England, and had him stay in secret in the manor of Sandal, on the
OuseinthecountyofYork,withtheladyVescy.’^76
Of course, the realsine qua nonfor the campaign was effective English
backing for the scheme. Edward III had, in fact, already shown himself to
be in favour of the Disinherited. Soon after taking control of his kingdom
Edward had written to the Scottish regency government, asking for
the fulfilment of the latter’s promise to restore various members of the
Disinherited to their position in Scotland.^77 With no sign of this forth-
coming, Henry was able to present his scheme as a win–win: a virtual
guarantee‘that [King] Edward would benefit, regardless of the turn of
events’.^78 If the Disinherited were victorious, then it would be an unex-
pected triumph for the English, overturning the humiliating treaty of
Edinburgh–Northampton. If they lost, on the other hand, the king could
disavow any connection with them.^79 It is abundantly clear that Edward
did give his covert blessing to the enterprise, despite publicly condemn-
ing it as a breach of the peace. On 27 March 1332 he gave Henry a gift of
£500, carefully described as‘recompense [for] his losses during the time
when he was banished from the realm and stayed in France’.^80 Edward
also granted permission for estates in England to be leased, so as to raise
capital.^81 In short, the king of England might assert that he had nothing
to do with the expedition, but it was a very threadbare claim indeed.
The lack of official English support meant that the host that Henry
eventually put together was‘absurdly small’: around 500 men-at-arms,
along with 1,000 archers and other foot soldiers. That Henry sailed with
such a force is surely a sign of his hope–or even of his expectation–that
he would find friends and allies in Scotland. Henry seems to have
anticipated that, by landing north of the Forth, he would be met by Earl
(^76) TheCleopatra Brut, tr. inThe Wars of Edward III: Sources and Interpretations, compiled by
C. J. Rogers (Woodbridge, 2010), source no. 4.
(^77) It is worth noting that this was not the only cause for friction between the two newly
peaceful neighbours. Henry’s brother, Bishop Louis, also brought a boundary dispute to
the king’s attention. He claimed that the Scots had unlawfully retained the village of
Upsetlington West, simply because it was on the wrong side of the Tweed. SeeFoedera,
ii, part 2, 804, 806–7.
(^78) C. J. Rogers,War Cruel and Sharp: English Strategy under Edward III, 1327– 1360
(Woodbridge, 2014), 33.
(^79) Indeed, theBrutclaims that Henry told King Edward that, if the Disinherited were
defeated, then Edward could confiscate all their English rents, as a way of proving his
80 goodwill towards David II. SeeThe Wars of Edward III, source no. 4.
Calendar of the Patent Rolls Preservedinthe Public Record Office: Edward III, 16 vols.
81 (London, 1891–1916), ii, 270, 399.
Ibid., ii, 283, 297; see also Nicholson,Edward III and the Scots, 78.
158 Hubris and Nemesis (c. 1311–1356)