Simon de Montfort, the illustrious earl of Leicester , and the barons, having assembled their forces from all quarters, and collected troops, both of the Londoners, whose army had increased to fifteen thousand men, and of men from other parts in countless numbers, marched thither with great impetuosity and courage. Accordingly, they encamped at Flexinge, in Sussex, which is about six miles from Lewes, and three days before the battle, they addressed a message of the following tenor to their lord the king--