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The Baron's War
The conflict between Simon de Montfort and Henry III. |
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The Baron's WarConfusingly, two separate conflicts are sometimes given the name "The Baron's War". The first was the conflict which erupted in 1215-1217 between King John and his chief nobles. That conflict is chiefly remembered for its culmination in a meeting at Runnymede where John was forced to sign the Magna Carta, a document which guaranteed certain traditional rights and privileges to his subjects. (See the Magna Carta text here) The second conflict we call the Baron's War broke out in 1264 and ended in 1267. It is that conflict we deal with here.
BACKGROUND MAJOR FIGURES "And in this corner, the champion ..." Henry III. Oh, dear, what can we say about this monarch that will not sound too censorious? Well, not much. Henry was one of the least effective of England's medieval monarchs. He was constantly in need of money, which in itself was not unique among English kings. The trouble was that Henry wanted money for causes that the English nobility did not see as benefiting their interests. The campaign to put Prince Edmund on the throne of Sicily was one such cause. It was a move that held no benefit to the realm of England, only to Edmund and Henry, and the nobles did not see why they should grant money to support a campaign that would offer themselves no benefit. Henry, by contrast, thought it was the duty of his subjects to support him in this or any other purpose he might envision. In his defence, Henry did make efforts throughout his reign to overhaul the system of local government, though even then he stepped on too many noble toes, for the nobility had a vested interest in maintaining their own authority over the shires. The conflict came to a head in 1258 when the so-called 'Mad Parliament' drew up a list of grievances called the Provisions of Oxford. These provisions called for sweeping changes in the organization of government, and proposed a system of councils to 'advise' the king in the execution of policy. Henry III had no choice but to sign the provisions, but it is doubtful whether he ever had any intention of honouring his promises. The following year, 1259, the barons forced Henry to agree to hold hearings in every county in which abuses by county sheriffs and other royal officials were investigated. As a result of these hearings a new document was drawn up, proposing radical reforms of common law which would offer greater protection to the rights of free men. This document, the Provisions of Westminster, formed the basis of English common law for the next several centuries. Once again, Henry signed the provisions under duress. Henry then appealed to Pope Alexander IV for dispensation to repudiate both provisions. This the pope duly granted, and in 1262 Henry renounced his oaths to abide by the terms of the provisions. The rebels could not let this pass, and under pressure from the barons, Henry agreed to let King Louis IX of France mediate the dispute. Louis' judgment was issued at Amiens in January 1264, and was known as the Mise of Amiens. In the Mise, Louis sided entirely with Henry. Predictably, de Montfort repudiated the Mise of Amiens immediately, and armed conflict broke out. We've mentioned de Montfort's unfortunate habit of alienating those of his fellow barons who might otherwise be tempted to support him. Many of those barons went over to the king's side, while de Montfort drew much of his support from the Commons and the towns, who saw him as a champion of their burgeoning rights. THE COURSE OF THE CONFLICT With the king in his power, Simon de Montfort moved to summon what can truly be called England's first 'real' Parliament. He called to Westminster a Great Council, which included elected burgesses from selected boroughs. Though far from a modern democratic assembly, it was at least a first step towards representative government that included local representation. This was not the first occasion upon which burgesses were called to Westminster, but on previous occasions they served merely a consultative role. For the first time these elected representatives exercised a legislative role, deciding and enacting policy. But the royal faction did not give up without a fight. Prince Edward escaped from custody and joined royal supporters in the Welsh marches. De Montfort marched to join forces with his son at Kenilworth, in Warwickshire, to form a joint army which would outnumber Edward's men. Edward struck first, and overwhelmed the younger de Montfort. When the Earl of Leicester reached Evesham, instead of meeting his son's army, he was met by Prince Edward at the head of a superior force. In the ensuing Battle of Evesham the rebel army was annihilated, and de Montfort was killed. The rebel leader was dead, but not the rebel cause. Even those barons who had fought against Simon de Montfort had no intention of allowing Henry III to resume his autocratic ways. In truth, though, the king was a spent force, and the real ruler of the land was Prince Edward, later Edward III. And Edward was his own man, and wise enough to see that the way forward was not to try to roll back the clock to the days before the Provisions of Oxford, but to take reform forward in a way that consolidated the reforms of Simon de Montfort under a strong royal presence. Within a few years of the Battle of Evesham many of the reforms introduced by de Montfort had been ratified and entrenched in law. Edward created out of the aftermath of the Baron's War an England with a strong, and by the standards of the time, a just and responsible system of central government. It could be argued that though Simon de Montfort lost the war, and his life, his ideas and principles won were victorious. Related:
History Article
© David Ross |
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