The Second Barons' War Begins

So the first phase of the Second Barons' War happened very quickly. The rebellious barons invaded London and captured King Henry III and Queen Eleanor of Provence. Simon de Montfort, who was married to Henry's sister, assumed control of the government, making rulings in Henry's name.

Much of the country was still loyal to the king, however, and there were nobles with soldiers who opposed Simon. Henry's son Edward (later King Edward I) had originally dabbled with rebelling against his father (a common occurrence in English politics), but now decided to become leader of the royalist party. He brought his own forces to capture Windsor away from the rebels.

Widespread fighting was inevitable, and so they turned to King Louis IX of France. Why? One of the provisions of Magna Carta was that France's king would be brought in to mediate between England's king and his barons.

Henry was allowed to go to France in December 1263 to present his side to Louis. Simon, having sustained a broken leg during fighting, did not make the trip. He was represented by Peter de Montfort and others. (The illustration shows the letter, dated October 1263, explaining Henry's case, with the seals of the nobles who supported him attached.)

Henry complained that he had the right to appoint his own ministers, that his castles had been ruined or destroyed by the rebels, and demanded restitution of £300,000 and 200,000 marks. The barons' statement points out that Henry had accepted the Provisions of Oxford and then violated them. There were other accusations.

On 23 January 1264, Louis made his decision, called the Mise [settlement] of Amiens. Since the pope had already declared that Henry's oath (made on the Gospels) was forgiven and that he did not have to follow the Provisions, Louis ruled completely in Henry's favor. Louis, also a king himself, was not very likely to make a decision that diminished a king's authority. (Also, Eleanor of Provence was Louis' sister-in-law, so Louis may have seen this also as a family matter.)

Rather than a solution, this put the conflict between the barons and royal authority right back to square one. Nothing could stop the war that was about to erupt. See you next time.