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