The Dictum of Kenilworth, Part 2

Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester, was originally on the side of the rebels during the Second Barons' War. He changed over to the royalist side when Simon de Montfort made an alliance with the Welsh Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Gwynedd (considered an enemy of the English).During the drafting of the Dictum of Kenilworth, Gloucester had forced a change in the details. Originally the landowners who wanted their land back had to pay a fine before getting their lands back. Gloucester (helping out his friends and former conspirators) arranged it so that the men could get their land back first and then would be able to generate the income needed to pay the fines to the king.The Dictum was publicly announced on 31 October 1266. The rebels in Kenilworth Castle held out until December when their supplies ran out. Gloucester still felt sympathetic to those who had been disinherited and had to repay the king. He decided that he would become the champion of the oppressed (although they'd…