March 16, 1322 - The Battle of Boroughbridge took place in the Despenser Wars. It was fought between the forces of the ineffectual King Edward II and a group of rebellious barons. The Battle of Boroughbridge was a battle fought on 16 March 1322 between a group of rebellious barons and King Edward II of England, near Boroughbridge, north-west of York. The culmination of a long period of antagonism between the king and Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, his most powerful subject, it resulted in Lancasters defeat and execution. This allowed Edward to re-establish royal authority, and hold on to power for another five years. Not in itself a part of the Wars of Scottish Independence, the battle is significant for its employment of tactics learned in the Scottish wars in a domestic, English conflict. Both the extensive use of foot soldiers rather than cavalry, and the heavy impact caused by the longbow, represented significant steps in military developments. After the battle Thomas of Lancaster was taken to Pontefract Castle, which by then had fallen to the king. There he was submitted to what was little more than a show trial, and – in front of a gathering of earls and barons – sentenced to death. On 22 March 1322 he was led out of the castle and beheaded in front of a jeering crowd. In the years to come, a cult emerged around the person of the late earl as a martyr, and even a possible saint. Lancaster had shown no signs of extraordinary piety or other personal abilities during his lifetime, and the cult has been interpreted as a reaction to the incompetent and oppressive reign of Edward II. Some thirty of Lancasters followers were also executed, among these Clifford and the baron John Mowbray. As for Robert Holland, his defection saved him from execution, but his close association with Lancaster made him suspect in the eyes of the king, and he was imprisoned until 1327. The very next year he was murdered (by beheading), possibly by order of Henry, Thomass brother and heir.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 12:37:20 +0000
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