The Barons’ Wars: Battle of Lewes

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Simon’s left wing, commanded by de Hastings, was confronted by the royalist right, led by Prince Edward. Only a thin line of armored knights stood between Edward and his paladins and Sir Henry’s green London infantrymen. Outnumbered, the baronial horse soon began falling back, leaving the line of foot to absorb Edward’s next charge.Foot soldiers, including archers, wore a padded doublet called a gambeson that helped soften the impact of a club or mace. The primary infantry weapon was the spear, but some of Simon’s London contingent may have picked up pitchforks, scythes or other farm implements during the march.

Even experienced infantrymen would have been hard-pressed to hold their own under the conditions that de Hastings’ men faced at Lewes. Sir Henry’s raw London troops had no chance at all. They broke ranks and fled. Some headed toward the west, hoping to hide in the woods, while others tried to escape across the Ouse River to the east.Edward, sensing an easy victory, gave chase. Besides tactical reasons for launching a pursuit, he had a personal grudge against Londoners because of the way they had treated his mother the year before — as her barge had passed under London Bridge, crowds threw stones and rotten fruit at her. Now the prince was determined to have his revenge. For about four miles, he and his horsemen pursued the Londoners and cut down a large number of them. About 60 men also drowned in the Ouse.

In the course of that pursuit, Edward’s cavalry came upon Earl Simon’s baggage train, as well as his personal cart. Expecting to find the earl, the royalists were disappointed to find only three prisoners. Without bothering to inquire their identity or which side they were on, the horsemen killed the captives — apparently, having cut down so many men already, three more did not seem to matter.

Edward’s men took their time looting Earl Simon’s baggage after killing most of the men who had been left to defend it. By the time he gathered his scattered horsemen and led them back to the battlefield at Lewes, it was early afternoon. Edward was confident that the royal force had routed the barons. Instead, he discovered that Simon had won full possession of the field, that his father was being held prisoner in St. Pancras priory and that the royal forces were in full retreat.

During Edward’s wild pursuit of the London contingent, the battle had been lost — as a direct result, in fact, of his ill-judged chase. When he saw the prince’s right wing, one-third of the royalist forces, go charging off into the distance and out of the battle, Simon had brought up his reserves and attacked the royalist center and left battles en masse. The earl probably did not lead the attack himself, but he took part in the wild melee of individual combats that ensued.

King Henry, though not as renowned as his son for battlefield exploits, reportedly fought honorably and well at Lewes. His gaudy red-and-gold banner made it easy for everyone on both sides to recognize him on the field, and he had two chargers killed from under him as he managed to fight off a determined attack by Gilbert, Earl of Gloucester. He soon realized, however, that he was fighting a losing battle. Outnumbered, the king and his household knights retreated to St. Pancras priory. Only the steadfastness of his life guards saved him from death. One of his knights, Philip Basset, left the field with 20 wounds.

The commander of the royalist left, Richard of Cornwall, also acquitted himself well, but he did not have the king’s household cavalry to support him. Ultimately his outnumbered force also broke and ran toward the Ouse. Cornwall himself sought shelter in a mill, which came to be known as the Mill of the Hide.

The mill was quickly surrounded by an armed mob that gathered outside waving weapons, calling Cornwall obscene names and demanding that he surrender to them. Realizing that he had no choice but to comply, Cornwall emerged from his hiding place and was marched through Lewes by his captors. The mob relished every bit of the irony in seeing the king’s brother, who had grandly insisted on calling himself the King of Rome, covered in the dust and dirt of the mill from which he had been flushed.Prince Edward and his lieutenants managed to size up the situation at once. He was all for reviving the battle and attacking Simon de Montfort personally, convinced that if he killed the earl, the baronial cause would die with him. His men, however, wanted no part of that plan. They were now heavily outnumbered and stood little chance of finding Simon, let alone slaying him.

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Tags: Ancient-Medieval, Historical Conflicts

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