ENGLAND-. 
5<)3 
of ilie government was to be delegated to twelve perfons, 
to be chofen by themfelvea. Thefe wer.e to ihave the 
management of the kingdom, and the regulation of the 
king’s houfebold. They were to enaCt ordinances for 
the good of the (fate, and the honour of the king; their 
commiffion was to continue for fix months; and then they 
were to lay down their authority. Many "of their ordi¬ 
nances were accordingly put in force ; and fome of them 
appeared for the advantage of the nation: fuch as the re¬ 
quiring that the (bend's fhould be men of property ; the 
prohibiting the adulteration of the coin ; the excluding 
foreigners from farming the revenues ; and the.revoking 
all the late exorbitant grants of the crown. All thefe 
the king, who faw himfelf entirely (tripped of his power, 
could very patiently fubmit to ; but when he found that 
Gavefione was to be banifhed for ever from his dominions, 
he was no longer mafter of his temper; but removing to 
York, where he was at a diftance from the immediate 
terror of the confederated power, he inftantly invited 
Gavefione back from Flanders, whither the barons had 
banifhed him; and declaring his punifhment and fentence 
to be illegal, he openly reinftated him, in 1312, in all bis 
former authorities. This was fufficient to fpread an alarm 
over the whole kingdom ; the barons flew to arms; the 
earl of Lancafter put himfelf at the head of this irrefiftible 
confederacy; Guy earl of Warwick entered into it with 
anxious zeal; the earl of Hereford, the earl of Pembroke, 
and earl Warenne, (ill embraced the fame caufe ; whilft 
the archbifhop of Canterbury brought over the majority 
of the ccclefiaftics, and confequently of the people. The 
fu pine and miferable Edward, iuflead of attempting re¬ 
finance, fought only for fafety: happy in the exclufive 
fociety of his favourite, he embarked at Teignmouth, 
and failed with him to the cable of Scarborough, where 
lie left Gavefione, as in a place of fafety; and then went 
back to York, either to raife an army, or to allay the ani- 
molity of Ids barons. In the mean time, Gaveftone was 
befieged in Scarborough by the earl of Pembroke ; and 
being unable to nuke reliftance, he took the earlieft op¬ 
portunity to offer terms of capitulation. He ftipulated, 
that he fhould remain in Pembroke’s bands, as a prifoner, 
for two months ; and that endeavours fhould be ufed, in 
the mean time, for a general accommodation. But Pem¬ 
broke had no intention that he fhould efcape fo eafily : 
th.e 9iher leading barons were confulted; when, without 
hefltation or trial, the unfortunate favourite’s head was 
fevered from his body, to the difgrace of humanity, and 
in violation of the eftablifbed laws. 
The king, at firlt, feemed to feel all the refentment 
which fo fenfible an injury ought to have produced ; but, 
equally weak in his attachment and in his revenge, he was 
foon appeafed, and granted the murderers a free pardon, 
upon their making a fbow of fubmifiion and repentance. 
An apparent tranquillity was for a time eftablifbedamong 
the contending parties; and that refentment which they 
had exercifed upon each other, was now turned againft 
the Scots, who were confideredas the common enemy. A 
war had been declared fome time before with this nation, 
in order to recover that fovereignty over them which had 
been eftablifhed in the former reign, and a truce was con¬ 
cluded ; but the terms of it being ill obferved on both 
Tides, the animofities were kindled afrefh, and the whole 
military force of England was called out by the king, 
and feconded by the barons ; together with very large re¬ 
inforcements from the continent, and other parts of the 
Englifh dominions. Edward’s army amounted to a hun¬ 
dred thoufand men ; while Bruce, king of Scotland, could 
bring only thirty thoufand to oppofe him. Both armies 
met at Bannockburn, within two miles of Stirling ; the 
one confident in numbers, the other relying wholly on 
their advantageous pofition. Bruce had a hill on his 
right flank, and a bog on his left; with a rivulet in front, 
on the banks of which he had caufed feveral deep pits to 
be dug, with pointed flakes driven into them, and the 
whole Carefully concealed from the view of the enemy. 
Vol. VI. No. 375.. 
The attack was made by the Englifh ; and a furious en¬ 
gagement enfued between the cavalry on both Tides. Tim 
fortune and intrepidity of Bruce gave the fir ft turn to ‘he 
day. He engaged in Angle combat with Henry de Bohan, 
of the lioufe of Hereford > and at one flroke cb ve his fkuii 
with his battle-axe. So favourable a beginning was only 
interrupted by the flight; for the battle renewing at the 
dawn of the enfuing day, the Englifh cavalry once more 
attempted to attack the Scottifh armv, but unexpectedly 
found themfelves entangled among thefe pits which Bruce 
had previoufly dug for them. The earl of Gloucefter, 
the king’s nephew, was overthrown and (lain, which 
ferved to intimidate the EngliIh army ; but they were 
much more alarmed by the appearance of a frefh army, 
as they fuppofed it to be, that was preparing, from a 
neighbouring height, to fall uron their rear. This was 
only compofed of waggoners and attendants upon the 
Scottifh camp, who had been fupplied'by the king with 
ftandards, and ordered to make as formidable a fh’ow as 
they poflibly could. The ftratagenr fucceeded; the Eng¬ 
lifh, intimidated by their Ioffes, and diftraCted by their 
fears, began to fly on all Tides ; and, throwing away their 
arms, were purfued with great (laughter as far as Ber¬ 
wick. Edward himfelf narrowly efcaped by flight to 
Dunbar, where lie was received by the earl of Marche, 
and thence conveyed by Tea to Berwick. This battle was 
decilive in favour of Scotland. It fecured tire independ¬ 
ence of the crown of that kingdom ; and fuch was the 
influence of this defeat upon, the auinds of the Englifh, 
that for fome time after no fuperiority of numbers could 
induce them to keep the field againft their formidable 
adverfaries. 
Want of fuccefs is ufually attended with want of au¬ 
thority. The king having fuffered not only a defeat from 
the Scots, but alfo having been diftraCted byinfurrec- 
tions among theWelfh and Irifli, yet found his greatefl 
affliction in the turbulence and infolence of his fubj cts 
at home. The barons, ever refraCtory, now took the ad¬ 
vantage of his feeble fituation to deprefs his power, and 
re-eftablifh their own. The earl of Lancafter and thofe 
of his party, A. D. 1314, no fooner faw the unfortunate 
monarch return in difgrace, than they renewed their de¬ 
mands, and were reinftated in their former power of go¬ 
verning the kingdom. It was declared, that all offices 
fhould be filled from time to time by the votes of pa.;la¬ 
ment,- which as they were influenced by the great barons, 
thefe effectually took all government into their own 
hands. Thus, from every new calamity, the date fuf- 
fered ; the barons acquired new power ; and their aims 
were not fo much to reprefs the enemies of their coun¬ 
try, as to foment new animofities, by which they might 
(Lengthen their own hands. 
The king, finding himfelf thus counteracted and cut 
off from all refources, had recourfe to another favourite, 
on whom lie repofed the utmoft confidence, and from 
vvhofe connections he hoped for afliftance. This was 
Hugh De Spenfer, a young man of noble Englifh .family, 
and engaging accomplifhments. His father was a perfon 
of eftimable character, venerable from his years, and re- 
fpeCted for his wifdom, valour, and integrity. But thefe 
excellent qualities were all vilified, front the moment he 
and his. Ton began to (hare the king’s favour. The tur¬ 
bulent barons, with Lancafter-at their head, regarded 
them as rivals, and taught the people to defpife thofe 
accomplifhments that only ferved to eclipfe their own. 
The king equally weak in his attachments, inftead of pro¬ 
fiting by the wifdom of the father, endeavoured only to 
(Lengthen himfelf by their power. For this purpofe he 
married the young Spenfer to his niece ; he fettled upon 
him fome large pofleffions in Wales; and even difpof- 
felfed fome lords unjuftly of their eftates, in order to ac- 
cuniulate them upon his favourite. This was a pretext 
the king’s enemies wifhed fore the earls of Lancafter and 
Hereford flew to arms; and the lords Audley and Am- 
mori, who had been difpoflSfffed, joined them with all 
7 M Uietr 
