History | Battle of Evesham

On August 4, 1265, at the Battle of Evesham, English prince Edward defeated Simon de Montfort the younger. An excerpt from the article:

"The Battle

Early on the morning of 4th August de Montfort awoke to learn that troops under Prince Edward’s standard – the familiar three lions of the royal arms – were positioned on Greenhill. He took his leave of Walter de Cantilupe, Bishop of Worcester, embracing him and receiving his blessing. Simon addressed his knights, offering any who wished the opportunity of absenting themselves from the impending conflict.

As he rode out of Evesham up the bare slope of Greenhill, his standard – a lone lion with divided tail – proudly displayed, the task confronting Simon de Montfort must have seemed formidable indeed. The terrain clearly favoured Edward and the royalists were heavily advantaged, hugely outnumbering de Montfort’s men three to one.

De Montfort attacked without delay, leading his men into what was to be a massacre, as Edward’s vengeance was terrible and fierce. De Montfort's knights tried to force their way through the centre. Attempts to break out, first through one wing, then the other, proved unsuccessful, being defeated with heavy casualties.

The Battle's End

Edward had selected twelve of his strongest and most able men-at-arms to seek out and kill Simon de Montfort once the battle was under way. He was surrounded and unhorsed, yet continued to fight bravely on foot. Swords clashed as a storm brewed overhead. As thunder roared, de Montfort was encircled. Several beat him to the ground and struck with their steel. Finally, Roger de Mortimer swung the final and fatal blow. His body was cruelly dismembered.

Many of de Montfort's leading supporters also died. Bodies and the wounded lay everywhere and blood ran through the Abbey Church.The last of Simon de Montfort's knights were eventually overcome close by the spring which became known as Battle Well.

The Abbey and town were pillaged. Robert of Gloucester described it as “a murder of Evesham for battle it was none”. De Montfort's remains, and the bodies of his son Henry and that of Hugh le Despenser, were carried away by the monks and buried near the High Altar of the Abbey.

A feature of the battle, one of the bloodiest battles ever to be fought in England, was that the royalists took few hostages, contrary to the usual practice of ransoming important figures. The losses suffered by Edward’s troops were relatively light.

After the battle, King Henry was found unharmed and set free, and the royal authority restored. For the time being the experiment of limiting the royal power was over and Prince Edward’s influence was dominant even before he became king in 1272."