Why have the barons rebelled against Henry III?
'By the common consent and for the good of our realm...'

My dear friend how are you? I’m so pleased you have returned after so long. You seem to have barely aged where as I… well you can see that I certainly am showing every one of these past 30 years. I have worked hard these many years on the Chronicle, but I fear my time is now done. Sadly, my final Chronicle chapter is once again recording turbulent times. Perhaps you can see this from the new map that I have drawn for you. It is designed to show how England is controlled. Look carefully – can you see the spine of castles and churches running up the middle of England? I have drawn the rivers to emphasise how important they are for travelling around and supplying these castles. King Henry wants to control the country through this network and he wants to own those castles himself or place loyal barons in them. But many barons want more freedom than the King wants to give them. After the high hopes of 1225 the relations between King Henry and the barons have once again turned sour. Led by the King’s brother-in-law, Simon de Montfort, the barons have rebelled again. Last year in 1258 they have forced the King to accept a whole new set of rules called The Provisions of Oxford. The King now has to rule with a council of 24 barons. But I fear that we face more trouble in years to come. As before I need your help to make sense of these events but I am not sure that the good Lord will give me sufficient strength to live to see their outcome. The task of completing this chronicle will now fall to you, my dear friend. Guard it well… and perhaps spare a kind word and a prayer for your old friend. Welcome master – allow me to introduce myself. I am Maurice, a monk here at St Albans. My former master Matthew Paris told me about how you had helped him with his chronicle on numerous occasions in the past. Alas, dear, kind Matthew has now passed away and rests in Heaven. I was his apprentice just before he died and now it is my job to continue the chronicle of these troubled times. In the years which followed the turmoil has grown worse. King Henry III is held in prison! The baron Simon de Montfort effectively rules in his place with a council of barons. But many in England are unhappy about this situation. De Montfort has forced the king to agree to an Inspeximus, which means Henry has inspected or re-read Magna Carta and still approves it. In addition De Montfort has issued this Inspeximus with another document, the Provisions of Westminster which removes many of the King’s powers and leaves him King in name only. It seems that De Montfort wants Parliament to agree that these Provisions are in the same tradition as Magna Carta – hence the Inspeximus. Young master we have a tangled web of events to understand and I would value your help in this. For example, has the King acted unreasonably? Is De Montfort a man of principle or a schemer? How have the events of our time affected the less important people of the land? Will the new institution of Parliament become important? Will this new council of barons restore stability? I have persuaded some of the key players to talk to you about these events and I have collected some more documents for you to study. My master Matthew kindly left his map of England for you to navigate the country in order to locate these documents and find these great persons. I would be grateful for your advice in helping me complete my chronicle.