On November 22nd, 1263, Pope Urban IV, who had issued bulls both in favour and against the Provisions, now came out firmly on Henry’s side by appointing a legate and singling Simon out as the ‘chief disturber of the realm’. Henry had already taken matters into his own hands when, in true fashion, he marked the November 1st truce by attempting to seize Dover. His plan was to secure it for the arrival of foreign mercenaries, but the castellan told him to get lost. The Provisions were a higher authority than the king, he told him. The rebuff worked to Henry’s advantage when London royalists informed him that Montfort was encamped in Southwark and they had barred the gates to the city. Quickly heading north, Henry and Edward hoped to capture the Montfortians in one fell swoop. Simon preferred to fight it out than surrender to ‘perjurers and apostates’. Who knows, maybe he declared his defiance on the ground sitting underneath the future Globe Theatres. In the end the people of London rose up and broke open the gates, leaving Henry no choice but to observe the truce.
