Simon was the eldest son Raoul I of Clermont-Nesle, Seigneur of Ailly, Maulette, and Gertrude of Nesle.[1] He was a counsellor of King Louis IX of France, especially in areas of justice.[2] Jointly with Matthew of Vendôme, Simon was the regent of the kingdom in 1270–71 when Louis and his son Philip were away on the Eighth Crusade, using the title "lieutenant".[3] In the process of canonisation of king Louis in 1283, he was one of those bearing witness.
Simon was also a tutor of the children of the king, appointed by Philip III.
Simon is accounted of the foundation of Hôtel de Nesle, to accommodate nobility in Paris, instead of their first Hôtel de Nesle, that was ceded to King Louis IX, and the construction was enabled through the prominent positions of his sons Raoul and Guy, and their wealth. The hotel was connected to Tour de Nesle, and eventually sold to King Philip IV of France in 1314.
Griffiths, Quentin (1997). "Royal Counselors and Trouvères in the Houses of Nesle and Soissons". Medieval Prosopography. 18. Board of Trustees of Western Michigan University through its Medieval Institute Publications: 123–137.
Jordan, William Chester (2012). "Simon de Nesle, Aristocrat". Men at the Center: Redemptive Governance Under Louis IX. Budapest-New York: Central European University Press. pp. 71–99. ISBN978-6155225123.
Pipon, Brigitte (1996). Le chartrier de l'Abbaye-aux-Bois (1202–1341), étude et édition (in French). Ecole des chartes.
Verbruggen, J. F. (2002). The Battle of the Golden Spurs (Courtrai, 11 July 1302): A Contribution to the History of Flanders' War of Liberation, 1297–1305. The Boydell Press.
