Guy de Montfort, Count of Nola (1244–1291) was the son of

Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, 1st Earl of Chester ( – 4 August 1265), also known as Simon V de Montfort, was an English nobleman of French origin and a member of the Peerage of England, English peerage, who led the baronial opposi ...

and Eleanor of England.

Biography

He participated in the

Battle of Evesham The Battle of Evesham (4 August 1265) was one of the two main battles of 13th century England's Second Barons' War. It marked the defeat of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and the rebellious barons by the future King Edward I, who led t ...

in August 1265 against the royalist forces of his uncle, King

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 John, King of England, King John and Isabella of Ang ...

, and his cousin, Prince Edward. Both his father and elder brother Henry were killed during the disastrous battle. Guy de Montfort was seriously wounded and captured. He was held at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

until spring 1266, when he bribed his captors and escaped to France to rejoin his exiled family. Guy and his brother, Simon the Younger, wandered across Europe for several years, eventually making their way to Italy. Guy took service with

Charles of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou or Charles d'Anjou, was King of Sicily from 1266 to 1285. He was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the House of Anjou-Sicily. Between 1246 a ...

, serving as his Vicar-General in Tuscany. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Tagliacozzo and was given

Nola Nola is a town and a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania, southern Italy. It lies on the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines. It is traditionally credited as the diocese that introduced bells to Christian worship. ...

. In 1271, Guy and Simon discovered that their cousin Henry of Almain (son of Richard, Earl of Cornwall and cousin of King Henry III) was attending mass at the church of San Silvestro, Viterbo. In revenge for the deaths of their father and brother at Evesham, on 13 March 1271, Guy and Simon murdered Henry while he clutched the altar, begging for mercy. "''You had no mercy for my father and brothers''", was Guy's reply. This murder was carried out in the presence of cardinals, who at the time were conducting a papal conclave; of King

Philip III of France Philip III (1 May 1245 – 5 October 1285), called the Bold (), was King of France from 1270 until his death in 1285. His father, Louis IX, died in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade. Philip, who was accompanying him, returned to France and wa ...

; and of King Charles of Sicily. For this crime the Montfort brothers were

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

. The news reached England, and King Henry III dispatched a clerk of the royal household to inform the northern counties and Scotland about the excommunication.

Pope Gregory X Pope Gregory X (; – 10 January 1276), born Teobaldo Visconti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 September 1271 to his death and was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis. He was elected at the ...

wrote a letter (29 November 1273) to King Edward from Lyons, where he was preparing for an ecumenical council, that Cardinal Riccardo Annibaldi and Cardinal Giovanni Orsini were still in Rome and had been ordered to find a secure place of imprisonment in the territories of the Church for Guy de Montfort. Simon died later that year at

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

, "''cursed by God, a wanderer and a fugitive''". Guy was stripped of his titles and took service with Charles of Anjou again, but was captured off the coast of Sicily in 1287 by the Aragonese at the Battle of the Counts. He died in a Sicilian prison.

Family

In Tuscany, he married an Italian noblewoman, Margherita Aldobrandesca, the Lady of Sovana. With her he had two daughters:

Anastasia Anastasia (from ) is a feminine given name of Greek and Slavic origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe. Origin The name Anastasia originated during the Early Christianity, early d ...

, who married Romano Orsini,Napoleone Cardinal Orsini succeeded Benedetto Caetani as her mother's guardian, married her to his brother Orsello and arranged this marriage, which brought Sovana and the Aldobrandeschi inheritance to the Orsini. and Tomasina, who married Pietro di Vico.

Cultural Reference

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

banished Guy to the river of boiling blood in the seventh circle of his ''Inferno'' (''Canto'' XII).

Notes

Sources

* *Maddicott, J.R. ''Simon de Montfort'', 1996 {{DEFAULTSORT:Montfort, Guy De, Count Of Nola 1244 births 1288 deaths Guy People excommunicated by the Catholic Church 13th-century English nobility Escapees from England and Wales detention English escapees English people who died in prison custody English people imprisoned abroad Younger sons of earls Prisoners who died in Aragonese detention