip de Montfort
of his military command, and to substitute Prince Edward2.
The Archbishop of. Bordeaux and his partisans, induced by
the gifts and feasts of the court, at once performed homage
to the young Prince as Seneschal of Gascony, and the King
even enjoined the Gascons not to obey Simon de Montfort
if he should oppose the arrangement thus made3.
Released by this treachery from all public duties, de
Montfort quitted the scene of his government, and repaired
to Paris, where offers awaited him of dignity and power,
superior to what he had been deprived of. The affairs of
France were in great confusion at the time; King Louis
being an absent crusader, and Blanche, the Queen-mother,
recently dead, the nobles of France feeling the need of a
directing head, invited de Montfort to exercise the powers
of Regent over the country. The temptation was great
indeed to a man "not without ambition," especially at a
moment when he had been recently insulted, discarded, and
betrayed by the English King; and yet these flattering
proofs of the esteem in which he was held among his former
countrymen, could not win him over from his duty towards
England, as the country where all his public and private
duties now centered.
1 Montauban. — M. Par. 3 August 27. Cal. Rotul. Patent.
" Windleshoure (Windsor) June 13. 36°., H. III.

HI-] SIMON DE MONTFORT. 61
The Gascon rebels were in the meanwhile still more
irritated by King Henry's destruction of their cherished
vineyards, than they had been by the ' stern warfare of de
Montfort, and the English were still more disgusted when
they saw the castles they conquered granted by the reckless
monarch to Peter de Savoy and other foreigners. Gascony
was nearly lost, when relief came from an unexpected quarter;
for de Montfort at this crisis again tendered his assistance,
which being now welcomed by the King, the very dread of
his presence soon so awed the Gascons, that they gradually
came back to their allegiance. To this act of generous
patriotism1 it is said that de Montfort was advised by his
great master in religious and political matters, Bishop Gret
head, who died soon afterwards (1254), in such popularity,
that twenty manifest miracles were attributed to the sanctity
of his tomb in one year2, and the University of Oxford peti
tioned Clement IV. for his canonization. To complete the
reconciliation with so useful a soldier, the King now agreed
to pay de Montfort a compensation3 for the three-and-a-half
years unexpired term of his command in Gascony, which had
been originally granted him for six years.
After Gascony had been thus reduced to order, King
Henry indulged himself with an expensive visit to Paris, on
1 A royalist chronicler even here quod verbis docebat, operibus exhi-
supposes guilty designs "pro prae- bebat  quae signa miracula et
meditata calliditate." — T. Wyke. virtutes apud nos per usum sunt ve-
2 M. Paris. To Grethead are as- tera, et per augmentum quotidie sunt
cribed the completion of the nave, recentia atque nova  qualisautem
the transept, and the upper story of erat in carne, et est modo in spiritu,
the- central tswer of Lincoln cathe- quia sanctus per virtutes et miracula
dral. — "Canonization." The dean and limpide est ostensus - — - flexis geni-
chapter of S. Paul's also petitioned bus exoramus — Sanctorum ascribere
Clement V. for this honour to Gret- catalogo coMfessorem." Non. Julii,
head, whom they thus describe : 1307. — Wilkins' Cone. n. 287.
" quern primitus filium et post patrem 3 In 1254, 7000 marcs (£4666. 13s.
ipsius ecclesiae patrona edidit virgo 4d.) were paid. Liberate 38°, H. III.,
mater, qui, in hujus mundi ergastulo, m. 8.4. In 1259, several barons
a vitae suaa primsevo certamine acri pledged themselves for 3000 marcs
et sedulo carnis domuit incentiva, et (£2000) to certain merchants who
quanto super cunctos ejus temporis had advanced the money for the
eminebat philosophos, et in Dei King's debt to Simon de Montfort. —
scientia et doctrina anteibat theo- Rot. Pat. 43°, H. III.
logos — verbo edificationis insistens,

62 THE BARONS'- WAR. [CH.
his return to England. The Abbey of Fontevraud was in his
road, where two of his kingly ancestors lay buried, and where
his mother had taken the veil and died ; over her remains he
caused a tomb to be placed (the mutilated effigy of which
was lately discovered1 among the rubbish of a prison cellar),
and he bequeathed his own heart2 afterwards with an affec
tionate remembrance to the same spot. After being met at
Chartres by his brother-in-law, King Louis, he was conducted
to the Old Temple at Paris, as being the only building capa^
cious enough for his suite, which included one thousand
beautiful horses, besides sumpter-beasts and carriages. The
procession of his entry was graced by the English students at
the University of Paris, who appear to have been numerous
enough to welcome their King with great splendour. These
students, indeed, were apt to bring back to England
" false ideas, French nonsense, and corrupt morals," and are
satirically complimented as being very agreeable companions,
with only three vices clinging to them, incident to their
young blood and jovial tempers3. The sumptuousness of the
feast given by Henry on the following day astonished the
Parisians. All the poor were freely invited to an abundant
meal, and afterwards a banquet of unparalleled magnificence
was open to the French and English courts, without any
restraint of guard or doorkeeper, when to each guest some
1 Stothard detected it in 1816, but His tribus exceptis nihil est quod
when applied for with a view to re- in his reprehendas
move it to England, it was refused. — Haec tria si tollas caetera cuncta
Stoth. Mon. Eff. [The old arms of placent."— Nigellus Wireker.
AngoulSme were lozengy or and gules. Robert Wace, in his description of
W. S. W.] the behaviour of the English on the
2 It was actually delivered to the eve of the battle of Hastings, uses
abbess at Fontevraud, Dec. 13, 1291, the same Saxon words for their jovial
nineteen years after his death, by the pledges in their carousals :
Abbot Wenlock, of Westminster. "Mult les veissiez demener
3 "Sophismata et ineptias Galli- Treper et saillir et chanter,
canas, et inquinatos mores."— Wood, ' Dublie ' 'orient et ' Weisseil'
Ant. Oxon., 55. Et 'Laticome' et ' DrincheheiT
" Washeyl et Drynkheyl nee non per- Drinc ' Hindrewar" et 'Drintome '
sona secunda, Drinc helf et drinc tome
Hsec tria sunt vitia quae comitan- Eissi se contindrent Engleis."
tur eos.

HI.] SIMON DE MONTFORT. 63
gift — a golden clasp, a silver cup, or silken belt was presented
by the King. Though it was Lent, yet the fertile variety of
the dishes and of delicious drinks are fondly put on record ;
nor does it appear that the appetite of the French guests at
all failed them, as had been apprehended by some, who
thought the sight of Richard Cceur de Lion's shield, which
hung on the Temple walls, might have that effect1.
It was perhaps on this occasion that King Louis ob
served to Joinville: "I believe you would be loth to do
what our guest the King of England is now doing, washing,
the feet of lepers and then kissing them on this Holy Thurs
day2." Louis' son died during this visit, and, as another
instance of menial offices still more unusual in a King, his
body was carried to the grave part of the way on the
shoulders of King Henry, and the noblemen of the two
courts3. With a mixed devotion and love of art, both strong
impulses with Henry, his first visit at Paris was to the
Sainte Chapelle, then in all its fresh beauty, having been
rebuilt by Louis IX. in order to receive the genuine Crown
of Thorns4, which had been pawned by the French Emperor
of Constantinople. In the satirical5 poem of the age, before
referred, to, King Henry is made tb covet in a droll manner
this architectural gem of Pierre de Montereau6.
" Par la cine plais a Dieu, " By the five wounds of God I swear,
Parris fout vii mult grant, That at Paris, that very great city,
II i a i chapel dont je fi coetant ; There's a chapel so choice and rare,
Je le ferra portier a i charrier reliant I'll have it rolled off in a car
A Saint Amont a Lohdres toute droit To my Abbey in London afar,
en estant." There set it up just as it stands."
During his eight days' residence at Ijaris, he was much
1 Pere Daniel, H.deFr.— M.Paris. main en Laye, June 1241. Gall.
2 Mem. Joinville. Christ, t. vn. 98.
3 Nangis. 5 Pol. S. from MS. 7218, Bibi. du
4 The Holy Cross, Crown of Thorns Roi , Paris.
and other relics had been ' ' pawned" 6 The rebuilding in its present form
to the Venetians, and redeemed from of this chapel attached to the ancient
them for a large sum of money, with palace of the courts of Paris was
the consent of the Emperor Baldwin, begun 1245, and the consecration
by Louis IX., by deed dated S. Ger- April 27, 1248.

64 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
struck also with the superior elegance of their plaistered
houses, and their height of many stories1, matters then rare
or unknown in England.
The enormous expenses of this royal visit rendered still
more urgent the King's want of money on his return to
England, and his difficulties were aggravated both by a
Welsh invasion, and by the exigencies of the Sicilian crown of
Prince Edmund. At the Council summoned in order to pro
cure a supply, William de Valence came to an open rupture
with de Clare and de Montfort, who resisted the grant — term
ing the latter " an old traitor," and, giving him the lie with"
the same rudeness that de Montfort had exercised towards
the King on a former occasion. " No, no, William," was de
Montfort's answer ; " I am neither a traitor myself, nor the
son of one ; our fathers were not at all the same sort of per
sons," alluding to the imputed treachery of Hugh le Brun
towards King Henry. Had not the King thrown himself
between his fierce relations, the affront might have been
avenged by blood, and it was remarked that foreigners would
scarcely believe it possible that anybody, even of royal blood,
should presume so to insult a nobleman like Simon de
Montfort, "so much esteemed above all persons native and
foreign2." Urged by Simon's passionate claim for speedy redress,
and pressed to adopt restraints upon such insolence in future,
the King once more, on the tomb of Edward the Confessor,
the saint to whom he was specially devoted, pledged his royal
word to amend the general grievance.
This led to the meetings of the great Council, first held
at Westminster3, and afterwards at Oxford, June 13, 1258, in
order to consider by what means the royal oath should be

1 M. Paris. Earl of Leicester had been nomi-
2 "Inter omnes transmarinos et nated for a mission to Italy in June,
cismarinos praecommendatum." — M. 1257 (Rymer, i. 360), but probably
Paris. did not go on it, as he was present at
3 Pauli, in his " Simon von Mont- the Parliament of Westminster, May
fort" (s.s. 82, 83), observes that the 2,1258.

HI.] SIMON DE MONTFORT. 65
made effectual. The vigour and novelty of the statutes en
acted at Oxford were the cause of the civil commotions,
which acquired the name of the Barons' War, of which the
battle of Lewes was one of the most important events; and by
some historians the meeting at Oxford has been called the
Mad Parliament, the monopoly of which title, however, it
has been remarked1, would be a grievous disparagement to
some of its successors. 1 By Sir F. Palgrave, " Truths and Fictions."

CHAPTER IV.

THE OXFORD STATUTES.

"If then we shall shake off our slavish yoke,
Imp out our drooping country's broken wing
Redeem from broking pawn the blemished crown,
, * * * * * •
Away with me" — Rich. II. ii. 1.

While profusion had brought the King to penury, the
dearth of provisions had, at this period, spread misery among
the people, and prepared them more readily for some public
expression of the general discontent. The bad weather of
1257 had prevented the ripening of all fruits and corn;
wheat had remained uncut even to November, and so great
was the urgency to carry the harvest, that even Sundays
and other church festivals were so employed, if the weather
permitted. Wheat, which had in 1255 been at the price of
2s. a quarter, now rose to 20s. or 24s. ; horseflesh and even
the bark of trees became articles of food1. During this
famine, the King, by an invidious exercise of his prerogative,
seized and forestalled for his own purveyance the corn
which Prince Richard had imported from abroad in fifty
vessels ; London, however, resisted this as a breach of their
charters with such effect, that by a legal decision the King
was required to come into the market like others, with the
1 M. Paris. Taxter Chr. (1258), "20,000 Londini attenuati fame."-
Cbr. Evesh. Lei. Coll. v. 1.

CH. IV.] THE OXFORD STATUTES. 67
advantage only of buying his corn there at 2d. a quarter be
low the market price1.
There was a wide-spread desire and expectancy of some
remedy for the long course of mismanagement, and it was at
this crisis that many of the great .barons confederated with
the fixed resolution to devise and enforce a reform of the
abuses of the Royal government. All the barons at this time
must have had more Norman blood in them than English,
but their assimilation in feeling with the country, into whose
vital interest the strong hold of the Conqueror had grafted
them, was now so far advanced that they resented the intru
sion of any fresh stock of aliens into their privileges. Having
met therefore at Oxford at the time appointed with their
retainers, to the number of 60,000, armed as if prepared for
the Welch war, their manifest strength sufficed to overpower
the alien faction which had guided the King, and the statutes
then enacted, which continued for seven years the source of
civil discord, were accepted and sworn to by King Henry
with a constrained assent.
Without detailing these well-known enactments, it may
be stated here, that they confirmed Magna Charta, provided
for the orderly inheritance of property, forbade the disparaging
marriages of wards and the wasteful grants to aliens, and
required that the officers of state and the fortresses of the
kingdom should be put into the hands of Englishmen only.
The necessity for this latter stipulation was proved by fifteen2
of the principal castles, as well as the Cinque Ports, being at
this very time under foreign governors. Following the ex
ample of Magna Charta, twenty-four persons3 were appointed
to watch over the rigid execution of these laws, twelve being
1 Fabyan's Chr. — Rog. Hoved. The King, in his
2 Dover, Northampton, Corfe, Scar- proclamation (May 2, Westminster)
borough, Nottingham, Hereford, Ex- had engaged, by oath, to reform the
eter, Sarum, Hadleigh, Winchester, Government according to the advice
Porchester, Bruges, [Bridgewater,] of twelve elected by himself, and
Oxford, Sherburne, and London. — twelve to be elected by the barons at
See Nichols's Leicest. the meeting at Oxford, which was to
3 " 24 Conseillers de aide le Roi. " last a month (in unum mensem).
F2

68 THE BARONS' WAR. [.CH.
chosen by each party. On the barons' side, among the
most conspicuous, may be named (though the lists of
various1 authors differ) the Earls of Leicester and Gloucester,
Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, Roger le Bigot the
Earl Marshal, Walter Cantilupe the Bishop of Worcester, the
powerful Marcher Roger de Mortimer, and Peter de Montfort,
a cousin of Simon's ; while, on the other side, the twelve
nominated by the King comprise but one independent no
bleman, John de Plesseys, Earl of Warwick2, his own three
half-brothers, his nephew, Prince Henry, his brother-in-law,
Earl de Warenne, his two secretaries, John Mansel, treasurer
of York, and Henry Wengham8, Fulk Bassett, Bishop of
London, who. was as much a friend of the barons as of the
King, and a few inferior persons.
As this "mad parliament" of Oxford_ sat in deliberation
for the unusually long period of a month, and was attended
by about 100 barons4, nearly the whole number then entitled
to be summoned, the attendance being commonly but twenty
or thirty, the King's continued resistance to such a pressure
was evidently hopeless, when he could prevail on so few of
the great barons to act as his friends -at such a crisis.
The different temper of the parties to these Oxford Sta
tutes was displayed, when the oath of their observance was
Prince Edward and the King's bro- deacon of Ely, the seal was broken
thers signed this preparatory docu- up, and the pieces given by the King
ment. — Rymer. " to Robert Waleran to be pre-
1 Roger Hoveden. — Ann. Burton. sented to some religious house of the
2 He had become earl by marry- King'sgift."— (Rot. Pat. 44° Hen. III.)
ing Margery, [sister and heiress of the Lord Campbell's Chancellors, i. 148.
last earl,Thomas de Newburg,] and Wengham became Bishop of London,
died without issue, 1263. 1259, and died 1261, having had a
3 On the resignation of William grant from the King to retain two
de Kilkenny, Chancellor from 1254 to deaneries, ten rich prebends, and
St. .Edward's Day, 1255, the Great other benefices, besides his bishopric
Seal was delivered to Henry de Weng- (Rot. Pat. 43 H. HI).
ham, and as Chancellor made oath to * There were about 250 baronies
seal with it only according to the at this time, but many were in the
directions of the twenty-four barons, King's hand, and several barons held
appointed by the provisions of the a great many each ; Prince Richard,
Oxford Parliament, 1258 (Ann. Bur- Earl of Cornwall, held eighteen. —
ton). When he was displaced (Oct. See Nichols's Leic.
1-8, 1260) by Nicholas de Ely, Aroh-

IV.] THE OXFORD STATUTES. 69
tendered, for "the King who was the first to set them aside,
was the first also to swear to them1," while Prince Edward
followed with avowed reluctance2; Prince Henry, who had
been recently knighted by his father at Aix-la-Chapelle,
excused himself on account "of his youth, as needing the
sanction of his father, whose absence abroad probably em
boldened the barons on this occasion, and having no land of
his own to constitute him a baron, his plea obtained a delay
of 40 days3. The King's half-brothers, and his brother-in-law
de Warenne, not only refused compliance, but swore, " by the
death and wounds of God," never to surrender the castles
which the King had committed to their charge.
Simon de Montfort, on the contrary, declared that he
took the oath as a religious tie upon his conscience, "never
under any pretence to break the pledge he was solemnly
contracting, whatever others might do*." It is indeed singu
larly strange to observe that this rigorous expulsion and
exclusion from office of all foreigners should have been guided
and executed by a foreigner. But, being himself an alien,
de Montfort surrendered accordingly his own castles of
Kenilworth and Odiham, and then felt himself entitled to
address the recusants, especially his old enemy William de
Valence, who had been the most vehement m his protests
and defiance: "Tp a certainty you shall either give up
your castles or lose your head."
This threat, coming from a man well known to be able
and willing to execute it, was lost upon them, and the recu
sants stole away unobserved from Oxford, at the hour when
others were at dinner, to Wolvesham5 Castle, where they
hoped their brother, the Bishop of Winchester, would be able
to protect them. So hot a pursuit, however, was set on foot,
that the unpopular fugitives were soon reduced to submission,
1 Chr. Lanerc. 3 Letter in Ann. Burton.
2 Four counsellors were appointed * Nangis.
to him, probably as sureties for his 5 " Ulvesham." — Ann. Burt. The
observance, John de Baliol, John de palace in Winchester is still called
Gray, Stephen Longespee, and Roger Wolvesey.
de Montalt. — Ann. Burton.

70 THE BARONS\WAR. [CH.
and it is even said, that the bishop recommend them to sur
render quietly, as being justly punished for their former
misdeeds \ Though the King, who accompanied the besiegers,
used every endeavour to obtain better terms for them, the
barons were now inexorable in requiring the immediate exile
of all aliens on pain of death, reserving only to Aymer as a
bishop, and to William de Valence as Lord of Pembroke,
the option of remaining under sureties for good behaviour.
These, though thus excepted, would not separate their fate
from the others2, and all accordingly resolved to quit Eng
land, venting their spleen even against the Queen, as
having, from jealousy of their court favour, contrived their
ruin and involved them in her own unpopularity. It is
certainly remarkable that her own uncles, Peter of Savoy
and Archbishop Boniface, remained unmolested and were
publicly employed.
This strong measure of banishment was additionally
recommended to the barons, by the treatment they had
remarked in two recent instances of English Princesses
married to foreign Sovereigns, when their train of English
attendants had been scrupulously dismissed both by the
Emperor and the King of Scotland — a prudent step on all
such occasions, the neglect of which is sure to excite jealousies.
The Earl de Warenne, thus left alone in his opposition to
the Oxford Statutes, now at length yielding to circumstances,
pledged himself by oath to their maintenance.
Dover and other castles3 were now put into native hands,
and Hugh le Bigot being made Justiciary of England, was
"sworn to do justice in spite of the King, the Queen, their
sons, or any living person, uninfluenced by hate or love,
1 W. Rish. de bello Lew., incon- rough, Haldesham, Nottingham, Nor-
sistently with his usual opinions, re- thampton, the Tower of London,
presents the bishop on this occasion Rochester, Canterbury, Winchester,
as a man of conspicuous sanctity. Porchester, Corfe, Sarum, Devizes,
a R. Hoved. Ann. Burt. W. Rk,b. Exeter, Bridgewater, Gloucester, He-
3 These other castles were, Bam- reford, Oxford, Horestan.— Ann. de
borough, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Scarbo- Burton, p. 453. P.

IV.] THE OXFORD STATUTES. 71
prayer or price, and never accepting from any one anything,
except such matters to eat and drink as are accustomed to be
carried to the table of a rich man;" a hazardous permission,
implying that no corruption could arise from gifts of dainties.
Truly was it now observed in a private letter1 : " Great and
arduous matters have the barons to arrange, which cannot
soon or easily be accomplished ; they advance fiercely in
their business ; I wish the issue may be fortunate."
By a safe-conduct to the place of embarkation, dated from
Winchester, July 5, 1258 2, to last until the Sunday after S.
Thomas of Canterbury (Saturday July 7), the Bishop Aymer,
his brothers Guy and Geoffry de Lusignan, and William de
Valence, were put under the care and escort of the Earls of
Hereford, Warenne, and Albemarle ; but a new charge of crime
arose against these exiles on their road. At a great banquet
in the bishop's palace (it is not clear whether at Winchester
or at Southwark3) some of the principal guests, including
the Earl of Gloucester and the Abbot of Westminster, were
taken ill with symptoms of poison. The earl's brother,
William, indeed died, but the earl himself, by the care of
his physician, John St. Giles, a Dominican monk, escaped
after a tedious illness with the loss of his hair, his nails and
teeth nearly dropping off, and his skin peeling away. " The
Lord was unwilling (observes a chronicler4 with much feeling)
to widow England by his loss, at such a moment of extreme
danger and need."
Another victim of this illness, Richard de Crokesley,
Abbot of Westminster, who died under it July 18, 1258,
was a person of importance by station and talents ; learned
in canon and civil law, he had been often employed by the
King at home and abroad, and was one of the twelve nomi
nated by him at the Oxford Parliament. His death gave
1 Ann. Burt, litera cujusdam. A sortiantur."
very interesting authority, evidently a Rymer.
written by one well informed with 3 The remains of the episcopal
the persons and transactions around. palace have been recently effaced by
" Ferociter procedunt Barones in modern buildings.
agendis suis : utinam bonum finem 4 H. Knighton.

72 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
occasion to his elected successor, Prior Philip de Lewisham,
to decline the honour, for the most singular reason, namely,
that he was too fat ever to travel to Rome for confirmation,
and preferred living at ease in his old way ; he died indeed
a few months afterwards, before he could learn the Pope's
assent. The sudden illness and death of so many persons of note
naturally gave rise to suspicions of foul play, but the evidence
of poison' as against the departing aliens, though in the
temper of the times readily believed, appears very slight ;
though some concealed stores of poison were said to be found,
yet the same illness attacked others after the exiles were
gone, and the odium was then transferred to their own cooks.
The Earl of Gloucester's steward, Walter de Scotney1, being
accused of taking bribes from William de Valence, for the
betrayal of his master in this attempt on his life, fled from
the charge, and, when taken some months later, was hanged
at Winchester, in spite of his professions of innocence.
Together with the nobler exiles, some meaner aliens were
now cast out— the King's favourite carver, William de S.
Hermite and Guy de Rochfort, who had converted his trust
of Colchester Castle into means of oppression. Another, by
his brutal tyranny and arrogance, had made himself so pecu
liarly obnoxious that he was imprisoned; this was William
de Bussy, the steward of W. de Valence, whose usual defiance
of all complaints had been, "the King sanctions whatever
my master wishes ;" when on his trial he endeavoured to
plead his tonsure, he was prevented by force and dragged
back to a closer cell2.
.. The Poictevin brothers had been expressly limited to the
sum of 6000 marcs (£4000) to carry away with them, the rest
i " 1259 Walterus de Scotney equo- Edwardi, tunc proditione ab Anglia,
rum distractione concisus et postmodo exulatorum, venenum pauserunt." —
patibulo suspensus periit Wintonise Chr. Evesham, Leland Coll. Vol. i.
promorte Domini Gulielmi de Clare, p. 243. His descendants continued in
fratris Comitis, quern veneno per- possession of Scotney Castle, in
didit, ut dicebatur, Comes autem ipse Sussex, until the time of Edward III.
et quidam alii ad jentaculum Domini 2 M. Paris.

IV.] THE OXFORD STATUTES. 73
of their treasures and the rents of their estates being with
held1, and made responsible in the suits commenced against
them in the courts of law. The King, who wrote from Win
chester, July 3, commanded the immediate seizure of 3000
marcs (£2000) belonging to W. de Valence, lying in the
Abbey of Waltham2. Much more than the permitted sum
was, however, smuggled out of the country, and the King
enjoined de Clare (Woodstock, August 18) to enquire strictly
into this evasion3. Joan, the wife of W. de Valence, having
obtained by petition a sum of 500 marcs (£333. 6s. 8d.) from
her own estates, and being refused more, in fear that it would
go to her husband, contrived nevertheless to join him at
Christmas4, with a quantity of money concealed in wool-
packs. Young Henry de Montfort, with a fresh recollection
of their insult to the earl, his father, had followed the Poic-
tevins to Boulogne, and prevailed on the French King to
show them no favour, beyond that of a safe passage to
Poictou. That young de Montfort was not alone in his eager hatred
against these exiles, is shown by the contumelious terms em
ployed by others at the time, when speaking of them :
"Totam turbat modica terrain turba canum,
Exeat aut pereat genus tarn prophanum." 5
A paltry set of curs is troubling all the land,
Drive out or let them die, the base ungodly band.
The new order of things established by the barons soon
received the ready assent of the city of London, and of the
community, though there may have been some who disliked
any innovation upon the accustomed I submission of the
people to their kings8. Owing to de Clare's dangerous illness,
however, the former publication of the Oxford Statutes was
i w. Rish. i Printed by Hawthorne in Illust. of
8 Ca'l. Rot. Pat. Domestic Manners, t. Edw. I.
3 Eymer. 6 Polit. S. in W. de Rish. Chr.
* She travelled in " longa quad- 6 It is in this spirit that Thomas
riga." Expense Roll. 23-24 Edw. I. Wyte, a royalist poet in the begin-

74 THE barons' war. [ch.
deferred till October 18, 1258, when they- were solemnly pro
claimed, together with Magna Charta, in every county, with
the unusual and striking circumstance of being in Latin,
French and English1.
The latter language, then just emerging into form, being
now for the first time, as far as we know, used in any public
document, proves the anxiety of the barons to explain their
conduct to the people at large, by the use of the best medium
of information. While the clergy were familiar with Latin,
and the Normans, living either at court or in their own
feudal castles, naturally retained their own French, the
country people as tenaciously had preserved their Saxon ;
and though, with the growth of towns, the fusion of the
races advanced, yet the use of the three languages in Eng
land continued for some time after the present period. It
was strikingly marked, during the persecutions of the Tem
plars, under Edward II. ; the priests and clerks made their
recantation in Latin, the laymen in French principally2, but
"some decrepit Templars, unable to stand from old age,

ning of Edward I.'s reign, refers to " Et en milleur Francois le mist
the Oxford Statutes : Qu'ele n'estoit quant a li vint."
"Degener Anglorum gens, quae 1.404.
servire solebat, " Si vaut a lui parler Francois,
Ordine mutato regem cum prole Mais sa langue torne en Englois."
regebat, 1. 2623.
Conjurat populus fruiturus lege The Abbot of Bury at an earlier date
novella." is chronicled as being able to speak
— Pol. Songs from MS. Cotton, Ves- Latin and French, in a plain way,
pas. B. xm. and to read English well, though
1 Ann. Burton. with a Norfolk brogue. — Chr. Joce-
2 In the romance of " Blonde of lin. His remark on the election of
Oxford " (13th c.) are several allu- a prior (1200) proves that sermons
sions to the mixed prevalence of the in English were needed, and were
two languages. Even highborn per- not uncommon. "Abbas" — "dicens
sons are represented as speaking bad quod in multis ecclesiis fit sermo in
French; the young Frenchman, Jehan conventu Gallice, vel potius Anglice
de Dammartin, made love to the Earl ut morum fieret edificatio, non litera-
of Oxford's daughter by teaching her turae ostensio," p. 95. Herebert, the
better French, and the Earl of Glou- abbot's chaplain, when elected prior,
cester speaks bad French. is thus described: "Sobrius et vo-
" Un peu parroit a son langage lubilis linguae in Gallico idiomate
Que ne fu pas nee a Pontoise." utpote Normannus nacione," p. 95.
1. 358.

IV.] THE OXFORD STATUTES. 75
resorted to English, because they had not the use of any
other language1."
As in the King's circular letter2 to each county on this
occasion, we have the earliest state paper in English extant,
it may be interesting to have a genuine specimen of this
King's English, the concluson of which runs thus :
" Widnesse usselven set Lunden' thane egtetenthe day on
the monthe of Octobr' in the two fowertigthe yeare of ure
cruninge : and this wes idon setforen ure isworene redesmen
(here follow the names of the councillors), iEtforen othre nloge,
and al on the ilche worden is isend in to aurihce othre shcire
over al thare Kuneriche on Engleneloande ek in tel Irelonde."
The King appears in this proclamation unreservedly to
pledge himself and enjoin obedience to the Oxford Statutes.
" Henry, through God's support, King of England, Lord of
Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, Count of Anjou,
sends greeting to all his liegemen, clerical and lay, in Hunt
ingdonshire ; That you may all well know that we will grant,
that whatever our Councillors, all or the majority of them,
who are chosen by us, and by the people of this land (Lands-
folk) in our kingdom, have done or shall do for the honour of
God, for our allegiance, and for the good of this land, by the
agency of these aforesaid Councillors, be stedfast and lasting
in all things without end. And we enjoin ali our lieges, by
the allegiance which they owe to us, that they stedfastly hold,
and swear to hold in this respect to the Provisions that are
made or may be made by those aforesaid Councillors, or by the
majority of them, as has been also before said; and that each
other person help to do that which others ought to do and to
bear towards them, and that none, either of my land or else
where, through this business be hindered or reversed in any
way; and -if any man or woman should go against this, we will
and command that all our other lieges hold them as most
deadly enemies ; And because we will, that this be stedfast
1 July 13, 1281.— Wilkins's Cone. a Rymer, from Pat. in Tur. Lond.
M. Br. 1, 391. 43 H. III.

76 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
and lasting, we send you this writ open, signed with our seal
to keep among your stores. Witness ourself at London the
18th day of the month of October, in the 42nd year of our
reign : And this was done before our sworn Councillors —
" Boniface, Archbishop of Canterbury,
" Walter of Cantelop1, Bishop of Worcester,
"Simon of Montfort, Earl of Leicester,
" Richard of Clare, Earl of Gloucester and Hertford,
" Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, Marshal of England,
" Peter of Savoy,
"William of Fortibus, Earl of Albemarle 2,
" John of Plesseiz, Earl of Warwick,
"John Geoffreyson,
" Peter of Montfort,
" Richard of Grey,
" Roger of Mortimer,
"James of AlditheP, and before many others.
"And all and each word is sent into every other shire
over all the kingdom of England and into Ireland4."
Nearly the same names are also found to a spirited me
morial, which the barons at this time sent to the Pope in
explanation of their conduct, and which their messengers
were desired to deliver and then return without entering
into any controversy. Among the chief complaints thus
embodied, are "the ruinous disorders, the distress, and the
decay of learning to which the introduction of so many Ita
lians into English benefices6, and the infatuation of the
1 Cantelow. Oxon MS. of the city of Oxford by Mr Joy, and
'¦¦ His arms, in the north aisle of is published in Dr Ingram's Me-
Westminst,er Abbey, are "gules, a morials of Oxford, Vol. nr. p. 6. It
cross potence vaire." He sided with is directed " To alle his holde ilerde
the barons throughout, dying 1263, and ileawede on Oxenefordeschir."
without male heirs. 6 As a palliation of this evil, the
3 The curious in surnames should Pope, in 1253, had permitted patrons
remark that these noblenien, when to present at once to benefices, even
speaking English, didnotprefix "de" before vacancies, reserving, however,
to their surnames, but the transla- the life interest of the foreigners 
tion " of." Lingard. A century after this, how-
4 Another copy of this proolama- ever (1374), Wicliffe was sent to
tion was found among the archives Rome with the very same complaint.

IV.] THE OXFORD STATUTES. 77
King, by denying justice against his favourites, had brought
the country; the manifesto announced that twelve on each
side had been appointed to reform all abuses, while the
barons at once renounced the crown of Sicily, which had
been accepted for Prince Edmund without their consent.
The point, however, most strongly urged upon the Pope, as
that most within his competence, was the dismissal of Ay
mer, from the bishopric of Winchester, denouncing him as
leading the King and Prince Edward to perjury, unmindful
of his own salvation, and watching only for the disturbance
and waste of the kingdom. They supposed his deposition
would be the easier, inasmuch as he had never yet been
consecrated bishop, but even if the King and barons wished
to re-admit him, they stated plainly that the community
would not tolerate it, and worse would ensue ; the officials of
Aymer1 and the other aliens had been more like robbers, so
plundering the poor and ensnaring the simple, that neither
could inferiors live under them, nor equals deal with them,
nor superiors check them. The barons, however, were re
solved to oppose to the subterfuges of their enemies an union
so much the more earnest, as well knowing that no faithful
brotherhood could exist, unless where there was an entire
agreement of will and a cementing together of the very
minds2. The Pope's answer did not come till two years after
(1260), and even then declined to discuss any schemes of
church reform with laymen ; to the complaint of the decay
of literature his reply was remarkable, adroitly denying the
fact by complimenting England on its poetry and learning :
" On the contrary," he remarked, " so far from finding any
scarcity of learned men in England, by the grace of God we
cannot discover now-a-days any kingdom or province in the
1 The prior and convent of S. deprived them of unlawfully, under
Swithin at Winchester, in a petition pretence of purchase. — 597, Chanc.
to the King, prayed the restitution Rec. 5th Rep.
to them of the manor of Portland, 3 "Etiam conglutinatio animo-
which their late Bishop Aymer had rum."— Rymer.

78 THE barons' war. [ch.
whole world, which has a greater, or even so great, an abun
dance of them. For in this kingdom of England there is
found in these present times a most agreeable fountain of
Helicon, from the very sweet liquor of which, not only
natives, but even foreigners, receive and quaff pleasant
draughts, by which their dry hearts and thirsty breasts are
copiously refreshed. There reside the liberal arts of philo
sophy, by which the rude spirits of men are disciplined :
from thence proceeds, and has proceeded, an illustrious mul
titude of learned men, and a succession of saints, in whose
company the army of Heaven rejoices, and from the authors
of this land also deep springs of writings have burst forth,
and are now bursting forth, so as to irrigate the neighbour
ing provinces with their floods1."
What these draughts were of which tlie Pope had so
keen a relish, it is difficult to trace. There were certainly
some Englishmen of great learning even in this age2, when
paper was [practically] Unknown and parchment scarce, but
they were mostly educated at Paris, such as Archbishop
Langton, St Edmund, and Bishop Grethead. The latter,
indeed, was partly an Oxford scholar, and was not only a
good Grecian, but composed, also, a Romancal poem " on the
sin of the first man," of 1700 verses, still extant. There
were some other poets3 of little note: William of Wadding-
1 Rymer. 3 ArchaBol.Vol. xm. p. 36. [We may
2 Even long afterwards the laity perhaps add to these] the twelve lays
were thought unworthy of learning : in French verse by Marie, born in
the enlightened Bishop of Durham, Brittany, but writing in England,
R. de Bury, the great book collector, and dedicating to a king who under-
the author of Philobiblion (finished stood English. The romances appear
1343), the correspondent of Petrarch, taken from Welch or Armoric ones ;
the preceptor of Edward III., ob- she introduces English words occa-
serves," Laid omnium librorum com- sionally, as "fire," translates " Laus-
munione sunt indigni." — Hutch. tic " (Arm.) into Nightgale, and
Durh. The Hamaritic Arabians proper names into English. — Harl.
laid the most jealous restrictions MS. 978, translated Cotton Calig. A.
on learning their mode of writing, 11. She is referred by Fauchet
" characteres eoruni — vulgo discere (OSuvres, 579) to middle of 13th
non permittebant ; nee cuipiam, nisi century. — Pasquin, Recherches de la
post impetratam ab ipsis veniam, France, 8. 1. She also wrote Fables
iisdem utendi facultatem." — Pocock, with some English words : Harl. MS,
Spect. Hist. Arab. p. 161. Foster's 978 (104 fables)— the prologue refers
Arabia. to Longsword, Earl of Salisbury, who

IV.] THE OXFORD STATUTES. 79
ton, who translated the poem of " Manuel " into French ; the
native of Amesbury, who continued Wace's1 "Brutus;" Denis
Pyramus, the author of some free tales at Henry III.'s court ;
and the "Roman de la Rose," too, was begun in 1250 by
William de Loris. Can the Pope have alluded to the won
drous intellect of Roger Bacon2, to whom all the know
ledge preceding and succeeding times seems to have been
familiar ? Many of his greater works, however, had not then
been written.
The barons, having by their union and courage estab
lished the government upon principles consistent with public
liberty and their own security, saw England now, at length,
restored to a peaceful content, which continued for three
years. If they, however, are to be charged as rebels- when
fighting in the subsequent war, they were so now, for they
had changed all the powers of the state, and if not justified
by the paramount necessity of the case in the battle-field of
Lewes, neither were they so now, in effecting a bloodless, but
not less complete revolution.
It would be neither easy nor safe to define strictly the
point of oppression at which the right of resistance begins —
"a right," as has been eloquently observed3, "terrible and
unsocial, for it appeals to force and to war, which is the
destruction of society itself, but a right nevertheless which
must never be effaced from the inmost heart of man, for its
effacement is the acceptance of slavery." No hasty hand, on

died 1226 ; [and she says at the end,] Saxon family, as his Anglo-Norman
" Marie ai non, si suis de France." history is not exact. He relates the
La Fontaine took from her the sub- choice of the* Conqueror's sons, Ro-
jects of " The Drowning Woman," bert to be a hawk, William Rufus to
" Fox and Cat," " Fox and Pigeon." be an eagle, Henry to be a starling.
1 Robert Wace, in 1155, turned (Cott. Cleop. A. xn.)
the Latin Brutus of Geoffry of Mon- 2 R. Bacon says he only knew four
mouth into French verse, ending men of his time skilled in mathe-
with 7th century (Cott. Vitell. A. x.). matics : his own pupil John of Lon-
The continuation carried on the an- don, Peter de Maharn Curia of Pi-
nals to 1241. He lived at Amesbury, cardy, Campan of Novaria, and Ni-
and alludes to the death of Prinoess colas, the tutor of Almeric de Mont-
Eleanor of Brittany at Bristol, 1241. fort. — Op. Min. Wood, Antiq. Oxon.
He is supposed to have been of a 3 Guizot, Civilis. en Europe.

80 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
slight cause, should grasp at even the rightful arms of defence;
such weapons may well be suspended in the armoury of the
Constitution as a token and a warning, without being handled
for every-day use. Though custom has limited the term of
rebellion to the opposition of subjects to their King, yet all
disobedience to the supremacy of the law 1 might, on sound
principles, be thus denounced, and such disobedience may
equally arise from a King, a House of Commons, a self-
exempting Church, or a misled people. In all cases where
law ceases, disorder begins; and though it may, according to
the agent, at times be called tyranny, and at others privilege
or rebellion, it is substantially the same, and deserving of
the same reproach. In the present case it was not only the
feudal chieftain in his castle, but the men of peace, the
bishop in his palace, and the monk in his cell, the busy
citizen, and the peasant in his cottage, who felt aggrieved,
and who all joined heart and hand in the resistance to
Henry III. In the words of Lord Bacon2, "such men's eyes
are upon the business, and not upon the persons, or if upon
the persons, it is for the business' sake as fittest, and not for
flags and pedigree."
Almost all the memorials of the time teem with approba^
tion of the change resulting from the Oxford Statutes, and
with well-considered arguments in their support. The
reasons justifying the barons were reviewed with ability in a
1 The venerable H. de Bracton, a nisi id solum quod de jure potest,
judge of this age, maintains the same nee obstat quod dicitur, quod prin-
doctrine throughout in [his treatise cipi placet legis habet vigorem; po-
on the laws of England] : " Lex om- testas sua juris est et non injurias ;
niumrex." " Hoc sanxit lex humana, quia ilia potestas solius Dei est, po-
quod leges suum ligent latorem." testas autem ifijuriaB Diaboli et non
" Merito debet (rex) retribuere legi, Dei, et cujus horum operum fecerit
quia lex tribuit ei, facit enim lex quSd rex, ejus minister erit, cujus opera
ipse sit rex."— 1. 3, c. 9. "Sedemju- fecerit."— 1. 3. e. 9. f. 107. "Est enim
dicandi,quaeestquasithronusDei,non corona regis facere justitiamet judi-
praesumat quis ascendere insipiens cium et tenere pacem, sine quibus
•et indoctus."— 1. 1. c. 2. "Superva- corona consistere non potest nee
cuum esset leges condere et justitiam tenere."— 1. 2. c. 24. Henr. de Brac-
facere, nisi esset qui leges tueretur ; ton, De Leg. et Cons. Anglise.— Lond.
* "nihil enim aliud potest rex in 1569.
terris,cumsitDeiministeretvicarius, s Essays.

IV.] THE OXFORD STATUTES. 81
poem1 written a few months after the battle of Lewes, the
condensed spirit of which is worthy of remark.
It urged "that the barons intended no prejudice to the
royal honour, but that they felt as much bound by duty to
come forward and reform the state, as if the kingdom had
been attacked by an enemy ; for if the King's real enemies,
the wretched false flatterers around him, strove to pervert
the prerogatives of the crown to their own pomps, trampling
on the native nobles, while contemptible aliens were ad
vanced to high places, did not this amount to an attack by
enemies, and if the King, seduced by them or by his own
evil will2, should do wrong, was it not the duty of the barons
to reform it ? Nor could the analogy of God being a single
and supreme governor at all warrant a weak fallible King to
claim uncontrolled power. The King might, indeed, urge
that he should have the power of selecting whom he pleased
to assist his own weakness ; such freedom would not, however,
be interfered with by restrictions on his doing wrong, to which
children and even angels submit. Let him be free then to
do all that is good, but let him not dare to do ill; such is
God's charter3. He, himself, was but the servant of Heaven,
and could claim no allegiance from others, unless he owned
his to his God ; let4 him feel that the people belong to God,
not to himself; he who may be set over a people for a time is
soon laid low under his marble tomb, while God's power remains
1 Polit. Songs, from Hari. MS., Sed malum non audeat : Hoc est
978, in Latin rhyme. The inscrip- dei donum." — V. 687.
tion on an old tUe from Great Mai- Compare the lines quoted in the
vern (in Gent. Mag., May 1844, pi. 1, Vision of Piers Plowman. LI. 281-
fig. vii.) is said to have been an- 284, ed. Wright :
ciently used as a talisman against " Dum rex a regere dicatur nomen
fire, and is found also on a bell at habere
Kenilworth: "Mentemsanctam,spon- Nomen habet sine re, nisi studet
taneum honorem Deo, patriae libera- jura tenere."
tionem." It would have been no bad 4 " Sciat populum non suum sed
exposition of the professed principles Dei,
of the barons' party at this period. Et qui parvo tempore populo prar
2 " Seu rex ex malitia faceret no- fertur,
civa." — V. 590. Citd clausus marmore terras sub-
3 "Ergoregi libeat omne quod est infertur." — V. 707.
bonum, G

82 THE. PARQNS'*WAR. [CH.
for ever. If a prince, instead of toying his people, should de
spise and strip them, it would be difficult not to despise and
resist in return ; for- freemen cannot be expected to subniit to
such treatment. As a King, therefore^ depending on his own
judgment may readily err,, it is very fit tha,t the Cpmnaons of
the realm should be consulted, to whom the laws and custpjns
are best kn.°wn, and; who can best express public opinion).
Men should be chosen as counsellors to the King, who have
both the will, knowledge, and courage1 tp»he useful, who- would
feel themselves hurt when the, kingdom suffered, and would
rejoice when the nation was glad. If the King cannot choose
such me% others must, for &s, the safety or ruin of all must
depend on the guidance, of the; vessel of state.,, the. choice of a
competent pilot concerns all. To permit fools in their- ignor
ance to govern cannott be called true; liberty2, which should evejj
be bounded by the limits of the. law, beyond which all iser-rpr;
fpr the law i& paramQuU,f ©yen tp the; King's dignity3'; it is the
light without which he who guides others, must go astray."
A_fter the lapse; pf six centuries little-, could be- weU added)
to the force and clearness pf this argument, which singularly
tallies with, the soundest constitutional doctrine. of the- present
day, and it may serve as* an, answer to the: iieproach, of a
modern historian4 upon the revolutipn effected by thei Oxford
Statutes, "that its tendency was to, a. very narrow aristocracy,
the end pf. which would, be anarchy- or tyranny." By the
. general concurrence of evidence it is manifest that the people
of England judged the reasons sufficient at the time to justify
the innovation on the usual forms of their government ; and
he only, who is ready, in the present day, to avow his passive
1 "Qui velint, et sciant Sed liber,tas finibus jurj%,limi-
Et prodesse valeant. * * * * tetur
Qui se lffldi sentiunt, si regnum, Spretisque limitibus error re-
laedatur, putetur."— V.. 833.
***¦**. a "Legem quoque dicimus regis-
Gaudenti congaudeant." — V. 786. dignitatem
2 " Nee libertas proprie debet no- Regere.1'- — V. 848.
minari « Hume.
Quse permittet stnltos dominari;

IV.] THE OXFORD STATUTES. 83
obedience under similar provocation, may presume to reverse
their judgment.
King Henry, who, like Proteus,, as he was called by a
contemporary1, had so often evaded all the ties of faith and
honour,, now felt his power effectually restrained by sterner
bonds. Though the only means of defence left him were' a
false heart and a bitter tongue, yet with both these did he
continue the struggle. To relieve his conscience from the
pressure',, however slight, of his oath, he applied at once to
the Pope for absolution from it, while he betrayed the vexa
tion of his reduced position by ill-advised speeches.
Going down the Thames one day he was overtaken by so
violent a thunderstorm*, of which he had a great dread, that
he was put on shore at the Bishop- of Durham's2 palace,
which was opposite. De' Montfort, who was residing there,
came- out to meet him with all due respect,, observing,
"What do you fear now, Sire, the tempest has passed?"
The' King, however, who continued to evince alarm,, openly
confessed, " I do, indeed, dread thunder and lightning much,
but, by the hea'd3 of God, I tremble before you more than
for all the thunder in Heaven." It was in vain that the earl
calmly pointed out to him "how Unjust and incredible it
would seem that he sbould fear one who had ever been' a
true- friend to: him, his family, and the kingdom, when he
ought rather to fear his enemies and deceivers4." Such
hatred' of those who now held sway, thus overpowering even
his hypocrisy, was not likely to' conciliate them.
The barons Were, at this- time, embarrassed- by the ex
pected return of the titular King of the Ro^hans from Ger-'
many, whose influence they feared might upset their new
arrangements. The Bishop of Worcester, Peter of Savoy,
John Mansel, and the Abbot of Bury, were sent over to
1 M. Par. by the Adelphi.
2 In after times it was given by 3 King John had adopted for his'
Henry VIII. to Anne Boleyn, and habitual oath, " by God's>feet.>'
was the residence of Elizabeth, while * M. Par.
Princess. The site is now occupied
G 2

84: THE barons' war. [ch.
require his oath to the Oxford Statutes before he landed, and
the King, who had hastened to Canterbury to meet him, also
exhorted him, by letter1, not to introduce the exiled aliens
by force, which he was evidently expected to do. Though
the prince, at first, not only declined the oath, but refused
any explanation of his visit, insisting on his right as an earl
and prince to be, consulted in the reform of abuses, he soon
learnt that the barons now in power were not to be trifled
with. Troops and ships lined the coast to resist his approach
on any terms, and finding all animated with a hearty good
will to maintain the new state of things, he yielded, and was,
at length, permitted to land, with his wife, his second son
Edmund, and a very limited suite. Even then he was not
allowed to enter the castle of Dover, but, on the following
day, was called forward as Earl of Cornwall in the Chapter
House at Canterbury by the Earl of Gloucester, who took no
notice of his foreign title, and he then publicly and solemnly
swore to be a faithful and active helper in reforming the-
government on pain of forfeiting all his lands.
The Londoners, when they saw him return thus peace
ably without his Poictevin brothers contrary to their fears,
honoured his entry with unusual welcome (Feb. 2), and he
seems to have attended principally to his own affairs and the
management of his enormous wealth during his residence.
It was soon after this that he obtained the grant of a Guild
hall for his German subjects in London, where they might
import grain, ropes, linen, steel, &c.3
After thus maintaining domestic peace, and disentangling
England from the ties of the Sicilian crown8, the barons
exhibited another proof of wiser counsels by a treaty with
France, in which the formal resignation was made of Nor-
1 Dated Jan. 18, 1259.— Rymer. " si viderint expedire."— Windsor
2 Stow's London. Grant, dated June 18. Rymer. There are manv
Westminster, June 15, 1259. Papal briefs pressing for money on
3 The King had authorized proxies, account of Sicily, May 30 Dec 18
one of whom was Simon de Mont- 1258. — Rymer.
fort, to renounce the crown of Sicily,

lv-] THE OXFORD STATUTES. 85
mandy and other French provinces, long lost indeed, but to
which the title had never been disclaimed until now ; some
territories (Perigord Limousin), long estranged from the Eng
lish crown, were in return restored, by the conscientious
French monarch, and also such a sum of money, as the main
tenance of 500 knights for two years ought reasonably to cost,
was to be paid to the King of England, to be expended only
for the service of God, the Church, or the kingdom, to the
satisfaction of the twenty-four councillors1. Notwithstanding
any precaution, this article to supply the means of keeping
on foot a standing army appears a singular, and as the event
proved, dangerous device. Commissioners2 were appointed
to settle the amount due under this clause, and as 134,000
livres Tournois (at 2s., £13,400) were subsequently agreed
upon, payable by six instalments, we may learn from this,
that each horseman was calculated to cost 335 livres Tournois
(£33. 10s.)3 a year, or 28 livres Tournois (£2. 16s.) a month,
about Is. 10^d. a day.
The French treaty was throughout negotiated and con
cluded by the principal barons in person : the earls of
Hereford and Albemarle witnessed King Henry's act of
renunciation.; Simon de Montfort, Peter de Savoy, and
Hugh le Bigot acted as his proctors4 at its ratification in
1 Rymer. The text of the treaty mund's seems to have paid his four
is in French, the preamble and con- knights in 1198 about 3s. a day each,
elusion in Latin. The 5th article during their forty days of service.
runs thus: "Derechef li Roi de "Abbas autem in instanti eis (qua-
France donra al Roi d'Angleterre ce tuor militibus) 36 marcas dedit ad
que cine cenz chevalers devroient expensas 40 dierum." — Chr. Jocelin.
coster reisnablement a tenir deux p. 63.
anz a lesgard de prodes homes qui 4 Rymer. In Archives duRoyaume,
seront nome' d'une part et autre * * Carton, 629, £ (Tresor des Chartes,
et li Rois d'Angleterre ne doit ces p. 7), there are several seals appended
deniers despendre forsque el service to the original treaty of peace, 1258.
Dieu ou d'Eglise ou al profit del 1. Simon de Montfort's arms on a
roiaume de Angleterre, et ce par la heater escutcheon within a circular
veue des prodes homes de la terre, seal. 2. Peter de Savoy, a lion ram-
esleuz par le Roi d'Angleterre et par part (broken). 3. Guy de Lusignan
les hauz homes de la terre." (perfect) Secretum Sigillum, "barry,
2 Rymer, Westminster, May 20. a lion rampant." 4. Geoffry de Lu-
" Spelman values the livre Tour- signan, a large seal representing him
nois at this period at 2s., Lingard on horseback with his horn, a dog on
at 5s. The Abbot of Bury St. Ed- the saddle behind him. 5. Bigot (is

86 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
the presence of the French King, and they with others
acted as commissioners to arrange the amount of payments.
There was very properly a reservation of private claims on
thus surrendering the nominal sovereignty of the French
provinces, and there were probably many such to be ad
justed, several of the great families settled in England
having held lands in Normandy on feudal tenures. In a
record1 of the time of Henry II., among those from whom
service to the duchy of Normandy was due, are the follow^
ing names, familiar in English history :
Humphrey de Boun (Bphun ) . . . .
William de Veteri Ponte (Vippnt) ,
Walkelin de Ferrars ......
Hugh de Mortimer 
WiUiam de Tregoz 
Ralph de Ver , 
Robert de Montfort, for the honour of Caucainvill
,, „ for Orbec ....
Geoffrey de Montfort  ,
Hugh de Montfort, for lands held under the churph
pf Bayaux ....... 8 ...
Robert Marmiun and Dom. Bardolf neither came nor sent, nor said any
thing in answer to their summons.
The seryice of a fractional [knight or heavy-armed
soldier] so carefully noted in the register was of course
fulfilled by the whole man extending his legal forty days
in a similar proportion.
As there was drawn up at the same date with the treaty
wanting). To the Confirmation of one side a knight on horseback, on
the Peace by the barons and pre- the other his arms. 7. Peter de.
lates of England, 1259 (Arch, du Roy. Montfort, within a oircular seal an
Garton, 629. 10, Fr. des Ch. p. 9,) escutcheon bendy. 8. John Mansel,
there are 16 seals appended. 1. on one side an antique head with
Roger de Mortimer, his arms on a inscription from a Roman Imperial
heater escutcheon within a circular coin, on the other, half of an armed
seal. 2. Hugh le Bigot, Justiciary, man on a tower, beneath which a
lion rampant on a small escutcheon. kneeling figure. 9. Philippe Basset
3. Peter of Savoy, a circular seal, (large), circular containing arms on
with a lion rampant, no escutcheon. escutcheon three bars indented.
4. Richard de Grey, a knight gallop- x Exchequer book of Duchy of
ing. 5. James de Andridelee (in- Normandy in Duoarel's Antiq. Anglo-
distinct). 6. Earl of Albemarle, on Norm. pp. 29 — 38.

C nights.

In hi;

i own service.

2

2

2

...

111

5

42j

5

13J

H

1
5
33
H
...
Si
.-;.
13j
IV. J THE OXFORD STATUTES. 87
(May 20, 1259) an act1 to indemnify the Princess Eleanor,
Countess of Leicester, for any loss She might sustain by it,
an erroneous charge2 has arisen against her and her husband,
as having broken off the treaty under the hope of Normandy
becoming the inheritance of their children. So far from
this being true, the cOuntess did in fact solemnly resign her
claims to any "lands in Normandy, Anjou, Tourame, Maine,
Poictou, or in any other part of France," in the presence
of both kings and of her husband at Paris, on the Thursday
after St Andrew, Dec. 1259 3.
The twenty-four councillors went on thus ruling the
country successfully, though absorbing for a time the royal
authority ; the merits of monarchy however are not un
usually seen best in contrast with the experiment of other
systems; One of the inevitable evils of multiplied sources
of power soon arose, jealousy among co-equals4; and though
the overpowering weight of the public interests for a time
overbalanced the violence of the shock, yet the elements
of derangement were in. activity, and ultimately produced
results fatal to the mechanism of the barons' government.
Xhe dissension which arose between the two great chiefs,
de- Clare and de Montfort, in their hour of undisputed autho
rity, has been indistinctly assigned to various motives. The
supposition of the Countess of Leicester's retention of her
private claims has been already disposed of, and another
account represents de Clare as reviving against his colleague
the refuted accusations of oppression in Gascony ; while on
the other hand de Montfort is said to have provoked a
sharp personal altercation by his straightforward rebukes
on the hesitation of his colleagues in enforcing the reforms

1 Rymer. A commission to settle their Confirmation of the Peace,
her claims was also appointed on the dated Dec. 4, 1259, in Archiv. du
same day.— Rymer. Roy. Cart. 629, 13.
2 M. Par. 4 "Nulla fides regni sociis, omnis-
s Rymer. The seals of Simon de que potestas
Montfort and his countess are both Impatiens consortia erit.
wanting (apparently torn off) from — Lucan i.

88 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
determined upon. "What, my lords, after having resolved
and sworn, do you still deliberate in doubt, and you espe
cially, my lord of Gloucester, who, as the most eminent of
us all, are so much the more strictly bound to these whole
some Statutes? I have no pleasure in dealing with such
false and fickle men." Although de Bohun and others of
the Council sided with him, he appears to have withdrawn
to France in dissatisfaction.
That there was a general apprehension of the barons
halting in their career at this period may be gathered from
the vehement tone of remonstrance in some contemporary
writings, calling upon de Clare, le Bigot, and others, not to
.flinch from their oaths1.
The King, though doubtless rejoiced to see any division
among the barons, continued yet for some time to dissemble,
perhaps waiting for the papal brief of absolution, With the ¦
ostensible motive of forwarding the additional articles of the
treaty with France, which were arranged during the autumn
.of 1259 2, he repaired in person to meet the French King,
1 " 0, Comes Glovernite, comple stopped to hear masses at so many
' quod ccepisti, churches in his way from his jaister-
Nisi claudas congrue, multos de- in-law's, St Germain des PriSs. This
cepisti :" again happened the next day. To
* * * * obviate this, the French King secretly
" 0 tu Comes le Bygot, pactum ordered all the churches on the road
serva sanum to be shut up, so that King Henry,
Cum gis miles strenuus, nunc ex- deprived of this pretext, arrived at
erce manum." the Parliament among the earliest ;
* * * * but when complimented for his punc-
' ' 0 vos magni proceres, qui yos tuality, interposed another objection,
obligatis, " My dearest brother and kinsman,
Observate firmiter illud quod ju- I cannot hold intercourse with people
ratis." — Pol. Songs. W. Rish. and at a place under an interdict ;"
2 vi. Cal. Dec. (Nov. 26) 1259, the and explained his reason for so say-
King of England coming to Paris for ing by the fact of having found all
peace, was received solemnly in the the churches on his road shut up, as
great church (in ecclesia majori). — if under an interdict. The French
Gall. Christ, tome vii. The King King was therefore obliged to confess
evinced some signs of reluctance at his stratagem, and with somewhat of
Paris in this negotiation of treaty. a 'taunt, which we should not have
The Parliament of Paris waited for his expected from so saintly a monarch,
presence, as Duke of Aquitaine, before asked: "My beloved kinsman, why
proceeding to business, but he ar- do you delight in hearing so many
rived too late, and excused himself masses?" Henry: "And why do you
to Louis IX. by alleging that he had delight in so many sermons ?" Louis :

IV.] THE OXFORD STATUTES. 89
and probably procured promises at least of assistance from
him in his intended change of policy, besides drawing upon
the fund appointed by the treaty from time to time1 for his
own purposes. He wrote2 indeed to enjoin Prince' Richard
" to guard his Cornish coasts from any landing of aliens, his
Poictevin brothers having collected arms and horses for in
vasion;" but the armaments were probably with his con
nivance, and the prohibition only dictated by the barons.
While sickness was detaining him abroad, he was much
alarmed by a suspicion that de Montfort was conspiring to
prevent his return and to supersede him by Prince Edward-
This was probably unfounded3, but there appears to have
been some coolness at the time between the King and his
son, whom he would not even admit to his presence on his
return, being conscious, as he confessed himself, of his own
weakness : " If I see him, I might not be able to resist kiss
ing him," and it required the mediation of Prince Richard
to effect a reconciliation. Of de Montfort the King was evi
dently distrustful, though that nobleman's absence abroad
had weakened the barons and excited suspicions* of his fide-
"It seems to me very sweet and age to King Louis for Aquitaine at
wholesome to hear so often of my Paris, December 9, 1259 ("die Jovis
Creator." Henry :" And it seems to post festumSt'Andrese), in presence of
me sweeter and wholesomer to see Archbishop Boniface of Canterbury,
Himagainandagainratherthanmere- Godfrey de Kinton, Archbishop of
ly to hear of Him." The result of this York, Benedict de Gravesend, Bishop
incident was that each King was left of Lincoln, Simon de Wanton, Bishop
to attend sermons or masses at his of Norwich, one of the King's Justices,
own option, and that the treaty was Henry de Wingham, Bishop Elect of
carried on by the other peers without London, Richard de Clare, Earl of
them. One cannot help suspecting Gloucester, William deFortibus, Earl
that there was a real unwillingness of Albemarle (who died the sameyear),
in the English King to appear as a Dominus Petrus de Montfort, John,
vassal duke in the French court, Lord de Balliol, John Mansel, Lord
disguised under this show of religious Keeper, "cum multis aliis adstanti-
zeal.— Archa?ol. Journ. 1860, p. 316. bus."— MS.record attesting it, belong-
The articles were signed on theMonday ing to P. O'Callaghan, Esq.
before S. Lucia, December 8, 1259. 2 Boulogne, April, 1260. — Rymer.
1 Rot. Pat. 44 Hen. III. On the 3 T. Wykes considers it false,
Monday after St Peter and St Paul, MS. Add. 5444 affirms it.
1260, he received 14,513 1. T, from l " Nam se quidam retrahunt, qui
King Louis, who was also to repay possunt juvare,
5000 marcs to the King of the Ro- Quidam subterfugiuin qusrunt ultra
mans for him. Henry III. did hom- mare. " — W. Rish. Pol. Songs.

90 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
lity among his own party. A few days after his return, the
King complained of French passports having enabled de
Montfort to bring over some horses and arms, "by which (he
observes in his letter to the French King) you may more
clearly see the disposition of his mind towards us1."
Whether this was written confidentially, or in the hope
of fomenting the jealousy of the other barons, may be
doubted, but as the King was still watching the opportunity
to take off the mask, we find the Earl of Leicester a little
later officiating, by his special appointment, as steward at the
court feast of St Edward, Oct. 13, 1260. King Henry had
secretly invited his brother Aymer to return from exile, but
he was deprived of what help his violent and unpopular
advice might have given him, by the bishop's death at Paris
at this time : he had in the meanwhile considerably increased
the fortifications of the Tower of London, within which he
had entrenched himself with the Queen, preferring such de
fences to the nobler and firmer guard of his people's love2.
As this and other symptoms gave occasion to rumours of
some intended treachery, he endeavoured to counteract their
effects by a proclamation, dated from the Tower, March 14,
1261s, disavowing any intention of imposing unusual taxes,
and ordering " the arrest of any persons who should excite
discord between himself and the barons by such reports."
At length there came to him the expected relief to his
scrupulous conscience," derivable from a papal absolution,
procured by bribes4; and it may be as well to reproduce to
public scorn a state paper6 avowedly sanctioning perjury,
with some selfish reservations :
1 April 28, 1260. — Rymer. Simon chiavelli (II Principe), anticipating
de Montfort had made a temporary Burke's "cheap defence of nationB."
visit to England in February, when 3 Rymer.
he'offered a precious baldequin at the 4 " Donariis missis." — Oxenede's
shrine of St Alban. — Mat. West. Chr.
2 " Perd la miglior fortezza che sia, 6 The Latin original is in Rymer.
6 non esser odiato dal popola ; perche Its authpr, Alexander IV. (Reinalde
ancora che tu abbi le fortezze, e il de Conti di Segna, Bishop of Ostia,
popolo ti abbia in odio, le non ti elected Dec. 12, 1254), died in the
salvano." A striking remark of Ma- next month, May 25, 1261.

IV.] THE OXFORD STATUTES. 91
"Alexander, bishop and servant of the servants of God,
to our dearest son in Christ, the illustrious King of England,
health and apostolical blessing.
" It has come to our knowledge, that you, heretofore in
duced apparently by a certain pressure1 of the nobles and
people of your realm, have bound yourself by your personal
oath to observe certain statutes, ordinances and regulations,
which they, under the pretext of reforming the state of your
kingdom, are said to have made in your name, and to have
confirmed by oaths to the diminution of your power and to
the detriment of your royal freedom.
" We, therefore, being willing to provide for your dignity
in this matter, with our apostolical authority in the plenitude
of our power, from this time forwards, entirely absolve you
from your oath. If, however, there should be contained in
those statutes and ordinances anything concerning the favour
and advantage of prelates, churches, and ecclesiastical persons,
we do not intend to make such void, or in any way relax the
said oath in that respect.
" Let no sort of person, therefore, infringe this charter of
our absolution, or oppose it by rash endeavour ; if, however,
any one should presume to attempt it, let him know that
he will incur the wrath of Almighty God and of the blessed
apostles Peter and Paul, Given at the Lateran, April 13, 1261."
A similar brief was addressed to the Queen, the prelates,
nobles and others who had taken the oath, which the Pope
now annulled with the convenient explanation, "that the
sanctity of an oath, by which faith and truth should be con
firmed, ought not to be made the strengthening bond of
wickedness and perfidy2," It has been justly remarked3 that
this doctrine of absolution would in civil wars always ne-
1 " Quasi quadam impressione bono Ottomano, H°. de Seinchier,
magnatum et hominum." and R, Hanybal, for promoting his
a Rymer. 3 Kal. Maii, April 30, business (negotia), as had been re-
1261. On the 20th May, 1259, the ported to him by William Bonquer.
King wrote from Westminster letters — Rymer.
of thanks to the Cardinals Pietro 3 Sir J. Mackintosh.
Capoccio Albo, John Gaytano, Otto-

92 THE barons' war. [ch.
cessitate the extermination of one party by the other, for
nothing less would ensure the observance of any terms of
peace. The absolution having been read publicly at Paul's Cross
on the second Sunday in Lent, the King by a protean effort
again cast loose the restraints of his oath, and proceeded to
annul the laws he had sanctioned, but which we have reason
to think he had long meditated to get rid of. His courtiers
are represented as thus addressing him immediately after the
Oxford Parliament : "Sir, we see thin ille,
Thi lordschip is doun laid, and led at other wille,
* * * * *
It is a dishonoure to the and to thi blode.
Call agen thin oath, drede thou no menace,
Nowthor of lefe ne loth thi lordschip to purchace;
Thou may full lightly haf abolution
For it was a gilery, thou knew not ther tresoun.
Thou hast frendis enowe in Inglond and in France,
If thou turne to the rowe, the salle drede the chance1."
In his proclamation he now accused the barons of not
having kept the conditions agreed upon as to his own treat
ment, or the amendment of the laws: a charge which the
exciting circumstances of the period rendered probably true
to a certain extent, but a plea by which the King could have
no right to benefit, having, in fact, applied for absolution so
" lightly had," long before any possible infraction of the terms
by the other party.
The Queen had also won2 over some of the least resolute
of the barons, so that Henry now felt emboldened to displace
some of the new governors from his castles", and Mansel,

1 Rob. Brune, Chr. " Sir, we see a cheat, thou knewest not their trea-
thy grievance, thy power is cast down son : thou hast friends enough in
and guided at the will of others. It England and France : if thou turnest
is a' dishonour to thee and to thy to resistance they shall dread the
blood; recall thy oath, dread thou chance."
no menace, either by consent or force, ** M. Par.
to recover thy power. Thou mayest 3 Hugh le Bigot was displaced from
have absolution very easily, for it was Dover. — T. Wyke.

IV.J THE OXFORD STATUTES. 93
though one of the twenty-four councillors, surrendered1 to
him Scarborough and Pickering in pursuance of the Pope's
brief. All the fruits of the new policy, which had restored Eng
land to peace for the last three years, were in evident peril,
when the barons, who could not be inattentive to the King's
course of reaction, gathered again their formidable strength,
and offered for the sake of peace to assent to any reasonable
alterations of the Oxford Statutes : a conference between the
parties thus prepared for contest having taken place at Kings
ton2, they agreed at length (July 9, 1261), upon a mise or
reference on the disputed points to the decision- of the
French King Louis, the integrity of whose character, con
nected as he was by brotherhood with King Henry, received
thereby the most honourable tribute.
The King, however, did not allow himself to be checked by
this arrangement, and was preparing himself not to acquiesce
in any adverse sentence : he had collected troops, shut him
self up in the Tower, sent orders to the Cinque Ports for the
seizure of any arms, or horses or ships, should Simon de
Montfort attempt to land with them8; and as another indi
cation of the political struggle on which he was bent, he had
in May committed all his crown jewels to the custody of his
sister-in-law, the Queen of France, not perhaps so much for
their security as to raise money4 upon their deposit, a prac
tice not unusual in that age.. In ffhe list, besides his great
crown, three golden crowns, and five " garlands," which were
also cinctures for the head, were an alphabet, three gold
combs, fifty- two clasps, sixty-six girdles, 208 jewelled rings,
and the two golden peacocks, which poured sweet waters
from their beaks.
The King had. sent urgent summons for the return of his
son, who, having left England without his leave, had been
1 Rymer. 1261.— Pat. Rot.
2 The safe conduct granted to 3 Rymer.
the barons to meet at Kingston, to 4 5000 marcs borrowed on pledging
arrange terms, was dated May 20, them.

94 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
received with great distinction by the Duke of Burgundy, at
whose tournaments he gained great credit1 *, at Paris also
the Prince had engaged in similar trials of martial exercise
(Feb. 1262),. accompanied by his friends and cousins the two
sons of Simon de Montfort, When at length, in the begin
ning of June, the Prince attended his father's call, it was
only to reproach him bitterly for his false policy, and to
declare2 that "as for himself, though he bad unwillingly
sworn, yet he would not be false, to his oath,, and was ready
to* risk death for the good of the state, and commonalty of
England." He accordingly held himself aloof from the court
in order 'the more strongly to denote his opinaoiasi One of
the exiles, William de Valence, whom he: had brought over
with him, had been compelled to swear to the Oxford
Statutes, and to answer any charges made against him*, he
had been offered indeed the; liberty of remaining when the
other foreigners were sent away, in consideration of holding
the lands of the earldom of Pembroke.
Soon, after the mise had been arranged,, the King justified
his own course in- a proclamation3, wherein be announced
that. "he- should.no longer consent to the frivolous restraints
imposed on him, but should find a remedy for his diminished
power,, boasting of the long peace enjoyed by England during
his reign, explaining that he had recalled- some of the aliens
in order to profit by their advice, and had lately committed
his castles to his own friends, as being persons of greater
weight4, and cautioning his. subjects pot to listen to any
deceitful or false suggestions concerning him."
The arguments on, behalf of the King's views: in his- pre
sent position are found not unfairly stated in the poem from
which the summary of the barons' reasoning has been- already
extracted. The> King's, case was made to rest mainly upon
precedent and prerogative, "according to which he would
1 Chr. Dover, " bene in omnibus 3 Rymer. — MSS. Add. 5444.
se habuerat." 4 " Majoris potencies."
2 Ann. Burt. Chr. Rish.

IV.] THE OXFORD STATUTES. 95
cease to be a King, if restrained in his. power; the free.
choice, of judges, governors, and councillors, had always been
at the pleasure of the King without any interference from
the barons, who might indeed rule over their own property,
as the King might over his ; while any diminution of his
hereditary privileges would reduce him to be their slave1."
These were the opinions probably not only of himself, but
of most of the King's adherents at the time, and Were not
wholly unwarranted by the previous history of English
monarchy. While awaiting the result of the reference to the French
King, there, was, no relaxation on the part of King Henry in
improving his. own- position. He wrote2 to desire Louis "to
give no credit to the Earl of Leicester, who- had' gone to
France without his knowledge, and for reasons unknown to
him" — -a satisfactory? proof of that statesman's fidelity to the
great cause in which he. was so deeply- engaged, howev*er un
explained his absence may be.
After having so absolutely annulled the Oxford Statutes,
the King thought it expedient to grant a formal pardon to
the chiefs concerned in framing and executing them, appre
hensive probably of their strength, and also glad of the
opportunity of thus describing their reforms as crimes- which
needed his pardon. This document, dated from the Tower,
Dec. 7, 1261s, especially named the twenty-four councillors,
who had been exercising' the highest authority in the state
during the last three years.
A fresh absolution having become necessary to the tran-
i " * * Esse desineret rex, priva- * * * ne tarn ubere valeat
tus jure ljegnare •
Regis, nisi faceret quid vellet. Sicut reges hactenus qui se prae-
Non intromittentibus se de fac- cesserant,
tis regis1 Qui suis nullatenus subjecti fue-
Angliae baronibus, vim habente runt."
legis —Pol. Songs, from MS. Harl., 978,
Principis imperio; * * * v. 491, <Sse.
Quare regem fieri servum ma- 2 "Windsor, Sept. 2, 1261." — Ry-
chinantur mer.
Qui suam minuere volunt po- a Rymer,, in French.
testatem.

96 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
quillity of his mind in consequence of the death of the Pope
who had granted the first, the King wrote, Jan. 1, 1262, from
Westminster, to petition the Pope to cancel his oath, as his
predecessor had done1, and found the new Pontiff, Urban
IV.2, as pliant as his predecessor, so that his emissaries,
John de Hemyngford and John Lovell, soon brought back
another "solemn revocation of all the statutes, ordinances
and restrictions which the barons of England had devised in
diminution of the King's authority, even though he should
have consented and. sworn to them, denouncing at the same
time the penalties of excommunication on all recusants3."
Some of the King's party, the Archbishop, Simon de Waltone,
Bishop of Norwich, John Mansell and others, were enjoined
to publish this in all churches with ringing of bells and
lighted tapers4.
Louis IX. had in the meanwhile been anxiously assisting
Henry's agents at Paris, John de Cleyshill and John de
Montferrant, in their endeavours to detach Simon de Mont
fort from the party of the barons, but he was obliged to
report with deep regret his inability to find any method by
which the Earl of Leicester might return to the peace and
favour of his Sovereign, having been assured by the earl in
deed just before Lent, that "though he had confidence in
the good intentions of King Henry, yet he had none in his
advisers, and therefore did not think it comported with his
honour to agree to any terms, for certain reasons which he
should only give by word of mouth6." Even after this
answer, which fixes the integrity of de Montfort on the high
est testimony, the French King detained the agents at Paris,
in the vain hope of ultimate success.
1 Rymer. ',-'''. Rymer. "John Lovell,'" clerk and
2 Urban IV., Jacobo Pantaleon, proctor to the King of England at
Patriarch of Jerusalem, elected Aug. the Roman court,* writes relative to
29, 1261 ; crowned Sept. 4; died Oct. the Bull of Absolution which he had
2, 1264. procured from Viterbo, 14th May. —
3 The absolution is dated "Viterbo, 5 956 Chano. Reo. 5th Rep.
Kal. Mar. (Feb. 5); " and its preclama- 4 Rymer  Chr. W. Thpm.
tipn in Westminster, May 2, 1262. — 6 Rymer, in Latin.

IV.] THE OXFORD STATUTES. 97
Another attempt at accommodation had been made in
England by Commissioners1 jointly appointed by both par
ties, and when these could not agree the disputed questions
had been referred to the arbitration of Prince Richard. This
decision, however, which pronounced2 in favour .of the King's
unlimited right of appointing any one he pleased to com
mand his castles, obtained but little general acceptance?
however much it encouraged the King to persevere in his
unpopular course. Again Henry went to Paris, where he
was always treated with the utmost courtesy, and was there
so stricken with illness that for some time he could not
attend to business; he described himself in a letter to his
brother from St Germain8, Sept. 30, 1262, " so depressed and
broken down by his fever, that he could even then scarcely
get out of bed, and walk a little ; regretting also that he
could not yet pay him the money he had borrowed4 of him
through Peter de Savoy, but thanking him for his labours
' and vexations on his account."
Finding the negotiations with de Montfort now broken
off, he cautioned his English adherents to guard against
1 Philip Basset, Walter de Merton spenser, Justiciary. Walter de Mer-
the Chanoellor, and Robert Waleran, ton was Bishop of Rochester, 1274-77,
by the King; John de la Haye, Rich- and founder of Merton College. He
ardFolyot and Richard de Middleton, was again Chancellor on the death
by the barons. Walter de Merton of Henry IH. in K. Edward's ab-
received the Great Seal "without the senoe, until Robert Barnel was ap-
consent of the barons," as stated in pointed, Sept. 21, 1274.
his Patent (Rot. Pat 45° Hen. III., 3 In the Latin letters both of the
m. 8), on the King's requiring its un- Commissioners and Prince Richard
willing surrender from Nicholas de (Rymer) the word "misa" occurs in
Ely, on the Tuesday after the Trans- the sense of reference to arbitration,
lation of St Thomas the Martyr (July which was afterwards affixed to the
7), 1260-1 (Pat. Rot. 45° Hen. III. m. agreement of Lewes ; it was, in fact,
8)! A salary of 400 marcs a year in common use, as also the term
was appointed him. He continued "compromissum:" " de quibus Rex et
Chancellor till displaced by the ba- Barones sui posuerunt se in misam,"
rons when Nicholas de Ely sue- " per formam misaa supradictaV
ceeded him, 1263, on the Thursday " compromissum inter nos et Comi-
before S. Margaret the Virgin (Jan. tern non processit."
28), in presence of Simon de Mont- 3 Rymer.
fort, &c, at Westminster. During * He had borrowed 10,000 marcs
the king's absence abroad, both un- of his brother in 1247.— Cal. Rot.
der Merton and Ely, the Seal was Pat., 31° H. IU.
always to be attested by H. le De ll

98 , THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
his seditious intrigues1; but as after his recovery, though
still feeble, he unnecessarily prolonged his journey home
ward by a visit to Rheims, contrary to the advice of Mansel,
he found on his return in December that Simon de Mont
fort had secretly preceded him early in October2, and under
circumstances well calculated to give him increased import
ance. Richard de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, the jealous
compeer of de Montfort, was lately dead (July, 1262) s, and
had left open to him the undisputed leadership of his party:
the common danger had indeed already reconciled4 these
chiefs, and the survivor, "the key of England, who had
locked out the aliens for three years," as was said5 of de
Montfort, now seeing all his policy put in jeopardy, when
the barons pressed him to assume the guidance of their
somewhat weakened party, at once assented, " with a decla
ration of his equal readiness either to die among bad Chris
tians, fighting for Holy Church, or among pagans as a sworn
crusader6." 'He returned, therefore, at this period to take that de
cided part in the constitutional struggle, which has made
his name famous. His talents well fitted him for the duties
he undertook : " he was a man," says a friendly chronicler',
"of wonderful forethought ' and circumspection, pre-eminent
in preparing and vigorously carrying on war, himself a com
plete soldier, abounding in excellent stratagems, not degene
rate from his high ancestry, and gifted with divine wisdom."
There can be no doubt that his influence over the minds
of others was powerful : a royalist8 of this period well
1 In an order to P. Basset, from bishops and the Archbishop of Can-
St Germain, Oct. 8, 1262.— Rymer. terbury to those who should pray for
2 Oct. 3, 1263; according to T. his soul.— Dugd. Mon. n. 55. His
Wyke his return was secret, "clan- son Gilbert was also buried at T«wk-
culo rediit." esbury, 1295, having died at Moh-
3 Richard de Clare died at Esche- mouth.
merfield, in Kent, and was buried at * " Prius per verba indecentia
Tewkesbury, his funeral being at- discordes." — MSS. Add. 5444.
tended by the bishops of Worcester 6 W. de Rish. Chr.
and Llandaff, 12 abbots, and numer- ° Oxenede Chr.
ous barons and knights. Numerous 7 Chr. Mailros.
indulgences were granted by the s T. Wyke.

IV.] THE OXFORD 'STATUTES. 99
describes him, " as moulding the barons with his own deep-
cut impression, especially the younger ones, who, being
ductile as soft wax, followed him not from any love of
justice, but from greediness of gain."
Associated with him — though, on account of his youth,
unable to command the same deference which had been
readily yielded to his father — was Gilbert de Clare ; he was
indeed married to the king's niece, but the death-bed in
junctions ofhis father, and the wishes of his mother1, the
widowed Countess of Gloucester, secured his important ad
herence to the barons, and he played a conspicuous, though
not a consistent part, in the coming troubles.
1 Matilda de Lacy, daughter of the ditiis allectum, qui prius Regi devo-
Earl of Lincoln. " Gilbertum no- tus extiterat, resilire coegit." — T.
vitium instigante matre sua, blan- Wyke.

H2

CHAPTER V.

WAR AND TRUCE.

"The hearts
Of all his people shall revolt from him,
And kiss the lips of unacquainted change."
, K. John, hi. 4.
The first actual hostilities, after both parties stood thus in
presence, hopeless of amicable compromise, seem to have
arisen on the distant frontier of Wales, at the end of 1262.
Prince Llewellyn, probably in concert with the barons, if we
jnay judge from their subsequent alliance, attacked the lands
of his kinsman Roger de Mortimer, who had openly re
nounced the authority of the twenty-four councillors, and
those of the Savoyard Bishop of Hereford. The disorder
soon spread, and in order to remedy it, the King sent the
most pressing summons to his son, who kept aloof from court
at Bristol, "urging him to make no delay under any pretext
of indolence or puerile wantonness1 ;" a strange reproach to
so enterprising a Prince of twenty-four years old, but indicat
ing probably an expected unwillingness of mind rather than
of body. Whether by the danger of his Welsh estates or by
the persuasion2 of the Queen, Prince Edward was at any
1 "Sub pretextu alicujus otiosi- s "Blanditiis per matrem suam
tatis vel lascivia? puerilis." — Rymer. tenuit ex parte patris, et extraneos
The Prince had written to his father, fovebat et consanguineos." — MSS.
March 31, 1263, promising to come Add. 5444.
at Easter.

ch. v.] war and truce; 101
rate roused into activity, and soon retaliated on the temtory
of Humphrey de Bohun, giving over what he conquered to
de Mortimer. De Bohun, the eldest son of the Earl of Here
ford, was possessed of Brecknock and other lands, in right of
his wife Eleanor de Braose, daughter of Baron de Cantilupe,
whose inheritance she had shared in 1259 x with her sister
Matilda, wife ofhis enemv de Mortimer. True to the honour
of having his family name enrolled among the appointed
guardians of Magna Charta, de Bohun had during these
troubles pursued an independent line; being one of the first
to side with the barons at Oxford, and continuing now to act
with them, so as to expose his property to an attack, by
which the castles of Hay and Huntingdon were wrested
from him2.
The ravages of war rapidly spread over the border coun
ties, in which plunder and destruction by fire and sword took
place. Among the partisans of the barons, who took a lead
ing part in these hostilities, which spared neither houses,
parks, or even churches, were Roger de Leybourne and John
Gifford8. A general persecution was carried on against all
1 Rot. Pat. 43° H. III. Gifford, his son and heir, 17 years
2 By the barons he was subse- old at his death in 1248, was the
quently appointed governor of Good- first Baron Gifford by writ summoned
rich and Winchester. He died, 1265, till his death in 1299. He was em-
possessed of the castle and manor of ployed against the Welsh, 1257-62,
Hay, and the castle pf Huntingdon, and was excommunicated in 1264 by
and Hinton. — Cal. Inquis., post mor- the Archbishop of Canterbury for his
tern, 1267. Arms at Carlav : azure, depredations. After fighting against
a bend argent, cottised, between six the King at Lewes, and against
lioncels rampant or. Montfort at Evesham, he received
3 Chr. Dover. The Giflbrds de- the next year the Royal licence- to
scended from Walter Gifford, son of hunt in all the King's fprest sputh pf
Osbern de Belebec, and his wife Trent ; in 1281 he had a grant pf Free
Aveline, sister of Gunnera, Duchess Warren at firoughton, and his Pther
of Normandy, great grandmother to manors in Wilts, Together with
the Conqueror, who created Walter, Edmund Mortimer he commanded
Earl of Buckingham, and Earl of the English on left bank of the Wye
Longueville in Normandy. Walter against Llewellyn in 1282, and cross-
was one of the Commissioners to com- ing by a ford, defeated him. Llewel-
pile Domesday. Elias had joined the lyn's head was sent by him to Rhud-
barons against King John, and was dlan, and then to the Tower of
deprived by him of his estates at London crowned With ivy. His wife
Broughton Gifford (Wilts), &c. .which Matilda (whose first husband was K.
were restored by Henry III. John John's great nephew, and so related

102 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
who could not speak English1; the people joining in it so
eagerly, that many foreigners, both laymen and clerical, fled
the country in alarm, and the stewards of the alien clergy
were forbidden to pay them any rents, or render them" any
account, on pain of their lands being laid waste.
The treasures of Peter, the alien Bishop of Hereford,
were seized and himself captured in his own palace, or, as
some say, in his own cathedral, his former pride now becom
ing the subject of popular ridicule : —
* ' Ly eveske de Heref ort The Bishop of Hereford knew full well
Sout bien que ly Quens fu fort, That the Earl, if he pleased, could
Kant il prist l'affere : make his blows tell,
Devant ce estoit mult f er, When he took the matter in hand :
Les Engleis quida touz manger, Greedy and proud was the alien before,
Mes ore ne set que fere2." He could eat all the English and
crave for more,
But now he is at his wits' end.
He was imprisoned at Erdesley by de Montfort, but being
released at Michaelmas he was present at Amiens with the
King in the next year, and perhaps did not return at all.
In June, 1265, the King (then under the influence of de
Montfort) wrote to him abroad, observing that, "in passing
through Hereford, on his way to settle the Marches of Wales,
he was grieved to find in the cathedral neither bishop, nor
his deputy, neither dean, vicar, nor canons, to perform the
due services by day and night3." In spite of this threatening
summons, he seems to have retired to his native place, Aqua-
to Llewellyn) interceded in vain with He promoted the Statute De Tallagio
Archbishop Peckham to obtain Chris- non Concedendo to restrict the power
tian burial for him. She was daugh- of Edward I. while in Flanders. He
ter of Walter deCUfford, and married died May 28, 1299, at Bayton, and
William Longesp^e,' who died 1257. was buried at Malmesbury (see Wil-
In 1271, 14 years later, she com- kinson's Hist. Broughton Gifford, p.
plained to the king of John Lord Gif- 26, &c).
ford taking her by force from her * Add. MSS. 5444. He who could
manor at Canford (Dorset),, and mar- not speak "in AnglieanS. linguS in
rying her at Brimsfield against her multo vilipendio et despectu habe-
will. He alleged her consent, but retur a populo."
paid a fine of 300 marcs for not 2 Polit. S. from MS. 13th century,
having obtained the king's licence. * Wilkins's Cone. M. Br. Vol. i.

V-J , WAR AND TRUCE. 103
bella, in Savoy, where he died in peace, Nov. 27, 1268, and
where his bronze effigy, a handsome man in pontificals, still
exists1. Another alien, Mathew de Besil2, a resolute soldier, was
also taken prisoner by the barons. He had forcibly re-in
stated himself on the King's behalf as Sheriff and Governor
of Gloucester, where he made a stout resistance, retreating
ultimately to a tower, into which Roger de Clifford and John
Gifford, with much difficulty, forced their way by breaking
down the door with iron mallets and pickaxes3: —
" Ne a Sire Mathi de Besile To Sir Mathew de Besile,
Ne lesserent une bile Neither in town, plain, nor hill
En champ o en vile, Did they leave a single stick :
Tot le soen fut Besile The besom swept Besile clean out,
E cointement fu detrusse Daintily stripped and put to the rout
Par un treget sanz gile4." By a plain-speaking honest pick.
His courage, however, when he would not surrender to
threats of death, even after the doors were broken down,
extorted the praises of his enemies6. He survived the war,
and held four manors in 12666, probably given him by the
King. In another part of the kingdom, Simon de Waltone;
Bishop of Norwich, who had made himself odious as the
ready tool of the Pope in publishing the absolution, was
obliged to take sanctuary in Bury St Edmunds, meeting
with little sympathy on the occasion from a contemporary: —
" Et ly pastors de Norwis The shepherd of the Norwich fold,
Qui devoure ses berbis Who fleeces and preys on his sheep,
1 The effigy was cast by Henry de For his fadir soule and his frendes he
Cologne. "Hie jacet venerabilis did asghe scholde.
Pater Dominus Petrus Herefordensis He gaf them stonys i nowhe into
quondam Episcopus, fundator, struc- the werkys ende,
tor et dotator hujus ecclesiae," &c. Also mony as they nedid, feche
—Arch. Vol. xvin. p. 189. His ne- hem if they wolde.
phew was Dean of Hereford. , — MS. of 15th century ; Parker's
a At Abingdon, A. d. 1460, the Domestic Architecture, Vol. in. p. 42.
building of a bridge was assisted by 3 W. Rish.
one of this name: — 4 Polit. S. from MS. 13th century.
Sir Peris Besillis, knyght curteys * Chr. Roff.
and keend, 6 Cal. Inquis. post mortem.

104 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
Assez sout de ce conte : Of Leicester's power need not to
Mout en perdi de ces biens, be told ;
Mai ert que ly lessa riens, His goods from loss he could notkeep,
Ke trop en saveit de honte1." No thanks to him who left him aught,
For shame by shame is fitly brought.
In the last year of his life (1266) he again felt the strength
of popular revenge, when Norwich was taken and plundered
by the disinherited2.
The armed levies of the barons, who marched forward
under the royal standard3, were daily increasing during their
advance by the adherence bf the people, when they dis
patched Roger de Clifford to require the King's observance of
the Oxford Statutes. The King was at this time urged by
the warden of his forces in the North, Robert de Neville4, to
summon to his help the great Scotch lords, Bruce, Baliol,
Comyn, and others who held fiefs in England, and to garrison
Pontefract by the northern potentate Percy, but even de
Neville, while insisting on the necessity of resisting the
rebels by main force, confessed at the same time to the King
that " he had found many lukewarm in their answers to his
appeals6." So little able, however, was the King to en
counter the baronial army on the instant, that this recom-
1 Polit. S. from MS. 13th oentury. side at Evesham and Chesterfield,
2 W. Rish. and Hugh, also of the same party,
3 Fabyan. — W. Rish. who was made prisoner at Kenil-
4 Robert de Neville, second Lord worth. — V. Rowland's Neville Fa-
of Raby of that name, 1258, was the mily.
grandson of Robert Fitz Maldred, 6 " Pluresque tepidos in responsis
lineal male heir of Uchtred, Earl of suis ad conservationem pacis inve-
Northumberland, and fifth in descent nio." — Rymer. After Easter, 1263,
from the Conqueror's Admiral, Gil- the justices Gilbert de Preston and
bert de Nova Villa. The castles of Richard de Hemington held their
Norham and Wark were in his cus- assize at Lincoln. The abbey of
tody. — Hutchinson's Durham, Vol. i. Peterborough was at great expense in
211. He died 1282, having married entertaining them. Their '"iter re-
Ida, widow of Roger Bertram; his mansit indeterminatum," on account
two next generations disgraced them- of the civil war about Pentecost,
selves by their passions. — V.Banks' "unde justitiarii timore perterriti
Dorm. Bar. Geoffry de Neville was latenter recesserunt." " Facta sum-
also a royalist, and was taken pri- monitione servitii per ballivos feo-
soner at Lewes. From the Admiral's dales, prout moris est, tenentes mili-
brother Robert was descended John tiam nihil facere voluerunt." — Chr.
de Neville, who fought on the barons' W. de Whittlesey.

V.] WAR AND* TRUCE. 105
mendation of future vigour did not suffice to ward off his-
present extremity of danger, and he was reduced, in June
1263, on the mediation s of his brother Prince Richard, as a
preliminary to peace, to prohibit Prince Edward from con
tinuing his hostilities.
The usual demands2 as to the Oxford Statutes and
native governors of castles were comprised in the treaty, and
so critical was the King's position that on June 29, he sent
the four bishops of London, Worcester, Lincoln, and Co
ventry, who had endeavoured to reconcile the parties, with
the draft to his Chancellor, with special injunctions to revise
it, " with all speed, in order that the King and Prince might
escape from a great and imminent danger8."
An immediate truce took place, and the surrender of
Dover Castle having been exacted as a pledge for its con
tinuance, it was now given up by Prince Edmund on July
26, to three of the mediating bishops on the King's requi
sition to that effect (dated Westminster, July 18), which
stated that "the peace between himself and the barons had
been reformed and confirmed4."
Young Prince Henry had joined this movement of the
barons against the King his uncle, and had made an eager
pursuit of John Mansel, when that wealthy churchman fled
in terror6 (June 29) to Boulogne, where a French knight,
1 Rymer. King of the Romans to not come or vary his former pro-
King Henry, June 28, Itelbord (Net- posal. Wherefore, finding that Si-
tlebed ?). [King Richard had pro- mon de Montfort had that day moved
perty At Nettlebed, but from the to Guildford, and would be at Reigate
spelling Istelhard in note 3 I think on the morrow, he (K. of Romans)
the place he dates from is most likely had changed his intention, and in-
his manor of Isleworth. P.]. stead of proceeding to Wallingford,
a W. Rish. would on the morrow meet the King
8 "Ad imminens et formidandum Henry at Dbndon. — No. '413, Tower
periculum evitandum." — Rymer. By Records, 5th Report. [Chippenham
a letter from the king of the Romans is no doubt the manor of Cippenham,
to Henry III., dated Istelhard, June now Chippenham Liberty in the
30, we learn that he had arrived at parish of Burnham, Bucks. King
Chippenham on the 29th, and, on Richard had a palace there. Lips-
hearing that Simon de Montfort was combe's Buckinghamshire, Vol. in.
at Reading, had invited him to meet p. 210. P.]
him on the day he wrote (Saturday) 4 Rymer.
at Loddon Bridge to treat for peace : 5 " Timens pelli sua." — Chr. Do-
the earl had answered that he could ver.

106 THE BAaONS' WAR. [CH.
Gerard de Rodes, honourably received him. The King,
aware of Mansel's unpopularity, wrote to Cardinal Ottoboni 1,
cautioning him not to credit any slander he might hear
against him, having, known him from his youth and having
always found him faithful2. The young Prince, in his in
cautious zeal against the fugitive, had even crossed over to
Boulogne, and had there been seized and imprisoned by
Ingelram de Fiennes, to the great indignation of the barons3,'
who suspected the Queen4 to have instigated the act. The
present turn of events, however, soon effected his liberation
on the request6 of the King of the Romans, and he was apr
pointe"d6 with the Earl de Warenne to arrange the terms
of reform by which Prince Edward was to abide. This
was probably in reference to the disorder of his private
affairs, owing to his debts and improvident mortgages of his
property, some of which were cancelled as illegal.
The barons had observed the repeated visits of the King
to France since the Oxford Statutes, and knowing the large
sums which had been paid him there in pursuance of the
treaty, they evinced such a jealousy of his foreign intrigues,
that King Henry now postponed his intended visit, writing
to Louis the humiliating confession (August 16, 1263) 7, that
he did so "because his barons for certain reasons desired
some security for his speedy return." Before his departure,
accordingly (September 18), he published his oath to "re
turn before Michaelmas, and to do nothing abroad contrary
to the advantage or honour of his heirs, or of his kingdom8."
1 Cardinal Ottoboni de Fieschi, Or, come vedi, qui ne son pu-
Conte di Lavagno, after his mission nita.
to England became Pope Adrian V. 2 Chr. Dover. — Chr. Roff.
in July, 1276, and died August in the a " Supra quod ultra modum mo-
same year. Dante puts him into Pur- vebantur Barones Anglis." — Chr.
gatory ( P. 19, v. 98) for his avarice : Dover.
107. Ma Come fatto fui Roman pas- 4 " Procuratione ut putabatur Re-
tore ginsB." — Chr. Roff.
Cosi scopersi la vita bugiarla. 5 " Berkhampsted, July 10, 1263."
******* — Rymer.
112. Fino a, quel punto misera e 6 Rymer, in French, dated from
partita Lamhite [Lambeth], Saturday after
Da Dio anima fui, del tutto the Assumption.
avara : 7 Rymer. s Ibid.

V.] ' WAR 'AND TRUCE. 107
In spite, however, of this precaution, in itself a strong
proof both of the predominance at the time of the barons'
party, and of their undisguised distrust of their King, whom
they were so loth to lose from their sight for even ten days,
it is not unlikely that the two Kings, during their short
interview at Boulogne, arranged their measures for extri
cating Henry from his difficulties; and the fact of this
suspicious conference might be remembered afterwards by
the opposite party, as casting doubts on the impartiality of
Louis when acting as arbitrator.
Some of the chronicles1 of the times affirm plainly this
corrupt concert of the French King, dating his promises of
support so far back as when Henry began to fortify himself
in the Tower; substantial aid was actually sent under the
Count St. Pol, with eighty knights,, and as many slingers,
while Gerard de Rodes, the same French knight who had
welcomed Mansel, led another troop, who received forty
days' pay before their arrival in England, the leaders being
paid forty marcs (£26. 13s. Aid.) weekly from the Exchequer2.
Another account3 considers King Louis actually corrupted
by English money ; while again a different4 version represents
his compliance with Henry's wishes as proceeding from the
softer influence of the two sister Queens.
The hollow armistice formally agreed to seems to have
had little effect. It did not prevent the King, under the
guidance of Prince Edward and Philip Basset6, making a
vigorous attempt to surprise Dover (December 4), which
Richard de Grey, the Constable of the Castle, successfully
resisted, refusing to admit the King unless he entered the
fortress with a limited suit of nine persons6. Foiled in this,
he then hoped, by a rapid march back, to have taken
unawares de Montfort and his forces, who were quartered in
Southwark. The gates of the city of London having been

1 W. Rish. Chr. Roff. 4 Taxter's Chr.
2 " De Fisco."— Chr. Roff. 6 T. Wyke.
3 Oxenede's Chr. 8 Chr. Dover.

108 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
shut, and the keys thrown into the Thames, by the con
nivance of four citizens of authority, he had nearly succeeded
in surprising de Montfort in a position of great peril, had
not the zealous Londoners, whose hearts were all in favour
of the barons, burst open the barriers of the bridge for him,
and crowded to secure his safe entry among them. Though
the four traitors were saved by de Montfort from the sum
mary vengeance of the people, a heavy fine1 exacted from
them was devoted to strengthen the chains and defences of
the city, and violent death still awaited them, as we shall
see, under the most singular circumstances, at Lewes.
Prince Edward, in the earlier part of the year, had been
so closely besieged in Gloucester2, that he was only enabled
to escape by imposing on the good faith of the Bishop of
Worcester, who, as mediator, prevailed on the barons to
withdraw their forces, on the Prince giving hostages — a pre
caution subsequently remitted from courtesy towards him.
When thus freed from the danger, he unfortunately consider
ed himself freed also from his obligations, and immediately
levied a fine, of 10008 marcs on the citizens, after which,
under pretence of placing his wife in security there, he oc
cupied Windsor, even at that time an admired spot4, making
every effort to fortify the castle, and to garrison it with the
fugitive aliens, and also with Spaniards brought over for the
purpose. A general uneasiness naturally prevailed late in the year
12636, and the nominal truce appeared giving way to more
1 W. Rish., De Bello Lewes. Add. Liber ab angustiS statim revoca-
MSS. 5444. vit."— V. 431.
2 Sdine chronicles (W. Rish.) name 4 " Sub colore vigilandi uxorem
Bristol as the scene of his danger. intravit in castrum de Wyndleshor,
3 W. Rish., De Bello Lewes. Tax- et ibi se tenuit rex." — Lib. de Antiq.
ter Chr. Pol. S. from Harl. MS. 978, Leg. " Quo non erat splendidius
thus refers to the transaction : — tempore ullo." — Add. MSS. 5444.
" Cum in arcto fuerit quicquid vis 6 It appears to have been about
promittit, this time that the King addressed a
Sed mox ut evaserit, promissum letter to the Sheriff of Oxford (dated
dimittit. Re[a]ding, 23rdNov.48°),warninghrm
Testis sit Glovernia ubi quod ju- against certain persons, calling them
ravit " Harlotos," who in divers parts of

v-] WAR AND TRUCE. 109
open hostility, when both parties were again prevailed upon,
by the mediation of Louis IX. and the Pope, to consent to
a reference or mise of the disputed authority of the Oxford
Statutes to the decision of the French King. The latter,
when urged by Pope Urban to reconcile the English factions',
took no unneighbourly advantage of their discord for selfish
purposes, as he might have done ; and after two conferences
had been held in vain at Boulogne1 on the subject, the mise
was at length agreed to in the middle of December.
By leaving the Tower early one morning before Christ
mas2, the King was able to join his son, at Windsor, and
from hence, surrounded by a foreign gamson, he addressed
a proclamation to his subjects, dated December 20, 1263,
not only protesting anew his "readiness to observe the
Oxford Statutes and to defend the people in their liberties,
but declaring also that as to aliens, he did not intend to in
troduce them, nay, that he had not done so, and in fact
stood in no need of their aid3."
The Queen4, with more honesty, had never concealed her
dislike of the Statutes, and was notoriously averse to the
pacification, if such it could be called, which had been agreed
upon in the preceding June. To bring about a reaction —

the kingdom favoured (congregationes it, and a safe conduct was granted
et conventicula) meetings and assem- them, July 26. — Rot. Pat. 47 H. III.
blies, and impudently made illicit 4 The Queen Eleanor had been ap-
contracts according to their method, pointed Keeper of the Great Seal,
contrary to the honesty of the church Aug. 6,1253, during the King's ab-
and against good maimers, which we sence in Gascony, to act with the
will not and ought not to endure advice of Richard, Duke of Cornwall.
(juxtaritumsuum contra honestatem While holding this office, she was
ecclesias et bonos mores faciunt im- delivered of a Princess, named Ca-
pudenter quod sustinere nolumus therine, onjSt Catherine's day, Nov.
necdebemus). The sheriff is ordered 25, 1253. ohe met the Parliament
to forbid them. — Lansd. MS. 967. in 1254, and in vain asked for a sup-
1 Hist, de Fr. Pere G. Daniel. ply ; on May 15, 1254, she resigned
* Fabyan. the Seal and sailed from Portsmouth
a Rymer. " Alienigenas non vo- to join the king at Bordeaux. — T. See.
cavimus, non vocabimus.-nec eorum Pat. 37° Hen. III. m. 8. She sat as
auxilio indigemus." An order had, judge in the Aula Regia on the Mor-
indeed, been issued (Westminster, row of Nativity of the Virgin (Sept.
July 20, 1263) for all foreigners who 9).— Rot. Thes. Hen. III. Ld. Camp.
were in garrison at Windsor to leave bell's Chancellors, Vol. i. p. 140.

110 THE barons' war. [ch;
"Was evere the Quene thogt, so muche as heo mighte thenche,
Mid couseil, other mid sonde, other mid wimman wrenche." — Robt. Glouc.1
An incident marking the coarse manners of the age, and
her own unpopularity, had occurred to her in July.2 Anxious
to enjoy the greater security of Windsor under the protection
of her son, she had embarked from the Tower to effect her
passage by the Thames. The Londoners, however, assailed
her when the barge approached the bridge with every mark
of foul indignity and hatred, the rudest curses, the most
opprobrious accusations3 were shouted at her, while mud,
broken eggs, and stones were thrown down with so much
violence as to compel a retreat to the Tower. She succeeded
in retiring, with her son Edmund4, to the Continent soon
after this outrage, and is said to have materially influenced
the King of France in his arbitration, or, as an uncourteous
chronicler6 has it, "he was deceived and seduced by the
serpent-like fraud and speech of a woman, and by her the
King's heart was changed from good to bad, from bad to
worse, from worse to worst," adducing as parallels the female
influence exerted on Adam, David, and Solomon, to their
ruin. The personal affront thus put upon his mother by the
citizens of London, implanted so intense a spirit of revenge
in Prince Edward, that his resentment fatally influenced the
battle of Lewes.
The Queen was an eager and imprudent politician, and
had often, by her ill-bestowed patronage and her counsels of
resistance, increased the King's embarrassments ; but with
1 "Was ever the. Queen's thought, surrendered to the barons, July 26,
as much as she could think, with ad- it must have happened previous to
vice or messages, or with womanly that date. — Lingard names July 14.
plots." Even the royalist, T. Wyke, Nichols's Leic. July 13.
represents her as inclined "animo 3 "Non erubescentes Dominam
resilire." suam meretricem et adulteram mul-
2 As John Mansel escaped by night toties repetitis verbis nuncupare." —
from the Tower immediately after T. Wyke.
this outrage on the Queen, and was 4 Chr. Dover.
Carried under Prince Edmund's es- 5 Chr. Tewks., MS. Cotton, Cleop.
cort to Dover, which that Prince 4, vn.

V.] WAR AND TRUCE. Ill
respect to the odious charge of conjugal infidelity rudely
cast upon her during this gross unmanly insult, there is
nothing known of her conduct as a wife to justify it ; and,
on the contrary, she ever fulfilled with zealous courage more
than all the duties of her station towards her husband during
his difficulties. She remained true to his memory, even
after his death, retiring to the seclusion of a convent at
Amesbury,1 which had" been founded by a previous Queen
Dowager, and from hence she wrote to her son, trying to
convince him that the sanctity of her late husband had
effected a miraculous cure on blindness. Edward I., though
with too much good sense to attend to this, always showed
her a deference inconsistent with any suspicion of her mis
conduct, and he even permitted his daughter, Mary, to take
the veil at her persuasion, contrary to his own wishes2. The
Queen, keeping her dowry, took the veil herself, at Amesbury,
in 1286,3 and died there, when Edward, who, on a former
occasion of sickness, had hastened to her, came expressly
from Scotland to attend her funeral.
1 It was a cell to Fontevraud, court, attended confinements of royal
where so many royal Normans were ladies, and visited other nunneries ;
buried. she died 1333, having survived by
2 Princess Mary was born March some years all her family.
11, 1278, and took the veil in 1284. 3 The Queen's profession took
A letter from her, written probably place July 1286, after a visit to her
between 1315 and 1317 to her brother relations on the Continent. She
Edward II. is in M. A. Wood's Letters, afterwards styled herself "the hum-
Vol. i. p. 61. She frequently visited ble nun of Fontevraud."

CHAPTER VI.
THE AWARD OF AMIENS.
•' Most righteous judge I a sentence, come prepare."— M. or Ven.
The time now approached for the arbitration of the
French King, a decision anxiously looked for by all parties,
with the hope of putting an end to civil disturbance, and
fixing the principles of government on a permanent basis.
The formal instrument, by which such unusual authority
was vested in the hands of a foreign King, had been sealed.
in London, Dec. 13, 1263, by the chiefs of the baronial party,
including the Bishops of London and Worcester, the Earl of
Leicester, his son Henry, Peter de Montfort, Humphrey de
Bohun, jun., Hugh le Despenser, and many others,1 who took
part in the subsequent battles. The deed contained their
oath to abide by the award of King Louis concerning the
validity of the Oxford Statutes, whether for or against them,
and a similar pledge was given by the King in a letter dat-kl
1 "Ralph Basset de Sapercote, for Henry III. He was Governor of
Baldwin Wake, Robert le Ros, Henry Jersey, See., of Porchester, 1238; went
de Hastings, Richard Gray, William on the crusade 1236, and died 1252 ;
Bardoulf, Robert Vipont, John Vescy, his son Geoffry sided with the barons
Nicholas Segrave, Geoffry Lucy." — at Oxford, and now with Simon
Rymer, from Thes. Cur. Scacc— de Montfort. He escaped from the
Geoffry de Lucy held the Cap of battle of Evesham to Gloucester,
State at the Coronation of Richard I. which however he surrendered to
He married Juliana, widow of Peter Pr. Edward, on promise of pardon.
de Stokes. During the civil wars he He died 1284, and was succeeded by
fought for King John, and at Lincoln his son Geoffry.

.CH. VI.] THE AWARD OF AMIENS. 1T3
from Windsor about the same time, a's well as by Prince
Edward, Prince Henry, the Earl de Warenne, the Earl of
Hereford, William de Valence, and many other distinguished1
Royalists. The King repaired to Amiens2 with several of his ad
herents, and there met others, who had withdrawn from
England in terror, such as the Archbishop Boniface, the
Bishop of Hereford, so lately released by the barons, and
John Mansel. The latter, indeed, never returned to England ;
and his fate is as remarkable an instance of fallen, fortune
as the Wolsey of later times. He, who had often refused
bishoprics, both on account of the greater value of the
benefices he held, and also because it would have interfered
with his8 free manner of living, now after all his splendour
died abroad in poverty and the greatest wretchedness4.
Simon de Montfort appears to have set out from Kenil
worth with the intention of being present at Amiens, but
his horse accidentally falling with him on the road near
Catesby6, he was disabled by the fracture of his thigh-bone,
and obliged to return home6 — a misfortune which led to
1 " Hugh le Bigot, Roger le Bigot, 3 "Quialubricuserat." — Chr.Mailr.
Philip Basset, Robert Brus, Roger le 4 Chr. T. Wyke. As he had given
Mortimer, Hugh de Percy, William back some portion of his wealth to
de Breaus," and many others. — Ry- the Church by founding a monastery,
mer. The mise is frequently referred he is praised as a prudent, circum-
to in the original : " nos compromisi- spect man. — M. Par. All his pro-
mus in Dominum Ludovicum — super perty, including his mansion of
provisionibus Oxoniensibus — de alto Sedgewick, co. of Sussex, which he
et basso." had licence to embattle, 1259 (Rot.
2 The King was at Dover, January Pat.), were granted after his death to
1 ; at Amiens from January 12 to 25 ; Simon de Montfort, junior. After the
at -Boulogne, Feb. 7; at Whitsand, battle of Evesham, William de Braose
Feb. 14 ; at Dover, Feb 15. — Rymer. claimed Sedgewick Castle, as es-
In the time of Richard II. the licensed cheated to him as lord; but after a
packet-boats conveyed passengers lawsuit with him, it was restored in
from Dover to Whitsand at the 1266 to John le Savage\ in whose
price of Gd. in summer, and Is. in family it had long been ; some frag-
Winter for a single person; for a ments remain near Horsham.— See
horse, Is. Gd. in summer, and 2s. in Sussex Arch. Coll. vni. p. 35 ;
winter. By an Act of Edward HI. Placit., p. 174 ; Rot. Pat. 47 H. III.
in 1336, nobody was allowed to go 5 Near Daventry, in Northampton-
to the continent from any other port shire, about 20 miles from Kenil-
than " Dover ; this was 'repealed 4" worth.
Edward TV. 6 Chr. Dunst.

114 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
unexpected results in the subsequent battle of Lewes. The
barons thus temporarily deprived of their chief, wrote, Dec.
31, stating "that being occupied with other matters, they
could not attend personally to carry on the mise, and therefore
appointed Humphrey de Bohun, jun., Henry de Montfort, Peter
de Montfort, and others1, as their proxies for the purpose,
inviting the King of France to explain his own ambiguous
or obscure words." King Henry's oath to the mise was, in
like manner, delivered by the proxy of John de la Lynde2,
Knight. The discordant parties thus assembled at Amiens,
having pleaded their opposite opinions in presence of King
Louis IX., during several days3, that Sovereign at length
delivered his important judgment, with great solemnity, on
the 23rd January, 1264.
The deed4, which is still extant in the archives of Paris,
recites with becoming precision the mutual agreement of the
contending parties to accept his arbitration, and after thus
authenticating his judicial trust, King Louis pronounces that,
"having summoned the King and certain barons, and having
heard the arguments on both sides, considering the Oxford
Statutes and the results that had flowed from them, that much
had been done against the right and honour of the King, to
the disturbance of the kingdom, the depression and plunder of
churches, with grievous damage done to aliens and natives*
both clerical and laymen, and that probably worse might
happen hereafter, we, in the name of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Ghost, annul and make void the Oxford Sta
tutes and all regulations depending on them, more especially
inasmuch as the Pope has already annulled them." He then
1 Adam de Neumarket, William le then Constable of the Tower. — Fr.
Mareschal, William le Blund, and Chr. He was of Bolebrook, Sussex,
Masters Thomas Cantilupe, Geoffry which he died possessed of.— Inq. p.
Cuberle, and Henry de Braunceston, mort., 1273.
clerks. — Rymer. 3 Hist, de Fr. Pere G. Daniel.
2 John de la Lynde was Justice of 4 The original is in Latin, dated
the Common Pleas, June 1266, and Amiens, on the morrow of St Vin-
in 1267 was appointed by the King to cent, 1263. — Rymer. There is also
act as seneschal in command of the a copy in Lib. de Antiq. Leg.
city of Lpndpn, with John Waleran,

VI.] THE AWARD OF AMIENS. 115
goes on to forbid all enmities on account of the non-observ
ance of these Statutes, to order all castles to be given up to
the King, who was to appoint his own ministers and house
hold as freely as before, the statue of banishment against the
aliens to be annulled, and the King to have full power and
government in all and over all things as before. "We do
not wish, however, or intend, by the present ordinance, to
derogate in any thing from the royal privileges, charters
liberties, statutes, and laudable customs of the kingdom,
which existed before the Oxford Statutes;" desiring, in con
clusion, that the King should be indulgent to the barons,
and remit all rancour, as the barons, also, on their part
should do, neither harassing the other.
Although the obvious meaning of this award seems plain
and decisive, yet, as each party put their own construction
upon it, and accepted that portion only favourable to their
Own views, without regard to the rest, it partook in some
degree of the ambiguity of an ancient oracle in its effects.
While one of the consulting parties could only recognize the
total overthrow of the Oxford Statutes, the other noticed
only the express reservation in full force of all the great
charters of liberty, which those Statues had, in their opinion,
only confirmed and enforced. The sanction given by the
French decision to the employment of aliens in places of
public trust seems the point most open to objection, as
contrary to the laws and customs of England; but it seems
strange that the high character for equity and chivalrous
honour which the kingly arbitrator had established should
have blinded the barons to the dangers necessarily attending
an appeal to such a tribunal. Even without impugning his
honesty, though contemporaries1 spoke freely on that subject,
1 " 0 rex Francorum, multorum ob favorem Domin* Reginae et Do-
causa dolorum, miniEdwardidictasprovisionesquas-
Judex non rectus, ideo fis jure savit omnino." " Barones ipsius cor-
rejectuB." ruptionem intelligentes." — Chr. Wi-
^-Polit. S. from MS. Cott., Otho D. gorn,
yiii. "RexFrancie," "ut dicebatur 12

116 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
they could not have reasonably expected1 King Louis to decide
otherwise than in favour of his brother Sovereign, if they had
vigilantly watched the whole tenor of his domestic govern
ment, and how successfully he had maintained and extended
the prerogatives of royalty in France. It is still more sur
prising that, a few months later, the same arbitrator should
be again appealed to, after the evident failure of the present
expedient. All now seemed satisfactory to King Henry; he had
gained his cause, and expected to enjoy the fruits of the
yerdict. "But when the Kyng of France had known certeynly
That the Purveiance disherite Kyng Henry,
He quassed it ilk dele thorgh jugement.
The Kyng was paied wele, and home to England went." — R. Brune'.
Before his embarkation at Whitsand (Feb. 15), he evi
denced his sense, of all danger being over, by commission
ing his Queen and Peter de Savoy to bring back his jewels,
which had been deposited at Paris2.
Vain and brief, however, was the hope of tranquillity, for
in less than a month all England was again in confusion and
strife. The barons, who, whether wisely or not, had sworn
to obey the award of the arbitrator, were almost immediately
in arms, alleging his partiality, and yet inconsistently adopt
ing his clause, which exempted the old charters from annul
ment, as a pretext to justify their resistance. As the King
could not well have given fresh occasion for distrust, we must
consider that the aggressors on this occasion were the barons
and their great chief Simon de Montfort. That which pro
bably had the greatest influence upon them, and which, in
fact, might form their readiest justification, was the strong
persuasion that the King would not have submitted to an
adverse decision more patiently than themselves, or more
1 "But when the King of France King was well pleased, and went
had ascertained that the provision home to England."
disinherited King Henry, he annulled 2 Rymer. Fabyan.
every part of it by his decision. The

VI.] THE AWARD OF AMIENS. 117
faithfully, than he had to his previous engagements. So true
is Clarendon's1 remark, that " the strength of rebellion con
sists in the private gloss which every man makes to himself
upon the declared argument of it, not upon the reasons
published and avowed, how spacious and popular soever."
The King,^ nevertheless, derived some considerable ad
vantages from so solemn a decision in his favour ; the castle
of Dover was surrendered to him during the short interval of
peace, all the members of his own family became more active
in his cause, and several of those who had hitherto opposed
him, but who now may have fairly considered him as the
injured party, also joined him. Prince Henry, the eldest son
of the King of the Romans, whom the warlike talents of his
uncle the Earl of Leicester, as well as strong ties2 of affinity,
had attached to his banner during the recent commotions,
and who had been lately released from prison by his influ
ence, now came forward with a chivalrous candour to an
nounce his resolution no longer to fight against the King,
and surrounded his arms with a promise never to bear them
against his former leader. His conversion, indeed, has been
attributed3 to the gift of the lordship of Tickhill, by which
Prince Edward had won him over; but however that may
have been, de Montfort gave him a contemptuous licence to
act as he pleased: "I care not for your weapons, my Lord
Henry, but for your inconstancy; go your way then, return
with your arms, for I am in no ways afraid of them."
Others, also, from interested motives, as is alleged, with
drew with him, and powerfully aided the King's party from
this time4. Among these were John de Vaux, Hamo l'Es-
trange, Roger de Cliffort, and Roger de Leyburne. The
defection of the two latter was the more noted as they had
made themselves conspicuous as partisans of the barons the
1 Essay xiv. her own brother.
2 The young Prince was nephew 3 W. de Rish.
to the Countess of Leicester in 4 "Muneribus excsecati. — W. de
two ways, his mother being sister Rish. Their desertion is dated earlier
to her first husband, and his father by some,

118

THE BARONS WAR.

[CH.

year before when they were thus praisejd by a contem
porary1 : —
" Et de Cliffort ly bon Roger
Se contint cum npble Ber
Si fu de grant justice:
Ne suffri pas petit ne grant
Ne arere ne par devant
Fere nul mesprise *.
Et sire Roger de Leyburne,
Que sa et la sovent se tome,
Mout ala conquerant ;
Assez mist paine de gainer
Pur ses pertes restorer,
Que Sire Edward le fist avant."

Roger de Clifford the good,
Like a noble Baron stood,
And to all dealt justice fit ;
Nor great, nor little, he swore,
Behind his back or before,
Should any misdeed commit.
And Sir Roger de Leyburne,
Who here and there would turn
To conquer, kill, and burn :
Prince Edward had harassed him sore,
So now he tried hard to restore
His loss and win something more.

Cliffort2 was the nephew of Walter, who is memorable for
having made a King's messenger, when he brought him a dis
agreeable writ, eat up the document, parchment, wax, and all.
His comrade, Leyburne3, of a violent and unsteady disposition,
had been in the service of Prince Edward when abroad, and
was his companion at the tournaments there. Ho must, on
his return, have separated himself from the Prince, and thus
have given occasion to the hostile attacks which he sought to
revenge by his ravages under the standard of the barons.

1 Polit. Songs from MS. of 13th ¦
century. 2 His arms were "chequy or and
azure, a fess gules." He became a
crusader 127.2, and died 1286.
3 Arms of Leyburne, "azure six
lioncels argent." — Rolls of Arms. In
Rot. Pat. 36 H. III. m. 1, he is stated
to have killed Arnulph de Mountney,
"ad rotundam tabulam." "Fue-
rat cum Domino Edwardo contra
voluntatem Baronum, ipsiusque Ed-
wardi denarios ubique tanquam se-
neschallus expederat, et ipsum in
Francia ad torneamenta adduxerat."
—Chr. Dover. Also Add. MS. 5444.
[An interesting account of Sir Roger
de Leyburne will he found in an
article on the Heart Shrine in Ley
burne Church, by the late Mr Larkin,
in the Archsologia Cantiana, Vol.

n. pp. 133-192. Sir Roger had
been steward to Prince Edward; and
enjoyed his full confidence till it was
estranged by the Queen, who insti
gated her son to demand a rendering
of accounts, which shewed a deficit
of £1000. This was probably soon
after November, 1260. During the
next three years Sir" Roger was an
ardent partisan of the barons. In
1263 he joined de Montfort in a
general raid upon foreigners through
out England, and is accused of medi
tating an attack upon Dover castle.
Mr Larkin, however, believes that
Rishanger's insinuation of interested
motives is unwarranted, and that Sir
Roger considered his work done when
aliens were expelled the country, and
was anxious to accept an honourable
compromise. P.]

VI.] THE AWARD OF AMIENS. 119
He now once more changed sides, and rejoined the royalists,
his character thus curiously contrasting with that ofhis eldest
son, so pithily sketched in the poem of Carlaverock : —
" Guillemes de Leybourne ausi William deLeybourne valorous wight,
Vaillans horns sans mes et sans With no ifs or buts, but plain down-
si1." right.
Immediate war being thus the result of the King of
France's attempt to produce peace, a French historian2 re
marks that "so celebrated and authentic a judgment had
no other effect than to make the least passionate of the
rebels return to their duty, those who were dissatisfied with
their party being glad of the opportunity to desert it."
In the midst of this abandonment, the courage and de
termination of Simon de Montfort never faltered. " Though
all should leave me," he observed, "yet, with my four sons,
I will stand true to the just cause, which I have sworn to
uphold for the honour of the Church, and the benefit of the
kingdom: in many lands and provinces of divers nations,
both Pagan and Christian, have I been, but in none have
I found such faithlessness and deception as in England3."
If the national character for good faith, so opposite to this
stern rebuke, has since become proverbial over the world,
the happy change may, perhaps, be partly due to the en
nobling effects of the principles and form's of liberty, which
de Montfort was at this moment struggling to establish.
No breathing, time was given, as events hurried on; the
barons seem at once4 to have resolved upon resuming their
arms, rather than abandon the restrictions upon the former
abuses in the state, and they soon threatdhed the King with
their gathered forces. Henry, after a hasty preparation for
i Tn the same spirit Colada, the 2 Pere G. Daniel.— Hist, de Fr.
sword of the great Cid, still preserved 3 W. de Rish. de bello Lew.
in Spain, was inscribed with "yes, 4 "Barones vero non contenti de
yes," on one side, and " no, no," on arbitrio prsedicti Regis statim milita-
the'other, as if its sharp edge would verunt."— Lib. de Ant. Leg.
cut its way through all doubts.

120 THE BARONS' WAR. " [CH.
war at Windsor, summoned a council of his adherents, to
meet him at Oxford, having repaired to his palace at Wood
stock1.- He betrayed no very high opinion of the good
manners of his followers, when, on March 12, 1264, he pub
lished an order to clear Oxford of all the students, "in order
that they might be out of the great danger of meeting the
chieftains, whom, on account of the sudden disturbances, he
had summoned, and many of whom were fierce and un
tamed2." This may have been said in especial reference to
his new friends, the Scotch, who joined him here in great
numbers; but the true motive, probably, was a suspicion of
treachery, had he left in the town so many devoted parti
sans of the barons3. It is said that there were 15,000 ma
triculated on the books of the University at this time, and
among the number thus removed, the great Roger Bacon
may have been included— for neither learning nor science
suffice to exempt men from the miseries of civil war. Should
any doubt be suggested, whether it was the ill behaviour of
the soldiers or of the students, which occasioned this dis
persal of the latter, the honour of Oxford may be gratified
by the testimony of Archbishop Boniface, who, at his visita
tion in 1252, had declared, after his heart had been warmed
by abundance of good eating and drinking, that "the Uni
versity rivalled Paris in its wit, dignity of demeanour, gravity
of dress, and severity of manners4."
Of the quality of learning at Oxford at this period, we
cannot, indeed, have a very high opinion. Two of the most
accomplished men of the age, Robert Grethead and Adam
de Marisco, had given lectures there, and had urged the
study of the Bible, but Roger Bacon ridicules the sermons
preached there, as full of "much childish trifling and folly,
unsuitable to the dignity of the pulpit," and tells us that
Greek was almost unknown. Of the Latin we may judge
1 Fabyan. possemus." — Rymer.
2 " Magnates multi indomiti, quo- 3 W. de Rish. de bello Lew.
rum SEevitiam de f acili reprimere non 4 M. .Par.

VI.] THE AWARD OF AMIENS. 121
by the formal condemnation, by successive archbishops at
their visitations, of the same gross grammatical errors1.
King Henry had not always been unpopular at Oxford.
He had many years previously founded a noble hospital, and
had been welcomed there soon after his marriage with fes->
tivals and illuminations2. His present visit was marked by
an incident characteristic of him as "a most devout wor
shipper of rusty nails and rotten bones3." His zealous de
votion to the relics of saints, emboldened him, with more
strength of mind than usual, to break through the trammels
of an ancient4 superstition, which had for five centuries for
bidden the approach of a King to the shrine of Saint Frides-
wide. That noble lady had, in the eighth century, seen the
insults of a Mercian prince, Algar, punished by a sudden
blindness, as he was entering Oxford in close pursuit of her —
an affliction as suddenly removed afterwards by her prayers6.
Universal opinion expected the coy virgin to resent the
intrusion of royalty even to her tomb, and Henry accord
ingly made all befitting preparations for such an arduous
enterprise. After a liberal distribution of alms, high mass,
and a day's fast, he ventured on foot into the forbidden
sanctuary, and there paid his devotions : —
-" The King hadde then to gode wille, thoru freren rede,
And hii masson at orisons vast vor him bede,
So that vastinde a day a vote he dude this dede." — Rob. Brune.6
Though he was not stricken by blindness on the spot,
yet those who clung to the pious prejudice of ages probably
looked upon his early defeat at Lewes as a sufficient fulfil
ment of tire omen. I
Both parties were now prepared for the struggle, and
^ Archbishops Kilwarby, in 1276, tione." — T. Wyke.
and Peciham, in 1284, each had to 5 Leland's Collec.
argue against the Latinity of " ego 6 The King then had a desire to-
currit, currens est ego," See. — V. wards God by advice of the monks,
Wood's Antiq. Oxon. 59-125. and ordered high mass quickly be-
2 T. Wyke. fore him at orisons, so that fasting a
3 Henry's Hist. v. 7. day on foot he did this deed.
1 " Spreta iM veteri supersti-

122 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
each had so much to dread and 'so much to hope, holding
principles long discordant, and so recently proved to be
irreconcileable, that the chances of a,n amicable treaty
Were indeed slender. It was however attempted, and very
nearly succeeded.
The King appointed (March 131) the Bishop of Lich
field2, and Nicholas de Plumpton, Archdeacon of Norwich,
to meet the agents of the barons at Brackley (a few miles
from Oxford), under the mediation of the French ambas
sador, John de Valentia. Their credentials3 commissioned
them to treat concerning the security and tranquillity of the
kingdom, so as to strengthen the general peace, promising4
to assent to what they should arrange.
An earnest summons was, however, issued on the same
day by the King, now fully conscious of the extreme peril
of circumstances, calling on all his lieges to hasten, by Mid-
Lent at latest (March 30), "with their horses and arms to
his help, as being necessary to keep his state undamaged by
the very serious commotion, which might easily put in
imminent danger (though God forbid) both the kingdom and
crown of England5." The Earl de Warenne, too, at this
juncture, repaired, by the King's permission, to Ryegate and
Rochester, in order the better to defend his estates there6.
It is difficult to suppose that either party could sincerely
expect a peaceful solution of their dispute at this crisis, but
it would seem that the Bishops of London, Winchester, Wor
cester, and Chichester, were sent by the barons with the offer
of submitting to all the other articles of the French award,
provided the King would remit the one single article as to
the employment of aliens7. This exclusion of alien influence
1 Rymer, in Latin. The safe con- 4 " Ratum habituri et gratum."
duct of the barons appointed to treat 5 Rymer.
was to be in force till Saturday be- " W. de Rish. de bello Lew.
fore Mid-Lent, March 29, and was 1 MSS. Add. 5444. They humbly
dated Oxford, March 17. — Rymer. prayed "quod saltern unicum et solum
2 Roger de Meyland, bishop from remittat articulum, videlicet quod
1258 to 1295. alienigenis ab Anglia remotis, per
3 Dated March 20. — Rymer. indigenas gubernetur, et omnibus

VI.] THE AWARD OF AMIENS. 123
seems to have been indeed, throughout these troubles, the
vital point of the baronial policy. An agreement1 was even
drawn up in presence of the King to regulate the return of
Archbishop Boniface, on five conditions : — 1. That he should
recall the excommunications which he had fulminated from
Boulogne2, in 1263, against several barons, and two of the
younger de Montforts, for. their plunder of church property.
2. That the damages done to churches or clergy should be
assessed by a council of his suffragans. 3. That no other
aliens than his own immediate household should accompany
him. 4. That other aliens might return to their benefices
on condition of spending all their income at home. And,
5. That the prelate should neither bring with him, nor pro
cure by others, any writings in damage of the King, or any
person in the kingdom. This latter clause must have had
reference to the many briefs of the Pope, who had propor
tioned the activity of his spiritual arms to the increasing
peril of the King, his client. By the quick succession3 of his
threats, indeed, we learn the zeal of the pontiff, on the
receipt of each additional alarm from England ; and he soon
afterwards sent a legate with fresh excommunications ; but it
would be idle to blame this busy meddling as unauthorized,
for it was, most probably, invited by the royal emissaries.
The tide of war was, however, now setting in too strongly
to heed such obstacles. The city of London seems never to
have assented to the mise of Amiens, and, like the barons of
the Cinque Ports and nearly all the middle classes4, refused
to obey the award. On the first Monday after Mid-Lent
statutis, provisionibus et ordinatio- again cancelled the Oxford Statutes,
nibus regis Francise adquiescant." and absolved all from their oaths. —
i Dated March, 1264.— Rymer. Rymer.
2 MS. Bodl., in notes to Chr. W. 4 "Etfere omnis communitas me-
de Rish'. de bello Lew. diocris populi regni Angliae, qui vero
3 By a Brief from Viterbo, 17 Kal. non posuerunt se super Regem Fran-
Apr. (March 16), 1264, the award cite, prasdictum arbitrium suum con-
was' confirmed ; by another, 12 Kal. tracixerunt."— Lib. de Ant. Leg. [Mr
Apr. (March 21), the Pope forbad the Stapleton reads "penitus" instead of
barons and clergy to conspire. By a pradictum.]
third, 10 Kal. Apr. (March 23), he

124 ' THE BARONS' WAR. [CH. VI.
(March 31), the citizens rose in tumultuous violence against
the royal cause, and the anger caused by the tidings of this
outbreak put an abrupt end to all negotiation. The King
dismissed the bishops with a caution to depart quickly and
never return to talk of peace unless they were sent for1,
announcing at once his resolve to maintain the award in all
particulars to the best of his power.
There was indeed much to irritate the King and his
party in the riots and ravages of the Londoners. The bell of
St Paul's was rung as the concerted signal for their assem
bling in arms, and they were directed by two eminent citizens,
Thomas de Puvelesdon2 and Stephen Buckerell8, under
whom they proceeded to destroy the property of all op
posed to them, not exempting even the private dwellings
of the King and his brother. All was wantonly laid waste
at the country-house of the latter in Isleworth, near the
Thames, his fences levelled, his orchards uprooted, and the
head of a large fishpond, lately made at a vast expense, cut
through4. These private injuries naturally embittered the
hostility of the parties, but the King had himself unhappily
set the example of them long ago, having in 1233 caused the
property of Gilbert Basset and Richard Siward, followers of
Richard, the Earl Marshal, in his rebellion, to be so treated,
ordering their houses to be pulled down, their parks, gardens,
and woods to be destroyed, their fish-ponds to be filled, and
their meadows ploughed up5.
1 Add. MSS. 5444. 10, 12,58, drowned in a ditch, owing
2 The name is Puvelesdon as wit- to drunkenness. — Cal. Rot. Pat. 48
ness to a grant. — Rot. Pat. 1265. It Hen. III.
is Pilvesdon in W. Hem., Piluesdon i On this land, afterwards in pos-
in H. Knight, Pyweldon in Fabyan, session of the Crown, Henry V. found-
Piulesdona in Househ. Exp. He will ed the monastery of S. Bridget, a com
be mentioned again. munity of English nuns, which is
. 3 The body of a person of the same said to have survived to the present
name, of South Streatham, perhaps times, though often driven to resi-
his father, was found by the King in dence in foreign countries.
his way to London, at Merton, Jan. 6 T. Wyke.

CHAPTER VII.

WAR RENEWED.

" Fright our native peace with self-born arms." — Rich. II.
Both armies appear from this time1 to have been put into
immediate action without further parley. While the royalists
in one quarter were harassed, so that not even their wives2
escaped captivity, de Montfort appointed a general meeting
of the barons at Northampton, on the walls of which town,
in order to display his alliance with the clergy3, the banner
of St Peter's keys4 was displayed in conjunction with those
of the barons. Before the assembly of the chiefs could be
accomplished, the military spirit of Prince Edward led the

1 Plac. de Quo Warr. fo. 766. In
8? Edw. I. an action was brought at
the suit of the Crown against Regi
nald FitzPeter to recover some lands
" extra civitatem Wintonise " — the de
fendant pleaded a grant from Henry
III. in 48°— to this the King's attor
ney replied that the King was then
under durance, and the grant there
fore void. Proof however was given
of the date being previous to April 4,
1264, when the war began, and it was
therefore adjudged to be good.
2 Those of R. de Leyburne, R. de
Cliffort, and others, were thus seized
at Gloucester.
3 1263, major pars cleri fuit cum
Baronibus. — Contin. of Chr. Guil.
Neubr. 1199 to 1299, by a monk of
Furneux Abbey. — Hearne, in. p. 814.
4 The arms of the Abbey of Peter

borough (gules, 2 keys saltireways
between 4 crosses patee potence*e)
were displayed on the walls (vexillum
cum clavibus Santi Petri cum vexillis
Baronum) by the tenants and monks
of the abbey, "licet quibuBdam in-
vitis," which made the King swear to
destroy the abbot and monastery. —
On the capture of the town, " mediante
pecuniS cum donis et amicis in curia
regis procurantibus idem Abbas (Ro
bertas de Sutton) fecit plures fines,"
paying 300 marcs for contempt of the
King's summons. In return aletter of
protection was given by the King,
which seems to have been of no use,
"nullus enim de parte regis deferre
voluit Uteris suis, cum sibi fuissent
porrectse, sed unusquisque pro se de-
pr-edebatur et cepit redemptionem."
—Chr. Walt, de Whittlesey.

126 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
King's army into the field, and such was the energy of his
movements that on April 5, only a few days after that ap
pointed for the muster of the royal lieges, he made a vigorous
assault on Northampton, accompanied by Prince Richard,
William de Valence, de Cliffort, de Mortimer, and the great
Scotch chieftains. Young Simon de Montfort, no lukewarm
descendant of his family, with the fresh honours of knight
hood1, was among the most eager defenders of the town.
The careful training of such a father could scarcely fail to
make good soldiers, and such accordingly we find all the sons
of the Earl of Leicester, even the one who began as priest,
turning to arms in his later life : " Quar james son travayl
perdra, que pur prudhome2 fra." Young de Montfort on this
occasion advanced with such reckless impetuosity to repel
the attack, that his horse becoming unruly under the excite
ment of his spurs, carried him into the outer ditch of the
town, where the enemy took him prisoner without difficulty,
and it required the interference of Prince Edward to prevent
his being put to death.
Near the north gate, within the inclosure of the walls,
bordering on a stream leading to the river, stood the Cluniac
Priory of St Andrew, a cell to S. Marie de la Charite, on the
Loire. Guy3, the royalist prior, had, in 1258, succeeded one
who had been promoted to the same office in the kindred
priory of Lewes, where King Henry afterwards lodged at the
time of the battle. Many of the monks, as well as the prior,
were Frenchmen, and had sent information to the King
while at Oxford that they had treacherously undermined the
wall, and concealed by timber the outward opening of the
passage they had prepared. While the attention of the
garrison was called off by a deceitful parley, they now found
1 Reeenter novo militise cingulo nast. A convent of Carmelites is
decoratus." "Non tepidus amula- said by Dugdale to have been found-
tor." — T. Wyke. ed at Northampton in 1271, by Si-
2 Hist, de Fitzw., p. 17. mon de Montfort, but it is not pro-
3 Guy, prior from 1258 to 1270, bable that the earl's son, then in
was imprisoned by the barons after exile in Italy, should have been the
their success at Lewes.— Dugd. Mo- founder.

VII.] WAR RENEWED. 127
an opportunity of thus admitting Philip Basset1 and forty
knights, by whom the town was unexpectedly overpowered.
The surrender of the castle two days afterwards added a
great many important prisoners to the royal triumph, in
cluding fifteen bannerets and many other knights of less
rank. Among the most distinguished was the veteran Peter
de Montfort, the earl's kinsman, with his two sons, Peter and
William. Peter was the head of a powerful branch of the
family with large possessions, which had descended to him
from an ancestor2, who had earned them by his services at
the Conquest ; he had always sided with the barons.
" Et Sire Pere de Montfort
Si tint bien a leur acord
Si out grant seignnrie." — Pol. Song from Roll 13th c.
He had served the state in embassies and war, having
had the guard of the Welsh frontier in 1258 committed to
him, and had been selected as one of the twenty-four
councillors of the Oxford Statutes. His subsequent fate
will hereafter come under our notice.
Another of the prisoners was Adam de Neumarket, whose
ancestor had used a soldier's licence under the Conqueror to
appropriate the territory of Brecknock. Adam was sum
moned to Parliament after the battle of Lewes, and fell a
prisoner to Prince Edward in 1265, but was permitted ulti
mately to compound for his confiscated lands. Baldwin
Wake, who, with his brother Nicholas, was included among
1 H. Knight. Cantilupe, and married, in 1229,
5 Hugh de Bastenburgh, a Nor- Alice, daughter of Henry de Aldi-
man, had grants of 28 lordships in thely, by whom he had —
Kent, 10 in Essex (for which he re- 1. Peter, who recovered the estates
fused to account, according to Domes- by the Diet. Kenilworth from for-
day), 51 in Suffolk, and 19 in Nor- feiture, d. 1287. His son John was
folk. His grandson took the name with Edward I. in his wars, but this
of de Montfort. branch was extinct in the next gene-
Peter's father, Thurstan, held 12 J ration.
knights' fees (including Whitchurch, 2. William, married Agnes Ber-
Wellesborne, Beldesert), and built tram de Mitfort, killed 1265.
the castle of Henly in Arden, d. 1216. 3. Robert, married a daughter of
Peter had been ward to Peter de the Earl of Warwick. — Dugd. Bar.

128 THE BARONS' WAR. "[CH.
the most distinguished prisoners, was an active knight,
-twenty-six years of age, whose name occurs in all the great
transactions of the war and treaties. His mother Joan de
Stuteville1, now married to Hugh le Bigot, had purchased
of the King the wardship of her own son for 9000 marcs
(£6000) ; indicating both the domestic miseries of feudalism
and the honourable : efforts of an anxious mother to avert
them. Baldwin Wake is represented by some to have been
at the battle of Lewes, but it may be doubted whether he
had this additional opportunity of proving the readiness
of his sword in the cause. He was again taken prisoner
in 1265, but escaped to join in the last struggles of young
Simon de Montfort at the close of the Avar : he was, how
ever, pardoned for a fine of two years' value on his estate,
and died 12822.
Others of the fifteen bannerets, William de Ferrers,
Roger Bertram de Mitford3, Simon FitzSimon, Reginald
de Waterville, Hugh Gebyon, Philip de Drieby, Thomas
Maunsel4, Roger Boteville, Robert de Newington, and Grim-
bald Pauncefot6, took part in the subsequent events of the
civil war, the latter alone being distinguished by a treach
erous surrender to the royalists of his trust, as will be seen
hereafter. All the chiefains6 who had gathered together for the
1 She died in 1276. 4 Descended from Philip Mansel,
2 ' ' Wake, or two bars gules, in a Norman, who accompanied William
chief three roundles gules." — Rolls the Conqueror. He held lands in Gla-
Pf Arms. His wife, Hawyse, was morganshire ; arms, argent, a chevron
daughter of Robert de Quinci. — between three maunches sable. His
Dugd. Bar. descendant Thomas was in 1711 cre-
3 His father had sided with the ated- Baron Mansel of Margam.
barons against King John, and died 6 W. Rish. Pauncefot has the
1242. Roger had been employed in addition of "serviens"to his name
1258 to rescue the King of Scotland- in MS. Bodl. 91 Bern.
from the thraldrom of his guardians. 6 Among the names of inferior
On his being now taken prisoner, rank many are again met with in the
Mitford Castle, Northumberland, was course of the war. T. Wyke adds
taken possession of on behalf of William de Furnival. The Bodl.
William de Valence. His son Roger MS., Bern. 91, names William de
died 1312, and as his only child Warre, G. de Lewknor (" azure,
Agnes died without issue, his four three chevrens argent." — Rolls of
sisters became his heirs. Arms), John de Dykelynge, H. de

VII.] WAR RENEWED. 129
intended conference of the barons at Northampton, were
thus seized at once, and strictly imprisoned1. Among those
who shared the same misfortune were the scholars who had
been driven from Oxford, and were here found fighting
against the King with the utmost zeal. They are said to
have had their own banner on this occasion, and to have
done more damage with their bows, slings, and crossbows,
than all the rest.
The appearance in arms of a class of such natural loyalty
marks strongly the wide diffusion of discontent, and their
conduct incensed Henry to such a degree, that he was at
first bent upon putting them all to death, and was only
restrained by the risk of offending irreparably the many
powerful families to which these youths belonged ; many of
them in their alarm adopted a hasty tonsure to escape under
privilege of clergy". One of the earliest acts of the barons,
after their success at Lewes, was to order the return of these
scholars to Oxford3.
Though there had been much animosity, and many acts
of plunder and ravage before, yet this may be considered
as the first great conflict of the civil war, and a fearful
example of the barbarities of such a strife was exhibited.
Northampton was sacked by the royal army with every cir
cumstance of rapine and sacrilege, as if it had been in an
enemy's country, and even a royalist chronicler looks upon
the calamities, which soon fell upon those guilty of such
Pembrigge, W. Marshal, W. de Hare- Monteney, W. Awngevin, Ralph de
curte, W. de Gyleford, John Es- Diva, Philip de Daventre,' Richard
turney, Rich, de Caleworth, Ralph Everard, Ralph de Wodekyme, Roger
Peroth, Ingram de Baillol, G.Russell, de S. Philibeft, I. de Rye, W. de Ly-
steward of the Bishop of Lincoln, mare, Hugh de Tywe, John de Bose-
Rich. de Hemyngton, Simon de Pate- ville, Ralph de Brotton, John de
shyll, W. de Wheltoun, Eustace de Bracebridge.
Watford, Edm. de Arderne, Phil. 1 Those detained at Northampton
Fitzrobert, Robert Maloree, Roger were put under the custody of " Ni-
de Hyde, Andrew de Jarpenville, cholas Hawresham." — Walt.Heming-
Roger de Hakelington, W. de Preston, ford.
Simon, brother of Reginald Water- 2 Walt. Hemingford.
ville, Hamo de Wycleston, Roger de " StPaul's, May 30,1264.— Rot.Pat. IC

130 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
excesses, as a just1 retribution. On first hearing of the
attack on Northampton, Simon de Montfort had advanced
with his troops as far as St Alban's, intending to relieve
those besieged in the castle, and when the news of their
surrender met2 him there, his comrades were loud in their
desponding lamentations; firm, however, in his purpose, he
calmly attributed the reverse to the usual fortune of war,
and encouraged them by declaring that " the month of May
should not pass over without all the joy of their enemies
being turned to fear and confusion." The blow was felt
indeed to be severe, and the earl, "raging' like a lion de
prived of his whelps3," resolved to countervail the disaster
by striking in another quarter.
The unhappy example of outrage at Northampton was
disgracefully followed at London under his influence. Besides
a general plunder of the property of William de Valence
and other aliens, the excited citizens did not even spare
the deposits of money at the Temple, which then served as
a substitute for a bank4; " in this," as a chronicler observes,
"resembling fish, who snatch at all they can6." John Fitz-
John is said to have been the leader of this rapine, and
to have shared6 its fruits with Simon de Montfort, though
the latter would appear, as we shall see, to have been in
Kent at the time. A suspicion of intended treachery fell
upon the Jews, who being the principal makers of Greek
fire, were accused of intending to set fire to the city, and
of preparing false keys7, in order to betray the city-gates.
The first provocation may have been given by a Jew having
wounded a citizen8, but a fearful massacre was the result.
1 "Justo Dei judicio sunt conse- July 6, 1253, to remove his money
cuti, non habentes jus querelas." — T. and jewels from the Temple to the
Wyke. Tower ; in 1268 and 1271 fines, See.,
2 W. deRish. were ordered to be paid into the
3 ' ' Ipse quasi leo in saltu raptis Temple for safe custody.
catulis sseviens." — Mat. Westm. W. 6 Chr. Mailros. 6 T. Wyke.
Rish. de Bello Lew. ? W. Rish. Chr. Cott. Vesp. B.
4 In Madox's Exchequer is an order xn. MS. Hosp. Line.
from the King from Portsmouth, 8 Lib. de Ant. Leg.

VII.] WAR RENEWED. 131
At Easter, a Christian festival too often disgraced by similar
calumnies and persecutions, a number of Jews, variously
stated at from forty-seven to two hundred1, were barba
rously murdered. Among these is particularly noticed Koe,
the son of Abraham, one of the richest in the kingdom, who
had, in 1256, paid the King 2000 marcs (£1333. 6s. 8d.) for
the privilege of inheriting the chattels of his own father2.
In 'Canterbury a similar massacre occurred by the orders of
de Clare3.
The Earl of Leicester in the meanwhile had undertaken
the siege of Rochester, and for this purpose had carried
with him all manner of military engines, of which the Eng
lish were then wholly ignorant. The defence was gallantly
conducted by the Earl de Warenne, assisted by Hugh de
Percy, Roger de Leyburne, and John Fitzalan ; but de Mont
fort forced his way across the river, by drifting against the
bridge a vessel laden with combustibles4, and, securing the
gate of the city during the alarm, succeeded in confining
the garrison within the walls of the castle adjoining. Much
violence and licence ensued in additional retaliation on this
seizure of Rochester. Churches were plundered, and fugi
tives pursued by horsemen even to the very altars ; many
parts of the cathedral buildings were occupied as stables5 ;
and though soldiers are not apt to be rigid observers of
church ceremonies, yet in an age of such outward reverence
for religious forms, it startles us to find all these outrages

1 MS. Cott. Vesp. A. n. In 7° 3 Chr. Dover.
Edw. I : " Furent touz -les Jues 4 W. Rish de bello Lew. William
d'Engeltere pris pur la monoye qe de Brows (Bjaose) was also one of
fut vilement rotondu et fause."— the defenders of Rochester Castle.
" Sistrent Justic. a le Gildhall pur Simon de Montfort made his third
faire la deliveraunce, c'est a savoir, successful assault by loading a boat
Sire Estevene de *Pevencestre, Sire "cum pice, carbone, sulphm-e et
Wauter de Helyon, et Johan de Cob- adipe porcina. 12 Cal. Maii (April
ham et eeux q'il voleient h eux as- 21) die Parascewe."— Chr. Gervas.
socyer, pur le quele f et furent 3 Ghres- Lei. Coll. Vol. i. 256.
tiens et 293 Jues treinez et penduz 6 The oratory, cloisters, ehapter-
pur retundre del moneye." — Fr. Chr. house and hospital were thus treated.
London. — MS. Cott. Nero D. n. by a Roches-
2 Cal. Rot. Pat. 40° Hen. IIL ter monk.
K2

132 THE barons' war. [ch.
committed on the solemn fast of Good Friday (April 18),
forming an unexpected precedent for those of Cromwell's
time. De Clare had attacked Rochester from another quarter
at the same time, and the siege of the castle1 was now
pressed forward during several days by the barons with so
much vigour, that it was on the point of success, when the
news of the rapid march of the King's army compelled its
abrupt abandonment2.
The Mayor of London became alarmed at the approach
of the enemy and the treachery of some citizens ; at his
urgent request, accordingly, Simon de Montfort withdrew
from the siege, and returned to London on the morrow of
St Mark, April 23 3.
Prince Edward had been continuing his successes; the
town of Leicester, undefended by its earl, had endured the
horrors of war; and Nottingham was betrayed to him.
Wherever the royal army advanced, "its three associates —
plunder, fire, and slaughter — followed ; there was no peace in
the kingdom; all was destroyed; clamour, and woe, and
horror arose«on all sides4." Thinking to find London an
easy prey, the Prince directed his forces there, and when
baffled by the hasty return of de Montfort to its protection,
he crossed the Thames unexpectedly at Kingston, and made
so rapid a progress towards Rochester as to appear there for
the relief of the garrison in five days after leaving Notting-
i The curious contrivance by which nition to the battlements." — G. T.
water could be supplied to each floor Clarke in Arch, Journ. i. 97.
of the keep from a well below, is 2 Earl Warenne and William de
still visible in the ruins of this castle. Braose came to Rochester on Wed-
" The well is commonly in the sub- nesday after Palm Sunday, and were
stance of the wall, through which its attacked in the castle the next day.
pipe, of from 2 ft. to 2 ft. 9 in. diame- The siege was raised on the Satur-
ter, ascends to the first and second day after Easter, $nd Warenne left
stories, opening into each (as at Can- Tuesday following.
terbury, Dover, Rochester, Kenil- 3 Add. MSS. 5444.
worth, Portchester, Carlisle). At 4 " Comitaverunt ei tres social, prse-
Newcastle and Dover the pipe termi- datio combustio et occisio ; pax in
nates in a small chamber and has no regno nulla : csedibus incendiis ra-
other aperture. In some castles a pinis et deprasdationibus omnia exter-
similar pipe seems to have been used minantur, clamor et luctus et horror
for the passage of stores and ammu- ubique."— Chr. Roff. MSS. Ad. 5444.

VII.] WAR RENEWED. 133
ham. The fatigue of this march indeed caused the death of
many choice horses on the road. This triumph was unfortu
nately sullied by unnecessary cruelty, for the few baronial
soldiers, left by de Montfort to carry on the blockade, were
seized and barbarously maimed of their hands and feet1.
The castle of Tunbridge, belonging to the Earl of Glou
cester, next [May 1] fell2 into the hands of the royalists, thus
inflicting a double mortification on that great chief, by the
loss of his castle and of his Countess Alicia. The King,
however, who had accompanied the royal army, allowed the
lady, who was his niece, to endure but a brief detention, and
then freely released her.
A strong guard, under twenty knights banneret, was left
here under the expectation of an early attack from de Clare3,
while the King repaired to the coast, "towards the havenes
withgret poer enou4," marking his course, as before, by rapine
at Battel and elsewhere. During a halt of three days at
Winchelsea6, he applied in vain to the Cinque Ports for
assistance, wishing them to send a naval force up the Thames
to attack London. The wardens, however, who had through
out acted in the interest of the barons, sternly forbade the
use of their ships; and the King, after exacting hostages
for the fidelity of the Cinque Ports, quitted them6, in order
to collect ali his forces at Lewes', the stronghold of his de-
' " Manibus etpedibusmutilatos." people assembled under John de la
— T. Wyke. Hay at Flimwell. At Battel the
2 Tunbridge was taken by the King monks met him in procession, but
" in die Philippi et»Jacobi vilhl prius were nevertheless plundered. The
combusts per castellum." — Chr. Ger- King went to Winchelsea, " revelling
vas. in Lei. Coll. Vol. i. in the abundance of wine there,"
3 W. Hemingf. then to BatteL and on hearing of the
1 Rob. Glouc. advance of thebarons to Hurst, where
6 H. Knighton. W. Heming. a nobleman, Roger de Tourney, was
* Bodleian Lib. (Rawlinson MS. killed in the park by a chance blow
B. 150.) This account, apparently of an arrow, then to Lewes. — See
by a monk of Battel, reports details Lower's Battel Chron. p. 200.
of the King's journey not elsewhere 7 The unsettled state of ortho-
noticed. At Combwell his cook, graphy may be amply illustrated by
Master Thomas, going incautiously _ the name of this town, as it appears
in advance of the aumy, was slain by in various authors : Leus in the
a countryman, which the King re- King's summons of the prior to Par-
venged by killing many of the country liament, 1265, and in Chr. Lanerc.

134

THE BARONS WAR.

[CH.

voted brother-in-law, the Earl de Warenne. He arrived at
Lewes on Sunday, May ll1; but it was no easy matter in
those times to feed a large army, and great dearth was ex
perienced on this occasion. A contemporary account ob
serves of this march through Surrey, Kent, and Sussex, that,
"from the deficiency of victuals in that barren province many
persons wasted away from want of food, and the cattle were
lowing and failing all around from scarcity of pasture2." The
small quantity of productive land in these counties, since
become so flourishing, may be estimated by the thinness of
the population at that time. A few years later, in 1278, a
poll-tax3 of 4>d. was levied on all persons, male and female,
of fourteen years of age. The sum of £588. 15s. 4d. was thus
collected .from 35,326 lay persons in Sussex4 and Surrey,
then united in one county. In Chichester, at that time
probably the largest in population, £14. 9s. 8d. was raised
from 869 persons. Priests paid separately 12d. each, and
mendicants and children were exempted. Doubling the
above numbers5 in order to include these clashes omitted,

it is called Liewes, Liawes, and
Liuwes, almost in the same page of
MS. Lib. de Ant. Leg. ; Lyaus in
Nangis; Liaus, and Leaus in Rob.
Brune, and MS. Cott. Nero. A. iv.
1 On the summons of the King,
the barons of the Cinque Ports " ve-
nerunt apud Lewes VI. Idus Maii"
(May 10) .—Chr. Wigorn. MS. " Ve-
nit in sequenti Sabbato ad villam de
Lewes."— W. Heming. "Incrastino
SS. Gordiani et Epimathii inventus
est rex apud Lewes." — Add. MSS.
5444. The feast of these saints was
May 10. The Oxenede Chr. however
dates his arrival on May 6, "on the_
Tuesday before the Feast of SS.
Nereus and Achilleus," which was
on May 12.
2 ' ' Dum rex f uit in provincia ilia
sterili, deficientibus victualibus mul-
titudo non modica famis media ta-
bescebant, rugiebant jumenta, et pas
sim per defectum pabuli defecerunt."
— T. Wyke.

3 Subsidy Roll of 18° Edw. I. in
Archaeologia, Vol. vii.. pp. 337-347.
4 Sussex was required to supply
brawn and other provisions for the
King's household; and in 1253 a de
mand was made on the county for
100O ells of linen, very fine and deli
cate in quality. — V. Madox Exch.
It is not known where this manufac
ture existed.
5 By the census-^of 1861 the num
ber of persons under fifteen years of
age is roughly as 19 in 52, or rather
more than a third. The clergy in
1278 were about 1-5 per cent, of the
population. The mendicants cannot
have been much more numerous.
Consequently, though the numbers of
persons in mature life are, no doubt,
swelled at present by the increased
average of life, I cannot but think
Mr Blaauw's estimate excessive, un
less he has allowed largely for proba
ble omissions. P.

VII.] WAR RENEWED. 135
would give 70,652 for the united county, and 1738 for the
cathedral city. Contrasting these numbers with those of the
census in 1841, we may observe that the population had
increased 12± fold, Sussex being then 299,770, and Surrey
582,613, making a total of 882,383 persons.
On the retreat of the barons from Rochester, Simon de
Montfort had been met by the Londoners with an unanimous
support, which greatly increased his power and the numbers
of his army. The hostility to the royal cause throughout
these transactions of the citizens of London, already rich and
important, whose habits and permanent interests would have
led them naturally to cherish peace, is very significant, and
must be accounted for, not . only by their common share of
dislike to an unnational KiDg, but also by a keen sense of
their own peculiar wrongs. It has been stated by an his
torian1 that the barons became unpopular after exercising
power for three years, but there is abundant evidence of the
reverse being the truth : their actual sway indeed continued
with little interruption nearly seven years (1258 to 1265),
and their popularity much longer. The Mayor of London
was a principal among the twenty-five barons who received
Magna Charta from King John2, and the Londoners con
sidered themselves as the pledged guardians of public liberty.
Their affections had never been sought, however, by King
Henry, who had reserved all his grace and bounty for court
favourites. No Machiavelli8 had yet pointed out to princes
with acute simplicity that "the prince must necessarily live
always among the same identical people, but may well do with
out the same identical nobles, having it- in his power any day
to make and unmake, raise and deject such at his pleasure."
While the main object of the King's policy seemed the ad
vancement of his courtiers, the city of London was often
1 Hume. mo popolo, ma pud ben fare senza
2 V. Lord Chatham's speech, May quelli medesimi gr^indi, potendo fame
4, 1770. e disfarne ogni di, e torre e dare a
• 3 " E necessitato ancora il prin- sua posta riputazione loro." — II
cipe vivere sempre con quel medesi- Princ.

136 THE barons' war. [ch.
subjected to his insolence, encroachment, and injustice. Ar
bitrary tallages and capricious fines had been repeatedly
extorted from them on frivolous occasions: in 1227, twelve
years after their support of Prince Louis, a penalty of 5000
marcs (£3333. 6s. 8d.) was imposed for that remote offence;
a fine of 3000 marcs (£2000) was laid upon the city, because
a priest charged with murder had escaped to sanctuary,
though he had been in fact the Bishop of London's prisoner,
having been claimed as an ecclesiastic. Their petition, too,
on this subject was not only rejected, but the petitioners
were reviled by Henry as "slaves," and some of them even
imprisoned1. The customary gifts which they had offered
him on joyful occasions had been received ungraciously as
debts, without even the courtesy of thanks being returned.
Often2 had they been heavily taxed to pay for the fortifica
tion of their city and the Tower, though obviously intended
to be used against their own freedom : their military exer
cises had been discouraged and scoffed at as unfit for such
mechanics, and when, in 1253, some of the young citizens
resisted and beat off the courtiers, who had rudely inter
rupted their game of the Quintain, the city was immediately
punished by a fine of 1000 marcs (£666. 13s. id.)3, this
mimic war4 being claimed as exclusively by the nobles and
gentry at that time as the aristocratical privilege of duels
has since been.
The noble edifice of Westminster Abbey had risen under
King Henry's liberality8, and in order to bestow fresh marks
1 Mat. Par. Queen Eleanor, when s In 1243, 1246, 1249, 1258.— Fa-
Lady Keeper, had rigorously enforced byan.
her dues at Queenhithe, and also 3 Mat. Par.
claimed from London a large sum as 4 They could fight in earnest, how-
"aurum Reginse" owing; that is, ever, at times. A quarrel having
every tenth mark paid to the King arisen between the Guilds of the
on renewal of leases, crown la^ds, or Goldsmiths and the Tailors, they met
renewal of charters. On non-pay- to fight it out with 500 armed men
ment, she in a summary manner on each side on an appointed night.
committed to the ft^arshalsea prison Many were killed and wounded be-
the sheriffs, Richard Picard and fore the authorities of the city could in-
John de Northampton (1253).— Ld. terfere. This was in 1226.— S. M. 754.
Campbell's Chancellors, i. 142. s The amount of his expenses on

VIL] WAR RENEWED. 137
of his favour upon it, he did not scruple to infringe upon the
rights of others, On an occasion of this sort, in 1250, the
city of London had adroitly interested Simon de Montfort
and other nobles to procure them redress by exciting a
kindred alarm for the security of their own chartered rights.
A fair of fifteen days at the feast of Edward the Confessor
was held by royal proclamation in Tothill Fields, and to
ensure its success all the shops in the city of London were
compelled to be closed1. A rainy October made the bad
roads of approach worse, while bridges were broken down
and fords became impassable, so that no buyers arrived to
console the involuntary booth-keepers, who remained exposed
to cold and mud amidst a dearth of provisions2. Griev
ances such as these, coming home to every bosom, and di
rectly interfering with the personal comfort and profit of
every shopkeeper in London, were more calculated to ex
asperate them than even the arbitrary maxims of Govern
ment which might lessen their political power.. Nor were
their retail dealings only thus interfered with, for their com
mercial intercourse with France was often subjected to the
plunder and violent forestalling3 of the King's officers, while
the rigid exaction by the Queen of every tenth marc on
goods landed in London was also much complained of. The
most recent and most daring wrong which the court had
inflicted was in the preceding year, when Prince Edward
the building down to Michaelmas de Dicton, bailiff of Richard, Earl of
1261, was £29,345. 19s. Sd. ; among Cornwall, because the citizens did
other marks of his zeal he adorned not bring all their boats of fish to
the forehead of the Virgin Mary's Queen Hithe (Ripa Reginse), as they
image with an emerald and ruby, ought and used (sicut debent et so-
taken out of rings bequeathed to lent), on which the citizens claimed
him by Ralph de Neville, Bishop of the King's warrant, inasmuch as the
Chichester, King had granted leave for their fish-
1 Mat. Par. boats to land where they pleased
2 The city subsequently bought off (quod naves piscem deferentes appli-
the fair by a payment of £200 to the carent iroi vellent). — Mich. 14° Henry
abbey. — Dart's Westm. III. [Andrew Bukerel was mayor
3 In Madox Hist. Exeh. p. 690, re- from 1232 to 1238. John Travers
ferenee is made to a suit against the had been sheriff with him in 1224
citizens John Travers and Andrew and 1225. Lib. de Ant. Leg. pp. 5,
Bukerell (v. pp. 106-277) by Ralph 6.]

138 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH. VII.
had come suddenly with an armed force to the Temple, in
the dusk of the evening, and, under pretence of wishing to
see his mother's jewels, had broken open the chests of
treasure in deposit there, and had carried off £10,0001 to
Windsor for the purpose of the coming war.
It is no wonder that these and similar insults had es
tranged their loyalty, and they had now for four successive
years elected as their popular mayor Thomas Fitz-Thomas2,
affronting the King on the last occasion by not even pre
senting him, as usual, for royal approval. So attached, indeed,
were they to this chief, that they persevered in their choice
of him, even when he was a prisoner under royal displeasure
in 1266. A convention was now signed by him with the
Earls of Leicester, Gloucester, and Derby, Hugh le De-
spenser and twelve barons3. Many thousands of eager par
tisans, specified by some4 as 15,000, by Rob. Brune as "sixti
thousand of London armed men full stoute," now answered
the appeal of Simon de Montfort, and came forward ready
to advance with him under the standard of the barons against
the royal army,
1 T. Wyke. Chr. Dover. duodecim annorum et amplius, stan-
* Fabyan. Stowe. The arms of di simul contra omnes salva tamen
Fitz-Thomas were 5 eagles displayed fide do'mini Regis." — Lib. de Ant.Leg.
argent, 2, 2 and 1, a canton ermine. p. 62. P.
—MS. Harl. 1049. 4 W. Rish de bello Lew. Mat.
3 " Tunc temporis Barones et Lon- Westm. Chr. Roff. MSS. Cott. Nero.
donienses confederati sunt scripto D. ii. T. Wyke calls them an innu-
cyrographato et juramento quilibet merable troop of Londoners.

CHAPTER VIII.
NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE ROYALISTS AT LEWES.
"We see which way the stream of time doth run,
And are enforced from our most quiet sphere,
By the rough torrent of occasion." — Hen. IV. n.
Before leaving London, the Earl of Leicester, "faithfully
sweating in the cause, and zealous for justice," had called
together the bishops, clergy, and other discreet men of his
party, to consult on the crisis of affairs, and it was resolved
by them that peace, and the observance of the Oxford
Statutes, should be purchased, even by an offer of money
if possible, but in case of such terms being rejected, that the
decision should be left to arms1. In pursuance of this policy
the army, now reinforced, began their march from London
May 62, in order to arrest the King's progress in the south.
It is not known by what route the barons reached Sussex,
but it is probable that de Clare, who had, been in Kent, pro
ceeded by a concerted plan to meet them, and when they
had ascertained that the King was at-Lewes they pitched
their camp about nine miles north from that town at the
village of Fletching3, then surrounded by a dense forest.
1 W. Rish. de Bello Lew. tentoriasuafigebant." — Chr. Wigorn.
-2 On the feast of S. John Port. MS. " Flexemge or Flexingge, about
Latin. — W. Rish. six miles from Lewes." — W. Rish.
3 "Barones cum suo exercitu ad Chr. and de bello Lew.. "Flexinge
dictam villam (Lewes) approperantes sexto circa mille aprioratudeLewes."
intra villam qua? vocatur Flechinge — Chr. Roff. Mat. Westm. T. Wyke

140 the barons' war. [ch.
Before the final appeal to arms, the barons despatched
from hence, on a mission of peace, two eminent prelates, who
had steadily adhered to them — Richard de Sandwich, Bishop
of London, and Walter de Cantilupe, Bishop of Worcester,
both well qualified for their office.
Richard de Sandwich was a worthy successor to Fulk
Basset, before noticed, in his zeal for ecclesiastical liberty.
From a prebendary of St Paul's he had risen, in 1262, to his
present rank, which he retained till 1273. Soon after his
elevation he was successful with his present colleague in
urging to a conclusion the hasty armistice of June 1263, at
a desperate crisis of the King's affairs, and in the following
month the uncharacteristic duty of the custody of Dover
Castle was assigned to him and two other bishops, dis
tinguishing them thereby as neutrals and mediators. He
had been an attesting party to the recent mise in France,
and retained his fortitude and love of his Church1 during the
disgrace and exile, which overtook him in consequence of the
part he was now playing.
The birth, station, and character of Walter de Cantilupe
added dignity to his experience and courage. He had
already occupied the see of Worcester twenty-eight years,
having been elected during the lifetime of his father2, a
nobleman who had home the high office of steward to King's
John and Henry, and had been sheriff at various times of
Warwickshire and Leicestershire. Early deaths in rapid
succession had carried off three generations of the family
chief: his brother had conveyed the protest of England to
says, "the earl pitched his camp at ously embroidered, "with wheels,
seven or eight miles from where the griffons, and elephants," a brocade
King's army was." " Barones in ab- cope "with knights templars rid-
difcis sylvarum latentes cum exercitu." ing about below, and birds above." —
The letter of the barons is dated "in Dugd. St Paul's. The brass monument
bosco juxta Lewes." — Chr. Dover. of this prelate remained irr honour in
1 Besides bequeathing 40s. for an old St Paul's, until involved in the
anniversary obit on Sept. 12 in St common destruction of so many
Paul's, "for the good bf his soul," he works of art by the fanaticism of Ed-
gave several church ornaments and ward VI.'s time.
vestments : some of these were curi- a He died 1239.

VIII.] NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE ROYALISTS AT LEWES. 141
the Pope ; his eldest nephew William, after a brief military
career, had been followed to his untimely grave by sorrowing
crowds of abbots and barons, among whom were Simon de
Montfort and Humphrey de Bohun l ; Walter himself, who
had been employed on foreign embassies, was ever an active
and zealous friend to the liberties of the Church and State.
In one of the regulations made by him for his diocese? in
1240, he assumes a singularly paternal character, enjoining
"all priests every Sunday to warn both mothers and nurses
not to keep their tender infants too close to them, lest by
chance they should be suffocated, but to let them lie firmly
propped up in their cradles2." He was one of the twenty-
four councillors elected to watch the execution of the Oxford
Statutes, and more recently, after reconciling the hostile
parties of the state to an armistice, he had promoted the
mise, by which he might have hoped to end these civil
broils. The manner in which Prince Edward had lately
delivered himself from the thraldom of a blockade, by prac
tising on his too easy faith, has been already adverted to.
The task of peace was now resumed by these prelates un
der discouraging circumstances, when they proceeded to Lewes,
charged with the offer of 50,000 marcs3 (£33,333. 6s. 8d.)
to the King, in compensation for the damages done by the
baronial party in their late outrages, but annexing the con
dition so constantly urged, of the Oxford Statutes being
held valid and executed. Other accounts, indeed, represent
the King of the Romans as making the demand of £30,000,
but this may have arisen from his avarice being so popular
a topic of reproach : —
" The Kyng of Alemaigne, bi me leaute,
Thritti thousent pound askede he
For to make the pees in the countre4."
1 He was related to them by his * Pol. S., from MS. Harl. 2253.
marriage with Eve [de Braose, great The Chr. Dunst. says there were three
granddaughter] of the great Earl of proposals of peace, the first sent by
Pembroke. knights, the second and third by the
2 Wilkins' Cone. i. 668. two bishops.
3 T. Wyke.

142 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
The bishops were bearers of the following letter, in which
the barons endeavoured to reconcile their loyalty to the
King, with. their war against his evil advisers: —
" To their most excellent Lord, Henry, by the Grace of
God, the illustrious King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke
of Aquitaine, the barons and others his lieges, wishing to
observe their oath and faith to God and him, send health,
and due service with honour and reverence :
" Since it is apparent by many proofs that certain per
sons among those who surround you, have uttered many
falsehoods against us to your Lordship, devising all the evil
in their power, not only towards us, but towards yourself and
the whole kingdom :
" May your Excellency know, that as we wish to pre
serve the health and safety of your person with all our
might, and with the fidelity due to you, proposing only to
resist by all means in our power those persons, who are
not only our enemies, but yours, and those of the whole
kingdom ;
"May it please you not to believe their falsehoods.
" We shall always be found your liegemen, and we, the
Earl of Leicester and Gilbert de Clare, at the request of
others, have affixed our seals for ourselves. Given in the
Weald, near Lewes, on the first Tuesday after the feast of
St Pancras1." (May 13, 1264.)
This address has been termed2 " submissive in the lan
guage, but exorbitant in the demands ;" and undoubtedly
the courteous obedience professed by it stands in contrast
to its resolute menaces, the submission being somewhat akin
to the humility of the Biscayans, whose fixed law it was,
that, until their lord swore to keep their privileges, "any
order of his should be obeyed only, and not executed3."
1 Chr. Dover, "datum in bosco Pancras was on Monday, May 12.
juxta Lewes die Martis primo post 2 Hume.
diem S. Pancratii." In Chr. Rish. 3 " Y que si su Senoria enbiare
it is " Datum apud Flexing." Sir J, mandamientos o provisiones en el
Mackintosh dates this May 10. S. entre,.tantoseanobedicidasynocutn-

VIII.] NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE ROYALISTS AT LEWES. 143
The royal court had been established at Lewes two days,
when the bishops now approached on their mission. Prince-
Edward had made himself the congenial guest1 of his gal
lant kinsman at the castle, while the King had taken up
his residence in the great priory of Cluniae monks, situated
in the low grounds south of the town. The prior William
de Neville2, who had been lately removed here from the
convent of the same order, and whose treachery had facili
tated the capture of Northampton, was now engaged in re
building the great western towers of his church, a work
he did not live to finish, but for which he bequeathed funds
at his death, in 1268.
The priory, in conjunction with four French ones, con
stituted " the five chief daughters of Cluny," near Macon,
in Burgundy, the prior of Lewes being always High Cham
berlain of the order. Subject as they were to a foreign
authority, the monks, as well as their head, may well have
had a bias towards the alien courtiers of the King, and
doubtless rejoiced at the honour of receiving such distin
guished guests as their inmates. The young Christian martyr,
Saint Pancras, to whom the priory was dedicated, displayed
no such marvels on the occasion, as were believed by his
devotees to have occurred at his tomb in Rome. There
any false swearer, who came near, either became instantly
possessed of the devil and went mad, or fell down dead on
the pavement, and this occurred in some cases where the
test had been tried in vain at the tomb of the more in-
plidas." — FuerosdeVizcaya. InHun- five gems, a gilt sacramental cup and
gary similar orders were laid aside four others of his best for the choir,
respectfully, " cum honore deponun- a silver pall|£100 to buy tunics in
tur." alternate years, 200 marcs (£133.
1 He was again at Lewes as King, 6s. 8d.) to complete the two towers
Aug. 1289. of the front of his church, which were
2 The name is Neville in Willis' ninety feet high and the walls ten
lists, and in Harl. MSS. e Regist. feet thick, 100 marcs (£66. 13s. Id.)
Arc. Giff., but in Regist. pr. S. Andr. to the treasury, a gilt cup to the re-
and in Ann. de Lewes it is Fonville, fectory, and a silver goblet to the
probably corrupted from Nova Villa infirmary. — Dugd. Monas . He is not
(Neville). His bequests to the priory noticed in Rowland's "Nevill fa-
were many: a gold cup enriched with mily."

144 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
dulgent St Peter1. Neither king nor courtier were affected
at Lewes by this touchstone of truth.
Having adopted the discipline and black habit of St
Benedict, they were often familiarly designated as the Black
Monks, and let us hope they did not deserve the character
given them by a satirist soon after this time, who describes
the " Moyne Neirs " as members of the order of Easy Liv
ing (Ordre de Bel Eyse), getting drunk every day from
mere jollity : —
" E sont chescun jour ivre, Theymustperforcegetdrunkeachday,
Quar ne sevent autre vivre, They know of lif e no other way ;
Mes ils le font pur compagnie, But they only drink for company,
E ne mie pur glotonie2." And not a jot for gluttony.
The tact of finding excellent reasons for doing what they
liked was not peculiar to -this fictitious Order. In a similar
manner the monks of St Denis offered sound clerical argu
ments to Charlemagne in favour of their hunting : the flesh
of hunted game was so medicinal to their sick, and the skins
served so well for their gloves and girdles, and for binding
their psalters. Hunting accordingly continued for many
ages the orthodox practice of churchmen. Walter de Suf-
field, the Bishop of Norwich, in 1256, had bequeathed his
pack of hounds to the King, and there were thirteen parks'
well stocked with game belonging to that see at the Re
formation. An interesting precedent was also furnished by
the Archbishop of York in 1321, when he conducted his
visitation with a train of 200 persons and a pack of hounds,
which his clergy had to maintain, as he moved from place

1 Legenda Aurea. Pancras having 3 Strutt's Anc. Sp. Compare the
refused to worship idols at the com- case of St Edmund's Bury., "Plures
mand and entreaties of Diocletian, enim parcos fecit, quos bestiis reple-
was beheaded a. d. 287, at Rome. His vit, venatorem cum canibus habens,
head "which sweated blood for three et superveniente aliquo hospite mag-
days, when the basilica of S. John ni nominis, sedebat cum monachis
Lateran was on fire," is to this day suis in aliquo saltu nemoris, et vide-
annually exhibited there on his feast- bat canes currere ; sed de venatione
day, May 12, Diar. Rom. nunquam vidi earn gustare."  Chr.
» Pol. S. from MS. Harl. Jocelin, p. 21.

VIII.] NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE ROYALISTS AT LEWES. 145
to place. Many a monk, like Chaucer's, was "an outrider
that loved venerie," and the luxurious living in some of their
cloistered retreats is amusingly caricatured in an early
satire : — "AU of pasties beth the wall,
Of flesh, of fish, and a rich meat,
The like-fullest that man may eat:
Flouren cakes beth the shingles all
Of church, cloister, bowers, and hall;
The pinnes beth fat puddings,
Rich meat to Princes and Kings.
Yet do I you mo to wit
The geese yroasted on the spit,
Flee to the Abbey, God it wot,
And .gredith " geese all hot, all hot.
The young monkes each day
After meat goeth to play1."
The present guests at the priory of Lewes had all cele
brated the great feast of the patron saint, on Monday, May
12, doubtless with all due merriment, and we shall see with
what excited spirits they received the offer of peace on the
following day. On the morning of the battle also they were
so little alert as to be nearly surprised in their beds — a
circumstance which tallies somewhat suspiciously with the
warning of the satirist, if any friend should come to visit the
black monks in the evening : —
" Ce vus di je de veir, I'll tell you true what he will do,
Yl dormira grant matinee, He'll snooze away far into day,
Desque la male fume"e Nor leave his bed until his head
Seit de la teste issue From the fumes be free of the night's
Pur grant peril de la vewe2." revelry,
And much I fear he won't see clear.
That the Cluniacs_were not wholly absorbed in devotion,
authentic evidence was given by some English brethren of
the Order, who set forth their grievances to Edward III. in
1331, complaining : 1. That a few foreign brethren, their
privileged masters (mestres per heritage) sent the revenues
1 Likefullest, pleasantest; piuneSj in Hickes' Thes.
pinnacles; gredith, cry. — Cockaigne 2 Pol. S. from MS. Harl.

146 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
out of the kingdom : 2. That the Prior of Lewes evaded the
Act of Parliament, and persisted in sending new monks
abroad for admission : 3. That heads of houses were chosen
who knew nothing of clerical matters except scraping up
money and sending it abroad : 4. That if a monk should
speak of discipline or religion he would be despatched a
hundred leagues off on foot, and with a stinted allowance ;
and on that account the order of Cluny has fallen into shame,
and no one dared to speak of religion1."
Among those assembled round the King at this crisis of
his fate were nearly all those allied to him by blood or
marriage :' his gallant son Edward, the favourite and main
spring of the army, and a second titled monarch, Prince
Richard, King of the Romans, who had with him his chival
rous son Henry, a fresh convert, and a zealous one from the
opposite party, and his younger son Edmund, a mere youth.
The royal half-brothers, Guy and William de Valence, objects
of so much national jealousy, were eager to revenge the
insults of their exile and confiscation. The neighbouring
fortress of Pevensey was now in the custody of William, who,
though there does not appear to have been any distinct
grant of the title, was considered at this time as the Earl of
Pembroke2, in right of the inherited lands of his wife Joan
de Monchensy. The head, however, of the Monchensy family
was in the enemy's camp, and the kinsmen were soon to
meet in conflict.
John, the seventh Earl of Warenne and Surrey, was
among the most constant and resolute of all the King's
friends, whose half-sister Alice he had married. The lady,
' Reyn. Apost. Bened. Dugd. Mon. dis pensionibus clericis nobilium."
"Lekart, ke si un moyne parle de Rymer  Tanner's Not. Prince Ed-
ordre ou de religion, il serra mande ward was the first who confiscated
cent lewes hors, e a pe, e a poy des- the revenues of Lewes Priory, as
penses, e par icy le ordre de Cluny e alien, in 1285, to help his own wars.
alle a hunte e pur ice nul ne ose par- 2 The estates had been granted to
ler de religion." A bull of Pope Ce- him in 1250, and he was summoned
lestine III., 1197, rebukes the Prior of to the great councils as representa-
Lewes for promising benefices before tive of the property.
they were vacant, " et de non solven-

VIII.] NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE ROYALISTS AT LEWES. 147

indeed, is unpolitely handed down to us as proud, ugly, and
ill-tempered, and she died mad1; but this was by no means
the only alliance of the family with royal blood. The first
earl was a kinsman of the Conqueror, and married his
daughter Gundred2, whose well-known tomb, near the priory
founded by him, has preserved her memory at Lewes. Isa
bella, the sole heiress in the fourth generation, carried the
earldom by her marriage, first to William de Blois, a son of
King Stephen, and after his death to Hameline Plantagenet,
a brother of Henry II. By his father's marriage with Maud,
one of the Pembroke heiresses, John was nearly related to
some of the powerful chiefs now opposed to him3, but he
gave to the King, with unflinching loyalty, all the influence
derived from his wide possessions in Sussex4, and the strength
of the castle, at Lewes, at this moment so peculiarly import
ant to him. A hostile ballad5 of the time thus alludes to his
wealth and spirit, at a time when the barons had checked
him by the truce of 1263 : —

" Mes de Warenne ly bon Quens,
Que tant ad richesses et biens,
Si ad apris de guere,

1 Mat. Westm.
2 Duchesne (Hist. Norm. Script.)
though naming five other daughters,
makes no mention of Gundreda ; nor
does Thierry (Conq. d'Anglet.); nor
M. Lafreneye in Nouvelle Hist, de
Normandie, 1816; and Orderic Vit.
says, "the King gave Surrey to Wil
liam de Warenne, who had married
Gundreda, sister of Gherbod." The
tradition of herparentage might there
fore have been doubted had not her
husband in his charter founding the
priory described her as the daughter
of Queen Matilda : " Pro salute ani-
rns mes et animas Gundreda uxoris
meaj * * * et pro salutee do-
minse meae Matildis reginas, matris
uxoris mea?." — Dugd. Monast.
' ' Cestriam et comitatum ejus Gher-
bodo Flandrensi jamdudum Rex de-
derat." After the Conquest William

Proud of his wealth and many lands,
The good Earl Warenne raised his
hands,
Skilled in war, and quick to fight;
granted to this Flemish nobleman
for his services the city and ceunty of
Chester; but, being in Flanders on
business, Gherbod was there seized
by his enemies, and imprisoned for
life. Chester was therefore, on ac
count of his absence, granted to Hugh
Lupus.— V. Order. Vit. p. 250.
3 With the Earls of Gloucester and
Norfolk and with the family of the
Earl of Dertfcy. P.
4 His father William held 30J
knights' fees in Pevensey Rape, and
62 in Lewes Rape.
5 Pol. S. from MS. 13th cent. Sir
J. Mackintosh erroneously names
Warenne as one of the principal
leaders of the barons with Glouces
ter and Derby. — Hist. Eng. Peven
sey Castle was committed to his cus
tody, 1263. (Pat. 47" H. III.)
L2

148 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
En Norfolk en eel pensis In Norfolk late his thoughts did swell,
Vint conquerrant ses enemis, Intending all his foes to quell,
Mes ore ne ad que fere." But idle now lies his might.
Of all those who fought at Lewes, he1, with Prince
Edward, was the only one who survived to be enrolled among
the warriors at Carlaverock, in 1301, civil and foreign wars
having swept away all the others. In the interim he had
steadily maintained his independence of character : his bold
answer to the enquiries of the royal commissioners in 1276,
as to the title by which he held his lands, was more con
clusive in that age than rolls of parchment. " By this sword
did my ancestor win them, and by this sword will I keep
them." It is interesting to find him as a veteran still fight
ing by the side of his King so many years afterwards, and
bringing forward his grandson Henry, Lord Percy2.
After holding the earldom for fifty-four years, he was on
his death in 1304 so esteemed, that King Edward caused
prayers to be publicly offered for him, and the clergy sanc
tioned a promised "remission of 3000 days from purgatory
to those who should relieve his soul by prayer3." Of the

1 " Johans li bon Quens de Warene Good Earl de Warenne on his -steed
De l'autre eschele avoit la rene Had of the other troop the lead,
A justicier e gouvorner To govern or to check at will,
Com cil M bien scavoit mener As one who had the noble skill
Gen seignourie et honnouree. Barons and honoured knights to guide,
De or et de azur eschequeree When proudly flying they descried
Fu sa btoiere noblement His chequered banner blue and gold
II ot en son assemblement In his squadron, young and bold
Henri de Percy son nevou, His grandson Henry Percy, came,
De ki sembloit ke eust fait vou Seeming as if he vowed to tame
De aler les Ebcos de Rampant. The Scots, and singly to attack,
Jaune o un bleu lyon rampant While high in sight of all there flew
Fu sa baniere bien vuable." His golden banner's lion blue.
2 He was the son of his third daugh- Archbishop, the Bishops of Chiches
ter Eleanor, and succeeded his father ter, Rochester, and five others, au-
(a royalist prisoner at Lewes) in 1272. thorized this indulgence, inscribed on
He married Eleanor, daughter of his tomb:—
Richard, Earl of Arundel.
3 He was buried before the high Ky Pur sa alme Pnera
altar of Lewes Priory, "in pleno pa- Tr01z mill jours de pardon avera."
vimento sub plana tumba. " — MSS. For his soul whoever prayB
Vitell. XIV., 14 ex reg. Lew, The Of pardon has 3000 days.

VIII.] NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE ROYALISTS AT LEWES. 149
other principal royalists at Lewes, the kindred and fate of a
few may be traced, to show by what various motives of in
terest or loyalty, and after what changes of opinion, they
were there united in the same cause. John Fitzalan, Baron
of Clun, in Wales, was in possession of Arundel Castle, as the
representative of his mother, Isabella de Albini, heiress of
her two brothers, the last earls of that name ; but though in
favour at court he never enjoyed, nor did his son after him,
the title of earl, though this is contrary to a popular opinion
of its tenure1. He had fought in the Welsh wars, and had
mainly assisted in the recent defence of Rochester. The
widow of his maternal undo, Warenne's sister, whose spirited
interview with the King has been related, was yet alive, and
this connection naturally associated Fitzalan's banners with
those of that chieftain. The advantage of all the great
strongholds of Sussex, Lewes, Pevensey, Hastings, and Arun
del, being in friendly hands, had probably determined the
movement of the royal forces to4 this part of the kingdom, as
affording a military position of great strength, increased by
the facility of receiving fresh supplies of men and money
from France.

1 He died 1267. His grandson, any heraldic device, exhibited two
' Edmund, was the first of his name birds, a stag, a rabbit, and a pig, with
summoned to Parliament as Earl of the motto, " Tot capita tot sentencie."
Arundel, and by marriage with Alice, — Cartwright's Rape Arund. Report
heiress of the last Earl de Warenne of H. of Lords. The arms of Brian
(who died 1347), introduced additional Fitzalan are barry, or and gules, in
wealth and honours into the family. the east window of Bedall church.
The " fair Brian de Fitzaleyn, full of The pedigree of the Fitzalan family
courtesy and honour, " at Carlave- has been given by the Rev. R.W. Ey-
rock, had a seal, which, instead of ton, Arch. Journ. 1856, p. 333: —

William de Albini, Hugh de Albini, Isabella de Albini,
4th Earl. 5th Earl, d. 1243, • m. John Fitzalan, Baron of Clun,
m. Isabella dr. of who d. 1177 ?
W". Earl de Warenne, |
d. 1282. John m. Maud Verdon,
d. 1267. I
John m. Isabella de Mortimer,
d. 1272.
Edmund m. Alice de Warenne,
d. 1326. .

150 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
Others of the kindred of the Albinis were with Fitzalan :
Roger de Someri1, who had married his aunt, was a soldier
of experienced service in Gascony and Wales. He had felt
the rigour of the feudal bonds in a remarkable manner, soon
after he had become the heir of his nephew, who died young,
all his land being confiscated on account of his having neg
lected the royal summons to receive knighthood. By the same
feudal supremacy he had been prohibited, in 1262 — probably
at the instigation of the barons, who may have mistrusted
him — from continuing to build the castle of Dudley, and he
had but recently obtained licence to do so, perhaps at a
moment when the King was a more free agent.
Robert de Tattershall2, a cousin of Fitzalan, was a gallant
and powerful knight, holding twenty-five fees, who had al
ready been engaged in the Welsh wars.
One of the most conspicuous royalists in rank was Hum
phrey de Bohun, known as the good Earl of Hereford.
Descended from a kinsman of the Conqueror, his father had
been one of the firmest upholders of Magna Charta, and he had
himself, on many occasions, displayed the same independent
spirit, when provoked by its infringement, the encroach
ments of the Pope, or the overbearing influence of the alien
courtiers. His marriage with one of the Pembroke heiresses
had increased his importance, and he had stood as one of the
nine sponsors at Prince Edward's baptism, in 1239. His
services when a crusader, and in Wales, had inured him to
the ordinary aspect of war; but the greatest trial of his
courage must have been now to see his eldest son3, an able

1 Arms of Someri: " Or two lions 3 The father was the second earl,
passant azure." — Rolls of Arms. He but Dugdal'e appears to confuse him
died in 1272. with his son, and represents him as
2 He died in 1274. Arms, " Che- always taking part with the barons,
quy or and gules, a chief ermine." — until he became a prisoner at Eve-
Carlav. His son claimed, in 1297, sham. His son, Humphrey, un-
the office of Hereditary Chief Butler doubtedly fought against the King,
in right of his grandmother, Mabella and died before him; and the homage
Albini. Dugdale says he fought of the grandson was taken after the
against the King, at Evesham (Esc. earl's death, 1274. — Cal. Inquis p
49" H. III.). mort. Dugd. Bar.

VIII.] NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE ROYALISTS AT LEWES. 151
and restless soldier, leading on part of de Montfort's troops,
and persevering throughout the war allied to the same party,
as well as John de Haresfield1, his son by a second wife.
In similar opposition to the head of his noble family stood
Hugh le Bigot2, a good soldier and a skilful lawyer. His
early political tendencies having united him with the barons
at Oxford, they had made him a Justiciary, and entrusted
him with the command of Dover, from which the King had
dismissed him as soon as he dared. He was, however, now
ranged in support of the Crown, and after his flight from
Lewes re-appeared at Evesham to fight for the same cause,
recovering finally his confiscated estates.
The family influence of de Warenne may also have
brought other knights to the royal side. William Bardolf3,
whose' mother was a Warenne, had been selected by the
King as one of the twelve councillors at Oxford, but being a
good soldier, and having, in 1241, seized the notorious out
law, William de Marisco, in Lundy Island, the barons had
placed him in command of Nottingham, in 1258, and again
in 1263. This trust, however, he had recently betrayed4
into the King's hands, after the Northampton victory. The
barons were, at this moment, encamped on his lands at
Fletching, and he became their prisoner on the following
day. The large possessions of Henry de Percy gave him great
influence, not only in the North5, but in Sussex, where he
1 The remainder of his elder bro- * T. Wyke.
ther's estates was secured to him and 5 The manor of Skelton, brought
Milo, another brother, by grant, 1266. into his family by his grandmother,
— Rot. Pat. 50" H. III., where Hum- was held jby a singular but easy te-
phrey is misnamed Henry. nure, the *ord being bound, on every
2 Arms of le Bigot, "Or a cross Christmas-day, to lead the lady of
gules." Skelton Castle from her chamber to
8 He was a ward of Hubert de mass and back. Percy died in 1272.
Burgh, as a minor, had a grant of His son has been already alluded to
free warren at Fletching, in 1254, as accompanying de Warenne at Car-
and died 1274. Arms, "Azure 3 laverock. He was the direct ances-
quintefoilles de or." — Rolls of Arms. tor of Hotspur, and, by females, of
His son is honourably mentioned at the late Earl of Egremont.— Dugd.
Carlaverock, as " a rich and chival- Bar. Cartwr. Rape Arundel.
rous knight of lordly presence."

152 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
was Lord of Petworth. He had given £900 to the King for
livery of his lands, and the liberty of marrying whom he
pleased — a privilege certainly worth paying for, but which he
did not abuse; for the lady whom he chose, Eleanor, the
daughter of Earl de Warenne, would have had no difficulty
in gaining the King's consent. After sharing in the Welsh
campaigns with honour, he had been leagued with the barons
up to the preceding year, when his estates were confiscated.
De Warenne may be supposed to have induced his submis
sion by their restoration, in consequence of which he had
gathered the adherents of his noble banner to assist the
King at the capture of Northampton, and was again pre
pared for the combat at Lewes.
Another knight was present, whose name has become
more distinguished by modern genius than it was in his own
times — Philip de Marmion1. He had been ward to William
de Cantilupe, whose representative, the Bishop of Worcester,
he now saw coming from the enemy's camp as ambassador.
Having for many years followed the fortunes of the King in
Gascony, where he had been taken prisoner, and in Wales,
and having been one of the sureties for the King's obser
vance of the Oxford Statutes, he was earnestly summoned by
his Sovereign, when the attempted re-action began, to come
to him, " with horses, and arms, and all his power, and with all
the assemblage of his friends, not only on his due allegiance,
but on his friendship.'' He had accordingly been made sheriff
of Suffolk and Norfolk in 1263, and had aided the seizure of
Northampton. At Lewes he had the mortification of seeing
his two uncles, Robert and William de Marmion, fighting
against him. In reward of his services he was appointed, for
a time, governor of Kenilworth, on its surrender after the
battle of Evesham, and received also the grant of Tamworth.
Philip Basset2 deserves especial mention, as having so
1 Arms, " Vair fess gules." — Rolls 2 Baron of Wycomb, co. Berks.
pf Arms. Banks! Family of Marmion Arms, " Or, three piles gules, a
gives another, "three swords in pale, quarter ermine."— Rolls of Arms.
points down, chief vair." "Ermine, on chief indented gules

VIII.] NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE ROYALISTS AT LEWES. 153
much distinguished himself by his valour at Lewes, near
which, at Berwick, he possessed some lands, granted by King
John to his grandfather Alan ; and the 'priory had also re
ceived the grant of a church from his family. He had
himself, in early life, together with his brothers, incurred
forfeiture by rebellion, but had long been confidentially
employed by the King both in peace and war. After having
been on the mission to the Pope and Council at Lyons, and
at home having several castles entrusted to his command, he
had been named, in 1261, as Justiciary, and has been men
tioned as forcing his way through the undermined Wall of
Northampton. Like Warenne, Fitzalan, Percy, and Bardolf,
he not only had the local interest of property in Sussex, but
like them too had the misery at Lewes to know — what must
unhappily often be the case in civil war — that some of his
own kindred were ranged as leaders in the opposite ranks \
One of the most eager and uncompromising royalists
was Roger de Mortimer2, grandfather of the well-known fa
vourite of the name, deservedly executed by Edward III. His
line of ancestry from the Conquest included the distinguished
names of Longespee, de Ferrers, and a Welsh Princess ; and
he was himself married to Matilda, daughter of William de
three mullets or." — Carlav. 1. In ser, and afterwards Roger le Bigod,
the Deed confirming the Peace 1259, junior ; Margery married John Fitz-
the large seal of Philip de Basset is John  Dugd. Bar. [In saying that
still extant, and exhibits on an es- some of Philip Basset's kindred were
cutcheon 3 bars indented — cart. 629. ranged as leaders in the opposite
10, Arehiv. du. roy. : and a small ranks, Mr Blaauw probably alludes
seal of his, bearing the same arms, to his son-in-law, Hugh le Despen-
is appended to the Deed of Reference ser, whom the barons nominated as
to Louis IX. by the barons, 1263. — Chief Justiciary in 1258, and who
Arch, du roy., cart. 630. 20. Are- fell at Evisham; to Ralf Basset of
markable privilege of having mass Sapercote, whom the barons made
performed in his presence at any castellan of Northampton; and to
church he might come to, even though his cousin, Ralf Basset of Drayton.
it lay under interdict, was granted to But the connection of the two latter
Philip Basset, in 1245, by Pope In- with Basset of Wycomb is not ascer-
nocent IV. This favour is avowedly tained, and was anyhow very re-
shewn because, from his rank and . rhote.]
power, Basset was likely 'to be able 2 "Mortimer, barre de or e de
to requite .the Papacy on occasion. asure, od le chef -palie, les corners
1 He died 1272. Of his daugh- geroune, a un escuchon de argent."
ters, Aliva married Hugh le Despen- — Rolls of Arms. Dugd. Bar.

154 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
Braose — an owner, like himself, of large estates in Wales.
His desolating attacks, in 1263, on the bordering properties
of the baronial partisans by plunder and fire, may be said
to have begun the war, as they naturally provoked retalia
tion. He had been prominent at the storming of Northamp
ton, and was doubtless of equal activity at Lewes.
Fulk Fitz Warren1, a veteran of high connections, who
had been born on a Welsh mountain during his father's out
lawry, and who was drowned in the Ouse during the battle,
must have recently adopted the party, which proved fatal
to him. He had been employed in 1245 by the malcontent
knights and barons at the Dunstable tournament, on a ser
vice very characteristic of the manners of the age, — to warn
the Pope's secretary, Martin, who had been plundering for
his master with great diligence, instantly to leave the country.
A clerical chronicler 2, speaking of this Martin, declares that
out of respect to the Church he deems it safer and more
honourable to be silent as to his wanton and wrongful rapa
city. Fitz Warren, though not silent, did not waste many
words in executing the commission. The interview was
short and decisive ; the soldier went up to the secretary at the
Temple with a stern look, and bluntly delivered his message
at once : " Get out of England immediately." On Martin
asking, " Who orders me this ? do you, of your own autho
rity?" he was answered, "The whole community; and if you
will take good advice, you will not stay here three days
longer, lest you and yours should be cut up into fragments,"
backing the threat with oaths. Martin made a vain appeal
to King Henry for protection, who greeted his request 'of a
safe conduct with, "May the devil conduct you into and
through hell ! " His fear during his hasty journey to Canter
bury was so excessive, in consequence of these threats, that
1 " Quartele argent et gules en- " Quarterly per fess indented argent
dente." — Rolls of Arms. His sister and gules."- For the seal of Ivo Fitz-
Eve married Prince Llewellyn. — W. Waryn, see Arch. Journ., Sept. 1856,
Heming. His arms in the south p.- 279.
aisle of Westminster Abbey are a M. Par.

VIII.] NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE ROYALISTS AT LEWES. 155
the sight of some men, who had met to buy timber in a
wood, induced him to offer his guide, Robert Norris, prefer
ment in the Church for any of his relations if he would but
save him from their attack. Norris despised the bribe ; but,
playing upon his alarm, made him skulk along byeways to
Dover at full speed until he embarked.
A highly curious specimen of a baron's life in the thir
teenth century is presented by the memoirs x of Fulk Fitz-
Warren's father, of the same name; the narrative, though
more romance than history, being evidently founded on
facts. Henry II. had brought him up in the palace as a
companion to his own sons and the Welsh Prince Llewellyn ;
but a boyish quarrel he had with Prince John, at a game of
chess, was the means of affecting his way of life for years
afterwards. With his four, brothers he was knighted by
King Richard, who loved them as fellow-crusaders, and he is
praised as " without a rival in strength, courage, and good
ness." He acted as Warden of the Welsh marches, but
when the revengeful John, as King, cheated him out of
Ludlow, and denied him any justice, he formally renounced
his homage, and became an outlaw, in which capacity many
of his wild and strange adventures are recorded. Though
fifteen knights had promised John to capture him, he proved
them to be " fools for their promise," and slew them by the
help of his brothers. He made use of his own long spear to
measure out for himself the rich stuffs and furs of the King's
merchants, whom he plundered whenever he met them ;
and being the object of several proclamations yet extant
(1203, 15, 16, 17,) he adopted sundry disguises. In the
cowl of a monk he was married to Maud Vavasour by the
1 M. Michel, the French editor of Hawyse de Dinan, in Wales.
the MS. in the Br. Mus., is in error, Fulk the 2nd, surnamed le Prud-
when he identifies the subject of the homme, m. 1. Maud, daughter of
memoirs with the Justiciary drowned, Robert Vavasour; 2. Clarice de Au-
who in that case would have been berville.
100 years old.— V. Hist, de Foulkes Fulk the 3rd, drowned at Lewes. —
FitzWarin, Paris, 1840. V. Inquis. p. mort. 1° Edw. I. [and
Fulk FitzWarren the 1st married Calend. Geneal. i. p. 203].

156 THE barons' war. [ch.
Archbishop Hubert Walter (1193-1205), an old fellow-
crusader, who wished thus to rescue his brother's widow from
the persecutions of John. When hemmed in on one occa
sion by his enemies, who cried out, " Now lords, all at Fulk,"
(Ore, Seigneurs, tous a Foulk), he answered them boldly by
"Yes, and Fulk at all" (certes et Fulk a tous). After gain
ing distinctions in tournaments at Paris, he turned pirate,
and had a singular discussion with Mador, an old sailor, on
the comparative merits of dying at sea or in bed ; the knight,
having learnt that the sailor's forefathers for four generations
had been drowned, remarked, " Surely you must be very
foolish to dare go on the sea." Mador, however, on question
ing the knight, and learning that his ancestors had all died
in their beds, was enabled to retort, " Surely, Sir, I wonder
then that you dare enter any bed." Landing on a Scotch
island, he played at chess with a chief there, until a quarrel
arose during the game, at which indeed he seems to have
been unable to keep his temper ; in the fight which ensued,
he possessed himself of a hauberk, which he continued ever
after to prize highly. After a marvellous adventure with a
dragon near Carthage, and other feats at Tunis, he prowled
about Windsor forest until he took King John prisoner, and
finally extorted pardon and restoration of his property. He
then settled down quietly in the country, founded the priory
of Alberbury1, in Shropshire, and after some years of blind
ness and' decay, was buried there with his two wives2.
Whatever degree of fiction may be mixed up with the story
of his life, it is probably no inapt representative of the main
features of many a baron of that period.
The absence of the twenty bannerets, whom the King
had left to garrison Tunbridge, must have been deeply re-
1 It is referred to as an existing and some towers of which remain 
foundation in 1233 (Cart. 17° H. III.), See Arch. Journ. xn. 398.
and was afterwards given, as being 2 How M. Michel could prolong
an alien convent, to All Souls' Col- his life, and restore his sight, in
lege, which still retains it. The seat order to drown him at Lewes, if he
of the Fitz Warrens was Whitting- read his own book, is difficult to
ton Castle, Shropshire, a gateway imagine.

VIII.] NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE ROYALISTS AT LEWES. 157
gretted by. him on the eve of a battle, and though the list of
his friends at Lewes comprises some noble and many honour
able names (besides those whom historians may not have
pointed out to us), yet it is obvious that very few of the
great barons of the kingdom were on his side. It was, in
deed, as it has been popularly called, the Barons' War — for
nearly all the strength of that class was embodied in de
Montfort's army.
It must have been to supply this deficiency that the
royal numbers were swelled by so many powerful Scotch
chieftains, specially summoned as lieges of the crown, whom
the Scotch King, Henry's son-in-law, had willingly despatched
to assist the court in its distress. Of the competitors for
the crown of Scotland a few years later, two in person, and
the immediate ancestor of another, were now doing suit and
service to the King of England at Lewes. [The son of] one
of these great claimants, John Comyn1, of Badenagh, was
destined hereafter to become the prisoner of one of his
[father's] present comrades, de Warenne, and the murdered
victim of the grandson of another, Robert BrUs 2. si
John Baliol3, Lord of Galloway, after being governor of
Carlisle, had exercised so paramount a control for two years
over the youthful King Alexander III., and his bride Mar
garet, daughter of Henry III., that he was obliged to pur-
1 From Comine, a Norman family. " Or, an orle gules." — Carlav. From
" Gules, three garbs within a double Guy Baliol, who had received the
tressure, or." John Comyn, the original grant of Bywell, descended
younger, was made prisoner at Dun- Barnard, his son, who built Bar-
bar, by de Warenne, and murdered nard's Castle on the R. Tees.
by Brus, at Dumfries. He married Guy.
Joan, daughter of W. de Valence. | |
2 Robert de Brus was a lawyer, Barnard.
and sat as a Judge in Westminster [
in 1250. He married Isabella, daugh- Barnard took prisoner K. William of
ter of Earl of Gloucester, and in Scotland.
1268 became Chief Justice till the ]
death of Henry III. He was buried Hugh, sided with K. John.
at Guisborough, in Yorkshire, in |
1295. John, succeeded 1278.
8 Bailleul was the original Nor- " Joune baniere avoit el champ
man name. He was Baron of Biwell, Al rouge escu voidie du champ." —
in Northumberland, and died 1269. Carlav.

158 THE barons' war. [ch.
chase pardon by the payment of a considerable fine. He had
already obeyed the summons of the English crown, to which
he was liable, as holding thirty knights' fees, by serving
against the Welsh, but on his refusal to acknowledge the
authority of the Oxford Statutes, he had brought down con
fiscation upon his estates, the removal of which he had sent
his son to negotiate. The personal intimacy, formed during
the present campaign, may have influenced the subsequent
alliances of his family ; of his sons, who probably were with
him at Lewes, the eldest, Hugh, married Anne, daughter of
William de Valence, and the son of Alexander the younger,
was the celebrated John Baliol, who was for a short period
King of Scotland, and who married Isabella, the daughter of
the Earl de Warenne.
Ambition not having yet severed the Baliol and the
Bruce, their rival names were here linked to the same cause ;
— the prospect of a crown had not yet dawned upon them to
create those feuds and strifes which so long convulsed two
countries, united by nature within the same sea-girt bound ;
struggles within so narrow a sphere, that their Italian con
temporary looked upon them with great contempt, as those
of distant barbarians, forgetting for the moment the constant
turmoil of almost every city in Italy at the time.
" Li si vedr& la superbia ch'asseta,
Che fa lo Scotto e l'lnghilese folle,
Si che non pud soffrir dentro a sua meta." —
Dante, Par. xix. 121.
The services of the Norman ancestor of Robert Bruce had
been rewarded by the Conqueror with lands, and the present
Lord of Annandale, whose mother was the heiress, in whose
right the crown was subsequently claimed, held ten knights'
fees in England : from this lineage were the Stuarts de
scended.- Robert's wife was Isabella, aunt to the young Earl
of Gloucester, in the hostile camp : the treacherous murder
[of the son] of his present fellow-soldier Comyn, by his grand
son, cast a deep stain on his family in after-times.

VIII.] NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE ROYALISTS AT" LEWES. 159
Reinforced with these succours from the hardy North, the
royal army had the advantage of numbers1 over the enemy,
in addition to the King's authority being with them — alwa.ys
an important element of strength in an old monarchy. " Is
not the King's name 40,000 names2?" Their haughty con
fidence in this superiority little inclined the chiefs to give
much heed to the pacific embassy, which the two bishops
were now bearing to them. When admitted into their pre
sence in the great refectory3 of the priory, which still retains
some evidence of its former extent, they delivered their
proposals. Besides tendering compensation for damages', they re
ported de Mont'fort's offer to "abide by the decision of select
churchmen, competent by their wisdom and sound theology,
to determine what statutes should remain in force, and how
far their previous oaths should be binding, the barons wish
ing by this device to keep their faith as Christians, and
avoid the stain of perjury."
A violent clamour immediately arose on the statement of
these terms to the assembled kings and royalists: —
" Vox in altum tollitur turbse tumi- Then rose on high their haughty cry,
dorum Shall churchman's word rule soldier's
En jam miles subitur dictis cleri- sword ?
corum Knighthood's debased, 'neath priest
Viluit militia clerieis subjecta4." low laid.
The very proffer to warriors of a peace, which appeared
to make them subordinate to the clergy, was deemed an
insult, and Prince Edward impetuously burst out: "They
shall have no peace whatever, unless they put halters round
their necks, and surrender themselves rror us to hang them
up or drag them down, as we please6." The bishops could
1 " Rex quiderh Anglise confidens having a running stream beneath its
in multitudine complicum suorum, floor. It has been used as a malt-
et paucitatem partis adversae habens house.
contemptui, sestimans eos adversus 4 Polit. S.
ipsum nihil ausuros." — T. Wyke. 6 " Edwardusque dicitur itarespon-
» Rich. II., iii. 2. disse :
3 Its position is remarkable, as Pax illis preecluditur, nisi laqueis se

160 THE BARONS' WAR. [CHr
readily understand the temper of the party, wfien they heard
their offers thus treated, and the formal answer given to
them breathed the same scorn and defiance in the following
letter1:— " f^enrg, by the grace of God, King of England, Lord of
Ireland, Duke of Aquitaine, to Simon de Montfort, Gilbert
de Clare, and their accomplices ;
" Since it manifestly appears by the war and general dis
turbance already raised by you in our kingdom, "and also by
conflagrations and other outrageous damages, that you do
not observe your allegiance to us, nor have any regard to the
security of our person, inasmuch as you have lawlessly op
pressed those barons and others our lieges, who adhere with
constancy to their truth towards us, and since you purpose,
as you signify to us by your letters, to harass them as far as
lies in your power,
" We, considering their grievance as our own, and their
enemies as ours, more especially seeing that our aforesaid
lieges, in observance of their truth, manfully assist us against
your faithlessness ;
" We, therefore, value not your faith or love, and defy
you, as their enemies. Witness myself, at Lewes, on May
the thirteenth, in the 48th year of.our reign2."
Collis omnes alligent,- et ad sus- fisi, hos vero tanquam seductores aut
pendendum scismaticos de terra tollere temptant.
Semet nobis obligent, vel ad de- Salomone vero dicente quod bellum
trahendum." cum dispositionibus ut non tarn de
****** periculo capitis agitur quantum et
" Comitis devotio sero deridetur, animce." — Chr. Lanercost.
Cujus eras congressio victrix sen- * "Epistolam Baronum suorum
tietur." — Pol. S., v. 249. contemnens Rex ad bellum totis af-
The last Une proves the meeting fectibus exardescit, ac talem eis diffi-
and the royal answer to have oc- dationis responsalem misit." — Chr.
curred on May 13, the day before the Roff. MS.
battle. "His Uteris coram Rege 2 Rymer. Lib. de Ant. Leg. Chr.
lectis et intellect-is, rex cum ingen- Dover. W. Rish. The original let-
ti indignatione Baronibus sub hac ters are in Latin. The date of May
forma rescripsit." — Chr. Wigorn. 12 appears in W. Rish, and another
" Barones exulati et facultatibus nu- chronicle, but the barons' letter be-
dati aut vincere cupiunt aut vinci. ing dated with so much detail, " on
Regales vero, tarn aUenigenarum the first Tuesday after S. Pancras,"
quam indigenarum copiositate con- whose feast was Monday, May 12,

VIII.] NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE ROYALISTS AT LEWES. 161
The King of the Romans was at this time full of resent
ment at the recent plunder of his private property, the loss
of which naturally touched his parsimonious feelings ; and,
being extremely proud of his dignity, the disrespect they
had presumed to show him excited his indignation. He had
discouraged the King therefore from listening to any com
promise, as he might otherwise have done1.; and, in concert
with Prince Edward and the other leaders, he now added
another letter of haughty and uneeurteous import to the
refusal : —
" Richard, by the grace of God, King of the Romans,
always august, and Edward, the first-born son of the illus
trious King of England, and all the other barons and
knights who firmly adhere to the said King of England,
with sincere faith and force, to Simon de Montfort, Gilbert
de Clare, and to all and each of -the other accomplices in
their treason ;
" We have understood, by the letters you have sent to
our Lord the illustrious King of England, that we are defied
hyvou, although 'indeed 'this verbal defiance had been proved
before by hostilities against us, by the burning of our goods,
and the ravage of our possessions.
" We therefore let you know .that you are all defied as
public enemies by each and all of us your enemies, and that
henceforth,, whenever occasion offers, we will, with all our
might, labour to damage your persons and property; and as
to that which you falsely charge us with, that the advice we
give the King is neither faithful nor good, you in no wise
speak the truth ; and if you Lord Simon de Montfort, or you
Gilbert de Clare,- are willing to assert the same in the court
of our Lord the King, we are ready to procure you a safe-
conduct to come to the said court, and to declare the truth
of our innocence, and the lying of each of you as. perfidious
traitors, by some one our <equal in nobility and birth. We

and the King's letter being evidently be May 13.
an answer to it, the proper date must x W. Rish. De Bell. Lew.

M

162 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH. VIII.
are all content with the seals of the said lords, the King of
the Romans, and the Lord Edward. Dated at Lewes, 13th
day of May, in the 48th year of King Henry, son of John."
This war of words was an apt prelude to the fiercer con
flict approaching. The confidence of the royal party in their
superior strength1, now led the King " by rash advice2," to
look only to the stern diplomacy of arms, rather than to the
struggle of subtlety in a chamber. " The mutual contract of
support and fidelity, which was the essential principle of
feudal tenure3," was thus avowedly annulled and renounced
by both parties. In the history of Fitz- Warren, before re
ferred to, a similar renunciation of homage is thus detailed :
" My Lord King, you are my liege Lord, and to you I have
been bound by fealty, while I have been in your service, and
while I held lands of you, and you ought to have maintained
my right, and yet now you fail me in right and in common
law, and never was there a good King who denied law in his
court to his frank tenants; wherefore I renounce my homage
to you4." The bonds of social union being thus abruptly broken,
the great questions of civil government now in dispute, all
important as they were, were abandoned to the chance deci
sion of force — a wayward arbiter between right and wrong ;
often indeed resorted to at once in such cases, without even
the attempt, as in this instance, to find other means better
adapted to the dignity of human reason.
1 With the King were "60,000 pug- 4 Hist, de Foulques FitzWarin.
natorum et ad bella discrStorum. "Pur quoi je vus renk vos hom-
Barones cum civibus Londinensibus mages." In a similar manner the
40,000 pugnatorum, non tarn ad pug- Abbot of Arbroath brought to K. Ed-
mam discretorum." — Chr. Wigorn. ward in 1297 at Berwick the formal
2 "Rex minus sanofretusconsilio." renunciation of homage of the
— T. Wyke. Scots who had sworn fealty, including
3 HaUam, Mid. Ages. BalUol's.

CHAPTER IX.
THE MARCH UPON LEWES.

" An if we live, we live to tread on kings,
If die, brave death, when princes die with us !
Now for our consciences, the arms are fair,
When the intent of bearing them is just."
1st Part He.v. IV. Act 5, Scene 2.
The prelates returned to the camp of the barons at
FletGhing with the answer to their pacific mission, and on
the same evening (Tuesday, May 13,) proclaimed at once
to the expecting warriors that there remained no hope of
peace to the church, or liberty to the state, unless won by
the sword.
" The Barons ne couthe other red, tho hii hurde this,
Bote bidde Godes grace, and bataile abide iwis1." — Rob. Glouo.
While nothing could be more impressive than the con
duct of these bishops, a noble solemnity of purpose, combined
with a vigour of action fitted to the emergency, was displayed
by Simon de Montfort and his soldiers. A royalist chro
nicler2, while calling the war monstrous and detestable, bears
testimony to the barons "as having among them all but
one faith, one will in all things, one love towards God and
their neighbour; and so unanimous in brotherly affection,
1 " The barons certainly could re- Uteris Barones graviter animo vul-
solve on nothing else, when they nerabantur." — Chr. Wigorn,
heard this, but pray for the grace of 2 Mat. Westm.
God, and abide the battle." "His
M 2

164 the barons' war. [ch.
that they feared neither to offend the King, nor even to
die for the sake of justice, rather than violate their oaths."
For the battle now acknowledged to be inevitable, the
Earl of Leicester passed the whole night in anxious pre
parations, but did not omit amidst all his cares that prayer
and attendance on religious services, which was remarked
as his constant custom. He exhorted all his followers to
repent and confess their sins, and the Bishop of Worcester1
did not shrink from bestowing his episcopal absolution on
the kneeling soldiers, or from promising admission into
heaven to all who might now die fighting manfully for
justice. One account2, indeed, goes so far as to describe
the bishop as now "putting off the peaceful priest, and
putting on the warlike soldier, carrying a sword by his
side instead of the crosier, and a helmet on his head instead
of a mitre;" but these are probably figurative expressions
to denote his zeal and courage in the cause. Cantilupe
was not neglectful of the duties of .a churchman, as then
understood ; he completed! and endowed, in 1265, a chapel
for four priests in his cathedral, and though his tomb lies
there neglected near the screen of the choir, it is interest
ing to think that his mantle was caught and transmitted
by some of the boldest defenders of civil and religious
liberty; Latimer, Hooper, and Hough were worthy to fol
low him in the see.
After this solemn scene, they all put a white cross upon
their dress3, in token of the religious sanction stamped upon
their efforts, and in order to recognize each other in the
combat. A white cross had been always adopted in a like
spirit by the English crusaders, in distinction from the red
cross of the French ; but there was, unhappily, a stronger
necessity for such outward marks of party in the battle of
1 Mat.Westm. erroneously ascribes s Chr. Mailr.
this to the Bishop of Chichester. 3 According to the chronicle of
"Notable episcopal divinity to en- Lanercost, both the fronts and'
courage rebels to fight against their backs of the barons were marked by
king." — Prynne, Vol. ii. 1022. crosses.

IX.] THE MARCH UPON LEWES. 165
.Lewes, where on each side the same banners and ensigns
were to be raised by hostile members of the same families — .
a sad but ever-recurring calamity in civil war1.
Although de Montfort has been reproached by a modern
historian2 as a religious hypocrite, there is no proof what
ever of such a charge, nor was it ever made in his life-time ;
and there must have been much sincerity and conscious
ness of right to have admitted such a consecration of the
war. Even had the great leader been justly liable to the
accusation, his single example could not have so infected
at once the bishop and the many thousand soldiers with
the same vice, as to induce them thus to kneel in blas
phemous mockery at so awful a moment of peril and
enterprise. Although the distance from Lewes did not admit of
"each battle seeing the other's umbered face," yet, to this
night-scene of solemn energy while " armourers were ac
complishing the knights," and the soldiers were " inly rumi
nating the morning's danger," a striking contrast might be
drawn in the unguardedness of the royalist camp, where
more provision had been made for dissolute, riot than for
watching the enemy. We learn, on the authority of an
eye-witness3, that the song, the dance, and the wine-cup
1 Henry III. had adopted the same fugientes quam miserrimse meretrices
white cross at the great battle of Lin- locatores sequentes." — Chr. Lanerc.
coin, in 1217, the legate Gualo wish- " Quod tot fornicarias fcetidi lenones
ing to stamp the war with a reUgious Ad se convocaverant, usque sep-
feeUng. — Chr. Mailr. tingentas." — V. 152.
3 Hume. Lingard says, "It was " Qui carnis luxuria f ceda sorduerunt,
the peculiar talent of this leader to Factis lupanaribus robur minuerunt
persuade his foUowers that the cause Unde militaribus indigni fuerunt."
in which they fought was the cause — V.164Polit. S.rfromMS. Harl. 978.
of Heaven." Roger le Bigot, the marshal, was
3 "Protestante mihi uno nobiU qui with the barons, and his absence may
ibi fuerat." " Pars vero adversa neg- have contributed to the disordered
ligentius agens nootem illam coreis Ucence in the Royal camp. Some of
et cantilenis occupans, potationibus his duties are described in Rubro Di
et scortacionibus insistebat, adeo ut bro de Scaccario Regis, f . 30.
casnobio solemni S. Pancratii Marty- " Doit apaisier les noises, et visiter
ris non parcerent, quin coram altari- tous ceulae qui couchent font en la
bus Bacris obscoena cum meretricibus salle et per la verge" douze leughes
cubilia fecerunt." Again in the flight dehors d'environ, des choses qui ap-
after the battle, "tarn viri quidem pendent a la verge et la couronne.

166 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
made the priory of St Pancras, on that night, the scene
of boisterous revelry. Neither the precincts of the church,
nor even the very altars, were free from the profanation of
their vices1. Among the armed inmates of the convent,
buoyant with the excitement of the morning's discussions
and surrounded by their wanton followers, no thought was
allowed to intrude of the morrow's dangers, or of that eter
nity about to open upon so many of them in a few hours.
The baronial and royalist partieSj on the eve of battle, rise
up before us as distinct in manners as the Cavaliers and
Roundheads of later times.
After his cause had been so impressively sanctified, Simon
de Montfort had to fulfil all the duties of a general, im
posed upon him by the esteem of his friends and the con
fidence of his troops — a great and serious trust, but one
congenial to his nature. The eloquent terms which have
been applied to another founder of a free constitution might
well describe him at this hour of decision : " What he loved
in war, far above the heat of battle, was the great effort
of intellect and will, armed with power to achieve some
grand design, the mighty mixture of agency and fortune,
which seizes and transports the highest as well as the hum
blest minds2." To de Montfort the approaching contest

Et si nul fait homage au Roy a J Compare Chron. Jocelin. p. 40.
camps armes a cheval, le Marescal 2 Washington, by Guizot. It is
avera le cheval et les armes. very probable that the ancestor of
II gardera tous les huis ("doors," General Washington was present with
whence"huissier")ouleRoyconseille, the barons at the battle of Lewes.
fors huys de la chambre le Roy. In the list of knights from Durham
Et doit faire crier le baan de Roy in the Boldon Buke (v. MS. note, p.
as villes, ou le Roy doit gesir et a 12 170) the 59th name is "Walter de
leughes d'environ. Weshyngton a Weshyngton." In Bi-
Et si soloit estre que le Marescal shop Pudsey's portion of the Boldon
devoit avoir douze demoisellez a la Buke (1183) WilUam de Hertburn
Court le Roy, qui devioient faire sei- held the whole vill of Washyngton
rement a son Bacheler qu'elles ne (in the deanery of Chester, south of
sauveroient aultres putains k la Court Jarrow) except the church and church-
qu'elles memes, ne Ribaudes sans lands, by free rent of £4 and by the
avowerie de assre ; ne laron ne mesel service of attending the bishop's
qu'elles ne le monstreront au Mares- great hunt with two greyhounds,
cal ; et il doit pourveoir la Court de having exchanged his lands at Hert-
tout. — Spelman, in v. Marescallus. burn with the bishop. He or his

IX.]

THE MARCH UPON LEWES.

167

must have seemed, not a mere field to display his talents
as a soldier, but a fearful throw on which the freedom and
happiness of a whole nation were staked, and well fitted was
he to "stand the hazard of the die." The rough verses1
of the age thus fondly dwell upon his name and qualities : —

" H est apele de Montfort,
H est el Mond, et si est fort,
Si ad grand chevalerie,
Ce voir et je m'acort,
H eime dreit, et het le tort,
Si avera la mestrie.
El Mond est vereement,
List ou la comun a ly concent,
De la terre lo6e ;
C'est ly Quens de Leycestre
Que bout et joius se puet estre
De cele renome'e."

True to his name is he called de
Montfort,
. Lofty and strong as a Mount and a
" Fort,
A knight of mighty chivalry.
I vouch it true and clear as light,
He hates thewrong andloves the right,
So shall he gain the mastery.
Truly the Mount of refuge he,
To which the willing people flee,
Extolled by aU the land.
Of such a goodly name and fame
The E arl of Leicester well may claim,
Joyous and proud to stand.
A less friendly hand2 represents him at this time as
"raising his horns of pride, devising great things, and pon
dering on sublimities.'' Proud indeed, he might justly feel,
if in his loftiest visions he caught a shadowy glimpse of
the future destinies of the people, in whose cause he was
about to fight, if he could have foreseen that from his per
sonal efforts there would ultimately arise a vital energy, by
which the expanding form of English freedom would cast
off the slough of ignorance, bigotry, and servility, until with
unbounded power and dominion, physical and intellectual,
the nation should present to the world a fresh model of
happy government as yet unknown.

descendants assumed the local name
of Washington in consequence. Ws.
de Washington appears as a witness
to a charter of Bishop Stichill (1260-
1274). In Bishop Hatfield's survey
(1345-1381), "WB. de Wessyngton
miles tenet maner : et villam de
Wessyngton per servie : forin : redd :
1111U :" The direct male Une ended
about 1400, but from younger branches
of the family were probably descended

the Washingtons of Aldwicke Street,
co. York, whose pedigree is given by
Dugdale (1666) ; and the Washing-
tons of Leicestershire, the ancestors
of the American General. — V. Hutch
inson's Durham, Vol. ii. p. 489. —
Surtees' Durham, Vol. n. p. 40.—
Arms, arg. 2 bars and 3 mullets in
chief gules.
1 Polit. S. from MS. 13th century.
2 T. Wyke.

168 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
Nearly fifty years had elapsed since English armies had
met in open field on their own soil. Although the royal
prerogative had been frequently resisted by denials of sup
ply, by threats of war, and by actual restraint, yet the
King's person had never, during that interval, been exposed
to hostile attack. On the last occasion, at Lincoln, many
chiefs, in disgust at King John's misgovernment, had adopted
the dangerous expedient of supporting the pretensions of a
foreign prince, but there was now no thought of such trea
son : the confidence of the barons was in their own strength,
and though the conduct of the court had excited their indig
nation, yet respect to the King's person was not forgotten.
No change of dynasty was aimed at : they renounced their
allegiance to a misguided sovereign, but were ready to
resume it when he should be again in a fit state to re
ceive it.
In deference to the punctilious feelings of chivalry, which
required a leader to be at least an equal, if not a superior
in rank— a point of honour which no knight, however lavish
of his life, would have surrendered : — Simon de Montfort was
careful to confer1 knighthood on many of the young nobles
of his army : —
" Hii hovede under boskes and new Knights made,
And armed and attired horn, and hor bedes gerne bade2."
Rob. Glouc.
The belt and sword of knighthood could, at this time,
be bestowed by any prince 3, bishop, or knight ; and among
1 W.Heming. makes this take place and made new knights, and armed
on the descent from the hiU toLewes, . them, and equipped them, and ear-
but the eve of the battle is more pro- nestly said their prayers."
bably stated by others : — 3 Even abbots, until 1102; exercised
" Comitis miUtia plurima novella the privilege. Hereward had been
In armis novitia, parum novit bella. knighted by the Abbot of Peterbo-
Nunc accinctus gladio tener ado- rough,, previous to an intended at-
lescens, tack,, in order to command others.
Mane stat in proeUo armis assues- The new knight was required to be a
cens."— Polit.S.fromMS.Harl.978. freeman, but there was no limit as
2 " They hovered under woods, to age, and, like the Hungarian nobles

IX.] THE MARCH UPON LEWES. 169
those thus enabled to command others, was Gilbert, the
young Earl of Gloucester1, surnamed Rufus, next to de
Montfort the most important chief of the party. Two
others also are mentioned, as now for the first time in
vested with the knightly belt — Robert de Vere, a young
noble of twenty-three years, who had lately succeeded, as
Earl of Oxford, to the hereditary possessions gained by his
Norman ancestors, and to the principles which had led his
father to oppose the arbitrary pretensions of the Pope and
the King, on all occasions. On his being taken prisoner
at a later period of the war, his estates were confiscated,
and he was glad to take advantage of the Kenilworth de
cree to recover them2. John de Burgh also now first made
his public appearance, probably eager to resent the insults
put upon his family3.
Though the vigil, of knighthood, was usually passed in
churches, on this occasion the busy camp was the necessary
substitute ; for a plan seems to have been contemplated of
a night attack upon Lewes, which was, however, abandoned
in favour of a more open one by daylight4.
Before sunrise, accordingly, on the morning of Wednes
day, May 145, the whole army of the barons was in motion
to this day, he was freed from all 4 "Non de nocte subito surripit
taxes by Henry I. Degradation was latenter,
effected by taking away the belt. — Immo . die redito pugnat eviden-
V. Henry's Hist. ter."— Pol.S.fromMS.Harl.978.
1 "Rufus erat et pulcher aspectu." B The exact day is so variously in-
— Chr. Tewks. MS. Cotton- Cleop. cheated by authors as te cause some
C. in. f . 220, in Dugd. Monast. n. 61. confusion. Stow names May 12 ;
Arms, de Clare, or, 3 chevrons gules. Lib. de Ant. Leg., Mat. Westm., and
2 He died 1296 ; his daughter mar- Rastell's Chr., May 23 ; but the greater
ried WilUam de Warenne.— Walt. number of authorities fix it on Wed-
Hem. Dugd. Bar. " Veer, quarterly nesday May 14, as the feast of S.
or and gules, a mullet argent, bor- Victor, or S. Boniface, or the Wed-
dure endente sable." — RoUs of Arms. nesday after S. Pancras, or the Wed-
[Robert de Vere, when Earl of Oxford, nesday before S. Dunstan (May 19),
would hardly have borne his arms or the day before the Ides of May; all
within a bordure. W. S. W.J-, different modes of marking May 14.
3 Robert de Grenequer and Henry —V. T. Wyke,, MS. Harl. 978, Chr.
de Hastings were also among the Petrob. Chr.Wigorn.[Chr.Dunstaple],
knights made on this occasion. — Chr. and others. "The fourtend day of
Gervasii Monachi, Cantuar. Leland May the batailof Leaus was." — Rob.
Coll. i. Brune.

170 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
towards the town, about nine miles distant. A dense forest1
occupied most of the country through which this march
was to be conducted, but such exact orders had been
issued by de Montfort to each banneret, how to direct his
own forces and to meet at the appointed spot, that all parts
of this military movement were combined with a regularity
quite novel in England. After an encampment for several
days on the lordship of William Bardolf, now at Lewes
with the King, intelligence of this march could readily have
been conveyed to their lord from Fletching, if there had
been any hearty good will2 in his tenants towards the cause
he had lately adopted ; and the same remark will also apply
to the possessions of de Warenne at Newick and Hamsey,
through which they necessarily passed to reach the foot of
the Southdowns. No alarm, however, was given, and when
about two miles from Lewes, the barons, continuing unob
served, ascended the great ridge of hills, probably up the
hollow valley called the Combe, where the projecting
shoulder of the Downs would cover their march from the
town. Though the King did not consider the barons to be so
near, or bold enough to attack his superior force, he had, on
the Tuesday, stationed a watch of several armed men upon
the summit of the hill, in advance of his camp, to look out
for the baronial troops. So lax, however, was the discipline,
or so small the expectation of present danger, that the
appointed sentinels, growing tired of their duty towards
1 "Edicitur pubUce quatinus ante bution of troops, " that every man of
soUs ortum ereptis armis exeant de worshipe may have the conduction
boscis ubi magna pars exercitus per- and guyding of his owne friends and
noctabat, et conveniant extra villam tenants, as I think the herts of- the
de Flexinge, quse distat de Lewes per people is suche, that they will sooner
sex milUaria." — W. Rish. de Bello be perswaded by their own natural
Lew. The real distance is about nine lords and masters, and more willing-
miles, lie serve under them for love, than
2 A letter of Neville, the fifth Earl with strangers for money." — Coll.
of Westmoreland, 1557, well ex- Herald. Sentiments worthy of the
presses the natural bond of tenants family, whose standard boasted " a
and landlord, when he desires that tenir promesse vient de noblesse."
it may be so arranged in the distri-

IX.] THE MARCH UPON LEWES. 171
morning, returned into Lewes, and abandoned their post to
the vigilance of a single man, and he, naturally enough, when
left to himself, had fallen asleep. In this condition he was
found by the advancing soldiers of de Montfort, and com
pelled by fear to give all the information in his power
as to the royal force1. Having thus gained the crest of the
hill, their orderly march was continued with such caution,
that the foremost troops nearly reached the town before any
alarm was given.
It happened that the preceding evening the King had
commanded some foragers to be sent in search of fresh sup
plies of hay and corn, a great scarcity of which was felt at
Lewes3. These men, on leaving the town early in the morn
ing, were now intercepted by the van of the barons. Though
several were killed in the skirmish, yet the hurried flight
and the return of the others was sufficient at once to arouse
the royal party to a sense of their imminent danger.
The main army of the barons in the meanwhile continued
to advance along the ridge of the Downs, until they came
within sight of the bell-tower3 of the Priory, when Simon de
Montfort, dismounting from his horse, as did the other chiefs,
once more addressed them and his soldiers : " 0 my beloved
comrades and followers, we are about to enter upon a war to
day for the sake of the government of the kingdom, to the
honour of God, of the blessed Mary, of all the Saints, and of
our mother Church, and at the same time for the observance
of our faith. Let us pray to the King of all, that if what
we now undertake pleases Him, He would grant us vigour
and help, so that we may exhibit a grateful service by our
knightly belt, overpowering the malice of all enemies. If we
are His, to Him we commend our body and soul." This
appeal was answered in a similar spirit, all falling prostrate
1 Oxenede's Chr. scendit de dextrario." — Oxenede's
2 W. Heming. H. Knight. Chr. [For a minute determination
3 ' ' Cum accessissent ad montis of the site of the battle, see Appen-
descensum, qui est juxta Lewes, in- dix A.]
tuenteB camobii campanarium, de-

172 THE BARONS' WAR. [OH.
on the turf, and imitating the form of a cross with their out
stretched arms : " Grant us, 0, Lord (they exclaimed), our
desire, with mighty victory, to the honour of Your name1."
On rising from this act of devotion, de Montfort pro
ceeded to take up his position, and distribute his forces with
his usual skill. While his flanks were defended by abrupt,
almost precipitous ground on either side, a gradual slope of
more than a mile in his front enabled him to overlook all
the approaches of Lewes, and to observe in security the
movements of his enemy. The town was greatly protected
on the north, the east, and partly on the south by the wind
ings of the river Ouse, up the course of which the waters of
the sea were then allowed to flow freely, and to spread widely
over the adjoining country at every tide2. This was, how
ever, no impediment to the attack of de Montfort from his
favourable position on the west of the town. A pious writer
of the time, anxiously ascribes the advantage3 of the ground
to the King's party, in order to make more evident the
assistance of Heaven in winning the victory ; but this assump
tion is not consistent with the locality, unless it may refer to
the strength of Lewes and other castles in Sussex being in
the hands of the royalists.
A singular expedient was employed to deceive the enemy,
which, though apparently trivial, proved, in the sequel, of con
siderable advantage. The accident has been already men
tioned, which befell Simon de Montfort a few months before,
when on his route to Amiens, by the stumbling of his horse4,
1 Oxenede's Chr. W. Rish. Bays : dows, near the Priory, were described
" Oratione pariter et admonitione as islands in the charters of the first
persuasori'i a duce eorum facta." and sixth Earls of Warenne, and at
2 Doomsday represents the bur- the surrender to Henry VIH. the
gesses of Lewes supplying 16,000 Priory owned 2000 acres under wa-
herrings, and the salt-pans extended ter. — Horsefield's Lewes. Dugd.
as far inland as Ripe. According to Mon.
the same authority, rent was paid at 3 " Sic et locus hostibus. fuit op-
other places in eels, herrings and portunus,
salmon, and a manor in Essex paid Ut hinc constet omnibus esse
the lord what is termed. " Herring- - Dei munus."— V. 375, PoUt.
silver." — Placit. Henry III. The S. from MS. Harl. 978.
small hiUs, now surrounded by inea- * Chr. Dunst.

IX.] THE MARCH UPON LEWES. 173
and though he had quickly recovered from his lameness after
his forced return to Kenilworth, he had used occasionally,
while yet weak, a carriage which he had caused to be built
for him in London. This vehicle, after having been for some
days purposely employed for his own conveyance, so as to
give the enemy reason to suppose him still disabled, was
brought on the field of battle : —
" The Erie did mak a chare at London thrugh gilery,
Himself therin suld fare, and seke be wend to ly1. — Bob. Brune.
It is not easy to determine the nature of the vehicle used
by de Montfort on this occasion, as there is much obscurity
on the earlier form of carriages in England. There was a
" chaer " used for the conveyance of distinguished persons in
Anglo-Saxon times, which appears to have been a four-
wheeled car, with a hammock slung on hooks between two
poles, and occasionally carried four persons2. A royal officer
is recognized in Doomsday as providing carriages for the
King. At a later period there was an ornamental covered
carriage, without springs3, on two wheels, the form of which
would admit of the addition of grating to the apertures, so as
to resemble de Montfort's car. As nothing on wheels, how
ever, could well have accompanied the march across the
rough tract of forest to the Southdowns, or could be supposed
to give ease to an invalid, it .was more probably a species of
i " The earl had a car made at si oporteret eum feretro equitatorio
London through deceit, for himself portari, non remaneret. " — Chr. Joce-
to be carried in, and be considered Un, pp. 5, 70. K. John is described
to Ue therein sick."— W. Rish. de by Mat. Par. as carrying about his
Bello Lew. prisoners, including Hugh de Brun,
2 V. Strutt's Dresses. J.H.Mark- in carts ai a novel manner, "vehi-
land in Archaiol. v. 20, from MS. cuUs bigarum novo genere equitandi
Cott. Claud. B. rv. of the eleventh et inusitato." Such vehicles were
century. At p. 37 of MS. are four only used by persons of 'dignity, and
such cars, with four persons within Philip le Bel, in 1294, passed a
each. sumptuary law, restricting their use
3 The body of Wilham Rufus was to such, " premierement nulle bour-
carried in a " rheda caballaria" — geau naura char." — V. Archaaol. Vol.
W. Malms., or "lectica equestris" — xx. pi. 17, from MS. of Roman du
— Mat. Westm. (Abbas Hugo a?ger) Roy MeUadus, of the fourteenth cen-
"reportatus est ad nos in feretro tury, iormerly in Roxburghe CoUec"
equitario." "Abbas dicebat, quod tion.

174 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
litter1, borne between two horses, a conveyance which re
mained in use long afterwards on state occasions, for women,
or for sick persons. The iron grating, which constituted its
framework, served the purpose of a cage, with a door of
entrance ; and in this were shut up some unhappy Londoners,
who had opposed Simon de Montfort and their fellow-citi
zens, on the day of his forcible entry across London Bridge,
in the preceding autumn. These prisoners, Augustine de
Hadestock, Richard Pycard, and Stephen de Chelmareford2,
were old men of considerable importance in the city.
This car, with his baggage, was purposely stationed by de
Montfort on a conspicuous point of the hill, and was left
surrounded by his own standard and pennons, with a com
petent guard under the charge of William de Blund3, a
gallant young warrior, who had been a party to the arbi
tration of the French King, and was attached to the service
of de Montfort. The tents and baggage of the other barons
were also arranged on the hill4.
As the general use of armorial ensigns had not been
established before the Crusaders, their first appearance dur-
1 In Johnes' Monstrelet, pi. 7, the subdolum quern foris fecit ferro per
Queen of Francis I. makes her entry totum contegi — currns habebat quen-
into Toulouse in a Utter lashed on dam angustum egressum : — vas do-
the back of two horses. Evelyn lositatis — vas perfidum — vas inex-
traveUed in a litter from Bath to pugnabile." W. Rish. and Mat.
Wotton, in 1640, with his sick father. Westm. have four prisoners. Some
— V. Diary, i. 9. In 1680; when the houses in Queenhithe, forfeited by
wounded General Skippon was thus Simon de Hadestock, late citizen of
conveyed, "the horse-litter, borne London, were granted to Ottoninus
between two horses, tossed the ma- de Graunam by Letters Patent,
jor-general like a dog in a blanket." Westm., Oct. 15, 1265.-^462 Chanc.
—Harl. Misc. Rec. 5th Rep. Simon was, in 1266,
3 Authors differ as to the number elected by the citizens as sheriff, but
of these prisoners. T. Wyke names the Barons of the Exchequer refused
the three as above, and caUs the car to swear him into office. — Ant. Leg.
a quadriga ; W. de Heming puts two 3 He was related to the de Veres
Londoners in the " currus, quern by his mother, and on his death in
fieri fecit comes ad equitandum." the battle his sisters became his
H. Knighton also has two men, and heirs. W. le Blvmde held a manor
describes the " currum quasi falca- in Essex, and five lands in Norfolk.
turn in quo equitaret ac si esset — Cal. Inq. p. mort.
¦egrotus, cum esset bellator robustus 4 "Barones tentoria*sua et sarci-
et fortis." Chr. Mailros speaks of nas locaverunt super montem." —
'' duos inclytos Londinenses senes," Mat. Westm.
describing, also, the car as "currum

IX.] THE MARCH UPON LEWES. 175
ing a great battle in England was probably on this occasion ;
and to a good soldier they must have been an efficient help
in the marshalling and directing the movements of an army.
The scene must have been an animating one at this moment,
when the barons, each under his own banner1, were prepare
ing themselves and their horses, on the broad expanse of the
Downs, for the approaching combat : —
" La ont meinte riche garnement Rich caparisons were there,
Brodg sur cendeaus et samis2, Silks and satins broidered fair,
Meint beau penon en lance mis, On lances fixed gay pennons see,
Meint baniere desploie- : Many a banner flowing free ;
E loing estoit la noise oie To distant ears his eager cry
Des henissement des chevaux ; Theneighingwar-horse sends onhigh;
Par tote estoient mouns et vauls On every hill and vale around
Pleins de summers e de charroi The sumpter beasts and carts abound;
Que la vitaile e la courroi , Arms, forage, victuals, scattered lay,
De tentes et de pavilions."— Carlav. Withhuts and tents in close array.
It was probably from the nature of the ground, which
here branches off into three projecting points separated from
each other by deep hollows, and all more or less advancing
towards Lewes, that de Montfort now separated his forces
into four divisions, over three of which he appointed eminent
leaders, keeping the other under his own command in re
serve. On his left, towards the north, along a declivity, which
ends close under the castle walls, were placed the Londoners. —
zealous, but undisciplined partisans, who eagerly claimed the
honour of the foremost station; and Nicholas de Segrave3
was, at his own request, made their leader. The. chequered
fortunes of his grandfather, exposed to the capricious favour
and persecution of the King, did not deter his father, Gilbert,
1 "Barones in plena planicie de- disterminat." — T. Wyke.
scendebant et equos cingentes arma 2 Cendeaus, cendal, a taffety or
prssparabant." — W. Heming. The satin — samis, samit, silk Sarrasi-
plain may be understood as the open nesche, sarsnet or Persian, These
' slope of the Downs, not the level at were probably Asiatic goods imported
their feet. " Barones erectis vexilUs from the great mart of Bruges.
in dechvitatem cujusdam montis qua? s "Segrave, sable, Uon rampant
oppidum Lewense finitima a civitate argent crowned, or." — Rolls of Arms.

176 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
from faithfully serving his sovereign abroad, where indeed he
sacrificed his life by a detention in an unwholesome prison
by the French. Nicholas had himself served in the Gascon
wars, but at home, both at Oxford and subsequently, had
adhered to the barons with such zeal, as to earn a special
excommunication from Archbishop Boniface. Being fortu
nate enough to escape, almost singly, from the general rout
and capture at Northampton, he had sought refuge in Lon
don, and had gone from thence to share in the siege of
Rochester. His recent intercouse had made him known and
acceptable to the citizens now placed under his guidance.
His mother, Amabil, was the wife of one of the royalist
chiefs, Roger de Someri, and this alliance may have assisted
him, after he had been wounded and taken prisoner at
Evesham, in recovering his lands which had been granted
away to Prince Edmund. Before his death, in 12951, he had
accompanied Prince Edward on his crusade.
With him were associated, as bannerets, Harvey de Bore-
ham2 and Henry de Hastings3.
No one was throughout more active against the King
than the latter, an enmity which may have arisen from his
having been ward to Guy de Lusignan — -the great abuses to
which such a connection was liable, often giving rise to future
hatred. Although yet young, he had numbered two Welsh
campaigns, and having since joined in the plunder of aliens,
he stood an excommunicated man. His marriage with Joan
de Cantilupe4 only confirmed his natural inclinations for the
cause he adopted, and his zeal continued unquenched by
1 He left.five sons, of whom John 2 W. Rish. de Bello Lew. Harvey
and Nicholas were at Carlaverock : — de Boreham was a Justice of the
" Nicolas de Segrave o li laS™11 ^^ ** *"" ^ 3'
Ke Nature avoit embeU P „ a- ,
De corps et enrichi de cuer ' Hastings,, or a manche gules.
Vaillant pare et qui jeta puer." ,A V™8 slsterJ *° . the, Bam*ed
r Bishop Thomas, and heir of another
Nicholas de Segrave was there, brother WiUiam, Lord of Bergavenny,
Whom nature had embellished fair which title was subsequently merged
With grace of form and richest heart, in that of Hastings. — Banks' Dormi
Bold knight, in whom fear had no part.. Bar.

IX.] THE MARCH UPON LEWES. 177
disasters to the last. De Montfort when in power, having
assigned some castles to his trust, he withstood all threats
and promises after the defeat of Evesham, and held out
Kenilworth in defiance long afterwards, even maiming the
hand of a royal herald who came to summon its surrender.
This act procured him a special exemption from pardon, and
a sentence of seven years' imprisonment, though by Prince
Edward's mediation he only suffered two. His forfeited
estates were divided between his enemies, Roger de Clifford
and Roger de Leybourne, who preferred their claim from
their alliances with his two daughters1.
The centre of the barons' army, which must have occu
pied that branch of the hill descending with an uninter
rupted slope into the town, was led on by de Clare, so freshly
girded with the soldier's belt, together with John Fitz-John2
and William de Monchensy — able and experienced soldiers,
whose wealth and rank increased their importance.
The baron Fitz-John was now about twenty-six years of
age, and even before coming to his majority had married
Margery, the daughter of his present opponent Philip de
Basset. Although Fitzpiers, Earl of Essex, his immediate
ancestor, had been high in the confidence of the King, Fitz-
John justified the trust reposed in him by the barons during
these wars by great ability and a desperate fidelity to their
cause, even when it had become hopeless. He had been a
principal party in the London riots, and was among those
summoned to Parliament after the battle of Lewes. After
holding Ludlow and some castles of the royalist de Mortimer
i Henry de Hastings died 1269. earldom of Pembroke came into the
His arms in the North aisle of West- family in !1339. The abeyance of
minster Abbey are " or, a maunch this ancient barony of Hastings was
gules." His son John appeared in determined in 1841, in favour of Sir
good repute at Carlaverock ; Jacob Astley.
" Au fait de armes tiers et estous . 2 " Johannes Films i Johannis in
En ostel douz et debonnaires." beUo streime pugnayit, et multas
_ ,, , - , , galeas conquassavit, et multos de ad-
Restless and proud on war s alarm, versariis cepit et incarceravit."—
Athomeallcourteous,meek,andcalm. chr. Wigorn. Dugd. Bar. Arms of
Having married Isabel, the sister and Fitz-John, " Quarterly or and gules,
co-heir of Aymer de Valence, the a bordure vairy.*' N

178 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
in his custody, he was nearly the only man of note taken
prisoner at Evesham after a stout defence, but he wilfully
forbore to make his peace or compound for his estates, and
when he died, 1276, his brother succeeded him.
His comrade, William de Monchensy1, about thirty years
of age, was another determined partisan. On succeeding, in
1255, to his father, one of the most noble, wealthy, and
prudent warriors of his age, and who had married one of the
great Pembroke heiresses, he had been for a brief period the
ward of William de Valence, who had married his sister.
This did not attract his affections to the court, and he
attached himself without reserve to the baronial party. On
his subsequent capture at Kenilworth, his lands were given
to his brother-in-law, but on the last day allowed by the
terms of grace, his mother produced him in court when in a
state of great sickness, and so procured their restoration.
Some years afterwards he was fighting in Wales under
Edward I., and at the siege of Drossellan castle was, with
many others, crushed by the fall of its towers. De Valence
then claimed to possess himself for the third time of his
estates; and tried, -though in vain, to bastardize his only child
Dionysia. She afterwards married her guardian Hugh de
Vere. The right wing was commanded by Henry the eldest, and
Guy the third son of de Montfort. Henry, with his father's
spirit and principles, shared also his public labours, and was
a partner in his triumph, defeat, and death. Humphrey de
Bohun the younger2, already referred to as confronted with
his own father in this civil strife, and John de Burgh were
also in this part of the field. The latter, who was the grand
son3 of the ill-used guardian of the King, might well distrust
1 Mont Cenis, pronounced Mont 2 He died in 1265, after being made
Cheney by the Normans. His an- prisoner at Evesham.
cestor, Guerin de Mont Cheney, had 3 John de Burgh was also with the
seized and kept possession of Keymes, barons at Evesham: his lands were
in Cardigan Bay. "Or, three es- thereupon seized.— See Dugd. Bar.
cutcheons barry vert and gules." — p. 700. He married Hawyse, daugh-
Rolls of Arms, Dugd. Bar. ter and heir of W. de Lanvaley, and

IX.] THE MARCH UPON LEWES. J179
the policy and intrigues of a court by which his family had
been raised to official power and then persecuted with
savage insult.
One of the most powerful and steady adherents of the
barons, in spite of his kindred with de Warenne, was Roger
le Bigot, Earl of Norfolk, who held the office of Earl Marshal
by cession from his mother in 12471. His name appears in
all the deeds of peace and war among the firmest of the
baronial party, and he was excommunicated in consequence.
The main spring of these moving powers, Simon de
Montfort, placed himself at the head of a reserved force, in
such a position as might best enable him to direct and aid
the other divisions, while he watched the varying fortunes of
the day. Thomas de Puvelesdon, an eminent merchant of
London, already noted as conspicuous in the riots, was there
with him.
Though particular stations in the battle have not been
assigned to more than those now named, yet there were
many other nobles of importance and historical name who
were also fighting in the ranks of the barons' army.
The merits of Hugh le Despenser2, who had formerly
been in the service of the King of the Romans, and had
accompanied him abroad in 1257, recommended him to the
office of Justiciary of England after the Oxford Statutes, but
from this the King had dismissed him. Though his wife,
Aliva3, was the daughter of an enemy, he testified his attach-
died 1280. Dugdale makes him the 2 " Quarterle de argent et gules,
son of the Justiciary. bende, sable, les quartiers de gules
1 Maud, the eldest daughter of the frette* de or." — Soils of Arms. De-
Earl of Pembroke, married : 1. Ro- spenser was made Justiciary of Eng-
ger, Earl of Norfolk; 2. William, land by the barons 1260. Afterwards
Earl de Warenne. She died 1248. in the same year PhiUp Basset was
The earl, who is confused by Sir J. appointed Justiciary by the King
Mackintosh and others with his ne- without the assent of the barons.
phew, the royaUst, Roger le Bigot, Despenser was restored before the
was made governor of Orford Castle mise. His attestation was required
by the barons, and died 1270. His to all the writs sealed with the
arms in the north aisle of West- Great Seal, as a check upon the
minster Abbey are, "Or, a cross King.
gules." 3 Aliva, daughter of Philip Basset.
N2

180 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
ment to de Montfort by dying with him at Evesham. His
son and grandson became the mischievous favourites of Ed
ward II., and have branded the name with historical infamy,
but we find the former in his earlier and better days, attend
ing Edward I. at Carlaverock, and thus praised : —
' ' Ki vassaument sur le cursier A mounted knight who well did know
Savoit desrompre une mellee." To charge and rout a marshalled foe.
Robert de Ferrers1, Earl of Derby, destined to be the last
of his race enjoying that title, seems to have imbibed his hatred
of the court from having been long subject to its care and
control. The death of his father in 1254, by tbe accidental
overthrow of his vehicle on the bridge of St Neots, when2
helpless from gout, threw bim as child into the wardship of
the Queen and Peter de Savoy, and at the age of nine they
caused him3 to espouse Mary, a half-sister of Henry III. On
scarcely attaining manhood, he had distinguished himself in
1263, by taking more than bis sbare in plundering convents
and the property of the royalists, even against the wishes of
de Montfort; and his subsequent conduct was of the same
tenor — violent and capricious — so as to incur the distrust of
all parties. There may, indeed, be some doubt of his presence
at Lewes, though named as among those wbo authorized the
barons' letter to the King; for one chronicler4 states, that,
being only verbally attached to the cause, he never met the
enemy in open combat, and refused to obey the summons to
Lewes, choosing to shelter himself by an imputation on de
Montfort, of a treasonable collusion with the Welsh marchers.
The father of Richard de Grai, a man of unusual learn
ing and moderation, had withdrawn into the retirement
of his own estates, happy in his old age, to escape from " the
labyrinthine intrigues of a court6." The two sons, Richard
1 Henry de Ferrieres, was one of married William de Vesci and Gil-
the commissioners for the Doomsday bert Basset.
survey. Arms in Carlav., "Gules, * W. Rish. de bello Lew." Hol-
seven mascles or voided." ingshed Chr.
2 M. Par. s m. -p^,
1 His sisters, Agnes and Isabel,

IX.]

THE MARCH UPON LEWES.

181

and John, had pleased the King by their ready vows as
crusaders1 to such a degree, that "he kissed them like
brothers ;" but Richard had subsequently taken the command
of Dover2 for the barons, and had been vigilant in prevent
ing the export of treasure to the banished aliens : he was,
however, dismissed by Hugh le Bigot for remissness in
allowing the Pope's envoy, Walascho3, to land there. With
his son John, in the following year, he became a prisoner at
the surprise of Kenilworth, and his forfeited estate was only
recovered by the conditions of the final act of grace4. His
brother John, meanwhile, had continued stedfast to the
King, and had with difficulty escaped across Fleet ditch
during the London riots, while his house outside Ludgate,
and his thirty-two horses, were plundered by the mob6 :-—
Master John de Gray came proudly
down,
But I wonder why from London town
He fled at such a quick rate ;
His house and his goods were rudely
tost,
His horse gear and horses all were
lost;
Such was his piteous fate.
Robert de Vipont7, a warrior of an eminent family in

" MSs mi Sire Jon de Gray
Vint a Lundres, si ne sai quoy
Que must une destance
Par entre Lundres et ly,.
Que tot son hernois en perdi:
Ce fu sa meschance °."

1 This was on the preaching of the
Cross by Bishop Cantilupe, of Wor
cester, and Bishop de la Wych (S.
Richard), of Chichester, 1252.
2 By Patent, July 20, 42° Hen.
III. 3 Walascho, a gray friar, had
brought over the Pope's letters for
the institution of Aymar to the see of
Winchester. * " Barry of six, argent and gules."
He died 1271, when his son, born
1254, succeeded, . who was at Car-
laverock : —
" Henri de Grai vi je la
Ki bien e noblement ala."
There was seen Sir Henry de Grai
Who well and nobly kept his way.
John de Gray held various offices

during his life, being Justice of
Chester, 1249 ; Governor of North
ampton Castle, 1253 ; and Steward
of Gascony, 1254. Retiring from this
office, he was Governor of Shrews -
"bury in 1257, and Constable of Dover
Castle, 1258. He died 1266. Joane,
widow of PauMne Peyvre, hearing
that the King had given her in mar
riage to Stephen de SaUnes, an aUen,
by the advice of her friends, being
then at London, matched herself to
this John de Gray. The King was
much offended, but ultimately ac
cepted a fine of 500 marcs. — Dugdale,
Bar. i. 712.
6 Ann. Dunst.
6 PoUt. S. from MS., 13th century.
' "Vipont, argent 6 aneusor." —
Bolls of Arms. The bishop died 1254.

182 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
Westmoreland, had been educated as a ward under his uncle,
Thomas, Bishop of Carlisle, and was, perhaps, induced to take
the side he did by the influence of Fitz-John, whose relation,
Isabella, he had married.
A similar motive may also have brought Robert de Ros,
whose mother was another relative of Fitz-John. The name
of his grandfather, who married a Scotch princess1, stands as
one of the chosen sureties of Magna Charta, and he received
a grant of lands from Henry III. His father, after faithfully
serving in the Gascon wars, had returned home without the
King's sanction in 1242, on the singular plea of being dis
abled by poverty from staying longer, and all his estates
were in consequence confiscated. This was, however, thought
so unjust by the King's brother and many other nobles, that
they immediately imitated his example.
Robert de Ros had himself, in 1244, purchased of the
King, by a large fine, the marriage of a royal ward, Isabella
de Albini, daughter of the Lord of Belvoir. He had been
inured to war in Wales, and it was to his special custody that
Prince Edward was subsequently consigned at Hereford.
After the ruin of his party he redeemed his lands from for
feiture, and was succeeded on his death, 1285, by his son
William, who was one of the competitors for the Scotch
crown in 1291.
John de Vescie delighted as little as others in the recol
lection of the intercourse between his family and the court ;
for a resentful memory may well have been cherished of the
licentious insult offered to his female ancestor by King
John. Her husband, Eustace, of a proud Norman family,
had stamped his principles on Magna Charta, and neither
the alliance with the quasi-royal blood of a Longespee2, his
own wardship under Peter de Savoy, nor his marriage with
1 Robert de Ros, whose monu- sister of Ferrers, Earl of Derby, a
mental effigy stiU remains at the conneetionwhichmayhaveinfluenced
Temple church, married the daugh- him. Eustace held 24 miUtary fees
ter of WilHam the Lion. Ros; "Gules and Alnwick Castle. Arms, Vesci;
three bougets arg."— Carlav. " Or a cross sable."
2 His father's second wife was a

IX.] THE MARCH UPON LEWES. 183
Mary, daughter of Guy de Lusignan, could win him to the
royal cause, though he had commanded troops with honour
in the public service during the campaigns of Gascony1.
Another ward of the Queen, who felt no gratitude for
such costly patronage — the profits of his estates having been
assigned to her for the maintenance of Prince Edward — was
John Gifford2. After several campaigns against the Welsh
he earned the archbishop's excommunication by his ad
herence to the barons, and was generally esteemed as one
of the bravest soldiers of the party : —
" Sire Jon Gifford deit bien nom<j One name renowned must needs be
* * told,
E si fu tous jors a devant John Gifford first and foremost ever,
Prus e sages e pernant Agile and daring, quick and bold.
E de grant renomee 3. "
The castle of Kenilworth had been provided by de Mont
fort with warlike engines of defence not then known in
England, for his engineering skill was repeatedly acknow
ledged by his contemporaries ; and John Gifford, having
been appointed its governor, had lately sallied forth from
it to make a successful attack on Warwick castle, where
he captured its earl, William Mauduit4, and his countess :
their ransom amounted to 1900 marcs (£1266. 13s. 4<d.).
The subsequent conduct of John Gifford will be again re
ferred to.
Some of the same names which have been already
noticed among the royalists occur again on the opposite
side. The two brothers, Robert and William Marmyon5,
1 After being a prisoner at Eve- sence. — M. Par.
sham, he compounded for his estates, 3 Polit. S. fcom MS. thirteenth
and went with P. Edward to the cru- century.
sade, from which he returned, 1274, 4 The countess was Alice, daugh-
and married, secondly, a Beaumont, ter of Gilbert Segrave. William had
kinswoman of Queen Eleanor : he become earl, 1263, through his mo-
died 1289. ther. He died 1268. Dying with-
2 Of Brimsfield, co. Gloucester. out issue, his heiress- was his sister
Walter Gifford was one of the Dooms- Isabel, married to William de Beau-
day commissioners. Hugh Gifford champ, - Baron of Elmley in Wor-
had been tutor to the sons of Henry cestershire. — Dugd. Bar. W. Rish.
III., and died suddenly of apoplexy, de bello Lew.
at Canterbury, in the King's pre- 5 Robert had been governor of

184

THE BARONS' WAR.

[CH.

stood, in this manner, opposed to their nephew ; and Hugh
and John Neville1 to the royalists of the same name : Ralph
Basset2 of Drayton, likewise, disregarded the hostility of
his kinsman3 Philip, and rivalled his valour and persever
ance in a different cause. He took some castles in Shrop
shire into his custody for the barons, and nobly refused
to quit Simon de Montfort in a moment of extreme peril
at Evesham, declaring that he did not wish to- live if that
chieftain were to perish. His wife, Margaret, being the
daughter of a royalist, Roger de Someri, her influence was-
powerful enough to recover the estates from forfeiture after
his death, previous to her taking the veil.
A few other baronial chiefs may -be briefly noticed. The
ancestors of Gilbert de Gaunt4, descended from the illus
trious family of the earls of Flanders, had married a. de
Montfort. Gilbert, who had been governor of Scarborough
in 1257, before the civil troubles, became a prisoner to
Prince Edward in 1265, but was again taken, into royal
favour afterwards.

Tamworth Castle; William held lands
in Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, and at
Berwick, near Lewes : he was sum
moned to Parliament by the barons
— Banks' Marmyon. Inquis. p. mort,
1 Hugh de Neville, Chief Forester,
of an Essex family, married Joan,
daughter and heiress of Henry de
Cornhill, a sheriff' of London in
1289. Prince Edward took him pri
soner, 1265. — Dugd! Bar. He for
feited lands, in Essex, part only of
which were restored to him on his
giving up the remainder to Robert-
Waleran; 50°^. m. Pat. John was
his brother, and married Margaret
de la Warde, who afterwards mar
ried Sir John Gifford. — See Arc'hseol.
Journ. n. p.. 370. In M. A. Wood's
Letters of Royal and Illustrious La
dies, Vol! i. p. '42, is an interesting
letter (written about 1258) from Lady
Havisia de Neville to her son Hugh,
then a crusader in Syria. She urges
him to return in order to procure the
restoration of his- lands, procuring a

letter from the Pope to the same:
effect if possible. WiUiam Fitz-Si-
mon had brought her word that he
was very destitute and in need of
money, which she promises to raise
if she can, and- advises him to borrow
in the meanwhile as much as he can..
" For I hope, by the help of God, if
you could, well accomphsh what you
have to do about the acquisition of
our lands, that' you will see such a
change in England, that never in ou*
time could you have better accom-
pUshed your wish or more to your
honor  Sir Walter de la Hide,
Joanna your sister, and all our house
hold salute you."
2 His son, Ralph, was summoned'
to ParUament, 1295. — Banks' Dorm.
Bar. Basset Arms, " Or, three piles
gules, a canton ermine."
3 See p. 153, note 1.' P.
4 "Sir Gilbert- de Gaunt, barre
of six, or and azure, » bend gules."-
— Rolls of Arms. He died 1274..

IX.]

THE MARCH UPON LEWES.

185

Robert, Baron de Tregoz1, from his marriage with Juli
ana de Cantilupe, a niece of the Bishop of Worcester, na
turally sided with the barons ; in arms also on the same
side was Henry Hussey", a knight who held property in
Sussex, and whom we might have expected to find biassed
to the royalists by his marriage with the niece of the
wealthy pluralist, John Mansel, whose ward he had been.
Jordan de Sackville3 was taken prisoner while fighting at
Evesham for the barons ; Hugh Poinz4 was a gallant warrior,
who had served against the Welsh in the lifetime of his
father; John Gynvile6 and Robert de Tony6 are mentioned
as among the barons ; the latter was, perhaps, connected
with the lords of Trim in Ireland. John de Caston of
Kent was one of the followers of de Clare, who pleaded
in after years the King's pardon to all such who had been
in the battle of Lewes'.

1 Tregpz, "Azure, two bars ge-
mehee, in chief a leopard passant,
guardant, or." — RoUs of Arms.
Geoffry Tregoz had three manors in
Norfolk, 1256. — Inquis. p. mort. He
was slain at Evesham. John de
Tregoz, who held the castle of Ewyas
Harold (eo. Hereford) by barony,
died a.d. 1300. His elder daughter,
Clarissa, married Roger de la Warr,
and had a son, coheir to his grand
father. The other daughter, Sibil,
married William de Girandison, and
was buried at Abbey Dore.
2 Henry Hoese (Hussey), of Wilts,
and of Harting; co. Sussex, married
Joan, daughter of Alard le Fleming,
who held the manor of Pulborough
and other property: he died 1292.
His son was summoned to Pariia-
ment, 1294. Arms, "Ermine, three
bars gules."
3 He was pardoned Oct. 6th, 1265.
—Rot. Pat.
4 " Poin?, barre, or, et gules." —
Rolls of Arms. His male heirs failed
in the third generation.
5 Arms of Geneyill, Simon de G.,
" noir a trois breys (barnacles for
horse's nose) d'or, au chief d'argent

ung demi lion de goules." Geoffry
de G., " azure, 3 breys d'or, au chief
ermine demi lion de goules." — Rolls
of Arms. [Geoffry de GynviUe was
some time Justiciary of Ireland.
Gilbert's Historic and Municipal Do
cuments, p. xxv.]
6 Tony, "Argent, a maunch,
gules." — Carlav. His ancestor had
been standard-bearer to the dukes of
Normandy, and held thirty-seven
lordships at the time of Doomsday.
Roger de Tony, the head of the fa
mily, was a, firm RoyaUst; and, in
consequence, the barons, in July,
1264, gave Henry de Hastings a grant
of his castle of Kirtling, co. Cam
bridge. Roger's son, Ralph de Tony,
a baron by tefcure, was succeeded in
1294 by Robert de Tony, then of full
age, who formed part of the body
guard of Prince Edward at Carlave-
rock in 1300. In a deed, 1301, he is
styled " Robertas de Touny Dominus
de Castro Matil." [Castle Maud in
the Welsh Marches.] He died 1310.
i Placit. p. 168. Geoffry de Park,
of Blakiston (from Old Park on the
Wear), was also at the battle. — Ar-
chteol. Journ., June 1855, p. 150.

186 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH. IX.
The long list may be broken off with the confession
made by a contemporary x : —
Mout furent bons les Barons, Many and good were the barons bold,
Mes touz ne sai nomer lur noms, But the names of all cannot be told,
Tant est grant la some. So vast their long array.
At the risk of weariness, the fortunes and alliances of
the principal actors in the battle of Lewes have been thus
purposely detailed : such facts may teach us a livelier sym
pathy with the historical characters of former days, whom
we are too apt to consider only as so many bright names2,
instead of men having the same domestic ties, and pas
sions, and motives as ourselves ; they are interesting also
as the remote ancestors of many families still existing among
us, and as enabling us to note, from the frequency of their
intermarriages, how few in number the great nobles then
were, and how sternly they held themselves, as a class, apart
from all such connection with the people at large; but a
higher and more solemn duty would also seem to require
the particulars of these opposing kinsmen, in order to bring
home the evils of civil war more pointedly to the feelings
of all who know how to value those links of kindred
which were designed to "knit society into a willing har
mony." According to the proverb of the clans, "Blood is
warmer than water ;" but even the genial warmth of family
love is too readily overpowered by the feverish passions of
civil discord, and it is but seldom that the glory of success
can compensate on such occasions for the stifling of the
earliest and best emotions of our nature.
1 PoUt. S. from Roll, thirteenth Professor Creasy in his " Spirit of
century. For a very curious list of Historical Study;" and on this prin-
the barons and knights of Durham ciple he recommends the detailed
who fought at Lewes, see Hutchin- examination of a detached portion
son's History of Durham, Vol. n. p. of history, rather than the hurried
219, ed. 1787, and MS. Bodl. Laud. view of a wider sphere — a practical
I. 52, by Bishop TunstaU, temp. suggestion, of which the author of
Hen. IV. these pages has experienced the bene-
2 This reflection is ably urged by fit.

CHAPTER X.

THE BATTLE OF LEWES.

Hfflc AngU de pra^Uo legite Lewensi, Read, Britons, of the Lewes fight,
Cujus patrocinio vivitis defensi, ' By which ye Uve in freedom's might ;
Quia si victoria jam victis cessisset, For if the. conquered side had won,
Anglorum memoria victa viluisset. — England's name and fame were done.
PoUt. S. from MS. Harl. 978.

After these dispositions of the barons' forces were made,
their march was continued towards Lewes, along the smooth
declivity of the Downs ; and, according to one account, some
parties were sent forward, with the hope of driving the King
out of the town by setting it on fire at several points. The
royalists, however, although in haughty security their pre
parations had been loosely made, were not inactive as soon
as their scouts had aroused1 them from their beds to a
knowledge of the impending crisis.
It was but two days before (May 12), that the King
had sealed at Lewes letters patent2 to confiscate the lands
of John Cobham and William Say of K<tnt, for having op
posed him at Rochester, and ' to grant them to Prince
Edward, in the easy confidence of victory. Another remark
able document was now drawn up, on this morning of
i " Per castra expergefacti quan- seen, however, that WilUam de Say
tocius in arma colligunt." — Chr. Roff. made his peace with the King, as he
MSS. Nero D. II. headed a body of Royalists in their
2 Rot. Pat. 48° H. III. It will be retreat from the battle of Lewes.

188 the barons' war. [ch.
approaching battle, bearing evident signs of haste and con
fusion ; and, indeed, the parties who witnessed it never met
again on that day or for a long time afterwards. It is
endorsed, as having been drawn up irregularly, and was
probably intended to be sent abroad by some one who was
prevented by the issue of the battle. After reciting the
5th Article of the treaty with the French King, before re
ferred to, by which the sum for the maintenance of 500
horsemen for two years was to be settled by commis
sioners, King Henry thus proceeds:. —
"Whereas we, not caring to wait for the arbitration of others on this
matter, came to this amicable conclusion, by the advice of worthy men,
and by common consent, that the said Lord King should be held bound to us
for 134,000 Uvres Tournois, to provide for the expence of 500 soldiers as
before said ; We have since received aU the sum, and acknowledge that full
satisfaction has been made to us by the said King concerning it, giving
quittance for ever to the said Lord King of France, on behalf of ourselves and
our heirs ; but since we have already expended a great part of the said total
sum of 134,000 L.T. for the advantage of the kingdom of England, we
promise that we wiU expend the remainder of the same money in the service
of God, or of the Church, or for the advantage of the kingdom of England,
as we are bound to do, and as is more fully contained in the form of the
treaty. " In testimony of which matter, given at Lewes, on the 14th day of May,
in the year of our Lord 1264, and in the 48th year of our reign, by the King
himself, by the King of Alemain, by Roger de Leiburne, and by others of the
King's council.
" And be it known that Master Arnulph, Chancellor of the King of
Alemain, dictated and wrote the above letter with his own hands, without
the advice and assent of any Clerk of the Chancery, and it was countersigned
before the council of .our Lord the King, at Lewes, on the day above stated1."
The clause in the original treaty, which put the expen
diture of this money under the control of the twenty-four
elected councillors, had been long disregarded by the King •
and it would seem from this document that he still had in
..hand some portion of this dangerous supply from his brother-
King, although the two years of the treaty had been long
passed ; unless indeed, under cover of the stipulation,. Louis,
1 Rymer.

X.] THE BATTLE OF LEWES. 189
had from political motives exceeded the promised sum thus
formally acknowledged1.
Prince Edward, issuing from the castle, was promptly2
afield, and chose his position at once, on the nearest point
to the right, or nortb, opposite the advancing Londoners,
whom he marked out as his personal foes; while around him
thronged de Warenne, de Valence, and all the more youthful
and ardent spirits3 of the camp, proud of such a leader.
Towards the south the King of the Romans with his
gallant son4 commanded the left wing, and prepared to
meet the young de Montforts.
King Henry himself, though he had never shewn any
talent for war, yet felt all the importance of the struggle,
and took up his place as a central reserve ; though no longer
young, he had yet all the courage and strength fit for a
king and soldier on this emergency, and never did he better
prove them, or had greater need of them. The great6 no
bles of his court formed a body-guard near his person, and
he flung a haughty defiance to the enemy, as his dragon
standard was displayed before him : —
" Ther the bataile suld be, to Leaus thai gan them aile,
The Kyng and his meyne were in the pryorie:
Symon cam to the f eld, and put up his banere,
The Kyng sohewd forth his scheld, his dragon full austere ;
The Kyng saidon hie, Simon je vous defie." — Robt. Brune.
1 By a letter, dated Westminster, " De sua virtute
May 13th, 1260, King Henry had Satis gloriantibus, ut putarent tutS
sent to borrow 5000 marcs, to be Et sine periculo velut absorbere
reckoned for according to the treaty: Quotquot adminiculo Comitis mere."
by another, Westminster, Dec. 12, —V. 109, PoUt. S.
1261, he acknowledged the receipt of As some of those who afterwards fled
10,416 L.T.; and also 10,000 marcs are expressly mentioned as accom-
•in 1262  Rymer, .Rot. Pat. panyihg P. Edward (W. Heming.), it
2 "RegaUs exercitus occursurus is important to their characters to
eis declivium montis ascendit." — M. remark that they could not have fled
West. " Circa diet horam primam till the battle was over.
de villa Lewes exivit regius exercitus 4 T. Wyke, however, places P.
cum magno apparatu." — Chr. Wi- Henry with P. Edward.
gorn. 5 " Posterior eohors 400 loricati."
3 " Edwardus cui flos exercitus in- — M. West. The Worcester Chr.
tendebat, cum tota sibi favente mi- states the royal army to have been
litia."— T. Wyke. The contempo- 60,000 men, and the barons' 40,000.
rary poem, also, speaks of them as : —

190 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH,
This royal banner of the dragon has been noticed by
all the chroniclers1, as an especial signal of Henry's reso
lution to give no quarter. Some2 suppose that he adopted
it as the device of the West Saxons (a golden dragon on
a red shield), but it was more probably a mere personal
cognizance rather than an heraldic bearing. The order for
the creation of this " austere " beast is still extant. Edward
FitzOdo, the King's goldsmith, was commanded in 1244
to make it " in the manner of a standard or ensign, of red
samit, to be embroidered with gold, and his tongue to
appear as though continually moving, and his eyes of sap
phire, or other stones agreeable to him3:" —
" Then was ther a dragon grete and grimme,
Full of fyre and also venymme,
With a wide throte and tuskes grete4."
It had been hoisted at Chester5 in 1257, previous to
an invasion of Wales, and again lately at Oxford : —
"With his ost he wende both, and arerde is Dragon6." — Rob. Glouc.
The dragon may fairly be presumed of heraldic kin to
the griffon, of which it is said, that "having attained his
full groweth, it will never be taken alive, wherein he doth
adumbrate, or rather lively set forth the propertie of a
valoiirous soldier, whose magnanimitie is such as hee had
rather expose himselfe to all dangers, and even to death
itselfe, than to become captive ;" his being rampant being
an " evident testimonie of his readiness for action7." In
1264, however, the dragon could be no peculiar attribute
of kingly wrath, for it was in common use by other war-
1 Oxenede's Chr. : " The dragon, s Walpole's Anecd. It was to be ¦
which, when seen in the army, is the kept in Westminster Abbey tiU the
sign of death and mighty revenge." King came there.
W. Rish. : ' ' With outspread banners 4 Poem of Sir Degore, in Warton's
preceded by the royal standard, which Hist. Poetry, p. 180.
they call the dragon, foretokening 6 M. Par.
the judgment of death." [It had al- 6 " With his army he turned about
ready been displayed on the royal and reared his dragon."
march to Northampton. — Ann. de r This lively adumbration is from
DunstapU&, p. 229.] Guillim's Heraldry.
3 Lingard's Hist.

X.] THE BATTLE OF LEWES. 191
riors ; it is seen as a pennon to a lance, and on a shield
in the Bayeux tapestry depicting the Conquest; it embel
lishes the seals of knights1, and had been exhibited by de
Montfort himself soon after the adverse award in January : —
"When Sir Simoun wist the dome ageyn them gone,
His felonie forth thrist, samned his men ilkon,
Displaied his banere, lift up his Dragoun." — Rob. Bbune2.
The armies being now face to face, and the trumpets3
having given the signal, the first shock of battle was soon
fiercely given by Prince Edward, whose impetuosity spurred
him forward to revenge upon the citizens of London their
late insults to the Queen, his mother : —
"And vor to awreke is moder, to horn vaste he drou." — Rob. Glouc.
Although the practice had been introduced at this period
of commuting by escuage the personal service of forty days
required by feudal tenures4, yet, on an occasion where all
felt so deep an interest, the armies were principally com
posed of those who had come in answer to their summons,
as vassals either to the crown or to the covenanted barons,
. leading with them long trains of inferior dependents. Lon
don alone had poured forth a willing host without com
pulsion, and her citizens may be considered as the only
volunteers in either army. The rare occurrence of so many
of them being thus found assembled in arms, estranged
from their homes and usual occupations, proves how popular
the cause was, and must have been peculiarly distasteful
to the proud nobles of the court party, who had scoffed
1 A dragon is frequently seen un- ment. " Lors resonerent le tabours.
der the horse of the knight, on seals trompes, buylnes, corns, sarazynes
of this period. quelesvaleysrebonderentdelesoun."
2 "When Sir Simon knew the — p. 11.
judgment given against them, his 4 The quantity of land constitut-
wickedness burst forth, he gathered ing a knight's fee.(feudum miUtis),
all his men, displayed his banner, varied considerably in different parts
and Uft up his dragon." of the country. In King John's time,
3 " Tubis terribiliter clangentibus." there are instances of six hides form-
— T. Wyke. In the Histoire de Fitz- ing a fee in Berkshire, and twenty-
Warin, several musical instruments seven hides constituting only one in
are named as heralding in a tourna- Kent. — V. Abb. Placit. Joh.

192 THE barons' war. [ch.
at, and interrupted their practice of arms with contempt,
"as not fit for bran-dealers, soap-boilers, and clowns1." Be
sides their want of habitual skill, other disadvantages should
be remembered ; the barons and knights of this period came.
into the field,- not only taught to look upon the skilful use
of arms as almost the only education worthy of their birth,
but with their bodies protected by shields, and by coats
and caps of ring-armour2. Always mounted on horseback,
they could readily wield their far-reaching lances, .or .their
heavy maces (martel de for), their battle-axes (solid or
bristling with six blades each), and their well-tempered
swords for nearer combat. When thus furnished, it required
no excess of courage to attack large bodies of inexperienced
and ill-armed foot soldiers, whom the policy or careless
inhumanity of these times and long afterwards sent to bat
tle with weapons powerless to resist the close attack of a
mounted enemy, however formidable bows and slings3 may
have been to a distant foe. " The bravest men have 'little
appetite for receiving wounds and death without the 'hope
of inflicting any in return4;" and gunpowder, the great
leveller of such distinctions in war, remained as yet a mys
terious and pregnant secret in the cell of Roger Bacon5,
1 M. Par. 4 HaUam's Mid. Ages, Vol. i.
2 Even every knight could not af- 5 His purposely obscure receipt for
ford so expensive a suit as A hauberk gunpowder is weU known.— De Sec.
of mail, the " oonsertam hamis auro- Oper. Nat. c. xi. But justice has
que triUeem loricam," of Virgil. Out even yet been scarcely done to ,his
of 130 knights under Henry II. in foreknowledge of other miracles of
Ireland, only 63 were thus provided. modern art, steam-iboats, locomotives,
Edward I. made it obligatory on those telescopes, jfcc. The following j>as-
who possessed land of £15 value, and sages, Uterally translated from his
goods of 40 marcs (£26. 6s. 8<J.).to' works, may surprise and interest
have an habergeon (coat of mail), an some persons: "For vessels may be
iron helm (chapel de fer), a sword, a made for navigation without any
knife, and a horse; those who had men to navigate them so that ships,
lands of 40s. were to have a sword, especially for the river,or for the sea,
knife, bow and arrows. may be borne on under the guidance
3 The sling in use consisted of a of a single man, with greater Bpeed
stick three or four feet long, with a than if they had been full of sailors.
loop of leather at one end to receive Carriages also may be made so as to
the stone. The stick was held in be moved without any animal force,
both hands, behind the head, in order with an incalculable impetus." — De
to give greater force in throwing. — Sec. Oper. o. iv. After describing
V, Strutt's Ant. glasses, by which all that an enemy

X.]

THE BATTLE OF LEWES.

193

that mighty forerunner of English science, who was now
living in suspicion and restraint as a penalty on his superior
chemistry and philosophy.
The gallant troop of Prince Edward must have been
brilliant like that described1 afterwards at Carlaverock : —

" La maisnie au filz le Roy
Ki mult i vint de noble aray,
Car mainte targe freschement
Peinte e garnie richement,
Meinte heaume et mainte cha-
peau,
Meinte riche gamboison garni
De soie et de cadas et coton,
En leur venue veist on
De diverses tailes et forges."

did might be discovered at any dis
tance, he adds : " so also we might
make the sun, moon and stars come
down lower here (descendere infe-
rius hie)." — Persp. p. 3, 2, 3. " Con
trivances also may be made to walk
at the bottom of the sea or rivers
without danger to the body. Bridges
also may be made across rivers, with
out piers or other support. Machines
also for flying may be made, so that
a man seated in the middle may turn
round a certain mechanism by which
artificial wings may beat the air,
flying Uke a bird."— Epist. c. iv. Ba
con, however, expresses some doubt
as to the latter marvel. Though
these prodigies were enough to star
tle any mind, Bacon was persecuted
by the church, not by the state.
1 At the period of the battle, the
shield (targe) was heater-shaped; the
head was guarded by a hood of ring-
armour, or by a flat-topped helmet
(heaume) ; the sword was broad and
pointed; the hauberk, or coat of chain
armour, had the rings placed edge
wise, but many had a cheaper dress,
Date.
1516)
1520) 1555
1570 1618
1605

With gallant train came the son of
the King,
A noble array did his meyne bring :
Many a knight with painted shield
Richly decked on fresh blazoned field,
Many a burnished helm and cap,
Many a linked hauberk wrap
Their limbs, or quilted for the fray
Many a silken wamboys gay ;
In varying guise and colours bright
The throng pressed onward into sight.
a quilted tunic of leather, wadded
with tow (cadas) or cotton, called
gamboison, wambais, or haquetons;
the emblazoned sureoat, a long loose
sleeveless dress of linen, was worn
over all : the spurs were of one strong
single spike, caUed a " spur speare,"
justifying the phrase, "il brocha le
cheval de eperons :" he spitted his
horse with his spurs. — Hist. deFitzw.
[The shield was then longer than
the heater-shaped, more, kite-shaped,
but straight at the top. Meyrick's
notion of rings set edgewise has been
abandoned: such representations are
believed to have been one of the
several modes of representing chain-
mail. Emblazoned surcoats were, I
beUeve, then unknown, and for about
fifty years later. A host was not in
1264 so gay in colours as at Carlave
rock. W. S. W.]
Several suits of plate-armour in
the Tower hav# been weighed, its
gradual disuse being marked by the
diminished weights. The weight of
a coat of mail at the Tower is seven
teen pounds. -

Armour of

Weight of Armour.

Total, lb-

Man, lbs.

Horse, lbs.

Henry VIII.

67
85

7057

137142

Earl of Huntingdon

104

23

127

Sir H. Lee

75



75

Duke of Buckingham

' 50j

—

50|

James I.

63

—

63.

194 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
Though the Londoners had so zealously sought the fore
most position, yet their want of discipline and practice little
qualified them to withstand the charge of such a chivalry
as now assailed them, and they were forced to give way to
the onset, in spite of the efforts of their leaders, Hastings
and Segrave. The Prince, who is said1 to have "thirsted
after their blood, as the hart pants for cooling streams,"
did not relax after his first success, but having broken their
foremost ranks, continued to advance upon their rear, which
soon became disordered by the retreat of others thrown
back upon them. It is probable that, as an additional in
centive to the Prince's eager wrath, the car and banners
of de Montfort were visible2 from this part of the battle
field. In spite of some personal defects, such as a slight
hesitation of speech, and a drooping eyelid, inherited from
his father, yet the Prince's fair handsome countenance, ani
mated by such passionate excitement, and his tall stature
giving him so firm a seat on horseback, " erect as a palm3,"
must have rendered him a conspicuous object of military
admiration to his followers. Though his deadly grasp, and
the flashing fury of his eye when angry, were compared
to the leopards of his arms, he was, like them, all gen
tleness (douce debonairete") when with friends.
Without regarding the distance he had already advanced
from the King's army, and blinded by his rage, he led
1 W. Rish. de Bello Lew. meris et supra communi populo pra?-
3 "Videntes sui in planicie cur- minebat. — His hair changed at differ-
rum quern fieri fecerat Comes." — ent epochs, ab argenteo in flavum —
W. Heming., H. Knight. The plain, in nigredinem, senectute in cygneam.
"planicies," may have been any level — Frons lata, csetera facies pariUter
part on the Downs. From the men- disposita, eo excepto quod sinistri
tion of 60 Londoners being drowned oculi palpebra demissior paterni as-
in the Ouse in their flight, the left pectus simiUtudinem exprimebat.
wing may have been placed in the Lingua bltesa — tibiarum longa divi-
level near Hamsey; and while Mont- sio." — Chr. Evesham, 1260. Lei. Coll.
fort overlooked the whole from the Vol. i. When his tomb was opened,
Downs, the car may have been also 1774, Longshanks was found to mea-
in the same direction as the Lon- sure 6 ft. 2 in., fully justifying his
doners in the plain. See Appendix B. familiar name. — Neale's Westm. Ab. ,
8 " Ut palma erectus in ascendendo V. Carlav. His arms were "three
equum." — Chr. Roff. "Elegantiserat leopards or with label azure." — Roll
forma), procere stature, qua ab hu- of Arms.

X.] THE BATTLE OF LEWES. 195
them onward, and forced back his enemy with such vigour
that the citizens at length broke into a flight1 — neither
strange nor disgraceful under the circumstances, but fatal
-to all chance of their success. One account2 even repre
sents their leader, Hastings, as the first to fly for his own
safety, but this seems very improbable considering his cha
racter ; another statement3, that this flight was a precon
certed stratagem of de Montfort, is as little credible, though
indeed he may have expected such a result from the de
fective4 nature of such troops. At any rate, the rout was
complete ; along the most northern slope of the Downs
numerous bones and arms have been found, tracing the
direction of their flight towards the West, where the abrupt
steepness of the ground afforded fugitives on foot the best
chance of escape from horsemen. For four5 miles was the
hot pursuit continued — whole crowds of citizens falling
slaughtered under the Prince's unsparing sword, while
others, to the number of sixty, were drowned in attempt
ing to cross the Ouse.
By these movements, which seemed to promise victory
to the royalists, one entire wing of each army was early
cleared off the ground ; and this vacancy rendered all the
more conspicuous de Monfort's car and banners, which
seemed to indicate his presence. In emulation of the
Prince's triumph, and ignorant of the imprudent length of
his pursuit, the King of the Romans was tempted by the
prospect of securing the great rebel leader, and directed his
forces to that distant point. While the most obstinate re-
1 "In primo conflictu major pars *5 M. Par., M. Westm., Chr. Roff.,
et Londinensium et equitum et qui- say four miles ; W. Heming., " for a
dam miUtes et Barones posuerunt se considerable space;" H. Knight, "two
in fugam versus London." Such is or three miles;" Miss Strickland, in
the honest avowal of the London her agreeable " Queens of England,"
chronicler. — Lib. de Ant. Leg. with a Ucence denied to geography,
2 T. Wyke. makes the Prince pursue to Croydon
3 Oxenede's Chr. and back on the same day, some
4 "Londinenses ad bella verbis eighty miles: no wonder his party
expediti, non tamen in arte belhca was tired on its return.
periti."— Chr. Wigom.
02

196 THE BARONS' WAR. . [CH.
sistance, however, prevented him from penetrating so far,
confusion arose in his own ranks from the storm of stones
and arrows hurled at them from the upper ground.
The headlong impulse of Prince Edward, in the mean
while, had not only driven off the field all opposed to him,
but had brought him so far into the enemy's rear as also
-to encourage his soldiers to make an attack upon the car,
with ¦ the hope of surprising the helpless invalid supposed
to lie1 within it, and of plundering the baggage. They
fell upon it, therefore, with such fury, that during the
obstinate straggle the standard-bearer, William le Blund,
-was overpowered and slain. No de Montfort, however, ap
peared in answer to the clamours of reproach and hate
addressed to him: "Come forth, come forth, Simon, thou
devil ; come out of the car, thou worst of traitors !" The
contemporary monk2, on recording this taunt, breaks out
into some bold words, which evidently came from the heart :
"It should, however, be declared that no one in his senses
would call Simon a traitor ; for he was no traitor, but the
most devout and faithful worshipper of God's Church in
England, the shield and defender of the kingdom, the enemy
and expeller of aliens, although by birth he was one of
them." While every hand was eager to secure the prize during
this fierce contest, the unhappy Londoners, imprisoned within
their iron cage, fell victims to the confusion, being slain by
their own friends without being recognized. One account
makes them, indeed, perish by fire — the barons having placed
combustibles around the car ; and a deceitful message is
also said to have been sent, informing the King that the
Londoners were so distrustful of Simon de' Montfort, that
1 W. de Rish. de Bello Lew. W. s Chr. Mailr. Having taken up
Heming. places the car in the plain, the narrative from 1262 in the same
without any guide or driver near it, Bpirit, he is called a fool (satis inep-
as if deserted ; but it is impossible tus) by the modern editor, W. Ful-
to suppose it unguarded, when the man, 1684.
standard-bearer was killed there.

X.] THE BATTLE OF LEWES. 197
they were ready to burn him alive should he play them
false, as they expected, in the battle1. There does not,
however, seem to have been time to lay so deep and im
probable a plot.
This incident is fixed, by some authors, as occurring
during the Prince's first advance ; but by others2, with more
probability, on his return. The fact of his long and dis
tant pursuit being certain, he would not then have halted
for a merely passing assault on the car, though some of
his friends may have then begun an attack, in which he
joined on. his return ; and this seems necessary to account
for his long absence from the main field of battle until the
victory was lost.
De Montfort must have watched with exultation the
success of his stratagem, in thus diverting the attention
of the enemy — a success increased beyond his hopes by the
rashness of the young Prince. With the decision of a mas
terly eye, he rapidly directed all his efforts against the
weakened body of troops among whom King Henry had
stationed himself. To the strength of his right wing, in
which were his sons, he now added the fresh impulse of
his own reserve, and while his princely foe was indulging
a passion, and following a delusion, his single aim was to
gain possession of the TLing's person, well knowing that "by
.the seizure of the shepherd, the sheep would be dispersed3,"
and the fortunes of the day decided, notwithstanding the
defeat of his left wing and the pressure on his centre by the
King of the Romans.
Though his numbers were less, they were firm in prin
ciple, and they fought with enthusiasm. In the glowing
phrase of the chronicler4, "now flashed forth the lightning
1 Chr. Mailr. pondus praslii versum est in reges
2 T. Wyke, Chr. Mailr., Robt. AngUaset Alemannia." — T. Wyke.
Brune on one side ; W. Heming. 4 " Ibi apparuit virtus Baronum
and H. Knighton on the other. fulminea, inhiantius dimicante^ pro
3 W. Rish. de Bello Lew. " In- patria." — W. Rish., copied verbatim
dustria Comitis hoc docente, totum by the royalist Mat. Westm.

198 THE BARONS" WAR. [CH.
valour of the barons, fighting for their country with more
breathless zeal." After a long and violent attack, they suc
ceeded, by the aid of their numerous slingers, in disorder
ing the , division under the King of the Romans, so as to
compel him to seek refuge in flight; and several nobles,
including de Bohun, Fitz-Alan, Bardolf, Tattishall, Somery,
Percy, and the three great Scotch leaders — some of them
confessedly panic-struck1 — surrendered themselves as pri
soners. The King now unexpectedly found himself exposed to
direct assault, when deprived of the greater part of .the forces
on which he had depended for support. His son had be
come entangled in the enemy's snare beyond the reach of
immediate recall, and his brother was flying for his life. At
no period had Henry shown any capacity for war, but, as
far as personal courage can entitle him to our respect, the
Plantagenet monarch evinced much manly resolution when
his danger at Lewes excited him into activity. Mounted
on his choicest warhorse2, he gave by his own example the
best encouragement to his friends ; and though his horse
was killed under him, he mounted another, which met with
the same fate. Severely wounded in his own person by
the swords and maces3 of his foes — a proof of the close com
bat he must have engaged in — he saw also several of his
most faithful friends falling around him, mortally wounded^
after their utmost exertions. Among all the combatants
1 Hoc ipsi ore proprio confiteban- Henry III. had some horses sent him
tur, quorum unus erat Dominus from Germany. The importation of
Henricus de Perci unus de meliori7 Spanish horses afterwards improved
bus in regno."— Chr. Dover. W; the breed.
Rish., W. Heming., Robert Pierpoint 3 " Dextrario suo sub se confosso."
was among the prisoners. — Rot. Pat. — W. Rish. "Dextrarius ejus occi-
3 ha reference to the heavy armour bus." — W. Heming. " Equo electis-
of the riders, peculiar qualities were simo sub se confosso." — M. Westm.
looked for in a war-horse, which The Lewes chr. however says, "Rex
made them unfit for ordinary use, bene verberatus gladiis et macns, et
and they were not mounted till actual duo equi sub eo mortui, ita quod vix
battle. The crusaders had brought evasit." "Equus Regis sub Rege- a
back horses from Syria, and Richard Qilberto Comite de Glovernia subner-
I. had two Arabians ; King John had vatur, et rex cum reverentia custodiiB
imported some from Flanders, and mancipatur."— Chr. Wigorn.

X.] THE BATTLE OF LEWES. 199
the last to retire or yield was Philip Basset1, though gashed
with twenty wounds : —
" Sir PhiUp Basset the gode knight worst was to overcome,
He adde mo then tuenti wounde as he were inome." — Rob. Glotjc.
" Oh, wretched sight ! (exclaims the chronicler with
more feeling than usual) when the son strives to overpower
the father, and the father the son: kinsman against kins
man, fellow-citizen against fellow-citizen, with their swords
brandished on either side, drunk with the gore of the slain,
felling, maiming, and trampling their foes under the horses'
feet, or binding their prisoners alive in straitest bonds2."
So many of the royalists were now among the captives
or the slain, that the remainder of their broken ranks3
were at length obliged to consult the safety of their sove
reign and themselves by a retreat into the Priory, from
whence they had marched in the morning so full of hope
and pride ; and it gave a peculiar relish to the triumph
of the conquerors, to observe that the same party which
had so recently committed sacrilegious outrages on churches,
at Northampton, Battle, and elsewhere, should n°w betake
themselves to a church, as the best refuge in their, dis
tress4. Their only hope of retrieving the fortunes of the day
now rested on Prince Edward, whose victorious advance they
had witnessed in the morning ; and while awaiting the issue
of this last chance, strong guards were posted round all the
approaches of the Priory5, so as to increase its defence by all
1 "Hugo le Despenser Philippum 'Bnieum refugiutn restabat, relictis
de Basset studuit salvare, et eum ab Equis, hoc consilium occurrebat vic-
adversariis voluit liberare, sed ille tis ;
quam diu stare potuit, miUti se red- Et quam non timuerant prius pro-
dere noluit." — Chr. Wigorn. phanare,
2 W. Rish. de BeUo Lew. Quam more debuerant matris hono-
3 Perforataque est acies ipsius Re- rare,
gis." — W. Heming. Adipsamrefugiunt,Ucetminusdigni."
4 * * " Dei sapientia — PoUt. S. from MS. Harl. 978, Vol.
Fortes fecit fugere, virosque virtutis xxxiii.
In claustro se claudere * * * in ec- 5 T. Wyke erroneously makes the
clesia surrender of both Kings to occur in

200 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
the means in their power. Had they been near enough to
reach the castle when forced to retreat, they would probably
have fled there rather than relied on the imperfect security
of the peace-adapted building of the monks ; though even
there the boundary wall, enclosing a space of thirty-two
acres, could keep an enemy at bay for a time.
Lewes being a town of considerable antiquity, there
appears to have been an imperfect inclosure of wall round
it ; for the repair of which, the earliest murage grant extant,
dated two years after the battle, authorized the levy of tolls
for three years. The activity of the now extinct iron trade
of the neighbourhood is traced in the articles thus taxed on
entering the town : " For every cart laden with iron for sale
Id ; for every horse-load of iron for sale, through the week,
a half-penny;" and the extent of the adjoining forest is thus
indicated : " For every tumbrel of squirrels for sale a half
penny1." The Priory was at no period included within the walls ;
but the strong and extensive circuit of the castle, with its
double keep2, enclosed a royalist garrison in unimpaired
confidence. It held also some important prisoners, who had
been, captured in the earliest successes of the day.
Among these, John Gifford, already, referred to as one of
the best soldiers in the barons' army, was the most con
spicuous, and to effect his release3 was a strong motive in
their attack on the castle. No doubt of his good faith was
the Priory, before the Prince's re- Rot. Mis. 56. 17.
turn. "Ilecquesfu la bataille dure a The mound to the N.E. may
et aspre, mais au drenier ne pot erft* perhaps not have had any large tower
durer U roys le fors dou Conte Sy- upon it, but have been the mound
mon, ainsois sen fui il et sez filz often found in Norman Castles, as at
Edouars en l'abbaye devant dite, Carisbrook, Clare, Cardiff, Pevensey,
pource que il cuida eschapper." — Tonbridge, Sec., a mere tumulus of
Nangis. earth, intended to faciUtate the in-
1 Rot. Pat., 50° H. III.; in Hors- Bpection of the country and the inte-
field's Hist, of Lewes, 1. 162. A pay- rior of the castle. In later times of
ment was made, in 1290, for the iron- Edward I. a similar mound with
work of the monument of Hen. III. tower was called a bailly. — See Ar-
in Westminster Abbey, to Master chsBol. Journal, i. p. 100.
Henry of Lewe?. — Househ. Exp. from • Walt. Heming.

.*•]

THE BATTLE OF LEWES.

201

at this time entertained, yet there was something suspicious
in his conduct and early capture, which later events1 seem to
confirm. With his comrade, William de Maltravers 2, he had
at the first onset taken two Royalist knights prisoners, Regi
nald FitzPiers and Alan de la Zouch. Both of these cap
tives, however, either by negligence or treason, were so loosely
guarded, that they were found at large afterwards, until
taken for the second time, when FitzPiers was detected still
retaining all his arms and fighting, and Zouch 3, disguised as
a monk4, in the Priory. This circumstance gave rise to a
dispute as to ransom, which afforded Gifford subsequently a
pretext for abandoning the barons.
In another part of the battle-field an important prize had
gratified the baronial troops. They had so closely followed
the flight of the King of the Romans, as to track him to a
windmill, where he had secured the door, and delayed his

1 See p. 101, note 3.
3 Like Gifford he became a royal.
ist, and at Evesham he was distin
guished by his barbarity towards the
earl he was now serving under; John
de Maltravers held Childrey, co.
Berks, by the service of one knight
in the time of Henry III. ; Lytchet-
Maltravers, co. Dorset, was held by
the service of five knights. Eleanor,
the heiress, in a subsequent genera
tion, carried the estates to the Fitz-
Alan family. Arms, "Sable, a fret
or, with a file of 3 points ermine."—
V. Ly sons' Berks., Hutchins' Dorset,
Vol. m.
3 Alan de la Zouch, of Ashby, of
an illustrious descent from the Earls
of Brittany, was mueh in the confi
dence of the King, and enjoyed large
grants made to his father and himself
(V. Calend. Rot. 45°, 48°, Hen. HI.).
He held two fees in Sussex under
Henry de Percy (Cal. Inq. p.m.).
After serving in the wars of Gascony
he was made a Justice Itinerant in
three counties £ 1261 — 1266, and Jus
tice of aU the King's Forests south of
Trent 1261]; he is called Seneschal
of the King (Rot. Pat. 47° Hen. IH.),
was surety for the King at Amiens,

and afterwards [c. 1267] was Con
stable of the Tower. He married
Elena, daughter of Roger de Quincy,
Earl of Winchester, and had interest,
in 1267, to obtain the redemption
of his niece's forfeited property.
" Zouche, gules bezante*e d'or." —
RoUs of Arms.
[Having a lawsuit with Earl Wa
renne (c.1268 — 1270) he was attacked
by that earl's retainers in Westmins
ter HaU, and wounded so grievously,
that he died of the injuries inflicted.
The earl was pursued to his castle at
Reigate by Prince Edward, and forced
to surrender. He was mulcted in
10,000 marcs, ultimately reduced to
7400, of which 2000 went to Alan's
son and heir, Roger, who had also
Buffered in the scuffle. Excerpt, e
Rot. Fin. ii. 525. Chron. Rishang.
p. 58; Wyke, p. 234; Dugdale's Ba
ronage, i. 78 ; Foss, Jildges, n. 528.]
The earl was also forced to walk
from the Temple to Westminster
Abbey, and there make oath that
the assault did not arise from pre
vious maUce.
4 Rob. Glouc, and Add. MSS.
5444, relate this anecdote, and the
subsequent dispute as to his ransom.

202 THE BARONST WAR. JCH.
surrender as long as possible. Even so frail a defence as a
mill sufficed, for a time, against the imperfect weapons of
attack then in use.
No precise spot on the Downs now retains the tradition
of this mill, though it was pointed out long after by the name
of "King Harry's mill1:" as it is distinctly described by
two contemporaries2 as a windmill with " sayles," it must
have occupied the usual situation for such structures on the
ridge of the hill3; and we may therefore consider Prince
Richard to have advanced some distance from the town at
the time of his rout, when, his retreat to the Priory being
cut off, an escape towards the nearest point of the coast
would have been his principal object.
While the King of the Romans remained thus blockaded
in the mill, he was for some time exposed to the rude jests
and reproaches of those with whom he had so often and so
recently been leagued: "Come out, you bad miller," they
shouted; "you forsooth to turn a wretched mill-master — you
1 "Motus est exercitus Baronum at the rent of 22s. to Richard de
versus quoddam molendinum circa Cumbes, where it is named "Side-
Lewes," to which a more modern lune mill," (quoddam molendinum
hand has added a marginal note, quod vocatur Sidelune melne). — See
"called King Har/s mill to this day." Hist, of Warren. This may possibly
— Add. MSS. 5444. WindmiUs are be the same. According to Mr W.
said to have been introduced into Figg, of Lewes, there are about 32
France and England, c. 1040. (Fos- acres of land called "the Hyde,"
broke, Encycl. of Antiquities.) formerly belonged to the Priory of St
2 "Molendinum quod vi ventorum Pancras, situated at the west end of
dicebatur molere." — Chr. Mail. See the town, on the south and west sides
also the ballad in the next page. of the ancient church of St Mary,
"He wende that the sayles were now St Peter and St Mary West-
mangonel." Doomsday notices two out, otherwise St Ann. In the
mills of 23*. at Lewes. The Lewes northern part of this land, about
monk (MS. Tib. A. x.) says, "Hseo where the Black Horse Inn now is, a
omnia facta fuerant apud Lewes ad windmill is shewn in an old map of
molendinum sueUigi." These latter the Wallands by John Deward, about
words have been interpreted "the 1618. There may have been an older
Mill of the Hide," on the authority mill on this "Hyde," molendinum
of Spelman (Glossar.), who gives the sueUigi, as the spot necesarily lay in
meaning of "hide" to Swulinga, or the Une of those retreating to the
rather SuUnga, from a Saxon word, Castle. (March 1844.)
Signifying a plough, and considers 3 A modern account, Horsfield's
two sulingae to constitute one mili- Sussex, describes the mill as in the
tary fee. A deed of IsabeUa, Coun- low ground on the Winterboume
tess of Warren, widow of Hamelin, stream, but in that case it must have
grants a lease of a mill near Lewes, been a watermiU.

X-l THE BATTLE OF LEWES. 203
who defied us all so proudly, and would have no meaner title
than King of the Romans, and always August1 ! " The latter
addition, though as invariably affixed to his German dignity,
as " Defender of the Faith " to our own sovereign in after
times, seemed strange and ludicrous to the ears of the En
glish. His altered plight was ridiculed also in a popular
ballad 2 of the day : —
"The Kyng of Alemaigne wende do full wel,
He saisede the mulne for a castel,
With hare sharpe swerdes he ground the stel,
He wende that the sayles were mangonel
To helpe Windesore.
Richard, thah thou be ever trichard,
Trichen shalt thou never more.
The Kyng of Alemaigne gederede ys host,
Makede him a castel of a mulne post,
Wende with is prude and is muchele bost, .
Brohte from Alemayne mony sori gost
To store Windesore.
Richard, thah thou be ever trichard,
Trichen shalt thou never more3."
As evening4 came on and no chance of escape appeared,
King Richard was obliged to give himself up to his enemies,
and was led away in custody, even loaded with chains, ac
cording to one account5, and accompanied by his second son,
Edmund, yet a youth. Though he yielded himself up to
Gilbert de Clare, as the chief in command, it would appear
that John Befs6 — of a rank too inferior to receive the im-
1 Chr. Mailr. part of the royal army was entirely
* It has been frequently printed, overthrown before midday. ." Ita
and lately in PoUt. S. from Harl. MS. fuit quod maxima pars regis exer-
Percy in his "Ancient ReUques" not citus inter primam et meridiem fun-
uhderstanding the allusion, remarks ditus sternataf This, if correct,
that "the verses very humorously al- must mean the King's own division.
hide to some Uttle fact which history 6 Chr. Mailr. Another authority
has not condescended to record," and seems to intimate that the mill was
supposes it to refer to his large only used to secure the prisoner in.
watermiUs at Isleworth where he — Ad beUum de Leaus. — ubi Domi-
might have lodged a party of soldiers. nus Simon — capto Comite in molen-
3 Glossary — wende, thought: man- dino ad custodiendum posuit. — Chr.
gonel, engine to throw stones : thah, Laudun. in MSS. Cott. Nero. A. iv.
though : sori gost, wicked spirits : '.' Cum fiho suo Edmundo adhuc im-
trichard, trickster: trichen, trick. puberi captivatus." — T. Wyke.
4 The Lewes chr. says the greater 6 Perhaps the name was Bevis,

204 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
portant surrender of a King — was the principal agent in his
capture, and was honoured with knighthood subsequently in
reward for his services : —
"The King of Alemaine was in a windmuUe inome,
Vor a yong knight ymad tho right,
Sir John de Befs ycleped, that was suith god knight,
That much prowesse dude a dai, and the King him yield in doute,
To the Erl of Gloucestre as to the hexte of the. doute1." Rob. Glouc. p. 532.
At length, after the victory had been thus decided, about
eight o'clock2 in the evening Prince Edward returned from
his reckless triumph over the Londoners and his bootless
attack upon the car.
Many a great battle has been lost in the same manner,
by the rash indulgence of private feelings of exultation or
revenge. In modern times the advantages of self-control in
the eager soldier, of strict obedience exacted by and yielded
to one calm sagacious mind, have been generally recognized
and adopted ; but at this remote period, with a loose cluster
of independent chieftains, each the jealous peer of the others
hastily collected and soon to be dispersed, such discipline or
prudence could not be looked for. The chief praise was then
always given to individual courage and strength, rather than
to the fulfilment of an appointed duty.
" To while Sir Edward was about the chare to take,
The Kynge's side, alias, Simon did doun schake,
Unto the Kynge's partie Edward turned tite, (speedily)
Then had the Erie the maistrie, the Kynge was discomfite ;
The soth to say and chese, the chare's gilery
Did Sir Edward lese that day the maistrie." — Rob. Bbune.
Beaufo or Boves. Nicholas de Beau- taken in a windmill, for a young
fo a knight of Norfolk, is mentioned. knight took him, then justly made
^Cal. Placit Henry III. Adam de knight, caUed by Sir John de Befs,
Beyfin held five manors in Shrop- who was truly a good knight, and did
shire, 1261, 1263. — Cal. Inquis. p. many exploits that day, and the King
mort. Hugh de Boves was sent to yielded himself in alarm to the Earl
Bristol in 1213, and a ship for ten or of Gloucester, as to the highest chief
twelve horses was ordered to be pre- of the force."
pared for him. Rot. Claus. 159. He 2 "Expensa est magna pars ilhus
was drowned, with many others, near diei usque ad octavam horam. " — Chr.
Yarmouth, Oct. 26, 1215. — Wendover,* Mailr. "Pugnaverunt usque ad noc-
m. p. 333. tern." — Lib. de Ant. Leg.
i "The King of Alemaine was

X.] THE BATTLE OF LEWES. 205
The Prince arrived with bis horses jaded and his com
rades weary, all "journey-bated" like himself1 after their
long service, which had now continued from early dawn to
the evening of a long summer's day. He expected to find a
triumphant welcome from his party as victorious as himself :
"With gret joye he turnde agen, ac lute2 joye he founde." — Rob. Glouc.
On the late busy field of battle none were to be seen but
the dead and the dying, no remains of either army fighting,
and nothing but the banner of de Warenne, still flying on
the castle-keep, to assure him of the contest at all continu
ing. Mortified by so unexpected a scene, and uneasy for the
safety of his^father, though still eager to renew the fight, he
made a circuit3 of part of the town, in order to reach the
castle, towards which point the tide of war had pressed on
wards, when receding from the field.
A stern and desperate resistance had there repulsed all
the efforts of the barons, and the Prince's presence inspirited
the besieged ; but, ignorant of the King's fate, and gloomy
with apprehensions, he soon after forced his way to the
Priory, in order there to learn the whole of the fatal truth.
At this crisis a great many nobles and knights, who had
accompanied the Prince during the day, feeling their strength
and hopes gone, resolved to take advantage of the shades of
evening to effect their escape4. The number of these fugi
tives is variously stated as 300 5 or 400 well-armed chiefs,
and among them were many whom King Henry might cer
tainly have expected to share his fate. His own brothers,
William de Valence, and Guy de Lusignan6, and the Earl de
1 "Lassitudine sic quassatus, quod 4 "Ecce omles quasi qui cum eo
ulterius dimicare non poterat. Tarn steterant fugie indulserunt." — Mat.
ipse quam hi qui eum sequebantur Westm.
etiam cum suia equis immoderate B "300 loricati." — W. Rish. "400
labore fuerunt sic fatigati, quod vix loricati sive culpS sive non culpa?' —
respirare potuerunt." — T. Wyke. Mat. Westm. " The chiefs, and more
2 Ac lute — and Uttle. than 70 choice armed soldiers, who
s •< ViUam circuens pervenit ad • belonged to their house and family."
castrum." — W. Rish. "Circumduxit — Walt. Heming.
villam usque ad castellum." — W. • Geoffry de Lusignan and Hugh
Heming. are not mentioned as present at

206 THE barons' war. [ch:
Warenne, though in sight of his own castle, all bound by
kindred and favours to their Sovereign, now abandoned him ;
Hugh le Bigot, and many of the highest chieftains, being
their comrades in this flight : —
"Many on stiUeUche hor armes a wei caste,
And chaungede horn vor herigaus, som del hii were agaste,
And mani flowe in to the water, and some towards the sea.
And manie passede over and ne come nerere aze1." — Rob. Glouc.
This desertion was considered as reflecting disgrace on the
parties at the time ; " they fled (observes the chronicler)
without a blow, though not without blame." If, however, the
well-known reason2 for running away can ever be made pa
latable to military critics, it might be so here.; Hbr these very
runaways soon formed the nucleus of a force which was
ultimately destined to retrieve the fortunes of the King,
whom they were now leaving in such imminent peril.
They made their way through the town towards the
bridge, where the mixed crowd of fugitives and pursuers
became so great that many in their anxiety to escape leaped
into the river, while others fled confusedly into the adjoining
marshes, then a resort for sea-fowl. Numbers were there
drowned and others suffocated in the pits of mud, while, from
the swampy nature of the ground, many knights who pe
rished there were discovered, after the battle, still sitting on
their horses in complete armour, and with drawn swords in
their lifeless hands. Quantities of arms were found in this
quarter for many years afterwards3.
Lewes, but W. Rish. refers to WilUam fled into the water, and some towards
and his other brothers flying with the sea, and many passed over, and
him from the battle. " Fugitque never came back again."
Comes de Warenna cum duobus Re- 2 " BeUat prudenter qui fugit sa-
gis film (sic) WilUelmo de Valence pienter." — W. Rish. of the London-
et Gwydone fratre ejus." — Walt. He- ers.
ming. "Earlde Warenne" again fled 3 Chr. Lanerc. gives these details
ingloriously from his army when de- on the authority of a noble eyewit-
feated by Wallace in 1297 at Stir- ness; the crowd at the bridge is,
ling. however, wrongly timed, as happening
1 " Many silently cast away their at the commencement of the battle.
arms, and changed them for spurs, "Belli victoria eisAem ceelitus donata.
some of them were terrified, and many Quidam autem de exercitu Regis per

X.] THE BATTLE OF LEWES. 207
Those fugitives who succeeded in crossing the bridge, at
once hurried on to Pevensey Castle that very night \ and, not
content even with the shelter of that friendly fortress, got
ready there some vessels in which they embarked the next
day for France — the heralds to the Queen of the total dis
comfiture of their party. Their version of the battle repre
sented King Henry as having been Seized in bed by the
barons without any previous warning ; and, by these false
hoods to justify their own flight, they moved the French
court to great anger1. Their escape, whether honourable or
not, was undoubtedly a subject of. vexation and anxiety to
the triumphant de Montfort, as the ballad of the day clearly
shows : — " By God thai; is aboven us, he dude muche synne,
That lette passen over see the Erl of Warynne;
He hath robbed Engelond, the mores ont the fenne,
The goldt ant the selver, ant y-boren henne,
For love of Wyndesore.
Sir Simond de Mountford hath swore bi ys chin,
Havede he nou here the Erl of Waryn,
Shulde he never more come to his yn,
Ne with sheld, ne with spere, ne with other gyn,
To help of Wyndesore."
Sire Simond de Montfort hath swore by his cop,
Havede he nou here Sire Hue le Bigot,
Al he shulde quite here a twelf-moneth scot,
Shulde he never more with his fot pot,
To help Wyndesore2."
The town being now in the utmost confusion, the flying
royalists and the exulting barons were almost undistinguished
in the entangled mass thronging the streets: crowds of
wounded men lay there, while the loose holies of those who
had been slain, or who had abandoned them in their retreat
pontem ex parte orientali viUa? fuge- 2 Polit. S. from MS. Harl. 2253.
rant, et nimio timore perterriti fu- Glossary: — ant y-boren henne, and
giendo se constrinxerunt et sic se in carried them away : havede, had : his
aquam submerserunt, et diem vitas yn, his house (Lewes) : gyn, engine:
suae clauserunt." — Chr. Wigorn. cop (kopf), head: a!, although: quite,
1 " Ad iram non modicam menda- pay: pot, trudge with his foot.
ciis nefandis."— Add. MSS. 5444.

208 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
to the Priory, were now wandering about in the dark with
out riders1. Pillage was uppermost in the thoughts of one
party, and flight in the other; but at the castle and the Priory
an obstinate resistance was still maintained. The garrison
of the former increased the tumult and horror of the scene
by calling fire to their aid. The Greek fire was in common
use at this time, and it is probable that something of this
nature was employed. " Spryngelles of fyre2," that is, pellets
of tow dipped in Greek fire, were thrown from a sort of
mortar3; with these, or some similar contrivance, they suc
ceeded in setting fire to several houses of the town, which
were probably then built of wood from the neighbouring
Weald. The Priory was soon, in retaliation, treated in a
similar manner, and for a time the church was fearfully
illuminated4, though the flames were subdued before the
destruction of the buildings.
Prince Edward was once more mustering his broken
troops to rush out and renew the hazard of the battle, when
de Montfort interfered to suggest an immediate truce5, pre
paratory to negotiations on the morrow. On this timely
proposal being accepted, the carnage and destruction of the
conflict, which had been the terrible occupation of so many
thousands during a long summer's day, at length ceased.
"Contrary to all expectation (observes a contemporary
i " Nee facile discerni poterat per Lincoln and exhibited at the meet-
longum spatium, pree multitudine ing of the Archaeological Institute,
vulneratorum, qui dicerentur Regales _ July, 1848.
qui Baronales. Interim tumultuabat * " Can mortar be right ? Was
civitas per partes utrasque, vacabant not throwing of fire then effected by
enim spoUis et rapinis et equis oc- means of tow attached to arrows
cisorum stabiUendis nee adhuc se steeped in turpentine and ignited?
mutuo recognoscere potuerunt." — Whether ' spryngeUes' were tufts of
Walt. Heming. blazing tow, or pieces of wood like the
2 V. Romance of Richard Coeur de shafts of an arrow, I am doubtful." —
Lion, in Warton's H. Poet. i. 158. W. S. W.
According to Anna Comnena, Greek 4 "Bluminata est ecclesia telis eo-
fire was composed of bitumen, sul- rum." — Walt. Heming., H.Knighton.
phur, and naphtha. " Emissis telis Joinville reports the camp of the
igneis magnam partem villsB incen- crusaders to have been illuminated
derunt." — Walter Heming. A num- by such implements.
ber of ,fire arrows were found in an 5 " Nocte sequenti pax quaadam
old house near the high bridge of reformata est."— Chr. Roff. M.S.

X.] THE BATTLE OF LEWES. 209
chronicler1), the barons had thus gained a wonderful victory,
which they attributed with gratitude to Him alone by whose
support they had passed through the mortal dangers of the
struggle." The same spirit of devotional joy, and affectionate
gratitude to the achievers of such a victory, pervades other
accounts written at the time. Among the most remarkable
is the long Latin rhymed poem before referred to, composed
immediately after the battle, by one who, amidst much
calm argument on regal power and civil liberty, evinces his
feelings by such bursts as the following : —
" May the Lord bless Simon de Montfort, his sons and
his comrades, who have so nobly and boldly fought, in com
passion on the sad fate of the English, when they were so
unspeakably trampled under foot, and nearly deprived of all
their liberties, and even of life, languishing under their hard
Princes. " Blessed be the Lord God of Vengeance, who sits on His
high throne in heaven, and by His own might treads upon
the necks of the proud, making the great subject to the
weak. He has subdued two kings and their two heirs into,
captivity, as transgressors of the laws, and has given over to
ignominy all the pride of their warfare, with their number-'
less followers2."
That de Montfort was not only held in esteem as an
able soldier, but was considered as "backed by the general
favour of the people," is expressly asserted by a French
chronicler3 of the time. Although he only incidentally
mentions the battle of "Lyaus," he praises de Montfort„
as "noble, chivalrous, and the ablest man o£the age," and
anxiously claims him as a Frenchman. That he had the
support of public opinion in England cannot indeed be
1 W. Rish. de Bello Lew. ducens originem." " Noble, preus en
2 Polit. S. from MS. Harl. 978. armes, et moult sages hons du siecle."
V. 65.  V. 383. "Communi fretus favore populi."
3 Nangis; his history is both in "Par l'asentement du peuple corn-
French and Latin. " Erat in Anglid mun."
non tamen de AngliS sed de Francia

210 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
doubted, and among other proofs, it may be noticed that
it had driven the King to rely upon the arms of foreigners
in this battle. Edward had introduced Spaniards, and the
northern barons had brought with them their Scotch vassals,
who were as much aliens in blood, language, and nationality
as those from the Peninsula.
Of these a great number perished, and their chiefs were
taken prisoners. Few names have been recorded of those
slain on either side. On the side of the conquerors, be
sides William le Blund already referred to, Ralph Herin-
got1 is the only baron mentioned. Of the olher party,
twenty-three barons, who bore banners, were either taken
or slain, and two justiciaries2 perished — William de Wilton
by the sword, and Fulk de Fitz- Warren drowned in the
Ouse. The blood of many others was of course shed; for, as
is quaintly observed in the poem last quoted, " it certainly
was not by smooth words, but by hard fighting, that de
Montfort subdued the proud, and squeezed out the red
juice3." The number of the slain in this decisive battle, thus
obstinately contested with all the gathered strength of each
party, the first fought on English ground after the repose
of half a century, was necessarily great, but" has been left
wholly uncertain by the conflicting records of the chroni
clers, happily unused to such calculations. "It was there
1 Stephen Heringod held a manor charter of 1273, p. 48. An account
and lands in Kent in 1257. Inquis. of the family in Waldron, Sussex, is
p. mort. [Cf. Rot. Hund. i. p. 227.] givenin Sus. Arch.Coll.Vol.xiii.p.90.
Ralph de Haryngot, was, in 1258, s W. Rish. pp. 33, 34— Lib. do
one of the four knights chosen by Ant. Leg. p. 52. ["Fulco Fitz-
the county of Surrey. — Pat. 42° Hen. Warine, who was a Shropshire baron,
III. Mat. Westm. calls him " Herin- is never mentioned even as a Justice
gander." W. Rish, "Heringaud." Itinerant." — Foss, Judges of Eng-
Nicolas Harengod (Haringot) was land, i. p. 336.]
lord of the manor of Battle, co. 3 " Quos quo modo reprimit? certe
Sussex, in right of his wife Sybilla, non ludendo
daughter of Ralph de Yclesham. — Sed rubrum jus exprimit dure
Battle Abbey Charters, p. 41. The oonfligendo." —
seal of Harengot in green wax is to a Polit. S. from MS. Harl. 978.

X.] THE BATTLE OF LEWES. 211
seen (says one1) that the life of man was as the grass of
the earth ; a great multitude, unknown to me, was slain."
As the numbers stated by various authors2 vary from 2700
to more than 20,000, we may turn aside from so distasteful an
enquiry, glad to believe in the smallest amount of destruction,
and may adopt at once the conclusions of Robert Brune : —
" Many faire ladie lese hir lord that day,
And many gode bodie slayn at Leaus lay.
The nombre none wrote, for telle tham mot no man,
But He thut alle wote, and alle thing ses and can."
The traces of the battle are deeply stamped on the
history and constitution of the country, legible as those of
Magna Charta, but the only local record of the vanquished
monarch is the simple name of " Mount Harry," ever since
popularly affixed to the lofty point of the Downs near the
field of battle. This is so distant from Lewes (nearly two
miles) that it was probably in the rear of de Montfort's
army; but it may, indeed, have been where his car and
standard were placed, or where the King had posted his
negligent watch3 overnight. The low mounds caused by the
1 Oxenede's Chr. the drowned, the wounded, the citi-
2 MS. Cleop. D. ix. says that 600 zens of London, and the fugitives. —
of the slain were buried by the Chr. Wigorn. " 10,000 ex parte regis
monks, according to their account., interfectis. — xv. barones interfecti."
but many others were killed" and Cotton MS. Nero, A. iv. Fabyan
drowned; the Lewes Chr. 2700 slain, and Rastall: "Over 20,000 slain, as
more or less; Waverley Chr., MS. sayth myn auctours."
vCleop. B. xrv. MS. Bodl., and Chr. -* A beacon was estabUshed near
Lanercost, more than 3000; Rob. this spot in the late war when a
Glouc. 4500 ; Chr. Winton MS. D. French invasion was expected. Two
ix. makes 4514 in all, that is 2070 miles more to the westward, on the
besides the Londoners; and with escarpment of the hiU, there is a
this number agree Worcest. Chr. large cross cut out on the turf, which
and MS. Nero, Chr. P. de Ickham ; is now only visible under peculiar cir-
Walt. Heming., W. Rish., Mat. cumstances of light. This may, pos-
Westm., 5000 slain : T. Wyke states sibly, have been a pious device of
nearly 5000 slain, "many of them the times tb excite the prayers of
faUen by the just judgment of God distant traveUers for the repose of
in retribution for the sack of North- the souls of those slain at Lewes, but
ampton" (non habentes jus querela?) . it cannot be accepted as evidence of
"Ex utraque parte numerati per the barons having made their ascent
manus sepeUentum 2730," besides at so distant a spot, contrary to the
P2

212 %*HE barons' war. [ch. X.
heaps of bodies interrupting the smoothness of the turf, a
decayed bone, or a broken weapon occasionally found, alone
recall the memory of the angry thousands once assembled
there. express words of Will. Rishanger: a Lewes duobus milHaribns summo.
"Cunctis igitur montem qui dis tat saane ascensis."

CHAPTER XL

THE MISE OF LEWES.

'A proper title of a peace, and purchased
At a superfluous rate." — Hen. VIII. Act i. Scene 1.

There was much of wise policy as well as forbearance
in de Montfort's suspension of hostilities, proposed at the
very moment when his sovereign lay a defenceless prey be
fore him. As a mere soldier he might have pushed the
issue to a violent extremity, but as a statesman his arm
was arrested. Had the Priory — which the opinions of the
age and the authority of a jealous Church invested with the
privileges of sanctuary — been taken by storm that night,
the horrors that might have ensued, the violence to the
King's person, perhaps even his death, would have deeply
perilled the cause of constitutional liberty. The inherent
attachment to monarchy which has ever distinguished the
English character — that loyalty, which has been truly de
scribed as " scarcely less refining and elerfating in a moral
point of view than patriotism, and exciting as disinterested
energies1". — would have been outraged by so undisguised a
collision. To obviate such feelings, the constitutional fiction,.
since so often and well employed, of casting blame and
responsibility on others rather than the King, had even
1 Hallam, Mid. Ages.

214 THE barons' war. [ch.
in these early times, been found expedient, and had through
out been put forward to justify the barons. While their
war was directed against his bad advisers, they appeared to
respect "the divinity that doth hedge a king," and were
still able to vaunt themselves as his true liegemen. To
carry on this convenient fiction was obviously the most
politic course, and accordingly all the subsequent arrange
ments were founded on this basis, the appearance of free
agency being studiously preserved to the King.
De Montfort, during the night, so strengthened the block
ade of the Priory and castle as to render escape hopeless ;
and on the following day, Thursday, May 15, the commis
sioners of each side met to fix the terms on which the future
government of the kingdom was to depend.
The King is said1 to have appointed two monks of the
order of preachers (Dominicans) to the office2, but it is more
probable that they were Cluniac monks of the Priory, the
confusion easily arising from the similarity of dress and the
common appellation of Black Monks. The barons were also
represented by ecclesiastics, stated on the same authority to
have been two Grey Friars (Franciscans) ; but it is much
more probable that the two bishops of London and Worcester,
already employed on such missions, should have resumed
that duty. There was, indeed, an establishment of Grey
Friars near the bridge at Lewes, but they are not at all
likely to have been trusted by the barons with so important
a charge. Prince Edward has even been represented as
flying to them and being there taken, but this must have
arisen from mistaking the Priory for a convent of that
order : —
1 Walt. Heming. 1294. Adam de Marisco, in one ofhis '
2 It is possible that John Peck- letters [speaks of John de PeschaW
ham, said to be a native of Lewes as " a scholar honourably distinguish-
and educated by the monks of S. ed for correct habits and proficiency
Pancras, was m the town and em- in learning, who kindled by a divine
ployed. He was a Franciscan, and yearning has just entered the religious
rose by his own talents to the arch- order of Minor Friars " A de Mar
bishopric of Canterbury,. 1273 to Epist. p. 256. Ed. Brewer ]

-XI.] THE MISE OF LEWES. 215
"And to the Frere Menors in to toun Sir Edward flew vaste,
And ther as he nede moste, yeld him at laste." — Rob. Glouc.
Simon de Montfort is said1 to have influenced the treaty
by threatening to advance upon the Royalists with the heads
of the King of the Romans, Basset, and his other prisoners
fixed upon his pennons; but so needless an insult is not
to be believed. When the natural terror of the one party
and the confidence of the other are considered, there was
plainly an unquestioned power of dictating terms, and under
such circumstances the conditions of an agreement are soon
discussed and settled. On the same Thursday, accordingly,
the articles were drawn up and assented to of the treaty of
peace, which has ever since been known as the mise of
Lewes2. The deed itself, though frequently referred to in authentic
documents, not being extant, its substance must be collected
from the statements of the chroniclers, which, however, do
not vary materially. The fullest account professes to sketch
out the written form of the articles agreed upon, and appears
consistent with known facts, though from a royalist bias it
calls the barons "accomplices of the Earl of Leicester3," a
term which certainly would not be used in a deed dictated
by them. The mise stipulated that "the King and his adherents on
the one side, and the Earls of Leicester and Gloucester, with
their adherents (accomplices) on the other side, should pro
cure two Frenchmen to be chosen in the presence of the
illustrious King, of France, by means of three prelates and
three nobles of France, to be named and summoned by the
said King; and that the two, when cnosen, should come
to England, and associate with themselves a third per-
1 Mat. Westm. dam quod Misam Lewensem inusi-
2 "Tuncnullo renitente quidquid tato nomine nuncupabat." — T. Wyke.
voluit potuit ordinare, extorto a Rege It was, however, not an unusual term
et Domino Edward quodam sacra- at the time.
mento, quod et ipse Comes etiam 3 Mat. Westm. following T. Wyke.
cum suis priestitit, statutum quod-

216 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
son1, belonging to England, whom they should select; and
whatever the said three should determine, both as to what the
King should confirm or annul, and also as to all controversies
which had arisen between the parties concerning the govern*
ment of England, should remain thereby fixed, and ratified
by the corporal oath of the parties, according to a deed
drawn up on the subject, certified by the seals of the King,
and of the aforesaid parties ; and that Prince Edward and
-Prince Henry, the firstborn sons of the King and of the
King of the Romans, should be given up as hostages for the
fulfilment of the above on the part of the King.
These hostages, it is explained by another authority2,
were to be considered as substitutes for the lords Marchers
and others, not then prisoners — referring to de Mortimer and
.those who had escaped from the battle.
An additional article is also given3, which was certainly
acted upon to some extent, namely, that the prisoners on
both sides should be released without ransom.
Other writers refer the arbitration to two spiritual and
two temporal nobles, French, according to one4, or English,
according to a second5, with the Count d'Anjou and the
Duke of Burgundy as umpires in case of disagreement.
Another chronicler6 — who, although contemporary, does
not use the word mise —states the articles of the agreement
to have been seven : — 1. Referring the disputed points to
the Archbishop of Rouen, the Bishop of London, Peter le
Chamberleyn, Hugh le Despenser, the Justiciary, and the
Papal Legate, who were to settle everything, except the
release of the hostages : the 2nd required the concurrence
of three of the above : 3. That they should swear to choose
only Englishmen for counsellors: 4. That the King was to
be guided by them, and that Magna Charta and the Charter
1 "Tertium de Anglia."— Mat. Wyke.
Westm. 3 H. Knighton.
2 "Pro Marchiensibus et aUis qui 4 Fabyan.
in ipso bello captivati non f uerant 6 Lib. de Ant. Leg.
tajjquam obsides tenerentur." — T. 6 W. Rish. de Bello Lew.

XL] THE MISE OF LEWES. 217
of the Forests should be observed ; that the King should be
moderate in his expenses and grants until his old debts were
paid off, and he was enabled to live on his own means1,
without oppression to merchants or the poor : 5. That the
award should be duly secured, and that then the royal
hostages should be released, on giving pledges not only not
again to excite discord in the kingdom, but to repress it
in others : 6. That the Earls of Leicester and Gloucester
should have ample security, as well as their adherents, not
to suffer any damage on account of past deeds : 7. That the
terms of the agreement should be debated in England, and
settled finally by the next Easter at latest.
These slightly varying descriptions of the mise are sub
stantially the same, all implying a reference to France, and
the surrender of the two young Princes.
There can be little doubt that the latter important con
dition was mainly introduced by the voluntary generosity2
and high spirit of Prince Edward, in order to avert the per
sonal captivity of the King.
"Edward that was King, with his owen rede
For his fader the Kyng himself to prison bede3." — Rob. Bktjne.
A royal proclamation, referring to this event, in the fol
lowing year describes the Prince as having at that time
" totally lost, by his inconsiderate levity, the grace of public
favour, which he had before acquired by becoming hostage of
his own accord4."
In spite of the publicity of this event, one ancient
authority chooses not only to make King Henry himself
the prisoner, but actually depicts his arrest in a rude draw
ing on his manuscript5, and, to complete the story, repre-
i "De suo." ° Chr. Laudunense a Christo ad
2 "Sponte sed invitus ab eadem 1338, in . MSS. Cotton, A. iv. 110.
(ecclesiS) exiens."— MSS. Add. 5444. The feet of the figures have been
3 "Edward, who was King, of his cUpped off at the botton of the page
own accord offered himself as a.pri- in the original. —V. copy of MS.
soner for his father, the King."^ drawing, pi. 4, p. 254.
4 Rymer, July 7, 1265.

218 THE barons' war. [ch.
sents also the King with his own hand killing de Mont
fort at Evesham.
These conditions of peace, duly certified by oaths and
seals, while they relaxed, as was natural, nothing of the pre
vious demands of the victorious barons, and even despised
more stringent security for their fulfilment, yet introduced
no new pretensions even at this moment of power, and the
constitutional maxim of respecting the person of the King
was carefully upheld, at least in words, even when so much
disgrace and ruin were attributed to his advisers. Whether
there be just ground for supposing bad faith in either or
both of the parties to this mise, and how far its provisions
were faithfully executed, will be seen by following the course
of events a little longer.
The reference of the national dispute (for it was nothing
less) to the arbitration of France, the repetition of an ex
pedient so recently tried without success, may certainly
excite surprise and even suspicion ; but it was, nevertheless,
this condition which was considered so much the essence
of the whole treaty, as to have obtained for it, then and
since, the distinctive name of the mise of Lewes.
On the following day, Friday, May 16, the surrender of
the royal Princes, as substitutes for their respective fathers,
took place. Even after giving this bail, however, the King
of the Romans does not appear to have been a free agent
for some time, but was required to purchase his liberty
by the payment of a large sum of money five months after
wards. As much as £17,000, and £5000 in gold, have been
stated1 as his ransom, and his estates were certainly put
under sequestration to ensure payment.
Prince Edward, the more dangerous foe, and the more
valuable pledge of submission, was almost immediately sent
in custody to Dover, under the charge of his former friend,
Henry, de Montfor-t's eldest son. This compulsory ride to
Dover, under circumstances so altered from his former visits
1 Chr. Mailr.

XL] THE MISE OF LEWES. 219
there, and his late attempt to surprise it, was a popular
topic of ridicule in those days : —
"Be the luef be the loht, Sire Edward,
Thou shalt ride sporeless o thy lyard1
Al the ryhte way to Dovere ward;
Shalt thou never more breke fore-ward,
And that reweth sore :
Edward thou dudest ase a shreward,
Forsook thy erne's lore2."
A royalist chronicler asserts that the Prince was treated
" less honourably than was becoming3 ;" and another even
goes so far as to say,
"Li prison nere a yere was Edward in a cage."
But we must allow some licence even to such poetry as
Robert Brune's, and we have, in disproof of such a charge,
not only express testimony4 that "he was treated with
courtesy, not as a captive ;" but the Prince's own feeling
conduct towards his jailor, Henry de Montfort, whose burial
he attended in person with every mark of regret and respect
after the battle of Evesham.
All appearance of his former court was dismissed by
the King on Saturday, May 17th, when the nobles and
knights, who had devotedly fought for him', his familiar
friends, and even his personal attendants, were all dis
charged. Many of the chiefs, who had come from the
Marches, or the distant North, left Lewes at once for their
1 In Warton's Hist. Poet., speak- 3 "Minus honeste quam decebat
ing of Bichard Coeur de Lion's horse, fecerat custodiri." — T. Wyke, Chr.
an old poem says: "FaveU of Sy- Roff. i
pres (Cyprus) ne Lyard of Prys 4 "Regem AngUas Ucet ceperunt,
(Paris), Ben not at ned as he ys." tamen non quasi captivum sed curial-
2 PoUt. S. from MS. Harl. "Whe- itertanquamdominuincustodierunt."
ther wilUng or unwilling, Sir Edward, — Taxt. Chr. "Quos dominus Sy-
you shall ride spurless on your horse, mon in deditionem postea suscipiens
all the direct way towards Dover, you et tanquam dominis suis quandam
shall never more break your promise, reverentiam exhibens, eos honorabi-
and that is a sore trouble to you; liter captivavit." — Nangis. Gest. S.
Edward, you acted perversely when Lud. "Regem honore quo debuit in
you forsook your uncle's instruc- talicasufideUterobservavit." — Nang.
tion." Chr.

220 THE barons' WAR. [CH. XI-.
homes1, not daring to trust themselves in de Montfort's
power. Many, indeed, both lay and clergy, were, plun
dered in their retreat2, while one party, under William de
Say3, joined the garrison of Tunbridge Castle; and although
the royal warrant for its surrender was soon received there4,
.they nevertheless kept together as an armed body. While
forcing their passage across the country, they gratified their
angry revenge by slaughtering at Croydon6 a party of the
Londoners returning from the battle, and finally made good
their way to Bristol, which they gallantly maintained in
Prince Edward's interests until his escape.
After the royal household and party were thus broken
up, de Montfort prepared to leave the scene of the battle,
and to remove King Henry with him after his week's
eventful sojourn at Lewes.
1 It may be remarked, in reference Arms, " Quarterly or and gules, on
to this dispersion and to the scarcity ' the first a Uon passant azure, armed
' of provisions, that the King's army gules."
had been summoned to meet on 4 From an entry in the Hundred
March 30, so that the customary Rolls it seems probable that Ton-
forty days of service had already ex- bridge did not surrender at once,
pired ; and this consideration may and that preparations were made to
also account for the rapid movements besiege it. " Item dicunt quod cum
and great enterprises of this army Hundredus de Stuting adisset per
during the stipulated period. preceptum domini Regis ad obsiden-
2 Mat. Westm. dum castrum de Tunebrigg, &e." Rot.
3 William de Say, of an ancient Hund. i. p. 227. P. <
family, held forty-two knights' fees. 6 H. Knighton. This incident
He was governor of Dover, Canter- gave rise to the error of Prince Ed-
bury and Rochester castles 44° H. ward's continuing his pursuit of the
III., and died 1272. Cal. Inq. p. m. Londoners to Croydon at the battle.

CHAPTER XII.

GOVERNMENT OF THE BARONS.

" It is to your ancestors, my Lords, it is to the English Barons, that we are
indebted for the laws and constitution we possess; their virtues were
rude and uncultivated, but they were great and sincere; their understand
ings were as little poUshed as their manners, but they had hearts to
distinguish right from wrong, they had heads to distinguish truth from
falsehood; they understood the rights of humanity, and they had spirit
to maintain them." — Lord Chatham's Speech, Jan. 9, 1770.

'' Hail to the Earl, inspirited and puffed up by success,
glorying beyond measure in the prowess of himself and his
sons whom he so tenderly loved, that in his anxiety to pro
mote them he blushed hot to attempt the most, daring
enterprises !" Thus ironically exclaims a royalist chronicler1,
whose indignation is particularly excited at the King being
made to travel about with Simon de Montfort, crying out
upon it as " unheard-of wantonness of guilt, exceeding in
arrogance even the very pride of Lucifer."
That de Montfort exercised the power Nvhich his victory
gave him, is certain ; but as the proceedings subsequent to
the mise have been much misrepresented, it will be worth
while to note down with some detail the facts authenticated
by public documents, and to watch how far he may be liable
to the charge of self-aggrandisement. This appeal, indeed, to
1 T. Wyke.

222 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
facts, is but a repetition of one made for him by a contem
porary1. Provisions had been already failing in the King's army, it
may be remembered, before the battle; and, as the providence
of an extensive commissariat did not then accompany armies,,
de Montfort was probably as little prepared to support his
own troops long at Lewes. A speedy removal, therefore,
became a necessity to both ; and the route chosen towards
the east enabled him to secure the fortresses of the Cinque
Ports, especially Dover, which a few days subsequently
(May 28) the King ordered to be entrusted "to his beloved
nephew, Henry de Montfort2," the jailor of his son.
On the day of leaving Lewes the King reached Battle,
and dated from thence, May 17, the appointment of Drogo
de Barantin, as Governor of Windsor Castle3, and other
orders for the immediate release of the Northampton pri
soners, particularly the relations of the Earl of Leicester, his
son Simon de Montfort, and Peter, a veteran-ever active and
stanch to the cause of his great kinsman, with his two sons
Peter and Robert. Their discharge appears studiously dis
guised under the courteous pretext inserted in the royal
order, which requires their advice, because " according to the
form of peace, made between us and the barons, it is neces
sary that we should take counsel4." ,
Only a fortnight had elapsed since the King's "troops had
been at Battle, flushed with their reeent successes, and com
mitting ravages and extortions5 at the Abbey there, and at

1 " Seductorem nominant Simo-
nem-atque faUacem,
Facta sed .examinant probant-
que veracem." —
Polit. S. from MS. Harl. 978.
s Rymer.
» Rot. Pat. 48" Hen. III.
4 "pum per formam pacis inter
nos et barones initam et firrnatam —
deliberare debeamus."wRymer..
5 "Namque monasterium quod
Bellum vocatur,

Turba saevientinm, quae nunc con-
turbatur,
Immisericorditer bonis spoliavit.
* * *
Monachi Cistercii de Ponte Ro-
berti
A furore gladii non fuissent certi,
Si quingentas Principi marcas non
dedisseht,
Quas Edwardus accipi jussit vel
perissent." —
PoUt. S. from MS. Harl. 978.

XII.] GOVERNMENT OF THE BARONS. 223
the neighbouring one of Robertsbridge. The monks must
have relished the spectacle of speedy retribution, which now
brought the wrong-doer humiliated and harmless again to
their door.
Similar orders were now issued with the King's authority,
transferring to the barons the custody of all the royal castles ;
and it must have forcibly evinced to distant counties the
entire prostration of the royalists, when they received the
royal proclamation, " forbidding all hostilities, and command
ing the arrest of all disturbers of the peace, which had been
made by the disposition of Divine grace1;" and this was
dated (May 25) from Rochester, the very point whose re
sistance had so lately baffled de Montfort. Like terms of
contentment and pious gratitude appear in several other
proclamations at this period : the King referring to the peace
as " made by the inspiration of Divine grace ;" " by the co
operation of Divine favour2." Strong words, not fit to be.
lightly used, but fearfully contrasting with his furious denun
ciations of the same transaction subsequently.
On the 28th of May we find the King in London3. The
palace of Westminster had been accidentally burnt4 two
years before, in consequence of which he now became a guest
under the roof of the bishop, whose proffer of peace he had
rejected at Lewes.
The loss of his usual residence was an additional mortifi
cation to Henry, whose taste had induced him to adorn all
1 Rymer. Latin proclam. to co. it was roofed with that combustible
Derby. material. Brayley's Westm. p.19. The
2 Rymer. St Paul's, June 2, 1264 ; King immediately after the fire ap-
St Paul's, June 4. plied to the Bishop of London, then
3 He arrived on the day before the recently elected^ for timber to repair
Ascension.— Fabyan. The fire at the his loss. The bishop in his reply,
palace was on Feb. 7, 1262. — Add. Feb. 19, 1262, regrets the calamity,
MSS. 5444. "Combustasuntproprio but sjjates that his woods had been
igne suo parva aula Dom. Regis apud so destroyed during the vacancy of
Westmonasterium camera et capeUa the see, that little or nothing was
et receptorium et alias plures domus left to repair his own houses. His
officinales." — MS. Harl. 690. steward should report thereon, be-
4 There is a charge for scindulae fore he made any promise to the King.
(shingles) for the King's Palace in No. 511 Chanc. Rec. 5th Rep. ; Ry-
Westminsterinll63;sothatprobably mer, new edit. i. 424.

224

THE BARONS WAR.

[ch:

his palaces by every embellishment in his pbwer. The best
artists, including some Italians, we're thus employed by his
directions, and there seems some powerful evidence of oil
colours being used by them in their paintings, though long
before the acknowledged period of such an invention1. Green,
sometimes with golden stars, seems to have been a favourite
colour for the walls of his rooms ; but besides the repre
sentations of "pretty2 cherubim with cheerful and merry
countenance," and of several saints, especially his royal pre
decessor, Edward the Confessor, there were also some series
of scriptural and historical subjects, which must have called
forth skill in art. A Florentine3 painter, in 1256, was de-

1 In 1239, Edward, the son of Odo,
was paid £117. 10s. for oil, varnish,
and colours bought, and for pictures
in the Queen's chamber, made during
fifteen days' work. Sir F. Palgrave,
in his " Truths and Fictions," quotes
from Liber Home an order of the
painters of the guild of St Luke,
that "no craftsman shall employ
other colours than such as shall be
good and fine, good synople, good
azure, good verdigrease, and good
Vermillion, or other good body colours
mixed and tempered with oil (autres
bonnes couleurs destempresd'huile)."
Odo, son of John, the Fusour .in the
Exchequer, granted to Edward, son
of Odo the goldsmith, his office of
Fusour for twelve marcs silver on
going to the Holy Land, 24" Hen. IH.
1240. In 1267 the King allowed Odo
to depute Hamon de Wroxhull for
two years to his office. It was finaUy
surrendered to Edward I. in his 13°.
Madox, Hist. Excheq. p. 201.
2 "Duos cherubinos cum hilari
vultu et jocoso, " ordered to be painted
in the tower of London, 1236.
3 WiUiam, a monk of Westmin
ster. He was also employed at Wind
sor, in 1260. [The foUowing notices are
probably taken from the Close Rolls.
Sir T. Duffus Hardy has mentioned
several of them in his Introduction,
pp. xlv. xlvi :] —
1228. 20s. for painting the great
Exchequer Chamber.

1232. June 3, Kidderminster. King's
chamber wainscot in Winchester to
be painted with the same pictures as
formerly. Woodstock chapel to be painted
with the Saviour, four Evangelists,
S. Edmund and S. Edward.
1236. Great chamber at Westmin
ster to be painted of a fine green to ,
resemble a curtain. Sides of St
Stephen's chapel to be green with
crucifix, Mary and John. Three.
glass windows in chapel of S. John,
to represent the Virgin Mary, the
Trinity, St John, and two images of
S. Edward deUvering ring to S. John.
April 7. St Peter's church in Tower
to be painted with the Virgin, SS.
Peter, Nicholas, Catherine, St Peter
as an archbishop; image also S.Chris
topher ; histories of SS. Nicolas and
Catherine to be painted at their altars
with two cherubim
1237. August, £4. lis. to Odo for
painting pictures in King's chamber
at Westminster.
1238. Chamber at Winchester to
be painted green with stars of gold -
and compartments containing His
tories from the Old and New Testa
ment. 1239. To Odo for oil, &c.
1241. Two windows in the hall to
be filled with pictures.
1248. In Queen's chapel, Winches
ter, S. Christopher to be painted,
and S. Edward.

XII.] GOVERNMENT OF THE BARONS. 225
sired to paint " in the wardrobe where the King washes his
head," a man rescued from his enemies by his own dogs. A
political enigma may lie hidden in this device1, though oc
curring before the civil troubles began, and at any rate the
subject harmonised with the King's situation on many occa
sions. Other subjects of a nature less congenial to his spirit,
however, seem also to have been favourite ones, as the
history of Alexander (taken probably from the romance
written 1200), in the Queen's chamber at Nottingham, and
the history of Antioch, with the single combat of his uncle
Cceur de Lion, in Palestine2. The King's adopted motto,
which was inscribed profusely in Latin and French on the
walls, and even on his chess-board, seems characteristic
enough of his prodigal bounty to favourites : —
"Ite ne irate fee ne tine ne pret fee fiesire."
"©ut nnn Bat qttoo tja&et non acctpit tile quuD optat."
"He who gives not what he has,
His chief desire lets sUp pass."
To have loved the fine arts, in the midst of ignorance and
barbarism, is no mean honour to the English King, and by
such encouragement he fulfilled a- duty, which has been
1249. John de S. Omer to paint Westminster.
Wardrobe at Westminster. 1 Rot. Claus. 40° Hen. III.
1250. In S. Stephen's Chapel, be a "The Chamber of Antioch we
painted the Apostles round the wall, wish it called, " adds the King in his
Day of Judgment on West, and Vir- order for Westminster. The same
gin on a panel. subject was also painted at Claren-
1251. Exploits of Richard I. to be don, 1237, and in the Tower, 1251.
painted in Tower (as at Clarendon John de S. Omer and Walter de Col-
1237), by Th". Espernir. Chester, sacristan of. S.Albans, were
1252. Queen's ChamberinNotting- eminent painters at this time. — See
ham Castle to be painted with his- Walpole's Anec. #nd Mad. Exch. In
tory of Alexander; window in North- 1292 appears tire name of Walter,
ampton Castle to be painted with painter, and Thomas his son; and
Dives and Lazarus; five statues of about the same time, passim, there
Kings, carved in freestone, gift to St. occur among the payments, of the
Martin's ch., London. King's household artists, John of Son-
1262. Windsor Castle paintings to ingdon, John of CarUsle, Roger of
be restored; paintings in Great Hall Winchester, Thomas of Worcester,
at Guildford to be repaired, and Roger of Ireland, John of Nottingham,
paintings to altar made. William of Ross, WilUam of Oxford,
1270. Twenty marcs to Master Godfrey of Norfolk, <fec. — Brayley's
Walter for painting our chamber in Westm. 91. Q

226 THE barons' war. [ch.
neglected or ignobly perverted by many of his successors. A
great impulse, contemporaneous with the rise of Strasburg
(1277), Cologne (1240), Rheims (1215), Amiens (1220), and
la Sainte Chapelle (1245), was given during his reign to
church-building in England ; besides 157 religious houses,
the cathedrals of York, Salisbury, Lichfield, Worcester, Glou
cester, Ely, St Paul's, Durham, Wells, and Winchester, were
in progress for the future ornament of the country \
Contributions were sent to the royal menagerie from all
quarters, proving how widely his zoological taste was known.
An elephant, the first seen in England, was given him by
France, 1255 ; a bear, by Norway ; three leopards, in allu
sion to his arms, a camel and some buffaloes by the Em
peror2. The Queen's chaplain, John de Hoveden, has left a very
pleasing specimen of poetry3, which may have been current
at court, in his verses on the nightingale; and had Henry
withheld his lavish- grants from less worthy objects than
such poetry and his other peaceful pursuits4, these would

1 A fact, interesting to the history (Ver. 4). — MSS. Cott. Cleop., A. xii.,
of art in England, has been lately p. 67. Philomela per J. de Hoveden,
ascertained by Rot. Pat. Edw. I., in capeUanum AUonoras Reginae, matris
Househ. Exp. The shrine of Ed- Edwardi primi.
ward the Confessor, and the beauti- 4 Among these may be remember-
ful effigies of Hen. III. and Queen ed his care to supply London with
Eleanor of Castile, have been long pure water, "for the poore to drink
attributed to Pietro CavalUni, who and the rich to dress their meate."
was not born till 1279. The shrine, In 1235 was begun the first cistern
however, was begun in 1241, and of lead, the great conduit in West-
completed before King Henry's death, Cheap, castellated with stone; the
and the statues were in progress in pipes were enclosed within a large
1290, payment of £113. 6s. 8d. being brick arch, so as to admit of work-
made to W. Torrelli for his work on men descending for the purpose of
them. repairs. HenryWaleswasthemason.
2 M. Par. The water-course from Paddington
3 "Avisperdulcissimaadmequaiso to Jameshead was 510 rods, on to
veni, Mewshead 102 rods, on to the Crosse
Veni, veni, mittam te quo non in Cheape, 484 rods. Tyborne water
possum ire, was also conveyed in leaden pipes of
Ut amicum valeas cantu delinire six inch, diameter (in 1236) from
Ejus toUens tffldia voce dulcis the springs towards the city bound-
lyra, , ary by private subscriptions, and a
Quern heu! modo nequeo verbis grant from Gilbert de Sandford. —
convenire," &c. S.M. 758.

XII.] GOVERNMENT OF THE BARONS. 227
have caused no exhaustion of his finances and no jealousy
among his own barons, to goad them into civil war, and
reduce him to the dependent condition in which he now
was. It has been, however, remarked in reference to the
ultimate result, that " his vice of prodigality was the only
part of his character useful to his country1."
Among the earliest measures to heal the wounds of the
late struggle, the Jews were now allowed to share in the
restored tranquillity. They had been farmed out in 1255
to the tender mercies of Prince Richard, for the sum of 5000
marcs (£3333. 6s. 8d.), and in 1256 and 1261 the King
had granted him the dangerous permission to examine their
strong chests2 ; they had been suspected also and plundered
by the barons ; but they were now permitted to return to
their homes, and in London a royal proclamation com
mended them to the especial protection of the mayor3.
The Northampton prisoners were required to be brought
up to London for release, exchanging them, " man for man4,"
for those taken at Lewes ; and as several of the prisoners
are found at large soon afterwards, the writs to that effect
seem to have been obeyed even by the firm royalists, includ
ing Roger de Mortimer, Roger de Clifford, and James de
Alditheley5, to whom they were addressed. The latter,
James de Alditheley, of the ancient house of Verdon, was
a great friend of the King of the Romans, whose coronation
he had witnessed. He had been constable of Newcastle,
1 Sir J. Mackintosh. pelled by Edward I. from England.
2 Rymer. Cal. Rot. Westminster, [The "archa Juda9orum,"asMrWal-
Feb. 24, 1255. "De scrutando omnes fordpointsoutinalettertoMrBlaauw,
archas Judaaorum, ac de capiendo were probably fflie public chests, in
omnia sua bona in manus regis per which were keptcopies of the securi-
totum regnum." — Tower, July 18, ties made to the Jews by their debtors.]
1261, Rot. Pat. In 1265, Oct. 1, the 3 Rymer, June 11, 1264.
King recalled his pardon of the debts 4 "Prisonem pro prisone."— Ry-
of Jews, as having been made under mer. Thus Geoffry de Nevill, in the
constraint.— Rot. Pat. 49°. In 1270 service of Prince Edward, a Lewes
a grant of 6000 marcs (£4000) was prisoner, was exchanged for Robert
made towards Prince Edward's cru- Newington, taken at Northampton 
sade (de Judaismo) from the profits Rot.- Pat.
on the Jews. They were worse 6 The Alditheley or Awdley Arms,
treated afterwards, and in 1290 ex- were gules, a fret or.
Q 2

228

THE BARONS WAR.

[ch:

and being, like his father before him, sheriff of Shropshire and
Staffordshire, was in that capacity repeatedly called upon to
repel the attacks of the Welsh borderers. Though the prisoners1
now in his power were released, yet he did not desist from
raising forces to oppose the barons until their final overthrow2.
The barons, in their anxiety to obtain possession of the
royal castles at this time, caused the King to order his fair
daughter-in-law, the Castilian princess, immediately to quit
Windsor Castle, where she had awaited the chances of the
war. The name of Eleanor, until rivalled in our own days,
has long served as the noblest type of conjugal love on
the English throne8. Her courage, as well as the refine
ment of her taste and manners, are well known ; and when
she closed a life of purity and affection at the age of forty-
seven, all can sympathize with the chivalrous profuseness
of her husband's regret. Stately crosses marked the thir-
"Hospitale de Ronsivall juxta Cha-
ryng Crosse in Dicec. London., capeUa
de RounsyvaU — cum ex parte Prioris
HospitaUs beata? Mariaa de Rounsy
vaU nobis sit suppUcatum, ut, cum
Willielmus MareschaUus, nuper Co
mes PembrochiaB, per cartam suam,
quam Dominus, Henricus quondam
Rex Anglias, progenitor noster per
cartam suam confirmavit, nnnm
messuagium et certa tenementa in
Cherryng, ubi prasdicta capella jam
situata existit." Richard H. having
granted the ground to Nicolas Sleke,
recaUs the grant, in order to restore
it to the prior, "Westm. 24 Apr. anno
regni nostri sexto." The jury affirm
this, " Juratores dicunt super sacra-
mentum suum quod Willielmus Ma-
rischaUus, &c, Sec., dedit et concessit
Priori et conventui Hosp. B. M. de R.
et successoribus suis in perpetuum
unum mess, et certas terras et tene
menta in Charryng." The hospital
belonged to the foreign Priory de Ro-
sida VaUe of Pampeluna in Navarre,
and was suppressed by Henry V. as
aUen. Northumberland House was
built 1614 on the site. "Anno 1292,"
"Crux apud Cheringes incepta fuit."
— Leland's CoUect. n. 356.

1 Robert de Sutton, Robert Fitz-
Walter, Philip de Covel, John de
Wiavil, See.— Rymer. "Robert de
Sutton" was perhaps the Abbot of
Peterborough who had sent his men
under the banner of his convent to
Northampton to resist the King ; he
was in office from 1262 to 1274.—
Chr. W. de Whyttlesey.
2 He afterwards went on pilgrim
ages, in 1268 to S. Jago di Compos-
tella, and in 1270 to the Holy Land ;
and died by breaking his neck, 1272.
— Banks' Dorm. Baron. Arms, gules,
a fret or.
3 The popular belief of the cross
having given rise to the name of
Charing (Chere Reine) is an error, as
noted in Hasted's Kent (foUo, 1790),
Vol. n. p. 211. Domesday makes
mention of "Cheringes" in Kent,
called in other ancient records Cer-
ringes and Cherring. In Dugdale's
Monast. vi. 677, is a deed relating
to the Hospital of RonsivaU (Plac.
coram Rege apud Westm. de term.
Mich. 7% Ric. II., Rot. 21, Midd.),
thus describing its situation and re
ferring to its foundation by WiUiam,
Earl of Pembroke; the elder Earl
WilUam died 1219, the son in 1231.

XII.] GOVERNMENT OF THE BARONS. 229
teen1 spots hallowed by her corpse on its passage to the
tomb2, on which the continuous light of waxen tapers3 pre
served the memory of her soft brilliance, even down to the
days of the Reformation. The royal mandate for her re
moval sounds harsh and peremptory : —
"The King to Eleanor, consort of our first-born son
Edward, health. Since we wish by all means that you should
leave our castle of Windsor, where you now protract your
stay4, we command you to come forth from the same with
your daughter, with John de Weston your steward, with
William Charles your knight, with two damsels and the
rest of your household, your furniture and goods, and to
come to Westminster, there to dwell until we shall have or
dained otherwise : and this, as you love our honour and yours,
you will by no means omit, because we undertake to excuse
you toward the said Edward your lord, and will preserve you
harmless : We, therefore, by these present letters patent, re
ceive you, your said daughter, John Weston, your damsels
and household and chattels into safe and secure conduct. In
witness whereof the King, June 18, St Paul's, London5."
This is said to have been the only occasion on which
she was separated from her husband during her wedded
life, and leaving England soon afterwards with her suite,
she did not return until the close of the civil war.
1 The five crosses of Northampton, nicle, p. 244. There is another Harby
Stratford, Woburn, Dunstable, and in the county of Leicester and the
S. Albans, have been lately proved diocese of Lincoln, not far from Gran-
to have been built by John of Battle, tham, which the Osney Annals (p.
and her statues were carved by Alex- 326) seem to indicate as the place].
ander of Abingdon and William of Her heart was buried in the church of
Ireland. In 1292— '3 — 4 numerous the Friars' Preachers of London. The
payments, amounting to £394. 3s. 8d., entombment of her body in West-
were made to John of Battle (cemen- minster Abbey took place Dec. 17.
tario), on account of his work, "Pro An original letter of hers exists in the
factura Crucis." "Pro Cruce faci- Tower MSS. No. 1111, dated Guild-
enda,"— Rot. Pat. Ed. I., in Househ. ford, Oct. 14, to Robert Burnell, Lord
Expen. Chancellor (1274-9), and has been
2 She died Nov. 28, 1290, atHardby translated in M. A. Wood's Letters
in Lincolnshire [probably Harby near of Roy. and IUus. Ladies, Vol. i. p. 46.
Lincoln, but in Nottinghamshire. 3 Neale's Westm. Abb.
Opus Chron. p. 49. Walsingham, i. 4 " Ubi nunc moram trahitis."
p. 32. See, however, Taxter's Chro. 5 Rymer.

230 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
Joan, the wife of William de Valence, who was at
Windsor at the time awaiting her confinement, was like
wise ordered to retire to some convent or other fitting
place1. Other orders of greater importance speedily followed.
One strictly prohibited the bearing of arms without obtain
ing a license, on pain of death or loss of limbs ; another,
which is expressly stated to be, " by the advice of the barons
according to the treaty2," assigned the care of each county
to special wardens with paramount authority. The friends
of de Montfort were of course among those appointed : his
son Henry was appointed to Kent, Simon to Surrey and
Sussex, Adam de Neumarket to Lincoln, John de Burg to
Norfolk, Ralph Basset to Leicester; and this measure,
while it strengthened much the influence of his party,
tended also to repress the disorders incident to civil war.
King Henry had established, in 1252, a good system of
police over the country. A watch was to be kept up all
night in every city by six men at each gate, in boroughs
by twelve men, and in villages by from four to six stout and
good men, armed with bows and arrows and other light
weapons3. These precautions, had, however, failed to secure
persons and property amidst the agitations of the war; it
had become perilous to travel, and " the poor were plun
dered even of their straw -beds," in order to furnish supplies
for the chieftain's castle4.
1 Rot. Pat. 48° Hen. III. bate de Burgo graves fines ceperunt,
2 "De conciUo baronum ut provi- ex eo quod Abbas tenuit cum rege
sum sit," dated from S. Paul's, July et suis. Sed unum multum valuit
4, 1264. — Rymer. abbati et abbatise, toto enim tempore
s Henry's Hist. guerrsJ durante, idem Abbas panem
4 "Domus insuper pauperculorum et cervisiam cum aUis cibariis, in
ruricolarum usque ad stramentum quantum potuit, semper parari fecit,
lectorum rimabantur et expilaban- ita quod omnes qui venerant sive ex
tur." — W. Rish. The great abbey parte regis, sive ex parte baronum,
of Peterborough, which had been portis abbatiae semper apertis, fer-
punished by the Royalists (p. 125 tiUter erant refecti. ObiUamcausam
note 4), suffered equally in turn maneria abbatioa Burgi in pluribus
from the barons after the battle of locis salvata fuerunt ab incendiis et
Lewes. "Barones per vmiversam aliis malis ; tanto tamen populo su-
AngUam, magnulia facientes, de Ab- perveniente, multoties contigit, quod

XII.]

GOVERNMENT OF THE BARONS.

231

The mixed state of social order1 and violence at this
particular period may be exemplified by the adverse pleas
of a curious lawsuit2 which arose from it in more tranquil
times. The Prior of Breamore3 had obtained a grant of the
manor of Lymington from Isabella Countess of Albemarle
and Devon4, but the lady afterwards repudiated it as hav
ing been made at an unfit time5 between the battles of
Lewes and Evesham : the prior, on the contrary, denied
the time to have been unfit, inasmuch as the King's Court
of Exchequer was then open to the sheriff, the justiciary,
and all other officers of the King throughout the kingdom,
and that pleas and all things concerning the King's peace
were then carried on as usual. To this the countess re
joined that the King was in the custody of Simon de
Montfort, the Prince a captive in prison, and that plun
derers and disturbers of the peace were riding about armed6 ;
and, because she refused to adhere to the barons, she was

quando conventus post servitium ce-
lebratum horfi nonsl more solito in
refectorio pro se victum sperabat ob-
tinuisse, non erat companagium in
tota Abbatia nee in partibus propin-
quis, quousque de Stanforde abduce-
retur et aUquandp in itinerando fuit
depr-edatum." The Abbot "fecit
finem" to Simon de Montfort by £20
of silver, to Gilbert Earl of Glou
cester £20, to Henry de Montfort
£6. 13s. id., to Simon de Montfort
junior £6. 13s. id., to John Fitzjohn
£6. 13s. id., to Henry de Hastinge
£6. 13s. id. AU the various fines
thus paid [on different occasions to
both parties] amounted to £4324.
18s. Bd. , an enormous sum in those
times. There is no other so detaUed
an account extant of the losses. inci
dental to the civil war, but even in this
instance the abbey was considered
to have endured less evil than others,
owing to the attempted neutrality of
the abbot, and his keeping open
house for both parties.
. l Graystanes (c. 7) praises the
prior, Hugh de Stichill of Durham,

for having stopped the plunder of
both parties by gifts. "Prior Hugo
multa effudit pro salvatione patriae ;
nam venientibus ex' parte regis, vel
ex adverse parte ad deprsedandum
Episcopatum, semper occurrebat ipse
muneribusplacans eos." — Angl. Sacr.
2 Cal. Placit. 172.
3 The priory of Breamore in
Hampshire, for Augustine canons.
Lymington does not appear among
the endowments of the house at its
surrender to Henry VIII. It may,
therefore, be presumed the lady's
plea was held gogd.
4 IsabeUa was the second wife of
WilUam Earl of Albemarle, who
died at AmienJS 1260. In 1268 she
had livery of the Isle of Wight, as
heir to her brother, the Earl of
Devon (v. her seal, pi. 5). Her only
surviving child, Aveline, married
(1269) Prince Edmund Crouchback,
and Ues in effigy in Westminster
Abbey. 6 "Tempore inopportuno."
6 "Cum equis et armis depredan-
do equitabant."

232 THE BARONS1 WAR. [CH.
traitorously sold by her enemies for 500 marcs to young
Simon de Montfort, to whom the prior had throughout
been a fast friend; and that Simon, wishing to take her,
had followed her about from place to place with horses
and arms, till in her alarm she fled into Wales and there
remained till peace was re-established.
A great council was summoned under the influence of
the barons, to meet in London on the Octaves of the Trinity
(June 23) ; and to this, besides the prelates and barons,
each county was to send four discreet and loyal knights
chosen by them1. As a similar summons had been on
previous occasions2 sent to the counties, there was no revo
lutionary novelty in now doing so ; and though it is not
the object of these pages to trace here the gradual pro
gress of the representative system so ably investigated by
others, yet it may be remarked that no mention was as
yet made of consulting the towns at this crisis.
This assembly3 accordingly met in June, and drew up
a confirmation of the barons' -proceedings. " This is the
form of peace," says the solemn preamble, "approved in
common and in concord by the Lord the King, the Lord
Edward his son, by all the prelates and lords, and by the
whole community of the realm of England, to continue
firm, stable and unshaken both during the reign of the King
and of Prince Edward after his death, until the treaty pre
viously settled between the said King and the barons at
Lewes by the form of a certain mise, should be fulfilled4."
For the reform of the government three discreet and faith-
1 " Quatuor de legalioribus et dis- earls, barons, and all others who
cretioribus militibus Comitatus." — ¦ held of the King in capite; in 1237
Rymer. the same as 1217, with the addition
2 By WiUiam I., to collect the of abbots, priors and clergy. The
actual laws; by John, in 1213; by first regular writ actually extant is
Henry III., in 1258. dated 1292, 22° Ed. I.
3 There seems much variation in 4 " Apud Lewes per formam cujus-
the parties summoned to the Great dam Misse." Again, subsequently, "do-
Council. In 1217 they were the nee Misa apud Lewes facta et postea a
archbishops, bishops, earls, barons, partibus sigiUata fuerit concorditer
knights and freeholders ; in 1235, the confirmata." — June 25, 1264. Rymer,

XII.] GOVERNMENT OF THE BARONS. 233
fui native-born subjects were to be named and authorized
to choose nine others, by whose advice the King was to
regulate the command of his castles, entrusting them to
none but natives. These nine were liable to be dismissed
on the advice of the three, who were themselves to be re
movable by Parliament only. Provision was made more
forcibly to ensure the perpetual observance of the Great
Charter, the Charter of the Forests, and the laudable long-
approved customs of the realm. Aliens, both laymen and
clergy, merchants and others, were allowed freely and peace
ably to come, stay, or go, on condition of their not bearing
arms or being in suspicious numbers.
To this act of pacification are affixed the seals of Richard
Bishop of Lincoln1, Hugh Bishop of Ely, Roger Earl of
Norfolk the Marshal, Robert de Vere Earl of Oxford, Hum
phry de Bohun, William de Monchensy, and the Mayor of
London. The King, in pursuance of this deed, authorized the
Bishop of Chichester2, his "beloved and faithful" Simon
Earl of Leicester and Gilbert Earl of Gloucester, to select
the nine councillors who were to carry on the govern
ment according to the laws and customs, "until the mise
lately made between us and our barons at Lewes, or some
other form, if any better can be devised, should be ful
filled3." The arrangement of church matters was at the same time
committed to three bishops ; and Archbishop Boniface was
peremptorily required, on pain of confiscation, to return from
1 Richard de Gravesend, bishop he went abroad f and being suspected
from 1258 to 1280. He had acted by Edward I. of connivance in the
as a mediator in the truce of June, Viterbo murder hereafter referred to,
1263. never put himself in his power by a
2 Stephen de Berkstead, Bishop return to England.
of Chichester, to whom some his- 3 "Donee Misa per nos et barones
torians attribute the actions of the nostros apud Lewes nuper facta vel
Bishop of Worcester at Lewes, lived alia forma, si qua melior provideri
tiU 1288. The result of his present possit, compleatur." — Rymer. Lin-
appointment was suspension and ex- gard substitutes the Bishop of Exeter
communication in 1265, on which for Chichester.

234 THE barons' war. [ch.
abroad and confirm some bishops who had been elected in
his absence1.There seems nothing to object to in these securities which
the Parliament thought proper to exact on this occasion for
the complete execution of the mise of Lewes. There is a
progress in them towards a final adjustment ; and although
the power of the King was put in abeyance by them, yet
events rapidly arose which proved how necessary such re
striction had become.
Affection and party zeal were again mustering their
strength, and the Church of Rome once more raised its far-
stretching arm to strike in aid of the royal cause. Even
before the battle of Lewes an armed force of hired foreigners
had been gathered from Brittany, Gascony, and Spain, by
the Queen and her son Edmund, now no longer wearing the
mockery of the Sicilian crown, and this had been swollen
by the fugitive royalists to a formidable host. In July the
archbishop, the Bishop of Hereford, Peter de Savoy, Hugh
le Bigot, de Warenne, John Mansel, and many others, as
sembled round this most powerful amazon2, at Damme, in
Flanders. The most energetic measures were required in England
to repulse this threatened invasion, and the people were im
mediately summoned to assemble in the counties opposite
the enemy's coast3.
The royal writ, which de Montfort caused to be issued
for the purpose of this general levy, is of the most urgent
nature, allowing of no excuses for neglect, either on account
of the short notice, the time of harvest, or any private incon-*
1 S. Paul's, June 25.— Rymer. 3 The letter of King Henry to
2 W. Rish. de BeUo Lew. T. Wyke. Charles, Count of Anjou (867 Chanc.
Add. MSS. 5444. According to the Rec. 5th Rep.), seems to belong to
Chronicle of Worcester she sum- this period. He therein begs Mm,
moned the " Magnates Hybemiaj et now that peace had been made with
Aquitania," and assembled her army his barons, to induce the King of the
" in portu de Swenesmuthe." Damme French to prevent the hostile ingress
iB a few miles inland towards Bruges, of foreigners into England.
on a canal.

XII.] GOVERNMENT OF THE BARONS. 235
yeuience ; military tenants were to come not only with all
their numbers due, but with all the horse and foot in their
power, and every township was to provide from four to eight
men armed with lances, bows and arrows, swords, darts, cross
bows and bills1. The levy in Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk2,
was by express command kept together even longer than the
forty days of service, and the goodwill of the people was such
that a large force was quickly gathered in Kent. This was
encamped on Barham Downs, near Canterbury, and thither
also the court repaired. Before leaving S. Paul's the King
had granted8 to his " dear and faithful" Simon de Montfort
a special license to travel with arms and horsemen, notwith
standing the general prohibition, on account of the- hostages
and prisoners he had to convey with him. The motive
alleged seems sufficient to exempt him from the charge of
ambitious pride, however jealous some of his colleagues may
have been. The danger was pressing, and unless all classes
had zealously contributed their arms and money, it was
thought at the time that the alien enemy would have con
quered England4. The collision, however, after all these
preparations, was unexpectedly averted by the prevalence of
contrary winds for so many months that the spirit and re
sources of the invaders were ruined by the long compulsory
inaction ; and after selling their horses and clothes from very
want] their threatening force was finally dispersed.
Another advance was made at this time in fulfilment of
the mise of Lewes, which suffices to refute the assertion, that
1 "Balistis et hachus."— Aug. 3. monastery 80 marcs "ex eo quoet
Pat. 48° Hen. III. in Brady's App. homines dicti Abliatis et conventus.
[The priory of Dunstable contributed Stf. Edmundi erant ad custodian*
four horsemen and six foot-soldiers, maris ne regina cum suo exercitu
and spent thirty marcs in all besides intraret in Anglia post beUum de*
what was paid for horses and arms — Lewes. "—Chr. Walt.' de Whittlesey
Annales de Dunstaplia, p. 233.] Abb. de Petriburg.
2 A year after the battle of Eves- 3 July 15, 1264.'— Rymer.
ham this zeal of the Suffolk people 4 Chr. Taxt. On Sept. 1 a demand
was remembered to their cost by the was made upon the clergy for the
Kmg, who, when he was at St. Ed- payment of the tenth which had
mund's Bury, fined the abbot of that been voted.— Rymer.

236 THE barons' war. [ch.
" no farther mention was made of the reference to France1."
The King's proclamation from Canterbury, September 42,
commissioned " Prince Henry, though a hostage at Dover, to
repair in person to the King of France, in order more fully
to treat of and confirm the peace, previously swearing to be
faithful to that single object, and to return by the Nativity
of the Virgin," September 8. The chivalrous honour of the
young Prince, which has been already noticed, merited this
rare confidence of de Montfort in his prisoner, but the very
selection of such a character stamps the treaty with sincerity,
and appears as honourable to the barons as to the Prince.
Every precaution was indeed taken : nine bishops gave bail
for his return in 20,000 marcs (£13,333. 6s. 8d.), and three
French envoys3, who had perhaps suggested the mission,
undertook that he should not be detained abroad. So strong
was the animosity among the French against the English,
excited probably by the refugee royalists, that when Prince
Henry landed with this embassy, the townspeople of Boulogne
made a violent attack upon his suite, in which nine English
men were killed4.
By a document5, dated on the Thursday after the ap
pointed day of his return, we learn that the form of peace,
unanimously assented to by the Parliament, had been actually
presented to King Louis, and " though (King Henry observes)
we think the terms well suited to God, to ourselves, and to
our kingdom, yet, having learnt that some not well informed
of the truth assert the said form to be insufficient and un
satisfactory, we, willing to labour for peace with all our might,
as we are bound to do, in order that the justice and truth of
the facts may be made manifest, commission the Bishop of
London, and Hugh le Despenser the Justiciary, with Charles
d'Anjou, the French King's brother, and the Abbot of Bee
to examine the said form, enlarging or diminishing it, and to
1 Hume. 2 Rymer.
8 P. de Chamberlent, de Nigell, and Henry de Verdell.
4 Chr. Roff. 6 Bymer.

XI'.] GOVERNMENT OF THE BARONS. 237
arrange all unsettled matters, except as to aliens ; the Arch
bishop of Rouen to act as umpire in case of disagreement."
The seals of the Earls of Leicester and Gloucester authenti
cate this mise. Charles d'Anjou1 was considered favourable
to the barons, and undoubtedly befriended the sons of de
Montfort in their exile ; the umpire also was probably well-
known to de Montfort, there being extant a letter2 recom
mending him to the archbishop's intimacy while in France ;
but the transaction seems to indicate an honest wish for an
equitable peace. Nor was this all : another commission3 of
the same date appointed the Bishops of Worcester and Win
chester4 and. Peter de Montfort to treat with the French
King in person concerning the reform of the future govern
ment of the kingdom, the King promising to obey the award
on pain of excommunication. The arrangement of the dis
putes with de Montfort on private matters, meaning, pro
bably, an indemnity for the Norman property of his royal
countess, was made a preliminary point expressly left to the
decision of Louis5.
The article as to aliens may be noticed as the only point
withheld from this official reference ; and while the exception
marks incontestably the sense of past evils endured, and tlie
unbending resolution not again to submit to them, there is
nothing in such terms contrary to or beyond the mise of
Lewes. A conciliatory disposition to relax its rigour is in
deed throughout transparent.
The Pope was unwilling to abandon so useful a client as
King Henry had proved ; but, having already extracted all he
1 W. Rish de Bello Lew. 5 Nangis states that de Montfort
2 Ep.A.deMarisco,p.86,ed.Brewer. himself went over to treat at Bou-
3 Rymer. By a separate deed, the logne, and that Louis, finding him
Bishop of London and Richard de inflexible, allowed him to return.
Mepham, Archdeacon of Oxford, were "Quant il ot parle* a lui, et il vit que
added to this commission. il n'en vout riens fere, il Pen laissa
4 John de Exon had been one of aler empais, pource que U avoit donne*
the negotiators at Brackley, in June sauf aler et sauf venir." The mis-
1263. He incurred disgrace by his sion of Peter de Montfort probably
present employment, and died abroad caused him to be confounded with
1268. • Simon.

238 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
could hope for on account of Sicily, he had obtained a formal
renunciation1 of that crown, in order to proffer it to a new
purchaser. With an interference, now become habitual, he
despatched in return the Cardinal Guido di Fulcodio to de
nounce the barons and to withdraw the clergy from their
party. This able agent, who became Pope Clement IV.2 a
few months later, was by birth a Provencal, and had been
the most eminent lawyer in France3, until his wife's death
induced him to take orders. It may be mentioned, as indi
cating his literary taste, that amidst the political intrigues
he was sent to conduct at Boulogne, he wrote from thence
to Roger Bacon, asking for his scientific works. The great
Franciscan refused at the time, on the plea of being for
bidden by the rules of his order, but his Opus Majus was
soon after written expressly for this Pope, and sent to him
in 1267. While the barons refused to admit the legate, he vainly
warned them (Aug. 12) to release the King and the Princes,
"detained as hostages under an empty colour of words by
reason of a certain mise* that had been made." With as
little advantage did he summon the Bishops of London,
Worcester, Winchester, and Chichester5 to Boulogne. They
went (Sept. 1) without powers to negotiate ; and, emboldened
by the consciousness of popular support, appealed to a ge
neral council of the clergy to be held at Reading. The barons
sent indeed Peter de Montfort, " as a zealous lover of truth,
peace, and tranquillity 6," with credentials to treat with the
1 ByBartolommeoPignatelU, Arch- Pope Feb. 5, 1265, and died Nov. 29,
bishop of Cosenza. "II offrit tout 1268.
l'appui du pouvoir de 1'Eglise contre 3 " Senza alcun dubbio il primo
seB sujets, et il recompensa la con- giurista di tutta Francia."— Platina,
d.escension de Henri III. et de Ed- Vite dei Pontef.
mond, en se liguant avec eux con- 4 " Compromissi." — Rymer.
t're les liberies Britanniques." — Sis- 6 Rymer. T. Wyke and W. Rish.
mondi, Hist. Rep. Ital. state that the bishops went to Bou-
3 W. Rish erroneously says Cle- logne, Mat., Westm. that they did
ment VI. Clement IV. had been not go.
Archbishop of Narbonne, Cardinal- 6 Rymer, Sept. 24, 1264.
Bishop of Sabina. He was elected

XII.] GOVERNMENT OF THE BARONS. 239
legate, but the principles of national independence and
papal supremacy were too opposite to admit of agreement,
and the legate finally, on Oct. 20 1, pronounced the barons
contumacious, and in the name of the Pope " solemnly ex
communicated them and their adherents as rebels, especially
Simon de Montfort, Gilbert de Clare, Roger Earl of Norfolk,
the City of London, and the Cinque Ports, exempting only
the King and his chaplains, whom (says the legate plainly)
we do not believe sincerely to adhere to their cause." To
these spiritual penalties he added a temporal one, strictly
forbidding the export of wine, wheat, or any other merchan
dize to England 2.
Whether the respect paid to these menaces would have
been great or small was not destined to be put to proof. The
four bishops who are said to have been the bearers of these
curses may have given a hint of the nature of their burthen
to the Cinque Ports, one of the parties denounced; and they,
having vessels at this period ever ready for daring or even
lawless action, intercepted them on the high seas, and seizing
the document, left it to find its own weight and value by
throwing it overboard. Another account supposes the parch
ment to have been detected at the usual custom-house
search3, when the messengers landed with it at Dover, when
it was immediately torn to pieces and thrown into the sea.
The barons certainly did not discontinue their religious
services in consequence of this interdict.
The legate's prohibition of commerce was as idle a blow ;
for, in fact, the Cinque Ports were so rigorous in cutting off
all intercourse with the continent, that thejDrices of various
articles rose considerably: wine from £2 to £6. 8s. 5d.; wax
from £2 to £5. Is. 9d. ; a pound of pepper from 6d. to 3s.
The export of wool and the import of foreign cloth were

1 Before a large assembly of clergy 2 W. Rish. de BeUo Lew.
and laymen, at Hesdin, near St Pol. 3 "Scrutinio ex more in portu
—Rymer, i. p. 447. P. facto."— Chr. Roff.

240 THE barons' war. [ch.
equally prohibited, and the, white English woollen cloths t,
which were usually sent to Flanders to be dyed, were now,
with an ostentatious spirit of nationality, worn undyed2.
With a wiser political economy than was then current, the
chronicler Wyke remarks on this, that " the Earl of Leicester,1
in order to tickle plebeian ears, had given out that the
English might be well supplied Without the intercourse of
foreigners, which, however, was impossible, for the inter
change of goods from diverse realms furnishes all sorts of
advantages 3."
Although both armies which had watched each other on
the opposite shores were now dissolved without striking a
blow, there were some intrigues yet stirring among the mal
contents around Queen Eleanor which excited the anxiety of
the King, and in the apprehension of some undefined evil he
sent her the following extraordinary letter 4, by the Dean of
Wells, under a safe conduct : —
" Windsor, Nov. 18, 1264. The King to the Queen of
England, health and sincerely affectionate love : know that
we and our firstborn Edward are well and safe, which we
heartily long to hear of you ; signifying to you that the
business which concerns ourself, you, and. our said son, so
proceeds to the honour of God, of ourselves, and of yourself,
blessed be God, that we have a well-grounded hope of having
a firm and good peace in our kingdom, on which account be
cheerful and merry. Moreover we have heard that certain
persons at this time propose to make a sale or alienation of
our laws, and of the prerogative of ourself and our son in

1 The early manufacture of these Yarmouth inform the King that by
is noticed in the regulations of ¦ his command they had given up to
Richard I. certain merchants of Amiens 43 sacks
2 " Statuerunt insuper, quod lanas of wool seized at Yarmouth, on se-
terras operarentur in Anglia, nee curity that the wool should not be
alienigenis venderentur, et quod carried to Flanders nor sold to Flem-
omnes uterentur pannis laneis infra ings. Chanc. Rec. 5th Rep.
limites terras operatis, nee nimis 3 "Diversimoda commoda." — T.
pretiosas vestes quaererent." — Chr. Wyke. H. Knighton.
Walt. Heming, 1258. The bailiffs of 4 Rymer. The original is in Latin.

-XII-.] GOVERNMENT OF THE BARONS. 241
those parts, to the disinheritance of us and our heirs, against
our will, which you ought by no means either to wish or
permit, wherefore we send to command you that you suffer
-nothing to be done or attempted in such matters. On these
and other concerns, give credence to what Master Edward de
la Cnol1, Dean of Wells, bearer of this present, shall say to
you on our behalf. Witness the King at Windsor."
Another letter which the dean at the same time bare to
Louis IX., in which Henry also urged him to refuse his con
sent, is more explanatory than the above vague allusions : —
" It has lately become known to us that certain persons,
contrary to conscience and to our will, propose to make of
to procure a sale or alienation of our rights and possessions,
established under your dominion, for which we haye done
homage to you, to the perpetual disinheritance of ourselves
and our heirs2."
There is no other evidence on the subject, but the tenor
of the alarm expressed seems to point to an, intention of the
Queen to pledge or sell to France part of the English pro
vinces in France, in order to raise supplies of men and money.
Whether written with the privity of de Montfort or not,
there seems no ground to justify any charge against him.
Another occurrence soon displayed again the activity of
the defeated party. The hostage princes had been moved
from Dover to Berkhampstead, and thence to the palace of
Wallingford, which the King of the Romans had strengthened
and embellished for his own residence. While there so slack
a ward was kept upon them as to encourage the idea of their
fescue, and about this time some of his devated partisans at
Bristol made a desperate attempt to effect it. Some of these
knights were fugitives from Lewes, Hugh Turberville3 and
Haino l'Estrange, led by Robert Waleran and Warren de
1 He was dean from 1256 to 1284. ken prisoner by the French in K.
2 Windsor, Nov. 17, 1264. — Ry- Edward's reign, was released on
mer. the promise to betray one of the
3 Thomas de TurberviUe, a knight Cinque Ports, but was detected and
of Glamorganshire, having been ta- hanged. R

242 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
Bassingburne1. Waleran was a knight of importance, holding
twenty-five military fees, and much employed both as governor
of castles and on foreign embassies2. The barons confiscated
his lands, but the King, for whom he fought at Evesham,
rewarded him with grants of Hugh de Nevill's forfeited
estate, and made him one of the four governors over London.
Bassingburne was equally resolute and active : he had served
in the Gascon wars, and had been one of the King's sureties
in the mise. He too had grants of estates forfeited by the
battle of Evesham, and was additionally rewarded by the
pardon (1268) of his son Humphrey, who had sided with the
barons. After a rapid march to Wallingford, these zealous
knights surprised the garrison by a sudden attack at the
dawn of day, They were obstinately resisted, however, and
to their demand of releasing Prince Edward, the threat was
returned that he should be fastened to a warlike engine,
and so hurled off from the walls to the besiegers :—
" That hii wolde Sir Edward vawe out to horn sende,
Ilithered with a mangonel home with horn to lede3." — Rob. Glotjc,
1 Of co. Cambridge. — Inq. post m. Nobilisurbanusvermibusescadatur."
2 Robert Waleran was Sheriff of As he died unmarried, the estates
Gloucester, ambassador in 1253, passed to his sister Joan de Bohun,
1260, and Sheriff of Kent, 1263. —Hist, of Kilpeck, by G. K. Lewis.
[Castellan of Dover in 1261. Abbrev. 4to. 1842.
Rot. Oris. i. p. 17.] He restored [Compare Foss's Judges of Eng-
some of de NeviH's lands, 1266, but land, n. pp. 503 — 505, and] Dugdale's
only on condition of retaining Stoke Baronage.
Curcy and other feoda miUtum. — 3 " That they would'-fain send Sir
Pat. 50 Hen. III. He was tried (47° Edward out to them, fastened with a
H. HI.) for opposing the Oxford Sta- mangonel to lead home with them."
tutes and acquitted. He was at the The mangonel (manga, manganum)
battle of Evesham. He was the hus- was the most powerful engine in the
band of the eldest co-heiress of Hugh wars of the middle ages, by which
de Kilpeck (descended from Wm. not only great stones, but even horses
FitzNorman, the lord of Kilpeck co. and men were thrown. " Obsides
pf Hereford in Domesday). Two eorum machinis aUigatos ad eorum
years before his death, which was in tormenta, qua? mangas vulgo.vocant,
1272, having no heirs and being then decrevit ojbiciendas." — Radivicus ;
old, Waleran gave the reversion of Spelman's Gloss.
Kilpeck to his nephew Alan de Plo- " Gyines he had of wonder wise
kenet, whose son Alan made grants MangeneUes of great quyentise."
toDore Abbeyin 1319, and was buried — Rom. of Richard Cceur de Lion ;
there, on whose tomb is inscribed : Warton's H. Poet.
"Ultimus Alanus de Plokenet hie "Warm de Basingeburne, fami-
tumulatur, liaris Domini Edwardi, tenuit cas-

XII.]

GOVERNMENT OF THE BARONS.

243

The prince therefore came forward on the ramparts to entreat
his friends to retire.
This gallant enterprise, though a failure, gave occasion to
the removal of the hostages to the stronger castle of Kenil
worth. The Countess of Leicester received her nephews there
with all the courtesy of a hostess, and
"Wat she mighte dude horn of solas." — Rob. Glouc.
It throws some light on the easy restraint in which the
princes lived under her roof, and on the sincerity of de- Mont
fort's wish for a pacific settlement, that three of the most
formidable Royalists who remained in arms, Mortimer, Clif
ford, and Leybourne, were allowed to meet the King at Per-
shore1, on December 12th, and are noticed as on their way,
under a safe conduct, to Kenilworth, December 15, to hold
a parley with Prince Edward, for the promotion of peace2,
We have no account of these dangerous interviews, but the
subsequent events, the renewal of the war, and the escape of
the Prince, may have been there concerted.

teUum de Benefeld, quia Dominus
Winfridus prisonus erat." Chr. W.
de Whittlesey, 1264, after taking of
Northampton. 1 Rot. Pat.
2 " Qui certain formam pacis no-

biscum inierint; gressus suos-versua
Kenilworth duxerint ad loquendum
cum Edwardo primogenito nostro et
ad pacem plenius firmandam." The
King's letter to the Marchers, from
Worcester, Dec. 15, 1264. — Rymer.

R2

CHAPTER XIII.

PARLIAMENT.
" What Prince soever can hit of this Gbeat Secbet (of governing all by
all), needs know no more for his safety and happiness, and that of the
people he governs ; for no state or government can ever be much troubled
or endangered by any private factions, which is grounded upon the
general consent and satisfaction of the subjects." Sir W. Temple, Heroic Virtue.
England was now at rest within itself ; " domestic treason,
-foreign levy," having ceased to agitate it, it breathed once
;more in freedom1, and the season seemed ripe for conciliating
all classes of the community into one great brotherhood.
By summons, dated from Worcester2, Dec. 14, a. Parliament
was accordingly ordered to meet in London on the octave
of St Hilary, Jan. 20, 1265. To this were invited twenty-five
bishops, priors and deans, and on Dec, 24 were added eighty-
three3 more heads of monasteries, besides the barons, and two
1 "Jam respirat Anglia, sperans observed inviolably for ever. They
Ubertatem, • are the same as the provisions in
Cui Dei gratia detprosperitatem. the Statute of Marlborough (52°
Comparati canibus AngU vilu- Henry HI.).
erunt, 3 In aftertimes, out of 122 abbots,
Sed nunc victis hostibus caput and 41 priors, who were occasionaUy
extulerunt." summoned, only 25 abbots and 2
PoUt. S. from MS. Harl. 978. priors were constantly so. There
2 See Archaaol. Journal, 1862, p. was nothing unusual in the number
309, for the Articles made at Wor- of ecclesiastics summoned on this
cester by common consent of the occasion. — V. Lingard. The Prior of
King and magnates in 1264, referred Lewes, though now summoned, does
to in ParUament held in London, not appear to have been so during
March 1,1265, and transmitted under the whole of Edward I.'s reign, nor
the King's seal to all counties, to be until the beginning of Edward II.

CH. XIII.] PARLIAMENT. 245
representatives from each county1. The preamble in de
scribing the occasion of meeting referred to the late serious
disturbances, as then happily appeased, and required the
advice of the prelates and barons, " in order to provide by
wholesome deliberation for the security and completion of.
the peace, and for certain other business which the King was
unwilling to settle without them2." Of similar summons to
all these parties there had been previous instances, but now
for the first time the cities and towns were also required,,
"each to choose and send two discreet, loyal, and honest
men ;" and this remarkable innovation seems, by the date
from Woodstock, Dec. 24, later by ten days than the first
summons, to have been an afterthought, the result of more
mature deliberation.
"After a long controversy, almost all judicious enquirers
seem to have acquiesced in admitting this origin of popular
representation." Such is the remark of the highest authority3
on the subject, and it is more fitting to assent to this con
clusion than to renew the discussion.
England had indeed been preceded by other nations in
applying the representative system to towns. Aragon had
1 In 1254 the Queen and Regents Winchester, other dates have been
summoned the tenants in chief to adopted by writers for the commence-
saU to the King's assistance, and ment of Parliaments. In 1267 (52°
"besides these two lawful and. dis- Henry III.) the Statute of Marl-
creet knights should be chosen by borough, considered as the first re-
the men of every county, in the gular Statute, was enacted by the
place of aU and each of them, to " magnates, and discreet men as
assemble at Westminster, and to de- weU of the higher as of the lower
termine, with the knights of the other estate." — TheStatute ofWestminster
counties, what aid they would grant in 1275 was sanctioned by the pre-
to their Sovereign in his present lates, lords, " anjj. all the common-
necessity, so that the same knights alty of the realmv" Hume points to
might be able to answer in the mat- the Parliament of Nov. 1295 as "the
ter of the said aid for their respec- real and true epoch of the House of
five counties," p. 34. — [Report on Commons." The summonses were di-
the Dignity of a Peer, Appendix i. rected to the nobles and prelates and
p. 13.] knights as usual, and to the baiUffs
2 Rymer. . of about 120 towns. The preamble
3 HaUam,Mid.Ages,Vol. in. AsaU is a noble acknowledgment of po-
the proceedings of de Montfort's Par- pular rights : " As the rule of justice
liament were cancelled a few months teaches us that what concerns all
afterwards by the Great Council at should be by all approved."

246 THE barons' war. [ch
thus supplied deputies to the Cortes in 1133, 1142, and 1162 ;
and Castile1 had done the same, perhaps in 1109, certainly
in 1188, but the privilege was dealt out with a stinted mea
sure, and fell on stony ground, flourishing for awhile, and
making a goodly show, but gradually dwindling to a mere form.
The arms of the Hungarian nobles had in 1222 obtained
from Andreas II. the Bulla Aurea2, their great charter, which
secured liberty of person, free descent of property, restriction
on the admission of foreigners to place or power, and, above
all, a right of resistance in case of non-observance, but it
included no germ of representation.
After the great struggle with King John the English
barons had appointed twenty-five guardians to watch over
the execution of Magna Charta, in which were some few but
important clauses for the benefit of the people, mixed up
with several limitations of feudal burthens; a similar ex
pedient had been adopted after the Oxford Statutes. After
fifty years' experience of the perils to which their privileges
were exposed by the encroachments of the Crown, a stronger
and more enduring security was now devised, by committing
the care of constitutional freedom thenceforth to the people
themselves, whose interests they thus identified with their
own. We cannot at this remote distance of time estimate
all the motives that led to this measure. To these early
statesmen such "matters may have seemed (in Chaucer's
energetic phrase) great and glorious for all the people ;"
although few at the time, perhaps not even de Montfort, felt
the full importance of this advancing step of British liberty.
None could have foreseen, when they dropped the precious
seed into the ready soil, the long succession of abundant
harvests which were to spring from it, and bless the land
with all the elements of power and plenty.
The King, who, by his prerogative, could claim tallages
from the towns, had in some degree prepared the way, by
1 HaUam, Mid. Ages. " Embiados 192 deputies sent from 90 towns.
de cada ciudad." In 1305 there were 2 Paget's Hungary.

XIII.] PARLIAMENT. 247
accepting, as a substitute for this tax on personal property,
a sum of money assessed by the payers themselves1. He
had felt no need therefore of their representatives in the great
council of the nation, but to de Montfort, at such a crisis of
unusual restrictions on the Crown, the wish naturally pre
sented itself of exhibiting in a combined strength2 all the
outward tokens of public opinion, which he felt to be favour
able to his own party.
That England should be indebted to a Frenchman for
this great experiment — by its results the most important in
our national annals — and that the English populace, in their
fondness for this French statesman, should even have attri
buted the honours of sainthood to him, may now sound
strangely to our ears. It was not, however, the last occasion
when the intervention of a foreigner was gladly invited on
behalf of English liberty ; and the people as readily adopted
such guidance in 1688 as they did in 1264.
It has been remarked by an eloquent historian* that "the
motives of opposition among the, barons were personal and
vulgar, but on that wild stock was engrafted the jealousy of
foreigners, the impatience of irresponsible advisers, and the
repugnance to high preferment flowing from the mere good
will of the King, which afterwards bore excellent fruit." The
best claim on our thankfulness, which might be preferred by
the barons, who first admitted the extended interests of citi
zens to raise a voice in Parliament, arises from the reliance
on the sympathy of the community on this occasion. On
any other supposition this appeal to public opinion would
have been ruinous to their own interests, and it should be an
' The lords of manors had about Domesday of St Paul, pp. Ivi. Ivii.
this time commuted many of the lix.
predial services of their tenants for 3 The number of burgesses varied :
money payments, as malt-silver, in 1295 they were 200; under Ed-
wood-silver, schap-sUver (for water- ward HI. they were 190. The Corn-
carriage), larder-silver, ward-penny, mons, however, were not mentioned
Id. or ^d. in lieu of a day's labour, as an assenting party in the preambles
never thinking of any future change in of statutes before 1306.
the value of money. — Archd. Hale, 3 Sir J. Mackintosh.

248 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
honourable praise to them, and an honest pride to us in
aftertimes, that English liberty thus owes its birth to the
noblest parentage — confidence in the People1.
It was while taking these measures to assemble a Parlia
ment, that de Montfort repaired to his own castle of Kenil
worth, and it is said that he there kept his Christmas with
such exorbitant parade as to retain 160 knights2 in his pay
around him. These festivities3 have been blamed, as an
invidious contrast to the more restricted splendour of the
King at Woodstock at the same period, but they may have
been only so many additional courtesies to the royal hostages
under his roof.
The mutual release of the Northampton and' Lewes
prisoners having taken effect, the great northern chieftains,
Baliol, and others of the Royalist party, received a safe con
duct4 to attend Parliament5.
The King being naturally anxious that his son should
recover his liberty6, addressed an earnest appeal to de Mont-
1 A modern author has expressed tache de BaUol's seal (in Plate vn.
a very different judgment : " It is of Surtees' Durham, folio, 1816) re-
not an illustrious nor auspicious presents bim as a knight on horse-
origin for the House of Commons, back with a knotted wheel on his
that it should have been caUed into shield. There is also the seal of
existence at the invitation, and to Hugh de BaUol, a knight in mail
serve the purposes of a rebel." — Legal with flat-topped helmet. The f ounda-
Review of Origin of Representation, tions of the castle of the BaUols at
by H. W. Tancred, Esq. QuerUndon (Quarrington) are stiU to
2 W. Rish. be traced. The seal of Peter de Brus
3 Christmas seems to have been a (in the same plate) represents him
permitted time for riots, like the on horseback, with a tunic over his.,
Carnival of modern days. In 1230, mail and a Uon rampant on his
when the inactive policy of the King shield.
prevented the English barons, quar- 5 The Parliament met January 20,
tered at Nantes, from fighting, ' ' they 1265, at Westminster, in the Great
betook themselves to gluttonous ban- Hall, " coram omni populo in Magna
quets and drinking, according to Aula Westmonasteriensi." (Brayley's
English custom, as if it had been Westm. p. 70.) It was attended by
Christmas." — M. Par. 5 earls and 17 barons. In 1283 Par-
4 This was dated Westminster, liament consisted of 11 earls, 99
Jan. 17, 1265, for " John de Baliol, barons, the knights of counties, and
Peter de Brus,. Robert de NeviU, 2 representatives each from London
Eustache de BaUol, Stephen de Mei- and 20 other towns.
nill, Gilbert Hamsard, Ralph Fitz- e The Chronicle of Maihos (p. 240)
ralph, Adam de Gesem, Robert de describes the strict manner in which '
Stotevill, knights." — Rymer. Eus- Simon de Montfort at this period

XIII.] , PARLIAMENT. 249
fort and de Clare for that purpose, Feb. 16. What would
have been very hazardous previously, had now become easy
by the representation of so many powerful parties in Parlia
ment. On the 10th of March, therefore, Prince Edward,
with his cousin Henry1, .were formally delivered to the King,
after subscribing their adhesion to the peace of June, 1264.
Parliament embodied in an Act2, March 31, the conditions of
this confirmed pacification.
After referring to the hostages, as depending on the
final confirmation of peace, and to the observance of Magna
Charta, as secured by their sanction to the peace of June, it
proceeds thus : " And since our Lord the King, before the
battle of Lewes, had renounced and put out of his fealty
several ofhis good people of this land3, fresh homage is now'
accepted, save and except that, if the King is willed to go
against the things aforesaid, the barons should not be bound
by this homage to him, until the things be amended and
redressed." Prince Edward was to have his body-guard
(mesne'e) of unsuspected natives4, to remain in England three
years (intending thereby to prevent his raising an army of
aliens), and to give up for five years to the Council the
castles5 which had been given as sureties at Lewes. A still
more important surrender was also exacted of him, in order
to diminish his means of offence ; the whole country and
castle of Chester, as well as the fortresses of Pec and New-r
watched his prisoner the Prince. French, but it quotes the entire
When OUver, abbot of Dryburgh, Ordinance of June, 1264, in Latin.
came to him from his sister the 3 " E pur ceo que notre Seignor le
Queen of Scotland, Montfort con- Roi devant la bataille de Lewes avoit
ducted him up to the Prince seated defiij plosiers dij ses bone gent de
in state, and remained close to bim terre, e mis hors de sa foie."
during the interview, and escorted 4 " Derechef Munsir Edward avera
him out so- as to prevent any secret Ba mesn6e e ses conseiUers de genz de
communication. la tere qui ne soient mie suspecenus. "
1 They are thus described in the 6 After noticing the release of the
deed, March 10th, 1265 : " Par notre hostages, the King adds, " we now
volonte* et la leur se f usent mis desire him to surrender, for five years,
ostages a demorer en la garde de the castles of Dover, Scarborough,
Munsir Henri de Montfort." — Rymer. Bamburg, Nottingham, and Corfe,
2 Rymer, March 31, 1265. • The which had been given as sureties at
preamble and enacting part are in Lewes." March 17, 1265. — Rymer.

250 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
castle-on -Line, were to he given up to Simon de Montfort in
exchange for other lands of equal value1.
The conclusion of this arrangement was announced by
proclamation, and nine bishops threatened excommunication
on all who should act contrary to it2. The mediation of the
French ambassadors had probably assisted in preparing these
terms, as the King's passport for their arrival, March 15,
expressly states them as coming ""to us and to our barons."
During the progress of the pacification King Henry remained
in London3, held in all outward honour, but submitting with
out resistance to the party in power. With whatever reluc
tance he suppressed all tokens of the rancorous hate which
he afterwards manifested, and. permitted the victorious
barons to "Feed Uke oxen at a stall,
The better cherished, still the nearer death4."
Some of his former adherents may have pitied him as "the
mere shadow of a King5," but the external attributes of
royalty were carefully preserved around him.
The rapacity and ambition of the barons, and especially
of Simon de Montfort, after the battle of Lewes, have been
loudly denounced by many writers, both chroniclers and
historians, and, as little has been mentioned here to justify
such a charge, it deserves examination. To have conferred a
political benefit on the nation will not acquit them of acts
1 "Ce Munsir Edward vaudra al the King of the Romans; and at
Conte de Leycestr en fie le chastel their request, for greater testimony,
de Cestre, e la vile e le contee ove by the Bishops of London, Wor-
totes les apartenaunces, et le Nef- cester, Winchester, Durham, Ely,
chastel sur Leine ove les aparten- Sarum, Coventry, Chichester, Bath,
aunces, et le chastel du Pek ove les Llandaff, the Prior of the Hospitallers,
apartenaunces, si come il les tint e the Master of the Temple, the Mayor
tenir deust, sanz nul retenement, and Commons of London. Done at
pur otres terres que le Conte lui the ParUament of London, last day
vaudra en fie a la value des terres, of March.". — Rymer.
quil tient d'autre part, e des autres 2 Add. MSS. 5444.
teres que le Conte tient en Angle- s 1 Hen. IV. Act v. Scene 2.
terre en divers luis, lui fra la value 4 He continued in London till
au plus pres du conte de Cestre qil April 2.
poet." This Act was signed " by the 6 W. Rish. de Bello Lew.
King, Prince Edward, Henry, son of

XIII.] PARLIAMENT. 251
dictated by sordid self-interest. The imperfect records of
the times may have transmitted to us facts, maimed of the
circumstances, which would not only have explained, but
made them imperative for the completion of the schemes of
reform and liberty then in progress; in the absence, however,
of stronger lights, let us not flinch from looking at the shades
of the picture, as well as the prominence of the more sunny
outlines. It has been loosely asserted by an eminent historian1,
that the great leader of the barons, the Earl of Leicester,
aspired to the throne itself. There is, however, no trace of
such a scheme having been imputed to him, even by his
enemies, during his life, and his conduct in pressing for the
fulfilment of the mise of Lewes down to his death, would
sufficiently prove that he was content to share with others
the ascendancy acquired by his own talents. The more
plausible accusation of greedy avarice deserves closer enquiry.
A Royalist chronicler2 of the times states, that at the general
distribution of the estates of emigrant Royalists among the
conquerors, de Montfort appropriated to himself eighteen
baronies3; and yet so contradictory are the witnesses of his
tory, that an undoubted contemporary4, writing in the inter
val between his triumph and his fall, expressly picks out, as
a peculiar characteristic, his disinterestedness and neglect of
his private advantage ; and it is even asserted by a chronicler,
that "his habitual prayer to God was, that divine grace
would preserve him unstained by avarice and the covetous-
ness of worldly goods, which had ensnared so many in his
day5." 4

1 Hume. Norwich.— Calend. Geneal. i. p. 121.]
2 T. Wyke. As regards the King's grant to him
3 [The ground of this accusation of the manor of Lugwardine, Simon
probably is, that he took King de Montfort held it for 5^ years as
Richard's eighteen baronies (see p. security for a debt.— Bp. Swinfield's
68, note 4) into his own hands for a Household RoU, p. clxv.
time. It is less easy to explain his 4 Pol-it. Songs, from MS. Harl. 978,
seizure of a tenement in Sprowton, v. 325, See.
which had been in the occupation of ' WU1. Rish.

252 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH;
We learn incidentally J that all the vast landed; estates of
the King of the Romans had been committed to the care- of
Simon de Montfort, after the captivity of that prince, His
tenure was confessedly temporary, and as the revenues may
have been used for raising the amount of his ransom, or for
the public service, it would not be . safe to rely on this fact
alone to convict him of rapacity.
His clear hereditary claim to the office of high steward is
an ample justification of the royal grant, dated from West
minster, March 20, which restored it to him.
We have already seen, however, that the sanction of
Parliament (March 31). was set upon the transfer to .Sinion
de Montfort of the large possessions which the heir of the
Crown had been compelled to strip himself of.. The King, by
a grant shortly previous2, had conferred these on Simon de
Montfort and his heirs for ever; and by thus accepting so
lucrative a prize, he would certainly appear to have abused
the privileges of his peculiar position. It is but fair, never
theless, to remark, that there were reasons of state requiring
that Cheshire should not remain in hands likely to con
federate again with the Welsh Marchers, and this motive, as
well as personal influence, must be supposed to have guided
the parliamentary barons in their measure of exchange. The
surrender of Cheshire to the more trusty guard of de Mont
fort was stipulated on the principle of exchange ; and a large
indemnity, professedly an equivalent,, having been given up
by him from his own estates in Leicestershire3 and elsewhere,
these lands were, on May 8,. 1265, in due form given up,- as
1 By a proclamation of the King to Rymer. • ,
the county of Devon, dated Wor- 3 The manors of Melburn Gun-
cester, Dec. 13, 1264. The estates thorp, Soke of Ludham, Esingward,
were restored after the battle of Kingishee, Everlee, Colingburne,
Evesham to the King of the Ro- Cumpton, Sepwyk, Bere, Hunger-
mans, "pro constanti fideUtate." — ford, and Chawton, were thus trans-
Rot. Pat. 49° Hen.. III. ferred.— Rot. Pat. 49° Hen. III., in
. 2 "Castella de Chester, Pek et Nichols's Leicestershire. Melburn
Novumcastrum habenda et tenenda. and other lands to the value of 500
sjbi.et hasredibus suis de nobis et marcs had been granted to the. earl
hasredibus nostris in perpetuum.. and his countess jointly in 1259. — •
Rex omnibuB, Westm. Mar, 20."— Rot. Pat. 43° H. III„

XIII.] PARLIAMENT. 253
a compensation to Prince Edward. It may also be observed
that after the death of Simon de Montfort, when the King
eagerly granted away all his confiscated estates, there is no
trace of his having died in possession of more than his own
hereditary property, with the addition of this exchange in
Cheshire. The pride and presumption of de Montfort's sons at this
crisis are generally noticed by chroniclers, and it is possible
that their influence over him — for he was a fond and un-
reproving father — may have prevailed on his better nature to
yield to the temptation of undue aggrandisement; though a
more full knowledge of the transactions of the period might
perhaps efface what appears to tarnish his chararacter. One
authority states that his eldest son, Henry, seized for his own
use all the wool which English or foreign merchants had
brought to port, "thus from a bold knight becoming a wool-
draper1." Whatever degree of truth there may be in this,
there is extant but one grant2 of estates to any of his sons,
and that was prior to the battle of Lewes. Peter de Mont
fort, whose relationship was very remote, received also a
grant of two manors, and the unimportant favour of per
mission ." to live in the house of the late Edward of West
minster3." The ransom of prisoners taken at Lewes had opened an
extensive source of gain to the conquerors, and for the secu
rity of such payments their estates were probably taken
possession of. So fruitful of jealousy had this subject proved
among the victorious chiefs that it had by this time cooled
the zeal and friendship of de Clare, Earl of Gloucester,
towards his older and more conspicuous colleague. De Mont
fort, suspecting treachery in some of the barons, had taken
1 T. Wyke. ticed as employed in the paintings
8 The property of John ManseU, ordered by the King. In 1248 he
deceased, given to Simon de Mont- was commanded to fiU Westminster
fort, junior, in 1263.— Rot. Pat. Hall with poor people, and there
'47° Hen. III. feed them from Christmas to Cir-
, 3 Westm. March 14, 1265. Rymer. ^umcision. — Rot. Claus. 32°,
This Edward has been already no-

254 the barons' war. [ch
on himself the nomination* of trustworthy wardens to the
castles, to which de Clare had reluctantly assented. There
were not wanting ready whisperers to interpret this as done
in derogation of his just influence, and to make the youthful
earl feel himself overshadowed by the too luxuriant power
of his partner in victory. He had claimed to himself the
ransom of the King of the Romans, as having surrendered
at Lewes, in that part of the field where he was commanding,
the money paid to redeem those taken in war; if less than
10,000 crowns, being usually considered the prize of the
captors. But in this case the excess of the sum and the
state importance of the prisoner, made such an exception
to the rule in de Montfort's opinion, that he peremptorily
denied the demand2, with a taunt, "that he ought to think
it quite enough to have saved all his own property by the
battle." This rebuke, indeed, considerably understated the ad
vantages which de Clare had in fact derived from the event :
for besides saving all his own estates, those of Philip de
Savoy, and William de Valence, and also all the lands of the
Earl de Warenne (except Lewes and Ryegate) during thd
King's pleasure, had been made over to his custody3.
Even when assembled in arms at Canterbury in the
autumn after the battle, almost in presence of the enemy,
such topics arose to weaken the union of the barons. The
1 W. Rish de Bello Lew. Accord- pute was between the Earl of Glou-
ing to Chn Roff. Cott. MS. Nero D. cester and Henry de Montfort. The
ii. the causes of jealousy in de Clare impetuous refusal of Hotspur on a
were because the Earl of Leicester similar occasion readily occurs as a
held the King in his custody, and led parallel to this dispute : —
him about at his pleasure, entrusting „ rll k them j^.
all his castles to his own dependents B heaven he hall n(£ have g^
(suae dicioni), and claiming for him- J f them •
self and his sons the revenue of R y gooJ would gaye Ua gQul
the state (emolumentum reipubhcas), ' ^e kau not
which ought to have been in com- pn k them by thig hand.„
mon, and also the ransoms of the * t Hen/Tv. Act i. Scene 3.
captives entirely more than was just
(plus asquo totaUter). 3 June 18, 1264. Pat. Rot. 48°
2 According to MS. Cott. Cleop. Hen. III. H. Knyghton. Add. MSS.
A. xn., Chr. H. de Silgrave, the dis- 5444.

XHl.] PARLIAMENT. 255
bold warrior, John de Gifford, who had belonged to the
household of de Montfort, thought himself entitled to the
ransom of Alan de la Zouch. This also being refused by
de Montfort, owing to the suspicious circumstances under
which his twofold capture at Lewes occurred, as before re
lated, Gifford angrily transferred his services to de Clare,
and under his powerful protection not only retained the
ransom and released his Royalist prisoner, but soon after
justified de Montfort's distrust of him by repairing to the
Forest of Dean1, and there raising troops in great numbers to
oppose his former friends.
1 Rob. Glouc. T. Wyke calls him " singulare militia? decus." — Add. MSS.
5444.

CHAPTER XIV.

TREACHERY AND HOSTILITIES.
" To work in close design, by fraud or guile,
What force effected not." Paradise Lost.
Other causes of ill-will had been rankling in the breast
of the Earl of Gloucester, and it was not long before he
contemplated revenge by carrying his banner into the op
posite camp. The sons of de Montfort had, without autho
rity, proclaimed a tournament to be held at Dunstable, in
February, and had addressed their challenge especially to
the de Clares. The enmity between the two families was
so bitter that the holiday-show might easily have become
a real battle; and it is stated1 that de Clare, even at this
early period, had formed a plot to entrap de Montfort and
his sons into his power at this meeting. The Earl of
Leicester, however, either from suspicion, or more probably
from the danger of an armed concourse to the peace of
the country at such a time — for it was while the Parliament
was assembled — strictly forbade the tournament by a royal
proclamation, in which the King urged that the absence of
the knights on such a pretence might retard the release of
his son, then about to be arranged.
This prohibition, so reasonable in itself, bore all the out
ward marks of authority, with the signatures of the King,
1 Westminster Feb. 16, 1265. — manner, on account of the danger of
Rymer. Another tournament had Prince Edward in Gascony at the
been forbidden in 1255, in the same time. — Rymer.

XIV.]

TREACHERY AND HOSTILITIES.

257

the Justiciary, le Despenser, the Bishop of London, and Tho
mas de Cantilupe1.
The latter churchman, in himself remarkable, must not
be confounded with his uncle the patriotic Bishop of Wor
cester, under whose patronage probably he was employed,
as we have seen, to represent the barons at the award of
Amiens. A few days after joining in the above deed he was
raised by the barons to the dignity of Chancellor2, Feb. 25,
though displaced by the King immediately after the battle
of Evesham, Aug. 10. His intrinsic merit, however, not
only procured him a pardon3 in 1266, but the bishopric of
Hereford in 1275, and a few years after his death in 1282
the honours of a saint were conferred on him by Rome.

1 Thomas de Cantilupe, son of
William, Baron de Cantilupe, studied
at Oxford and Paris, was Chancellor
of Oxford in 1262, and Archdeacon
of Stafford when made Lord Chan
cellor. " On Wednesday next after
the Feast of St Peter in cathedrfi
(Feb. 22) Master John de Chishull,
Archdeacon of London, restored to
the King his seal, and he on the
same day committed the custody of
it to Master Thomas de Cantilupe,
who immediately sealed with it." —
Claus. 49° Hen. III. m. 9. He had
a grant of 500 marcs a-year, payable
at four terms, for the support of him
self and the clerks of the King's
Chancery. There is a letter of
Thomas Cantilupe, as ChanceUor,
to the King, concerning an order
with which the Dean and Chapter of
St Paul's declined complying. — 603
Chanc. Rec. 5th Rep. He died at
Civita Vecchia in Italy, Aug. 25,
'1282, having traveUed to Rome on
business of his see. His body was
buried at Florence, his heart at Ash-
ridge, and his bones only at Hereford,
and their translation to his tomb
(still .extant, with its fine effigies of
warriors in their niches on the sides,
and lower Gothic arcade above) was
honoured by the presence of Edward
II., April 6, 1287. According to
Matt. Westm. the miracles per
formed there were 163, and Engl.

Martyrology states 425, including
restoration to life. — V. Life and Gests
of Sir Thomas Cantelupe, Butler's
Lives of the Fathers, in Britton's
Hereford Cathedral.
2 His patent was endorsed as
having been folded by the King with
his own hands, and sealed in his
presence. " Rex omnibus, &c. salu-
tem. Cum dilectus nobis in Christo
magister Thomas de Cantilupo per
nos et magnates nostros qui sunt de
Goncilio nostra electus sit in Cancel-
larium Regni nostri, et nos ipsum
ad officium illud gratanter admiseri-
mus, nos sustentationi sua?, et cleri-
corum CanceUaria? nostras providere
volentes, concessimus ei 500 marcas,
singulis annis percipiendas ad Scac-
carium nostrum, See., ad sustenta-
tionem suam et clericorum Cancel-
laria? nostra? pra?dicta? quamdiu
steterit in officio. Teste Rege apud
Westmonast. 26 die Marcii. Et
sciendum quod Dorainus Rex manu
sua? propria? plicavit istud breve, et
inpresentia sua fecit consignari, pra?-
sentibus simiUter H. le Despenser,
Justiciario AngUa?," &c. — Pat. 49°
Hen. III. m. 18. The Countess of Lei
cester sent him a present of four
gallons of wine at Sarum on the oc
casion, March 1, and a messenger
from him reached the Countess at
Dover, July 8. — Househ. Exp.
3 Rot. Pat. 50° Henry III. S

258 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
The letter of Edward I. to Clement V. testifies to his long
intimacy with the humility, justice, and mercy of the de
ceased prelate, stating that since his death he had " shone
by sundry miracles, such as restoring sight to the blind,
hearing to the deaf, and motion to the lame ; besides many
other benefits conferred by the hand of heaven on those
who implored his patronage." On the faith of these mar
vels, to which the credulity of others added the restoration
of forty persons to life, the King implores the Pope '' not
to suffer such a lanthorn to be hid under a bushel, but
to place it on a candlestick, by deigning to number him
in the catalogue of the saints1." His shrine still remains in
Hereford cathedral, and was once in great local repute for
cures and miracles, though decorated only with the mail-
clad effigies of his noble ancestry, rather than the groups
of saints we might have expected to associate with him2.
It is said that with him ended the line of English saints
canonized3 by Rome; for though popular feeling afterwards
disposed freely and frequently of the title in favour of its own
heroes and martyrs, whose merits worked miracles in spite
of royal prohibition, yet six centuries have since passed over
our reprobate generations without one acknowledged saint.
De Clare and the other combatants, who had made every
preparation for this Dunstable tournament, were much dis
posed to set at nought this prohibition; but de Montfort
was resolute, and threatening to "cast those who should
disobey into a place where they should enjoy neither sun nor
moon," went himself with the justiciary and a strong force,
so as effectually to preserve the public peace so endangered4.
Indignation at this interference now hurried de Clare
1 Letter dated Westminster, Nov. many fleur de lys, or) for those of
2, 1305, in Will-ins' Concil. i. 283. . the see.-
2 Britton's Hereford Cath. The s He was canonized in 1307. The
bishop died in Italy, 1282, and his saint was a pluralist, and held many
bones only were brought to his cathe- other preferments in York, Lichfield,
dral, and transferred to the north and London ; he was also Chancellor
transept in 1287. The bishopric of Oxford.
adopted his family arms (gules, three 4 W. Rish. de BeUo Lew.
leopards' heads reversed, jessant, as

XIV.] TREACHERY AND HOSTILITIES. 259
forward into a treacherous correspondence with Roger de
Mortimer in Wales. The stanch Royalist was at first not
unreasonably suspicious of his good faith, and even required
hostages1 for his own security, before he consented to meet
the earl's brother, Thomas de Clare2, who, as governor of
St Briavel's, was at the- time conveniently situated to carry
on the treaty. The terms of the betrayal, however, were
speedily arranged (in April) between these parties, when
they met; and it was, perhaps, some suspicion of this that
induced de Montfort to require fresh pledges3 of fidelity
from de Clare. The false earl, though not prepared then
to throw off his mask, withdrew secretly from these de
mands, and leaving London under pretence of providing for
the security of .his own estates, began to collect his followers
at Gloucester, with a resolution to weaken the authority
of de Montfort by all the means in his power : —
" Tho wende the Erl from Londone priveUehe and stiUe,
As to socori is land, age Sir Simonde's wiU." — Rob. Gtouc.
Although he still acted in apparent concert with the
barons for some time longer, he was evidently awaiting his
opportunity for completing his desertion.
Other symptoms of uneasiness at the gathering forces
of the malcontents had already appeared among the barons.
Formal summonses4 required the presence in Parliament,
on June 1, of some of the great Royalists, who were known
to be abroad. These were proclaimed at Pevensey, Lewes,
and Boseham, as the respective residences of Peter de Savoy,
Earl de Warenne, and Roger le Bigod. Troubles had bro
ken out in the North also, which induced deiMontfort to
move in that direction to suppress them, after the breaking
up of the Parliament in Lent, and there was an apprehen-
1 H. Knighton. 3 Add. MSS. 5444.
2 He was made governor of Col- 4 Dated Westminster, March 19,
cheater in 1266 ; went on a crusade, 1265. The summons to them re-
from which he returned in 1271, and quired them to appear " justiciam
London was put under his command, facturi et recepturi," to do and suffer
1273. justice.— Rymer.
S2

260 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
sion of the Royalists landing there from France. He was
with the King at Northampton1, April 11, and when he
heard that John FitzAlan, one of the released Lewes pri
soners, had joined the armed malcontents, he authorized
his son Simon, then probably besieging Pevensey, to secure
the person of FitzAlan's youthful son, or failing that, to pos
sess himself of Arundel castle2.
The marchers in the interest of Prince Edward, in con
cert with the attempted rescue at Wallingford in December,
had advanced as far as Pershore, and had been followed in
their retreat by de Montfort. Driven by him successively
from Hay, Hereford, and Ludlow, they had submitted at
Montgomery to terms of peace, intended to obtain at least a
year's tranquillity for that frontier. They agreed to go into
exile for that time — a condition, however, which they evaded
by taking shelter on the territory of de Clare3. Their hostile
intentions becoming more manifest, de Montfort returned
rapidly from the North, in order to watch them at Gloucester,
where he was April 30 4, and afterwards, May 13, at Hereford.
The threatened insurrection soon assumed a serious import
ance, requiring all the energies of de Montfort to meet. On
May 10, William de Valence, accompanied by Earl de Wa
renne, and numerous other Royalists, landed in his own lord
ship of Pembroke, and was welcomed by the malcontent
marchers already in arms5.
It was at this time and under these harassing circum
stances that de Montfort again evinced his anxiety for the
1 Rymer. livered the King's seal to Ralph de
2 Dated Winchcumbe, AprU 16. — Sandwich, Keeper of the Wardrobe,
Rymer. in the presence of the King and of
3 W. Rish. de BeUo Lew.— Chr. Hugh le Despenser, Justiciary of
Roff. England, and Peter de Montfort, to
4 Househ. Exp. be kept by him until Thomas should
5 The seal was transferred tempo- return, to be used in this manner :
rarity about this .time to Ralph ,de Ralph to keep it in the Wardrobe
Sandwich, Keeper of the Wardrobe, under the seal of Peter de Montfort,
only to be used under authority of Roger de St John, and Giles de
de Montfort's adherents. " On the Argentenn, or one of them ; when
Thursday next after St John Port taken out, Ralph to seal the writs
Latin (May 6) Master Thomas de of course in the presence of the per-
Cantilupe, the King's ChanceUor, de- son under whose seal it had been

JIV.] TREACHERY AND HOSTILITIES. 261
final settlement, which the mise of Lewes had made depen
dent on the decision of the French arbitration. The letter
despatched to Louis IX. * bears fair testimony to the modera
tion and sincerity of the barons : —
" To the King of France, health and sincerely affectionate
love: concerning our business, for which we lately sent to
your presence our nephew Henry, son of the illustrious King
of the Romans, we ask and require, with all possible urgency,
by our prayers and by our love, that your serenity will be
pleased to deliver to speedy effect those matters which con
cern us; for we, who cordially desire the expedition of the
said business, will always be prompt and ready for all things,
relating to these matters, on our own behalf and on that of
our dependents, as our nephew, who is more fully acquainted
with our willingness on this point, may also report to you by
word of mouth. Witness the King at Hereford, May 18.
By the King, Simon de Montfort Earl of Leicester, Peter de
Montfort, Roger de St John, Giles de Argentein2."
It is a further proof of fair dealing that this letter should
have been conveyed by Prince Henry3, the former negotiator,
who had already laid the terms of peace before the French
King. . We miss indeed the name of the Earl of Gloucester from
this document, and already rumours of disunion had spread
a cloud over the aspect of public affairs, although some
mutual friends, such as the Bishop of Worcester, le Despenser,
then enclosed, or in his absence, if Worcester mentions Ralph de Sand-
he was not minded to be there, but wich as one of several who left the
mandatory writs only in the pre- King's party in 1264.
sence of such person and with his x Messengers had^also been sent to
assent ; and when the writs of course him by King Henry, AprU 14, 1265.
or mandatory were sealed, then the — Rot. Pat. May 17, two armed gal-
King's seal was to be sealed up un- leys were sent to Whitsand for the
¦ der the seal of one of the three per- French ambassadors. June 14, a
sous above-named, and to be carried safe conduct was granted for them
by Ralph into the Wardrobe, to be to proceed to Hereford, and on June
there kept in form aforesaid, until 21 the Countess of Leicester, at
Thomas de Cantilupe should return." Dover, sent them a present of two
— Rot. Pat. 49° Hen. III. m. 16, in sextaries of wine. — Househ. Exp.
Lord CampbeU's Lives of Chancel- 2 Rymer, in Latin.
lors, Vol. i. p. 155. The Chronicle of 3 Rot. Pat.. 49°.

262 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
Monchensy, and Fitz-John1, had interfered with temporary
success to reconcile chiefs whose union was so important' to
their cause.
While the King and de Montfort were at Gloucester, de
Clare and Gifford had kept aloof with their forces in the
neighbouring Forest of Dean, but when the two great chiefs
had sworn2 to abide by the arbitration of the above-mentioned
four mediators in all things relating to the Oxford Statutes,
a royal proclamation3 hastened to re-assure the public. "It
denounced all reports of discord between the two earls, which
had alarmed the minds of men as vain, false, and invented
by fraud, the more especially as in fact they were unani
mous and of one accord in all things." Amidst all these
smooth words, however, the announcement was necessarily
made of the actual invasion of the enemy at Pembroke.
Some attempts at peace appear to have been made at
this time. A safe conduct was granted, May 22, to enable
Leybourne and Clifford to meet Prince Edward ; and on de
Warenne and de Valence forwarding,, through the Prior of
Monmouth, a demand for the restitution of their estates,
they too were summoned to appear immediately before the
King4. There scarcely remained, however, a hope of avoid
ing more bloodshed. The threads of intrigue were so peril
ously entangled around the barons, that the sword alone
could cut a solution of them ; and events now hurried on.
Prince Edward, who had been treated as a prisoner on
parole since March, had accompanied the court to Hereford,
and companions already known to him were appointed to
attend him with the utmost respect. These were Thomas
de Clare, his familiar friend and bedfellow5, in whom de
1 W. Rish. Rob. Glouc. Lib. de suppUci et accUvi, cui necessarium
Ant. Leg. erat de necessitate faciens virtutem."
2 Lib. de Ant. Leg. —Chr. Roff.
3 Hereford, May 20, 1265.— Rymer. s " Tanquam famiUaris et cubicu-
4 Rot. Pat. Hereford, May24. The larius Domini Edw'ardi."— T. Wyke.
King at this period is described as Thomas de Clare was included in the
wholly submissive to the Earl of express pardon granted by the King
Leicester ; " Comes una cum rege sibi to the Earl of Gloucester and. John

XIV,] TREACHERY AND HOSTILITIES. 263
Montfort, ignorant of his treachery, reposed great confidence ;
Robert de Ros, a gallant knight of his own age ; and Henry
de Montfort, his cousin and associate of many years : —
" Sir Simon de Montfort out of warde nom
Sir Edward him to solace, that to lute thank him com:
He bitoke him Sir Henri is sone to be is companion,
With him to wende aboute, to sywe him up and doun1."
Rob. Glotjc.
A leader, with a spirit so able and a hand so ready as
the Prince, was of the greatest importance to de Mortimer
and the other malcontents, and every preparation was ac
cordingly made' in secret to favour his escape. This was
effected, as is well known, by stratagem : —
" Sir Edward bed Sir Simon, that he him geve
To a prikie stedes withouten toun leve2." — Rob. Glotjo.
His friends having sent him an excellent horse3, so spi
rited that few dared to mount him, he affected a wish of
trying its paces and speed against the choicest horses of
his escort ; to judge of its fitness for a tournament, if such
an occasion should arise4 ; and for this purpose repaired with
them to a convenient spot to the north of the town, called
Widmarsh. Here he mounted in succession all the others,
and galloped them until their strength was exhausted : —
"He asayed tham bi and bi and retreied them ilkone,
And stoned tham aU wery, standand stiUe as stone." Rob. Bktjne6.
As soon as he had thus disabled them from pursuit, he rode
off rapidly on his own fresh horse, with a parting taunt to
de Ros, who had especial charge of him : —
" Lordlings, now 'good day and greet my father and say,
I shaU soon see him and out of ward, if ich mai." Rob. Glocc.
Gifford for having fought against the town.
him at Lewes, in consideration of 3 H. Knyghton. MS. Nero D. X.
then- services at Evesham, Oct. 6, 201. Nangis says that de Clare had
1265 — Rymer. sent this horse under a feigned name.
Nom, took; lute, Uttle; wende, 4 W. Heming.
turn ; sywe, f oUow. 5 He tried and retried each of them
_ Sir Edward asked Sir Simon to one after the other, and stunned them
give hhn leave for a horse-race out of aU weary, standing stiU as stone.

264 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
Two knights (one of them probably Thomas de Clare)
and four squires1 attached to him, accompanied his adven
turous flight, and a party of friendly horsemen, appointed'
to lie in wait, soon fell in with him, and conducted him
in safety to de Mortimer's castle of Wigmore, about twenty-
four miles distant.
This escape, occurring on the evening of Thursday, May
28 2, was announced by a proclamation of the King two
days afterwards, and troops were summoned to meet at
Worcester, in order to crush de Warenne and de Valence,
whom it was supposed the Prince intended' to join.
A few more days, however, brought fresh desertion and
anxiety, for the Earl of Gloucester3 now openly joined the
Royalists, after first exacting an oath from Prince Edward
that he would obey the laws.
Simon de Montfort could not fail to understand fully
the increased danger of his position, from the union of such
powerful leaders, and the shock given to the cause of the
barons : —
" Schent is Uk Baroun, now GUbert turnes grim,
The Montfort Sir Simoun most affied on him.
Alas, Sir Gilbert, thou turned thin oth,
At Stryvelyn men it herd how God therfor was wroth4."
Rob. Beuni".
The public were again frankly made acquainted with this
fresh defection. The proclamation5 denounced the Earl of
Gloucester as "having now fled to assist the rebellion of
de Warenne, in contempt of his oath to abide by the written
agreement, which had lately appeased the discord between

1 Rymer. " Transito flumine quod beginning of June.
dicitur Wey cum duobus mUitibus." 4 Schent, troubled; affied, relied.
— Chr. Rish. At the battle of Bannockburn, near
2 " Pentecost," " VigU of Trinity." Stirling (Stryvelyn), his son, Gilbert
— Rymer, W. Rish., W. Heming. de Clare, by the Princess Joan of
3 Stephen de HereweU, de Mont- Acre, (his second wife (1290), after he
fort's private secretary, was violently had divorced AUcia de March in 1285,)
taken from a church by his orders, was kiUed in 1316. It is curious to
and beheaded. — Add. MSS. 5444. find so distant a calamity consider-
Lingard supposes the earl to have ed as a retribution on his present
raised his standard on AprU 19, but treachery.
the open rupture was not tiU the *¦ Rymer; June 7, 1265.

XIV.] TREACHERY AND HOSTILITIES. 265
him and the Earl of Leicester, while Prince Edward by his
inconsiderate levity had wholly lost the grace of public
favour, which he had acquired by voluntarily becoming
hostage." On the next day the King signed an order1 to
the Bishop of London, desiring him to excommunicate the
Prince, "whom the rebels had unhappily found light to be
lieve and easy to circumvent." The castle of Bristol2 was
also required to be immediately surrendered into de Mont
fort's hands, but to this order the knights who garrisoned
it for the Prince, Wan-en de Bassingbourne, Robert Tipetot3,
John Mussegros (Musgrave), Patrick and Pain Chaworth,
steadily refused obedience4.
The bridges near Worcester having been broken down
by the enemy in order to impede the arrival of the fresh
levies, on their march to recruit de Montfort, he changed
the appointed rendezvous to Gloucester, and then moved
upon Monmouth5 and Newport, in order to reach his enemy
in South Wales. The difficulty of supplying an army with
food at this period was strikingly illustrated by the King
in May prohibiting any fairs to be held in Herefordshire,
Shropshire, or Staffordshire, "that all provisions might be
brought to the King alone 6 ;" and when the baronial troops
were in Wales on this expedition, the English soldiers com
plained of their food among that rude people, who lived
habitually on milk and meat. They regretted their accus
tomed bread, and longed to return to London7.
1 Hereford, June 8, 1265, signed tisans be admitted into it. New Ry-
by the King, Peter de Montfort, mer, Vol. i. p. 457. Compare a paper
Giles de Argentenn and Roger St by Mr Lucas in th<$ Proceedings of
John.— Eymer. the Archajol. Institute, 1853. ]
2 Hereford, June 9, 1265.— Rymer. 5 There was another proclamation
3 " Tipetot." His arms in Rich- against Prince Edward, dated Mon-
mond church, Yorkshire, are, argent, mouth, June 28. — Rymer.
a saltire engrailed gules, with a ores- 6 Rot. Claus. 49° Hen. III.
cent for difference. 1 " Verum AngUci.panibus assueti,
_ i Bob. Glouc. [This, to say the least, cum essent in terrS WaUensium,
is doubtful. A royal writ, dated June solo carnium eduUo vel lactis, quibus
9, at Hereford, speaks of the castle and iUa gens effera vivere consuevit, sine
town as having been committed with panibus vivere nesciebant, quamo-
the consent of Prince Edward to the brem iUas provincias saltuosas et
charge of Simon de Montfort, and sylvarum devia non sine periculo
directs that none of Edward's par- transmeantes." — T. Wyke.

266. THE BARONS' war. [ch.
"But since the King remained in puissant Lei'ster's power,
The remnant of his friends, whom death did not devoure
At Lewes BatteU late, and durst his parte partake,
The Prince excites again an army up to make;
Whom Roger Bigod, Earle of Norfolke doth assist,
England's High Marshal then, and that great martiaUst
Old Henry Bohun, Earle of Her'fofd, in this warre,
Gray, Basset, Saint John, Lisle, Percie, Latimer (?),
AU Barons, which to him their utmost strength doe lay,
With many a knight, for power their equals every way."
Dbayion's Polyolbion, n. p. 33.
De Montfort, indeed, was recalled from his enterprise,
by the apprehension of his communications in the rear be
ing intercepted, the enemy having made more rapid pro
gress in another quarter than he had expected.
Prince Edward, being joined by de Clare at Ludlow, had
lost no time in raising troops within his own county of
Chester, which, as well as Shropshire, was quickly overrun.
The energetic Prince then directed his march by Worcester
upon Gloucester1, where de Ros had been left in garrison,
but with a force insufficient to prevent its capture after
fifteen days' siege. This result was made yet easier by the
treachery of Grimbald Pancefot, who gained knighthood
in reward from his new party. Though he fought against
his former friends at Evesham, he was despised even by
those who profited by his baseness2 : —
"Ac ther was never eft of him so god word as er." — Bob. Glouc.
De Ros surrendered on June 29 3, at a time when the
Earl of Leicester was on his distant expedition with the
1 A letter from G. de Morie to H. He married, 1253, Constantia, daugh-
de Mauley (725 Chanc. Bee. 5th Re- ter of John de Lingayn, whose dower
port) represents the Earl of Glou- from her father was to be six score
coster, Prince Edward, and WiUiam and ten marcs, twelve oxen, and one
de Valence as besieging the castle of hundred sheep. Being made a pri-
Gloucester; the King and the Earl of soner at Tunis in after-life, it is said
Montfort at Hereford, and expected he was redeemed by his wife maiming
at Gloucester, where Simon junior herself of her left hand, when she
was also to come with his forces. heard that his release could only be
H. de Mauley is advised to send a procured by the limb of another per-
man to take care of his property. son. Their effigies, representing this,
2 Grimbald Pancefot held lands in were formerly in the church of Co-
Herefordshire [as also in Gloucester- warne Magna. — Duncumb's Here-
shire .Worcestershire, and Kent. Rot. fordsh. Vol. n. pp. 97, 98.
Hund. I. pp. 284,416; n.pp.181,186]. 3 W. Rish.

XIV.] TREACHERY AND HOSTILITIES. 267
King. From Monmouth all the wardens of the counties
were commanded to attack the adherents of the rebels in
all directions, and Simon de Montfort, junior, who had been
besieging Pevensey castle, was at the same time1 summoned
to the immediate help of his father, now confessedly in
danger. The order was readily obeyed by the son, and he
led all his troops in reinforcement. Meeting with some re
sistance at Winchester on his march, he not only took, but
plundered the city (July 14), and proceeded onward to the
family castle of Kenilworth2.
All de Montfort's sons are spoken of by several chron
iclers as full of pride and addicted to riotous living. Some
knight remonstrated with their father on his blindness in
suffering their conduct : —
"For thou has Ule sonnes foles and vnwise,
Ther dedes thou not mones, ne nouht wUle tham chastise:
I rede thou gyue gode tent, and chastise tham sone,
For tham ye may be schent, for vengeance is granted bone3."
Rob. Brune.
Young Simon certainly acted with little heed of the
quick and bold enemy he had to deal with, after his arrival
at Kenilworth4. Despising the security of the castle enclo
sure, he lodged with many of his soldier-nobles in the neigh
bouring village, either for the convenience of bathing early
in the morning, or from motives of pride or " riotrie," for
all these reasons6 are variously assigned : —
1 "Rex custodi Simoni de Monte- July 16, 1265.
forti juniori, Custodi pacis Comita- a Fabian. W. Rish. Simon deMont-
tuum de Surreya? et Sussexia?; Mone- fort summoned also the northern
nine, June 28, 1265. "—Rymer. A chiefs (Magnates Boreales) on this
messenger was paid 8d. for going occasion to bring* their forces to
from Odiham to young Simon at Evesham  Walt. Hem.
Pevensey, May 1.— Househ. Exp.— 3 Forthouhastwickedsons.foolish
x. Wyke. It appears from two let- and unwise; you do not reprove their
ters (Add. MSS. 6166, Nov. 27, 28, deeds, nor wiU you at aU chastise
pp. 388, 389) that the Bishop of them. I warn you to give good heed,
Winchester was ordered, Nov. 24, and correct them soon; you may be
1264, to pay over 700 marcs, the sur- blamed for them, for vengeance is a
plus of a fine due to the Crown, to granted boon.
young Simon de Montfort, towards 4 " KeUingiswurthe. "—Chr. Mailr.
the expenses of the siege of Pevensey. 6 "Forte minus sobrius dormie-
De Montfort gave a quittance for 300 bat."— T. Wyke. " Dormientes in
marcs of this sum at Winchester, viUa et abbatia, et erant multi mu-

268 THE barons' war. [ch.
"And ther it fel, alas, his heie hert him sende,
Vor so muche he told of him sulf, and of his grete mighte,
That him ne deinde nogt to ligge in the castel by nigte.
And ther the sojourned eft, then rioterie tham schant,
Suilk ribaudie thei led, thei gaf no tale of wham1." Rob. Glotjc.
The Earl of Leicester had advanced from Hereford to
meet his son, and his tactics were skilfully arranged, with
the view of thus surrounding Prince Edward at Worcester,
but his plan was entirely marred by the careless conduct
of his son. After six days' negligence, a woman of the
name of Margoth2, employed as a spy in male disguise,
transmitted to the Prince information of the unguarded
state of the barons, by which he resolved immediately to
profit. Making a rapid march by night3, accompanied by
William de Valence and. the Earl de Warenne4, the Prince
entered Kenilworth in the early morning of August 25, before
any alarm of his approach arose. The first notice of danger
to the barons were the outcries in the streets ; " Come out,
traitors ! by the death of God, you shall all be killed."
Though many were seized in their beds, others were roused
-and' betook themselves to a dishonoured flight from the
backs of their houses. "Some were seen to fly with only
their hose on, some with only a shirt or drawers, while others
ran off with their clothes under their arms ; few or none had
time to put on all their garments, and young Simon de
Montfort himself escaped with difficulty, almost naked, by a
boat across the lake to the castle6."
" Of soft awakunge hii toke lute gome,
Vor to wel clothi horn, hii ne geve horn no tome,
niti sanguine vinea?."— Walt.Heming. prope locum castri:" here, while
" Ut mane dUuculo de lectis suis arming, the Royalists heard the tramp
bene balneati — ut leviores efficeren- of the enemy's foragers (longa? quad-
tur adbeUandum dieposterfi." — Chr. riga?), and immediately seized them,
Mailr. " Extra castrum decubantes and distributed the horses to the
videlicet in prioratu." — Chr. Roff. weary. — Walt. Heming.
1 Heie, pride ; deinde, condescend- 4 Lib. de Ant. Leg.
ed ; gaf no tale, took no account. 6 Prince Edward left Worcester in
2 Walt. Heming, ; Ann. Waverl. the evening of the Feast of St Peter
3 Margoth placed Prince Edward ad Vincula. — MS. Chr. Roff.
in ambush in a "vaUis profunda et ' Chr. Mailr.

XIV.] TREACHERY AND HOSTILITIES. 269
Ac Sir Symond him sulf among aUe is fon,
In to the castel of scapede an naked man vnnethe1." Rob. Glouc.
Among the prisoners were twenty bannerets, including
Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, William de Monchensy,
Richard de Gray, Baldwin Wake, and Hugh Neville2, who
had all fought at Lewes. Adam de Neumarket, after a
similar calamity at Northampton, was now a second time a
captive. So much rich baggage and so many horses were
taken by this surprise, that the very foot-boys of the Royalists
rode back in triumph on the choice horses they found de
serted by the routed knights. The prisoners were sent in
custody to Gloucester, while the young conqueror prepared
at once without any relaxation to follow up his advantage by
a still more decisive blow 3.

1 They took Uttle care to awaken
them softly, for they gave them no
time to clothe themselves well, and
Sir Simon himself scarcely escaped
through all his enemies, a naked
man, into the castle.
2 Hugh Neville received his par
don in 1266 for his adherence to
Simon de Montfort, and to Simon,
junior.— Rot. Pat. Walter Colville
was either IriUed or taken here. —
W. Knighton, W. Rish., Rob. Glouc,
Bob. Brune. "Johannes de Gray,
films Ricardi de Gray," is added to
the list by Harl. MS. 542, p. 49. This
was more probably the son of Ri
chard II. (see pp. 180, 181) than the
brother, who was a Royalist. William
Montgomery (Monchensy?) was also
a prisoner, according to Lansd. MS.
255, p.507.
3 A charge of cowardice was after
wards brought against Edward which
seems torefertothis surprise. "These
are the words that Sir Wm. de Vescy
said to Sir John Fitz-Thomas con
cerning our Lord the King of Eng
land." "And he told of a good chance
that happened to him, and how it
was despite himself, that he came to

KenUworth where he took many of
the hostages and great people, and
Blew of the host of Sir Simon de
Montfort the young and discomfited
all beside. But before he came to
Kenilworth he sent out people to
know what company was with Sir Si
mon de Montfort. And when he had
heard how many were there he said
he would turn back, for aU the host
of England would have enough to do
to encounter them. And then said
Sir Roger de Clifford that if he turn
ed back it would be great shame and
blame to him and all the rest of his
army, and might ruin England. And
then the King that now is said that
aU the blame should be upon himself
and he would turn back. 'Indeed,'
said Sir Roger de CUfford, 'you will
reap more shame and blame from
this matter and this business than
the rest of England.' And then
said Sir Roger, 'however it be we
will go on;' and he said, 'Banners
forward ! ' And he rode ahead, and
'the King could not but go on for
shame, and they carried it out well,
as has before been said:" — Rolls of
Parliament, Vol. i. p. 127. P.

CHAPTER XV.
BATTLE OF EVESHAM.
" Des blutes heldenrothe On the reddened flood of martyrs'
Jubelt von der Freyheit morgen- blood
roth," Koener. Glows the ruddy dawn of freedom's
morn." •
This disaster, in itself important, was still more so in its con
sequences; for de' Montfort was now hemmed in by the forces
of de Clare and de Mortimer in different directions on the
Welsh frontier, while he was anxiously awaiting the re-in-
forcement of his son. Llewellyn1, Prince of Wales, had, in
deed, sent some troops to his aid, having held a conference
at Hawarden Castle with de Montfort, when a treaty of
alliance had been established, by which that castle was
ceded to the Welsh Prince ; a condition reluctantly assented
to by the King2. Before the news of the rout at Kenilworth
could be known to the Earl of Leicester, the very expecta
tion of young Simon de Montfort's arrival was skilfully taken
advantage of to deceive and ruin him. The earl, in order to
hasten the junction of his son, had advanced from Hereford,
and crossed the Severn at Kempsey3 (four miles south of
1 How differently this Prince was " Errorum princeps et pra?do
valued by friends and foes appears virorum,
by his two epitaphs. The Welsh one Proditor Anglorum — trux, dux
extols him as — homicida piorum,
" Gemma coa?vorum, flos regum pra?-  Stirps mendax causa malorum."
teritorum, V. Yorke's Royal Tribes.
Forma futurorum, dux, laus, lex, 2 Dated Hereford, June 22, 1265.—
lux populorum." Rot. Pat. T. Wyke..
While to English eyes he seemed 3 W. Rish.

CH. XV.]

BATTLE OF EVESHAM.

271

Worcester), from whence, on Monday, August 3, he marched
towards Evesham, proposing on the following morning to
continue his approach towards his expected friends.
Prince Edward had watched his enemy's movements by
the help of Ralph de Ardern1, a traitorous spy in the earl's
camp ; and conscious also of having some spies among his
own companions2, he resolved to mislead them by commenc
ing his march from Worcester at sunset towards Shrewsbury3,
until after a few miles he suddenly turned round and made
a rapid march during the night in the opposite direction
after the enemy.
At daybreak on Tuesday, August 44, after mass had

1 One of the oldest famiUes in
Warwickshire, whose name stiU de
signates a district there. Thomas de
Ardem, the head of the famUy, was
on the barons' side, and, being taken
prisoner at Evesham, was compeUed
to surrender aU his lands to a Royalist
kinsman, the father of Ralph. Arms,
chequy, or and azure, a chevron
gules.— H. Knighton ; Dugd. Warw.
2 " In sua comitiva." — Walter
Heming. 3 Dies Martn. — Osney Annals, p.
168. Annals of Dunstable, p. 239.
Mardi la veille de Saint Oswald.—
Earl of Leicester.
Saturday, St Peter ad Vincula, Aug. 1,
at Hereford.
Sunday, St Stephen, Martyr, Aug. 2,
to Kempsey.
Monday, Invention of St Stephen,
Aug. 3, by night to Evesham,

„, St Dominic, or Vigil of
St Oswald, is marching upon Ke
nilworth.
The question is, where was the town
Clive. Mr Blaauw and Dr PauU
have not offered a conjecture. Dr
Lingard (Vol. in. p. 148) says Clains

French Chronicle of London, p. 7. The
day after the third day of August. —
Wykes, p. 171. The day after the
Invention of St Stephen. — Trivet,
p. 266. The day before the Nones of
August (Chron. de Lanercost, p. 76),
which was Tuesday. — Rishanger, p.
47. P.
4 There is a sUght difficulty in un
derstanding-Prince Edward's march ;
and Mr Blaauw had evidently in
tended to go minutely into the ques
tion, from the number of paraUel
passages he had transcribed. An
itinerary wiU shew what I mean :
Prince Edward.
At Kemlworth, to or towards Wor
cester.
In the latter part of the day at or
near Worcester. — Matt. West., p.
395.
Goes on the North road as if towards
Shrewsbury, Bridgenorth, or Staf
ford. (Wykes, p. 172.) Crosses the
river near the town caUed CUve,
taking up a tposition between
Kemlworth and Evesham. (Chron.
Rishang.,p. 25. Trivet, p. 266.)
Marches upon Evesham.

(quasi Clino pro CUvo), a village
about three miles north of Worces
ter. The difficulty is, that we must
not only change the spelling but

272 THE barons' war. [ch.
been celebrated1, absolution was again freely dispensed
among the baronial soldiers, as on the eve of the battle of
Lewes, by the same bold prelate : —
" The Bissop Walter of Wurcestre asoiled him aUe there,
And prechede horn, that hU adde of deth the lasse fere2."
Rob. Glouc.
The barons were preparing to mount their horses and
leave Evesham, in pursuance of their plan, when there came
into view, issuing from the folds of the hill in the very
quarter where they looked for young de Montfort, a large
army advancing towards them in battle array, divided into
orderly squadrons, and bearing in their van the emblazoned
banners of their expected friends. The sight gladdened their
eyes and hearts for a time, but it was to Prince Edward they
gave this fatal welcome. The heraldic ensigns were his
trophies snatched from the Kenilworth captives3, and his
approach had been purposely so contrived as to cut off all
communication between the father and the son, and thus to
appear in the direction most likely to give effect to fh&
delusion. It is remarkable that in the first two battles fought in
England after the general usage4 of heraldic distinctions,
they should have been converted into successful engines of
stratagem, and they have probably never done so much mis
chief since.
In modern times a telescope would have revealed the
create a river to satisfy this idehti- by Mortimer and de Clare, the
fication ; as Prince Edward, march- former of whom is described by
ing S.E. from Clains, would not Hemingburgh (p. 323) as coming up
strike even an important stream for from behind. P.
nearly eight miles. I incUne to > "Audito officio et accepto via-
Ihink, therefore, that the place tico." — Chr. Lanerc.
meant is Prior's Cleeve on Avon, 2 " The Bishop Walter of Worces-
and that Prince Edward expected ter absolved them aU there and
his enemy to strike the road from preached to them, so that Jhey had
Chipping Camden to Stratford-on- the less fear of death." — V. Chr.
Avon and Kenilworth, and was re- Lanerc.
solved to bar him from the castle 3 W. Heming.
at all risks. Meanwhile the roads 4 The custom was not universal
from Evesham on Worcester and when the battle of Lincoln was fought
Alcester were occupied respectively in 1216.

XV.] BATTLE OF EVESHAM. 273
fraud afar off, but in the absence of such instruments, the
detection, when too late, was left to be made by de Mont
fort's barber Nicolas1, who happened to be expert in the
cognizance of arms, and who, without even a surname for
himself, was the earliest amateur herald on record2. Observ
ing the banners while yet distant, Nicolas remarked to de
Montfort that they appeared to be those of his friends, and
the earl confidently answered, "It is my son, fear not ; but
nevertheless go and look out, lest by chance we should be
deceived." Ascending the clock-tower of the Abbey3, Nicolas
recognized at length, among the banners of the host advanc
ing on Evesham, the triple lions of Prince Edward, and the
ensigns of Roger de Mortimer, and other notorious enemies.
He spread the alarm, but the' error had continued long
enough to lie fatal, and little time then remained for the
barons to prepare their defence.
The example of the skilful tactics of Simon de Montfort
on former occasions had been watched with profit by Prince
Edward ; and his army, though superior in numbers4, was no
longer conducted in its rapid march with headlong rashness,
as at Lewes, but with all the precautionary discipline which
had been then employed against him. He had interposed
between the two bodies of his enemies' forces, so as to be
able to defeat them separately, and now, though fresh with
1 " Simonis speculator Nicolas Bishop of Assisi.— Brewer's Mon.
barbitonsor ejus, qui homo expertus Francise. pp. 61, 551.]
erat in cognitions armorum." — 2 A few years later a Franciscan
Walt. Heming. "Venit Ule in al- monk, Walter of Exeter, wrote of the
turn in cloccario Abbatia?." Could siege of Carlaverock in 1300, from
this have been the same Nicolas which numerous heraldic notices
mentioned by Boger Bacon as the have been extracted in these pages.
tutor of Almeric de Montfort 1 (See 3 " Summitas cldchern ecclesia?
p. 79, note 2, ante.) If so, he was Evesham conflagravit fulgure, 1261."
so skilled a mathematician, accord- — Chr. Wigorn., p. 446. "7° Edw. I.
mg to Bacon, that he may have used (1279) reparatum est campanile de
some optical instrument to detect Evesham."— Chr. Evesh. Leland,
the enemy before others. Cap. xi. CoUect. Vol. i.
Opus Tertium, p. 35. [There was, 4 " Habuit autem Edwardus sex
however, a brother Nicholas, a homines vel septem ubi Simon vix
Franciscan, who learned letters in habuit duos'."— Chron. de Mailros,
England and became confessor to Gale, Vol. i. p. 231.
Pope Innocent IV. (1251-1261), and

274 the barons' war: [ch.
the pride of his victory, did not neglect to increase the power
of his army, by arranging it methodically in divisions, that
there might be no confusion in its advance.
When de Montfort, in order to reconnoitre the Royalists,
ascended a hill, or as some1 say the tower of Evesham Abbey,
where he had been hospitably entertained, he was so struck
with admiration of their improved discipline, that the natural
pride of a soldier led him to exclaim with his usual oath
(alluding to a relic of the chivalrous champion of Spain
recently brought to England), "By the arm of S. James2,
they come on skilfully, but it is from me they have learnt
that method, not from themselves."
At first only one division of his enemy, that led on by
the Prince, had been seen by de Montfort, a small hill in
tervening to conceal the Earl of Gloucester's advance by a
different line3. When the whole danger was revealed to
him, it seemed at once so overwhelming, that he gave free
permission for his friends to take flight, venting his pro
phetic apprehensions: "May the Lord have mercy on our
souls, for our bodies are in the enemy's power." While
escape was still possible, a generous rivalry led each leader
to persuade others to adopt that means of safety which he
rejected for himself. Hugh le Despenser and Ralph Bassett4,
when urged to fly, refused to survive de Montfort, and the
great leader himself, when his son Henry5 affectionately
offered to bear the brunt of the battle alone, while his father
should preserve his life by flight, steadily answered: "Far
from me be the thought of such a course, my dear son! I
have grown old in wars, and my life hastens to an end ; the
noble parentage of my blood has been always notoriously
eminent in this one point — never to fly or wish to fly6 from
1 Dugd.- Warw.; W. Rish. ; W. 8 T. Wykes.
Heming. 4 W. Rish. de BeUo Lew. etEvesh.
2 He had used the same oath at B " Li dit doucement, ' Sire, alez
the Oxford Parliament. — Chr. Lanerc. vous ent.'" — Nangis.
S. Jago held the rank and even the 6 " Sui de si noble parente de-
pay of general in the Spanish ser- scendus, qui onques en bataiUe ne
vice down to modern times. fui ne vou fuir."

XV.] BATTLE OF EVESHAM. 275
battle. Nay, my son, do you rather retire from this fearful
contest lest you perish in the flower of youth ; you, who are
now about to succeed (so may God grant!) to me and our
illustrious race in the glories of war1."
Love and honour are ever deaf to such arguments, and
all remained to perish. Though facing danger boldly in
what he believed to be the cause of God and justice, de
Montfort did not expect victory : —
" Or ever he Uft his scheld, he wist it sed amys ;
He was on his stede, displaied his banere,
He sauh that treasoun sede, ' doun went his pouvere.' "
Rob. Brune.
The enemy came rushing on, and though the surprise of
the attack made the defence disordered and desperate, the
barons gathered their forces into a dense body, and the con
test during the two hours it lasted was obstinately fought.
The emergency soon separated the zealous from the indif
ferent, and the Welsh auxiliaries2 were the first to shrink
from the barons' ranks, and to seek concealment among the
corn-fields and gardens, where many were afterwards dis
covered and slain. The veteran de Montfort, though the
circumstances gave him no opportunity to display his talents
as a general, yet fought with all the vigour and courage of a
young soldier. Undaunted by the superior numbers of his
foes, he met and trampled under his horse's hoofs all those
opposed to him, so as to carry dismay and wonder among the
Royalists. One of the knights of that party, Warren de
Bassingbourne, was obliged to -rouse his faltering troops by
reproaching them with their defeat at Lewes : — *
1 Nangis. qui ductor eorum in acie posteriori
. 2 W. Rish. de BeUo Lew. Wal- cum sex miUibus ac WaUensibus cum
lenses qui ad quinque miUia a?stima- plurimis armatis in primo conflietu
bantur  Chr. Roff. Fugerunt Wal- juxta locum qui dicitur Syndelston
lenses et in transeundo flumine propter timorem conversi sunt in
See [? Dee, see Eng. Hist. Soc. ed. fugam. Effugerunt plures de parte
and Knighton, c. 2453] multi sub- Simonis et in aqua qua? dicitur
mersi sunt. — Walt. Heming. Humfri- Avona submerserunt. — Harl. MS.
dus de Boun cum omnibus peditibus 542, p. 49.
T2

276 THE barons' war. [ch.
" Agen, traitors, agen, and habben ower thogt
How viUiche at Lewes ye werde to grounde ibrogt :
Turneth agen and thenceth that that power aU ower is,
And we soUe, as vor nogt, overcome ur for iwis1." Rob. Glouc.
Simon de Montfort (says one account) "fought stoutly
like a giant for the liberties of England2;" and even when all
the weight of the enemy's force was made to press upon him
personally, he resisted their assaults "like an impregnable
tower3," with his dearest friends crowding around as if to
defend him with the ramparts of their bodies4. One by one
they dropped in death. Basset and le Despenser, the most
faithful of all his friends, at length sank to the earth near
him: —
" Sir Hue le fer, ly Despenser, Despenser true, the good Sir Hugh,
Tres noble justice, Our justice and our friend,
Ore est k tort lyvre a mort, Borne down with wrong amidst the throng,
A trop mal guise5." Has met his wretched end.
"Never will I surrender to dogs and perjurers, but to
God alone," cried de Montfort, when summoned to do so6.
His horse had been killed under him, but though weakened
by his wounds he yet fought on with so much spirit, wielding
his sword with both hands against twelve knights, his assail
ants, and dealing his blows with so vigorous an old age, that,
if there had beer^JDut eight followers .like him, he would,
according to an eye-wStaess7, have put -the enemy to shame.
It is said that Prince Edward, before the battle, had been
desirous of taking the earl and his sons prisoners, but the
barons of his suite were resolved on their death8, and an angry
1 " Again, traitors, again, and re- * T. Wyke. " Paucorurn militum
member how \ilely ye were brought vaUo circumdatus." — Nangis.
to the ground at Lewes. Turn again, 5 Pol. Song from MS. Cott., trans-
and think that the power is now aU lated by G. EUis in Ritson's Anc.
ours, and we shall, as if they were Songs.
nought, overcome them to a cer- 6 Chr. Oxenede.
tainty." ' " Tanta vi canitiei ictus vibra-
s Chr. de Shepis. bat." — Chr. Lanerc. " Annosus sed
¦ " II se deffondoit de ses anemies animosus." — Chr. Evesham, Bodl.
aussi comme une tour qui ne peut MS. Laud, 529, f. 64.
estre domagiee." — Nangis. 8 Chr. Lanerc. " Cum staret pedes

XV.] BATTLE OF EVESHAM. 277
multitude now pressed on de Montfort so fiercely, that,
though fighting on to the last, sword in hand with a cheerful
countenance, he at length fell when wounded by a blow from
behind, overwhelmed by numbers rather than conquered1.
" Thus ended by an honourable death the inbred chivalry
and prowess which had been ennobled by so many deeds in
so many lands2." "Thus lamentably fell the flower of all
knighthood, leaving an example of steadfastness to others ;
but who can prevent familiar treachery? they who had eaten
his bread, had now raised their heels against him ; they who
loved him by word of mouth lied in their throats, not having
their hearts right with him, but betraying him in his neces
sity3." Such are the earnest comments of a French and an
English chronicler on the event.
Had the victory been before doubtful, the death of de
Montfort would have decided it, though his son Henry con
tinued the hopeless resistance. Goaded to madness by
the, loss of his father4, in whose sight he had been himself
wounded, he sought only for a similar fate : —
"Tarry, good father!
My soul shaU thine keep company to heaven.
Tarry, sweet soul, for mine, then fly abreast,
As in this glorious and well-foughten field,
We kept together in our chivalry." Hen. V. Act in.
Nor was their re-union long delayed. Henry was soon
overpowered and taken, and though a warm partisan6 praises
him as innocent and beautiful like Jonathan, and resembling
David in faith and devotion, yet the ferocious Royalists mas-
i
pugnans gladio et occiso dextrario." 3 W. Rish. de BeUo Lew.
— H. Knighton; W. Rish.; Chr. de 4 "D'autre part ses fils qui se
Shepis. " Mult.is perfossum vulneri- combattoit aussi eomme hors du sens
bus." — NangiB. pour la mort de son pere." — Nangis.
1 "Where the battle and murther According to Chr. Lanerc. his death
was is now a weU, and grete elmes preceded his father's. " Cecidit
stande about the weU; there is over autem ibi ante patrem suum impubes
the weU an hovel of stone, and a cru- miles et innocens virgo Henricus." —
cifix and Mary and John." — Chron. of Chr. Lanerc. Chr. Mailr. also makes
KichardFoxinDuke of Bedford'sMS. Henry the first to die.
2 Nangis. , 5 Chr. Lanerc.

278 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
sacred their helpless prisoner1, resolved to glut their revenge
with his blood. His younger brother Guy fell nearly lifeless
among the heaps of the dead and dying, where he lay until
picked up by the enemy and imprisoned. He recovered,
however, from his wounds2, and lived to play an active part
afterwards in another country. The veteran Peter de Mont
fort shared the fate of his beloved leader, and of so many
other comrades. " More murdre are nas in so lute stunde3,
Vor ther was werst Simon de Montfort aslawe, alas I
And Sir Henry his sone, that so gentU knight was,
And Sir Pers de Montfort4 that stronge were and wise."
. Rob. Glouo.
Many chiefs of distinguished name are recorded among
the slain : —
" Sir Rauf the gode Basset did ther his ending,
Sir Guy Baliel died there, a yong knight and hardy,
He was pleyned more than other twenty." Rob. Bkune.
The last named knight, a spirited Scotchman, had borne the-
standard6 of Simon de Montfort at this battle, and refusing
to fly or save himself, was found afterwards so mangled with
wounds that his body could not be stripped even for burial.
His companion, Roger de Rivle6, was also among the bravest
who fell. Thomas de Astley', who, at an earlier period of
the civil war had eagerly seized upon the King's revenues in
1 Nangis. tus, cum tunc potuisset salvari morte
2 " Guy li plus joes des freres chei temporali, noluit ; occubuit igitur
entre les morts et les navrSs ausi cum multis ex Magnatibus Anglia?,
comme demi-mors, liquel fu recueUis qui venerant ad beUum, ut decer-
et garis en br'ies temps."— Nangis. tarent pro justitia AngUa?. — Chr.
3 " Never was in so short a time." Mailr. W. Rish.
" Werst," first ; " aslawe," slain. 6 Chr. Mailr.
4 Hume inaccurately makes Peter 7 Hostelee, Estley". His ancestor
the son of the Earl of Leicester, and held three knights' fees under the
seems to represent him attacking Earl of Warwick, on the tenure of
Worcester, 1264, as the younger bro- holding his stirrup. Thomas was
ther of Richard, who was then a boy knighted In 1242, and had served in
too young to bear arms. Gascony. Warwickshire had been
6 Gwydo autem, cujus ante me- put into his custody by the barons in
mini, miles acerrimus, natione Seo- 1264.

XV.]

BATTLE OF EVESHAM.

279

his neighbourhood, and who had been in attendance on the
Countess of Leicester at Odiham, a few months before, now
fell a victim to his zeal for the earl, and his estates were
soon granted away to one of the triumphant party1. The
loss which made the most impression on others, as the un
timely fate of youth could not fail to do, was that of two
nobles, cut off in their early bloom, William de Mandeville2
and John de Beauchamp3, the latter on the first day of war
like service. A Royalist chronicler4 here relents, and ob
serves that " even stony hearts must grieve for the deaths of
these two ingenuous youths, who excelled all their contempo
raries in elegance of person, and whose tender age might
have excused their treason." It would appear that they
were butchered in cold blood after being taken prisoners5.

1 Warren de Bassingbourne had a
grant of £151. 16s. 11<Z. from the
estates of Astley, reserving a pen
sion of £34. 18s. Id. for life to his
widow Edith, daughter of Peter
Constable, of Melton, co. Norfolk.
Andrew, the eldest son, however,
recovered the lands, by the Diet.
Kenilworth, for 320 marcs.
2 John, the brother of WiUiam de
Mandeville, had been also killed in
his sight.
3 There had been double marriages
between the sons and daughters of
Peter de Montfort and WiUiam de
Beauchamp, to whom, as also to his
wife Ida, there are letters extant of
Adam de Marisco. — Cal. Rot. Pat.
Mon. Franc, ed. Brewer, pp. 286, 301.
[Mr Blaauw appears to identify this
William and John de Beauchamp
with the sons of WiUiam Beauchamp,
of Elmley, to whom Dugdale refers
the double marriage-contract with
Peter de Montfort. Dugdale, how
ever, says, onthe authority of an old
chronicle quoted in Leland (Itin.
Vol. vi. f. 71), that Beauchamp of
Elmley sent his sons in the Royalist
ranks of Evesham ; and the younger,
John Beauchamp (of Holt), was- alive
late in the reign of Edward I. The
John MUed at Evesham was almost
certainly (as Dugdale makes him) a

Beauchamp of Bedford, and had in
herited from a brother WiUiam only
a short time before the battle. — Ex
cerpt, e Rot. Fin. n. p. 427. Dug-
dale's Baronage, Vol. i. pp. 224, 227,
228, 250.]
4 T. Wykes.
6 Among the barons slain were
also Robert de Tregoz, Walter de
Creppinge, WUliam Devereux, Roger
Roulee, Hugh de HopviUe, Robert
de Sepinges, WiUiam -de Burmug-
ham (the three latter mentioned in
Simon Mirac), Robert de HadreshUl
(Ret. Pat. 50° Hen. III.) Leland's
CoUect. adds a bishop, Roger de
Soules, to the number. The Habyng-
don MS. (in Libris Antiq. Soc.) adds
Sir Gilbert Einefyeld, Sir John de
Ind (? de la Lind), and Sir WiUiam
TrosseU. Harl. MS. 542, p. 40. adds
Richard TrusseU and WiUiam Deve
reux. Letters p|jfcent dated West
minster, Oct. 12, 1265, grant the
lands of WUliam de Ebroicis, killed
at Evesham, to his widow Matilda
for her.Ufe, she being sisted of Walter
de Gifford, Bishop of Bath, 1264-
1267, then ChanceUor.— No. 460
Chanc. Rec, 5th Report. [Walter
de Creppinghad been executor of the
wiU of Hugh de Vere, Earl of Oxford,
in 1263, and was probably son or
grandson of a Walter de Cropping, a

280 THE BARONS' WAR. [ch.
Among the few illustrious captives rescued from the general
slaughter, were some who had been the associates of Simon
de Montfort during the whole of the political struggle, and
were found true to the cause up to the complete triumph of
the Royalists — these were Baldwin Wake, John Fitz-John,
Humphrey de Bohun, jun.1, Henry Hastings, John de Vesci,
Nicholas Segrave, and Peter de Montfort's two sons. King
Henry during the battle had unwillingly run some risk of
being included among the sufferers, and had, when assailed
by his own zealous friends, vainly exerted his voice with
loud protestations, "By the head of God that he was the
King ; by the mercy of God that he was too old to fight :"
until after a slight wound on his shoulder2, the fall of his
helmet caused him to be recognized, and placed in safety by
his son3.
Many of the baronial leaders were allowed to be buried
by the monks of Evesham, and Prince Edward himself at
tended as a sincere mourner on the funeral of Henry de
Montfort. The King had been his godfather, and the Prince
esteeming him as his boyish playmate and foster-brother, as
well as the comrade and friend of his manhood, with the
chivalrous emotions so often noted in him, would not suffer
him, even as an enemy, to pass to a dishonoured grave. ' The
judge in John's reign. The name ter authority indeed he was kUled at
was probably derived from Crepping, Evesham. Drayton mentions him :
a manor of the earls of Oxford in „ y Humphrey Bohun still doth
E^'-J0!8' Judte.8' "' PP* ,64> 5o* witn great Le'ster goe,
WUhamdeHardreshill,orHardredes- who f£ Ma cotmtl|>s eause be.
hull, had lands m Lincolnshire and comeg hia father>s j06.
Northamptonshire, was about five- F-tzJohn, Gray, Spencer, Strange,
and-twenty at the time of his death, n g *; f Gifford
and was stepson by his mother's se- Wak L * viscount, Vaux, Clare,
cond marriage of William de Arden, Marmion, Hastings, CKfford."
a member apparently of the War- Dbaxton's Polyolb. Vol. ii. p. 33.
wickshire family. See p. 271. Ex- *L .
cerpta e Rot. Fin. Vol. n. ¥p. 368, 2 Chr. Mail., " Rex percussus m
371, 376, 392. Cal. Inq. p. mortem, scapula clamavit fortiter; erat enim
p 59 I vir summopere pacificus non beUico-
'•*¦ The title of Earl of Hereford is sus."— Walt. Heming. "Rexreme-
given bim by Simon Mirac, and diaUter vulneratus."— Mat. Westm.
MS. Cott. Cleop. A. xn., but as his s " Rex vero salvatus est per quem-
father lived tiU 1275 the title never dam Baironem de Marchia Bogerum
came to. him. According to the lat- de Leyburne nomine." — Chr. Lanerc.

XV.] BATTLE OF EVESHAM. 281
treatment of the aged Simon de Montfort's body was far
different, and will be mentioned presently.
The atmosphere had been disturbed during the battle by
a violent storm of thunder and hail, accompanied by an
earthquake ; and the darkness was so dense in many parts of
the country, that the priests could not see to read prayers in
their churches. These were so many signs to the ready su
perstition of the people that heaven sympathised with their
grief at the destruction of their champions, ""while (in the
phrase of the times) the people of the Lord were in tor
ment1." With a similar feeling an ominous interpretation was now
given to the appearance of a great comet, which spread its
light across half the heavens during several months this year.
No phenomenon of this nature was remembered, and all
manner of calamities were attributed to it by various parties.
One chronicler supposes it to have presaged the battle of
Evesham2, another observes with much simplicity that,
" though it may have tokened many things in other parts of
the world, this one at any rate is certain, that during its
three months' duration Pope Urban began to be ill exactly
at its appearance, and died the very night the comet dis
appeared3." Even the strong intellect of Roger Bacon was
led astray by this natural wonder, and he reasoned of it
in a strain not superior to the tone of his contemporaries :
"Whence in the year 1264, in the month of July, when
there was the apparition of a terrible comet, it is proved to
have been generated by the virtue of Mars ; for as Mars was
then in Taurus, and the comet arose in Cances, it ceased not

1 "Et motum terra? dedit hora fe- s " Qua? fortassis tarn inopinati
rissima guerre, eventus pra?sagium portendebat." —
* Dum sic beUatur, Domini gens T. Wyke. Compare Robert of Glou-
dum cruciatur." cester's reference to it :
— W. Rish. de Bello Lew. et Evesh. " Vor thretti mile thanne this i sai
MS. Cott. Otho D. vii. " Pro jus- Roberd,
titiS et juramento suo servando legi- That verst this boc made, and was
time, agonizantes migraverunt ad do- wel sore aferd. "
minum."— Cott.MS. Faustina B. xiv. 3 W. Rish.

282 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
to run towards its cause, that is to say, Mars, as steel runs
to a magnet ; therefore since it moved towards Mars, and
there lay hid, it must have been caused by Mars. Since,
therefore, the nature -of Mars is to excite men to anger, dis
cord and wars, so it happened that the comet also signified
the angers, discords and wars of men, as wise astronomers
teach, but more truly the experience of the whole Church,
proved by the wars of England, Spain, Italy, and other re
gions, which occurred then and afterwards. Oh, how much
advantage might have been procured to the Church of God,
if the quality of the heavens at that time had been foreseen
by wise men, and made known to prelates and princes, so as
to calm them by the desire for peace ; for there would not
then have been so great a slaughter of Christians, . nor so
many souls placed in hell1."
This remarkable comet is described as "a sterre with a
launce — red and clear inou," appearing from St Margaret's
day till near Michaelmas, and is supposed by astronomers to
have re-appeared in 15562. Should this identity be true, it
may be again expected to recur in 18483, after completing its
destined course of 292 years; and let those who may be
curious in such omens then observe what illness of princes,
what bloodshed in war, or what downfall of political chiefs
may then result.
The victory of the King's party at Evesham was so com
plete, that the disproportionate loss4 on the other side beto-
1 Opus M. p. 4, pag. 243, ed. — de peditibus pra?dicti Simonis duo
1733. In some verses of later date miUia — in universo occubuerunt x.
Prince Edmund of Lancaster is called milUa hominum." — Chr. Lanercost.
" Cometa Comitum," probably in al- " Ex parte D!. Edwardi Principis ce-
lusion to the recent comet of 1305 cidit Hugo StragmUes et Adam de
(HaUey's). — V. Polit. Songs, p. 258. KidmalUs et pauci alteri. In villa, in
2 For descriptions of it see Trivet. cenobu curia, in monasterio et ca-
p. 262. Chr. Lanercost, Vol. i. p. 73, peUis eorum et atriis, popuU more
and Taxter's Chron. A. 1264. pecudum obtruncati jacuerunt." —
8 It did not appear in 1848. P. Harl. MS. 542, p. 49. [Ex parte do-
4"Numerus miUtum occisorum mini Eadwardi uno tantum milite
nonies viginti— numerus servientum modioS probitate notando et duobus
bene armatorum undecies viginti — armigeris interfectis. Matt. West.
numerus peditum de WaUia v. miUia p. 395.]

XV.] BATTLE OF EVESHAM. 283
kening more a surprise than a battle, caused it to be thus
characterised : —
" Such was the morthre of Eivesham, vor bataile non it was."
Rob. Glooc.
The Royalists had distinguished themselves by red crosses
on their arms, and the few who fell in the action owed their
death to neglect of this precaution, being killed by their
own comrades in mistake1.
The physical power of the barons, whether for good or
evil, was shattered to pieces by this shock, but though the
chance of war had decided so far, yet the moral effects of
their brief government were destined to be more permanent.
While preparing to mourn over the violent suppression of
this attempted reform in Church and State, at the cost of
blood and misery, the historical observer may perceive the
principles of liberty which the barons had asserted, surviving
their manly struggle, and springing up afresh with the quick
germ of life. The representative system, whose expansion
they had encouraged, had taken too stout a hold to be ex
tirpated, and, from this root remaining unharmed, the
branches of national freedom throve henceforth with vigorous
enlargement, strong in its own vital influence, upheld by the
will and nourished by the love of the people. Within thirty
years (in 1297) even a successful warrior, Edward I., was
obliged formally to renounce the claim of tallage without the
consent of Parliament. The help of the principal churchmen
and nobles mainly influenced this progress, although there
were indeed many of all classes at the time anxious for civil
liberty — the liberty of person and property-$-which was the
only species then sought for or secured. No one had yet
raised their thoughts to the entertainment of religious
liberty — the free communion of the mind with its spiritual
source — and no such claim had therefore been preferred.
Many of the privileges subsequently acquired by Parlia
ment were purchased from the Crown in return for money,
1 Chr. Roff. MS.

284 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
when its ambition or prodigality required such aid ; the very
vices of royalty being thus converted into national benefits :
but, be it remembered, that the first and most important was
a free-will offering from the barons, unbought and un
stained. The barons and their leader have been upbraided with
having neglected in their days of power the provisions of the
mise of Lewes. The time, place, and manner of reference
to the King of France have therefore been pointed out, as
well as the urgent importunity with which his decision was
called for. The reproach is not only unjust, but may be
fitly retorted by the fact that the King, when his power
became again free from control, never made the smallest
allusion or advance to the settlement of .the government pro
mised by the mise1.
When William the Conqueror was told that one of his
followers had cut King Harold's thigh after he lay dead, he
degraded him from knighthood2. In sad contrast wfth this
nobler feeling was the treatment of Simon de Montfort's
corpse at Evesham, forming with chroniclers of all parties a
topic of indignant outcry, even in that rough state of society.
The earl's prostrate body was not only pierced with idle
wounds, but mangled piecemeal3, and the limbs separated
and dispersed. The hands were cut off, and with the head
fixed on a spear's point, were sent as a worthy present to the
wife of Roger de Mortimer at her castle of Wigmore. " May
that precursor of the Lord, whose head was served up at a
banquet by a dancer, help the sender's soul!" bitterly remarks
a chronicler4.
i "Princeps Edwardus nee fidem amputatis eidem virihbus et mem-
nee spem datam pluribus observavit." bratim laceratum acephamm reddi-
— Nangis Chr. derunt. " — Nangis. The foUo MS. in
3 "Turpitudinenotatusmihtiapul- Cott. Nero D. n., by a Rochester
bus fuit." — M. Par.; H. Hunt; W. monk, contains a rude drawing, at
Malms. The incident seems depict- the bottom of p. 176, of the mutila-
ed at the end of the Bayeux tapestry. tion of the Earl of Leicester's body,
3 " Vilissimo sa?viendi genere fu- and represents the Justiciary le De-
riens— minutatim in frusta." — T. spenser lying near him.
Wyke. " In cumulum sui dedecoris * W. Rish.

XV. J BATTLE OF EVESHAM. 285
"And among alle othere mest reuthe it was ido,
That Sir Simon the olde man demembered was so,
Vor Sir Maitravers (thonk habbe non)
Carf him of feet and honde, and his limes many on,
And his heved hii smitten of and to Wigemore it ssende
To Dam Maud de Mortimer that wel foule it ssende1." Rob. Glouc.
By one chronicler2, while recording with disgust the foul
mutilation of his body, the incident is improved (in the
preacher's sense of the word) as an appropriate judgment of
God upon Simon de Montford after his marriage with a pro
fessed nun. Besides the more common indignities of brutal
triumph, other atrocities were perpetrated on "the olde
man " not fit for description, and it was the memory of this
outrage which exasperated his surviving sons long afterwards
to a bloody retaliation.
Some attribute this insult to Roger de Mortimer ; others,
as has been seen, to William Maltravers, who had probably
deserted the cause of the barons, like Gifford, from personal
motives. One of the chroniclers3, however, studiously avoids
polluting his page with any name, referring to him as "a
certain person accursed of the devil," " a certain son of
Belial;" and he records with evident satisfaction that, on
being drowned near Perth two years after, his corpse like
wise was found mangled by two enormous crabs which had
fastened upon it.
Though the offering of the head to Matilda de Mortimer
seems only worthy of a Scythian Tomyris, yet the lady had
some of the noblest blood in her veins. Being one of the co
heiresses4 of William de Braose, who had wide estates in
1
1 Reuthe, pity; thonk, thanks; carf, into the Tay by a lady in sport at
carved ; heved, head ; hii, they. Kinclaven castle, in presence of the
2 Chr. Lanerc. " Testiculi abscis- Queen Margaret.
si fuerunt et appensi ex utraque 4 MatUda, Eleanor wife of H. de
parte nasi, et ita missum fuit caput Bohun, junior, and Eva, widow of
suum uxori Domini Rogeri de Mor- WiUiam de CantUupe, divided the in-
tuo Mari apud castrum de Wigge- heritance, 1259. — Seep.101. Through
more."— Lib. de Ant. Leg. Eva William de Cantilupe became
3 Chr. Mailr. "Quidam alius ana- lord of Abergavenny. She was pro-
thema diaboli" — "quidam ex filiis bably buried at Abbey Dore. — See
Belial." He was accidentaUy pushed ArchreoL Journ. for 1862, p. 27.

286

THE BARONS WAR.

[CH.

Sussex and Brecknock, the re-marriage of her grandfather to
Gladuse, a Welsh Princess, afterwards married to Ralph de
Mortimer1, had probably caused her to spend most of her
life among the savage borderers of Wales, and qualified her in
the opinion of others for the reception of so unfeminine an
offering2. Some portions of the mutilated body of de Montfort ap
pear to have been sent for exhibition at different towns, "not
for reverence, but for disgrace3," and some fragments, with
the trunk, were collected by the monks of Evesham, with as
much respect as they dared to exhibit, carrying them on a
hurdle wrapped in an old cloth to their abbey ; they were
buried with his comrade le Despenser in front of the high
altar4. The pious care of his burial by these monks5, whose
1 Reginald de Braose, m. 1. Griselda[Gra?cia;— Dugdale],
I eldest sister and coheir

Eva, d. of E. of Pembroke, m. WiUiam de Braose.

of WilUam de Bruwere,
son ef W. de B., buried
at DunkesweU.
Gladys or Gladuse, daugh
ter of LleweUyn, P. of
Wales, re-married Balph
de Mortimer.

Matilda, m. Roger de Mortimer. Eleanor. Eva.
Mem. Braose arms, cross, crosslets not fitche'e.

Isabella.

2 On her husband's death in 1283,
her lands were seized by the King,
and not restored until Bhe swore not
to marry again without license. She
died 1301.
3 " Membra principalia a tanto viro
amputata missa sunt loco exennU ad
majores emulos tarn viros quam mu-
lieres, non osculanda sed opprobio
ostendenda ; sed cito signis terribiU-
bus per ea ostensis venerationi sunt
habita, perseverant enim hue usque
carne integra odore aromatico." —
Chr. Lanerc.
4 ' ' Truncus autem corporis sui tan-
tummodo datum est sepultura? in ec-
clesiS, de Evesham."— Lib. de Ant.
Leg. " Sed dicunt quidam universa
membra ejus taUter sparsa mirabiliter
in brevi coadunata esse ad invicem,
et condita esse in loco ubi nuno
habetur honorifice sepultus, sciUcet

apud Abbatiam de Evesham." — Chr.
Anon. MS. Cott. Cleop. A. 190. Ac
cording to Ann. Waverl. de Montfort
and le Despenser were buried, "ante
magnum altare ante gradum inferio-
rem." The Chr. Evesham states the
burial to have been conducted with
out outward marks of honour, from
fear of the King.
6 There was no abbot at the time,
the vacancy after the death of Henry
of Worcester (Nov. 1263) not hav
ing been fiUed up. — Dugd. Monast.
" ReUquum corporis quod sub divo
dereUctum fuerat super scalam de-
bUem et veterem coUocaverunt, et
viU et debiU coUobio et dilacerato co-
operuerunt et ad ecclesiam conven-
tualem de Evesham deportaverunt,
et in Untheamine mundo involven-
tes in monumento novo reposuer
runt."- Chr. Abingd. MS. Bodl. 712.

XV.] BATTLE OF EVESHAM. 287
guest he bad been the night before his death1, was soon
rewarded by the lustre and profit of the many miracles
worked by the relics of the sainted martyr; for such he was
regarded by the people. " As the news of his death spread
over the land there was a suspension of mirth, and an univer
sal lamentation arose, until the sighs were turned into hymns
of praise and gladness by the numerous miracles announced
to have been effected by his unconquerable firmness and
patience and purity of faith, and these gave hopes of here
after recovering from the oppression of the wicked2." Such
were the excited feelings of the time; and it is not impro
bable that his enemies afterwards removed and concealed
his remains in order to check the veneration they were
held in3.
The first alleged miracle occurring immediately after his
death is highly characteristic of the current manners and
opinions. The bearer of the fearful trophy to Wigmore4 had
not found the lady Matilda in the castle, She was at mass
in the neighbouring abbey, founded by the de Mortimers,
1 Chron. Petroburg. (publ. by the earl's body having Christian
Camden Society) relates the severe burial, inasmuch as he was excom-
punishment which the monks of municated and a traitor. They ob-
Evesham brought upon themselves tained leave to have the body dug
by favouring S. de Montfort. AU up, and thrown into a farther place,
their manors were seized, some by which at the time of the writer was
the King, others by Pr. Edward, the only known to a few. This was no
Earl de Warenne, the Earl of Glou- doubt Dugdale's authority for saying
cester and others (pro eo quod Abbas in a passage Mr Blaauw had marked
ex edicto Comitis misit apud Kenel- for reprehension that "the common
wirthe servicium suum et alibi contra people out of high indignation to-
dominum regem). Fines exceeding wards him who had been the chief
3000 marcs were exacted (sine dUaci- instrument of mischief to the whole
one) so that the abbey was long after realm digged it up," &c. — Short View
loaded with debt. 1265°. p. 18. of the late Troubles^
2 W. Rish. de BeUo Lew. et Evesh. 4 Wigmore had Deen conquered
3 Chr. Abingd. states this ex- from Edric Earl of Shrewsbury by
pressly. Extensive excavations were the de Mortimer who accompanied
lately made on the site of the abbey WUUam I. Two wooden bottles fiU-
church, but nothing was found to ed with wine were long kept there,
identify the place of burial of the which had been sent to Roger by the
Earl of Leicester. [Mr Luard has re- Queen of Navarre, 1279, in compli-
ferred me to an interesting passage ment of his valour at a tournament,
in the Osney Annals (pp. 176, 177), and he added a carbuncle to his
which says that after a short time arms in her honour. — See Banks'
"quidam nostrates" murmured at Dorm. Baron.

288 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH;
and thither the messenger followed her, still bearing the
head, and thrusting into his bosom the maimed hands sewn
up in a cloth. As he rushed into the church in the eager
ness of his zeal, and whispered the tidings of victory into the
ears of the devout lady, at the moment of the elevation
of the Host, the hands of Simon de Montfort, as if from the
force of long habit during life, they were now irresistibly
attracted to their accustomed duties at so solemn a service,
were seen by the whole congregation to be raised up over
the messenger's head, clasped together in prayer, although
they were afterwards found within the bag, with its stitches
undisturbed as before. The Lady Matilda, herself a witness
of this scene, is said to have refused the hands admittance to
the castle, and sent them back to Evesham1.
As this marvel was enacted among his enemies only, it
naturally became the forerunner of many among his friends ;
and,' in spite of the discouragement of the court2, the odour
of his supposed sanetity diffused its efficacy over the land.
The particulars of 212 miracles3 have been noted down as
they occurred, comprising all manner of cures effected, not
only on men, but on horses, oxen, and hawks; fevers, fits
blindness, dumbness, even death itself, .all gave way when the
patients were true believers, while distant revilers were struck
dumb. Of the prayers directly addressed to the political
saint, one hymn has been preserved to us : —
"Salve Symoh Montis Fortis, HaU, Simon de Montfort, hail,
Totius flos miUtia?. Knighthood's fairest flower !
Duras pcenas passus mortis England does thy death bewail,
Protector gentis AngUa?. Whom thou didst shield with power.
* * * * * *
Sis pro nobis intercessor . Never did saint such tortures rend,,
Apud Deum, qui defensor As thee of martyr race :
In terr& extiteras4." Thou who on earth didst God defend,
Now gain for us God's grace.
1 "Sic se habet vera relatio." — s Lately printed by the Camd. Socr
Chr. Mailr. with W. Rishanger's Chr. from MSS.
2 The celebrated "Defense a Dieu Cott. Vesp. A vi.
de faire miracle ici," in the Jansenist 4 Mirac. Sim. de Montfort.
controversy, was here anticipated.

XV.] BATTLE OF EVESHAM. 289
But besides prayer, other curious modes of obtaining
relief by his intercession were in common use, such as bend
ing money in his honour1, and the process of " mensuration,"
which consisted of the application to the sufferer of some
fillet or string which had been previously put round the
saint's body. Several priests- certify to such miracles as the
following specimen : " A certain man at Hawkesbury, dumb
and convulsed for seven years, being measured by the earl,
immediately recovered from all his infirmities. The Abbot of
Pershore and many others bear witness to this." The priors
of Gloucester, Oxford, and Waltham testify to others. The
Countess of Gloucester, the Countess of Albemarle, and many
noble ladies also appear as witnesses. Persons drowned and
burnt to death recovered. "Avicia, daughter of Alan of
Derby, after being unquestionably dead2, roused herself and
got well on being measured by Earl Simon." " Gregory de
Grandun, rector of the church of Sapecot, reports of his ox,
which would not eat for fifteen days, on a piece of money
being bent in honour of the Earl, immediately ate greedily
and recovered." Whole parishes and towns testify to some
instances, among which some are dated as late as 1278,
proving how long the memory of Simon de Montfort con
tinued to exercise influence : pilgrims came to his tomb from
afar, and though persons of all ranks readily attested the
miracles performed there, yet none dared to talk openly of
them, from fear of the King and Prince Edward.
These wonders have been justly scoffed at by a Roman
Catholic historian3 in modern times, as " a number of ridicu
lous miracles," but they were not so considered at the time;
and the faith of political partisans even attributed similar
miraculous power to Henry de Montfort and others of the
•nobles, whom they considered to have earned the crown of
martyrdom at Evesham4. However little such claims of
1 " Denario plicato ad Comitem." Chr. H. de Silgrave, MSS. Cott. Cleop.
2 " Certissime mortua." A. xn. "Cujus postmodum justicia?
3 Liugard, Hist. Engl. infallibile signum fuit crebra mira-
4 "Martirii corona laureati." — culorum exhibitio divinitus exhibits U

290 THE barons' war. • [ch.
supernatural agency may be adapted to the credulity of the
present age, an age supplying humble followers to Mor-
monism, and educated crowds to Mesmerism, they mark,
at any rate, the prevalent temper of a distant period, and
strongly denote the affectionate regard in which the memory
of Simon de Montfort was held.
" And so finished his labours,, that glorious man Earl
Simon (observes his contemporary1), who devoted not only
his property, but his own self in behalf of the oppressed poor,
in the assertion of justice and of the rights of the kingdom ;
he was commendable also for his literary knowledge, rejoiced
always to be present at divine services, was frugal, and accus
tomed, to watch at nights more than to sleep. He was sted
fast to his word, grave in countenance, especially trustworthy,
and respectful towards churchmen ; endeavouring to follow
the blessed Robert Grethead, Bishop of Lincoln, he commit
ted to him the education of his children. By his advice he
dealt with difficulties, and attempted and accomplished what
he undertook, particularly those matters which he considered
most useful. It is said, indeed, that the great enterprise, for
which he strove unto death, was imposed on him for the
remission of his sins, by the injunction of the bishop, who
declared that the peace of the' English Church could not
be secured without the sword, and that all who died for it
should be crowned with martyrdom. The. bishop is also said
to have foreseen the deaths of the father and son on the same
day, and to have assured young Henry, with his hand on his
head, that they should die in the cause of truth and justice."
The people had already made a saint of the bishop, whose
principles he had imbibed and put into action, looking now
on de Montfort as " the perfect pupil of a perfect master."
In the skill of arms and the art of war he was acknow-
circa Hugonem Dispensatorem, sum- qui fidem Domino servantes usque
mum Justiciarium AngUa?, virum ad mortem creduntur regnare cum
justissimum et a?quissimum in omni Deo in gloria." — Chr. Mailros.
judicio circa divites et pauperes et 1 W. Rishanger.
circa Symonem et nonnullos alios

XV.] BATTLE OF EVESHAM. 291
ledged to excel all of his time, while his stedfastness of pur
pose and composure amidst the greatest difficulties were
equally remarkable. Many of his private habits befitted his
character as a soldier. It is stated, on the authority of inti
mate eye-witnesses, that he was abstemious in eating and
drinking, slept little, and was of a jocund and cheerful dis-
. course1. Though his dress in public was of blue or crimson,
as suitable to his rank, yet in private his plain russet tunic
constantly covered a penitential haircloth2.
The intimacy he maintained with two of the greatest
scholars of the age, Bishop Grethead and Adam de Marisco,
allows us to infer the character of his intellect and the in
clination of his tastes in private life3. Both these are selected
for especial praise by their friend Roger Bacon, as "most
famous men, who by the power of mathematics knew how to
explain the causes of all things, and to expound satisfactorily
both human and divine matters4."
The Franciscan friar, Adam de Marisco6, was frequently
an inmate in de Montfort's family, and his curious and in^
1 W. Rish. de BeUo Lew. et Evesh. with the family of the Justiciary of
8 Chr. Mailr. Ireland. It is at least equally pro-
3 " Litteratura? scientia commen- bable that he was connected with
dabiliter pra?ditus." — W. Rish. Adam de Marisco of Andover, who
4 Roger Bacon, Opus Magnum, p. is mentioned in official records of
64. ed. 1733. It is curious to find King John's reign (Chancellor's Roll,
two such great names linked together, pp. 249, 254, Rot. de Fin. p. 447).
as the Bishop's and *R. Bacon's, in Relatives of the famous Adam were
Hudibras, speaking of the conjurer, Robert, probably a brother, who was
P. n. c. 3. 223 : made Archdeacon of Oxford about
"Tet none a deeper knowledge 1248 ; Thomas consanguineus ; and
boasted WiUiam, germanus, baiHff of Bugden,
Since old Hodge Bacon, and Bob and seemingly in Bishop Grossefete's
Grosted." service (Mon. Fran. pp. lxxvi — ¦¦
5 "Wherever there was a marsh," lxxviii). Of the S«Bnerse.tshire fa-
says Professor Brewer, ' ' there also mily the first known is probably W.
would be found a De Marisco." Ne- de Marisco, who held the island of
vertheless he has himself done so Lundy about 1200, besides land in
much toward disentangling the pe- Somersetshire (Rot. de Oblatis, pp.
digreeof Adam de Marisco, that I do 101, 228, 291, See.). A Geoffrey de
not hesitate to substitute his results Marisco was Justiciary of J_reland
with some of my own for a note of 1215—1228, and held lands in Mun-
Mr Blaauw's. Adam de Marisco is ster (Leland, i. p. 195), and he or
said by Leland (de Script. Brit. p. another Geoffrey joined in the Earl
268) to have been a native of Somer- Marshal's rebelUon against Henry III.
setshire, probably to connect him In October 1234,WiUiam de Marisco,
U2

292 - THE BARONS' war. [ch.
teresting correspondence, still extant in manuscript1, proves
his cordial sympathy with him on all occasions, public and
private. The King had appointed him, in 1257, in conjunc
tion with the Bishop of Worcester and Hugh le Bigod, to
negociate a treaty with France, under the direction of Simon
-de Montfort and Peter de Savoy, whose assent to their ar
rangements was made necessary2. During the campaigns in
Gascony de Marisco was an anxious observer of the court
intrigues, which affected his absent friend the Earl of Leices
ter, reporting frequent interviews with the King and Queen
on his behalf, warning him of the enmity or the occasional
courtesy of the Queen towards him; and though listening
to the King's avowed confidence in the earl's integrity, yet
leading him to expect the evasion of the sworn stipulations
in his favour, and at times not daring even to approach the
King when exasperated. Frequently did de Marisco send
his messengers, Gregory de Losell and John de la Haye, with
tidings of public affairs, as well as of the good progress and
health of the young de Montforts, then pupils " of excellent
disposition and of great hope," " advancing day by day in
age, piety, and grace," under the Bishop of Lincoln's tuition.
Amidst all his devotion to the Earl's interests, however, the
good friar did not refrain from bold reproaches when the
son and heir of Jordan de Marisco, dom (Mon. Fran. p. 613), (2) Richard
fined to recover the King's grace for de Marisco, hanged for kUling Matil-
complicity in that rebellion, and in da Halfkarl his mother (Calend.
Aug. 1235, another WiUiam de Ma- Geneal. i. p. 27), and (3) Robert de
risco was formally excepted from the Marisco of WUts, outlawed for kfll-
king's grace granted to his father ing Jordan de Doniton (Exc. e Rot.
Geoffrey (Excerpta e Rot. Fin. i. pp. Fin. i. p. 277) P.
267, 286). It was probably this i MSS. Cott. Vitel C. viii. On
WUUam who lived afterwards 'as a one occasion Adam de Marisco went
pirate on Lundy Island, and was at the Queen's request to Reading
hanged in 1242. Besides these, it and Odiham to treat about business
is not improbable that Richard de concerning the king and his heirs;
Marisco, Chancellor 1214 — 1226, and and soon afterwards to Brumhale
Bishop of Durham 1216, "one of the (near Sunninghill in Berks and
household andmannersof kingjohn," about four miles from Windsor), to
(Wendover, iv. p. 46,) may have been meet the Earl and Countess of Lei-
of the Somersetshire family. Other cester. Ep. A. de Marisco, p. 152, ed.
noticeable de Mariscos of this period Brewer.
are (1) Adam de Marisco, convicted 2 Westm., June22,1257.— Eyrcer.
of robbery, and banished the king-

XV:] BATTLE OF EVESHAM. 293
interests of religion were in question; and one of his letters
thus rebuked the Earl for having widowed the church of
Odiham by taking abroad with him the Chancellor of Sarum
from the duty of serving it : — " My mind has not been a little
troubled by these thoughts, and I cannot think why you
thus acted so evidently wrong; my grief is increased by what
I hear, that you entertain certain follies1 in this particular,
which must be reproved, not defended. May heavenly light
enable your eyes to see divine truth ! lest seduced -by the
fallacies of the age, which God forbid, you fall into the pit
with your blind leaders. By the honour of God, by your own
salvation, by the dignity of the Church, I implore your pious
discretion to study the correction of this transgression, and
send back their shepherd to his own sheep2." Simon de
Montfort's temper little welcomed reproof, even from so sin
cere a friend, and his anger on this occasion is referred to in
a subsequent letter by de* Marisco as excessive, but the friar
replied with the honest consciousness of right : " As my own
heart has not yet reproached me, I neither fear your judg
ment nor your accusation in this matter." In other letters
de Marisco saluted the Earl by wishing him " the spirit of
wholesome counsel, joined with the spirit of holy fortitude,"
exhorting him to " fear not, for the Lord is with you ;" and
hailed him a's destined " to purge and enlighten the Church
of God, as well as to establish a fitting government in the
state, by his unwearied anxieties." Admitted to all the
secrets of the Earl's designs, the cautious friar is found re
peatedly urging restraint of tongue on his great leader, " for
the heart of fools is in their mouth, but the tiouth of the
wise is in their heart." On one occasion he appears to refer
to some daring enterprise of the Earl with similar prudence.
"On the business, indeed, which you know of3, it seems to
me that nothing should at present be written, especially as it
1 " Quasdam habetis ineptias." "immodica littera" to which he
s Epist. A. de Marisco.pp. 262, 266, objected was one of extravagant com-
270—276, ed. Brewer. [Mr Blaauw, mendation.]
has, I think, mistaken the purport a " Super negocio quod nostis."
of Simon de Montfort's answer. The ' ' -

294 THE BARONS' WAR. [di.
concerns the most important matters, and on one side the
greatest salvation is hoped for, while on the other the great
est dangers are not shunned. The voice alone, and not the
mute writing, can fully answer the many questions. I there
fore entreat your Serenity not to be displeased if I do not
write back as you wished concerning that deed of such doubt
and alarm 1, for I perceive how inexpedient it would be to
introduce the peril of irreparable damage by any careless
ness." ' By profession and character a man of peace, de Ma
risco excused himself even from the service of the Earl, when
his duty called him to read lectures at Oxford, and he ap
pears to have contemplated with horror the unbridled license
of the civil war, and the sad spectacle of wickedness resulting
from the gathering of armies and their contests.
The attachment of so eminent a man as de Marisco seems
to reflect honour upon the Earl of Leicester, and there can
be no doubt that the fall of this "great political chief was
widely lamented, not only by the barons of his party, but by
the great body of the people, and by those who most sym
pathised with their feelings, the clergy. Most of the chroni
cles and poems of the times are by clerical hands, and they
are nearly unanimous in regretting his overthrow, as that of
a champion of the Church and people. There is something
very solemn and plaintive in the poem called the Lament of
Simon de Montfort, every stanza of which concludes with
this burthen :
"Ore est ocys la flur de pris, Ah! low now Ues our flower of piice,
Qe taunt savoit de guere, Who led the war so weU:
Ly Quens Montfort, sa dure mort E arl Montfort's death shaU England's
Molt emplorra la terre2," breath
Bewail with woe and knell.
1 "De illo facto tarn ambigua? dressed to Henry de Lexington, Dean
formidinis." The letters not being of Lincoln, between 1245 and 1254 ;
dated, it is not possible to ascertain others refer to the disastrous crusade
what is thus aUuded to by de Marisco. of Louis IX. Epist. A. de Marisco,
Some of the events referred to, how- ed. Brewer, pp. 254, 326, 405.
ever, sufficiently denote the dates of 2 MSS. Harl. 2253, printed in Bit-
several: one speaking of Anian, as son's Ancient Songs, PoUtical Songs,
bishop-elect of St Asaph, was pro- and elsewhere.
bably written in 1249; another, ad-

XV.]

BATTLE OF EVESHAM.

295

With a prophetic spirit, however, the author considered
de Montfort, even by his death, to have gained the victory
for his cause, in the same manner as Thomas a Becket had
done : —

" M4s par sa mort le Cuens Mount-
fort,
Conquist la victoria
Gome ly martyr de Caunterbyr
Finist sa vie;
Ne voleit pas U bon Thomas
Qe perist Seinte EgUse,
hy Cuens ausi se combati,
E morust sauntz feyntise.
Ore est ocys, &c.

Qe voleint moryr e mentehir
La pees s la dreyture,
Le Beint martir lur fra joyr,
Sa conscience pure,
Qe velt moryr e sustenir
Les honmes de la terre
Son bon desir acomplir
Quar bien le quidom fere.
Ore est ocys," &c.

Yet by the blow that laid thee low,
Brave Earl, one palm was given,
Nor less at thine, than Becket's
shrine,
Shall rise our vows to heaven.
Our church and laws, your common
cause,
'Twas his the church to save;
Our rights restored, thou, generous
Lord,
Shall triumph in the grave,
* * *
Each righteous Lord who braved the
sword,
And for our safety died,
With conscience pure shall aye en
dure
Our martyred saint beside.
That martyred saint was never faint
To ease the poor man's care,
With gracious wiU he shaU fulfil
Our just and earnest prayer1.

A modern historian has remarked with great eloquence,
that "he died unconscious of the imperishable name which
he acquired, and which he probably considered as of very
small importance. He thus unknowingly determined that
*{l; England was to be a free country, and he was the blind
instrument of disclosing to the world that grea# institution
of representation, which was to introduce into popular
governments a regularity of order far more perfect than had
heretofore been purchased by submission to absolute power,
and to draw forth liberty from confinement in single cities,
to a fitness for being spread over territories, which experience

1 The author has gladly availed two stanzas by G. ElUs, in Ritson's
himself of the translation of these Anc. Songs, ed. 1829.

296 THE barons' war. [ch. XV.
does not forbid to hope may be as vast as have ever been
grasped by the iron gripe of a despotic conqueror1."
Such eulogies, and the' affection of his contemporaries,
must.be fairly weighed against the charges of other authors.
If Simon de Montfort were, indeed, as Hume terms him, a
bold and artful conspirator with hypocritical pretensions to
sanctity, of unbounded ambition, barefaced avarice, violence,
ingratitude, tyranny, rapacity, and treachery, then, without
dispute, his death was " the most fortunate event that could
have occurred ;" but in that case, the unexplained love of the
nobles, clergy, and people, for his memory, after his life and
power had ceased, will constitute a greater marvel than any
of the two hundred and twelve miracles imputed to him.
1 Sir J. Mackintosh, Hist. Engl.

CHAPTER XVI.

THE DISINHERITED.

' These disturbers were not so much Uke men usurping power, as asserting
• their natural place in society." — Buekk.

After being alternately confirmed and annulled during
seven years, the Oxford Statutes were now finally declared
void, and the mise ceased to be thought of ; but as those who
had taken part in the battles of Lewes and Evesham had all
their future lives influenced by their results, the personal
fate of some of the survivors of the overthrow may be fol
lowed with interest a little longer.
By neither party was the scaffold resorted to for addi
tional bloodshed after their respective triumphs; a moderation
which contrasts remarkably with the ferocity of manners
then general, and the practice of later times which may be
considered more civilized. A stern and ample measure of
vindictive retribution, however, was exacted in other respects
by the King's party. Commissioners wer* quickly des
patched into the different counties to seize on the lands and
goods of all who had been concerned in those proceedings,
which were now termed rebellious, though they had so
recently borne the outward aspect, and exercised the in
fluence of the united power, of King, Barons and Commons.
No order or dignity was spared during the extortion of plun
der on this occasion ; some religious communities were even

298 THE barons' war. [ch.
punishe^d, not for their actual help or intercourse with
Simon de Montfort, but for their presumed inclination to
wards his cause \
These severities were sanctioned by a Parliament held at
Winchester, September 8, 1265, to which it does not appear
that any representatives of the Commons were summoned.
By legalising the confiscation of all the estates of de Montfort
and the other defeated chiefs, the royalists provided a fund
for their own reward, which was profusely distributed among
themselves. The property, not only of the prisoners and
survivors, but even of those slain, while fighting on the same
side as the King, and under his royal banner, was included
in this wide confiscation, for the Parliament considered them
as traitors to have so acted, while the King was in* subjection
to the Earl of Leicester, who dealt with the King's seal as
he pleased2. By this retrospective vengeance the sons and
families of the defeated party became a large and distinct
class of destitute sufferers, who were often referred to for
seyeral years under the name of the Disinherited3.
A return of all the lands of rebels was required to be
made to the King by October 13*. In the single county of
Leicester a long list of landholders6 was returned as rebels.
1 W. Rish. One instance of restoration occurs
2 " Sub virga et potestate Comitis of property seized unjustly or by
Leicestrise qui fecit quicquid voluit mistake. Theking's writ, dated Win-
de Sigillo Regis." — Lib. de Ant. Leg. Chester, Sept. 14, 1265, to the Sheriff
The King alleges the same reason of Hertfordshire, orders him to re
in a Proclamation from Windsor, store the goods and chattels of John
Oct. 1, for revoking his former let- de Holemore, parson of the church of
ters, which excused from payment of Hampton in "Wathamstede," if it
debts to Jews "certain debtors, be true that he never interfered in
especiaUy those who were openly the disturbances of the kingdom.
opposing him and his first-born son, No. 441 Chanc. Rec. 5th Report.
which he had Signed while in the * Rot. Pat. 49° Henry III., Sept.
power and custody of Simon de 21.
Montfort, his enemy, who used his. 6 Thomas de Cronesley, Robert
peal at his pleasure." — Rymer. Motun de Peyelinton, Ralph Basset,
3 Their number may be learnt by Peter de Montfort, all kiUed in battle;
a solution of the following enigmati- Nicolas Segrave, Henry de Hastings,
cal Unes in MSS. Cott. Otho. D. John le Despenser, Richard de Grey,
vm. — V. W. Rish., p. 145: Robert de Wyvile, Saer de Harcourt,
"Exhseredati si fiant connumerati Geoffrey de Skeffingtpn, as prisoners;
MiUia cum binis deoa bis sunt WiUiam de Preston, John de Rey-
acta ruinis." gate, Brian de Gorva, WiUiam Mar-

XVI ] THE DISINHERITED. 299
The value of Simon de Montfort's own estates in the county
is thus given : the Burgh of Leicester, £154. Os. 4sd. ; Hinckley,
£29; Lywalton, £20; Bogworth and Torington, £20. 8s. 9d.;
Dersford, £19. 10s.; and in the royal grants disposing of
them they are spoken of as having devolved on the King as
escheats by his forfeiture 1.
The King's second son, Edmund, afterwards surnamed
Crouchback from his habit of stooping2, profited most of all
by the grants* arising from these events. His father gave
him3 all the estates, and the office of High Steward lately
t belonging to " our enemy and felon, Simon de Montfort,
by whom war was excited in our kingdom," and to these
were added also the Earldom of Derby, and the estates of
Nicolas Segrave. The Queen, in 1291, enriched him further
with the palace of Savoy ; and these ample grants ultimately
so raised the family importance of this prince4, afterwards
Earl of Lancaster, that in the fourth generation the inheritor
of his wealth and title was enabled to depose Richard II.
and to usurp the throne5.
By another grant of the same date6 Prince Henry re
ceived the estates of de Furnivall7, and all the other chief
tains were freely admitted to the division of the spoil. Roger
tell ; also Robert Burdett, as having been founded on " Edward, Earl of
fought at Evesham, and Richard de CornwaU, though nearest Prince of
Vernon, as having held Pec Castle the blood, "not enjoying any superior
for Henry de Montfort. title to the regency on that account.
1 "Ad nos tanquam escaeta nostra Edmund (not Edward), Earl of
per prffidictamforisfacturam suam de- Cornwall, was the only surviving son
venerunt." — Rot. Pat. See Nichols's of the King of the Romans, but Ed-
Leicest. Vol. i. mund Crouchback waB the nearest
2 On his tomb, however, in West- Prince of the bloo-J.
minster Abbey, he sits erect on his 6 Henry IV. inherited the property
horse fuUy armed. His first wife, from his mother, Blanche of Lan-
AveUne de Fortibus, has her effigy caster."
near him. 6 Rymer.
3 By a grant dated Canterbury, 7 Prince Henry had a grant of the
Oct. 29, 1265, and witnessed by Hugh manor of Gringley (Oct. 29, 1265,
le Bigot, Philip Basset, &c. Canterbury) which had belonged to
1 It iB remarkable that the exist- WiUiam de FurnivaU, of the county
ence of this Prince at the death of of Nottingham, who had adhered to
Henry III. should have been over- Simon de Montfort down to the
looked in HaUam's Mid. Ag. in. 274, battle of Evesham, — Rymer.
and that an argument should have

300 THE BARONS' WAR. [dl.
de Mortimer had the estates of Robert de Vere, Earl of
Oxford, given him (Oct. 27, 1265), and Gilbert de Clare
received the lands of Henry de Hastings1. From the Rolls2
containing the grants made to the conquerors, some names
may be extracted as illustrating the history of the indivi
duals, and also the confusion and arbitrary transfer of pro
perty incidental to civil war : —
Roger de CUfford had the grant of thirteen lands in Leicestershire and War
wickshire, and was made Justiciary of the Forests within Trent.
Roger de Leyboume had the thirteen manors of Henry Fitz-Aucher, and the
house of Peter de Montfort in Westminster. He was also Warden of the
Cinque Ports s. ,
Thomas de Clare had a manor of Peter de Montford, "our enemy4."
The Princess Eleanor of CastUe, received the lands of Richard de Vernon
and Richard de Gray, "rebels."
Hamo l'Estrange5 had grants of several houses of the attainted Lon
doners.
Warren de Bassingbourne had three manors in Warwickshire.
Nicolas de Lewknor, the lands of Guy de BaUiol, "rebel."
Alan Plugneth6 a manor of William MarescaU, "rebel."
1 W. Rish. Rot. Pat. 49° Hen. III. Bruges [Bridgenorth] Castle from his
2 Calend. Rot. Pat. 49° Hen. III. brother John, the sheriff of Shrop-
8 Letters Patent, dated Canterbury, shire and Staffordshire, to whom it
Oct. 28, 49°, grant a pardon for trea- was restored after the battle of Lew-
sons to R. de Leyburn. No. 461 es. Hamo's bold attempt to rescue
Chanc. Rec. 5th Rep. He took the Prince Edward at WaUingford, before
Cross to accompany Prince Edward referred to, had earned his present
on his Crusade, but died without reward. His brother John also, hav-
going. ing supported the king at Evesham,
* The manor of Greatham, co. received the lands of Richard de
Durham, the forfeited estate of Mucegros in grant. Dugd. Warw.
Peter de Montfort, " inimici nostri," Arms, Gules, two Uons passant argent
was granted to Thomas de Clare bv armed gules.
the king, at Stratford, May 23, 1267". 6 See p. 242 ante. The manor of
It was recovered apparently under Hasselbergh was thus given 1265,
the Kemlworth Dictum, but finaUy and confirmed 1267. Arms, "Sire
ceded by Peter de Montfort (before Aleyn Plokenot, de ermyn a, une
1274) to Robert StichiU, Bishop of bende engrele de goules." BoUs of
Durham. A different owner to Grea- Arms. Kal. arid Livent. Each. Eus-
tham is assigned by the list of knights tachia, the widow of Nicolas de Can-
in RandaU's MSS., " Sir Robert tilupe, having married WiUiam de
Bertram de Gretham." Ros, although the king had promised
s Of this family, descended from her to Alan Plunkenet, W. de Ros
the Dukes of Brittany, some mem- was decreed to pay reasonable amends
bers took different sides in the civU (rationabUes emendas),and 200 marcs
war. Hamo had been ordered by was accordingly paid as the value of
his party to take the command of the lady. Placit. p. 171,

XVI.] THE DISINHERITED. 301
Walter de Merton, lands of Robert Fitz-Nigel, "our enemy."
Richard de Tany*, those of Robert de Sutton, "our enemy."
Ralph de Botiller, the manor of Nicolas de Segrave.
Robert de StuteviU, a manor restored, which the rebel GUes bT'Argentin had
seized.
WiUiam de la Valence, a manor of the late Henry de la Mare2.
When policy afterwards sanctioned the restoration of
some of these tokens of triumph, it will be seen with what
reluctance and heartburnings such an unwelcome process
was submitted to. If the barons after the battle of Lewes
fed their pride and covetousness with the property of the
vanquished, it is also clear that the royalists were not slow
to reap the natural harvest of victory in their season.
The bishops, who had supported the fallen party, now
became objects of persecution. The pope, or rather popes
(for there was a quick succession of them), had throughout
these troubles the instinctive sagacity to feel that the ad
vance of civil liberty would be dangerous to their own pre
tensions, and they uniformly opposed the barons by all the
means at their disposal. The legate who had been irritated
by the resistance he had met with at Boulogne in 1264, had
now become Pope Clement IV., and in that higher station
had renewed his solemn excommunications in the church of
Perugia, declaring void the oaths of the King and Prince,
annulling all the grants made by the barons, and prefacing
the act with an osentatious meekness peculiar to papal
phraseology : " Since the Lord has appointed our Humility
. over nations and kingdoms, and has committed to us, although
unworthy, the care of all kingdoms and kings, we declare
these oaths void3."
As soon as the Pope learnt the Prince's escape, he wrote
to authorise him to govern in the King's name: "Fulfil
manfully, my son, the duties of your royal blood, and exert
1 Arms, "Argent a maunch gules." few years later was of the same
2 Arms, de la Mare, "Gules, a haughty tenor: "The sword is in
maunch argent." — Carlav. the hands of kings and soldiers, but
3 Dated Perugia, Sept. 13. — Rymer. at the nod and under the sufferance
The language of Boniface VIII. a of the Priest."

302 THE barons' war. [ch.
the vigour of your noble mind to these, purposes with becom
ing constancy and prudence1." When the triumph of the
King was at length made known — and it seems that the news
took two months to reach Perugia — the Pope's joy was hear
tily expressed : " Blessed be the Father of all mercies and
the God of all consolation, who, comforting you in such
straits, has snatched your life from the hunter's snare, burst
ing your bonds, and restoring you mercifully to your own
people. To him, whose finger has worked all this, ascribe
the glory. Exult therefore, oh illustrious Prince ! exult and
rejoice in the Lord." Mercy upon the fallen is then urged
by the Pope from political motives, excellent and remarkable
for their rare wisdom: "The humanity of forgiveness (he
observes) will attract more people to love you and your son,
than the severity of punishment will chastise; the fury of
vengeance may suppress the hate of a few, but it will excite
that of many2." The shrewd policy of these maxims, how
ever, bore no fruit : the Legate Cardinal Ottoboni, in a
Council held at Northampton8, suspended from their func
tions and solemnly excommunicated the four bishops of
London, Chichester, Winchester and Worcester. The two
first unwillingly obeyed his orders to repair to Rome within
three months : John de Exon, Bishop of Winchester, who
had paid 12,000 marcs (£8,000) to the Pope for his inves
titure four years previously, followed them with a melancholy
mind4, and died at Rome in 1268 ; the Bishop of Worcester
also, in a few weeks, ended his consistent career in poverty
and disgrace5. "He was snatched away lest he should see
evil days (observes a royalist chronicler) ; for so much did he
excel other bishop3 in holiness, that he would not unde
servedly have been enrolled among the catalogue of saints,
if he had not acted against his duty to the King and the
1 Rymer. - Ann. Evesham, -on the Quinzaine of
2 Rymer.— Perugia, Oct. 4, 1265. Easter 1266.
3 Council at Northampton, accord- * T. Wyke. — See p. 237, note 4.
ing to Chr. Dunstable, on the Feast 6 "ViUter." — W. Rish.
of S. Nicholas, 1265 ; according to

XVI.] THE DISINHERITED. 303
Apostolical Seat, by adhering strongly and firmly to Simon
de Montfort1." At a later period (from Viterbo, September 15, 1266) the
Pope, " anxious for the pacific state of England," renewed his
former excommunication of all the adherents of Simon de
Montfort, forbidding even his legate to absolve them from it
on any account, " except perhaps at the point of death2,"
and even in that case, should they recover, the curse was to
be again binding on them.
Besides the spiritual penalties of excommunication, we
must remember that persons under the ban of the Church
were shunned as lepers, to whom no one could give food or
burial. Well might Chaucer declare of his Sumpnour, " For
curse will slay right as assoiling saveth3."
On thus meeting with these repeated curses, then of such
fearful import in a worldly view, solemnly pronounced by
mortal men against their fellow-Christians, it is pleasant to
read the manly appeal from them to a higher judgment-seat,
made by their great Italian contemporary, who, confident in
the words of the Psalmist that "the goodness of God en-
dureth yet daily," gives the sentiment to King Manfredi, a
victim of this same Pope, Clement IV. : —
" Per lor maledizion si non si perde, Yet by their curse we are not so de-
ChS non possa tornar l'eterno amore, stroyed
Mentreche la Bperanza a fior del But that the eternal love may turn,
verde."— Dante, Purgat. 3. while hope
Retains her verdant blossom. Cary's transl.
The fate of young Simon de Montfort, so suddenly be-
1 T. Wyke: according to whom he friendship to nfe." "In articulo
died about All Saints', 1265 ; accord- mortis positus, se dicebat errasse
ing to others, Feb. 5, 1266. The fovendo partem Symonis de Monte-
Annals of Worcester say (p. 453) forti, et super hoc literas ad legatum
that he died Feb. 12 at his manor of direxit, petens beneficium absolutio-
Blockley, and was buried in his ca- nis, quod obtinuit et decessit." An-
thedral "juxta magnum altare." gUa Sacra, p. 496.
One' of Adam de Marisco's letters to 2 " Nisi forsan in articulo mortis."
the Earl speaks of the bishops of — Rymer.
Lincoln and Worcester as "of all 3 Cant. Tales.
others the most favourable in special

30-t THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
come the head, though no longer the heir of his family, by
the deaths of his father and brother, was full of eventful
changes. It does not appear that he had advanced a step
from Kenilworth1, after he had allowed himself to be there
surprised, though his immediate junction with his father
might have averted the fatal disaster at Evesham. Both
shame and the want of the necessaries he had then lost2
checked his movements, until the tidings of ruin over
whelmed him. For many days did he refuse all food and
drink in the anguish of his heart3, but his grief did not
mislead him into acts of cruelty, when urged upon him by
his partisans. Within the castle of Kenilworth, which had
been fortified with the utmost skill by the Earl of Leicester,
the King of the Romans and his youngest son, Edmund4,
were still detained in custody. Some angry zealots were
eager to take a summary vengeance on them for the bar
barous treatment of the great Earl, but young Simon, with
equal policy and generosity, not only resisted this, but in
September gave them their liberty5.
The powerful friend thus secured to him did not fail
openly to avow his obligation and to intercede for him at
court, in spite of the hostility of de Clare, who, with the
bigotry of a convert, protested against any mercy towards
the son of his former colleague. Young de Montfort was
allowed however to approach the King at Northampton, and
was offered a pension of 500 marcs (£333. 6s. 8d.), during
the continuance of tranquillity, after surrendering Kenil-
1 According to T. Wyke, howeverr s T. Wyke.
Symon saw the rout of his party at- 4 " Cum filio postumo." — T.Wyke.
Evesham from a distant height, and 6 The widow of Hugh le Despenser
then returned. Simon junior "vo- also released the royalist nobles in
lens ad patrem suum accedere quos- her custody at this time, and retired
dam obviam habuit qui venerant de to her father PhiUp Basset. "Luc-
campo et nuntiabant ei quid accide- tuosa se transferens mortem mariti
rat; ipse vero dolore effectus vehe- sui inconsolabiliter deplorabat." — T.
menti in castrum de quo exierat Wyke. Almeric de Montfort wrote
reversus est." Ann. de Wigorn. to her from Dover, July 13, 1265.
2 "Tarn pudore quam rerum ab-. She afterwards married Roger le
latarum inopiS ad patrem redire Bigot.
differens." — Nangis.

XVI.] THE DISINHERITED. 305
worth and retiring abroad. The garrison at Kenilworth,
however, would take no orders but from the widowed coun
tess, who held a grant of it for her life, and Simon, with a
spirit too proud to submit to his humbled condition, and
indignant at . the severity shewn to his mother, suspected
treachery on being compelled to accompany the King to
London, and suddenly withdrew from the court, in Feb. 1266,
Repairing to Winchelsea, he soon made himself formidable
by _ his bold piracies at sea, and by gathering troops On the
opposite coast1. His threatened invasion was denounced in
a royal proclamation from Northampton, May 18, 1266 2.
It is unnecessary to detail all the scattered hostilities
that ensued3. The resistance to the King's authority was
obstinate and prolonged, though limited to a few points
where the partisans of the barons still held a lofty language
in claim of public rights and state reform. The "mountain
nymph, sweet liberty," has often betaken herself to swamps
without any detriment to her healthy complexion, as Venice
and Holland and Athelney may witness. It was from the
fens of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire, the isles of Axholme
and Ely (so often the stronghold of refuge to the malcontent
Saxons after the conquest, and fortified by their brave chief
Hereward}, that the disinherited under young de Montfort
now spread terror far and wide for two years.
It is said that many of the barons then repented that
they had not submitted to the Award of Amiens4, but at any
1 Ann. WaverL terram et aufugit cum paucis qui
2 Rymer. eum sequi poterant." Ferrers fled
3 One of the greatest defeats of to the church, bull was taken in his
the barons was at Chesterfield, 1266, concealment, "prodente eum qua-
when they were suddenly attacked dam muliere." Sayville afterwards
: by the Royalists, " quasi dormientes." collected forces in Axholme (Haxai-
The Earl of Ferrers and "' Johannes lylum), captured Lincoln 1267, plun-
Sayville (al. Dayville) homo quidem dering and kiUing the Jews, and
callidus et bellator fortis" were burning "omnes cartas et obligacio-
among the chiefs of the barons. nes quascumque invenire potuerunt."
" SayviUe confestim armatus, dum — Chr. Walt. Hemingford, p. 587, ed.
. exiret ut f ugeret, percussit Dominum Gale.
Gilbertum Hanusard (see p. 248) et 4 G. Daniel, Hist, de Fr. Vol. in.
eum cum ictu lanceae dejecit in

306 THE barons' war. [ch.
rate their reply to the excommunications and reproaches of
their enemy was fearless and dignified. "They professed,
unreservedly, the same unshaken faith in religious matters
which St Edmund and St Robert (Grethead) the church-
reformers had held, and they complained of the irreverent
banishment of the four popular bishops ; when charged with
plunder, they justified their living upon the goods of their
enemies, who had unjustly disinherited them from the
estates which their ancestors had won by the sword ; and
when reproached with treason, they asserted that they were
but fighting, as they had sworn to do, for the good of the
Kingdom and of the Church, anxious only to obey the
Oxford Statutes, and averse from any crusade being preached
which might lure away the natives of England, in order
to make more room for favoured aliens1." This last objec
tion, while it marks the waning popularity of the Crusades, had
never been thought of under any other King than Henry III.
It was not until the cities of Norwich, Ely, and Cam
bridge had been taken by these desperate men, that the
energy of Prince Edward overpowered them, July 27, 12672.
For this service the King had required the Abbey of St
Alban's, among others, to send their quota of soldiers, who
were accordingly conducted to the place of meeting by their
archdeacon. * Either this clerical troop3 did not look military
enough, or the King chose to punish their supposed incli
nation to the other side, for we are told that after they
had been kept for twenty days at the place appointed, he
exacted sixty marcs (£40), in lieu of the service of each
knight, and so dismissed them4.
1 W. Rish. de BeUo Lew. et Ev. nostri fecerunt servitium quod nobis
2 Chr. Mailr. debent cum dilectis et fidelibus nos-
3 A discharge was given by the tris Henrico de A lemania, Johanne de
King to the Bishop of Durham (Ro- Balliolo, et ceteris, from Friday after
bert de StichiU), Peter de Brus, St George to Monday the morrow of
Ralph FitzRauulph (summoned to the Trinity, dated Northampton, May
Pari. 1264), WiUiam Baron de Grai- 23,"50tt (1266).— Hutchinson's Dur-
stock and Nicholas de Bolteby, for ham, Vol. i. 216. — (See Rymer, Vol.
their military service "of 40 days" i. 835).
per praceptum Edwardi primogeniti 4 Will. Rish.

XVI.] THE DISINHERITED. 307
A similar outbreak in the North under the disinherited
Earl of Derby was also suppressed by Prince Henry. Kenil
worth, however, though blockaded by a large array, required
a siege of sixteen months to reduce it.
Some of the ¦ incidents of the siege, the alternation of
savage vengeance with chivalrous courtesy, are characteristic
of the then usages of war. The besieged, on one occasion,
cut off the hand of the royal herald who had come to sum
mon them to surrender, and sent it to the King as a present
from the disinherited ; while at another time a wounded
Royalist having died a prisoner in the castle, his enemies
¦carried him forth in honourable procession with lighted
tapers, and placed the corpse outside, so that his friends might
bury him in peace. The garrison of 1200 men, besides whom
there were fifty-three of their wives with their handmaidens,
were so confident in their strength, that during many months
the" castle gates were left open all day in defiance, and a
sallying party even took Tickhill Castle, belonging to Prince
Edward. Trenches were cut to hem them in, and huge
wooden towers holding slingers and bowmen, one especially
•called a Bear from its size, were advanced forward ; barges
were transported overland from Chester to assist in the
assault across the castle lake ; but the besieged resisted
these efforts with success by mangonels and other engines,
until hunger, which reduced them to eat horseflesh, and its
follower, disease, obliged them to accept the terms of sur
render offered them1.
A species of compromise, relaxing the severity -of their fate,
was on this occasion arranged in favour of -the disinherited ;
and the terms, though drawn up by a committee of Royalists
at Coventry, caused much dissatisfaction among those of
their partisans who disliked to give up their share of con
fiscated property. De Clare and De Mortimer retired from
1 1267. " 51° mesme l'an, aprSs la suiant qe le chastel fu rendu. Mesme
Trinite" [June 12], comensa le siege l'an, entour la Seint Mychel, con
de Kilingworth, et se tint jesk le jour quirent les desheritez I'lUe de Ely."
Seinte Lucye prochein :[Dec. 13] — Fr. Chr. London.
X2

308 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
court in disgust at such a process, though the former had
been associated with the archbishop and others to con
sider the conditions on which the civil war might be brought
to an end.
The Kemlworth decree1, as it was commonly named,
permitted the disinherited to obtain pardon for their trea-'
son, and restoration of their estates by payment to the
Royalist grantees of fines varying from one to five years'
value. Those whose guilt consisted in having accepted -office
under Simon de Montfort were required to pay one or two
years' value, and those who had drawn their swords against
the King, five years. Even from this composition, however,
the de Montforts were in express terms altogether excluded ;
and special penalties, in fines of seven years' value, were
imposed on Henry de Hastings for his personal assault on
the King's herald, and on Robert Ferrers, Earl of Derby,
whose violent outrages previous to the battle of Lewes-
were remembered now in bar of his pardon, even though;
he had not been present at Evesham. This nobleman had
indeed lost the favour of both parties, for he had even
been imprisoned by the Earl of Leicester the year before
on account of his unsteady conduct ; and after now making
his peace with the Royalists, he again took up arms, and
when defeated by Prince Henry was kept in custody for
three years. Ultimately the ransom of his lands was fixed
so high, £50,000, that they were never redeemed from Prince
Edmund who held them, and the attainted earl was never
able to recover his title2.
Many of the disinherited took advantage of this decree
of Kenilworth to compound for their lost estates3, though
1 Dated Oct. 31, 1267. The Royal- act as umpire.— W. Rish.
ists who devised it were the Arch- 2 V. Abbrev. Plaoit. p. 187.
bishop, Nicholas de Ely Bishop of 3 Thus W. de Berwick claimed his
Worcester, Gilbert de Clare, Hum- lands from AnceUinus Basset ; Brian
phry de Bohun Earl of , Hereford, de Guwiz from Robert de Briwes ;
Philip Basset, John Baliol, Roger Henry de Penebrigg from Hugh de
Someri, with the Papal Legate Car- Mortimer; W. de Tracy from Walter
dinal Ottoboni, and Prince Henry to de Caple. Widows and heirs in a

XVI.] THE DISINHERITED. 309
the reluctance with which the new grantees submitted to
their restoration gave rise to many disputes and lawsuits.
Evidence of the King's lingering partiality for foreigners,
the bane of his long government, had been visible by bis
grant of the earldom of Norfolk to his son-in-law, the Duke
de St Pol1, son of the Duke of Brittany. It is recorded
indeed that the young Prince never ventured upon a seizin
of the lands thus given him, knowing well that Roger le
Bigot was too dangerous a competitor to meet with on such
an errand with impunity.
The pleas by which the claims for restoration were met
in the records of the King's courts were various, and some
explain the manner in which this final pacification was
carried into effect. Some claims were resisted on the plea
that the original holder continued in rebellion after the
battle of Evesham; or did not submit writhin the appointed
time ; others that the claimant was a London citizen, and
as such not entitled to any indulgence. Some, as Geoffry
de Herietesham, thought a boast of their own unshaken
loyalty to the King during the whole war2 a sufficient
similar manner advanced claims to after Evesham ; his seal bore "barry
the lands of those slain, as W. de la of six, charged with fleur de luces."
Puxle, Thomas Corbet, Lawrence He died 1275*-Dugd. Mon.
TreUoske, Ralph de NormanviUe, W. 1 John (son of John I. , Duke of
de Eyet, W. de Byrmingham. — See Brittany), afterwards John II., born
Placit. Hen. III. and Ed. I. passim. 1238, married, in 1259, Beatrix, the
["Robert de Briwes appears to have daughter of Henry III., and died 1306.
held lands in Norfolk and Lincoln, Peter de Dreux, Earl of Brittany, Earl
and the manor of Staples in Somer. of Richmond, died 1250. His son /o/m
setshire. There was a Justice Iti- bore the same arms as his father, che-
nerant of this name between 1266 quy or and azure, a canton ermine,
and 1271." Exc. e Rot. Fin. n. with the addition of a bordure gules
pp.446— 545.] " Hugh de Mortimer" bearing 10 lions of {England.— GeU's
was son of Robert de Mortimer of Regist. Hon. de Richmond.
Eicards Castle, who held 23 knights John d. 1286,
fees, 12° Hen. II., and was related to I
the Mortimers of Wigmore. Hugh was John d. 1333,
ordered in 1260 to repair to Ricards I
Castle in order to oppose Llewellyn, John IV. d. 1399,
and again in 1263. After the battle I
of Lewes, Hugh was obliged to sur- John V. d. 1442.
render the castle to Simon de Monk 2 "Ante guerram et in principio
fort, after seeing the lands of de medio et fine nunc et semper parti
Mortimer ravaged : he recovered it Domini Regis adhesit."

310 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
reason for keeping what they had got ; and John de Bole-
mar, when accused of stealing three horses valued at 30s.,
four oxen at 48s., fourteen cows at £5, three bullocks at
21s., eleven sheep at 21 marcs and 5s. (£14. 5s), boldly
pleaded that he took them purposely, because he knew
their owner, John de Gurney, had fought against the King
at Lewes1. With the surrender at Kenilworth, December 1267, the
civil war ended. The sagacity and enterprise of Prince
Edward, more than supplying the defects of the incompe
tent monarch, enabled the royal cause to enjoy henceforth
an almost undisturbed triumph. The great influence and
popularity of the young Prince caused his persevering
revenge again to weigh heavily on the unfortunate Lon
doners, whom, from the moment of their insult to his mo
ther, he seems to have regarded as personal enemies. He
could now gratify to the full the same vindictive spirit
which had nerved his arm and blinded his judgment, when,
" like an eagle in a dove-cot, he fluttered " them from the
field of Lewes. By a royal grant (from Northampton, May
12, 1266 2) the goods of all the citizens of London who
had taken part with the barons were given over to his
disposal. In spite of the safe conduct which had encouraged
him to approach the King, Thomas Fitzthomas, who had
1 Placit., Hen. III. Rex pro Ian- ii. p. 412.
dabiU servicio quod Robertus fihus 2 Rymer. "Dominus igitur Rex
Pagani et Will de Gouiz impende- domos et possessiones eorum (civium
runt, et pro dampnis quaa sustinu- Londinensium) et uxores dedit alieni-
erunt in servicio Regis apud Lewes genis, et non solum, sed et aUorum
in conflictu ibidem habito, perdona- exbau-editatoruni, prout Ubuit digni-
vit eis pro hac vice de gracia speciali tati sua?." Chr. Wigorn.- Something
relevium suum quod Regi debent de of the same personal feeling may be
terris et tenementis ipsos jure he- seen in the fine of 560 marcs paid
reditario contingentibus de terris et by the citizens of Hereford for their
tenementis que fuerunt Albredi de share of rebellion.— Rot. Pat. 49°
Lincoln nuper def uncti avunculi sui, Hen. III. On the other hand Prince
et mandatum est Henrico de Monte Edward writes to the Chancellor,
Forti clerico escaetarum citra Trent, from Dover, Oct. 26, 1265, stating
quod ipsos inde quietos esse per- that he had received into his grace
mittat. T. Rege apud S. Paulum, and favour certain "famiUares" of
Lond. xxi die Julii. Excerpta e Rot. the Countess of Leicester. — MS.
Finium Henrici III. 1216—72. VoL Letter in Tower, No. 399.

XVI.] THE DISINHERITED. 311
for several successive years been the popular mayor of the
city, was now seized at Windsor by the Prince's orders. His
fellow-citizens would have manfully re-elected him even in
1266, had not the rival candidate, William FitzRichard,
secured his own preference by means, which it is hoped are
unknown in quieter times — the compulsory removal of the
opposing electors1. Some of the other leaders of the city,
Michael Tony, Stephen Buckerell, and John de la Flete2,
were imprisoned with him for a long time in the Tower,
and among these sufferers we also recognize Thomas Pu
velesdon, who had accompanied Simon de Montfort during
the battle of Lewes. He appears to have been a wealthy
mercer3, and had been employed while the barons were in
power, April 1265, to receive the oath of a suspected
Royalist4. His forfeited estate was divided between the
King of the Romans and Prince Edward, but he was again
in 1286 entangled in treasonable acts6.
A fine of 20,000 marcs (£13,333. 6s. 8d) was exacted
from the city by the Prince, in order to repay the loans
raised abroad to equip the Royalist armaments, and when
the citizens of London attempted to redeem their lands by
virtue of the Kenilworth decree, they were met in the King's
courts of law by the plea that the act of grace did not
1 Fabyan. FitzRichard was elect- London, and Stephen Bukerel their
ed only by the aldermen, not the Marshal; their standards led them
people; but Roger de Leyborne was to the plunder of the King of Re
employed by the King to imprison mans' palace at Isleworth. Lib. de
the opponents. Fr. Chr. The Uber- Ant. Leg. p. 61. He is said to have
ties of the city were thus suspended devised a riotous meeting of the
for 5 years. citizens two days after the battle of
2 "Michael Tony, orfeverer. Johan Evesham (Thursday), intending to
le chapeler de Flete. "— Fr. Chr. Lond. murder forty of the principal Royal-
3 In the RoU of the Countess of ists, but the rumour of the battle pre-
Leicester's expenses, July 1265, is vented him (p. 114). He heads the
an entry of 34 eUs of rosett purchased list of culprits, p. 120, and Roger de
from him: "Pro 34 uinis rosetti P. is also on the same list, and Ri-
emptis Londineas per Dominum Tho- chard his brother.
mas de Piulesdon, 113s. id."— See 4 See a letter of the King from
Househ. Expenses. Thomas de Pi- Northampton, April 11, 12o5.— ity-
welesdona had been elected their mer.
Constabularius by the citizens of 6 Fabyan.

312

THE BARONS' WAR.

[CH. XVI.

include them, and that all their movables and immovables
had been placed at the will and pleasure of the King alone1.
In their present helplessness they might have been taunted
by the Prince's comrades with the same bitter derision as
the Scots at a later period : — ¦
"Tprot, Scot, for thy strif!
Hang up thyn hachet ant thi knyf,
WhU him lasteth the lyf
With the longe shonkes2.

1 " Non comprehenduntur, sedom-
nino remanserunt ad gratiam et
voluntatem Domini Regis." — Placit.
p. 175. Thus WUliam de St Omer
refused to surrender the lands of
Thomas Bax.— Placit. p. 171. Ste
phen' Buckerel met with a similar
denial. "William de St Omer" by
a writ of the King to the Sheriff of
Norfolk (dated Westminster; Oct. 10,
1265) had a grant of the goods and
chattels of Richard de Gosesend, and

John Hardel, forfeited for^rebeUion.
—No. 407 Chanc. Rec, 5th Report.
Li 1269, Nov. 30, he had £40 yearly,
so long as he should attend the busi
ness of the King's Bench. Chron.
Jurid. [Compare Foss's Judges, Vol.
in. p. 147.]
2 Polit. Songs, p. 223, from MS.
Harl. 2253, dated 1306. "Pshaw,
Scot, for thy strife ! hang up thy
hatchet and thy knife whUe the life
lasts of him with the Long Shanks."

CHAPTER XVII.
ELEANOR DE MONTFORT AND HER SONS.
And tho heo hadde al clene ir joye al verlore,
Me flemde ir out of Engleond without age coming.
Alas ! ir tueie brethren, that either of horn was King,
And nadde bote ir one soster, and hir wolde so Seme,
Alas ! were was love tho, sucche domes to deme ? 1 —
Roeebi Glouc.
The quaint versifier quoted above almost warms into
poetry with indignation at the treatment of the widowed
Countess of Leicester by her own royal kindred. On so
feeble a sufferer, now advanced in years2, and one whose
feminine virtues had earned from her chronicler the emphatic
eulogy of being " gode woman thoru' al," the vengeance of
the victorious party fell with a severity we should not have
expected. Bereaved at once of her husband and her eldest
son, her broken spirit had needed no additional pressure.
Laying aside her purple dress she would wear nothing hence
forth but woollen nearest her skin, and again assumed those
garments of widowhood3, which she had been so blamed for
abandoning, when she married Simon de Montfort. For a
long time did she indulge her domestic sorrow in abstinence
from fish or flesh, but the King her brother relaxed nothing
of his stern resolve in mercy to her private feelings, and
sentenced her to perpetual banishment from England, as if
1 "And tho' she had utterly lost her 1 Alas ! where was then their
aU her joy, they banished her from love to pronounce such a sentence
England never to return. Alas ! on her."
her two brothers, each of whom was 2 She was probably about fifty -three
a King, and had but her an only years of age at this time.
sister, and yet would so banish 3 T. Wyke.

314 THE barons' war. [ch.
he considered her a fit partner in the guilt and punishment
of her husband's treason.
From many of the interesting letters of Adam de Marisco
being addressed to her, we learn that the Royal Countess had
accompanied Simon de Montfort to Gascony, during the time
of his government there amid the turmoils of civil war. The
worthy friar seems to have valued her correspondence, and to
have anxiously watched the course of events around her,
often when absent expressing his regret, and when present
reporting to the earl even her throes of coming childbirth-
with scrupulous anxiety. He cautioned her while abroad
against the prevailing fashion of costly dress, " for too wanton
ornament (he observes) leads matronly modesty into sus
picion; who does not execrate this madness, which daily
increases the wild desire of superfluous ornament, causing so
much expense, and the employment of so many administer
ing hands, offending the divine majesty and honesty of
countenance?" He implored her even with tears to exhibit
before God and man the example of praiseworthy matrons in
all things. In one of his letters to the Queen of England1,
Adam de Marisco refers to the Queen's wish of conversing
attentively with the Countess of Leicester at Easter "con
cerning the salvation of souls, and hopes that the grace of
God may lead her to the way of eternal salvation ;" seeming
thereby to imply that the religious principles of the Princess
were of a superior character, and looked up to with respect
by the Queen and himself.
A very curious detail of the private habits of Princess
Eleanor has been lately brought to light2, which enables us
to trace her movements, her guests, and her every meal daily
during six months of this eventful year, 1265 ; and the parti-
1 The preface of the letter is in the wreck of the Mont argis nunnery
Latin, the rest in French. — Ad. de during the French revolution, con-
Marisco, Epist. p. 290, ed. Brewer. sists of many narrow sUps of parch-
2 Manners and Household Ex- ment, several yards in length : every
penses, Sec. The RoU of the De- item of her housekeeping from Feb.
penses pour, la Comtesse de Leices- 19 to August 29, 1265, is entered in
ter (Add. MSS. 8877) recovered.from it day by day in a clear .small writing,

XVII.] ELEANOR DE MONTFORT AND HER SONS. 315
culars throw so much light on the state of society as to
deserve o\ir attention.
According to the entries of her household expenses by
her steward, we learn that the luxury of the rich then con
sisted in supplying the table, amid some scanty dainties, with
articles of food such as would now be rejected from the
meanest hovel. What Roger Bacon then prophetically said
of science holds good in meaner matters : "Wise men are
now ignorant of many things which hereafter shall be known
to the very mob of scholars1." The art of multiplying food
has happily so advanced with the demands of an increasing
population, that nobody is now reduced to feed on grampus
or whale, which were then served up to princes. The tail
and tongue of whale2 were then prized as choice delicacies,
to be dressed with peas, or roasted; and the porpoise3 was
served up with furmenty, almond-milk, sugar and saffron; but
there would be little temptation in either dish at modern
tables.

apparently her steward Christopher's,
though some entries are scrawled
in by another hand, Eudo, from
April 15 to 28; the beginning and
end of the RoU are missing. It is
the earUest document extant of a
private individual's expenses.
1 " Multa enim modo ignorant sapi-
entes, quae vulgus studientium sciet
in temporibus futuris." — Rog. Bae.
De Seer. Oper. Art. et Nat. C. vii.
2 Two hundred pieces of whale
cost 34s. The whale fishery was
carried on in the third century, as
mentioned by Oppian, Liv. v., and
the Flemish fishers used harpoons
in the eleventh century (Life of S.
Arnoud, Bishop of Soissons). The
whales seem to have frequented the
coasts of Europe in these early times,
and the flesh was sold in slices in
the market-places on the coast. In
deed the supply of food seems to
have been the only motive for this
adventurous fishery, the method of
extracting oU being unknown tiU
long afterwards. — See Vie privee des

Francois, par le Grand d'Aussy, p. 84.
3 Even in 1425 this formed an
article in the city feasts of London,
the prices were then as f oUowb :
" Porpeys, 10<Z.; oysters and muscles
Gd. ; salmon and herring with fresh
ling, 15d. ; a salmon, 21<2. ; codling's
head, 8d.; 5 pykes, 6s.8<Z.; lampreys,
6s. 8(1 ; turbotj 3s. id. ; eels, 2s. id.;
800 herrings, 10s. Gd."— S.M. 754. In
the l'Estrange accounts in 1519 are
the foUowing entries : "Item paid to
Mr Wm. Dadymond for a conger that
my Master gaffe parte to my Lord of
Norwiche, and parte spent in the
house :" 1520, "lith weke. Item paid
to WiUiam Inglond for a porpes, that
my Master gaffe Sir Thomas Bedyng-
feld the Pryor of Walsmgham, Sir
John Shelton and Sir Roger Towns-
end." — Archseologia, xxv. p. 425.
At a later period Judge Walmysly at
Dorchester had dolphin ; at Launces-
ton, porpoise; at Winchester, poor
John (hake), muscles,, whelks, razor-
fish; guU, puffin, kite, sparrows. — Ex
penses of Judges of Assize, 1596—1601.,

316 THE BARONS' WAR. / [CH.
Sea-wolves (lupi aquatici), which were perhaps the dog
fish still eaten in France, were also used as food. Four
to six hundred salt herrings were daily consumed in the
Princess' household, and the abundant use of other fish may
appear from the bill of fare displayed in some of her fish-
dinners now put on record :—
Sunday, March 1, 700 herrings. Monday, 2nd, 400. Tuesday, 3rd, 500.
Wednesday, 4th, 400. Thursday, 5th, 600. Friday, 6th, 400.
Wednesday, June 17, plaice, breams, soles, and other fish, 35s. Id.; with
eggs for two dories to be put <in bread, id. ; pepper, Id. ; strawberries
(frasa?), id.
Saturday, July i, cherries, id.; conger eel, 3s.; herrings, 2s. Gd.; soles, 12d.;
whelks, 9d. ; crabs, 2d.; bass, 13d.; beans, id.; eggs, 18d.; milk, 3d,
On February 26, two cart3 arrived from Bristol at WaUingford, laden with
108 cods and lings, thirty-two congers, and five hakes. "Stokfis1" eight-
teen for three days ; lobsters and shrimps Gd.
There was indeed a supply of fine flour (panis defroille,
boletella) and wastel cakes (gastelli) for the countess and
her few guests, but the common bread2 for the many was a
coarse mixture of wheat and rye (mystelon), which is still in
use under the name of maslin in the North of England3.
Large quantities of wine4 from Guienne and Gascony were
required, and were often made more palatable by being
boiled with cloves or mixed with honey. When the countess
was at Dover, the regular daily consumption for the knights
of her high table seems to have been a quarter of a tun of
Gascon wine, and half-a-tun of " bastard wine 5 " for the in-.

1 "Stocficz" is also mentioned by English growth.
Rabelais, 1. 4, ch. 59. The name i See the household accounts of
appears to indicate that the cod fish- Sir Thomas L'Estrange of Hunstan-
ery was principally carried on from ton, Norfolk, in 1519 — 1520. In Ar-
the coasts of Flanders. chaologia, Vol. xxv. p. 425, in which
2 When at WaUingford two and- "myxtelyn of store" is mentioned.
half quarters of bread were brought The rye and wheat were ground to-
there from Abingdon. gether, and made an inferior brown
3 For twenty-two gallons 9s. Id. bread.
was paid; two tuns of red wine cost 6 "A petell of bastard viiM. ; mus-
66s. 8d. There are thirty-eight no- catel sweet wine." — L'E strange Acets.
tices of EngUsh vineyards in Domes- " Your brown bastard is your only
day, but the Countess of Leicester's drink."— Shakespeare, Henry IV. Part
Roll does not allude to any wine of i. Act n. Scene 4.

XVII.]

ELEANOR DE MONTFORT AND HER SONS.

317

feriors (pro familid). The beer in use1 was made indif
ferently from any grain, barley, wheat, or oats, and was
seasoned with pepper in ignorance of hops2. As the wife of
Simon de Montfort was necessarily attended by many armed
followers, and as she appears also to have had as guests3
several hostages of distinction, the consumption of beer, as
well as of wine, seems to have been rapid.
On April 18, five quarters of barley and four of oats were brewed into beer
by women4.
April 25, 188 gallons of beer were bought.
April 29, seven quarters of barley and two of oats were brewed.
Wheat was 5s. to 5s. 8d. a quarter; oats, 2s. to 2s. 4d.;
peas and beans, both fresh and dried, onions, parsley, fennel,
radishes, and a few other herbs, with apples and pears5, were
the home produce of our gardens; and it is pleasant also to

1 We have a remarkable proof of
beer not being the usual drink of
persons of high degree, in the anec
dote of Robert de Insula, the Bishop
of Durham (1274—1283), who had
risen from a humble origin. When
he was at Norham, some country ale
was sent him as a present by the
Lord of Scremerston, the castle of
the Swinnows. He drank it " et non
mstinens, statim a mensa surgens evo-
muit;" on which he remarked, " see
the force of custom; you all know
my origin ; neither from my parents
nor my country do I derive the taste-
for wine, and yet now from being
disused to my country liquor it is
distasteful. "
2 Hops were grown in Flanders at
an early period, and were imported
into England from thence in the
fifteenth century. An English phy
sician of that time, GUbert Kymer,
speaks of beer when well hopped
(bene lupulata), being a wholesome
drink.— MS. Sloane 4, 166. In the
sixteenth century, Harrison (Descr.
Brit.) observes of hops that "the
Flemings used corruption and for-
gerie in this kind of ware, and gave
us occasion to plant at home, so that

now we may spare and send manie
over unto them."
3 At Odihamshe entertainedRalph,
the Abbot of Waverley, Everard de
Marisco, Reginald Foliot ; to the
Cistercian nuns of Winteney (in the
parish of Hartley, Hants) she sent
wine, and the Prioress visited her for
several days; The wife of Thomas'
Alix, a gentleman of Hants, Mar
gery de Crek, Katherine Lovell,
Joan de Maule (daughter of Peter
Brus, of Skelton, widow of Peter de
Maule, who died 1242), were among
her guests at Odiham. One of the
Foliots, however, was a RoyaUst. A
letter of Prince Edward, Oct. 7, 1265,
to the Bishop of Bath, requests a writ
addressed to the sheriff of Oxford
in order to enforce payment of the
ransom of Wilnam FoUot, taken
prisoner by Fulk de Rycote — Chan
cery MSS. in Tower, 5th Report Pub.
Ree. No. 404.
4 There is but one entry for yeast
(pro gesta) Gd. ; beer when bought
seems to have cost from \d. to \d. a
gallon. 6 When at Dover the countess sent
to Canterbury for 300 pears, and
paid 10<Z.ior them, July 22.

318 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
recognize the ancient popularity of cheesecakes and ginger
bread1. Whether foreign fraits, besides dates and almonds, were
then imported does not appear ; but a few years later (1290)
the Castilian Queen of Edward I. purchased from a Spanish
vessel at Portsmouth, raisins, dates, 230 pomegranates, .fifteen
citrons, and seven oranges (poma de orenge)1, being the
earliest notice of the latter fruit in Europe. Some Asiatic
condiments, probably from Alexandria, were certainly added;
spices, rice at \\d. a lb. ; almonds at 2\d. to Z\d. a lb., and
of these 9 lbs. were consumed in a week ; sugar at Is. to
more than 2s. a lb.3 The latter article, which had been
already praised by an historian as " most precious to the uses
and most necessary to the health of mortals4," was at this
time grown in Syria extensively, and from thence distributed
to Europe. How highly these foreign delicacies were esteemed ap
pears by the present of them graciously sent by the Princess
Eleanor (March 29), from Odiham in Hampshire, to her
brother the King of the Romans, then a prisoner at Kenil
worth. The royal gift5 is thus noted in the detail of her
accounts : — " 20 lbs. almonds6 6s.; 5 lbs. rice, 9d.; 21bs. pepper,
1 " In caseo ad tartas, 5d.,'' a fre- partes deportatur." — W. of Tyre, who
quent entry. ' ' Pro una buxa gingi- wrote 1182 — 4. Sugar was cultivated
brade, 2s. id.;" and for 4 lbs. of gin- on the coast near TripoU, and south
gerbread, 12s. "Pro cremio et butiro of Tyre, and on the plains of Jordan.
8d.;" 100 eggs, 3%d. to i§d. — SeeDr.Robinson'sBibl.Researches.
2 Househ. Exp. from MS. in Tower 5 The present was conveyed by
18° Edw. I. In 1278 the same Queen William de Wortham, who held lands
sent to Paris for 100 cheeses of Brie, in Suffolk, and was slain at Eve-
often the subject of praise in those sham. — Placit. 54°. Twenty pieces
times, and stiU in vogue, for which of whale were also sent to the King
she paid 35s. to Thomas le Gaunter. of the Romans, and on another day
—Rot. Mix. Turr. Lond. (May 24) twelve yards of scarlet
3 Four pounds of white powder, cloth for his robe at Pentecost, at the
that is, pounded sugar, are charged rate of 7s. a yard, besides hoods of
at 8s.; at Easter 13 lbs. of sugar cost miniver and other garments for his
28s.; the sugar sent to the King of the son Edmund.
Romans seems to be valued at Is. a lb. 6 In Chr. Lanerc. there is an anec-
4 " Et canamellas, unde preciocis- dote of the Bishop of Durham amus-
sima usibus et saluti mortaUum ne- ing himself by letting his pet apes
cessaria maximS conficitur zachara, eat up a whole dish of blanched
unde per institores ad ultimas orbis almonds.

XVII.] ELEANOR DE MONTFORT AND HER SONS. 319
20-i.1 ; 2 lbs. cinnamon, 20J. ; \ lb. cloves, 9d. ; 1 lb. ginger, 18d. ;
2 lbs. sugar (zucari), 2s."
The price of meat may be judged of by the purchase
of two oxen, four sheep, and three calves, for £1. 2s. 10d.; of
two calves for Is. 6d. ; of a calf and sheep for 3s. Bd., and
sheep from Romney Marsh were supplied to the garrison at
Dover for 22d. each2; ten geese cost 2s. 3d. Salt, which
must have been much needed to prepare their store of
winter food, seems very dear, ten quarts costing 44s. 6d. ;
but though the prices of these times may generally be mul
tiplied by fifteen to represent the modern value of money, it
is probable that the confusion of the civil war had raised the
prices of the year 1265 beyond the usual average.
The Countess ,of Leicester had moved from WaUingford
Feb. 22, 1265, to her husband's castle of Odiham, then under
the governorship of Henry le Fornun8, and she continued
there, with a short visit to Reading, for more than three
months, before the alarms of the civil war had begun to
shake Simon de Montfort's power. The royal hostages, the
Princes Edward and Henry, passed a fortnight here with
their aunt, accompanied by their huntsman and hounds, and
128 horses. They arrived March 17, under the care of
Henry de Montfort, her eldest son, and were then probably
on their return from London, where on March 10 their cus
tody had been formally relaxed. Their preparations for sport
at Odiham betray no symptom of rigorous confinement.
The earl, her husband, also spent a fortnight at Odiham
with her at this time, bringing with him 162 more horses ; so
that with the forty-four of the countess the stables had to
1 The Pepperers were amerced in 2 "Pro 13 multonibus emptis in
the reign of Henry II. as an adulte- marisco, 23s. lOd." In the Household
line Guild, set up without the King's Expenses of Robert de Swinfield,
licence. Half a century later they Bishop of Hereford (Camden Society,
filled the first civic offices. They 4to. 1854), pp. 40, 42, Sea., are enter-
were incorporated by Edward II. and ed the prices of numerous articles of
changed their name to Grocers. — food.
Introd. French Chron., London, p. 3 He surrendered it to the King
xviii. Compare Introd. Munim. GUd- after the battle of Evesham. — Placit.
hall-E, andArch. Journal, 1857, p. 345. p. 175.

320 THE BARCWS' WAR. [CH.
provide for 334 horses1.. Simon de -Montfort quitted her
April 1, and they then parted never to meet again, 
The bounty of her table was not confined to the rich.
During Lent eighteen quarters of wheat were given to the
poor, and many other gifts- at other times on ordinary occa
sions; the total expense was moderate. On a Wednesday
in Lent, Feb. 25 for example, when the chief of the neigh
bouring abbey of Waverley3 was her only guest, it" was 16s.
5d., including some fresh fish to the value of 10s. 6d., and
vegetables, 4s. 10<i. Besides this, however, 400 herrings, the
wine, beer, and bread, as well as the hay and two quarters of
oats for thirty-two horses, were brought out from the castle
stores, and are not included in the daily expense. A freer
distribution of wine and beer is made at the feast of Easter,
when Isabella, the widow of the Earl of Albemarle, was with
her; the articles then purchased appear in the Roll as follows,
the price not being added to those things which were brought
out from the castle stores : —
"April 5, Easter-day — bread brought, 7s., also 2\ qu. froUle (flour ground
fine); wine, W\ sextaries, one sext. senttothe attendants of the countess;
.beer before reckoned. Kitchen — meat bought in carcase, 29s. lid. ; fat
^sagimen), 20d. ; puUets, 6s. 8d. ; kids, 5s. 3d.; eggs, 4s. Id. ; mustard,
2s.6d. Stables, hay for fifty-seven horses, oats five bush. ; two bush. froiUe ;
sum, 57s. id."
The large purchase of eggs was probably for the usual Easter
gifts of them, and a present of 12d. was also given to the
nurse of Eleanor de Montfort.
1 The number at other times varied sons, had paid a visit there, and made
from sixteen to sixty-nine according a present of 50 marcs to the monks,
to her guests; her son Amauri, the and eighteen marcs to the fabric.
treasurer of York, came with thhs Eleanor enabled them to buy 150 acres
teen horses. The expenses of house- of land at Netham. — Ann. Waver.
keeping during the earl's visit were Ralph, the abbot, from 1251 tiU he
set down in his Roll, not charged to resigned from iU-health in 1266, was
the countess. summoned to ParUament in 1265.— -
2 This was the first Cistercian Dugd. Mon. Eleanor was born about
monastery founded in England, 1128. Michaelmas, 1252, whUe her father
In 1245 the Princess Eleanor, Simon was absent in Gascony.
de Montfort, and their two . eldest

XVtl.] ELEANOR DE MONTFORT AND HER SONS. 321
Among other striking illustrations of the manners of the
times we must conclude that linen was little in use, for the
only charge for washing during five months appears to be
Is. Sri.1 There is presumptive proof that the countess en
couraged reading in her family ; for, after twenty dozen of
vellum were bought for 10s., a payment of 14s. is made for
writing a Breviary on them at Oxford for her daughter
Eleanor's use2; and the damsel, though young, enjoyed also
the rarer accomplishment of writing, for her letters to Prince
Edward were sent at Easter by a messenger for 6d. The
purchase of twenty-five gilt stars for the young lady's hat,
costing 2s. Id., is duly registered, as well as " fourteen long
pins for her head-dress, 2d." A supply of needles was pro*
•vided for the use of the drawing-room, and for the tailor9 ;
their knives were kept in sheaths, worth 2d. or 3d.; the repair
of four spoons was effected by devoting eight silver pennies
to that purpose; and there were also some forks4, though
long before 'their use became general. While the young
Eleanor was at Odiham the barber at Reading was twice
sent for to bleed her5.
Judging from what was paid tb the servants and hunts
men of her sons and of her other guests, as well as to Jacke
the keeper of her own harriers, the rate of wages seems to
have been about l^cZ.6 and 2d. a day; the huntsmen received

1 "Item pro lavanderia a Festo charges for fresh shearing the cloth
Nativitatis Domini,- xv, d." This is dresses of the countess, which were
an entry on Sunday, May 81. There sent to London for that purpose.
was, however, a payment of 3d. for Some Paris rayed cloth was bought
baths in May (pro balneis apud Odi- for young Simon at 4s. 8d. a yard;
ham), which may be added to the and some scarlet cloth for the coun-
cost of cleanliness. tess and her son, bought of an Ita-
2 "Pro 20 doz. parohameni aboi1- Jian, cost £8. 6s, 8d. Two pair of
tivi — ad portiforium Domisellffl AUo- boots for Eleanor cost 2s. id.
none." "Pro scriptura BreviariiDo' 4 "Pro uno forcario reparando ad
misellfB ABonoras de Montfort per cameram, Id." Small trunks of
visum fratris G. Bayun, 14s." Ele* stamped leather (de corio punctato)
anor was born about Michaelmas were made to hold the silver vessels.
1262, whUe her father was absent in 6 "ProdomiseUafleobotomizandS."
Gascony. • Three servants (garciones) for ten
3 "Pro acubus ad cameram et ad days are paid 3s. 9d. ; another servant
tailleriam, id." There are other for nine days, 13d.. Henry III. granted

322 THE barons' war. [ch.
the higher wages of 2d. by the especial desire of the royal
countess. All the menials in her employ bear Saxon names,
such as Ralph" and Hande, bakers ; Hicque, the tailor ;;
Dobbe, the shepherd; the carriers, Diquon, Gobithesty and
Treubodi ; while we can picture to ourselves the very gait of
Slingawai, the courier.
There being no other means of communication, a special
messenger was necessarily sent with any letters, and for this
there are frequent payments in the Roll, though even for
long distances the rate of postage was wonderfully small1.
Thus a servant bringing letters to the countess at Bramber
from Porchester is paid 4d.; Slingawai earned but 2s. for
going to the earl, then at Monmouth, from Dover; Gobithesty
3s. from Lewes to Hereford ; 12d. from Dover to Windsor,
and 6d. to Pevensey; Picard for carrying letters from the
countess to Kenilworth in July, 16d.; Treubodi, 2s. and a
pair of shoes for journey from Dover to Kenilworth, Sep
tember 2; and to the messenger of Prince Edward in August,
with letters — probably the announcement of the events at
Evesham,' 2s.
The countess had been living at Odiham some time,
when the escape of Prince Edward from Hereford became
the token of increasing troubles in the land, and accordingly
on the evening of June 1 she moVed for greater security to
Porchester Castle, where her son was the governor2. It was
Id. a day in 1221 to his carpenter at tracts from Records of the Queen's
Westminster, John of Canterbury. Remembrancer, " Rotulus Roberti de
— Brayley's Westm. p. 31. Chaiiry contra Walterum de Brading
1 Apparently a payment was made de expehsis nunciorum post compo-
both by the sender and receiver of turn factum," 1252 — 3. Among many
letters. others :
2 " Sero recedentibus usque Por- Jordano, cokino (coquin?) eunt
CJstriam." — Househ. Exp. SimoBj London ad Dm J. ManseUum, 9d.
junior, had the grant of the castle, Simoni, nuncio fratris de Marisco
December 24, 1264. A payment was 6d. de dono.
made of 8d. for letters to the earl Simoni nuncio eunti apud Bolo-
sent by night just previous to the niam preoepto Begins cum mensura
journey to Porchester, probably an- filii Domina> MatUdse de Lacy, Id.
nouncing that movement. In the Petro barbatori Comitis Leycestwe,
Appendix to the Report of the deferenti rumores de partu ejusdem
secret Committee on the Post Office, GomitisssB, 4*0s;
J844 (582), at p. 28, are some ex- Rogerojde Capella deferentiirumo.

XVII.] ELEANOR DE MONTFORT AND HER SONS. 323
probably by the advice of him or the earl that she soon after
wards made a rapid journey to Dover. There were with her
at Porchester forty-five horses belonging to herself, nine to
Simon, junior, eight to Almeric de Montfort, and four to the
parson of Kempsing1 ; but a great many more, as well as
carts, were hired2 for the journey to Dover, and duly sent
back. The purchase of a horse was from 30s. to 40s., both
Simon and Almeric paying that sum (pro wno roncino). Her
removal required eighty-four horses, besides a vessel for her
goods sent round by sea. She was four days on the road ;
and on the first day, June 12, she dined at Chichester, and
reached Bramber Castle, her expenses being £2. lis. An
extract indeed from her accounts during her journey may be
interesting : —
June 12, Friday, Brembre. — For the countess, the Lords Ingeram de BaUiol3,
Bichard Corbet, Almeric and the men at arms of the Lord Simon and
others, bread, 6s. id. ; wine from the stores of the manor; beer, 2s. lid. ;
fish, 10s. Gd. For dinner (pro dinerio) at Chichester, Is. 2d. Stables,
grass from the manor; oats for eighty-four horses, seven quarters being
bought at 14s. Porterage, 3d. Also plaice and conger by WiUiam de
Lake, 9s. ; mackerel, 3s. ; breams, 2s. id. ; egg3, Is. 2d. ; pawria (?) id.
Saturday, Wilmington, at the cost of the Lord Simon de Montfort.
Sunday, Winchelsey, for the countess, the Lord Simon de Montfort, with aU
res de partu Domina? MabUhe de In- Simon when leaving to re-inforce the
sula, 20s. de dono. earl ; one of them, a liard, was valued
Simoni, cokino eunti ad Dm Rob. at 24s. The expense of farriery for
Waleran, 3d. eighty-four horses on the journey
Waltero de Cofton, valleto Reginae was 8s. id., 1000 nails costing 13d.
Scocise, 138. 4d. de dono. At Dover a meadow of four aores was
From a RoU of 27° Ed. III. letter- rented for the horses at 40s. Id. In
carriers are paid from Windsor to one of Henry ILL'S confirmations of
London. 6d. ; from Stratford to Magna Charta, the rate of hire for the
Chertsey, 12d. : from Mortlake to King's use had been fixed, for a cart
Thistleworth[?Isleworth],12d.; from with two horses, lOd. a day; with
London to Sarum. 6s. 6d. three horses, 14d. IThe Countess of
1 Kemsing was part of the dowry Gloucester traveUed from Chippen-
of the Countess of Leicester, and had ham to Odiham in April, and tho
been given to Henry her son, March Countess of Arundel from Porchester
14, 1265.— Rot. Pat. 90°. John de to Dover in some vehicle, payments
Kemsing accompanied her to Dover; being made to a driver (currutario).
he is mentioned in letters to the 3 He is mentioned as an adherent
countess by A. de Marisco, describ- of Simon de Montfort in the summons
ing a conference he had with the for the surrender of a castle, and had
Archbishop of Canterbury. been taken prisoner at Northampton.
2 At Dover the countess had thirty- —Rot. Pat. 49". [See the Dunstaple
one horses, and lent Jiine to her son Annals, p. 229.]
Y2

32l THE BARONS' WAR. [CH.
their suite, the burghers of Winchelsey and many others, bread, 20s. 4d. ;
wine, thirteen sextaries (of four gaUons each), and one gaUon, ]8s. 10d. ;
beer, 10s. 10d.; boats, 10d.; porterage, 6d. Kitchen, for two oxen and
thirteen sheep, 36s. 6d.; for thirty-five geese, 19s. lOd. ; poultry, 6s. 2d. ;
eggs, 2s. id.; salad, 8d. ; faggots (busca), 22d.; charcoal, 8d.; dishes (disci),
13d. ; salt and spits {brochim or jugs from broci), 5d. ; water, id. For dinner
for the same at Battle and for their horses, 17s. 2d. Stables, grass for
nineteen score and fifteen horses (these 395 horBes must have been partly
for her escort), 12s. 10d.; oats, 12qrs. lbush., 26s. 3d.; Utter, 3s. 9d.;
farriery (forgia), Id. ; water, 12d. ; » horse hired for the smaU cart, 6d. ;
porterage, 6d. ; dinners of twenty-one grooms (garcionum), lOd. ;— sum
total, £9. 4s. 8d.
Monday, Dover, Feast of S. Botolph, for the countess, and all the aforesaid,
except when the countess eats in the castle with her women, one ox, seven
sheep, and seven calves. For dinner at Romney, 27s. 5d. Hay bought for
two nights, 14d. ; grass for 107 horses, 5s. 9d. ; oats, 6 qrs. 1 bush., 14s. 3d,
This route, which makes no mention of Lewes, though
lying in the direct line, and which appears to avoid Pevensey
and Hastings, all which towns were in the hands of her
enemies, was naturally chosen as the safest from interrup
tion, even though it may have been less perfectly provided
with bridges, as the mention of boats and, porterage would
seem to imply. Her son, Simon de Montfort, left the siege
of Pevensey to meet the countess with an escort at Wilming
ton1, where the Benedictine Priory probably received them
for the night. The countess having been a benefactor to
Battle Abbey by the grant of a manor, had some claim on
its hospitality ; and the aged Prior, Reginald2, who had the
year before endured the plunder of the Royalists, and had
witnessed the subsequent arrival of the King when no longer
a free agent, and of Simon de Montfort fresh with triumph,
now probably welcomed his royal wife in her flight to a
place of safety. When at Winchelsea she feasted the burgh
ers, who had always been devoted friends to the barons!
1 This aUen Priory, of which there turf of the chalk hiU rising behind
are now few remains, was subject to it.
the Abbey of Grestein, in Normandy. 2 Reginald was Prior of Brecknock
—Dugd. Mon. Its situation was in 1248, and had become Abbot of
pointed out to distant wayfarers by a Battle in 1260, dying at an advanced
gigantic figure, of a man holding a, age in 1280.— Dugd. Mon. Glean-
staff in each hand, cut out on the. ings Battle Abb.

XVII.] ELEANOR DE MONTFORT AND HER SONS. 325
party, and they were again twice (July 12, 30) feasted by
her at Dover. The burgesses of Sandwich were treated in
the same manner, on one occasion being so numerous that
the guests were divided at dinner into two rooms, and addi
tional wine and beer were bought for them. On Monday,
June 15, she arrived at Dover, still accompanied by her son
Simon, and in that castle, then under the command of her
eldest son Henry, she awaited the result of the civil commo<-
tions in security.
Her two sons, Henry and Simon, left her1 during the
progress of the war to join their father, and her own horses
were lent them for the occasion, but the garrison retained
many distinguished knights for her defence. Among these
were John de la Warre2, with his twenty-nine archers, who,
after sixty-three days' service at Dover, seem to have re
quired clothing, .cloth to the value of £6. 6s. being ordered
for them, August 11 ; he afterwards assisted in the defence
of Kenilworth3, and by some is said to have been there slain
by an arrow, but a free conduct to go abroad appears to
have been granted to him, December 13, 1266. Richard
Corbet4, another of the knights who had formed the
escort to Dover, had profited by the confusion of the civil
war to seize upon the property of the head of his own
family, a Royalist, who had repeatedly borne the office of
sheriff in Shropshire. There were some others of note :
John de la Haye, who had been made constable of Win
chelsea and Rye, August, 1264, and had been active pre
viously at the siege o'f Rochester, was a confidential friend
?
1 Simon went from Porchester to in the fourth generation. WiUiam
Tunbridge, June 24 ; but Fulk Con- de la Warre, who was among the Non
stable and others were sent by- the thampton prisoners in 1264, held ten
countess, July 8, to join him in Lon- lands in Herefordshire. — See Inq. p.
don. Mort. 1269. [The name is there
'Roger, the first baron of the name, speUed " de la Were."]
was at Carlaverock, and died 1320: — ¦ 3 Rob. Glouc.
" Ky les armes ot vermeiUectes 4 His lands at Chawton, worth
0 blanc lyon et crosselettes." 100s., were seized by Henry Hussee,
The Wests, who now bear his. title, as belonging to " an enemy of the
are descended from his female heir King."

326 the barons' war. [ch;
of the Earl of Leicester, and was frequently employed in
carrying messages to him when in Gascony from Adam de
Marisco1. His intimacy with the family appears also by
some entries in the countess' Roll. Eleanor de Montfort
bought a gold clasp for 15s. to give his son, August 3, and
Almeric also gave him one worth £2. 4s. 8d., perhaps birth
day presents. John de Mucegas, the constable of Salisbury2
under the barons, had several soldiers with him here; Gilbert
de Gaunt [descended from the aid Earls of Lincoln], who
paid 3000 marcs to redeem his estates ; Matthew de Hastings,
who appears to have been instrumental in surrendering Dover
afterwards to Prince Edward, and was pardoned 12663; Seman
de Stokes4, Waleran de Monceaux, both of whom were simi
larly pardoned5. Many of these had their wives with them
at Dover, and besides Alice6, wife of the Earl of Oxford,
who had been taken prisoner at Kenilworth, there was one
constant female companion of the countess in her journeys,
Isabella, Countess of Albemarle; whether her presence was
voluntary or constrained must be considered with reference
to her subsequent lawsuit already described; but certainly
1 Epist. Ad. de Marisco [ed, Brew- tection is giventoSemannusde Stoke,
er, pp. 268, 298. Professor Brewer Richard and John de Havering and
notes that John de la Haye was son W. de TureviUe, who had given up
of a Ralph holding lands in Lincoln- the castles of WaUingford and Berk
shire. — Exc. e Rot. Fin. Vol. n. p. hampstead. — Records of Chancery in
191]. Tower, No. 403 in 5th Report Pub-
3 He was appointed December, Uc Records.
1264, and superseded by Walter de B There were also at Dover, Ralph
Duhstanvil, May 31, 1265; he died D'Arcy (who held lands of the value
1266. Walter deDunstanville's father of 22s. in co. Lincoln. — Inquis. Re-
of the same name (d. a. d. 1240) had bell.), I. de Snaves, Peter de Bourton,
joined the barons against K. John at I. de Dover, Balph Haquet, Hugh de
Runnymede. His son held 2 knight's Coleworth, knight  49° Rot. Pat.
fees and 2 hides atBroughtOn (Wilts), Th. de Sandwich, clerk, perhaps
(see Wilkinson's Hist. Br. Gifford, p. some relation of the Bishop of Lon-
18), and died 1269. don, was pardoned at the instance of
3 His pardon (Rot. Pat. 50°) states Prince Edward, Canterbury, Oct. 30,
that he quitted Dover castle with his 1266.
family in obedience to the royal com- 6 Alice was daughter of Gilbert de
mand, and that he continued after- Sandford; Hugh de Vere, her hus-
wards faithful. band's father, had paid 1000 marcs
4 By a letter of Prince Edward to for her Wardship and marriage. — 33°
William the Bishop of Bath, dated Hen. III. Her family and 21 horses
Winchester, Sept. 23, 1265, his pro- formed her suite.

XVII.] ELEANOR DE MONTFORT AND HER SONS. 327
her husband, while living, had always supported the barons1.
Robert de Brus, or Bruys, also accompanied the Princess
Eleanor throughout; whether freely as a guest and partisan,
or comp.ulsorily as a prisoner, is uncertain2.
The fatal tidings of Evesham appear to have reached
Dover on the 15th of August, and left the widowed Princess
no hope of political eminence, or enjoyment of private lux
uries. Some authorities represent her as endeavouring to
appease the King by a surrender of Pevensey Castle, but this
seems inconsistent with the long and fruitless siege of that
fortress3 by young de Montfort. It never was in the power
of the barons, and certainly Kenilworth4 and Dover, which
were more immediately under the authority of the countess,
were the only two castles in England which continued to
resist the King after the battle of Evesham.
The stern sentence of banishment on his sister may have
been the result of the King's anger on this very account ; for
harshness to his own kindred was not among his usual vices.
The remembrance of the active zeal of his own, Queen in
dangerous times ought to have excited some more generous
sympathy with the political firmness of the widowed princess.
When it suited his own schemes, Henry III. had learnt how
to value the devotion of an affectionate woman. As soon as
his defeat at Lewes compelled him to dissemble, his main
1 See p. 231. " Ad appeUum Co- tendants were Master Ralph de Cou-
mitissse de Insula (Walter de Scote- dray, who bought provisions for the
nay) comprehenditur, judicata et countess, Neirnuyt (Nigra Noctis), a
toahitur."— Walt. Heming, 1258°. servant, Thomas Salekin and his
Arms, gules, a cross potence vair. wife, who were pardoned Oct. 30,
Her seal as Countess of Albemarle 1266. John Neirnuyt appears as a
and Devon, and Isle of Wight, re- witness to the chatter of Edmund,
presents her arms dimidiated with Earl of Cornwall, founding the Au-
those of her husband, and circum- gustine College of Rons Hommes at
scribed : "Non caret effectu quod vo- Ashridge, Herts, 1286. — See Dugd.
luere duo." — Sandford's Gen. Hist. Monast. 6. 516.
p. 101. 3 Simon was at Pevensey, April 30,
s In March 3s. 4d. was paid for 1J on which day the countess sent letters
fur of squirrel for the use of W. de to him there from Odiham.
Breose ; and in July 7d. for two pairs 4 Treubodi was paid 2s., Sept. 2, for
of shoes. On July 12, 6d. was paid going as messenger from Dover to
for guarding W. de Breose and his Kenilworth; and two grooms received
young son Simon. Among other at- 2s^ 6d. for the same journey, Oct. 1.

328 THE BARONS' WAR, [CK
reliance for help had been on his Queen's energy, and he had
secretly enabled her to assume his own. lost prerogative, and
to receive from the French King the remainder of the sum
due to him by treaty. Early in June, 1264, a few days only
after she had heard of his overthrow, she gave a quittance1
for 58,000 livres Touraine in the King's name; and the deed
expressly mentions she was authorised by him so td act2.
This large sum of money, the balance of the 134,000 livres
Touraine previously mentioned, King Henry had often and
solemnly pledged himself to employ in the service of God
and the Church, and for the good of his kingdom; but in
fact it purchased an army of foreigners to threaten England
with invasion. This act of double dealing, so much in unison
with his character, if discovered at the time by the angry
barons might have cost him dear, had not his secret been
safe in the bosom of his Queen, faithful to him in difficulties
as Eleanor de Montfort to her lord.
The supplies of provision to the garrison of Dover were
probably soon impeded by the Royalists, for there are several
entries in the countess' Roll of oxen and sheep consumed
there, . avowedly obtained by plunder3. Her younger sons
Almeric, a priest, and Richard, had been with her during the
1 The Queen raised money also bound to do so as a due (voluntate
from the mayor and inhabitants of spontanea concesserunt, cum hoc ex
Oleron (see p. 40, note 1) at this debitominime tenerentur),so that no
time avowedly for the purpose of heavier aids could be demanded by
' helping the King, and gave them a the King in consequence hereafter.
quittance for the gift, as having been — Rymer.
voluntary, in order to secure them * This document, in Latin, in the
from future demands by the King Archives du Royaume, at Paris, J.
founded on this precedent. She 630, has never been pubhshed ; and,
writes from S. Macaire, 13 Feb. 1265, with some others relating to EngUsh
49°, acknowledging the receipt in history, has been inserted in an Ap-
warderoM nostrS, from the mayor pendix. It bears the seals of the
and others of Oleron of six score and Queen, Peter of Savoy, and Thomas
four Pounds of Poictou, by the hand Mansel, and is dated on the Sunday
of a burgher for the relief of the after the Ascension (May 29), in the
King and Prince Edward (pro sue- month of June, 1264 — See pp. 85,
cursu faciendo Domino Regi et Ed- 188.
wardo) ; and on Feb. 14 it is put on 3 Aug. 23, by booty, half an ox.
record that Oleron had given 390 Aug. 24, by booty, half an ox and
Pounds of Poictou money from their three sheep. Aug. 25, by booty, half
spontaneous wiU, not at all being an ox. Aug. 26, by booty, half an ox.

XVII.] ELEANOR Dfi MONTFORT AND HER SONS. 329
summer and at Dover. Richard had arrived, August 12, in
a ship with about 100 sailors from Winchelsea, intended pro
bably for the defence of Dover, and 100s. were paid to them.
To twenty-nine archers of Pevensey also were paid Is. each.
The concluding part of her steward's Roll contains some
entries significant of the great calamity which had fallen
upon the countess. The purchase is recorded of ten ells of
black serge (nigrce saiae) for the hose and robe of her son
Richard, 17s. ; and twenty-four-and-a-half ells of grey serge
(pers) for Wilequin, his, attendant ; for Gullot, clerk of the
chapel, and for others of the household ; while masses for the
repose of the earl's soul are paid for, 12s. 9d. on August 19,
and 7s. on September 31.
Almeric and Richard crossed over to Gravelines, September
18, in charge of 11,000 marcs (£7666. 13s. 4d), despatched
probably by their mother for safety. This so irritated the
King that he urged King Louis to arrest the treasure in
its passage and to take it in compensation for the damage
done to foreign merchants in England during the late trou
bles2. That the commerce of the country would be seriously
interrupted by the late disturbances is certain, independent
of the prohibitions imposed by the barons ; but it does not
appear that foreign merchants had received any other inten
tional loss, unless in common with others at the time of
general pillage. At some previous time, perhaps during the
interval between 1258 and 1264, one of the King's friends
had presented him with some advice on commerce3, which
might lead us to suppose the King was n«t unwilling to
encourage it, as a means of procuring money for himself.
1 In April a payment is entered of more copiously, as the printed book,
7s. 4d. for oblations of the countess exeeUently edited by Mr Turner for
by Fulk Constable : he was after- the Roxburghe Club, is unfortunately
wards taken prisoner at Kenilworth, not published.
on which Richard Tweng took pos- 2 By letter dated Oct. 10, 1265.
session of his lands, worth five marcs — Rot. Pati Hen. III.
a year. Extracts from this Roll of 3 See Appendix C.
the countess have been here given

330, . THE barons' war. ' [ch.-
The writer, who expresses: himself in a provincial patois of
French, recommends himself to the King as having, in his
continual desire to serve him, already suggested to his counJ
cil the means of recovering his authority, and of supplying
his need of gold and silver. " God and right are with you "
(he writes to the King), " and may it please God that you
follow them, for the greater part of good Christian people
wish to help you, if you can but aid them with money." He
is anxious for some sumptuary restrictions in a very contrary
spirit, wishing to limit the prices of cloth for the clergy,
allowing them but one garment a year " and nothing more "
(et nient plus) ; he advises the English ladies to keep to what
gowns they had got (se tiegnent a leur reubes he eles ont),
allowing them but one of 3s. the yard, "and nothing more ;"
he restricts even the archbishop's dinner to two dishes of
meat, one boiled and the other roast, and his supper to one
roast, "and nothings more," confining him to beer without
wine at the latter meal, and forbidding him, as well as all
others, to offer any manner of hospitality to those not of the
same household. The most urgent recommendation, however,
is to permit the export of wool (laine de I'euvre) to Holland
and Brabant at a duty of five marcs the sack, which he says
foreign merchants would not only willingly pay, but that no
time should be lost in so pleasing them, and that they .would
in return respite the payment bf debts due to them from the
English knights as long as their services were required in
warfare. It serves to show the great extent of this trade,
when we find the writer Of this curious paper calculating the
proposed duty as certain of yielding 110,000 marcs (£66,333.
13s. id.) in six months, implying an export of 22,000 sacks
in that time, which would enable the King to pay his levies
of men, and become again independent1.
The unhappy Princess, Eleanor de Montfort, on witness-
1 This paper, without date or name, in the Appendix from the Archives
not having been -published, is copied du Roy., J. 1034.

XVII.] ELEANOR DE MONTFORT AND HER SONS. 331
ing the ruin of her husband's high fortunes, prepared to
yield to her fate, and while she yet retained a remnant of
power at Dover and Kenilworth, procured the mediation and
good offices of her better brother, the King of the Romans,
in behalf of herself and family, at the time of his politic
release from the custody of her son Simon, before referred to.
This Prince, early in September, signed a deed at Kenil
worth, engaging himself to stand a true friend and help to
his sister and her sons, and to assist them in claiming their
rights and property, so far as his loyalty to the King would
permit ; and he seems honourably, though without success,
to have fulfilled this pledge. The zealous Royalist, Warren
de Bassingburne, appears to have been the agent in arrang
ing this release, and was, in conjunction with Walter, Bishop
of Worcester, and Roger de Meyland, Bishop of Chester, one
of the sureties for the performance of the terms1. Eleanor,
after thus doing all in her power, at length retired to France
in October, though she left her son Simon at the time in
imminent peril, and Guy a wounded prisoner. It may have
been at this period2 that Prince Edward regained possession
of Dover, by the help of fourteen Royalist prisoners confined
there, who had boldly seized a tower of the castle, after
securing the treacherous connivance of two of their guards.
The Prince, on hearing of this attempt, is reported to have
instantly repaired there with his usual energy, travelling
without even taking any rest, and soon to have forced the
garrison to surrender3.
1 The document, being new to An expedition from the Cinque Ports
English history, is added to the Ap- revenged this (Nov. 22) by setting fire
pendix (D), from the Archives du to Portsmouth and routing its gar-
Roy., J. 1024. It is dated from the rison with, some loss.— Wykes, p.
Priory of Kenilworth on the Sunday 179 ; Ann. de Wis. p. 456 ; Liber de
before the ' Nativity of the Virgin Ant. Legihus, p. 82. P.
(Sept. 8), 1264. 3 T. Wyke. "Egressa est de castro
2 It was probably before the 29th Comitissa, infaustis sauciata succes-
of October when the Queen landed sibus." Winchelsea was afterwards
at Dover, and signaUzed her return taken with much bloodshed by the
by hanging some burgesses of the Prince. — Chr. Roff. MS.. Audientes
Cinque Ports who were practising quoque quidam nobiles, qui in castro
piracy under cover of civil war. Dovorre in carcere tenebantur, qua?

332 THE BARONS' WAR. [CH:
The remainder' of her days was passed by the Princess
Eleanor in religious retirement at the Dominican Nunnery
of Montargis, founded by her husband's sister. An ineffectual
attempt at reconciliation was made in her behalf by the
King of France the following year ; but King Henry in his
reply, though he nominally accepted his proffered mediation1,
pressed him urgently to "consider the enormity of the
wrongs done to him by the late Simon de Montfort, his sons
and their mother (it is thus only he designates his sister),
both before the Award of Amiens and afterwards2." No
alteration ensued, and it was reserved for the more generous
spirit of Edward I. in 1273 to restore her dower as Countess
of Pembroke, and to allude to her after her death, which
occurred in 1274, in more gracious terms3.
At Montargis she educated her daughter Eleanor, whom
the earl had already betrothed to his friend and. ally
Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, and when of sufficient age she

domino suo Regi prospera continge-
bant, spiritu hausto fortitudinis, tur-
rim castri viriUter occupabant suis
custodibus resistentes. Quod cum
Regis primogenito suo Edwardo in-
notuit, ad castrum Dovorre iUud in
manu valida obsidentes. Custodes
quidem castri adversaries circum-
specti miserunt legationem Regi, ea
qua> sunt pacis rogantes, salvis quidem
singulis vita, immo equis, armis, et
ceteris nocivis castrum Regis primo
genito re'ddiderunt. — MS. Chr. Roff.
1 " Ordinationi vestras et dicto de
alto et basso totaUter duximus com-
mittendum." — Househ. Exp.
¦ 2 Rot. Pat. 50 Hen, III., dated
Kenilworth, Sept. 25, .1266.
- 3 "Alionora quondam Comitissa
Leicestrise, -amita nostra, qiiam du.
dum admisimus in gratiam et paoem
nostram."— West. Jul. 1; Lib. 13
Edw. I. m. 3. Her heart was buried
in the Abbaye. de S. Antoine des
Champs at Paris, founded for Ber
nardino nuns of the Cistercian order,
in consequence of the vehement
preaching of Foulques de Neuilly
against matrimony. In the church,

begun in 1198 and finished under
Louis IX., who was at the dedication
with his mother, Q. Blanche de Cas-
tille, a mural monument was placed
to Eleanor de Montfort, a print of
which is at p. 168 of Le Pere Menes-
trier's Veritable Art du Blason, 12mo.
Paris, 1673. She is dressed as a
nun, holding her heart in her handf
without any inscription, but with the
arms of Montfort and her Boyal al
liances. In an old inventory of the
furniture of the church is mentioned :
" Upon the heart of the Countess de
Leicester, a cloth for every day, one
upon Feasts, one for Lent." The
arms above are by Menestrier said' to
be, 1. Sicily, i.e. France with the
label; 2. France; 3. Emperor of the
West; 4. Emperor of the East, a
cross with 4 bezants charged with a
crosslet ; 5. England; 6. CastiUe, and
Leon. Of the four coats of Montfort
the two upper are for her eldest son
Henry and Almeric the priest, both
without difference ; the third, Simon
(?) has- a label of four points for dif
ference and the fourth is • seme* of
crosslets, Guy (?)

XVII.] ELEANOR DE MONTFORT AND HER SONS. 333
sent her to Wales in fulfilment of the contract. The ship,
however, in which the fair bride and her brother Almeric
were sailing, being unfortunately captured near the Scilly
Isles (1276) \ they were brought to King Edward as prisoners.
The lady was honourably treated at court as the King's cousin,
and after some years' delay was married2 to her espoused
husband at Worcester (Oct. 13, 1278), in presence of King
Edward and his Queen.
Almeric was treated with greater rigour, and had been
previously one of the earliest to feel the active vengeance of
the court against his family. Three days only after the
battle of Evesham, Henry III. had written to countermand
his former appointment of Almeric, as Treasurer of York3,
declaring to the Chapter of York that "since the war at
Lewes he had been in custody, and that his seal had been
used arbitrarily by Simon de Montfort against his will, but
that now by God's grace he had resumed his powers4."
Almeric, with his brother Richard, had left Dover in 1265,
when they both repaired either to their cousin Eskivat, Count
de Bigorre, or to Laura de Montfort, daughter of their uncle
Almeric, with whom they had previously corresponded5.
1 By ships from the Cinque Ports. descends to strangers, with much
Walt. Heming. By ships from Bris- more reason, as we think, ought you
toi.— Chron. Rishang. to hold out the hand of pity to one
2 Eleanor de Montfort left at her so near to you by the ties of nature."
death, June 21, 1282 , in childbirth, an —See M. A. Wood's Letters of Royal
only daughter, who died a nun at and BI. Ladies, Vol. i. p. 51, and in Ry-
Seihpringham. mer'sFcedera. He had been appointed
3 In the Liberate RoU (6° Edw. I. Treasurer Feb. 2, 1265, succeeding
mem. 1) is an order for payment for John Mansell. — Rot. Pat.
the conveyance of the luggage of 4 Aug. 7, Worcester. — Rymer. .
" Eleonora wife of our beloved and 5 Eskivat was grandson of Guy de
faithful LleweUyn, Prince of Wales," Montfort, their father's elder brother,
from Worcester to Whitchurch. who had marriedT?etronilla, Countess
A letter from her to Edward, from of Bigorre in her own right. Laura
Llanmaes, July 8 (1279), professes was the second daughter of the head
anxiety to know and -do his pleasure. of the family, and died 1270. "April
She styles herself "Princess of Wales, 6, Nuntio Dominas Lorettas de Monte-
Lady of Snowdon." In 1280, Oct. forti venienti de Francia, 2s." The
18, she writes from St Anneir to the voyage of the two brothers to Grave:
King very earnestly imploring his lines cost £26. 8s., and they had also
pity upon her captive- brother Amal- £13. 6s. 8d. given them for their|
ric. " For if your Excellency, as we journey. — Househ. Exp,
have often known, mercifully con-

334 THE BARONS' war. * [CH.
The friendly protection of the Count de Bigorre to his
banished relations had been probably secured by their mother,
the widowed Countess of Leicester, who, with her eldest son,
in October, 1265, made an unreserved surrender of their
rights to Bigorre, which had accrued to them from its grant
to the late Earl, in 1256, when his nephew, the young count,
had been unable to defend it from the hostile attacks of
Gaston de Beam1. This, at the time when civil war was
ravaging the country, was a marked proof of the respect in
which the military skill of de Montfort was universally held ;
but, under altered circumstances, his widow and his son now
relinquished Bigorre to the protection of Thiebault, King of
Navarre2. The privity of Almeric to the Viterbo murder, presently
related, being suspected by Edward I., he did not venture
to return to England, though he acted as executor to his
mother, and had come to Paris in company with the Bishop
of Chichester, intending to return. King Edward was an
implacable foe, and paid a galley £1. 6s. 8d. for watching
him and the bishop, besides employing a paid spy at Paris3.
When at length he was captured in his voyage to Wales
(1276), Almeric was detained in custody at Corfe and else
where for many years. Pope after pope applied for his release
in vain ; the brief of Martin IV.4 (Viterbo, Sept. 20, 1280), ap
pealed to the King " by the memory of the blood by which he
was connected with our dear son, Almeric de Montfort, our

1 Extraits des Registees de Chajn- elude any future claim of restoration.
pagne, Vols. iv. and v., pp. 474, 476, The deed of surrender by the younger
art. 8. Tresor des Chartres, p. 294. Simon de Montfort, not having been
Eschivat de ChabanneS, Count de previously pubUshed, wiU be found
Bigorre and Jourdain, his brother, in Appendix E.
by deed dated Tarbes, 1256, gave aU 2 Thiebault (Theobald), King of Na-
the county of Bigorre to " their dear- varre from 1253 to 1270, had married
est uncle," Simon de Montfort, Earl Isabella, daughter of Louis IX.
of Leicester, " bono animo et spon- s " 20s. ad insidiandum." — Rot.
tanea voluntate quia magis volumus Pip. 2° Edw. I.
quod vos habeatis et vestri quam 4 Martin IV. , by name Simon de
extranei." — ThiB grant was confirmed Brie, was elected Feb. 22,1281, crown-
at Paris, 1258, with a clause to pre- ed March 23, died March 28, 1285.

XVII. J ELEANOR DE MONTFORT AND HER SONS. 335
chaplain1," and engaged that he should swear to leave England
for ever. Edward finally delivered Almeric into the custody
of the bishops in Convocation, and referred the question of
his release to Parliament, Feb. 14, 1281. Archbishop Peck-
ham interested himself in his behalf, and wrote to the King2
that "we hear from. your cousin, Sir Amorri, that he never
intended to live in Wales, or blemish your honour in any
manner; and as to the words you told us he had spoken in
prison against us and others, we cannot find by the wardens
that he ever said anything against your lordship ;-^if he
were plotting, he would not be so desirous of your favour as
he is." Some of the barons even to the last refused their
assent; but the King, "mild and devoted to God," as the
archbishop informs the Pope3, granted it ; and Almeric being
solemnly pronounced free in the presence of many witnesses,
was delivered to the Pope's agent at London to be conducted
to France. At Rome he subsequently abandoned the priest
hood and became a knight, dying soon afterwards.
Of his brother Richard nothing is known after his journey
to Lourde, and it is- probable that he died young abroad
without leaving issue. The tradition that he was allowed to
return to England subsequently under the assumed name of
Wellysborne, seems unfounded4. The bearers of that name
more probably were connected with the entirely distinct
family of Peter de Montfort, if not altogether strangers.
1 WUkins' Cone. anor, the King's sister:" his seal is
3 In a French letter, dated Sly- inscribed "BeUator' filii Simonis de
done (Slindon), Eve of Trinity. Montfort," and exhibits a knight in
3 London, Feb. 21, 1282,^-Wil- fuU armour, with the rampant lion
kins' Cone. on his shield, and a cross on his
4 "Richard se refugia en France banner; but these are justly consider-
avecsamere."— Moreri, Diet. ed.by Camden as spurious. Richard
. s See Stothard's Mon. Eft., Dugd. WeUysberne (of WeUysborhe Mont-
.Wftrw. There are charters extant fort, in Warwickshire, which had
purporting to be his, in which he long been .possessed by Peter de
names himself as " Wellysborne, son Montfort's family), married Marisi, de
of the Count Simon Earl of Leicester, la Rolhvfiles of that parish. .
andpneof the* sons of the Lady Ele- _ ;'. - ;<

CHAPTER XVIII.
THE MURDER AT VITERBO.
"It wiU have blood; they Say, blood will have blood." — Macb.
One more incident of a public nature, which connects the
de Montforts for the last time with British history, and
avowedly resulted from the events of the Barons' War, may
fitly conclude these pages, and may be examined more cir
cumstantially, as having attracted little notice, owing to its
occurrence in a distant country.
The active spirit of Prince Edward after all resistance
had been crushed at home, sought indulgence in the inter-
prise of the distant Crusade"; and, with his brother Edmund
and cousin Henry, he took the cross from the hands of
Cardinal Ottoboni (1270). When to the congenial allure
ments of distant adventure, and the unbridled license of war,
the piety of the times added release from debts and remission
from sins, we must not wonder at the Prince being able to
gather a party of enterprising companions1 for this Crusade,
though the now cooler judgment of others on this point has
been already noticed. A century before, the popular chants of
1 " Earl of Gloucester." For a Ust de Clare, and 9 knights ; Alan de
of the crusading knights, who ac- MonteAlto and 1 knight; WiUiam
-companied P. Edward, see Mr Hud- de Huntercombe, and 2 knights;
son Turner's paper in Arch. Journ. Walter de Percy, and 3 knights ; Wil-
Vol. viii. p. 46. It includes Roger de liam de Valence, and 19 knights ; Ri-
Leyburn, and 9 knights, Brian de chard de la Rokele, and i knights'
Brampton, and 1 knight; Roger de Payne de Chaworth, and 5 knights;
Clifford, and 9 knights; Robert de Robert Tipetot, and 5 knights; Hamon
Mounteny, and 2 knights; WiUiam l'Estrange; Pr. Edmund, and Gil-
FitzWarin, and 2 knights; Adam de bert de Clare, E. of Gloucester, were
Gesemuth, and 5 knights ; Thomas to follow.

CH. XVIII.]

THE MURDER AT VITERBO.

337

the Crusades breathed more of religious than even military
enthusiasm : — Now let the strong in zealous throng,
WhUe yet they may, their strength
essay,
And Sion's burthen bear;
Advance with unbought chivalry,
And spur on aU in rivalry,
Fit warrior's fame to share.

"Ad portandum onus Tyfi
Nunc deberent fortes viri
Suas vires experiri,
Qui certant quotidie
Laudibus miUtia>
Gratis insigniri;
" Sed ad pugnam congressuris
Est athletis opus duris
Non moUitis Epicuris:
Non enim qui pluribus
Cutem curant sumptibus
Emunt Deum precibus.
"Lignum crucis signum ducis
Sequitur exercitus,
Quod non cessit, sed prascessit
In vi Sancti Spiritus.

No dastard cold of softened mould,
But hardy knight in vigorous might,
This holy work must dare :
They who at home in sensual ease
Lavish their wealth the flesh to please,
Buy not Heaven by prayer.
The sainted wood,
The Cross has stood,
To our host a shining Ught;
It shrinks not back,
It guides our track
In the holy Spirit's might.
* * * *
Who money lack, need not turn
back,
Nor scrip prepare, if faith be there,
The faithful feel no loss:
The Lord's own body leads the way,
Enough of food and cheer and stay
To those who guard the Cross.
The sainted wood,
The Cross has stood, See.
Among those who now found this vent for their private
restlessness, was one too powerful and vacillating to be safely
left at home, the Earl of Gloucester. He had mainly con
tributed both to the rise and ruin of de Montfort, but, dis
satisfied either with his share of reward, or with the utter

J'Quibus minus est argenti
Si fideles sint inventi,
Pura' fide sint contenti:
Satis est Dominicum
Corpus ad viaticum
Crucem defendenti.
"Lignum crucis, &c. 1"

. * Song of Master Berther, of Or
leans, in 1187. — See Roger Hove
den, p. 639. In the same year, at
Dunstable, " on the Vigil of St Law
rence the heavens opened, and in
Bight of many clergy and laymen a

very long cross of s> wonderful size
appeared, on which our Saviour was
seen to be nailed, crowned with thorns,
and with outstretched hands the
five wounds bleeding, but the blood,
though it flowed, feU not upon earth."
z

338 THE barons' war. , [ch.
disregard of all previous promises of constitutional reform, he
had again resorted to arms against the King. He had even
taken London1; although too unstable to persist in any fixed
line of conduct ; he had afterwards submitted to the indignity
of having the terms of his reconciliation referred to the Pope.
His eldest son was accordingly required to be delivered up
for three years to the Queen, or his . castle of Tunbridge to
Prince Henry, but by the wiser mediation of Prince Edward
both these conditions had been remitted2.
Before the return of Prince Edward from this expedition
he was preceded by his cousin Prince Henry, who, in his
journey through Italy, found himself at Viterbo at the same
time with his two cousins, the disinherited exiles, Simon and
Guy de Montfort.
The narrow escape of Guy from sharing the fate of his
father and brother at Evesham has been noticed, and the
circumstance, as vaguely transmitted by the tradition of
three centuries, seems to have given rise to the fine old
ballad of "the Beggar of Bethnal Green," the noble father
of "pretty Bessee." The rescue of "young Montfort, of
courage so free," from the heaps of slain after a battle is
there effected by a fair lady : —
"Who seing young Montfort there gasping to lie,
She saved his life through charitie."
He was not long, however, in recovering from his wounds ;
and after an imprisonment, first at Windsor and then at
Dover, had succeeded in escaping to the Continent by bribing
his keeper and deceiving his guards3. On his arrival in
Italy as a soldier of fortune, he was seized „by the Pope's
orders as an excommunicated fugitive4. Guy, however, pos
sessed his father's military talent; and much as the Pope
1 On this occasion the mob attack- 2 Woodstock, July 16, 1268.— Ry-
ed the King's palace, which must mer. He married afterwards .the
have been rebuilt since the fire of Princess Joan, born at Acre during
1263, and is described thus, "quod this Crusade.
in diversis regnis comparationem 3 T. Wyke.
recipere dedignatur."— Wyke. 4 Lahdino, Comment. Dante.

XVIII.] THE MURDER AT VITERBO. 339
hated the de Montforts, this advantage, urged by a powerful
Prince, more than compensated for his ecclesiastical demerits.
The French Prince, Charles d'Anjou, who had accepted the
Sicilian crown1 from the Pope's gift after Prince Edmund's
resignation, procured the release of Guy de Montfort, in order
to put under his command 800 French knights. With these
Guy took possession of Florence on Easter-day, 12672, and
was appointed his deputy-governor, when the Prince became
Imperial Vicar in Tuscany. After this important service
Guy greatly -distinguished himself by his zeal3 for his master,
contributing to his great victory over the rival king Corra-
dino at Tagliacozzo, August 24, 1268, and was sent to reduce
Sicily to his power4. In this the French were successful,
but they had introduced " wo'rse evils than greater luxury "
among the Italians ; their military strength might have
long enabled them to retain the island in 'their grasp, had
not the cruelties *of the army, unchecked by King or Pope,
at length roused the people by their excess to the vengeance
of the memorable Vespers : —

"Se mala signoria, che sempre ac-
cuora
Li popoU soggetti, non avesse
Mosso Palermo a gridar, Mora,
Mora.— Par. 8. 73.
1 His wife Beatrice is said to have
urged his acceptance of it, ambitious
of thus placing herself on a par -with
the three Queens her sisters. She
entered ¦ Naples in great pomp as
Queen "with magnificent gilded car
riages and plenty of richly dressed
damsels, to which spectacle the peo
ple there were quite unaccustomed."
—Ann. Muratori, 1266°. She died
in 1267.
2 G. ViUani.
3 Dante (Inf. 32. 116) alludes to
his bribing Buoso da Duera, the
General of the GhibeUiues, in order
to f aciUtate the passage of the French
trpops. 4 Philip Count de Montfort, de
scribed as "a bold knight and ex-

Had not iU lording, which doth
spirit up
The people ever, in Palermo raised
The shout of "death," re-echo'd
loud and long — Card's Transl.
perienced in arms, " had been entrust
ed with the government of Bigorre,
in 1258, as deputy for the Earl of
Leicester, who invited his people
there to obey him "tarn fideUter
quam amicabiUter tanquam nobis."
See Tresor des Chartes, p. 292. He
was also actively employed under
King Charles, and was in Sicily. He
was the son of PhiUp, Lord of Ferte,
¦ Aleps and Castries in France, and
Lord of Tyre in Syria, who was a
first cousin of Simon, the great Earl
of Leicester, and was among those
who had invited him to supreme
power at Jerusalem  See p. 45, ante.
Nangis, Muratori.
5 "II lusso e qualche cosa di peg-
gio." — Muratori.
z2

340 THE barons' war. [cHi
He was rewarded, as others of his comrades were, with
liberal grants of lands and baronies1, and thus becoming
Count of Nola, was high in trust and favour with King
Charles. His brother Simon, as the elder son, had been looked up
to by the partisans of his father as his successor in the
guidance of the popular impulses; and, as has been seen,
made some attempts to retrieve the fortunes of the party.
A contemporary poet thus earnestly expresses his anxiety for
him immediately after the battle of Evesham : —
" Priez tous, mes amis doux, Now aU draw near, companions dear,
le fitz Seinte Marie, To Jesus let us pray,
Que l'enfant, her puissant That Montfort's heir his grace may
meigne en bonne vie : share,
Ore est oces, &C.1" And learn to heaven the way2.
After the final overthrow of his house and party, Simon
had joined his brother Guy in Italy, and they were both
together at Viterbo in March, 1271s.
For two years after the death of Clement IV (Nov. 29,
1269), a conclave of fifteen cardinals had been sitting in that
city; and, as their tedious incubation had not yet produced
a Pope, the interest attached to this election4 happened to
attract there at the same time Philip, who had lately suc
ceeded to the crown of France, Charles, 'King of Sicily, and
the English Prince Henry, passing through Italy on their
separate journeys.
It adds to our interest in the untimely fate of Prince
Henry to know that he had been recently married (March 6,
¦ J "Hebbe da lui molti Btati nel and the battle of Lewes 1251.
regno." — L'historia di Casa Orsini da 4 Teobaldo de' Visconti of Piacen-
Fr. Sansovino, Ven. 1565, p. 62. za, then Archdeacon of Liege, was
FUiberto Campanile specifies Cicala, ultimately chosen; he was, at the
Atripalda, Furino, as given to Guy. — time, absent at Acre, with Prince
See DeU' Armi dei NobiU, 2 edit. Edward,- who on his return visited
Napoli, 1618. his former comrade as Gregory X.,
2 Lament de S. de Montfort, from at Rome, with a great suite (magnfi
MS. Cott. in W. Rish. PoUt. Songs. comitiva).— Lansd. MSS. 397, 3.
The translation from Ellis' Anc. S. Gregory was elected Sept. 1, 1271,
8 Duchesne, Hist. Script. Norman crowned Jan. 27, 1272, and died
Chr. Norm, dates this event 1257, Jan. 10, 1276.— Nicholas' Chronol.

XVIII.] THE MURDER AT VITERBO. 341
1269), with the zealous approval of the King and Prince
Edward, to Constance, the daughter and expected heiress of
Gaston de Moncade, the wealthy and powerful Count of
Beam1. This alliance shortly preceded the journey towards
Syria, from which, or rather from Tunis, Henry was now
returning. He was performing his devotions in a chapel opposite his
lodgings on Friday, March 13, when the vindictive passions
of the past barons' war selected him as a fresh and last
victim. The two de Montforts, from the time of their cousin's
arrival, had watched him night and day, resolved " with all
intent of mind," to revenge the ruin of their family on one
whose royal blood seemed to identify him with the authors
of their father's death and their own expulsion.
The solemn description of the event which Pope Gregory
afterwards put on record2, represents Prince Henry's visit to
Viterbo as commanded by Prince Edward, and encouraged
by the King of Sicily, with the express object of restoring
the de Montforts to the favour of the English Prince. This
intention, however, if really entertained, could not have been
made known to his angry cousins, and circumstances soon
put an end to any such idea. The exclusion of the de Mont
forts from England was never revoked, yet the royal enmity
of Edward did not extend, as in meaner * instances of later
date, to carved stone ; and there still remains the armorial
1 This marriage, which is not no- M. Par. Edward I. wished her, on
ticed in the usual pedigrees of the her return to her own country as a
royal family, is dated by T. Wyke in widow, to marry Aymon Count of
May. Constance is mentioned as Geneva (c. 1279), and Gaston pro-
possessing TickhiU for her dower, mised to do this at the King's request.
when a widow in 1272.— Rot. Pat. (Tower MS. No. 1456.) Constance
53°, 56° Hen. III. She was the eldest urges the payment of the arrears of
daughter of Gaston VII. , Viscount of her dower from the King, and wishes
Beam, and was married first to Al- to come to England to speak face to
fonso, son of James I. of Aragon. face with him, there being some
There being no brothers, she was coldness between them. She caUs
considered her father's heiress. It is herself " Constance, reUct of the late
to be hoped the lady did not inherit noble man Henry of Germany. "
her grandmother's personal pecuUari- 2 Processus, in Thesaur. Cur. Re-
ties, " a woman remarkably mon- cept. Scacc. — Rymer,
strous, ahd a prodigy of fatness." —

342

THE BARONS' WAR.

[CH.

shield of the great Simon de Montfort on the walls of West
minster Abbey, the only public record of his high alliance
and of his place in British history1.
It was the time of Lent, so that Simon and Guy easily
tracked the unfortunate Henry to the church at high mass2,
when, knowing that the two Kings of France and Sicily were
also engaged at their devotions in the Franciscan church3, at
a distance, the opportunity of accomplishing their revenge
presented itself. At first they intended -to pluck him out
from amidst his attendants, but the crowd being too great
for this, the brothers rushed in upon him with drawn swords
while the unsuspecting Prince was kneeling before the altar.
From the very threshold of the church Guy fiercely re-

1 Under the same window of the
north aisle of the nave is also the
shield of his enemy, John de Wa
renne; these are copied in the title-
page, as are also those of Henry III.,
and the King of the Romans, from
the Abbey. In the "RoUs of Arms,"
1308-14, those of the Earl of Lei
cester, "gules, a lion or, taU four-
chee," are among the extinct arms,
" armes abattues." The descend
ants of Peter de Montfort at that time
bore, "in Sussex and Surrey, Sir
William de Montfort, bende or and
azure," "John Montfort, bende of
10, or and azure." Under the 1st
window East, are the shields of the
Emperor Frederic II. and Louis IX. ;
under 2nd those of Clare and Bigot ;
under 3rd those of Montfort, the
straps of the shield supported on
the right by a projecting head of an
aged bearded man wearing a coronet,-
on the left by a smiling head with
curly hair. The supporter on the
right of De Warenne is the head of a
noble female with linen bands across
her forehead and under her chin,
that on the left has been cut away to
make room for a modern monument ;
under the 4th is the shield of Albe
marle. On the South side under the
1st window East are the arms of
Henry III. ; under the 2nd those of
Alexander III. and Raymond Count
of Provence (or, 4 pallets, guleB);

under 4th the shield of Richardus
Comes CornubiaB, supported on the
right by a man's head, bare at top
with curls at sides. Many of the
shields exhibit the heraldic colours
and the names inscribed on the
small cornice over them.
2 G. VUlani. T. Wyke says it was
early in the morning; Chr. Laner
cost, that it was at vespers.
3 There is the most singular dis
crepancy among different authorities
as to the church in which the murder
took place. According to Nangis,
Trivet and W. Rish. , it was S. Loren
zo, which is in fact the cathedral in
the south of the town, and with this
Platina (Vite de Pontefici) agrees. T.
Wyke and Walsmgham name the
chapel of the confraternity of S. Blaise
(S. Biagio). Aun. Wav., Chr. Oxenede
and two Italians, Lan'dino and VeUut-
ello,callit S. Sylvestro,aparish-church
in the middle of the town near the
market-place ; and this must have been
really the scene of the murder, being
the only one named fulfilling the
Pope's description of its occurrence,
"in a certain parish-church." The
convent of S. Francisco, where King
PhiUp represents himself as being at
the time, is much farther to the North,
near the Porta S. Lucia, according to
the plan of Tarquinio Ligusti, Vi-
terbese, 1596. Compare Gebauer's
Leben des Kaiser Richards, s. 274.

XVIII.] THE MURDER AT VITERBO. , 343
proached him, " Thou traitor Henry of Almaigne, thou shalt
not escape ;" and without respect for the sanctity of the place
or of the ceremony, they stabbed him repeatedly with their
daggers, even while he clung so closely to the altar that four
fingers of his left hand were nearly severed in the struggle
to tear him from it1. Supposing him to be dead when he
fell under their blows, the de Montforts retreated to the door
and joined the troop of horse- and foot-soldiers whom they
had placed there to secure their flight. One of his party
asking what had been done, Guy answered, "I have had my
revenge2;" but when taunted with the worse usage his father
had met with — "How was your father dragged about?" — he
hurried back to fulfil every detail of the bloody retribution
in his power, and dragged his expiring victim by the hair
out of the church, venting his fury again and again upon
him in spite of his clasped hands and cries for mercy. Every
part of his body was mutilated with wounds ; his side, loins,
and face were savagely cut, as if the brothers exulted in
acting over again the bloody tragedy of Evesham. "You
had no mercy on my father or my brothers3," were the last
insults heard by the Prince in his agony of death.
The audacity of the attack, and the armed force at the
door, seem to have paralysed the Prince's attendants ; while
of the two priests then celebrating mass, and who inter
posed, one was killed and the other severely wounded4.
The murderers mounted their horses at the church-doors
and fled in safety to the'Maremma, where Count Ildribal-
dino Rosso dell' Anguillara6 (whose daughter Margaret was
1 T. Wyke. Processus, Rymer. trier. Henri le eria merci jointes
2 G. ViUani, 7, 40, introduces the mains, pour Dieu qu'il ne l'occeist,
French words into his ItaUan text, et Guy U rispondi, ' Tu n'eus pas
"Je a fet ma vengeance." "Com- pitie- de mon pere et de mes freres.' "
ment vostre pere fut trane?" — thus — Nangis; Processus in Rymer; G.
giving an air of much authenticity to ViUani.
his account, for Guy would naturaUy 4 T. Wyke; Processus in Rymer.
use that language to his French 5 AnguUlara was a noble castle
comrades, independent of its being near the lake formerly caUed Angu-
then in habitual use at the EngUsh lare, now Lago di Bracciano. Hume
court, represents them as taking refuge in
3 "Puis le traina hors du mous- tie church of S. Francis, which they

344 THE barons' war. [ch.
the wife of Guy) had power to shelter them from pur
suit : —
"Vor in a Friday, the morwe up Sein Gregorie's day,
As he stod at is masse, as that folc isay,
Before the weved in his bedes at the secre rigt,
Com Sir Gui de Mountford that was stalwarde knigt,
And is aunte sone, alas! iarmed wel inou,
And communes with him and to him even drou,
And s(mote) im thoru out is suerd and viUiche him slou."
Rob. Glouc.1
Such is the account by the rough poet of " this hideous and
abominable thing," as the Italian historian2 justly calls it ;
and that it should have been done so publicly and within
reach of the protection of the French Princess3, naturally
cast some reproach even upon them.
The letters of the two Kings, written upon the spot im
mediately after the event, are full of phrases of horror, and
professions of pursuing the culprits, but so slack was the
pursuit, that they were never forgiven by Prince Edward4 to
whom the letter of Charles was addressed : —
" In sorrow and grief of mind we acquaint you, that
lately, when we and King Phillip were at the Roman court,
Simon and Guy de Montfort, children of perdition, with no
respect to the Roman Church, to the King, or to ourselves,
certainly did not do. Some consider " Onde la corte turbS forte, dando di
Count Rosso as more expressly im- cid reprensione aUo Re Carlo, che
plicated in the murder, "cum con- cid non dovea sofferire, se l'havesse
siUo et auxUio Comitis Rufi." — saputo, e se nol sapeva, non lo dovea
Lansd. MS. 229. T. Wyke also in- lasciar passare impunito." — G. Vil-
volves Almeric de Montfort : " Simon lani.
cum Guidone - necnon Comite Rufo, 4 In the Pleas of 1275, Walter de
cujus fiUam duxerat, non sine as- BaskerviU is spoken of as outlawed
sensu, ut credi poterat Emmerici for the death of Henry (murdrati per
fratris eorundem, " &c. Simonem de Monte Forti), and was
1 Weved, altar ; bedes, prayers ; therefore probably one of Guy's com-
rigt, rite. The feast of S. Gregory rades at Viterbo. BaskerviU plead-
was on March 12. ed in defence that he could not be
2 G. VUlani. tried for anything done in a foreign
3 "Rege Francia? et rege Sicilis9 country, and subsequently he was
ignorantibuB, vel forte conniventi- aUowed, 1278, to recover his lands,
bus." — T. Wyke. "Simone et Gui- by the Kenilworth decree, from Ro-
done de Monti Forte, Comite Rubeo, ger de Clifford, the latter, however,
immo alns nonnuUis spectantibus, retaining his life interest. — Placitv
in crastino S, Gregorii."— Chr. Oxen. 3° Edw. I. pp. 195, 264.

XVIII.] THE MURDER AT VITERBO. 345
wickedly killed — alas ! what a calamity ! — your and our kins
man Henry. We, firmly resolving to pursue these wretches
to their ruin and extermination1, as if the atrocity had been
committed on ourselves or on our children, have ordered
Henry Count Valdemonte and Agnani, our Vicar-General in
Tuscany, to pursue and seize these most abominable crimi
nals, so that it may be made manifest by deeds how deeply
-their guilt has touched our inmost soul. Wherefore we
earnestly beseech your Greatness not to be confounded or
dejected, but to persist in your accustomed constancy. Vi^
terbo, March 132."
King Philip's letter to the King of the Romans, written
"not without vehement bitterness and grief of heart," de
scribed in greater, detail that the two Kings were hearing the
solemnities of the mass in- the church of the Minor Friars,
while Guy and Simon, " at the same day and hour, attacked
Henry with armed hand, when- he was in- a certain other
chapel of Viterbo, opposite his lodging, hearing.mass or pray
ing, and there at the instigation of the devil killed him."
The church at Rome, then represented by the conclave,
issued its denunciation on the murderers ; and Pope Gregory,
six months after his election, renewed it, calling them " sons
of Belial, led on by a diabolical spirit." The presence of
Edward I. at the Papal Court on his return from Syria,
seems, however, to have been the active cause of quickening
the steps of justice, for up to that time no arrest had taken
place and no judicial process begun. Gregory X., lamenting
the delay, in a public and solemn notice of the crime3 (March
1, 1273), summoned, Guy de Montfort to appear within
fifteen days before him to answer the charges of murder,
fratricide,, sacrilege, and the insult done to God, to the
Church, and to the Princes, of which common report de
nounced him and his late brother Simon4 to have been guilty.
1 "In exterminium et ruinam ini- . 3 Rymer.— Lansd. MS., 397.
quorum ipsorum." 4 " Simone fataU sorte rebus hu-
a Eymer. manis exempto." — Rymer.

346 THE barons' war. [ch.
An escort was offered him from the boundaries of the
territory of his father-in-law in order to prevent any excuse
of his fearing to approach Edward I., who had even offered
to remove his residence if Guy would swear to come. Count
Rosso soon afterwards received a similar summons1, as he
not only arrived at Viterbo at the same time with Guy, but
had also accompanied him when approaching the spot where
the murder was perpetrated, had been present with his suite
near the place while so foul a deed was committed, and had
subsequently harboured Guy.
The criminals, instead of obeying, sent Almeric de Mont
fort on their behalf to excuse their non-appearance, and
plead for delay until Edward's departure from Italy, fearing
his avowed desire of revenge ; Guy even ventured to allege
that. he had the justest ¦ reasons at the time for the murder
of Henry, and that having been stripped by Edward of all
his substance he was now compelled by his destitution to
league with men of violence. The Pope of course rejected
all such excuses as trifling ; and as to his plea of poverty,
reminded him that in fact he had lost nothing, for that the
property in England had never belonged to him at all, his
elder brothers having had prior claims to the succession of
their late parents ; while as to his Sicilian lands, the King
had justly recalled the grant of them on bis sudden flight
after the murder.
Almeric vainly tendered Guy's confession of the crime
and bargained for mercy: the Pope, though Guy did not
appear, deprived him of all faculty of inheritance, and doomed
him to perpetual infamy, to confiscation and forfeiture of his
jurisdiction in the lands of his wife, decreeing that no de
scendant, even to the fourth generation, should ever hold
office or dignity, while every one was authorized to seize Guy
and bring him to prison2.
' In a letter to Raynerio, the su- [? Sovana] consueto ejus domiciUo."
preme authority in Florence, March — Rymer.
6, 1273. The summons was to be 2 Processus, April 1, 1273. — Ry-
deUvered in or near " civitate Luan mer.

XVIII.] THE MURDER AT VITERBO. 347
The zeal of the Pope, however, seemed to relax, when
not excited by the presence of his powerful friend, King
Edward1. In a few months afterwards (from Lyons, Novem
ber 29) he wrote to that monarch, that " on his passage
through Florence, Guy, by his wife and others, had implored
compassion with every sign of a humbled and contrite heart ;
with his accomplices he had even prostrated himself on the
road before the Pope two miles out of Florence, barefooted
and with no other garments than shirt and hose, having
ropes round their necks, and begging in that lowly posture
with tears and prayers for any punishment, so that a door of
mercy might be opened for him2."
Simon de Montfort had already escaped from human
punishmlent, by his death in a castle near Sienna, in the year
of the murder, "after a brief wandering on the earth with
the curse of Cain upon him3." Guy, however, was now con
signed by the relenting Pope to the penance of a cell for
more than ten years, "until the apostle4 (in the words of the
chronicler) granted him favour and mercy." The motives of
Martin IV in his release, 1283, seem, however, to have been
more worldly than apostolic ; for the Pope needed his military
services in Romagnuola against Montefeltro, and the imme
diate success of Guy, who recovered much territory for the
Papal see, quickly repaid the obligation. His father-in-law,
Count Rosso, being dead, he left the siege of Urbino by the

1 Edward I. paid 350 marcs to is probable that he was the father of
WiUiam de Valence, as a debt from Richard Signor di Gambatesa, who,
Henry of Almaigne, Windsor, Sept. by marrying Thomasa, the heiress of
1274.  Rymer. the Campobasso family, became the
2 Lugdun. IH. Kal. Dec. Gerard ancestor of the lords of Gambatesa
de RosciUon was despatched by the and Campobasso, who continued to
Pope with this letter. — Rymer. flourish in the kingdom* of Naples
3 Chr. Roff. According to Ann. tiU the 15th century. His death,
Dunst. he died in France, as weU as however, before March, 1273, is cer-
his brother Richard. " Simon passa tain and notorious.
en France et y mourut sans poste- 4 "Puis en souffroit Guy grant
rite-."— Moreri, Diet. " Simon, Earl penitence, caril en fu en chartre en
of Bigorre, was ancestor of a family ' un fort chastel, et y demoura tant
of Montfort in that part of France." que 1'apostoUe U fist grace et miseri-
— Sandford's Gen. Hist. p. 87. It corde."— Gesta Philippi III. Nangis,

348 THE BARONS' war. [ch. .
Pope's sanction, in order to secure the inheritance of his wife
and children from the encroachment of Count Santa Flora.
A few years later, in 1288, again in the service of Charles
d'Anjou, he was taken prisoner in a naval fight off Sicily,
while endeavouring, to relieve Catania, which had been
seized by Reginald on the King's behalf. The Sicilian ad
miral, Roger de Laurea, sent him and his other French
captives to various prisons ; but though all the others were
released by ransoms, Guy alone could never regain his
liberty, either by entreaties or large offers of money.
At one period an agreement seems to have been come to
for his release, on payment of 10,000 ounces of gold (4000 to
be paid at once, and 6000 in ten months). There is extant
an earnest letter from one of his friends at Naples, calling on
all his relations in France to contribute towards this sum,
and stating that the Guelf party in Tuscany had already
promised to raise 6600 florins, besides 1000 from a vassal.
As his life would be in danger in default of payment, his
friends are urged to do the best they can as quickly as
possible 1.
The influence of the English King is said to have occa
sioned2 this severe treatment of Guy, and "the hand of God
(observes the annalist) reached him in its own due time, for
he finished his days miserably in a Sicilian prison3."
Though accident thus brought home misery to one of the
murderers, yet the murder was never effectually punished by
the arm of human law. The savage deed cannot be palliated
1 This appeal is made to Raoul ters — Thomasa, who married Pietro
de Cleremonte, constable of France, di Vico, Prefect of Rome ; and Ana-
Amalto de Montfort, and to Jehana stasia, who married, 1293, Romano
de Montfort, Conte de Esquillache Orsini, Grand Justiciary of Naples,
and de Moterescaiens. — Rymer. Flo- invested as Count di Nola by Charles
rence had promised 1000, Sienna II. Almeric de Montfort,-after Guy's
2000, and Orvieto 3000 florins. death, acted as guardian to his
2 Nangis, Gesta Philippi III., nieces, and died 1292.— See Cam-
"Dolo tentus ut dicitur Regis Ed- panile, "DeU' Armi,"&c. p. 44. The
wardi." Harl. MS. 6461, 19, p. 70, adds, in-
3 Muratori, Ann. Guy, by his correctly, to the children of Simon de
marriage with Margaret, only daugh- Montfort, " de quibus nulla proles."
te.r of Count Rosso,, had two daugh- Guy died 1288.— Moreri.

XVIII.] the.murDer at VITERBO. 349
by any reference to the provocation so many years before,
but it would appear still more strange if the unfortunate
Prince, as many accounts assert1, was in no way a party to
the death of the great Simon de Montfort. There is no ex
press proof as to his being present at Evesham or not ; we
have seen that he had been sent on an embassy to France,
May 17, and may possibly not have returned before that
battle. His cold-blooded murder seems to denote that the
de Montforts at least thought his active enmity had earned
their life-long vengeance. Some such strong impulse seems
required to account for the crime, especially in the case of
Simon, whom we have seen, in all the fresh excitement of
anger and grief, shielding the father of his present victim
from the fury of his soldiers at Kenilworth, and who had
himself been indebted for his life to Prince Edward when a
captive at Northampton.
Among some zealous Royalists there had yet lingered an
apprehension that the de Montforts, if recalled from exile,
might have troubled the state, and the murder at Viterbo
appeared in their eyes as a providential means of rendering
their pardon hopeless2.
The retribution of this atrocity, which worldly policy
delayed and mitigated, has been signally awarded by poetry.
Dante has for ever fixed the shadowy image of Guy de
1 According to Chr. Norm. Du- Given as an epitaph on Prince Henry
chesne, Henry was not in the battle in Lansd. MSS., 229, and Chr. Roff.
of Evesham, and had endeavoured From the aUusion in it to the trai-
to procure the recal of the exiles. It tor, Gano de Pontieri (the GaneUone
adds that Simon had guaranteed his of Dante, Inf. 32. 122), who betray-
safety at Viterbo in the presence of ed Charlemagne at RoncesvaUes, it
the two Kings. It is very improbable appears of foreign origin, and may
that Henry was mistaken for Prince have been inscribed at Viterbo in
Edward, as Chr. Lanerc. asserts. the church. " Gui— ayant tne* dans
2 " Irruit in templum maledicti l'eghse de S. Laurent de Viterbe (le
stirps Guenenonis, Prince Henri) qu'il accusoit d'avoir
Perfodit gladiis hunc Symonis atque fait mettre en pieces le corps du
Guidonis : Comte de Leicester son pere."— Mo-
Disposuit Deus ut per eos vir tantus reri, Diet. [Perhaps Henry was spe-
abiret ciaUy odious as a renegade from de
Ne revocatis hiis gens AngUca tota Montfort's party.]
periret."

350 THE barons' war. [ch.
Montfort, plunged up to his throat in a bubbling pool of hot
blood, and shunned even by other murderers in hell : —
" Un ombra d'un canto sola, A spirit by itself apart retired,
 Colui fesse in grembo a Dio  He in God's bosom smote the
Lo cor, che'n su Tamigi ancor si heart
cola1.— Inf. 12. 119. That still beside the Thames for
vengeance bleeds.
The heart of the unfortunate Prince was sent to West
minster Abbey in a golden vase, and was there allowed to be
enclosed in the same tomb with the body of Edward the
Confessor2. It is said that a gilt statue on his monument
held the embalmed heart, with the label, " I bequeath to my
father my heart pierced with the dagger." These may have
been the last words of the dying Prince3. His bones, when
brought to England, were buried honourably at Hailes in
Gloucestershire, May 21 4.
Such funeral honours, however, could not comfort the
bereaved father: he who had formerly been spared by the
mercy of the de Montforts, now felt their tardy and distant
vengeance as a mortal blow. His only surviving son Ed
mund was at the time on his way to Syria, in company with
his cousin of the same name, the King's son, as Crusaders6;
1 The characteristic allusion of CruU (Westm. Abb., p. 175). G.
Dante (ancor si cola) to the ancient ViUani says the heart was placed on
superstition of the blood trickling a column at London bridge, which
afresh from a murdered corpse, either is very improbable, and Landino
¦to denounce the murderer, or to ex- speaks of his burial in London,
cite others to revenge, has not been " where the other Kings are buried."
rendered by Cary and others. A The mention of the Thames by
friend, the Rev. Henry WeUesley, Dante probably caused the con-
having pointed this out, has also fusion.
suppUed the novel translation of the 3 Landino. There is no trace or
last line. record, however, of any such monu-
2 Chr. Roff. His old shrine was ment in the Abbey.
translated with much ceremony to 4 Chr. Oxenede and Ann. Waver-
a new one adorned with gold and ley speak of his burial at Hailes
precious stones, being borne on the on May 21 ; a funeral mass in his
shoulders of King Henry III., Ri- honour was celebrated at Norwich,
chard King of the Romans, Prince July 22. The Lansd. MS. 229, says
Edward, Edmund Earl of Lancaster, the body was buried at Viterbo be-
Earl de Warenne, Philip Basset, and tween two Popes, and all his bones
as many as could touch it. The de- carried to Hailes.
posit of the heart is also mentioned s T. Wyke. MS. Lansd. 229. The
by Dart (Hist. Westm. Abbey), and seal of Edmund de Alemania, Earl

xviii.]

THE MURDER AT VITERBO.

351

he anxiously recalled him to England on learning the fatal
loss ; but although gratified by his return, he soon after,
April 2, 1272, went down sorrowing to the grave.
As the wealthiest man of his times, the King of the
Romans1, in pursuance of a vow made in a moment of peril
at sea, had amply endowed a monastery at Hailes2, where
was also deposited what was then esteemed a possession very
lucrative from its attractions, a drop of blood reputed to be
that of our Saviour. The importation of this relic3, duly

of Cornwall (at p. 95, Sandford) re
presents him as a knight galloping,
with his arms on shield — on the re
verse, the same arms on a large
shield are upheld by a strap from the
mouth of an eagle.
1 Arms of K. of Romans in east
window of BedaU church, and of
Bichmond, Yorkshire.
2 The Franciscan Alexander Hales,
a native of this place, owed his edu
cation to the King of the Romans,
and was so acute a reasoner as to be
called the Irrefragable Doctor; he
had the distinction of being master
to two eminent saints of the Romish
calendar, Buonaventura and Thomas
Aquinas. 3 The Earl brought this blood to
Hailes " upon Holyrode day in Her-
viste, where God daylie shewithe
miracles throwe the virtues of that
precious blood ;" and therefore Pope
John XXIV. allowed the Abbot to
grant absolution for all but reserved
sins after two confessions, and one
confession " to asoyle them in- the
poynt of dethe of all synnes, noone
excepted." Pope Eugene IV. gave
absolution for four confessions at
Corpus Christi, and seven years and
three lents to all who give " eny
thinge to the worship of God and
that precious Mod." Pope CaUixtus
III. "granted fuU remission at Cor
pus X*>, and at Holyrood in May
and harvest ;" also xv Cardinals,
each by himself, gave 100 days par
don to those who honor it, and
"put to ther helpynge hondes to
the wellfare of that forsayde mo-
nasterii of Hayles." Leland, Collect.

Vol. vi. p. 283. Edmund, Earl of
CornwaU, obtained this blood in Ger
many, according to Hollinshed, "by
fair entreaty and money, of a noble
man, Lord of Seyland" (Dugd.), and
gave one-third of it to Hales, and
two-thirds to the College of Bons
Hommes which he founded at Ash-
ridge, Herts, 1283 (Deo et beatas
Maris ac rectori Bonorum virorum
fratrum ecclesias, in honore pretiosi
sanguinis Jhesu Christi apud Esse-
rugge), and where he was himself
buried, together with the heart of
the sainted Bishop of Hereford, Tho
mas de CantUupe (v. p. 257 ante), in a
tomb " miro tabulatu f abricata" in the
north part of the choir. The saint's
heart, however, was subsequently
(mandatis apostoUcis) removed, and
with the holy blood translated, "in
tabernaculo quodam deaurato sibi
competenti." Dugd. Mon. 6. 514.
The seal of the monastery, acci-
dentaUy found in 1821, appears to
represent the golden cross, which en
shrined the reUc, above a vase or
bottle. In 1295 Edmund, Earl of
CornwaU, gave "crueem auream cum
pede de aumaU, quae nobUissiman
portionem sanguinis preciosissimaa
Crucis Christi in se insertam con-
tinuit."— Chr. Hayles; Dugd.'Mon.
Perhaps this reUc gave rise to the
proverbial saying, " As sure as God
is in Gloucestershire." This is caUed
in " Ray's Proverbs " a fooUsh and
profane proverb, unfit to be used;
and explained as having more rich
abbeys, &c. than other shires; but
the Hailes relic may have caused
this expression of pious faith.

352

THE BARONS' WAR.

[CH.

authenticated under the hand of Pope Urban IV., produced
a great sensation at the time, 1270, and brought the monas
tery into high repute for many ages, until at length the
rough chemistry of Henry VIII.'s commissioners detected it
to be the blood of a duck1. In this spot his widow Beatrice2,

1 This seems to rest on the testi
mony of WiUiam Thomas, clerk of
the CouncU to Edward VI., who may
have been present at the examina
tion of the reUc before the King.
He says (MS. Bodl. N. E. B. 2. 7),
" See here the craft of thes develisse
soule-queUers : it behoved eche per
son that cam thither to se it, first to
confess hymself, and then, paying a
certeyn to the comon of that Monas
tery, to enter into a chappeU, uppon
the aulter whereof this blod shuld be
showed him. — (The monk confessor
presented) — a pixe of cristaU great
and thicke as a bowle on the one
Bide, and thyne as a glasse on the
other syde — (two monks specially ap
pointed) every Saturday killed a.duck,
and renewed therewith this consecrate
blud, as they themselves confessed,
not onlie in secret, but also openly
before an approved audyence." — On
Nov. 24, 1539, John Hilsey, Bishop
of Rochester, preached at Paul's
Cross, and shewed the reUc to be
" no blood, but hony clarified and
coloured with saffron, as it had been
evidently proved before the King and
Council." — " The blood was invisible
to man under mortal sin, no better
than the blood of a duck renewed
every week in a crystal very thick on
one side but very thin and trans
parent on the other." — See Herbert's
Henry VIII. p. 431; Fuller's Church
History, 6. 333; Fox, Acts and
Monum. 2. 431; CoUier's Eccles.
Hist. 2. 149. — The original report of
the King's Commissioners, however,
make no mention of duck's blood,
nor of the different thickness of the
sides of the glass. The certificate of
Hugh Latimer, Bishop of Worcester,
of Henry Holbech, Prior of Worces
ter, of Stephen Whaley, Abbot, of
Hayles, and of Richard Tracye, Esq.,
High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, dated

Oct. 28, in 30th year of Henry VIII. ,
reports that " they have viewed a
certeyne supposed relycke caulyd the
blod of HaUes, which was inclosed
within a rownde berall garnyshed
and bownd on ev'y syde with sylv',
which we cawsed to be openyd in
the presence of a greate multytude
of people— (they took it out) — being
within a lytle glasse, and also tryed
the same according to owr powers,
wittes, and discretyons by aU meanys,
and by force of the view and other
tryals thereof we thinke, deame, and
judge the substaunce and mattier of
the sayde supposyd Relycke to be an
unctuowse gumme colouryd, which
being in the glasse appeiryd to be a
gUsterynge redd resemblynge partly
the color of blod — and after we
did take owt part of the sayd sub
staunce and mattier owt of the
glasse, then it was apparunte gUs
terynge yeolow color lyke Ambre, or
basse golde, and dothe cleve to as
gumme or byrdlyme." It was en
closed within a coffre and sealed, and
so deUvered to Richard Tracye ; and
it casts suspicion on the Commis
sioners to find that the Manor of
HaUes is now in the family of the
Tracys  End of Hearne's Benedic-
tus Abb. Petroburg.— Oxon. 17*35.
2 Cencia, his second wife, mother
of Edmund, dying in 1261, when she
was buried at Hayles, the Prince
remarried June 16, 1269, Beatrice,
daughter of a German baron, Theo-
doric de Falkenberg, and niece of
Engelbert, Archbishop of Cologne
(1262—1275), who retired to Bonn
in 1268, disgusted at a rebeUion of
the Colognese. His tomb and effigy
are in the cathedral of Bonn. "Non
ambitu dotaUtu, sed incomparabiUs
formse ipsius captus UlecebraV' — T.
Wyke. Lansd. MSS. 229.

XVIII.]

THE MURDER AT VITERBO.

353

whose personal beauty had but recently led the uxorious
Prince in his old age to a third marriage, erected a sump
tuous pyramid over his tomb. The relic, the monument,
and the whole convent have been long swept away, and
there survived to modern times only one incidental effect of
the accumulation of vast property in this Prince's hands. As
Earl of Cornwall1 he had given charters to the numerous
small towns2 on his estates in that county, and this entitling
them subsequently as burghs to send representatives to Par
liament, long enabled them to sway the destinies of the
empire by the chorus of their accordant voices, and thus
during many centuries to influence the constitutional liber
ties of England.

1 The grant of CornwaU to him
was in 1224, and it was from this
domain- that he raised the army he
had with him at the battle of Lewes.
"Cornubia, ubi Richardus Comes
excitavit exercitum, quern secum
duxit ad beUum de Leaus." — Cott.
' MSS. Nero A. IV. The arms of the
King,, argent, a lion rampant gules
within a .bordure bezantee, were

found in a Franciscan convent 'at
Bordeaux, on its being pulled down,
1746. He had probably been a bene
factor to it. For the same reason
his arms also appear in the south
aisle of Westminster Abbey.
2 Launceston was made free 1231;
Liskeard, 1240 ; Bodmin, Truro, and
Helston afterwards. — See Lysons'
CornwaU.

AA

APPENDIX.

A. — Referred to at page 171, Note 3, and at page 194,
Note 2. Reprinted from a letter addressed by Mr Blaauw
to the Sussex Express and County Advertiser, 1863 :
No historian has yet fixed the site of the Battle of Lewes.
That of the first collision between Prince Edward and the Lon
doners, under the command of Lord Nicholas de Segrave, is accu
rately ascertained to be that portion of the Downs immediately
above the Offham Chalkpits, where large quantities of skeletons
have been at various periods exhumed by the men engaged in
flint-digging, — the greater portion of which is to the north-east
of Steere's Mill. Here the killed were evidently buried after the
battle in small pits sufficient for six or nine bodies. The greatest
number dug up in any one pit was nine.
"Where the more extensive portion of the battle was fought
between the other two divisions of Simon de Montfort's army
and his reserve with the two divisions of the Royal Forces, has
not as yet been fixed upon; for it is a singular fact that the traces
of a battle-field have not been recognized upon any part of the
Downs. The remains of no single warrior have ever been found
from Plumpton Plain to Steere's Mill, or to Kenward's or Spital
Mill. Nor are there any traces on the side hill from the Race
Course to Houndean Bottom, so that the wide expanse of Downs
from the northern boundary to Ashcombe, with the exception of
the one mentioned above, the Offham Chalkpits, affords not the
slightest trace of a battle ; and yet it is supposed by some writers
that there were nearly 100,000 men engaged in it, viz. 40,000

APPENDIX. 355
Baronial troops and 60,000 Royalists. Of the accuracy of this
number great doubt is expressed. Half the number is more pro
bably nearer the truth, as the estimated loss of the battle ranges
between 3000 and 20,000. The Monk of Lewes sets it at 2700,
which might perhaps represent those who fell in the streets of
Lewes, and those who fought in the rencounter between the King
and Simon de Montfort. Taking a medium calculation, and set
ting the number to be 5000, it is quite evident that there must
be the site of the burial of not less than 3500 yet unknown and
undiscovered, and were these buried on any part of the Downs
traces of them would long before this have been exposed, for
nearly every portion of the Downs has, within the past century,
been sufficiently turned up to mark such a spot if any existed.
In 1264 the Downs extended to the very walls of Lewes, and
to the gates of the Priory in Southover, and, with the exception
of a very few buildings, an uninterrupted sward surrounded the
western side of the town, so that any party leaving Lewes Castle
would, immediately .they passed the Wallands, be upon the Downs; -
and a similar party, leaving the walled boundary of the Priory
of St Pancras, find themselves upon smooth turf open to sight on
all sides; so rfchat the troops under Prince Edward would, after
leaving Lewes Castle, be upon the Downs as soon as they reached
the Paddock, and hence on the Wallands to Off ham Hill would
have an easy and uninterrupted ride on their way to meet the
Londoners. A similar open field would be presented to King
Henry and his brother, the King of the Komans, with their troops
when they emerged from the Priory grounds. These commanders
and their troops could readily and uninterruptedly march from
Southover over the Hides to the gentle slopes of the Downs at the
Spital and towards Ashcombe.
From facts which have recently come to the knowledge of the
writer of this article, he is confirmed in the belief that the greater
portion of the Battle of Lewes was fought in the vicinity of Lewes
County Gaol to the very walls of the town.
At the onset of the battle the Barons' army was drawn up in
battle array, the right wing commanded by Henry, the eldest, and
Guy, the third son of de Montfort, on the ground near the site of
the last Sheep Fair, extending near to " Hope in the Valley," at
AA2

356 THE barons' war.
the foot of the Haredean. The left wing of the Eoyal forces,
under the King of the Romans, was opposed to these Confederate
forces, and ultimately succumbed to them. These entered the
battle-field no doubt from the top of Southover.
The centre of the Barons' army descended the hill to near the
Lewes Gaol, where they encountered Henry and his centre, who
had emerged from the Priory, and took his route, no doubt, up the
sides of the Hides and Southover House Paddock. The reserve
of the Confederate forces was held back at Kenward's Mill, where
de Montfort could command, as it is stated he did, a full view of
the battle-field.
It is evident that the King's forces were taken by surprise;
consequently some time elapsed before they were prepared to leave
their quarters, and during this time the Barons' army was de
scending from the heights of the race-hill towards Lewes. Prince
Edward was the first in the field, and his impetuosity of attack
succeeded in overcoming the Londoners, who formed the left wing
of the Confederate army, and the time estimated from the first
alarm that the Barons' army was ahead, would be sufficient to
enable the Royal Prince to reach the ascent to the Offham. Hill,
about three-quarters of a mile from the Castle. His sanguinary
attack occupied but little time before he drove the Londoners
over the precipitous side hill of the Offham Chalkpits that formed
a temporary respite in the retreat down to the brooks ; but this
was only temporary, for the Prince's forces could again come upon
them by descending the valley opposite Offham turnpike-gate.
From here the pursuit of the discomfited Londoners extended into
the "Weald, and a portion of them were pursued along the high
ground to Hamsey Church, where they passed the swamps to
Mailing Mill, near which upwards of 80 were killed, and after
wards buried in a pit that was discovered at the time of lowering
Mailing Hill. Another party, the more numerous of the affrighted
warriors, passed through the Weald on their escape to London,
and were met with by some Royalist troops at Croydon, where a
severe hand-to-hand fight took place, and the dead were buried
in George Street of that town. These were discovered a few
years since in lowering the road leading to the Brighton Railway
Station.

appendix. 357
The King and his forces, who were lying within the walls of
the Priory, being taken by surprise, lost some time in getting in
order ; so that before Henry could possibly leave his quarters the
Barons were gradually approaching Lewes, and it doubtless was
only by great exertions he got from Lewes as far as the Spital
Barn. He could not possibly have reached the heights of the
Downs, as there was not time for *such a movement after the
period of the alarm being given, which did not take place til]
after the Barons came in sight of the Priory Church Tower, and
this could not be seen until the Barons had passed the Sheep
Pond, southward of the Lewes Race Course; consequently it is
clear that the Barons' right wing and centre had commenced de
scending the Spital Hill. From these and other facts we have
concluded that the battle-field on which Simon de Montfort de
feated Henry and his forces was in the close vicinity of the Lewes
County Gaol, and extended from thence to the walls of the town
at Westgate, and to the walls of the Priory Gateway. "We are
further strengthened in our opinion by the fact that in 181-0 Mr
Barrett, the late respected road-surveyor, lowered the Brighton
turnpike-road ; and during his excavations near the eastern car
riage entrance to the County Gaol he discovered three large pits
filled with skeletons, containing by estimate quite 500 bodies in
each. These he subsequently reburied in the grounds of St Ann's
almshouses. His carts were engaged several days in carrying them
to their present resting-place. The discovery of these pits readily
proves that a battle had been fought in their vicinity ; and if, as
we suppose, these are the bodies of those who were engaged in the
final struggle for victory, it may, without any stretch of imagina
tion, be considered that the site selected by us was that of the
battle. Near about the time that Henry was overwhelmed by his
opponents, his brother, the King of the Romans, was equally dis
comfited by the rapidity of the attacks of his foes on the right
wing of the Barons.. His defeat was so rapid that he nearly fell
into the hands of the Barons, and would have done so had he not
made his escape to a water-mill at hand. This water-mill was on
the Winterboume stream, the remains of which were traceable
about 80 years ago.

358 THE barons' war.
The spot we have selected for »the site of Montfort's carriage,
in which were confined Augustine de Harestock [Hadestock],
Richard Dycard [Pycard], and Stephen de Chelmereford, three
aldermen of London, who were, by mistake, killed by Prince
Edward's party on their return to the battle-field, was on the high
ground near Steere's Mill — a spot eminently calculated to mislead
the King's party as the head-quarters of the Barons' Commander-
in-Chief, especially as he had fixed his banner on the carriage.
We believe that by taking it for granted that the battle-field
was between Lewes and the Spital Mill, and becoming acquainted
with the localities, the reader of the records of the battle will find
no difficulty in reconciling it with all the details that have been
furnished by the writers of the day when it was fought. It may
be said that, in giving our views, we have dogmatically asserted
as facts what are mere suppositions ; but we sincerely believe in
our statements, and trust they will furnish some reliable addition
to the researches of the antiquary as well as be interesting to the ,
reader. B. — Referred to at p. 328: from Archives du. Royaume, J. 630.
Inventaire de Dupuy, Angleterre III.
Alienora Dei gracia regina Anglie, domina Hybernie, et du-
cissa Aquitanie, Petrus comes Sabaudie et Johannes Mansellus
Thesaurarius Eboracensis omnibus ad quos presentes littere per-
venerint salutem. Notum facimus quod cum per composicionem
et pacem inter excellentissimum dominum Ludovicum illnstrem
regem Francie ac karissimum dominum nostrum Henricum regem
Anglie illustrein initam, teneretur idem dominus rex Francie dare
ipsi domino regi Anglie id quod quingenti milites constare debe-
rent rationabiliter ad tenendum per duos annos, secundum quod
in forma pacis ejusdem plenius continetur, prefato quod domino
rege Anglie aliorum arbitrium non curante super hoc expectare,
ad hunc amicabilem finem devenissent quod predictus dominus rex
Francie pro eo quod constare deberent quingenti milites tenendi,
ut predictum est, ipsi domino regi Anglie in centum triginta
quatuor milibus librarum Turonensium teneretur, ' de qua quidem
summa pecunie idem dominus rex Anglie septuaginta sex milia
librarum Turonensium jam ab eodem domino rege Francie rece-

APPENDIX. 359
perat in pecunia numerata, Nos, ab ipso domino rege Anglie per
patentes ipsius litteras super hoc plenam potestatem habentes, totum
residuum illius pecunie, videlicet quinquaginta octo milia libra
rum Turonensium, deductis, duobus milibus libris Turonensibus
quas idem dominus rex Anglie dedit et concessit subsidio terre
sancte per dilectum nostrum Johannem de Yalencenis militem in
hujusmodi subsidium expendendis, nomine ipsius regis Anglie ab
ipso rege Francie recepimus in pecunia numerata, et ita cum satis-
factum sit integre predicto domino regi Anglie de totali debito
supradicto, Nos nomine procuratorio domos et res milicise Templi
et hospitalii Ierosolimitani tarn citra mare quam ultra, quas pri-
ores et magistri earumdem domorum sponte predicto domino nos
tra regi Anglie per suas patentes litteras super hiis, ut dicitur,
obligaverant pro domino rege Francie memorato, et omnes ob-
ligaciones alias, si que super hiis alie facte fuerint, quitamus ex
nunc et remittimus penitus efc expresse, volentes quod si littere
predictorum priorum et magistrorum ipsarum domorum Templi et
Hospitalii, vel alie super predictis obligacionibus facte, forte inve-
nirentur ab aliquo, nullius essent valoris a modo "nee obtinerent
alicujus roboris firmitatem, Promittentes etiam bona' fide quod,
quam citius commode poterimus, litteras patentes ejusdem domini
regis Anglie super hujusmodi obligacionum remissione et quita-
cione expressa eidem. regi Francie facienms haberi. In cujus rei
testimonium presentes litteras sigillis nostris fecimus sigillari. Da
tum Parisiis die Dominica post ascensionem Domini M°.CC°.lx°.
quarto, mense Junio.
Three seals appended. 1. Queen Eleanor's, without
. inscription, the lower half of her figure remaining, the
rest broken. 2. Peter de Savoy's perfect, with his
arms, inscribed S. Petri de Sabaudia. 3. John Man-
sel's broken, the middle part of an old Roman Imperial
coin.
C— Referred to at p. 330: from Arch : du roy : J. 1034.
Suppl : au Tresor des Chartes.
Conseiles donngs au Roi d'Angleterre pour l'administration de
son Royaume.
A nostre Seigneur le Roy monstre chil ki a grant volenti de

360 THE barons' war.
li servir toute se vie, si comine il a montrl et dit a plusieurs du
consel ki li deussent monstrer et dire le pourfit et I'onneur et le
bien de vous et de votre roiaume, encores le vous mechion en
escrit, si ke vous en puissies mix user pour deffrende et recouvrer
votre roiaume et votre terre, et dont vous porres avoir plus grand
defaute, chest a savoir, d'or et d'argent. Dieu et droiture est
avoekes vous et li plaist ke vous le vollies siever, car tout le plus
de la boene gent de crestiente" vous voelent sievir a che faire, mais
ke vous aiiez poir d'aus aidier d'argent. Argent ares vous ases,
mais ke vous voeillez ordener levie de le bone gent de vostre
roiaume d'Engleterre, lequelle cose il font volentiers mais ke vous
chele vie voellies ordener et monstrer avoeques, si comme autre
roy ont fait en tans de guerre.
Au coumenchement cascuns Archeveskes et eveskes aient XII
chevaus, IIII clers et IIII escuiers, desquel cascuns ara de sen
Seigneur une reube par an, et leur seigneur III, et nient plus.
Li dras ke li eveske usera soit de le valeur de Ills l'aune, des
clers lis et VId l'aune, et des escuiers lis l'aune et nient plus.
Item, ke toutes les dames du roiaume d'Engleterre se tiegnent
a -leur reiibes ke eles ont, et ke cascun an eles aient une reube de
Ills l'aune ausi comme li eveske et li chevalier ont, et nient plus.
Item, tant comme an mengier des archeveskes et eveskes il
aient II mes de char an diner, l'un quit en yaue et l'autre en rost.
Au souper 1 mes de char rostie et nient plus, et an premier mes,
il aient ehervoise a boire, et au second vin, au souper cherevoise
sans vin.
Item, ke nus archeveskes, eveskes, contes, barons ne riches
hom ne faichent nul genuer aus feste ui doignent a mengier a
nului, si ne soit a gent ki soient leur ostes ke il herberguent avoec
aus, et soient pris en le maniere devant dite.
Item, ke notres sires li rois, contes, barons et toute maniere de
gent tienent et tenir fachent de mengier et de boire et de restaure
tant comme le were dure.
Item, ke chascuns escuiers et chevaliers ki aient XXX livres
de rente aient cheval et soient varni d'armes.
Item, ke chascuns bourgois et franc hom ki ait de biens
a, le valeur de Vc marcs d'estellins aient kevel et soient varni
d'armes.

APPENDIX. 361
Item, cascun markeant Lombart et li autre estraine paieront
volontiers pour cascun sac a laine de I'euvre et pour cascun lest de
quir, V marcs.
Item, de toutes markeandises entrans en le tere ou isans hors
de le tere d'Engleterre, ke on pait de cascun XXs, Xlld du ven-
donr a maintenir le were. •
Item, de toutes markeandises vendues dedens le roiaume soit
paie pour cascuns XXs du vendeur, lid a maintenir le were.
Item, pour cascun quartier de fourment vendu soit pai6 du
vendeur Hid, de I'orge lid, du soille lid, de I'avaine Id, des
feVes Id, des pois Id, du mestellou Id, a maintenir le were.
Item, de cascun buef et de cascune vake paie du vendeur
IHId, pour pore Hd, pour monton lid, pour veel lid.
Item, ke tout markeant estraine puisent venir et markeander
sain et sauf par tout le roiaume d'Engleterre, paiant leur droiture
devant dit hormis chiaux du roiaume de Franche ou ke il soient
en were contre le roiaume d'Englletterre ou en tains de were con
tre nostre sener le roi.
Et puis ke li estraine marcheant voelent aide a le were main
tenir, bien le doivent voloir et soutenir les gens du roiaume d'En
gleterre, efc ke nostres sires li rois voelle aidier et grase faire a tous
ses chevaliers et esquiers, ki serout en sen serviche en le were du /
roiaume, soient respitie de leuer detes, tante comme il seront en
le were hor du roiaaume, et sachies, Sire se vous voles hastierment
faire l'ordonnanche de le laine, ponrche ke li tans aproche, ke l'or-
donnanche plaira bien as markeans estraines de paier "V". marcs
pour le sac : vous en vares avantage dedens VI. mois CX. mille
marcs, mais ke vos gent de levier vous voellent aidier passer a
tous de markeans.
D.— Referred to at p. 331; from Arch -M\x roy : J. 1024
Suppl : au Tr6s : des Chartes.
A tot ceus qi cest escrit vrunt u arunt Richard par la grace de
Deu Roy des Romeins tot jors cressannt salut en Deu. Sache vostre
universites nos estre tenut a Madame Aleanor nostre soer contesse
de Leycestre, a tot ses enfaunt et a tote lor gent a estre lor leal
ami et enterin et lor serom eydannt e conseylant a tot nostre poer
a lor dreyture porchacer en Engleterre et a, totes lor besoynes fere

362 THE barons' war.
en vers totes gent sauve lafoy nostre Seyneur le rey de Engleterre
e la mon seur Edward soen fiul, et de ce volons a nostre Senor
e leaument promectons a fere luy nostre lectre overte dedent les
octaves de la Seint Michel prechein suannt, e de ce fere luy bay-
lom en pleage not honorables peres en Deu Walter par la grace de
Deu evesque de Wirecestre e Roger evesque de Cester, e mon seur
Warin de Bassingeburne, qi par not prieres en cest escrit unt mis
lor seaus. Donne" en la priore de Kenilwerthe le Dimeinche pre
chein avant la feste de la Nativite Nostre dame en l'an du rengne
le Rey quarante nevime.
Traces of three seals appended.
E. — Referred to at p. 334. From the Registres de Cham
pagne, Vols. iv. and v. p. 474, Art. 8.
Eschivardus de Chabenes, Comes de Bigorre et Icedanus fra-
ter ejus Simoni de Monteforti comiti Leycestrise — quod dominus
Gaston Bearnensis devastavit nobis totam terram, et nos non pos
sumus defendere— damus totum Comitatum Bigorre cum perti-
nenciis suis bono animo et spontanea voluntate quia magis vo-
lumus quod vos habeatis et vestri quam extranei — Datum Tarbe
in Transfiguratione Domini in camera episcopi, anno domini Millo.
CCo. LVIo.
Esquinardus de Chabanes, Comes Bigorre dedimus et conces-
simus et hac presenti carta confirmamns bono animo et nostra
spontanea voluntate domino Simoni de Monte Forti Comiti Ley-
cestriae karissimo avunculo nostro et hseredibus suis et assignatis
totum Comitatum nostrum Bigorre et S. Chanzon et Montem de
Marchan et Vicecomitatum de Marchan cum omnibus pertinenciis
suis, quia magis volumus quod dominus Simon et haeredes et
assignati sui habeant et teneant praedictum Comitatum una cum
terris prsadictis et omnibus suis pertinenciis quam mimici nostri a
quibus expediri comitatum nostrum et terras praenominatas de
fendere non possumus, promittens pro nobis et hseredibus nostris
praefato Simoni et haeredibus et assignatis hanc donationem et
concessionem ac praesentis cartae confirmationem juramento cor-
poraliter praestito nullis temporibus nee ullo modo vanire pre-
sumamus, et ad majorem securitatem sigillo venerabilis patris
domini Episcopi Lincolniensis una cum sigillo nostro praesentem

APPENDIX. 363
cartam procuravimus calceari. Datum in Parisiis in festo beatss
Ceciliae Virginis, 1258.
A tous cenx qui cet ecrit verront et arront, Symons de Mont
fort, fils et heritier monseigneur Simon de Montfort Comte de
Leycestre salut. Sachiez que je donne et ottroie pour moi et mes
heritiers a noble et cher Seigneur Thiebault par la grace de Dieu
Roy de Navarre et Comte de Champagne et a ses heritiers le
chastle de Lourde et ses appartenances et tout le droit que nous
avons ou avoir pouvons en le Cointe" de Bigorre, le quel Conte' le
devant dit Comte mon pere dou- don et dou grant mon Seigneur
Eschivat de Chabannes, avant le comte de Bigorre, et pour ce que
je veuil que cest mon don et grant soit ferme et establie en tous
jours, en temoins de ce je ai mis mon seel a cet escrit qui fut fest
au mois d'Ottobre, l'an Notre Seigneur mil deux cenz sexante et
cine. There is a similar deed sealed by Eleanor Countess of Leyces-
ter, of the same date. William, Bishop of Le Puy, claimed Bigorre
as held of his see, and took it into custody on behalf of Thiebault
in 1267., in order to protect it from the suits of the King of
England, and of Esqnivat de Chabannes.

F; p. 220, Note i>. — It has oecurred to me that the siege of
Tonbridge,- to which the passage cited from the Hundred Rolls
refers, might be considered the early one of May 1 (see p. 209).
I therefore quote the following additional entry: "Et quod do
minus Gilbertus comes de Clare eepit de hundredo de Faversham
XV. libras proinsultatione castri de Tunnee'gge (sic) quam fece-
runt per districtionem domini Johannis de la Hay et dum comes
fuit cum domino Rege." John de la Hay was an eminent
baronial partisan ; and the only time which unites the two con
ditions of his holding a command in Kent, and the Earl of
Hertford being' in. the King's company with the view to reduce
Tonbridge, is the occasion of the return from Lewes to London.
The fines which the Earl's bailiffs levied seem to have been for
insufficient musters or late appearance in the field, and are re
peatedly complained of. — Rotuli Hundredorum, i. pp. 206, 208,
209, 210, 211. P.

364- THE barons' war.
G. — Mr Blaauw had begun collecting materials for a catalogue
of the partisans of the Barons. He had transcribed from the
Inquisitiones de Rebellibus, preserved in the Records of the
Tower, all that relate to Sussex. But he ended by striking them
out ; feeling, I have no doubt, that the evidence they give is
insufficient, as fchey only show that certain lands were occupied
upon different persons, who are not, however, described as "re-
belles" or "inimici regis,'' and may have suffered for a lord's fault
or by an act of usurpation. He, however,, left uncancelled letters
84, 398, 399, and 406, from the Tower records; and these, which
contain from 50 to 100 names of Royalists or rebels, I have
used with advantage in the subjoined lists, though I have not
always been able to identify the persons alluded to.
Our chief sources for the personal history of the war, are
the Chronicles, such as Rishanger and Wykes, supplemented by
lists of names like those printed in the Appendix to Rishanger ;
certain lists of "Rebelles" in the Calendarium Genealogicum, e.g.
pp. 175, 246 ; lawsuits for the restitution of property in the
Abbreviatio Placitorum, and the facts of all kinds collected by
Dugdale in the Baronage. All this evidence is more or less
doubtful and difficult. Our chroniclers and clerks were not very
.studious of orthography. The two Royalists of note who fell at
Evesham are called in. a MS. copied by Stow (Harl. 542), Hugo
Sfcragmiles and-Adam de Ridmallis, and in the Miracula Simonis
de Montfort, appear as Hugo de Troia and Adam de Ridmark.
I cannot doubt that the same names are intended, but cannot
identify either person, unless the first be a Hugo le Strang or
L'Estrange, miles, and the second an Adam de Ridware who
held part of two fees on William de Percy's property. The rebels
in the Calendar were men of landed property which the Crown
had declared forfeit : but even with this assistance I cannot recover
several of their names. In the Abbreviatio Placitorum cases of
forcible entry, robbery, and usurpation of lands during the civil
war are very numerous ; but except where we get clear evidence
that the aggressor was in arms against the King, or the sufferer a
Royalist, I have not inserted their names. There can be little
doubt that every county had men like the Earl of Derby, who
saw nothing in the great conflict of King and people but an
opportunity for private plunder and revenge.

APPENDIX. 365
Nevertheless, for the great nobility of the kingdom, the Earls
and Barons, the evidence is on the whole sufficient, and an analysis
of it will, I think, throw some light on the war. In the year
1264 there were twelve great English Earls. Deducting, how
ever, from these the King's brother, half-brother and son, there
were only nine who could be said to represent the independent
baronage : and even of these the Royalist de Warenne was the
King's second cousin, and the Royalist Earl of Hereford descended
through his grandmother from a bastard of Henry I. The
Royalist Earl of Warwick had been bought over by his earldom
in 1263. The six Earls who espoused the popular side might,
therefore, fairly claim to speak for the whole English nobility.
The English barons had by this time dwindled down from
206, their number altogether in John's reign, to 161. Of these
we can identify 50 as certainly, and nine as probably, Royalist : 59
as certainly, and five as probably, insurgent : and eight as precluded
by age or infirmity from taking part. Of 30 we know little or
nothing. At first sight these numbers appear to show that tyhe
kingdom was pretty evenly divided, but that the barons had a
slight majority. As, however, every insurgent had to compound
after Evesham for his estates, the chances are: that few, if any, have
escaped notice ; and I suspect accordingly that the King had in
fact a small majority. There are considerations, however, more
important than the mere adding up of names. Nothing will serve
better as a rough test of the military and political strength of
either side than the number of castles its partisans owned. Now
the Royalist Earls had 30, the insurgent Earls only 19 ; the
Royalist barons 38, and the insurgents only 22 or 24. It must
be remembered that the King still had many castles in his own
hands ; Rochester and Dover, for instance, though given up to
parliamentary seneschals in 1258, were held ifor him in 1264.
Others, like "Windsor and Bristol, had never been parted with ; and
some, like those attached to the earldoms of Devon and Albemarle,
were in his care during a minority. The result was that he
could choose counties like Kent and Sussex — where almost every
man was against him, but where he held almost every strong
place — for the base of his operations.
The local distribution of the two causes is, on the whole, very

366 THE barons' war.
clearly marked. If we take a line skirting the western boundaries
of Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Derby
shire, the country to the east is baronial, to the west and
north Royalist. I believe the main reason of this to have been
that the eastern portion includes London and the chief com
mercial parts of the kingdom, which suffered more from Henry's
misrule, and Oxford, where the scholars were almost unanimous
against him; whilst the west and north were inhabited by a
martial nobility who were too distant and too formidable to be
oppressed, and to whom a war on the commercial districts was
eminently acceptable. But there is no doubt the personal in
fluence of the great nobles had something to do with the dif
ference. The Earls of Leicester, Norfolk, Hertford, Lincoln,
Oxford and Derby carried with them the minor nobility and
gentry of the counties in which their castles and estates were,
and the sprinkling of west country names on the Barons' side
is, I , suspect, chiefly attributable to the fact that .the Earl of
Hertford -was also Earl of Gloucester, and that young Humphry
de Bohun and John FitzJohn took part heartily for De Montfort.
Altogether, however, the district I have indicated contributed
41 out of 59 barons to the constitutional cause, and only 18 -out
of 50ito the Royalist. Even of these 18 two were notoriously
bought over by the King. Royalist Eaels.
Edward, Earl of Chester1, having the castles of Chester;
Lancaster, Diganwy, Caer Vaelan, Rhnddlan, Beeston, Newcastle-
under-Line, Shrewsbury, Bridgenorth, Richmond, and Tickhill:
Richard, Earl of Cornwall, having the castles of Restormel,
Tintagol, Mere (in Wilts), Okehampton, Berkhampstead, Wal-
lingford and Knaresborough.
William de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, having the castles of
Goodrich, Kilgaran and Hertford.
John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, having the castles of Lewes,
Reigate, Conisborongh, Sandal, Stamford, Dinas Bran, and Leones.
From a case recorded in the Abbrev. Placit. p. 168, this Earl
1 For proof of Edward's Earldom ronage, i. p. 46. Rishanger Chron.
see Ormerod's Cheshire, i. p. 423. p. 20. Brut y Tywysogion, A. 1263.
New Bymer, i. p. 423. Dugdale's Ba-

APPENDIX. 367
seems at one time to have been Baronial, and procured a pardon
accordingly. Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex, having
Caldecot castle. He was Royalist at Lewes, but in the Barons'
army at Evesham.
"William Mauduit, Earl of Warwick, of Warwick castle.
The families of Redvers of Devon and Fortibus of Albemarle
were represented at this time by a minor, Aveline. The
Dowager Countesses made a little private war on one another
during the troubles, and Isabella de Fortibus seems to have
leaned to the Baronial side. Abbrev. Placit. pp. 160, 173. But
the castles of the two families were probably in the King's hands.
They were, for Devon, Plympton and Carisbrook ; for Albemarle,
Cockerinouth, Skipton, and Skipsea.
Insurgent Eaels.
Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, having the castles of
Kenilworth and Odiham.
Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, having the
castles of Tonbridge, Hanley, Monmouth, Usk, Caerleon and Trogy.
Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, having the castles of Fram-
lingham and Strigul.
Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, having the castles of
Pontefract, Clithero, Halton and Denbigh.
Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, having the castles of Castle
Camps and Hedingham.
Robert de Ferrars, Earl of Derby, having the castles of Peak,
Tutbury and Chartley. Neutral.
Peter de Dreux, Earl of Richmond, being asko Duke of
Brittany, took no part in English politics. |
Royalist Barons.
William Aguillon of Portingeres castle, Suss, and Burr.
James Alditheley or Audley of Audley castle, Staff.
Eustace de Balliol of Durham, Gumb. and West.
John de Balliol of Barnard and Fotheringay castles.
William Bardolf of Lima., Norf. and Suss.
Philip Basset of Wycombe, Bucks.

368 THE barons' war.
Warine de Bassingbourne of Benefeld castle in Norihovnts.
John Beauchamp of Hacche in Somerset.
William Beauchamp of Elmley castle.
Nicholas de Bolteby of Northumb.
Ralf de Boteler of Oversley castle, Wario. ,
William de Braose (called of Gower), of Bramber and Knapp
castles. Peter Brus of Skelton and Kendall, castles.
Robert Brus of Lochmaban castle in Scotland.
John de Burg1, senior,' oi Norfolk, of Asshe in Hants, and of
Som., Northants, Ess. and Herts.
Pain Chaworth of Glouc.
Roger de Clifford of Clifford and Corfham castles.
John Comyn of Badenoch, of Crigelton and Galloway castles-
in Scotland. Thomas Corbet of Salop.
William le Deneys of Somers.
Oliver de Dynan of Dev. v
John FitzAlan of Arundel, Whitchurch, Clnn and Shrawarden
castles. Reginald FitzHerbert or FitzPeter of Qlouc., Salop, Here.,
Wales, &c.
Fnlk Fitz Warren of Whittington, castle.
Peter de Genevil of Ludlow castle.
John de Grey of Der. and Notts.
Walter de Grey of Rotherfield, York and Line.
William de Greystoke of Cumb.
Hamo L'Esfcrange of Salop.
Roger Leybourn of Ley bourn castle, Kent.
Philip Marmion of Leio. and Wcvrw.
Roger de Merley of Morpeth castle.
Hugh de Mortimer of Ricard's castle.
Roger de Mortimer of Wigmore and Radnor castles.
Geoffrey de Neville of Hornby castle and of York., Lome, Line.
1 John de Burg, senior, was made ham for injuries sustained during
Sheriff of Norfolk by the Barons the war, I think he must have been
after the battle of Lewes. As, how- ostensibly Royalist. New Rymer, i.
ever, he obtained redress after Eves- p. 442. A. P. p. 157.

APPENDIX. 369
Robert de Neville1 of Brancepeth and Raby castles.
Henry de Percy of Northants, Siir. and Suss.
Ralph de Ribald1 of Middleham.
Robert de St. John8 of Basing.
Peter de Savoy of Pevensey castle.
William de Say of Rent and Norf.
Roger de Someri of Dudley and Welagh (Worces.) castles,
Robert de Stuteville of Wan-w.
Robert de Tattershall3 of Tattershall castle (Line), and
Buckenham castle, Norf.
Roger de Tony of Kirtling castle (Camb.), and Castle Maud in
the Welsh Marches.
Gilbert de Umfraville4 of Prudhoe and Harbottle castles,
John of Vaux, or de Vallibus, of Norf., Northants and Suff.
John de Verdon4 of Brandon castle, Want),
Robert Waleran of Kilpec castle.
Alan de la Zouch of Leicest.
To this list we may probably add, Robert Bertram of Bothale
(Northumb?), who got seisin of his lands soon after Evesham ; Roger
de Chandos of Snodhill castle, Here., whose son had livery in
1265—6 : John de Courtenay oi Devon, Dorset, &c, who was made
governor of Totness in 1261-2: Robert Fitz John or Clavering of
Northumb., son of a Balliol and ward of Will, de Valence : John
FitzHerbert of Sussex, a royal surety : William Paganel of Carlton,
York, whose lands were restored him in 1260 : Geoffrey de Saales
of Essex, whose younger son Thomas was Royalist, Abbrev. Plac,
177: Ralph de Sudley of Herefordshire; a royal governor in
1269, and connected with the Beauchamps of Elmley: Gilbert
Talbot of G-louc. and Here., a Royalist governor in 1269, and grand
son of Basset of Wycombe.
1 Ralf de Ribald, with his two sons- vernor of Porchester in 1266.
in-law Robert de Neville and Robert 3 See note 1, preceding page.
de Tattershall, was Royalist at first, 4 Gilbert de Umfraville and John
but made his peace with the barons de Verdon seem to have been for a
after Lewes. time on the Barons' side. Dugdale's
s I insert Robert de St John as Baronage, i. p. 505,. Abbrev. Plac.
Royalist because he was allowed to p. 167.
fortify in 1260, and was made go-
BB

370 THE BARONS' war.

Insurgent Barons.
Giles of Argentine of Camb., Ess., Herts and Hunts.
Thomas de Astley of Warw., Leic. and Northants.
John de Balun of Here, and Glouc.
William Bardolf of Line, Norf. and Northants.
Ralph Basset of Drayton.
Ralph Basset of Sapercote.
John Beauchamp of Bedford.
Maurice Berkeley of Berkeley castle.
Roger Bertram of Mitford castle, Northumb.
WUliam de Blund oi Norf., Suff., Ess. and Beds.
Humphrey de Bohun of Hay, Huntington, Brecknock and
(?) Hereford castles.
Ralph de Camoys of Camb., Hunts, Northants, &c.
"Walter de Colevil of York, Leicest., Rut., &c.
Robert de Creveqner of Kent.
William de Criketot of Suffolk.
Nicholas de Cryoll of Kent.
Norman D'Arcy of Line.
Hugh le Despenser of Rut., Ess., Northants., Beds, &c.
William Devereux or De Ebroicis (?) of Lenhall castle, Here.
Walter de Dunstanvill of Salop and Wilts.
Henry Engaine of Hunts, and Northcmts.
John de Eyvill of Hod castle, York.
John FitzJohn or FitzGeoffrey of Evyas Lacy castle, and of
Bucks. Robert FitzPayne oi Sorrier., Dors., Wilts, <fcc.
Robert Fitz Wal ter of Baynard's castle.
Gerard de Furnivall of "Wardon, Northants.
Gilbert de Gaunt of Line, &c.
John Giffard of Brinsfield and St Briavel's 1 castles.
Richard de Grey of Leices.
Henry de Hastings of Bolsover castle.
Henry Hoese or Hussey of Suss.
Roger de Huntingfield of Suf.
John L'Estrange of Ruton castle.
Robert LTsle of Rougemont, Beds.

APPENDIX. 371
Geoffrey de Lucy of Hants, Kent, Sur. and Suss.
Roger Luyetot of Derby and Notts.
Robert Marmion, Line
Geoffrey de Mandevill of Mershwood, Wilts.
Robert de Mandevill of Mershwood, Wilts.
William W. Marescal of Norf., Line and Somer.
"William Marmion of Suff.
William de Monchensy oi Norf., Northants., and Ess.
Roger de Montalt of Rising and Mold castles.
Peter de Montfort of Beaudesert and Henley-in-Arden castles.
Thomas de Multon of Egremont and Line.
Hugh de Nevill of Stoke Courcy castle.
John de Nevill of Notts.
Adam de Newmarch, Line and York.
Henry de Pomeroy of Devon.
Robert de Ros of Belvoir castle.
Roger de St John of Oxon.
Nicholas de Segrave of "Warw. and Leices.
John de Stutevill of Derby.
Richard de Tany of Ess. and Herts.
Robert de Tregoz of Evyas Harold castle.
John de Vesci of Alnwick castle.
Robert de Vipont of Appleby and Burgh castles.
Baldwin Wake of York and Cumb.
Walter de Wayvill or Wahull, Beds.
In conjunction with this list we may perhaps notice, William
de Beauchamp of Chalveston or Eton in Beds, who was made she
riff after Lewes (see however, p. 379) ; Thomas de Clinton of
Warwickshire, whose second son, John, was an insurgent; Gilbert
Peche of Brunne, two of whose brothers were *on the Barons' side,
and Robert Valoins of Suffolk, whose uncle, William le Blund, fell
fighting against the King at Lewes. Dugdale thinks that Hemy
Lovel of Castle Cary was connected with the eminent rebel, John
Lovel; and two other Lovels, Robert and Thomas, were among
the garrison of Kenilworth.

BB2

372 THE BARONS' WAR.
Minors, Aged, Infirm, or out of England.
Stephen de Bayeux of Line, Somers. and Dors. If alive,
seventy-five years of age.
George Cantilupe of Abergavenny and Kilgaran castles. Only
thirteen years old in 1265. (Compare Annals of Dunstaple, p. 257,
and Calend. Geneal. p. 197.)
Henry Delaval of Seaton in Northumb. was over 60 in 1258.
Hugh FitzRalph of Notts and Derby was probably an old
man, as he had been a governor of royal castles in 1235.
Thomas de Furnivall of Derby and Notts. Probably on pil
grimage or dead.
Robert de Ghisnes had sold his lands in Northants, and pro
bably was no longer counted in the English baronage.
Robert de Gresley of Manchester was a minor.
Geoffrey de Luterell was mad.
Unaccounted for.
Richard Basset of Weldon in Northants.
Walter Bek of Eresby.
Philip de Columbers of Staway in Somerset.
Hugh and Stephen de Cressie of Norf. and Suff.
Maurice de Croune of Surrey.
Philip D'Albini of Berks.
Edmund D'Eyncourt of Notts.
Richard de Dover of Chilham castle in Kent. (This pedigree
is in hopeless confusion. The family descended from a bastard of
King John, but John de Chilham was on the Barons' side.)
Henry FitzRandolf of Northumb.
Ralph de Gaugi of Northumb.
Robert de Gurney of Gloucest., &c.
Henry or John de Heriz of Notts.
William Heron of Northumb.
William de Keynes of Dorset.
Philip de Kyme of Kesteven.
Henry de Longchamp oi Hants. (He had married a Heringod,
and two of that name were in the rebellion.)
Henry de L'Orti of Devon and Cornwall.
Matthew de Loraine.

APPENDIX. 373
Nicholas Martin of Devon and Som.
William or Simon de Montacute.
Peter de Mauley of Yorkshire. His father had been godfather
to Prince Edward.
Nicholas Moels of Cadbury.
John de Mohun of Somerset and Devon.
Roger de Mowbray 1 of Bedford castle and York.
Ralph Musard of Musardere castle, Derb. and Gloucest.
Peter de Scoteni of Line
William le Scrope of Bolton.
Robert de Stafford of Staff, married a daughter of the Royalist,
Thomas Corbet.
Reginald de Valletort of Trematon castle.
John de Wolverton of Bucks.
A list of the gentry who fought on either side must obviously
be very imperfect. Only a few were important enough to be
named by the chroniclers, and the remainder are chiefly known
to us by the list of confiscations. England probably contained at
this time some twelve thousand men who had taken out their
knighthood, or might be compelled to do so ; and it is reasonable
to assume that half of these took part in the war. Nevertheless
I cannot account for more than from 390 to 400 names, and out
of these less than 100 are of royalists. Still I think we may assume
that these names fairly represent the distribution of the different
-sides, and their evidence is unmistakeable. On the king's side
more than half (about 50 out of about 100) come from the North,
West, or South-West, though no names from the Counties Palatine
of Cheshire and Cornwall are included ; and though the other half
of England must have contained two-thirds of the population. On
the Baronial side (omitting more than 30 names which I cannot
identify) more than 220 belong to the Eas&rn, South-Eastern,
or Midland Counties ; less than 40 to the Northern, Western,
or South- Western. Northamptonshire, Kent, and Sussex contri
bute in more than their due proportion to the constitutional cause ;
no doubt because those counties were especially the theatre of war.
1 As Roger de Mowbray died in fortified it. In this case he was pro-
1266, in the Isle of Axholme, it bably Royalist, as his widow and heirs
may be that he was killed in a skir- were not impaired in estate. But
mish of the times when the barons his father William had died there.

374 THE barons' war.
London was dealt with separately, and only supplies one or two
names, as of Stephen Bukerel, to my list.
Royalist Gentry.
* A little uncertain. + Professedly royalist but of doubtful fidelity.
County not quite certain. A. P. Abbreviatio Placitorum.
Robert de Amundeville*. Dur. Ralf de Ardern and his
father. War. Walter de Audrey*. Dur.
Hugh of Balliol. Dur. William Bagot. Staff, and Sal.
Anselm de Bassett. Som. Thomas Berkeley. Glou. Hugh
le Bigot. Yor. Three or four sons of William Beauchamp. Wor.
John Bechhampton. Wil. William de Berwick t. Som. Wil
liam de Borham. Ess. John de Bolemer. Norf. Henry de
Bracton. Dev. Richard de Braham. Bed. Robert de Briwes.
Norf. and Lin. Walter Bryndebere? Bed. Henry de Bure-
whull. Norf. and Welsh Marches. Robert le Bygod. Sus.
William de Chaeny. Camb. or Welsh Marches. Robert le
Chamberlain. Hants. Walter de Caple. Gloue and Wor. Patric
Cha worth. Glou. Robert de Cheny. Welsh Marches^ Geoffrey
de Chesewyk. Kent. Roger de Clifford, Junior. Her. William
la Cousche. Camb.
WUliam de Ecchynge*- A. P. 177. ? same as William de
Etling. New Rymer, I. p. 455. Welsh Marches. Hugh of Elen-
court. Glou. and Wor.
Charles Fitz-Charles 1 Sus. Marmaduke Fitz-Geoffrey *. Dur.
Robert Fitz-Pain. Dev. Dm: Wil. &c. Ralf Fitz-Ralf. Northern.
Ralf Fitz-Ranulf. Norf. and Northern.
Adam de Gesemue. Northern. William de Gouiz. Dor.
Matthew de Gamages. Welsh Marches. Osbert Gifford, Oxon.
Gilbert Hansard. Dur. Simon de Halle. Norf. and Welsh
Marches. Henry de Henfeld. Leic. Robert de Hilton*. Dur.
Yor. John of Hiriawe. Nthumb. Robert de Hovel. Suf.
William de Hugeford. Sal.
Adam de Kidinallis, or Ridmark. 1 de Ridware. York.
William de Lafford, senior. Bed. Geoffrey de Langley. War.
Nicholas de Leukenor. Mid. and Ess. Robert and Roger Le
Strange. Sal. Hugo Le Strange 1, or Hugo de Troja, of a London
family of that name.

APPENDIX. 375
John de Mautravers. Dor. William de Mautravers. Dor,
and Berks. Stephen de Meinill. Northern. Robert de Mere.*
Som. A. P. p. 173. Walter de Merton. Sur. and Norf. Ro
ger de Mules. Dev. John Mussegros. Glou. and Som.
William de Napford, or Nafford. War. Peter de Neville.
Nthants. and Leic. John Norman. Ess.
John Paynel. Berks. Robert Pierpoint. Line, and Notts. %
Alan Plukenet. Here. Hugh de Percy. Sur. and Sus.
Geoffrey le Salar. Suss. 1 Ralf le Sauser. Mid. John le
Sauvage. Sus. Thomas de Scalars. Herts. Alice de Scales.
Camb. William de St Omer. Her. and Wor. A. P. 160. Wil
liam de Stenesby. Sus. 1 William de Suwell. Sus. 1 A. P. 177.
Roger de Torny. Yor. John, Hugh and Robert de Turberville.
Welsh Marches. Marmaduke and Richard de Tweng. Yor. Ro
bert Tybetot. Yor. and Dev.
Roger and William de Whelton. Beds. A. P. 169. William
de Wilton. Kent.
Henry la Zouche. Herts, and Bed. William and Yvo la
Zouche. Eastern or Midland 1

Baronial Gentry.
William de Albaniaco. Glou. Henry de Albemare. Richard
de Amundevill. Salop. Sus. Wilts. William Angevin. James
de Appelby*. Line 1 Dev. Edmund of Ardern. War. 1 Tho.
mas de Ardern. War. Nicholas le Archer. Nthants. Ralf,
Roger, and Thomas de Arcy. Line. Reginald de Argentein. Ess.
Camb. &c. William de Arundel. Ralf de Arundel ? Cornwall.
Guncelin de Badlesmere. Kent. Ingelram de Baillol. Leic.
Roger de Balun. Nthants. Walter de Barkeswille, prob. same
as Walter de Baskerville. Her. and Sal. John of Bath. Berks.
Herts. Oxon. &c. Guy Baysselle? same as Guydo Brussell.
John de Becclesangar. Kent. John de Belham : Monachus.
Henry and Richard de Berham. Ess. ? John de Benfo. Line
or Norf. ? Henry de Beyville. Dor. Roger le Bigot. Yor. or
Line ? Philip de Blakemore. Dev. Andrew le Blund. Ess. ?
Simon de Bodiham. Here. John of Bodiham. Line. John de
Bohun. Glou. John, brother of Francy de Bohun. Sus. Richard

376 THE barons' war.
de Borard. Line 1 Harvey de Boreham. Ess. Nicholas de
Bosco. John de Boseville. Suff. Reginald de Bottreaux. War.
Peter de Bourton. J. Boxcrisse. William de Boytune. Suff.
John de Bracebridge. War. t Thomas de Bray. Bucks. R. de
Brocton. Sal. Bernard de Brus. Hunts, or Rut. Guydo Brus-
sell. Norf. Stephen Bukerel. Mid. Robert Burdet. Leic.
John de Burgh, junior. Nthants, &c. W. de Burmugham.
Bucks. Robert Butevilayn. Notts. Bed. and Line ?
William Camerarius (prob. Chamberlain of Hants. ?). Nicho
las de Cantilupe. Nthants. Nicholas Carrok. Kent. Richard
de Casterton. Rut. 1 John of Caston. Camb. Gregory and Hugh
de Caudewelle. ? Here. William de la Cene. t de Chen. Line
Robert Chadde. John de Chilham. Kent. John de Chokesfeld
or Clakesfeld. Kent. Thomas de Clare, Glou., latterly royal
ist. Walter le Clerk. Nthants. John de Clinton. War. Richard
de Cnolle. Galfridus Cocus. Wilts. Philip de Colevile. Camb.
or Nthants. Hugo de Coleworth. Nthants. Fulk Constable.
York. ? Richard Corbet. Hunts, and Nthants. Robert Corbet.
Sal. Richard de Corpestey. Sus. Philip de Covel. Line 1 Henry
¦de Cramanvile. Kent. Ess. and Suff. John and Walter de Cran
ford. Nthants. Walter de Crepping. Ess. Richard de Crevequer.
Kent. Robert de Crevequer. Kent. Bertram del Criel. Kent.
Laurence del Crok. Thomas de Cronesley. Leic. Alan de
Crowethorne. Geoffrey de Crulefeld. Hants. Richard de Cul-
worth. Ess. John de Cumbe, of John de la Haye's household.
Robert de Cumden.
Philip de Daventre. Hunt, and Beds. ? Philip de Dayvill or
Sayvill. Yor. See Eyvill. John le Despenser. Leic. and Live
Geoffrey de Donham. Line. John de Dovor. Hunt, and Ess.
Philip de Doyly. Line Hugh de Dunster. Suff. John de
Dykelinge. Ess. John de Dyne. Oxon. Ralf de Dyva. Oxon.
Gilbert Einefeld. Mid.% Gilbert de Ellesfeld. Oxon and
Berks. John of Estregate. Mid. John Estnrmy. Suf. Richard
Everard. Suf. Henry and William de Eyvill. Yor.
W. de Ferrariis. Rut. Henry Fitz-Aucher. Wilts. Robert
Fitz-Nicholas. Sus. Robert Fitz-NigeP. Berks and Bucks.
1 Robert Fitz-Nigel (killed at Eve- Basset of Wycombe. Calend. Gencal-
sham) was heir of Agnes Basset, and i. p. 43. See p. 153, note 1.
p&rhaps therefore connected with

APPENDIX. 377
Simon Fitz-Simon1. Bed. Eustace de Foleville. Leic. and Line
Henry le Fonun, Constable of Odiham. A. P. 175. William
de Furnivall. Nthants. and Notts.
John Genevile. Here. William de Gerstone. Kent. Osbert Gif-
fard. Som. Dev. and Oxon. ; changed sides. Hugo Gobyun. Leic.
and Bed. Turgis de Godwineston. Kent. 1 Walter de Gloves.
Bed. or Leic.% W. de Goldington. Norf. Brian de Gorva. Leic.
Robert de Gotely. Sus. Hugo de Graham. John de Grey.
Leic. Richard de Grey. Kent. Adam Gurdon. Hants. John
de Gurney. Nthants. Brian de Guwiz. Dor. Som. W. de
Gyleford. Sur.1
John de Habfi. Ralf Haquet. Bucks, and Wore William
de Harecurte. Oxon. Saer de Harcourt. Leic. Robert de
Hardres. Kent. Wil. de Hardreshill. Lin. and Nthants. Henry
de Hastings. Leic. Matthew de Hesting or Hasting. Kent. Sus.
Nicholas de Hautlo. Camb.1 Richard and John de Havering.
Hants. Richard de Havering. Dor. John de la Haye. Lin.
Nthants. Kent. Sus. and Glou. Thomas de Heyham. Kent.
Richard de Hemyngton. Norf. Simon Herin. Norf.1 Ralf de
Heryngot. Sur. William Heringod. Kent. Thomas de Hestelee.
? Astley : see p. 369. Philip de Heymile. ? Hay, miles. Hugh
de Hopville. Roger de la Hyde. Nthants.
Robert de Irland. Sus.
Andrew de Jarpenvill. Bucks.
Ralf Kaket : sec- Haket. William de Kekewell. Sus. Richard
de Kemsing. Kent 1 the same as Richard, Rector of Kemsing.
Kent. John Kyriel. Kent.
William de Lacu. Staf. William de Lafford, junior. Bed.
Leic. and War. Walter de Lecton. Camb. William of
Leicester : Clericus. Michael of Lenham. Kent ? Sus.1 John
de la Lind. Line Sus. Robert de L'Isle. Lin. Norf. and Suf.
Walter de London : Clericus. Henry de Longchamp. Hants.
Robert Lovel. Dur. John Lovel. Nthants. Camb. Hunts.
and Wilts. See Luvel. Robert de Lusches. Oxon. John
Luvel. Oxon. Robert Luvel. J. Luvel. Norf. William
de Lyniar. Leic. John de Lymonges. Kent or Nthants.
1 " Qui primo vexillum erexit contra regem Henricum." MS. quoted
in Rishanger, p. 125.

378 THE barons' war.
Robert Maloree. Line or Yor A Henry de Manneston.
H. de la Mare. Oxon. William Martell. Leic. John and
William de Manndeville. Som. Dur. and Wilts. Thomas
Maunsel. Bucks, or Kenti William Melker de Stoke. Thomas
de Moland (Molendinis). Mid A Sampson de Moles. . ? de Mule :
see. Surr. Roger de Monteny. Camb. Norf. and Suf. Simon,
Henry, Guy, Amalric and Richard de Montfort. Leic. Robert
de Montfort. War. William de Monteforfc. Jordan de Moul-
ton. Line. John de Mucegros, Constable of Salisbury. Glouc.
Som. NthantsA Waleran Munceaux. Suf. Ess. and Oxon. H.
Murdak. Oxon. Robert Mutun or Motun. Leic.
Hugh and John Neville. Ess. Peter de Neville. Leic. Rut.
Stephen de Neville, Leic. Robert de Newyogton. Glou.1
Matthew Noel and his brother. Herts, and Bed. Roger de
Noers. Bed.
Richard de Offenthone. Line David de Offyntone. Ralf de
Oteringdene. Kent.
John Page. Norf. or Kentl Robert Paignell. Oxon.
Grimbald Pancefot. Her. and Wor.: see p. 266. note 1. Walter
de Panes. Glou.1 Symon de Pateshyll. Bed. Hunt. Line. Hugh
Peche. Camb. Robert Peche. Suf. John of Peckham. Kent.
Henry de Pembrigge. Leic. Walter Pentheceustre. Sur. Ralf
Perot. Bed. Henry Perot. Bed. ? Henry de Pevenesse. Kent.
or Sus. 1 Hugo Peverel. Devon. Stephen de Pirie. Kent. Ralf
de Pomeroy. Dev. and Som. William de la Poyle or Puxle. Mid.
Hugo Poynz. Som. William de Preston. Leic. Simon le Prude.
Norf. Felicia de Queye. Bed. Roger Quintin. Norf.1
John de Reygate. Leic. Adam de Riddenn. Anselra
and William de Ripple. Roger Roulee. HuntA Amaric de
Ruscelles. Norf. Geoffrey Russell. S_us. John de Rye. Leic.
Jordan de Sackville. Suf. Thomas de Sandwich : Clericus.
Kent. Richard St John. Oxon.% Roger de St Philibert.
Oxon. Berks, or Suf A W. de St Philibert. Nthants. Henry
de Schorn. John of Scordebec. Peter de Segrave. j War. and
Leic. R. de Sepinges. Philip le Serjeant. NthantsA A. P.
159. Laurence de Shauekuntewelle. Geoffrey de Skeflington.
Leic. J. de Snaves (see Suanes). John Fitz-Adam de Someri.

APPENDIX. 379
Herts. Sampson de Soles. Kent. ¦ Eustace de Solevill. Stephen
Soudan. ? Sodanke. Kent. John Spinard. Kent. John de
Stotevill. Northumb. Semann de Stoke. Notts. John de
Suaues. Kent. Thomas de Suthesse. Kent. John de Suthun:
Clericus. R. and Reginald de Sutton. Nthants. Notts. The
first is probably the same as Robert le Sutton. Nthants. A. P.
159. Walter and Henry de Swynesford. Norf. and SufA
John Talebot. Sus. Lucas de Tanny. Ess. and Herts.
Roger de Tilmanneston. Kent. William de Tracy. Glou. and
Wilt. Alan Travers. Norf A Robert de Trek. Sus. Roger de
Trihampton. Kentl Edmund Trumbert. Yor. Richard and
William Trussell. War. Martin de Tunstall. Kent. William de
Turwill. Hants A ox Wills.1 Hugo de Tywe. Som. and Ireland.
Richard de Vernon. Leic. William de Vesci. Northumb.
Reginaldus Vicecomes (? of the Viscount family or a Sheriff),
Robert de Vipont. West. John Vissy. Glou.1
Hugo Wake. Bucks, and NthantsA Nicholas Wake. Yor.
John la Warre. Glou.1 William de la Warre. Her A or same
as Wil. de Ware. Norf. Bartholomew de Wateringbury.
Kent. Reginaldand Simon de Waterville. Nthants. A. P. 166.
Berenger de Watevile. Hunt. Eustace de Watteford. Nthants.
Robert de Weresle. 1 Wor. Osbert de Werford. Leic. Nigel
de Weston. Line. A. P. p. 164. William de Whel ton. Nthants.
Thomas de Winton: Clericus. Ralf de Wodekyme. W. de
Wortham. Suf. Geoffrey de Wrokeshall. Glou A John, de
Wyaxvill. NthantsA Geoffrey de Wycheling : Clericus. Kent.
Hamo de Wycleston. Robert de Wyleby. Leic. and Cumb. Isaac
de Wylmington. Kent. Simon Wyolf. SufA
In connection with this list we may consider the names of
John de Aur'. Dorset. William de Bovill. Suffolk. Geoffrey
de Escudemor. Wilts. John de Mareville. West. John de
Plessets. Northumb. John de St Walery. Hants, and Robert de
Stradley. Notts. These were appointed " Custodes Pacis" in their
respective counties after the battle of Lewes. As however the
Royalists, Join de Burg. Senior, Norfolk, and Oliver de Dynant,
Devon, (see p. 368), figure on the same list, we must assume that
in some cases the Barons were compelled to take officials from the
opposite ranks. Indeed John de Aur' was superseded before the

380 THE barons' war.
battle of Evesham by Brian de Gowiz and Oliver de Dynant
by Hugo Peverel. New Rymer, Vol. I. pp. 442, 457.
These names in some cases have been identified from lists of
forfeitures in a particular county, like that at p. 298, note 5, or
from lists indicating the various counties to which the persons
named belonged. Where this guidance was wanting I have used
the Calendarium Genealogicum, the Rotuli Hundredorum, the
Testa de Nevill, the Excerpta e Rotulis Finium, the Abbreviatio
Placitorum, and Dugdale's Baronage. If a name appears always
in connection with the same county I think we may assume
the owner's identity. Often where there is only one mention
of a name it would be unreasonable to doubt. Thomas de Suthesse
appears only in the Testa de Nevill (p. 215), but holds part of
a fee under Simon de Montfort. I have marked Stephen Soudan
or Sodan as possibly of Kent, because his name occurs in a list
made up largely of Kentish names, and a Hugh Sodanke had land
in that county under John, while Stephen was succeeded by a son
Hugh. But in several cases persons bearing the same surname
were so numerous and so scattered that I have offered no con
jecture. Lastly, it must be borne in mind that a man of pro
perty in the 13th century often owned patches of land in several
different counties. My list does not profess to be exhaustive for
these : and it may happen that a knight's name has come down
to us in legal record associated with his least important holding.
Still this cannot often have been the case : and as the inferences, I
have tried to draw, rest on the great division of S. E. and. N. W.
they will not, I hope, be much affected by any corrections that
local antiquarians might make. — P.
Note. — I am indebted to the historian of the Weald of Kent, Mr
R. Furley, for pointing out to me that Simon de Montfort held the manor
of Sutton Valence in Kent in right of his wife. (Rot. Hund. p. 323.) If
Sutton castle was then built, as Mr Furley thinks, it was an important
position ; and must be added to the list of baronial fortresses.

INDEX.

A
Absolution, translation of, 91; read
at St Paul's cross, 92; by Pope
Urban IV., 96, n. 3
Addington given by King William L,
to Tezelin his cook, 27, n. 3
Adrian V., Pope, 106, n. 1
Albemarle, Earl of, 85
Albemarle, Isabella Countess of, 231,
326
Alditheley, JameB de, 227, n. 5
Aldithel, James of, 76
Aliens exiled under pain of death, 70 ;
persecution of, 102, n. 1 ; at battle
of Lewes, 210, 233.
Amesbury, Queen Eleanor retires to
convent of, 111, n. 1
Amiens, the award of, 112 ; annulled
by King Louis, 114; results to
King's side, 117; King at, 113
Anecdotes of alleged miracles per
formed by de Montfort's corpse, 289
Anglia Sacra, quoted, 18, n. 1
Angouleme, Count of, 23, n. 1, 25
Anguillara, Count, 343, 346; castle
of, 343, n. 5
Anjou, Count d', 216; Charles d', 236;
accepts Sicilian crown, 339; Bea
trice wife of Charles, 339, n. 1
Aquabella, 16, n. 3
Aquablanca, Peter de, 20, 36
Aquinas, Thomas, quoted, 5, n. 1
Ardern, Balph de, betrays de Mont
fort's movements to P. Edward,
271, n. 1
Argentein, Giles de, 301
Arms used in battle, 192, n. 2, 3;
bearing of, without licence, for
bidden, 230
Armour, 193, n. 1

Arundel, Isabella deWarrenne, Count
ess of, reproves the King, 58
Astley, Thomas de, slain, 278
B
Bacon, Eoger, 79, n. 2; 120, 192,
n. 5; 315, n. 1
Bacon, Lord, quoted, 80
Baliol, Guy de, 278, 300
Baliol, Eustaehe de, 248, n. 4
Baliol, John, Lord of Galloway, 157,
248, 308, n. 1
Barantin, Drago de, Governor of
Windsor castle, 222
Bardolf, William, Councillor at Ox
ford, 151, 112, n. 1, 153, 179; pri
soner, 198
Barons, letter to King Henry from,
142; threatens King, 119
Baskerville, concerned in the death
of Prince Henry, 344, n. 4
Basset, Fulk de, Bishop of London,
21
Basset, Philip de, 97, n. 1; 107, 113,
n. 1; 127, 153, 177, 184, 199, 308,
n. 1
Basset, Ralph, 184; warden of Lei
cester, 230; refuses to survive de
Montfort, 274: slain, 276, 298, n. 5.
Bassingburne, Warren de, 242, n. 1;
265, 275, 279, n. 1; 300, 331
Battle, 199; King at, 133, n. 6, 222,
324
Battle, preparations for, 164, 165
Beam, Gaston Count de, 55, 334,
n. 1
Beatrice, Countess of Provence, 19
Beatrice, widow of King of the Ro
mans, 352, n. 2
Beauchamp, John de, 279, n. 3

382

INDEX.

Beaumont, Louis de, Bishop of Dur
ham, 26, n. 1
Bee, Abbot of, 236
Befs, John, 203, n. 6; 204, n. 1
Berkhampstead, 241
Berkstead, Stephen de, Bishop of Chi
chester, 233, n. 2
Bertha, song of Master, 337
Besil, Mathew de, taken prisoner by
barons at Gloucester, 103
Bigod, Roger, Earl of Norfolk and
Marshal of England, 79; at A-
miens, 113, n. 1; sides with barons,
179
Bigorre, Escivat Count de, 333, n. 5;
de Montfort surrenders land to, 334
Bigot, Hugh le, 85; Justiciary of
England, 70; displaced as Governor
of Dover, 42, n. 3; 113, n. 1 ; flight,
206, 134-292
Blonde of Oxford, quoted, 19, n. 4
Blund, William de, 44 n. 1, 174;
slain, 196, 210
Bohun, Humphrey de, attacked by
P. Edward, 101; loses castles of
Hay and Huntingdon, 101, n. 2;
prisoner, 198
Bohun, Humphrey de, Jun., 112, 114,
178, 233, 280, n. 1.
Bolimar, John de, 310, n. 1
Boniface VIII., protest of barons, 29
Boniface, Archbishop, at Amiens, 113;
opinion of Oxford, 120 ; conditions
of return, 123, 233
Boreham, Harvey de, 176, n. 2
Boseham, summons proclaimed at,
259
Boteville, Roger, prisoner, 128
Botiller, Ralph de, 30
Boulogne, P. Henry attacked at, 236 ;
bishops summoned to, 238
Bracton, Judge, quoted, 80, n. 1
Brackley, conference at, 122
Braose, Eleanor de, wife of de Bohun,
101
Braose,Williamde, claims Sedgewick
castle, 113, n. 4; 132 n. 2; pedi
gree, 286, n. 1
Braunceston, Henry de, at Amiens,
114, n. 1
Breamore, Prior of, 231, re. 3
Breaus, WiUiam de, 113
Bredenstone Tower, 29, n. 1
Bristol, 220, 265, n. 4
Brom castle, Simon de Montfort at,
44
Bruce, Robert, 158

Brune, Robert, 219
Brus, Robert, 113, 248, n. 4, 327
Buckerel, Stephen, 124, 311
Bulla Aurea, Hungarian charter, 246
Burdett, Robert, 298, n. 5
Burgh, Hubert de, 13
Burgundy, Duke of, 216
Bury, Bich. de, Bishop of Durham,
quoted, 78, n. 2
Burgh, John de, 169, 178, n. 3;
warden of Norfolk, 230
Bury, Abbot of, 83
Bussy, William de, 72
C
Campbell, Lord, quoted, 31, n. 3
Canterbury, Boniface, Archbishop of,
76 ; massacre of Jews at, 131 ; pro
clamation at, 236 ; dissension be
tween Barons at, 256
Cantelupe, Walter de, Bishop of Wor
cester, 68, 76, 140, 164
Cantelupe, Thomas, at Amiens, 114,
n. 1 ; Lord Chancellor, 257, re. 1, 2 ;
258, n. 2, 3 ; 260, re. 5
Cantelupe, Joan de, 176, n. 4
Car of Simon de Montfort attacked,
196
Carlaverock, 148
Caston, John de, 185
Cathedrals in progress of building,
226, n. 1
Census, 134, n. 5
Chacepore, Peter, 27
Champagne, William, Count of, 15
Chartres, King Henry met by Louis
IX. at, 62
Chaucer quoted, 246, 303
Chaworth, Patrick and Pain, 265
Chelmareford, Stephen de, 174, n. 2
Chester given to Simon de Montfort,
249, 252
Chester, Ranulf, Earl of, 46
Chichester, Bishop of, 122, 233, 238,
n. 5; excommunicated, 302, 323
Cinque Ports, excommunicated, 239
Cistern, first leaden, 226, n. 4
Clare, Richard de, Earl of Gloucester,
opposed to the Court, 41 ; bought
over by the King, 42, 76 ; dissen
sion with de Montfort, 87 ; death,
98
Clare, Gilbert de, with de Montfort,
99, 139, 177, 203; excommuni
cated, 239 ; jealous of de Mont
fort, 253, 254 ; tries to entrap de
Montfort, 256, 258 ; at Gloucester,

INDEX.

383

259 ; at Forest of Dean, 262 ; with
Prince Edward at Ludlow, 266;
receives estates, 300 ; retires from
Court, 308, re. 1
Clare, Thomas de, 259, 262, 300
Clarendon, Lord, quoted, 117
Clement IV., Pope, 238, re. 2 ; 301, re.
3 ; 303 ; death, 340
Clement V., Letter from, 258
Clifford, Roger de, sides with the
Barons, 103, 104 ; deserts the
Barons, 117, re. 4 ; his wife a cap
tive, 125, n. 2, 126, 177, 227 ; meets
the King, 243 ; safe conduct, 262 ;
urges P. Edward forward, 269, n.
3,300
Clive, town of, 271, n. 4
Cloth, early manufacture of, 240, re. 1
Cluniac Monastery, grievances of,
145, 146, n. 1
Cnol, Edward de la, Dean of Wells,
241
Cosham, John, 187
Combe, Barons ascend the Downs at,
170
Comet, 281
Compromise at Coventry, 307
Comyn, John, 157
Confiscation of property, 298
Convention signed, 138
Corbet, Richard, 325
Cortes, Aragon and Castile supplied
deputies to, 246
Council of London, 232, re. 3
Creppinge, Walter de, 279, re. 5
Crokesley, Richard de, Abbot of
Westminster, 71
Cronesley, Thomas de, 298, re. 5
Crown jewels pledged, 93
Croydon, 220, re. 5
Crusades, 3, 306, 336
Cuberle, Geoffry, at Amiens, 114,
re. 1

D

Damme-, village of, 234, -,i. 2
Dante, his opinion of Henry III., 19,
4, n. 1, 35, 37, re. 4, 303, 350
Dean, forest of, 255, 262
Deception of Prince Edward, displays
Barons' banners, 272, re. 4
Deed of surrender to Count de Bi
gorre, 362, App. E
Derby, Earl of, signs convention, 138
Despenser, Hugh le, 112 ; signs con
vention, 138, 179, re. 2; 236, 261,

274 ; death, 276, 298 ; widow of re
leases Royalists, 304, re. 5
Devereux, William, slain, 279, re. 5
Discontent, causes of, 66, 136, 137
Disinherited Barons, 298, n. 3 ; com
pound for lost estates, 208, re. 3
Domesday Book; disposition of pro
perty in, 6 ; Brady's introduction
quoted, 7, re. 1
Dover Castle sun-endered, 105; at
tacked by King, 107 ; surrendered
to, 117 ; Simon de Montfort at,
222, 241, 325
Dragon as Royal Banner, 190 ; dis
played by de Montfort, 191
Drayton quoted, 2, 266
Drieby, Philip de, prisoner, 128
Dunstable, tournament to be held at,
256

E

Edmund, Prince, surrenders Dover
Castle, 105; with Queen, 120, 234;
receives Simon de Montfort's es
tates, 209, n. 2, 3, 4; crusader,
336, 350
Edmund, Prince, second son of King
of the Bomans, 84, 146, 203 ; cru
sader, 350
Edward, King, 111, 345
Edward, Prince, 38, 40, re. 1, 94, 100,
107, 138, 146, re. 1, 243, re. 2, 266,
302, n. 1, 319 ; Northampton, 126 ;
successes of, 132 ; at Lewes, 143,
189, 191, 194, re. 3, 196, 204, 205,
re. 1, 2, 208 ; flies to the Francis
cans, 214 ; surrenders, 217 ; sent
to Dover, 218; liberated, on parole,
249, 262 ; escapes, 263 ; excommu
nicated, 265 ; takes Kenilworth,
268 ; charged with cowardice, 269,
re. 3; misleads spies, 271, re. 3 ; sur
prises the Barons at Evesham,
272, 273; overpowers the Barons,
306 ; retakes Dover, 331, re. 3 ; cru
sader, 336 k
Eleanor, Queen, 22, 34, n. 3, 136, re.
1, 254, 328; keeper of great seal,
109, re. 4 ; attacked by Londoners,
110, re. 3 ; as widow retires to con
vent, 111, re. 1, 3
Eleanor, Princess, Countess of Lei
cester, 87, 243, 300; banished,
313 ; household expenses of, 314 to
319 ; retires to France, 331, 332 ;
surrenders rights to Bigorre, 334

384

INDEX.

Eleanor of Castile, 228, re. 3, 229, re.
1,2,3
Eleanor, daughter of Simon de Mont
fort, 332, 333, re. 1, 2
Ely, Hugh Northwold, Bishop of,
55, 233
Engagement of King of the Romans
to befriend the Countess of Mont
fort, 361, App. D
English troops wish to leave Wales,
265, re. 7
Estrange, Hamo 1', 241, 300, re. 5
Evesham, battle of, 242, 275; de
Montfort marches to, 271 ; baronial
troops seen leaving, 272; list of
slain, 279, re. 5 : Simon de Mont
fort buried at, 286, n. 5

Fairs prohibited by the King, 265
Ferrers, Robert de, Earl of Derby,
180, 308
Ferrers, WiUiam de, 128
FitzAUan, John, 131, 149, 260 ; pri
soner, 198 ; death, 149, n. 1
FitzAucher, Henry, 300
FitzJohn, John, 130, 177, 178, 262,
2'80
FitzNigel, Robert, 301
FitzPiers, Reginald, 201
FitzRalph, Ralph, 248, re. 4
FitzRichard, 311, re. 1
FitzSimon, Simon, 128
FitzThomas, Mayor of London, 138,
310
FitzWarren, Fulk de, 154, 155;
drowned at Lewes, 210, re. 2
Flanders, Joan, Countess of, 47, re. 4
Fletching, village of, Barons at, 139,
re. 3 ; prelates at, 163, 170
Flete, John de la, 311
Foliot, Reginald, 317, re. 3
Food, scarcity of, 134
Fortibus, William of, Earl of Albe
marle, 76
France, Barons' treaty with, 84
Franciscans, Order of, 214
Frederick, Emperor, excommuni
cated, 243
Frideswide, Saint, 121
Fulcodio, Cardinal Guido di, 238
G
Gaunt, Gilbert de, 184, 326
Gebyon, Hugh, 128
Geoffreyson, John, 76
Gesem, Adam de, 248, n. 4

Gibbon thinks of writing' about the
Barons' War, 3, re. 1
Gifford, John, 101, 102, 103, 183, re.
2, 200 ; claims the ransom of de
la Zouch, 255 ; at Forest of Dean,
261
Gloucester, Prince Edward besieged
in, 108; de Clare at, 259; de
Montfort at, 265 ; Prince Edward
at, 266, re. 1; prisoners sent to,
269
Gloucester, Gilbert, Earl of, 71, 138,
169, 233, 256, 257 ; separates from
barons, 261, 264 ; takes London,
338, re. 1
Gloucester, IsabeUa, Countess of, 41,
re. 2, 48
Gorva, Brian de, 298, a. 5
Gravelines, 329
Gravesend, Richard de, 298, «. 5, 300
Great comet, 281, 282
Greek fire, composition of, 208, «.
2,3
Gregory IX. denounced by the Em
peror Frederick, 4
Gregory X., Pope, election of, 340,
re. 4
Grethead, Bishop, 78, 120, 290, 291
Grey, Riohard, 76, 107, 112, re. 1, 181,
re. 1, 298, re. 5, 300 ; prisoner, 269
Grose, quoted, 14, re. 1
Guizot, quoted, 8, re. 1, 79
Gundred, Princess, 147
Gurney, John de, 310
GynviUe, John, 185, re. 5

Hadstock, Augustine de, 174
Hailes, P. Henry's bones buried at,
350, re. 4, 351, re. 2, 353
HaUam, compares Simon de Mont
fort to CromweU, 44, re. 3; quoted
245, re. 3
Hamsard, Gilbert, 248, re. 4.
Hamsey, 170
Harcourt, Saer de, 298, n. 5
Hastings, Henry de, 112, re. 1, 176;
death, 177, n. 1, 194, 280, re. 5,
308
Hastings, Matthew de, 326, re. 3
Hatfield; William de Valence at Bi
shop of Ely's Park at, 25
Hawarden Castle, Conferences be
tween P. of Wales and de Montfort,
270
Hay, Royalists driven from, 260
Haye, John de la, 325

INDEX.

385

Hemington, Richard de, justice at
Lincoln, 104, re. 5
Henry II, death, 7
Henry III., 5, 82, 92, 94, 95, 97,
106, 121, 302, re. 2 ; claim to the
crown, 9 ; betrothal to Joanna ;
marriage, 14 ; war with France, 23 ;
at Paris, 61 — 88, re. 2, 97 ; bequeaths
his heart, 62 ; does homage for
Aquitaine, 89, re. 1; absolution
granted, 90; annuls the laws made
at Oxford, 92 ; delays at Rheims,
98 ; prohibits Prince Edw. from
continuing hostilities, 105 ; meets
the French king at Boulogne, 107 ;
at Amiens, 113, re. 2; summons
council at Oxford, 120 ; at Lewes,
124, 143 ; preparations for battle,
198—220 ; in London, 223, ,o. 2, 3,
i; love of the arts, 223, 226 ; letter
to the Queen, 240 ; to Louis IX.,
241 ; at Pershore, 243 ; London,
250 ; Northampton, 260 ; at Glou
cester, 262 ; at Evesham, 280
Henry IV, 299, re. 5.
Henry, Prince, 105 ; taken prisoner,
and liberated, 106 ; joins the Roy-
alists, 117, re. 2, 146 ; sent to King
of France, 236, 261 ; receives de
Furnival's estates, 299 ; overcomes
Earl of Derby, 307, 308, re. 1; at
Viterbo, 338 ; marriage, 341 ; mur
dered, 343, re. 3; insulted, 343,
349, n. 1, 2; buried, 350 .
Hereford, de Montfort leaves, 270;
Royalists driven from, 260
Hereford, Earl of, 85, 101, 308,
re. 1
Hereford, Peter de Aigue Blanche,
Bishop of, at Amiens, 102, 113, 234
Herietesham, Geoffry de, 309
Heringot, Ralph, slain, 210, re. 1
Hermite, WiUiam de St., 27
Horace, quoted, 37, re. 6.
Hostilities commenced, 100; stopped
by K. Henry, 105
Hoveden, John de, poem by, 226,
n. 3.
Hoveden, Roger de, quoted, 337,
re. 1
Hubert de Burgh, 13
Hugh le Bigot, 151 ; made Justiciary
Commander of Dover, 151
Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Here
ford, marriage, 150
Hurtald, Poictevin, 27
Hussey, Henry, 185, re. 2

Innocent IV., Pope, aUows monks to
perform service hooded, 27, re. 2, 35
Invasion, preparations to meet, 234,
235
IsabeUa, queen of King John, 22 ;
death, 23 -
Itinerary of Prince Edward, 271, n. 4

Jews, massacre of, 130, 131; com
mended to the care of Mayor of
London, 227, re. 2, 3; benefits with
drawn from, 298
Joan, Princess, 338, n. 2
John, King, made prisoner by Fitz-
Warren, 156
JoinviUe, 63 K
Kaleto, John de, Abbot of Peter
borough, 27, re. 2
Kempsey, de Montfort at, 270
Kenilworth, 181, 183 ; P. Edward re
moved to, 243; Simon de Montfort,
jun., marches to, 267 re. 2; decree
of, 308, re. 1; surrender of, 310,
325
Kilwarby, Archbishop, 121, re. 1.
King Harry's mill, 202, re. 1, 2, 3,
203, n. 5
Kingston, conference at, 93

Lancaster, Blanche of, 299, re. 5
Langton, Archbishop, 78
Leicester, taken by P. Edward, 132
Leicester, Earl of, 112, 164
Leicester, Countess of, 319
Leopardi, 27
L'Estrange,Hamo,desertstheBarons' cause, 117, n. 4
Letters to Queen Eleanor, 240 ; of ad
vice to King, 330, 359, App. 0. ;
frombaron^to Louis IX., 261, re. 1
Lewes, 16, 108 133, re. 7, 173, 187 ;
King at; 143, 169, re. 5 ; battle of,
191 ; earliest murage grant, 200 ;
resistance at, 208 ; treaty of, 215 ;
Prior of, 244, re. 3 ; Summons pro
claimed at, 259; site of battles
considered, 354
Lewisham, Prior Philip de, 72
Lewknor, Nicholas de, 300
Leyboume, Roger de, 300; sides with
barons, 101, 118, re. 3 ; against 117,
CC

386

INDEX.

re. 4, 131, 177 ; meets the King, 243 ;
safe conduct to meet P. Edw., 262
Lichfield, Roger de, Bishop of. 123,
n. 2-
Lincoln, Greathead,, Bishop of, 59,
61, re. 2
List of contending earls, 364, App.G.
LleweUyn, Prince, attacks Roger de
Mortimer, 100
London, fortified, 108; citizens rise
against King, 124 ; council at, 232 ;
citizens put to the rout at Lewes,
194 ; fined, 311 ; excommunicated,
239
London, Bishop of, 122,236, 237, re. 3,
238, 302
LoseU, Gregory de, 292
•Louis IX., 5, 63; arbitrates between
King and Barons, 93, 96, 109, 116;
interview with the King, 107; de
livers judgment at Amiens, 114
Lucy, Geoffry de, 112, re, 1
Ludlow, Royalists driven from, 260 ;
P. Edw. at, 266
Lusignan, Geoffry de, 205, re. 6
Lusignan, Guy de, 176, 205
Lusignan, Hugh, 205, re. 6
Lymington, 231
Lynde, John de la, 114, re. 2
M
MachiaveUi, quoted, 90, re. 2, 135, re. 3
Mackintosh, Sir J., quoted 295
Madox, History of the Exchequer,
quoted, 37, re. 1
Mad Parliament, the name given to
the council of Oxford, 65
Magna Charta, renewal in 9th year
Henry III., 9, 32, 36, 64; confirmed,
67 ; proclaimed, 74 — 135.
Maltravers, William de, prisoner at
Lewes, 201, re. 2, 285, re. 3
Mandeville, WiUiam and John, slain,
279, re. 2
Manfredi, King, 303
Mansel, John, 31, 83, surrenders
Scarborough, 92 ; flies to Boulogne ,
105 ; escapes from the Tower, 110
—112 ; dies abroad, 113—234
March of P. Edward from Worcester
to Shrewsbury, difficulties in un
derstanding, 271, re. 4
Marche, Count dela, 23
Mare, Henry de la, 301, re. 2
Mareschal, WUliam, 114, n. 1, 300
Margoth, female spy disguised as a
man thwarts de Montfort, 268, ¦«. 3

Marie, authoress, 78, re. 3
Marisco, Adam de, 56, re. 2, 57, re. 3,
120, 214, re. 2; pedigree, 291, re. 5;
letters of, 292—294
Marisco, Everard de,317, re. 3
Marlborough, statute of, 244, re. 2,
245, re. 3
Marmion, Philip de, 152, re. 1
Marmyon, Robert and WiUiam, 183,
re. 5
Martel, WiUiam, 298, re. 5
Maudvit, WiUiam, 183, re. 4
Maurienne, Thos, Count of, 20
Maunsel, Thos, prisoner, 128, re. 4
MeiniU, Stephen de, 248, re. 4
Memorial to Pope, answer, 76, 77
Mepham, Richard de, Archdeacon of
Oxford, 237, re. 3
Merton, Walter de, chanceUor, 97, re. 1,
301
Meyland, Roger de, Bishop of Lich
field, 122, re. 2 ; of Chester, 331
Mise of Lewes, 215—218, 284, 297
Mitford, Roger Bertram de, prisoner,
128, re. 3
Monceaux, Waleran de, 326
Monchensi, Joan de, wife of WiUiam
de Valence, 146
Monchensi, Warin de, 24, 262.
Monchensi, William de, 177, 178,233,
prisoner, 269
Monks, luxurious living of, 144, 145
Monmouth, Prior of, 262 ; de Mont
fort at, 265, re. 5
Montalembert, Count de, quoted, 43,
re. 3
Monte, Pessulano, King's butler, 27
Montfort, Count de, Simon the Bald,
estates forfeited, 43 ; pedigree, 45,
n. 1
Montfort, Almeric de, 46 ; prisoner,
53, re. 1 ; dies at Otianto, 54
Montfort, Simon de, 35 ; opposed to
court, 41 ; acknowledged leader of
the Barons, 42 ; acknowledged by
King, 46, re. 6; married, 49; pleads
his cause with the Pope, 49 ; in
vested as Earl Leicester, 52 ; cru
sader, 52 ; in Gascony, 55, 59, 61;
scene with King, 56 ; stripped of his
command, 60 ; declines regency of
France, 60; King agrees to pay
compensation, 61; surrenders Keml
worth and Odiham, 69 ; councillor,
* 76 ; witness to King Henry's ratifi
cation of act of renunciation, 85,
n. 4 ; dissension with de Clare, 87 ;

INDEX.

387

gifts to Bhrine of St Alban's, 90,
n. 1 ; precedes the King to England,
98 ; accepts leadership of Barons,
98 ; attacked by King at London,
108 ; at St Alban's, 110 ; accident
at Catesby and return home, 113,
re. 5, 6 ¦ in arms again, 116 ; gives
Prince Henry leave to bear arms
against him, .117 ; stiU upholds the
cause, 119 ; summons barons to
Northampton, 125 ; signs conven
tion, 138 ; leaves London, 139 ;
preparations for battle, 164 — 168,
171, 179 ;. attacks the King, 197 ;
suggests truce, 208; majority of
the nation on his side, 209, 210;
strengthens the blockade of the
priory, 214; leaves Lewes with
King, 220 ; at Dover, 222 ; author
ized by King to select counciUors,
233 ; at Boulogne, 237 : excom
municated, 239; spends Christmas
at Kenilworth, 248, re. 3 : appro
priates eighteen baronies, 251, re. 3 ;
pride of, discussed, 250 — 254; op
poses Tournament, 256, n. 1, 258;
moves north, 259 ; at Northampton,
260; atGloucesterwith King, 262; in
Wales, 265; recalled from his enter
prise, 266; plans marred by his son's
carelessness, 268—270; marches
towards Evesham, 271 ; seeing the
dangers at Evesham urges the
Barons to fly, but declines himself,
274 ; slain, 277; re. 1 ; treatment of
corpse, 284, re. 3, 4; 286, re. 3,4;
removal of corpse, 287, re. 3 ; al
leged miracles, 288; account of,
290 ; negoeiates with France, 292 ;
value of estates, 299, ft. 1; all
foUowers of excommunicated, 303,
re. 2; his family excluded from
any benefit from Kenilworth de
cree, 308
Montfort, Henry de, eldest son of
Simon de Montfort, embarks for
Gascony, 59 ; at Boulogne; 73 ; at
Paris, 94 ; a chief of the baronial
party, 112; at Amiens, 114; at
Lewes', 178; Prince Edw. at Dover
under care of, 218 ; warden of Kent,
230 ; released, 249, re. 1 ; pride of,
253; with Prince Edward, 263;
offers to bear the battle alone, 274 ;
slain, 277, re. 4; miracles attri
buted to, 289, re. 4 ; Prince Edward
and Henry under care of, at Odi

ham, 319: joins his father, 325;
surrenders rights to Count Bigorre,
334
Montfort, Simon de, second Bon of
Simon de Montfort, at Paris, 94 ;
prisoner, 126; released 222; war
den of Surrey and Sussex, 230;
summoned from Pevensey, 267, n. 1 ;
escapes from Kenilworth, 268, re. 6 ;
releases the Princes, 364; threatens
invasions, 305 ; at WUmington,
324, 325 ; wounded, 331; at Viter
bo, 338, 340; murders Prince
Henry, 342 ; excommunicated, 345 ;
death, 347
Montfort, Almeric de, third son of
Simon de Montfort, at Gravelines,
329; prisoner, 333, 334; released,
and death at Rome, 335 ; sent to
the Pope, 346
Montfort, Guy de, fourth .son, at
Lewes, 178 ; wounded, 278, re. 2 ;
at Viterbo, 338, 340; murders
Prince Henry, 342 ; excommuni
cated, 345, 347, re. 4 ; dies, 348
Montfort, Richard, * fifth son, at
Gravelines, 329 ; dies, 335
Montfort, Eleanor, daughter, pri
soner, 333, n. 2
Montfort, Laura, daughter of Almeric
de, 333, n. 5
Montfort, Peter de, 76, 112 ; at A-
miens, 114 ; prisoner, 127, re. 2 ;
released, 222 ; sent to the French
King, 237, 238 ; slain, 278
Montfort, Peter, son of Peter, 127
Montfort, Countess of, at Vaux, 44,
re. 5
Montfort, Philip, 339, re. 4
MontpeUer, Henry of, 27
Mortimer, Matilda de, de Montfort's
head sent to, 285, re. 4, 286, re. 1
Mortimer, Roger de, 76 ; attacked by
Prince LJeweUyn, 100 ; marriage,
153 ; favours P. Edward's escape,
263 ; retires from court, 307 ;
meets the King, 243
Mount, Harry, 211, re. 3
Mucegas, John de, 326
Murage grant, 200
Musgrave John, 265 N
Navarre, Theobald, King of, treaty
with King Henry, 55
Neumarket, Adam de, 127 ; Warden
of Lincoln, 230 ; prisoner, 269

388

INDEX.

NeviUe, Hugh, 184, re. 1 ; prisoner,
269, re. 2
Neville, John, 184, re. 1
Neville, Robert de, Warden of the
King's forces in the North, 104,
re. 4, 248, re. 4
Neville, WiUiam de, Prior of Clumac
monks at Lewes, 143, re. 2
Newcastle-on-Line given in exchange
to Simon de Montfort, 249
Newick, 170
Newington, Robert de, 128
Newport, de Montfort at, 265
Nicholas, de Montfort's barber, re
cognises the banners, 273, re. 1, 2
Norfolk, Roger, Earl of, 233,. 239,
re. 2
ftorman, Simon, 20
Normandy formaUy resigned by Ba
rons, 85
Norreys, Richard de, given Ocholt
Manor, 28, re. 2
Northampton, meeting of Barons at,
125 ; Prince Edward attacks, 126 ;
prisoners at, 128, re. 6 ; sacked,
129 ; legate at, 302, re. 3
Norwich, Nicholas de Plumpton, Arch
deacon of, 122
Nottingham betrayed to Prince Ed
ward, 132 O
Odiham, 322
Osney Abbey, 28
Ottoboni, Cardinal, afterwards Pope
Adrian V, 106, n. 1, 302, re. 3, 308,
re. 1
Oxford, great council summoned at,
36, 64 ; King's' Proclamation to
Sheriff of, 108, re. 5 ; students
turned out of, 120 ; ordered to re
turn to, 129, re. 3
Oxford, Earl of, 269
Oxford, Alice, Countess of, 326

Palgrave, Sir F., quoted, 65, 224,
re. 1
Pandulf, raised to the bishopric of
Norwich, 12, re. 1 ; death of, 12
Park, Geoffrey de, 187, re. 7
Parliament to meet in London, 244,
re. 2 ; 248, re. 5 ; act of confirming
the peace, 249, re. 2
Pasilure, Robert de, 12, 13
Pauncefot, prisoner, 128, re. 5; 266,
n. 2

Peace, proposals of, at Lewes, 141 ;
proffers of, declined, 159
Pec, fortress of given to Simon de
Montfort, 249
Peckham, Archbishop, 121, re. 1
Pembroke, William, second Earl of,
48
Percy, Hugh de, 113, n. 1, 131
Percy, Lord, 148, re. 2 ; prisoner, 198
Persecution of all not speaking En-
ghsh, 102, re. 1
Pershore, meeting of King and Royal
ist prisoners, 243, 260
Peter's pence, 29, re. >
Peter de Rlvaulx, 12
Peter de Roche succeeded Pembroke
as Regent, 10, re. 3
Peter of Savoy received the domain
of Richmond, 15, 16; crusader,
16 ; Bishop of Hereford seized by '
the Barons, 102 ; death, 103
Peterborough abbey plundered, 230,
re. 4
Pevensey, in custody of William de
Valence, 146 ; Royalists fly to, 207 ;
summons proclaimed at, 259, 327
Peyclinton, Robert de, 298, re. 5
Plesseiz, John of, Earl of Warwick,
76
Plugneth, Alan, 300, re. 6
Plumpton, Nicholas de, Archdeacon
of Norwich, 122
Poem after Barons' victory, 209
Pointz, Hugh, 185
Police established, 230
Pope, remonstrance to by Barons,
54 ; unwilling to abandon the King,
237
Preston, Gilbert de, Justice at Lin
coln, 104, re. 5
Preston, WiUiam de, 298, re. 5
Priory at Lewes, Barons in sight of,
171 ; RoyaUsts retreat to, 199 ; and
resist at, 208
Prisoners, exchange of, 227, re. 4
Proclamation of Henry, 75, 108, re. 3,
188, 236, 264
Provisions, prices of, 40, 60, 239,
314—329 .
PuvUesdon, Thomas de, 124, re. 2,
179, 311, re. 3
Pycard, Richard, 174
Pyramus, Denis, 79 Q
Quittance, deed of, 358, App. B

INDEX.

389

Raban, Elias de, 27
Reasons in behalf of Barons', 81
ReUc at HaUes, 351, re. 3, 352, re. 1,
353
Reygate, John de, 298, re. 5
Richard L, absence abroad, 7
Richard II. deposed, 299
Richard Prince, 18, 20, 36, 37, n. 3,
195, 198, 203, 218, 252, n. 1, 331,
353, re. 1 ; redeems captive crusa
ders, 53; deprived of the govern
ment of Gascony, 57 ; -arbitrates,
97, 105, re. 1; at Northampton, 126;
letter, 161; at Lewes, 189, 202,
prisoner, 304 ; dies, 351, App. B
RivaUis, Peter de, 27
Rivaulx, Peter de, 12 ; death, 13, re. 2
Rival, Roger de, 278
Robertsbridge, abbey of, 223
Roches, Peter de la, 12
Rochester, defended by Earl de Wa
renne, 122 ; siege of, 131 ; weU at,
132, re. 1
Rochefort, Guy de, 72
Rodes, Gerard de, 106, 107
Ros, Robert de, 112, re. 1, 263, 266
Rouen, Archbishop of, 237
Rout of Londoners, 194, 195
Royalists retreat to Priory, 199 ; to
France, 207 ; summoned, 259, re. 4
Royal menagerie, gifts to, 226
Ryegate defended by Earl de Wa
renne, 122 S
SackviUe, Jordan de, 18o
Sainte Chapelle, 63, n. 4
St Edmund, 78
St Hermite, WiUiam de, 72
St John, Roger de, 261, 265, re. 1
St Pol, Count, 78
Salisbury, constableship of, 326, re. 2
Sandwich, Ralph de, 265, re. 5
Sandwich, Richard de, Bishop of Lon
don, 112, 140
Savoy, Boniface, Archbishop of Can
terbury, 17; death, 18, re. 2, 76,
292
Savoy, Philip, 17, 254
Say, William, 187, re. 2, 220, re. 3
Scotney, Walter de, 72
Sedgewick, castle of, 113, re. 4
Segrave, Gilbert de, 175, 194
Segrave, Nicholas, 112, re. 1, 175,
280, 298, 301

Segrave, Steven de, 14
Shakespeare, quoted, 13
Shrewsbury, Prince Edward marches
towards, 271
Sicily, crown of, accepted by Prince
Edward, 35 ; renounced by Barons,
77, 238, 239
Skeffington, Geoffrey de, 298, re. 5
Somery, 198, 308, re. 1
Stamford, Henry de, Bishop of Dur
ham, 26, re. 1
Statutes sworn at Oxford, 67 ; pro
claimed, 74 ; revoked, 115 ; an
nulled, 297
Stokes, Seman de, 326
StoteviUe, Robert de, 248, re. 4, 301
Su-ffield, Walter de, 144
Summons for the ParUament, 244 ;
from Woodstock, 245
Surrey, population of, 135
Sussex, population of, 135
Sutton, Robert de, 301

TaUsman against fire, 81, re. 1
TaUages, 247, 283
Tancred, quoted, 247
Tany, Richard de, 301
Tarento, WiUiam de, 22
TattishaU, 198
TiekhiU, lordship of, 117 ; castle of
307
Tipetot, Robert, 265, re. 3
Tony, Michael, 311
Tony, Robert de, 185, re'. 6
TothiU Fields, 137, re. 2
Tournaments forbidden, 256, re. 1,
258
Treaty with France (5th Article)
quoted, 85, re. 1, at Lewes (Mise),
215, re. 2
Tregoz, Robert, Baron de, 185, re. 1 ;
slain, 279, re. 5
TuberviUe, Hugh, 241, n. 3
Tunbridge, 133„re. 2, 220, 363

I U
Urban IV, Pope, 96, 352

Valence, Aymer de, 25, 77 ; bishop,
55 ; goes into exile, 71
Valence, Guy de, 146
Valence, Joan de, 73, 230
Valence, WiUiam de, 23, 24 ; death,
25 : rupture with de Clare, 64,
126, 254, 130, 146 ; escapes, 206 ;

390

INDEX.

lands at Pembroke, 260 ; summon
ed, 262
Valentia, John de, . mediates at
Brackley, 122
Vaux, John de, deserts Barons' cause,
117, re. 4 > ,-*
Vere, Robert de, Earl of Oxford, 169,
233, 269
Vernon, Richard de, 298, re. 5 ; at
Kenilworth, 268 ; grant, 300
Vesey, John, 112, re. 1, 182, 183, re. 1,
280
Vipont, Robert, 112, re. 1, 181
W
Waoe, Robert, 79, re. 1
Waddington, William of, translator
of " Manuel," 79
Wake, Baldwin, 112, 127 ; death, 129,
re. 2 ; prisoner, 269, 280
Wake, Nicholas, 127
Walascho, Pope's envoy, 181, re. 3
Wales, Llewellyn, Prince of, 270
Waleran, Robert, 97, re. 1, 241, 242,
re. 2
WaUingford, 241, 242, 260
Waltone, Simon de, 103
War, fresh outbreak of, 116, 125
Wardens of the counties summoned
to attack the Rebels, 267 <
Warenne, Earl de, 148, 234; agrees
to the Oxford statutes, 70 ; defends
the King at Ryegate and Rochester,
122, 131, 132, re. 2 ; at Lewes, 134;
marriage, 146 ; flight, 205 ; at Ke
nilworth, 268; estates seized by
de Clare, 254 ; summoned, 259,
262 ; lands at Pembroke, 260, re. 5
Warre, John de la, 325, re. 5
Washington, 166, re. 2

WaterviUe, Reginald, 128
Waverley, Ralph, Abbot of, 317, re. 3
Welsh auxUiaries, desert de Mont
fort, 275, re. 2
Wengham, Henry de, 68, re, 3
Westminster Abbey, 136, re. 5, 350,
re. 2, 3
Westminster, Edward of,-253, re. 3
Westminster Hall, 33, 64
Westminster Palace burnt, 223, re. 3, 4
Whitsand, King embarks at, 116
WicUffe, sent to Rome, 76, n. 5
Widmarsh, Prince Edward at, 263
Wigmore, 264, 284, 287, re. 4
Wilmington, 324, re. 1
WUton, WiUiam de, 210
Wimbledon, Peter, rector of, 27
Winchelsea, 133, 324
Winchester, Earl of 43, re. 1
Winchester, Bishop of, 122, 237, 238
Winchester, great council at, 245,
re. 3 ; young Simon de Montfort
plunders, 267 ; Parliament at, 298
Windsor fortified, 108
Wolvesham, recusants from " Mad
Parliament" escape to, 69
Woodstock, 248
Worcester, Bishop of, 122, 164, 237,
238, 261, 331 ; absolves baronial
troops, 272, re. 2 ; death, 303, re. 1
Worcester, Nioholas de Ely, Bishop
of, 308, re. 1
Worcester, troops summoned to meet
at, 264, bridges destroyed at, 265 ;
Prince Edward at, 266
Wyke, quoted, 240
WyvUe, Robert de, 298, re. 5
Z
Zouch, Alan de la, 201, re. 3, 4

CAMBRIDGE : FaiNTED BT C. J. CLAY, M.A-. AT THE TtTMIVEESITY PRESS.

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