General Notes

Note: Bartholomew de Badlesmere, age 26 in 1301, hanged 1
4 Apr 1322. [Magna Charta Sureties]
Note: Joined rebellion of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster-thus h
is execution.
Note:
Sir Bartholomew Badlesmere rose from provincial obscurity t
o national prominence and then abruptly fell; a graphic ill
ustration of the uncertainty of Edward II's England. He wa
s born about 1275 into a gentry family from Badlesmere in K
ent. His father rose to be Justice of Chester in the servic
e of Prince Edward and died in 1301, by then Bartholomew ha
d also made his mark. He served in Gascony in 1294, in Flan
ders in 1297, when he became one of Edward I's household kn
ights, and in Scotland in 1303-4. Almost alone among Edward
's household knights, he was elected to parliament, sittin
g at the Carlisle Parliament of 1307: perhaps evidence of u
nusual political ambitions. Badlesmere was appointed consta
ble of Bristol in 1307, was granted Chilham castle -- hence
forth his principal seat -- in 1309, and from then on he at
tended parliament as a baron. One factor here may be his wi
fe's lands as widowed Countess of Angus and heiress in he
r own right; another may be the patronage of the Earl of Gl
oucester, whose principal retainer he was, and whom he assi
sted as keeper of the realm in 1311.
Note: Note:
Certainly on Gloucester's death at Bannockburn in 1314 Badl
esmere became more prominent in royal service. He was close
ly associated with the Earl of Pembroke. Thus in 1315 he ac
companied Pembroke on his defence of the north; in 1316 Pem
broke helped him bring the recalcitrant citizens of Bristo
l to heel; and in 1317 both went on embassy to Avignon. Lat
e in 1317 it was with Badlesmere that Pembroke strove to re
strain the irresponsibility of Roger Damory and with whos
e assistance in council Pembroke hoped to guide the king mo
re sensibly. The royal grants accompanying Badlesmere's ris
e culminated in his appointment in 1318 as steward of the r
oyal household, an office of first-rate political importanc
e offering intimate contact with the king. In 1316 the kin
g retained him for life for £400 in peace and 5,000 marks (
£3,333) in war, when he was to serve with 100 men-at-arms
, and in 1317 added 1,000 marks for his counsel: high valua
tions indeed for his service. Another sign of his rise ar
e the marriage of his daughter to the heir of the marcher l
ord Roger Mortimer of Wigmore, for which he paid £2,000.
Note: Note:
It was therefore entirely logical that in 1321 Edward II sh
ould send Badlesmere to persuade the northerners not to joi
n the marcher lords against the Despensers, but Badlesmer
e deserted and demonstrated his hatred of the Despensers b
y concocting the false charge of treason against them. Hi
s reasons for rebelling are not clear. Certainly the rise o
f the Despensers to favour with the king deprived Badlesmer
e of much of his influence and his marriage ties with the M
ortimers may have made him sympathetic towards the marchers
. However that may be, the desertion of the steward of hi
s household, bound to him by intimate personal ties, made E
dward II into his most vengeful enemy. That Badlesmere's Ke
ntish lands were isolated from those of the other rebels of
fered Edward the means of revenge. It was probably a delibe
rate ploy to provoke a crisis that provoked him to send Que
en Isabella to Badlesmere's Leeds castle and, when Lady Bad
lesmere predictably refused admission, Edward reacted to th
e affront by besieging the castle. Badlesmere's only hope w
as support from the marchers and northerners, but this Lanc
aster denied him. The reasons for Lancaster's hostility ar
e not known. Opposed by the king and earl, Badlesmere was d
oomed and was duly executed on 14 April 1322. [Who's Who i
n Late Medieval England, Michael Hicks, Shepheard-Walwyn, L
ondon, 1991]
Note: Note: ---------- Note: Note:
Bartholomew de Badlesmere, who in the lifetime of his fathe
r (22n