Peter de Montfort, head of the family who improved their castle
in
Beaudesert
near Henley-inArden, Warwickshire around
1261, was the first elected Speaker of the English Parliament;
In 1243, Henry III granted Kennilworth Castle to Simon de Montfort his son-in-law.. After the battle of Evesham, Simon's son held out in the castle against Henry III for six months until finally running out of food and water.
In 1254, Henry III granted Kenilworth Castle to his sister, Eleanor, and her husband, Simon de Montfort. Within ten years, de Montfort became the king's enemy, and, in 1264, he rebelled against the king. Inside Henry III's own castle at Kenilworth, de Montfort imprisoned the king's brother, Richard, and his youngest son, Edmund I. At the same time, he held King Henry and Prince Edward (the future Edward I) at Hereford. For the next two years, Kenilworth played a key role in the Barons' War, which was led by Simon de Montfort. Eventually, Prince Edward escaped. He confronted Simon de Montfort on the battlefield at Evesham, where the Simon was killed.
Edward then besieged Kenilworth Castle, for Simon de Montfort's son still controlled the great fortress. Using eleven catapults and belfries containing as many as 200 archers, Edward pounded the castle for over nine months in 1266. He also employed a fleet of ships from Chester to attack the fortress by crossing the artificial lake. Amazingly, despite this fire power, Edward never defeated the garrison. Edward even tried a religious tactic: he had the Archbishop of Canterbury excommunicate all of the men inside the castle!
Not surprisingly, this action only antagonized de Montfort's men, who responded by dressing one of their own soldiers in monks' robes and then mocking the clerical leader! Next, Prince Edward attempted to negotiate the Dictum of Kenilworth, offering leniency for the rebels. Of course, they rejected the treaty. Inevitably, though, de Montfort's men surrendered, when their food supplies ran out and disease ravaged the troops.
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