Simon de Montfort

Simon de Montfort , c.1160-1218, count of Montfort and earl of Leicester. A participant in the Fourth Crusade (1202-4), he did not join in the sack of Constantinople, but instead proceeded to Syria. He later led the crusade against the Albigenses . Capable, ambitious, and fanatically religious, he commanded the Crusaders who remained in S France after the taking (1209) of Carcassone and, with papal approval, was elected viscount of Béziers and of Carcassone by the armies. In 1211 he attacked the remaining territories of Raymond VI of Toulouse and overran all but Toulouse and Montauban. Pope Innocent III attempted to make him recognize Peter II of Aragón as overlord, but in 1213 Simon defeated Peter and Raymond at Muret. He was proclaimed lord of Toulouse and Montauban by the Crusaders (1215), and his title was confirmed by the pope at the Lateran Council. Raymond recaptured (1217) some of his territories, and Simon renewed the warfare; he was killed while besieging Toulouse. Through his mother he claimed the English earldom of Leicester, to which his right was intermittently recognized by King John. His son was Simon de Montfort, the leader of the English barons.

Montfort III, Simon de (c.1170–1218). Simon is best known as the ruthless leader of the notorious Albigensian Crusade against the Cathar heretics of southern France. He first participated in the crusade in 1209, and this venture remained the centre-piece of his career thereafter. As with other participants, Simon's motives are often considered to have been entirely cynical, but it should be remembered that he had previously gone on the equally notorious Fourth Crusade in 1202, significantly withdrawing from the army and going to the Holy Land when it became apparent that the crusade was being diverted from its intended goal, something which suggests genuine piety and a conscience. His significance for English history lies in his claim to the earldom of Leicester through his mother. King John initially accepted the claim but in 1207 seized all his English estates, only committing them through the earl of Chester for Simon's use in 1215. His son, the more famous Simon IV, duly recovered them from Henry III.

S. D. Lloyd