Henry III

Resolving the Immediate Crisis

 Henry only 9 at father’s death in 1216
o Southern England (incl. London) occupied by French and rebel barons
o 4 major figures abandon rebels and join Henry in 1216
 1) Peter des Roches – bishop of Winchester since 1205
 Most powerful advisor to John
 Justiciar in 1213
 2) William Marshall (1146-1219), earl of Pembroke, lord of Leinster (Ireland), many
lands on Welsh border
 Married to Strongbow’s daughter, Isabel de Clare (how he became
Pembroke)
 Crusader who served Henry II and Richard I
o Refused to rebel against John
 3) Hubert de Burgh (1165-1243), later Earl of Kent
 Defending Dover Castle against Prince Louis
 4) Ranulf de Blundeville, 6th Earl of Chester (1129-1253)
 Controlled northern borderlands w/ Wales
 Henry only viable claimant
o Prince Louis’s claim – married to Blanche of Castile
 Blanche was granddaughter of Henry II, daughter of Eleanor
o Aug 1216: Honorious III succeeds Innocent III
 Cardinal Guala sent to England as papal legate
 Excommunicate all barons resisting Henry
 Hatred of John over w/ death
o Nov 1216: Henry’s party confirm Magna Carta
o Reconfirm in 1225
 Louis leaves force to besiege Dover, sends rest of army north
o Mary 1217: defeated at Battle of Lincoln
o Retreats to London, but loses much baron support
o Blanche sends reinforcements, supplies, but intercepted
o Sept 12, 1217: Treaty of Kingston-on-Thames
 Louis surrenders all claims to English throne
 Compensated w/ 10,000 marks

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egency Government
 William Marshall leads first gov’t
o Lowers taxes
o Restoration of normal judicial processes
o Dies in May 1219
 Pandulph: papal legate
o Marshall recommends that Henry listed to his advice
o Important member of regency until 1221
 Hubert de Burgh becomes justiciar – most important advisor
o 1221: marries Margaret (sister of King Alexander II of Scotland)
 Alexander married Henry’s sister, Joan
o 1227: Earl of Kent
o Self-aggrandizement leads to resentment
 Policies
o Reduce noble power
o Keep taxes low
o Operate gov’t in nobles’ interest
o Resume circuit justices
 Judges and barons reach consensus on general interpretations of law
 De legibus et consuetudinibus Angiae (On the laws and customs of the English)
written in 1220s-30s
 Attributed to Henry de Bracton (c.1260), but he just compiled his
predecessor’s work (William Raleigh)
 Systematic summary of English Law
 Enormous influence on development of common law

Personal Rule of Henry III

 1227: 19-year old king declared himself of age, ready to rule
o Hubert de Burgh retains power until 1232
o 1232: overthrown in palace coup
 Lost Henry’s confidence by failing to reassert English power in Wales and Brittany
 Peter des Roches (John’s old justiciar) assumes office, alongside nephew-son Peter des Rivaux
o New kind of bureaucrat
o Graduate of university, law school – increasingly employed by monarchs
 Kings see value in administrative skills over skills in warfare
 England one of many countries systematizing laws at this time
o European states developing, applying Civil Laws based on Roman laws
o Church in 1230s: Corpus IUrus Canonici
 Codified canon law
 Records used by class of professional bureaucrats to strengthen gov’t control
 Peter introduces professionals to gov’t work
o Reforms Exchequer
 Close control over sheriffs, who lose control over certain revenue
 King’s control over escheats, wardships, royal demesne

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 Along w/ Peter, Henry appoints several other of his father’s servants
o Peter des Rivaux made sheriff of 21 counties
o Barons worry about return to John’s days – revolt
 Richard Marshall (William’s son) leads
 Compromise w/ bishops ends before serious warfare
 Peter dismissed 1234
 Jan 1236: Henry married Eleanor of Provence
o Proved to be able, energetic assistant to king
o Her mother was from Savoy, and many Savoyards come to exert influence in England
 Boniface one of them, A-bish of Canterbury, 1243-1270
 1220: Queen-mother Isabelle of Angouleme remarries
o Hugh X Lusignan of La Marche (former fiance’s son)
o 1246: Henry’s ½ brothers come to England – treated generously
 William de Valence married William Marshall’s heiress
 Aymer – becomes Bishop of Winchester, despite illiteracy
 1236: Peter des Rivaux restored, but with diminished power

Henry III and the Church

 Pious – mass 3 times a day
o Edward the Confessor as personal patron saint
o Rebuilt Westminster Abbey
 Transferred Edward’s body there – ornate shrine
 Religious revival of 13th century
o Aug 1221: 1st Dominicans arrive
o Sept 1224: 1st Franciscans arrive
o Strict, austere rule
o Traveled widely: teaching and preaching
 Ralph Neville – bishop of Chester made Lord Chancellor
o Classes with other bishops
 Robert Grosseteste (c.1170-1253) – Bishop of Lincoln in 1235
o One of Europe’s foremost theologians
o Insisted on church privileges – end secular interference in church courts
 Henry insisted on royal control over subjects
 Includes churchmen
 Appointed relatives to senior offices
o Aymer of Winchester lived open life of laymen, widely unpopular
o Boniface of Canterbury overbearing
 Provoked riot in London by striking local prior who objected to him

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Henry III and Rebellion
 Tried to regain French lands lost by father
o 1242: firmly defeated by St. Louis IX
 1250s: ambitious foreign policy in Sicily
o 1255: Pope granted to Edmund, Henry’s younger son
 Sicily controlled by Hohenstaufen HREs, rival to pope
o Henry, pope cooperate to pay for campaign
 Pope raised church taxes
 Henry to pay w/ extraordinary aids and scutage
 1258: barons resist taxes
o Henry agrees to Provisions of Oxford
 24 barons in committee to help him rule kingdom
 ½ royal nominees; ½ baron nominees
 Henry swears solemn oath to honor
o Chief leaders: Simon de Montfort and Bigod brothers Roger – earl of Norfolk and Hugh
(Justiciar)
 Simon de Montfort (1208-1265): owned land in France and England
o Close friend of Henry – made Earl of Leicester
 Married Henry’s sister Eleanor (who was now widow of William Marshall’s son)
o Vicegerent in Gascony (1248-52)
 Fired after alienating all Gascon nobles
 Formal reconciliation in 1253, but relationship damaged
o Highly conscious of rights and status
 Henry considered him a subject (he’d made him) – bound to follow king’s rule
 1259: Peace of Paris – Henry & Louis IX
o Henry allowed to have part of Aquitaine as Louis’s vassal
o Abandons claims to Normandy, Anjou, Poitou
 1260: Henry in England to improve relations w/ barons
o Worked w/ king’s brother Richard (Earl of Cornwall)
o Crown Prince Edward (in his 20s) forming friendship w/ Simon Montfort
 Prevented by Henry, uncle Richard
 Spring 1261: papal dispensation to ignore Provisions of Oxford
o Gradually claws back power – takes direct control over castles
o Dismissed sheriffs appointed by barons
 Persuades Hugh Bigod (previous foe) to agree to these arrangements
 Baron opposition call selves “the commune of England” (communitas)
o Term used to describe self-governing Italian city-states
o England would be an aristocratic republic by baron council, not monarchy
 January 1264: Mise of Amiens
o Louis IX asked to arbitrate Henry, barons over Provisions of Oxford
o Judgement against the barons on every point
 Provisions no longer to be honored

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Civil War
 Barons refuse to accept verdict and raise rebellion
 Prince Edward and Henry outmaneuver Simon de Montfort and rebels, forcing them to fall back
o Rebels recruit forces from London
 Battle of Lewes (May 14, 1264) – Henry w/ 10,000 men vs. Simon w/ c.5000 men
o Prince Edward leads cavalry charge against London rebels, who flee
 Royal cavalry pursue fleeing forces
o Simon orders attack on opposite side of royalist forces (under Richard of Cornwall’s control,
Henry’s brother)
 Royalist forces break: Richard captured, king forced into hiding
o Peace placed Simon, barons back in charge
 Henry w/ Simon to London, summons Parliament June 22, 1264
o Kingdom placed under council of barons w/ Simon and son Peter making major decisions
 Simon’s power-grab will alienate some of his supporters
o May 1265: Prince Edward joins w/ Roger Mortimer (powerful baron on Welsh border) and
Gilbert, Thomas de Clare (Simon’s earliest supporters, fought with him at Lewes)
 Simon goes to Welsh and raises Welsh army
 Battle of Evesham (August 4, 1265):
o Royalist forces under Edward find Simon’s army resting at disadvantageous Evesham
o Royalist forces under Mortimer take control of only bridge south of city, then occupy high
ground north of city
o Simon launched desperate attack on royalists, but run into swampy land
 Welsh flee, allowing royalists to surround and devastate rebels
o Simon, sons Henry & Guy all killed
 Harsh punishment of rebels:
o London fined 20,000 marks
o Simon de Montfort the younger driven from the country
o Papal legae Ottobuono arrives (later Adrian V) – moderates the penalties
 Statute of Marlborough (1267): reaffirms Magna Carta and legal reforms of
Provisions of Oxford
 No sharing of royal power
 Ottobuono recruits followers for crusade
 Edward takes cross
o In Italy when Henry dies (Nov 16, 1272)
o Doesn’t return to be crowned until August 1274