Gilbert de Clare, 8th Earl of Gloucester
In contrast to most English earls at the time, his main focus lay in the pursuit of war rather than in domestic political strife.
[2] He was the son of Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester, and Joan of Acre, daughter of King Edward I.
Despenser's ruthless expansion of the de Clare Lordship of Glamorgan in Wales led directly to the troubles of Edward II's later reign, including a rebellion in the Welsh Marches, the defeat of the Earl of Lancaster at the Battle of Boroughbridge, and eventually, the deposition of the king by Roger Mortimer and Queen Isabella in 1326.
[6] Only a few months later, Gilbert the younger was granted his inheritance, and by March 1308 was made Earl of Gloucester and Hertford at the young age of sixteen.
Gaveston's promotion from relative obscurity to Earl of Cornwall, combined with his arrogant behaviour, caused resentment among the established nobility.
In 1310, a group of so-called Lords Ordainers were appointed to draft the Ordinances of 1311, a set of restrictions on the rule of Edward II, including a renewed exile for Gaveston.
[19] There are signs that he might have fallen out with Thomas, Earl of Lancaster – who was at this point the leader of the opposition against the king – over a feud between two of their respective retainers.
[22] In June 1312, Gaveston was captured by Guy de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, who was working in cooperation with Lancaster.
[23] This act brought the country to the brink of civil war, and Gloucester was one of the few men who was still trusted enough by both sides to be able to take on a role as mediator.
[28] There were still a number of great lords in the king's company, including Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, Pembroke and Gloucester.
The English immediately ran into difficulties, and Hereford's cousin Henry de Bohun was killed by King Robert the Bruce.
While Gloucester took the part of certain experienced captains, recommending that Edward avoid battle that day, the younger men surrounding the king labelled this lethargic and cowardly, and advised attack.
[34] According to the Vita Edwardi, when Edward grew angry and accused Gloucester of treason, the earl forcefully replied that he would prove his loyalty on the field of battle.
[35] The most detailed account of the Earl of Gloucester's death at the Battle of Bannockburn is the chronicle Vita Edwardi Secundi.
The Vita, on the other hand, claimed that as the earl was vigorously trying to fend off the Scottish attacks, he was knocked off his horse and killed when his own men failed to come to his rescue.
[5] According to one account, Gloucester rushed into battle without a distinguishing coat of arms, exposing himself to the Scottish soldiers, who otherwise would have been eager to secure a valuable ransom.
[43] In Ireland, where he also held large possessions, the power vacuum he left behind facilitated the 1315 invasion by Robert the Bruce's brother Edward.
The couple left no surviving issue, so his death marked the end of the great de Clare family.
[47] The three were granted equal parts of the English possessions, but Despenser received the entire lordship of Glamorgan in Wales, politically the most important of the de Clare lands.
[49] The rebellion was crushed, but resistance continued under the Marcher lords' ally Thomas of Lancaster, who was defeated at the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322, and executed.
[50] Although this victory temporarily secured Edward's position on the throne, he was eventually deposed in 1326 by Roger Mortimer, with the help of the king's wife, Isabella of France.
