Simon de Montfort V, 6th Earl of Leicester - 13th Century Wax Seal Stamp – The 2nd Barons War and

Simon de Montfort Wax Seal Stamp – The Rebel Earl and Champion of Parliament
(Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, c. 1208–1265; also known as Simon de Montfort the Younger, Simon de Montfort le jeune, Latin: Simon de Monteforti)

This wax seal stamp is based on the personal heraldry of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, one of the most influential and controversial figures of 13th-century England. A French-born nobleman with deep ties to the English crown, Simon became a military leader, crusader, and eventually the driving force behind the first emergence of parliamentary government in England.

The son of a crusading noble of the same name, Simon came to England and married Eleanor of England, sister to King Henry III. Once a close ally of the king, Simon grew disillusioned with royal mismanagement and corruption. By the 1250s, he had become the leader of the baronial opposition, championing the Provisions of Oxford—a set of reforms that sought to limit the king’s power and create a council to oversee royal decisions.

In 1264, he led the baronial forces to a decisive victory over Henry III at the Battle of Lewes, capturing both the king and his son, Prince Edward (later Edward I). De Montfort then convened what is considered the first truly representative English Parliament in 1265, including elected knights and burgesses from towns—laying the groundwork for modern parliamentary democracy. However, his power was short-lived. Later that year, Prince Edward escaped and defeated de Montfort’s forces at the Battle of Evesham, where Simon was killed and brutally dismembered.

Simon inherited the hunting seal from his father, while his brother Amaury VI de Montfort showed himself as a mounted knight, with a secret seal of a silver lion rampant double queued argent (a red shield with a silver lion rampant, double-tailed)—symbolise both nobility and rebellion.
Confusingly, Simon the V was in fact Simon the VI.

This wax seal stamp is perfect for historians, reenactors, and anyone drawn to the turbulent politics of Plantagenet England—a symbol of resistance, reform, and the enduring struggle for accountability in power.

🗡 "He sowed the seed of Parliament with steel and blood." – on Simon de Montfort’s legacy.