MONT'FORT, SIMON DE, Earl of Leicester (e.1208-651. A famous English statesman. lle was the third son of Simon de Montfort (see .NloNTroitT), the leader in the Crusade against the Albigenses. and was born in France. He in herited the title of Earl of Leicester from his grandmother. Amicia de Beaumont• sister and heiress of Bobert, Earl of Leicester. In 1231 Simon received the lands which his father had held, Ids elder brother Amaury having resigned his claim to him. lit 1238 he married Eleanor, sister of King Henry 11L, and the youthful widmv of the Earl of Pembroke. In 1239 he re• eeived the title of Earl of Leicester. In 1248 he was sent by the King to undertake the command in Gaseony. Ile held this °thee until 1252, (unid constant revolts; was charged with having gov erned badly, and quarreled frequently with the King: but he was supported by the nobles in England. After his resignation Henry III. was soon compelled to ask his aid. It is probable that be was a stern. ruthless. but not an unjust governor. In 125 the King's debts were so great and the rapacity of his foreign relatives so unbearable, that the people were in a state of insurrection. The baron- assembled. and under the direction of Alontfort held the celebrated Parliament at. Oxford. They passed to enforce the of Magna ('harts. and from this resulted the Provisions of Oxford (q.v.). and a little later followed the Provisioos of Westminster (q.v.). The King swore to ob serve them, lint sent forthwith to the Pope P •vitev to lie absolved from his oath. The bull ri of absolution arrived. Henry set his barons at defiance. and both sides agreed to submit the matter in dispute to Louis IX. of France, (Ind he rendered a decision. on January 1264, which upheld Henry Ill. in all points. (See Mist: noble-, however. would not accept the decision, and took up arms. They were aided by the whole middle elass, who looked up to Montfort as their champion and leader.
and the w:tr began With the battle of Northamp ton. Ai Lewes (1264) the Royal forces were sig nally discomfited and the King taken captive. The conditions imposed upon the King wen' summed up in the Mice of Lewes (q.v.), and Montfort was the real ruler of the kingdom. In summoning a Parliament for 1265 to deliberate upon the measures to be adopted at this great crisis, writs were issued to the sheriffs in 12G4 by Montfort directing them to return two knights for each shire, and two citizen. for every borough, which is of importance in the development of the rep resentation of the commons as an estate of the realm in Parlianient„ A second war broke. out, after the young Duke of Gloucester deserted the baronial party and joined the King. Prince Edward (afterwards Edward 1.) enconutered the barons at Evesham with a greatly superior army. When defeat was inevitable. the great leader refused to flee. and fell fighting bravely (August 4. 1295). The death of Montfort filled the whole land with mourning: the people be wailed their (lead champion. and the Franciscans pointed to his glorified spirit in heaven, regard less of the fact that on purely political grounds he had been excommunicated in 1264. The influ ence of 31ontfort was felt after his death, and his policy, in general, was followed by Edward 1. (q.v.). Consult : Devic et Vaissete. Histoire de col, vi. (Toulouse. 1879) : Pauli, Ximon de Montfort. translated by Miss Goodwin (London. t876) ; Prothero. Simon de Montfort (London. 1877) : but especially Branont. Simon de ,Montfort ( Paris. 1884) ; also Stubbs, Con stitutiona/ History, vol. ii. (4th ed., Oxford. 1896; Stubbs. Early Plantagencts (5th ed., New York. 1886) ; and Green. history of the English People, vol. i. (London, 1895).