[1] Despite being accused of being illiterate, Lewis was appointed in the hope of providing strong military leadership in his diocese which sat on the dangerous Scottish border, much in the same way as his brother, Henry, had done for the past twenty years.
[4] It was a questionable choice on the part of King Edward as Lewis was reported to be lame in both feet[8] and his lack of mobility would seriously limit his ability to lead armed forces against the guerrilla tactics of Robert the Bruce.
[4] The pope was keen to gather support for a crusade to recover the Holy Land and so sent two cardinals to persuade Bruce to accept a truce and to excommunicate him if he refused.
[10] Disaster struck when they reached anarchic Northumberland where a local knight and brigand, Gilbert Middleton, and his large mob kidnapped and imprisoned them in Mitford Castle.
Lewis and his brother were held prisoner until December when Middleton himself was captured and hung, drawn and quartered in London following several months of violent rebellion.