Simon Says

We nearly all know Simon Says, the classic schoolyard game,
But recently I’ve come to wonder where we got the name.
The earliest known version uses Cicero instead.
(Of course, if all obeyed him, he would not have lost his head.)
We now have many variants, but Simon leads the way
In several different languages across the world today.
It’s possible that players merely thought it sounded nice,
But one historic figure I’ve seen nominated twice:
De Montfort, Earl of Leicester, in the Second Barons’ War,
Took over all of England; he sure gave the king what for.
He didn’t reign for long before his own assassination,
But maybe it was long enough for age-old adulation.