The king longed to recall his favorite; he lavished favors upon the great lords in order to win them over, and, when he had been relieved by the Pope of the oath which he had sworn never to recall Gaveston to England, he sent for his friend, and went as far as Chester to meet him, publicly announcing that the Earl of Cornwall had been unjustly banished, and that justice demanded a fresh examination of his conduct. On the other hand, the barons declared that the king had violated his oath and would not scruple to break all those which he had sworn for the maintenance of the public liberties. The discontent was increasing; the queen complained of the desertion of her husband; the Countess of Cornwall was representing to her brother, the Earl of Gloucester, Gaveston's unworthy conduct towards her. The king and his favorite did not heed the storm which was about to burst; feasts, dances, and tournaments succeeded each other without intermission at the court. The king's funds meanwhile had run low, and, in the month of August, 1311, he found himself compelled to convene Parliament at Westminster. {272} The barons came, discontented but resolute; old Archbishop Winchelsea had exhorted them to deliver the kingdom from the power of the favorite; the Earl of Lincoln, when dying, had sent for his son-in-law, the Earl of Lancaster. "Do not abandon England to the king and the Pope," he said; "do as the ancient barons did, and stand firmly by your privileges." Scarcely had the barons arrived at Westminster, when they renewed the stipulations of the "Mad Parliament" of Oxford; they demanded the formation of a temporal council entrusted with the task of providing for the government of the kingdom; one of the new concessions forced from the king was that he should convoke Parliament at least once a year.