Over five years, Henry and Edward manoeuvred against de Montfort for power until finally, words ran out. For this was no three-month paper revolution, like the original signing of the Magna Carta. The issue could now only be settled on the field of battle. For the first time since the Norman Conquest, the political fate of England was completely fluid, its eventual outcome uncertain. In 1264, de Montfort won the first round at the Battle of Lewes on the ****** Downs. King Henry and Edward were both taken prisoner. The year which followed, with de Montfort in charge, was the closest England came to a republic until the days of Oliver Cromwell. And in Parliament, not just aristocrats and bishops, but ordinary knights of the shire and even burgesses from the towns presumed to discuss the fate of their superiors - a Prince and a King.


在五年的时间里，亨利和爱德华对德·蒙德福特机关算尽，企图谋得权力。直到最后，意图昭然天下，这已不再是签订《大宪章》时的那种。历时三个月的纸上革命，这是一个非武力不可解决的问题。自诺曼征服以来，英格兰的政治命运第一次变得如此动荡不堪，没人能预测结果将何去何从。1264年，在苏塞克斯丘陵的刘易斯战役中。德·蒙德福特首战告捷，亨利王和爱德华同时沦为战俘。在接下来的一年里，德·蒙德福特统帅全局。英格兰距离共和制一步之遥，未能施行，真正的共和国是后世的奥利弗·克伦威尔建立的。在议会中，不只是贵族和主教，就连平凡的的郡级爵士，甚至是普通镇民，都敢于讨论他们的统治者，国王和王子的命运。