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Saturday, July 16, 2011

King Henry III of England & Queen Eleanor of Provence

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.

10/18/1216, King John died.

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.

8/24/1217, Louis’ relief forces sailing to Dover were intercepted by English naval forces in the battle of Sandwich.

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.

1220, Hubert de Burgh effectively ended baronial opposition to King Henry with the siege and defeat of the Earl of Aumale at Bytham castle in Lincoln.

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.

6/1224, King Henry began a siege of the castle of Bedford, lasting 3 months. The rebellion was led by Fawkes de Breaute. On submission, Henry had the remaining members of the garrison hanged. (S) The Minority of Henry III, Carpenter, 1990, P371.

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.]

1226, Henry was in Wales where he wrote to William Marshall asking why he had not joined him, and redirects William to take the castles of Cardigan and Carnarvon in Ireland.

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.

4/30/1230, from Portsmouth, King Henry, with his brother Richard, Earl of Cornwall, and with the help of Mauclerc, Count of Brittany, invaded Brittany in hopes of recovering Normandy. They established their camp at Nantes, and captured a small castle.

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.]

5/1231, King Henry sent Hubert de Burgh to Wales to suppress an uprising led by Llywelyn ap Iorwert, prince of Gwynedd.

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.]

5/20/1242, Hugh X de Lusignan and his step-son King Henry III with his brother Richard arrived at Royen, France with a small contingent; but with 30 tons of gold. They were soon joined by French nobles with Hugh as their leader against the forces of the Count of Poitou and King Louis IX.

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.]

4/1243, At Bordeaux, France, Henry arranged a 5-year truce with the French king. All of Poitou and some towns in Gascony were ceded to France.

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.

8/29/1254 at Bordeaux, France, Mandate … as it was provided by the peace between the King and the King of Castile, that all prisoners taken in this war of the king in Gascony should be released on both sides. (S) CPRs.

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 …”

6/1262, There was widespread animosity against the King, and in particular against the Queen and her powerful Savoy relatives. [Many of the 1258 reforms had been generally popular.]

7/4/1262, King Henry, surrounded in the Tower, agreed to conditions given by Montfort and his supporters.

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.

10/1262, Simon de Montfort appeared before Parliament and declared the Pope had reversed his previous decision [the Pope had not.] Afterwards, Simon quickly fled back to France where he won the support of King Louis IX.

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.

10/31/1266, The Dictum de Kenilworth allowed those who had opposed the King their lives for a loss of liberties of 3 to 5 years. The only exception was the Montfort family.

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.]

1279, Eleanor returned to live in England, bringing her granddaughter Joanna to England for the 1st time.

1280, Eleanor and her older sister, Marguerite, Queen of France attempt to enlist King Edward’s support for their claims in Provence against their brother-in-law, Charles of Anjou. [Edward did not provide support due to his wars in Wales, and his concern over a potential war with Charles, who was supported by his nephew King Philip III of France.]

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.]

9/1/1290, King Edward I received a letter from his mother, Queen Eleanor, asking that he not take young Edward II on a trip to the north of England for fear of his getting sick from the cold.

6/26/1291, Eleanor died. The nuns of the abbey had to write to King Edward, who was in Scotland, as to what to do with her body. He told them to store her body until he returned.

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.


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