Pretend horses

 

Kenilworth castle

In July 1265 Simon de Montfort the younger abandoned his futile siege of Pevensey and went to London. His purpose was to raise a new army to rescue his father, trapped in Wales on the wrong side of the Severn. According to Thomas Wykes, Simon assembled sixteen standard bearers and a 'countless multitude of warriors'. 

However, instead of rushing to his father's aid, Simon chose to attack Winchester. On 16 July his men gained entry 'through a certain window in the monastery of St Swithin'. These 'accomplices of Satan' sacked the town, killing citizens and plundering churches. 

Afterwards, loaded with spoil, Simon's army moved on to Oxford, Northampton and finally Kenilworth. His strategy was to distract the forces of Lord Edward, based at Worcester, so Simon could get over the Severn and join his father at Hereford. 

Edward's position was roughly equidistant between Hereford and Kenilworth (24 and 34 miles respectively). He had to knock out one of the Montfortian armies before they could link up. Combined, they would have parity with the royal army, or even outnumber it. 

An important source for what followed is the Evesham Chronicle, recently translated by Tony Spicer. The original manuscript was written by a monk of Evesham abbey sometime between 1265 and 1279. It no longer exists, but five later copies survive. Of these, manuscript B is the most complete. The chronicle is separate to the 'Last Hours' account, discovered in 2000, but similar in detail. Thus, we effectively have two contemporary local accounts of the war in summer 1265. 

The Evesham account clears up the puzzle over Edward's movements in late July. According to Wykes, Edward set out on a feigned march to Shrewsbury on 3 August, then turned round and marched through the night to Evesham. This is generally accepted to be impossible, being an over-elaborate deception that would have given the prince's tired army another 4 miles or so to march. 

Rather neatly, the Evesham chronicle places Edward's feigned march a few days earlier, before his attack on Kenilworth. Quote: 

“For, about the Festival of James the Apostle [25 July], Edward the king's firstborn and Gilbert de Clare Earl of Gloucester and the other country magnates who were present at Worcester, feigned their journey towards Shrewsbury and sent the caparisons with their foot soldiers as a deception”. 

These details, written by a local scribe, are convincing. A caparison was a cloth covering laid over a horse for protection. So, it appears Edward split his army and sent off his infantry with the caparisons; this in turn conjures the image of his soldiers running about the countryside, pretending to be horses. That would certainly be a distraction. 

Meanwhile Edward and his knights veered off on the road that led towards Kenilworth. Several chroniclers state that he had a number of 'clever spies' in the Montfortian camp. Among these, according to Walter of Guisborough, was a very interesting lady named Margoth: 

“...his spy Margoth who although a woman was however dressed in male clothing so that she could pass as a man...” 

Tell us more about Margoth, Walter! Alas, she is never heard of again.