General Notes

Despenser, Hugh Le, English nobleman, son of Hugh Le Despenser. A supporter
of the king against the barons, he fought under Edward I, for whom he
secured a papal release from an oath to refrain from excessive taxation.
When the barons forced Edward's son and successor, Edward II, to banish his
favorite, Piers Gaveston (1284?-1312), Le Despenser supported Gaveston and
in 1312 succeeded him as the royal favorite. Edward II made him earl of
Winchester in 1322, and Le Despenser, together with his son, Hugh
(1285?-1326), acquired vast wealth. The elder Le Despenser became virtual
ruler of England, instituted several important administrative reforms, and
concluded peace with Scotland in 1323. In 1326 Isabella, queen consort of
England (1292-1358), formed an alliance with the barons against Edward and
the Le Despensers. Both father and son were captured and hanged.