1328-9: SORS IMMANIS ET INANIS, ROTA TU VOLUBILIS STATUS MALUS...
"As the rebels hunted for them, Edward and his party succeeded in confusing them largely through the simple measure of being confused themselves. On leaving London, Edward had planned for them to head en masse for Ireland to raise an army there. However shortly after leaving, the Prince of Wales successfully convinced his father to allow him and some of his closest companions (among them Gilbert Despenser, Hugh the Younger's second son) to go to Hainaut to get assistance from the Prince's father-in-law. Edward, by all later accounts searching desperately for anything that might constitute a solution, agreed to this, and then made for Wales with Hugh the Younger with the idea of getting passage to Ireland. At this point, he had yet another change of mind, and headed to Pontefract to be reunited with his young wife, leaving Hugh the Younger to head to Wales by himself. None of this was obvious to the rebels until afterwards, leaving them to chase a variety of leads to, initially, little effect. By the time they were aware that the King had headed north, he was already ensconced in Pontefract, while the Prince had reached Hainaut and immediately began recruiting a small army from veterans of the recent French campaign in Flanders.
"Hugh the Younger's journey proved less productive--turned back by bad weather, he was apprehended in Cardiff by his brother-in-law, and longtime rival Hugh de Audley[1], who was among the first to join the rising. Audley, who seems to have joined the zealousness of a convert with the jealousy of a slighted lover[2], had Hugh hanged then and there, proclaiming that 'it was right and proper that so odious a man should die forwith', following which he had the body dismembered, the pieces fed to hounds, and the head sent first to Winchester[3] and then to London 'so all may know and rejoice that he is dead'. Shortly thereafter, Roger Mortimer captured Bristol where the Earl of Winchester had attempted to maintain a loyalist garrison for a later counterattack. The Earl and his eldest grandson were among those captured. Marched back, the the pair reportedly had the misfortune to see the head of the man they knew as 'son' and 'father' respectively being displayed in Winchester. Reportedly Mortimer haughtily declared 'see now what has become of all your pomp'. The Despensers' response was to weep bitterly, appearing so wretched, Froissart wrote, 'that even those who had hated them now pitied them'. It was enough to provoke more than a few second thoughts amongst the rebellion's sympathisers.
"And the new regime was giving people more reasons to question it. When the Earl of Kent had called the so-called Great Council together, its stated purpose was to discuss England's welfare and 'set the nation at right again'. Edmund was a simple man, and likely meant what he said. However it rapidly became clear that Kent's puppet-masters were following their own radical agenda with Bishop Orleton increasingly leading the assembly to the subject of deposition. Even worse, loyalists besides the Despensers were being caught in the net--Edmund Fitzalan, the Earl of Arundel, and his son Richard[4] were both apprehended by their old enemy Lord Cherleton and brought to London, and serious plans were made to attaint them as traitors. When the Archbishop of York[5] asked bluntly how a man loyal to his king could be a traitor, Bishop Charleton[6] shouted at him to remain silent and remember what happened to Walter Stapledon. The clear threat of violence aimed at noblemen and clergy was disheartening--Henry Wryneck[7] reportedly noted that it was becoming clear that the rebels wished them to exchange "a bad ruler for a worse one". As opposed to his young cousin, the Earl of Lancaster was no fool. Neither was Edmund's elder brother Thomas of Norfolk. They had gone along with the rebellion when it appeared to be in their interests, quite possibly earlier then they later admitted, but now it seemed likely to turn on them.
"Meanwhile, King Edward remained in Pontefract with his wife and remaining children, despite efforts to capture him. An attempt to raise a small force to besiege the castle ended when an army of Scots started massing on the border[8]--afterwards, the new regime simply did not have the loyalty of the northern Border lords to allow such a force. Throughout it all he remained a rather unpleasant ghost at the feast for the rebels. With their authority in danger of unraveling completely, Orleton and Mortimer appeared to have decided to force the issue. The Bishop regaled the assembled lords with a list of Edward's crimes and stated, bluntly, that the only hope the kingdom would have for peace would be to see him deposed. The Archbishop of York, once again the unwanted voice of protest, asked who it was that Orleton wished to see crowned in Edward's place. What happened next proved to be one of the turning points of the rebellion. The Bishop of Worcester paused, looked over the crowd--and then simply stopped his speech. He then called some of his supporters to him, whispered some instructions, and attempted to move on as if he had not heard the question. As people tried to understand this strange behavior, they realized that the Earls of Lancaster, Norfolk and Kent were no longer in attendance.
"This was the beginning of the end for the rebellion. A few days later, it became known that the Prince of Wales had landed at the mouth of the Orwell[9] with a small force of his own, which, mirroring his uncle's earlier actions, swelled as he marched into the country. What little confidence remained in the 'Great Council' died when it was learned that Oliver Ingham, the King's new Seneschal in Aquitaine had overrun Saintoge and from there invested a few fortresses in the Agenais[10]--to which Mortimer had it seemed sent his word of promise to the Regent that once matters were settled, all would be returned, and fine paid[11]. Indeed, Mortimer had even rather embarrassingly served with the Count of Valois in the previous invasion of Aquitaine. The lord's protestations of English loyalty were starting to ring very hollow. Mortimer responded all this by fleeing, something other outspoken rebels such as Orleton and the Charletons ultimately followed his example in. By the time the Prince arrived in London, the rebel government that had held it for the last few months had collapsed. While the former ringleaders remained holed up in their own little strongholds, the Earl of Kent's Rising was finished..."
This Tumultuous Age: The Revolts and Upheavals of the 14th Century, Elizabeth Eckermann (1976)
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[1] Audley and Despenser were both husbands to de Clare sisters, making them joint heirs in the property of the Earldom of Gloucester, and their children grandchildren of Edward I. Needless to say, there were property disputes.
[2] Audley was a former favorite of Edward II. In fact his wife was Piers Gaveston's widow. Enjoy the medieval creepiness.
[3] This is modeled after the OTL death of his father, Hugh the Elder. IOTL, Hugh the Younger was hanged, reportedly from a ladder, and then dismembered, and by some reports, castrated, while still conscious. MORE medieval creepiness.
[4] IOTL, Edmund was executed during Isabella's invasion. Richard was later exiled by the new regime, though he made a comeback.
[5] William Melton, another dedicated Edward II supporter.
[6] Thomas Charleton, Bishop of Hereford, and brother to the Lord Cherleton. Yes, their peerage title is a misspelling of their name. Deal with it.
[7] Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster again. Reportedly, this nickname was from a medical condition. While Lancaster's skill as a politician are debatable, his skills as a survivor are not--he survived multiple regime changes during Edward II and III's reigns, frequently while plotting against said regimes.
[8] This will be explained in a later installment, though it should be noted Robert Bruce managed one last invasion of England during the coup IOTL.
[9] Prince Edward has managed to mimic his mother's point of arrival IOTL.
[10] Astonishingly enough, this happened IOTL.
[11] And yes, this was exactly what Isabella and Mortimer did in response. "New boss, old boss" time.
