Mise of Amiens

Mise of Amiens

Settlement between King Henry III of England and oppositional magnates
Saint Louis's settlement between King Henry III of England and his barons, history painting by Georges Rouget, 1820
Type	Settlement
Signed	23 January 1264
Location	Amiens, Picardy, France
Effective	Immediately
Language	Latin

The Mise of Amiens [miz ɒv a.mjɛ̃] was a settlement given by King Louis IX of France on 23 January 1264 in the conflict between King Henry III of England and his rebellious barons, led by Simon de Montfort. Louis' one-sided decision for King Henry led directly to the hostilities of the Barons' War.

The conflict between king and magnates was caused by dissatisfaction with the influence of foreigners at court, and Henry's high level of taxation. In 1258 Henry was forced to accept the Provisions of Oxford, that essentially left royal government in the hands of a council of magnates, but this document went through a long series of revocations and reinstatements. In 1263, as the country was on the brink of civil war, the two parties agreed to submit the matter to arbitration by the French king. Louis was a firm believer in the royal prerogative, and decided clearly in favour of Henry.

The outcome was unacceptable for the rebellious barons, and war between the two parties broke out almost immediately after the announcement of the settlement. After a victory at the Battle of Lewes in May 1264, Montfort took over control of government, but the success was short-lived. Henry's oldest son Edward – the later King Edward I – started a military campaign that ended in the Battle of Evesham in August 1265, where Montfort was defeated and killed. Parts of the baronial resistance still held out, but by the end of 1266 the final garrison at Kenilworth Castle surrendered. The rebels were given pardons according to terms set out in the Dictum of Kenilworth.

By 1264, the reign of Henry III was deeply troubled by disputes between the king and his nobility. The conflict was caused by several factors. One source of discontent was the influence two groups of royal favourites enjoyed at court: the Savoyards, relatives of Queen Eleanor of Provence, and the king's half-brothers, known as Poitevins or Lusignans. The native nobility were offended by the great political influence held by these foreigners. Secondly, the king had in 1254 accepted Pope Innocent IV's offer of the crown of Sicily for his younger son Edmund. The offer involved repelling the current Hohenstaufen rulers of the island, and proved to be very expensive. Lastly, there was a personal dispute between King Henry and one of his subjects, Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester. Montfort, a foreigner himself, was initially on good terms with Henry, and had in 1238 married the king's sister Eleanor. The two fell out, however, and Montfort became the leader of the opposition, together with Richard de Clare, Earl of Gloucester. In 1258, Henry was forced to accept the so-called Provisions of Oxford, whereby he effectively surrendered control of royal government to a council of magnates. In 1259 the baronial program of reform was further elaborated upon in the Provisions of Westminster.