POLITICAL HISTORY 



Undisciplined and lacking leaders, the Yorkshiremen made little resistance ; 3,000 of them were 

 slain, including Sir Nicholas Fleming, seven times Mayor of York ; the archbishop, the chancellor, 

 the Abbots of St. Mary's and Selby, and others who were well mounted, escaped, but many less 

 fortunate were captured and made to pay heavy ransom. So numerous were the clergy slain that 

 the battle was afterwards known as * the chapter of Myton.' The archbishop's standard with its 

 silver shaft crowned with a gilded crucifix was saved by its bearer, who swam his horse down 

 the stream until he came to a willow behind which was an overgrown cave, in which he hid 

 it, but it would seem that he lost a quantity of plate and other valuable baggage.'" The Scots, 

 who had entered Yorkshire by the valley of the Swale, advanced unopposed to Castleford and then 

 turned west, part going down the valley of the Wharfe and part down that of the Aire, turning 

 up northwards through Settle to Burton-in-Lonsdale and so into Lancashire,'" thus avoiding the 

 forces of the English king, who had raised the siege of Berwick and endeavoured to cut them off 

 during the retreat. 



About this time Edward fell under the influence of the two Despensers, father and son, and 

 very soon they occupied the same position in his favour that Piers Gaveston had once held ; their 

 arrogance and greed soon united the better of the old nobility against them, and a leader was 

 found in Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, Leicester, Ferrers, Lincoln, and Salisbury, the greatest and 

 richest noble in the land. Earl Thomas summoned the northern lords to meet in the chapter- 

 house of the priory at Pontefract on 24 May 1321, and there they formed a league for mutual 

 defence. In order to strengthen their position the earl next called the Archbishop of York and 

 his suffragans and other leading clergy together at Sherburn in Elmet on 28 June. There, 

 in the parish church, Sir John de Bek read out the articles of the league and desired the assent 

 of the assembled prelates. The latter withdrew to the rectory, and, after discussion, gave their 

 cordial support to all measures of defence against the Scots, but desired that the other matters, 

 touching the reform of abuses in the administration of the kingdom, might stand over till the 

 next Parliament.'^ The Earl of Lancaster was a weak and incapable man and allowed the king 

 to crush rebellions by Badlesmere in Kent and by the Mortimers in the West before taking up arms 

 himself; but at last, in February 1322, he was persuaded by Mowbray, Clifford, and the Earl 

 of Hereford to assist them in the siege of Tickhill Castle, and when after three weeks' siege 

 the castle still held out he marched with his allies on 10 March to Burton-on-Trent against the 

 king. The royal forces, however, crossed the river, and the rebels, outnumbered and panic- 

 stricken, retreated hastily to Lancaster's castle of Pontefract. Hearing of their flight, Robert 

 Holland, the earl's treasurer, who was bringing reinforcements, deserted and made terms for 

 himself at the expense of his lord and benefactor. The Earls of Lancaster and Hereford, now 

 thoroughly alarmed, abandoned Pontefract Castle and fled towards the Border, hoping, as it was 

 alleged with much probability,'^ to obtain help from the Scots. But when they reached Borough- 

 bridge on 16 March they found Sir Andrew Harcla, Warden of Carlisle, holding the bridge, and 

 in the endeavour to carry the position the Earl of Hereford was killed. Discouraged by this loss, 

 and harassed by Harcla's archers, to whom they could make little reply, their force being mainly 

 cavalry, Lancaster's men began to melt away, but they were still too strong for Harcla to venture 

 to abandon the defensive, and they were allowed to retire for the night into the town of Borough- 

 bridge. Early next morning Harcla was reinforced by the Sheriff of Yorkshire with 400 men, and 

 he at once entered Boroughbridge. Panic had spread through the earl's army, and most of his 

 followers had fled, those who had not abandoned their weapons being speedily relieved of them 

 by the men of the towns through which they passed.'' Lancaster himself was led a prisoner to 

 his own castle of Pontefract, imprisoned in a new tower which rumour said he had built as a 

 prison for the king, and next day condemned to die as a traitor. Out of respect to his royal 

 blood he was beheaded, but his companions in arms were hanged, Warin de Lisle, William 

 Touchet, Thomas Mauduit, Henry Bradburn, William Fitz William, and William Cheney at Ponte- 

 fract, John Mowbray, Roger Clifford, and Joscelin Dayvill at York, and others elsewhere.'* 



At the beginning of May 1322 Parliament met at York and revoked the ordinances previously 



'' Leadman, Battles fought in Yorkshire, 26-3 1, and authorities there quoted. The date of the battle is 

 given by chroniclers of Bridlington and Meaux as 1 2 September ; Walsingham and Trokelowe say 20 Septem- 

 ber, and although they are not as good authorities they appear to be correct, judging from the king's letter 

 of the 1 8th and the fact that the siege of Berwick was not raised till the 24th {Cal. of Doc. Scot, iii, 126). 



'» Chron. Mon. de Melsa (Rolls Ser.), ii, 337 ; cf. the list of villages burnt by the Scots, Cal. Close, 1318- 

 23, p. 167. 



" Chron. Edza. I and II (Rolls Ser.), ii, 61-5. 



" See the ' Proceedings against the Earl of Lancaster,' Trokelowe, CiroK. et .^»«. (Rolls Ser.) 112-24 ! 

 and Cal. Close, 1318-23, pp. 525-6. 



'' Assize R. 1 1 1 7 contains a number of cases of the spoiling of fugitives from Boroughbridge. 



" Leadman, Battles Fought in Yorkshire, 52-66, and the authorities there quoted. 



405 



