1. Henry III, Simon de Montfort and the Emergence of Parliament
Ann Lyon

2. Henry III

3. Henry III
Elder son of John by marriage to Isabella of Angouleme
England’s longest-reigning monarch before George III
Character
Un-Plantagenet!
Good husband and father
Not a warrior - unsuccessful campaigns in Poitou 1230 and 1242
Deeply religious – rebuilder of Westminster Abbey
Kind and generous (to a fault?)
Overshadowed by brother, Richard, Earl of Cornwall, and son, the future Edward I

4. Minority

5. Minority
John’s will created council of regency headed by William the Marshal, Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, and Guala, the papal legate
Following the Marshal’s death in 1219, new regency council comprised Peter de Roches, Hubert de Burgh, a former justiciar, and new papal legate, Pandulf
Isabella of Angouleme returned to France 1217 and married Hugh de Lusignan X, son or former betrothed.
Royal authority gradually restored
Reissue of Magna Carta 1225 in return for funds for reconquest of Gascony
Henry assumed full powers in January 1227, aged 19

6. Reign relatively peaceful
Settlement reached with French over Gascony – each King of England to do homage for duchy to each King of France, but Henry’s two attempts to recover Poitou were unsuccessful, and he thereafter concentrated on diplomacy
No significant problems with Scotland – Alexander II ( ) and Alexander III ( ) had troubles of their own
Gradual increase of royal authority in Wales and Ireland

7. But increasing tension between King and Magnates
Money!!
Failed campaigns in Poitou
Generosity to in-laws and Lusignan half-brothers, given lands and offices
Lavish court
Building projects
Westminster Abbey
Windsor Castle
Tower of London
Dover Castle

8. Sicily Frederick II died 1250, excommunicate and at odds with Pope
Son Conrad succeeded him but deposed by Pope, and died 1254
Pope Innocent IV anxious to install suitable ruler in Sicily, as was successor, Alexander IV
In 1253 Henry accepted crown of Sicily on behalf of second son, Edmund, born 1245
BUT
Sicily first in hands of Conrad’s son, Conradin, to 1258, then Frederick’s illegitimate son, Manfred, killed 1266

9. Richard of Cornwall and the Empire
Richard elected King of the Romans by four of the seven electors 1256
Crowned by Pope 1257

11. Richard of Cornwall and the Empire

12. Henry’s Money Problems Come to a Head!
Money needed for campaigns in Sicily and Germany
Henry vowed himself not only to campaign in Sicily, but to pay papal debt of 135,541 marks by Michaelmas 1256
Magnates’ patience exhausted refused to grant extraordinary taxation in 1256 and 1257
Rebellion by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, leading to series of defeats in Wales
Henry vowed to Pope to send 8,500 men to Siciliy by 1 May 1259

13. Beginnings of Parliament
Practice had now emerged whereby grants of extraordinary taxation were agreed at crown-wearings, now termed ‘Great Councils’ or Colloquia
Crisis began in run-up to Great Council of Easter 1258

14. Confrontation Demands of the Great Council
Finance for the Sicilian Expedition to be granted on condition of:
Expulsion of Henry’s foreign favourites
Thorough reform of royal administration – detailed programme to be worked out by Council of 24, 12 appointed by Henry, 12 by magnates, who would begin work at Oxford on 12 June, and produce plans by Christmas

15. Provisions of Oxford 1258
Council of 15 to be appointed by four members of Council of 24
Royal castles to be put in charge of new castellans, each sworn not to surrender them except on orders of Council of 15
Justiciar, treasurer and chancellor to be appointed annually
Justiciar would have power to amend all wrongs committed by all other justices, bailiffs, barons, earls and all other men, ‘in accordance with the law and right of the land’
Hugh Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, appointed Justiciar
Sheriffs appointed annually, and given salaries

16. Provisions of Oxford 1258 cont.
Four knights to be chosen in each shire to hear complaints against the sheriffs and other officials, and to pass records of these complaints on to the justiciar.
Three Great Councils to be held each year
Standing legislative Commission of 12, elected by the baronage, to act with the Council of 15 at times scheduled for Great Councils
All barons and royal officials to take oath to abide by Provisions
BUT
Provisions of Oxford failed to define
Role of Council of 15
Role of King 

17. Great Council Michaelmas 1258
Royal proclamation 1
Declared king’s will that the things done or to be done for the good of the realm by the Council of 15 ‘should be steadfast and lasting in all things without end’
Required all freemen to take the oath to abide by the Provisions
Royal proclamation 2 to be read regularly in shire courts and sought to reassure freemen that amendment of existing wrongs would soon begin

18. Descent into Civil War 1259-64
Some progress in 1259, but main changes never carried through
New war in Wales from January 1260
Henry, then in France, wrote to Justiciar postponing next Great Council and to Council of 24 asking them to deal with Welsh situation
Simon de Montfort, hitherto a minor figure, questioned Henry’s right to breach provision requiring three Great Councils each year

19. Simon de Montfort Equivocal figure Own reasons to oppose Henry
Not clear what motivated his concerns for well-being of ordinary freemen

20. Henry and Louis IX
In December 1259 two kings finally negotiated settlement over Plantagenet lands in France
Anjou, Maine and Touraine surrendered to French
Each King of England to do homage to each King of France for reduced Duchy of Aquitaine, usually referred to as Guienne
Louis thereafter Henry’s ally, and greatly respected figure
On 13 March 1261 Henry gave barons statement of his objections to Provisions of Oxford, and permitted arbitration of dispute by Louis’s agents
On 1 May Pope annulled Provisions and all instruments made under them, on basis that they had been extracted from Henry by duress

21. 1262 2 May – Henry wrote to all sheriffs ordering:
That Charters were to be observed; but
That sheriffs publicly denounce the ordinances and statutes earlier annulled by the Pope, stating that his appeal to the Pope was justified by the barons’ failure to observe the conditions under which he had accepted the Provisions
Every opponent of his royal rights to be arrested.
Henry went back to Paris in search of a solution to the Gascon problem, and to deal with the grievances of Simon de Montfort, who also returned to France and sought redress from King Louis

22. Conflict
Settlement of Gascon issues brought direct conflict with Simon de Montfort, previously Governor of Gascony, and effectively impeached in 1251 over alleged abuses there
Montfort also determined to resurrect Provisions of Oxford
War broke out on Welsh border
Montfort sulked on French estates for period, then returned to England April 1263
From there, situation deteriorated into civil war

23. Civil War 1
25 May 1263 – Henry summoned feudal host for campaign against Llywelyn
Montfort and adherents wrote to Henry demanding restoration of Provisions of Oxford and that all who resisted them, other than royal family, be treated as public enemies
Londoners rose against the king
Montfort took control of Tower

24. Summer 1263
Montfort appointed new justiciar, chancellor and castellans
Shires given ‘wardens of peace’
Commissions of oyer et terminer sent out to hear complaints against opponents of Provisions
Peace settlement 9 September
However, magnates now divided between the hard-liners, and those prepared to accept reform with consent of king
Once more Henry sought arbitration from Louis IX, who gave judgment for him on every point

25. Civil War 2
Edward initially moved against Llywelyn in the Welsh Marches Montfort, in control of London, moved against Cinque Ports Battle of Lewes, 14 May 1264 – victory for rebels, who captured Henry and Richard of Cornwall Montfort required Edward and Henry of Almain, son of Richard of Cornwall, to be given as hostages to secure Henry’s observance of Provisions of Oxford

26. Montfort’s Rule Shires put under wardens of the peace
Parliament of 22 June 1264 included four knights as representatives of each shire as well as magnates and prelates
Council of Nine, with three members in constant attendance on king
However
War continued in Marches
Louis IX threatened invasion
Pope threatened excommunication of rebels

27. 1265 Marchers agreed terms in December 1264
Parliament of January 1265 included representatives of boroughs as well as shires
Edward now believed to be spent force, and Montfort set terms for his release
However
Edward escaped from custody on 28 May and rejoined Marcher allies
War renewed
Montfort killed in Battle of Evesham 2 August, when trying to reach Wales and link up with Llywelyn

29.
Peace settlement relatively mild and reflected some of concerns of reformers
Rebels permitted to recover lands on payment of fee based on value of lands and extent of individual’s involvement in rebellion
12 justices appointed to hear claims, on evidence of local juries
Dictum of Kenilworth called on king’s subjects to pursue concerns through the courts rather than by resorting to rebellion
Statute of Westminster 1267 enabled freemen to issue writs in disputes over observance of the Charters without fee
Wardens of the peace gradually evolved into Justices of the Peace
Armed rebellion thereafter treated as treason rather than via feudal law