''The Song of Lewes'' (c. 1264) is a Latin poem of 968 lines in
Goliardic manner, recording, celebrating, and justifying the victory of
Simon de Montfort
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester ( – 4 August 1265), later sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from his namesake relatives, was a nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the ...
at the
Battle of Lewes
The Battle of Lewes was one of two main battles of the conflict known as the Second Barons' War. It took place at Lewes in Sussex, on 14 May 1264. It marked the high point of the career of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, and made h ...
.
Origins
The poem is taken to be written by a cleric closely associated with de Montfort's household - hence its many Biblical references and its knowledge of the baronial constitutional position.
Themes
The first part of the poem, lines 1-484, is concerned with the actual battle, designating the (outnumbered) de Montfort as
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
to
Henry III of England
Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry a ...
's
Goliath
Goliath ( ) ''Goləyāṯ''; ar, جُليات ''Ǧulyāt'' (Christian term) or (Quranic term). is a character in the Book of Samuel, described as a Philistine giant
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) a ...
.
The second part (lines 485-968) reflect the constitutional debate, beginning with a statement of the royalist position that "the degenerate race of the English, which used to serve, inverting the natural order of things, ruled over the king and his children". In response, the Song points out that the king fell under natural law, citing the case of the fall of King
Saul
Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tri ...
for breaking the law ("quia leges fregit"). Henry's personal rule, and reliance on favourites, was then condemned. The alternative the Song proposed was the action of the community of the realm (or at least of that part most involved with the kingdom and its laws: "Therefore the community of the realm take counsel, and let there be decreed what is the opinion of the commonalty, to whom their own laws are best known".
Princely character
''The Song of Lewes'' also provided a telling description of
Prince Edward: "He is a lion by his pride and ferocity; by his inconstancy and changeableness he is a
pard".
See also
*
Peatling Magna
Peatling Magna (also once known as “Great Petlyng” and later as “Great Peatling”) is a village in Harborough district, south Leicestershire. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 210. It lies 3.7 km north-east o ...
*
The Vows of the Heron
''The Vows of the Heron'' (''Voeux du héron'') c.1346 is a satirical Flemish poem, which purported to explain the causes of the Hundred Years' War in terms of the goading into action by a Low Country exile of Edward III of England.
Background
Ro ...
References
Further reading
*C L Kingsford ed., ''The Song of Lewes'' (Oxford 1963
890
__NOTOC__
Year 890 ( DCCCXC) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* The Frankish nobles, who have ruled Provence in anarchy (since 887), declare L ...
External links
''The Song of the Battle of Lewes''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Song of Lewes, The
Goliardic poetry
Medieval literature
13th-century poetry
Poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
Lewes