Henry de Montfort
Henry de Montfort | |
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Born | November 1238 Kingdom of England |
Died | 4 August 1265 (aged 26) |
Burial place | Evesham Abbey |
Parents |
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Sir Henry de Montfort (November 1238 – 4 August 1265) was the son of
Life
Henry's father was Simon de Montfort, the leader of the English Barons in the Second Barons' War.[1] Simon was the younger son of Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, a French noble who had been barred from his English titles and claims due to his allegiance to the French crown. Upon his father's death, the younger Simon had traded his interests in the family's French titles with his older brother for the sole possession of the English claims, and moved to England in 1229 to assert them. Becoming a favorite of Henry III, the younger Simon de Montfort received permission to marry the king's sister Eleanor of England, a jump in social status that alarmed the English nobility. In gratitude for the King's permission and support, the first son was named Henry in his honor.
Second Barons' War
Despite this relationship, Henry de Montfort sided with his father and the other nobles in revolt against his namesake in the Second Barons' War, with his father emerging as the leader of the rebellion and eventually the de facto leader of the nation.
In January 1264, Henry was one of the deputies sent to represent the barons at the
When the siege of Gloucester began in 1265, Henry de Montfort and Humphrey de Bohun, holding the King and Prince Edward (later Edward I) as prisoners, spent two weeks fortifying the town and castle. Henry then accompanied his father to Evesham, where they intended to rendezvous with Henry's younger brother, Simon de Montfort the Younger. Instead they met Prince Edward, who had ambushed the younger de Montfort's army and then marched under its stolen Montfort banners to lure Henry and the elder Simon into a trap.
The final act was played out in a monstrous summer storm, [in] 'such a downpour of rain, such thunder and lightning, ... the darkness was so profound, that though it was dinner-time those who sat down to eat could scarcely see the food before them'. The first of the nobles to fall in battle was Henry de Montfort, 'first born son and heir, in full view of his father, perished, split by a sword.
Aftermath for Henry's family
Thus the whole weight of the battle fell upon the earl of Leicester, who was an old and shrewd warrior. He stood the shock like a strong tower; but, surrounded by few followers, and overcome by numbers, he fell, and thus terminated an hereditary prowess, rendered famous by many glorious deeds.
Henry's brother Simon arrived at Evesham in time to see their father's head mounted on a spear. Another brother, Guy de Montfort, was captured during the battle and imprisoned. Guy later escaped and joined the younger Simon in flight to Europe. They found fortune in the service of
Ancestors
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References
- ^ a b Norgate 1894.
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Norgate, Kate (1894). "Montfort, Henry of". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 38. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 283–284.
Sources
- Maddicott, J.R. Simon de Monfort, 1996
- Henry de Montfort - the stuff of legends