A History of England, Period I. Mediæval Monarchy

by J. Franck Bright

The Ordinances published.

Policy of the opposition.

Gaveston banished.

Hoping, probably, to gain popularity for himself and his favourite, and to be thus able to get rid of the Barons’ interference, Edward determined on an expedition to Scotland; but the great Barons, on the plea that they were busied with their ordinances, refused to accompany him. Some of his immediate adherents, such as Gloucester, Warrenne, his half-brother, Thomas, Earl of Norfolk,[56] and Gaveston, alone went with him. His hopes of gaining popularity by victory were disappointed. The Scotch retired before him. Though Gaveston crossed the Forth, he could not bring on an engagement; and when the English retreated, the Scotch hung upon their rear, and pursued their advantages into the county of Durham. In his necessity, the King was driven to illegal actions. He appropriated the property of the Earl of Lincoln and of the Bishop of Durham, and taxed the province of Canterbury. The Parliament, therefore, was in no improved temper when Edward, leaving Gaveston in the protection of Lady de Vescy, went to meet it in London in October. The Ordinances were there produced. In addition to the articles already granted, there were others which seem to explain the policy of the opposition, and to show the chief forms of misgovernment at that time prevalent. No war was to be carried on without consent of Parliament;—taken in connection with the conduct of Bohun and Bigod in the last reign, with the abstention of the Barons from the war with Scotland, and with the treaty between Bruce and Lancaster, which will be afterwards mentioned, this seems to show that the Barons desired a complete settlement of England before engaging in foreign wars. All taxes upon wool and other exports since the coronation of Edward I. were to be removed:—the Barons seem to have seen that export duties are a tax on production, and are advantageous in the long run to foreign manufactures only. The great officers of state were to be nominated with consent of Parliament; while, to complete the system, the sheriffs, whom Edward I. had made elective, were to be nominated by these great officers; in other words, the royal power was to be restricted by a baronial oligarchy. Parliament was to be held at least once a year, which, considering that his father had held at least three Parliaments a year, seems to show a tendency on the part of the King to arbitrary government. Bad companions were to be removed from the King, and his household reformed. Many of these companions are mentioned by name, and appear to have been foreigners. The King’s tastes had collected around him foreigners connected with display of the arts, and on them he had lavished favours, which excited the national feeling. But the chief attack after all was upon Gaveston, his countryman De Beaumont, and his sister, Lady de Vescy. It was ordered that Gaveston should leave the kingdom by the port of Dover on the 1st of November, and never again enter any territory belonging to the English Crown.[57]

His reappearance with the King. 1312.

The baronial chiefs.

Gaveston beheaded at Warwick.

In pursuance of these Ordinances, Gaveston left England, and took refuge in Flanders. But before the year was over he again appeared in England, and joined Edward as he hurried to the North, to be, as he believed, less within the reach of his enemies. At Knaresborough, Edward thought himself strong enough to put forward a proclamation declaring the banishment of Gaveston contrary to the Constitution. He readmitted him to favour, and restored him his property. It was even reported that he was intriguing to secure him a retreat in Scotland. This flagrant violation of his word set all England against the King. The old Archbishop Winchelsea of Canterbury, as in the last reign, became a centre of revolution; he excommunicated Gaveston, while the Barons, at the head of whom were now the Earls of Lancaster and Hereford, proceeded to take active measures. This Lancaster was the eldest son of Edmund, brother of Edward I. His power in England was enormous; he was Earl of five counties. From his father he had received Lancaster and the confiscated estates of De Montfort and Ferrers, the Earldoms namely of Leicester and Derby; he had married the heiress of the De Lacys, and upon the death of the Earl of Lincoln had succeeded to the Earldoms of Lincoln and Salisbury. He began that opposition, which will be frequently mentioned afterwards, of the younger branch of the Plantagenets to the reigning house. Hereford, the son of the great Humphrey Bohun, was the hereditary chief of the baronial party. He had married Elizabeth, the King’s sister. The leaders of the baronial party agreed to repair to those parts of England where they had most influence. Lancaster proceeded northwards so rapidly, that the King had to fly before him, and was nearly captured at Newcastle, where Gaveston’s jewels and horses fell into Lancaster’s hands, and thence he took ship for Scarborough. Lancaster took up his position in the middle of England, while the rest of the baronial party besieged Gaveston in that fortress, where he was soon obliged to surrender. This he did to the Earl of Pembroke, who was no enemy to the King, upon a promise that if he could not come to terms with the Barons he should be restored to Scarborough. Pembroke persuaded him to go with him to his castle at Wallingford, but on the way, during a temporary absence of Pembroke, he was surprised by Warwick, who hated him for having nicknamed him “The Black Dog,” brought to his castle of Warwick, and there beheaded on Blacklow Hill. The King was naturally full of anger, nor did he, in fact, ever forgive Lancaster, but he yielded to necessity, being perhaps in a particularly good humour at the birth of a son and heir; and the Barons, who appeared in arms at Ware, all received pardon in exchange for some slight concessions, among others for the restoration of Gaveston’s jewels. It was not, however, till the close of the following year that the pardons were completed, Edward having in the meantime been to France.

Renewal of war with Scotland. 1314.

Battle of Bannockburn.