Edward II, also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne following the death of his older brother Alphonso. Beginning in 1300, Edward accompanied his father on campaigns to pacify Scotland, and in 1307 he was knighted in a grand ceremony at Westminster Abbey. Edward succeeded to the throne later that year, following his father's death. In 1308, he married Isabella of France, the daughter of the powerful King Philip IV, as part of a long-running effort to resolve the tensions between the English and French crowns.
Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere was an English soldier, diplomat, member of parliament, landowner and nobleman. He was the son and heir of Sir Gunselm de Badlesmere and Joan FitzBernard. He fought in the English army both in France and Scotland during the later years of the reign of Edward I of England and the earlier part of the reign of Edward II of England. He was executed after participating in an unsuccessful rebellion led by Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster.
Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the favourite of Edward II of England.
Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster was an English nobleman of the first House of Lancaster of the royal Plantagenet Dynasty. He was Earl of Lancaster, Leicester, and Derby from 1296 to 1322, and Earl of Lincoln and Salisbury jure uxoris from 1311 to 1322. As one of the most powerful barons of England, Thomas was one of the leaders of the baronial opposition to his first cousin, King Edward II.
Edmund Fitzalan, 2nd Earl of Arundel was an English nobleman prominent in the conflict between King Edward II and his barons. His father, Richard Fitzalan, 1st Earl of Arundel, died in 1302, while Edmund was still a minor. He, therefore, became a ward of John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, and married Warenne's granddaughter, Alice. In 1306 he was styled Earl of Arundel, and served under Edward I in the Scottish Wars, for which he was richly rewarded.
Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick was an English magnate, and one of the principal opponents of King Edward II and his favourite, Piers Gaveston. Guy was the son of William de Beauchamp, the first Beauchamp earl of Warwick, and succeeded his father in 1298. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Falkirk and subsequently, as a capable servant of the crown under King Edward I. After the succession of Edward II in 1307, however, he soon fell out with the new king and the king's favourite, Piers Gaveston. Warwick was one of the main architects behind the Ordinances of 1311, that limited the powers of the king and banished Gaveston into exile.
Margaret of France was Queen of England as the second wife of King Edward I. She was a daughter of Philip III of France and Maria of Brabant.
Robert de Holland, 1st Baron Holand was an English nobleman, born in Lancashire.
Gilbert de Clare, 8th Earl of Gloucester, 7th Earl of Hertford was an English nobleman and military commander in the Scottish Wars. In contrast to most English earls at the time, his main focus lay in the pursuit of war rather than in domestic political strife. He was the son of Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester, and Joan of Acre, daughter of King Edward I. The older Gilbert died when his son was only four years old, and the younger Gilbert was invested with his earldoms at the young age of sixteen. Almost immediately, he became involved in the defence of the northern border, but later he was drawn into the struggles between Edward II and some of his barons. He was one of the Lords Ordainers who ordered the expulsion of the king's favourite Piers Gaveston in 1311. When Gaveston was killed on his return in 1312, Gloucester helped negotiate a settlement between the perpetrators and the king.
John of Brittany, 4th Earl of Richmond, was an English nobleman and a member of the Ducal house of Brittany, the House of Dreux. He entered royal service in England under his uncle Edward I, and also served Edward II. On 15 October 1306 he received his father's title of Earl of Richmond. He was named Guardian of Scotland in the midst of England's conflicts with Scotland and in 1311 Lord Ordainer during the baronial rebellion against Edward II.
Events from the 1310s in England.
The Ordinances of 1311 were a series of regulations imposed upon King Edward II by the peerage and clergy of the Kingdom of England to restrict the power of the English monarch. The twenty-one signatories of the Ordinances are referred to as the Lords Ordainers, or simply the Ordainers. English setbacks in the Scottish war, combined with perceived extortionate royal fiscal policies, set the background for the writing of the Ordinances in which the administrative prerogatives of the king were largely appropriated by a baronial council. The Ordinances reflect the Provisions of Oxford and the Provisions of Westminster from the late 1250s, but unlike the Provisions, the Ordinances featured a new concern with fiscal reform, specifically redirecting revenues from the king's household to the exchequer.
Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy of Alnwick was a medieval English magnate.
John Segrave, 2nd Baron Segrave was an English commander in the First War of Scottish Independence.
The Boulogne agreement was a document signed by a group of English magnates in 1308, concerning the government of Edward II. After the death of Edward I in 1307, discontent soon developed against the new king. This was partly due to lingering problems from the previous reign, but also related to issues with Edward II himself. Particularly his abandonment of the Scottish Wars and his patronage of the unpopular Piers Gaveston caused discontent. Drawn up in Boulogne-sur-Mer during the king's nuptials, the document vaguely asserted the signatories' duty to guard the rights of the Crown. Three months later, the agreement was the basis for another document, justifying opposition to the king. This latter document, the so-called Declaration of 1308, is notable for its use of the "doctrine of capacities": the distinction between the person of the King and the institution of the Crown.
The Treaty of Leake was an agreement between the "Middle Party", including courtier adherents of Edward II of England, and the king's cousin, the Earl Thomas of Lancaster and his followers. It was signed at Leake in Nottinghamshire on 9 August 1318. The treaty was meant to reconcile the King and his favourites with Lancaster and other baronial opponents. Central to the negotiations were Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and various prelates.
Henry VII, also known as Henry of Luxembourg, was Count of Luxembourg, King of Germany from 1308 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1312. He was the first emperor of the House of Luxembourg. During his brief career he reinvigorated the imperial cause in Italy, which was racked with the partisan struggles between the divided Guelph and Ghibelline factions, and inspired the praise of Dino Compagni and Dante Alighieri. He was the first emperor since the death of Frederick II in 1250, ending the Great Interregnum of the Holy Roman Empire; however, his premature death threatened to undo his life's work. His son, John of Bohemia, failed to be elected as his successor, and there was briefly another anti-king, Frederick the Fair, contesting the rule of Louis IV.
Walter de Thornbury was an English-born statesman and cleric who held the office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland in the 14th century. His efforts to secure confirmation of his election as Archbishop of Dublin ended in tragedy with his death in a shipwreck.
