This Day in History: 1309-06-14

A tournament provided an ideal opportunity to convene large numbers of magnates and knights without arousing suspicion, but it was also of concern to a ‘beleaguered’ monarch. On 14th June 1309, letters close were issued to the following six Earls, and to no others, forbidding them to tourney: Gloucester, Hereford, Warwick, Lancaster (of Pontefract), Warenne (of Sandal) and Arundel.