Vere dici poterit vane laborastis.
Honor nobis maximus erit laus et digna,
Si respondet Anglia vestra gerens signa;
Quam ut cito liberet a peste maligna,
Adjuvet nunc Domini pietas benigna!
Translation.—Lament with weeping, O England, full as thou now art with matter of grief, in sadness thou beholdest sorrowful things, languishing in sorrow; unless Christ in his manner have regard to thee, thou wilt be but a vile song in the mouth of thine enemies.—Very many have pledged themselves to preserve thee in safety, but now they have too much neglected their promise: for many desert, who have it in their power to help; and some slink away over the sea.—Hence the rest begin to quarrel, and to go over to different sides; while things which disagree in this manner will not be reconciled, and what has been begun is left unfinished.—Thus the state is ruined, and the land is laid waste; the stranger is strengthened and raised up; the native is debased and trodden under foot: while he sustains injuries, there is no one who will speak out.—The knight as well as the clergy are both become mute; the strangers are become talkative and cunning: among a hundred Englishmen there are not two who are safe; the lot which they have obtained is lamentation and disgrace.—O Earl of Gloucester, complete what thou hast commenced; unless thou endest as thou hast begun, thou hast deceived many. Act now courageously as thou hast promised, cherish steadily the cause of which thou wast the fountain.—If, from which God preserve us! thou withdrawest thy hand and support, acting treacherously towards the land, and inflicting a great injury upon it.... May he be cursed for ever! be it so! be it so! amen.—Earl Simon de Montfort, a strong man and a bold, fight now for thy country, and be the leader of the band; neither let threats scare thee, nor the fear of death; defend the state and thy own fortune.—O thou, Earl Bigot, keep unbroken thine agreement: as thou art a brave knight, now use thy hand; a small troop of dogs puts in commotion the whole land: may such a cursed race depart or perish!—O you, great nobles, who bound yourselves to observe firmly the oath which you took; if what you imagined be profitable to the land, let that which you have ordained aid it immediately.—If you will carry to an end that which you have begun, you may obtain that which you desired; unless the thing which you have long had in hand be perfected, it may be truly said that you have laboured in vain.—It will be the highest honour to you and a worthy praise, if England answer by carrying your standards; which that he may soon deliver from the malignant plague, may the benignant piety of the Lord now help it!
The triumph of the barons did not last long. In the battle of Evesham, fought on the fourth of August in the year after that of Lewes, their great leader fell, with the best of his followers. The fate of Simon de Montfort was a subject of general lamentation; and long afterwards he was revered as a saint and martyr, and was even believed to work miracles. In MS. Cotton. Vespas. A. VI. will be found a collection of these miracles, and a form of prayers to be said in his honour, among which is the following hymn (fol. 189, ro).
Salve, Symon Montis-Fortis,
Totius flos militiæ,