In addition, the barons insisted that Gaveston should be sent back into exile

again. The pampered favourite was out on his ear.

An unseemly few years followed in which the royal favourite was exiled,

brought back by Edward, and hidden away in the castle at Scarborough,

where Gaveston hoped he would be able to defend himself against any

baronial attack.

But Gaveston didn’t reckon on the determination of the barons. In 1312, they

pursued him to Scarborough, forced him to give himself up, and marched him

off to Warwick. After a mock trial, it was a case of ‘Off with his head’: the hapless

favourite was put to death as a traitor.

Defeat in Scotland

The death of Gaveston did Edward some good, in a way. Some of the barons

who had withheld their support from the crown when he was carrying on

with his favourite returned to the king’s side. And this support was just as

well because hapless Edward was about to face a formidable enemy. In 1314,

Edward tried to pick up the pieces of his father’s war with the Scots.

Up to this point, England still had a chance of muscling in on Scotland. But

hardly had the campaign begun than they suffered a major defeat. Robert

Bruce and his army routed them at the Battle of Bannockburn (see Chapter 11).

Scots patriots still celebrate the Battle of Bannockburn, but the battle wasn’t

a big deal on its own. So why was it so important? The main reason was that

Robert Bruce used it as a key lever in his case to be undisputed Scottish king.

He got approval of his position from the Pope, and by 1323, Edward had made

a truce with Bruce. The Scots rejoiced – and Edward slunk away, leaving the

people of the far north of England unprotected from Scottish border raids.

Dispensers of power

The death of Edward’s favourite, Piers Gaveston, should have meant a

better time for those who feared that power would be arbitrarily wielded in

Edward’s reign, but not a bit of it. By 1318, Edward had two new favourites,

Hugh Despenser and his son, also called Hugh. Both men threw their weight

about in distressing ways.

Here’s the dirt on how they, ahem, dispensed their power:

_ Chamberlain: Hugh the Younger was given the job of royal Chamberlain.

This office was important because young Hugh controlled who had

access to the king, and therefore who had influence over the decisions

he made about policy and about who else, if anyone, he would favour. It

was a key position for depriving other barons of power over the king.

_ Lord of Glamorgan: Hugh the Elder stacked up a huge portfolio of lands

along the borders of England and Wales, which gave him vast power and

enormous revenues from all the lands. An indication of the kind of

power he could wield can be seen at his key fortress, Caerphilly Castle,

with its miles of stone walls, tons of towers, and acres of water defences.

Some of the other barons soon started a campaign of armed struggle against

the Despensers. Chief amongst these opponents was the king’s cousin,

Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, who had been prominent in the campaign to get

rid of Gaveston. Soon revolts popped up all over the kingdom – in the south

east at Leeds Castle, in southwest England, in South Wales (no surprise there

with Hugh the Elder so powerful), and up north in Lancaster’s territory.

Altogether, they added up to a civil war. Could the king survive?

Well, yes, for a while. The Despensers and Edward rounded ruthlessly on

the rebels:

_ In March 1322, Lancaster was caught and killed.

_ Shortly afterward, six of his key followers were murdered.

_ The king abolished earlier curbs on his power.

_ The Despensers were given more titles and lands.