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Introduction Scotland was, until the Anglo-Scottish truce of 1323, a persistent thorn in Edward’s side and a major examination of the effectiveness of his government and of his personal judgement. By any reasonable estimate Scotland was a test that Edward failed and failed repeatedly. In the process of deposition in 1327 one of the chief accusations levelled against him was
This book presents key texts relating to the political as well as to the broader socio-economic history of the reign of Edward II. Drawing on a wide range of narrative sources, especially the extensive chronicle accounts of the reign, the editors also introduce other important material, including parliamentary rolls, charters, court records and accounts. Together this gathering of sources allows the reader to navigate this troubled and eventful period in English medieval history. The volume is organised chronologically, guiding the reader from the moment of Edward II’s accession in 1307 until his removal from office in 1327 and his supposed death in the same year. The editors also introduce more thematic chapters throughout, addressing such key themes as royal finances and the state of the early fourteenth-century economy, the role of parliament, and political and military engagement with Scotland. In an introductory essay, the editors discuss previous historical work directed at the reign of Edward II and also outline the range of source types available to the historian of the reign. Each section of primary source is also introduced by the editors, who offer a contextual analysis in each instance.
; the common opinion of the people was, however, that they were disposed to hasten to Scotland. And since the earls despised the small numbers of the northerners, the Earl of Hereford and others engaged in battle with them on the bridge; and [Hereford] also died there; two knights and the earl’s standard-bearer likewise lost their lives fighting. Roger de Clifford and many others, being wounded, retired from
need note only that it was a resounding victory for the Scottish forces under Robert Bruce and accounted for the death or capture of a number of leading English nobles, the most significant of whom was the Earl of Gloucester, who was killed on the second day of fighting. His death, and the eventual division of his earldom between his three sisters and their husbands, redrew the map of the political landscape
I’s military endeavours in the last decades of the thirteenth century and the first years of the fourteenth had led to campaigning on a number of fronts. These campaigns had become all-consuming by the 1290s, by which point, with the conquest of Wales completed save for the occasional uprising, Edward had directed his military ventures towards Scotland, Flanders and France. By the end of Edward I’s reign
, destroyed long-term peace: the harshness of the punishments after Boroughbridge and Edward’s continued reliance on favourites. Failure in Scotland and war with France further undermined his reputation and less than five years later he lost his throne. The fear and distrust after the unprecedented scale of executions in 1322 is easy to understand. Earlier rebellions had led to
Scottish raids. Despite the hardship, throughout the famine years the government continued to demand and collect revenue. In 1316 stringent regulations were issued on debt collecting and the government experimented with raising armies at the cost of the vill [ 10a–b ]. This experiment failed, but the substituted sixteenth brought in more than £38,000, one of the highest subsidy returns of the reign. 29 In
. Because, concerning various and important affairs touching us and the state of our realm and especially and most importantly our land of Scotland, we propose to hold our parliament at Lincoln a fortnight after St Hilary next coming and to have a colloquium and discussion with you and with the other prelates, great men and nobles of the said realm; we order you in the faith and love by which you are bound
Edward’s reign is well known for its dramatic political narrative of a wilful king, his reliance on favourites, violent baronial resistance, failure in Scotland and France, and eventually the loss of his throne and his murder, but it is also a reign of considerable institutional and ideological interest. The exploitation of royal wealth, the use of parliament and the belief that
your behalf that we would postpone the homage which you owe to us during your predicament. Dear brother, we wish you to know that we will always do whatever we can well do for you and you should know that, as long as you have had the business of the Scottish war and your other great matters to deal with over there, we have refrained from pressing you for the said homage for the love that we have of you