Events

Battlefields Trust Online Talk: The Battle of Northampton 1264

Wednesday 5th March 2025

The Battle of Northampton of 1264 is significant for two reasons. It’s the first battle of the First English Revolution (1258-67), in which the party of Simon de Montfort earl of Leicester seized control of government from King Henry III. And it’s the first English battle that we can reconstruct from the ground up, from the perspective of the low-status men who fought in it (as opposed to the knightly elite). Drawing from the archival evidence, this talk will reconstruct the stories of some Northampton combatants. The archival evidence also reveals the nature and experiences of urban combat in this period, and the challenge that faced the crown and local communities after the war in rooting out those who’d fought against the king.

Sophie is a Reader in Medieval History, Director of the Centre for War and Diplomacy (CWD), and a Research Fellow at The Ruskin. She works on the history of war in medieval Britain c.1100-1400, investigating the experiences of low-status combatants and war-torn populations, and shifting patterns of thought concerning personal responsibility in conflict. Here and through the CWD, She is interested in combining insights from other disciplines and historical periods. This builds on her previous research on the ethics and practice of war, politics, rebellion and revolution in medieval Britain. She holds a Philip Leverhulme Prize in History (2020) and in Michaelmas 2022 was a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford. She enjoys writing for and speaking to a broad public audience through TV, radio and print.

In the Department of History at Lancaster, she is the Deputy Head of Department and Director of Education and Curriculum Transformation.

For further information.

• Contact name : Battlefields Trust Online Talks
• Contact email : info@battlefieldstrust.com