BARONS WAR, the name given in English history to the civil war of 1263-1267. In 1261 Henry III. had been absolved by the pope from his oath to the Provisions of Oxford (1258), which King Louis of France by the Mise of Amiens (Jan. 23, 1264), further declared to be invalid. Led by Simon de Mont fort, a section of the barons took up arms. Famous in the course of the war are the battles of Lewes (1264), where de Montfort defeated the king, and Evesham (1265), where the de Montfort party was routed and Simon himself slain ; but the most im portant event of these years was de Montfort's parliamentary experiments of 1265. A settlement was finally reached by the Dictum of Kenilworth (1266) and the Statute of Marlborough (1267). (See ENGLISH HISTORY; MONTFORT, SIMON DE; OXFORD, PROVISIONS OF.)