Edward III: February 1329

1329 February

Introduction 1329

Westminster

9 February - 22 February

(There is no surviving roll for this parliament)

There is no writ of summons for this parliament, whose summons is recorded only in the writ dated 8 February 1329 at the Tower of London. The writ was addressed to the sheriffs of London who were ordered to proclaim that the prelates, abbots, earls, barons, knights, burgesses and all others who came to the parliament at Salisbury (on 16 October 1328) have come or are bound to come to Westminster at the octaves of the Purification (i.e., 9 February) to do what will be enjoined of them on the king's behalf. The marginal note on the Close Roll also indicates that this was a continuation of the parliament held at Salisbury. RDP , iv, 389; CCR 1327-30 , 527-8.

The tense situation created by the earl of Lancaster's failure to attend the Salisbury parliament and by the gathering of armed men both by Lancaster and Mortimer continued after the end of the assembly. On about 3 November the royal forces approached Winchester just as Lancaster's men were leaving in full view. Lancaster then withdrew to his castle at Kenilworth in the Midlands to gather reinforcements and observe events. The king and queen, Isabella, and Roger Mortimer the newly created earl of March went to London where they arrived on about 6 December and stayed for a week. They were well received by the Londoners, but this was only a ploy since a prearranged meeting of Lancastrian sympathisers began in London on about 17 December. The summons, issued in the names of the earls of Norfolk and Kent, claimed that the king was riding about the countryside, devastating it, and in violation of his coronation oath and Magna Carta was seizing the goods of churches and laymen and destroying the nobles of the realm. Of the prelates, only the archbishop of Canterbury and the bishops of Winchester and London are known to have attended, and Thomas Wake, William Trussell and Thomas Roscelyn of the Lancastrian supporters. On 18 December the archbishop of Canterbury preached a sermon in St. Paul's cathedral which was probably designed to present a defence of the Lancastrian cause. This began several days of discussion among the prelates and magnates. When news of the meeting reached the king at Gloucester, a letter was sent to the mayor and sheriffs of London to try to deter them from assisting the dissidents. The letter was accompanied by a document which replied to the criticisms made by the earl of Lancaster and summarising the events since the treaty of Northampton in May 1328. This document was published at Guildhall on 21 December in the presence of the Lancastrian lords who replied that the earl of Lancaster could not make any response until he had consulted his peers. On 23 December the archbishop of Canterbury sent the archdeacon of Middlesex with a letter for the royal court. This contained 'a petition of prelates, earls and barons and of the whole community of London', drawn up on 21 December in reply to the statement of the royal government. The petition claimed that it had been agreed at Salisbury that no proceedings would be taken against the magnates until the resumption of parliament at Westminster in February 1329. Under Magna Carta he king should proceed only by judgment of their peers and by due process of law. The archbishop pleaded that the king, who was moving against certain peers with an army, should wait until discussions of the disputes between him and the magnates could be held in parliament. (fn. f1329int-1)

On 1 January 1329 the earl of Lancaster arrived in London with his followers and joined in the discussions at St. Paul's. He then reconciled himself with the king's uncle, the earl of Norfolk, from whom he had become estranged after the murder of Robert Holland by one of his own knights, Thomas Wyther. (fn. f1329int-2) On 2 January Lancaster joined the prelates and magnates who were already at St. Paul's and together they agreed on reform proposals for the benefit of the king and the realm. This was all very reminiscent of the demands that Edward II had faced at the beginning of his reign. However on this occasion there were already signs of weakening among the king's opponents. The bishop of Winchester, who had taken a leading role, left for his diocese. Leadership of the prelates was taken over the less astute archbishop of Canterbury, Simon Meopham. (fn. f1329int-3)

Meanwhile Mortimer and Isabella were taking actions of their own. On 29 December they wrote from Worcester in the king's name to the Londoners in order to proclaim the king's intentions. The king's forces would go to Warwick on 1 January and expected to be at Leicester on 6 January. If those who were in arms against the king submitted by 7 January, they would be pardoned, except for Henry de Beaumont, Thomas Roscelyn, Thomas Wyther, and William Trussell. Mortimer showed that he meant business by advancing as far as Northampton by the middle of January, ravaging Lancaster's lands as he went. In London the archbishop of Canterbury, the bishop of London, and the earls of Norfolk and Kent were chosen as emissaries. They were to try to dissuade the king from 'riding against' the dissidents, but were to threaten armed force if the king did not agree. The archbishop went on ahead of the other emissaries; met the king and queen and the royal army near Bedford, where Lancaster was encamped; and was persuaded to change sides. He then returned to the other members of the delegation and told them that if they submitted, they would be pardoned, apart from the four men already excluded. The earls of Norfolk and Kent were left with no option but to submit. This probably took place on or about 19 January 1329. On 21 January the mayor and twenty-four men of the city of London were summoned to St. Albans to answer for their support of the earl of Lancaster at Winchester and Bedford. Faced with the loss of his allies, the earl of Lancaster also had to submit, at the cost of a making a pledge for £30,000 to guarantee future good behaviour and paying a fine of £11,000. The four followers who had been excepted from Edward III's offer of pardon, had to go into exile abroad, as did Lancaster's son-in-law Thomas Wake, who in January 1327 had played a leading part in the deposition of Edward II. As Haines remarks, 'thus a civil war was circumvented, but only at the cost of the unchallenged supremacy of Isabella and Mortimer'. (fn. f1329int-4)

Against this background of barely suppressed tension, the parliament which had been adjourned from Salisbury reassembled at Westminster on 9 February. The most urgent issue 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. (fn. f1329int-5)

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 , using the search engine.