Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 39.djvu/148

 less subservient Bishop Hotham of Ely was chancellor ; and partisans of less exalted rank, such as Sir Oliver Inghain [q. v.], held posts on the royal council. His policy seems to have been to rule indirectly through Queen Isabella, while putting as much of the responsibility of power as he could on Earl Henry of Lancaster and his connections. He was accused afterwards of accroaching to himself every royal power, and even suspected of a wish to make himseif king. But it is hard to see any very definite policy in the greedy self-seeking beyond which Mortimer's statecraft hardly extended. The government, under his influence, was as feeble and incompetent as that of Edward II, and the worst crimes which it committed were popularly ascribed to the paramour of the queen-mother. Mortimer and Isabella were regarded as specially -responsible for the murder of Edward II at Berkeley, for the failure of the expedition against the Scots in 1327 (Bermondsey Annals, p. 472), and for the 'Shameful Peace' concluded in 1328 at Northampton, by which Robert Bruce was acknowledged as king of an independent Scotland (, p. 57 ;, p. 283 ; Chron. de Lanercost, p. 261). It was even reported that Mortimer was now seeking to get himself made king with the help of the Scots (, p. 41).

Mortimer now lived in the greatest pomp and luxury. In 1328 he held a 'Round Table' tournament at Bedford (, c. 2553). At the end of May in the same year, immediately after the treaty with the Scots, the young king and his mother went to Hereford, where they were present at the marriage of two of Mortimer's daughters, Joan and Beatrice, and at the elaborate tournaments that celebrated the occasion (, p. 42). They also visited Mortimer at Ludlow and Wigmore (Monasticon, vi. 352).

Mortimer's commanding position naturally excited the greatest ill-will. Henry of Lancaster was thoroughly disgusted with the ignominious position to which he had been reduced. He had not taken up arms to forward the designs of the ambitious marcher, but to revenge the death of his brother, Earl Thomas. Significant changes in the ministry diminished the influence of Mortimer's supporters, and at last Lancaster declared openly against him. In October 1328 Lancaster refused to attend the Salisbury parliament at which Mortimer was made an earl. Mortimer disregarded his opposition, and in December went to London with Isabella and Edward. As usual he was well received by the citizens (Ann. Paul. p. 343). But on his quitting the capital, Lancaster entered it, and on 2 Jan. 1329 formed a powerful confederacy there, pledged to overthrow the favourite, against whom was drawn up a formidable series of articles (, Hist. of Edward III, p. 31). But the favourite still showed his wonted energy and ruthlessness. He devastated the lands of his rival with an army largely composed of his Welsh followers, and on 4 Jan. took possession of Leicester. Lancaster marched as far north as Bedford, hoping to fight Mortimer (, c. 2553), but his partisans deserted him, and he was glad to accept the mediation of the new archbishop of Canterbury, Simon Meopham [q. v.] The subordinate agents of Lancaster were exempted from the pardon at Mortimer's special instance. Flushed with his new triumph, Mortimer wove an elaborate plot which resulted on 19 March 1330 in the execution for treason of the king's uncle Edmund, earl of Kent [q. v.] But this was the last of Mortimer's triumphs.

Mortimer was, in his insolence and ostentation, surrounded with greater pomp than the king, and enjoyed far greater power. The wild bands of Welsh mercenaries who attended his progresses worked ruin and desolation wherever they went. Edward III was himself impatient at his humiliating subjection to his mother and her lover, and at last found a confidential agent in William de Montacute [q. v.], afterwards first Earl of Salisbury. A parliament was summoned to meet in October 1330 at Nottingham, where the king and Montacute resolved to strike their decisive blow. Great circumspection was necessary. Mortimer and Isabella took up their quarters in Nottingham Castle along with the king, and Mortimer's armed following of Welsh mercenaries held strict guard and blocked up every approach to the king. But the castellan, William Holland, was won over by Edward and Montacute, and showed to the latter an underground passage by which access to the castle could be obtained. But Mortimer had now got a hint of the conspiracy, and in a stormy scene on 19 Oct. Mortimer denounced Montacute as a traitor, and accused the young king of complicity with his designs. But Montacute was safe outside the castle with an armed following, and Mortimer knew nothing of the secret access to the castle. On the very same night the decisive blow was struck. Montacute and his companies entered the stronghold through the underground passage, and Edward joined them in the castle yard. Edward and Montacute, with their followers, ascended to Mortimer's chamber, suspiciously chosen