Second Barons' War

In this episode, we examine the Second Barons’ War, a major thirteenth-century rebellion driven by mounting tensions between King Henry III and a coalition of rebellious nobles led by Simon de Montfort. The episode traces how demands to curb royal authority produced experiments in representative government, including de Montfort’s Parliament, while also confronting the violence and antisemitic massacres that accompanied the conflict. We follow the rebels’ early success in capturing the king, Prince Edward’s escape and military comeback, and the decisive Battle of Evesham, where de Montfort was killed. Finally, we explore how the war ended with restored royal power, a political compromise, and the continued influence of the Magna Carta on English governance.