Eleanor farewell.
The countess shrugged, then remembered herself. “I beg your pardon, your grace. We shall be staying in Knaresborough for the time being, I suppose. I am not certain. It depends on the stupid earls.”
“The earls may have valid grievances,” said Isabella. “Perhaps some good will come out of this.”
“None that I can imagine, your grace,” said Margaret. “Now if you will give me leave, your grace, I will go and decide what to pack.”
March 1310 to June 1312
E DWARD'S OPPONENTS HAD PRESENTED THEIR GRIEVANCES TO THE KING, who had most reluctantly agreed to allow them to elect a group of earls, bishops, and barons called the Ordainers. Till Michaelmas of 1311 they planned to work, drafting a series of what they called reforms and what the king called a number of other things, all of which made Eleanor blush.
Gilbert de Clare was the youngest of the Ordainers. Though loyal to the king, he was rather proud to be part of what he considered to be a worthy object. With an almost paternal air, he brought Eleanor a parchment containing the first products of the Ordainers' handiwork. “Very reasonable, you see, sister. We are to protect the franchises of our Holy Church. We are to sit in London so that we might have all the necessary records at our disposal. We are to maintain Magna Carta.”
All this sounded reasonable enough to Eleanor. But were there not other Ordinances? She leaned over her brother's shoulder. “No gifts are to be made by the king without the assent of the Ordainers—Gilbert! You know full well this means Gaveston here. The king will never agree.”
“But he has no choice, you see.”
Edward's reaction to the preliminary Ordinances was to ignore them. Instead, he and Gaveston planned a Scottish campaign and went north to Berwick, while the Ordainers remained in London. Shortly after the preliminary Ordinances took effect, Edward tweaked the Ordainers' noses by making Gaveston a justice of the forest north of Trent and keeper of Nottingham Castle.
Aside from these snubs, the king was making little progress in Scotland, though Gilbert, Gaveston, and the Earl of Surrey, who had married Eleanor's cousin Joan on the same day she had married Hugh, had brought troops with them and at least could take credit for keeping Robert Bruce, the Scottish leader, from complacency. Lancaster, meanwhile, made great progress in February 1311 when his father-in-law, the Earl of Lincoln, died, giving Lancaster more earldoms. His income of eleven thousand pounds a year dwarfed even that of Gilbert, and he quickly showed his hand by refusing to cross the Tweed to swear fealty to the king. For weeks the king remained north of the Tweed, Lancaster south of it, until finally the king gave in and crossed the river to take Lancaster's fealty. Lancaster enjoyed himself still more by refusing to acknowledge Gaveston's presence.
The completed Ordinances arrived in the king's hands in August 1311 as the court, dispirited from what had ultimately proven to be no more than a change of scene, made its way back to London. Edward went off to read them and returned livid. “Look at this, Isabella! Look, Niece! They have charged my brother with providing me with evil counsel. Evil counsel, from my one true friend! With draining the royal treasury and sending it abroad. With—”
“No doubt the charges are excessive,” said Isabella coolly. “But they cannot come as a surprise to you. They are only what the Ordainers have been saying all along.”
“Aye, but this will be a surprise to you, Isabella. Gaveston is not the only one they proscribe. They have targeted one of your ladies. Isabella de Vescy.” He picked up the parchment that he had thrown upon a table and read, “It is determined by the investigations of the prelates, earls, and barons that the Lady Vescy petitioned the king to give to her brother, Sir Henry de Beaumont, and others, lands and franchises to the damage and dishonor
The countess shrugged, then remembered herself. “I beg your pardon, your grace. We shall be staying in Knaresborough for the time being, I suppose. I am not certain. It depends on the stupid earls.”
“The earls may have valid grievances,” said Isabella. “Perhaps some good will come out of this.”
“None that I can imagine, your grace,” said Margaret. “Now if you will give me leave, your grace, I will go and decide what to pack.”
March 1310 to June 1312
E DWARD'S OPPONENTS HAD PRESENTED THEIR GRIEVANCES TO THE KING, who had most reluctantly agreed to allow them to elect a group of earls, bishops, and barons called the Ordainers. Till Michaelmas of 1311 they planned to work, drafting a series of what they called reforms and what the king called a number of other things, all of which made Eleanor blush.
Gilbert de Clare was the youngest of the Ordainers. Though loyal to the king, he was rather proud to be part of what he considered to be a worthy object. With an almost paternal air, he brought Eleanor a parchment containing the first products of the Ordainers' handiwork. “Very reasonable, you see, sister. We are to protect the franchises of our Holy Church. We are to sit in London so that we might have all the necessary records at our disposal. We are to maintain Magna Carta.”
All this sounded reasonable enough to Eleanor. But were there not other Ordinances? She leaned over her brother's shoulder. “No gifts are to be made by the king without the assent of the Ordainers—Gilbert! You know full well this means Gaveston here. The king will never agree.”
“But he has no choice, you see.”
Edward's reaction to the preliminary Ordinances was to ignore them. Instead, he and Gaveston planned a Scottish campaign and went north to Berwick, while the Ordainers remained in London. Shortly after the preliminary Ordinances took effect, Edward tweaked the Ordainers' noses by making Gaveston a justice of the forest north of Trent and keeper of Nottingham Castle.
Aside from these snubs, the king was making little progress in Scotland, though Gilbert, Gaveston, and the Earl of Surrey, who had married Eleanor's cousin Joan on the same day she had married Hugh, had brought troops with them and at least could take credit for keeping Robert Bruce, the Scottish leader, from complacency. Lancaster, meanwhile, made great progress in February 1311 when his father-in-law, the Earl of Lincoln, died, giving Lancaster more earldoms. His income of eleven thousand pounds a year dwarfed even that of Gilbert, and he quickly showed his hand by refusing to cross the Tweed to swear fealty to the king. For weeks the king remained north of the Tweed, Lancaster south of it, until finally the king gave in and crossed the river to take Lancaster's fealty. Lancaster enjoyed himself still more by refusing to acknowledge Gaveston's presence.
The completed Ordinances arrived in the king's hands in August 1311 as the court, dispirited from what had ultimately proven to be no more than a change of scene, made its way back to London. Edward went off to read them and returned livid. “Look at this, Isabella! Look, Niece! They have charged my brother with providing me with evil counsel. Evil counsel, from my one true friend! With draining the royal treasury and sending it abroad. With—”
“No doubt the charges are excessive,” said Isabella coolly. “But they cannot come as a surprise to you. They are only what the Ordainers have been saying all along.”
“Aye, but this will be a surprise to you, Isabella. Gaveston is not the only one they proscribe. They have targeted one of your ladies. Isabella de Vescy.” He picked up the parchment that he had thrown upon a table and read, “It is determined by the investigations of the prelates, earls, and barons that the Lady Vescy petitioned the king to give to her brother, Sir Henry de Beaumont, and others, lands and franchises to the damage and dishonor
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