Sir Henry de Montfort (November 1238 – 4 August 1265) was the son of

Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester 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 ...

, and with his father played an important role in the struggle of the barons against King Henry III. Henry's mother was Princess Eleanor of England, a daughter of King John, whose marriage to Simon further increased the foreign influence begun by the king, which was to result in great hostility by those very barons who later revolted against the king.

Life

Henry's father was

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 ...

, the leader of the English Barons in the

Second Barons' War The Second Barons' War (1264–1267) was a civil war in England between the forces of a number of barons led by Simon de Montfort against the royalist forces of King Henry III, led initially by the king himself and later by his son, the fu ...

. Simon was the younger son of

Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester {{Infobox noble , name = Simon de Montfort , title = 5th Earl of Leicester , image = File:Simon4demontfort.gif , caption = Seal of Simon de Montfort, depicting him riding a horse and blowing a h ...

, 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

, 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

Mise of Amiens The Mise of Amiens was a settlement given by King Louis IX of France on 23 January 1264 in the conflict between King Henry III of England and his rebellious barons, led by Simon de Montfort. Louis' one-sided decision for King Henry led directly ...

. When the Mise was set aside he commanded a body of troops despatched to secure the Welsh border. On 28 February, he stormed and sacked

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

, and soon afterwards took

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

, but on Edward's approach he made a truce with him and retired to

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a tributary of the River Sowe, which joins the ...

. With his brother Guy de Montfort, he led the van 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 ...

, 14 May 1264. After the victory, on 28 May, he was made constable of Dover Castle,

Warden of the Cinque Ports The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is a ceremonial official in the United Kingdom. The post dates from at least the 12th century, when the title was Keeper of the Coast, but may be older. The Lord Warden was originally in charge of the Cinqu ...

, and treasurer of Sandwich. 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 Simon VI de Montfort (April 1240 – 1271), known as Simon de Montfort the Younger, was the second son of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and Eleanor of England. His father and his elder brother Henry were killed at the Battle of Evesha ...

. 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.

Aftermath for Henry's family

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

Charles of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and Forcalquier (1246–48, 1256–85) ...

, and later avenged the father and brother's deaths by killing

Henry of Almain Henry of Almain (Anglo-Norman: ''Henri d'Almayne''; 2 November 1235 – 13 March 1271), also called Henry of Cornwall, was the eldest son of Richard, Earl of Cornwall, afterwards King of the Romans, by his first wife Isabel Marshal. His surname i ...

, the nephew of the King, and their own cousin. This act taking place in a church, the brothers were excommunicated, which retracted sympathy for them in England. Simon died soon thereafter. As Count of Nola, Guy had two daughters, becoming in time an ancestor to several European royal families, including the British. Another brother, Amaury de Montfort, also fled to Italy. A cleric, he worked in the papacy before accompanying his sister Eleanor de Montfort to Wales for her marriage to

Llywelyn ap Gruffudd Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (c. 1223 – 11 December 1282), sometimes written as Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, also known as Llywelyn the Last ( cy, Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf, lit=Llywelyn, Our Last Leader), was the native Prince of Wales ( la, Princeps Wall ...

, Prince of Wales. Captured by mercenaries in the employ of King Edward, the siblings were eventually released and Eleanor's marriage took place. Eleanor died on 19 June 1282 giving birth to

Gwenllian of Wales Gwenllian of Wales or Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn (June 1282 – 7 June 1337) was the second daughter of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last native Prince of Wales (). Gwenllian is sometimes confused with Gwenllian ferch Gruffudd, who lived two cent ...

. Amaury returned to the continent, worked as a cleric, and died sometime after 1301.

Ancestors

References

;Attribution

Sources

* Maddicott, J.R. ''Simon de Monfort'', 1996
Henry de Montfort - the stuff of legends
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montfort, Henry de 1238 births 1265 deaths

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

Lords Warden of the Cinque Ports 13th-century English people 13th-century English Navy personnel People of the Barons' Wars English military personnel killed in action Burials at Evesham Abbey es:Enrique de Montfort#top