The Song of Simon de Montfort: England's First Revolutionary - Softcover

Ambler, Sophie Thérèse

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1509837639 ISBN 13: 9781509837632

Publisher: Picador, 2020

Synopsis

'Alive with human detail and acute political judgement, this book marks the arrival of a formidably gifted historian.' – Dan Jones, author of The Plantagenets and The Templars

It was around half-past eight in the morning, with summer rainclouds weighing heavy in the sky, that Simon de Montfort decided to die. It was 4 August 1265 and he was about to face the royal army in the final battle of a quarrel that had raged between them for years. Outnumbered, outmanoeuvred and certain to lose, Simon chose to fight, knowing that he could not possibly win the day.

The Song of Simon de Montfort is the story of this extraordinary man: heir to a great warrior, devoted husband and father, fearless crusader knight and charismatic leader. It is the story of a man whose passion for good governance was so fierce that, in 1258, frustrated by the King’s refusal to take the advice of his nobles and the increasing injustice meted out to his subjects, he marched on Henry III’s hall at Westminster and seized the reins of power.

Montfort established a council to rule in the King’s name, overturning the social order in a way that would not be seen again until the rule of Oliver Cromwell in the seventeenth century. Having defeated the King at the Battle of Lewes in 1264, Montfort and his revolutionary council ruled England for some fifteen months, until the enmity between the two sides exploded on that August day in 1265. When the fighting was over, Montfort and a host of his followers had been cut down on the battlefield, in an outpouring of noble blood that marked the end of chivalry in England as it had existed since the Norman Conquest.

Drawing on an abundance of sources that allow us to trace Montfort’s actions and personality in a depth not possible for earlier periods in medieval history, Sophie Thérèse Ambler tells his story with a clarity that reveals all of the excitement, chaos and human tragedy of England’s first revolution.

About this title

About the Author

Dr Sophie Thérèse Ambler is a historian of medieval Europe and the Crusades. She is a Lecturer in Medieval History at Lancaster University and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She has appeared on radio and TV for BBC and Channel 4, and written for BBC History Magazine and The Historian. She divides her time between Lancaster and London.

From the Back Cover

Heir to a great warrior, devoted husband and father, fearless crusader knight and charismatic leader, a man whose passion for good governance was so fierce that he seized the reins of power from a king whose rule he believed to be unjust.

This extraordinary man was Simon de Monfort, whose rebellion against Henry III ended in August 1265 on the field of battle. In The Song of Simon de Montfort, Sophie Thérèse Ambler tells his story with vivid clarity, revealing all of the excitement, chaos and human tragedy of England’s first revolution.

‘One of the finest medieval biographies of recent years’ Gareth Russell, The Times

‘This is an astonishingly assured debut by an extremely talented young historian’ Saul David, Daily Telegraph

‘It’s rare to find a story and a storyteller so well matched’ Noel Malcolm, Sunday Times

Edition details

• Publisher: Picador
• Publication date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1509837639
• ISBN 13: 9781509837632
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368