A.D. 1264. De Montpares to at fort pre tack the King at a decisive issue. He added 15,000 citizens of London Henry III. to his army, and marched from London against the King. When he arrived at Fletching, a few miles from Lewes, he sent a letter to the King; stating, that he and the barons had not taken up arms against the King, but against the evil counsellors, who had abused his confidence. Henry, in return, declared that the barons' charges were false, and defied De Montfort to single combat. This was a feudal formality which it was necessary to observe. De Montfort then made ready for battle. He addressed his followers, telling them that theirs was a righteous cause; for, they were fighting in defence of their liberties, against a King, in whose oath they could not trust, as he had broken it again and again. He then told them, to put white crosses on their breasts, and to pass the evening, in the exercise of their religious duties. Lewes. He makes ready for battle. The battle of Lewes. May, 13. The Lonhon and are put doners rush to flight by Prince Edward, The following morning (May 13th, 1264), De Montfort marched forth to battle. The King's scouts watched his movements, and the royal army was ready for the fight. The Londoners began the attack. They were full of courage and impetuosity, but, unused to war, they rushed on rashly. Prince Edward received them, and soon put them to the rout. They fled in haste, and the Prince pursued them, but as rashly and impetuously, as they had rushed to the attack. He hated them for their attack on his mother, and was greedy of revenge. He pursued them with great who purslaughter for several miles, and thus deprived the sues them King of support, when most needed. On his return thus loses to the field of battle, the fight was done, the King a prisoner, and the royal cause was ruined. When Edward started in pursuit of the Londoners, De Q rashly, and the battle. Henry III. Montfort fell on the King's forces with the rest of A.D. 1264. his army, and utterly routed it. Henry, whose horse had been killed under him, surrendered, and was The King taken prisoner to Lewes Priory; his army was dispersed, and his cause was lost. Five thousand men are said to have fallen on each side. is taken prisoner. The princes also are soners. A treaty called "The Mise of Lewes" was now concluded between the King and the barons; by which it was agreed that the two princes, Edward and Henry, should be kept in custody as hostages for kept pri- the peaceable conduct of their fathers, the King and his brother Richard, King of the Romans. All other prisoners were to be set at liberty. De Montfort, however, kept the King in his own custody; and sent King Richard with his son Henry prisoners to the Tower. Prince Edward was confined, first in Wallingford, and afterwards in Dover Castle, of which Henry, De Montfort's eldest son, was appointed Simon de Montfort rules the kingdom in the King's name. governor. De Montfort now exercised all the powers of a King. Henry was King in name, but Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, was King in deed. It was agreed, that the King should give up his power of choosing his councillors, to a committee of three; of whom De Montfort, of course, was one; the others were the Earl of Gloucester and the Bishop of Chichester. To them the King gave authority, to appoint in his name, a council of nine, who were to exercise all the usual powers of government. In order to avoid a repetition of the abuses which had caused the war, it was ordered, that no foreigner, though he might come and go peaceably, should be appointed to any office; that all the ancient and laudable customs of the realm should be observed, and A.D. 1264. that three of the bishops should be appointed to re- Henry III. form the state of the Church, and to procure for the clergy, compensation for their losses during the late troubles. The Queen come to the King's tries to help. But De Montfort soon found that his power was not to remain undisputed. Henry's Queen, Eleanor, had escaped to France, and had collected a numerous army to invade England, and deliver Henry from the barons. The friends of Henry, and the enemies of She colDe Montfort, flocked to her standard, and a numerous fleet was assembled at Damme, a fortified town in Flanders. Flanders, near Bruges, to convey the army to the English shores. lects an army in fort pre pares to defend him self, De Montfort was equally active. He collected De Monttogether the whole force of the kingdom on Barham Downs, near Canterbury. The military tenants were ordered to bring into the field, not only the force specified by their tenures, but all the horsemen and infantry in their power. Every township was compelled to send eight, six, or four footmen, well-armed with lances, bows and arrows, swords, cross-bows, and hatchets, who should serve forty days at the expense of the township; and the cities and boroughs, received orders, to furnish as many horsemen and footmen, as the sheriff might appoint. No excuse was to be allowed, on account of the shortness of and colthe time, the approach of the harvest, or any other lects a fleet private inconvenience. De Montfort himself took her on her command of the "channel fleet," and cruised about, in readiness for the approach of the invaders, watch- sea. ing the Flemish ports, to attack the ships immediately they left the harbours. The Queen's fleet was detained by contrary winds, and was prevented leaving port by De Montfort's to attack passage across the Henry III. vigilance. Her soldiers were many of them hired A.D.1264. troops, who had engaged to serve her only for a limited time; and when that time had expired they army dis- disbanded themselves, and her whole army melted The Queen's bands it self. De Mont fort is away. The Pope, too, made vain efforts to support Henry against the barons. He sent Cardinal Guido to to take him under his protection; but before the bishop had embarked from Boulogne, he was told that his life would be in danger if he ventured into England. He therefore contented himself with excommunicating the barons, and with summoning four of the bishops, to meet him at Boulogne, to be the bearers of the excommunication. The bishops were on De Montfort's side; but they feared to disobey the cardinal, and accordingly they obeyed the summons. They took back the bull of excommunication, but allowed it to be taken away from them on their landing at Dover. The King's friends now continually urged De Montfort to release the princes; and in the autumn of 1264, release the he summoned a Parliament to meet after Christmas, urged to princes. summoned to which Parliament to consider what should be done. To this Parliament, burgesses from towns were for the first time sumtown bur moned. This was undoubtedly the beginning of for the first popular representation, and the origin of the present turned as House of Commons, as I explained in my Second gesses are time re members. Lecture. of Com mons, A.D. 1265. The Parliament met on the 21st of January, 1265, Origin of the House and decided that Prince Edward should be released from confinement and join his father, who was still Parliament under the charge of De Montfort; but that he should that Prince still remain in charge of his keepers. It was not Edward considered safe, to grant even this liberty, without decides released. the surrender to De Montfort, of the county of Chester Henry III. and some castles belonging to the Prince. It was A.D. 1265. also enacted, "by common consent of the King, his shall be son Edward, the prelates, earls, barons, and commonalty of the realm," that the charters and ordinances should be strictly observed-so necessary did the barons feel it to be to take every care to protect their liberties. It was further arranged, that the King and Securities the Prince, should both swear, to observe these and taken from other conditions; and also, neither to ask the Pope and the to absolve them from their oath, nor to make use of such absolution, even were it granted, without their asking. Henry's repeated acts of perfidy rendered these precautions indispensable. the King Prince. of Gloucester de Soon after these events, De Montfort lost the sup- The Earl port of the most powerful of his friends, the Earl of Gloucester. He had imprisoned the Earl of Derby, serts De on a charge of plotting with the royalists; and Gloucester, fearing the same fate, and probably equally open to the same suspicions, separated himself from De Montfort, and espoused the cause of the King. The records of these times are too scanty, to enable us to understand the frequent changes in the conduct of the leading men. It is supposed by some historians, that De Montfort's ambition was the cause of the defection of these two noblemen, but it is equally probable, that they were only jealous of his power. Be this as Be this as it may, the loss of these two supporters was the beginning of De Montfort's rapid fall. Gloucester now brought back from exile Roger The King's Mortimer, Earl of Wigmore, a brave baron, one of party inthe King's staunch adherents, who had been almost perpetually at war with the Welsh. Other royalist barons returned with him. Both parties now pre creases. |