Return to 1258 Part One
Simon de Montfort as a Revolutionary ? Drawing of a stained glass window of Chartres Cathedral, depicting Simon de Montfort, courtesy Wikipedia This is a first of a serious of posts about 1258, and how this year radically changed the way England was governed. Amongst the reforms achieved were that a Council of fifteen was to be elected who would have the right to choose who the King appointed as ministers and could regulate the use of the King's seal. It's hard to find evidence of such an arrangement in other European countries. Parliament was to meet three times a year on fixed dates. The harsh weather conditions as from 1257 and the ghastly famine of the time has been already covered in this blog. The barons challenge to the kingship of Henry III in 1258 did not lead to civil war- in fact the related conflict usually known as the Second Barons War- did not break out until 1264. Yet 1258, saw the