11819392. King Henry III of England &
11819393. Queen Eleanor of Provence
10/10/1206,
Henry born in Winchester, England, s/o 23638784.
King John & 23638785. Isabella of Angouleme.
1216,
English power in France was secure only in Gascony. Poitou was unstable and
divided.
5/12/1216,
Prince Louis [future VIII] of France, after a successful landing, crowned King
of England in London. In June, Louis captured Winchester and controlled half of
England.
10/2016, William Marshall (94559174),
then in Wales, arranged for Henry, to be brought from Devizes, meeting up with
the group near Malmesbury, Wiltshire, and then took him to Gloucester. (S) The Greatest Knight, Asbridge, 2014, P341.
10/28/1216 at Gloucester, Henry, 9 years old, crowned King Henry III. A
bracelet of the Queen was used instead of the crown because his father had
recently lost all the crown jewels while crossing the Wash, a tidal estuary in
Eastern England. The archbishop of Cantebury was in Rome, so the ceremony was
performed by the french-born bishop of Winchester. [Henry was the 1st
to be crowned in his minority; some barons wanted to crown Prince Louis of
France. Before the ceremony William Marshall made Henry a
knight, as only a knight could be crowned.]
11/12/1216, King Henry’s
re-granting of the Magna Carta to appease barons in revolt. (S)
Hist. Essay on the Magna Charta of King John, Thomson, 1829, P105. [Witnesses: … these noble persons, William Mareschal
Earl of Pembroke, Ranulph Earl of Chester, William de Ferrars Earl of Derby,
William Earl of Ablemarle, Hubert de Burgh, our Justiciary, Savary de Mallion,
William de Bruer, the Father, William de Bruer, the Son, Robert de Courtenay,
Fulke de Brent, Reginald de Vautort, Walter de Lacy, Hugo de Mortimer, John de
Monmouth, Walter de Beauchamp, Walter de Clifford, Robert de Mortimer, William
de Cantelow, Matthew Fitz-Herbert, John Mareschal, Alan Basset, Philip de Albiniac,
John le Strange …]
5/20/1217, William Marshall defeated Prince Louis’ forces at Lincoln.
1217, William and the loyal barons expelled the
French Dauphin from London, and the lands southeast.
9/12/1217, For 10,000 marks and land exchanges,
Louis forfeited his claim to the English crown by the treaty at
Kingston-on-Thames, called the Treaty of Lambeth. A principal provision of the treaty was amnesty
for English rebels.
1217, Queen
Isabel returned to Angouleme to rule her own land. Henry
sent to live with regent William Marshall.
1218, King
Henry approved an ordinance requiring Jews to wear a distinctive sign on their
outer garments.
1218-9,
Isabel, in a letter requesting funds for the defense of her lands against the
French: “To her dearest son Henry, by the grace of God illustrious king of
England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, count of Anjou, I
Y[sabel] by that same grace his humble mother, queen of England, greetings and
prosperous outcome always to his wishes.”
5/14/1219,
William, Earl of Pembroke, died; Hubert de Burgh, [later Earl of Kent] took the
role of regent.
1219, Henry
granted a penny a day for the maintenance of his sister Isabella.
2/10/1220,
King Henry sent letters of protection to Queen Berengaria, wife of his deceased
uncle King Richard, in Spain for any messengers she desired to send to England.
5/17/1220,
Henry formally crowned at Westminster abbey by archbishop Stephen Langton.
Henry’s regents declare their intention to rule by Magna Carta.
1220, Queen
Isabella, without permission of her son the King, married 2nd Hugh X
de Lusignan. The English government started to withhold Isabel’s dower
payments.
1220, Hugh X
de Lusignan and Isabel’s forces captured her son King Henry’s castle of Congnac
and took his seneschal captive. Pope Honorius III threatened them with
excommunication for their actions, and ordered them to send her daughter Joanna
back to England. [Isabela agreed to send Joanna back to England in exchange for
her continued income from her dowered English lands.]
6/1220 at
York, Henry met with the king of Scotland.
6/1221,
Henry held court at York, where his sister Joanna would marry Alexander II,
King of the Scots.
1221, The
Earl of Albemarle headed an insurrection against King Henry.
9/29/1221,
The king [Henry] has committed to Richard de Redvers in custody all land that
H. count de la Marche and I., his wife, mother of the king, had in England in
the name of dower of I., mother of the king. (S) FRsHIII.
9/30/1221,
To the sheriff of [all counties], … Order to take into the king’s hand without
delay all of the king’s demesne lands …, namely those demesnes of which King
John, the king’s father, was seised at the beginning of the war between him and
his barons. … whether they came into the hand of the king’s father before the
war, in the war, or afterwards into the king’s hand. … to be distinctly and
openly put in writing what and how much and of what value …, and who holds
them. (S) FRsHIII.
1222, Hubert de Burgh put down an insurrection in support of the French
king.
1223,
Eleanor born in southern France, d/o 23638786.
Count Raymond Berengar V & 23638787. Beatrice de Savoia.
1223, With
newly-crowned King Louis VIII declaring rights to English lands in France, Pope
Hororius III allows Henry to be declared of age for certain limited purposes.
1224, King
Louis captured southern Poitou, Perigord, Quercy, and Limousin from the
English.
1224, Henry
married his sister Eleanor to William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, s/o William
who was his regent.
1/1225, King
Henry reissued the Magna Carta, which became the official text. (S) Hist. Essay
on the Magna Charta of King John, Thomson, 1829, P130. [Witnesses: … Hubert de
Burgh, the King’s Justiciary; Randolph Earl of Chester and Lincoln, William
Earl of Salisbury, William Earl of Warren, Gilbert de Clare Earl of Gloucester
and Hertford (19989528), William de Ferrers Earl of Derby, William de
Mandeville Earl of Essex, Hugh le Bigod Earl of Norfolk (19909646), William
Earl of Ablemarle, Humphrey Earl of Hereford, John Constable of Chester, Robert
de Ros, Robert fitz Walter, Robert de Vipont, William de Brewer, Richard de
Montifichet, Peter Fitz Herbert, Matthew Fitz Herbert, William de Albiniac,
Robert Gresley, Reginald de Bruce, John de Monmouth, John Fitz Alan, Hugh de
Mortimer, Walter de Beauchamp, William de Saint John, Peter de Mauley, Brian de
Lisle, Thomas de Muleton, Richard de Argentine, Walter de Neville, William
Mauduit, John de Baalun.]
10/26/1225,
Berengaria, Queen of King Richard I, sent a letter to King Henry III asking
payment of 1000 marks stirling which had been promised as dower by his father
King John in 1215 and agreed to by him in 1220.
1226, Henry
agreed to wed Yolanda, daughter of Peter Mauclerc, Count of Brittany. [Hoping
the allicance would help him recover Normandy. Queen Blanche of France stopped
the marriage by capturing Mauclerc and forcing Yolanda to wed her son John.]
1/1227, age
20, Henry formally ascended to the throne.
1227, Henry
planned to marry Joan of Ponthieu. Again by force and through Papal diplomacy
Queen Blanche kept the marriage from happening.
1228, Henry
and his court arrived on the border with Wales at Montgomery castle to
negotiate.
9/3/1228,
Marcher barons were called into service when the negotiations were not going
well. The next day King Henry sent a summons to more than 100 others that went
into battle against the Welsh [the 1st documented general call to
military service of the king.]
10/9/1229,
Peter [Mauclerc] of Brittany pays homage to King Henry, for which he receives
the earldom of Richmond.
10/18/1229,
Henry and the royal family resided at Portsmouth with an array of troops
prepared to pass over the sea to France.
11/1229,
King Henry allowed his sister Isabella to reside at the castle of Merleberg.
12/25/1229,
King Henry with his family and King Alexander with his wife Joanna [Henry’s
sister] held Christmas at York.
10/1230,
Henry abandoned his invasion and returned to England. [The Earls of Pembroke,
Chester and Albemarle remained with their forces and were able to prevent the
French forces taking much additional territory.]
1231, Simon
de Montfort arrived in England from France to pay homage for his newly
inherited lands in Leicester and the title of Earl. [gs/o Simon de Montfort
III. The lands had been held by the Earl of Chester in the name of the crown.]
King Henry and Simon became close friends.
7/13/1231,
In response to continued attacks by Llywelyn ap Iorwert, Henry assembled an
army at Oxford and left for Wales.
12/1231,
King Henry spent Christmas at Winchester with Bishop Peter de Roches, who
opposed the power of Justiciar Hubert de Burgh.
1232, King
Henry, his coffers depleted, began to demand accounts of revenues and all
matters pertaining to his treasury. Henry relieved Hubert de Burgh as justiciar
and had him arrested, and replaced the treasurer. [Hubert eventually escaped to
Wales.]
1233, Henry suppressed a revolt of Richard Marshal.
6/24/1233,
The earls and barons, summoned by Henry to council at Oxford, did not show. The
nobles sent messages protesting the placement of Poitevins in high positions.
By 8/1/1233,
Henry demanded that the barons and earls were to send hostages to guarantee
their loyality.
5/1234,
Henry made peace with Llywelyn the Great, negotiated by archbishop Edmund of
Abingdon; and admitted Hubert de Burgh and Gilbert Basset back into his
council.
1234, Henry
had started converting the Tower of London into a royal residence, and his
sister Isabella moved into the Tower. [Henry added many features including
plumbing.]
1234, King
Henry proclaimed free trade between England and Ireland.
11/15/1234,
Emperor Frederick II [who had rejected Isabella for his son 10 years earlier]
sent his chancellor to arrange his marriage to Henry’s sister Isabella.
[Isabela’s dowery was 30,000 marks.]
2/24/1235,
Henry wrote a letter to his sister Joanna, Queen of Scotland, informing her of
the upcoming marriage of their sister Isabella.
7/1235,
Emperor Frederick II sent King Henry 3 leopards and other gifts.
10/1235,
Henry sent an envoy to Provence to arrange his marriage with Eleanor, who was a
niece of a vassal of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, and sister of the Queen
of France; daughter-in-law of his nemesis Queen Blanche.
1/14/1236 at
Westminster, Henry married Eleanor, who brought no dowery. [She was known
during her life for creating massive debts. Henry ’s pledge to marry Joan of
Pothieu would be a problem for the next 15 years.]
1/19/1236 at
Westminster, Eleanor crowned Queen of England.
2/8/1236,
Notification [of King Henry] … truce with Lewis, king of France, for 5 years …
the king is not to implead or vex H. count of La Marche and Isabel, his wife,
the king’s mother, … (S) CPRs.
4/1236, King
Henry organized an advisory council of 12 barons, headed by Eleanor’s uncle
Guillaume of Savoy.
1236, King
Henry, with his council, removed curial sheriffs and replaced them with local
men. The sheriffs were given allowances [which were suspended in 1241, and
reinitiated in 1258.] (S) English Historical Review, V110, 1995, P298.
1237, Henry
built a “leopard house” [the beginnings of a zoo, one leopard had died] at the
Tower.
1237,
Leaving from York, Queen Eleanor visited her sister-in-law, Queen Joanna, in
Scotland. They returned to England together and visited the shrine of St.
Thomas in Canterbury.
9/25/1237 at
York, By treaty, Alexander II of Scotland asserted to Henry that he was owed
Northumberland as dowry of Joanna. [Henry acknowledge a grant of Tynedale in
Northumberland, as well as the Earldom of Chester.]
[The following events and others associated
with French influence caused trouble among the barons.]
1/7/1238 in
the King’s private chapel, Henry allowed his widowed sister Eleanor to secretly
marry Simon de Montfort. [Henry’s brother Richard and Marshall family
supporters opposed the marriage.]
3/12/1238,
Henry was with his sister Joanna in Essex when she died.
1238 at
Woodstock, An assassin got into King Henry’s bedroom only to find it empty.
Henry was sleeping with the Queen in her chamber.
10/14/1238,
King Henry appointed his brother-in-law Simon de Montfort to the office of
counselor of the king.
1240, Henry gave
Eleanor’s uncle, Peter of Savoy, the honor of Richmond.
5/1240,
Henry crowned his nephew Dafydd of Gwynedd “Paramount Prince of Wales.” Dafydd
was the younger son of Llywelyn the Great and Joan, an illegitimate d/o King
John and half-sister to Henry.
1240, Henry,
a patron of the arts, gave particular directions to the repairing and
ornamenting of the chapel of St John in the Tower, which included 3 stain glass
windows.
1241, Henry
gave Eleanor’s uncle, Boniface, the archbishopric of Cantebury.
1241, Henry’s
army attacked the north Welsh coast where Gruffudd, natural s/o Llywelyn ap
Iorwerth was captured.
1241, Henry
had the goldsmiths of London create a shrine of pure gold to house the relics
of St. Edward the Confessor.
12/1/1241,
Henry’s favorite, his sister Isabella, died in Foggio [near Naples] in
childbirth. Henry established an anniversary for her at which 4000 poor would
be fed annually.
1/8/1242 at
Bordeaux, To the emperor. The king made a treaty with the count of Toulouse
against all men except the emperor, so that neither should make a peace or
truce with the king of France without the other, and yet the count, … has
joined the king of France. … The king is continuing to stay in Gascony, … begs
the emperor … through the count of La Marche … to given him counsel and to
recall to his memory the last words of his wife, the king’s sister, in favour
of the king, and fulfil them in deed. (S) CPRs.
1/29/1242,
Henry called a Great Council to ask for money for war with France and to
restore his brother Richard as count of Poitou. The barons refused to fund the
war. Henry committed to privately raise the money. He taxed, demanded scutage,
got loans from clergy, and plundered the wealth of the Jewish population. [The
average income to the English crown for the years 1238-59 was £36,000, very
small compared to that of France – mostly due to the loss of their French
possessions.]
7/1242, the
2 armies met at the battles of Taillebourgh [21st] and Saintes, with the
superior sized French force winning. In the same month, King Henry returned to
England; and Hugh surrendered at Saintes agreeing to pay an annual fine and
with the loss of some lands. [Note: Famous painting by Eugene Delacroix.]
9/27/1242, King Henry returned to England arriving at Portsmouth.
1242, King Henry, Queen Eleanor, son Edward and
daughter Margaret at the consecration of St. Pauls’s in London where each made
gifts of cloths of gold [each child presented a gift of cloth of arras.]
5/1243, Pope Innocent IV grants Queen Eleanor the
right to enter the oratory and cloister of any religious house in England with
10 of her ladies to pray.
1244, Alexander II of Scotland [Henry’s
brother-in-law, widower of Joanna] invaded north England. King Henry, at
Newcastle, negotiated a peace that involved the future marriage of their
children, and gave Alexander custody of the disputed lands in Cumberland.
1244-5, Letter: “To her most excellent and reverend
lord, Henry, by the grace of God illustrious king of England, lord of Ireland,
duke of Normandy, Aquitaine, and count of Anjou, his most humble consort and
most devoted Eleanor, by that same grace queen of England, greetings …”
[Eleanor wants Henry’s support for the sitting Bishop of Chichester.]
1245, Henry began building a shrine to Edward the
Confessor.
1246, Queen Eleanor stayed 3 weeks with her sick
son Prince Edward in the Cistercian abbey at Beaulieu against Cistercian rules.
5/31/1246, Henry’s mother Isabella died; buried in
Fontevrault Abbey, the Plantagenet family mausoleum. [At her request she was
buried in the churchyard; but King Henry III had her body moved inside.]
1246, Henry added a bear to his managerie; a gift of the mayor of
Northampton.
1246, Henry presented the earl of Richmond, Peter
of Savoy, with a house on the Strand. Peter improved the home until it rivaled
the plalaces of Europe and became known as “The Savoy”.
2/20/1247, An earthquake occurred in London,
England.
8/13/1247, King Henry made his half-brother William
de Valence the earl of Pembroke on the same day he knighted William.
1/1248, Henry called a general parliament to
discuss the state of the realm.
1248, Henry sent Simon de Montfort as Seneschal to
put down a baronial revolt in Gascony.
1250, Because of disputes with Queen Eleanor, Henry
confiscated Eleanor’s lands and banished her from London. [He quickly restored
her lands.]
1250, Henry and Eleanor vowed to take the crusaders
cross. The archbishop of Canterbury, Eleanor’s uncle, and the bishop-elect of
Winchester, Henry’s half-brother, agreed to collect a 10th of all church
proceeds for 3 years.
12/25/1251 at York, Henry knighted Alexander III of
Scotland [bethrothed to daughter Margaret] and 20 others.
3/12/1252, Henry, having recalled Simon de Montfort
from Gascony to face trial for charges brought by the local barons, made an
agreement with Simon to face the charges in Gascony. Alphonse X, King of
Castile, was now claiming Gascony [King Louis IX with many of the French barons
was still on crusade.]
4/27/1252, King Henry created his son Edward as
lord of Gascony, retaining the title duke of Acquitaine for himself.
1252, Henry added a polar bear to the Tower, a gift
of the King of Norway. Eleanor bought two books [which were very expensive to
produce.]
9/6/1252, Henry and Eleanor arrived at Wark castle,
Scotland on a visit to see their daughter Margaret [who Henry believed was
being mistreated].
9/20/1252 at Roxburgh castle, Henry dissolved the
regents governing Scotland and named himself
“principal counselor to the King of Scotland” [for the years until
Alexander was of age.] Many Scots refused to sign the ordinance, but it was
signed by Alexander.
1253, King Henry reissued the Magna Carta.
7/3/1253, Henry before leaving England for Gascony
to deal with a rebellion: “Whereas the king has committed the governance of the
realm of England and of the lands of Wales and Ireland to Queen Eleanor with
the counsel of his brother Richard, earl of Cornwall, until his return from
Gascony …” Eleanor was pregnant at the time.
8/6/1253, King Henry finally left for Gascony from
Portsmouth with 300 ships.
8/10/1253, Commission … to make partitions between
the heirs of Randolf, sometime earl of Chester, … Attested by Queen Eleanor and
R. earl of Cornwall. (S) CPRs.
10/23/1253,
Henry’s army in camp at Benauge, France [east of Bordeaux].
12/28/1253,
Henry’s army in camp at Bazas, France [southeast of Bordeaux].
3/19/1254,
Henry’s army in camp at Meilhan, France [south of Bordeaux, near the Spanish
border].
1254, Queen Eleanor and the king's brother,
Richard, announce in a letter to King Henry III that they have convened the
secular and religious magnates in order to procure their aid, military and
financial, for the king in Gascony, if he is attacked by the Alphonso X, King
of Castile.
4/8/1254, “Mandate of the king to queen Eleanor and
R. earl of Cornwall to cause Edward the king's eldest son and heir to have the
homages and fealties due for all the lands which the king has given to him in
England, Ireland, Wales and Cheshire, saving to the king the allegiance due to
him.” [This was to make Edward marriageable in the eyes of a political match.]
1254, An alliance between Alphonso X was made by
agreement that Edward should marry his sister Leonore, and he was paid £3226
sterling.
8/12/1254, Henry’s retinue in camp at Bordeaux,
France.
11/1/1254 at Las Huelgas in Burgos, Prince Edward
married 13-year-old Leonore, ending the crisis in Gascony. Queen Eleanor
accompanied Edward to Burgos.
11/20/1254, Henry’s retinue in camp at Orleans,
France.
12/1254, King Louis IX with his wife Queen
Marguerite, her sister Queen Eleanor with King Henry III, Marguerite and
Eleanor’s sister Sanchia married to Henry’s brother Richard [acting Regent
while Henry was away and did not attend], Beatrice married to Louis’ brother
Charles, and the mother of all the females, Beatrice of Savoy gathered in Paris
for a family reunion. (S) Epistolæ. [King Henry and King Louis found they had a
lot in common, which would ease relations for many years.]
1/1255, Henry and Eleanor returned to England. They
continued a plan started in France. They had sought agreement with the French
royalty in support of their son Edmund being crowned King of Sicily [previously
offered to both Richard of Cornwall and Charles of Anjou.]
1255, Henry received the 1st elephant
brought to England as a gift from King Louis IX. Margaret sent Eleanor a
washing bowl encrusted with jewels. [The elephant died in 1258; buried in the
Tower bailey.]
9/24/1255 at Newminster, co. Northumberland, King
Henry visited with his daughter Margaret and her husband, Alexander III of
Scotland.
1256, King Henry ordered his treasurer Philip Lovel
to carefully examine all debts owed to the crown, needed to support work on
Westminster.
12/26/1256, at the Christmas court in London,
Henry’s brother Richard heard from a German delegation that he had been elected
and accepted by the Pope as King of the Romans.
5/1257, Henry and Eleanor sent an emissary to
Manfred, illegitimate son of Frederick II, and remaining heir [the heir
Conrad died of a fever after killing his
younger brother by poison], to propose marriage of their son Edmund and his
daughter. Part of the plan required Henry supporting his brother Richard being
crowned King of the Romans.] Because of complexities, the plan was never
realized.
6/15/1257, Bond by the king, Queen Eleanor and
Edward their first-born son, to ... citizens and merchants of Florence [in
Sicily], in 10,000 marks of good, new and lawful sterlings.
1258, King Henry’s commitment to attend a crusade
to the Holy Land commuted by request to an effort to capture Sicily, held by
Manfred of Hohenstaufen, and enemy of the pope. Henry accepted the crown of
Sicily for his 2nd son Edmund.
6/1258, Henry signed the Provisions of Oxford.
These limitations by parliament [led by Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester]
granted money to Henry in exchange for administrative reform. A “Council of 15”
was formed to enforce the reforms. Henry conceded because he needed money to
finance his son Edmund’s claim to the Sicilian crown.
1/1259, Henry and Eleanor were at Dover for the
return of King Richard and Sanchia from Germany.
12/1259, King Louis and Queen Margaret hosted a
family Christmas gathering in Paris that included King Henry III and Queen
Eleanor, Count Charles of Anjou and Countess Beatrice [and possibly the 4th
sister Queen Sanchia, although King Richard did not attend.] Henry and Louis
would sign an official peace treaty whereby Henry, for money, would keep only
Gascony in France as a fief, for which he would do homage.
1/1260, While Henry and Eleanor were in Paris, King
Louis’ heir, age 15 died of an illness. King Henry carried the casket part of
the distance to the burial.
3/16/1260, Queen Eleanors’ acknowledgment of the
receipt from Louis, king of France, of £12,500 tournois. The royal English family needed
money to pay its mercenary army protecting them while in France, and against
the barons of England when they landed.
1260, Prince Llywelyn invaded the Marches of Wales.
4/25/1260, Henry and Eleanor set sail for England
from Whitsund towards Dover.
10/13/1260 at Westminster, Henry knighted his son
Edward, his son-in-law John de Bretagne, 2 Montfort brothers, and 80 other sons
of noble families.
1/1261, Henry decided to secretly send an emissary
to the Pope to have the Provisions of Oxford voided.
2/1261, Henry and Eleanor relocated to the Tower in
London. Only Henry’s supporters were allowed inside the gates of London. Henry
also brought in his banished Lusignan half-brothers and a mercenary army.
4/13/1261, The papal bull was received absolving
the King and Queen and their supporters from abiding with the Provisions of
Oxford. [The Pope died the same year, but the new Pope supported the previous
decision.]
1261, The crown jewels were sent to Queen Margaret
in France for safekeeping.
3/1262, Henry repudiated the Provisions of Oxford.
1262, Eleanor wrote her mother: “Eleanor queen of
England by the grace of God, lady of Ireland and duchess of Aquitaine, join
with lady Beatrice, countess of Provence, our dearest mother on the manor of
Havelin in the diocese of Norwick …”
9/1262, Many
of those attending mediation sessions between the King and Montfort came down
with an illness, including King Henry. Many members of the entourage
subsequently died, effectively ending arbitration.
12/1262, Henry and Eleanor spent Christmas at their
residence in Canterbury.
1263, Henry established the 1st college
at Oxford, Merton.
4/12/1263, Simon de Montfort returned to England to
lead a rebellion of young barons. Henry and family withdrew to the Tower. There
they developed a plan to suppress the rebellion of Simon de Montfort. Initially
son Edward retrieved £1000 from the treasury. The French relatives of Eleanor,
the primary target of the rebellion, secretly returned to France. Henry of
Almain, nephew of Henry, a Montfort supporter, was himself captured trying to
capture the fleeing families in France.
1263, Daughters Marguerite and Eleanor, illustrious
queens of the French and of England, named in the will of their mother.
6/29/1263, the Manor of
Isleworth hosted a gathering of Simon de Montfort’s rebellious noblemen who
held a conference with the King that sowed the seeds for England’s first true
Parliament.
7/4/1263, Henry conceded to Montfort’s demands.
7/13/1263, Queen Eleanor attacked by a mob from
London Bridge when she was trying to go upriver to get support from her son
Edward, but had to take refuge in the palace of the Bishop of London.
9/23/1263, Henry and Eleanor were in Boulogne,
France at the request of King Louis. [This had been arranged by Henry to get
out of England.] With the support of his French family, Henry forced Simon to
justify his actions before King Louis. Part of the agreement in letting the
royal family leave for France had been that Henry was to return by the October
parliament. Henry and Edward returned, but Eleanor and Edmund remained in
France. During this time Henry was convinced by his family that negotiations
were not going to be the answer. Henry of Almain even changed sides to support
Edward when Montfort started giving lands to his relatives.
1/23/1264 at Amiens, France, King Louis, in
arbitration as agreed to by Henry and Simon, declared the Provisons of Oxford
invalid.
By 3/8/1264, King Henry had established his
military headquarters at Oxford. Edward was sent to Wales to muster support and
attack Simon’s sons. King Richard and his son Henry of Almain were now with
King Henry.
4/6/1264, Henry attacked Northampton, capturing
Simon’s 2nd son.
4/18/1264, Henry and lord Edward broke Montfort and
Gilbert de Clare’s siege of Rochester castle.
5/11/1264, The armies of Henry and Montfort
converged in Sussex.
5/14/1264, King Henry, Richard, and Lord Edward,
and Henry of Almain were captured by Gilbert de Clare at the battle of Lewes, Sussex,
“at the Mill of the Hide”. An estimated 2700 died. As part of a peace agreement
Edward was to remain a hostage of Simon.
1264, Eleanore appealed to the Pope who sent his
emissary [who would become the Pope the next year] to Simon demanding a
peaceful settlement. At the same time, Eleanor contacted her family members and
Henry’s half-brothers to organize an invasion force.
8/1264, Eleanor had assembled a large army at Damme
in Flanders. They did not attack for various reasons, including a letter from
Henry in captivity over concern for his son Edward, also in captivity.
8/12/1264, Henry, Edward, and Henry of Almain
brought to Canterbury to swear allegiance to the new government, which they
did. [Henry and Edward were at this point effectively under “house arrest”, but
traveled about the country in official capacity.]
1264-65, Simon de Montfort effectively ruled
England.
1/14/1265, Simon de Montfort held a parliament in
London that included 2 burgesses from each town, and 2 knights from each shire
[The first true parliament.]
2/1265, Eleanor moved to Gascony, in which by right
of her son Edward she could command troops and ships. She was joined by William
de Valence, half-brother of Henry, and 120 troops.
5/28/1265, Lord Edward escaped captivity.
8/4/1265, Lord Edward defeated Montfort at the
battle of Evesham in Worcestershire, freeing his father, who had been wounded.
With Simon’s death in the battle, the Provisions of Oxford were nullified.
However, after this time, England’s kings would have to bend to the will of
Parliament. [Simon and his sons Henry and Peter did protect King Henry during
the battle – Henry was wounded by one of Edward’s men who did not initially
recognize him.]
9/29/1265, at Windsor, King Henry sent word to
London that they should hand over the city peacefully and submit to his mercy.
10/1265, Eleanor returned to England, where Henry
presented her with London Bridge. Henry also fined the city of London 20,000
marks [Simon had raised a substantial part of his army from London], which he
planned to use to help pay his war costs.
10/13/1265 in London at parliament, King Henry had
all of his opposing barons disinherited.
10/29/1265,
Lord Edward met his mother at Dover on her return from France.
5/1266, King Henry began a siege of 7 months of
Simon de Montfort’s [Jr.] forces at Kenilworth castle.
6/13/1266, King Henry bestowed the Earldon of
Richmond on his son-in-law John of Brittany.
8/24/1266, King Henry called parliament at
Kenilworth and sought a grant for 3 years. The barons proposed a peace
settlement between the king and the disinherited.
12/1266, Henry and Eleanor at Northampton for
Christmas. King Richard presented Simon de Montfort, the son, to Henry and told
how Simon had protected him from being killed by the locals after his father
was defeated at Evesham. Henry accepted Simon’s kiss of peace.
4/8/1267, Gilbert de Clare, as representative of
the disinherited, captured London. Through negotiations Henry agreed that rebel
barons could have their lands back immediatedly rather than at the end of their
payments.
5/1267, King Henry had to employ St Pol and his
knights, who he had used in the barons war, in support of royal forces to
suppress local uprisings.
6/6/1267, Gilbert and King Henry came to terms and
Gilbert turned the city over to King Henry.
1268, King Henry and Queen Eleanor were at York
where parliament was held and were visited by [their daughter] Queen Margaret
and King Alexander III of Scotland with their children, and by Prince Edward
with his children.
11/26/1269 in London, King Henry and Queen Eleanor
were visited again by [their daughter] Queen Margaret and King Alexander III of
Scotland.
2/1271, Henry was ill enough to write to Edward on
crusade and ask him to return home. [Edward did not return, and would not
return for 3 years.]
11/16/1272, Henry died; buried in Westminster
Abbey. [The deaths of Henry and Eleanor’s uncle, Peter of Savoy, left Eleanor
quite wealthy.]
[––Eleanor––]
7/5/1273,
Eleanor, the queen mother, chartered St. Katharine’s hospital near the Tower of
London; witness Sir Benedict de Blakenham, steward of the Eleanors’ household.
(S) Antiquities of Suffolk, Gage, 1838, P34.
4/1274,
Eleanor took her grandchildren, whose parents were on crusade, on a month-long
trip to Kennington, Isleworth, London, Stratford and Havering.
8/19/1274 at
Westminster abbey, Eleanor attended the coronation of her son Edward I.
10/1274,
Eleanor kept her grandchildren at her residence of Guildford.
3/15/1279,
Eleanor inherited Ponthieu, France, on the death of her mother. Eleanor went to
live in her lands in Ponthieu, France; taking her granddaughter Joan of Acre
with her.
3/21/1279,
Power to Edmund, earl of Lancaster and count of Champagne, the king’s brother,
and John de Brittania, earl of Richmond, to exact from Philip, king of France,
the king’s kinsman, the county of Ponthieu, which by the death of Joan, queen
of Castile and countess of Ponthieu, falls by hereditary right to Eleanor, the
king’s consort. (S) CPRs.
1279, Letter
of Eleanor to her son: “Eleanor, by the grace of God queen of England, to our
dear son Edward, by that same grace king of England, greetings and our
blessing. You should know, sweet son, that we have heard there is a marriage in
the making between the son of the king of Sicily and the daughter of the king
of Germany. If this alliance is made, we might well be upset in the right we
have to a quarter of Provence, which would be a great harm to us, and that harm
would be yours as well as ours.” [Regarding proposed marriage of Charles Martel
and d/o Rudolf of Habsburg. Eleanor supported her sister
Queen Marguerite in proposing Joan of Acre in marriage to Hartmann, s/o
newly-crowned Rudolph of Habsburg, King of the Romans.]
1281, Hartmann,
s/o Rudolph, suddenly died ending the potential marriage of Eleanor’s
granddaughter Joan.
2/15/1281 at
Guildford, Eleanor affixed her seal to a letter by her granddaughter Eleanor
being sent to arrange her marriage in Aragon.
1281,
Eleanor was visited by a knight that said he been blinded, but recovered his
sight after visiting Henry’s tomb.
1285,
Eleanor is named executor in the will of her uncle Philip, Count of Savoy.
6/1/1285,
Confirmation of a charter … to the burgesses of St. Omer, Flanders, … with a
further grant at the instance of Eleanor, the king’s mother, and of the queen
of Navarre, the consort of Edmund, the king’s brother, that the said burgesses
shall be exempt from murage throughout the realm … (S) CPRs.
5/1286 at
Dover, Eleanor was visited by her royal granddaughters as their parents were
leaving for the continent.
5/1286, Assignment by Eleanor, queen of Henry III, to her grandsons
Thomas and Henry, sons of Edmund, earl of Leicester, in fee tail, with
remainder to John their brother, of her hereditary portion of the county of
Provence. (S) CPRs, 6/16/1335.
7/1286,
Eleanor retired to the nunnery at Amesbury, joining 2 young granddaughters who
both were placed there in 1285.
~1287, Eleanor
started a campaign to have Henry canonized. [Her son Edward did not support her
effort.]
9/8/1291,
Eleanor buried at Amesbury “in the presence of a great gathering of the most
influential men of England and France.” [Edward had already buried his wife
next to King Henry at Westminster.] At her request, Eleanor’s heart was removed
and buried in a gold box in the Franciscan church in London.
(S)
Epistolæ. (S) 4 Queens, Goldstone, 2007. (S) The Lives of the Princesses of
England, V2, Green, 1854. (S) Chronicles of the Age of Chivalry, 2000.
Family
notes:
·
Henry was known for supporting orphans and
providing food for paupers. His reign was a golden age of learning. He rebuilt
Westminster Abbey over a period of 36 years at a cost of £46,000. He also
provided work on many cathedrals including Lincoln, Wells and Salisbury.
Children
of Henry and Eleanor: [4 daughters]
i. King Edward I (5909696), born 6/18/1239 in
England.
ii. Margaret Plantagenet, born 10/5/1240 in Windsor
castle, England.
12/26/1251
at York, Margaret bethrothed to Prince Alexander of Scotland.
9/20/1255,
Announcement of change in Scottish council by King Alexander III to King Henry
III; … Witnessed: … [4 bishops, 4 abbots] … [8 earls] … Alan Durward … Roger de
Mowbray … John de Vaux … Alexander Comyn, earl of Buchan, … Robert of Roos, …
Nicholas Soulis, … Margaret, daughter of Henry III, queen of Scots.
2/1261,
Margaret gave birth to her daughter on a visit to England.
1263,
Scotland invaded by Haco, King of Norway [Scotland and Norway were in long
dispute over the western isles. At the battle of Largis the Norwegians were
driven back to their ships – many of which were then destroyed by a storm].
2/27/1274,
Margaret died at Cupar castle, Fife, Scotland; buried at Dumfernline.
3/19/1286,
Alexander III died when he fell from his horse, leaving his daughter as the
last descendent of the Canmore dynasty.
Children:
·
Queen Margaret of Scotland, born 2/28/1261.
1281, Margaret married King Eric II of Norway, age 13.
·
Alexander of Scotland, born 1263; died 1283.
·
David of Scotland, born 1270; died 1281.
iii. Beatrice Plantagenet, born 6/25/1242 in
Bourdeaux, Gascony.
1/22/1260 in
Paris, Beatrice married John de Bretange, s/o the Duke of Bretagne.
3/25/1268 in
Paris, John joined the crusade of King Louis IX of France.
4/17/1270,
leaving their children in England, John and Beatrice set sail on the crusade
from Marseilles.
3/24/1275,
Beatrice died in Brittany; buried in England at Christ’s Church, Newgate,
London.
1305, John,
Duke of Bretagne, killed when a wall collapsed on a procession of Pope Clement
V at Lyons, France.
Children: Arthur
of Brittany, born 7/1262 in Bretagne, France. [Arthur married Yolande de Dreux,
widow of King Alexander III of Scotland.] Sons: Henry, John, Peter; daughters:
Blanche, Mary – born 1268, Elenora – born 1274.
iv. Edmund of Lancaster (11819892),
born 1/16/1244 in England.
v. Katherine Plantagenet, born 11/25/1253 in
London, England.
Katherine
was born deaf and dumb.
5/1257,
Katherine died in Windsor castle.
