Edward III: March 1330

1330 March

Introduction March 1330

Winchester

11 March - 23 March

For the writs of summons see RDP , iv, 391-3; CCR 1330-33 , 137-8.

(There is no surviving roll for this parliament)

The Winchester parliament of March 1330 was the first parliament to be held since the meeting at Westminster in February 1329. However on 23 July 1329 a large assembly described in the writs of summons only as a 'colloquium' and a 'tractatum' had been held at Windsor. The writs of summons which were issued at Canterbury on 14 June 1329 ( RDP , iv, 390-1), gave the purpose of the assembly as 'great and arduous affairs intimately touching the king and the state of the realm, and the tranquillity and peace of the people of the realm'. The real purpose was probably to consider the situation in Gascony and Philip VI's demand that Edward III should perform liege homage for the duchy of Aquitaine, in addition to the simpler form of homage he had just performed at Amiens. Writs of summons to the assembly at Windsor were sent to the two archbishops, eighteen bishops (including the four Welsh bishops), nineteen abbots and one prior; to eight earls (Norfolk, Kent, Lancaster (his name is written in error as Edmund rather than Henry), Surrey, Richmond (his name was crossed out), Oxford, Hereford, March (Roger Mortimer of Wigmore)), and to sixty-one barons, royal judges and clerks. The names of the barons, judges and clerks were however intermingled in the record of the summons and also included the name of 'Guy de Beauchamp, earl of Warwick ' (who had died in 1315) in error for his son Thomas de Beauchamp, earl of Warwick (who had recently succeeded to the earldom). Representatives of the knights, burgesses and lower clergy were not summoned on this occasion.

Little is known in detail about the events between the Westminster parliament of February 1329 and the Winchester parliament of March 1330. Outwardly peace had been restored between the earl of Lancaster and the king, but at the cost of cementing the power of Roger Mortimer and Isabella. One issue that had to be addressed urgently was the demand by the new king of France, Philip VI, for Edward III to perform homage for the duchy of Aquitaine. Edward III's claim to the French throne had been formally asserted in 1328 when Philip of Valois had just succeeded as king and his position was still insecure. Now the situation had changed. Edward III had no choice but to obey the summons. He crossed to France on 26 May and on 6 June 1329 Edward III did homage to Philip VI in Amiens cathedral, as his father Edward II had done in 1320. Edward returned to England on 11 June. (fn. M1330int-1) It has been suggested that after his submission to Edward III in January 1329 the earl of Lancaster stayed away from court for much of the time. He appeared briefly in February and accompanied Edward to France when he performed homage in June. There is no reason to believe that he did not attend the council held at Windsor on 23 July. In September 1329 he was deputed to take part in further negotiations with France. But after this he did not reappear until the spring of 1330. At some point however during 1329-30 Lancaster lost his sight, after which he was represented in parliament by his son, Henry of Grosmont. (fn. M1330int-2) If Lancaster did begin to keep his distance for reasons of policy rather than health, it could have been because of the extravagant behaviour of Roger Mortimer. His relationship with Isabella was as close as ever, so close that it has been suggested that by the summer of 1329 she might even have been pregnant by him. Mortimer was already earl of March, a title without precedent and of unprecedented scope. In September 1329 he held a Round Table at Wigmore to celebrate the wedding of his daughter to the king's uncle, the earl of Norfolk. In the presence of both Edward III and Isabella, Mortimer took the role of Arthur, wearing a crown while he presided over the tournament. Not surprisingly rumours began to circulate that Mortimer wanted to become king in reality. His son Geoffrey told him directly that he was not king Arthur but 'the King of Folly'. This and other signs of high-handed behaviour by Mortimer finally turned the young Edward III against him. In late September 1329 the king sent his trusted agent, Sir William Montagu, to visit the pope at Avignon to inform him of events in England. In reply the pope asked Edward for some sign by which he would be able in future to distinguish the king's wishes from those expressed in his name by Roger Mortimer. This was probably the occasion for Edward III's now famous letter to the pope, which was sent early in 1330 and in which the words Pater Sancte were written in Edward III's own hand. (fn. M1330int-3)

Mortimer was probably becoming suspicious of the moves that were being made against him and made use of the rumours that were circulating in England that Edward II had not died at Berkeley in September 1327 but had escaped and was still alive. Edward II's half-brother, Edmund earl of Kent, was entrapped into believing that the former king was imprisoned in Corfe Castle in Dorset, and went there in search of him. The constable of Corfe, Sir John Deveril, who was one of Mortimer's followers, immediately informed Mortimer. The earl of Kent was arrested and charged with treason. (fn. M1330int-4)

The writs of summons for the Winchester parliament of 11 March 1330 were issued at Eltham on 25 January 1330. The marginal note on the Close Roll also describes the intended meeting as a parliament. The writs state that the king has been disposed to hold 'parliamentum nostrum' to have a 'colloquium' and 'tractatum' with those attending.

Writs of summons were issued on 25 January 1330 to the two archbishops, nineteen bishops (including the four Welsh bishops), twenty-seven abbots and three priors; eleven earls (Norfolk, Kent, Lancaster, Surrey, Richmond, Oxford, Hereford, Cornwall (the king's brother, John of Eltham, was created earl in October 1328), March (Roger Mortimer of Wigmore, was created earl in October 1328), Atholl (from Scotland), Warwick (Thomas de Beauchamp, who succeeded to his earldom in February 1329 when he came of age), fifty barons; nine royal judges and clerks; and for the election of representatives of the knights of the shire and burgesses, and of the lower clergy.

The writs of summons gave the purpose of the parliament as 'great and arduous affairs touching the king and the state of the realm in many ways'.

The official purpose of the Winchester parliament was to discuss relations with France. Within weeks of Edward III's performance of homage to Philip IV in June 1329, the French king gave him a date by which he was to recognise that he owed liege homage for the duchy of Aquitaine. Important parts of the duchy, notably the Agenais and most of Saintonge had been occupied by the French since 1324. In default Edward III would lose the remainder of the duchy. Attempts were made on the English side to postpone the performance of homage and to strengthen the duchy's defences. A council of magnates was held at the king's manor of Eltham in January 1330. Some support for action in Gascony was obtained and it was from Eltham that the Winchester parliament was summoned on 25 January. When the parliament met, there was further discussion of the situation in Gascony, apparently with little result. A tax in aid of the defence of Gascony was sought but no general levy of taxation was approved; individual magnates appear to have agreed to make personal contributions; and, after pressure from the royal government, some support was obtained from the towns. In April 1330 it was possible to send Edward III's younger brother, John of Eltham earl of Cornwall, to Gascony as royal lieutenant, with forty ships and some troops. (fn. M1330int-5)

The business of the parliament was however completely overshadowed by the announcement of the arrest for treason of the king's uncle, the earl of Kent. The earl was subjected to a trial before the coroner of the royal household, with Roger Mortimer as prosecutor. On 16 April the earl of Kent made a fuller confession which was then read to a horrified parliament. The result was a foregone conclusion, and the earl was executed outside the gate of Winchester castle on 19 March, but only after a delay in finding someone willing to perform the execution. Many others were implicated in the earl of Kent's treason, including the archbishop of York and the bishop of London, as well as Henry de Beaumont and Thomas Roscelyn, two of the Lancastrian supporters who had been forced into exile in 1329. (fn. M1330int-6)

In the absence of a Parliament Roll for this assembly, there is no clear evidence as to whether petitions were received and answered. It is possible that some petitions were dealt with. See PROME , Appendix of Unedited Petitions, 1307 - 1337 , Petitions in Parliament, 4 Edward III (1330-1331) , Transcripts of eighty-four petitions taken from the manuscripts of Sir Matthew Hale , and elsewhere in the Appendix, using the search engine. There is no evidence of any commune petition being delivered at this parliament.