Simon de Montfort~6th Earl of Leicester

Simon de Montfort~6th Earl of Leicester

“the head of the earl of Leicester was severed from his body, and his testicles cut off and hung on either side of his nose”

Simon de Montfort was a nobleman of Norman French origin, and a member of the English Peerage.
Simon led the opposition to the rule of King Henry III of England, and following his initial victories over royal forces, he became de facto ruler of the country.
This culminated in the Second Baron’s War.

In January 1238, Montfort married Eleanor of England, daughter of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, and sister to Henry III.
While this marriage took place with King Henry’s approval, the act itself was performed secretly and without consulting the great barons, as a marriage of such importance warranted.

Eleanor had previously been married to William Marshall 2nd Earl of Pembroke, and she swore a vow of perpetual chastity upon his death, when she was sixteen.
Eleanor broke this vow, by marrying Montfort.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Edmund Rich, condemned the marriage for this reason.

Relations between King Henry and Simon de Montfort were cordial at first.
When Simon and Eleanor’s first son was born in November 1238, he was baptised Henry, in honour of his royal uncle.
In February 1239, Montfort was finally invested with the Earldom of Leicester.
He also acted as the king’s counsellor and was one of the nine godfathers of Henry’s eldest son, Prince Edward, who would inherit the throne and become Edward I ~ ‘Longshanks’

As Earl of Leicester, Montfort expelled the small Jewish community from Leicester city in 1231.
He justified his action as being “for the good of my soul, and for the souls of my ancestors and successors”
Expelling the Jews enhanced Montfort’s popularity in his new domains, because it removed the practice of usury.
Usury was practised exclusively by Jews, since it was forbidden to Christians.

Shortly after Prince Edward’s birth, there was a falling out between the brothers-in-law, Henry III and Montfort.
Montfort owed a great sum of money to Thomas II of Savoy, uncle of Queen Eleanor, and named King Henry as security for his repayment.
The king evidently had not approved this, and was enraged when he discovered that Montfort had used his name.

On 9th August 1239, Henry is reported to have confronted Montfort, called him an excommunicant, and threatened to imprison him in the Tower of London.
King Henry said~
“You seduced my sister, and when I discovered this, I gave her to you, against my will, to avoid scandal”
Montfort and Eleanor fled to France, to escape Henry’s wrath.

Simon de Montfort returned to England in 1263, at the invitation of the barons, who were now convinced of the king’s hostility to all reform.
They raised a rebellion, with the avowed object of restoring the government.
Henry quickly gave in and allowed Montfort to take control of the council.
Their disruption of parliament in October led to a renewal of hostilities, which saw the royalists able to trap Simon in London.

Civil war broke out almost immediately, with the royalists again able to confine the reformist army in London.
In early May 1264, Simon marched out to battle against the king, and scored a spectacular triumph at the Battle of Lewes on 14th May 1264.
They captured the king, together with Prince Edward.

The reaction against Montfort’s government was baronial, rather than popular.
The Welsh Lords were friends and allies of Prince Edward, and when he escaped in May 1265, they rallied to his support.

An ominous black cloud hung over the field of Evesham on 4th August 1265, as Montfort led his army in a desperate uphill charge against the superior forces of Edward.
Before the battle, Prince Edward had appointed a twelve-man death squad to stalk the battlefield, their sole aim being to find Montfort, and cut him down.
Roger Mortimer found Montfort, and stabbed him in the neck with his lance.
Montfort’s last words were said to have been “Thank God”.

Montfort’s body was mutilated in a frenzy by the royalists.
News reached the mayor and sheriffs of London that~
“the head of the earl of Leicester was severed from his body, and his testicles cut off and hung on either side of his nose”
Montfort’s head was sent to Wigmore Castle by Roger Mortimer, as a gift to his wife, Maud!
His hands and feet were also cut off, and sent to his enemies, as a final act of dishonour to the deceased.

The rest of Montfort’s remains ~ those that could be found ~ were buried before the altar of Evesham Abbey.
The grave was visited by many commoners, until King Henry caught wind of it.
He declared that Montfort deserved no spot on holy ground, and had his remains reburied in another “secret” location, prossibly in the crypt.

In the years that followed his death, Simon de Montfort’s grave was frequently visited by pilgrims.
Napoleon Bonaparte described Simon de Montfort as “one of the greatest Englishmen”.
Today, Montfort bears responsibility for the persecution of Jews.
Sadly, the violence and killings unleashed by the war targeting Jews carried on after his death.
Jews were living in such terror that King Henry appointed burgesses and citizens of certain towns, to protect and defend them.

Evesham Abbey and the site of Montfort’s grave were destroyed with the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century.
In 1965, a memorial of stone was laid on the site of the former altar.

Memorial stone, erected in 1965, on the site of de Montfort’s grave at Evesham Abbey in Worcestershire.
Picture credit~Smb1001