The Despenser War of England

The Despenser War (1321–22) was a baronial insurrection led by the Marcher Lords Roger Mortimer and Humphrey de Bohun against Edward II of England. Opposition to Hugh Despenser the Younger, the royal favorite, fueled the uprising. Following the rebels' summer campaign in 1321, Edward was able to take advantage of a temporary truce to raise more support and launch a successful winter campaign in southern Wales, culminating in the royal triumph at the Battle of Boroughbridge in March 1322. Edward's response to victory was a harsher reign that lasted until his death in 1326.

The Marcher Lords' authority was reflected in the rebels' first victory. Since Edward I's conquest of Wales, "the 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." The last Earl of Gloucester died, and his large lands and lordships in Ireland and Wales were redistributed. The late earl's brother-in-law, the younger Despenser, married to his eldest sister Eleanor, received the valuable Lordship of Glamorgan.

Because of their influence over the king, the Lords Ordainers, a powerful baronial hegemony commanded by the Earl of Lancaster, detested the younger Despenser and his father, the elder Despenser. In 1311, the council of Ordainers was established to regulate the King's household, limit his royal prerogatives, and supervise the economy, and they insisted on the expulsion of his then-favorite, Piers Gaveston, husband of the earl of Gloucester's sister Margaret.

The Despensers were ardent foes of Roger Mortimer, his uncle, Roger Mortimer de Chirk, and Humphrey de Bohun, a fervent Ordainer. Despenser the younger got several valuable presents, as well as property and land concessions in the Marches, as a result of his marriage to Eleanor. Despenser's brothers-in-law, Roger d'Amory and Hugh de Audley, were enraged by the passing of Glamorgan in its whole, as they were cheated out of their proper portion of estates. When Despenser declared himself "Lord of Glamorgan" and "Earl of Gloucester," the Marcher Lords became even more enraged.

First Phase: May–August 1321

Mortimer, Hereford, and Lancaster agreed to invade the Despenser estates in Wales in February 1321. In March, Edward retaliated by mobilizing his men in Wales, signaling that any attack on the Despensers would be considered an attack on the crown, and hence treasonous. The king went to Gloucester and invited the Marcher Lords to accompany him; Mortimer and Hereford rejected. Edward marched on to Bristol, gathering fresh men, and reiterated his demand for the Marcher Lords to meet with him there in May. They declined once more.

Mortimer and Hereford launched an attack on the Despenser estates right away. Mortimer captured Newport, Cardiff, and Caerphilly in an eight-day campaign. After pillaging Glamorgan and Gloucestershire, Mortimer and Hereford marched north to join Lancaster at Pontefract. In June, the barons vowed an alliance at Sherburn-in-Elmet, dubbing their faction the "contrariants" and threatening to expel the Despensers once and for all.

Edward had returned to London and convened his own parliament to discuss future plans. Mortimer's army also marched east towards London, arriving in St Albans in late July. The city of London refused to let Mortimer's soldiers in, and he effectively besieged the metropolis. Lancaster came in August to back him up, and a tense standoff began, with the younger Despenser threatening the rebels from a ship on the Thames, and the barons threatening to destroy royal properties and lands outside of London if he didn't back down.

In an attempt to defuse the tension, the Earl of Pembroke, a moderate lord with strong French ties, interfered. As Edward refused to discuss or deport the Despensers, Pembroke arranged for Queen Isabella to publicly fall on her knees in front of Edward, pleading with him to exile them. This gave him a face-saving reason to banish the Despensers and defuse the problem, but it was evident that Edward meant to bring them back as soon as possible.

Second Phase: October 1321–March 1322

Despite the momentary respite, by the autumn of 1321 tension between Edward and the baronial opposition led by Thomas of Lancaster, were extremely high, with both sides raising forces across the country. At this point, Isabella undertook a pilgrimage to Canterbury, leaving the traditional route to stop at Leeds Castle; its governor, Bartholomew de Badlesmere, was steward of the King's household but by 1321 had joined the opposition. Historians suggest this was a deliberate act by Isabella on Edward's behalf to create a casus belli.

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. 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.

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.

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. In January 1322, Edward finally overcame resistance along the River Severn and advanced into the Marches; despite attacking and burning Bridgnorth, Roger Mortimer and his uncle, Roger Mortimer de Chirk recognised their position was hopeless and surrendered at Shrewsbury on 22 January 1322.

Edward turned north, assisted by the Despensers who had secretly returned from exile in mid-January. After mustering his men at Coventry in February, he advanced on Burton on Trent, where Lancaster and Hereford had fortified bridge over the River Trent. Realising they were outnumbered, the rebels withdrew, but on 16 March an army led by the Earl of Carlisle defeated them at the Battle of Boroughbridge. Hereford was killed in the fighting, Lancaster and another forty captured knights were beheaded shortly after.

Victory left Edward and the Despensers firmly in control of England and the Welsh Marches. The Despenser War "totally changed the political scene in England". It proved a catalyst for the disintegration of the baronial oligarchy, allowing Edward to regain the powers lost by the Ordinances of 1311.

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. In August 1323 Mortimer escaped and attempted to break other Contrariants out of Windsor and Wallingford Castles. 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.