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SAINT SIMON DE MONTFORT
 Boydell Medieval Texts

Boydell Medieval Texts is a series of parallel text volumes (Latin/English) presenting

major medieval works, which aims to meet both the requirement of scholarly
editions to the highest standard and the need for readily available translations at
an affordable price for libraries and students who require access to the content
of the works.
The series volumes will be issued initially in hardback, followed by
distribution in electronic form to a variety of platforms such as JSTOR. A year
after publication, a paperback version of the translation only will be produced,
with appropriately revised introduction and footnotes.
The editors of the series are Rodney Thomson and Michael Bennett, both
Emeritus Professors of Medieval History at the University of Tasmania.

Previously Published

William of Malmesbury: Miracles of the Blessed Virgin Mary

edited and translated by R. M. Thomson and M. Winterbottom
For and Against Abelard: The Invective of Bernard of Clairvaux and Berengar
of Poitiers edited and translated by R. M. Thomson and M. Winterbottom
The History of Alfred of Beverley
edited by J. P. T. Slevin and translated by L. Lockyer
SAINT SIMON DE MONTFORT

THE MIRACLES, LAMENTS,

PRAYERS AND HYMNS

Edited and translated by David Cox

THE BOYDELL PRESS

 © David Cox 2024

All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation

no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system,
published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast,
transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission of the copyright owner

The right of David Charles Cox to be identified as

the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

First published 2024

The Boydell Press, Woodbridge

ISBN 978-1-83765-084-2 (Hardback)

ISBN 978-1-83765-083-5 (ePDF)

The Boydell Press is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd

PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK
and of Boydell & Brewer Inc.
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The publisher has no responsibility for the continued existence or accuracy of URLs for
external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee
that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate
 In memory of
Iris Mary Pinkstone
1932–2020
 Contents

ix List of Figures
x Preface and Acknowledgements
xii List of Abbreviations

INTRODUCTION
xvii The miracle book
xxi The miracles
xxvii The laments, prayers and hymns
xxix Saint Simon
xxxvii Preservation and rediscovery

CATALOGUE OF THE TEXTS AND MANUSCRIPTS

xl The miracles
xli The laments, prayers and hymns

l EDITORIAL PROCEDURE

TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS

2 The Evesham abbey miracle book (1–197)
49 Miracles from the Melrose chronicle (198–201)
52 A miracle from the Lanercost chronicle (202)
53 Anno milleno (203)
56 Chaunter mestoit (204)
58 Chaunter mestut (205)
60 Illos saluauit (206)
67 Vbi fuit mons (207)
73 Vulneratur karitas (208)

vii
 Contents

76 Calendar entries (209–14)

77 Salue Symon: antiphon, versicle and response (215)
78 Salue Symon: motet (216)
79 Rumpe celos (217)
80 Mater Syon (218)
81 Nequit stare (219)
83 O decus militie (Cambridge MS) (220)
84 O decus militie (Cologne MS) (221)
85 Miles Christi (222)

87 Select Bibliography
89 Index of Persons and Places

viii
 Figures

1. Distribution map of Montfortian estates xxv

2. Distribution map of miracle stories xxvi
3. Plan of the abbey church, Evesham xxxii
4. The Evesham cult sites xxxv

ix
 Preface and Acknowledgements

The forbidden miracle cult of Simon de Montfort earl of Leicester, who died in
1265, produced a remarkable body of literature before expiring from natural causes
after some fifteen years. The writings included laments, prayers and hymns, and a
book of some two hundred miracles. The products of that creative surge reveal how
some people tried to cope with political events that they could feel and describe
but could not influence.
In 1840 James Orchard Halliwell published an edition of the miracle book
and, whatever the shortcomings of the sole manuscript and however slight his
contribution to our understanding of it, Halliwell’s edition has been consulted with
profit by generations of historians. A century and a half later Iris Pinkstone, founder
of the Simon de Montfort Society, was aware that an English translation would be
needed if the full potential of the miracle book were to be appreciated, especially
as proficiency in Latin ought no longer to be assumed. A further consideration was
that many of the names mentioned in the manuscript were unrecognizable after
medieval recopying; Halliwell could not overcome that obstacle, but in the present
century it can be breached with tools that he never had. Iris therefore tried to find
a competent translator. I understood her aspiration at the time and might have
offered to help, but I was busy with other publications and sadly, just as I found
myself able to make a start, we received the news of Iris’s death.
Nevertheless, my belated readiness to carry out her project coincided happily
with the re-emergence of another scheme, which I had imagined some decades
earlier but had not been qualified to begin at the time: a collected edition and
translation of the Montfortian verses and prayers. It became obvious that such
an edition would complement that of the miracle book, and the present volume
therefore assembles all the known texts that Simon de Montfort’s cult produced.
Most of them have been printed at least once since 1800, but in scattered places and
in various editorial styles. It will be a modest step forward to have them brought
together, freshly edited and translated.
  

x
 Preface and Acknowledgements

The Simon de Montfort Society has of course encouraged the project from the
beginning. I record my thanks to all the repositories that have provided images of
manuscripts in their possession. ‘Anno milleno’ (203), not previously published,
is included here by permission of the Master and Fellows of Gonville and Caius
College, Cambridge. In matters of detail several individuals have also come to my
assistance, among whom I should like to mention Anne Bailey, Paul Cullen, Paul
Duffy and Abigail Hartman. Michael Bennett gave wise advice on the organization
of the material, and my wife Janice has kindly commented on the Introduction,
while Richard Barber and Christy Beale, together with their professional colleagues,
have guided the book through the press with meticulous skill and consideration.
But the begetter and rightful dedicatee of the project remains, of course, the late
Iris Pinkstone.

xi
 Abbreviations

Ann. Monastici Annales Monastici, ed. H. R. Luard, 5 vols (Rolls

Series, 1864–69)
AN Political Songs Anglo-Norman Political Songs, ed. I. S. T. Aspin
(Anglo-Norman Text Soc. 11, 1953)
Barking Ordinale The Ordinale and Customary of the Benedictine
Nuns of Barking Abbey, ed. J. B. L. Tolhurst, 2 vols
(Henry Bradshaw Soc. 65–6, 1927–28 for 1926–27)
Beauchamp Cart. The Beauchamp Cartulary Charters 1100–1268,
ed. E. Mason (Pipe Roll Soc. new ser. 43, 1980 for
1971–73)
Bk of Fees Liber Feodorum. The Book of Fees Commonly
called Testa de Nevill, Reformed from the Earliest
MSS. by the Deputy Keeper of the Records, 2 vols
in 3 (HMSO, 1920–31)
BRUO to 1500 A. B. Emden, A Biographical Register of the
University of Oxford to A.D. 1500, 3 vols (Oxford,
1957–59)
Cal. Chart. R. Calendar of the Charter Rolls Preserved in the
Public Record Office, 6 vols (HMSO, 1903–27)
Cal. Close Calendar of the Close Rolls Preserved in the Public
Record Office, 46 vols (HMSO, 1892–1963)
Cal. Fine R. Calendar of the Fine Rolls Preserved in the Public
Record Office (HMSO, 1911–in progress)
Cal. Inq. Misc. Calendar of Inquisitions Miscellaneous (Chancery)
Preserved in the Public Record Office, 7 vols
(HMSO, 1916–68)

xii
 Abbreviations

Cal. Inq. p.m. Calendar of Inquisitions post mortem and Other

Analogous Documents Preserved in the Public
Record Office (HMSO, 1904–in progress)
Cal. Pat. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Preserved in the Public
Record Office (HMSO, 1891–in progress)
Chron. Canterbury– The Historical Works of Gervase of Canterbury,
Dover ed. W. Stubbs (Rolls Series, 1879–80) 2, pp. 106–324
Chron. et Annales ‘Willelmi Rishanger, monachi S. Albani, chronica’,
Chronica S. Albani [I] 2, pp. 1–230
Chron. Evesham Chronicon Abbatiae de Evesham, ad annum 1418,
ed. W. D. Macray (Rolls Series, 1863)
Chron. Furness ‘Continuatio chronici Willelmi de Novoburgo ad
annum 1298’, Chronicles of the Reigns of Stephen,
Henry II, and Richard I, ed. R. Howlett (Rolls
Series, 1884–89) 2, pp. 503–83
Chron. Lanercost (1839) Chronicon de Lanercost. M.CC.I–M.CCC.LXIV,
ed. J. Stevenson (Bannatyne Club, 1839; Maitland
Club, 1839)
Chron. Melrose (1835) Chronica de Mailros, ed. J. Stevenson (Bannatyne
Club, 1835)
Chronica S. Albani Chronica Monasterii S. Albani, ed. H. T. Riley,
12 vols (Rolls Series, 1863–76)
Close R. Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III Preserved in
the Public Record Office, 14 vols (HMSO, 1902–38)
Close R. (Suppl.) Close Rolls (Supplementary) of the Reign of
Henry III Preserved in the Public Record Office,
1244–1266 (HMSO, 1975)
Complete Harley 2253 The Complete Harley 2253 Manuscript, ed. S. Fein,
3 vols (Kalamazoo, 2014–15)
Complete Peerage G. E. C[ockayne], The Complete Peerage, ed.
V. Gibbs and others, 13 vols (London, 1910–59)
Cron. Maiorum De Antiquis Legibus Liber. Cronica Maiorum
et Vicecomitum Londoniarum, ed. T. Stapleton
(Camden Soc. 34, 1846)

xiii
 Abbreviations

EHR English Historical Review

English Baronies I. J. Sanders, English Baronies: A Study of their
Origin and Descent 1066–1327 (Oxford, 1960)
Feudal Aids Inquisitions and Assessments relating to Feudal
Aids; with Other Analogous Documents Preserved
in the Public Record Office, A.D. 1284–1431, 6 vols
(HMSO, 1899–1920)
Flores Historiarum Flores Historiarum, ed. H. R. Luard, 3 vols (Rolls
Series, 1890)
Heads The Heads of Religious Houses: England and
Wales, ed. D. Knowles, C. N. L. Brooke, V. C. M.
London and D. M. Smith, 3 vols (Cambridge,
2001–8)
Liturgische Reimofficien Historiae Rhythmicae: Liturgische Reimofficien des
Mittelalters, ed. G. M. Dreves and C. Blume, 8 vols
(Leipzig, Analecta Hymnica, 1889–1904)
London Wills Calendar of Wills Proved and Enrolled in the Court
of Husting, London, A.D. 1258–A.D. 1688, ed.
R. R. Sharpe, 2 vols (London, 1889–90)
Marlborough, Hist. Thomas of Marlborough, History of the Abbey of
Evesham, ed. and transl. J. Sayers and L. Watkiss
(Oxford, OMT, 2003)
Miracles, ed. Halliwell ‘Miracula Simonis de Montfort’, The Chronicle
of William de Rishanger, of the Barons’ Wars.
The Miracles of Simon de Montfort, ed. J. O.
Halliwell (Camden Soc. [15], 1840), pp. 67–110
Mon. Angl. W. Dugdale, Monasticon Anglicanum, ed. J. Caley,
H. Ellis and B. Bandinel, 6 vols in 8 (London,
1817–30)
Northumb. Pleas Northumberland Pleas from the Curia Regis
and Assize Rolls 1198–1272 [ed. A. Hamilton
Thompson] (Publications of the Newcastle upon
Tyne Records Committee 2, 1922 for 1921)
ODNB Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, ed.
H. C. G. Matthew and B. Harrison (Oxford, 2004,
and online)

xiv
 Abbreviations

OMT Oxford Medieval Texts

Oxnead Chronica Johannis de Oxenedes, ed. H. Ellis (Rolls
Series, 1859)
Peterborough Abbey Peterborough Abbey, ed. K. Friis-Jensen and
(CBMLC) J. M. W. Willoughby (Corpus of British Medieval
Library Catalogues 8, 2001)
PN The Survey of English Place-Names (English Place-
Name Soc.) [cited by county volume]
Political Songs The Political Songs of England, from the Reign of
John to that of Edward II, ed. T. Wright (Camden
Soc. [6], 1839)
Reg. Giffard Episcopal Registers, Diocese of Worcester: Register
of Bishop Godfrey Giffard, September 23rd, 1268,
to August 15th, 1301, ed. J. W. Willis Bund, 2 vols
(WHS, 1902)
Rishanger, De Bellis ‘Chronicon Willelmi de Rishanger. De duobus
bellis apud Lewes et Evesham commissis’, Chronica
S. Albani [IV] 3, pp. 491–565
Rob. Gloucester The Metrical Chronicle of Robert of Gloucester,
ed. W. A. Wright, 2 vols (Rolls Series, 1887)
Rolls and Reg. Sutton The Rolls and Register of Bishop Oliver Sutton
1280–1299, ed. R. T. Hill, 8 vols (Lincoln Record
Soc. 1948–86)
Rolls Series Rerum Britannicarum Medii Aevi Scriptores, or
Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and
Ireland during the Middle Ages (London, 1858–99)
Rot. Hund. Rotuli Hundredorum Temp. Hen. III et Edw. I in
Turr’ Lond’ et in Curia Receptae Scaccarii West.
Asservati [ed. W. Illingworth], 2 vols (Record
Commissioners, 1812–18)
Rot. Selecti Rotuli Selecti ad Res Anglicas et Hibernicas
Spectantes, ex Archivis in Domo Capitulari West-
monasteriensi Deprompti, ed. J. Hunter (Record
Commissioners, 1834)

xv
 Abbreviations

Song of Lewes The Song of Lewes, ed. C. L. Kingsford

(Oxford, 1890)
TNA London, The National Archives
VCH The Victoria History of the Counties of England
[cited by county volume]
WHS Worcestershire Historical Society
Worcs. Subsidy Lay Subsidy Roll for the County of Worcester,
circ. 1280, ed. J. W. Willis Bund and J. Amphlett
(WHS, 1893)

Secondary works frequently cited are given in an abbreviated form in the footnotes;
full details may be found in the Select Bibliography.

xvi
 Introduction

The texts in this edition are all related to the sudden death of Simon de Montfort
earl of Leicester, which occurred on 4 August 1265 at the battle of Evesham in
Worcestershire. As a revolutionary politician and soldier he had been so popular
and successful in England that during his lifetime some had begun to portray him
as a Christ-like saviour. The shock of his death, magnified by horror at the royalist
mutilation of his corpse, launched a miracle cult so vigorous that it soon spread to
parts of the British Isles that were well beyond his burial place at Evesham abbey.1
In defiance of royalist threats the cult lasted some fifteen years, during which Earl
Simon’s devotees compiled a miracle book and composed laments, prayers and
hymns.

The miracle book

The monks of Evesham welcomed pilgrims at Simon de Montfort’s grave and
recorded every miracle story that came to them. Some miracles had been generated
locally but reports of many more were received from other parts of the country.
It seems that they usually came by word of mouth; in only two instances is there
some indication that a report was delivered in writing (127, 190).2 When a story
was given orally, the monks’ first task was to write a summary, not necessarily in
complete sentences, of what may have been a long-winded or unstructured tale.3
At Evesham the note needed to record the identity (not necessarily the name) of
the miracle’s recipient and that of the informant (if it was someone else); where
the recipient lived (unless they were a prominent person whose residence was well
known); the nature of the miracle; and who else could vouch for the story. When
the informant referred to a minor place outside Worcestershire and beyond the
adjoining counties nearest to Evesham (Gloucestershire and Warwickshire) they
1
R. C. Finucane, Miracles and Pilgrims: Popular Beliefs in Medieval England (London, 1977), p. 169.
2
Bold numbers refer to items edited below.
3
Evidence for such notes elsewhere is given by L. E. Wilson, ‘Writing miracle collections’, in S. Katajala-
Peltomaa, J. Kuuliala and J. McCleery (eds), A Companion to Medieval Miracle Collections (Leiden,
2021), pp. 15–35 (at pp. 20–3).

xvii
 Introduction

were asked for its county or its nearest well-known town.4 Those details were
enough to make the story credible and verifiable.5 There are only two references
to testimony on oath (127–8) and none was needed, for there was no prospect of
the formal canonization proceedings that would have called for sworn statements.6
The recording monk could choose to include more details than those described,
but he often settled for the minimum. In particular, the date of a miracle was not
of the essence and was not routinely taken down. The monks’ preliminary notes
would thereafter have remained a collection of loose sheets until a miracle book
was started. Meanwhile they did not have to be kept in the exact order in which the
stories had arrived; that may be why reports that reached Evesham simultaneously
are sometimes found separated in the book (e.g. 29 and 31; 41–5 and 47). In any
case, the monks were more interested in the substance of the stories than in their
precise chronology.7
To find the earliest date at which the notes could have been entered in a
miracle book one need look no further than its first item (3), which happens to
record an incident that can be closely dated and provides the terminus a quo. The
following extract from it contains the pertinent clues:

One Richard, surnamed Badger, from Evesham, was on his way towards
Stratford upon Avon with his merchandise when a large army came into
view, approaching from Kenilworth. In fear he turned back along the road
and there he met Sir William Beauchamp with all his retinue … Richard
said, ‘Take care! Look, here come your enemies.’ … And this was a year later
[than the battle of Evesham]; that is, in the second year and during the war.

Since William Beauchamp died in the earlier part of 1269,8 the incident must have
occurred before then. Closer dating comes from the reference to an armed force of
Beauchamp’s enemies from Kenilworth approaching Evesham from the direction
of Stratford upon Avon. Kenilworth castle, thirty miles north-east of Evesham,
was the chief stronghold of the Montfortian rebels immediately after the battle of
Evesham. The king laid siege to it in late June 12669 but until then the occupants
were able to range over Warwickshire and prey upon the population.10 The first

4
This practice sometimes helps the translator to distinguish between major and minor places that have
the same name, and to identify places of which the names are garbled in the MS.
5
R. Bartlett, Why can the Dead do Such Great Things? (Princeton and Oxford, 2013), pp. 564–5.
6
See Wilson, ‘Writing miracle collections’, pp. 23–5.
7
See also Bartlett, Why can the Dead do Such Great Things?, pp. 562–3.
8
Reg. Giffard 1, pp. 7–9; Cal. Inq. p.m. 1236–72, p. 220.
9
Cron. Maiorum, p. 87.
10
D. C. Cox, ‘The battle of Evesham in the Evesham chronicle’, Historical Research 62 (1989), pp. 337–45
(at p. 344).

xviii
 Introduction

miracle in the Evesham book had evidently occurred before the siege, while the
Kenilworth rebels were still at large.
The item’s final clause, though difficult to construe, holds even more dating
evidence. In the unique and late manuscript it reads thus (with capitalization and
abbreviation exactly as here):

& ho ao reuoluto. In E s’c’do A & T G11

Correct interpretation of this is not straightforward12 but a simple reading

is possible if one assumes that abbreviations have led to scribal errors during
recopying. In some earlier copy of the miracle book it is possible that ‘In E’ had
read ‘I E’, thus:

& ho ao reuoluto. I E s’c’do A & T G

which can be extended as:

Et hoc anno reuoluto. Id est secundo anno et tempore guerre.

which translates as:

And this was a year later; that is, in the second year and during the war.

By that reading, it seems that the first miracle to be entered in the Evesham book
had occurred in the ‘second year’ (which presumably began on 25 March 1266) and
before late June that year, when the Kenilworth rebels were finally contained. The
phrase ‘during the war’, if that is the correct translation of ‘T G’, would suggest
further that the entry was not copied into the book until after the rebellion had
come to an end; ‘during the war’ would have been redundant while the war was
in progress, but afterwards it would have given a context for the story.13 All in all,
it seems to me that the Evesham miracle book was probably started some time
after 1 July 1267.14

11
London, British Library, Cotton MS Vespasian A VI, fol. 163v.
12
Cf. C. Valente, ‘Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester, and the utility of sanctity in thirteenth-century
England’, Journal of Medieval History 21 (1995), pp. 27–49 (at pp. 45–6 n. 90); J. E. St Lawrence:
‘The Liber miraculorum of Simon de Montfort: Contested sanctity and contesting authority in late
thirteenth-century England’ (Univ. of Texas Ph.D. thesis, 2005), pp. 17, 143.
13
In the 1950s and 1960s my father and his contemporaries often used the phrase ‘during the war’ when
referring to the years 1939–45.
14
The end of the rebellion: A. Jobson, The First English Revolution: Simon de Montfort, Henry III and
the Barons’ War (London, 2012), p. 160.

xix
 Introduction

Some decades earlier, the abbey had had good experience of setting out a
miracle book after St Wulfsige, an eleventh-century recluse, was buried in the abbey
church. His book had been compiled c.120015 and two leaves have survived from an
early-thirteenth-century fair copy of it, a handsome production written in double
columns with red rubrics and red and blue pen-flourished initials.16 The organizer
of Simon de Montfort’s miracle book is likely to have known it and may therefore
have visualized something similar as a fair copy of his own collection. He may be
cautiously identified as the sacrist of the abbey, who was by custom a senior monk
charged with custody of the abbey church and its contents and with keeping all
the offerings made there;17 by 1271 that man was Reynold of Inkberrow,18 who had
been a monk of Evesham since 1259 or earlier.19 As sacrist, Reynold may have been
the person who started Earl Simon’s miracle collection and who at some point had
the items copied into a book.
Such a book was desirable as a convenient file of stories from which to tell
visitors to Evesham about past miracles and to suggest the wonders that their
own offerings might bring about; Earl Simon’s miracle book eventually offered so
wide a variety of tales that the monks could cite whichever seemed relevant to the
concerns of any particular visitor. Pilgrims, thus instructed, could go away and tell
others about what they had learnt, just as the book’s epigraph (2) recommends.
The epigraph reads simply ‘Nichil opertum quod non reueletur, etc.’ (Nothing is
covered that should not be revealed, etc.) It alludes to the Sermon on the Mount
and was an appropriate saying at a time when everyone needed to treat the miracles
with secrecy. The ‘etc.’, however, conceals an exhortation that was considerably
more defiant of authority:

Therefore fear them not. For nothing is covered that shall not be revealed: nor
hid, that shall not be known. That which I tell you in the dark, speak ye in
the light: and that which you hear in the ear, preach ye upon the housetops.
And fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul: but
rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell.20

15
D. Cox, The Church and Vale of Evesham, 700–1215: Lordship, Landscape and Prayer (Woodbridge,
2015), p. 175.
16
London, British Library, Harley MS 4242, fols 65–6. Described in C. Drieshen, ‘The lost miracles of
Wulfsige of Evesham’ <https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2021/07/the-lost-miracles-of-wulfsige​
-of-evesham.html>.
17
Marlborough, Hist. p. 544.
18
Mon. Angl. 2, p. 31; Chron. Evesham, p. 282.
19
Cal. Pat. 1258–66, p. 58.
20
Matt. 10: 26–8 (cf. Luke 12: 2–5).

xx
 Introduction

Christ’s injunction would have been closely applicable in the early years of Simon
de Montfort’s cult if the abbey wanted visitors to reject the threat of secular
punishment and to tell everyone about the miracles. Exposition of the epigraph
and of stories from the rest of the book would have stimulated them to spread the
word, and for a time there was certainly publicity enough to generate a spectacular
influx of funds to the abbey. The Lanercost chronicle refers to the ‘daily’ offerings
of Earl Simon’s devotees at Evesham and to the impressive building works that
were made possible with their money.21 A description of the new Lady chapel,
begun ten years after the battle, tells of ‘windows, a beautiful vault, and gilded
bosses’ and ‘the story of the Saviour and the stories of various virgins splendidly
painted’.22 The miracle book helped with the cost of such works; indeed, nothing
suggests that it had any other public purpose.23

The miracles
The progress of Simon de Montfort’s miracle cult can be traced in broad outline
by reference to the few datable stories that appear in the Evesham book.24 Since the
datable miracles are mostly entered in date order, each undatable miracle probably
occurred at some time between the nearest datable ones before and after it. One
may therefore suggest that the events between 3 and 103 can mostly be assigned to
1265–66 and that most of the miracles between 103 and 175 would have happened
between c.1266 and 1272.25 The latest datable miracle was reported to Evesham
in 1279 (195) and two further stories were entered before the book was closed;
it thus appears that the abbey received some twenty reports between c.1272 and
c.1280 but none after that. The miracle cult had evidently been widely supported
until the early 1270s, but outside Evesham abbey it had declined thereafter and
had reached virtual extinction c.1280.
  
The nature of Simon de Montfort’s miracles is well attested by the Evesham book.
John Theilmann compared Earl Simon’s reported cures with those of seven other
English cult figures, from Earl Waltheof to King Henry VI, and found that cases of
21
Chron. Lanercost (1839), p. 77.
22
Chron. Evesham, p. 286. For the date see London, British Library, Cotton MS Nero D III, fol. 222r.
23
A point also made by St Lawrence, ‘The Liber miraculorum’, pp. 24–5, 338–41; J. [E.] St Lawrence, ‘A
crusader in a “communion of saints”: Political sanctity and sanctified politics in the cult of St Simon de
Montfort’, Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies 38 (2007), pp. 43–67 (at p. 44).
24
3, 14 (see 198), 94, 103, 108, 115, 160, 175, 187, 189–90, 194–5, 197. Those MS dates that depend
solely on roman numerals are disregarded here because of the possibility, and in some cases the certainty,
of scribal error.
25
Some miracles are known to have occurred well before they were entered in the book (e.g. 115, 160)
but they are too few to invalidate these rough calculations.

xxi
 Introduction

blindness and of mental illness formed a smaller proportion of Montfort’s cures

while his proportion of chronic and crippling conditions was greater.26 The miracle
book usually describes a patient’s symptoms but rarely has a diagnosis, and it uses
the blanket term gutta (gout) over a broad range of painful ailments. Meanwhile,
of the accidental injuries presented to the earl, about half were to children.27
One in ten of the cures in the book resulted from a visit to Evesham abbey
or to the nearby ‘Earl’s well’ but most of the rest were obtained at home, usually
by ‘measuring’ and penny-bending. John Brown had been suffering from a form
of paralysis:

after being measured to the earl he made up his candle to the measurement,
and when he came to Evesham he recovered from the disability to which he
had been subject. (16)

The story refers to a custom whereby the patient or an affected part was measured
with a piece of string in the name of a saint.28 Seven in ten of the cures in the
Evesham miracle book were achieved in that way. After the cure, the string was
sometimes used to make the wick of a candle,29 to be taken to the saint’s resting-
place as a token or offering. But people who could not afford beeswax were not
obliged to make a candle, because tallow, a cheaper alternative, was not acceptable
in a church.30 The few candles mentioned in the Evesham book were therefore made
for patients of superior means, and they usually charged a subordinate or friend
with taking their candle to Evesham. Likewise only better-off patients sent waxen
thank-offerings in the form of images of themselves or of their cured limbs. As
an alternative to measuring, one could just bend a penny in Earl Simon’s name,
but that was relatively rare. A bent penny alone would sometimes produce a cure,
but if a penny was bent it was usually done to accompany a measuring, the two
actions together resulting in a miracle. The penny might be gilded as well as bent
(86); it could also be sent to Evesham in token of a cure obtained by other means
(6); and it could even be sent in memory of someone who had prayed to Earl Simon
and failed to be cured (186).

26
J. M. Theilmann, ‘English peasants and medieval miracle lists’, The Historian 52 (1990), pp. 286–303
(at p. 292).
27
E. C. Gordon, ‘Accidents among medieval children as seen from the miracles of six English saints and
martyrs’, Medical History 35 (1991), pp. 145–63 (at p. 151).
28
Finucane, Miracles and Pilgrims, pp. 95–6. See 96, 160, 193.
29
See 72, 95.
30
C. Dyer, Standards of Living in the Later Middle Ages: Social Change in England c.1200–1520, 2nd
edn (Cambridge, 1998), pp. 73–4.

xxii
 Introduction

Most of the miracles in the book had been granted in response to prayers and
measurings, but some had occurred unexpectedly after dreams or visions involving
Earl Simon. A miracle of that kind might be bestowed on one of his supporters,
but it was more likely to be experienced by a sceptic or critic. In one vision Simon
de Montfort told a former enemy that, ‘Some are penitent, some will be penitent
and some without penitence will die a bad death.’ (169) By appearing in person
Montfort would bring about repentance or else contrive a drastic punishment.
  
In 1844 W. H. Blaauw suggested that ‘persons of all ranks’ had attested Earl
Simon’s miracles,31 and as late as 2019 I carelessly echoed that opinion;32 but
within the pages of the miracle book it cannot properly be said that all ranks are
represented. There I have counted 182 recipients of miracles, including children;33
the proportion of children is markedly smaller than in comparable collections.34 Of
all recipients at least a third had noble, knightly, gentry, mercantile or ecclesiastical
status; the secular and religious clergy made up a fifth of all recipients, and thus
a much higher proportion than they did in the general population.35 Altogether
Simon de Montfort’s miracle cult attracted greater than usual proportions of men
and upper-class people, including senior churchmen.36 Meanwhile as many as two-
thirds of recipients mentioned in the book may have belonged to the households of
manual workers;37 about half of all miracle recipients who appear in it are actually
of unstated occupation or rank, but they probably belonged to manual households
because their names rarely if ever occur in contemporary public records. Those
supposed manual workers might have included anyone from substantial farmers
and master craftsmen downwards, but in practice a lack of money or leisure
probably prevented many at the lower end of the manual scale – not to mention
paupers, vagrants and criminals – from making their stories known at Evesham,
if indeed they had any. Servants and the poor do occur in the book but only as the
observers of miracles, not as the recipients.
  

31
W. H. Blaauw, The Barons’ War including the Battles of Lewes and Evesham (London and Lewes,
1844), p. 258.
32
D. Cox, The Battle of Evesham: A New Account, 2nd edn (Evesham, 2019), p. 35.
33
This is fewer than the number of entries in the miracle book because some people appear in more
than one entry.
34
Gordon, ‘Accidents among medieval children’, p. 151; C. Valente, ‘Children of revolt: Children’s lives
in the age of Simon de Montfort’, in J. T. Rosenthal (ed.), Essays on Medieval Childhood: Reponses to
Recent Debates (Donington, 2007), pp. 91–107 (at p. 99n).
35
J. C. Russell, ‘The clerical population of medieval England’, Traditio 2 (1944), pp. 177–212 (at p. 179).
36
Finucane, Miracles and Pilgrims, p. 135.
37
For the criteria defining social rank I have followed Dyer, Standards of Living, pp. 17–25.

xxiii
 Introduction

The miracle book’s careful recording of place-names enables one to estimate

the geographical extent of Earl Simon’s cult. Ronald Finucane38 noted some
concordance between the distribution of Montfortian estates (Fig. 1)39 and
that of the reported miracles (Fig. 2);40 and Clive Knowles demonstrated that
the distribution of Montfortian estates corresponded to the most economically
advanced, most densely populated areas of England, that is to say the Midlands
and the east.41 Thus Finucane and Knowles between them showed that miracles and
population density coincided. And their observations hold good, because I have
been able positively to identify and map eighty-two English and Welsh sources of
miracle stories (Fig. 2), some of which generated more than one report;42 another ten
such places, though not identified, are known to have been in Berkshire, Cheshire,
Derbyshire, Devon (two places), Gloucestershire, Kent (two), Northamptonshire,
Northumberland and Oxfordshire. Fig. 2 therefore confirms that most reports of
miracles did come from eastern England and the Midlands; within the Midlands
there was naturally a loose concentration around Evesham. The map shows a
separate concentration in Kent and Sussex, which were less populous but had a
disproportionate number of Montfortian supporters.43
The miracle clusters in some of the more populous towns were not necessarily
a reflection of their size; after all, there are no identifiable reports from Leicester
or Worcester. They were both under royalist control after the battle of Evesham44
and it therefore seems that lordship, as well as size, may have influenced miracle
numbers. Where there is evidence, it often shows that a miracle comes from an
estate that is or has been held at some level by an active contrariant. And the
tenants of a detested royalist might also lean towards the cult of Earl Simon, as
at the royal manor of Brill in Buckinghamshire (109–10) and at Filby in Norfolk
(76) and Gainsborough in Lincolnshire (162), which were held by the king’s
‘alien’ half-brother William de Valence. Nothing was predetermined, however,
and at that period any direct influence of a particular individual on the personal
38
Finucane, Miracles and Pilgrims, p. 170.
39
For the estates see W. H. Blaauw, The Barons’ War including the Battles of Lewes and Evesham [ed.
C. H. Pearson] (London and Lewes, 1871), pp. 365–80); C. H. Knowles, ‘The disinherited, 1265–1280: A
political and social study of the supporters of Simon de Montfort and the resettlement after the Barons’
War’ (Univ. of Wales Ph.D. thesis, 1959), pt 2, pp. 108–9 (with map 3); D. Williams, ‘Simon de Montfort
and his adherents’, in W. M. Ormrod (ed.), England in the Thirteenth Century: Proceedings of the 1984
Harlaxton Symposium (Harlaxton, 1985), pp. 166–77 (at pp. 172–3).
40
On the distribution of the miracles see also Valente, ‘Simon de Montfort and the utility of sanctity’,
pp. 32, 34.
41
Knowles, ‘The disinherited, 1265–1280’, pt 2, pp. 110–11 (with maps 4–5).
42
The map does not include the story from Kinclaven, Perthshire, found only in the Lanercost and
Melrose chronicles (201–2).
43
C. Valente, The Theory and Practice of Revolt in Medieval England (Aldershot and Burlington, VT,
2003), pp. 92–3.
44
VCH Leics. 4, p. 4; VCH Worcs. 4, pp. 381, 391.

xxiv
 Introduction

Figure 1 Montfortian estates forfeited after the battle of Evesham.

After Knowles, ‘The disinherited, 1265–1280’, map 3.

xxv
 Introduction

Figure 2 Identifiable sources of stories in the Evesham miracle book.

xxvi
 Introduction

inclinations of another was, of its nature, rarely if ever documented.45 It seems

likely, indeed, that in densely occupied regions any miracle story might spread
instantly of its own accord and be widely believed without reference to anyone
in authority. Stories shared in common in that way appear to underlie the miracle
book’s many instances of whole households or neighbourhoods bearing witness
to a particular event.

The laments, prayers and hymns

While miracle stories were accumulating at Evesham abbey, Simon de Montfort’s
death and the continuing brutalities of the rebellion inspired verse laments and a
longing for peace. Three surviving laments can be dated to the period between the
battle of Evesham and the peace agreement of 1 July 1267, and the rest probably
should be. Since the authors had access to writing materials, had a fluent command
of Latin or French, and had the still rarer ability to use them in verse, they were
probably professional people, secular churchmen, or members of religious orders,
writing on their own behalf or at the request of a colleague or patron (e.g. 206).
While it is hardly likely that all literary people were devoted to Earl Simon, none of
the extant verses made in the years of controversy 1258–67 is directed against him,
and the writers of chronicles applauded him almost without exception.46 Some of
the laments, however, were as much about the disorder and suffering caused by
both sides in the rebellion, and one of them does not mention Simon at all (208).
None of the laments is modelled directly upon another and no two are alike
in formal structure, but the authors share several assumptions as if each is drawing
independently upon an unwritten consensus. The verses agree, for instance, that
after the death of Simon de Montfort the country was bereft of justice, peace,
truth and the rule of law; they agree, too, that his death amounted to a martyrdom
freely suffered for great ideals, like the murder of Thomas Becket; and that Earl
Simon’s martyrdom qualified him for sainthood – one of the laments does call him
a saint (203 lines 58, 70). The laments deal in ideas that were common currency at
the time. But they also express personal anguish, and confused or bitter feelings
could be alleviated by turning them into verse, making the ugly and threatening
into the elegant and controlled. In the words of John Donne,

45
See M. Fernandes, ‘The Northamptonshire assize jurors: The role of the family as a motivating force
during the Barons’ War’, in R. Eales and S. Tyas (eds), Family and Dynasty in Late Medieval England:
Proceedings of the 1997 Harlaxton Symposium (Donington, 2003), pp. 38–55; Valente, Theory and
Practice of Revolt, pp. 93, 100–4.
46
A. Gransden, Historical Writing in England c.550 to c.1307 (London, 1974), pp. 461–2, 468–9, 478–9.

xxvii
 Introduction

Griefe brought to numbers cannot be so fierce,

For, he tames it, that fetters it in verse.47

That seems to have been the essential purpose of each lament. None of them
favours a continuance of the rebellion; far from it, they call on all parties to return
to peace and harmony and they beg for divine, not human, retribution upon those
who will not do so.48
The verses probably circulated privately on loose sheets or rolls, and only
one copy of each is now known.49 The former existence of other copies can
be assumed, and is attested by the variant readings or alternative versions that
have survived (e.g. 203 lines 9, 11, 76; 204–5); even so, the texts need never have
passed beyond the acquaintance of a cultured few. Had the laments been intended
for wider consumption they would have been in English, and if they had been
consumed more widely there would probably be more extant copies. No-one
without advanced Latin or French could understand them, and their sentiments
could not be relayed to a wider audience through the official structures of shire
and diocese or by the preaching orders; those had been the most effective channels
of Montfortian ideas before the battle of Evesham, but now they were blocked.
  
In the seclusion of their precincts religious houses in several parts of England began
to remember the death of Earl Simon and his companions every year on 4 August;
so much is evident from entries in their calendars. The texts of prayers and hymns
for Earl Simon have also survived and some of them were clearly designed to
be heard in church; two are motets and were included in large service books
(216, 222), and we have elements of at least three different offices or memoriae
(commemorations), presumably from three separate churches (215, 220–1). The
annual commemorations were apparently intended for use at the evening office
of Vespers and the night-time offices of Matins and Lauds.50 Like the laments, the
prayers and hymns draw upon feelings that were current in the disordered period
1265–67. They are addressed to God, to Christ, to the Blessed Virgin or to the
earl himself and evidently assume that he is a saint or that he should be. In so
doing, however, they offended against the Dictum of Kenilworth, which in 1266
47
‘The triple Foole’, lines 10–11.
48
See H. Shields, ‘The Lament for Simon de Montfort: an unnoticed text of the French poem’, Medium
Aevum 41 (1972), pp. 202–7 (at pp. 205–6); A. J. Hartman, ‘Poetry and the cause of Simon de Montfort
after the battle of Evesham’, The Mediaeval Journal 9 (2019), pp. 41–61 (at pp. 55–8).
49
See D. B. Tyson, ‘Medieval French occasional verse: Another fair field needing folk’, Nottingham
Medieval Studies 61 (2017), pp. 115–45 (at p. 134); J. Jahner, Literature and Law in the Era of Magna
Carta (Oxford, 2019), p. 201.
50
See 215, 217, 220.

xxviii
 Introduction

recommended corporal punishment for treating Earl Simon as a saint. Indeed,

certain Franciscans

out of his excellent deeds composed an admirable office about him, that is to
say readings, responses, versicles, a hymn, and other things that belong to the
glory and honour of a martyr, which will not obtain a solemn performance
in God’s church, as is hoped, while Edward is alive.51

That was apparently written before November 1272, because it refers to ‘Edward’,
not ‘King Edward’ or ‘the king’. It is therefore uncertain whether the extant prayers
and hymns could have been used in church at the time they were composed. But
it is hard to believe that the attempt was never made.

Saint Simon
The writers of Montfortian literature were not trying to stimulate public opinion
after the battle of Evesham but to express it in a satisfying way. In order to construct
such noble abstractions as ‘the English people’, ‘justice’, ‘betrayal’, ‘martyrdom’
and ‘revenge’ they alluded repeatedly to the then familiar details of Simon de
Montfort’s person, career, death and miracles.
In 1258 as earl of Leicester Simon had been one of the barons who forced
Henry III to accept a programme of reforms in central and local government.
Each of the reformers then swore an oath to support the rest, and in the eyes
of Earl Simon their mutual oath transformed a campaign for secular reform
into a sacred mission. For years he had tried to absorb the advice of pastors like
Robert Grosseteste but had progressed far less in piety than the chief object of his
contempt, King Henry. After 1258, however, Montfort was to be found urgently
seeking appropriate godliness through severe private penance. By taking up self-
sanctifying exercises that included nightly vigils, the continuous wearing of a hair
shirt and an abstinence from marital intercourse, he hoped to become a knight
of Christ.
The cause to which he then dedicated himself went by the broad name of
‘justice’, which to its adherents meant honesty, fairness, or righteous conduct.
It promised to remedy the abuses then practised by local officials; it would stop
the king’s indulgence of his foreign relatives in England, which had amplified the
public’s aversion to all ‘aliens’; and it would rectify royal and papal interference
in the English church. The intended result would be a harmonious ‘community of
the realm’. In the pursuit of those ideals Simon de Montfort’s oath and privations
51
Chron. Melrose (1835), p. 212.

xxix
 Introduction

would give him the strength to withstand all doubters and opponents, to become
a popular hero and to lead the reform movement not only to victory at the battle
of Lewes in 1264 but also to its annihilation a year later on the field of Evesham.52
There was a setback in 1261 when King Henry regained control of government;
Montfort, alone among the leading reformers, would not abandon his oath but
chose instead to leave the country. Nevertheless, the cause of reform still had
many supporters in the English localities and in 1263 they enabled him to return
to England, his oath intact, and with a dominant position in the movement. After
becoming God’s pre-eminent champion of ‘justice’ in England, ‘the hope of the
oppressed, the voice of the common people’ (203 line 30), Earl Simon was able
to attract many followers, especially idealistic young men. Turmoil and civil war
ensued, and at Lewes in May 1264 Montfort’s army unexpectedly defeated and
captured the king and his son and heir, Edward.53 There followed a fragile truce
in which Earl Simon began to introduce further reforms. His career had by then
reached a precarious summit and the Song of Lewes, a long poem written between
the battles of Lewes and Evesham, argues learnedly that Earl Simon’s new regime
could claim both political legitimacy and divine support. At one point the Song
likens Simon to Christ because he was ready to die at Lewes for the good of the
many, and it attributes his victory there to God’s favour.54 The Song portrays him
as the people’s only salvation, the long-rejected ‘cornerstone’ that could unite a
divided nation;55 it was a metaphor that Jesus had applied to himself.56
In March 1265, in the presence of lords, knights and burgesses summoned by
Earl Simon from all parts of England, a dramatic ceremony in Westminster Hall
memorably reasserted the holiness of his movement. The proceedings were ordered
to be announced in every shire court for onward transmission to the manors, and
each bishop had a diocesan structure through which to pass down the notion of
Montfortian sanctity to the parishes.57 At the same time the Franciscan friars were
using their special status in towns and rich households to preach in Earl Simon’s

52
The standard biographies of Simon de Montfort are currently those of John Maddicott and Sophie
Ambler: J. R. Maddicott, Simon de Montfort (Cambridge, 1994); S. T. Ambler, The Song of Simon de
Montfort: England’s First Revolutionary and the Death of Chivalry (London, 2019). On the period of
reform and rebellion (1258–67) see also Jobson, First English Revolution and David Carpenter, Henry III:
Reform, Rebellion, Civil War, Settlement 1258–1272 (New Haven and London, 2023), in both of which
Simon de Montfort is a central figure.
53
Edward’s Latin title as heir to the throne, ‘dominus Edwardus’, is usually rendered as ‘Lord Edward’
or ‘the Lord Edward’ but contemporaries called him ‘Sir Edward’ in English: e.g. Political Songs, p. 71;
Rob. Gloucester 2, pp. 727, 731, 735. To avoid argument I refer to him simply as ‘Edward’.
54
Song of Lewes, p. 12, lines 345–6, 358–9.
55
Ibid. p. 9, lines 261–8.
56
Matt. 21: 42; Mark 12: 10; Luke 20: 17. Cf. Ps. 117 (AV 118): 22; Isa. 28: 16.
57
S. T. Ambler, Bishops in the Political Community of England, 1213–1272 (Oxford, 2017), pp. 176–82.
On use of the shire courts for Montfortian announcements see also Carpenter, Henry III 1258–72, p. 404.

xxx
 Introduction

favour.58 As one of King Henry’s councillors had observed in 1261, ‘If the lord
king had preachers on his behalf such as the opposite side has, it would be better
for him.’59
Edward escaped from custody in May 1265 and in coalition with barons from
the marches of Wales gathered an army recruited from Earl Simon’s enemies. They
included men who had known and once admired Earl Simon and had sworn to
uphold the plan of reform but were now ready to put aside their oaths; Gilbert
of Clare earl of Gloucester was only the most prominent of the defectors. War
broke out again and on 4 August 1265 at the battle of Evesham Earl Simon died
with many of those who had remained loyal to him, including his eldest son Henry
and the chief justiciar Hugh le Despenser.60 On the battlefield Simon had been
singled out by a squad of twelve fighters, selected by Edward to find and kill him.
When the twelve surrounded him61 they called upon him to surrender,62 with good
reason to believe that he would not; ‘I will never surrender to dogs and perjurers,
but only to God,’ he cried,63 and was then brought down. There followed the
notorious mistreatment of Earl Simon’s corpse where it lay: the head, hands,
feet and genitals were cut off and all dispersed as trophies. Meanwhile such was
the disparity of forces that the Montfortian army was soon overwhelmed and
slaughtered. As Robert of Gloucester wrote, ‘Such was the murder of Evesham,
for battle was it none.’64
Later that day the monks of Evesham abbey retrieved what remained of
Earl Simon’s body and buried it in the most prestigious position they had, near
the tomb of St Wulfsige in the choir of the abbey church, immediately in front of
the steps to the presbytery (Fig. 3). Henry de Montfort and Hugh le Despenser
had died with the Earl and were laid to rest beside him.65 Simon’s remaining
adherents interpreted his battlefield assassination as a martyrdom, especially as
it was accompanied by immediate evidence of his extraordinary piety: the hair
shirt was revealed when his armour was stripped off. Montfort’s cause had indeed
been sacred to him personally but it was also intrinsically popular, and that would
58
Flores Historiarum 3, p. 266.
59
Royal and Other Historical Letters Illustrative of the Reign of Henry III 2, ed. W. W. Shirley (Rolls
Series, 1866), p. 158. For the context see Carpenter, Henry III 1258–72, p. 220.
60
On the course of the battle see O. de Laborderie, J. R. Maddicott and D. A. Carpenter, ‘The last
hours of Simon de Montfort: a new account’, EHR 115 (2000), pp. 378–412; Cox, Battle of Evesham.
61
Chron. Lanercost (1839), p. 76.
62
‘Fragment d’une chronique rédigéé à l’abbaye de Battle, sur la guerre des barons’, C. Bémont, Simon
de Montfort comte de Leicester (Paris, 1884), pp. 373–80 (at p. 380); ‘Annales prioratus de Dunstaplia’,
Ann. Monastici 3, p. 239; Oxnead, p. 229.
63
Miracles, ed. Halliwell, p. xxx n, quoting London, British Library, Cotton MS Faustina B VI (annals
of Croxden abbey).
64
Rob. Gloucester 2, p. 765.
65
D. Cox, ‘The tomb of Simon de Montfort: an enquiry’, Transactions of the Worcestershire
Archaeological Soc. 3rd ser. 36 (2018), pp. 159–71 (at pp. 159–62).

xxxi
Figure 3 The abbey church, Evesham, in the late thirteenth century. Conjectural plan based
on archaeological and historical records. a Altar of the Holy Cross. b Tomb of St Wulfsige.
c Graves of Simon de Montfort, Henry de Montfort and Hugh le Despenser. d High altar.
 Introduction

be the vital force in shaping and sustaining his reputation as a saint. Meanwhile,
however, martyrdom alone did not prove that Simon de Montfort was in fact a
saint; confirmation of his ultimate glorification would depend on God sending
miracles,66 and it was not inevitable that he would do so. For not everyone was
dismayed to hear that Earl Simon was dead: the constable of Bridgnorth castle in
Shropshire maintained a posthumous aversion to him, ‘because he deprived me
of many valuable things’ (79), and others continued to disparage him for political
reasons, even within religious houses that had been enthusiastically Montfortian
(74, 200). Nevertheless, everybody who had remained attached to Simon’s fight for
reform felt bereavement and anger, and while they had to give up hope of social
change they clung to the possibility that in their personal difficulties God would
allow Earl Simon to intercede for them in heaven. Predictably, when news of his
miracles broke, ‘Sighs were changed into shouts of praise, and the former level of
gladness was revived.’67
The first stories had emerged quickly, and by 1266 reports of Earl Simon’s
miracles were common knowledge: according to one royalist, ‘Nearly everybody
is saying that Sir Simon, the earl of Leicester, is a saint.’ (3) Moreover, the popular
mood was enough to elevate his dead companions Henry de Montfort and Hugh
le Despenser to a similar level:

With the father, the son Henry was taken, died and was buried, a martyr and
a virtuous knight. A thousand signs show that both of them were saints, with
a thousand sick people telling their praises. (203 lines 56–9)

God made several signs of sanctity through Hugh, for the blind received
sight on coming to his tomb, and cripples their proper means of walking.68

Any impression that a wave of confidence in Simon de Montfort’s miraculous powers

had flooded the country soon after the battle ought, however, to be examined. For
some of the miracle cures, the patient did not turn to him spontaneously but did
so only after being prompted in a dream or by a friend. Meanwhile the earl’s
cult faced not only occasional indifference but also severe royalist opposition.
Immediately after the battle of Evesham there was an uncontrolled ‘orgy of
vengeance’ against the Montfortians, and then in September 1265 the king began
the formal seizure of contrariants’ estates.69 Well into 1266, therefore, royalists were

66
See 203 lines 58–9, 217 line 2.
67
Rishanger, De Bellis, p. 546.
68
Chron. Melrose (1835), p. 201.
69
C. H. Knowles, ‘The resettlement of England after the barons’ war, 1264–67’, Transactions of the
Royal Historical Soc. 5th ser. 32 (1982), pp. 25–41 (at pp. 25–30).

xxxiii
 Introduction

finding opportunities to intimidate not only Montfortian rebels but also personal
enemies whom they alleged to be contrariants. It is hardly surprising, therefore,
that the miracles ‘were not revealed in public because of royalist intimidation’,70
and that ‘No-one has dared to make known anything like this for fear of the
king and his followers.’71 Nevertheless, Montfortian rebels were still holding out
in defensible places like Kenilworth castle and the Isle of Ely and pillaging the
surrounding areas. Amid the discord and violence the signatories of the Dictum
of Kenilworth in October 1266 asked the papal legate to forbid anyone to call Earl
Simon a saint or a just man or to speak of his ‘vain and fatuous miracles’; and
they asked the king to inflict corporal punishment on everyone who disobeyed.72
At the abbey of Bury St Edmunds, which was heavily fined for its abbot’s support
of the contrariants, someone decided to erase from John de Taxter’s chronicle an
assertion that there were miracles;73 other chroniclers would refer only to rumours
of miracles and cited none in particular.74
Official efforts to suppress Simon de Montfort’s cult were aimed especially
at its focal point, Evesham abbey:

the monks of Evesham, among whom Simon is buried, dare neither to show
the tomb nor to publish the miracles, because of royalist intimidation.75

concealment is sought by the power of his enemies, which is directed towards

covering up the fame of him and his own; through their minions they cause
the ways and paths of those who come [to Evesham] to be blocked by day,
although many of them try to go there on pilgrimage by night.76

The probable organizer of the Evesham roadblocks was the sheriff of Worcestershire,
Sir William Beauchamp of Elmley,77 a royalist who had sent two sons to fight in
the battle.78 His castle at Elmley stood five miles south-west of the town and his

70
Chron. et Annales, pp. 36–7 (for regum read regium).
71
Chron. Furness, p. 548.
72
Documents of the Baronial Movement of Reform and Rebellion 1258–1267, ed. R. F. Treharne and
I. J. Sanders (Oxford, OMT, 1973), pp. 322–3.
73
Gransden, Historical Writing c.550 to c.1307, pp. 396, 401 and plate XI (a).
74
e.g. Chron. et Annales, pp. 36–7; Chron. Furness, p. 548; Chronica Buriensis: The Chronicle of
Bury St Edmunds, 1212–1301, ed. A. Gransden (London, Nelson’s Medieval Texts, 1964), p. 33; Chron.
Canterbury–Dover, p. 243; ‘Gesta sanctae memoriae Ludovici regis Franciae; auctore Guillelmo de
Nangiaco’, Receuil des historiens des Gaules et de la France 20, ed. P.-C.-F. Daunou and J. Naudet (Paris,
1840), pp. 309–462 (at p. 418).
75
Polychronicon Ranulphi Higden Monachi Cestrensis 8, ed. J. R. Lumby (Rolls Series, 1883), p. 250n.
76
Chron. Lanercost (1839), p. 77.
77
List of Sheriffs for England and Wales from the Earliest Times to A.D. 1831 (Public Record Office,
Lists and Indexes 9, 1898), p. 157.
78
ODNB, s.n. ‘Beauchamp, William de, ninth earl of Warwick’.

xxxiv
 Introduction

Figure 4 The Evesham cult sites in the thirteenth century,

and the roads to them. Contour heights in feet.

xxxv
 Introduction

Worcestershire estates almost surrounded the abbey’s.79 There is certainly one

recorded case of interception by his men, in which staff of Elmley castle stopped
a girl on her way from Evesham to Elmley on suspicion that she was bringing back
healing water from the battlefield (9).
Once inside the abbey church, however, pilgrims could make their way in peace
to the east end of the nave and pray there before the rood and the altar of the Holy
Cross (195). Able-bodied visitors could do that without intruding on the monks’
regular services, and if sick or disabled persons arrived they and their companions,
including women, might be allowed to pass into the choir to visit the Montfortian
graves, even while a service was in progress (196); some patients even ascended to
the presbytery to sleep in front of the high altar (194). But notice was being taken
that the monks had hosted the Montfortians before the battle, had given Christian
burial to the remains of Earl Simon and had admitted pilgrims to his tomb, and
William of Marlborough, the abbot-elect, was held to account for those offences.
Since William had not yet received papal confirmation the legate was able to bar
him from the abbacy in 1266 and replace him with someone from another house.80
Inevitably the Evesham monks ‘feared to incur the indignation of the great’ and
under external pressure they removed Earl Simon’s remains from the choir and
hid them.81 In spite of everything, however, Earl Simon’s empty grave remained a
cult site,82 and next to it were the undisturbed bodies of Henry de Montfort and
Hugh le Despenser. Also very near was the miracle-working tomb of St Wulfsige
(29). A pilgrimage to St Wulfsige could therefore be a visitor’s pretext for illicit
veneration of the dead Montfortians. It was fortunate too, or perhaps contrived,
that in 1266 an alternative cult site became available outside the town when a pond
of healing water was identified on the battlefield (3).83 It was then called the Earl’s
well or Earl Simon’s well and became a permanent place of pilgrimage.84 Known
as the Battle well by the 1450s and ever afterwards, the pond can still be seen,85 and
in the nineteenth century local people would use its water to bathe ‘weak’ eyes.86
79
C. J. Bond, ‘The estates of Evesham abbey: a preliminary survey of their medieval topography’, Vale
of Evesham Historical Soc. Research Papers 4 (1973), p. 4 (map); Beauchamp Cart. p. lvi (map).
80
Cox, Battle of Evesham, pp. 33–4.
81
‘Opus chronicorum’, Chronica S. Albani [II], pp. 3–59 (at p. 20); ‘Annales monasterii de Oseneia’,
Ann. Monastici 2, pp. 3–352 (at pp. 176–7). They may have been consigned to a quiet corner of the crypt:
Cox, ‘Tomb of Simon de Montfort’, pp. 166–8.
82
On public access to saints’ shrines and tombs see A. E. Bailey, ‘Reconsidering the medieval experience
at the shrine in high medieval England’, Journal of Medieval History 47 (2021), pp. 203–29. I am grateful
to Dr Bailey for a copy of this article.
83
See Chron. Furness, p. 548.
84
J. R. Maddicott, ‘Follower, leader, pilgrim, saint: Robert de Vere, earl of Oxford, at the shrine of
Simon de Montfort, 1273’, EHR 109 (1994), pp. 641–53 (at p. 649).
85
Cox, Battle of Evesham, pp. 36–8.
86
‘F.P.’, ‘The Battlewell, Evesham’, in E. A. B. Barnard (ed.), Notes & Queries concerning Evesham and
the Four Shires 2 (Evesham, 1911), p. 152.

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 Introduction

Preservation and rediscovery

Social conflict gradually subsided in the 1270s after an enlightened royal policy
allowed disinherited rebels to resume their estates and made institutional changes
that satisfied reformist aspirations.87 The last entry in the Evesham miracle book
was made c.1280 and, as far as one can tell, no more laments, prayers, or hymns
were composed after that. The existing texts continued to be read but they were no
longer topical. Instead, they acquired an appeal as historical documents, literary
relics and moral tales. After all, to thoughtful people Simon de Montfort remained
a figure of great moral and historical interest, a name to be mentioned when
discussion turned to such perennial topics as the changefulness of Fortune or the
need for constitutional change.88 Like Charles XII of Sweden,

He left the name, at which the world grew pale,

To point a moral, or adorn a tale.89

A lesson from Montfort’s career is cited, for instance, in the Vita Edwardi Secundi,
written in the early fourteenth century: ‘It is not safe to rise up against the king,
because the outcome is likely to be unfortunate. For even Simon earl of Leicester
was at last laid low in battle at Evesham.’90 The ancient Wheel of Fortune continued
to turn and had been invoked soon after the battle in one of the Montfortian
hymns (219), and later in that century one of the laments (205) was copied into a
book next after a diagram of the Wheel of Life, another representation of a man’s
rise and fall. Elsewhere a version of that lament (204) was copied poignantly next
to verses that had celebrated Simon’s victory at Lewes. Edward II himself, son of
the victor of Evesham, was willing to pay two women for ‘singing of Sir Simon
de Montfort and other songs’ in 132391 and probably relished a reminder of the
mighty rebel’s downfall.
Montfortian texts seem to have been valued in the later Middle Ages as
specimens of poetry, and perhaps as records of religious and constitutional history.
Laments are found copied in books on theology (203) and canon law (207), and
87
Knowles, ‘Resettlement of England’; J. R. Maddicott, ‘Edward I and the lessons of baronial reform:
local government, 1258–80’, in P. R. Coss and S. D. Lloyd (eds), Thirteenth Century England I: Proceedings
of the Newcastle upon Tyne Conference 1985 (Woodbridge, 1986), pp. 1–30.
88
C. Knowles, Simon de Montfort 1265–1965 (Historical Association General Ser. 60, 1965), pp. 7–10; D
Waley, ‘Simon de Montfort and the historians’, Sussex Archaeological Collections 140 (2002), pp. 65–70;
S. Walker, Political Culture in Later Medieval England, ed. M. J. Braddick (Manchester and New York,
2006), pp. 213, 221–2 n. 117.
89
Samuel Johnson, The Vanity of Human Wishes (1749), lines 221–2.
90
Vita Edwardi Secundi: The Life of Edward the Second, ed. and transl. W. R. Childs (Oxford, OMT,
2005), pp. 76–7.
91
The Honor and Forest of Pickering 3, ed. R. B. Turton (North Riding Record Soc. new ser. 3, 1896),
pp. 225–6.

xxxvii
 Introduction

another (208) formed part of a handsome compilation of law texts, where there
was an intention to set the verses to music. At St Augustine’s abbey, Canterbury,
the monk Ralph of Gatwick (fl.1297–1325) gave the house a volume (now lost)
that included not only political tracts but also ‘Planctus Anglie de morte Simonis
de Montis Fortis’ (England’s Lament on the Death of Simon de Montfort).92 And
local history in particular was served by a copy of ‘Illos saluauit’ (206) embedded
in a chronicle kept at Peterborough abbey, where the verses preserved references
to local strife in the post-Evesham rebellion.
Montfortian writings, enjoyable simply as literature, were also a useful
bank of exempla for religious teachers. One of the laments (205) was evidently
copied by Franciscans in Ireland as sermon material, and the surviving copy of the
miracle book was made for a collection of texts that illustrated contacts between
living people and the other-world. Churches, too, may have valued Montfortian
prayers and hymns as literature, and also as records of a liturgical tradition; church
calendars made a hundred years after Simon de Montfort’s death still included his
anniversary, and prayers and hymns were being copied even later (221). But such
materials did not imply continued devotion to Earl Simon. Only at Evesham did his
cult show signs of life after c.1280; at least, the Earl’s well seems to have maintained
a reputation for sanctity, for by c.1448 it was marked by a stone Crucifixion under
a canopy, and by 1457 Abbot John Wykewone seems to have built a chapel there.93
The Battle well chapel was short-lived, however. A printed missal that was given
to it before 150294 migrated to the abbey church before the Dissolution, and the
chapel was no more than a vague local memory by the mid-eighteenth century.95
Secular interest in Simon de Montfort outlived the Reformation but his
reappearance in imaginative literature came later, in response to the romantic
medievalism and liberal politics of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth
centuries. It was then that the original Montfortian texts began to appear in print
and in some cases to be translated. The first lament published in full was an
English verse translation of ‘Chaunter mestoit’ (204) by the young Walter Scott;
in 1840 the miracle book was printed; and the first full biography, by Reinhold
Pauli, appeared in German in 1867.96 In that process of rediscovery Simon de
Montfort acquired the popular image of a fearless champion of democracy and

92
MLGB3 (‘Medieval Libraries of Great Britain’ website), BA1.871; A. B. Emden, Donors of Books to
S. Augustine’s Abbey Canterbury (Oxford Bibliographical Soc. Occasional Publication 4, 1968), p. 10.
93
Evesham Abbey and Local Society in the Late Middle Ages: The Abbot’s Household Account 1456–7
and the Priors’ Registers 1520–40, ed. D. Cox (WHS, new ser. 30, 2021), pp. 26–7.
94
Oxford, Bodleian Library, Gough Missals 33: Bodleian Libraries ‘Bod-Inc Online’ website.
95
Cox, Battle of Evesham, pp. 41–2.
96
Simon de Montfort, Graf von Leicester, Schöpfer des Hauses der Gemeinen (Tübingen, London and
Edinburgh, 1867). Published in English as Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, the Creator of the House
of Commons, transl. U. M. Goodwin (London, 1876).

xxxviii
 Introduction

civil rights; and although Pauli and all subsequent historians refer to his faults
and misdeeds, no academic or humanitarian assessment has yet erased that image.
Places associated with Earl Simon, especially Evesham, Leicester and Lewes, have
named streets and public buildings after him and set up monuments in various
forms. And since the 1880s he has had a leading role in several works of fiction,
including poems and plays; until the 1950s most of them chose to use an archaic
diction that is now little appreciated, but a succession of exciting novels about his
life and times has emerged since then, more or less in current English. Nevertheless,
the monuments, poems, plays and novels of the last two centuries are essentially
commemorations of a secular hero; they cannot draw upon the sincere distress
and devotion that once powered the laments, prayers, hymns and miracle stories
meant for a martyr and a saint.

xxxix
 Catalogue of the Texts and Manuscripts

The miracles
The Evesham abbey miracle book (1–197). London, British Library, Cotton MS
Vespasian A VI, fols 162r–183r. The present copy of the miracle book survives
within a booklet of six texts (fols 134–83). The booklet was copied by a single
scribe in the last quarter of the fourteenth century or the first quarter of the
fifteenth. It is not luxurious but neither is it careless, and it is of a size suitable for
private reading. All six of its items concern conversations between living people
and inhabitants of the other-world: Spiritus Guidonis (The Ghost of Gui) by Jean
Gobi the younger; H[enry] of Sawtry’s Purgatorium sancti Patricii (St Patrick’s
Purgatory); Pene inferni (The Pains of Hell); Passio sancte Iuliane (The Passion of
St Julian); Vita sancti Alexii (The Life of St Alexius); and finally the Evesham abbey
miracle book. It was evidently included because it was relevant to the theme of the
collection, not from a special regard for Earl Simon. Each entry in the miracle book
has a red display initial. After the last miracle entry the scribe has copied two short
liturgical items from Evesham abbey (214–15). They may have descended to his
exemplar from additions made in the original book. There are sixteenth-century
pen-trials on the last page of the booklet (fol. 183v), which is also the last page of
the parent volume; they mention a John Kempt of ‘Cliffton’, a Roger Causefeylde
esquire and a Robert Smyth.
A prologue (1) was added to the miracle book at some time before the
present copy was made. It is an account of events immediately before and after
the battle of Evesham, and seems to descend from a separate narrative composed
at Evesham (and used again in a chronicle compiled there in or after 1392);1 that
narrative in turn was derived from one composed at Evesham in French within
months of the battle.2 The prologue was probably not part of the original miracle
book; it lacks effusions of praise for Simon de Montfort or of horror at his death,

1
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Laud Misc. 529, fols 70r–71v. Some extracts by John Stow from another
‘prologue’ text are in London, British Library, Harley MS 542, fol. 49r.
2
London, College of Arms, MS 3/23B: Laborderie, Maddicott and Carpenter, ‘Last hours of Simon
de Montfort’.

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 Catalogue of the Texts and Manuscripts

and it makes no mention of miracles. In the present manuscript the beginning

and greater part of the prologue fills an unattached leaf inserted between two
gatherings. The unattached leaf (fol. 162) was evidently inserted by the scribe of
the miracle book copy, because he has written the catchword Henricus at the foot
of fol. 162v. Oddly the leaf had suffered extensive clumsy erasures beforehand.
Multispectral photography by the British Library has succeeded in enhancing
some of the erased material, and other versions of the same narrative supply
some deficiencies; nevertheless, it remains impossible to produce a completely
uninterrupted edition.
Previous edition: Miracles, ed. Halliwell, pp. 67–109 (without transcription
of the prologue’s damaged first leaf).
Miracles from the Melrose chronicle (198–201). London, British Library, Cotton
MS Faustina B IX, fols 67v–68v, 71v–72r. The chronicle of Melrose abbey in
Roxburghshire, a house of Premonstratensian canons, has Montfortian miracle
stories in the Opusculum de nobili Simone de Monte Forti editum (A Short Work
written about the Noble Simon de Montfort), which was added to the chronicle
(at fols 64r–73v) in or after 12893 and probably by c.1291.4 Previous editions:
‘Chronica de Mailros’, Rerum Anglicarum Scriptorum Veterum [ed. W. Fulman]
1 (Oxford, 1684), pp. 135–244 (at pp. 232–4, 238–9); Chron. Melrose (1835),
pp. 202–4, 212–13. Previous translation: ‘Chronicle of Melrose’, The Church
Historians of England 4, transl. J. Stevenson, pt 1 (London, 1856), pp. 79–241 (at
pp. 224–7, 233–4).
A miracle from the Lanercost chronicle (202). London, British Library, Cotton
MS Claudius D VII, fol. 192v. This story comes from a lost chronicle by Richard
of Durham, a Franciscan, which ended in 1297 and was later incorporated in the
chronicle of Lanercost priory, a house of Augustinian canons in Cumberland.5
Previous edition: Chron. Lanercost (1839), p. 95. Previous translation: The Chronicle
of Lanercost 1272–1346, transl. H. Maxwell (Glasgow, 1913), pp. 7–8.

The laments, prayers and hymns

Anno milleno (203). Cambridge, Gonville and Caius College, MS 349/542,
fol. 10v. This copy of the lament, hitherto unpublished, is an addendum to one
of the booklets that make up the host volume. The booklet consists mainly of

3
It mentions John de Vescy as deceased: see ODNB, s.n.
4
The Chronicle of Melrose Abbey: A Stratigraphic Edition 1, ed. D. Broun and J. Harrison (Scottish
History Soc. 6th ser. 1, 2007), pp. 168–9.
5
A. G. Little, ‘The authorship of the Lanercost chronicle’, Franciscan Papers, Lists, and Documents
(Manchester, 1943), pp. 42–54 (at pp. 42–6).

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 Catalogue of the Texts and Manuscripts

Book IV of the Sententiarum libri quatuor (Four Books of Sentences) by Peter

Lombard, which is prefaced by a bifolium (fols 9–10) containing a list of the
chapters. The booklet has been dated to the thirteenth century.6 The lament was
neatly copied a little later in ruled columns on the unwritten verso of the second
leaf of the chapters list, a page that had become available after the erasure of
some domestic jottings, e.g. ‘ijd. ad uinum’. The lament’s assumption that Earl
Simon’s son Richard is still alive (line 75) suggests a date of composition no later
than c.1266.
Chaunter mestoit (204). London, British Library, Harley MS 2253, fols 59r–59v.
This copy of the lament is integral to a well-known medieval collection, the ‘Harley
Lyrics’. The manuscript is a large volume, handsome but not luxurious. The verses
were copied between 1331 and 1341 by the manuscript’s ‘Scribe B’, who worked in
the area of Ludlow, Shropshire. The text begins with a red display initial. The lines
of each stanza except the first are bracketed together as are the two lines of the
refrain, which is marked to be repeated between the stanzas. Each line is divided
into three sections by light oblique pen-strokes. The lament appears next after a
triumphant Montfortian poem (‘Sitteth alle stille’) written some time before the
battle of Evesham, and is juxtaposed to it as if to illustrate the mutability of human
affairs; and the lament is followed by epitaphs on vanity.7 A date of composition
c.1266 is suggested by the references to peace being ‘far off’ in 1265 (line 3 and
205 line 3) and to Montfortians in prison (line 46 and 205 line 28); imprisoned
Montfortians are also mentioned in 203 (line 81), apparently written no later
than c.1266. The author of the lament had a special regard for Earl Simon’s third
surviving son, Amaury (lines 34–5), but does not name him or his elder brother
Simon, and it ignores the other brothers Guy and Richard. It is not impossible that
Amaury, a learned cleric, was the author; if so, he may have thought it prudent to
withhold the brothers’ names.
Previous editions: The first printed edition was that of Francis Cohen (later
Palgrave) on pp. xli–xliiii of a rare and untitled private publication (London, 1818)
of which the incipit is Cy ensuyt une chanson moult pitoyable. Subsequent editions
(to 1953) are listed in AN Political Songs, p. 25, where another edition is provided
on pp. 28–32 (with prose translation at pp. 32–3). The lament has since been edited
in Complete Harley 2253 2, pp. 88–97 (with parallel prose translation). There are
also verse translations by Walter Scott, in A Select Collection of English Songs 2,

6
Further details of the MS are in M. R. James, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the
Library of Gonville and Caius College (Cambridge, 1907), pp. 393–4 (which cites an earlier foliation).
7
Complete Harley 2253 2, pp. 8–9, 383–6.

xlii
 Catalogue of the Texts and Manuscripts

ed. J. Ritson, 2nd edn (London, 1813), pp. 380–3,8 and by George Ellis, in Ancient
Songs and Ballads 1, ed. J. Ritson (London, 1829), pp. 18–21.9
Chaunter mestut (205). Dublin, Trinity College, MS 347, fols 2v–3r. The late-
thirteenth-century host manuscript is a small thick portable volume, evidently
of Irish Franciscan origin, and consists mainly of sermon topics together with
some minor tracts and, at the end, a set of annals completed in the late thirteenth
century. The lament was inserted by two thirteenth-century scribes. The first leaf
is perhaps a replacement and the whole lament may formerly have been in the hand
of fol. 3r.10 The scribe of that page brackets the lines in pairs. The two formerly
blank pages (fols 1v–2r) that precede the lament come after a thirteenth-century
diagram of the Wheel of Life on fol. 1r.11 Previous edition: H. Shields, ‘The Lament
for Simon de Montfort: an unnoticed text of the French poem’, Medium Aevum
41 (1972), pp. 202–7 (at p. 203).
Illos saluauit (206). London, British Library, Cotton MS Otho D VIII,
fols 261r–262r. These verses conclude an account, otherwise mainly in prose, of
the dispute between Henry III and his barons (fols 256r–262r); the verses begin
in the aftermath of the battle of Lewes and end with the lawless period after
Simon de Montfort’s death at Evesham. The author of the verses, called Michael
(line 57), gives special attention (at lines 137, 140) to the abbey of Ramsey in
Huntingdonshire. The abbey likewise receives special attention in the prose part
of the account (at fols 256v–257r). The author calls the whole a memoriale and
dedicates it to ‘pater H.’ (fol. 256v), probably Hugh of Sulgrave abbot of Ramsey
(d.14 February 1268). Michael’s verses bemoan the lot of those whom the king
has disinherited since the battle of Evesham (lines 202–5, 224–5), and thus seem
to antedate the settlement of October 1266.12 A reference in the present tense
to Lent (line 215) and another to ‘the coming Easter’ (line 226) suggest that the
lament was completed in Lent 1266 (10 February–27 March). The memoriale
(including the lament) is the first item in a booklet within the present composite
volume. The booklet (fols 256–69) is well produced though plain, and was probably
made in the late fourteenth century; its last item is a chronicle of British history
to 1388. The lament is set out in double columns; guide letters at the beginnings
8
Scott produced this translation at the request of Joseph Ritson (d.1803), who supplied a copy of the
French text. A note (on p. 380) states that ‘It was the object of the translator to imitate, as literally as
possible, the style of the original, even in its rudeness, abrupt transitions, and obscurity; such being the
particular request of Mr Ritson.’
9
A note (on p. 18) states that Ellis wrote this translation at Ritson’s request, i.e. in or before 1803.
10
D. Tyson, ‘Lament for a dead king’, Journal of Medieval History 30 (2004), pp. 359–75 (at p. 371).
11
Further details are in The ‘Annals of Multyfarnham’: Roscommon and Connacht Provenance,
ed. B. Williams (Dublin, 2012), pp. 20–2; Trinity College Dublin ‘Manuscripts and Archives Online
Catalogue’ website.
12
Jobson, First English Revolution, p. 157.

xliii
 Catalogue of the Texts and Manuscripts

of lines 1 and 125 indicate the positions of display initials, but none is provided.
The verses break off abruptly on fol. 262r, leaving the rest of the second column
blank; the whole verso of that leaf, however, was originally ruled in two columns
as if ready for more lines of verse. This unfinished copy of the lament (and thus
of the memoriale) may have been made at Peterborough abbey; on the verso of
its last leaf (fol. 262v) a similar hand begins the record of a dispute between the
abbey and the inhabitants of Dogsthorpe. Incidentally, the abbey owned a work
described in the late fourteenth century as Vita Simonis de Monteforti rithmice
(The Life of Simon de Montfort in Verse).13
Previous edition: Miracles, ed. Halliwell, pp. 139–46. The manuscript had
been badly burnt in 1731 and Halliwell worked from the remains of the damaged
leaves, by then detached. Some words and characters had already been lost and
after his edition was published the fragments remained susceptible to further
losses. When the leaves were eventually inlaid in paper frames, some remaining
characters at the edges were unavoidably covered up.14 Halliwell’s edition therefore
enables textual losses incurred after his involvement to be restored.
Vbi fuit mons (207). Cambridge, Gonville and Caius College, MS 85/167,
fol. ii r. These verses were copied, apparently in the owner’s hand, on a flyleaf of
the host volume, a later-thirteenth-century collection of treatises on canon law.
The manuscript seems to have belonged c.1270 to a Walter ‘de Hyda’, clerk, who
became or aspired to be rector of Broadwater in Sussex.15 He may have been related
to Walter de la Hyde, a layman whose father-in-law John de Neville and mother-
in-law Hawis of Gaddesden were patrons of Broadwater rectory.16 The scribe has
bracketed the lines in threes. The reference to a hoped-for Montfortian invasion by
sea (lines 158–9) and to the landing of a ship bringing discord (lines 161–2) would
be consistent with composition in 1267. Previous edition: F. W. Maitland, ‘A song
on the death of Simon de Montfort’, EHR 9 (1896), pp. 314–18 (at pp. 316–18).
Vulneratur karitas (208). London, British Library, Harley MS 746, fols 103v–104r.
The lament is integral to a handsome collection of material on the laws of England
that was probably compiled between c.1279 and 1285.17 The verses are added in
some blank ruled columns left over at the end of the volume, and in a similar
book-hand to the rest. They are divided into stanzas, each beginning with a
13
Peterborough Abbey (CBMLC), p. 158, no. BP21.285f.
14
Miracles, ed. Halliwell, p. xx n; A. Prescott, ‘“Their present miserable state of cremation”: The
restoration of the Cotton library’, in C. J. Wright (ed.), Sir Robert Cotton as Collector: Essays on an
Early Stuart Courtier and his Legacy (London, 1997), pp. 391–454.
15
James, MSS of Gonville and Caius 1, pp. 82–4; H. G. Richardson, ‘Studies in Bracton’, Traditio 6
(1948), pp. 61–104 (at pp. 61–2); Tyson, ‘Lament for a dead king’, p. 373.
16
VCH Suss. 6, pt 1, pp. 69, 77; below, 117.
17
AN Political Songs, p. 149.

xliv
 Catalogue of the Texts and Manuscripts

paragraph mark, red for the Latin stanzas and blue for the French. Each stanza
is copied without line-breaks, the columns being too narrow for whole lines of
verse. The lines of the first stanza are spaced for the insertion of musical notation;
in performance the music would have been repeated for every stanza. No such
notation was inserted, but a sketch of music for the first seven words (the first two
lines of that column) is discernible as a single stave on fol. 107r (formerly blank).
The stave antedates the pen-trials above and below it. The manuscript probably
resided in Lincolnshire in the mid fourteenth century; Hugh of Obthorpe (fl.1355–
69) from Baston18 is mentioned on fol. 104v and again in the pen-trials. References
to robbers roaming the country (lines 49, 53, 59, 63) suggest that the verses were
composed between 1265 and 1267, when other laments made similar references
(206 line 209; 207 lines 155–6). Previous editions: Political Songs, pp. 133–6 (with
prose translation beneath); AN Political Songs, pp. 152–5 (with prose translation
of the French at pp. 155–6).
Calendar from Barking abbey (209). London, British Library, Cotton MS Otho
A V, fol. 2v. The calendar fragment (not seen) in which this entry appears was
copied in the later fourteenth century.19
Calendar from Barking abbey (210). Oxford, University College, MS 169, fol. 4v.
The calendar in which this entry appears is part of a manuscript (not seen) copied
in 1404.20 Previous edition: Barking Ordinale 1, p. 8.
Calendar from Beaulieu abbey? (211). London, British Library, Harley MS 2951,
fol. 129v. The calendar (not seen) was apparently begun c.1250. It is bound into
a Cistercian hymnal believed to have been made for Beaulieu abbey, Hampshire.21
The entry seems to have been added in the later thirteenth century,22 possibly in the
time of Abbot Dennis (d.1280), who is commemorated on fol. 130v. He had been
summoned to Simon de Montfort’s parliament of 1265.23 After Evesham he was
accused of involvement in the destruction of royalist property.24 Previous edition:
P. M. Lefferts, ‘Two English motets on Simon de Montfort’, Early Music History
1 (1981), pp. 203–25 (at p. 210n).
Calendar from Tavistock abbey (212). Cambridge, Corpus Christi College,
MS 210, p. 30b. The manuscript of c.1480 in which this note appears is William
18
Royal Commission on Historical MSS 77, De L’Isle I (1925), p. 16.
19
Barking Ordinale 1, p. ix; British Library ‘Exploring archives and manuscripts’ website.
20
Barking Ordinale 1, p. v.
21
R. W. Pfaff, The Liturgy in Medieval England: A History (Cambridge, 2009), p. 258.
22
P. M. Lefferts, ‘Two English motets on Simon de Montfort’, Early Music History 1 (1981), pp. 203–25
(at p. 210n).
23
Close R. 1264–68, p. 86.
24
E. F. Jacob, Studies in the Period of Baronial Reform and Rebellion, 1258–1267 (Oxford, Oxford
Studies in Social and Legal History 8, 1925), p. 296.

xlv
 Catalogue of the Texts and Manuscripts

Worcester’s autograph record of his journeys through England.25 The calendar that
he saw at Tavistock in Devon is not known to survive. The calendar entry may have
been added in the time of John Chubb, abbot 1262–69, who had been summoned
to Simon de Montfort’s parliament of 1265.26 Previous editions: Itineraria Symonis
Simeonis et Willelmi de Worcestre, ed. J. Nasmyth (Cambridge, 1778), p. 115;
William Worcestre, Itineraries, ed. J. H. Harvey (Oxford, OMT, 1969), p. 112.
Calendar from Evesham abbey (213). London, British Library, Lansdowne
MS 427, fol. 13r. The present manuscript is an early-eighteenth-century copy of
a medieval calendar that was badly burnt in 1731 (British Library, Cotton MS
Vitellius E XVII, fols 241–6). The remains of that manuscript do not include
Simon de Montfort’s entry, which was added at some time before c.1425 (the latest
probable date for 214).
Calendar from Evesham abbey (214). London, British Library, Cotton MS
Vespasian A VI, fol. 183r. The scribe of the Evesham miracle book copied this
note, which quotes from 213, on his last page, where it is followed without a break
by 215. The note does not relate to the scribe’s theme of human encounters with
the other-world, and so was probably already present in his exemplar. Previous
edition: T. Warton, The History of English Poetry, ed. R. Taylor (London, 1840)
1, p. 45n; Miracles, ed. Halliwell, p. 109.
Salue Symon: antiphon, versicle and response (215). London, British Library,
Cotton MS Vespasian A VI, fol. 183r. The scribe of the miracle book copied these
lines immediately after 214 and presented them without line-breaks. Like 214 they
were probably in his exemplar. They appear to be elements of an office or memoria
in honour of Simon de Montfort, lacking a collect. The versicle and response
follow ‘a common formula, used in memoriae and as the bridge between Matins
and Lauds in the office of many saints’. The antiphon text occurs again elsewhere
as a motet (216).27 Previous editions: Political Songs, p. 124 (with prose translation
beneath); Warton, History of English Poetry 1, p. 45n; Miracles, ed. Halliwell,
pp. 109–10; Receuil de chants historiques français, ed. A. Le Roux de Lincy, 1st
ser. (Paris, 1841), pp. 195n–6n; Lefferts, ‘Two English motets’, p. 223 (with parallel
prose translation). A verse translation by Gilbert Murray is in Simon de Montfort
& his Cause 1251–1266, ed. W. H. Hutton (New York and London, 1888), p. 169.
Another, by Oswald Greenwaye Knapp (1859–1947), is in The Evesham Journal
& Four Shires Advertiser, 16 January 1892, p. 3.

25
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge ‘Parker Library on the web’ website.
26
Close R. 1264–68, p. 86.
27
Lefferts, ‘Two English motets’, pp. 212–13.

xlvi
 Catalogue of the Texts and Manuscripts

Salue Symon: motet (216). Cambridge, Jesus College, Old Library Manuscripts,
Old Library, QB5, fol. 139r. This fragment of a motet for three voices survives
on what remains of a bifolium from a large volume, perhaps of the fourteenth
or fifteenth century but possibly older. The verses are presented with no line-
breaks. The bifolium was later removed from its parent volume, cut down and
bound sideways as a flyleaf (fol. 139) at the end of a gradual (or cantatorium) of
c.1300 from Durham cathedral.28 The motet seems to have been part of an office
or memoria in honour of Simon de Montfort.29 The surviving text is also that
of the antiphon in 215. Robert of Stichill bishop of Durham (1261–74) had been
moderately sympathetic to the Montfortian regime and was accused of offences
against the peace after the battle of Evesham.30 Previous edition: B. Cooper, ‘A
thirteenth-century canon reconstructed’, The Music Review 42 (1981), pp. 85–90
(at p. 86, with musical reconstruction); Lefferts, ‘Two English motets’, p. 223 (with
parallel prose translation), with musical reconstruction at p. 224. A reconstruction
by Danil Ryabchikov is sung by Ensemble Labyrinthus on their digital album
Carmina Anglica, released in 2019.
Rumpe celos (217). Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, MS Kk.4.20,
fol. 77v. The hymns 217–20 appear to be addenda to the manuscript, which is
a collection of homiletic works and was acquired by Norwich cathedral priory
between 1272 and c.1325, having formerly belonged to the monk Ralph of
Frettenham (fl.1273).31 The scribe inserted the four items in the later thirteenth
century, using two blank ruled columns left over at the end of the volume. The
hymns 217–19 were inserted first in a careful book-hand. After a blank line, 220
was added, apparently by the same scribe. The lines of 217 are bracketed in threes.
Hymns 218 and 220 are copied without line-breaks, the ruled columns being too
narrow for whole lines of verse. George Prothero suggested that 217–20 belonged
together as ‘portions of an office in memory of Simon de Montfort’, and it was
Henry Bradshaw’s opinion that the hymns 217–19 ‘are probably those used at First
Vespers, at Matins, and at Lauds’.32 It seems probable that 217–18 were composed
before March 1266 like 219, with which they are associated in the manuscript.
Previous editions: G. W. Prothero, The Life of Simon de Montfort Earl of Leicester

28
Ibid. pp. 212–13, 216, 221; P. M. Lefferts, ‘Sources of thirteenth-century English polyphony: Catalogue
with descriptions’, Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln Faculty Publications: School of Music 45 (online).
29
Lefferts, ‘Two English motets’, p. 211.
30
Ambler, Bishops in the Political Community, pp. 137, 180.
31
A Catalogue of the Manuscripts preserved in the Library of the University of Cambridge (Cambridge,
1856–67) 3, pp. 666–8; N. R. Ker, ‘Manuscripts from Norwich cathedral priory’, Transactions of the
Cambridge Bibliographical Soc. 1 (1949), pp. 1–28 (at pp. 7, 13).
32
G. W. Prothero, The Life of Simon de Montfort Earl of Leicester with Special Reference to the
Parliamentary History of his Time (London, 1877), p. 388.

xlvii
 Catalogue of the Texts and Manuscripts

with Special Reference to the Parliamentary History of his Time (London, 1877),
pp. 388–9 (217), 389 (218), 390–1 (219), 391 (220).
Mater Syon (218). Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, MS Kk.4.20,
fol. 77v. The manuscript presents the hymn in separate stanzas, with a rubricated
title. See also 217.
Nequit stare (219). Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, MS Kk.4.20,
fol. 77v. The manuscript brackets the lines in pairs. References to piracy at sea
(lines 25–8) suggest composition before March 1266. See also 217.
O decus militie: antiphon, versicle and collect (220). Cambridge, Cambridge
University Library, MS Kk.4.20, fol. 77v. The collect appears to be in the same
hand as the rest of 220 but in a slightly larger script. Item 220 comprises elements
of an office or memoria in honour of Simon de Montfort, to be said at the close of
First Vespers or Lauds.33 In Bradshaw’s opinion, ‘the Suffragium [220] was probably
the Commemoration at Lauds’.34 Another version of the antiphon (with different
versicle and collect) is in 221. See also 217.
O decus militie: antiphon, versicle and collect (221). Cologne, Historisches
Archiv der Stadt Köln, Best. 7010 (Wallraf) 28, fol. 84v. These are elements of an
office or memoria in honour of Simon de Montfort (cf. 220). The copy is integral
to the manuscript, a portable paper volume written in a single cursive hand. It
is a later-fifteenth-century collection of prayers that belonged to the Cologne
charterhouse or to one of its monks.35 The antiphon is presented without line-
breaks. and the whole is followed immediately by an antiphon and collect for
Thomas of Lancaster. Another version of the Montfort antiphon (with different
versicle and collect) is in 220. Previous edition: Liturgische Reimofficien 2, p. 7.
Miles Christi (222). Cambridge, St John’s College, MS F.1 (formerly MS 138),
detached leaf (formerly fols 127v–128r). A fragment of this motet for three voices
survives, on a leaf from a large service book that was perhaps compiled in the
third quarter of the thirteenth century. The fragment shows the beginnings of two
voices, with musical notation, which were copied separately in parallel columns
and with no line-breaks, starting at the foot of a verso page and continuing on
the facing recto. The fate of that second leaf and of any others is unknown,
but the first became detached from the parent volume; it was turned sideways,
folded and inserted as a pastedown and flyleaf at the back of a thirteenth-century
volume from the abbey of Bury St Edmunds. The leaf is now kept separately
33
Lefferts, ‘Two English motets’, pp. 210–12.
34
Prothero, Life of Simon de Montfort, p. 388.
35
Liturgische Reimofficien 7, pp. 5–8; Historisches Archiv der Stadt Köln ‘Das digitale Historische
Archiv Köln’ website.

xlviii
 Catalogue of the Texts and Manuscripts

and unfolded.36 Previous edition: Lefferts, ‘Two English motets’, pp. 222–3 (with
parallel prose translation), with musical reconstruction at pp. 219–20. A line-by-line
prose translation is in A. Gransden, ‘Some manuscripts in Cambridge from Bury
St Edmunds abbey: Exhibition catalogue’, in A. Gransden (ed.), Bury St Edmunds:
Medieval Art, Architecture, Archaeology and Economy (British Archaeological
Association Conference Transactions 20, 1998), pp. 228–85 (at p. 268).

36
Gransden, ‘Some manuscripts in Cambridge from Bury St Edmunds’, pp. 236, 267–8.

xlix
 Editorial Procedure

Nearly every text has been edited from its manuscript or from a digital copy of it.
The only exceptions are three of the calendar entries, which are taken from reliable
published editions. Items are numbered and titled editorially. The translations are
my own, and references to others are provided. In the editorial matter quotations
from the Vulgate are given in Latin from the Stuttgart edition and in English
from the Douay–Rheims translation. Scribal contractions and abbreviations are
extended silently unless ambiguous, when they are represented by an apostrophe.
Punctuation and capitalization are my own. Medieval spellings have been retained,
except that in Latin words J/j and U/v have been standardized to I/i and V/u (only
in roman numerals are j and v preserved); in vernacular words J/j and V/v are used
as consonants; and medial c and t in Latin are transcribed according to English
derivatives of the same word, e.g. iusticia from ‘justice’ and militia from ‘military’.
Diacritical marks have not been added to medieval French words; they are not
present in the manuscripts and any ambiguities are resolved in the translation.
The following editorial signs are used:
<> damaged, corrupt or incomplete matter reconstructed
†† words of unclear meaning, possibly corrupt
*** lost or damaged matter deemed irrecoverable
\/ matter originally inserted above the line
[] matter inserted by the editor

l
TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS
 The Evesham abbey miracle book
London, British Library, Cotton MS Vespasian A VI

1 [fol. 162r] [Prologus.] Anno Domini MoCCo <sextodecimo quinto primo

die>a augusti dominus Edwardus <primogenitus regis et Gilbertus>b de Clare
***c Quo peruento dominum Symonem de Monteforti iuniorem et exercitum suum
in prioratu et papilionibus suis extra castrum inuenerunt inermes et dormientes.
Dominus autem Symon de Monteforti in castrum cum difficultate non modica
susceptus euasit. Et paucis interemptis ibidem captiuati sunt Gilbertus de
Graunt, comes Oxonie, Willelmus de Mouncheinysy, Ricardus de Gray, Adam
de Newmarche, Baldewinus Wake, Walterus de Colevile, Iohannes de Gray filius
Ricardi de Gray, Hugo Nevill ***d quod uia pacis inueniri non potuit. Dominus
rex et dominus Symon comes Leycestrie cum exercitu suo de Kemesey ante horam
diei primam apud Evesham uenientes ***e circa horam diei tertiam audito de
aduentu dictorum dominorum Edwardi et Gilberti de Clare et eorum exercitus
qui de ciuitate Wigorniensis profecti fuerant ***f Caligauit enim terra sub nubilo
et celum tenebris inhorrens inconsuetam et procellosam set breuem imbrium
emisit tempestatem. [fol. 162v] <Demum declinata>g terribili tempestate predicta
factus est aer serenior et aura clementior. Exeuntibus igitur domino rege et domino
Symone comite Leycestrie et eorum exercitu extra uillam Eueshamie Vnfredus
de Boun cum omnibus peditibus quoniam ductor eorum [erat]h constitutus in
acie posteriori extra uoluntatem dicti Symonis comitis Leycestrie moratus est.
Prenominati domini Edwardus et Gilbertus de Clare cum exercitu suo ut alios

a
MoCCo sexto decimo quinto primo die] 1265 primo die C. These sigla are used in the Prologue: B
(Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Laud Misc. 529, fols 70r–71v); C (London, British Library, Harley MS
542, fol. 49r).
b
primogenitus regis et Gilbertus] B.
c
About four lines.
d
About four lines.
e
About eight words.
f
About four lines.
g
Demum declinata] B; Deinde MS.
h
erat] B.

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 The Evesham abbey miracle book
London, British Library, Cotton MS Vespasian A VI, fols 162r–183r

1 [Prologue.] In the year of our Lord 1265 on the first day of August Sir Edward,
the king’s first-born, and Gilbert of Clare *** On reaching there,1 they found
Sir Simon de Montfort the younger and his army in the priory and in their
tents outside the castle, unarmed and asleep. But Sir Simon de Montfort, with
considerable difficulty, escaped into the castle. Few were killed, but Gilbert de
Gaunt, the earl of Oxford,2 William de Munchensi, Richard de Grey, Adam of
Newmarket, Baldwin Wake, Walter de Coleville, John de Grey son of Richard de
Grey and Hugh de Neville were taken prisoner there *** that the ‘way of peace’3
could not be found. The king and Sir Simon earl of Leicester with his army, coming
from Kempsey,4 reached Evesham before the first hour of the day *** and having
heard, about the third hour of the day, of the arrival of the said lords Edward and
Gilbert of Clare and their army, who had travelled from the city of Worcester ***
Now, the land grew dark beneath clouds. The heavens, menacing with gloom, sent
an extraordinary and stormy downpour, though it was short. When the terrible
storm abated at last, the air turned calmer and the weather more kind. While the
lord king and Sir Simon earl of Leicester and their army were therefore leaving
the town of Evesham, Humphrey de Bohun had been appointed commander of
all the foot solders, but remained with them in the rear against the wishes of
Simon earl of Leicester. Those lords, Edward and Gilbert of Clare, with their army

1
Kenilworth (Warwickshire).
2
Robert de Vere.
3
Luke 1: 79.
4
The residence of Walter Cantilupe bishop of Worcester.

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 The Evesham abbey miracle book

circumcluderent tripartito montem ascenderunt partibus igitur iuxta locum qui

dicitur Siveldeston hostiliter congredientibus. <Vmfredus>a de Boun et omnes
Walenses et ceteri pedites plusquam sex <milia>b cum pluribus armatis quorum
animos timor arripuit in fugam conuersi sunt. Videntes igitur dominus Symon
comes Leycestrie et ceteri proceritatis uiri quod ipsos moneret ineuitata necessitas
aut cedere turpiter aut certare uiriliter pauci in multos impetum fecerunt militarem.
Vtrumque autem uiriles <animos>c erigentes in acerbitate facinoris dimicarunt
preliatores et quisque sanguinem alterius requirebat cui sanguine fuerat copulatus.
Demum laborantibus in certaminis ***d uiris cecidit strages super Symonem de
Monteforti et eius exercitum. Extunc dictus comes sicut ex parte fortitudinis et
audacie uir annosus set animosus pondus belli diu sustinuit. Demum pluribus
armatorum in ipsum impetum facientibus et <dextrario>e suo quem mors inuaserat
deficiente solo prostratus abscisis manibus et pedibus decapitatus est. Equestres
autem ex parte illa et pedestres si qui remanserant aliis persequentibus disgregatim
fugerunt. Et erat tanta fuge celeritas quod multi ruinam fluminis Auene credebant
fore terre tutiorem et plures ibi incurrebant periculum ubi speratur effugium ***f
periculorum. Interempti fuerunt illo die ex parte domini comitis preter comitem
[fol. 163r] Henricus filius eius, Hugo Dispensator, Willelmus de <Mandevill>,g
Radulphus Basset de <Drayton>,h Petrus de Monteforti, Hugo de <Hoyvile>,i
Iohannes de Bellocampo de Bedford, Thomas de Hesteleie, Willelmus Devereus,
Guydo <Baylole>,j Ricardus Trussell, Willelmus de Burmingham, Robertus de
<Creppyng’>.k <Et captiuati sunt Guydo de Mounteforti, Iohannes de Vesci,
Vnfredus de Boun comes Herfordie, a fuga reuersus apud Wygorniam, Iohannes
filius Iohannis, Nicholaus de Segrave, Henricus de Hastinges>.l Ex parte domini
Edwardi cecidit Hugo de Troia miles et Adam de Ridmark et pauci alii. In uilla,
in cenobii curia, in monasterio, et capellis earumque atriis populi more pecudum
obtruncati iacuerunt. Et quod uisu fuit horribile et auditu tam mirabile quam
miserabile chorus et alia quecumque monasterii loca fuerunt interemptorum et

a
Vmfredus] B; Vmfredo MS.
b
milia] B.
c
animos] B.
d
One or two words.
e
dextrario] dextrareo B; de dextrario MS.
f
One or two words.
g
Mandevill] Moundewylle B; Arundevil MS.
h
Drayton] B; Draycote MS.
i
Hoyvile] C; Hopvile MS.
j
Baylole] B; Baysell MS.
k
Creppyng’] B; Sepinges MS.
l
Et captiuati sunt … Hastinges] B; Guydo de Mounteforti, Iohannes de Vesci, Vnfredus de Boun a
fuga reuersus apud Wygorniam et captiuati sunt Iohannes filius Iohannis, Roche de Segrave, Henricus
de Hastinges comes Herfordie MS.

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 The Evesham abbey miracle book

ascended the hill,5 in three divisions in order to encircle the others, thus gathering
in warlike fashion in an area near the place called ‘Siveldeston’.6 Humphrey de
Bohun and all the Welshmen and other foot soldiers, more than six thousand
of them, together with many of the armoured men, turned and fled after fear
had gripped their minds. Thus when Sir Simon earl of Leicester and the other
leading men realized that inexorable necessity would force them either to surrender
shamefully or die bravely, the few launched a knightly attack upon the many. Now
all the combatants, raising up their manly spirits, fought as with the ferocity of sin
and each sought the blood of another to whom he was linked by blood. Eventually,
as *** men struggled in combat, carnage descended upon Simon de Montfort and
his army. Thereafter the said earl, a man aged but vigorous, bore the weight of the
battle for a long time as if he was the embodiment of strength and courage. Finally,
with many armed men attacking him and without his warhorse, which death had
overcome, while prostrate on the ground his hands and feet were cut off and he was
beheaded. Then the mounted men of his side and the foot soldiers, if any remained,
scattered and fled, with the others in pursuit. And such was the haste of their flight
that many thought that a fall into the river Avon7 would be safer than one on land,
and many ran into danger where an escape from *** danger was to be hoped for.
That day there were killed on the side of the lord earl, apart from the earl, his
son Henry, Hugh le Despenser, William de Mandeville, Ralph Basset of Drayton,
Piers de Montfort, Hugh de Hoyvill, John Beauchamp of Bedford, Thomas of
Astley, William Deverois, Guy de Balliol, Richard Trussel, William of Birmingham
and Robert of Crepping. And there were taken prisoner Guy de Montfort, John
de Vescy, Humphrey de Bohun earl of Hereford8 at Worcester after coming back
from his flight, John fitz John, Nicholas of Seagrave and Henry Hastings. On
Sir Edward’s side fell Hugh de Troye, knight, and Adam of Ridware and a few
others. In the town, in the abbey precinct, in the abbey church and the chapels and
in their churchyards, people lay slaughtered like beasts. And, which was horrible to
see and astonishing and pitiful to hear of, the choir and other places in the abbey

5
Green hill, overlooking Evesham from the north.
6
An ancient standing stone on the east flank of Green hill: Cox, Battle of Evesham, pp. 17–19.
7
The river encloses Evesham and the battlefield on three sides (Fig. 4).
8
Humphrey is here confused with his father of the same name, the earl of Hereford.

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 The Evesham abbey miracle book

uulneratorum sanguine purpurata. <Cum autem uenirent>a in unum temeritatis

filii <rapacitatisque>b eorum ministri quicquid substancie concupiscibilis inueniri
potuit in uilla et cenobio prede patuit et direptioni.

2 [fol. 163r] Nichil opertum quod non reueletur, etc.c

3 Quidam Ricardus nomine Bagard de Evesham cum transiret cum mercatu

suo uersus Stretford super Auenam apparuit ei ma[g]nus exercitus ueniens de
Kenelworth. Iste metu reuersus est in uia. Habuitque obuiam dominum Willelmum
de Bello Campo cum tota sequela sua. Et inter eos fuit dominus Petrus de
Saultmareis. Dictus Ricardus ait, ‘Cauete! Ecce inimici uestri super uos.’ Ait
dominus Willelmus de Bello Campo, ‘Reuertentur sarcine’ et fecerunt moram in
loco ubi sancti martires occubuerunt. Tunc ait dominus Petrus, ‘Fere omnes dicunt
dominum Simonem comitem Leycestrie esse sanctum. Ideo deprecemur Iesum
Christum eiusque sanctam Dei genitricem [fol. 163v] geniculando forte deridendo.
Si sanctus est demonstret uirtutem suam et det nobis in loco isto aquam uiuam.’
Et arripuit os scapule caballi et cepit fodere. Mira Dei uirtus! De terra arida et
petrosa aque dulcissime in uertice montis persiliunt. Et hoc anno reuoluto. <Id
est secundo anno et tempore guerre>.d

4 Henricus Chaunteler laicus guttam habens in renibus ita quod uix per tres dies
incedere non potuit nisi cum sustamento baculi. Hic autem obuians casu cuidam
homini de Mucleton deferenti aquam in quodam uase de fonte qui dicebatur comitis
Simonis petiit ut eidem daret de aqua predicta ad qantitatem quam tenere posset
in manu. Qui eidem concessit et dedit, et cum locum guttatum linisset conualuit.
Huius rei testes sunt Iohannes de Bretforton capellanus, Ricardus Cappellanus
filius eius, et plures alii.e

a
Cum autem uenirent] B; Tunc autem uenerunt MS.
b
rapacitatisque] rapacitatis quod MS.
c
The next entry runs on without a break.
d
Id est secundo anno et tempore guerre] In E secundo A et T G MS.
e
In margin in a contemporary hand miraculum 2.

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 The Evesham abbey miracle book

church were red with the blood of the slain and wounded. Then, when the sons
of audacity and the servants of their rapacity arrived en masse, whatever could be
found in the town that was valuable and desirable suffered plunder and spoliation.

2 Nothing is covered that should not be revealed, etc.9

3 One Richard, surnamed Badger,10 from Evesham, was on his way to Stratford
upon Avon11 with his merchandise when a large army came into view, approaching
from Kenilworth. In fear he turned back along the road and there he met Sir William
Beauchamp12 with all his retinue, among whom was Sir Piers Saltmarsh.13 Richard
said, ‘Take care! Look, here come your enemies.’ Sir William Beauchamp said,
‘Turn the baggage train about,’ and they halted in the place where the holy martyrs
had fallen.14 Then said Sir Piers, ‘Nearly everybody is saying that Sir Simon the
earl of Leicester is a saint. If we ourselves were to do that, we would disparage
Jesus Christ and the holy mother of God, perhaps even mocking them by bending
the knee [to the earl]. If he is a saint let him show his powers and give us some
living water just here.’ And he picked up a horse’s shoulder blade and began to
dig. O, the wonderful power of God! From the dry and stony earth the sweetest
waters leapt forth on top of the hill. And this was a year later [than the battle of
Evesham]; that is, in the second year and during the war.
[In the margin] miracle 1.

4 Henry the chandler, a prominent layman, had a gout in his side so that for
nearly three days he was unable to walk without the aid of a stick. By chance,
however, he met a man from Mickleton carrying a container with water from what
was called ‘Earl Simon’s well’.15 Henry asked him if he would give him some of the
water, as much as he might keep in his hand. The man agreed and gave it to him,
and after he had bathed the gouty place he recovered. The witnesses to this matter
are John the chaplain of Bretforton, Richard Chaplain his son and many others.16
[In the margin] miracle 2.

9
An allusion to the Sermon on the Mount (at Matt. 10: 26–8).
10
A badger was a hawker.
11
Fourteen miles north-east of Evesham.
12
A royalist: ODNB, s.n. ‘Beauchamp, William de, ninth earl of Warwick’. He died in 1269: Cal. Inq.
p.m. 1236–72, p. 220. See also 9n.
13
He witnesses William’s charters in the 1260s: Beauchamp Cart. pp. 22, 27.
14
On Green hill.
15
Henry lived at Bretforton (see 55), about four miles east of Evesham and half-way to Mickleton.
16
This is a version of 55.

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5 Radulfus de Boklonde de Teneth ultra Cantuariam habens guttam per tres

annos et septem septimanas nimis pungidiuam in sinistra gamba. Et iacuit continue
in lecto in dextere parte. Mensuratus ad comitem et gamba lota de aqua fontis
martiris multis uidentibus ad predictum fontem conualuit. Vnde hoc testatur tota
insula de Teneth.a

6 Domina comitissa Glouernie habuit palefridum asmaticum, gallice porsif,

per duos annos. In redeundo ab Eueshamia uersus Theukesbury, cabello hausto
de fonte comitis et caput et facies lota, in presencia dicte comitisse conualuit. Et
denario plicato in testimonio sanitatis et miraculi iterum misit armigerum suum
Eueshamiam. Huius rei testes predicta comitissa cum tota familia sua.b

7 Alicia de Novereis Burton iuxta Leycestriam percussa paralisi in sinistra parte

per tria annos, postea percussa in dextera per sex annos. Ista pernoctauit ad fontem
[fol. 164r] comitis nocte sancte Eadburge uirginis et ibi sanitatem in omnis membris
tam in dextera quam in leua gloriose recuparauit anno gracie †MoCColixo†. De
hoc teste tota uillata de Novereis Burton.

8 Item Radulfus clericus de †Sepham Burland† claudus per nouem septimanas

ad fontem comitis conualuit.

9 Mulier de Elmeley egrota misit puellam ad fontem comitis propter aquam. In

redeundo a fonte ministrales castelli obuiam habuit. Interrogauerunt puellam quid
haberet in pichero. Ait illa, ‘Nouam seruiciam Eueshamie’. Qui dixerunt, ‘Non.
Habes aquam de fonte comitis’ et hauserunt et inuenerunt sicut puella dixerat. Et

a
In margin in a contemporary hand miraculum 3.
b
In margin in a contemporary hand miraculum 4.

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5 Ralph of Buckland from Thanet beyond Canterbury had had an extremely

painful gout for three years and seven weeks in his left leg and had lain in bed all
the time on his right-hand side. But after being measured to the earl and after the
leg had been bathed with water from the martyr’s well he recovered at the well in
the sight of many people. The whole Isle of Thanet bears witness to this.
[In the margin] miracle 3.

6 The countess of Gloucester had a palfrey that had been asthmatic (porsif in
French) for two years. On returning from Evesham in the direction of Tewkesbury,17
after the horse had drunk from the Earl’s well and its head and face had been
bathed, it recovered in the countess’s presence. And after a penny had been bent
in recognition of the cure and miracle, she sent back her squire to Evesham. The
witnesses to this matter are the countess together with her entire household.18
[In the margin] miracle 4.

7 Alice from Burton Overy near Leicester19 had been stricken with paralysis on
the left side for thirty years and had later been afflicted for six years on the right-
hand side. But she spent the night at the Earl’s well on the night of St Eadburh
the virgin20 and there she marvellously recovered the good health of all her limbs,
on the right-hand side and on the left, in the year of grace †1259†. The whole
township of Burton Overy bears witness to this.

8 Also Ralph the clerk from †Sepham Burland†,21 who had been lame for nine
weeks, recovered at the Earl’s well.

9 A sick woman of Elmley Castle22 had sent a girl to the Earl’s well for some
water. On her way back from the well she met some officials of the castle. They
questioned the girl as to what she might have in the jug. ‘Some new ale from
Evesham’, she said. They said to her, ‘No, you have some water from the Earl’s
17
Thirteen miles south-west of Evesham.
18
Identification of the lady is uncertain. The dowager Countess Maud (d.1289) was a Montfortian
sympathizer and her daughter-in-law Countess Alice (d.1290) was not: Carpenter, Henry III 1258–72,
pp. 394–6, 506. On the other hand, Alice was said to be a hypochondriac: Complete Peerage 5, p. 707.
19
Burton Overy had been inherited by the daughters of Roger de Quincy earl of Winchester, one of
whom was Margaret countess of Derby (d.1281) the widowed mother of William de Ferrers, an armed
Montfortian: Complete Peerage 5, pp. 340–1; VCH Leics. 5, p. 71.
20
15 June at Evesham: English Benedictine Kalendars after A.D. 1100 2, ed. F. Wormald (Henry Bradshaw
Soc. 81, 1946 for 1943–44), p. 32.
21
Recte Teȝhe in Rutland? If so, this is Teigh, held by Eustace de Folville (d.1274) a rebel Montfortian:
VCH Rut. 2, pp. 151–2.
22
William Beauchamp held the castle at Elmley, five miles south-west of Evesham, and was succeeded
there in 1269 by his son William earl of Warwick: Complete Peerage 12, pt 2, pp. 368–9. Both were
royalists: ODNB, s.n. ‘Beauchamp, William de, ninth earl of Warwick’. See also 3.

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sic dimissa. Et cum ueniret ad infirmam iterum uersa uice est mutatus in aquam.
Infirma hac gustata conualuit.

10 Henricus de Stodeley filius Isabelle de Stodeley Lamberd albuginem habens in

oculis ambobis a natiuitate sua exeptis quatuor septimanis quibus clare uidebat.
Ab illis quatuor septimanis penitus uisu oculorum priuatus fuit per duodecim
annos et amplius. Hic ad comitem Simonem de Monteforti mensuratus uisum in
oculo sinistro recepit in tantum quod uidimus ipsum de coloribus uere indicantem.
De hoc testimonium perhibente Alicia mater Henrici et plures alii.

11 Willelmus de Sniteneford filius Henrici de Mitton habens quatuor digitos

in sinistra manu per duodecim annos contractos. Apud Evesham ueniens meritis
martiris nostri digitos predictos recepit extensos ita quod eos ad libitum suum
mouere potuit et extendere. Huius rei testes sunt domina Margeria de Cantulupo
et domina Iohanna de Cantulupo et tota uillata.

12 Rogerus Horsman de Buclande habens pedem dextrum [fol. 164v] [blank]

contractum per annum et amplius. Ad comitem Simonem mensuratus die sancti
Mathei circa uesperas. Et quod perdiderat per infirmitatem per merita sancti
recuparauit. Ita quod uidimus eum incedentem ad libitum suum. Vnde tota uillata
de Boclande perhibet testimonium.

13 Oliuia de Leministre per tres annos amisit potestatem eundi. Mensurata ad

martirem et per noctes apud Evesham peruigilans conualuit. Vnde tota parochia
perhibet testimonium.

14 Memorandum de manu sancti Simonis que cum adhuc esset ad quoddam

castellum ad suscipiendam portitor manus iter habuit per quandam ecclesiam
et audiuit pulsare ad missam et intrauit et adorauit. Et cum stetisset sacerdos ad
eleuandum corpus Christi statim in birro iuuenis mouebatur et manus erecta sicut
solebat uiua Iesum adorauit.

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well,’ and they took a drink of it, but they found that it was as the girl had said
and so she was let go. And when she came to the sick woman it was turned back
into water and the woman recovered after drinking some.

10 Henry of Studley, son of Isabel of Studley, from Sambourne,23 had had a white
film over both eyes since birth except in his first four weeks, during which he had
been able to see clearly. From those four weeks onwards he had been nearly sightless
for twelve years and more. But after being measured to Earl Simon de Montfort he
got back the sight in his left eye to the extent that we saw him pointing out colours
correctly. Alice, Henry’s mother,24 bears witness to this.

11 William from Snitterfield, son of Henry of Myton, had had the four fingers
of his left hand crippled for twelve years. But on coming to Evesham he had the
fingers straightened again through the merits of our martyr so that he could move
and stretch them easily. The witnesses to this matter are Dame Margery Cantlow
and Dame Joan Cantlow and the whole township.25

12 Roger Horseman from Buckland26 had had a [blank] crippled right foot for a
year and more. But after being measured to the earl on St Matthew’s day27 about
the hour of Vespers, he recovered through the merits of the saint that which he had
lost through his disability, in such a way that we saw him walking around easily.
The whole township of Buckland bears witness to this.

13 Olive from Leominster had for three years lost the ability to walk. But she
recovered after being measured to the martyr and keeping nightly vigils at Evesham.
The whole parish bears witness to this.

14 A memorandum about St Simon’s hand. While it was on its way to be received

at a certain castle, the bearer of the hand was passing a church when he heard the
bell for mass, and he went in and worshipped. And when the priest rose to elevate
the body of Christ the hand immediately began to move in the young man’s bag
and, rising up, it worshipped Christ as it had used to do in life.28

23
Sambourne manor (Warwickshire) belonged to Evesham abbey.
24
Possibly stepmother.
25
Margery (née Cumin) had married John Cantlow (fl.1257) who held Snitterfield manor by 1242: VCH
Warws. 3, p. 168. His brother William (d.1254) had been a personal friend of Simon de Montfort: ODNB,
s.n. Joan (d.1271) was William’s daughter and had married Henry Hastings a leading rebel Montfortian:
Complete Peerage 6, pp. 345–6.
26
Possibly Buckland (Gloucestershire) because the county is not specified.
27
21 September.
28
This is a version of 198.

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15 Mulier quedam [de] †oogredeford† habens brachium contractum ita quod

brachium extendere non potuit per multa annorum curricula. Et cum pernoctasset
circa tumulum martiris sanitatem recepit ita quod brachium extendere ad libitum
suum potuit. De conualencia huius mulieris perhibet testimonium armiger domini
Roberti de Colleworthe et parliamento ueniens colloquium habuit cum dicta
muliere affirmante ipsam sanam effectam per merita martiris.

16 Iohannes de Broun miles de Traduncton paraliticus in una medietate totius

corporis per annum. Ad comitem mensuratus candelam suam de mensura
composuit et [cum] apud Evesham ueniret dictus infirmus de infirmitate qua
tenebatur conualuit. De hoc perhibet testimonium rector ecclesie de Traduncton
Eueshamiam personaliter accedens.

17 Quidam iuuenis [blank] circa sexdecim annos per patrem et matrem

mensuratus ad sanctum Robertum Lincolniensem episcopum et ibidem ueniens
cum patre et matre die sabbati proxima ante congressum belli die martis apud
Evesham peracti cepit dormire et in dormitione illa perseuerauit per totam
noctem [fol. 165r] et usque ad horam primam diei lune proxime sequentis. Qui
tunc euigilans cepit loqui qui mutus et contractus fuerat toto tempore uite sue,
dicendo patri et matri, ‘Cur hic moram facitis?’ Qui responderunt, ‘Propter
salutem uestram optinendam a sancto Roberto episcopo’. Qui dixit eis, ‘Dictus
sanctus episcopus non est hic, processit enim apud Evesham in adiutorium comitis
Simonis fratris sui qui morietur apud Evesham die martis proximo sequente.’ Et
ita predictus iuuenis prius mutus et contractus conualuit. Qui de hiis perhibens
testimonium adhuc uiuit perseuerans in ecclesia Lincolnensi.

18 Mabilia de †Belbeworth† per annum et amplius tantam sensit infirmitatem et

debilitatem in gambis et tibiis quod ire non potuit nec usquam mouere. Hec apud

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15 A woman from †oogredeford†29 had an arm so crippled that she had been
unable to extend it for many years. But when she had spent a night near the
martyr’s tomb she received a cure so that she could extend the arm easily. The
squire of Sir Robert30 of Culworth bears witness to the recovery of this woman
and that, on coming from a parliament, he had a conversation with her in which
she affirmed that she had been made well through the merits of the martyr.

16 John Brown, a knight from Tredington,31 had been paralysed for a year in half
of his entire body. But after being measured to the earl he made up his candle to
the measurement, and when he came to Evesham he recovered from the disability
to which he had been subject. The rector of Tredington church bears witness to
this, having come to Evesham himself.

17 A youth [blank] about sixteen years was measured by his father and mother
to St Robert the bishop of Lincoln.32 The boy arrived there with his father and
mother and he went to sleep on the Saturday33 before the Tuesday on which battle
was joined at Evesham. He stayed asleep all night and until the first hour of the
following Monday.34 Dumb and crippled all his life, on waking he began to speak,
saying to his father and mother, ‘Why are you staying here?’ They replied, ‘To
obtain a cure for you from St Robert the bishop.’ He said to them, ‘The saintly
bishop is not here, because he has gone to Evesham to help his brother Earl
Simon who is going to die there next Tuesday.’ So saying, the youth recovered,
having previously been dumb and crippled. In witness to these things he now lives
permanently in the church of Lincoln.

18 Mabel of †Belbeworth†35 had experienced for a year and more an infirmity

and debility in her thighs and lower legs so that she was unable to walk or move

29
Possibly Mordiford (Herefordshire) because the county is not specified. Mordiford manor was held in
1243 by William de Ferrers earl of Derby: Bk of Fees 1, pt 2, p. 801. At his death in 1254 it presumably
passed to his son Robert de Ferrers earl of Derby, a rebel Montfortian: Complete Peerage 4, pp. 198–202.
30
Recte Richard? Richard of Culworth was a rebel Montfortian: Cal. Pat. 1258–66, pp. 540, 575; Cal.
Inq. Misc. 1, pp. 189, 202. In 1267 during the Montfortian occupation of London he was made chief
bailiff: Cron. Maiorum, p. 91. He died c.1286: Cal. Close, 1279–88, p. 387. See also 34n.
31
In the late thirteenth century Henry and William Brun were taxpayers at Newbold on Stour in
Tredington parish: Worcs. Subsidy, p. 74. Tredington (including Newbold) was an estate of Evesham
abbey.
32
Robert Grosseteste (d.1253), a mentor to Simon de Montfort.
33
1 August.
34
3 August.
35
Recte Kibbeworth? If so, the surname may refer to Kibworth Harcourt (Leicestershire), which was held
by Saher de Harcourt, a Montfortian; he forfeited the manor after the battle of Evesham (Cal. Inq. Misc.
1, p. 102) but was pardoned in 1267 and retrieved it (Cal. Pat. 1266–72, pp. 150, 264). His brother William
(below, 111n) was another Montfortian: ODNB (online edn), s.n. ‘Harcourt [de Harcourt] family’.

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Evesham in †biba† adducta et ad comitem mensurata conualuit. Et hanc uidimus

procedentem et ambulantem ad libitum suum. Hinc perhibent testimonium uicini
ipsius qui infirmitatem ipsius uiderunt.

19 Felicia de Fladbury ita gambis et tibiis contracta per duos annos et dimidium
quod nec sedere nec incedere poterat. Hec mensurata ad comitem conualuit. Huius
testes sunt uicini eius.

20 Robertus filius Hugonis Boteler de Morton sub Maluernia sentiens molestiam

lapidis per octo annos, mensuratus conualuit.

21 Aucipiter magistri Thome de Cantulupo per duos dies eiecit omnia alimenta
que receperat quod est signum mortis huiusmodi auis. Mensuratus ad comitem
conualuit.

22 Senescallus predicti magistri Thome nomine Nicholas per magnum tempus

de quadam gutta laborauit. <Veniens>a ad comitem conualuit.

23 Willelmus de †Sarle† monachus Wynchecumbe patiebatur tussim cum morbo

idropico. Iste adductus Oxoniam et ibi multa in medicis inane expendebat.
Mensuratus ad comitem astitit ei quadam nocte quidam senex in uisione dicens,
‘Oportet te scarificari.’ At ille, [fol. 165v] ‘Scarificationem ullo modo sustinere
non possum.’ Senex apprehendens monachi †ataxam† et percussit eum sub plantis
pedum. At ille euigilans cum clamore magno inuenerat lectum suum undique
liquore fetidissimo plenum et brachia et pedes et etiam totum corpus gracile et
delicatum et sic per merita martiris nobilissime curatus est. De hoc testificatus est
abbas Wynchecumbe cum sacro conuentu.

a
uenire MS.

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around at all. But after being brought to Evesham on a †litter† and measured to
the earl the woman recovered, and we saw her getting around and walking at will.
Her neighbours who had seen her disability bear witness to this.

19 Felice of Fladbury had for two and a half years been so crippled in the thighs
and lower legs that she had been unable to sit or walk but after being measured to
the earl she recovered. Her neighbours are the witnesses to this.

20 Robert, son of Hugh Butler, from Castle Morton36 under the Malverns, had
suffered the discomfort of a stone for eight years but after being measured he
recovered.

21 Master Thomas Cantilupe’s37 hawk had for two days regurgitated all the food
it received, which is a fatal sign for that kind of bird, but after being measured to
the earl it recovered.

22 The said Master Thomas’s steward, called Nicholas,38 had suffered for a long
time from a kind of gout but on coming to the earl he recovered.

23 William of †Sarle†39 a monk of Winchcombe had been suffering from a cough

together with a dropsical illness. He was brought to Oxford and spent a lot of
money there on doctors, but in vain. But after he was measured to the earl, an
old man came to him one night in a vision, saying, ‘You need to be scarified;’ but
William said, ‘In no way could I bear scarification.’ The old man, taking hold of
the monk’s †bedcover†, struck him under the soles of his feet. Whereupon, waking
with a great yell he found that the bed was soaked all over with a really fetid liquid
and that his arms, his feet and indeed his entire body were slender and fine. And
thus through the merits of the martyr he was cured most splendidly. The abbot of
Winchcombe40 has attested to this together with the holy convent.

36
Part of Castle Morton was held by John de Muscegros (fl.1276): VCH Worcs. 4, pp. 50, 113. He was
an armed Montfortian: Cal. Inq. Misc. 1, p. 259.
37
Thomas Cantilupe, the brother of John and William Cantlow (see 11n), had been chancellor of
England during Simon de Montfort’s regime but lived abroad after the battle of Evesham; he had returned
to England by c.1272 and became bishop of Hereford in 1275; after his death many miracles were
attributed to him: ODNB, s.n.
38
On his deathbed Thomas made confession to his priest called Nicholas: Acta Sanctorum, October,
vol. 1 (Paris and Rome, 1866), p. 578.
39
Recte Farle?
40
John of Yanworth 1247–82.

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24 Rogerus capellanus et uicarius de Hide in Cantia habuit infirmitatem ignotam

unde phisici desperati, item per alium annum quartanam. Mensuratus ad comitem
sine mora conualuit. De hoc perhibet testimonium tota uillata de Hide.

25 Robertus de Malton canonicus cecidit super brachium sinistrum unde amisit

utilitatem brachii. Die ueneris ante festum sancti Iohannis Baptiste mensuratus ad
comitem et in eundo uersus Evesham apud Stretford super Auenam causa orationis
intrauit quandam ecclesiam, habuit in memoriam sanctitatem martiris, conualuit.
De hoc perhibent [testimonium] prior de Malton et totus conuentus.

26 Thomas filius Iordani de Botoleston in uigilia sancti Matthei anno gracie

†MoCColviijo† priuatus subito uisu et loquela mensuratus ad comitem conualuit.
Item Agnes de eodem loco quasi de sanitate desperata conualuit.

27 Item filius Iacobi de †Fancote† submersus in quodam fonte per dimidiam

diem mensuratus conualuit.

28 Alicia de Herforde per quinque annos sine sustentatione duorum baculorum

procedere non potuit. Mensurata ad comitem conualuit. Die sancti Egwini nobis
uidentibus gloriose curata est. Testes huius rei tota ciuitas Herfordie.

29 Christiana Hibernie primo anno belli habens guttam per quinque annos.
Ista sompniauit ut iret ad tumbam sancti Wlsini et acciperet de puluere et secum

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24 Roger the chaplain and vicar of West Hythe in Kent had an unnamed illness
for which physicians could offer no hope and which during its second year was
recurring every fourth day, but after being measured to the earl he recovered straight
away. The whole township of Hythe bears witness to this.41

25 Robert a canon of Malton42 had fallen on his left arm and as a result had
lost the use of the arm. On the Friday before the feast of St John the Baptist,43
after being measured to the earl and on his way to Evesham, he entered a church
at Stratford upon Avon to pray, reflected on the martyr’s sanctity and recovered.
The prior of Malton44 and the whole convent bear witness to this.

26 Thomas, son of Jordan, from Boston,45 had suddenly been deprived of sight
and speech on St Matthew’s eve46 in the year of grace †1258†47 but after being
measured to the earl he recovered. Also Agnes from the same place, who had been
virtually without hope of a cure, recovered.

27 Also the son of James of †Fancote† had lain drowned in a well for half a day
but after being measured he recovered.48

28 Alice from Hereford had for five years been unable to walk without the support
of two sticks but after being measured to the earl she recovered. On St Ecgwine’s
day49 we saw that she was marvellously cured. The whole citizenry of Hereford
are witnesses to this matter.50

29 Christian from Ireland, in the first year since the battle of Evesham, had had
a gout for five years. She dreamt that she should go to the tomb of St Wulfsige51
and should take some of the dust and carry it away with her, which she did and
41
Hythe was one of the Cinque Ports; their inhabitants were active Montfortians: Maddicott, Simon de
Montfort, pp. 263, 299, 317; Jobson, First English Revolution, pp. 67, 93, 154–5.
42
The manors of Old and New Malton had descended in 1253 to Agnes de Vescy (d.1290): VCH Yorks.
NR 1, pp. 532, 537. Her half-brother Robert de Ferrers earl of Derby and her son John de Vescy were
rebel Montfortians: Complete Peerage 4, pp. 198–201; 12, pt 2, pp. 277–80; below, 199.
43
24 June.
44
John of ‘Homerton’ c.1257–1276.
45
Thomas of Moulton held the manor of Boston in 1273: Knights of Edward I 3, ed. C. Moor (Harleian
Soc. Visitations 82, 1930), p. 234. He had been a Montfortian: Complete Peerage 9, pp. 402–3.
46
20 September.
47
Recte 1268?
48
This is a version of 59.
49
30 December. Ecgwine and the Virgin Mary were the joint dedicatees of Evesham abbey.
50
The citizens had been Montfortians before the battle of Evesham and were afterwards heavily fined:
Cal. Pat. 1258–66, pp. 444–5, 548; Close R. 1264–68, p. 165. See also 118.
51
His tomb was in the choir of the abbey church at Evesham, near Simon de Montfort’s first grave: Cox,
‘Tomb of Simon de Montfort’, pp. 160–2.

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asportaret, et ita fecit et conualuit. Et antequam ad propria ueniret puluis ille

mutatus est salem. Huius testes Rogerus uir eius et Ricardus filius eius et plures alii.

30 Dominus Andreas rector de Keuelston de Norhamptonscire habuit calculum

per quinque annos. Mensuratus ad comitem conualuit. Testes huius rei tota
parochia de Keuelston.

31 Ricardus Feypo miles Hibernie habuit mulierem pregnantem et febricitantem

et propter mesticiam et dolorem perdidit loquelam. [fol. 166r] Phisici desperauerunt
et dixerunt, ‘Aut peribit puer aut mater.’ Post paululum uersa est ad uomitum et
peperit masculum elegantem set abortiuum. Dictus Ricardus plicuit denarium ad
martirem nostrum super matrem et puerum et reuixit puer et sanata est mater. Et
dederunt nomen Simonis de Montfort. Item dictus Ricardus habens cardiacam
passionem per annum simili modo conualuit. Testes huius rei dictus Ricardus
cum tota familia sua.

32 Heliseus filius Willelmi de Middilton in Cantia habens †tracem† in sinistro

oculo et sinistra maxilla per uiginti quatuor septimanas mensuratus ad comitem
conualuit. De hoc perhibet testimonium uillata de Middelton.

33 Elisabet de Brome habens quinque uermes auriculi [blank] per annum et

amplius in sinistra aure ad comitem mensurata et denario plicato super eam
continuo exierunt et conualuit. Testes huius tota parochia de Budforde.

10

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recovered. And before she had reached home the dust was turned into salt. Her
husband, Roger, and her son Richard52 and many others are the witnesses to this.

30 Sir Andrew the rector of Chelveston in Northamptonshire53 had had a stone

for five years but after being measured to the earl he recovered. The whole parish
of Chelveston are the witnesses to this matter.

31 Richard Feypo a knight from Ireland had a wife who was pregnant and feverish
and who had lost the power of speech on account of her distress and pain. The
physicians had no hope and said, ‘Either the child will die or the mother.’ After
a little while she began vomiting and gave birth to a boy who was handsome but
stillborn. Over the mother and child the said Richard bent a penny to our martyr,
and the boy came back to life and the mother was cured. And they named him
after Simon de Montfort. Also Richard, who had had cardiaca passio54 for a year,
likewise recovered.55 Richard with his entire household are the witnesses to this
matter.56

32 Ellis, son of William, from Milton in Kent,57 had had an †inflammation† of

the left eye and of the left side of his jaw for twenty-four weeks but after being
measured to the earl he recovered. The township of Milton bears witness to this.

33 Elizabeth of Broom had had five pestilent insects [called] earwigs in her left
ear for a year and more but after being measured to the earl and a penny having
been bent over her they immediately came out and she recovered. The whole parish
of Bidford on Avon are the witnesses to this.58

52
See also 31.
53
The manor and advowson were held in 1243 by William de Ferrers earl of Derby: VCH Northants.
4, pp. 8, 11. They seem to have descended to his son Robert earl of Derby, a rebel Montfortian whose
estates were confiscated in 1266 and granted to the king’s son: Complete Peerage 4, pp. 198–202; Cal.
Inq. p.m. 1291–1300, p. 296. The Chelveston estate of Hugh de St Philibert, another Montfortian, was
also confiscated: Close R. (Suppl.) p. 42.
54
Heart pains and/or palpitations.
55
He died c.1284 and his son Simon was living in 1297: E. Hickey, Skryne and the Early Normans: Papers
concerning the Medieval Manors of the de Feypo Family in Ireland in the 12th and early 13th Centuries
(Drogheda, 1994), pp. 10–11. I owe this reference to the kindness of Mr Paul Duffy.
56
This seems to be a version of 87.
57
Possibly Milton (near Gravesend), a manor held by William de Munchensi: Cal. Inq. Misc. 1, pp. 117,
230. He was a rebel Montfortian: Complete Peerage 9, pp. 422–4; ODNB, s.n.
58
By 1265 Bidford manor was held by Joan daughter and coheir of Robert de Quincy; she had married
Humphrey de Bohun the younger, a Montfortian who died a prisoner in 1265 after the battle of Evesham;
by 1280 the manor had passed to Joan’s sister Hawis and her husband Baldwin Wake, a leading rebel
Montfortian: VCH Warws. 3, p. 52; Complete Peerage 6, pp. 462–3; 12, pt 2, pp. 299–301.

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34 Agnes de Scelgrave in Norhampton habuit conuenam pullorum inter quos

unus casu cecidit in puteum aque et submersus est. Dictus Agnes extraxit pullum
a puteo et dedit pueris ad ludendum. Tandem dixit, ‘Commendo te Deo et beato
Simoni’ et continuo surrexit. In signum miraculi detulit predictum pullum apud
Evesham. De hoc perhibet testimonium tota parochia de Selgrave.

35 Perrus Leycestre recitauit de filio fratris sui qui iacuit in fonte aque submersus
per quatuor dies, silicet a die ueneris sancti Mathei apostoli usque ad [quartum]
diem sequentem. Puer ab aqua extractus et ad comitem mensuratus statim apperuit
oculos et respirauit. De hoc perhibet testimonium tota uillata de Glendon in
Norhamptonshire anno gracie †MoCColixo†.

36 Maria de Chepingnorton amisit potestatem ambulandi per duos annos.

Mensurata ad comitem conualuit. De hoc perhibet testimonium tota uillata de
Chepingnorton.

37 Henricus capellanus de †Geddewolde† habuit cardiacam passionem per

septimanam unde credidit expirare. Mensuratus ad comitem conualuit. De hoc
perhibet testimonium tota parochia de †Geddewolde†.

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34 Agnes from Sulgrave in Northamptonshire59 had a brood of chicks, one of

which accidentally fell into a well of water and was drowned. Agnes pulled the
chick out of the well and gave it to the children to play with. But eventually she
said, ‘I commend you to God and the blessed Simon’ and it immediately got up.
As a token of the miracle she brought the chick to Evesham. The whole parish of
Sulgrave bears witness to this.

35 Piers Leicester60 gave an account of his brother’s son who had fallen into a
well of water and had lain drowned for four days, that is to say from the Friday
of St Matthew the apostle61 until the [fourth] day following. After the boy had
been pulled from the water and measured to the earl he immediately opened his
eyes and began to breathe. The whole township of Glendon in Northamptonshire
bears witness to this in the year of grace †1259†.62

36 Mary from Chipping Norton63 had for two years lost the ability to walk but
after being measured to the earl she recovered. The whole township of Chipping
Norton bears witness to this.

37 Henry the chaplain from †Geddewolde†64 had had cardiaca passio65 for a
week, from which he thought he was going to die, but after being measured to
the earl he recovered. The whole parish of †Geddewolde† bears witness to this.

59
Hugh of Culworth held a manor at Sulgrave by 1258 (A. W. Hershey, ‘An introduction to and edition
of the Hugh Bigod eyre rolls, June 1258–February 1259: P.R.O. Just 1/1187 & Just 1/873’ (London Univ.
Ph.D. thesis, 1991) 1, pp. 290–1) and still in 1278 (G. Baker, The History and Antiquities of the County
of Northampton (London, 1822–41) 1, p. 515). He was a rebel Montfortian and brother of Richard (Cal.
Pat. 1258–66, pp. 354–5, 488), another rebel; Richard held an estate at Sulgrave in 1266 and in the early
1270s (Cal. Pat. 1258–66, pp. 540, 575; J. Bridges, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire,
ed. P. Whalley (Oxford, 1791) 1, p. 127). See also 15n.
60
A Piers of Leicester was among the rebel Montfortians pardoned after the surrender of Kenilworth
castle: Cal. Pat. 1266–72, p. 16. A man of the same name was a burgess of Northampton in 1294 (Rolls and
Reg. Sutton 2, p. 110) and c.1305 (TNA, SC 8/52/2589). The king had deprived the mayor and burgesses of
Northampton of their powers until 1268 for having supported the Montfortians: Cal. Pat. 1266–72, p. 225.
61
21 September.
62
Recte 1268? Between 1265 and 1270 that was the only year in which St Matthew’s day was a Friday.
63
Chipping Norton manor was held in 1260 by John FitzAlan: Close R. 1259–61, p. 99. He was an early
supporter of the reform movement but had become a loyalist by 1264: Complete Peerage 1, p. 240. At
his death in 1267 his heir was his son John (Cal. Inq. p.m. 1236–72, p. 216), who died in possession in
1272 (Close R. 1268–72, pp. 580–1).
64
Recte Beddeworðe? If so, possibly Bedworth (Warwickshire): PN Warws. p. 97. The manor was held
by Henry Hastings (d.1269): Close R. 1268–72, pp. 41–2. He was a leading rebel Montfortian: Complete
Peerage 6, pp. 345–6.
65
Heart pains and/or palpitations.

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38 [fol. 166v] Symon Secher de la Ry morbo frenetico fatigatus per quinque

septimanas. Iste apud Evesham adueniens et coram nobis in choro uinculis ferreis
astrictus per merita comitis miraculose est curatus.

39 Radulfus de Sancto Nicolao ate Wode in Theneth simili morbo fatigatus per
quinque septimanas mensuratus ad comitem et denario plicato conualuit. De hoc
perhibet testimonium tota insula de Thenetlonde.

40 Filius Radulfi Barate de †Besseborne† puer cecidit in cloacam et per medium

diem iacuit extinctus. Mensuratus ad comitem et denario conplicato statim
surrexit et conualuit. De hoc testimonium perhibet tota uillata de †Besseborne†.

41 Margaria de la Burd de Werinton habens spasmum et disseniteriam et

fantasma in capite per quinque septimanas unde pre dolore amisit memoriam
mensurata ad comitem et denario plicato conualuit. De hoc perhibet testimonium
tota uillata de Werinton.

42 Alyne de Samelesburye habens quandam infirmitatem ignotam per quinque

septimanas mensurata ad comitem conualuit. Vnde predicta uilla perhibet
testimonium.

43 Wyon de Werinton sensit guttam in gambam dexteram per duos annos. Iste
sompniauit quod fuit in quodam loco ubi comes erat et uidebatur ei quod comes
sufflauit super eum et tota infirmitas euanuit.

44 Gilbertus de Werynton habens guttam nimis pungitiuam per quatuor annos

mensuratus ad comitem conualuit. De hoc perhibet testimonium tota uillata de
Werington.

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38 Simon Secher from Rye66 had been afflicted for five weeks with a frenetic
disorder. But he came to Evesham and here in the choir, bound in iron chains, he
was miraculously cured in our presence through the merits of the earl.

39 Ralph from St Nicholas at Wood67 in Thanet had been afflicted with a similar
disorder for five weeks, but after being measured to the earl and a penny having
been bent, he recovered. The whole Isle of Thanet bears witness to this.

40 The son of Ralph Barate from †Besseborne†,68 a child, fell into a privy and lay
lifeless for half a day, but after being measured to the earl and a penny having been
bent, he immediately got up and recovered. The whole township of †Besseborne†
bears witness to this.

41 Margery de la Burd from Warrington had for five weeks had cramp, dysentery,
and delirium in the head, through which she had lost her mind on account of the
distress, but after being measured to the earl she recovered. The whole township
of Warrington bears witness to this.69

42 Aline of Samlesbury had had an unnamed illness for five weeks but after being
measured to the earl she recovered. The whole of the said town [of Warrington]
bears witness to this.

43 Guy from Warrington had suffered from a gout in his right leg for two years.
But he dreamt that he was in some place where the earl was and it seemed as if
the earl breathed on him, and all the disease vanished.

44 Gilbert from Warrington had had an extremely painful gout for four years but
after being measured to the earl he recovered. The whole township of Warrington
bears witness to this.

66
Rye was one of the ‘ancient towns’ affiliated to the Cinque Ports, whose inhabitants were active
Montfortians: see 24, 39.
67
For the identification of this place, also called Wood and now Woodchurch, I am indebted to Dr Paul
Cullen. Woodchurch was a chapelry of Monkton parish and a ‘limb’ of Dover, one of the Cinque Ports:
E. Hasted, The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent, 2nd edn (Canterbury, 1797)
10, pp. 310–11.
68
Recte Wesseborne? If so, possibly Great Washbourne (Gloucestershire) or the adjoining Little
Washbourne (Worcestershire). Great Washbourne was held by Tewkesbury abbey (VCH Glos. 6, p. 233),
Little Washbourne by the loyalist Beauchamps of Elmley (VCH Worcs. 3, p. 471; see 9n).
69
Warrington manor was held by William Butler (d.1280): Complete Peerage 2, p. 230. He was a rebel
Montfortian: Close R. 1264–68, pp. 71–2; Cal. Pat. 1266–72, pp. 19, 199.

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45 James de Weryngton habuit guttam que dicitur fetre per nouem septimanas.
Mensuratus ad comitem et denario plicato conualuit. Isti sex de uilla predicta
super Merse hoc super illam aquam.

46 Alicia de †Weredech† habens quandam infirmitatem usque ad mortem

longo tempore unde phisici desperati mensurata ad comitem et denario plicato
conualuit. De hoc perhibet testimonium uir [fol. 167r] eius, Iohannes de la Ware
frater Predicatorum et tota uillata de Derleston in Statfordeschire.

47 Robertus de Verell filius <Gileberti>a habens guttam per quindecim dies usque
ad mortem mensuratus conualuit. Testes ut supra de Werynton.

48 Willelmus clericus de †Wistan† habuit ut phisici dicunt festum et cauernum

et nouem aperturas in tibiis per biennium. Mensuratus ad comitem et denario
plicato statim conualuit. De hoc perhibet testimonium tota uillata de †Wistan†.

49 Domina Christiana de Maule de Essex habens puerum etate quinque annorum

puer iste habuit infirmitatem durissimam usque ad mortem per duas septimanas.
Mensuratus ad comitem conualuit. In signum sanitatis fecit deferri puerulum de
cera. De [hoc] perhibet testimonium tota uillata de Seringes.

50 Dominus Willelmus de Troy gallicus habuit guttam frigidam longo tempore

in gambis et tibiis ultra modum pungitiuam. Mensuratus ad comitem Simonem
conualuit. In signum sanitatis deferri fecit gambam cum pede de cera apud

a
Gilel’ MS.

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45 James from Warrington had a gout called a fetre70 for nine weeks, but after
being measured to the earl and a penny having been bent, he recovered. The six
from the forementioned town on the Mersey, that is to say beside that river, [bear
witness to this].71

46 Alice of †Weredech†72 had had a certain illness for a long time, to the point
of death, and physicians could offer no hope for it, but after being measured to the
earl and a penny having been bent, she recovered. Her husband bears witness to
this and John de la Ware a Dominican friar and the whole township of Darlaston
in Staffordshire.73

47 Robert of Wirral, son of Gilbert,74 had had a gout for a fortnight to the point
of death, but after being measured he recovered. The witnesses are as above, from
Warrington.75

48 William the clerk from †Wistan†76 had had for two years what physicians call
a festum,77 with a fissure and nine sores on the lower legs, but after being measured
to the earl and a penny having been bent, he recovered. The whole township of
†Wistan† bears witness to this.

49 Dame Christian de Maule78 from Essex had a son aged five. For two weeks the
boy had had a very severe illness to the point of death, but after being measured
to the earl he recovered. In token of the cure she directed a little boy of wax to be
sent. The whole township of Sheering bears witness to this.79

50 Sir Guillaume de Troyes, a Frenchman, had had a cold gout for a long time in
the thighs and lower legs which was extremely painful, but after being measured
to the earl he recovered. In token of the cure he directed a waxen leg, with its foot,

70
An ulcer.
71
The six are named in 41–5, 47.
72
Recte Meredech?
73
Darlaston, held by Henry de Verdun a rebel Montfortian, had been forfeited by 1268; he died c.1272:
‘Suits affecting Staffordshire tenants, taken from the Plea Rolls of the reign of Henry III’, ed. G. Wrottesley,
Collections for a History of Staffordshire 4 (William Salt Archaeological Soc. 1883), pt 1, pp. 1–215 (at
pp. 165, 185, 201).
74
Possibly Gilbert from Warrington (above, 44).
75
See 41n.
76
Possibly Whistones, in Claines (Worcestershire), which occurs as ‘Wystan’ in 1255: PN Worcs. p. 115.
77
An ulcer.
78
Christian (fl.1290) was a daughter of William de Valognes and had married Piers de Maule (fl.1256):
English Baronies, pp. 12–13; VCH Essex 4, p. 251; 8, p. 243.
79
This seems to be a version of 95.

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Evesham per Iohannem de Reans armigerum suum. Vnde idem Iohannes perhibet
testimonium cum tota familia sua.

51 Domina Iuliana Grimbaud in partu premagno dolore credidit periclitari

et sindi puerum ex uentre eius. Mensurata ad comitem infra breuem conualuit
et peperit masculum elegantem. Vnde dicta Iuliana est testes cum pedisequa et
familia sua.

52 Ricardus Cantuarie filius Gilberti <Bernard>a habens per tres annos gambam
sinistram contractam ita quod sine sustentationem duorum baculorum incedere
non potuit, hic cum per duos annos loca diuersa sanctorum uisitans causa salutis
sue recuparande et nullum infirmitatis sentiret leuamen uel adiutorium, quadam
nocte uidebatur ei cum esset apud Cantuariam in sompnis quod adiret locum ubi
Symon de Monteforti occubuit et requiescit. Quo documento comperto surrexit
cito et abiectis baculis de adiutorio diuino confidens baculos suos aliquando
coadiutores super scapulas secum apud Evesham detulit et de conualencia sua
nos certos redidit.

53 [fol. 167v] Philippus de Bretforton laicus infirmitate que tylys uocatur in

tantum artabatur infirmitate predicta quod propter angustiam eiusdem passionis
credebatur ab omnibus qui aderant uiam uniuerse carnis ingressurum. Qui
ad comitem mensuratus conualuit. De [hoc] perhibet testimonium Iohannes
capellanus de Bretforton et <Alexander le Bond>b et Alicia seruiens illius et uxor
ipsius Philippi.

54 Agnes uxor Willelmi Alexandri de Bretforton acuta febre laborans et pregnans

ad comitem Simonem mensurata conualuit. Huius rei testes Iohannes Bretfortone
capellanus et Willelmus uir eius et Willelmus Saxi laicus.

a
Berirard MS.
b
Alexander le Bond] alicia h’ere bebond MS.

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to be taken to Evesham by Jean de Reims his squire. The same Jean bears witness
to this together with his entire household.

51 Dame Gillian Grimbald,80 when she was in labour and in great distress,
thought that she was in danger and that the child would need to be cut from her
womb, but after being measured to the earl she recovered within a short time and
gave birth to a handsome boy. The said Gillian is the witness to this together with
her handmaid and her household.

52 Richard of Canterbury, son of Gilbert Bernard, had had a crippled left leg for
three years so that he was unable to walk without the support of two sticks. He
had found no relief or help for his infirmity from visiting the various shrines of
the saints to recover his good health, but when he was at Canterbury one night it
seemed to him in a dream that he ought to go to the place where Simon de Montfort
died and rests. He took note of that guidance and got up quickly. He threw down
the sticks and, putting his faith in divine help, carried them, his former assistants,
on his shoulders with him to Evesham and convinced us of his recovery.

53 Philip from Bretforton, a prominent layman, had the illness called ‘tylys’.81 He
was so burdened by it that everyone who was there thought, from the intensity of
his suffering, that he was about to go the way of all flesh. But after being measured
to the earl he recovered. John the chaplain of Bretforton, Alexander le Bond82 and
Alice his servant and the said Philip’s wife bear witness to this.

54 Agnes, the wife of William Alexander, from Bretforton83 had been struggling
with an acute fever and was pregnant but after being measured to the earl she
recovered. John the chaplain of Bretforton, William her husband and William
Saxi,84 a prominent layman, are the witnesses to this matter.

80
Robert Grimbald was dead by 1265 when his heir was a ward of Henry Hastings, a leading rebel
Montfortian (see 11n): Cal. Inq. Misc. 1, p. 256. Robert’s widow Gillian afterwards married William
of ‘Northburgh’ and was living in 1288: Rolls and Reg. Sutton 2, p. 31; TNA, CP 25/1/285/23, no. 191.
81
Possibly a skin ailment.
82
A John le Bond was a taxpayer at Bretforton in the late thirteenth century: Worcs. Subsidy, p. 83.
83
William was a tenant of Evesham abbey at Bretforton: Mon. Angl. 2, p. 32.
84
The second-highest resident taxpayer at Bretforton in the late thirteenth century (Worcs. Subsidy,
p. 83) and a tenant of Evesham abbey there (Mon. Angl. 2, p. 32).

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55 Henricus Chanteler de Bretforton laicus guttam habens in renibus quod uix

per tres dies incedere non potuit nisi cum sustentatione baculi. De hoc perhibet
testimonium tota uillata de Bretforton.

56 Frater Iohannes dictus le Taylur de ordine Predicatorum et de conuentu

fratrum de Norhamton habuit per mensem sinistram gambam usque ad poplites
contractam. Qui spem et fiduciam ponens in comitem Simonem conualuit. Huius
rei testis fuit frater Willelmus de Bannebury Predicator.

57 Matildis de uilla que appelatur Raddeston in comitatu Norhamton quadam

gutta per multa tempora fatigata que nulla arte medicorum potuit curari licet
magnas expensas fecisset pro sanitate recuparanda, mensurata ad comitem
Simonem statim conualuit post mensurationem.

58 Agnes de eodem loco usque ad mortem infirmata que omnibus sacramentis

ecclesiasticis inuncta postquam corpus eius tanquam mortuum in area collocatum,
propinqui eius ad memoriam reduxerunt comitem Simonem et ipsam mulierem ad
ipsum mensurauerunt. Statim infirma conualuit per merita comitis prout asserebat.

59 Filius Iacobi de †Fancote† submersus in quodam fonte mortuus [fol. 168r]

extractus et per medium diem mortis uinculis detentus, tandem de consilio
quorundam qui ad mortuum conuenerant ad comitem Simonem mensuratus a
mortuis surrexit et se per merita comitis resuscitatum confessus est.

60 Willelmus Gullafre de Havekebore habens filium nomine Henricus undecim

annos a natiuitate sua habens, hic Henricus infirmabatur per quindecim dies
demum infirmitate grauante mortuus est. Pater et mater de consilio uicinorum

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55 Henry the chandler from Bretforton, a prominent layman, had a gout in his
side so that for nearly three days he was unable to walk without the support of a
stick.85 The whole township of Bretforton bears witness to this.86

56 Friar John Taylor of the Dominican order and from the Northampton friary
had a left leg that for a month had been crippled as far as the knee-joint. But by
putting his hope and trust in Earl Simon he recovered. Friar William of Banbury,
a Dominican, was the witness to this matter.

57 Maud from the township called Radstone in Northamptonshire87 had for a

long time been afflicted with a gout. She could not be cured by any of the skills
of doctors although she had spent a lot of money in seeking to recover her health.
But on being measured to Earl Simon she recovered immediately afterwards.

58 Agnes from the same place was ill to the point of death and was anointed with
all the sacraments of the church. After her body was set down in the churchyard
like a corpse, her family and friends reflected upon Earl Simon and measured her
to him, and the sick woman, so she declared, recovered immediately through the
merits of the earl.

59 The son of James of †Fancote†88 was drowned in a well, had been pulled out
dead, and was bound in death’s chains for half a day. But eventually on the advice
of people who had gathered at the corpse he was measured to the earl. And he
rose from the dead and acknowledged that he had been revived through the merits
of the earl.89

60 William Gullafre from Hawkesbury90 had a son called Henry, eleven years old.
This Henry was ill for a fortnight and after the illness worsened he eventually died.
His father and mother measured him to Earl Simon on the advice of neighbours

85
Words about his recovery seem to be missing.
86
This is a version of 4.
87
The manor was held by Isabel de Fors, countess of Aumale and Devon: Baker, County of Northampton
1, pp. 670–1. Unlike the inhabitants of Radstone (see 59n) she may not have been a Montfortian
sympathizer (see 160n).
88
Recte Faucote? If so, the surname may refer to Falcutt (Northamptonshire). In May 1265 the men of
Astwell and Falcutt under Robert de Wauncy, who held a knight’s fee in those townships in 1284 (Feudal
Aids 4, p. 3), and the men of Radstone, Syresham and Whitfield, allegedly raided the Whistley park
of Alan la Zouche (Rot. Selecti, pp. 187–8), an active royalist (Complete Peerage 12, pt 2, pp. 932–4;
ODNB, s.n.).
89
This is a version of 27.
90
Possibly Hawkesbury (Gloucestershire) because the county is not specified.

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mensurauerunt ad comitem Simonem qui statim post mensurationem reuixit. Et

surgens asseruit se resuscitatum meritis comitis Simonis.

61 Alexander de Ros filius Willelmi de Ros subito infirmatus et mortuus iacens et

totaliter decoloratus estimaretur ut mortuus per diem. Iste ad comitem mensuratus
post quandam respirationem paruam emissam conualuit et de resuscitatione sua
meritis comitis facta narrauit hiis qui presentes aderant. Nomina autem eorum
qui presentes aderant sunt hec silicet et qui resuscitationem uiderunt, Alexander
Lutterel et Robertus sucarius eiusdem. Facta autem sunt prescripta in castello de
Helmelling ubi est capella Petri et Pauli ad quam infirmus deportatus est et iacuit
mortuus et postea suscitatus a mortuis. ‘Per omnia benedictus Deus’ qui per merita
comitis talia operatur.

62 Memorandum de merilione Iohannis de †Culne† qui iacuit mortuus per diem

et noctem. Et tandem posito in sporta et mensuratus ad martirem conualuit.

63 Magister Iohannes Crowolton per quindecim dies erat graui infirmitate

[detentus] capitis et faucis sinistre usque ad dentes. Qui orationem fudit ad
Dominum ut ipsum liberaret ab infirmitate quam patiebatur per merita comitis
Simonis. [blank] post orationem factam liberatus fuit. Ecce mirum et admirandum.
Quicquid infirmitatis recepit in sinistra qua curatus fuerat recepit in dextera fauce.
Qui per merita dicti comitis Simonis recurrens conualuit uirtute diuina.

64 Willelmus Haymunde de Brack[l]ey clericus inflammationem [fol. 168v] habens

per totum corpus per unam septimanam qui iudicatus fuit a diuersis medicine
peritis fuisse ydropicus ad comitem mensuratus conualuit. Et hoc miro modo

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and immediately after that he came back to life. Getting up, he declared himself
revived through the merits of Earl Simon.

61 Alexander de Ros, son of William de Ros,91 was suddenly taken ill, and lying
lifeless and totally without colour he was thought for a day to be dead. But after
being measured to the earl, and after he had given out a little breath, he recovered
and told those who were present that his revival had been brought about through
the merits of the earl. The names of those who were present there and had thus
seen his revival were Alexander Luttrell92 and his squire Robert. The above-written
events took place in the castle of Helmsley, where there is a chapel of Peter and
Paul to which the sick man had been carried and had lain dead and was afterwards
raised from the dead. ‘Blessed be God in all things,’93 who performs such things
through the merits of the earl.

62 A memorandum about the merlin of John of †Culne† which lay dead for a day
and a night and eventually recovered after being placed in a basket and measured
to the earl.

63 Master John Croughton94 had for a fortnight been [taken] with a severe
disorder of his head and in his left cheek as far as the teeth. But he uttered a
prayer to the Lord that he would set him free through the merits of Earl Simon
from the disorder that was troubling him, and [blank] after the prayer he was set
free. And here is something miraculous and to be wondered at: he acquired the
same disorder in his right cheek as he had had in his left, of which he had been
cured. By appealing again he was cured by the divine power through the merits
of Earl Simon.

64 William Haymunde from Brackley,95 a clerk, had had an inflammation over his
whole body for a week and was judged by various learned doctors to be suffering
from dropsy, but after being measured to the earl he recovered. And it was in an

91
William (probably d.1264) had been succeeded as lord of Helmsley by Alexander’s elder brother
Robert (d.1285), a prominent Montfortian: Cal. Inq. p.m. 1272–91, p. 344; Complete Peerage 11, pp. 93–6.
92
Alexander left England for the Holy Land in 1270 (Close R. 1268–72, pp. 278–9) and is believed to
have died there c.1273 (Cal. Fine R. 1272–1307, p. 5; H. Maxwell-Lyte, A History of Dunster and of the
Families of Mohun & Luttrell (London, 1909), pp. 66–7).
93
2 Macc. 1: 17.
94
A magister of this name witnesses an Oxford deed c.1270: BRUO to 1500 1, p. 520.
95
Brackley manor was held by Alan la Zouche: Baker, County of Northampton 1, pp. 561–2. He was an
active royalist: Complete Peerage 12, pt 2, pp. 932–4; ODNB, s.n. The advowson belonged to Leicester
abbey: Baker, County of Northampton 1, p. 574.

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quia tota inflatura quam habuit per aperturas quasdam gambarum decur[r]ebat
quouscumque sanitati restituebat.

65 De quodam miraculo mirabili quod nobis recitauit Henricus de Pomery miles.

Dicebat se enim fuisse in capella comitis Simonis ubi proposuit audire uesperas
suas. Set recordatus propter diuersa negosia coram ipso recitata hora debita
uenire non potuit. Tandem autem sero ueniens uidit duodecim cereos quos comes
preparari iusserat diuinitus illuminatos. Quos dum ipse respexerat prohibuit comes
dicto militi et aliis qui interfuerant id dictum miraculum alicui reuelarent.

66 Auicia filia Alani de Derebi certissime mortua mensurata ad comitem

Simonem conualuit resuscitata.

67 Radulfus <primus>a filius Gilberti et Alicie de Dereby tam a sacerdote suo

parochiali qui clausit oculos eiusdem quam ab aliis uicinis mortuus iudicatur. Ad
comitem Simonem mensuratus statim conualuit resuscitatus.

68 Radulfus de Dereby parmentarius a pueritia sua in gamba dextra infirmitate

grauatus per quam habuit gambam unam grossiorem alia et sensiens continue
corosionem in osse ipsius gambe set non circa cor, grauatus infirmitate uidit in
sompnis comitem Symonem sibi assistere et dicentem sic, ‘Mortalibus infirmitatibus
grauatus es. Set surge summo mane et adeatis locum apud Evesham in quo uiuus
fui et mortuus et sanitatem plenam recuparabis.’ Quod dum fecit conualuit de
omnibus infirmitatibus suis.

69 Ricardus de Herforde carpentarius dum esset in reparationem stagni cuiusdam

molendini quedam strues lignorum cecidit super pedes eius et eos ita contriuit quod
se mouere non potuit. Vnde per alios fecit se deportari in domum quandam. Vnde
eodem in lecto quodam collocato de consilio quorumdam apponi fecit emplastrum
super pedes eius. Et cum ultra modum grauaretur post [fol. 169r] appositionem
emplastri et dolorem sentiret quem ferre non posset de eorum consilio pedes suos
fecit mensurari ad comitem Simonem. Et hoc facto dolor apparuit leuigatus. Vnde
emplastro deposito apparuerunt pedes sui omnino sanitati restituti. Per quod
surrexit et opera sua fecit sicut prius consueuit. Idem etiam Ricardus detulit quod

a
pur’ MS.

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amazing way, for all the swelling that he had sustained flowed away through fissures
in his legs until he was restored to health.

65 Concerning a wonderful miracle that Henry de la Pomeroy, a knight,96 related

to us. He said that he had been in Earl Simon’s chapel where he had intended to
hear Vespers but, on remembering to go to the earl about various items of business,
he had been unable to be there at the prescribed hour. In due course, however,
after arriving late he had witnessed twelve candles, which the earl had ordered to
be prepared, being lit by divine agency. When Sir Henry remarked on them the
earl forbade him, and the others who had been with him, to disclose that miracle
to anyone.

66 Avice, daughter of Alan of Derby, was quite certainly dead but after being
measured to the earl she recovered and was restored to life.

67 Ralph, the first son of Gilbert and Alice, from Derby, was judged to be dead
both by his parish priest who closed his eyes and by other neighbours, but after
being measured to the earl he recovered immediately and was restored to life.

68 Ralph of Derby, a parmenter,97 had been troubled since boyhood with an

infirmity of his left leg, as a result of which he had one leg thicker than the other
and experienced a constant gnawing pain in the bone of that leg, though not
around the heart. Oppressed by this infirmity, he saw Earl Simon in a dream
standing beside him and saying, ‘You are troubled with mortal infirmities but rise
early tomorrow and go to the place at Evesham where I was alive and dead and
you shall recover your full health,’ and when he had done that he recovered from
all his infirmities.

69 Richard of Hereford, a carpenter, had been doing repairs at a millpond when

a pile of timbers fell on his feet and so crushed them that he was unable to move.
He therefore had some others carry him into a house. After being laid on a bed, on
people’s advice he had a plaster put on his feet. But as he was extremely distressed
after the application of the plaster and experienced pain that he could not bear,
on their advice he had his feet measured to Earl Simon. After that was done the
pain seemed to ease and when the plaster was removed his feet were seen to be
completely mended, whereupon he got up and carried on with his work. The same

96
A Montfortian: Cal. Inq. Misc. 1, pp. 198, 265–6. He died in 1281: Cal. Inq. p.m. 1272–91, p. 238.
See also 165.
97
A furrier or tailor.

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Agnes uxor Reginaldi Maniworde dum esset pregnans et de uita desperata propter
dolorem continuum quem patiebatur ad comitem Simonem mensurata statim
partum edidit et de periculo quod timebat euasit et hoc meritis predicti comitis.

70 Matildis uxor Willelmi filii Hugonis guttis laborabat in omnibus membris et

hoc per multa tempora. Hec autem ad comitem Simonem mensurata conualuit et
in huius rei testimonium locum in quo dictus comes uiuus fuit et mortuus humiliter
requisiuit et uisitauit.

71 Memorandum quod cum comes Symon de Monteforti in sompnis appareret

uicario de Wardon et eidem precipit ut Galfridum de Scalares militem ex parte
sua moneret quod seditiones et machinamenta que contra comitem Symonem et
suos complices apud Luddelow fecerat emendaret et idem uicarius bis premunitus
preceptis comitis non obtemperaret, dictus comes apparens ei tertio cum
comminatione precepit eidem ut diceret predicto militi quod nisi cum festinatione
pretaxata machinamenta faceret emendari subito uel inopinata morte ab hac uita
transiret. Verum cum miles auditis monitis non adquiesceret in prouictu itineris
uersus London in quadam domo ubi fuerat hospitatus incendio periit cum domo
et hernesio et tota familia sua ita quod nec minimum signum de omnibus predictis
appareret post predictam combustionem.

72 Alicia soror Willelmi rectoris ecclesie de Werinton subito in dextra parte

capitis et per faucem dextram usque ad collum inflaturam sustinens per quam
dubitabatur eam morte [fol. 169v] subitanea extingui, hec autem de consilio
quorumdam eidem assistentium et [ad] comitem Simonem mensurata conualuit.
Huius rei testimonium perhibuit dictus Willelmus qui candelam mensuratam apud
Evesham detulit.

73 Memorandum quod dictus Willelmus quoddam mirabile nobis retulit dicens

quod cum ipse post bellum apud Evesham commissum de terra ubi comes iacuit in

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Richard stated that Agnes, the wife of Reynold Maniword,98 had been pregnant
and in despair of her life from the constant pain that she was suffering. But after
being measured to Earl Simon she had given birth immediately and escaped the
danger that she had feared, and it was through the merits of the earl.

70 Maud, wife of William son of Hugh, had suffered for a long time from gouts
in every part of her body but after being measured to Earl Simon she recovered.
And in witness to this matter she humbly sought out and visited the place in which
the earl had been alive and dead.

71 A memorandum that Earl Simon de Montfort had appeared to the vicar of

Whaddon in a dream and had commanded him that, on his behalf, he should warn
Geoffrey Deschalers, a knight, that he should make amends for the treachery and
plotting that he had perpetrated at Ludlow against Earl Simon and his allies.99 And
when the vicar had not complied after being twice given notice, the earl appeared
to him a third time with a threat. He commanded him that he should say to the
knight that, unless he quickly made amends for the forementioned plotting, he
would pass from this life by a sudden or unexpected death. But, since the knight
would not accept the warnings that he had heard, while making a journey towards
London he perished in a fire at a house where he was lodging, together with the
house and his belongings and his entire retinue, so that after the blaze not the
slightest trace of anything was to be seen.100

72 Alice the sister of William the rector of Warrington101 was suddenly afflicted
by a swelling on the right-hand side of her head and down the right cheek as far as
her neck, and from it she was expected quickly to expire. She recovered, however,
after being measured to the earl on the advice of people who were there. The said
William who carried the measured candle to Evesham bore witness to this matter.

73 A memorandum that the said William told of a marvellous thing, saying that
after the battle had taken place at Evesham he had carried away with him some of
98
Reynold was a bailiff of Hereford in 1285: Registrum Ricardi de Swinfield, episcopi Herefordensis,
A.D. MCCLXXXIII–MCCCXVII, ed. W. W. Capes (Canterbury and York Soc. 6, 1909), p. 94. He also
occurs there in 1287: Placita de Quo Warranto Temporibus Edw. I, II, et III in Curia Receptae Scaccarii
Westm. Asservata, ed. W. Illingworth (Record Commissioners, 1818), p. 252.
99
Probably a reference to the anti-Montfortian alliance formed at Ludlow after Edward’s escape from
Hereford on 28 May 1265: see Maddicott, Simon de Montfort, p. 334.
100
Geoffrey Deschalers the elder held the manor of Whaddon by 1260: Cal. Pat. 1258–66, p. 117. He
died in 1284 some years after the miracle book was finished, so the fire victim was probably his son
and heir Geoffrey the younger, who was dead by January 1267: Cal. Pat. 1266–72, p. 30; Cal. Inq. p.m.
1272–91, p. 309.
101
See 41n.

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campo secum asportasset, et quidam laicus nomine [name omitted] infirmabatur

usque ad mortem ita quod ecclesiastica sacramenta recepisset et sine loquela per
biduum iacuisset, comes Symon eidem infirmo apparens ut sibi uidebatur dixit ei
quod precaret dictum Willelmum ut aliquam particulam eidem donaret de terra
memorata quam habuit in sua potestate et quod misceret in aqua et eam uteretur
uel declutiret. Quod dum factum fuisset dictus infirmus sanitatem recuparauit.

74 Quidam monachus de Burgo Sancti Petri quoddam mirabile narrauit quod

unus de conuentu fratrum consueuit detrahere comiti Symoni una cum quodam
clerico fratre suo nec bonum audire uel dicere potuit. Contigit quadam nocte
quod contentio erat inter fratres pro dicte comite. ‘Quidam eorum dixerunt quia
bonus fuit alii non sed seducebat turbas.’ Tandem lite sopita petierunt strata.
Media nocte apparuit dicto religioso quidam miles armatus habens gladium in
dextra manu et portinunculam suillam in leua. Et ait, ‘Comede. Aut gustabis
aut interibis. Melius est comedere carnes crudas quam uiuas.’ Et comedit ut
uidebatur usque ad medietatem. Et dixit miles, ‘Sufficit, sed uade et defer aliam
dimidietatem fratri tuo’ et nominauit illum et sic disparuit. Iste euigilans perteritus
ut de contentione et uisione ablueret manusa surrexit. Inuenit os suum intus et
extra sanguine maculatum. Hec uidentes fratres mirabantur et crederunt eum
ab aliquo percusse. Dictus religiosus recognescens [fol. 170r] ueritatem et petens
ueniam a martire penitentia ductus omnis macula faciei euanuit. De hoc perhibet
testimonium totus conuentus loci illius.b

75 Thomas de †Crest† narrauit de rectore de †Pytylton† paralici percusso die

qua cantauit suam nouam missam. Et in reda apud Evesham deportatus statim et
sine mora conualuit. De hoc perhibet testimonium tota parochia et dictus Thomas
qui uidit dictum rectorem postea celebrantem et Deum clara uoce laudantem.

a
de contentione et uisione ablueret manus] \a/ ablueret manus \b/ de contentione et uisione MS.
b
In margin in a contemporary hand Nota bene istud miraculum.

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the earth from where the earl had lain on the battlefield, and for safe-keeping had
stored it in a cloth. An unlettered person called [name omitted] had been sick to
the point of death so that he had received the sacraments of the church and lain
speechless for two days. But Earl Simon, who seemed to this invalid to appear to
him, said that he should ask this William to give him some of the earth that was
in his possession, and should mix it with water and apply it or drink it. And after
that had been done the patient recovered his health.

74 A monk of Peterborough told of something marvellous about one of the

convent of brothers who, together with his own brother, a clerk, had often
disparaged Earl Simon and could not hear or speak any good of him. One night
it came to pass that there was an argument among the monks. ‘Some said he was
a good man. And others said: No, but he seduced the people.’102 When the dispute
had eventually subsided they went to their beds. But in the middle of the night
there appeared to that monk an armed knight who had a sword in his right hand
and a piece of pork in the left, and the knight said, ‘Eat it. You shall either taste
it or die. It is better to eat raw meat than living flesh.’ And the monk ate as much
as half of it, so it seemed. And the knight said, ‘That is enough, but go and take
the other half to your brother’ and he named him, and thereupon he vanished.
Waking in terror, the monk got up to wash his hands of the argument and of the
vision and found that his mouth was bloodstained inside and out. The brothers
were amazed at seeing this and thought that he had been beaten by someone. When
the monk admitted the truth and, driven by remorse, sought forgiveness from the
martyr, all the bloodstains on his face disappeared. The whole convent of that
place bears witness to this.103
[In the margin] Heed this miracle well.

75 Thomas of †Crest† told of the rector of †Pytyltone†104 who was stricken with
paralysis on the day when he sang his first mass but after being carried to Evesham
in a cart he recovered immediately and quickly. The whole parish bears witness
to this together with the said Thomas, who afterwards saw the rector celebrating
mass and praising God in a clear voice.

102
An allusion to Christ. Cf. John 7: 12.
103
Peterborough abbey was heavily fined for supporting Simon de Montfort, and Abbot Robert of
Sutton (1263–74) was accused of sending men to fight for him: VCH Northants. 2, p. 88; Fernandes,
‘Northamptonshire assize jurors’, pp. 49–50. In the late fourteenth or the fifteenth century the abbey
possessed a Vita Simonis de Monteforti rithmice (The Life of Simon de Montfort in Verse): Peterborough
Abbey (CBMLC), p. 158, no. BP21.285f.
104
Recte Fytyltone? If so, possibly Fittleton (Wiltshire): ‘Fitilton’ in 1303 (Cal. Close, 1302–27, p. 19).
The living was a rectory: VCH Wilts. 11, p. 147.

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76 †Gelbreda† Belle de Phyleby casu confregit brachium dextrum que tanto

grauata dolore non habuit requiem neque per diem neque per noctem. Tandem
mensurata ad comitem Simonem et denario plicato super eam omnis ille dolor
euanuit. De hoc perhibet testimonium tota uillata de Phileby [et] ille Iohannes qui
uidit dictum brachium contractum et hoc narrauit.

77 †Cutting’† de Norþ[u]mbarland de abbatia Penmoster percussus quodam

ferro quod gallice dicitur gayne inclusum habuit in pectore per duos dies et duas
noctes. Hic mensuratus in [die] sancti Bartholomei ad comitem Simonem sine
mora conualuit, unde uidimus propriis oculis. Et illum ferrum remanet penes nos.
Testes huius rei abbas de Penmoster et conuentus loci illius.a

78 Eadmunde Kokerell rector ecclesie de Þerne iuxta Sanctum Benedictum de

Holm graui infirmitate detentus unde phisici sui desperauerunt, iste habuit in
memoria comitem Simonem et mensuratus conualuit. De hoc perhibet testimonium
dictus infirmus et Iohannes de Phileby qui detulit candelam suam apud Evesham.

79 Willelmus cognomento Child constabularius de Brugges habens puerum fere

mortuum dictus Willelmus <tantum>b dolorem concepit in mente quod nullum
gaudium uel letitiam potuit habere. Casu superueniente uenit quidam Predicator
socius ab antiquo. Vidit nimiam anxietatem et dolorem. Voluit ab illo declinare.
Vltimo dictus Predicator quesiuit si contrarius fuit aliquando comiti Simoni. At
ille, ‘Sic [fol. 170v] quia priuauit me multis bonis.’ Cui ille, ‘Pete ueniam a martire
et recuparabis filium tuum.’ Interim infans expirauit et ecce dolor super dolorem,

a
In the MS this entry runs on from 76 without the usual line-break or display initial.
b
tantem MS.

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76 †Gelbreda†105 Belle from Filby106 had accidentally broken her right arm. She
was suffering such pain that she had no rest by day or night. But eventually, after
being measured to Earl Simon and a penny having been bent over her, all the pain
disappeared. The whole township of Filby bears witness to this, [as does] that
John107 who saw the injured arm and told us about this matter.

77 †Cutting’†108 of Northumberland from the abbey of Newminster had been

struck by an iron object, called a gayne in French.109 He had it lodged in his
chest for two days and two nights but after being measured to Earl Simon on
St Bartholomew’s [day]110 he recovered straight away. Afterwards we saw the scars
from the wound with our own eyes, and the iron object remains in our possession.
The abbot of Newminster and the convent of that place are the witnesses to this
matter.111

78 Edmund Cockerel the rector of the church of Thurne112 near St Benet of

Holme had been taken with a grave illness for which his physicians had no hope.
But he reflected upon Earl Simon and after being measured he recovered. The
patient bears witness to this as does John of Filby113 who brought his candle to
Evesham.

79 William Child the constable of Bridgnorth114 had a young son who was
virtually dead. William experienced such anguish of mind that he could have no
joy or gladness. But as chance would have it, a Dominican friar who was an old
friend arrived, saw his extreme anxiety and anguish and wanted to relieve him of
it. In due course the Dominican asked him if he had ever been an opponent of
Earl Simon. He said, ‘Yes, because he deprived me of many valuable things.’ The
friar said to him, ‘Ask the martyr for forgiveness and you shall recover your son.’
105
Recte Albreda (Aubrey in English)?
106
From 1263 part of Filby manor was held by the king’s ‘alien’ half-brother Willam de Valence who died
in 1296: Cal. Inq. p.m. 1236–72, p. 170; Cal. Pat. 1258–66, p. 299; Cal. Close, 1264–68, p. 540. Another
part was held in 1243 by John de Warenne (d.1304) earl of Surrey. They were brothers-in-law and active
royalists: ODNB, s.nn. Portions of the manor were held under them throughout by the families of Filby
and Holme: TNA, CP 25/1/156/60, no. 666; Feudal Aids 3, p. 470; Bk of Fees 1, pt 2, p. 905.
107
Probably John of Filby (as in 78).
108
Recte Cuddy (a pet-form of Cuthbert)?
109
An arrowhead or a crossbow bolt.
110
24 August.
111
Posthumous miracles had been attributed to the first abbot of Newminster, St Robert (d.1159):
ODNB, s.n. ‘Robert [St Robert]’.
112
The advowson and the manor were held by St Benet’s abbey: C. Parkin, An Essay towards a History
of the County of Norfolk (London, 1805–10) 11, p. 79.
113
Probably the John in 76.
114
He occurs as royal constable there in 1267/8: R. W. Eyton, Antiquities of Shropshire (London, 1854–
60) 1, p. 288.

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et iacuit se super lectum et parum obdormiuit. Et uidit in sompnis Christum

descendere de celis. Et tetigit eum dicens, ‘Quicquid petieritis in honore comitis mei
dabitur tibi.’ Et surgens cum festinatione mensurauit puerum et denario plicato
super eum statim apperuit oculos. Et sic per merita comitis sanus et incolumis
redditur patri suo. De hoc perhibet testimonium constabularius de Slopesbury
Clemens Londoniarum una cum patre predicti mortui.

80 David de †Cordebrege† de Berkeshire ydropicus per septem septimanas in

tantum inflatus quod uix incedere uel uidere potuit, hic mensuratus ad comitem
Simonem sine mora conualuit. De hoc perhibet testimonium tota uillata de
†Cordebregge†.

81 Willelmus frater illius David surdus per tres annos simili modo mensuratus
gloriose conualuit.

82 Domina Mabilia sanctimonialis de Stodeley iuxta Oxoniam grauata ex

magna infirmitate circa cor per nouem annos quam medici cardiacam passionem
uocant, hec mensurata et super eam denario plicato ad comitem statim conualuit
anno gracie †MoCCoviijo† circa Assumptionem Beate Virginis. De hoc perhibet
testimonium conuentus de Stodeley.

83 Galfridus de Say miles de Essex graui infirmitate in tibiis et gambis per

octo septimanas detentus ita quod uix incedere potuit, mensuratus ad comitem
Simonem sine mora conualuit. De hoc perhibet testimonium Iohannes de †Hyke†
qui candelam suam apud Evesham detulit.

84 Prior Sancti Crucis de Waltham graui infirmitate detentus sicut ipse narrauit
priori nostro usque ad mortem, fratres circumstantes fleuerunt et dixerunt, ‘Bonum
est ut sis mensuratus ad comitem Simonem.’ At ille negauit dicens, ‘Absit aliquo
religioso facere uotum sine precepto prelati.’ Nocte media uidebatur ei in sompnis

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But meanwhile the child died, which caused sorrow upon sorrow. William lay
down on his bed and went to sleep for a short while and in a dream he saw Christ
come down from the heavens, and he touched him, saying, ‘Whatever you ask in
honour of my earl, I shall grant you.’ Rising in haste, William measured the boy
and, a penny having been bent over him, he opened his eyes immediately. And in
that way he was restored to his father, well and unharmed, through the merits of
the earl. Clement of London the constable of Shrewsbury bears witness to this
together with the father of the dead boy.

80 David from †Cordebrege†115 in Berkshire had been suffering from dropsy

for seven weeks and was so swollen that he could hardly walk or see but after
being measured to Earl Simon he recovered straight away. The whole township of
†Cordebregge† bears witness to this.

81 William, brother of that David, had been deaf for three years but after being
measured in the same manner he recovered splendidly.

82 Dame Mabel, a nun of Studley near Oxford, had been troubled for nine years
by a great malady about the heart which doctors call cardiaca passio.116 But after
being measured and a penny having been bent over her to the earl, she recovered
immediately; that was around the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin117 in the year
of grace †1208†.118 The convent of Studley bears witness to this.

83 Geoffrey de Say a knight from Essex119 was afflicted with a serious infirmity
in the lower legs and thighs for seven weeks so that he could hardly walk, but after
being measured to Earl Simon he recovered straight away. John of †Hyke†,120 who
brought his candle to Evesham, bears witness to this.

84 The prior of Waltham Holy Cross had been taken seriously ill to the point
of death, so he told our prior. The brothers standing round him begged him and
said, ‘It would be a good thing if you were to be measured to Earl Simon.’ But he
refused, saying, ‘Far be it from any man of religion to pray for something without
the command of his superior.’ In the middle of the night, however, it seemed to him
115
Possibly Coldridge in Great Shefford parish.
116
Heart pains and/or palpitations.
117
15 August.
118
Recte 1268?
119
Geoffrey de Say lord of Rickling (Essex) is said to have died in or before 1271; in 1265 the Montfortian
government had granted him free warren in Rickling manor: Maddicott, ‘Follower, leader, pilgrim,
saint’, p. 651.
120
Recte Ryke’? If so, the surname may refer to Rickling.

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quod [fol. 171r] uidit comitem Simonem inter multitudinem pauperum sibi
occurrentem et dulciter amplectentem. Euigilans habuit quandam eructationem
et fecit uomitum et sic conualuit.

85 Frater laycus de eodem cenobio paralisi in dextra parte percussus mensuratus

simili modo conualuit. Cocus eiusdem loci freneticus per merita martiris gloriose
sanatus est. Testis dictus prior eiusdem loci.

86 Iohannes de Coventre cognomento Forbeor graui infirmitate detentus et

ex toto mortuus, mulier sua uidens uirum mortuum mora mulieris exclamauit,
‘O Simon de Mounteforti! Si aliquod \bonum/ fecisti pro Deo et sicut nos credimus
te martirizatum pro iusticia, ostende uirtutem tuam in homine isto.’ Et statim
respirauit et denario plicato et deaurato miraculose resuscitatus conualuit. De hoc
perhibet testimonium uillata de Coventre.

87 Quidam nobilis Hibernie habens mulierem pregnantem et morbo ydropisi

laborantem unde amici illius desperauerunt, adueniente tempore parturitionis
peperit masculum elegantem set abortiuum. Interim uoluit dominus eius recedere
a loco donec uideret finem. Quidam ex consodalibus quasi ludendo dixit, ‘Bonum
est ut domina uestra sit mensurata ad comitem Simonem,’ etc. Ab obstetricibus
facta sine mora conualuit. Hec audiens dictus dominus uoluit uidere uxorem.
Et cum respexit uidit morbum undique sedatum. Quesiuit de puero. Negauit
se non habere puerum nec unquam infirmitatem. Tandem perscrutatur. Inuenit
ut superius dictum est silicet abortiuum. Denario super eum plicato confestim
apperuit oculos et dedit uagitus. ‘Per omnia Deus benedictus’ unde tria sunt
miracula hec perpetrata: mulier a morbo ydropico sanata, a puero liberata, a
morte gloriose resuscitatus. De hoc perhibet testimonium magister Iohannes de
Wychio hoc audiente a Minoribus et ceteris personis ualde fidedignis.

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in his dreams that he saw Earl Simon amidst a multitude of poor people running
to meet him and tenderly embracing him. On waking he belched and vomited and
so recovered.

85 A lay brother of the same religious house was stricken with paralysis on his
right-hand side but after being measured he recovered in a similar way. Also the
deranged cook of that place was splendidly cured through the merits of the martyr.
The witness is the said prior of that place.

86 John Furber121 from Coventry had been taken seriously ill and was absolutely
dead. His wife, on seeing her husband, exclaimed like a woman, ‘O Simon de
Montfort! If you ever did anything good for God, and as we believe that you were
martyred for justice, exert your power upon this man,’ and he immediately began
to breathe. And after a penny had been bent and gilded he recovered and was
miraculously revived. The town of Coventry bears witness to this.

87 A nobleman from Ireland had a wife who was pregnant and afflicted with the
illness of dropsy, for which his friends had no hope. When the time for delivery
came she gave birth to a baby boy, handsome but stillborn. Meanwhile her husband
had chosen to leave the room until he should see what the final result would be.
One of his comrades said, almost frivolously, ‘It would be a good thing if your
lady were to be measured to Earl Simon,’ etc. And when the midwives did that, she
recovered straight away. Hearing of this, the lord wanted to see his wife, and when
he looked at her he saw that her disorder had altogether abated. He asked about
the boy but she denied having had a boy or having been ill. In due course he made
a search and found him to be as described above, that is to say stillborn. But after
a penny was bent over him the baby immediately opened his eyes and gave a cry.
‘Blessed be God in all things,’122 for there were these three miracles performed: the
woman was cured of a dropsical disorder, she was delivered of a boy, and he was
splendidly brought back from the dead. Master John of Wich123 bears witness to
this, having heard it from Franciscan friars and other really trustworthy people.124

121
A furber was a polisher of metal.
122
2 Macc. 1: 17.
123
Possibly the brother of Richard of Wich (d.1253) bishop of Chichester, who was canonized in 1262:
BRUO to 1500 3, p. 2099; ODNB, s.n. ‘Wyche, Richard of’.
124
This seems to be a version of 31.

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88 [fol. 171v] Hugo Peverell de Devenchire habens filiam lactantem nomine

Iohannam, hec per duos dies et duas noctes iacuit sine anelitu. Mensurata ad
comitem Simonem et denario plicato surrexit et lac de nutrice auide siuit. De hoc
perhibet testimonium dictus Hugo una cum uxore nobilissima et tota familia.

89 Domina Margareta de Heydon iuxta Castrum Nouum uxor Nicholai de

Screngham egrota graui infirmitate quam mulieres flores uocant per annum, hec
sua expendit in medicis et nichil preualuit. Tandem mensurata ad comitem statim
conualuit. Testes huius rei tota uillata de Heydon et Hawysa que detulit candelam
suam usque Evesham.

90 Quidam nobilis de Derebeschire fecit magnum conuiuium conuicaneis suis.

Affuerunt inter eos duo detractores qui et dixerunt uniuersa mala de comite. At
dominus conuiuii quod bonus fuit, at ille, ‘Domine Iesu Christe, sicut credo comitem
Simonem pro iusticia terre et ueritate martirizatum, ostende magnificenciam tuam
in me.’ Et inuoluit manum in birro. Interim rediit mensam. O mira Dei uirtus! Post
prandium aperuit manum. Nichil aparuit nisi cicatrix circa policem. Hec uidentes
detractores statim fiebant Dei laudatores.

91 Thomas clericus Cantuarie filius Roberti Yve habens morbum caducum per
quadraginta dies mensuratus ad comitem conualuit. Nec infirmitas ultra ad eum
rediit. De hoc perhibet testimonium Iohannes uicarius de †Sellinge† in Cantea et
plures alii.

92 Alicia de Chileam de Cantea mulier fidedigna narrauit de quodam puero

quadrennio filio †Wolkokani†a Cantuarie nomine Alexander quod in conflictu
seruientium casu cecidit in ignem et iacuit ibidem fere per dimidiam horam et
quatuor rybaldi super eum, et sic fuit in oculis et ceteris membris fere adustus.

a
Or Wolkokam MS.

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88 Hugh Peverel from Devon125 had an unweaned baby daughter called Joan.
She lay without breathing for two days and two nights, but after being measured
to Earl Simon and a penny having been bent, she recovered and eagerly sucked
from the nurse. Hugh bears witness to this together with his very excellent wife
and the entire household.

89 Dame Margaret from Heddon near Newcastle, wife of Nicholas of

Scrayingham,126 had been ill for a year with a serious complaint that women call
‘flowers’.127 She had spent money on doctors but to no avail. But eventually, after
being measured to the earl she recovered immediately. The witnesses to this matter
are the whole township of Heddon, and Hawis who brought Margaret’s candle
to Evesham.

90 A nobleman of Derbyshire held a great feast with his neighbours. Among

them were two detractors and they said all sorts of evil things about the earl. But
the lord of the feast said something good. He said, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, since I
believe Earl Simon was martyred for justice on earth and for the truth, show forth
your greatness in me.’128 And he wrapped his hand in his cloak. He then returned
to the table. O, the wonderful power of God! After the meal he uncovered his hand.
There was nothing to be seen but a scar about the thumb. When the detractors
saw this they immediately began to praise God.

91 Thomas, a clerk of Canterbury, son of Robert Yve, had the falling sickness for
forty days, but after being measured to the earl he recovered and had no further
attacks. John the vicar of †Sellinge† in Kent bears witness to this as do many
others.

92 Alice of Chilham from Kent, a trustworthy woman, told of a four-year-old

boy called Alexander, son of †Wilcock† of Canterbury. He had accidentally fallen
into a fire during an argument between servants, and lay there for half an hour
with four louts on top of him. And thus he was almost burnt away about his eyes
and on other parts of his body. But after being measured to Earl Simon he was

125
Active in Devon in support of the Montfortian regime 1264–65: Cal. Pat. 1258–66, pp. 393, 420, 434;
Close R. (Suppl.) p. 38. He died in 1296 and his wife Margery survived him: Cal. Inq. p.m. 1291–1300,
pp. 207–8.
126
Margaret (who sometimes occurs as Margery) and Nicholas were living 1257–72: J. Brand, The History
and Antiquities of the Town and County of the Town of Newcastle upon Tyne (London, 1789) 1, p.
212n; Three Early Assize Rolls for the County of Northumberland, saec. XIII [ed. W. Page] (Surtees Soc.
88, 1891 for 1890), pp. 161, 202, 217; Northumb. Pleas, pp. 255, 299, 304, 312–13.
127
A menstrual disorder.
128
The MS seems to omit here a clause about a deliberate injury to his hand.

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Hic mensuratus ad comitem Simonem statim gloriose curatus est sine omni lesura.
Testes huius [fol. 172r] rei uniuerse multitudo Cantuarie.

93 Frater <Guarinus>a Bossoun de ordine Minorum uidit sompnia post mortem

comitis sicut recitauit presente fratre suo eiusdem ordinis Odone Hanseotico.
Videbatur ei esse in magno campo et lato et uidit duas scalas siue acies ut milites
dicunt, unam magnam et aliam minorem, in minori Iesum sedentem et dicentem,
‘Si est aliquis qui aliam uictoriam in hoc seculo fecerit propter nomen meum,
surgat in medio.’ Et ecce Simon comes detulit capud suum in manibus et optulit
ei. At Iesus, ‘Magna est oblatio.’ Dictus frater euigilans reuoluebat intra se quid
potest esse, sompnia an reuelatio. Et iterum obdormiuit et astitit ei quidem ei
manifesta reuelatio, cui demonstrata est modo cuidam monacho Eueshamie. Vnde
prior bone memorie sepe narrauit quod tunc temporis aperte uidit.

94 Rogerus fullo molendinarius de Wychio habens filiam lactantem et reptantem,

ista sine custodia casu cecidit in aquam rapidoque meatu fluminis absorta et
uoluentis rote hauritoriis excepta statim extinguitur. Hec ab aqua eleuata et
ad comitem Simonem mensurata aperuit oculos et sic per merita martiris uita
restituta. O mira Christi clemencia! Et que numquam gressus stando ad terram
misit recte super pedes postea ambulauit. Istud contigit primo anno set motu
regalium parentes noluerunt nec potuerunt probare. Testis huius rei tota uillata
de Wichio.

95 Willelmus de Maule nobilis puer de Essex habens infirmitatem ab infancia

quasi dementia et priuatus sensu hominis mensuratus ad comitem Symonem
conualuit. Vnde in signum sanitatis detulit capud cere apud Evesham et candelam
sue longitudinis et latitudinis. De hoc perhibet testimonium tota parentela sua
nobilissima.

96 Reginaldus de †Besseforde† habuit brachium contractum [fol. 172v] per duos

annos. Mensuratus ad comitem die Exaltationis Sancti Crucis conualuit. De hoc
perhibet testimonium tota uillata de †Besseforde†.

a
Gaprinus MS.

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immediately healed, splendidly and with no sign of injury. A crowd of people from
the whole of Canterbury are the witnesses to this matter.

93 Friar Guarin Bossoun of the Franciscan order had a dream after the death
of the earl, which he described in the presence of his brother of that order Otes
Hansard. It seemed to him that he was in a large, broad field and saw two escheles
or battle-lines, as soldiers call them, one big and the other smaller. Jesus was seated
in the smaller one, saying ‘If there is anyone who will achieve a second victory in
this world for my name’s sake, let him stand forth in your midst.’ And behold, the
saintly earl brought his head in his hands and offered it. Then Jesus said, ‘This
is a great offering.’ The said friar on waking wondered to himself what it could
have been, whether it had been a dream or a revelation. He went to sleep again
and a clear revelation indeed came to him, which was shown to him and later to a
monk of Evesham. The prior of happy memory often talked about that which he
had witnessed clearly at the time.

94 Roger the fuller, a miller from Droitwich, had a daughter who was unweaned
and crawling. While unsupervised she accidentally fell into the water and was
overwhelmed by the fast-flowing stream. Caught by the revolving blades of the
mill-wheel, she was killed instantly. On being lifted out of the water and after
being measured to Earl Simon she opened her eyes and so was restored through the
merits of the martyr. O, the wonderful mercy of Christ! And she, who had never
put a foot to the ground, afterwards walked upright on her feet. This occurred in
the first year,129 but the parents would not and could not declare it because of the
stance of the royalists. The whole town of Droitwich is the witness to this matter.

95 William de Maule a noble boy from Essex had had a malady since infancy,
a kind of dementia, and had no human reason, but after being measured to Earl
Simon he recovered. And so, in token of his cure he took a waxen head to Evesham
and a candle of his height and width. All of his most noble kindred bear witness
to this.130

96 Reynold from †Besseforde†131 had had a crippled arm for two years but after
being measured to the earl at the Exaltation of the Holy Cross132 he recovered. The
whole township of †Besseforde† bears witness to this.

129
1265/6.
130
This seems to be a version of 49.
131
Possibly Besford (Worcestershire) because the county is not specified.
132
14 September.

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97 Ricardus de Berewyk habens puerum masculum duorum annorum, die

lune post sanctam Pascham casu cecidit in puteum aque et iacuit ibi mora trium
horarum. Mensuratus ad comitem statim surrexit. De hoc perhibent testimonium
omnes conuicanei loci illius de Berewyk in parochia de Neuwenton.

98 Reginaldus Angeuinus habens quandam infirmitatem unde phisici

desperauerunt mensuratus ad comitem simili modo conualuit. Testes tota uillata
de Holecombe.

99 Ricardus Neirun nobilis cognatus domini Walteri de Cantulupo habens

quandam infirmitatem circa cor uix respirare potuit. Mensuratus ad comitem et
denario plicato conualuit et ut dixit apparuit bis in sompnis dictus Symon.

100 Richard Pepre de Scelegrave ultra Bannebury quinque leucas habens puerum
nomine Robertum, cum quandam die silicet le Hokeday numerasset animalia
<patris>a sui ad pasturam in quodam loco non debito obdormiuit. Euigilans non
habuit memoriam hominis et sic remansit sine sensu per duos dies. Mensuratus
ad comitem Symonem statim sensum recuparauit. De hoc perhibet testimonium
tota parochia de Selegrave.

101 Leticia Palmer de Oxonia habens brachium inutile et manum inualidam

per annum et dimidiam mensurata ad comitem conualuit. Et in signum sanitatis
detulit [brachium] cere apud Evesham. De hoc perhibet testimonium tota parochia
sancte Abbe uirginis Oxonie.

a
fratris MS.

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97 Richard from Berrick Prior133 had a two-year-old son. On the Monday after
Easter he had accidentally fallen into a well of water and he lay there for a period
of three hours, but after being measured to the earl he got up immediately. All the
neighbours there at Berrick Prior in the parish of Newington bear witness to this.

98 Reynold Angevin134 had a malady for which physicians could offer no hope,
but after being measured to the earl he recovered in a similar way. The witnesses
are the whole township of Holcombe.

99 Richard Neirun,135 a noble kinsman of Sir Walter Cantlow,136 had a malady

around his heart so that he could scarcely breathe, but after being measured to the
earl and a penny having been bent, he recovered. And, so he said, Simon appeared
to him twice in his dreams.

100 Richard Pepre from Sulgrave,137 five leagues beyond Banbury,138 had a son
called Robert. While counting his father’s livestock at pasture one day, that is to
say at Hock-day,139 he had fallen asleep in what was an unsuitable place. On waking
he had no human understanding and he remained witless like that for two days,
but after being measured to Earl Simon he came to his senses immediately. The
whole parish of Sulgrave bears witness to this.

101 Lettice Palmer from Oxford140 had a useless arm and a feeble hand for a
year and a half but after being measured to the earl she recovered. And in token
of the cure she brought a waxen [arm] to Evesham. The whole parish of St Ebbe
the virgin in Oxford bears witness to this.141

133
In 1279 he was a freeholder at Berrick Prior, having succeeded his father Hugh c.1271: VCH Oxon.
18, p. 316.
134
In 1279 Reynold was living at Holcombe (Oxfordshire), where he had held the manor since c.1271:
VCH Oxon. 18, pp. 315, 326.
135
Possibly Richer Neyrnut, who was lord of Ufton Nervet (Berkshire) by 1243 (Bk of Fees 1, pt 2,
pp. 845, 849, 854) but had gone by 1274 (Rot. Hund. 1, p. 17).
136
Possibly Walter Cantilupe the Montfortian bishop of Worcester who had died in February 1266:
ODNB, s.n.
137
Hugh of Culworth held a manor at Sulgrave by 1258 and in 1278; his brother Richard also held an
estate there; both were rebel Montfortians: above, 34n.
138
Sulgrave is about eight miles north-east of Banbury.
139
The second Tuesday after Easter.
140
In 1278 Lettice the widow of Simon Palmer lived at Oxford in St Ebbe’s parish where she held eight
other houses and two cottages: Rot. Hund. 2, pp. 790, 808.
141
In 1266 a large fine was imposed on the burgesses of Oxford for having supported the Montfortians:
Cal. Pat. 1258–66, p. 576.

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102 Gregorius de Grandun rector ecclesie de Sapecote habens totam faciem

inflatam una cum collo ultra modum mensuratus ad comitem die martis post
Theophaniam conualuit.

103 Idem narrauit cum esset in castello de Kenelingworth post bellum accidit
ei guttam pungitiuam. Recolens de loco ubi comes sedere solebat accessit et ibi
adorauit et [fol. 173r] gutta statim euanuit.

104 Item idem de bouo suo dixit qui non comedit per quindecim dies. Denario
plicato ad comitem statim auide comedit et conualuit.

105 Item narrauit de quadam aue domine de Grandon mortua dilacerata

et medietate commesta. Mensurata et merita comitis gloriose sine lesura
resuscitata est.

105 Rogerus de Estwell de Norhamtonshire conduxit puellam nomine Iohannam

apud Evesham priuata uisu per nouem septimanas. Mensurata ad comitem
confestim uisum recepit. De hoc perhibet testimonium tota uillata de Evesham.

107 Vxor Iohannis de †Hicclebury† nomine Rosa habens quandam infirmitatem

die sancti Pauli in itinere uersus uillam tanta fuit grauata quod inter brachia uiri sui
expirauit. Mensurata ad comitem et super eam denario plicato statim respirauit et
conualuit. Et mirum contigit de denario plicato perdito et quesito et tertia nocte in

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102 Gregory of Grendon the rector of the church of Sapcote142 had his whole
face extremely swollen together with his neck, but after being measured to the earl
on the Tuesday after Epiphany143 he recovered.

103 The same man told us that a painful gout had come upon him when he was
in Kenilworth castle after the battle of Evesham. Remembering the place where
the earl had used to sit, he had approached it and had worshipped there and the
gout had immediately disappeared.144

104 Also the same man spoke of his ox which had not eaten for a fortnight. After
a penny was bent to the earl it ate eagerly straight away and recovered.

105 The same man told of a fowl belonging to the lady of Grendon,145 which
had been dead, carved up and half eaten. After being measured, it was splendidly
brought back to life through the merits of the earl and without any sign of injury.146

106 Roger of Astwell from Northamptonshire147 brought to Evesham a young

daughter called Joan who had been without sight for nine weeks. After being
measured to the earl she quickly got her eyesight back. The whole town of Evesham
bears witness to this.

107 The wife of John of †Hicclebury†,148 called Rose, had some kind of illness
and on St Paul’s day149 was so afflicted on the way to town that she expired in the
arms of her husband. But after being measured to the earl and a penny having
been bent over her, she immediately began breathing again and recovered. And a
wonder occurred concerning the bent penny, which was lost and was searched for

142
Ralph Basset lord of Sapcote had been a leading Montfortian before the battle of Evesham: ODNB,
s.n.
143
6 January.
144
This must have occurred before 14 December 1266, when the rebel garrison at Kenilworth surrendered.
145
Possibly Scholace, the second wife of Robert of Grendon (d.1269×1273) lord of Grendon
(Warwickshire): H. S. Grazebrook, ‘Shenstone charters’, William Salt Archaeological Soc. Collections
for a History of Staffordshire 17 (1896), pp. 239–98 (at p. 295); VCH Warws. 4, p. 76; Close R. 1268–72,
p. 43. He was a Montfortian until, it seems, shortly before the battle of Evesham: R. Cassidy, ‘Simon de
Montfort’s sheriffs, 1264–5’, Historical Research 91 (2018), pp. 3–21 (at p. 20).
146
It is tempting to read this story as a joke devised by some mischievous sceptic, and it may not have
been the only one.
147
The inhabitants of Astwell were probably Montfortians: see 59n.
148
Recte Hildebury? If so, the surname may refer to Hillborough (Warwickshire): ‘Hyldeberewe’ in
1312 (PN Warws. p. 210).
149
30 June.

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lecto suo mirabiliter inuento. De hoc perhibet testimonium capellanus parochialis

una cum tota uillata de †Donninton†.

108 Abbas Hugo de la Dale ordinis Premonstratensis percussus paralisi die saboti
post festum sancti Marci euangeliste coram iusticiariis domini regis tunc sedentibus
in uilla de Dereby et sic detentus infirmitate per quatuor dies, concilio prudentium
mensuratus ad comitem conualuit sine mora in presencia totius congregationis. In
signum sanitatis dictus abbas misit candelam suam apud Evesham per Iohannem
canonicum suum de Baþekewell anno gracie MoCCo sexagesimo <ixo>.a

109 Robertus Aleyn de Bruell ultra Oxoniam habens uxorem nomine Matildam,
hec patiebatur febribus et ualla dura capitis et colli per tres annos. Mensurata ad
comitem conualuit.

110 Item quidam narrauit de filio suo nomine Radulpho laborante febribus per
septem annos tantum noctibus simili modo. Mensuratus ad comitem conualuit.
De hoc perhibet testimonium tota uillata de Bruell.

111 [fol. 173v] Leticia de Heyleston iuxta Leycestriam ydropica per septem annos
mensurata ad comitem in eundo uersus Evesham cum sternutatione et ructuatione
et uomitu conualuit. Et que tumida et aquosa fuit uidimus propriis oculis gracilem
et delicatam. De hoc perhibet testimonium tota uillata de Heyleston cum ceteris
uillulis adiacentibus.

a
ixo] xx MS.

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and on the third night was miraculously found in her bed. The parochial chaplain
bears witness to this together with the whole township of †Donninton†.150

108 Hugh151 the abbot of Dale of the Premonstratensian order was stricken with
paralysis on the Saturday152 after the feast of St Mark the evangelist in the presence
of the king’s justices then sitting in the town of Derby,153 and for four days he was
afflicted with infirmity in that way. But after being measured to the earl on the
advice of some wise people, he recovered straight away in the presence of the whole
community. In token of the cure the abbot sent his candle to Evesham by means
of his canon John of Bakewell in the year of grace 1269.154

109 Robert Aleyn155 from Brill156 beyond Oxford had a wife called Maud. She
had suffered for seven years from fevers and hard lumps on her head and neck but
after being measured to the earl she recovered.

110 Also someone told of Robert Aleyn’s son called Ralph who had been afflicted
with night-time fevers for seven years. After being measured to the earl in a similar
way he recovered. The whole township of Brill bears witness to this.

111 Lettice from Aylestone157 near Leicester had suffered from dropsy for seven
years. But after being measured to the earl she recovered on her way to Evesham
with sneezing, belching and vomiting. And we saw with our own eyes that she
who had formerly been swollen and full of water was slender and attractive. The
whole township of Aylestone bears witness to this together with the neighbouring
hamlets.

150
Possibly Dunnington, in Salford Priors (Warwickshire): ‘Donynton’ in 1332 (PN Warws. p. 221) and
about six miles from Hillborough.
151
Hugh of Lincoln.
152
26 April.
153
The justices in eyre were sitting at Derby from 7 April to 8 May 1269: D. Crook, Records of the
General Eyre (London, 1982), p. 137.
154
Hugh was dead by 21 March 1271: Heads 2, p. 499.
155
Probably related to John Alan, a potter at Brill in 1254: see M. Farley and B. Hurman, ‘Buckinghamshire
pots, potters and potteries, c.1200–1910’, Records of Buckinghamshire 55 (2015), pp. 161–234 (at p. 181).
156
On Brill’s Montfortian stance before and after 1265 see Jacob, Studies, pp. 44–7, 290–1, 344–9.
157
William de Harcourt lord of Aylestone was a Montfortian and forfeited the manor after the battle
of Evesham, but it was restored to the family in 1267: Cal. Pat. 1266–72, p. 120; Cal. Close, 1272–79,
p. 436. William (d.1270) was the brother of Saher de Harcourt (above, 18n) another Montfortian: ODNB
(online edn), s.n. ‘Harcourt [de Harcourt] family’. William is also said to have been brother-in-law to
Henry Hastings (Eyton, Antiquities of Shropshire 2, p. 223) a leading rebel (above, 11n).

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112 Agnes de †Deneburne† habens guttam et spasmum in toto corpore

mensurata et confricata de terra ubi comes occubuit mox conualuit. De hoc
perhibet testimonium Alicia Malherbe et cetere mulieres.

113 Alicia de †Chaddelee† habens in capite infirmitatem unde fere amisit oculum
dextrum per septendecim septimanas, mensurata ad comitem Simonem conualuit.
De hoc perhibet testimonium tota uillata de †Chaddelee†.

114 Quedam domina fidedigna narrauit de pullo suo pauonis quod casu pede
conculcato unde per ambas partes capitis sanguis exiuit. Mensuratus ad comitem
Simonem sine mora et lesione conualuit. In signum miraculi et sanitatis detulit
bona mulier apud Evesham caudam predicti pauonis.

115 Willelmus de la Horste de Bulne narrauit de quodam uicino suo Roberto

diacono. Secundo anno post bellum Eueshamie contigit quod dictus Willelmus
fecit magnum conuiuium. Inter conuiuantes lis mota est de comite unde dictus
Robertus ultra mensuram uituperauit comitem et uniuersa mala proposuit. At
dominus domus silicet dictus Willelmus, ‘Nolite detrahere comitem.’ Inter hec
dictus Robertus perdidit loquelam nec potuit mouere manum uel pedem set sedit
quasi mortuus. Cum orationibus conuiuantium parum respirauit et concilio dicti
Willelmi promisit quod de cetero numquam aduersa de dicto comite diceret et sic
de periculo euasit.a

116 Idem Willelmus recitauit de clerico nomine Willelmo de †Hylamtre† habens

sanguinis passionem. Mensuratus et denario plicato conualuit. Testes huius rei
dictus Willelmus et plures alii.

a
In margin in a contemporary hand Nota miraculum.

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112 Agnes of †Deneburne† had a gout and cramp in her whole body but after
being measured and being rubbed with earth from where the earl had fallen she
recovered. Alice Malherbe158 and other women bear witness to this.

113 Alice from †Chaddelee†159 had had a malady in her head for seventeen days,
from which she almost lost her right eye, but after being measured to Earl Simon
she recovered. The whole township of †Chaddelee† bears witness to this.

114 A trustworthy lady told of her young peacock which had been accidentally
trodden underfoot so that blood issued from both sides of its head. After being
measured to Earl Simon it recovered straight away and without any sign of injury.
In token of the miracle and cure the good woman brought the peacock’s tail to
Evesham.

115 William of the Hurst from Bell160 told of a neighbour of his, Robert the
deacon. In the second year after the battle of Evesham it came to pass that this
William held a great feast. Among the guests an argument began about the earl,
during which the said Robert castigated the earl immoderately and alleged all
sorts of wicked things. But the master of the house, namely William, said, ‘Do
not denigrate the earl.’ At that, the said Robert lost the power of speech and could
move neither hand nor foot but sat as if he were dead. But eventually, through the
prayers of his fellow-guests, he began to breathe a little. On William’s advice he
promised that he would never say anything against the earl in future, and in so
doing he escaped from danger.
[In the margin] Heed the miracle.

116 The same William told of a clerk called William of †Hylamtre†. He had
had a blood disease, but after being measured and a penny having been bent, he
recovered. William and many others are the witnesses to this matter.

158
Probably the widow of Robert of Gatton. Alice Malherbe was lady of the manor of Boughton
Malherbe (Kent) at some time before 1243: T. Willement, Historical Sketch of the Parish of Davington
in the County of Kent (London, 1862), p. 61. By 1243, however, Boughton Malherbe and Wormshill (also
in Kent) were being held by Robert of Gatton (Bk of Fees 1, pt 2, pp. 665, 677), whom she had probably
married. Robert died in 1264 (Cal. Inq. p.m. 1236–72, p. 182) and Alice of Gatton was holding Wormshill
manor in 1275 (ibid. 1272–91, p. 108).
159
Possibly Chadley, in Wellesbourne (Warwickshire). One of the leading Montfortians, Piers de
Montfort (ODNB, s.n.), held the manor of Wellesbourne Mountford in the same parish; he was killed
at Evesham (VCH Warws. 5, p. 194).
160
In the late thirteenth century William (fl.1275–92) was a taxpayer at Brians Bell, in Belbroughton:
Worcs. Subsidy, p. 11; VCH Worcs. 3, pp. 16–17. His surname refers to the present Hurst Farm: PN
Worcs. p. 277.

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117 Iohannes Benedist de Tortynton de Suþsex habens filium mutum et claudum

longo tempore. Mensuratus ad comitem media nocte clamauit ad matrem, ‘Perduc
me ad ecclesiam de Evesham.’ Illa [fol. 174r] turbata ait, ‘Potes loqui!’ At ille, ‘Sic,
quia astitit michi senex dicens, “Quia habes nomen meum sanaberis.”’ De hoc
perhibet testimonium domina Hawysa de Nevile et domina Iohanna de la Mare
nobiles mulieres.

118 Sthephanus de Holle et Nicolaus de Hulle, Iohannes Godde, Walter Syƿard,

ciues Herefordie narrauerunt quoddam mirabile de Philippo capellano de Brenteles
qui uituperauit comitem. Inter uerba conuiciosa ait, ‘Si Symon comes est sanctus
ut dicitur, uolo ut diabolus frangat collum meum uel aliquid miraculum antequam
domum ueniam.’ Et sicut petiit ita contigit, nam in redeundo uersus domum casu
obuiam habens leporem et in saltum post eum de caballo cecidit. Seruiens illius
pro conuiciis <areptus>a a demonio more Walencium clamauit, ‘Ob-Ob!’ Insanuit
iste, apprehensus et ligatus, et sic permansit in uinculis a festo sancti Iohannis
Baptiste usque ad translationem sancti Benedicti. De hoc perhibet testimonium
tota ciuitas Herefordie.

119 Dominus Heliseus decanus de Werynton priuatus uisu per tres annos
mensuratus ad comitem conualuit. De hoc perhibent testimonium omnes
conuersantes inter Ribbel et Merse, hoc est inter illas duas aquas.

120 Memorandum de ceco apud Norhampton qui unum oculum recuparauit.

De hoc perhibet testimonium clericus domini episcopi Lincolniensis.

a
areptis MS.

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117 John Benedist from Tortington in Sussex had a son who had been dumb and
lame for a long time. But after being measured to the earl, in the middle of the
night he called out to his mother, ‘Take me to the church of Evesham.’ Thrilled, she
said, ‘You can speak!’ And he said, ‘Yes, because an old man was standing beside
me and said, “Because you have my name you shall be cured.”’ The noble ladies
Dame Hawis de Neville161 and Dame Joan de la Mare162 bear witness to this.163

118 Stephen Hill and Nicholas Hill, John Godde and Walter Syward, citizens of
Hereford, told of a miracle concerning Philip the chaplain from Bronllys164 who
had castigated the earl. Among his insulting words he had said, ‘If Earl Simon is a
saint as they say, I wish the Devil to break my neck, or for any other miracle, before
I get home.’ And as he asked, so it happened, for in returning towards home he
came by chance upon a hare and in leaping after it he fell from his horse. In return
for the insults his servant was seized by an evil spirit and shouted like a Welshman,
‘Ob-Ob!’165 He went insane, was arrested and bound, and remained in chains like
that from the feast of St John the Baptist166 until the translation of St Benedict.167
The whole city of Hereford bears witness to this.168

119 Sir Ellis the dean of Warrington169 had been without his eyesight for three
years but after being measured to the earl he recovered. All the people who live
between those two rivers, the Ribble and the Mersey, bear witness to this.

120 A memorandum about a blind man at Northampton who recovered his sight
in one eye. A clerk of the bishop of Lincoln170 bears witness to this.171
161
Hawis de Courtenay (d.1269) had married John de Neville (d.1246) and afterwards John of Gaddesden
(d.1262); her sons Hugh de Neville (d.1269) and John de Neville (d.1282) were both rebel Montfortians:
Complete Peerage 9, pp. 481–4.
162
Joan was Hawis’s daughter by John de Neville. She was the widow of Henry de la Mare who died
c.1256; she had afterwards married Walter de la Hyde: M. S. Giuseppi, ‘On the testament of Sir Hugh
de Nevill, written at Acre, 1267’, Archaeologia 56 (1899), pp. 351–70 (at pp. 357–61); Complete Peerage
9, pp. 482–3; Cal. Pat. 1247–58, p. 478; VCH Surr. 3, p. 248.
163
This seems to be a version of 179.
164
Bronllys (Breconshire) was held from 1263 by Maud Longespee (née Clifford); she married c.1271
John Giffard who had fought against Simon de Montfort at Evesham: English Baronies, p. 36; Complete
Peerage 5, pp. 639–44; ODNB, s.n. ‘Giffard, John, first Lord Giffard’. Bronllys is three miles from Pipton
where Simon de Montfort made a treaty with Llywelyn ap Gruffudd prince of Wales in 1265.
165
‘Oh! Oh!’ in English: Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: A Dictionary of the Welsh Language (Cardiff,
1964–in progress, and at the ‘GPC Online’ website), s.v. ‘ob-ob’.
166
24 June.
167
11 July.
168
See 28n.
169
Dean by 1250: W. Beamont, Warrington Church Notes: The Parish Church of St Elfin, Warrington,
and the Other Churches of the Parish (Warrington, 1878), p. 27. See 41n.
170
Probably Richard of Gravesend 1258–79, a prominent Montfortian: ODNB, s.n.
171
Northampton supported the Montfortians in the civil war: see 35n.

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121 Willelmus de †Braddewell† habens quandam infirmitatem ignotam per

annum, mensuratus ad comitem continuo conualuit. De hoc perhibet testimonium
tota uillata de †Braddewell†.

122 Reginaldus Rigon Oxonie recuparauit uisum per merita comitis in oculo
sinistro die mercurii proxima ante festum decollationis sancti Iohannis Baptiste
anno gracie millesimo CColxvto. De hoc perhibent testimonium prior Sancte
Freþewþe Oxonie, Willelmus de Crofta, Robertus de Stratforde.

123 Puer quidam de Glousestria filius [name omitted] per septem annos pedibus
et manibus contractus, et ad comitem mensuratus conualuit anno gracie [fol. 174v]
predicto circa Assumptionem Beate Marie Virginis. De hoc perhibet testimonium
Robertus de †Aldewik† tunc temporis prior Sancti Petri Gloucestrie.

124 Quedam sanctimonialis de Acornebury diligebat multum comitem

Symonem. Que nimio dolore constricta pro eo quod audierat dictum comitem
adeo enormiter detrunccatum, unde blasphemare Deum et sanctos multipliciter
cepit, asserendo ipsum esse iniustum eo quod proderet iustos et innocentes malos
autem et preuaricatores saluaret. Vnde propter dolores et angustias quas patiebatur
innumeras non potuit recipere consolationem. Set amens efficiebatur ita quod
uinculis constringebatur tanquam amens effecta. Postea aliquantulum sedata et
sui compos effecta sequebatur conuentum. Set utrum aliquid de Deo diceret uel
non ignorabatur. Tandem exclamauit dicens se habere capud comitis in gremio suo
quod sibi arridebat et applaudebat. At illa monialibus astantibus ostendit oculos
et nasum et nares et os eius quod et osculabatur circumquaque et in hoc recepit
sensum quem amiserat.

125 Checheley de †Romesey† grauedinem capitis per dimidium annum et

amplius sustinuit. Que ueniens ad tumulum comitis Simonis mensurauit se et
statim conualuit.

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121 William from †Braddewell†172 had had an unnamed illness for a year but
after being measured to the earl he recovered immediately. The whole township of
†Braddewell† bears witness to this.

122 Reynold Rigon from Oxford recovered the sight of his left eye through the
merits of the earl on the Wednesday before the feast of the decollation of St John
the Baptist173 in the year of grace 1265.174 The prior of St Frideswide’s at Oxford175
and William of Croft and Robert of Stratford bear witness to this.

123 A boy from Gloucester, son of [name omitted], had been crippled for seven
years in his feet and hands but after being measured to the earl he recovered in the
same year of grace around the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.176 Robert
of †Aldewik†, at that time prior of St Peter’s, Gloucester, bears witness to this.177

124 A nun of Aconbury greatly loved Earl Simon and had been afflicted with
intense sorrow for the earl on hearing that he had been so grievously mutilated. As a
result she had begun to blaspheme repeatedly against God and his saints, asserting
that he was unjust because he had betrayed the just and innocent and had saved the
wicked and the transgressors. And thus, on account of the innumerable sorrows
and miseries that she was suffering she had been unable to find any solace. But an
improvement was brought about in that she was bound in chains until improvement
had been made. Afterwards she became a little more calm and composed and more
obedient to the convent. But it was unknown whether or not she would be saying
things about God. Eventually she exclaimed that she had the earl’s head in her
embrace and that it was smiling at her and praising her. And to the nuns who were
present she showed his eyes and nose and nostrils, and his mouth which she was
kissing all over, and in doing so she got back the sanity she had lost.

125 Cecily of †Romesey†178 had suffered for half a year and more from a heaviness
in her head, but on coming to the tomb of Earl Simon she measured herself and
recovered immediately.

172
Possibly Broadwell (Gloucestershire), an estate of Evesham abbey.
173
29 August.
174
If the year is correctly copied the event would have occurred less than four weeks after the battle of
Evesham.
175
Robert of Olney 1260–78.
176
15 August.
177
The burgesses of Gloucester had supported Simon de Montfort before the battle of Evesham and
had been heavily fined: Carpenter, Henry III 1258–72, p. 383.
178
The surname may refer to Romsey (Hampshire).

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126 Memorandum de quodam puero de Gloucestrie mortuo. Qui postquam

classica que pulsantur pro mortuis in parochia sancti Audoeni fuissent †deportata†
et pulsata notale pro dicto puero mortuo dictum fuit matri eiusdem ut mensuraret
puerum ad comitem Symonem. Quod cum mater fecisset surrexit a mortuis qui
adhuc uiuit. De hoc perhibent testimonium pater et mater pueri et plures alii qui
interfuerunt et predicta uiderunt.

127 Willelmus de Uffenham capellanus filius Willelmi Margerie dum esset in loco
quodam et transitum faciens super equum suum casu cecidit de equo et lesionem
unius pedis habuit ita quod pedem mouere non potuit per duas septimanas.
Vnde cum audisset a quibusdam uicinis de miraculis que Deus operatus est apud
Evesham per merita comitis Simonis plicauit unum denarium [fol. 175r] soluendum
pro sanitate recuparanda. Statim sanitatem recepit in pede et nichil sensit de aliqua
molestia quam prius habuit. Huius rei testis est qui scripta retulit iuratus.

128 Quidam frater Minor de conuentu Herefordensi febrium molestia grauatus

per mensem et amplius, ad dictum comitem mensuratus statim conualuit. De hoc
perhibent testimonium fratres Minores qui interfuerunt et predicta uiderunt iurati.

129 Robertus de <Darlingestok>a guttam habuit per dimidium annum et

amplius. Qui mensuratus ad sanctum Robertum et ad alios sanctos non sensiens
conualescenciam, postquam audiuit comitem Symonem bello mortuum censuit
ipsum martirem. Vnde supplicauit Deo ut per merita dicti martiris eidem subueniret
et statim liberatus fuit a dicta gutta. Idem de ipso testimonium perhibet.

130 Quidam [word omitted] apud Hawekesbury mutus et contractus per septem
annos mensuratus ad comitem statim conualuit in omnibus que patiebatur. De hoc
testimonium perhibet abbas de Persore et plures alii.

a
Carlingestok MS.

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126 A memorandum about a dead boy from Gloucester. After the bells that are
rung for the dead in the parish of St Owen had been †brought out† and rung to
announce the boy’s death, his mother was told that she ought to measure him to
Earl Simon. When she did that, he rose from the dead and he is living still. The
boy’s father and mother, and many others who were present and saw those events,
bear witness to this.179

127 William the chaplain from Offenham,180 son of William Margary,181 had
been passing through some place on horseback and had accidentally fallen off his
horse and injured one of his feet so that he was unable to move it for two weeks.
But when he heard from some neighbours about the miracles worked by God at
Evesham through the merits of Earl Simon, he bent a penny to purchase from God
the recovery of his good health. He immediately got back the good condition of
his foot and did not feel any of the discomfort that he had previously had. He is
the witness to this, having delivered a written account on oath.

128 A Franciscan friar of the Hereford convent had been troubled by distressing
fevers for a month and more but after being measured to the earl he recovered
immediately. The Franciscan friars who were present and saw these things bear
witness to this on oath.

129 Robert of Darlingscott had had a gout for half a year and more and had not
felt any improvement in health after being measured to St Robert182 and to other
saints. But after he had heard about Earl Simon’s death in battle, he considered
him a martyr. And so he begged God to bring him relief through the merits of
this martyr and he was immediately freed from the gout. He himself bears witness
to this.

130 A [word omitted] at Hawkesbury183 had been dumb and crippled for seven
years but after being measured to the earl he recovered from everything that he
had been suffering from. The abbot of Pershore184 bears witness to this as do many
others.

179
The burgesses of Gloucester had supported Simon de Montfort before the battle of Evesham and
had been heavily fined: Carpenter, Henry III 1258–72, p. 383.
180
Offenham was an estate of Evesham abbey.
181
William Margary of Offenham was dead by 1275 when his son Richard was chaplain there:
The Worcester Eyre of 1275, ed. J. Röhrkasten (WHS, new ser. 22, 2008), pp. 23–4, 41–2.
182
Possibly Robert Grosseteste (cf. 17) or Robert of Knaresborough (cf. 196).
183
An estate of Pershore abbey: VCH Worcs. 2, p. 129.
184
Probably Henry of ‘Bideford’ 1264–c.1274.

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131 Osbertus Giffard febribus diu fatigatus sompniauit quod comes Symon
apparuit sibi dicens ei quod aciperet ‘le gambilem quod habuistis de me in bello
et ponatis super uos et sanabitis’. Euigilans dixit ministris suis ut inuestigarent
de armaturis que iacebant ad pedes lecti sui. Qui inuestigantes inuenerunt le
gambilem posueruntque super eum et sic sanus factus est. De hoc perhibet abbas
de Evesham qui prescripta audiuit de ore eius qui curatus fuit.

132 Ricardus de parochia de Inteberg filius Iohannis <Fillot>a contractus a

natiuitate qui gambas et pedes habuit per quinquennium bifurcatas nullo modo
ualens incedere, per Aliciam matrem suam ad comitem Symonem mensuratus et
in reda quadam Eueshamiam adductus sero in uigilia Sancte Crucis anno gracie
MoCColxvo, cum mater ipsius predicta cum puero ad sepulcrum comitis Simonis
usque ad mediam noctem in uigiliis et orationibus perseuerasset dictus puer meritis
martiris surrexit et in omnibus membris suis sanus factus est [fol. 175v] ita quod ad
uoluntatem suam incessum habuit. Huius rei testes sunt mater pueri, <et Nicolaus
Grate, Iohannes Herteber et Sara uxor illius>,b et tota uillata Inteberg.

133 Rosa Tholus passionem quandam sustinuit in capite cuius omnia organa
sensuum doloribus contringebantur tantum quod dubitabat sensu priuari. Cuius
oculus habuit tumorem et grossidiorem ad mensuram oui. Mensurata ad comitem
statim conualuit.

134 Alicia uxor Nicolai Grate de Inteberg per dimidium annum et amplius in
gambis pedibus et tibiis tantam sensit debilitatem et molestiam quod predicta
membra mouere non potuit. Que ad comitem Simonem mensurata et in reda
quadam apud Evesham aduecta et usque fere mediam noctem uigiliis et orationibus
insistens tantam de infirmitate sensit alleuationem quod baculo sustentata potuit
incedere. Testes huius rei sunt qui scribuntur in curatione Iohannis consequente.

a
Fillot] fili et MS.
b
et Nicolaus Grate, Iohannes Herteber et Sara uxor illius] et Sara uxor et Nicolaus Grate et Sara uxor
illius Iohannes Herteber MS.

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131 Osbert Giffard,185 who had long been wearied by fevers, dreamt that Earl
Simon appeared to him, telling him to take up ‘the gambeson186 that you had off
me in the battle of Evesham; put it on yourself and you shall be healed’. On waking
he told his servants to search through the armour that lay at the foot of his bed.
On making a search they found the gambeson and put it on him and thus was he
healed. The abbot of Evesham187 bears witness to this, having heard these things
from the mouth of the one who was cured.

132 Richard from the parish of Inkberrow,188 son of John Fillot,189 had been
crippled since birth and his legs had been bent outwards for five years so that he
was in no way fit to walk. But after being measured to Earl Simon by his mother
Alice he was brought to Evesham on a cart late on the eve190 of the Holy Cross in
the year of grace 1265. After his mother had stayed with the boy watching and
praying at the grave of Earl Simon until the middle of the night, the boy stood
up through the merits of the martyr and was made so well in all his limbs that he
could walk easily. The witnesses to this matter are the boy’s mother and Nicholas
Grate, John Hartlebury and Sarah his wife and the whole township of Inkberrow.

133 Rose Tholus191 had suffered from an illness in her head. All her mental
faculties had been afflicted by the pains, so much so that she thought she would
lose her mind, and her eye had a swelling that had enlarged it to the size of an egg.
But after being measured to the earl she recovered immediately.

134 Alice, wife of Nicholas Grate of Inkberrow, had experienced weakness and
discomfort in her thighs, feet and lower legs for half a year and more, so that she
was unable to move those limbs. But after being measured to Earl Simon and being
conveyed to Evesham on a cart, and after staying up nearly half the night watching
and praying, she felt so much relief from her infirmity that she could walk with
the aid of a stick. The witnesses are those whose names are recorded in relation
to the following cure of John.

185
Osbert Giffard (b.1237, fl.1304) had fought for Simon de Montfort at Lewes but against him at
Evesham: Complete Peerage 5, pp. 649–53.
186
A padded jacket or tunic usually worn under chain mail.
187
William of Whitchurch 1266–82.
188
Inkberrow manor had been forfeited by William de Munchensi (VCH Worcs. 3, p. 421) a rebel
Montfortian (Complete Peerage 9, pp. 422–4; ODNB, s.n.).
189
A Christine Fillote was a taxpayer at nearby Feckenham in the late thirteenth century: Worcs. Subsidy,
p. 20.
190
13 September.
191
A Godfrey Tolas was a taxpayer at Hanbury (adjacent to Feckenham and Inkberrow) in the late
thirteenth century: Worcs. Subsidy, p. 33.

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135 Iohannes de Fekham filius Thome Adelard per duos annos et dimidium
gambis et tibiis contractus et apud Evesham in reda adductus qui sine duorum
baculorum adiutorio per dictum tempus incedere non potuit meritis et adiutorio
martiris nostri conualuit ita quod baculos abiectis omnino sanus abcessit. Idem de
seipso testimonium perhibet una cum uillata de Fekham et specialiter hii Ricardus
Hunte, Ricardus de †Odebury†, Hugo Hunte, Ricardus Chyldessonne, Adam
clericus de †Odebury†. Prescripta autem quatuor miracula uidimus et personas
singulorum.

136 Adam de Habelench capellanus habuit neruos suos in poplite contractos ita
quod per sex septimanas incedere non potuit. Qui monitionem in sompnis accepit
ut tumulum comitis Symonis uisitaret. Qui uisioni predicte paruit sanusque factus
est. Idem apud Evesham ueniens testimonium perhibuit de seipso.

137 Henricus de †Lesseberge† habens dissinteriam per duos annos, mensuratus

ad comitem conualuit. Hinc perhibent testimonium [fol. 176r] uicini illius una
cum illo capellano de Bench qui mensurauit illum.

138 Rogerus de †Peytun† comitatu Lincolniensis habens guttam in capite immo

pungitiuam mensuratus ad comitem Symonem conualuit. Ipsemet perhibet
testimonium de seipso.

139 Rogerus decanus de Werinton tanta infirmitate in genu dextro detentus die
dominica proxima ante Natiuitatem Domini anni presentis quod a loco ubi sedebat
mouere non potuit nec sustinere quod aliquis manum adiutricem apponeret nec
unguentum nec emplaustrum, tandem ad memoriam passionem reduxit comitis
Symonis statimque conualuit ita quod die Natali Domini diuina sine impedimento
officia expleuit nec hucusque in aliqua parte infirmitatis signum sentiuit. De hoc

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135 John from Feckenham, son of Thomas Adelard, had been crippled for two
and a half years in his thighs and lower legs and was brought to Evesham on a
cart. He had been unable to walk for that period of time except with two sticks,
but he recovered through the merits and assistance of our martyr so that he threw
down the sticks and walked away completely well. He bears witness to this himself
together with the township of Feckenham and especially Richard Hunte,192 Richard
of †Odebury†,193 Hugh Hunte,194 Richard Chyldessonne, and Adam the clerk from
†Odebury†. Indeed we ourselves saw the above four miracles and the persons
involved in each.

136 Adam the chaplain from Ab Lench195 had had the sinews of his knees so
crippled that he had been unable to walk for six weeks. In a dream he received
instruction that he should visit the tomb of Earl Simon. He obeyed the vision and
was made well. On coming to Evesham he bore witness for himself.196

137 Henry of †Lesseberge†197 had had dysentery for two years but after being
measured to the earl he recovered. Hence his neighbours bear witness to this
together with the chaplain of Bengeworth198 who measured him.

138 Roger of †Peytun† from Lincolnshire had an extremely painful gout in his
head but after being measured to Earl Simon he recovered. He bears witness for
himself.

139 Roger the dean of Warrington199 was taken with such an infirmity in his right
knee, the Sunday before Christmas200 in the present year, that he could not move
from where he was sitting or bear anyone to put a helping hand on the knee or
an ointment or a poultice. But eventually he reflected upon the suffering of Earl
Simon and immediately recovered so that on Christmas Day he performed the
divine offices without difficulty. Nor has he felt any symptom of the infirmity to
192
In the 1240s a Richard Hunte was accused of unlawfully building a house in Feckenham forest: Records
of Feckenham Forest, Worcestershire, c.1236–1377, ed. J. Birrell (WHS, new ser. 21, 2006), pp. 13, 23.
193
A taxpayer at Feckenham in the late thirteenth century: Worcs. Subsidy, p. 20.
194
The surnames of Richard and Hugh Hunte may refer to Hunt End in the same parish: PN Worcs.
p. 319.
195
Ab Lench was an estate of Evesham abbey.
196
This event may be dated before April 1269 when one Robert was instituted to the chaplaincy of Ab
Lench: Reg. Giffard 1, p. 7.
197
Recte Wasseburne?: see PN Worcs. p. 176. The family of Washbourne was prominent at Bengeworth
by the sixteenth century: E. A. B. Barnard, Some Notes on the Evesham Branch of the Washbourne
Family (Evesham, 1914).
198
An estate of Evesham abbey.
199
See 41n.
200
25 December.

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perhibet testimonium Ricardus dictus heremita qui candelam suam detulit apud
Evesham.

140 Robertus capellanus et uicarius de Evesham habens spasmum in gambis

et tibiis longo tempore mensuratus ad comitem Symonem statim conualuit, hiis
presentibus domino abbate de Evesham, Fratre Willelmo de Hekelingos librario
monasterii tunc confessor illius Roberti, et toto conuentu.

141 Item idem Robertus recitauit de quodam monacho Bruerie paralitico per
septem annos. Iste monachus uidit in sompnis Iohannem abbatem suum iam
defunctum una cum milite quodam circuente infirmariam. Et cum ad lectum
uenissent infirmi dixit abbati miles, ‘Quis est iste?’ At abbas, ‘Nobilis psalmicinos
fuit.’ Miles accessit ad eum et tetigens dicens, ‘Surge in nomine Iesu et fac officium
tuum.’ Et statim surrexit sanus laudens Deum et comitem Symonem. De hoc
perhibet testimonium totus conuentus Bruerie cum abbate.

142 Ricardus Hercy emit pullum equi ad nundinas de [fol. 176v] Scotia. Pullus
indomitus ad nauem adductus et ligatus et pre sonitu maris ita perteritus coram
nautis et ceteris aspicientibus cecidit mortuus. Consilio facto ad comitem Symonem
mensuratus cum tribus denariis et super eum plicatis breui interuallo surrexit sanus
et tandem cum oblatione apud Evesham adductus. De hoc perhibet testimonium
una cum naui commorantibus.

143 Iohannes de Blanchewelle Lincolnie habens quandam infirmitatem et iacuit

contra lectum per sex septimanas non manducans et uix bibens. Mensuratus ad
comitem Symonem statim conualuit. Huius rei testes Thomas de Blanchewelle et
Symon Luwerk.

144 Willelmus de †Lewerk† de uilla que uocatur †Shendeworthe† in comitatu

de <Herteforde>a priuatus uisu per nouem septimanas, mensuratus ad comitem

a
Hereforde MS.

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this day. Richard, surnamed Armitt,201 who brought his candle to Evesham, bears
witness to this.

140 Robert the chaplain and vicar of Evesham had had a cramp in his thighs
and lower legs for a long time but after being measured to the earl he recovered
immediately in the presence of the abbot of Evesham,202 the librarian of the
monastery Brother William of Atch Lench (Robert’s confessor at the time) and
the whole convent.

141 Also the same Robert told of a monk of Bruern who had been paralysed for
seven years. In his dreams this monk saw John his abbot, now deceased,203 walking
round the infirmary with a knight. And when they came to the patient’s bed the
knight said to the abbot, ‘Who is this?’ And the abbot said, ‘He was an excellent
psalm-singer.’ The knight went up to him, touched him and said, ‘Arise in the
name of Jesus and perform your office,’ and he immediately got up, cured and
praising the Lord and Earl Simon. The whole convent of Bruern bears witness to
this together with the abbot.

142 Richard Hercy had bought a colt at a fair in Scotland. When the untamed
colt was taken to a ship and tethered, it was so greatly terrified by the sound of the
sea that it fell dead in front of the sailors and other onlookers. But some advice
was taken and in a short while the colt, after being measured to Earl Simon and
after three pennies had been bent over it, got up restored. And later on it was taken
to Evesham with an offering. He bears witness to this together with people who
had been on the ship.

143 John of Brauncewell from Lincoln204 had some kind of illness and had lain on
his bed for six weeks, not eating and scarcely drinking, but after being measured to
Earl Simon he recovered immediately. Thomas of Brauncewell and Simon Luwerk
are the witnesses to this matter.

144 William of †Lewerk† from the township called †Shendeworthe† in the county
of Hertford had been without sight for nine weeks but after being measured to the

201
Possibly from the house of Austin (or Hermit) friars at Warrington, on which see D. Knowles and
R. N. Hadcock, Medieval Religious Houses: England and Wales, 2nd edn (London, 1971), p. 244.
202
William of Whitchurch 1266–82.
203
He died between August 1265 and January 1274 (Heads 2, p. 266).
204
In 1267 the citizens of Lincoln had recently been fined for their support of the Montfortian cause:
Cal. Pat. 1266–72, pp. 28, 34, 152.

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Symonem statim lumen recepit. Huius rei testes domina Matildis de Childresley
et Margeria filia eius et Nicolaus de Childesley.

145 Frater Laurencius Cornubiensis ordinis fratrum Minorum contra festiuitatem

Beate Virginis a discretis phisicis in annua febre adiudicatus, in passione sua
predicta comitis merita ad memoriam reducens statim de infirmitate conualuit.
Testis frater fuit Nicolaus de †Gulac†.

146 Frater Nicolaus de †Gulak† de eodem ordine habens calculum et grauissimum

dolorem sentiens ita ut suus cyrurgicus eum incidere proposuisset et idem frater
de salute et uita desperatus nullatenus incidi permisisset. Conuertit tandem se ad
Dominum ut meritis sui martiris Symonis comitis eum curare dignaretur. Mira
res! In crastino circa horam tertiam cum surrexisset a lecto ut commedereta cecidit
calculus ad pedes eius nullo dolore precedente aut sequente plene curatus die
martis in septimana Pasche anno gracie MoCColxixo. De hoc perhibet testimonium
totus conuentus Oxonie.

147 [fol. 177r] Willelmus de la Rye miles in Norhamtonshire habens acutam

febrem mensuratus ad comitem et sequente nocte prorsus conualuit.

148 Matildis Sherlonde frenetica per duos dies et ligata, mensurata ad comitem
Simonem omnino conualuit.

149 Walter le Forde piscator de Fisherestrete Londonia commorans <sinistre>b

habens duos lucios quorum unus mortuus per totam noctem, hic concilio plicato
denario ad comitem Symonem crastino inuenit illum uiuum et cum cauda in
panerio ludentem. Testes huius rei omnes conuicanei loci illius.

150 Quidam sacerdos de Welles nomine Benedictus aliquo tempore comiti

contrarius cum quadam die celebraret diuina in celebratione misse uisu parumper

a
ut comederet] Halliwell emends this to ut commingeret (in order to urinate): Miracles, p. 96.
b
sinistre] s. in uistre MS.

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earl he immediately had his eyesight back. The witnesses to this matter are Dame
Maud of Childerley and Margery her daughter and Nicholas of Childerley.205

145 Friar Lawrence Cornish of the Franciscan order was judged by expert
physicians to have an annual fever, just before the feast of the Blessed Virgin.206
While suffering from it he reflected upon the merits of the earl and recovered from
his illness immediately. The friar who witnessed this was Nicholas of †Gulac†.

146 Friar Nicholas of †Gulak† of the same order had a stone and was experiencing
such very severe pain that his surgeon proposed to cut him open. The friar, fearing
for his safety and his life, would on no account allow himself to be cut open. But
eventually he turned for help to the Lord, that he would allow him to be cured
through the merits of his martyr Earl Simon. What a marvellous thing! On the
morrow about the third hour on the Tuesday207 in Easter week in the year of grace
1269 he rose from his bed to eat and the stone fell at his feet quite harmlessly
and without pain either before or after. The entire Oxford convent bears witness
to this.208

147 William of Rye a knight from Northamptonshire had an acute fever but
after being measured to the earl he recovered completely the following night.209

148 Maud Sherlonde had been raving for two days and had been tied up but after
being measured to Earl Simon she recovered completely.

149 Walter le Forde a fisherman from Fisher Street, a resident of London, had
two pike but unfortunately one of them lay dead all night. He took some advice,
however, and a penny was bent to Earl Simon; and on the morrow he found it
alive and flipping its tail in the basket. The witnesses to this matter are all the
neighbours in that locality.

150 A priest from Wells210 called Bennet had once been opposed to the earl. One
day when performing divine service he lost some of his eyesight while celebrating

205
Perhaps relatives of Henry of Childerley, lord in 1274 of Little Childerley (Cambridgeshire), where
a Nicholas of Childerley was one of his tenants: Rot. Hund. 2, p. 408. Henry had been an armed
Montfortian: Cal. Pat. 1266–72, p. 61.
206
25 March.
207
26 March.
208
Adam Marsh (d.1259), eminent Franciscan theologian at Oxford, had been one of Simon de
Montfort’s mentors: ODNB, s.n.
209
This seems to be a version of 153.
210
Possibly Wells (Somerset) because the county is not specified.

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amisit. Post celebrationem uero uisum penitus amisit et loquelam. Mensuratus ad

comitem Symonem statim uisum et loquelam manifeste recuparauit. Huius rei tota
parochia perhibet testimonium.

151 Iohannes de Herlow de Norþhamburland habens in memoria comitem

Simonem in mente ante diem ireticum conualuit ita ut die lune sequenti equitauit sex
miliaria. De hoc perhibent testimonium omnes consedales de Norþhamburlande.

152 Matildis Farun de Neubery iuxta Ungerford habens guttam ita pungitiuam
unde adiudicata est a uicinis suis mortua, mensurata ad comitem Symonem statim
conualuit. De hoc perhibent testimonium omnes uicini eius de Neubury.

153 Willelmus de la Rye iuxta Norþhampton habens acutam [febrem]

mensuratus ad comitem Symonem conualuit. Vnde perhibent testimonium omnes
conuicanei sui.

154 Willelmus de Pikeringes Cantuarie puerum infirmatum habuit usque ad

mortem. Mensuratus ad comitem Symonem conualuit. Et in signum sanitatis
detulit puerum apud Evesham de cera. De hoc perhibet testimonium tota parochia
sancti Andree Cantuarie.

155 [fol. 177v] Idem Willelmus de Pikeringes eiusdem uille habens puerum unum
genu sinistrum ita inflatum quod uix articuli pedis apparerent, mensuratus ad
comitem Symonem statim tota inflatio euanuit. In signum sanitatis detulit alium
puerum de cera. Testes ut supra.

156 Emma de Dene paralisi percussa per quatuor dies, ista mensurata est ad
diuersa loca sanctorum. Tandem mensurata ad comitem Simonem conualuit ita ut

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mass. When the celebration was over he lost his eyesight completely, and his speech,
but after being measured to Earl Simon he recovered all of his sight and speech
immediately. The whole parish bears witness to this matter.

151 John of Harlow211 from Northumberland reflected upon Earl Simon before
his brain fever reached its crisis, and he recovered so well that on the following
Monday he rode six miles. All his associates in Northumberland bear witness
to this.212

152 Maud Farou213 from Newbury near Hungerford214 had so painful a gout that
she was judged by her neighbours to be dead, but after being measured to Earl
Simon she recovered immediately. All her neighbours in Newbury bear witness
to this.

153 William of Rye from near Northampton had an acute [fever] but after being
measured to Earl Simon he recovered. All his neighbours bear witness to this.215

154 William of Pickering from Canterbury had a young son who was ill to
the point of death but after being measured to Earl Simon he recovered. And in
token of the cure William brought a waxen boy to Evesham. The whole parish of
St Andrew at Canterbury bears witness to this.

155 This William of Pickering from Canterbury had a young son whose left knee
was so swollen that his toes could hardly be seen but after he had been measured to
Earl Simon all the swelling disappeared immediately. In token of the cure William
brought a second waxen boy. The witnesses are those above.

156 Emm of Dene216 had been stricken with paralysis for four days and had been
measured at various saints’ resting-places. Eventually, after being measured to
Earl Simon, she recovered to the extent of being able to cross herself but she did

211
In 1267 John was complicit with Gilbert de Umfraville in a raid on the manor of Fawdon: Northumb.
Pleas, pp. 270–2. Umfraville, the lord of Harlow, had been a Montfortian: Complete Peerage 1, pp. 147–8.
John died c.1276: TNA, CP 40/14, m. 6; E 372/119.
212
Cf. 199.
213
The surname occurs frequently in medieval Newbury: W. Money, History of the Ancient Town and
Borough of Newbury, in the County of Berks. (Oxford and London, 1887), pp. 116, 126, 144–6, 181–2.
214
The manor and borough of Newbury were held by Simon de Montfort in right of his wife: Maddicott,
Simon de Montfort, p. 50.
215
This seems to be a version of 147.
216
Perhaps related to Richard of Dene (fl.1253–79) lord of the manor of Dene, in Wingham (Kent). See
A. Hussey, Chronicles of Wingham (Canterbury, 1896), pp. 72, 75.

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habuit potestatem se imprimere signo Sancte Crucis. Set non multum superuixit.
De hoc perhibet testimonium Ricardus uicarius de Wingeham cum tota parochia.

157 Christiana de Lullingeston habens guttam pungitiuam a scapula usque

ad manum, a manu usque ad plantam pedis longo tempore, ista mensurata ad
comitem Simonem conualuit. Testes ut supra de parochia sancti Andree Cantuarie.

158 Walter de †Lydeham† in comitatu Oxonie habens policem contractum per

octo dies, lauatis manibus ad fontem comitis Simonis conualuit. Vnde qui affuerunt
cum eo in presencia nostra testimonium perhibent.

159 Guido de Pynele iuxta Warrewyk inutilis et paralisi per decem annos,
mensuratus ad comitem Symonem conualuit. De hoc perhibet testimonium tota
parochia sancti Laurencii de Rorynton.a

160 Henricus Bounde habens in dextro brachio infirmitatem ignotam per tres
annos et dimidium annum et amplius, et hic cito post mortem comitis ipsum
brachium ad dictum comitem Symonem mensurauit et infra tempus trium horarum
diei plene conualuit. Idem habens aliud brachium inutile cum ceteris infirmitatibus
per dimidium annum et amplius unde cum a peritis medicis iudicaretur pro
paralitico, a quibusdam pro ydropico, a quibusdam pro leproso tum propter
scabiem et tumorem cutis quam habebat, hic iterum mensuratus per merita comitis
conualuit. De hoc perhibet testimonium dominus Iohannes filius Iohanni cum
domina comitissa de Aubomarle cum tota familia sua.

161 Robertus de Gamages de Netrewent habens filium quinque annorum, puer

iste ex quadam infirmitate ab omnibus uicinis mortuus est adiudicatus. Concilio
facto ad comitem Simonem mensuratus et denario plicato statim respirauit et
conualuit. De hoc perhibet testimonium tota patria de Netrewent.

a
In the MS this entry runs on from 158 without the usual line-break or display initial.

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not survive for long. Richard the vicar of Wingham bears witness to this together
with the whole parish.

157 Christian of Lullingstone had had a painful gout for a long time from her
shoulder to her hand and from her hand to the sole of her foot but after being
measured to Earl Simon she recovered. The witnesses, as above,217 are from the
parish of St Andrew at Canterbury.

158 Walter from †Lydeham† in Oxfordshire had had a crippled thumb for eight
days but by washing his hands at Earl Simon’s well he recovered. Those who were
with him have borne witness to this in our presence.

159 Guy from Pinley218 near Warwick had been disabled with paralysis for ten
years but after being measured to Earl Simon he recovered. The whole parish of
St Lawrence at Rowington bears witness to this.

160 Henry Bounde had had an unnamed infirmity in his right arm for three and
a half years and more, but soon after the earl’s death he measured the arm to Earl
Simon and within the space of three hours he recovered fully. This man’s other
arm was disabled with other infirmities for half a year and more. Thus, when he
was judged by learned physicians to be paralytic, and by some to be dropsical,
and by some to be leprous because of the roughness and swelling of his skin,
after being measured again he recovered through the merits of the earl. Sir John
fitz John219 bears witness to this together with the countess of Aumale220 and her
entire household.

161 Robert de Gamages from Netherwent had a five-year-old son who, on

account of some illness, was judged by all the neighbours to have died. But advice
was taken and, after being measured to Earl Simon and a penny having been bent,
he immediately began to breathe again and he recovered. The whole district of
Netherwent bears witness to this.

217
In 154–5.
218
Part of Pinley was held by the nuns of Pinley priory: VCH Warws. 3, p. 151. Their patron until 1265
was Piers de Montfort. He was killed at Evesham on the side of Earl Simon and was succeeded as patron
by his son Piers, a fellow-Montfortian: VCH Warws. 2, pp. 82–3; ODNB, s.n.
219
John (d.1275) had been a prominent rebel Montfortian: Complete Peerage 5, pp. 433–5; ODNB, s.n.
220
Isabel de Reviers (b.1237) had married William de Fors (d.1260) count of Aumale; she succeeded to the
earldom of Devon in 1262 and lived until 1293; she may not have been a Montfortian sympathizer and in
1264 Simon de Montfort the younger tried unsuccessfully to gain her hand in marriage: Complete Peerage
4, pp. 321–3; ODNB, s.n.; Carpenter, Henry III 1258–72, pp. 394–5. In 1266 she undertook to reconcile
John fitz John to the king and to produce him if he should cause further offence: Cal. Pat. 1258–66, p. 545.

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162 [fol. 178r] Reginaldus de Geynesbury in comitatu Lincolnie habens

puellam mortuam ab omnibus iudicatam, mensurata ad comitem Simonem et
denario plicato statim respirauit et plene et gloriose resuscitata. De hoc perhibet
testimonium tota uillata de Geynesbury.

163 Iohannes de Ardelle surdus per dimidium annum, mensuratus ad comitem

Symonem et denario plicato statim auditum recepit. De hoc perhibet testimonium
tota parochia sancti Dunstani Londoniarum.

164 <Prepes>a †cum tibiis† aucipitris cuiusdam militis per casum inflatus
infirmabatur usque ad mortem. Mensuratus ad comitem Symonem statim
conualuit. De hoc perhibet testimonium, etc.b

165 Henricus filius Henrici de la Pomere militis de Devenshire graui infirmitate

detentus usque ad mortem a uicinis iudicatus, mensuratus ad comitem Symonem
statim conualuit. Iterum idem Henricus postea infirmitatem fluxus patiebatur.
Mensuratus autem ad comitem Simonem sine mora conualuit. Huius rei tota
familia sua perhibet testimonium.

166 Walter de †Bokyngeham† aliquo tempore comiti contrarius infirmitatem

habens oculorum pre graui apostemate in corpore infirmabatur ita quod nullus
medicus sibi sanitatem promiserat set mortem. Hic mensuratus ad comitem
Symonem ex utraque egritudine plenarie conualuit. De hoc perhibent testimonium
uicini sui.

167 Quedam mulier nomine Agnes per sex septimanas omnium membrorum
suorum officium et possibilitatem amiseret ita quod sine sustentamento neque
ambulare neque mouere se poterat. Mensurata ad comitem Simonem statim
conualuit. De hoc perhibet testimonium, etc.

a
Perpes MS.
b
Between this entry and the next there are three or more words in a contemporary hand in the inner
(left) margin but they are partly hidden in the binding and I have not tried to make out more than the
last word: miraculum.

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162 Reynold from Gainsborough in Lincolnshire had a young daughter who was
judged by all the neighbours to have died. But after being measured to Earl Simon
and a penny having been bent, she immediately began to breathe again and was
fully and splendidly revived. The whole township of Gainsborough bears witness
to this.221

163 John de Hardel222 had been deaf for half a year, but after being measured to
Earl Simon and a penny having been bent, he immediately got his hearing back.
The whole parish of St Dunstan223 in London bears witness to this.

164 A bird †with the lower legs† of a hawk belonging to a certain knight, had by
chance become swollen and was ill to the point of death, but after being measured
to Earl Simon it recovered immediately. Those who bear witness to this are, etc.224

165 Henry,225 son of Henry de la Pomeroy, a knight from Devon,226 was taken
seriously ill and was judged by the neighbours to be at the point of death but after
being measured to the earl he recovered immediately. Moreover Sir Henry suffered
later on from an attack of the flux but after being measured to Earl Simon he
recovered straight away. His entire household bears witness to this matter.

166 Walter of †Bokyngeham†, who had at one time been an opponent of the
earl, had an ailment of the eyes and became ill with an extremely grave abscess on
his body, such that no doctor would promise him a cure other than death. After
being measured to Earl Simon, however, he recovered fully from both conditions.
His neighbours bear witness to this.

167 A woman called Agnes had lost the use and capabilities of all her limbs for
six weeks so that she was unable to walk or move without being supported. But
after being measured to Earl Simon she recovered immediately. Those who bear
witness to this are, etc.227

221
In 1257 the king had granted Gainsborough manor to William de Valence (d.1296): Cal. Chart. R.
1257–1300, p. 1; Cal. Inq. p.m. 1291–1300, pp. 220–1. William was an ‘alien’ half-brother of Henry III,
whom he supported actively: ODNB, s.n.
222
His will was enrolled in 1279: London Wills 1, p. 40. He may have been the moneyer of that name
who occurs 1247–56: ODNB (online version), s.v. ‘Moneyers’.
223
St Dunstan in the East or St Dunstan in the West.
224
Possibly those in 165.
225
Born c.1265, he died in 1305: Cal. Inq. p.m. 1272–91, pp. 238, 400; 1300–7, p. 200.
226
See 65.
227
Those mentioned in 168.

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168 Quedam mulier nomine Matildis de †Blyþe† graui infirmitate diu detenta
tandem infirmitate grauante mortua est. Facto concilio mensurata ad comitem
Simonem statim reuixit et conualuit. De utroque miraculo omnes uicini sui
perhibent testimonium.

169 Margareta uxor Willelmi Mauncell de comitatu Glouernie aliquo tempore

comiti contraria et inimica incidit in [fol. 178v] quandam infirmitatem que uocatur
frenesis ita quod sensum penitus amisit per duos dies. Cui comes Simonem apparuit
per uisionem et dixit sibi, ‘Cur michi detrahis et semper de me loqueris malum?’
At illa penitencia ducta de maladictis petiit ueniam. Comes concessit. Illa uero
dictum comitem interrogauit quid eueniret de suis aduersariis et inimicis. At ipse
dixit, ‘Quidam penitent, quidam penitebunt, et quidam mala morte sine penitencia
morientur.’ Hec autem ad comitem Symonem mensurata statim conualuit. De hoc
uicini sui perhibent testimonium.

170 Sthephanus filius Symonis Badbyry iuxta Malberge subito graui infirmitate
detentus ita quod a uicinis suis pro mortuo fuerat iudicatus, facto concilio
mensuratus ad comitem Simonem statim reuixit et conualuit. De hoc perhibent
testimonium omnes uicini sui.

171 Michaell uicarius de Wychyndon iuxta Salusbury habuit tibiam inflatam

ita quod per maximam inflationem pellis tibie fuerat dirupta et adhuc remanente
passione tumoris. Hic mensuratus ad comitem Symonem statim conualuit. De hoc
omnes uicini sui perhibent testimonium.

172 Willelmus †Ayse† de Forneyse habuit cancrum in utroque pede ita quod sine
sustentatione uix incedere potuit. Fuit etiam paraliticus ita quod in dextera parte sui
corporis potestatem penitus amiserat. Veniens ad ecclesiam sancte Marie et sancti
Egwini Eushamme et ibi per paucos dies moram faciens ex utraque infirmitate
plenarie conualuit. Huius rei testes congregatio conuentualis Eueshamme.

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168 A woman called Maud of †Blythe† had long been afflicted with a grave
illness and eventually, after her illness had worsened, she died. But some advice
was taken, and after being measured to Earl Simon she immediately came to life
and recovered. All her neighbours bear witness to both miracles.228

169 Margaret, wife of William Mauncelle,229 from Gloucestershire, had at one

time been an opponent and enemy of the earl. She began to suffer from that kind
of illness called a ‘frenzy’, so that for two days she lost her wits completely. But
Earl Simon appeared to her in a vision and said to her, ‘Why do you disparage
me and always speak ill of me?’ Moved to penitence, she asked forgiveness for the
abusive words that she had spoken. The earl granted it. She then enquired of Earl
Simon what would happen to his adversaries and enemies. He said, ‘Some are
penitent, some will be penitent and some without penitence will die a bad death.’
After being measured to Earl Simon she recovered immediately. Her neighbours
bear witness to this.

170 Stephen, son of Simon Badbury,230 from near Marlborough, was suddenly
taken so gravely ill that he was judged by his neighbours to have died. But some
advice was taken, and after being measured to Earl Simon he recovered immediately.
All his neighbours bear witness to this.

171 Michael the vicar of Over Winchendon near Aylesbury231 had a lower leg
so swollen that the skin of the leg was split by the enormous swelling, and his
suffering from the distension continued. But after being measured to Earl Simon
he recovered immediately. All his neighbours bear witness to this.

172 William †Ayse†232 from Furness had a canker in each foot so that he could
scarcely walk without support. He was also so paralysed that he had completely
lost capability on the right-hand side of his body. But after coming to the church of
St Mary and St Ecgwine at Evesham233 and staying there for a few days he recovered
completely from both infirmities. The conventual community of Evesham are the
witnesses to this matter.

228
167 and 168.
229
A William Maunsel, with his wife Margaret, quitclaimed their interest in the manor of Tortworth
(Gloucestershire) in 1300: TNA, CP 25/1/9/36, no. 6.
230
The surname refers to Badbury, in Chiseldon (Wiltshire).
231
Salusbury MS.
232
Recte Ayre?
233
Evesham abbey.

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173 Thomas Walding de †Tuddenham† habuit guttam in sinistra manu ualde

grauidam ita quod non potuit mouere manum illam. Que quidam gutta assendebat
in sinistra parte capitis et ita inflatum fuit caput quod uix potuit uidere aut loqui.
Demum inspirante Dei gracia et denario super eum plicato [fol. 179r] ad sanctum
Symonem statim ab illa grauissima infirmitate conualuit. De hoc perhibent
testimonium tota familia sua et tota prouincia sua.

174 Quedam mulier de Donechirche iuxta Donesmore Auicia nomine ita

contracta fuit in manibus et pedibus et in omnibus aliis membris quod nullo modo
ire aut se mouere potuit et hoc durauit per diem et dimidium et per duas noctes.
Gaudium! Ista mensurata ad comitem Symonem statim conualuit uel pristinam
recuparauit sanitatem. De hoc perhibent testimonium omnes uicini sui.

175 Emma mulier de uilla de Auburne de comitatu Lincolnie habuit filiam

nomine Elianore de etate fere duorum annorum que casu die Sancte Trinitatis anno
gracie MoCCo septuagesimo secundo cecidit in quodam uiuario et submersa est et
mortua. Mater reperiens postea filiam suam ita submersam statim extraxit eam de
aqua et mensurauit ad comitem Symonem. Statim puella pristine sanitati diuina
gracia opitulante restituitur. De hoc omnes uicini sui perhibent testimonium.

176 Quedam mulier Cantuarie Agnes nomine uxor Henrici medici quadam graui
gutta percussa in manu dextra et detenta per annum et dimidium ita quod eandem
manum mouere non potuit se penitus illam amisisse credebat, ista statim manu ad
comitem mensurata pristinam recuparauit sanitatem. Et in signum huius rei apud
Evesham ad dictum comitem Symonem unam manum de cera transmisit. Huius
testimonium perhibent omnes uicini sui.

177 Thomas Atteheye quidem uir Cantuarie habuit frigidam guttam in omnibus
suis membris ita quod nec ambulare nec in aliquo membro se mouere potuit et
hoc per annum durauit. Iste ad comitem Symonem mensuratus statim [fol. 179v]
conualuit et itinere apud Evesham arrepto personaliter ibidem cum multis uicinis
suis accessit. Et huius rei testimonium de uisu omnes plene perhibebant.

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173 Thomas Walding from †Tuddenham†234 had had a very severe gout in his
left hand so that he could not move that hand, and the gout had risen up into the
left side of his head which was so swollen that he could scarcely see or speak. But
eventually, after being inspired by God’s grace and a penny having been bent over
him to St Simon, he recovered immediately from that very grave illness. His entire
household and his whole neighbourhood bear witness to this.

174 A woman from Dunchurch near Dunsmore235 called Avice had been so
crippled in her hands and feet and in all her other limbs that she could not walk
or move at all. And this had lasted for a day and a half and two nights. But what
joy! After being measured to Earl Simon she recovered immediately and got back
her former good health. All her neighbours bear witness to this.

175 Emm, a woman from the township of Aubourn in Lincolnshire,236 had a

daughter called Eleanor who was nearly two years old. On Trinity Sunday237 in
the year of grace 1272 she fell by accident into a fishpond and drowned and was
dead. Later the mother, finding her daughter drowned, pulled her out of the water
straight away and measured her to Earl Simon. With the help of God’s grace the
girl was immediately restored to her former good health.

176 A woman from Canterbury called Alice, wife of Henry the leech, had been
stricken with a severe gout in her right hand and had been so afflicted for a year
and a half that she was unable to move that hand and thought that she would lose
it completely. But as soon as the hand was measured to the earl she recovered her
former good health. And in token of this matter she sent a waxen hand to Earl
Simon at Evesham. All her neighbours bear witness to this.

177 Thomas Atteheye from Canterbury had had a cold gout238 in all his limbs so
that he had been unable to walk or to move any of them. And this had gone on for
a year. But after being measured to Earl Simon he recovered immediately. Setting
out in person for Evesham, he reached there with many of his neighbours and they
all bore ample witness to this matter from personal observation.

234
Possibly Todenham (Gloucestershire) because the county is not specified.
235
Dunchurch manor had been held by Simon de Montfort’s son Henry 1260–5 during the minority of
the heir: VCH Warws. 6, p. 80.
236
The manor was held by Walter de Coleville (d.1277) a Montfortian: Complete Peerage 3, p. 374. He
was taken prisoner at Kenilworth before the battle of Evesham: Cal. Pat. 1266–72, pp. 280–1; Close R.
1268–72, p. 279; above, 1.
237
19 June.
238
A gout attributed to an excess of cold humours.

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178 Agnes de Sutton et filia sua Douce nomine tantam cecitatem oculorum per
triduum annum patiebantur quod nichil penitus uiderunt. Tandem inuocato Dei
auxilio mensurate sunt ad comitem Symonem et pristinum uisum receperunt. De
hoc uicini perhibent testimonium.

179 Symon filius Iohannis Bundiht de Tartrintone iuxta Arundell grauissima

in omnibus membris suis per duos annos et dimidium detentus infirmitate ita
quod penitus nullum corporis sui membrum mouere potuit, iste mensuratus ad
comitem Symonem omnium membrorum suorum statim recuparauit sanitatem.
Et accedens apud Evesham cum multorum uicinorum suorum testimonio huius
rei ueritatem affirmauit. Et de hoc perhibunt testimonium domina Iohanna de la
Mare et domina Awysa de Newylle et plurimi.

180 Willelmus filius Willelmi de Weston iuxta Norþhampton tam graui infirmitate
detentus quod a die iouis mane usque ad diem sabboti proximum sequentem
omnibus circumstantibus et eum uidentibus tanquam mortuus reputabatur, iste
ad comitem Symonem post triduum mensuratus statim diuina opitulante gracia
pristine sanitati [restituitur]. Huius rei testimonium [perhibent] Thomas frater,
Allexander Noverei prior de ordine Predicatorum Leycestrie et Robertus Novery
frater suus et tota <familia>a eiusdem Willelmi.b

181 Allexander de Suffolchia ciuis Londoniarum qui manet in parochia Sancti

Martini Inter Tabernas per qinqinnium tantam in testiculis patiebatur infirmitatem
ita quod uix mingere potuit quia tamen inflati fuerunt testiculi quod nullus locus
habilis fuit ad urinam faciendam. Iste ope medici credens sanari posuit quandam
tentam in quadam apertura que aperuit in [fol. 180r] testiculo et nodauit filum in fine
illius tente quo melius eandem cum necesse fuerit extrahere posset. Postea accidit
quod philum cum dicta tenta in eodem membro retracta est quod <nondum>c per
biennium uideri potuit. Tandem accessit quidam monens infirmum ut quereret
aquam de fonte comitis Symonis apud Evesham et lauaret membrum sic inflatum.
Quod ita factum est et statim apparuit pristina apertura, et dictus infirmus uidens
tentam cum quodam cultello eandem extraxit cum toto philo et iterum lauit
membrum suum cum eadem aqua et sanata est dicta apertura et totum membrum

a
familia] familia sua MS.
b
In margin in a contemporary hand notabile.
c
uent’ MS.

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178 Agnes of Sutton and her daughter called Dowse had suffered for three years
from such poor eyesight that they could see nothing at all. But eventually after
invoking God’s help they were measured to Earl Simon and got back their former
sight. Their neighbours bear witness to this.

179 Simon, son of John Benedict, from Tortington near Arundel, had been
afflicted for two and a half years by a very severe infirmity in all his limbs so that
he had been quite unable to move any part of his body. But after being measured
to Earl Simon he recovered the good health of all his limbs. Reaching Evesham,
and with the testimony of many of his neighbours, he affirmed the truth of the
matter. Dame Joan de la Mare and Dame Hawis de Neville bear witness to this
matter as do many other people.239

180 William, son of William, from Weston Favell near Northampton,240 had been
afflicted with so grave an illness that from dawn on a Thursday until the following
Saturday he was thought to be as good as dead by everyone there who saw him.
After the three days, however, he was measured to Earl Simon and with the help of
the divine grace was immediately [restored] to his former good health. Thomas a
friar, and Alexander Noveray prior of the Dominican friars of Leicester and Robert
Noveray his brother and William’s entire household bear witness to this matter.
[In the margin] Something noteworthy.

181 Alexander of Suffolk, a citizen of London241 who dwells in the parish of

St Martin Vintry, had suffered for five years with such an ailment of the testicles
that he could scarcely urinate; the testicles were so swollen that there was no
adequate space through which to pass urine. Thinking to be made better by medical
intervention, he had put a plug into a hole that he had opened in †a testicle†242
and had knotted a thread to the end of the plug, the better to pull it out when
necessary. Later it so happened that the thread, with the plug, was retracted into
that organ and for two years it was no longer to be seen. But eventually someone
came forward to urge the patient to seek water from Earl Simon’s well at Evesham
and to bathe the swollen organ. When that was done the original hole immediately
opened and the patient saw the plug and extracted it with a knife together with all
the thread. He bathed the organ again with the same water and the hole healed

239
This seems to be a version of 117.
240
The manor was held, probably from 1263 (Cal. Inq. p.m. 1236–72, p. 171) and still in 1284, by Robert
de Crevequer (VCH Northants. 4, p. 108). He was an armed Montfortian: Rot. Selecti, p. 137; Cal. Inq.
Misc. 1, pp. 224, 314.
241
His will was enrolled in 1277: London Wills 1, pp. 28–9.
242
Anatomically improbable; some misunderstanding seems to have occurred.

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suum in pristinam reddit sanitatem. Huius rei testimonium perhibuit Michael Tovi
cum tota familia sua, Rogerus Marescallus, Robertus Corbe, et Robertus filius
Roberti Herdell et alii multi qui hoc uiderunt, etc.

182 Philippus Pecche de uilla de Corbi in comitatu Lincolnie graui detentus

infirmitate ita quod per totum diem mortuus reputabatur, tandem inito amicorum
consilio mensuratus fuit ad comitem Simonem et statim reuixit et sanus factus est.
De hoc perhibent testimonium conuicanei sui.

183 Richardus de Wycumbe ciuis Londoniarum percussus paralisi in dextera

parte per tres septimanas ita quod nichil potuit mouere dexteram partem, iste
mensuratus ad comitem Simonem statim pristinam recuparauit sanitatem. Inde
perhibent testimonium omnes uicini sui.

184 Willelmus de Hales ciuis Londoniarum graui infirmitate detentus per octo
septimanas ita quod de uita sua penitus despirauit demum ad comitem Symonem
mensuratus statim conualuit et de illa infirmitate curatus est.

185 Idem Willelmus de Hales in breui postea percussus paralisi in parte dextera
ita quod tibiam dexteram mouere non potuit set penitus illam amisisse credebat,
iterum mensurauit se ad comitem Simonem et statim pristinam optinuit sanitatem.
De hoc perhibent testimonium omnes uicini sui.

186 Magister Gilbertus de Sancto Leofardo habuit quandam infirmitatem

que ipsum per uices inuasit ineffabili cruciatu [fol. 180v] cuius insultus sustinuit

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up, and the whole organ got back its former good health. Michael Tovey,243 with
his entire household, Roger Marshal,244 Robert Corby, and Robert, son of Robert
Hardel,245 and many others who saw this, etc.

182 Philip Pecche246 from the township of Corby in Lincolnshire was taken so
gravely ill that for a whole day he was believed to be dead. But on the advice of
some friends he was measured to Earl Simon and he immediately came back to
life and was made well. His neighbours bear witness to this.

183 Richard of Wycombe a citizen of London had been stricken with paralysis
on his right-hand side for three weeks so that he had been unable to move anything
on that side. But after being measured to Earl Simon he immediately recovered his
former good health. All his neighbours bear witness to this.

184 William of Hales a citizen of London had been afflicted for eight weeks
with an illness so grave that he had completely despaired of his life. But after
eventually being measured to Earl Simon he recovered immediately and was cured
of his illness.

185 The same William of Hales was shortly afterwards stricken with paralysis on
his right-hand side so that he was unable to move his lower right leg and thought
he would lose it completely. But he measured himself again to Earl Simon and
regained his former good health immediately. All his neighbours bear witness
to this.

186 Master Gilbert de St Leofard247 had an illness which from time to time
assailed him with unspeakable torment, and he had suffered its attacks for eight

243
Michael Tovey (fl.1240–66) goldsmith and alderman of London was active there in the Montfortian
cause: J. McEwan, ‘The aldermen of London, c.1200–80: Alfred Beaven revisited’, Transactions of the
London and Middlesex Archaeological Soc. 62 (2011), pp. 177–203 (at p. 193); Cron. Maiorum, p. 79;
Beauchamp Cart. pp. xliii, 199–201.
244
He remained a Montfortian sympathizer in 1267: Cron. Maiorum, p. 91. His will was enrolled in
1276: London Wills 1, p. 27.
245
The will of Robert Hardel, living in the parish of St Magnus the Martyr (in Bridge ward), was enrolled
in 1280; he was a rentier on a large scale: London Wills 1, pp. 46–7. He may have been son of Robert
Hardel an important royal merchant (G. A. Williams, Medieval London: From Commune to Capital, 2nd
edn (London, 1970), pp. 64–5) who occurs as alderman of Bridge ward 1244–57 (McEwan, ‘Aldermen
of London, c.1200–80’, p. 192).
246
Possibly a relative of Gilbert Pecche (d.1291). Gilbert held an estate at Corby of the bishop of Lincoln
by 1243 (Bk of Fees 1, pt 2, pp. 1049, 1075) and in 1271; Gilbert was a royalist but his brothers Robert
and Hugh were Montfortians (Complete Peerage 10, pp. 335–6).
247
A canon lawyer and probably a Montfortian sympathizer, he became bishop of Chichester in 1288
and died in 1305; he too was said to have produced posthumous miracles: ODNB, s.n.

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proculdubio octo annos et amplius. Et ipsum semper tempore nocturno est aggressa,
ipsum aliquando usque ad meridiem aliquando usque ad nonam aliquando prolixius
ac si dente canina frustratim circa regionem spiritualium dilaniaretur lamentabili
penalitate corrodendo. Cuius infirmitatis acerbitas quamdiu durauit amaritudo
passionis ipsum compulit in terra prostratum aliquando more parturientis uel
dementis de loco ad locum uoluntare, aliquando se erigere sursum et in uarias
partes domus saltando currere pre corrosione morbi qui ipsum ab inferiori parte
cordis usque ad cerebrum compressit et secuit circumquaque, ita quod miraculum
uidebatur patienti fragilitatem sue nature tante passionis uehementiam posse
euadere sine morte. Et licet frequenter ad mitigationem morbi usus fuisset ope
et opera medicorum magis tum obfuit quam prefuit proculdubio quod fecerunt.
Tandem inualescente morbo cum simul ipsum aliquantulum grauius et prolixius
arriperet quam solebat, cubicularius suus locutus est ei dicens, ‘Domine, dicitur
quod multa miracula fiunt per Symonem de Mounteforti et sociis suis. Bonum
esset uouere uos sibi ut uidetur.’ Cui respondit languidus, ‘Placet michi quod
sic fiat. Plica sibi et sociis denarium qui apud Evesham secum requiescunt, et si
contingat me huius passionis amaritudine expirare deferas illuc denarium uice
mea. Si uero possum euadere ipsos personaliter uisitabo.’ Et ecce hoc facto stimulus
cruciatus tanti subito molescit et infirmus se transferens ad lectum suauiter incidit
in soporem. Cui uidebatur in sompno quod quidam apparuit ei tradens sibi
tria paria litterarum que sub sigillis clause erant quarum una utrinque gibbosa
fuerat habens interius grossum aliquid inuolutum prout sibi uidebatur. Locutus
est infirmo sic, ‘Frange et lege.’ Et cum languidus ille fregisset et apperuisset
primam plicaturam illius littere que sic gibbosa uidebatur inuenit in ea pixidem
pulcherimam de metallo inuolutam in cuius fundo [fol. 181r] oleum fuerat ualde
purum et serenum. Et dixit languido baiulus littere, ‘Aperi litteram totam et lege
eam.’ Languidus rogauit illum quod ipse eam aperiret. Qui cum eam apertam ante
faciem languidi ostentaret apparuerunt in ea milites armati equis suis insidentes
filo serico subtilissime consuti et ualde delectabiles in aspectu. In superiori ordine
linealiter una comitiua militaris, in inferiori alia, in tertia ordine tertia, et sic
ulterius per totam membranam que mirabiliter creuerat in latum et longum inter
manus ostendentis. Et dixit baiulus languido, ‘Lege has que inter ceteras picturas in
hac membrana sunt conscripte.’ Quas cum languidus inspexisset et legisset, scripta

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years and more, without a doubt. And it always came upon him at night, lasting
sometimes until midday, sometimes until the ninth hour, and sometimes longer,
as if he were being torn to pieces all around the heart and lungs by the teeth of
a dog and was being ravaged with lamentable torment. As long as the severity of
an attack lasted, the sharp pain forced him sometimes to lie on the ground and
roll around all over the place like a woman in labour or a lunatic, or sometimes to
stand up and run and leap to various parts of the house on account of the gnawing
of the illness. It pressed on him from the lower part of the heart to his brain and
stabbed him all over, so that it seemed to the patient to be a miracle that his weak
constitution was able to endure such violent suffering and not die. And although
he had often embraced the resources and services of doctors in mitigation of
the disease, whatever they did had undoubtedly harmed him more than it had
helped. But eventually as the illness became worse and at the same time assailed
him rather more severely and for longer periods than it had used to, his servant of
the bedchamber spoke up, saying, ‘Sir, it is said that many miracles are performed
in the name of Simon de Montfort and his companions.248 It would seem to be a
good thing for you to pray to him yourself.’ The patient answered him, ‘I would
like that to be so. Bend a penny to him and his companions who rest with him at
Evesham, and if it should happen that I die from the harshness of this suffering
take the penny there in my place; but if I can get free of it I shall visit them in
person.’ And behold, when this was done the sharpness of such torment suddenly
became more gentle and the patient took to his bed and went sweetly to sleep. In
a dream it seemed as if someone appeared to him, carrying with him three letters
closed with seals. One of the letters was bulging on either side, apparently having
something large wrapped inside it. And the man spoke to the patient thus, ‘Break
it open and read it.’ And when the patient had broken it open and unfolded the
first fold of the letter that had seemed so bulging, he found wrapped in it a small
and very beautiful metal container, in the bottom of which was a very pure and
clear oil. And the bearer of the letter said to the patient, ‘Open the whole letter
and read it.’ The patient asked him to open it himself. When he displayed it open
to the patient’s face, there appeared on it to be some armed knights seated on their
horses, clad in the finest silk and very handsome in appearance. In the top row
was a knightly company formed up in rank, in the next was another, in the third
row was a third, and so on throughout the whole sheet, which miraculously grew
in width and length in the hands of the man displaying it. And the bearer said to
the patient, ‘Read what is written between the pictures on this sheet.’ When the
248
Chiefly Henry de Montfort and Hugh le Despenser, both killed at Evesham and buried next to
Earl Simon at Evesham abbey (‘Annales monasterii de Waverleia’, Ann. Monastici 2, pp. 129–411 (at
p. 365)) where they were posthumously credited with miracles (Chron. Melrose (1835), pp. 200–1; Chron.
Canterbury–Dover, p. 243).

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fuerant ibidem ista uerba, ‘Ista utere et nulla preparatione.’ Quibus lectis euanuit
baiulus ille. Et languidus ille expergefactus intellexit quod ad conualescenciam
infirmitatis sue sufficere sibi deberet pro medicinam memoria passionis Symonis
de Mountforti et aliorum militum qui apud Evesham martirium sunt perpessi.
Quod et factum est. Ab illo tempore ab infirmitate supradicta meritis dicti sancti
[et] sociorum suorum penitus est curatus.

187 Quedam mulier Isabella nomine manens super pontem Londoniarum per
dimidium annum detenta graui infirmitate ita durante morbo contracta facta
in omnibus membris eius in tantum quod nullum membrum corporis mouere
potuit, tandem inualescente morbo penitus priuata est usu loquendi per spacium
trium dierum et inter omnes uicinos pro mortua reputebatur. Demum habito
quorumdam amicorum suorum concilio die ueneris in festo sancti Dunstani
anno gracie MoCColxxo tertio mensurata fuit ad comitem Symonem. Statim de
utroque morbo curata est et officium lingue incontinenti per Dei graciam et merita
sancti Symonis gloriose recuparauit. Et die dominica proxima sequenti scilicet
in Pentecoste cum uicinis suis ecclesiam corporaliter uisitauit et in signum sue
conualescencie quendam ymaginem cere apud Evesham destinauit. Huius rei
testimonium omnes uicini perhibent.

188 Quidam puer Iohannes nomine filius Philippi de Sancta Maria in Crei de
Kent cecidit in torrentem et submersus mortuus [fol. 181v] est. Pater pueri gemens
et lacrimans extraxit illum de torrente et reposuit in domum suam mortuum
custodiens usque ad uesperam. Postea dictum puerum ad sanctum Symonem
mensurauit et statim conualuit, quem corporaliter pater et mater apud Evesham
adduxerunt. De hoc testimonium perhibent omnes conuicanei sui.

189 Symon de Patteshulle miles dominus de Blechesho in comitatu de Bedforde

oppressus grauissima infirmitate et subitanea circa cor die Assencionis Domini
anno gracie MoCCo septuagesimo tertio, mane mortem metuens superuenientem
omnia iura ecclesiastica festinenter sibi dari precepit. Et factum est. Qui statim
usu loquendi priuatus ab omni populo circumstanti mortuus reputebatur usque
ad horam meridianam. Postea mensuratus ad comitem Symonem statim reuixit et
de omni morbo salubriter est curatus et modum loquendi plenarie recuparauit. Et

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invalid looked and read, these words had been written there, ‘Use these and no
medication,’ and after the words had been read the bearer vanished. The patient
understood on waking that, for him to recover from his illness, reflection upon
the suffering of Simon de Montfort and of the other knights who had endured
martyrdom at Evesham ought to be medicine enough. That is what he did, and
from that time he was completely cured of that illness through the merits of the
saint and his companions.

187 A woman called Isabel who dwelt on London bridge had been afflicted with
a grave disorder for half a year, so that while it lasted she was crippled in all her
limbs and was unable to move any part of her body. Finally, with the condition
worsening, she had been completely without the power of speech for three days
and was thought by all her neighbours to be dead. But eventually on the advice
of some of her friends she was measured to Earl Simon on the Friday of the feast
of St Dunstan249 in the year of grace 1273. Through God’s grace and the merits of
St Simon she was immediately cured of both conditions and splendidly recovered
the free use of her tongue. And on the next Sunday, namely Whit Sunday,250 she
went to church in person with her neighbours, and in token of her recovery she
sent a wax image to Evesham. All her neighbours bear witness to this matter.

188 A boy called John, son of Philip of St Mary Cray, from Kent, fell into a
rushing stream, drowned and died. The boy’s father, moaning and weeping, pulled
him out of the stream and laid him down in his house and watched over the dead
boy until the evening. But he afterwards measured the boy to St Simon and he
recovered immediately. The father and mother brought him in person to Evesham.
All his neighbours bear witness to this.

189 Simon of Pattishall251 the lord of Bletsoe in Bedfordshire was afflicted with
a very grave and sudden illness around the heart on the morning of Ascension
Day252 in the year of grace 1273. Fearing that death would supervene, he ordered
all the rites of the church to be given him. In fact he had been immediately deprived
of the power of speech, and until midday everyone in attendance believed him
to be dead. But later, after being measured to Earl Simon, he immediately came
back to life, was safely cured of his entire affliction, and fully recovered his usual

249
19 May.
250
28 May, i.e. a week after the next Sunday.
251
A rebel Montfortian after the battle of Evesham; he died around Easter 1274, not long after the events
reported here: ODNB, s.n.
252
18 May.

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apud Evesham postmodum personaliter accedens oblatio sua ibidem reportauit.

Huius rei testes sunt omnes familiares sui cum tota prouincia.

190 Dominus Willelmus de London capellanus rector ecclesie de †Hekynton†

aduersa ualitudine detentus ita quod ire non potuit set in grabato iacens a media
Quadragesima usque festum Sancte Trinitatis, postea mensuratus ad comitem
Symonem Deo opitulante recuparauit sanitatem. Et in signum sue sanitatis
destinauit Eueshamie ymaginem cere indutam alba et casula ad modum sacerdotis.
Datum anno Domini millesimo ducentesimo septuagesimo quarto.

191 Sthephanus Aungevin de Donestaple habuit quendam filium qui nominabatur

Iohannes qui graui infirmitate et subito circa cor detinebatur quadam [die] ante
horam nonam. Et morbo ita ingrauescente ab illa hora usque ad uesperam quasi
mortuus ab omnibus reputabatur. Et accessit qui quidam portans aquam de fonte
comitis. Guttatim perfudit circa labia pueri uti puer aquam baiulans et postea
hauriens et astantes oculos eius lauabant et eundem postea ad comitem Simonem
mensurauerunt. Et apertis oculis eius membra sua cepit mouere scilicet manus et
pedes et statim conualuit. [fol. 182r] Postea pater et mater dictum puerum apud
Evesham adduxerunt ad tumbam beati Simonis cum uicinis suis testimonium inde
perhibentibus.

192 Henricus filius Gunnulde de Ketene iuxta Staunforde percussus morbo

paralitico in parte dextera ita quod usuram dextri brachii per tres septimanas
penitus amisit nec quicquam manum ac brachium mouere potuit set ligatum circa
collum suum portauit, qui tandem ad tumulum beati Simonis ueniens et accepto
puluere de dicta tumba brachium suum fricuit et statim sanus effectus est coram
multis astantibus et hoc aperte uidentibus.

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way of speaking. Afterwards he came in person to Evesham, bringing his offering

with him.

190 Sir William of London, chaplain, the rector of the church of †Hekynton†,
had been so afflicted with ill-health that he was unable to walk and he lay on
his sick-bed from mid-Lent253 until Trinity Sunday.254 But eventually after being
measured to Earl Simon he recovered his health with God’s help. And in token of
his cure he sent to Evesham a waxen image clothed in an alb and chasuble in the
manner of a priest. Given in the year of our Lord 1274.255

191 Stephen Angevin256 of Dunstable257 had a son named John who was stricken
with a grave and sudden illness around the heart one day, before the ninth hour.
And when the sickness worsened from that hour until the evening, everyone
thought that he was as good as dead. But someone arrived carrying water from
the Earl’s well. Drop by drop they wiped it round the boy’s lips and then the boy
raised the water and drank some. And those who were present bathed his eyes and
afterwards measured him to Earl Simon. He opened his eyes and began to move
his limbs, namely his hands and feet, and he recovered immediately. And later the
father and mother brought the boy to Evesham to the tomb of the blessed Simon,
bearing witness to this with his neighbours.

192 Henry, son of Gunnell, from Ketton258 near Stamford, was stricken with a
paralytic condition on his right-hand side so that for three weeks he completely
lost the use of his right arm. He was unable to move the hand at all or the arm,
which he carried in a sling tied round his neck. But eventually he came to the tomb
of the blessed Simon, and taking dust from the tomb he rubbed the arm and was
immediately cured in the presence of many bystanders who saw this clearly.

253
11 March.
254
17 May.
255
The final clause suggests the dating of a formal document.
256
A substantial wool merchant living in 1273: T. H. Lloyd, The English Wool Trade in the Middle Ages
(Cambridge, 1977), p. 56.
257
The manor was held by Dunstable priory: VCH Beds. 1, p. 371. The priory had admitted Simon de
Montfort to its confraternity in 1264 and its contemporary annalist extolled his aims and deeds: L. Kjær,
‘Writing reform and rebellion’, in A. Jobson (ed.), Baronial Reform and Revolution in England 1258–1257
(Woodbridge, 2016), pp. 109–24 (at pp. 113–17).
258
The parish lay in two manors. One had been held by the loyalist John de Grey, who died in 1266. It
may then have passed to his brother Richard de Grey of Codnor an active Montfortian (d. by 1272) and
to Richard’s son John another Montfortian: VCH Rut. 2, p. 258; Complete Peerage 6, pp. 134–5 n. (a),
171; ODNB, s.n. ‘Grey, Richard de’.

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193 <Angareta>a uxor Willelmi leb Boteler de Merston peperit filium quendam
Willelmum nomine qui a natiuitate brachium dextrum habuit longo tempore dorso
recuruatum quem nutrix toto tempore caute abscondit ne a domino uel matre uel
familia pro dolore uideret. Tandem uolente et precipiente matre puerum uidere
oblatus est ei puer, quo uiso mater cum familia dolore repleta dictum puerum et
brachium ita retortum ad sanctum Simonem mensurauit. Hoc facto puer brachium
suum mobiliter erexit et reflexit. Et hoc cunctis intuentibus patenter innotuit.

194 Willelmus Colston de Tadcastre in comitatu Eboracensi contractus ita

enormiter in parte sinistra ita quod tibia sinistra uentri reflexa, brachio etiam
eiusdem partis miro modo curuato, capite terre inclinato, sic ut orribile monstrum
appareret intuentibus. Et tali detinebatur infirmitate a Pentecoste anno gracie
MoCCo septuagesimo quarto usque sextam feriam ante festum Annunciationis
anno eiusdem gracie septuagesimo sexto. Qui ueniens apud Evesham quarta feria
precedente et ibidem in ecclesia conuentuali feria sexta circa horam tertiam coram
magno altare dormiens apparuit ut uidebatur in sompnia ei quedam formosa
domina cum duobus armigeris albis quasi descendentes per fenestras uitreas ultra
magnum altare ad locum ubi iacebat et excitentes ipsum ut surgeret, nec potuit.
Tandem dicta domina accipiens ipsum [fol. 182v] per humerum dextrum precepit
ei ut leuaret et ipse statim brachiis et tibiis extensis conuentu et populo hoc uidente
sanus effectus est circa horam diei tertiam.

195 Anno Domini MoCCo septuagesimo octauo die ueneris proxima post festum
beati Petri ad uincula Lecia la Mede Machare nomine de parochia sancte Brigide
de uico de Fletebrigge Londoniarum manens infirmitatem grauem recepit ita quod
uiribus corporalibus fere destituebatur et ex parte sinistra a planta pedis usque
ad †armillas† turgida fuit quasi ydropyca. Nec potuit a predicto die usque Natale
proximum sequens ecclesiam adire nisi baculo et alio fulcomento sibi subueniretur.
Tandem adueniente Nathali tantum predicta grauabatur infirmitate quod de uita
sua desperabatur. Dicta uero mulier tam graui infirmitate detenta uouit quod ad

a
Margareta MS.
b
de MS.

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193 Angaret,259 wife of William Butler,260 of Butlers Marston, had given birth to
a son called William.261 For a long time after the birth his right arm was twisted
backwards and the nurse carefully hid him all that time lest the lord, the mother,
or the household should be distressed to see him. When the mother eventually
wanted, and asked, to see the boy he was handed over to her. On seeing him the
mother was full of sorrow together with the household and measured the boy and
his twisted arm to St Simon. When that was done the boy raised his arm flexibly
and twisted it back again. And that was clearly apparent to all the onlookers.

194 William Colston from Tadcaster in Yorkshire was so grievously crippled

on his left side, with his lower left leg bent towards his belly, his arm on that
side strangely curved and his head bent toward the ground, that to onlookers he
seemed like a horrible monster. And he was afflicted with that condition from
Whit Sunday262 in the year of grace 1274 until the Friday263 before the feast of
the Annunciation in the year of grace 1276. But he had come to Evesham on the
previous Wednesday, and while asleep on the Friday in front of the high altar at
about the third hour, he dreamt that a beautiful lady with two squires in white
appeared to him, as if coming down through the glass windows beyond the high
altar to the place where he was lying and encouraging him to rise. But he was unable
to, and the lady eventually grasped him by the right upper arm and commanded
him to get up. And about the third hour, with the convent and people looking on,
he was immediately made well again with his arms and lower legs straight.

195 In the year of our Lord 1278 on the Friday264 after the feast of Peter’s Chains,
Lece Meadmaker who dwelt in the parish of St Bride Fleet Street in London had
contracted such a serious illness that she had lost nearly all the strength in her body.
And on her left side from the sole of her foot to her †arm-pit† she had become
swollen as if dropsical. And from that day until the following Christmas265 she had
been unable to go to church without supporting herself on a stick or some other
kind of crutch. Eventually she was so burdened by the infirmity that, as Christmas
approached, her life was despaired of. But since she was afflicted with so serious

259
Her forename is confirmed by Cal. Inq. p.m. 1272–91, p. 320; Cal. Pat. 1292–1301, p. 46.
260
A Montfortian: Close R. (Suppl.) p. 48. Lord of the manor in 1279: VCH Warws. 5, p. 24. He died
in 1283: Cal. Inq. p.m. 1272–91, p. 319.
261
This William was a minor in May 1293: Cal. Pat. 1292–1301, p. 46. He was therefore born in or after
1272. He died in 1334: Cal. Inq. p.m. 1327–36, p. 406.
262
20 May.
263
20 March.
264
5 August.
265
25 December.

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crucem et ad beatum Simonem apud Evesham personaliter accederet sue sanitatis

imploratura suffragium. Ipsa uero langore sic consistens in septimana Pentecostes
anno sequenti turgide et contracta per uirum suum ducebatur Eueshamiam in
quadam cinera cum una rota et duobus pedibus. Quia cum uenisset ibidem die
beati Petri ad uincula et in ecclesia per totum diem se orasset in crastino ducebatur
in dicta cinera ad fontem beati Symonis et ibidem se orauit et ex aqua bibit et
corpus suum lauit. Quibus peractis mox sanitatem recepit et statim erecta et sana
sine aliquo fulcimento ad ecclesiam sancte Marie et beati Eggwini peruenit et
ibidem de sanitate recuparata Deum laudauit.

196 Henricus diaconus de Bourton super Trent sedens in capella sita super
ponte ultra fluminem quod uocatur Trent in eadem uilla scribens et subito inflatu
miserandi uenti insoliti cecus factus et uanitate in cerebro percussus cecidit
in terram quasi mortuus et sic permansit omnino cecus per triennium. Set in
misericordia Dei sperans adductus [est] ad Robertum de Cnaresborg et ad sanctum
Thomam Cantuarie et alibi per totam Angliam ubi ulla spes fuerit alicuius sancti.
Atque quodam die cepit [fol. 183r] animo inuoluere ut adduceretur ad comitem
Simonem apud Evesham. Et cum adductus esset stans in coro ubi sepultus fuerat
comes orans deuote, monachis eiusdem loci missam matutinalem audientibus
omnibus astantibus, diuina gracia redditus est ei uisus perspicuus.

197 Memorandum quod quidam homo de Lewe in Lyndessey nomine Robertus

le Stormy habebat quendam puerum nomine Nicholaum qui die lune proxima
ante Natiuitate Beate Marie anno Domini MoCCo septuagesimo octauo cecidit in
quodam puteo in curia dicti Roberti circa horam tertiam et ibi mortuus exstitit
usque post nonam. Eodem die predicto Robertus uenit de Essex. Quesiuit de uxore
sua nomine Constantina ubi erant pueri sui. Illa autem quasi dormiens, ‘Nescio.’

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a condition this woman vowed in fact that she would go in person to the rood266
and the blessed Simon at Evesham to beg help for her health. She remained ill like
that until, in Whit week267 the following year, her husband took her to Evesham,
swollen and crippled, in a hand-cart with a wheel and two feet. When she had got
there on the day of Peter’s Chains268 and had prayed all day in the church, on the
morrow she was taken in the hand-cart to the blessed Simon’s well and there she
prayed, drank some of the water and bathed her body. After taking those steps she
soon got her health back and, upright and well and without any crutch, she went
immediately to the church of St Mary and the blessed Ecgwine269 at Evesham and
there praised God for her restored health.

196 Henry the deacon from Burton upon Trent had been sitting and writing in the
chapel above the bridge beyond the river Trent in that town when he was suddenly
blinded by an unusual bloating of appalling gas, and stricken with dizziness he had
fallen to the ground as if dead. He had remained totally blind like that for three
years and, hoping in God’s mercy, was taken to Robert of Knaresborough,270 to
St Thomas of Canterbury and to other places all over England where there was
any hope to be had from some saint. But one day he began to think about being
taken to Earl Simon at Evesham. After he had been taken there and was standing
in the choir where the earl had been buried, and was praying devoutly while all the
monks of that place were standing nearby and hearing the morrow mass, he was
given back clear eyesight by the divine grace.

197 A memorandum that a man from Louth in Lindsey271 called Robert Sturmy272
had a son called Nicholas. Around the third hour on the Monday273 before the
Nativity of the Blessed Mary in the year of our Lord 1277 the boy fell into a well
in Robert’s courtyard where he lay dead until after the ninth hour. On the same
day Robert arrived from Essex and asked his wife, called Custance, where his sons
were. She was nearly asleep, however, and said, ‘I don’t know.’ So Robert and his
266
At Evesham abbey the rood stood above the altar of the Holy Cross at the east end of the nave:
Marlborough, Hist. p. 506.
267
21–7 May.
268
1 August.
269
The abbey church.
270
Robert (d.1218?) had lived in a cave near Knaresborough (Yorkshire) and was buried in a nearby
chapel: ODNB, s.n.
271
The manor was held by the bishop of Lincoln: Bk of Fees 1, pt 1, p. 176; Valor Ecclesiasticus temp.
Henr. VIII Auctoritate Regia Institutus 4 (Record Commissioners, 1821), p. 6. Richard of Gravesend,
bishop 1258–79, was a prominent Montfortian: ODNB, s.n.
272
He occurs in the 1270s (The Registrum Antiquissimum of the Cathedral Church of Lincoln 5, ed.
K. Major (Lincoln Record Soc. 34, 1940 for 1937), pp. 199–200) and in 1298 (A Lincolnshire Assize Roll
for 1298, ed. W. S. Thomson (Lincoln Record Soc. 36, 1944 for 1938–39), p. 131).
273
6 September.

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Dicti autem Robertus et uxor sua quesierunt infantem et inuenerunt eum in puteo
et extraxerunt mortuum de puteo et fecerunt planctum magnum et mensurauerunt
eum ad comitem Simonem. Et uenit quidem senex inter eos qui dixit eis, ‘Ponite
puerum inter uos ut recipiat naturalem colorem’ et hiis dictis disparuit senex. Et
ita factum est et reuixit inter illos.

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wife searched for the infant and they found him in the well. They pulled his body
out of the well and made great lamentations and they measured him to Earl Simon.
An old man came and stood between them and said, ‘Place the boy between you
so that he can receive your natural warmth,’ and the old man disappeared. And
so it was done and the boy came back to life between them.

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London, British Library, Cotton MS Faustina B IX

198 [fol. 67v] Factum est ergo ut mox perempto Simone et exuto ab armis
in quibus iacebat mortuus, quidam ex filiis Belial accederent ad corpus eius
abscidentes ei manus et pedes, de quarum altera manu sic se habet uera relatio.
Erat quidam marchius in comitatu Cestrie. Hic erat cum Edwardo in bello Eusamie
qui post bellum arripiens interfecti Simonis manum de qua ante dictum est, misit
illam per clientem inpietatis sue ad uxorem suam ut gauderet de interfectione
inimici, cuius interfectionis certissimum signum erat manus amputata. Cum qua
ueniens ad predium domini sui cliens et non inueniens predii dominam domi,
properat ad ecclesiam parochialem ubi erat non longe a predio uiri sui sitam. Quo
cum uenisset cum manu quam portabat in gremio panniculo inuolutam accessit
ad dominam loquens ei in aure de interemptione Simonis. Ac inquit, ‘Istud est
signum occisionis eius,’ uolens ostendere ei manum amputatam. Set mulier, ne
uerecundaretur uel forte metuens Deum, [fol. 68r] tunc cum persisteret in oratione
sua noluit manum uidere set neque attrectare, licet cliens instanter persuaderet
ei ut allatam acciperet et penes se retineret. Cui perperam suadenti ait domina,
‘Opperire donec diuina fuerint percelebrata.’ Ad iussum igitur domine secedens
stabat in multitudine populi ut ascultaret missam. Et factum est dum eleuaretur
sacrosancta hostia et populus eleuaret manus suas pariter et cliens ad Dominum
a sacerdote eleuatum adorandum, ecce manus sancti uiri quam baiularat satelles
diaboli satellitis supra capud eius absque omni sensibilitate eius diuinitus est eleuata
ita ut preeminencia altitudinis melius cerni potuisset quam manus preeminentioris
hominis de omni multitudine hominum qui ibi tunc aderant. Que dum adoraret
Dominum maiestatis in eleuatione eius de qua dictum est, ut inclinauerat se uersus
altare ad adorandum eum, omni dicto citius iterum reclinata est in id ipsum unde
exierat non sine uirtute diuinitatis, panniculo quo inuoluebatur inuento integre

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London, British Library, Cotton MS Faustina B IX, fols 67v–68v, 71v–72r

198 And so it was that, as soon as Simon was killed and stripped of the armour in
which he lay dead, some of the sons of Belial approached his body and cut off his
hands and feet, of which one hand is the subject of a true story, as follows. There
was a marcher1 in Cheshire. He was with Edward in the battle of Evesham and
it was he who, after the battle, seized the forementioned hand of the slain Simon
and, by a male retainer of his unholy self, sent it to his wife so that she should
rejoice in the killing of an enemy, of whose killing the hand was a very certain
token. On coming with it to the manor house of his lord and not finding the lady
of the house at home, he proceeded to the parish church where she was, which
stood not far from her husband’s house. When he got there with the hand, which
he carried in his embrace wrapped in a piece of cloth, he approached the lady and
spoke in her ear about Simon’s killing. And wishing to show her the severed hand
he said, ‘This is the token of his killing.’ But the woman, not to be embarrassed, or
perhaps fearing God, declined to see the hand or even to feel it while she was still
at her prayers, although the retainer insistently urged her to take the present and
keep it with her. In response to this unseemly pressure the lady told him to keep
it covered up until the celebration of divine service was completed. He therefore
withdrew at the lady’s command and stood with the general congregation to hear
the mass. And so it was that when the sacred host was elevated and the people,
including the retainer, raised their hands in adoration of the Lord whom the priest
had lifted up, lo and behold, the holy man’s hand, which the minion of the Devil’s
minion was carrying, was raised above the man’s head by divine power without
him being aware of it, so that its exalted height could be seen above the hands of
the tallest man in the whole crowd of men that were there at the time. While the
priest was adoring the lord of majesty in his elevation as has been said, and as
he was bowing towards the altar in reverence to him, the hand returned by divine
power, in less time than one could say it, to rest in the same place from which it

1
A landholder in the marches of Wales.

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consuto ut prius erat penitus absque omni animaduertibilitate baiulantis. Cuius

nouitatis miraculum perpendens mulier quam predixi Deum metuentem, ait clienti
post misse celebrationem, ‘Manum illam quam dominus meus per te misit ad me,
reporta ad illum, quoniam non intrabit in domum meam.’ Perculsa enim erat miro
stupore ex inuisa et inaudita uisione noui miraculi, propter quod ait clienti, ‘Dignus
est ultione magna quicumque est ille qui manum illam abscidit.’ Narrauitque
uisionem secreto clienti, quam non omnes set plures ex fidelibus Christi qui ibi tunc
aderant uidere meruerunt, precipiens ei ut uisionem quam audierat, ueniens ad
dominum suum fideliter ei enarraret. Pergit igitur seruus propere cum manu quam
baiularat ad dominum qui eum miserat. Non enim intrauit in domum domine
sue sicut illa promiserat propter manum allatam. Vnde uidetur quod erat una ex
fatuis mulieribus que tam sanctam manum tam fatue recusarat, quod non fuit
factum sine consilio diuinitatis omnia bene disponentis. Non enim erat dignus uir
eius, filius Belial, possidere in domo sua manum tante sanctitatis et ideo creditur
transisse ad possessorem Deo prouidente multo meliorem. Set quomodo uel ubi
deuenerit prorsus ignoro.

199 [fol. 68r] Iuxta quoddam oppidum in Northumbria est domus preclara in qua
degunt canonici Premonstratensis [fol. 68v] ordinis Deo seruientes. Ad hanc domum
delatus est pes Simonis per uirum felicis memorie, dominum Iohannem de Wescy
dominum burgi de Alnewike, fundatorem et patronum domus canonicorum quos
predixi. Quo cum permansisset per aliquot menses omnino incorruptus inuentus
est. Vnde propter durationem tante incorruptionis in pede sancti hominis merito
inuente, canonici eiusdem abbatie, que uocatur abbatia de Alnewyke quoniam
iuxta opidum de Alnewyke posita est, propter reuerenciam summi conditoris
fecerunt pedi incorrupto calciamentum de argento purissimo. In quo quidem
pede uisa est plaga inter minimum articulum eiusdem pedis et inter conuicinatum
sibi inmediate articulum, uel ex cultello nescio an uel ex gladio facta. Non enim
sufficiebat amputanti pedem sancti uiri quod multipliciter <detrunccatus>a erat in
corpore nisi ipse per maiorem maliciam adderet ei uulnus in pede. Accidit autem
in diebus illis ut quidam burgensis prediues Noui Castri super Tynam grauissime
infirmaretur ita ut fere omnis motus auferretur ab eo. Non enim potuit mouere
pedem de lecto, non manum ad os deducere, non aliquod officium sui corporis

a
detrunctatus MS.

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 Miracles from the Melrose chronicle

had emerged, and the cloth in which it had been wrapped was found to be all sewn
up as it was before, without the bearer being aware that anything had happened.
The woman of whom I have spoken, contemplating a miracle of such strangeness
and fearing God, said to the retainer after the celebration of the mass, ‘That hand
which my lord has sent to me by you, take it back to him because it shall not enter
my house.’ Indeed she was so overcome by extraordinary astonishment at the sight
of the unprecedented and unheard-of new miracle that she said to the retainer,
‘Whoever it was who cut off that hand deserves to be severely punished.’ She told
the retainer privately about the apparition, which many of Christ’s faithful who
were present, but not all of them, were worthy to see, and commanded him that
when he got back to his lord he should tell him truthfully of the vision that he
had heard about. The servant therefore went quickly to the lord who had sent
him, carrying the hand with him. But, just as she had stipulated, he did not enter
the lady’s house, because of the hand he was carrying. Thus it might appear that,
by so foolishly rejecting a hand so holy, she was a foolish kind of woman; but it
was not done without guidance from the divinity who directs all good things, for
her husband, a son of Belial, was not worthy to keep a hand of such holiness in
his house. It is therefore believed to have passed, by God’s providence, to a much
better possessor, but I have no idea by what means or where to.2

199 Near a town in Northumberland is a notable house in which canons of

the order of Prémontré dwell, serving God. One of Simon’s feet was taken to
that house by Sir John de Vescy, a man of happy memory, lord of the borough
of Alnwick, the founder and patron of the house of canons of whom I have just
spoken.3 When it had remained there for some months it was found to be totally
incorrupt. So, because of the permanence of the incorruption found in the foot
through the merit of the saintly man, the canons of the same abbey, which is called
Alnwick abbey because it is situated near the town of Alnwick, made a shoe of the
purest silver for the uncorrupted foot, out of reverence for the supreme creator.
On the foot was seen a cut between the little toe and the toe immediately next to
it; I do not know whether it was from a knife or from a sword. Certainly, it was
not enough for the man who cut off the saint’s foot that he had been mutilated
many times about the body, unless he himself should, with added spite, give him a
wound to the foot. It happened in those days that a very rich burgess of Newcastle
upon Tyne became gravely ill, so that he was deprived of almost all movement. For
he could not move his foot from the bed or put his hand to his mouth or perform

2
This is a version of 14.
3
He had died in 1289: ODNB, s.n. He was a ‘founder’ of the abbey in the sense of ‘benefactor’; the
original founder was his ancestor Eustace fitz John.

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 Miracles from the Melrose chronicle

exercere, set nec attrectari ab aliquo uoluit. Tanta enim calamitate ingentissime
inualitudinis per totum corpus erat obsessus ut mallet quasi mori quam de lecto
ammoueri propter incredibile pondus sue infirmitatis. Cui quadam nocte apparuit
uox in sompnis ei dicens, ‘Surge cras mane et aliquantulum alleuiaberis ex hac
infirmitate, pergensque apud Alnewycum inuenies ibi in abbatia canonicorum
Premonstratensium pedem Simonis de Monte Forti. Apud illum’, inquit uox,
‘pedem recipies sanitatem optimam’. Qui crastina die summo mane consurgens
aliquantulum, prout uox diuina ei predixerat, alleuiatus, non tamen absque
penalitate graui ascendit equum. Deinde quam citius potuit uenit Alnewycum.
Cumque introisset domum religiosorum prefatorum, prout potuit descendens
de equo mox properauit ad pedem sancti uiri uisendum. Quod cum compertum
fuisset canonicis Deo deuotis, duo ex illis, ut per uiam compendii accederet
burgensis adhuc supra modum egrotans ad pedem, ne forte nimis laboraret in
eundo uersus pedem tulerunt pedem contra illum de loco requietionis sue cum
reuerencia in calciamento quo erat indutus. Ad cuius calciamenti deosculandi
tactum antequam eger potuisset appropinquare, ex solo uisu calciamenti integram
meruit a Deo recipere propter merita Simonis sospitatem.

200 [fol. 71v] Huic sancto uiro nonnulli qui detraxerunt post mortem eius
ignominiosam mortem subire meruerunt. Quorum unus erat canonicus quidam
de Alnewic qui postquam nimis superflue uno die derogauerat Simoni, nondum
enim uenerat pes eius ad domum illam, in crastino illius diei cum debuisset surgere
de lecto suo nullum oculum inuenit in maledicto capite suo. Peierarat enim pridie
per oculos Dei quod Simon fuit proditor regis Anglie et procerum suorum, et ideo
nec mirum ceciderunt oculi eius per se de capite eius, diuina ultione plectente eum
propter Simonem. In loco uero utriusque oculi inueniebatur suf[fol. 72r]fossio
profunda et horribilis, qui eodem die subito obiit.

201 [fol. 72r] Quidam alius uere anathema diaboli qui absciderat uirilia sancti
uiri Simonis, post duos annos tanti sceleris perpetrati, morte turpissima mortuus
est in Scotia, submersus in magno profundo flumine Thayensi fluente ad mare iuxta
nobile oppidum de Perht. De quo cum debuisset extrahi inuenti sunt super uentrem
eius duo scrabones mire turpitudinis pedes suos adeo fortiter in ipso uentre fixos
habentes ut uix euelli potuissent.

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 Miracles from the Melrose chronicle

any function of his body, but nor did he wish to be touched by anyone. Indeed,
throughout his body he was overwhelmed by such a weight of massive disability
that he would almost have preferred to die than be moved from his bed, on account
of the unbelievable burden of his infirmity. One night a voice came to him in his
sleep saying, ‘Rise tomorrow morning and you shall be to some extent relieved of
this infirmity; and go to Alnwick where, in the abbey of the Premonstratensian
canons, you will find the foot of Simon de Montfort, and in its presence’, said
the voice, ‘you shall receive complete good health.’ The next day, he got up very
early in the morning and, somewhat relieved just as the divine voice had foretold,
he mounted his horse, though not without severe pain. He then went as quickly
as he could to Alnwick, and when he had entered the foresaid religious house he
dismounted as best he could from his horse and hastened straight away to see
the saint’s foot. When this became known to the canons devoted to God, two of
them brought the foot reverently from its resting-place to meet him, in the shoe
within which it was enclosed, so that the burgess, who was still extremely ill, might
approach the foot in the shortest way lest he should perhaps struggle too much in
making towards the foot. Before the patient could get near enough to touch the
shoe and kiss it, from the mere sight of the shoe he was allowed by God to have a
complete recovery through the merits of Simon.

200 The few who disparaged this saint after his death deserved to suffer an
ignoble death. One of them was a canon of Alnwick who had quite excessively
denigrated Simon one day, before his foot had yet arrived at that house. On starting
to rise from his bed the next day, he found that he had no eyes in his accursed head.
In fact he had sworn falsely by God’s eyes the previous day that Simon was a traitor
to the king of England and his magnates; therefore it was no wonder that his eyes
fell from his head of their own accord as a punishment to him for Simon’s sake.
Indeed, at the site of each eye was to be found a deep and horrible cavity, and he
died suddenly the same day.

201 Another man, truly a cursed minion of the Devil, who cut off the genitals
of St Simon, died a very nasty death in Scotland two years after that crime was
committed, drowned in the great and deep river Tay, which flows into the sea
near the noble town of Perth. When they went to pull him out they found two
appallingly ugly crabs on his belly with their claws so firmly fastened to the belly
that they could scarcely be pulled off.4

4
This is a version of 202, which clearly dates the event to 1273.

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 A miracle from the Lanercost chronicle (202)
London, British Library, Cotton MS Claudius D VII

[fol. 192v] Regina Scotie Margareta inter hec et alia sua grauamina, precipue de
morte patris et dubio reditu fratris, profunde desolata, una uesperarum apud
Chinclevin, aere serenato post cenam sumptam, solacii causa super ripam fluminis
de Tay perrexit spaciari, comitantibus se armigeris et ancillis, sed specialiter
confessore suo, qui mihi gesta intimauit. ¶ Affuit inter ceteros armiger pomposus
cum suo garcione qui, attestantibus superioribus, sibi a fratre fuerat commendatus.
Et cum sederent in quodam supercilio litoris, descendit ille ad manus abluendas
quas luto infecerat ludendo. Isto sic stante semiinclinato, una ancillarum a regina
incitata clam accessit et eum intra \oram/ aluei impulit. Qui alludens facto et
gratum habens, ‘Quid’, inquit, ‘curo? Natare scio et si ulterius fuero.’ Spacians sic
in alueo et aliis applaudens, ex inopinato sensit sibi uoraginem corpus absorbere,
et clamans ac eiulans nullum habuit qui ad eum accideret nisi seruulum suum,
qui prope ludens clamore assistentium impetuose cucurrit in profundum, et ambo
absorti sunt in momento coram oculis omnium. Sic inimicus Symonis ac Sathane
satelles, qui perditionis se dixit fuisse causam strenui militis, coram omnibus periit.

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 A miracle from the Lanercost chronicle (202)
London, British Library, Cotton MS Claudius D VII, fol. 192v

Amidst her various tribulations Queen Margaret of Scotland was feeling deeply
distressed, especially over her father’s death and with anxiety about her brother’s
return. By way of relief one evening after supper she went out from Kinclaven1
for a stroll on the bank of the river Tay while the weather was fine, accompanied
by squires and maids, and in particular by her confessor,2 who told me what
happened. ¶ With the rest of them was a certain boastful squire with his groom;
according to his superiors the squire had been recommended to her by her brother.
And while they were seated overlooking the water’s edge, this squire went down
to wash his hands, which he had soiled with mud while playing. While he was
standing thus, half bent over, one of the maids, prompted by the queen, crept
up and pushed him over the edge into the river. Treating the matter as a joke and
taking it kindly, he said, ‘What do I care? Even if I were farther out, I know how
to swim.’ Wading about like that in the water and congratulating the others, he
was disconcerted to feel his body being swallowed up by a deep hole. He shouted
and wailed but nobody would go to him except his young servant who was playing
nearby. He rushed recklessly into the deep water to the shouts of the bystanders,
and both of them were instantly swallowed up in view of everybody. Thus perished,
in front of everyone, Simon’s enemy and Satan’s minion, who claimed to have been
the cause of that bold knight’s downfall.3

1
The remains of Kinclaven castle stand above the right bank of the Tay about ten miles north of Perth.
The chronicle records this event under 1273. Margaret’s father King Henry III of England had died
in the previous November and her brother Edward I, then abroad, would not return to England until
August 1274.
2
A Franciscan friar: Chron. Lanercost (1839), p. 97.
3
This is a version of 201.

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 Anno milleno (203)
Cambridge, Gonville and Caius College, MS 349/542

[fol. 10v]
Anno milleno bis centenoque uiceno
Ter iam quintoque denique luce quoque,
Heu milleno bis centeno terque uiceno
Anno quintoque denique luce quoque,
5 Augusti quarta uera de Virgine parta
Luce Symon querit prelia sicque perit
Corpore non anima nam celsa petens fugit ima
Et postrema dies fit sibi prima quies.
Martis luce cadit cum uim ui pellerea uadit.
10 Lux festo uacua congruit esse sua.
O pugil anglorum, tu fidusb amator eorum
Pro quis castrorum non fugis ipse chorum.
O capud illorum, manus et pes atque cor horum
Pro causa quorum tis facis ipse forum
15 Singula membrorum uendens pro pace tuorum.
O pie mercator, inclite large dator
Dans corpus morti periure membra chohorti.
O magne fidei uir, bone serue Dei,
Iniuste pateris quia ius uir iuste tueris.
20 Sed quia ius queris in nece uictor eris.
Ha Deus in celis merito manet iste fidelis
Passus pro patria uulnera seua pia
Causa nam sponte populo pro paupere monte
De forti dictus nec uulnere nec nece uictus.
25 Iam bene de monte forti dictus quia sponte,
Fortiter ut fortis, fert horrida uulnera mortis.
a
pellere] In margin (in the same hand) †melius† defendere.
b
fidus] In margin (in the same hand) uel decus.

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 Anno milleno (203)
Cambridge, Gonville and Caius College, MS 349/542, fol. 10v

In the year one thousand, two hundred, three score and five, and at dawn (alas, at
dawn in the year one thousand, two hundred, three score and five) on the fourth of
August, in a true dawn born of the Virgin, Simon sought battle and thus perished
in the body but not in the soul. In seeking the highest he escaped the lowest, and
the next day became his first respite. On a Tuesday he fell; with force he went
forth to banish1 force. [10] The day, being void of any calendar feast, was proper
to be his. O defender of the English, their faithful2 friend, for whom you do not
flee even from a ‘company of hosts’.3 O their head, their hand, foot and heart:
of yours you even hold a market on behalf of their cause, selling each of your
limbs for the peace of your people. [16] O holy merchant, renowned and generous
giver, giving your body to death and your limbs to a perjured gang.4 O man of
great faithfulness and good servant of God, you suffer unjustly, O just man, for
you protect the law. [20] Since you seek the law, however, in death you shall be
the victor. Ah, God! This faithful man who suffered cruel wounds for his country
in a pious cause deservedly dwells in heaven, for he is called a ‘strong mountain’
(monte de forte) for poor people. [24] Defeated by neither wounds nor death he
is well called the ‘strong mountain’ (de monte forti) at present, for as a strong
man he willingly bears the horrid wounds of death with strength. But the ‘high

1
banish] In the margin in the same hand †better† deny.
2
faithful] In the margin in the same hand or glorious.
3
The Vulgate (Cant. 7: 1) has ‘choros castrorum’, for which the Douay–Rheims translation has
‘companies of camps’; but in the present context the Wyclif translation is more apt: ‘cumpenyes of
oostis’ (S. of S. 6: 12).
4
A reference to those who had sworn in 1258 to support each other in the reform movement and had
since defected.

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 Anno milleno

Immo de monte celso potius quia fonte

Alto celorum nutritur ciuis eorum.
Hic periurorum domitor terrorque malorum,
30 Spes oppressorum, uox uulgi, corque piorum,
Examplar morum, multorum laus populorum,
Religiosorum tutor pro posse uirorum,
Hic auersorum sociorum fraude suorum
Ensibus addictus atroces pertulit ictus
35 Atque truces rictus comes et martir benedictus.
Hic numquam fictus a fictis sepe relictus
Attamine inuictus iam lumine splendet amictus.
O facinus triste, bisacutis ceditur iste,
Ferro truncatur, hastis gladiisque foratur.
40 Lingua, capud, manus atque pedes, pectenque pudenda
Singula sunt abscisa uiro feritate stupenda.
O mors plangenda, mors cum gemitu referenda,
Mors anglis flenda, mors, mors sine fine dolenda,
Mors ulciscenda, mors dira morte luenda.
45 O mors terrenda, morsa militibus metuenda
Per quos horrenda tam turpia tamque pudenda
Et tam miranda tam uilia tamque nefanda
Militie flori Symoni fiunt et honori
Omnis militie, fonti riuoque sophie.
50 Res detestanda, res pessima, res miseranda.
Res fit ei uilis ori cum uirga uirilis
Imprimitur propria proprio. Pia Virgo Maria
Que peperit Christum cito palma uindicet istum.
Ve facienti, ueque fauenti, ueque iubenti,
55 Ve praue genti mala tot fieri patienti.
¶ Cum patre ui capitur, moritur, sepelitur
Filius Henricus martir milesque pudicus.
Signa probant mille quod et hic sit sanctus et ille,
Milleque languentes illis laudes referentes.
60 Vos Alienore coniux et filia, more
Vestro deflere nolite uirum quia uere
Martir honoratus est nunc et glorificatus.
Ipsum quippe bonum meruistis habere patronum
Intercedentem pro uobis uosque fouentem.
a
mors] At the end of the line (in the same hand) and marked for insertion.

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 Anno milleno

mountain’ would be better, for he drinks at the well in the height of heaven as one
of its citizens. [29] This conqueror of perjurers and terror of the wicked, the hope
of the oppressed, the voice of the common people and the heart of the faithful,
the model of conduct, praised by many of the people, the guardian of the religious
to the best of his power, being deceitfully subjected to the swords of his opposing
comrades,5 the blessed earl and martyr endured savage blows and fierce grimaces.
[36] He who was never false while often abandoned by false people, undefeated
by corruption now shines clothed in light. O woeful crime! He was cut down by
double-edged axes, he is mutilated with an iron blade, he is pierced with spears
and swords. [40] Tongue, head, hands, feet and genitals were all cut off from the
man with astonishing savagery. O deplorable death! O death to be related with a
shudder! O death to be wept over by the English! O death, death, to be endlessly
mourned! O death to be avenged! O death to be paid for by a dreadful death. [45]
O death to cause terror, a death to be feared by the soldiers who inflicted such
horrific, disgraceful, shameful, astounding, vile and wicked things on Simon, the
flower of knighthood, the source of all knightly honour and the fount and stream
of wisdom. [50] A detestable thing, the worst thing, a pitiable thing, a vile thing
was done to him when his own male organ was thrust into his own mouth. O holy
Virgin Mary who bore Christ, may you quickly vindicate this man with the palm
of glory. Woe to him who did that, woe to him who approved of it, and woe to him
who ordered it. Woe to the wicked people who allowed such evil things to be done.6

[56] ¶ With the father, the son Henry was taken, died and was buried, a martyr
and a virtuous knight.7 A thousand signs show that both of them were saints,
with a thousand sick people telling their praises. [60] O you, the Eleanors, wife
and daughter,8 do not weep as you do for this man, for truly he is now honoured
and glorified as a martyr. Indeed, you have earnt this advantage: that of having a
patron interceding for you and cherishing you.

5
His erstwhile supporters, principally Gilbert of Clare earl of Gloucester.
6
i.e. the king and Edward.
7
Henry de Montfort.
8
Eleanor countess of Leicester, Simon de Montfort’s wife, and Eleanor their daughter.

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 Anno milleno

65 ¶ O comes egregie, lucis nunc incola die,

Regula iusticie, sancte pie serue Marie,
Martiribus Christi sociari iam meruisti
Et Domino sisti pro quo tot dira tulisti.
Nunc tormentorum memorum memor esto tuorum.
70 Sancte tuis natis ostendas uim pietatis,
Militibus teneris quibus de iure teneris,
Binos maiores binosque tuere minores.
Assiduus Symonis sis custos atque Guydonis
Almaricoque precibus succurre citoque.
75 Tu presto mesto Ricardo tutor adesto.
Nate predictea fer opem dicteque relicte.
Exheredatis et rebus ui spoliatis
Et desolatis tibi quondam consociatis,
Vita priuatis pro te, tecumque necatis
80 Et iam defunctis olim tibi federe iunctis,
Ac modo captiuis tentis in carcere uiuis,
Per te solamen det eis Deus omnibus. Amen.

a
predicte] In margin (in the same hand) uel proprie.

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 Anno milleno

[65] ¶ O excellent earl, dweller now in a place of light, model of justice, holy and
faithful servant of Mary, you have now deserved to be in the company of Christ’s
martyrs and to be set before the Lord for whom you bore so many evils. Think
now of the anguish of your worried family. [70] O saint, extend the power of
your holiness to your sons, the young knights, the two elder and the two younger,
whom you are rightfully bound to protect. Be the constant guardian of Simon and
Guy9 and support Amaury with prayers, and come soon to the mournful Richard
as a ready protector.10 [76] Bring help to the foresaid11 daughter and widow. To
the disinherited12 and those despoiled of their possessions by force, those ruined
people once your companions, and to those deprived of life, killed with you and
for you and now dead, who were once united in partnership with you, and to those
captives kept alive in prison, may God give comfort to them all through you. Amen.

9
Simon de Montfort the younger and Guy de Montfort, second and fourth sons of Earl Simon.
10
Amaury de Montfort the third son, a young clerk, and Richard de Montfort the fifth, an esquire.
Richard was alive in 1266 (C. Bémont, Simon de Montfort Earl of Leicester 1208–1265, ed. and transl.
E. F. Jacob (Oxford, 1930), pp. 259–60) but no later mention of him has been found.
11
the foresaid] In the margin in the same hand or your own.
12
In September 1265 after a period of unregulated spoliation the Crown began formally to confiscate
the estates of all former Montfortians; it was not until October 1266 that the disinherited were offered
an opportunity to buy them back: Jobson, First English Revolution, pp. 150–2, 157.

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 Chaunter mestoit (204)
London, British Library, Harley MS 2253

[fol. 59r]
Chaunter mestoit / mon cuer le voit / en un dure langage.
Tut enploraunt / fust fet le chaunt / de nostre duz baronage
Qe pur la pees / si loynz apres / se lesserent detrere,
Lur cors trencher / e demenbrer / pur salver Engletere.
5 Ore est ocys / la flur de pris / qe taunt savoit de guere,
Ly quens Mountfort. / Sa dure mort / molt enplorra la terre.
Sicom je qui / par un mardi / firent la bataile.
Tot a cheval / fust le mal / sauntz nulle pedaile
Tresmalement / y ferirent / de le espie forbie
10 Qe la part / Sire Edward / conquist la mestrie.
Ore est ocis, etc.
Mes par sa mort / le cuens Mountfort / conquist la victorie.
Come ly martyr / de Caunterbyr / finist sa vie.
Ne voleit pas / li bon Thomas / qe perist seinte eglise.
15 Ly cuens auxi / se combati / e morust sauntz feyntise.
Ore est ocys, etc.
Sire Hue le fer / ly Despencer, / tresnoble justice,
Ore est atort / lyvre a mort / a trop male guise,
Sire Henri / pur veir le dy, / fitz le cuens de Leycestre,
20 Autres assez, / come vus orrez, / par le cuens de Gloucestre.
Ore est ocis, etc.
Qe voleint moryr / e mentenir / la pees e la dreyture
Le seint martir / lur fra joyr, / sa conscience pure,

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 Chaunter mestoit (204)
London, British Library, Harley MS 2253, fols 59r–59v

With harsh words must I sing; my heart is aware of that. All made tearfully was
the song about our gentle barons, who let themselves be destroyed for the sake
of a peace so far off1 and allowed their bodies to be slashed and dismembered to
protect England.
Now is slain that precious flower, Montfort the earl, who knew so much about
war. England will lament his cruel death.
[7] It was on a Tuesday, so I believe, that they fought the battle. The calamity
was that they were all on horseback. Without any infantry,2 they fought there so
forlornly with their burnished swords that Sir Edward’s side won the day.
Now is slain, etc.
[12] But by his death Montfort the earl won the victory. He ended his life like
the martyr of Canterbury.3 The good Thomas did not wish holy church to perish;
the earl, too, fought and died without relenting.
Now is slain, etc.
[17] Bold Sir Hugh le Despenser the most noble justiciar and, in truth, the earl of
Leicester’s son Sir Henry and many others, are now wrongfully delivered up to
death by the earl of Gloucester4 in a manner too wicked, as you shall hear.
Now is slain, etc.
[22] In his natural fairness the holy martyr will bring joy to those willing to die
to maintain peace and right, as well as to anyone who would die to help the

1
No peace agreement would be reached until 1 July 1267: Jobson, First English Revolution, pp. 159–60.
2
The infantry had fled the field before battle was joined: Cox, Battle of Evesham, pp. 23–4.
3
Thomas Becket archbishop of Canterbury, murdered in 1170.
4
Gilbert of Clare, a former ally of Simon de Montfort, was one of the commanders of the army that
defeated him at Evesham.

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 Chaunter mestoit

Qe velt moryr / e sustenir / les houmes de la terre

25 Son bon desir / acomplir, / quar bien le quidom fere.
Ore est, etc.
Pres de son cors, / le bon tresors, / une heyre troverent.
Les faus ribaus / tant furent maus / e ceux qe le tuerent.
Molt fust pyr / qe demenbryr / firent le prodhoume
30 Qe de guerrer / e fei tener / si bien savoit la soume.
Ore est, etc.
Priez touz, / mes amis douz / le fitz seinte Marie
Qe lenfant / her puissant / meigne en bone vie.
Ne vueil nomer / li escoler / ne vueil qe lem die
35 Mes pur lamour / le salveour / priez pur la clergie.
Ore est ocys / la flur de pris / qe tant savoit de guere,
Ly quens Montfort. / Sa dure mort / molt enplurra la terre.
[fol. 59v]
Ne say trover rien / quil firent bien, / ne baroun ne counte.
Les chivalers / e esquiers / touz sunt mys a hounte.
40 Pur lur lealte / e verite / que tut est anentie
Le losenger / purra reigner / le fol pur sa folie.
Ore est ocis, etc.
Sire Simoun / ly prodhom / e sa compagnie
En joie vont / en ciel amount / en pardurable vie.
45 Mes Jesu Crist / qe en croyz se mist, / Dieu, enprenge cure
Qe sunt remis / e detenuz / en prisone dure.
Ore est ocys, etc.

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men of this land towards achieving his worthy aim, for we believe he was doing
something good.
Now is, etc.
[27] Next to his body, that fine treasure, they found a hair shirt. The false scoundrels
were so wicked, and they that slew him. What was much worse, they caused the
worthy man to be dismembered, who knew so well all about fighting and keeping
faith.
Now is, etc.
[32] My dear friends, pray all of you to St Mary’s son that he lead the young one
in a good life as the mighty heir.5 I do not want to name the scholar.6 I do not want
anyone to mention him but, for love of the Saviour, pray for the clergy.
Now is slain that precious flower, Montfort the earl, who knew so much about
war. The land will deeply lament his cruel death.
[38] I cannot think of anything to say about what they did right, either barons or
earls. The knights and esquires were all brought low.7 Despite their loyalty and
honesty, which has come to nothing, the sycophant will be able to rule, and the
fool too, despite his foolishness.8
Now is slain, etc.
[43] The worthy Sir Simon and his companions9 are going joyfully to heaven above
in eternal life. But may Jesus Christ who, as God, put himself on the cross, take
into his care those who are kept behind and held in harsh imprisonment.
Now is slain, etc.

5
Simon de Montfort the younger, Earl Simon’s second and eldest surviving son until 1271.
6
The earl’s second surviving son Amaury, a cleric and learned writer, some of whose works survive:
ODNB, s.n.
7
Earl Simon’s chief supporters had been mostly below the rank of earl or baron: Maddicott, Simon de
Montfort, pp. 248–50, 255–6.
8
Possibly a direct reference to King Henry, whose personal weaknesses and consequent lapses of
judgement were well known: D. Carpenter, Henry III: The Rise to Power and Personal Rule 1207–1258
(New Haven and London, 2020), pp. 55–6, 712, 716.
9
Chiefly Henry de Montfort and Hugh le Despenser: see 186.

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 Chaunter mestut (205)
Dublin, Trinity College, MS 347

[fol. 2v]
<Chaunter> mestut <mun quer> *** <dure langage>a
Tut enplurant fu fet le chant de nostre barnage
Qui pur la pes si loins apres se lessa detrere
Sun cors trencher pur ben saver la gent de Engletere.
5 Ore est occis la flur de pris ke tant saveit de guere
Li quens Munfort sa dure mort enplura Engletere.
Si cum qui par un mardi fini la bataylle
Tut a cheval firent le mal san ren de petaylle.
Ore est apert cum sire Edeward cunquit la mestrie
10 Mes pur sa mort li quens Munfort cunquit victorie.
Atort est tue e demembre ore ad Deu la vie aye
Cum li martyr de Canterberi se finist sa vie.
Ne voleit pas seint Thomas ke perist seinte eglise
Li quens ausi cumbaty e murut sen fayntise.
15 Pur nus saver e deliverer de males leys enterre
Se cumbatist e mort suffrit. Tut arme sur la †bere†
Pres de sun cors li bon tresors une here truverent
Li faus ribaus \tant/ firent maus ke si li tuerent.
Mult fu pite quant demembre remistrent li prudume
20 Ke de gerrer pur nus sauver si ben saveit la sume.
Huge Despenser li noble ber la dreiturel justise
Ore est atort livre a mort ne sey en quele guyse.

a
Some characters in line 1 have been lost by trimming at the top edge of the leaf.

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 Chaunter mestut (205)
Dublin, Trinity College, MS 347, fols 2v–3r

*** harsh words must I sing, my heart *** All made tearfully was the song about
our barons,
who let themselves be destroyed for the sake of a peace so far off1 and let their
bodies be slashed to protect well the people of England.
[5] Now is slain that precious flower, Montfort the earl, who knew so much about
war. The land will deeply lament his cruel death.
[7] It was on a Tuesday, so I believe, that the battle ended. The calamity was that
it was all on horseback, without any infantry.2
[9] Now is it clear how Sir Edward’s side won the day. But in spite of his death
Montfort the earl won the victory.
[11] He was wrongly killed and dismembered. Now God has protected his life. He
ended his life like the martyr of Canterbury.3
[13] Saint Thomas did not wish holy church to perish. The earl, too, fought and
died without relenting.
[15] To save us and deliver us completely from bad laws, he fought and suffered
death. All armed on the †bier†,
[17] next to his body, that fine treasure, they found a hair shirt. The false scoundrels
were so wicked, who thus slew him.
[19] It was a great misfortune when they caused the worthy man to be dismembered,
who knew so well all about fighting to save us.
[21] Hugh le Despenser the noble baron, the righteous justiciar, is now wrongly
delivered up to death, I know not in what manner,
1
No peace agreement would be reached until 1 July 1267: Jobson, First English Revolution, pp. 159–60.
2
Cox, Battle of Evesham, pp. 23–4.
3
Thomas Becket archbishop of Canterbury, murdered in 1170.

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 Chaunter mestut

E sire Henri pur veirs vus di fiz li quens de Leycestre

E autres ases cum oy avet par li quens de Gloucestre.
25 Li quens Symon par sun dreit nun od sa compaignie
En joye sunt a cel lamunt en pardurable vie.
Mes Jesu Crist ke nus tuz fist de ceus enprenge cure
Ke sunt remis e pris e mis en prisun si dure.
[fol. 3r]
<Je> ne puis truver en ky fier en sei barun ne cuntea
30 <Li> chivaler e li esquier tus sunt mys a hunte.
Pur lur leaute pur verite ke tut est enentye
<Li> losenger pura regner li fol pur sa folie.
<Ore> est mort li bon cunte. Deu li faz verai pardun
<Occis> esteit en la bataile a Evisham par treisun.
35 <Deus> vus envei un leun ke enprenge venganse.b
<Si> en frai bon chansun.

a
Some characters in line 29 have been lost by trimming at the top edge of the leaf. Some characters at
the beginnings of lines 29–36 have become obscured in the binding.
b
ke enprenge venganse] added by the same hand at the end of line 35, after lines 35–6 had been bracketed
as a couplet.

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 Chaunter mestut

[23] and in truth so are the earl of Leicester’s son Sir Henry and many others, as
you have heard, by the earl of Gloucester.4
[25] Earl Simon, by his rightful name, and his companions5 are going joyfully to
heaven above in eternal life.
[27] But may Jesus Christ, who made us all, take into his care those who are kept
behind, and taken and put in such harsh imprisonment.6
[29] I can think of no-one whom I can trust, be they barons or earls. The knights
and esquires are all brought low.7
[31] Despite their loyalty and despite their honesty, which has come to nothing, the
sycophant will be able to reign, and the fool too, despite his foolishness.8
[33] Now the good earl is dead. May God give him true mercy. He was killed in
the battle of Evesham through treachery.
[35] May God send you a lion9 who will exact vengeance. Then will I make a fine
song of it.

4
Gilbert of Clare, a former ally of Simon de Montfort, was one of the commanders of the army that
defeated him at Evesham.
5
Chiefly Henry de Montfort and Hugh le Despenser: see 186.
6
Cf. 203 line 81 (apparently written c.1266).
7
Earl Simon’s chief supporters had been mostly below the rank of earl or baron: Maddicott, Simon de
Montfort, pp. 248–50, 255–6.
8
Possibly a direct reference to King Henry, whose personal weaknesses and consequent lapses of
judgement were well known: Carpenter, Henry III 1207–58, pp. 55–6, 712, 716.
9
The Montfort shield of arms displayed a white lion on a red field.

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 Illos saluauit (206)
London, British Library, Cotton MS Otho D VIII

[fol. 261r]
Illos saluauit Mons Fortis quos superauit.
Carceribus dati sunt multi, non cruciati.
Militie flores anglorum nobiliores
Anglos rexere, qui mortem post subiere,
5 Vt sum daturus <nece> qua sit Mons periturus.
Ecclesie festa Leus hec dant tempora mesta
Quo bellum primum multis fecit capud imum.
Annus et Henrici regis quo sunt inimici
Grecus si detur eheu longa mihi semper habetur.
10 Ecclesie festa Leus hec dant tempora mesta
Quo bellum primum multis fecit capud imum.
Bella dabat que lis Leus est uocitata fidelis,
In qua distortum fuerat nil primitus ortum.
Excipitur sanguis quem fuderat impius anguis.
15 Anglia plaudebat dum Mons hanc sorte regebat.
Morti Monte dato diro ruit Anglia fato.
Simonis huic \nomen/ magnum sibi contulit omen.
Miles preclarus, armis super omnia gnarus,
Quem gens gallorum produxit, dux fit eorum.
20 Quam desponsauit germanam regis amauit,
Anglorum gentis regem per cuncta uerentis.
Hic fuit anglorum dux et protector eorum.
Namque duos reges cupientes uertere leges
Anglorum uicit, prius ut gens singula dicit,
25 Hiis nimium parcens quorum mala non <fuit arcens>.
Eius et adiutor comes et fuit undique <tutor>
De Clare Gilebertus, stabilis non inde repertus.

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 Illos saluauit (206)
London, British Library, Cotton MS Otho D VIII, fols 261r–262r

Montfort spared those whom he defeated; many were given imprisonment and
not put to death;1 and they would come to have dominion over the flowers of
English knighthood, the most noble of Englishmen, who met their death, as I
shall tell, in the violent manner by which Montfort was to die. [6] These times
render mournful the festal date of Lewes,2 where for many men the first battle3
made the greatest into the least; if King Henry’s regnal year, in which they were
at enmity, were to be stated in Greek, alas I would certainly feel that it was
rather long-winded. [10] These times render mournful the festal date of Lewes,
where for many men this first battle made the greatest into the least.4 The which
fine (bella) conflict (lis) is called ‘Lewes the trusty’, in which nothing hitherto
established had been changed. The blood was taken that a wicked snake had shed.
[15] England rejoiced while Montfort by good fortune ruled her. When death
came to Montfort England fell headlong to dire misfortune. Simon’s reputation
conferred great power upon himself. A brilliant soldier, supremely skilled in arms,
whom the French people brought forth, he became one of their noblemen. [20]
He loved the sister of the king,5 who gave her to him in marriage, in preference to
any of the king’s English subjects. He was a nobleman of the English and their
defender. Indeed, he defeated the two kings6 who wanted to overturn the laws of
England, and was excessively lenient towards them, as all the people are already
saying, and not preventing their evil-doing. [26] And his assistant, comrade, and
defender everywhere was Gilbert of Clare,7 who was found to be inconsistent
1
Under the settlement reached after Montfort’s victory at Lewes, most of his opponents who had not
fled were allowed to return home; a few were held to ransom and some were kept as hostages; no-one
was executed: Maddicott, Simon de Montfort, pp. 272–3.
2
14 May 1264.
3
The second battle was at Evesham.
4
It is not clear whether this repetition is intentional.
5
Eleanor widow of William Marshal earl of Pembroke.
6
Henry III king of England and his brother, Richard earl of Cornwall and king of the Romans. Both
were defeated at Lewes.
7
Earl of Gloucester.

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Inter quos mira cito postea ferbuit ira.

Mittitur ut flamen quo uiret tempore gramen
30 Rege coronato deademate quo decorato.
Inter eos creuit furor et discordia seuit.
Nam bello captum diadem***
Fautor dum cressit hominum concordia ***
Quod mox expressit Gilebertus, ab <inde> ***
35 Edwardo mandat ut ei per singula <pandat>
Velle suum certe socius sibi fiet ***
Vt confundantur barones seu <perimantur>
Per quos tentus erat ad quod nil <se> ***
Custodes uicet ut eosdem pactio <dicet>
40 Consilioque pari sibi possint <consiliari>.
Fugerat Edwardus custodes ut <leopardus>
Vt placuit propere comitis mandata ***
Qui fuerant uiui, uiui Leus a <be>***
Hii demandantur et eis cito <consolidantur>.
[fol. 261v]
45 Simonis ad uillam ueniunt, predantur et illam.
Mannos dum rapiunt audaces robore fiunt.
Armis nudati barones sunt superati,
Quique remansere uitas uix optinuere.
Iure canum uilla Keynworth uocatur, et illa
50 Sunt bona nulla data quia gens ibi fit spoliata.
Ensem uibrauit Gilebertus ulnere strauit
Set Holwellensem qui contra non tulit ensem.
Consiliis aptus est hinc sine crimine captus.
Forsan si queris quantum uixit tria teris,
55 Sexta fit et nona qua sumpsit celica bona.
Spiritus in celis eius prece sit Michelis.
Sic sic traduntur qui non in pace reguntur,
Nam pax nulla datur ubi concio sic separatur.
Secum duxerunt homines ibi quos rapuerunt.
60 Ad Warewiche ueniunt proceres, post inde recedunt.
Armis ditati properant ad bella parati

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in that regard. Soon afterwards remarkable anger erupted between them. [29]
It arose like a flame at the time when the grass was growing,8 when Earl Simon
was adorned with a diadem like a crowned king. Hatred grew between them and
discord raged. For the crown captured in battle *** As the benefactor grew in
status, harmony between the men *** as Gilbert made clear a little later, from
there *** [35] He sends word to Edward that each of them should individually
announce his definite wish *** to become the other’s comrade, so that they would
defeat or kill the barons by whom Edward was held, to which nothing himself ***
Edward should overcome the guards so that an agreement would declare that they
would be able to consult one another about a plan. [41] Edward had fled from
his captors like a leopard,9 as he wished to *** quickly to the earl’s message.10
Those who had survived, and are alive from *** Lewes, are summoned to unite
with them quickly. [45] They come to Simon’s town11 and pillage it. When they
seize the horses, the bold acquire strength. Stripped of their arms, the barons
were overcome and those who were left barely saved their lives.12 [49] Kenilworth
(Keynworth) is rightly called the ‘town of dogs’ (canum uilla); there is nothing of
value there because the inhabitants were plundered. Earl Gilbert brandished his
sword and struck down and wounded Holwell, who did not, however, carry a sword
against him. A skilled counsellor, he was taken thence without having committed
any crime. [54] If you happen to enquire how long he survived, three hours would
be too little; the sixth hour came, and the ninth, at which he received heaven’s
bounty. Michael’s prayer is that his spirit be in heaven.13 Those who are not ruled
peacefully are thus treated, for no peace is given where society is divided thus. [59]
They took with them the men whom they had seized there. The noblemen come
to Warwick.14 Afterwards they withdraw from there. Furnished with arms they

8
In the spring of 1265.
9
Edward had earlier been likened to a leopard on the ground that he was both fierce and untrustworthy:
Song of Lewes, p. 14, lines 417–34. See ibid. pp. 86, 89; Ambler, Bishops in the Political Community,
pp. 174–5.
10
On 28 May 1265, under a pre-arranged plan, Edward escaped from custody at Hereford on a speeding
horse: Maddicott, Simon de Montfort, pp. 333–4.
11
Kenilworth.
12
Edward and his allies raided the camp of Simon de Montfort the younger at Kenilworth at dawn on
2 August 1265: Cox, Battle of Evesham, pp. 11–13.
13
At Kenilworth Master Stephen of Holwell, one of Earl Simon’s clerks, had been removed from a
church and beheaded on the orders of Earl Gilbert: ‘Annales Londonienses’, Chronicles of the Reigns
of Edward I and Edward II 1, ed. W. Stubbs (Rolls Series, 1882), pp. 1–251 (at p. 68). Earl Gilbert had
then seized the estate at Little Holwell (Bedfordshire) that Stephen had settled on his mother Maud for
her life (Cal. Inq. Misc. 1, p. 187) and which in 1255 had been held under Ramsey abbey by William of
Holwell (Cartularium Monasterii de Rameseia 1, ed. W. H. Hart and P. A. Lyons (Rolls Series, 1884),
p. 458). Michael, the author of these verses, may have been a monk of Ramsey (A. G. Rigg, A History
of Anglo-Latin Literature, 1066–1422 (Cambridge, 1992), pp. 202–3, 370) and therefore particularly
interested in Stephen’s fate.
14
Recte Worcester: Cox, Battle of Evesham, p. 14.

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Vt sic Mons Fortis subeat discrimina mortis.

Mars donat mortem, necat hunc dum forte cohortem.
Fortes prostrati <nece>a sunt heu sic superati.
65 Militie flores uitas capiunt meliores.
Martirio freti florent super ethera leti.
O mors quam dira quod nulli parcit in ira,
Nam ruit ense pater natus nati quoque frater.
Ex ipsis funus tamen haud tunc pertulit unus.
70 Multi sunt dempti qui sunt pro pace perempti
Nec pax ulla datur melior pars dum superatur.
Anglia terra teres, dic cur gemis et modo meres
*** mortem quem uix cono dicere fortem
<Nam> capud anglorum fuit et conquestor eorum
75 <In> pugna prima, cui manent nimis ima
***ius et Henricus anglorum natus amicus
***m ruit ense graui, mors illum depulit a ui.
*** <Dispensator> ruit illic pacis amator
***bus anglorum dabitur pax sanguine quorum
80 *** <sanguinea> nece <concorruit> ampla chorea
***<que multorum fusum fuit> ema uirorum.
***<bis> etiam uere d<uo bi>s sibi lustra fuere
***us uixit mihi gens ut plurima dixit.
*** hiis propere iungas tibi si placuere.
85 *** <nunquam> rore proprio maduere <cruore>
***<ore patrie> pro pacis amore.
***<eges> multos faciunt sibi reges.
*** <fatur> quod sit raptum rapiatur
***<letu> quid in hoc contingere cetu
90 ***<iebant>, qui meriorem capiebant.
*** <conflictu> Simon ruit ensis in ictu.
*** <abscisum>, summo petiit paradisum.
*** Domini dum singula uestis
Ex ipso rapitur qui nudus ibi reperitur.
95 Trunccat et inde manus quidam miser atque <prophanus>
Atque pedes. Christo duce mundo fertur ab isto.
Vt multi referunt comitis putibunda <tulerunt>
Membraque sperserunt agris, post hoc abicerunt.
Sic sic trunccatus sit omnino spoliatus,
a
necc MS.

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 Illos saluauit

go forth prepared for battle so that Montfort might thus undergo death. Mars
is the giver of death as he boldly kills that army. [64] The strong are laid low by
death and are defeated thus, alas. The flowers of knighthood receive better lives.
Confident in their martyrdom they flourish happily above the ether. O, how dire
is the death that in its anger spares no-one, for a father is cut down by the sword
of his own son, and so is a brother. [69] Funeral rites were accorded to scarcely
one of them at that time. Nor was any peace granted when the better side was
overcome. You will say, ‘Tell me, O land of England, why do you now groan and
grieve?’ *** hardly call death strong, like an army. [74] For he was the leader of
the English and their conqueror in the first battle. Of whom there remain in the
lowest place *** and Henry the son,15 friend of the English. *** fell by a cruel sword.
Death drove away his strength. *** Despenser16 fell there, a lover of peace. [79] To
the *** of the English shall be given peace by the blood of those of whom a large
company fell together *** in a bloody killing *** the haima17 of many men was
poured out. *** also truly they have been together twice two lustres18 *** lived, as
many people told me. [84] *** hasten to unite them with you if you wish to. ***
have never shed a drop of their own blood *** of the country for the love of peace.
Kings make many *** for themselves. *** says that what may be stolen should be
stolen. [89] *** what to happen with the company in this *** who received sorrow.
*** conflict Simon fell to the blow of a sword. *** cut off, he attained the supreme
paradise. *** of the Lord when every garment was taken from him, who was there
found naked. [95] And some wretched and wicked man cuts off his hands and feet.
Led by Christ he is carried from this world. As many relate, they took away his
genitals and scattered his limbs over the land and after that got rid of them. [99]
Cut up like that, he would be completely stripped and, castrated thus, he undergoes

15
Henry de Montfort.
16
Hugh le Despenser, justiciar of England, Simon de Montfort’s chief minister.
17
Ancient Greek for ‘blood’.
18
A lustre is a period of five years.

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100 Et sic castratus summos patitur cruciatus.

Framea lictoris fuit anglis causa doloris.
Cur? Quia pellexit comitem rex quem male rexit.
Celum signa <dabat>a quoniam sol non<radiabat>
Et motum terre dedit hora ferissima <guerre>.
105 Dum sic bellatur, Domini gens dum cruciatur,
Tunc pluit et tonuit, imbres dedit <etheris ira>
Ingens grando fuit quo possis dicere <mira>.
Rumphea cum lite tulit illi gaudia <uite>.
Nam nece condignis parcens fuit ille <malignis>.
110 Anglis prodesset licet hic silicernius esset,
Cuius et in morte misera ruit Anglia forte.
Iusticiis plena fuit anglica terra serena.
Non tibi sint frustra totum bis .l. et duo lustra
Ac unum restat quo se Christus manifestat,
115 Carnis habens spolia de uirgine sumpta Maria.
Si grece loqueris, si tempora bellica queris,
Tu pi bis pone, sima xi, set et epsilon uenietur,
Annum compone belli qui sic <tibi detur>;
Imera si ponas augusti pridie nonas
120 Quo bello fortes Hevesham cecidere <cohortes>
Qui sic prostrati superant dum sunt superati.
Hec domus est Eue. Contra gens ruit inclita seue
Nam male traduntur misera nece dum feriuntur.
Post Euesham bellum scelus excercere <nouellum>
125 Quidam ceperunt, qui ceci mente fuerunt.
Mandat Clarensis Gilebertus, acutus ut ensis,
Seruis ut propere faciant fera tempora guerre
Terras ut lustrent, dominos quibus hii cito frustrent.
Semper abutuntur qui pessima iussa sequuntur.
130 Diuino more proprio Deus hoc tulit ore
Ne quis mendicum nec quisquam fallat amicum,
Tractet per uicum male quisquam non inimicum,
Ne sit et incestus quo quis sit iure scelestus.
Christi mandata postponit gens scelerata,
135 Nam spoliat uillas [blank] spoliabitur illas.
Vnde Berengarius Ramesenses exspoliauit
Quique fide uarius manes sibi iure parauit.
a
dabant MS.

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the utmost abuse. The assassin’s sword was the cause of sorrow to the English.
Why? Because the king invited the earl in but governed him badly. The sky gave
signs inasmuch as the sun did not shine and the fiercest hour of warfare produced
an earthquake. [105] While the battle went on thus, while the Lord’s people were
thus being killed, it then rained and thundered, the wrath of the ether produced
storm clouds, and there was a huge hailstorm that you might say was unnatural.
With the strife, the sword brought him the joys of life. [109] For in death he was
merciful to those malignants who deserved the same. He had done well by the
English although he had been an old man, and by his death a wretched England
fell by mischance into ruin. Full of justices was the peaceful English land. [113]
The whole of twice fifty-two lustres would not be futile for you if there remained
one of them in which Christ were to show himself, having received the spoils of
the flesh from the Virgin Mary. If you speak Greek and are seeking the date of the
battle, put two times phi, plus sigma, plus xi, and then add epsilon to make the
year of the battle, which would thus be given to you;19 [119] and the day if you put
the day20 preceding the nones of August, on which strong forces were cut down at
Evesham who, thus laid low, conquered while being conquered. This was the home
of Eve.21 An illustrious people fell cruelly in opposition, for they were mistreated
by a wretched death when slain.
[124] After the battle of Evesham some who were mentally blind began to
commit a fresh crime. Gilbert of Clare, sharp as a sword, orders his servants
quickly to make the wartime cruel in such a way that they would seek out lands of
which they would promptly deprive the lords. [129] Those who obey the truly bad
commands continue to commit abuses. As is God’s way, God has said this himself,
that one should not cheat a beggar or a friend, nor wickedly drag through the street
someone not an enemy, nor commit sexual acts in circumstances where one would
be guilty under the law. [134] Those wicked people put aside Christ’s commands,
for they plunder townships [blank] *** those, they shall be plundered. Thus did
Berengar22 plunder anyone of any sort among Ramsey’s people who had supplied
goods for him lawfully and in faith. This man did not keep fealty; he was a knight

19
In Ancient Greek the letters phi, sigma, xi, and epsilon represented respectively 500, 200, 60, and 5.
20
4 August.
21
A fanciful derivation of ‘Evesham’.
22
Berengar le Moyne. After the battle of Evesham he seized Montfortian estates arbitrarily (Cal. Inq.
Misc. 1, pp. 254–5) and was granted others by the king (Rot. Selecti, p. 251). Royalist keeper of the peace
in Huntingdonshire (the county of Ramsey abbey), he was empowered early in 1267 to raise money locally
to fight the Montfortian rebels holding out in the Isle of Ely: Cal. Pat. 1266–72, p. 132.

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Non tenet ille fidem, dominos spolians eques idem.

Hic eques <extiterat> quem nutriuit Rameseya.
140 Qui mala multa ferat det Christus et alma Maria.
Vt pascat toruos donet Deus in cruce coruos
Et similes eius subeant per <tempora> peius.
[fol. 262r]
Vt nequeant cerni, flammis urantur Auerni,
Ni reddant rapta ni restituant male capta.
145 Agnus, ouis, uitulus, gallus, gallina, uel auca,
Bos, equus, ac aries, porcorum copia pauca,
Queque remanserunt miseris cibus ipsa fuerunt.
Hiis tanquam dignis sit potus sulphura et ignis.
Nulla referta bonis est uillula religionis
150 Quam non predentur miseri, qua non dominentur.
Multas iacturas subeunt pro tempore duras
Hos per predones sacrate religiones.
Pauca relatiua fuerant animalia uiua.
Sunt ablatiua quia non sunt ulla datiua.
155 Actio passiua meroris erat genitiua.
Heccine gens atra uillis abduxit aratra.
Inculte terre iacuerunt tempore guerre,
Orrea triturant, mala tempora dummodo durant.
Pacem firmare uolunt rex quam reprobare.
160 Gens ea presumpsit, gens effera, gens mala cum sit.
Regia mandata postponit gens scelerata
Nam contra iura rapit omnia gens peritura.
Dilecti parum sunt ciues Londoniarum.
Exheredantur multi uillaque fugantur;
165 Nam contra morem domine fecere pudorem
Exulat unde cito nato ductore petito,
Semper et exosi regine suntque dolosi.
Oderat hos peius Edwardus filius eius.
Vrbi pax detur a Christo ne superetur.
170 Si tamen hoc mores ueteres faciat meliores,
<Anglica terra> ferax in qua gens plurima uerax
Nunc fremit atque gemit ut singula gaudia demit
Nescia uenturi cuius sit subdita iuri,
Sub quo custode, sub Christo uel sub Herode,
a
potus sulphur] \b/ sulphur \a/ potus MS.

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plundering lords. [140] He had emerged as a knight whom Ramsey nurtured. May
Christ and gentle Mary grant that he may endure many evils. May God grant that
in torment he may feed the savage ravens23 and that those like him may suffer worse
in due course; may they be consumed by the flames of hell so that they disappear
from sight, unless they return what they have seized and restore what they have
wickedly taken. [145] Whatever were left – a lamb, a sheep, a calf, a cock, a hen, a
goose, an ox, a horse, a ram, many pigs or a few – were food for those scoundrels
just as, for those who deserve it, may the drink be fire and brimstone.24 [149] There
is no small religious settlement that the scoundrels would not despoil and would
not dominate. For a time the holy religious suffer many severe losses at the hands
of those robbers. Few livestock had been returned (relatiua). [154] They are taken
(ablatiua), for they are none of them given (datiua). Passive (passiua) action is
productive (genitiua) of sorrow. These menacing people took away the ploughs
from townships; the lands lay untilled during the war. They thresh the barns while
the bad times last. [159] They wish to secure a peace, which the king wishes to
reject. Those people have taken those things, a savage people, for they are an evil
people. Those wicked people set aside the king’s commands, for contrary to the
law those people seize everything perishable.25 The citizens of London are too
little respected. [164] Many of them are disinherited and driven from the city. For
he who dishonours a lady contrary to accepted conduct is soon banished thence,
the son having been put in command, and those who are deceitful remain hateful
to the queen too. Edward her son hated them even more.26 [169] May peace be
granted to the city by Christ, lest it be overcome. Even if this should make the old
ways better, the fertile English land, in which is a truth-loving people, now moans
and groans and thus abandons every joy, not knowing what is to come, to whose
jurisdiction it should be subject, under what authority, under Christ’s or under

23
feed the savage ravens] A metaphor for ‘lie dead on the battlefield’.
24
fire and brimstone] Cf. Ps. 10: 7.
25
Ramsey abbey and its neighbourhood were troubled by both royalists and rebels during the Ely
campaign: Cal. Pat. 1266–72, pp. 33, 220; Flores Historiarum 3, p. 13; ‘Chronicon vulgo dictum Thomae
Wykes’, Ann. Monastici 4, pp. 6–319 (at pp. 207–8).
26
On 13 July 1263 a mob of Londoners had hurled missiles and insults at the queen as her boat
approached London bridge. On this and on the penalties inflicted on disloyal Londoners after the battle
of Evesham see Williams, Medieval London, pp. 219, 232–9.

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175 Sub custode bono sub solo siue patrono,

An plures reges plures facient sibi leges
Vt sit destructa lex anglica uel male ducta.
Absit ut hoc detur lex anglica quod reprobetur.
O pie seruorum Iesu miserere tuorum.
180 Vt pax ecclesie prece detur firma Marie.
Christe regens terram, nostram cito destrue guerram,
Nam sunt exosi cuntis fere relligiosi
Hos affligendo uel eorum iura tenendo
Tu cito da pacem, tu destrue quemque rapacem,
185 Comprime uersutos, nos fac hoc tempore <tutos>,
Et malefactores humiles fac et <meliores>.
Sis memor illorum, qui scandis ad astra polorum,
Pro quibus e celis ueniens uerbo Gabrielis.
Nobis sis egis qui semper in ethere degis
190 Ne male fallatur tua gens seu <destituatur>
Donis sanctorum qui possidet ordo <uirorum>.
Pro dolor eu, equites discindunt sanguine lites
Qui querunt pacem per terram sepe feracem.
Non est inuentus presul qui crimine tentus
195 Non sit, uel funus capiens ex patribus unus
Post Thomam uere qui pacem querat habere
Qui domet immites effuso sanguine lites.
Tempore decliuo populo Deus obsecro uiuo
Succurras uere quia multi iam periere.
200 Exheredati proceres sunt rege iubente
Et male tractati, Waleran <Roberto> dicta ferente.
Exheredati si fiant connumerati,
Millia cum binis deca bis sunt acta ruinis.
Tunc extorqueri gazas gens nescia ueri
205 Iussit et ut terra nusquam maneat sine <guerra>.
Religio certe, que non deliquit aperte,
Gente feroce satis mala pertulit improbitatis
Vasta sit ut terra mox oritur altera guerra.
Incendunt uillas iterato pir uolat illas
210 Ac inimicorum male tractant tecta suorum.
Exheredati, qui sint per secla beati,
Hoc mala fecerunt iacturas nam subierunt.
Dum gens ieiunat socios sibi quisquis adunat

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Herod’s, whether under a good authority and under a single ruler, or whether a
multiplicity of kings should make a multiplicity of laws in such a way that the law
of England should be destroyed or badly administered. Far be it that it should come
to this, that the law of England be discredited. [179] O merciful Jesus, have pity
on your servants. O Christ, ruler of the land, quickly put an end to our warfare so
that a settled peace may be given to the church in accordance with Mary’s prayer.27
[182] Since religious men are hated by nearly everyone in striking them or taking
hold of their rights, do give peace quickly, subdue anyone who is rapacious, repress
the cunning deceivers, make us safe at this time, and make the evildoers humble
and better people. [187] Just as you ascended to heaven, remember those for whom
you came from above in accordance with Gabriel’s message.28 Be a shield to us,
you who dwell for ever in the ether, lest your people be badly cheated or deprived
by mere men of the gifts that they possess from saints.29 [192] Alas and alack,
knights escalate disputes with bloodshed while, in many instances, seeking peace
throughout the fertile land. There is no bishop to be found who is not in the grip
of sin, or a single one of the prelates after Thomas who truly seeks to have peace
by choosing death and who subdues harsh quarrels by the shedding of his own
blood.30 [198] I beg you, O God, to help the downcast surviving people in good
time, for truly many are now perishing. Eminent persons are being disinherited at
the king’s behest and badly treated, with Robert Walerand conveying the orders.31
[202] If the disinherited should be numbered, twice deka32 thousand, doubled,
have been driven to ruin. At that time a body of people ignorant of truth ordered
treasure to be seized by force, and that the land should nowhere be left without
warfare. The religious, who have certainly not offended openly, have endured
enough evil from the unjust behaviour of a savage set of people in such a way that
the land should be laid waste as soon as further fighting breaks out. [209] They
burn townships repeatedly and rob them too, and they wickedly pull down the
roofs of their enemies. The disinherited, who should have been forever blessed,
behaved badly in this way, for they carried out acts of destruction. [213] While
people are fasting33 they associate whomsoever to themselves so that the royalist

27
See Luke 1: 51–2.
28
See Luke 1: 31–3.
29
Many religious houses of Anglo-Saxon origin had been founded or endowed by saints.
30
About half of the English bishops had been Montfortian supporters or sympathizers but all of them
quietly submitted to royal and papal authority after the battle of Evesham: S. T. Ambler, ‘The Montfortian
bishops’, in Jobson (ed.), Baronial Reform and Revolution, pp. 139–51 (at pp. 139–40).
31
It was alleged that Walerand, one of Henry III’s chief ministers, was behind the king’s decision to
formally disinherit any who had supported Montfort: ODNB, s.n. It was certainly he who announced the
policy to Parliament in September 1265: ‘Annales prioratus de Wigornia’, Ann. Monastici 2, pp. 355–564
(at p. 455).
32
Ancient Greek for ‘ten’.
33
In Lent.

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Vt confundatur pars regia seu perimatur.

215 Non parcunt uite dum quis fert, ‘Ite, redite,
Nulli parcatis, inimicos quin perimatis.’
Est populus certus nimis est quod fiscus apertus
Regis nam uelle dedit anglos sepe procelle.
Ecclesiam nescit de qua rex sponte recessit
220 Consilio nati semper bellare parati.
Cetibus hiis claris, o rex, cur sic operaris?
Cur tantas gentes non excipiendo parentes
Exheredasti, mala quo tibi sponte parasti?
Ni tibi sit cura pereas post Pascha futura.
225 Mauult namque mori gens ut subdatur <honori>
Quam se merori dare uel uiuendo <dolori>.
Heu dolor est fari. Cur debet rex <reprobari>?
Nam spoliatorum <bona post> destructa ***

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side should be confounded or destroyed. They do not spare lives when someone
says, ‘Come and go, spare no-one, let us destroy the enemy.’ The people are certain
that the king’s purse is open too much, for wanting that, often, gave the English
over to civil commotion. [219] The king does not know the church from which
he has willingly withdrawn at the instigation of his son, who is always ready to
make war. Why, O king, do you behave thus towards these illustrious communities?
Why have you disinherited so many people, not excepting their families, whereby
you have willingly prepared troubles for yourself? [224] Unless this becomes of
concern to you, may you perish after the coming Easter.34 For people would prefer
to die, and thus sacrifice themselves to honour, than to surrender themselves to
mourning or to living in sorrow. Alas, to speak is sorrow. Why must the king be
reproved? [228] Because the possessions of his plunderers afterwards destroyed ***

34
28 March 1266.

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 Vbi fuit mons (207)
Cambridge, Gonville and Caius College, MS 85/167

[fol. ii r]
¶ Vbi fuit mons est uallis
Et de colle fit iam callis
Heus et strata publica.
Propter casum dire sortis
5 Debilis est factus fortis
Non per sua merita.
Bellicosus infirmatur,
Alter <Sampson> trucidatur,
<Lamentatur> Anglia.
10 Symon pro simplicitate
Marchionum feritate
Cadit cesus framea.
Die martis bellum creuit,
Cadit \H/ector, Rachel fleuit
15 Pro cesis in area.
Comparatur hic Vluxi
Nam pro fide crucifixi
Non timebat milia.
Rexit uigor in Achille
20 Set et Symon talis ille
Qui pungnat pro patria.
Primus natus <rexit> frenum,
Non permisit alienum
Dare patri uulnera.

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 Vbi fuit mons (207)
Cambridge, Gonville and Caius College, MS 85/167, fol. ii r

¶ Where there was a mountain is now a valley, and from a hill is now made a path,
alas, and a common highway.1
[4] A strong man is now made weak because a cruel fate has befallen him and
not because of his deserts.
[7] A fighting man is made a casualty. Like another Samson, he is slain. England
laments him.
[10] Simon is fallen for the sake of honesty, pierced by a spear, through the
savagery of the marchers.2
[13] On a Tuesday (the day of Mars) the battle took place. Hector fell,3 and Rachel
wept for those cut down in the field.4
[16] He is like Ulysses;5 indeed because of faith in the Crucified he did not ‘fear
thousands’.6
[19] In Achilles strength predominated, and Simon is such as he, fighting for his
country.7
[22] His eldest son8 held on to the reins and did not allow anyone to wound his
father.

1
Cf. Luke 3: 5 (alluding to Is. 40: 4).
2
The army that defeated Earl Simon was led by holders of lordships in the marches of Wales.
3
In the Iliad Hector is the foremost Trojan hero.
4
See Jer. 31: 15, cited in Matt. 2: 18 with reference to the Slaughter of the Innocents.
5
Ulysses (Odysseus in Greek) is a Greek hero in the Iliad and the central figure of the Odyssey.
6
Cf. Ps. 3: 7.
7
In the Iliad Achilles is a Greek hero.
8
Henry de Montfort.

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25 Dum durauit non expauit

Pater enses set certauit
Propter pacisa federa.
Pater prole confortatur,
Proles patrem consolatur
30 Dum durarent prelia.
Non fuerunt duo tales
In amore speciales
Infra mundi climata.
Abel Ade sociatur,
35 Abel prius inmolatur,
<Cadit> Adam postea.
In Henrico rosa uernat
Et in rosa si quis cernat
Sat †apererit† <lilia>.
40 Martir fertur per ruborem
Et per album fertur florem
Virgo sine macula.
Dixit quidam, ut Pilatus,
Qui in bello principatus
45 Tenuit dominia,
‘Redde, redde, comes fortis.
Eris aut pro certo mortis
Datus ad suplicia.’
‘Hunc’, fert alter, ‘occidatis
50 Vlli uiuo non parcatis
De sua familia.’
Omnes clamant ‘Moriatur!’
Comes instans meditatur
De superna patria.
55 ‘Reddo me omnipotenti.

a
Altered from patris by the same hand.

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[25] As long as he endured, the father feared nothing but fought for the peace
agreement.9
[28] While the fighting lasts, the father is encouraged by the son and the son gives
reassurance to the father.
[31] There were no two such close friends in any corner of the world.
[34] Abel is united to Adam. Abel is killed first and Adam falls afterwards.
[37] In Henry a rose blooms, and inside the rose, if anyone should perceive it well
enough, a lily †opens†.
[40] A martyr is signified by a red flower, and by a white flower is signified a
spotless virgin.
[43] Someone who had a leading role in the battle said, like Pilate,
[47] ‘Yield, yield, mighty earl, or you will certainly be given the penalty of death.’
[50] Another said, ‘You should kill him! You should not spare the life of any of
his followers.’
[53] They all cry, ‘May he die!’ while the fervent earl contemplates the world above.

9
Possibly a reference to the settlement agreed at the Hilary parliament of 1265: Maddicott, Simon de
Montfort, pp. 318–20.

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Vitam meam do uiuenti

Deo pro uictoria.’
Tunc uenerunt loricati
Nimis graues et irati
60 Cum magna superbia
Cupientes preualere
Non potentes amouere
Pedibus scansilia.
Firmiter incedit equo.
65 Cadit equus non ab equo
Perforatus lancea.
Hunc occidunt conspirantes,
Introducunt ignorantes
In celi palacia.
70 Quando martir exspirauit,
‘Montem Fortem’, exclamauit,
‘Summe pater adiuua!’
Caput eius mutulatur
Et os eius perforatur
75 Certans pro iusticia.
Manus, pedes detrunccantur
Et de morte cuncti fantur
Vili sibi tradita.
Omnes illi confundantur
80 Per quos eius uiolantur
Nature uirilia.
Thomas martir nuncupatur,
Sic Christus, sicut datur
Symon pro iusticia.
85 Passi sunt in ista terra
Pari pena pari guerra
Ambo cruciamina.

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[56] ‘I yield myself to the Almighty. I give my life to the living God for the sake
of victory.’
[59] Then came men in hauberks with great arrogance who were extremely strong
and angry.10
[61] They wanted to defeat him but could not shift the stirrups from his feet.
[64] Firmly he advanced on his horse but the horse falls, not because it is unequal
to its role but because it is pierced by a lance.
[67] The conspirators killed him and unwittingly conducted him into the heavenly
palace.
[70] When the martyr died, he cried out, ‘Highest father, come to Montfort’s aid!’
[73] In fighting for justice, his head was cut off and his face was pierced.
[76] His hands and feet are cut off and everyone bears witness to the foul death
inflicted on him.
[79] May all those be put to shame by whom his male organs of generation are
violated.
[82] Thomas the martyr,11 like Christ and like Simon, is sacrificed for the sake of
justice.
[85] They have suffered on this earth by equal punishment and equal struggle, and
each under torment.

10
Possibly the twelve assassins appointed to kill Earl Simon at Evesham: see Laborderie, Maddicott and
Carpenter, ‘Last hours of Simon de Montfort’, p. 408; Chron. Lanercost (1839), p. 76.
11
Thomas Becket archbishop of Canterbury, murdered in 1170.

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Symon gratis passus fuit

Et pro terra cesus ruit,
90 Thomas pro ecclesia.
Comes regi sociatur
Qui Oswaldus nuncupatur
Equa per certamina.
Nabuzardan subner[u]auit
95 Et hunc uita superauit
Continens ieiunia.
¶ Hic Robertum sequebatur
Cuius uita comendatur
Certa per miracula.
100 Dictis eius uir obedit.
Fert Robertus, Symon credit
De statutis talia:
‘Si uerum confitearis
Et pro dictis moriaris
105 Magna feres premia.’
‘Quod uir iustus patiatur
Satis liquet et probatur
Per magna tonitrua.’
Est lorica duplex ei
110 Et examen huius rei
Fit per eius spolia.
Extra bene uir armatur,
Quisquis uidens hoc testatur
Per signa bellifica.
115 ¶ Loricatur subtus stricte.
Hanc non tulit miles ficte
Tendens ad celestia.
Nec contentus est hac ueste.
Inuocato Deo teste
120 Induit cilicia.

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[88] Simon suffered willingly and was cut down for the sake of this land, as was
Thomas for the church.
[91] The earl is united with the king called Oswald by their similar ordeals.12
[94] He disempowered Nabuzardan and overcame him by a life of keeping fasts.13
[97] ¶ He was a follower of Robert,14 whose life is commended by undoubted
miracles.
[100] The man obeys his teachings. Robert pronounces such maxims as these and
Simon believes them:
[103] ‘If you are to declare the truth and to die for the sake of these sayings you
will receive a great reward.’
[106] ‘It will be evident enough by great thunderclaps that a just man is suffering
and is approved.’15
[109] He has a twofold hauberk, and the evidence of that comes when the armour
is taken off him.
[112] On the outside the man has a good hauberk16 and that, as anyone can see,
is confirmed by its martial appearance.
[115] ¶ Underneath, he has a tight hauberk such as no knight wore falsely when
reaching for heavenly things.
[118] In fact he was not satisfied with the former garment but, calling on God as
his witness, put on a hair shirt.

12
In 642 Oswald, the Christian king of Northumbria, had been killed in battle against the pagan Penda
of Mercia; his body was dismembered by the victors and miracles were afterwards attributed to him;
Earl Simon’s feast day, 4 August, immediately preceded Oswald’s: ODNB, s.n.
13
Nabuzardan was a military commander under Nebuchadnezzar II king of Babylon and pillaged
Jerusalem in 597 BC. In the Septuagint Nabuzardan’s title is inaccurately rendered as ‘chief cook’ (LXX 4
Reigns 25: 8–12), whence he was taken in the Middle Ages to exemplify gluttony (e.g. Gesta Romanorum:
or, Entertaining Moral Stories, transl. C. Swan, ed. W. Hooper (London, 1894), p. 346).
14
Robert Grosseteste.
15
The battle of Evesham had been immediately preceded by a thunderstorm: Cox, Battle of Evesham,
pp. 21–2.
16
A coat of mail.

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¶ Symon, Symon, modo dormis.

Quam mors tua sit enormis
Clamat uox ad sydera.
Ante tuum Christe uultum
125 Non relinquas hunc inultum
Pro tua clemencia.
Hii coniuncti sunt uictores
Et sunt uiuis altiores
Nam uiuunt in gloria.
130 Firmiter sunt \hii/ ligati
Qui nec morte separati
Nec sunt in militia.
¶ Et Radulfus Basset dictus
Miles eius est conflictus
135 Patiens pericula.
¶ Et de Baylol dictus Guydo
Signa feris corde fido
Cuntis aparencia.
Vires eius probitatis
140 Vir in fide constans satis
Ostendebat dextera.
Quando Symon fuit cesus
Guydo sicut nondum lesus
Signum fert in lancea.
145 Signum iusti nunquam ruit.
Semper exaltatum fuit
Inter tua brachia.
Euasisse potuisti
Tamen magis elegisti
150 Symonis consortia.
Interfectis in agone
Spe mercedis et corone
Christe dona grandia.

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 Vbi fuit mons

[121] ¶ O Simon, Simon, you are only sleeping. Our voice cries to high heaven that
your death is a crime.
[124] O Christ, in your mercy, may you not leave this thing unpunished before
your very eyes.
[127] These men are united together in victory and are higher than the living, for
they live in glory;
[130] these are firmly bound together, who are separated neither in death nor
in arms:
[133] ¶ Ralph Basset, his knight, has also fought and undergone the dangers.17
[136] ¶ And Guy de Balliol,18 may you with a faithful heart give signs19 that are
visible to all.
[139] A man utterly steadfast in faithfulness, he showed the strength of his valour
with his right hand.
[142] When Simon was cut down, Guy, as yet unharmed, is bearing the standard
on a lance.
[145] The just man’s standard never fell and was always lifted high in your arms.
[148] You could have escaped, but you chose rather to be with Simon.
[151] O Christ, to those killed in anguish give hope of a great reward and a crown.

17
Ralph Basset of Drayton, a rich Midlands knight and an active supporter of Earl Simon: ODNB, s.n.
18
Guy de Balliol had been Earl Simon’s standard bearer at Evesham: Chron. Melrose (1835), p. 200;
Laborderie, Maddicott and Carpenter, ‘Last hours of Simon de Montfort’, p. 408. He was the eldest son
of Henry de Balliol chamberlain of Scotland: ODNB, s.n. ‘Balliol [Baliol], Henry de’.
19
i.e. miracles.

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 Vbi fuit mons

Symon, Symon, si uixisses

155 Currere non permisisses
Raptores in patria.
Quis nos potest defensare?
Venietne ultra mare
Exspectata uenia?
160 ¶ Custos pacis heu necatur
Et ad litus applicatur
Nauis cum discordia.
Incessanter angli flere,
Modo possunt redolere.
165 Non habent remedia
Nisi Deus mittat eis
Vindictam de dictis reis
Qui fecerunt scelera.
Ne subuertant alieni
170 Istam terram dolo pleni,
Super hanc considera.
Amen.

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 Vbi fuit mons

[154] O Simon, Simon, if you had lived you would not have allowed robbers to
roam the country.20
[157] Who can defend us? Will hoped-for help be coming from across the sea?21
[160] ¶ The guardian of the peace is dead, alas, and a ship bringing discord is
brought ashore.22
[163] The English can only weep and mourn incessantly and have no relief
[166] unless God send vengeance for the said matters upon those who have done
wicked deeds.
[169] Lest aliens should utterly destroy this land with guile, give thought to her.23
Amen.

20
Widespread depredations were made by royalists and by Montfortian rebels during the unrest that
followed the battle of Evesham and which lasted until 1267: Jobson, First English Revolution, pp. 150–60.
21
In May 1266 Simon de Montfort the younger was rumoured to be gathering forces in France for
an invasion of England, and in September that was still considered a possibility: Cal. Pat. 1258–66,
pp. 664–5; L. J. Wilkinson, Eleanor de Montfort: A Rebel Countess in Medieval England (London and
New York, 2012), pp. 127–9.
22
Possibly a reference to the landing at Dover on 31 May 1267 of a force of knights under the counts
of Saint-Pol, Boulogne and Guînes to assist the king against the rebel occupiers of London: Chron.
Canterbury–Dover, p. 246; Flores Historiarum 3, p. 16; Oxnead, p. 243.
23
Soon after the battle of Evesham there were rumours of numerous royal grants of land to ‘aliens’:
Jobson, First English Revolution, p. 154. In 1267 an alleged influx of foreigners to the lands, church and
government of England remained among the rebels’ grievances: Rishanger, De Bellis, pp. 561, 563–4.

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 Vulneratur karitas (208)
London, British Library, Harley MS 746

[fol. 103v]
Vulneratur karitas, amor egrotatur,
Regnat et perfidia, liuor generatur.
Fraus primatum optinet, pax subpeditatur.
Fides uincta carcere nimis desolatur.
5 ¶ Amur gist en maladie, charite est nafre,
Ore regne tricherie, hayne est engendre.
Boidie ad seignurie, pes est mise suz pe.
Fei nad ki lui guie, en prisun est lie.
¶ In presenti tempore non ualet scriptura
10 Sed sopita ueluti latent legis iura.
Et nephandi generis excecata cura
Nullo sensu preuio formidat futura.
¶ Ne lerray ke ne vus die, ne vaut ore escripture
Mes cum fust endormie e tapist dreiture.
15 De la gent haye avugle est la cure
Ke el ne dute mie venjance a venir dure.
[fol. 104r]
¶ Resistentes subruunt iniquitatis nati.
Perit pax ecclesie, regnant et elati.
Hoc silendo sustinent improbi prelati
20 Mortem pro iusticia recusantes pati.
¶ Les contre estanz abatent li fiz de felonie.
Lors perit seinte eglise quant orgoil la mestrie.
Ceo sustenent li prelaz ki se ne peinent mie.
Pur dreiture sustenir nolent perdre vie.

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 Vulneratur karitas (208)
London, British Library, Harley MS 746, fols 103v–104r

[Latin] Kindness is wounded and love sickens, while treachery rules and hatred
is bred. Deceit has gained the upper hand and peace is trodden down, while
faithfulness lies bound and utterly helpless in prison.

[French] [5] ¶ Love lies sick, kindness is wounded. Now treachery rules and hatred
is bred. Deceit has the upper hand and peace is trodden underfoot. Faithfulness
has no-one to lead it and is bound in prison.

[Latin] [9] ¶ At the present day the written word is not valued and the rule of law
seems to be hidden away and asleep. And the blind preoccupation of a wicked
people has no apprehension of things to come.

[French] [13] ¶ I shall not omit to tell you that the written word is not valued now
and justice is hidden away. Blind hatred is the people’s preoccupation, for they
have no apprehension at all of harsh vengeance to come.

[Latin] [17] ¶ The sons of iniquity strike down those who resist. The peace of
the church perishes while the proud hold power. The unprincipled prelates are
supporting this by being silent, unwilling to suffer death for the sake of justice.1

[French] [21] ¶ The sons of iniquity strike down those who resist. Thus does holy
church perish while pride rules it. The prelates, who do not exert themselves at
all, are supporting this. They are not willing to lose their lives for the sake of
supporting justice.

1
About half of the English bishops had been Montfortian supporters or sympathizers but all of them
quietly submitted to royal and papal authority after the battle of Evesham: Ambler, ‘Montfortian
bishops’, pp. 139–40, 149–51.

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 Vulneratur karitas

25 ¶ Strata pace penitus, amor refrigescit.

Tota tellus Anglie merore madescit.
Omnisque dilectio dulcis euanescit.
Cuncti consolatium querunt quo quiescit.
¶ Pes est acravante e amur refreidie.
30 La terre est desconforte e de plur enmoistie.
Amur e amiste tut est anentie.
Ni ad nul ki ne quert confort e aye.
¶ Patre carent paruuli pupilli plangentes
Atque matre orphani fame iam deflentes.
35 Qui in primis penitus fuerunt potentes
Nunc subcumbunt gladio, plorant et parentes.
¶ Asez i ad des orphanins grant doel demenanz,
Ke lur parenz sunt mis a fins, dunt il en sunt dolenz.
Cil ki en comencent furent mult pussanz
40 Sunt suzmis a le espeye, e plorent li parenz.
¶ Ecce praui pueri pauperes predantur.
Ecce donis diuites dolose ditantur.
Omnes pene proceres mala machinantur.
Insani satellites liuore letantur.
45 ¶ Li enfanz felons sen vunt la povere gent preer.
Li riches a tort enrichiz sunt de autri aver.
A peyne i ad haute home ki cesse mal penser.
De hayne sunt haitez li felons esquier.
¶ Ecce uiri confluunt undique raptores.
50 Ecce pacis pereunt legisque latores.
Dogmata despiciunt truces hii tortores
Et prodesse nequeunt sancti confessores.
¶ De tote parz venent li bers ravisanz.
Ore perissent de pes e de la ley li sustenanz.
55 Enseignement refusent ces cruels tormentanz.
Espleyt ne poent fere cil ki vunt prechanz.
¶ Hii conuerti respuunt uirtute sermonum,
Neque curam capiunt de uita uirronum.
Omnes simul rapiunt ut mos est predonum.
60 Hiis uindictam ingere Deus ultionum.

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 Vulneratur karitas

[Latin] [25] ¶ Peace is wholly cast down and love grows cold. All the land of
England grows wet with tears, and all gentle affection is vanishing. Everyone is
trying to find where comfort lies.

[French] [29] ¶ Peace is cast down and love is grown cold. The land is without
solace and wet with tears. All love and friendship are brought to nothing. Nor is
there anyone who is not looking for comfort and help.

[Latin] [33] ¶ Little waifs weep without a father and hungry orphans now mourn
without their mother. Those who had full strength to begin with are now fallen
under the sword and their families weep.

[French] [37] ¶ There are many orphans displaying much grief that their parents
have been put to death, on account of which they mourn them. Those who were
very strong to begin with have been put to the sword and their families weep.

[Latin] [41] ¶ See how wicked young men plunder the poor while the rich are
artfully enriched with gifts. Nearly all the great are involved in plotting evil things
while their senseless adherents delight in hatred.

[French] [45] ¶ The wicked young men set out to plunder the poor people. The rich
are wrongfully enriched with other people’s property.2 There is hardly any great
man who ceases to contemplate wickedness. The lawless esquires delight in hatred.

[Latin] [49] ¶ See how men come together everywhere to rob, while those who
uphold peace and the law perish.3 These cruel tormentors despise religious
teaching, and holy confessors are unable to achieve anything.

[French] [53] ¶ The men who rob come from everywhere. Those who uphold peace
and the law now perish. These cruel tormentors reject any teaching. Those who
set out to preach are unable to achieve anything.

[Latin] [57] ¶ They refuse to reform in response to sermons, nor do they care about
the lives of property holders. They all rob in gangs as is the way of thieves. Heap
vengeance upon them, O ‘God of revenge’!4
2
Royal policy from September 1265 to October 1266 was to confiscate the estates of Montfort’s alleged
supporters and grant them to loyalists: Jobson, First English Revolution, pp. 151–2, 157.
3
Widespread depredations were made by royalists and by Montfortian rebels during the unrest that
followed the battle of Evesham and which lasted until 1267: ibid. pp. 150–60.
4
Cf. Ps. 93 (AV 94): 1.

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 Vulneratur karitas

¶ Si il se ne volent amender pur dit ne pur fesance

Mes pur tuer quant ont poer ben ont la voillance.
Trestuz en funt ravine, de Deu nen ont dotance.
Cels metez a declin, sire Deu de venjance.

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 Vulneratur karitas

[French] [61] ¶ Thus they do not want to reform themselves in response to words
or deeds, but have the keen desire to kill whenever they have the power to. They all
commit robbery and have no fear of God. Destroy them, Lord ‘God of revenge’!

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 Calendar entries

209 Barking abbey calendar

London, British Library, Cotton MS Otho A V
[fol 2v, under 4 August] Simonis de Monte Forti

210 Barking abbey calendar

Oxford, University College, MS 169
[fol. 4v, under 4 August] Simonis de Monte Forti

211 Beaulieu abbey calendar?

London, British Library, Harley MS 2951
[fol. 129v, under 4 August] Anno Domini MCClxv occisus est Symon de Monteforti

212 Tavistock abbey calendar

Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 210
[p. 30b] 1265. Sancti Simonis de Monte Forti die .4. augusti

213 Evesham abbey calendar

London, British Library, Lansdowne MS 427
[fol. 13r, under 4 August] Occisio Symonis Montis Fortis sociorumque eius

214 Evesham abbey calendar

London, British Library, Cotton MS Vespasian A VI
[fol. 183r] Anno Domini MoCCmolxovto <Occisio>a Symonis Montis Fortis
sociorumque eius pridie nonas augusti

a
Octauo MS.

76

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 Calendar entries

209 Barking abbey calendar

London, British Library, Cotton MS Otho A V, fol. 2v
[4 August] Of Simon de Montfort

210 Barking abbey calendar

Oxford, University College, MS 169, fol. 4v
[4 August] Of Simon de Montfort

211 Beaulieu abbey calendar?

London, British Library, Harley MS 2951, fol. 129v
[4 August] In the year of our Lord 1265 was killed Simon de Montfort

212 Tavistock abbey calendar

Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 210, p. 30b
1265. Of Saint Simon de Montfort on the 4th day of August

213 Evesham abbey calendar

London, British Library, Lansdowne MS 427, fol. 13r
[4 August] The killing of Simon de Montfort and his companions1

214 Evesham abbey calendar

London, British Library, Cotton MS Vespasian A VI, fol. 183r
In the year of our Lord 1265. The killing of Simon de Montfort and his companions
on 4 August

1
Chiefly Henry de Montfort and Hugh le Despenser: see 186.

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 Salue Symon: antiphon, versicle and response (215)
London, British Library, Cotton MS Vespasian A VI

[fol. 183r]
[Antiphona]
Salue Symon Montis Fortis
Totius flos militie
Duras penas passus <mortis>
<Pro statu>a gentis Anglie.
5 Sunt de sanctis inaudita
Cunctis passis in hac uita
Quemquam passum talia,
Manus, pedes, amputari
Caput, corpus, uulnerari
10 Abscidi uirilia.
Sis pro nobis intercessor
Apud Deum qui defensor
In terris <extiteris>.b
[Versus] Ora pro nobis beate Symon
[Responsio] Vt digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.

a
Pro statu] Prost’tor MS.
b
exterritas MS.

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 Salue Symon: antiphon, versicle and response (215)
London, British Library, Cotton MS Vespasian A VI, fol. 183r

[Antiphon]
Hail, Simon de Montfort, flower of all knighthood, who suffered the harsh pains
of death for the sake of the English people. [5] None of the saints who suffered in
this life knew any such suffering: to have hands and feet severed, head and body
wounded and genitals cut off. [11] May you, who lived as our defender on earth,
be an intercessor for us with God.

[Versicle] Pray for us, O blessed Simon

[Response] That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

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 Salue Symon: motet (216)
Cambridge, Jesus College, Old Library Manuscripts, Old Library, QB5

[fol. 139r]
***
***
***
Pro <statu>a gentis Anglie.
5 Sunt de sanctis inaudita
Cunctis <passis>b in hac uita
Quemquem passum talia,
Manus, pedes, amputari
Capud, corpus, uulnerari
10 Abscidi uirilia.
Sis pro nobis intercessor
Apud Deum qui defensor
In terris extiteris.

a
stratu MS.
b
passus MS.

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 Salue Symon: motet (216)
Cambridge, Jesus College, Old Library Manuscripts, Old Library, QB5, fol. 139r

*** for the sake of the English people. [5] None of the saints who suffered in
this life knew any such suffering: to have hands and feet severed, head and body
wounded and genitals cut off. [11] May you, who lived as our defender on earth,
be an intercessor for us with God.

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 Rumpe celos (217)
Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, MS Kk.4.20

[fol. 77v]
¶ Rumpe celos et descende capud Iesu martirum,
Signis sacris et ostende comitis martyrium.
Arma, scutum, comprehende contra uires hostium.
Heu dolorum nos multorum torquet infor[tu]nium.
5 Simon cesus cadit lesus Anglie presidium,
Comes fidus regni sidus, decus et flos militum.
Est iactura nimis dura regno et ecclesie.
Simon fortis casum mortis causa rei pupplice
Sumit; cadit dum inuadit prelium perfidie.
10 Iuris sator exstirpator fuit iniusticie,
Effugator et dampnator <fraudis>a et iniurie,
Pacis dator et seruator plebis et ecclesie.
Quis anglorum nunc regnorum tuetur prudencia?
Militaris expers paris pre[ter]mitur prestancia.
15 Plebi cleri forma ueri cedit sapiencia.
Tu qui pro salute mundi crucis pressus pertica
Da post casum putibundi fati sit in gloria.
Simon celi letabundi per eterna secula. Amen.

a
fraudes MS.

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 Rumpe celos (217)
Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, MS Kk.4.20, fol. 77v

¶ Rend the heavens and come down,1 Jesus chief of martyrs, and show forth
the earl’s martyrdom with sacred signs.2 Take up weapons and a shield against
hostile forces.
[4] Alas, misfortune torments us with many sufferings. Cut down, Simon falls
injured, the protector of England, the faithful earl, the kingdom’s guiding light,
the glory and flower of knighthood.
[7] The damage to kingdom and church is exceedingly severe. Simon the strong
takes on the penalty of death in the cause of the public good; he falls when he
attacks the army of faithlessness.
[10] Cultivator of the law, he was an eradicator of injustice, a banisher and
condemner of falsity and wrong, a giver of peace and a preserver of the common
people and the church.
[13] Who now watches over the good sense of the English realms? Deprived of
such a knight, leadership is abandoned. The sound wisdom of the true clergy
withdraws from the common people.3
[16] O thou, who for the salvation of the world was subdued by the rod of the
cross, grant that Simon, after succumbing to a humiliating fate, should be in the
glory of a joyful heaven for all eternity. Amen.

1
Cf. Isa. 64: 1.
2
i.e. miracles.
3
About half of the English bishops had been Montfortian supporters or sympathizers but all of them
quietly submitted to royal and papal authority after the battle of Evesham: Ambler, ‘Montfortian
bishops’, pp. 139–40, 149–51.

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 Mater Syon (218)
Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, MS Kk.4.20

[fol. 77v]
Mater Syona
¶ Mater Syon iocundare
Tantum decus dilatare.
Tibi uenit nouus dare
Noua martyr gaudia.
5 Comes Symon Thomam querit,
Causam Thome Simon gerit,
Et cum Thoma falsas terit
Leges per martyrium.
Thomas tytan orientis,
10 Simon sydus occidentis,
Vir uterque pie mentis
Pungnat pro iusticia.
Presul Thomas ueritatem
Se[r]uans dampnat prauitatem.
15 Pungnans dedit libertatem
Qua floret ecclesia.
Israelis Symon murus
Plebi clero profuturus
Pro utroque pungnaturus
20 Dura passus prelia.
Nunc uterque pugil fortis
Post occasum dire mortis
In agone sacre sortis
Migrat ad celestia. Amen.
a
Added in red between first two stanzas.

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 Mater Syon (218)
Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, MS Kk.4.20, fol. 77v

Mother Zion
¶ Be joyful, mother Zion, that your glory should increase so greatly. A new martyr
comes to you to give new joy.
[5] Earl Simon seeks after Thomas, Simon conducts Thomas’s cause, and with
Thomas he crushes wrongful laws through martyrdom.
[9] Thomas the sun of the east, Simon the star of the west,1 each man with holy
intent fights for justice.
[13] Archbishop Thomas, serving the truth, condemns wickedness. By fighting
he bestows that liberty on which the church thrives.
[17] Simon was destined to be a defensive wall2 for the common people and clergy
of Israel3 and to fight for both, enduring a hard battle.
[21] May each of those mighty warriors, after an end by cruel death in a
martyrdom with holy result, now pass over into heaven. Amen.

1
The appearance of the Western Star, also called Hesperus or the Evening Star, signified the end of
the day.
2
After the battle of Lewes the Montfortians were advised to ‘make themselves into a wall’: Song of
Lewes, p. 14, line 408.
3
The plight of the English people before the battle of Lewes had been likened to that of the Israelites
under Pharaoh: ibid. p. 3, line 73.

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 Nequit stare (219)
Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, MS Kk.4.20

[fol. 77v]
¶ Nequit stare set rotare fortuna mutabilis
Per quam scita mors uel uita uenit admirabilis.
En iam primus set nunc ymus flos florum militie
Regnat modo ruit modo, pacem zelans Anglie.
5 Heu uir fortis Montis Fortis, corpus tuum moritur,
Denudatur, mutilatur, per partes diuiditur.
Amputatur capud, datur, mulieri mittitur.
Non uilescit nec sordescit, Baptiste coniungitur.
Set mens fortis hora mortis [non] morte percutitur.
10 Sullimatur, coronatur, in celis recipitur.
Hoc monstrauit, hoc probauit sol priuatus lumine,
Terre motus, orbis totus tunc percussus fulmine.
Die martis marce Martis transit in uigilia
<Par>a amici dominici cum sua militia.
15 Deridebat et pedebat scutifer ignobilis,
Male sonans quasi plorans necem plangens comitis.
Laus sit Deo nil ab eo post exisse dicitur.
Tumens uentre gemens mente derisor confunditur.
Symon ergo mortis ergo fac ne nos concuciat,
20 Te tutore te ductore Christus nos suscipiat.

a
Per MS.

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 Nequit stare (219)
Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, MS Kk.4.20, fol. 77v

¶ The changeable wheel of Fortune, by which is made the awesome decree of death
or life, will not stay still but revolves.
[3] Lo, the greatest now and not the least, the flower of the flowers of knighthood,
at one moment rules and at another is cast down, ardent for the peace of England.
[5] Alas, Montfort, you strong man, your body dies, is stripped, mutilated and
split into parts.
[7] Your head is cut off and given away, and is sent to a woman.1 It has become
neither debased nor sullied; it is associated with the Baptist.2
[9] But at the hour of death a strong conviction is not struck down by death. It is
exalted, crowned, received in heaven.
[11] This was shown, this was proved, by a sun deprived of light, by an earthquake,
by the whole world then hit by lightning.3
[13] On a Tuesday (die martis) he passes from the field of Mars with his army in
the evening like a friend of the Lord.
[15] A lowly squire mocked and farted, making a foul sound like weeping to lament
the earl’s violent death.
[17] Praise be to God, nothing afterwards is said to have come out of him. With
swollen belly and groaning mind, the one who mocked is confounded.
[19] Therefore, Simon, make it so that death may not shake us so that, with you
as our guardian and leader, Christ may receive us.

1
Maud wife of Roger Mortimer: Cron. Maiorum, p. 76; Rob. Gloucester 2, p. 765; Chron. et Annales,
p. 37; Rishanger, De Bellis, p. 543.
2
John the Baptist’s severed head had been presented to the stepdaughter of Herod Antipas: Matt. 14:
6–11; Mark 6: 21–8.
3
The battle of Evesham had been immediately preceded by a thunderstorm: Cox, Battle of Evesham,
pp. 21–2.

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 Nequit stare

Adhuc rota precor tota prosterne maliuolos

Quos leuasti que prostrasti quam plures beniuolos.
Nonne uides non est fides in tota prouincia.
Iura iacent, leges tacent, mutescit ecclesia.
25 Violatur, spoliatur, nec ligat sentencia.
Quis quid fari quot in mari nunc fiunt facinora.
Quot dampnantur quot necantur spiritus et corpora.
Capiuntur, rapiuntur naues mercimonia.
Confundantur, prosternantur perpetrantes talia
30 Nisi cessent et emendent tot commissa crimina.
Vt hoc fiat et sic fiat ‘Amen’ dicant omnia.

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 Nequit stare

[21] I pray to you again, O wheel, wholly to cast down the malevolent ones whom
you raised up when you cast down so many people of good will.
[23] Do you not see? There is no faith in all the land. Rights lie idle, the laws are
silent, the church is struck dumb.4
[25] Any pronouncement is violated, is despoiled, and is not binding. Who can
say how many offences are now committed on the sea?
[27] How many souls are damned and bodies killed? How many ships are captured,
robbed of their cargoes?5
[29] May the perpetrators of such things be confounded and cast down if they do
not cease and do not make amends for so many crimes committed.
[31] That this should be, and should be so, may all things say ‘Amen’.

4
About half of the English bishops had been Montfortian supporters or sympathizers but all of them
quietly submitted to royal and papal authority after the battle of Evesham: Ambler, ‘Montfortian
bishops’, pp. 139–40, 149–51.
5
Until March 1266 the Cinque Ports, still in Montfortian hands, were conducting a campaign of piracy
against commercial shipping in the Channel: A. Jobson, ‘The maritime theatre, 1258–1267’, in Jobson
(ed.), Baronial Reform and Revolution, pp. 218–36 (at pp. 233–5).

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 O decus militie (Cambridge MS) (220)
Cambridge, Cambridge University Library
O decus militie (Cambridge MS), MS Kk.4.20

[fol. 77v]
[Antiphona]
O decus militie gentium anglorum,
Comes Leicestrie, dextra oppre[s]sorum,
Sanguine commercio ius tenes celorum;
Posce nobis miseris uitam beatorum.

[Versus] Magna est gloria eius in salutari tuo.

[Collecta] Deus qui beatum Symonem martyrem tuum uirtute constancie in

agone suo communisti, quique illi ad renouandum Britannie regnum milites
inclitos associasti, tribue nos eius precibus adiuuari qui celebri martyrio meruit
consummari. Per [Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum].

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 O decus militie (Cambridge MS) (220)
Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, MS Kk.4.20, fol. 77v

[Antiphon]
O earl of Leicester, glory of the knighthood of the English people, right hand of
the oppressed, by purchase with your blood you have attained the justice of heaven.
Implore the life of the blessed for our miserable selves.

[Versicle] His glory is great in thy salvation.1

[Collect] O God, thou who fortified the blessed martyr Simon with the power of
endurance in his agony and joined unto him renowned knights for the renewal
of Britain, grant that we may be helped by the prayers of him who deservedly
accomplished a famous martyrdom. Through [our Lord Jesus Christ].

1
Ps. 20: 6 (AV 21: 5).

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 O decus militie (Cologne MS) (221)
Cologne, Historisches Archiv der Stadt Köln, Best. 7010 (Wallraf) 28

[fol. 84v]
Symonis comitis ac sociorum martirum 4o augustia antiphona
O decus militie gentium anglorum,
Comes Lecestrie,b dextra oppressorum,
Miles regis glorie, apoteca morum,
Posce nobis miseris uitam beatorum.

Versus. Letamin[i] in Domino.

Collecta. Deus pro cuius pace et ueritate gloriosus sanguis beati Symonis martiris
effunditur concede propitius ut qui ipsius sociorumque eius beneficia implorant
pace perfrui mereantur eterna. P[er] D[ominum nostrum Iesum Christum].

a
4o augusti] At the end of the line (probably in the same hand) and marked for insertion.
b
Lecestrie] First five letters written over an erasure.

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 O decus militie (Cologne MS) (221)
Cologne, Historisches Archiv der Stadt Köln, Best. 7010 (Wallraf) 28, fol. 84v

Antiphon of Earl Simon and his companions,1 martyrs, on 4 August

O earl of Leicester, glory of the knighthood of the English people, right hand of
the oppressed, knight of the king of glory, storehouse of decency, implore the life
of the blessed for our miserable selves.

Versicle. Be glad in the Lord.2

Collect. O God, for whose peace and truth was shed the glorious blood of the
blessed martyr Simon, graciously grant that they who implore his help and that
of his companions3 may be deemed worthy to enjoy everlasting peace. Through
[our Lord Jesus Christ].

1
Chiefly Henry de Montfort and Hugh le Despenser: see 186.
2
Ps. 30 (AV 32): 11.
3
Chiefly Henry de Montfort and Hugh le Despenser: see 186.

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 Miles Christi (222)
Cambridge, St John’s College, MS F.1 (formerly MS 138),
former fols 127v–128r (now detached)

[Voice I]
Miles Christi gloriose
Symon certans in agone
Pro iusticia
Qui constanter conseruasti
5 A subuersione
Fidem Christi tibi datam
Et a lesione
Vt nos mundet a delictis
Satisfactione
10 Et in ***
[Voice II]
Plorate ciues Anglie
Magnanimum Lecestrie
Qui bellans pro iusticia
Prostratus est in Anglia.
5 O zelusa ineffabile
[O] nephas <innarrabile>
Quo fit pius ob emulis
Morti datur et meritis
Dum pungnat pro iusticia.
10 Prauorum ruit framea
Fideles ***

a
Ronald Woodley suggests emendation to scelus (crime) in Music & Letters 63 (1982), p. 344.

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 Miles Christi (222)
Cambridge, St John’s College, MS F.1 (formerly MS 138),
former fols 127v–128r (now detached)

[Voice I] O Simon, by fighting to the death for justice as a glorious soldier of Christ
you staunchly kept [5] from overthrow and harm that faith in Christ which was
given to you, so that he might cleanse us of our sins by penance [10] and in ***

[Voice II] O citizens of England, weep for the great-hearted earl of Leicester who
was cut down battling for justice in England. [5] O the wonderful zeal, O the
unspeakable wickedness, by which he is made blessed. While he fights for justice
he is given over to death by his enemies and by those who deserve it themselves.
He falls to the evildoers’ spear. [10] The faithful ***

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(Oxford, 2017)
Baker, G., The History and Antiquities of the County of Northampton, 2 vols
(London, 1822–41)
Bartlett, R., Why can the Dead do Such Great Things? (Princeton and Oxford, 2013)
Carpenter, D., Henry III: Reform, Rebellion, Civil War, Settlement 1258–1272
(New Haven and London, 2023)
—– Henry III: The Rise to Power and Personal Rule 1207–1258 (New Haven and
London, 2020)
Cox, D. C., The Battle of Evesham: A New Account, 2nd edn (Evesham, 2019)
—– ‘The tomb of Simon de Montfort: an enquiry’, Transactions of the
Worcestershire Archaeological Soc. 3rd ser. 36 (2018), pp. 159–71
Dyer, C., Standards of Living in the Later Middle Ages: Social Change in England
c.1200–1520, 2nd edn (Cambridge, 1998)
Eyton, R. W., Antiquities of Shropshire, 12 vols (London, 1854–60)
Fernandes, M., ‘The Northamptonshire assize jurors: The role of the family as
a motivating force during the Barons’ War’, in R. Eales and S. Tyas (eds),
Family and Dynasty in Late Medieval England: Proceedings of the 1997
Harlaxton Symposium (Donington, 2003), pp. 38–55
Finucane, R. C., Miracles and Pilgrims: Popular Beliefs in Medieval England
(London, 1977)
Gordon, E. C., ‘Accidents among medieval children as seen from the miracles of
six English saints and martyrs’, Medical History 35 (1991), pp. 145–63
Gransden, A., Historical Writing in England c.550 to c.1307 (London, 1974)
—– ‘Some manuscripts in Cambridge from Bury St Edmunds abbey: Exhibition
catalogue’, in A. Gransden (ed.), Bury St Edmunds: Medieval Art,
Architecture, Archaeology and Economy (British Archaeological Association
Conference Transactions 20, 1998), pp. 228–85
Jacob, E. F., Studies in the Period of Baronial Reform and Rebellion, 1258–1267
(Oxford, Oxford Studies in Social and Legal History 8, 1925)

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James, M. R., A Descriptive Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Library of

Gonville and Caius College (Cambridge, 1907)
Jobson, A. (ed.), Baronial Reform and Revolution in England 1258–1257
(Woodbridge, 2016)
—– The First English Revolution: Simon de Montfort, Henry III and the Barons’
War (London, 2012)
Knowles, C. H., ‘The disinherited, 1265–1280: A political and social study of the
supporters of Simon de Montfort and the resettlement after the Barons’ War’
(Univ. of Wales Ph.D. thesis, 1959)
—– ‘The resettlement of England after the barons’ war, 1264–67’, Transactions
of the Royal Historical Soc. 5th ser. 32 (1982), pp. 25–41
Laborderie, O. de, J. R. Maddicott and D. A. Carpenter, ‘The last hours of Simon
de Montfort: A new account’, EHR 115 (2000), pp. 378–412
Lefferts, P. M., ‘Two English motets on Simon de Montfort’, Early Music History
1 (1981), pp. 203–25
Maddicott, J. R., ‘Follower, leader, pilgrim, saint: Robert de Vere, earl of Oxford,
at the shrine of Simon de Montfort, 1273’, EHR 109 (1994), pp. 641–53
—– Simon de Montfort (Cambridge, 1994)
Prothero, G. W., The Life of Simon de Montfort Earl of Leicester with Special
Reference to the Parliamentary History of his Time (London, 1877)
Shields, H., ‘The Lament for Simon de Montfort: An unnoticed text of the French
poem’, Medium Aevum 41 (1972), pp. 202–7
St Lawrence, J. E., ‘The Liber miraculorum of Simon de Montfort: Contested
sanctity and contesting authority in late thirteenth-century England’ (Univ.
of Texas Ph.D. thesis, 2005)
Tyson, D., ‘Lament for a dead king’, Journal of Medieval History 30 (2004),
pp. 359–75
Valente, C., ‘Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester, and the utility of sanctity
in thirteenth-century England’, Journal of Medieval History 21 (1995),
pp. 27–49
—– The Theory and Practice of Revolt in Medieval England (Aldershot and
Burlington, VT, 2003)
Warton, T., The History of English Poetry, ed. R. Taylor, 3 vols (London, 1840)
Williams, G. A., Medieval London: From Commune to Capital, 2nd edn
(London, 1970)
Wilson, L. E., ‘Writing miracle collections’, in S. Katajala-Peltomaa, J. Kuuliala and
J. McCleery (eds), A Companion to Medieval Miracle Collections (Leiden,
2021), pp. 15–35

88

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 Index of Persons and Places

Roman numerals refer to the introductory pages, while arabic numerals refer to the numbered
texts. Names are spelled as in the translations. Unidentified names are enclosed in quotation
marks. Identified places are defined by their ancient (pre-1831) counties.

Ab Lench (Worcs.) ​136 Alnwick abbey (Northumb.) ​199, 200

Aconbury priory (Herefs.) ​124 Andrew, rector of Chelveston ​30
Adam the chaplain (from Ab Lench), or Angevin
Adam Chaplain ​136 John ​191
Adam the clerk (from ‘Odebury’), or Adam Reynold ​98
Clark ​134, 135 Stephen ​191
Adelard Armitt, Richard, or Richard the hermit ​139
John ​135 Arnould, count of Guînes ​207 n.22
Thomas ​135 Astley, Thomas of ​1
Agnes Astwell (Northants.) ​59 n.88, 106 n.147
from ‘Blythe’? ​167 Astwell
from Boston ​26 Joan of ​106
from Radstone ​58 Roger of ​106
from Sulgrave ​34 Atch Lench, William of ​140
Alan (Aleyn) Atteheye, Thomas ​177
John ​109 n.155 Aubourn (Lincs.) ​175
Maud ​109 Aumale, countess of ​see Reviers, Isabel de
Ralph ​110 Auvergne, Robert d’, count of Boulogne ​
Robert ​109 207 n.22
‘Aldewik’, Robert of, prior of Gloucester Avice (from Dunchurch) ​174
abbey ​123 Avon, river ​1
Alexander Aylestone (Leics.) ​111
Agnes ​54 ‘Ayse’ (Ayre?), William ​172
William ​54
Aleyn ​ see Alan Badbury (Wilts.) ​170 n.230
Alice Badbury
from Bretforton? ​53 Simon ​170
from Burton Overy ​7 Stephen ​170
from ‘Chaddelee’ ​113 Badger, Richard, or Richard the badger ​
from Hereford ​28 xviii, 3
‘mother’ of Henry of Studley ​10 Bakewell, John of ​108
sister of William, rector of Warrington ​ Balliol
72 Guy de ​1, 207 lines 136–50
wife of Gilbert (from Derby) ​67 Henry de ​207 n.18

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 Index of Persons and Places

Banbury, William of ​56 Humphrey de (d.1275), earl of Hereford ​

Barate, Ralph ​40 1 n.8
Barking abbey (Essex) ​xlv Joan de ​see Quincy, Joan de
Basset ‘Bokyngeham’, Walter of ​166
Ralph (of Drayton) ​1, 207 lines 133–5 Bond
Ralph (of Sapcote) ​102 n.142 Alexander le ​53
Baston (Lincs.) ​xlv John le ​53 n.82
Beauchamp Bossoun, Guarin ​93
John ​1 Boston (Lincs.) ​26
William (d.1269) ​xviii, xxxiv, 3, 9 n.22 Boughton Malherbe (Kent) ​112 n.158
William (d.1298), earl of Warwick ​9 Boulogne, count of ​see Auvergne, Robert
n.22 d’
family ​40 n.68 Bounde, Henry ​160
Beaulieu abbey (Hants.) ​xlv Brackley (Northants.) ​64
Becket, St Thomas, archbishop of ‘Braddewell’ ​121
Canterbury ​196, 204 lines 13–14, Brauncewell
205 lines 12–13, 206 line 196, 207 John of ​143
lines 82–90, 218 lines 5–21 Thomas of ​143
Bedford (Beds.) ​1 Breconshire ​ see Bronllys; Pipton
Bretforton (Worcs.) ​4, 53, 54, 55
Bedfordshire ​ see Bedford; Bletsoe;
Brians Bell, in Belbroughton (Worcs.) ​115
Dunstable; Holwell, Little
Bridgnorth (Salop.) ​xxxiii, 79
Bedworth (Warws.) ​37 n.64
Brill (Bucks.) ​xxiv, 109, 110
‘Belbeworth’, Mabel of ​18
Briouze, Maud de, m. Roger Mortimer ​
Belbroughton (Worcs.) ​see Bell, Brians;
219 n.1
Hurst Farm
Broadwater (Suss.) ​xliv
Bell, Brians, in Belbroughton (Worcs.) ​115
Broadwell (Glos.) ​121 n.172
Belle, ‘Gelbreda’ ​76
Bronllys (Brec.) ​118
Benedict (Benedist)
Broom, Elizabeth of ​33
John ​117, 179 Brown (Brun)
Simon ​117, 179 Henry ​16 n.31
Bengeworth (Worcs.) ​137 John ​xxii, 16
Bennet, priest (from Wells) ​150 William ​16 n.31
Berkshire ​xxiv; see also Coldridge; Bruern abbey (Oxon.) ​141
‘Cordebreg(g)e’; Newbury; Ufton Brun ​ see Brown
Nervet Buchan, countess of ​see Quincy, Elizabeth
Bernard, Gilbert ​52 de
Berrick Prior (Oxon.) ​97 Buckinghamshire ​ see Brill; Studley
Besford (Worcs.) ​96 n.131 priory; Winchendon, Over
‘Besseborne’ ​40 Buckland (unspecified) ​12
‘Besseforde’ ​96 Buckland (Glos.) ​12 n.26
‘Bideford’, Henry of, abbot of Pershore ​ Buckland, Ralph of ​5
130 n.184 Burd, Margery de la ​41
Bidford on Avon (Warws.) ​33 Burton Overy (Leics.) ​7
Birmingham, William of ​1 Burton upon Trent (Staffs.) ​196
Bletsoe (Beds.) ​189 Bury St Edmunds abbey (Suff.) ​xxxiv,
‘Blythe’, Maud of ​168 xlviii
Bohun Butler
Humphrey de (d.1265) ​1, 33 n.58 Angaret ​193

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 Index of Persons and Places

Hugh ​20 Chelveston (Northants.) ​30

Robert ​20 Cheshire ​xxiv, 198
William (d.1280) ​41 n.69 Chichester, bishops of ​see St Leofard,
William (d.1283) ​193 Gilbert de; Wich, St Richard of
William (d.1334) ​193 Child, William ​79
Butlers Marston (Warws.) ​193 Childerley, Little (Cambs.) ​144 n.205
Childerley
Cambridgeshire ​ see Childerley, Little; Ely, Henry of ​144 n.205
Isle of; Whaddon Margery of ​144
Canterbury (Kent) ​52, 91, 92, 154, 155, Maud of ​144
157, 176, 177 Nicholas of ​144
St Augustine’s abbey ​xxxviii Nicholas of (the same?) ​144 n.205
Canterbury, archbishop of ​see Becket, Chilham, Alice of ​92
St Thomas Chipping Norton (Oxon.) ​36
Canterbury Chubb, John, abbot of Tavistock ​xlvi
Alexander of ​92 Chyldessonne, Richard ​134, 135
Richard of ​52 Cinque Ports confederation ​24 n.41, 38
Wilcock of? ​92 n.66, 219 n.5; see also Dover; Hythe;
Cantilupe (Cantlow) Rye; Woodchurch
Joan, m. Henry Hastings ​11 Clare
John ​11 n.25, 21 n.17
Alice of, countess of Gloucester ​
Margery ​ see Cumin, Margery
see Lusignan, Alice de
St Thomas, bishop of Hereford ​21, 22
Gilbert of, earl of Gloucester
Walter, bishop of Worcester ​1 n.4, 99
breaks with Montfort ​xxxi, 206
n.136
lines 26–43
Walter (the same?) ​99
at Worcester ​1
William ​11 n.25, 21 n.17
executes Stephen of Holwell ​206
Castlemorton (Worcs.) ​20
lines 51–5
Causefeylde, Roger ​xl
at Evesham ​1
‘Chaddelee’ ​113
Chadley (Warws.) ​113 n.159 blamed for Evesham deaths ​203
Chandler (Chanteler; Chaunteler), Henry, n.5, 204 line 20, 205 line 24
or Henry the chandler ​4, 55 orders revenge after Evesham ​206
Channel, English ​219 lines 26–8 lines 126–8
Chanteler, Henry ​see Chandler Maud of, countess of Gloucester ​
Chaplain see Lacy, Maud de
Adam, or Adam the chaplain ​136 Clark
Henry, or Henry the chaplain ​37 Adam, or Adam the clerk ​134, 135
Philip, or Philip the chaplain ​118 Ralph, or Ralph the clerk ​8
Richard ​4 William, or William the clerk ​48
Robert or Robert the chaplain ​140, Clifford, Maud, m. (1) William Longespee,
141 (2) John Giffard ​118 n.164
Roger, or Roger the chaplain ​24 ‘Cliffton’ ​xl
William, or William the chaplain, or Cockerel, Edmund ​78
William Margary the younger ​ Codnor (Derb.) ​192 n.258
127 Coldridge (Berks.) ​80 n.115
Châtillon, Guy de, count of Saint-Pol ​207 Coleville, Walter de ​1, 175 n.236
n.22 Cologne charterhouse (Germany) ​xlviii
Chaunteler, Henry ​see Chandler Colston, William ​194

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 Index of Persons and Places

Comyn, Elizabeth (or Isabel), countess of Deschalers

Buchan ​ see Quincy, Elizabeth Geoffrey (d. by 1267) ​71
Corby (Lincs.) ​182 Geoffrey (d.1284) ​71 n.100
Corby, Robert ​181 Despenser, Hugh le
‘Cordebreg(g)e’ (Berks.) ​80 death ​xxxi, 1, 204 lines 17–18, 205
Cornish, Lawrence ​145 lines 21–2, 206 line 78
Cornwall, earl of ​see Richard grave ​xxxvi, 186
Courtenay, Hawis de, m. (1) John de heavenly reward ​204 line 43, 205 line
Neville, (2) John of Gaddesden ​ 25, 213, 214, 221
xliv, 117, 179 miracles ​xxxiii, 186
Coventry (Warws.) ​86 Deverois, William ​1
Crepping, Robert of ​1 Devon ​xxiv, 88, 164?, 165; see also
‘Crest’, Thomas of ​75 Tavistock abbey
Crevequer, Robert de ​180 n.240 Devon, countess of ​see Reviers, Isabel de
Croft, William of ​122 Dogsthorpe, in Peterborough (Northants.) ​
Croughton xliv
John ​63 Donne, John ​xxvii–xxviii
John (the same?) ​63 n.94 ‘Donninton’ ​107
‘Culne’, John of ​62 Dover (Kent) ​39 n.67, 207 n.22; see also
Culworth Cinque Ports confederation
Hugh of ​34 n.59, 100 n.137 Drayton Bassett (Staffs. and Warws.) ​1,
Richard of ​15 n.30, 34 n.59, 100 n.137 207 n.17
‘Robert’ (Richard?) of (the same?) ​15 Droitwich (Worcs.) ​94
Cumberland ​ see Lanercost priory Dunchurch (Warws.) ​174
Cumin, Margery, m. John Cantilupe ​11 Dunnington (Warws.) ​107 n.150
Dunstable (Beds.) ​191
Dale abbey (Derb.) ​108 priory ​191 n.257
Darlaston (Staffs.) ​46 Durham cathedral priory (co. Dur.) ​xlvii
Darlingscott, Robert of ​129 Durham, bishop of ​see Stichill, Robert of
David (from ‘Cordebreg(g)e’) ​80 Durham, Richard of ​xli
Deacon
Henry, or Henry the deacon ​196 Edmund, earl of Lancaster (as earl of
Robert, or Robert the deacon ​115 Leicester) ​30 n.53
Dene, in Wingham (Kent) ​156 n.216 Edward II, king of England ​xxxvii
Dene Edward (Sir Edward), son of Henry III
Emm of ​156 title ​xxx n.53
Richard of ​156 n.216 escape ​xxxi, 71 n.99, 206 lines 35–44
‘Deneburne’, Agnes of ​112 Kenilworth raid ​206 lines 45–8
Dennis, abbot of Beaulieu ​xlv at Evesham ​1, 198, 203 line 55, 204
Derby (Derb.) ​67, 108 line 10, 205 line 9
Derby, countess of ​see Quincy, Margaret hostile to Londoners ​206 lines 166–8
de instigates neglect of church ​206 lines
Derby, earls of ​see Ferrers 219–20
Derby warlike nature ​206 line 220
Alan of ​66 as King Edward I ​202
Avice of ​66 Eleanor
Ralph of ​68 princess, m. Simon de Montfort, earl of
Derbyshire ​xxiv, 90; see also Codnor; Leicester ​152 n.214, 203 lines
Dale abbey; Derby 60–4, 76

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 Index of Persons and Places

of Provence, m. Henry III ​206 n.26 money ​xx, xxi, 142, 189

daughter of Emm (from Aubourn) ​175 peacock’s tail ​114
Ellis wax images ​xxii, 49, 50, 95, 101,
dean of Warrington ​119 154, 155, 176, 187, 190
son of William (from Milton) ​32 prior ​84, 93
Ellis, George ​xliii St Wulfsige’s tomb ​xx, xxxi, xxxvi, 29
Elmley Castle (Worcs.) ​xxxiv, xxxvi, 9
Ely, Isle of (Cambs.) ​xxxiv, 206 nn.22, 25 Falcutt (Northants.) ​59 n.88
Emm (from Aubourn) ​175 ‘Fancote’, James of ​27, 59
Essex ​95, 197; see also Barking abbey; ‘Farle’, William of ​see ‘Sarle’
Rickling; Sheering; Waltham Holy Farou
Cross abbey Maud ​152
Evesham (Worcs.) ​xxiv, xxxix family ​152 n.213
abbey ​ see Evesham abbey Fawdon, in Newcastle upon Tyne
battle ​1, 17, 131, 198, 204 lines 7–10, (Northumb.) ​151 n.211
205 lines 7–9, 206 lines 61–123, Feckenham (Worcs.) ​132 n.188, 134, 135;
207 lines 13–72 see also Hunt End
battlefield (Green hill) ​1, 3, 52, 68, 70, Feckenham forest (Worcs.) ​135 n.192
73, 112 Ferrers
churchyards ​1 Agnes de, m. William de Vescy ​25 n.42
Earl’s well (Battle well) ​xxii, xxxvi, Margaret de, countess of Derby ​
xxxviii, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 158, see Quincy, Margaret de
181, 191, 195 Robert de, earl of Derby ​15 n.29, 25
parochial chapels ​1 n.42, 30 n.53
‘Siveldeston’ ​1 William de (d.1254), earl of Derby ​15
vicar of ​140, 141 n.29
Evesham abbey (Worcs.) ​xxi, xxxvi, 1, William de (d.1287), earl of Derby ​7
28 n.49 n.19, 30 n.53
abbots ​ see Whitchurch, William of; Feypo
Wykewone, John Christian ​29
abbot-elect ​ see Marlborough, William Richard ​29, 31, 87?
of Roger ​29
altar of Holy Cross ​xxxvi, 195 n.266 Simon ​31
calendars ​xlvi Filby (Norf.) ​xxiv, 76
choir ​xxxi, xxxvi, 29 n.51, 38 Filby
librarian ​140 John of ​76?, 78
miracles witnessed at ​93, 140, 172, family ​76 n.106
194, 196 Fillot (Fillote)
Montfortian burials ​xvii, xxxi, xxxiii, Alice ​132
xxxvi, 15, 29 n.51, 52, 125, 132, Christine ​132 n.189
136, 186, 191, 192, 195, 196, 203 John ​132
lines 56–7 Richard ​132
rood ​xxxvi, 195 n.266 Fittleton (Wilts.) ​75 n.104
offerings received fitz John
arrowhead ​77 Eustace ​199 n.3
bent pennies ​xxii, 6, 186 John ​1, 160
candles ​xxii, 16, 72, 78, 83, 89, 95, FitzAlan
108, 139 John (d.1267) ​36 n.63
chick ​34 John (d.1272) ​36 n.63

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Fladbury, Felice of ​19 Great Washbourne (Glos.) ​40 n.68

Folville, Eustace de ​8 n.21 Grendon (Warws.) ​105
Forde, Walter le ​149 Grendon
Fors, Isabel de, countess of Devon and of Gregory of ​102, 103, 104, 105
Aumale ​ see Reviers, Isabel de Robert of ​105 n.145
France ​50, 207 n.21 Scholace of ​105 n.145
Frettenham, Ralph of ​xlvii Grey
Fuller, Roger, or Roger the fuller ​94 John de (d.1266) ​192 n.258
Furber, John, or John the furber ​86 John de (d.c.1271) ​1, 192 n.258
Furness (Lancs.) ​172 Richard de ​1, 192 n.258
Grimbald
Gaddesden Gillian, m. William of ‘Northburgh’ ​
Hawis of ​see Courtenay, Hawis de 51
John of ​117 n.161 Robert ​51 n.80
Gainsborough (Lincs.) ​xxiv, 162 Grosseteste, Robert, bishop of Lincoln ​
Gamages, Robert de ​161 xxix, 17, 129 n.182, 207 lines 97–108
Gatton Guînes, count of ​see Arnould
Alice of ​112 n.158 ‘Gulac’ (‘Gulak’), Nicholas of ​145, 146
Alice of (the same?) ​see Malherbe, Gullafre
Alice
Henry ​60
Gatwick, Ralph of ​xxxviii
William ​60
Gaunt, Gilbert de ​1
Gunnell (from Ketton) ​192
‘Geddewolde’ ​37
Guy
Germany ​ see Cologne charterhouse
from Pinley ​159
Giffard
from Warrington ​43
John ​118 n.164
Maud ​ see Clifford, Maud
Hales, William of ​184, 185
Osbert ​131
Halliwell, James Orchard ​xliv
Gilbert
Hampshire ​ see Beaulieu abbey; Romsey
from Derby ​67
from Warrington ​44, 47 n.74 Hanbury (Worcs.) ​133 n.191
Glendon (Northants.) ​35 Hansard (Hanseoticus), Otes ​93
Gloucester (Glos.) ​123, 126 Harcourt
abbey ​123 Saher de ​18 n.35, 111 n.157
Gloucester, countesses of ​see Lacy, Maud William de ​18 n.35, 111 n.157
de; Lusignan, Alice de family ​111 n.157
Gloucester, earl of ​see Clare, Gilbert of Hardel
Gloucestershire ​xxiv, 169; see also John de ​163
Broadwell; Buckland; Gloucester; John (the same?) ​163 n.222
Hawkesbury; Mickleton; Robert, the elder ​181
Tewkesbury; Todenham; Tortworth; Robert (fl. 1257) (the same?) ​181 n.245
Washbourne, Great; Winchcombe Robert, the younger ​181
abbey Robert (d.c.1280) (the same?) ​181
Godde, John ​118 n.245
Grate Harlow (Northumb.) ​151 n.211
Alice ​134 Harlow, John of ​151
Nicholas ​132, 134 Hartlebury
Gravesend, Richard of, bishop of Lincoln ​ John ​132
120 n.170, 197 n.271 Sarah ​132

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Hastings Hill
Henry ​1, 11 n.25, 37 n.64, 51 n.80, 111 Nicholas ​118
n.157 Stephen ​118
Joan ​ see Cantilupe, Joan Hillborough (Warws.) ​107 n.148
Hawis (from Heddon?) ​89 Holcombe (Oxon.) ​98
Hawkesbury (unspecified) ​60 Holme family ​76 n.106
Hawkesbury (Glos.) ​60 n.90, 130 Holwell, Little (Beds.) ​206 n.13
Haymunde, William ​64 Holwell
Heddon (Northumb.) ​89 Maud of ​206 n.13
‘Hekynton’ ​190 Stephen of ​206 lines 51–6
Helmsley (Yorks.) ​61 William of ​206 n.13
Henry III, king of England Holy Land ​61 n.92
treats Montfort badly ​206 line 102 ‘Homerton’, John of, prior of Malton ​25
profligacy causes unrest ​206 lines Horseman, Roger ​12
217–18 Hoyvill, Hugh de ​1
at Lewes ​xxx, 206 line 23 Hugh
at Kempsey ​1 father of Richard (from Berrick Prior) ​
at Evesham ​1, 203 line 55 97 n.133
rejects peace ​206 line 159 father of William ​70
disinheritance policy prolongs crisis ​ Hunt End, in Feckenham (Worcs.) ​135
206 lines 222–3 n.194
considered a fool ​204 line 41, 205 line 32 Hunte
his death imagined ​206 line 224 Hugh ​134, 135
his death ​202 Richard ​134, 135
Henry VI, king of England ​xxi Richard (the same?) ​135 n.192
Henry, son of Gunnell (from Ketton) ​192 Huntingdonshire ​206 n.22; see also
Henry the chandler (from Bretforton), or Ramsey
Henry Chandler ​4, 55 Hurst Farm, in Belbroughton (Worcs.) ​
Henry the chaplain (from ‘Geddewolde’), 115 n.160
or Henry Chaplain ​37 Hurst. William of the ​115, 116
Henry the deacon (from Burton upon ‘Hyda’, Walter de ​xliv
Trent), or Henry Deacon ​196 Hyde
Henry the leech (from Canterbury), or Joan de la ​see Neville, Joan de
Henry Leach ​176 Walter de la ​xliv, 117 n.162
Hercy, Richard ​142 ‘Hyke’, John of ​83
Hereford (Herefs.) ​28, 69 n.98, 71 n.99, ‘Hylamtre’, William of ​116
118, 206 lines 39–43 Hythe (Kent) ​24; see also Cinque Ports
Franciscan friary ​128 confederation
Hereford, bishop of ​see Cantilupe, Hythe, West (Kent) ​24
St Thomas
Hereford, earl of ​see Bohun, Humphrey Inkberrow (Worcs.) ​132, 134
de (d.1275) Inkberrow, Reynold of ​xx
Hereford, Richard of ​69 Ireland ​xxxviii, xliii, 29, 31, 87
Herefordshire ​ see Aconbury priory; Isabel (from London) ​187
Hereford; Leominster; Mordiford
Hertfordshire ​ see ‘Shendeworth’ James (from Warrington) ​45
‘Hicclebury’ John
John of ​107 abbot of Bruern ​141
Rose of ​107 chaplain of Bretforton ​4, 53, 54

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John (cont.) Leicester

Eustace fitz ​199 n.3 Piers ​35
of Filby? ​76 Piers of (the same?) ​35 n.60
John fitz ​1, 160 Piers of (another?) ​35 n.60
vicar of ‘Sellinge’ ​91 Leicestershire ​ see Aylestone; Burton
John the furber (from Coventry), or John Overy; Kibworth Harcourt;
Furber ​86 Leicester; Sapcote
Johnson, Samuel ​xxxvii Lench, Ab (Worcs.) ​136 n.195
Jordan (from Boston), Thomas son of ​26 Leominster (Herefs.) ​13
‘Lesseberge’, Henry of ​137
Kempsey (Worcs.) ​1 Lettice (from Aylestone) ​111
Kempt, John ​xl ‘Lewerk’ (‘Luwerk’)
Kenilworth (Warws.) ​xviii, 1, 3, 175 Simon ​143
n.236, 206 lines 45–50 William of ​144
castle ​xviii–xix, xxxiv, 1, 35 n.60, 103 Lewes (Suss.) ​xxxix
priory ​1 battle ​xxx, xxxvii, xliii, 131 n.185, 206
Kent ​xxiv, 92, 188; see also Boughton lines 1–15, 74–5
Malherbe; Canterbury; Dene; Hythe; Song of Lewes ​xxx, 61 n.9, 80 n.2
Hythe, West; Milton (unspecified); Lincoln (Lincs.) ​17, 143
Milton next Gravesend; ‘Sellinge’; Lincoln, bishops of ​120, 182 n.246;
Thanet; Wingham; Woodchurch; see also Gravesend, Richard of;
Wormshill Grosseteste, Robert
Ketton (Rut.) ​192 Lincoln, Hugh of, abbot of Dale ​108
Kibworth Harcourt (Leics.) ​18 n.35 Lincolnshire ​xlv, 138; see also
Kinclaven castle (Perths.) ​202 Aubourn; Baston; Boston; Corby;
Knapp, O.G. ​xlvi Gainsborough; Lincoln; Louth
Knaresborough (Yorks.) ​196 n.270 Little Childerley (Cambs.) ​144 n.205
Knaresborough, Robert of ​129 n.182, 196 Little Holwell (Beds.) ​206 n.13
Little Washbourne (Worcs.) ​40 n.68
Lacy, Maud de, m. Richard of Clare, earl of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, prince of Wales ​
Gloucester ​6 118 n.164
Lancashire ​ see Furness; Ribble and Lombard, Peter ​xlii
Mersey; Warrington London ​71, 181, 183, 184, 185, 187, 195,
Lancaster, earls of ​see Edmund; 206 lines 163–9
Lancaster, Thomas of Bridge ward ​181 n.245
Lancaster, Thomas of, earl of Lancaster ​ Fisher Street ​149
xlviii Fleet Street ​195
Lanercost priory (Cumb.) ​xli London bridge ​187
Leach St Bride parish ​195
Alice ​176 St Magnus the Martyr parish ​181 n.245
Henry, or Henry the leech ​176 St Martin Vintry parish ​181
Lece the meadmaker (from London), or St Dunstan parish (unspecified) ​163
Lece Meadmaker ​195 Edward’s hostility to ​206 lines 166–8
Leicester (Leics.) ​xxiv, xxxix rebel occupation ​15 n.30, 207 n.22
abbey ​64 n.95 London
Dominican friary ​180 Clement of ​79
Leicester, countess of ​see Eleanor William of ​190
Leicester, earls of ​see Edmund; Montfort, Longespee, Maud ​see Clifford, Maud
Simon de (d.1265) Louth (Lincs.) ​197

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Ludlow (Salop.) ​xlii, 71 Meadmaker, Lece, or Lece the meadmaker ​

Lullingstone, Christian of ​157 195
Lusignan Melrose abbey (Roxb.) ​xli
Alice de, m. Gilbert of Clare, earl of Mersey, river ​45
Gloucester ​6 land between Ribble and (Lancs.) ​119
William de ​see Valence, William de Michael
Luttrell, Alexander ​61 monk of Ramsey? ​xliii, 206 line 56
‘Luwerk’ ​ see ‘Lewerk’ vicar of Over Winchendon ​171
‘Lydeham’ (Oxon.) ​158 Mickleton (Glos.) ​4
Milton (unspecified) (Kent) ​32
Mabel, nun of Studley ​82 Milton next Gravesend (Kent) ​32 n.57
Malherbe, Alice, m. Robert of Gatton? ​ Monmouthshire ​ see Netherwent
112 Montfort
Malton, New (Yorks.) ​25 n.42 Amaury de ​xlii, 203 line 74, 204 line
Malton, Old (Yorks.) ​25 n.42 34
priory ​25 Eleanor de (d.1275), countess of
Mandeville, William de ​1 Leicester ​ see Eleanor, princess
Maniword Eleanor de (d.1282) ​203 lines 60–4, 76
Agnes ​69 Guy de ​xlii, 1, 203 line 73
Reynold ​69 Henry de ​174 n.235
Mare death ​1, xxxi, xxxiii, 186, 203 lines
Henry de la ​117 n.162 56–7, 204 lines 19, 43, 205 line
Joan de la ​see Neville, Joan de 23, 206 lines 76–7, 207 lines
Margaret, m. King Alexander III of 22–42, 213, 214, 221
Scotland ​202 burial ​xxxi, xxxvi, 186
Margary miracles and sainthood ​xxxiii, 186,
Richard ​127 n.181 203 lines 58–9
William, the elder ​127 Piers de (d.1265) ​1, 113 n.159, 159
William, the younger, or William the n.218
chaplain, or William Chaplain ​ Piers de (d.c.1287) ​113 n.159, 159
127 n.218
Marlborough, William of, abbot-elect of Richard de ​xlii, 203 line 75
Evesham ​xxxvi Simon de (d.1265), earl of Leicester
Marsh, Adam ​146 n.208 badly treated by Henry III ​206 line
Marshal, Roger ​181 102
Marston, Butlers (Warws.) ​193 and the common people ​203 line
Mary (from Chipping Norton) ​36 30, 217 lines 12, 15, 218 line 18
Maud and the poor ​84, 203 line 23
from Radstone ​57 likened to Becket ​xxvii, 204 line 13,
wife of William son of Hugh ​70 205 line 12, 207 lines 83–90,
Maule 218 lines 5–21
Christian de ​see Valognes, Christian de considered old ​23, 117, 197, 206
Piers de ​49 n.78 line 110
William de ​49?, 95 hair shirt ​xxix, xxxi, 204 line 27,
Mauncelle (Maunsel) 205 line 17, 207 lines 115–20
Margaret ​169 armour ​131, 207 line 109
Margaret (the same?) ​169 n.229 burial ​xvii, xxxvi, 15, 29 n.51, 52,
William ​169 125, 132, 136, 186 n.248, 191,
William (the same?) ​169 n.229 192, 195, 196

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Montfort, Simon de (d.1265) (cont.) Northamptonshire ​xxiv, 106, 147; see also

Opusculum de nobili Simone ​xli Astwell; Brackley; Chelveston;
Vita ​74 n.103 Dogsthorpe; Falcutt; Glendon;
Simon de (d.1271) ​xlii, 1, 160 n.220, Northampton; Peterborough;
203 line 73, 204 line 33, 206 n.12, Radstone; Sulgrave; Syresham;
207 n.31 Weston Favell; Whistley park;
family heraldry ​205 line 35? Whitfield
Mordiford (Herefs.) ​15 n.29 ‘Northburgh’
Mortimer, Maud ​see Briouze, Maud de Gillian of ​see Grimbald, Gillian
Morton, Castle (Worcs.) ​20 William of ​51 n.80
Moulton, Thomas of ​26 n.45 Northumberland ​xxiv, 151; see also
Moyne, Berengar le ​206 lines 136–41 Alnwick abbey; Fawdon; Harlow;
Munchensi, William de ​1, 32 n.57, 132 Heddon; Newcastle upon Tyne;
n.188 Newminster abbey
Murray, Gilbert ​xlvi Northumberland, ‘Cutting’ of ​77
Muscegros, John de ​20 n.36 Northumbria, king of ​see Oswald, St
Myton Northumbria, earl of ​see Waltheof
Henry of ​11 Norton, Chipping (Oxon.) ​36
William of ​11 Norwich cathedral priory (Norf.) ​xlvii
Noveray
Neirun (Neyrnut) Alexander, prior of Leicester
Richard ​99 Dominicans ​180
Richer (the same?) ​99 n.135 Robert ​180
Netherwent (Mon.) ​161
Neville Obthorpe, Hugh of ​xlv
Hawis de ​see Courtenay, Hawis de ‘Odebury’ ​135
Hugh de ​1, 117 n.161 ‘Odebury’, Richard of ​135
Joan de, m. (1) Henry de la Mare, Offenham (Worcs.) ​127
(2) Walter de la Hyde ​117, 179 Olive (from Leominster) ​13
John de (d.1246) ​xliv, 117 nn.162, 163 Olney, Robert of, prior of St Frideswide’s,
John de (d.1282) ​117 n.161 Oxford ​122
Newbold on Stour, in Tredington (Worcs.) ​ ‘oogredeford’ ​15
16 n.11 Oswald, St, king of Northumbria ​207
Newbury (Berks.) ​152 lines 91–3
Newcastle upon Tyne (Northumb.) ​199; Over Winchendon (Bucks.) ​171
see also Fawdon Oxford (Oxon.) ​23, 101, 122
Newmarket, Adam of ​1 Franciscan friary ​146
Newminster abbey (Northumb.) ​77 St Frideswide’s priory ​122
Neyrnut ​ see Neirun Oxford, earl of ​see Vere, Robert de
Nicholas Oxfordshire ​xxiv; see also Berrick
steward of Thomas Cantilupe ​22 Prior; Bruern abbey; Holcombe;
priest (the same?) ​22 n.38 ‘Lydeham’, Norton, Chipping;
Norfolk ​ see Filby; Norwich cathedral Oxford
priory; St Benet of Holme abbey;
Thurne Palmer
Northampton (Northants.) ​35 n.60, 120, Lettice ​101
153 Simon ​101 n.140
Dominican friary ​56 Pattishall, Simon of ​189

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Pecche Ralph the clerk (from ‘Sepham Burland’),

Gilbert ​182 n.246 or Ralph Clark ​8
Hugh ​182 n.246 Ramsey (Hunts.) ​206 lines 136–7
Philip ​182 abbey ​xliii, 206 nn.13, 22, 25
Robert ​182 n.246 Reims, Jean de ​50
Pembroke, earl of ​see Valence, William de Reviers, Isabel de, countess of Devon, m.
Pepre William de Fors, count of Aumale ​
Richard ​100 57 n.87, 160
Robert ​100 Reynold
Pershore abbey (Worcs.) ​130 from ‘Besseforde’ ​96
Perthshire ​ see Kinclaven castle from Gainsborough ​162
Peterborough (Northants.) Ribble and Mersey, land between (Lancs.) ​
abbey ​xxxviii, xliv, 74 119
see also Dogsthorpe Richard, earl of Cornwall and king of the
Peverel Romans ​206 line 23
Hugh ​88 Richard
Joan ​88 from Berrick Prior ​97
Margery ​88 vicar of Wingham ​156
‘Peytun’, Roger of ​138 Richard the badger (from Evesham), or
Richard Badger ​xviii, 3
Philip (from Bretforton) ​53
Richard the hermit (from Warrington) or
Philip the chaplain (from Bronllys), or
Richard Armitt ​139
Philip Chaplain ​118
Rickling (Essex) ​83 n.119
Pickering, William of ​154, 155
Ridware, Adam of ​1
Pinley (Warws.), partly extra-parochial,
Rigon, Reynold ​122
partly in Rowington ​159
Ritson, Joseph ​xliii nn.8, 9
priory ​159 n.218
Robert
Pipton (Brec.) ​118 n.164
canon of Malton ​25
Pomeroy chaplain of Ab Lench ​136 n.195
Henry de la (d.1281) ​65, 165 St (unspecified) ​129
Henry de la (d.1305) ​165 St, abbot of Newminster ​77 n.111
‘Pytyltone’ ​75 squire of Alexander Luttrell ​61
Robert the chaplain, vicar of Evesham, or
Quincy Robert Chaplain ​140, 141
Ela de, m. Alan la Zouche ​7 n.19 Robert the deacon, or Robert Deacon ​115
Elizabeth (or Isabel) de, m. Alexander Roger, dean of Warrington ​139
Comyn, earl of Buchan ​7 n.19 Roger the chaplain, vicar of West Hythe, or
Hawis de, m. Baldwin Wake ​33 n.58 Roger Chaplain ​24
Joan de, m. Humphrey de Bohun Roger the fuller (from Droitwich), or Roger
(d.1265) ​33 n.58 Fuller ​94
Margaret de, m. William de Ferrers, earl Romans, king of the ​see Richard, earl of
of Derby ​7 n.19 Cornwall
Robert de ​33 n.58 ‘Romesey’, Cecily of ​125
Roger de, earl of Winchester ​7 n.19 Romsey (Hants.) ​125 n.178
Ros
Radstone (Northants.) ​57, 58, 59 n.88 Alexander de ​61
Ralph Robert de ​61 n.91
from Woodchurch ​39 William de ​61
son of Gilbert (from Derby) ​67 Rowington (Warws.) ​159; see also Pinley

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Roxburghshire ​ see Melrose abbey Studley

Rutland ​ see Ketton; Teigh Henry of ​10
Rye (Suss.) ​38; see also Cinque Ports Isabel of ​10
confederaton Studley priory (Bucks.) ​82
Rye, William of ​147, 153 Sturmy
Custance ​197
St Benet of Holme abbey (Norf.) ​78 Nicholas ​197
St Leofard, Gilbert de, bishop of Chichester ​ Robert ​197
186 Suffolk ​ see Bury St Edmunds abbey
St Mary Cray Suffolk, Alexander of ​181
John of ​188 Sulgrave (Northants.) ​34, 100
Philip of ​188 Sulgrave, Hugh of, abbot of Ramsey ​xlii
St Philibert, Hugh de ​30 n.53 Surrey, earl of ​see Warenne, John de
Saint-Pol, count of ​see Châtillon, Guy de Sussex ​xxiv; see also Broadwater; Lewes;
Saltmarsh, Piers ​3 Rye; Tortington
Sambourne (Warws.) ​10 Sutton
Samlesbury, Aline of ​42 Agnes of ​178
Sapcote (Leics.) ​102, 103, 104, 105 Dowse of ​178
‘Sarle’ (‘Farle’?), William of ​23 Robert of, abbot of Peterborough ​74
Saxi, William ​54 n.103
Syresham (Northants.) ​59 n.88; see also
Say, Geoffrey de ​83
Whistley park
Scotland ​142, 207 n.18; see also Kinclaven
Syward, Walter ​118
castle; Melrose abbey; Tay, river
Scotland, queen of ​see Margaret
Tadcaster (Yorks.) ​194
Scott, Walter ​xxxviii, xlii
Tavistock abbey (Devon) ​xlv–xlvi
Scrayingham
Tay, river (Scotland) ​201, 202
Margaret (or Margery) of ​89
Taylor, John ​56
Nicholas of ​89
Teigh (Rut.) ​8 n.21
Seagrave, Nicholas of ​1
Tewkesbury (Glos.) ​6
Secher, Simon ​38 abbey ​40 n.68
‘Sellinge’ (Kent) ​91 Thanet (Kent) ​5, 39
‘Sepham Burland’ ​8 Tholus ​ see Tolas
Sheering (Essex) ​49 Thomas
‘Shendeworth’ (Herts.) ​144 friar (from Leicester?) ​180
Sherlonde, Maud ​148 son of Jordan (from Boston) ​26
Shrewsbury (Salop.) ​79 Thurne (Norf.) ​78
Shropshire ​ see Bridgnorth; Ludlow; Todenham (Glos.) ​173 n.234
Shrewsbury Tolas (Tholus)
Smyth, Robert ​xl Godfrey ​133 n.191
Snitterfield (Warws.) ​11 Rose ​133
Somerset ​ see Wells Tortington (Suss.) ​117, 179
Song of Lewes ​xxx, 61 n.9, 80 n.2 Tortworth (Glos.) ​169 n.229
Staffordshire ​ see Burton upon Trent; Tovey, Michael ​181
Darlaston; Drayton Bassett Tredington (Worcs.) ​16; see also Newbold
Stichill, Robert of, bishop of Durham ​ on Stour
xlvii Trent, river ​196
Stratford, Robert of ​122 Troye, Hugh de ​1
Stratford upon Avon (Warws.) ​xviii, 3, 25 Troyes, Guillaume de ​50

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Trussel, Richard ​1 Washbourne family ​137 n.197

‘Tuddenham’ ​173 Wauncy, Robert de ​59 n.88
Wellesbourne Mountford (Warws.) ​113
Ufton Nervet (Berks.) ​99 n.135 n.159
Umfraville, Gilbert de ​151 n.211 Wells (unspecified) ​150
Wells (Som.) ​150 n.210
Valence, William de, or William de ‘Weredech’, Alice of ​46
Lusignan, earl of Pembroke ​xxiv, West Hythe (Kent) ​24
76 n.106, 162 n.221 Weston Favell (Northants.) ​180
Valognes Whaddon (Cambs.) ​71
Christian de, m. Piers de Maule ​49 Whistley park, in Syresham (Northants.) ​
William de ​49 n.78 59 n.88
Verdun, Henry de ​46 n.73 Whistones (Worcs.) ​48 n.76
Vere, Robert de, earl of Oxford ​1 Whitchurch, William of, abbot of Evesham ​
Vescy 13, 140
Agnes de ​see Ferrers, Agnes de Whitfield (Northants.) ​59 n.88
John de ​1, 25 n.42, 199 Wich
John of ​87
Wake St Richard of, bishop of Chichester ​87
Baldwin ​1, 33 n.58 n.123
Hawis ​ see Quincy, Hawis de William
Walding, Thomas ​173 from ‘Braddewell’ ​121
Walerand, Robert ​206 line 201 from Milton ​32
Wales ​xxiv, 1; see also Bronllys; from Weston Favell ​180
Netherwent; Pipton brother of David (from ‘Cordebreg(g)e’) ​
marches of ​xxxi, 198, 207 line 11 81
Wales, prince of ​see Llywelyn ap rector of Warrington ​72, 73
Gruffudd son of Hugh ​70
Walter (from ‘Lydeham’) ​158 son of William (from Weston Favell) ​180
Waltham Holy Cross abbey (Essex) ​84, 85 William the chaplain (from Offenham),
Waltheof, earl of Northumbria ​xxi or William Chaplain, or William
Ware, John de la ​46 Margary the younger ​127
Warenne, John de, earl of Surrey ​76 n.106 William the clerk (from ‘Wistan’), or
Warrington (Lancs.) ​41, 42, 43, 44, 45, William Clark ​48
47, 139 Wiltshire ​ see Badbury; Fittleton
dean of ​119, 139 Winchcombe abbey (Glos.) ​23
rector of ​72, 73 Winchendon, Over (Bucks.) ​171
Warwick, earl of ​see Beauchamp, William Winchester, earl of ​see Quincy, Roger de
(d.1298) Wingham (Kent) ​156; see also Dene
Warwickshire ​xviii; see also Bedworth; Wirral
Bidford on Avon; Chadley; Coventry; Gilbert of ​47
Drayton Bassett; Dunchurch; Robert of ​47
Dunnington; Grendon; Hillborough; ‘Wistan’ ​48
Kenilworth; Marston, Butlers; Woodchurch (Kent) ​39; see also Cinque
Pinley; Rowington; Sambourne; Ports confederation
Snitterfield; Stratford upon Avon; Worcester (Worcs.) ​xxiv, 1, 206 line 60
Wellesbourne Mountford Worcester, bishop of ​see Cantilupe,
Washbourne, Great (Glos.) ​40 n.68 Walter
Washbourne, Little (Worcs.) ​40 n.68 Worcester, William ​xlv–xlvi

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 Index of Persons and Places

Worcestershire ​xxxiv; see also Bell, Wykewone, John, abbot of Evesham ​

Brians; Bengeworth; Besford; xxxviii
Bretforton; Droitwich; Elmley
Castle; Evesham; Evesham abbey; Yanworth, John of, abbot of Winchcombe ​
Feckenham; Feckenham forest; 23
Hanbury; Hunt End; Hurst Farm; Yorkshire ​see Helmsley; Knaresborough;
Inkberrow; Kempsey; Lench, Ab; Malton, New; Malton, Old;
Morton, Castle; Newbold on Tadcaster
Stour; Offenham; Pershore abbey; Yve
Tredington; Washbourne, Little; Robert ​91
Whistones; Worcester Thomas ​91
Wormshill (Kent) ​112 n.158
Wulfsige, St (of Evesham), tomb of ​xx, Zouche
xxxi, xxxvi, 29 Alan la ​59 n.88, 64 n.95
Wycombe, Richard of ​183 Zouche, Ela la ​see Quincy, Ela de

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