Part 1 : King Henry III, the Provisions of Oxford and the Second Barons' War Flashcards
how did king henry III rule when king john died in 1216?
- with the help of advisers
king henry III - 1234
he started ruling on his own
what was king henry III’s relationship like with the pope?
- henry III was a very pious king which meant he had a close relationship with Pope Innocent IV in Rome
- the Pope tried to use Henry to fight wars in Sicily
- henry was meant to pay the pope money to fight these wars, and when he did not pay, the new pope, alexander IV threatened to excommunicate the king
who did the pope want to be the holy roman emperor?
- richard, henry’s brother, which was an important job
- the meant henry would feel pressured to help pay for the pope’s wars
what were king henry III’s problems?
- the Pope
- the french
- the barons
how was henry’s relationship with the barons?
- by 1254, henry’s relationship with the barons had deteriorated - they were angry about his various schemes
why were the barons unhappy with king henry III?
- they were angry that Henry’s French family were given jobs in the English court and Italian clergy were given top jobs in the Church
- Henry’s tax increases to pay the Pope made the barons angry as they were the ones to pay
what did henry have to do in order to get the lands lost in france back?
- henry had to raise money to fund war campaigns to get them back
- because his father had lost a lot of frnech lands
how did henry tackle the issue of the french land?
- he was unsuccessful at first but then he sent his brother-in-law, the powerful and aristocratic Simon de Montfort, who won land back in Gascony and controlled the area for Henry
- reports reached henry that simon de montfort had been too harsh with the french people so he sent his son, edward, to keep control
when were the provisions of oxford
1258
what was done due to the issues between the barons and the king?
- simon de montfort led the barons to call a great council meeting in 1258
- here, king henry had to agree to the provisions of oxford
what did the barons refuse to do?
- fund the planned payment to the pope over the wars in Sicily
what did the provisions of oxford give the barons?
- great power
- barons could now make decisions without the king’s approval, but the king could not make decisions without the approval of the council
what did the provisions of oxford do?
- reformed local government and gave more power to the less powerful and wealthy in society
why were the old and young barons angered by the provisions of oxford?
- older barons were angered as they felt the reforms were getting in the way of their local interests
- some younger barons were angered by the provisions as they weren’t elected to the council and so lost their influence
- the barons were divided
provisions of oxford: ‘a council of 15 barons would be in charge of the…
…Great Council’
how many men did the provisions of oxford state should be elected to be in charge of the great council?
- 12 appointed by the king and 12 appointed by the barons
provisions of oxford: ‘foreign members of the royal…
…household would be banished’
provisions of oxford: ‘castles would be held by…
…englishmen’
provisions of oxford: ‘each county would have..
…a sheriff and taxes would be decided locally’
whose support did henry gain after the provisions of oxford and why?
- the support of those barons who did not like de Montfort and the Provisions of Oxford
- henry wrote to the pope and asked for his permission to cancel the provisions
- pope agreed in 1261 and so henry appointed his own men to the great council
- henry was back in charge
how was henry’s rule after he was back in charge?
- he ruled as badly as he did before, and after three years the barons called upon simon de montfort
when did the pope agree to reverse the provisions of oxford?
- 1261
the second barons’ war
- at the battle of lewes in 1264, de montfort captured the king and imprisoned his son, the young price edward
- simon de montfort was now in charge and england was on its way to becoming a republic
