Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, later sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from his namesake relatives, was an English nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the baronial opposition to the rule of King Henry III of England, culminating in the Second Barons' War. Following his initial victories over royal forces, he became de facto ruler of the country, and played a major role in the constitutional development of England.
Simon de Montfort, in a drawing of a stained glass window found at Chartres Cathedral, c. 1250
Eleanor of England, who married Montfort in 1238, depicted in the early-fourteenth-century Genealogical Roll of the Kings of England
Statue of Montfort on the Haymarket Memorial Clock Tower in Leicester
Site of the Battle of Lewes (1264) in East Sussex, photographed in 2005
Henry III, also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry assumed the throne when he was only nine in the middle of the First Barons' War. Cardinal Guala Bicchieri declared the war against the rebel barons to be a religious crusade and Henry's forces, led by William Marshal, defeated the rebels at the battles of Lincoln and Sandwich in 1217. Henry promised to abide by Great Charter of 1225, a later version of the 1215 Magna Carta, which limited royal power and protected the rights of the major barons. His early rule was dominated first by Hubert de Burgh and then Peter des Roches, who re-established royal authority after the war. In 1230, the King attempted to reconquer the provinces of France that had once belonged to his father, but the invasion was a debacle. A revolt led by William Marshal's son Richard broke out in 1232, ending in a peace settlement negotiated by the Church.
Henry III depicted in a manuscript from the 13th century
The Battle of Lincoln in 1217, showing the death of Thomas, Count of Perche (left), by Matthew Paris
The Battle of Sandwich in 1217, showing the capture of the French flagship and the execution of Eustace the Monk (r) and the support of the English bishops (l), by Matthew Paris
Matthew Paris's depiction of the second coronation of Henry in 1220