Despenser War
The Despenser War (1321–22) was a baronial revolt against
Causes of the war
The initial success of the rebels reflected the power of the Marcher Lords. Since Edward I's conquest of Wales, "[t]he marcher privileges remained undiminished, and the marcher energies which could no longer find employment in the struggle against the Welsh, sought new direction in the fertile field of English politics."[1] The death of the last Earl of Gloucester also meant the redistribution of his vast estates and lordships in Ireland and Wales. The important Lordship of Glamorgan passed to the late earl's brother-in-law, the younger Despenser, married to his eldest sister Eleanor.
The
Roger Mortimer, his uncle,
First phase: May–August 1321
First phase | |||||||
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Caerphilly Castle, one of the Despenser properties Roger Mortimer seized in May 1321. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Royalists |
Supported by: Kingdom of Scotland | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
In February 1321 Mortimer, Hereford and Lancaster agreed on an attack on the Despenser lands in Wales.[3] Edward responded in March by mobilising his forces in Wales, demonstrating that he intended to make any attack on the Despensers an attack on the crown, and therefore treasonable.[3] The king travelled to Gloucester and called upon the Marcher Lords to join him there; Mortimer and Hereford declined.[3] Mobilising more forces, Edward marched on to Bristol, and repeated his call for the Marcher Lords to convene with him there in May.[4] They again declined.[4]
Mortimer and Hereford promptly began their attack on the Despenser lands.
Edward had returned to London, where he held his own parliament to discuss courses of action.[5] Mortimer led his army east towards London as well, reaching St Albans in late July.[5] The city of London refused to let Mortimer's forces in, and his forces placed the capital under effective siege.[5] Lancaster arrived in August to support him and a tense stand-off ensued, with the younger Despenser threatening the rebels from a ship on the River Thames, and the barons threatening to begin to destroy royal properties and lands outside London unless he desisted.[5]
The Earl of Pembroke, a moderate baron with strong French links, intervened in an attempt to defuse the crisis.[6] Edward continued to refuse to negotiate or exile the Despensers, so Pembroke arranged for Queen Isabella to publicly go down on her knees to appeal to Edward to exile the Despensers.[6] This provided him with a face-saving excuse to exile the Despensers and defuse the crisis, but it was clear Edward intended to arrange their return at the first opportunity.[7]
Second phase: October 1321 – March 1322
Second phase | |||||||
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The River Severn where King Edward II defeated the Marcher Lords. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Royalists |
Supported by: Kingdom of Scotland | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
12,000 | over 1,000; less than 12,000 |
Despite the momentary respite, by the autumn of 1321 tension between Edward and the baronial opposition led by
Badlesmere was away at the time, leaving his wife Margaret in charge; when she refused the Queen admittance, fighting broke out between Isabella's guards and the garrison. Edward now mobilised his supporters and besieged the castle, giving Isabella the Great Seal and control of the royal Chancery.[10] The attack on the Queen meant he was joined by many moderates and volunteers from London; chroniclers claim he soon had 30,000 men, although this is almost certainly an overestimate. When the castle surrendered at the end of October, Badlesmere and his men were executed.[11]
Edward's position was much stronger than in August, and he now revoked the banishment of the Despensers. It was clear his opponents could expect little mercy; when Mortimer and Hereford travelled north meet with Lancaster, the three reaffirmed their opposition to Edward. However, Mortimer and Hereford were forced to return to the Welsh Marches to deal with a peasant revolt, while in December Edward marched to Cirencester, preparing to invade.[12]
In the north, Lancaster tried to enlist the support of the Scots in a bid to bring more forces to bear before Edward could retake Wales.[13] In January 1322, Edward finally overcame resistance along the River Severn and advanced into the Marches; despite attacking and burning Bridgnorth,[14] Roger Mortimer and his uncle, Roger Mortimer de Chirk recognised their position was hopeless and surrendered at Shrewsbury on 22 January 1322.[15]
Edward turned north, assisted by the Despensers who had secretly returned from exile in mid-January.
Aftermath
Victory left Edward and the Despensers firmly in control of England and the Welsh Marches.
Roger Mortimer was imprisoned in the Tower of London after his surrender at Shrewsbury and some of his supporters, including William Trussell, continued to raid Despenser lands.[21][22] In August 1323 Mortimer escaped and attempted to break other Contrariants out of Windsor and Wallingford Castles.[14] He eventually fled to France where he was later joined by Queen Isabella, who was ostensibly on a peace mission, but was actually seeking assistance from her brother, King Charles IV of France to oust the Despensers. Mortimer and Isabella obtained the necessary help in Flanders and in 1326 the successful Invasion of England was launched.
This invasion led to the executions of the two Despensers, the deposition and killing of Edward II, and the seizure of authority by Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer, who became the de facto rulers of England from 1327 to 1330. Mortimer was hanged in November 1330 by the order of Isabella's son King Edward III after he ousted his mother and Mortimer from power and assumed personal rule.
Notes
- ^ Some historians use the label the "Despenser War" to refer to just the second phase of the conflict; others apply it to the entire conflict. Others prefer the term the "Despenser Wars". The Welsh part of the campaign is occasionally termed the "Glamorgan war".
References
- ^ Davies, p.21.
- ^ Costain, pp.189–91
- ^ a b c Weir, p.129.
- ^ a b c d e f Weir, p.130.
- ^ a b c d Weir, p.131.
- ^ a b Weir, p.132.
- ^ Doherty, p.67; Weir 2006, p.132.
- ^ Doherty, p. 70.
- ^ Doherty, p. 70–71; Weir 2006, p. 133.
- ^ Doherty, p. 71.
- ^ Weir, p. 135
- ^ Weir, p. 136
- ^ Weir, p. 137.
- ^ a b Parl Writs II Digest 1834.
- ^ Costain, pp. 196–197
- ^ Weir, p. 138.
- ^ Oman 1904, p. 178.
- ^ Doherty, pp72-3.
- ^ Mortimer, p.32.
- ^ Costain, pp.193–97
- ^ Patent Rolls 1232–1509.
- ^ Fryde 1979
Bibliography
- Costain, Thomas Bertam. (1962) The Three Edwards. London: Doubleday.
- Davies, J. Conway. (1915) "The Despenser War in Glamorgan", Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Third Series 9: 21–64.
- ISBN 1-84119-843-9
- Fryde, Natalie (1979). The Tyranny and fall of Edward II 1321–1326. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Mortimer, Ian. (2008) The Perfect King: The Life of Edward III, Father of the English Nation. London: Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-09-952709-1
- Oman, Charles (1904). A History of England. Edward Arnold.
- Patent Rolls. Westminster: Parliament of England. 1232–1509.
- Parliamentary Writs Alphabetical Digest. Vol. II. London: Public Record Office. 1834.
- ISBN 978-0-7126-4194-4