Simon de Montfort summary

Simon de Montfort, later Earl of Leicester, (born c. 1208, Montfort, Ile-de-France, France—died Aug. 4, 1265, Evesham, Worcestershire, Eng.), The second son of Simon de Montfort, he gave up Montfort lands in France but revived the family claim to the English earldom of Leicester. His marriage to Henry III’s sister (1238) offended the barons and led to his temporary exile. Simon distinguished himself on a Crusade to the Holy Land (1240–42) and joined Henry’s failed invasion of France (1242). Sent to pacify Gascony (1248), he was censured for his harsh methods there and recalled. He joined the other leading barons in forcing Henry to accept the Provisions of Oxford. When Louis IX annulled the Provisions, Simon defeated and captured Henry (1264) and summoned (1265) what became the beginning of the modern Parliament. He governed England for less than a year before being defeated and killed by Henry’s son Edward.