Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester

Simon V of Montfort, lord of Montfort-l'Amaury, 5th earl of Leicester (c. 1175 – 25 June 1218), also known as Simon de Montfort the elder, was a French warlord who took part in the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) and was a prominent leader of the Albigensian Crusade. He died at the siege of Toulouse in 1218.

He was the son of Simon IV de Montfort (d. 1188), lord of Montfort l'Amaury in France near Paris, and Amicia de Beaumont, daughter of Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester—the Montfort line itself descends from the House of Reginar. He succeeded his father as lord of Montfort in 1181; in 1190 he married Alix de Montmorency, the daughter of Bouchard III de Montmorency. She shared his religious zeal and would accompany him on his campaigns.

In 1199, while taking part in a tournament at Ecry-sur-Aisne, he took the cross in the company of Count Thibaud de Champagne. The crusade soon fell under Venetian control, and was diverted to Zara on the Adriatic Sea. Pope Innocent III had specifically warned the Crusaders not to attack fellow Christians; Simon opposed the attack and urged a waiting Zara delegation to not surrender, claiming the Frankish troops would not support the Venetians in this. As a result, the delegation returned to Zara and the city resisted. Since most Frankish lords were in debt to the Venetians, they did support the attack and the city was sacked in 1202. Simon did not participate in this action and was one of its most outspoken critics. He and his associates, including Abbot Guy of Vaux-de-Cernay, left the crusade when the decision was taken to divert once more to Constantinople to place Alexius IV Angelus on the throne. Instead, Simon and his followers travelled to the court of King Emeric of Hungary and thence to Acre.

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