英国民族8

But Henry III was also a Plantagenet, and Plantagenets dreamed dangerous dreams, expensive dreams of campaigns far abroad which no one in York or Canterbury could quite see the point of. When Plantagenets thought they might get unwelcome advice, they stopped listening until, that is, they were made to. In 1258, in the very hall that defined his majesty, Westminster, seven of the most powerful barons confronted the King. Fully armed, they paused only to leave their swords outside. They demanded that Henry meet them at a parliament in Oxford and stop trying to turn his European dreams into reality. The barons were led, in all but name, by the most improbable revolutionary in all of British history, Simon de Montfort. And here at Kenilworth, he presided over a little empire of culture.

但亨利三世也是金雀花家族的一员，金雀花家族历来野心勃勃，不惜代价地想扩张领土。而约克家族或坎特伯雷家族，始终无法明白他们这样做意义何在。金雀花王朝一旦遇到逆耳的建议，就拒绝听取，直到，非听不可的地步。1258年，就在亨利加冕的威斯敏斯特教堂里。七位位高权重的男爵挑战了国王的权威，他们全副武装，只有卸剑的时候稍事停顿。他们要求亨利前往牛津参与议会，并且放弃统一欧洲的梦想。实际上，男爵们的首领发动了不列颠史上最离奇的革命。他就是西蒙·德·蒙德福特，在凯尼尔沃思，他曾创办过一个小小的文化帝国。