Henry de Beaumont
Encyclopedia
Henry de Beaumont, jure uxoris 4th Earl of Buchan and suo jure 1st Baron Beaumont (died 10 March 1340) was a key figure in the Anglo-Scots wars of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, known as the Wars of Scottish Independence
.
in 1298 to the Battle of Halidon Hill
in 1333. Although not now a widely-known figure, he was, nevertheless, of considerable military and political importance. His long experience of the Scottish wars led him to develop a battle technique later used to great effect at Crécy
and Agincourt
. As one of a group of Anglo-Scots nobles known as the 'disinherited' – those who had fought against King Robert Bruce
– he was to do much to overturn the peace between England and Scotland established by the Treaty of Northampton and bring about a Second War of Scottish Independence
. By his marriage shortly before 14 July 1310 to Alice Comyn, Countess of Buchan (died 3 July 1349), the niece and heir of John Comyn, Earl of Buchan
, he was recognised as Earl in right of his wife.
and Seigneur of Beaumont-le-Vicomte (alias Beaumont-sur-Sarthe), Sainte-Suzanne, la Fleche, Fresnay, le Lude, etc. He was the grandson of John of Brienne
, King of Jerusalem.
The children of Henry and his wife Alice Comyn, (granddaughter of Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan
) Lord High Constable of Scotland
include:
while he was campaigning in Flanders
in 1297 against Philip IV of France
. When Edward returned to England the following year to deal with the after effects of the defeat of his northern army by the Scots at the Battle of Stirling Bridge
, he was accompanied by Beaumont. In the ensuing battle of Falkirk
, Beaumont was one of the young knights who had his horse killed from under him by the spears of William Wallace
's schiltrons. Beaumont again attended Edward I in the Scottish wars in 1302.
, Barton-upon-Humber
, and Heckington
, Lincolnshire
, from King Edward II
. He was summoned to parliament from March 4, 1309, to October 20, 1332, by Writs directed to Henrico de Bellomonte, whereby he is held to have become Lord Beaumont. He was again summoned to the English parliament from January 22, 1334 through to November 16, 1339 as Earl of Buchan. He sat in the Scottish parliament of Edward Balliol on February 10, 1334, as Earl of Buchan.
He had a grant of the Lordship of the Isle of Man
in 1310. The next year he and his sister, Isabel de Vesci, were banished from Court, but soon returned. In 1313 he and his sister acquired the reversion of the manors of Seacourt
, Berkshire, and Tackley
, Oxfordshire, which, upon her death without issue in 1334, fell to him. Between 1317 and 1321 his wife succeeded to the English estates of her sister, Margery Comyn, wife successively of Sir John Ross and Sir William de Lindsay. He purchased the Lordship of Ditchburn, Northumberland
, in 1320.
in 1314, he fought on the English side, both the first and second day of the battle, and was one of those who accompanied Edward II
in his flight from the field, and was subsequently deprived of his Scottish Earldom of Buchan by King Robert.
, Beaumont was to prove by far the most determined in the pursuit of his lost honours.
He fought on the side of Edward II at the Battle of Boroughbridge
in 1322. However, when Edward II entered into truce negotiations with the Scots in May 1323, Beaumont, hitherto a close associate of the king, argued against any agreement which disregarded the claims of the disinherited, for whom he had become the leading spokesman. Edward overruled Beaumont and the two quarreled. Beaumont was briefly imprisoned for contempt and disobedience at the Privy Council
(of which he was a member), after which he retired from Court to continue his intrigues in exile, eventually joining forces with Edward's estranged wife, Queen Isabella
, and her lover Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March. His cause, however, was not furthered by the coup of 1327, in which Isabella and Mortimer deposed the king and replaced him with his under-age son, Edward III.
Anxious to break the deadlock in the north Isabella and Mortimer persuaded Parliament to accept the terms of the Treaty of Northampton, which ignored, once again, the claims of the disinherited. Many of the senior nobility were ashamed of what they considered to be a shameful peace; and when Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster
rose in revolt in late 1328 he was joined by Henry Beaumont, Thomas Wake, Henry Ferrers, Thomas Rosselin and David de Strathbogie, the latter now married to Beaumont's daughter, Katherine. This was the nucleus of the party soon to be prominent supporters of Edward Balliol
, the son of the former King John Balliol. The rising was short-lived; and when Lancaster submitted in January 1329, Wake and Strathbogie also made their peace. Not so Henry Beaumont, who was specifically excluded from pardon, going in to exile to plot Mortimer's downfall. When the Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent
was arrested in March 1330 and charged with conspiring to restore Edward II, whom he had been deluded into believing was still alive, he alleged at his trial that Beaumont had met him in Paris
and told him that his plot would be supported from Scotland
by the armed intervention of Donald Earl of Mar
, a personal friend of the ex-king. Kent was executed and Beaumont would never be allowed to return to England while Mortimer and Isabella held on to power.
. In Scotland, Robert's infant son, David II
was king, bringing the inevitable tensions that follow from a royal minority. Edward, for the time being at least, maintained the peace with Scotland, but he was known to share the views of many of his countrymen that Northamption was a turpis pax-a shameful peace. In 1330 Edward III would make a formal request to the Scottish Crown to restore the lands of Beaumont's earldom to him, which request was refused.
From near extinction, the cause of the disinherited was now revived; but it needed direction and focus. Above all, it needed a cause, something greater than frustrated ambition. By the early 1330s the cause had become Edward Balliol, in the judgement of some the righful King of Scotland.
Edward Balliol is clearly an important figure; but it is difficult to decide if he was the author of his own ambitions or a lever for the designs of others. He took no part in the first war, and it is doubtful if he had any military experience before he came to Scotland in 1332. The driving force, as always, was Henry Beaumont, the arch conspirator of the disinherited. It was he who formed the 'party' of the disinherited in the period after the peace of Northampton: he who encouraged Balliol, with Edward III's approval, to leave his French estates and come to England. He was a seasoned campaigner, who had been present both at Bannockburn and the Battle of Boroughbridge
, and learned much from both encounters. It is almost certain that he was the architect of Balliol's victory at the Battle of Dupplin Moor
where he fought; and he is likely to have advised Edward on the tactics that brought him the first great military success of his career at the Battle of Halidon Hill
, the exact foretaste of the later triumph at Crécy
. Beaumont, moreover, provided much of the financial support that allowed the impecunious Balliol to descend on Scotland at the head of an army of freebooters. But his principal loyalty was to himself and then to Edward III; for, as time would show, Edward Balliol was a hook on which he hung the cloak of his ambitions.
Before the end of 1330 Edward started to make strong diplomatic representations on behalf of Beaumont and Thomas Wake, the claimant to the Lordship of Liddesdale
, the only two noblemen to be officially recognised as disinherited by the English and Scottish governments. He wrote to King David in December, requesting restoration of the lands of the 'Earl of Buchan' and the 'Lord of Liddesdale'. But Edward must have realised that there was little chance of the Scots accepting Beaumont and Wake in their midst. It would make little sense to hand over important lands in the west march and the north-east of Scotland to men whose personal and political loyalties lay with a potential enemy, and who were widely known to be vehement opponents of the Treat of Northampton. David's guardian Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray
, was obviously conscious of this, and Edward's request was effectively ignored. Beaumont now began to seek restitution by other means.
Sometime between 1330 and 1331 Beaumont conceived a plan to invade Scotland at the head of a private army, headed by himself and Edward Balliol. The first contacts between Balliol and Beaumont had been in 1330. In 1331 these approaches became more serious. In June both he and Strathbogie crossed the Channel to visit the exile in Picardy
. Beaumont returned in August and again in November, when he was accompanied by Walter Comyn. The Brut Chronicle contains a colourful story, not repeated in any other source, that Balliol had incurred the displeasure of the King of France, and had to be rescued from imprisonment by Beaumont's special pleadings. What is certain is that he was finally persuaded to leave France and come to England in the winter of 1331. He was settled in the manor of Standal in Yorkshire, a property belonging to Beaumont's sister, the Lady Vesci
. Beaumont then visited King Edward and obtained an important concession: he would not allow the disinherited to cross the border in open breach of the Treaty of Northampton, but he would not stop them sailing from English ports. By the summer of 1332 all was ready and a small army of archers and men-at-arms sailed from various ports in Yorkshire, landing on the coast of Fife in August.
in August 1332, using an effective, and murderous, combination of infantry and archers. Building on this victory, the army advanced on Scone
, where Edward Balliol was crowned King of Scots on 24 September. The coronation was a tense and unhappy occasion, for the new king and his small army were isolated in a sullen and hostile country. At the banquet after the coronation ceremony it is said that the guests remained fully armed, save for their helmets. There was good reason for this; for it is also said that the local people attached themselves to Balliol more from fear than love. The terror of the new regime soon spread, and the priors of St. Andrews wrote of the lordship of Edward Balliol and Henry Beaumont, and their inability to collect the dues from their church at Fordun 'for fear of the said Lord Henry.'
It was clear that, in the absence of widespread native support, the adventure could only prosper with the open support of King Edward. As bait Balliol wrote to him offering to cede all of south-east Scotland to England. This proposal was carried south by Henry Beaumont and David de Strathbogie, who came to attend the meeting of Parliament at York. Before they could return Balliol and what was left of his army was surprised by a party of Bruce loyalists at Annan
and chased out of the country. All of the expense and effort of the past years had come to nothing.
, using the same battle tactics as Dupplin Moor. Once again the disinherited advanced into Scotland. Henry Beaumont was able to return to Buchan where, according to Andrew Wyntoun, he repaired the old Comyn stronghold of Dundarg on the Aberdeenshire
coast in 1333/4, which had been destroyed by Robert Bruce in 1308:
The Beaumont went intil Buchan;
And there, Dundarg of lime and stane
He made stoutly, and therin lay.
Even so, the hold of the disinherited lords was no more certain than before. By September 1334 Edward Balliol, faced with a full-scale revolt, sent urgent appeals to England for yet more assistance. To make matters even worse his followers, who had been brought together by greed for land, were driven apart by the very same greed. In a dispute over the estates of Alexander de Mowbray, killed at Annan
in 1332, Balliol was unwise enough to quarrel with Beaumont who, in the fashion of Achillies, withdrew from Court in a fit of picque, to Dundarg.
Balliol's regime collapsed, and for the second time in his career he fled across the border
. Beaumont, in the meantime, was besieged in Dundarg by Andrew de Moray, the new Guardian of Scotland. Under continual attack, and running short of supplies, he was compelled to surrender on December 23, 1334. After a brief imprisonment he was ransomed and returned to England in time for the summer campaign of 1335. While he came back to Scotland it is uncertain if he ever saw Buchan again. Dundarg was destroyed for the second and last time in its history.
.
After Culblean Balliol's shadowy kingdom virtually disappeared. Perth
was retaken. Only Cupar Castle in Fife and remote Lochindorb kept his cause alive. In Lochindorb the widow of Strathbogie, Kathrine Beaumont, daughter of Henry Beaumont, had been under siege by Moray since late 1335. The rescue of Kathrine Beaumont was to allow Edward III to drape a cloak of high chivalry over one of his most destructive military adventures. English action took the form of a large-scale punitive raid, intended to knock out Scots resistance and, at the same time, forestall a possible French landing in the north-east. Edward initially gave command to Henry of Lancaster, Beaumont's son-in-law; although he eventually decided to take charge in person. Edward advanced into Aberdeenshire in the summer of 1336. Beaumont came with him , as did Edward Balliol, surely a more persistent student of spiders than Robert Bruce had ever been. Kathrine was duly rescued, while the north-east was subject to widespread destruction.
It was in this season that Henry Beaumont embarked on his last actions in Scotland, by seeking vengeance against those whom he held responsible for the death of his son-in-law. The Pluscarden Chronicle describes his actions thus; Henry Beaumont, to avenge his son-in-law, the Earl of Atholl, who was slain at Culblean, either cast into prison or put to cruel death all who had taken part in the engagement in which he was slain; whereby much innocent blood was shed.
In 1337 Edward III, in beginning the opening rounds of what was to become the Hundred Years War, virtually lost all interest in the future well-being of Balliol and his hopeless cause. Even Henry Beaumont, the most determined of the disinherited, had had enough. Rather than return to Scotland with Balliol the old warrior accompanied King Edward to the Low Countries, from whence he had come with his royal grandfather in 1298, where he died in March 1340, his long struggle incomplete. His son, John, never claimed the lost earldom of Buchan. When Beaumont's wife, Alice, died in 1349 the Comyn line of Buchan, which stretched back to the early thirteenth century, finally came to an end.
Wars of Scottish Independence
The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the independent Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries....
.
Life
He was a veteran campaigner who participated in every major engagement, from the Battle of FalkirkBattle of Falkirk (1298)
The Battle of Falkirk, which took place on 22 July 1298, was one of the major battles in the First War of Scottish Independence...
in 1298 to the Battle of Halidon Hill
Battle of Halidon Hill
The Battle of Halidon Hill was fought during the Second War of Scottish Independence. Scottish forces under Sir Archibald Douglas were heavily defeated on unfavourable terrain while trying to relieve Berwick-upon-Tweed.-The Disinherited:...
in 1333. Although not now a widely-known figure, he was, nevertheless, of considerable military and political importance. His long experience of the Scottish wars led him to develop a battle technique later used to great effect at Crécy
Battle of Crécy
The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 near Crécy in northern France, and was one of the most important battles of the Hundred Years' War...
and Agincourt
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
. As one of a group of Anglo-Scots nobles known as the 'disinherited' – those who had fought against King Robert Bruce
Robert I of Scotland
Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...
– he was to do much to overturn the peace between England and Scotland established by the Treaty of Northampton and bring about a Second War of Scottish Independence
Second War of Scottish Independence
The Second War of Scottish Independence was the second cluster of a series of military campaigns fought between the independent Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries....
. By his marriage shortly before 14 July 1310 to Alice Comyn, Countess of Buchan (died 3 July 1349), the niece and heir of John Comyn, Earl of Buchan
John Comyn, Earl of Buchan
John Comyn was Earl of Buchan and an important member of Clan Comyn during the early 14th century. He was a chief opponent of Robert the Bruce in the civil war that paralleled the War of Scottish Independence. He should not be confused with the better known John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, who...
, he was recognised as Earl in right of his wife.
Family
Henry de Beaumont was the eldest son of Sir Louis de Brienne, Knt., (d. after September 1, 1297) who was in right of his wife Agnés de Beaumont, Vicomte of Beaumont in MaineMaine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
and Seigneur of Beaumont-le-Vicomte (alias Beaumont-sur-Sarthe), Sainte-Suzanne, la Fleche, Fresnay, le Lude, etc. He was the grandson of John of Brienne
John of Brienne
John of Brienne was a French nobleman who became King of Jerusalem by marriage, and ruled the Latin Empire of Constantinople as regent.-Life:...
, King of Jerusalem.
The children of Henry and his wife Alice Comyn, (granddaughter of Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan
Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan
Alexander Comyn, 2nd Earl of Buchan was a Scoto-Norman magnate who was one of the most important figures in the 13th century Kingdom of Scotland. He was the son of William Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan, and Marjory, Countess of Buchan, the heiress of the last native Scottish Mormaer of Buchan,...
) Lord High Constable of Scotland
Lord High Constable of Scotland
The Lord High Constable is a hereditary, now ceremonial, office of Scotland. In the order of precedence of Scotland, the office traditionally ranks above all titles except those of the Royal Family. The Lord High Constable was, after the King of Scots, the supreme officer of the Scottish army. He...
include:
- Elizabeth Beaumont c1320-1400 who married Nicholas Audley, 3rd Baron AudleyNicholas Audley, 3rd Baron AudleyNicholas Audley, 3rd Baron Audley was born in the Heighley Castle, Staffordshire, England to James Audley, 2nd Baron Audley, his only surviving son ....
1328-1391. - John de Beaumont, 2nd Lord Beaumont c1318, who married Eleanor PlantagenetEleanor of LancasterEleanor of Lancaster, Countess of Arundel was the fifth daughter of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster and Maud Chaworth.-First marriage and issue:...
, great granddaughter of King Henry IIIHenry III of EnglandHenry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
. - Isabel de BeaumontIsabel de BeaumontIsabel de Beaumont, Duchess of Lancaster, of the House of Brienne was an English noblewoman, being the youngest daughter and child of Henry de Beaumont, Earl of Buchan and Alice Comyn.- Family :...
, married Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of LancasterHenry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of LancasterHenry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster, 4th Earl of Leicester and Lancaster, KG , also Earl of Derby, was a member of the English nobility in the 14th century, and a prominent English diplomat, politician, and soldier...
. They were ancestors of England's Royal House of LancasterHouse of LancasterThe House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century...
, with King Henry IV of EnglandHenry IV of EnglandHenry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
being the couple's grandson. - Katherine de Beaumont, married David III Strathbogie, titular Earl of Atholl, 1st Lord Strathbogie.
First campaigns
He first took up military service with Edward IEdward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
while he was campaigning in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
in 1297 against Philip IV of France
Philip IV of France
Philip the Fair was, as Philip IV, King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was, as Philip I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305.-Youth:A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of...
. When Edward returned to England the following year to deal with the after effects of the defeat of his northern army by the Scots at the Battle of Stirling Bridge
Battle of Stirling Bridge
The Battle of Stirling Bridge was a battle of the First War of Scottish Independence. On 11 September 1297, the forces of Andrew Moray and William Wallace defeated the combined English forces of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey and Hugh de Cressingham near Stirling, on the River Forth.-The main...
, he was accompanied by Beaumont. In the ensuing battle of Falkirk
Battle of Falkirk (1298)
The Battle of Falkirk, which took place on 22 July 1298, was one of the major battles in the First War of Scottish Independence...
, Beaumont was one of the young knights who had his horse killed from under him by the spears of William Wallace
William Wallace
Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight and landowner who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence....
's schiltrons. Beaumont again attended Edward I in the Scottish wars in 1302.
Landed estates
Beaumont obtained large grants of manors and lands, including FolkinghamFolkingham
Folkingham is a village and civil parish at the northern edge of the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies on the A15 road of north of Bourne. The civil parish and ecclesiastical parish have the same boundaries. The 2001 census recorded a population of 729.-Village:The village...
, Barton-upon-Humber
Barton-upon-Humber
Barton-upon-Humber or Barton is a small town and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England located on the south bank of the Humber Estuary, and at the end of the Humber Bridge. It lies east of Leeds, southwest of Hull and north northeast of the county town of Lincoln...
, and Heckington
Heckington
Heckington is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies between Sleaford and Swineshead Bridge, south of the A17 road. Heckington, with 1491 households, is one of the largest villages in Lincolnshire.-History:...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, from King Edward II
Edward II of England
Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...
. He was summoned to parliament from March 4, 1309, to October 20, 1332, by Writs directed to Henrico de Bellomonte, whereby he is held to have become Lord Beaumont. He was again summoned to the English parliament from January 22, 1334 through to November 16, 1339 as Earl of Buchan. He sat in the Scottish parliament of Edward Balliol on February 10, 1334, as Earl of Buchan.
He had a grant of the Lordship of the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
in 1310. The next year he and his sister, Isabel de Vesci, were banished from Court, but soon returned. In 1313 he and his sister acquired the reversion of the manors of Seacourt
Seacourt
Seacourt is a deserted medieval village near Botley in Oxfordshire. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.-Toponym:...
, Berkshire, and Tackley
Tackley
Tackley is a village and civil parish beside the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, England. It is about west of Bicester and north of Kidlington. The village consists of two neighbourhoods: Tackley itself, and Nethercott.-Archaeology:...
, Oxfordshire, which, upon her death without issue in 1334, fell to him. Between 1317 and 1321 his wife succeeded to the English estates of her sister, Margery Comyn, wife successively of Sir John Ross and Sir William de Lindsay. He purchased the Lordship of Ditchburn, Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
, in 1320.
Bannockburn
At BannockburnBattle of Bannockburn
The Battle of Bannockburn was a significant Scottish victory in the Wars of Scottish Independence...
in 1314, he fought on the English side, both the first and second day of the battle, and was one of those who accompanied Edward II
Edward II of England
Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...
in his flight from the field, and was subsequently deprived of his Scottish Earldom of Buchan by King Robert.
The Disinherited
In the November after Bannockburn Beaumont was one of those affected by the sentence of forfeiture passed by the Scottish parliament against all those with land and title in Scotland who continued to fight with the English. Thus was created that class of nobility known as the disinherited. Although this also included men of greater standing like David III Strathbogie, titular Earl of AthollDavid III Strathbogie, titular Earl of Atholl
David of Strathbogie was a 14th century Anglo-Scottish noble. He was born the son and heir of Sir David II Strathbogie, Earl of Atholl, Constable of Scotland and Chief Warden of Northumberland, by his spouse Joan, elder daughter of Sir John Comyn of Badenoch, Joint Guardian of Scotland.This David...
, Beaumont was to prove by far the most determined in the pursuit of his lost honours.
He fought on the side of Edward II at the Battle of Boroughbridge
Battle of Boroughbridge
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, northwest of York. The culmination of a long period of antagonism between the king and Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, his most powerful subject, it...
in 1322. However, when Edward II entered into truce negotiations with the Scots in May 1323, Beaumont, hitherto a close associate of the king, argued against any agreement which disregarded the claims of the disinherited, for whom he had become the leading spokesman. Edward overruled Beaumont and the two quarreled. Beaumont was briefly imprisoned for contempt and disobedience at the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
(of which he was a member), after which he retired from Court to continue his intrigues in exile, eventually joining forces with Edward's estranged wife, Queen Isabella
Isabella of France
Isabella of France , sometimes described as the She-wolf of France, was Queen consort of England as the wife of Edward II of England. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre...
, and her lover Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March. His cause, however, was not furthered by the coup of 1327, in which Isabella and Mortimer deposed the king and replaced him with his under-age son, Edward III.
Anxious to break the deadlock in the north Isabella and Mortimer persuaded Parliament to accept the terms of the Treaty of Northampton, which ignored, once again, the claims of the disinherited. Many of the senior nobility were ashamed of what they considered to be a shameful peace; and when Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster
Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster
Henry , 3rd Earl of Leicester and Lancaster was an English nobleman, one of the principals behind the deposition of Edward II of England.-Family and lineage:...
rose in revolt in late 1328 he was joined by Henry Beaumont, Thomas Wake, Henry Ferrers, Thomas Rosselin and David de Strathbogie, the latter now married to Beaumont's daughter, Katherine. This was the nucleus of the party soon to be prominent supporters of Edward Balliol
Edward Balliol
Edward Balliol was a claimant to the Scottish throne . With English help, he briefly ruled the country from 1332 to 1336.-Life:...
, the son of the former King John Balliol. The rising was short-lived; and when Lancaster submitted in January 1329, Wake and Strathbogie also made their peace. Not so Henry Beaumont, who was specifically excluded from pardon, going in to exile to plot Mortimer's downfall. When the Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent
Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent
Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent was a member of the English Royal Family.-Early life:He was born at Woodstock in Oxfordshire, the son of Edward I Longshanks, King of England and his second wife, Margaret of France. He was 62 years younger than his father, who died when Edmund of Woodstock...
was arrested in March 1330 and charged with conspiring to restore Edward II, whom he had been deluded into believing was still alive, he alleged at his trial that Beaumont had met him in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and told him that his plot would be supported from Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
by the armed intervention of Donald Earl of Mar
Earl of Mar
The Mormaer or Earl of Mar is a title that has been created seven times, all in the Peerage of Scotland. The first creation of the earldom was originally the provincial ruler of the province of Mar in north-eastern Scotland...
, a personal friend of the ex-king. Kent was executed and Beaumont would never be allowed to return to England while Mortimer and Isabella held on to power.
Edward de Balliol
The peace of Northampton seemed to end forever the hopes of the disinherited. Two things changed this: the death of King Robert Bruce in 1329, followed in 1330 by a palace coup in England, which saw the overthrow of Roger Mortimer and the assumption of full powers by King Edward IIIEdward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
. In Scotland, Robert's infant son, David II
David II of Scotland
David II was King of Scots from 7 June 1329 until his death.-Early life:...
was king, bringing the inevitable tensions that follow from a royal minority. Edward, for the time being at least, maintained the peace with Scotland, but he was known to share the views of many of his countrymen that Northamption was a turpis pax-a shameful peace. In 1330 Edward III would make a formal request to the Scottish Crown to restore the lands of Beaumont's earldom to him, which request was refused.
From near extinction, the cause of the disinherited was now revived; but it needed direction and focus. Above all, it needed a cause, something greater than frustrated ambition. By the early 1330s the cause had become Edward Balliol, in the judgement of some the righful King of Scotland.
Edward Balliol is clearly an important figure; but it is difficult to decide if he was the author of his own ambitions or a lever for the designs of others. He took no part in the first war, and it is doubtful if he had any military experience before he came to Scotland in 1332. The driving force, as always, was Henry Beaumont, the arch conspirator of the disinherited. It was he who formed the 'party' of the disinherited in the period after the peace of Northampton: he who encouraged Balliol, with Edward III's approval, to leave his French estates and come to England. He was a seasoned campaigner, who had been present both at Bannockburn and the Battle of Boroughbridge
Battle of Boroughbridge
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, northwest of York. The culmination of a long period of antagonism between the king and Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, his most powerful subject, it...
, and learned much from both encounters. It is almost certain that he was the architect of Balliol's victory at the Battle of Dupplin Moor
Battle of Dupplin Moor
The Battle of Dupplin Moor was fought between supporters of the infant David II, the son of Robert the Bruce, and rebels supporting the Balliol claim in 1332. It was a significant battle of the Second War of Scottish Independence.-Background:...
where he fought; and he is likely to have advised Edward on the tactics that brought him the first great military success of his career at the Battle of Halidon Hill
Battle of Halidon Hill
The Battle of Halidon Hill was fought during the Second War of Scottish Independence. Scottish forces under Sir Archibald Douglas were heavily defeated on unfavourable terrain while trying to relieve Berwick-upon-Tweed.-The Disinherited:...
, the exact foretaste of the later triumph at Crécy
Battle of Crécy
The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 near Crécy in northern France, and was one of the most important battles of the Hundred Years' War...
. Beaumont, moreover, provided much of the financial support that allowed the impecunious Balliol to descend on Scotland at the head of an army of freebooters. But his principal loyalty was to himself and then to Edward III; for, as time would show, Edward Balliol was a hook on which he hung the cloak of his ambitions.
War by Other Means
In assuming power Edward would have been mindful of the support he had received from Beaumont. He would also have been aware that while the restless earl was a useful friend he was also a dangerous enemy. Beaumont's shifting loyalties since 1323 had all been dictated by his overriding desire to recover the earldom of Buchan. But Edward embraced the cause of the disinherited for reasons more subtle than simple gratitude: for Beaumont's tireless plotting eventually provided the occasion to set aside the peace of 1328.Before the end of 1330 Edward started to make strong diplomatic representations on behalf of Beaumont and Thomas Wake, the claimant to the Lordship of Liddesdale
Liddesdale
Liddesdale, the valley of the Liddel Water, in the County of Roxburgh, southern Scotland, extends in a south-westerly direction from the vicinity of Peel Fell to the River Esk, a distance of...
, the only two noblemen to be officially recognised as disinherited by the English and Scottish governments. He wrote to King David in December, requesting restoration of the lands of the 'Earl of Buchan' and the 'Lord of Liddesdale'. But Edward must have realised that there was little chance of the Scots accepting Beaumont and Wake in their midst. It would make little sense to hand over important lands in the west march and the north-east of Scotland to men whose personal and political loyalties lay with a potential enemy, and who were widely known to be vehement opponents of the Treat of Northampton. David's guardian Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray
Earl of Moray
The title Earl of Moray has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland.Prior to the formal establishment of the peerage, Earl of Moray, numerous individuals ruled the kingdom of Moray or Mormaer of Moray until 1130 when the kingdom was destroyed by David I of Scotland.-History of the...
, was obviously conscious of this, and Edward's request was effectively ignored. Beaumont now began to seek restitution by other means.
Sometime between 1330 and 1331 Beaumont conceived a plan to invade Scotland at the head of a private army, headed by himself and Edward Balliol. The first contacts between Balliol and Beaumont had been in 1330. In 1331 these approaches became more serious. In June both he and Strathbogie crossed the Channel to visit the exile in Picardy
Picardy
This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...
. Beaumont returned in August and again in November, when he was accompanied by Walter Comyn. The Brut Chronicle contains a colourful story, not repeated in any other source, that Balliol had incurred the displeasure of the King of France, and had to be rescued from imprisonment by Beaumont's special pleadings. What is certain is that he was finally persuaded to leave France and come to England in the winter of 1331. He was settled in the manor of Standal in Yorkshire, a property belonging to Beaumont's sister, the Lady Vesci
Isabella de Vesci
Isabella de Vesci , also Isabella de Beaumont, was a prominent noblewoman allied to Isabella of France during the reign of Edward II of England.-Reign of Edward I and marriage:...
. Beaumont then visited King Edward and obtained an important concession: he would not allow the disinherited to cross the border in open breach of the Treaty of Northampton, but he would not stop them sailing from English ports. By the summer of 1332 all was ready and a small army of archers and men-at-arms sailed from various ports in Yorkshire, landing on the coast of Fife in August.
Battles and Crowns
Soon after landing the army, under the skillful command of Beaumont, confronted and defeated a much larger Scottish force at the Battle of Dupplin MoorBattle of Dupplin Moor
The Battle of Dupplin Moor was fought between supporters of the infant David II, the son of Robert the Bruce, and rebels supporting the Balliol claim in 1332. It was a significant battle of the Second War of Scottish Independence.-Background:...
in August 1332, using an effective, and murderous, combination of infantry and archers. Building on this victory, the army advanced on Scone
Scone, Scotland
Scone is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The medieval village of Scone, which grew up around the monastery and royal residence, was abandoned in the early 19th century when the residents were removed and a new palace was built on the site by the Earl of Mansfield...
, where Edward Balliol was crowned King of Scots on 24 September. The coronation was a tense and unhappy occasion, for the new king and his small army were isolated in a sullen and hostile country. At the banquet after the coronation ceremony it is said that the guests remained fully armed, save for their helmets. There was good reason for this; for it is also said that the local people attached themselves to Balliol more from fear than love. The terror of the new regime soon spread, and the priors of St. Andrews wrote of the lordship of Edward Balliol and Henry Beaumont, and their inability to collect the dues from their church at Fordun 'for fear of the said Lord Henry.'
It was clear that, in the absence of widespread native support, the adventure could only prosper with the open support of King Edward. As bait Balliol wrote to him offering to cede all of south-east Scotland to England. This proposal was carried south by Henry Beaumont and David de Strathbogie, who came to attend the meeting of Parliament at York. Before they could return Balliol and what was left of his army was surprised by a party of Bruce loyalists at Annan
Annan, Dumfries and Galloway
The royal burgh of Annan is a well-built town, red sandstone being the material mainly used. Each year in July, Annan celebrates the Royal Charter and the boundaries of the Royal Burgh are confirmed when a mounted cavalcade undertakes the Riding of the Marches. Entertainment includes a...
and chased out of the country. All of the expense and effort of the past years had come to nothing.
Castles of Sand
In January 1333 Edward finally dropped the pretence of neutrality: Edward Balliol was formally recognised as King of Scotland and promised military aid. Subsidies were now paid to Beaumont and the others, to help prepare for a fresh invasion. In July a fresh Scots army was cut to pieces at Halidon Hill, just outside Berwick-upon-TweedBerwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
, using the same battle tactics as Dupplin Moor. Once again the disinherited advanced into Scotland. Henry Beaumont was able to return to Buchan where, according to Andrew Wyntoun, he repaired the old Comyn stronghold of Dundarg on the Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...
coast in 1333/4, which had been destroyed by Robert Bruce in 1308:
The Beaumont went intil Buchan;
And there, Dundarg of lime and stane
He made stoutly, and therin lay.
Even so, the hold of the disinherited lords was no more certain than before. By September 1334 Edward Balliol, faced with a full-scale revolt, sent urgent appeals to England for yet more assistance. To make matters even worse his followers, who had been brought together by greed for land, were driven apart by the very same greed. In a dispute over the estates of Alexander de Mowbray, killed at Annan
Annan
-People:* Kofi Annan, , former Secretary-General of the United Nations * Kojo Annan, , Kofi Annan's son* Noel Annan, Baron Annan, was a member of the House of Lords and British academic...
in 1332, Balliol was unwise enough to quarrel with Beaumont who, in the fashion of Achillies, withdrew from Court in a fit of picque, to Dundarg.
Balliol's regime collapsed, and for the second time in his career he fled across the border
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...
. Beaumont, in the meantime, was besieged in Dundarg by Andrew de Moray, the new Guardian of Scotland. Under continual attack, and running short of supplies, he was compelled to surrender on December 23, 1334. After a brief imprisonment he was ransomed and returned to England in time for the summer campaign of 1335. While he came back to Scotland it is uncertain if he ever saw Buchan again. Dundarg was destroyed for the second and last time in its history.
Twilight
Beaumont was an active participant in Edward's invasion of Scotland in 1335, the largest he ever mounted on behalf of his hapless protege; but the results were no more lasting than before. In November the uncertain gains of the summer were wiped out by Moray's victory over Strathbogie at the Battle of CulbleanBattle of Culblean
The Battle of Culblean was fought on 30 November 1335, during the Second War of Scottish Independence. It was a victory for the Scots led by the Guardian, Sir Andrew Murray over an Anglo-Scots force commanded by David III Strathbogie, titular Earl of Atholl, and a leading supporter of Edward...
.
After Culblean Balliol's shadowy kingdom virtually disappeared. Perth
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
was retaken. Only Cupar Castle in Fife and remote Lochindorb kept his cause alive. In Lochindorb the widow of Strathbogie, Kathrine Beaumont, daughter of Henry Beaumont, had been under siege by Moray since late 1335. The rescue of Kathrine Beaumont was to allow Edward III to drape a cloak of high chivalry over one of his most destructive military adventures. English action took the form of a large-scale punitive raid, intended to knock out Scots resistance and, at the same time, forestall a possible French landing in the north-east. Edward initially gave command to Henry of Lancaster, Beaumont's son-in-law; although he eventually decided to take charge in person. Edward advanced into Aberdeenshire in the summer of 1336. Beaumont came with him , as did Edward Balliol, surely a more persistent student of spiders than Robert Bruce had ever been. Kathrine was duly rescued, while the north-east was subject to widespread destruction.
It was in this season that Henry Beaumont embarked on his last actions in Scotland, by seeking vengeance against those whom he held responsible for the death of his son-in-law. The Pluscarden Chronicle describes his actions thus; Henry Beaumont, to avenge his son-in-law, the Earl of Atholl, who was slain at Culblean, either cast into prison or put to cruel death all who had taken part in the engagement in which he was slain; whereby much innocent blood was shed.
In 1337 Edward III, in beginning the opening rounds of what was to become the Hundred Years War, virtually lost all interest in the future well-being of Balliol and his hopeless cause. Even Henry Beaumont, the most determined of the disinherited, had had enough. Rather than return to Scotland with Balliol the old warrior accompanied King Edward to the Low Countries, from whence he had come with his royal grandfather in 1298, where he died in March 1340, his long struggle incomplete. His son, John, never claimed the lost earldom of Buchan. When Beaumont's wife, Alice, died in 1349 the Comyn line of Buchan, which stretched back to the early thirteenth century, finally came to an end.