To go right back to the beginning (or 2019, when I wrote my book).The Second Barons’ War in England began in 1259 and officially ended in 1267, although violence and political unrest continued into the reign of Edward I. At a stretch, you could even argue that his reign was an interregnum, after which it all erupted again under Edward II.
Broadly speaking, the war was triggered by protests against the rule of Henry III. These included the king’s financial extravagance, his reliance on hated foreigners, military blunders in Wales and corrupted administration. Then there was the Sicily business, whereby Henry planned to invade Sicily and plant his second son, Edmund, on the throne.
Some recent historians (well, one) have argued that the Sicily venture was in fact a misunderstood stroke of genius on Henry’s part. All I can say in response is that none of his barons thought so, especially since he wanted them to pay for it. Coming on top of everything else, this was the last straw. After years of bitter arguing, political tensions began to slide into violence.
The first serious outbreak occurred in northern England, as shown by surviving court records and sheriff’s accounts. In 1260 Peter Percy, Sheriff of Yorkshire, claimed expenses for the wages of knights and crossbowmen in pursuing Sir John d’Eyville, Adam Newmarket and Richard Foliot and their company over five days in November. Meanwhile two more northerners, Robert de Ros and Alexander Kirketon, were arrested for committing acts of violence near Pontefract.
For some years I corresponded with Oscar de Vill (sadly no longer with us) a descendant of Sir John via a cadet branch of the family in Warwickshire. Oscar kindly provided me with a great deal of his research on the d’Eyvill family and their long history as rebels and outlaws in this period. They should be better-known, really, as the real drivers of rebellion in the north for almost fifty years.
No comments:
Post a Comment