Kings in the Middle Ages
would often consult their barons before making important
decisions. The barons were usually called upon to appear before the
king during religious festivals (Christmas, Easter, Witsun). Some
of the barons were
given specific jobs to perform for the king, for example, one would
be asked to be treasurer.
Some kings chose to ignore
the advice of their barons. When this led to bad things happening,
the barons became angry. This is one of the reasons why the
barons rebelled against King John and made
him sign the Magna Carta.
Henry
III, like his
father, tended to ignore the advice of his barons. In
1264, the barons, under the leadership of Simon
de Montfort, took up arms
against their king. One of those barons who joined the rebellion was
the nineteen-year-old,
Gilbert de Clare, 8th Earl of Gloucester.
Gilbert, who had bright
red hair, became known as the Red Earl.
Simon
de Montfort and his rebel army attacked Rochester Castle on 18
April, 1264. When Henry heard news of the attack he ordered his army
to march on Tonbridge
Castle. As Gilbert de Clare and his
soldiers were away at Rochester the
king had little difficulty capturing Tonbridge. After taking Gilbert's
wife, Alice, prisoner,
Henry set fire to both the castle and the town.
Henry's army now moved
on to Lewes where he was met by Simon de Montfort, the Red Earl and
the rest of the rebel barons. The king was defeated and Simon de Montfort
took control of parliament (parler was Norman French
for talk). The following year Simon de Montfort expanded parliament
by inviting representatives from the shires and towns to attend the
meetings.
Gilbert
de Clare supported these parliamentary reforms but was unhappy
when he heard that Montfort planned to form an alliance with the Welsh
prince, Llewellyn ap Gruffudd. Gilbert had been in conflict with Llewellyn
over lands that he owned in Glamorgan. Gilbert began having talks
with King Henry and the two eventually agreed to join forces against
Montfort. At the Battle of Evesham, the
royalist army defeated Simon de Montfort's forces.
In return for this help,
King Henry supported the Gilbert in his struggles with Prince Llewellyn.
Gilbert was victorious and to protect his land in Wales built Caerphilly
Castle. When it was completed, Caerphilly Castle was considered
to be the most impressive fortress in Britain.
When Henry
III died,
his son Edward became king. Edward
I was concerned
with the amount of power the Red Earl possessed and decided that he
had to find a way of guaranteeing his loyalty. In 1283, the king ordered
the Red Earl to divorce his wife, disinherit his children, and marry
his 11 year old daughter, Joan of Acre. In 1291 Joan gave birth to
a son, Gilbert, who became the legal heir to the Clare estates.
Edward, like his father,
was constantly short of money. When he called a meeting of parliament
he followed Simon de Montfort's example and invited representatives
from every shire and town in England. Towns often had difficulty in
raising the money needed to send their representatives to the meeting.
Some towns ignored the king's request and refused to send delegates
to parliament. However, even when they were not represented, they
still had to pay the taxes that were agreed at the meeting.
When the representatives
arrived they usually met in five different groups: (1) the prelates
(bishops and abbots); (2) the magnates (earls and barons); (3) the
clergy; (4) the knights from the shires; (5) the citizens from the
towns. As soon as agreement was reached about taxes, groups 3, 4 and
5 (the commons) were sent home. With the
commons absent, the king would then discuss important issues such
as new laws with his bishops, abbots, earls and barons (the lords).
The
Normans: Classroom Activities
(1)
The Song of Lewes (1264)
May the Lord bless Simon de Montfort and also his army who,
exposing themselves to death, fought bravely for the English people...
Simon de Montfort had few men used to fighting; the royal party was
large, having assembled the greatest warriors in England... but God
provided... since God is a help to those who are on the side of justice.
(2)
Matthew
Paris, English History (c.
1275)
Earl Simon de Montfort,-who gave up not only his property,
but also his life, to defend the poor from oppression, and for the
maintenance of justice.
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