The Life of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester: With Special Reference to the Parliamentary History of His Time

George Walter Prothero

• Publisher: Braunfell Books
• Year: 2023
• eBook ISBN: 9781805231684
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World History
• Index: History

The man who finally gave to English freedom its second and more lasting shape, the hero and martyr of England in the greatest of her constitutional struggles, was SIMON of MONTFORT, Earl of Leicester."Simon V de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester (1208 – August 4, 1265) was the principal leader of the baronial opposition to King Henry III of England, his brother-in-law...In 1240, he left for Jerusalem to take part in the Crusades. He then joined Henry in France where he was campaigning to secure his Gascony dukedom. De Montford was a skilled soldier…In 1254, however, he led Parliamentary opposition to Henry's demand for additional finances to pay for his war in Wales followed by his involvement in Sicily. As discontent with Henry's wars and demands for subsidies grew, Parliament demanded reforms...Henry agreed to reforms, including a council of fifteen to which governance was delegated. In 1261, when Henry repudiated the reforms and assumed direct power, de Montfort left the country. In 1263, he was invited back by the barons and revolt followed. After the rebellion of 1263-1264, de Montfort became de facto ruler of England and called the first directly-elected parliament in medieval Europe. Inclusion of commoners in governance went too far for some of the barons, who, joining forces with Henry's son, the future Edward I of England rebelled. De Montfort is regarded as one of the progenitors of modern parliamentary democracy. The right of the people to constrain kingly rule and to share in governance began the process of creating a nation-state. If kingdoms had been more or less the personal estates of their rulers, nations may still be headed by an hereditary monarch but all citizens had equal rights including the right to vote for a government that was of, by and for the people."-NW Enclyclopedia.

Table of contents

• Title page
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• DEDICATION
• PREFACE
• MAPS.
• CHAPTER I. - INTRODUCTION.
• CHAPTER II. - FAMILY AND EARLY LIFE OF SIMON DE MONTFORT.
• CHAPTER III. - PARLIAMENTARY HISTORY, 1232-49.
• CHAPTER IV. - SIMON DE MONTFORT IN GASCONY.
• CHAPTER V. - PARLIAMENTARY HISTORY, 1249-1257.
• CHAPTER VI. - THE POSITION OF PARTIES IN 1258.
• CHAPTER VII. - THE REVOLUTION OF 1258.
• CHAPTER VIII. - THE REACTION.
• CHAPTER IX. - THE BARONS’ WAR.
• CHAPTER X. - THE GOVERNMENT OF SIMON DE MONTFORT.
• CHAPTER XI. - THE LAST YEAR.
• CHAPTER XII. - CONCLUSION.
• APPENDICES.
• APPENDIX II.
• APPENDIX III.
• APPENDIX IV. - PORTIONS OF AN OFFICE IN MEMORY OF SIMON DE MONTFORT.