Henry III: The Son of Magna Carta

I did enjoy the book, however I was hoping for a biography of Henry III and his reign. This seemed to not focus so much on Henry but on other contemporary notables and events. Until chapter 7, which is 100 pages in (nearly half way through the book) Henry is still in his minority and we read about events and other Lords, Popes and Kings.Having said this, the book is engaging and well written so I'd be very harsh to give it less than 4 stars.

In respect of Henry III ( who reigned from 1217- 1272 ) , Darren Baker's hefty 'King Henry III-The Great King England Never Knew It Had', published a year later in 2017, could well be the defining work for some years to come.Yet Mr Lewis' 2016 biography is heartily recommended . It is readable, source material is used constructively. He is critical of how 19th and even 20th century historians have praised Simon de Montfort , criticising their 'hindsight' approach, and arguing that de Montfort lost support from the barons fairly quickly in his a year or so as the de facto ruler of England between the battles of Lewes and Evesham. Therefore his drive for a wider based parliament was more pragmatic than idealistic.The writer acknowledges the achievements of Henry III as a master builder, and highlights his failures as as military commander. He even suggests that Henry III may have been autistic.Yet the crucial emphasis is on the use of the Magna Carta during this reign. During the minority of Henry III, in 1217 , William Marshal advised that Magna Carta was to be re-issued, and this course was followed. Instead of Magna Carta being an agreement that was forced upon King John for a few crucial weeks during 1215 by rebel barons. it was now being evoked by the Royalist side as it were. And Magna Carta was re-issued again in 1225, and again in 1237 by Henry III himself. There would be times when Henry III tried to back down from its terms. And of course- resentment and even civil war- still broke out : The Charter could not reconcile the interests of barons with royalty-particularly when the King was demanding money and service in overseas military campaigns. But Mr Lewis is adopting an interesting approach in dealing with the reign of Henry III which is welcome contribution to the study of 13th century England.

Matthew Lewis's biography of Henry III is euridite and gripping. It is throughly researched and importantly asscessible because of the clarity of the prose. Moreover, this biography is informative about a complicated long reign. As Lewis points out, Henry III could be perceived as boring. Not so. Lewis makes his reign fascinating. Henry was a boy king and Lewis take us through his minority explaining William Marshall's role and steadying influence on the country, the struggle Henry had meeting the monetary demands of Popes whose vassal he was as a result of his father's troubled reign, his deeply religious sense and fascination for great building works in Gothic European style especially French Cathedral building and his marriage to Eleanor of Provence to whom he was devoted. Unfortunately Popes saw England as a piggy bank and eventually their demands contributed to the Second Barons' War. As is pointed out in the biography, rebellions between 1100 and 1660 seemed to occur at fifty year intervals in some form. This book is analytical, never tedious, and the world Henry inhabited was peopled with fascinating personalities brought to life by this author- Simon de Montfort, Richard of Cornwall, Edward who becomes Edward I, Eleanor of Provence, beautiful, intelligent and political. His was a long, long reign and one in which chivalry mattered ( Henry was chivalrous himself if not the best military strategist ) , crusades, changes in style of government demanded by a section of the nobility, strengthening of castles, and other great building plans , wars on the borders with the Welsh. Lewis indicates a current reassessment of Simon de Montfort, revered in the past by scholars and romanticised, important and powerful but maybe not entirely responsible himself for Parliament's origins as we know Parliament. Other circumstances and personalities contributed. I found this biography and the age it describes excellent and highly recommend it, not least for the quotations rather than just footnotes that are delivered in an understandable and relevant manner throughout the chapters. It just made it more immediate. The references at the book's end are useful for any reader , like myself, who is interested in further investigations. Fabulous , scholarly and very readable.