king's chaplains and the barons of the king's exchequer, and the justiciaries of the king's bench, and threw them into prison. And so this year passed, torn to pieces by intestine hostilities and civil discord, to such a degree, that no one knew whom he could trust, or to whom he could commit the secrets of his mind. And so it tenninated miserably to both parties. CH. XIX.—FROM A.D. 1264 το A.D. 1265. The barone are defeated at Northampton—The battle of Lewes—The king of Germany and prince Edward are given as hostages for peace—The battle of Evesham—A recapitulation of the events of the civil war. About the taking of the barons at Northampton. A.D. 1264. About the middle of Lent, a conference was held at Oxford, at which the king of England and the nobles of the kingdom were present, and also Richard, king of the Romans, his brother ; and then the king marched with an admirable army, with colours flying, against Northampton, where there was no inconsiderable body of the barons all collected together. And the king vigorously assailing them, shut up in that town as they were, at last battered down the walls and his army entered, and all of a sudden, as it were, took them all prisoners ;—barons with standards about fifteen in number, and sixty knights, and of men-at-arms a multitude too great to be counted. And the chiefs of them were Peter de Montfort the younger, who took refuge in the castle, but surrendered the next day. There was also among them Simon de Montfort the younger, the son of the earl, who fought with all his might, resisting the entrance of the king's party into the town, in consequence of which conduct he gained everlasting renown. This event took place on the first day of the week of the Passion of our Lord ; and all the prisoners were led away to the army, and their lands were transferred to the possessions of others. But the king proceeded to Leicester, and was entertained in that town, which no other king before him had ever ventured to enter, on account of the warnings which some superstitious persons uttered on the subject. After that, he marched to Nottingham, and entered the castle without meeting with any resistance. For those who were in it $f the