Lewes and Evesham 1264-65 : Simon de Montfort and the Barons' War

Osprey Campaign #285

by Richard Brooks, Graham Turner (Illustrations)

At the crescendo of the Second Barons' War were the battles of Lewes and Evesham. It was an era of high drama and intrigue, as tensions between crown and aristocracy had boiled over and a civil war erupted that would shape the future of English government. In this detailed study, Richard Brooks unravels the remarkable events at the battles of Lewes and Evesham, revealing the unusually tactical nature of the fighting, in sharp contrast to most medieval conflicts which were habitually settled by burning and ravaging. At Lewes, Simon de Montfort, the powerful renegade leader of the Baronial faction, won a vital victory, smashing the Royalist forces and capturing Henry III and Prince Edward. Edward escaped, however, to lead the Royalist armies to a crushing victory just a year later at Evesham. Using full color illustrations, bird's eye views and detailed maps to generate an arresting visual perspective of the fighting, this book tells the full story of the battles of Lewes and Evesham, the only pitched battles to be fought by English armies in the mid-13th century.

Genres: Medieval, History, Nonfiction, Military History

96 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2015

About the author

Former tax-inspector Richard Brooks reports for Private Eye on a range of subjects and has contributed to the Guardian, the BBC, and many other media outlets. With David Craig he was co-author of the bestselling Plundering the Public Sector. In 2008 he was awarded the Paul Foot Award for Investigative Journalism. He lives in Reading.

Reviews

[Glyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and slightly revisionist take on a vital period in English history

Brooks does an excellent job of setting out the historical background and using the sources to create a credible and satisfying narrative for this decisive campaign that heralds the beginnings of Edward Longshanks long and successful military career.

This is one of the finest examples of the Osprey campaign series.

[Almantas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Opsrey Publishing Campaign publication.

[Matthew Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very strong osprey read about incidents with much medieval ambiguity and later myth-making, while the conclusions may not be right in some instances, the author's relating of various source's disagreements and the process of his own judgement makes his conclusions very compelling.

A smooth eye for those little details - de Montfort's banner-bearer snapping the pole on exiting an abbey, hostage King Henry III's desperate cries to not be killed by his own side and the wild cries of Welsh border-warriors keep the "story" flowing amidst the discussion of ground conditions and how far horses can go at a trot in a day.