Book release!

My new (nonfiction) book, REBELLION AGAINST HENRY III: THE DISINHERITED MONTFORTIANS 1265-1274 is now available on hardback! See the link below to Amazon for purchase - soft cover and ebook versions to follow...

Rebellion against Henry III on Amazon

"The 'Montfortian' civil wars in England lasted from 1259-67, though the death of Simon de Montfort and so many of his followers at the battle of Evesham in 1265 ought to have ended the conflict. In the aftermath of the battle, Henry III's decision to disinherit all the surviving Montfortians served to prolong the war for another two years. Hundreds of landless men took up arms again to defend their land and property: the redistribution of estates in the wake of Evesham occurred on a massive scale, as lands were either granted away by the king or simply taken by his supporters. 

The Disinherited, as they were known, defied the might of the Crown longer than anyone could have reasonably expected. They were scattered, outnumbered and out-resourced, with no real unifying figure after the death of Earl Simon, and suffered a number of heavy defeats. Despite all their problems and setbacks, they succeeded in forcing the king into a compromise. The Dictum of Kenilworth, published in 1266, acknowledged that Henry could not hope to defeat the Disinherited via military force alone. 

The purely military aspects of the revolt, including effective use of guerilla-type warfare and major actions such as the battle of Chesterfield, the siege of Kenilworth and the capture of London, will all be featured. Charismatic rebel leaders such as Robert de Ferrers, the 'wild and flighty' Earl of Derby, Sir John de Eyvill, 'the bold D'Eyvill' and others such as Sir Adam de Gurdon, David of Uffington and Baldwin Wake all receive a proper appraisal..."

To win the dyke

30 March is the anniversary of the sack of Berwick by Edward I in 1296. The popular image is of a frighful massacre, in which most of the citizenry were exterminated by the king’s Irish and Welsh infantry. What really happened is very difficult to know: surviving petitions show that some of the citizens were still alive afterwards, but a town put to the sack in the medieval era would have been handled very roughly indeed. The Scots did similar things at places like Hexham and Corbridge in northern England and Dundalk in Ireland.

One account of the sack, in an addition to the chronicle of Robert of Gloucester, appears to be the earliest mention of Edward’s nickname of Longshanks. When Edward demanded the town’s surrender, the citizens are said to have bared their buttocks at him (shades of Braveheart) and sang the following jingle:

“What wenith King Edward with his lang shanks,
To win Berwick with all our unthanks,
Gaes pike him,
And when he has hit, Gaes dyke him.”

Some of the citizenry then attacked the king’s ships on the Tweed, slaughtering the crews. Incensed, Edward signalled the attack and led his cavalry in person:

“What then did Sir Edward?
Peer he had none like;
Upon his steed Bayard he first won the dyke.”

Berwick-upon-Tweed

What followed was undeniably gruesome, as the ill-defended town was stormed in a couple of hours. By the rules of war, the burgesses of Berwick had sacrificed any right to mercy by refusing to surrender. The actual scale of the slaughter can reasonably be doubted: Earl Warenne, for instance, found time and leisure to go shopping for bread in the town on the same day, which implies that the sack was bloody but brief.

A notorious freebooter

More from the new book.

In 1278 Gilbert Umfraville, Earl of Angus, was indicted on a number of charges. These included giving aid and shelter to one Walter Denyas, a notorious robber, and his fellows in the earl’s castles at Prudhoe and Harbottle. Umfraville allegedly took £40 from Walter in exchange for protection, and appointed one Alexander of Kesterne as Walter’s ‘conductor’.

Walter Denyas was one of the most notorious outlaws of the age. He was originally from the midlands, a tenant of Earl Ferrers, and together with Roger Godberd had waged a campaign of terror and destruction in the counties of Nottingham, Derby and Leicester. His most notorious deed was the murder of William Fuiz the chaplain, a monk of Stanley Abbey in Wiltshire.

In 1266 Henry III set up the Dictum of Kenilworth, whereby rebels and outlaws such as Walter were allowed back into the king’s peace on payment of a fine. Walter had to wait another three years for his pardon. He owed it to the influence of the Lord Edward, who persuaded his father to forgive Walter for the death of the monk.

Walter went straight back to a life of crime. Like many an English outlaw in a later age, he found his way up to the Anglo-Scots border and ran with the ‘free lances’ of Redesdale, a valley in western Northumberland. The earl of Angus used the men of Redesdale as hired muscle: for instance, when he paid them to break into the house of William Douglas of Fawdon and mutilate his son.

Walter evaded the law for another three years. In 1272 he was run to earth by the king’s officers and met with the rusty axe of justice. According to the chronicle of Walter of Newburgh:

“Interea quidam maleficus, nomine Walter Devias, ducens exercitum aliquando equitum, quandoque peditum, et manifesta exercens latrocinia in villis, civitatibus et burgis ac religiosis et aliis multis infestus, tandem cum pluribus ex complicibus suis captus est et decollatus.” 

(Walter Devias, a freebooter, is caught and executed)

Emnity against the king

Another snippet from my upcoming book on the Disinherited Montfortians in England.

In 1268, as part of the massive clearing-up operation after the end of the civil war, hundreds of men all over England were summoned to court to answer charges of rebellion against the king. These cases were recorded on a separate series of assize rolls, though unfortunately only those for the southern counties have survived.

One of the accused was a certain Robert Ode of Harbury in Warwickshire (see attached, above), who was accused of ‘emnity against the king’ by the jurors of the hundred of Wardon in Northamptonshire. Robert had been a member of the rebel garrison at Kenilworth, the massive stronghold in Warwickshire and chief headquarters of the Disinherited. He was accused by jurors of Northants, an entirely separate district, because Robert had led a small band of robbers out of the castle and roved all over the midlands, plundering and raiding lands belonging to the royalists. The details of what he actually got up to are recorded on yet another series of rolls: nobody could accuse the administration in England of a lack of thoroughness.

Link to the book below:

Rebellion Against Henry III on Amazon

New book alert!

Only a few days to go until the release of my book on the Disinherited in England (31 March), published by Pen & Sword.

One of the themes I explore is the possible influence of the Montfortian period on the growth of outlaw legends in England, particularly the tales of Robin Hood. As everyone knows, Robin’s chief enemy is the High Sheriff of Nottingham. As the man himself warns his merry men in one of the early ballads:

“The hye sherif of Notyingham, Hym holde ye in your mynde.”

The corruption of sheriffs was one of the chief complaints of the Montfortian movement, and found expression in the political songs of the era. One of these, The Song Against the Sheriffs, runs as follows:

“Who can tell truly
How cruel sheriffs are?
Of their hardiness to poor people
No tale can go too far.
If a man cannot pay
They drag him here and here,
They put him on assizes,
The juror’s oath to swear.
He dare not breathe a murmur,
Or he has to pay again,
And the saltness of the sea,
Is less bitter than his pain.”

This dates from the mid-1270s, a few years after the death of Simon de Montfort. When Edward I came to the throne, one of his first acts was to sack all the sheriffs in England and replace them with new men. Thus there was a direct link between popular feeling and Edward’s careful construction of an image of good kingship, based squarely on his experience of the reform period.

Link to the book on pre-order below:

Rebellion against Henry III on Amazon

Pointy sticks at Stirling (1)

Just for fun, and a break from 'serious' history, I take a look at a clip from one of the battle scenes in Braveheart. This is my first effort at a reaction video and it's a bit rubbish. The sound is all over the place, either because I kept moving away from the mic or some other technical reason I can't understand. It all adds to the charm, though. Definitely.

Pointy sticks at Stirling (1)

The son of traitor memory (1)

Below is the first of a series of videos on the life of Gruffudd ap Gwenwynwyn (died 1286), lord of southern Powys and one of the great survivors of medieval Welsh history.

The son of traitor memory (1)

To read and write

Could medieval kings read and write? It seems likely they could read, but writing was for clerks.

For instance in July 1282 Eleanor of Provence, the queen dowager, asked her son Edward I to listen to a draft message to the king of France and amend it if he wished. The relevant part of her message read:

“Nos avoms fet feire une letre depar vos la quele nous vo envoions et voz prioms, que vos la vuillez oir, si ele vos plest, facez la seler, et si non, voillez commander, que ele soit amendee a vestre plesir.”

(‘We have had a letter made on your behalf which we send to you, and we pray that you should wish to hear it. If it please you, have it sealed; and if not, may you wish to command that it be amended to your satisfaction’)

From this it appears that the king would listen to a letter - presumably read out by a clerk - and then order the content to be amended, if he thought it appropriate. It has been argued that kings had basic literacy, but the process of letter-writing was generally beneath them. God’s representative on earth did not lick his own postage stamps.

The earliest known example of the handwriting of a medieval English king is a code written by Edward III - ‘pater sancte’ - on letters sent to the pope in 1330 (above).

The King's Welshmen

I've recently revived my Youtube channel, History Stuff, in which I talk about any historical subject that takes my fancy. Below you can view a two-part series of videos on the subject of Edward I of England (reigned 1272-1307) and his exploitation of the military resources of Wales after 1282.

The King's Welshmen (Part 1)

The King's Welshmen (Part 2)

The royal nun

Something for International Women’s Day.

On 15 August 1285 Princess Mary, seventh daughter of Edward I and Eleanor of Castile, was formally admitted to the priory at Amesbury. This was at least partially due to the influence of her formidable grandmother, Eleanor of Provence, who wanted to see at least one of her grandlings enter the church. Mary was six years old.

Despite being technically resident at the priory, Mary travelled quite freely and often visited court. Being a nun didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy herself, and her father was sometimes called upon to pay her debts, even though she already received an allowance from him. The king’s affection for his daughter is shown by the regular grants of money, clothing and wine Mary received, and the highly personalised wording of these grants and concessions. In 1285 and 1289, for instance, Edward pardoned the nuns of Amesbury a year’s worth of rent expressly ‘out of love’ for his daughter.

Mary had a serious side. As the king’s daughter she wielded a deal of influence, and used it to protect religious houses and fellow clergy. In the summer of 1293 she petitioned her father - her ‘most high and most noble prince and her most dear and most beloved lord’ - asking for the return of various manors to the nuns of her community. She also upheld the community of Amesbury’s right to hold free elections, and used her influence to promote the election of favoured churchmen to various livings. The king generally conceded to her requests, even if it meant the crown lost money.

Mary died in 1332, aged about 54. She received a glowing tribute from Nicholas Trivet, the English chronicler and Dominican friar who wrote of Mary:

“And in so moche as hit ys trewly sayde of her and notably this worthy text of holy scripture: optimam partem elegit ipsi Maria, que non auferetur ab ea. The whych ys as moche to say "As Maria hathe chosyn the best party to her, the whych shall not be done away from her.”

This is apparently quite a daring adaptation of Christ’s words in the Gospel of Luke, where he good-humouredly defends Mary to her sister Martha.

Commonly moved to war

“The war between the Geraldines and Walter de Burgh, Earl of Ulster.”

 - John Clyn’s Annals of Ireland for the year 1264

At the end of 1264 the Geraldines and de Burghs were at war. At first the conflict was limited to Connacht, where the Geraldines held prisoners in the castles of Lea and Dunamase, while Walter de Burgh attacked and seized Geraldine castles and manors.

Dunamase castle

The war quickly became more widespread. Geoffrey Geneville, justiciar of Ireland while his colleague Richard de la Rochelle was a Geraldine prisoner, prepared Dublin Castle to withstand a siege. He spent a total of £342 on improving its defences, while the royal castle at Arklow was similarly provisioned. Geneville wrote to the king, informing him that ‘the land was commonly moved to war’ and ‘there was common war in those parts’.

The alarm of the English government is exposed in letters of 16 February 1265, which asked the archbishop of Dublin to deal with ‘the discord between the nobles and magnates of that land, whereby great danger may ensue to the king and Edward his son and the whole land of Ireland’. He was also commanded to take the king’s castles into his hand and munition them. The archbishop sent a bleak report back to London, describing the ‘great dissensions’ in Ireland.

By the late spring of 1265 the whole country was in a state of civil war. This grim situation was rescued by Geneville, who raised an army to march against the Geraldines. Geneville’s show of force persuaded the dissidents to come to terms, and in mid-April the rival parties agreed to meet at Dublin to discuss peace terms. They agreed to a set of ordinances whereby all persons ‘disseised and expelled from their lands and tenements during the aforesaid disturbances shall recover their lands and tenements without writ or plea’.

The agreement severed the alliance of the Geraldines with Simon de Montfort - the Geraldines had never been more than skin-deep allies anyway - and released the Anglo-Irish nobles of Ireland to cross the sea and join Prince Edward in time for the battle of Evesham. Geneville’s pacification of Ireland, therefore, had a direct influence on the course of the civil war in England.

English historian and Irish historian

A passage from the Annals of Waverley. The entry translates as:

“At the same time barons and nobles of Ireland came to assist the Lord Edward, upon his summons, namely Sir Maurice Fitz Gerald, Sir Maurice Fitz Maurice [the leaders of the Geraldines, nephew and uncle], Sir Walter de Burgh, Sir Theobald Butler, and many others.”

This is under the year 1265 and relates to the battle of Evesham. As a direct consequence of the conflict in England, Ireland was in a state of civil war between the pro-royalist de Burgh family and the pro-Montfortian Geraldines. The seneschal, Geoffrey Geneville, skilfully pacified the Geraldines and secured the release of Richard de la Rochelle, Edward’s representative in the country. Finally he gained the support of all factions by promising they should hold their land on the same basis they had held it before the war began.

As a result of Geneville’s efforts, several important Anglo-Irish magnates crossed the Irish Sea and fought for Edward at Evesham. The Irish aspect of the Baron’s War (or whatever you want to call it) is sometimes underrated, possibly due to historians failing to take a wider view.

As Robin Frame nicely put it: “The real difficulty is revealed by those categories, “English historian” and “Irish historian”…

The hard sell

So my book will be coming out on 30 March. This is the first of a series of books of mine that will be published by Pen & Sword in the next couple of years. The theme of this one is the war of the Disinherited in England: these were Montfortian rebels who took up arms after their lands were confiscated in the wake of the battle of Evesham in 1265.

This is a bit of a neglected subject - the civil wars in England are generally supposed to have ended with Evesham, but in fact they rumbled on for another two years and related issues and conflicts kept resurfacing for decades.

I will be posting on this subject for the rest of March up to publication date. I thought it was time to actually do something with all this 'stuff', rather than post free infotainment every day 😉