Simon de Montfort
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester (23 May 1208 – 4 August 1265) was a Franco-English nobleman. He inherited the title and estates of the earldom of Leicester in England. He led a rebellion against King Henry III of England during the Second Barons' War of 1263–64. He became the de facto ruler of England.[2]
| Simon de Montfort | |
|---|---|
| Earl of Leicester | |
 Simon de Montfort, in a drawing of a stained glass window found at Chartres Cathedral | |
| Earl of Leicester | |
| 1239 – 4 August 1265 | |
| Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester | |
| None, title forfeit | |
| Born | 23 May 1208[1] Montfort-I'Amaury, France |
| Died | 4 August 1265 Evesham, Worcestershire |
| Eleanor of England | |
During his rule, Montfort called two famous parliaments. The first, the Oxford Parliament of 1258), stripped the King of his unlimited authority. The second parliament was in 1265. Its first meeting was in the Palace of Westminster. In it, de Montfort included ordinary citizens from the towns.[2] For this reason, de Montfort is seen as one of the builders of modern parliamentary democracy.[3]
As Earl of Leicester he expelled Jews from the city. When he became ruler of England he cancelled debts owed to Jews. The Jews' records were violently seized. In London and Worcester this policy led to led to massacres.[4] After ruling for just over a year, Montfort was killed by forces loyal to the King in the Battle of Evesham.[2]
Simon De Montfort Media
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
Relief of Simon de Montfort in the Chamber of the United States House of Representatives
Memorial stone, erected in 1965, on the site of de Montfort's grave at Evesham Abbey in Worcestershire
Arms of Simon de Montfort: Gules a lion rampant queue fourche argent.
References
- ↑ "Simon V de Montfort (1208-1265) - Find a Grave". Find a Grave.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Norgate, Kate 1894. "Montfort, Simon of (1208?-1265)" in Lee, Sidney (ed) The Dictionary of National Biography, volume 38, London: Smith Elder.
- ↑ obson, Adrian 2012. The First English Revolution: Simon de Montfort, Henry III and the Barons' War. Bloomsbury. pp. 173–4. ISBN 978-1-84725-226-5
- ↑ Mundill, Robin R. 2002. England's Jewish Solution. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-52026-3