This Day in History: 1311-11-03

On 3rd November 1311, Piers Gaveston, court favourite of Edward II and recently created King’s Lieutenant in Scotland, sailed into exile at the instigation of the Lords Ordainers, foremost amongst them being Thomas of Lancaster, lord of Pontefract. The English nobility’s general detestation of Gaveston was only reflected in one of the forty-one Ordinances they had imposed on Edward II, the rest concerning his public duty as a king. Unfortunately, Edward’s ‘infatuation’ with Gaveston was precipitating civil war.