1.2 Simon De Montfort | davisonhistory

CAUSES

Henry III was a pious (strongly religious) king; his links to the Pope in Rome created financial problems in England by giving to the Pope to fight wars in Europe. He helped the Pope remove the royal family in Sicily and put his young son, Edmund on the throne there. 4 years later, when Henry failed to pay more money, the Pope threatened excommunication. The Pope suggested Henry’s brother, Richard, became Holy Roman Emperor: an important job that would give the Pope more power in Europe and mean Henry and Richard would have to pay for the Sicilian war by increasing tax on the barons. Henry gave the top jobs in English churches to Italian clergy. All this led to the barons becoming frustrated with King Henry. Henry also had close ties with France which worried the barons, especially when he began allowing French men into parliament; they felt under threat of foreign rule. In 1230 Henry raised taxes to fight wars attempting (but failing) to win back land lost by his father in France (Brittany and Gasgony). SIMON DE MONFORT had gained wealth and opportunity as the King’s steward and also married the King’s sister, Eleanor. In 1248 he was sent to France to try and win back land again. He succeeded with military skill and ruthlessness. King Henry was happy until he heard about Simon de Monfort’s harsh treatment of French citizens in occupied towns. He called de Monfort home for an inquiry. De Monfort felt betrayed and furious with Henry and even more so when Henry insisted that his son, Edward should lead the campaign in France from now on.

By 1254 the relationship between Henry and the barons was bad. De Monfort was their spokesman and they refused to fund any more schemes involving land in France or Sicily. If Henry could not give the Pope more money he may be excommunicated, but the barons refused to increase taxes.

DEVELOPMENTS

In 1258 De Monfort led the barons at the Great Council. De Monfort wanted to reform royal control and King Henry agreed to THE PROVISIONS OF OXFORD:

15 barons would be in charge of the Great Council, elected by 24 men (12 chosen by the King and 12 chosen by the barons)
Foreign members of the King’s household to be banished
Castles only held by Englishmen
Each county would have a sheriff and taxes would be decided locally

This gave the barons the majority of power as they could make decisions without the King’s approval, but the King could not make decisions without the approval of the Great Council.

However, some older barons felt the Provisions of Oxford interfered too much in their local interests, while some younger barons were annoyed that they were not elected to the Greta Council and had lost influence.

In 1259 the Provisions of Oxford were extended to the PROVISIONS OF WESTMINSTER; reform of local government which was popular among the less powerful & wealthy people. Many barons disliked this as they had to accept reforms demanded by their tenants.

THE BARONS WERE DIVIDED AND ARGUING OVER THE PROVISIONS = WEAKENED THEIR POWER. King Henry wrote to the Pope and asked for him permission to cancel the provisions. In 1261 the Pope agreed. Henry appointed his own men to the council and De Monfort went to France.

By 1264 the barons were sick of Henry again – they sent for De Monfort, who returned to England started the SECOND BARONS WAR. At the BATTLE OF LEWES, 1264, De Monfort’s army captured and imprisoned King Henry and his son Prince Edward. Simon De Monfort was now the most powerful man in England and England was set to be ruled by Parliament, not a monarch = A REPUBLIC.

De Monfort appointed his own council of 9 barons made up of his friends and allies. He reinstated the Magna Carta and Provisions of Oxford and Westminster, but some powerful barons wanted the old ways back when they had more influence under King Henry.

In 1265 de Monfort called a meeting of the great Council, but he also invited burgesses (representing the merchants) and knights from every county. Ordinary people (commoners) had their voices heard for the first time. This won de Monfort some support from ordinary people, but not from the powerful barons who were concerned about his increasing personal power. They began supporting King Henry and his son again. In 1265 de Monfort was killed at the BATTLE OF EVESHAM. His body was cut up and pieces were sent around the country as a warning.

CONSEQUENCES

Henry ruled until 1272 and never called a meeting of the Great Council, but his son Edward I knew he would have to respect the barons and learnt from the mistakes of his father and grandfather. He called many parliaments to negotiate with his barons for funds to fight Scotland. In 1295 he called the MODEL PARLIAMENT; this is most similar to our parliament today. Lords were invited and commoners were elected (although only the barons could vote and voting was not secret). Parliament and its powers would continue to change throughout the Middle Ages. The King’s power was not completely challenged and limited until the English Civil War and Glorious Revolution in the 17th century, but Simon de Monfort did increase the power of the common man (not women).

SIGNIFICANCE

ST: The inclusion of commoners - knights and merchants in parliament for the first time, establishing the idea of the house of commons. Power of the ordinary man increased. It was the biggest attempt to redistribute power before the 17th century civil war.

LT: There is a Simon de Montfort society which runs tours to key sites associated with him. We still have 2 houses – the House of Commons and the House of Lords today.

MAIN FACTORS

WAR, RELIGION, ECONOMY, INDIVIDUALS, IDEAS