Gaveston’s pre-eminence became plain to all in January 1308. Edward left for France and his marriage to Isabella, and he appointed Gaveston as regent during his absence. A group of nobles, led by the Bishop of Durham, meanwhile drew up a list of grievances that needed redress. They were concerned to see an end to the financial dislocation caused by the late king’s wars, and, as ever, pressed Edward II to guarantee their legal rights. If anyone was in any doubt about the influence of the royal favourite the coronation on 25 February made the state of affairs crystal clear. Gaveston enjoyed prominence in the high ceremonial of the religious service – to him were assigned the privileges of the carrying of the crown, the ‘redeeming’ of curtana, the sword of mercy (placed on the altar until redeemed by the king with an offering of gold), and the fixing of a spur to the king’s left foot. These symbolic acts were of extreme importance to the nation’s leading families, and their exclusion from them in the interests of the ‘upstart’ could not fail to arouse resentment. Worse followed at the coronation banquet. The banners on the wall behind the high table displayed the arms, not of England and France, but of Edward and Gaveston. The favourite appeared clothed in purple, the royal colour, and Edward paid more attention to him than to his queen or her French nobles. In his determination to demonstrate that he could and would rule as he wanted and with the advice of whoever he wanted, Edward succeeded in uniting many of the nobles against him right at the beginning of the reign.
In the parliament that assembled a few days later the nobles made their concerns quite clear by demanding that Gaveston’s exile should be renewed. The assertion of their right to protect the crown against the king amounted virtually to a claim for the sovereignty of the people.
Edward’s response was to reject the ultimatum, withdraw to Windsor Castle and prepare to oppose his critics by force. But when to the protests of his barons were joined those of the king of France and his own stepmother, Margaret of France, he gave way. But only temporarily. In June Gaveston was despatched to Ireland as the king’s deputy – not quite the casting into oblivion his enemies had hoped for. Meanwhile, Edward appealed to the pope to annul the exile order, which he did in April 1309. Into the gap created by Gaveston’s departure stepped Hugh Despenser, the only leading magnate to support Gaveston. He now became Edward’s principal adviser and urged the king to turn the tables on his opponents. By bribery and blandishment Edward achieved what he had failed to achieve by stubbornness and bluster. In parliaments held in April and August 1309 Edward struck a bargain with the majority of the barons: political reform, including the removal of Despenser from court, in return for Gaveston’s reinstatement.
The king failed to keep his side of the bargain, and at the parliament held at Westminster in February 1310 most of the leading magnates threatened to renounce their allegiance unless the king agreed to widespread reforms. Because he needed support in trying to restore his authority in Scotland Edward had to agree, and 21 ‘lords ordainer’ were appointed to draw up a catalogue of demands.
The lords ordainer drew up a list of 41 items in need of reform, which fell broadly into five categories. First, the lords in parliament were to be the king’s advisers and his principal organ of government, with power to vet all royal appointments. This was the first real challenge by parliament to the royal household as the seat of government. Secondly, Gaveston and other royal favourites were to be banished. Thirdly, the king might only wage war with baronial consent. Fourthly, parliament was to have more say in financial matters. Specifically, all revenue was to be paid into the Exchequer, not the household, for greater accountability, and the king should not service his debts by farming out the customs to foreign bankers. Finally, local government should be strictly regulated. Sheriffs should only be appointed by the chancellor and other senior officials.
While the lords ordainer were doing their work, Edward and Gaveston went to campaign in Scotland, but they fought no battles and did little more than plunder the Lowlands. The king stayed away from his capital as long as possible, unwilling to face his critics, as one anonymous letter writer observed: ‘The king is in no mood yet for a parliament, but when the Earl of Gloucester and the council meet in London, he will have to do what they order.’3
Parliament eventually met in mid-August. Edward tried to resist the inevitable, rejecting the lords’ demands over and again, but at last he offered to do everything they asked with one exception: ‘You shall stop persecuting my brother Piers and allow him to have the earldom of Cornwall.’4 But on this point, too, he eventually had to give way. The ordinances were published and distributed at various ceremonies in September and October, but Edward immediately once more sent to the pope for an annulment of this trespass on his royal power. Gaveston again went into exile but secretly returned before Christmas.
1312–16
On 18 January 1312, when he was at York, Edward defiantly announced the return of his friend. Archbishop Robert of Winchelsea summoned a meeting of bishops and nobles for 13 March at which arrangements were made for Gaveston’s arrest. For several weeks the king and favourite were on the run but, on 19 May, Gaveston surrendered at Scarborough. A deal was struck with the king, and by its terms the Earl of Pembroke assumed surety for his person and set out with him for Gaveston’s castle at Wallingford, Oxfordshire. But faith in Edward was now wearing thin, and some of the opposing barons were convinced, probably correctly, that the king was trusting that the pope would come to the aid of his favourite. At Deddington, north of Oxford, on 10 June the Earl of Warwick led a dawn raid on the place where the prisoner was being lodged.
At Warwick Castle the earl was joined by the earls of Arundel, Hereford and Lancaster (who was now the leading figure among the nobles opposing the king). They agreed that Gaveston should be executed, and, possibly after a makeshift trial, the prisoner was taken to nearby Blacklow Hill on 19 June, where two Welsh soldiers despatched him – one stabbed him, and the other cut off his head. This summary and brutal act probably put an end to one problem that would otherwise have run for years, but it created others in that it divided the barons and determined the king on vengeance.
On 13 November 1312 Queen Isabella gave birth to a son, christened Edward (the French king’s wish to name him either Louis, or Philip was vetoed by Lancaster and his allies), and in December a peace of sorts was patched up between Edward and Gaveston’s murderers. The issue of the favourite had gone, and Edward had engineered the appointment of his ally, Walter Reynolds, as Archbishop of Canterbury. It seemed that the king was well placed to resume the authority and respect he considered to be his due. During a visit to France in the summer of 1313, thanks to the mediation of Philip IV and Pope Clement V, a full reconciliation was made between Edward and the lords ordainer, and agreement was reached for an expedition into Scotland to bring Robert Bruce to heel.
North of the border pockets of English rule existed around a few well-fortified castles and towns. Between 1311 and 1314, while Edward and his nobles were at loggerheads, Bruce had steadily picked off these centres of English authority until only Stirling and Berwick were left in Edward’s hands. Stirling was besieged in June, and Robert Bruce’s brother, Edward, raided at will south of the border. By this time the English king was already on his way with a formidable army of over 2,000 armed knights, 2,000 Welsh archers and 13,000 infantry. Edward crossed into Scotland and moved towards Stirling to raise the siege. Bruce prepared to meet the enemy at a battle site of his choosing at a ford near Bannockburn village, where the English would have to form into a narrow file to cross the river. This gave him a tactical advantage that outweighed the superior numbers of the enemy. The Battle of Bannockburn was fought on 23–24 June in three phases.
During the first phase Sir Philip Mowbray together with 500 knights heading for the castle found their way blocked by Scottish infantry armed with spears some 15 feet long. They charged this position, but, to their surprise, the pikemen held firm. Wave after wave of cavalry were cut down by the Scots. In the
second phase, while the English were crossing the river, a young knight, Sir Henry de Bohun, spotted Bruce riding in front of the Scottish lines and, on a death-or-glory impulse, charged at him full tilt. As the two men clashed, Bruce felled the knight with his battle axe. This single combat greatly heartened the Scots. In the third phase the main battle took place the following morning. The English were camped with the river behind them, facing the Scottish position on a hillside opposite with a small gorge between the two armies. Bruce aimed to attack while the enemy were still crossing the gorge. However, the English vanguard reached the field beyond the gorge in good order and prepared to charge. Now their effort was ruined by divided counsels, Edward’s commanders not agreeing on who should lead the attack. It was in some disarray, therefore, that the English knights smashed into Bruce’s wall of pikes. Again, it was the infantry who prevailed. Soon there was confusion in the English ranks, those trying to retreat being hampered by those trying to press forwards. Then Bruce’s infantry advanced, pushing the confused English back towards the gorge. They fell into it, their dead and wounded lying so densely packed that, as one observer said, ‘a man could cross the gully dry-shod’.
Edward fled to Dunbar Castle and thence by sea to Berwick. There is no accepted estimate of the numbers of those who perished in the field and the gully and in trying to cross the River Forth, but, even if the Scottish claim of 30,000 slain is rejected as an exaggeration, the impact on national pride and Edward’s reputation was dire. ‘Oh, day of vengeance and misfortune, day of ruin and dishonour, evil and accursed day, not to be reckoned in our calendar, that stained the reputation of the English … So many fine noblemen and strong young men, so many noble horses, so much military equipment, costly garments and gold plate – all lost in one harsh day, one fleeting hour!’5
At parliaments held at York in September, and in London in February 1315 and January 1316, Edward was progressively stripped of many of his powers. His inner circle was purged of ‘bad influences’, including Despenser and Walter Langton, and the Earl of Lancaster was appointed to lead the army in any further contests with the Scots.
1316–20
During the next few years the government of England was contested by various baronial factions, each pursuing its own interests. Hugh Despenser, now joined by his son, Hugh Despenser the Younger, feathered his own nest by supporting the king and obtaining from him grants of land and honours, while Lancaster built up an anti-court alliance in order to bolster his own power against the crown. Late in 1316 Edward turned for help to the new pope, John XXII, who responded by lending him money, ordering a truce to be agreed between England and Scotland and sending ambassadors to negotiate a comprehensive peace between the two countries. The papal agents were also under instructions to heal the kingdom’s political divisions. Intermittent negotiations led, in October 1318, to a reconciliation between Edward and the Earl of Lancaster, which was confirmed in a parliament at York.
While these negotiations were in train, a man called John Powderham appeared at Oxford and declared himself to be the true king of England. His story of a cradle-switch that had enabled the current ‘impostor’ to claim the throne should have been laughable, and Edward was initially disposed to dismiss Powderham as a deranged fool of no consequence. However, there were plenty of people prepared to give the impostor a hearing on the basis of the fact that Edward seemed to lack all the characteristics of his father. The fact that Powderham was condemned to be hanged may suggest that his tale was a real embarrassment to Edward.
Important developments were also taking place in Scotland. Robert Bruce rejected the mediation of the pope. He had begun a siege of Berwick, the last English stronghold, at the beginning of the year and was too close to complete victory to see any need for concessions and compromises. Indeed, in March Berwick was betrayed into his hands. There was a setback for the Scottish king in October, when his only brother, Edward, who had been despatched to Ireland to challenge the rule of the English colonists, was killed in battle near Dundalk.
This event was pregnant with consequences for the future. Robert Bruce at this stage had no male heirs, but six years later, by his second wife, he had a son, David. Scotland was, therefore, doomed to experience the accession of a minor when Robert eventually died (which he did in 1329). The throne of an independent Scotland was by no means secure. Meanwhile, however, Bruce harried at will the northernmost parts of England, and at one time as much as one-fifth of the country was paying tribute to the Scottish king. Edward moved his court to York in response to these depredations and, in August 1319, he and Lancaster laid siege to Berwick. Bruce countered with a raid deep into Yorkshire and even came close to capturing the queen at York. Edward was forced to raise the siege, but he failed to bring the marauding Scots to battle and eventually made a two-year truce with Bruce.
Despite the agreement of October 1318, the barons’ factional fighting continued. The Earl of Lancaster and the Despensers both blamed each other for the failure of the Berwick campaign. Edward, always in need of people to rely on, was handing more and more authority to the Despensers, who, by their control of royal favour, were accumulating influence and wealth, which was resented by their peers, and Lancaster distanced himself from the parliament of January 1320. On 19 June Edward and Isabella crossed to France for the king to pay homage to the new ruler, Philip V (Isabella’s brother), but by now factions were evolving into armed camps. Lancaster was powerful in the north, while the Despensers, with the king’s backing, were based on the Welsh border.
1321–2
England now stumbled into civil war. There were two caucuses arrayed against Edward and the Despensers. The Earl of Lancaster headed a league of mostly northern barons while, in the Welsh borders, neighbouring magnates resented the Despensers’ territorial expansion. In the spring of 1321 several Marcher lords laid waste to Despenser lands. In June Lancaster met with a delegation from the Marchers, prominent among whom were Roger Mortimer of Wigmore and his uncle, Roger Mortimer of Chirk. Lancaster gave his seal of approval to their actions and joined with them in demanding the expulsion of the Despensers. This demand was repeated in a parliament at Westminster in July and was backed up by an army of 5,000 that the western lords had brought with them. Edward gave way and ordered the favourites into exile the following month.
As had been the case with Gaveston, however, the king was playing for time. After a few months (which the younger Despenser spent partly in acts of piracy off the south coast) the king ordered the exiles to return. Believing, with good reason, that his opponents were not sufficiently organized to join forces against him, he provoked military action by besieging Leeds Castle in Kent, where the wife of Bartholomew Baddlesmere, Mortimer of Wigmore’s brother-in-law, was in residence. Lancaster and his supporters issued the Doncaster Petition, which accused the Despensers of turning the king against his barons. Edward’s response was to set off for the Welsh border in December at the head of an army.
The collapse of the rebels was swift and complete for two reasons: Lancaster, always better at words than deeds, failed to come to the aid of the Marcher lords, and the king received support from Welsh leaders who rose against the Mortimers. On 22 January 1322 the Mortimers surrendered and were sent to the Tower of London, and Edward now marched against the northern lords. He seized Lancaster’s castle at Kenilworth and eventually confronted the enemy at Burton upon Trent. After some desultory fighting, the rebels fled in confusion. Lancaster was tracked down and captured at Boroughbridge in Yorkshire on 16 March, and a few days later (on 21 March) he was brought before the king at Pontefract, speedily tried the next day, hustled outside the walls and despatched by a bungling executioner who took two or three blows to sever the earl’s head from his neck.
On 2 May the triumphant king called a parliament at York where, at last, he was able to get the Ordinances of 1311 revoked. Edward was now determined to follow up his victory by dealing with the Scottish problem. He led his army across the border, but Bruce de
clined to meet him in battle. The Scots retreated, wasting the land as they went, so that the English were deprived of food. Edward reached Edinburgh at the end of August but was then obliged to withdraw because his men were dying of starvation and sickness. Now Bruce pursued him and on 2 October inflicted a defeat on the English at Blackhow Moor in Yorkshire. Edward was not to be seen on the field of battle leading his forces. He was at nearby Byland when he heard that the Scots were on their way to capture him. He narrowly escaped with the younger Despenser and, after two weeks spent running and hiding, reached York. Queen Isabella’s position was hardly less perilous. She was at Tynemouth Priory, well within the territory now controlled by the Scots, and had to make her escape by sea. A year of royal triumph had ended in yet another humiliation for Edward II.
1323–7
Edward could now feel that he was master in his own house. In May 1323 he agreed a 13-year truce with Robert Bruce. With peace came increased prosperity, and over the next few years he was able to clear the crown’s debts and build up a healthy financial reserve. The Despensers continued to benefit from royal favour – Hugh the Elder was created Earl of Winchester and numerous gifts were showered on him and his son – and although the barons were far from content with this situation they were leaderless and the power of the royal favourites seemed unassailable.
Several prominent barons and churchmen suffered from the reprisals Edward inflicted after the civil war. Many more had to endure the personal animosities and arrogance of the younger Despenser, whose role was far more political than Gaveston’s had ever been – he controlled royal business, assumed semi-regal state and frequently spoke in the king’s name. The disaffection of the people showed itself in many ways. The Earl of Lancaster, for example, for all his weakness and ineffectiveness, was now regarded by some as a saint, and it was claimed that miracles were performed at his tomb. More seriously for Edward, his own queen was among those who developed a deep loathing for Despenser. Isabella resented the favourite’s attitude towards her and the fact that her husband preferred his favourite’s company.
The Plantagenets: The Kings That Made Britain Page 9