This week in Medieval Scottish History – 14 May 1264

The English royal army led by Henry III was routed at Lewes by forces led by Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester, resulting in the capture of several Anglo-Scottish barons, including John (I) Balliol, Robert Bruce and John Comyn. This was the first major battle of the Barons’ War and King Henry’s defeat resulted in the conclusion of the Mise of Lewes, a truce by which Henry would accept the Provisions of Oxford, put forth by opposing barons in 1259 to control the king’s actions. The chronicler John of Fordun claims that John Comyn and others of Scotland had ‘come to King Henry’s rescue’ at the request of King Alexander III, suggesting that Henry had the support of the Scots and their king in his baronial conflict.