LAHS Scarborough Lecture: A Rebel Princess – September 2026.
On Thursday 10 September 2026 at 7:00PM at The Guildhall, Leicester, Professor Louise Wilkinson (Professor of Medieval Studies at University of Lincoln) will present the LAHS Scarborough Lecture on Eleanor De Montfort, Countess of Leicester and Pembroke, and the Second Barons’ War (1264-7).
In her own day, Eleanor de Montfort (d. 1275), countess of Leicester, was one of the most important women within the English realm. As the sister of King Henry III of England and an aunt of Lord Edward (the future King Edward I), Eleanor occupied a place at the very heart of politics during one of the most turbulent episodes in English history, the period of baronial reform and rebellion (1258-1267). Yet, Eleanor’s historical reputation has long been overshadowed by that of her highly controversial second husband, Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester, who died fighting Lord Edward’s forces at the battle of Evesham in August 1265. In this talk, drawing on the contents of Eleanor’s household roll for 1265, Louise Wilkinson looks at the life of this remarkable woman, her role in aiding her husband’s regime during the Second Barons’ War (which pitched her brother against her husband), and her departure from Dover Castle for exile in France in October 1265.
Louise Wilkinson is professor of medieval studies at the University of Lincoln, having previously been professor of medieval history at Canterbury Christ Church University. She is the author of numerous publications on medieval women and served on the advisory board of the British Library’s recent “Medieval Women” exhibition. Her books include: Louise Wilkinson, Eleanor de Montfort: A Rebel Countess in Medieval England (Continuum, 2012) and Louise Wilkinson, ed. and trans., The Household Roll of Eleanor de Montfort, Countess of Leicester and Pembroke, 1265 (The Pipe Roll Society, new series 63, 2020).
The LAHS Scarborough Lecture is named after the late John Scarborough, Local Leicester man, who after joining LAHS at the age of 21 became a lifelong member and supporter of the Society for over 45 years. He was particularly interested in the High Medieval Period.
