parliament which the king called to meet on the 15th of July, 1321, the whole baronage turned against the favorites. Their attempts to influence the king, their greedy use of the king’s name for their own purposes, the rash words of the younger Hugh, the vast acquisitions of his father, their unauthorized interference in the administration of government, and their perversion of justice were alleged as demanding condign punishment. [Sidenote: Sentence against the Despensers. ] [Sidenote: War between the king and the barons. ] [Sidenote: Battle of Boroughbridge. ] [Sidenote: Execution of Lancaster. ] [Sidenote: Ulterior consequences of the execution. ] The Earl of Hereford, Edward’s brother-in-law, made the charge before the three estates, and the lords, “peers of the land,” as they now perhaps for the first time called themselves, passed the sentence of forfeiture and exile on the two. They were not to be recalled except by consent of parliament, and a separate act was passed to ensure the immunity of the prosecutors and the pardon of those who had taken up arms to overthrow them. This was Lancaster’s last triumph, and it was very short-lived. In the month of October the Lady Badlesmere shut the gates of Leeds Castle against the queen, and Edward raised a force to avenge the insult offered to his wife. All the earls of his party joined him, and the Earl of Lancaster, who hated Badlesmere for his old rivalry, did not interfere to protect him. Finding himself for the first time at the head of a sufficient force, the king determined to enforce order in the marches and to avenge his friends the Despensers. He marched against the border castles of the Earl of Hereford, Audley, and D’Amory. On receiving news of this Lancaster at once discovered his mistake, and called a meeting of his party--the good lords, as they were called--at Doncaster. Both parties showed great energy, but the king had got the start. He obtained from the convocation of the clergy of Canterbury, under the influence of the archbishop, his old tutor, a declaration that the sentence against the Despensers was illegal, and lost no time in forcing his way towards Hereford to punish the earl who had procured it. On his way he defeated the Mortimers. He took Hereford; and having reached Gloucester in triumph, on the 11th of February, recalled his friends to his side. Lancaster and his party were not idle, but they underrated the importance of the crisis and divided their forces. One part was sent to secure the king’s castle of Tickhill, the other, under Lancaster himself, moved slowly towards the south. Edward, in the hope of intercepting the latter division, moved northwards from Cirencester, and the earl, when he reached Burton-on-Trent, did not venture any farther. On the news of his flight his castles of Kenilworth and Tutbury surrendered, and Edward started in pursuit. The unfortunate earl had reached Boroughbridge on his way