Battle of Boroughbridge - Aftermath

Aftermath

Thomas of Lancaster was taken to Pontefract Castle, which by then had fallen to the king. There he was submitted to what was little more than a show trial, and – in front of a gathering of earls and barons – sentenced to death. On 22 March, 1322 he was led out of the castle and beheaded in front of a jeering crowd. In the years to come, a cult emerged around the person of the late earl as a martyr, and even a possible saint. Lancaster had shown no signs of extraordinary piety or other personal abilities during his lifetime, and the cult has been interpreted as a reaction to the incompetent and oppressive reign of Edward II.

Some thirty of Lancaster's followers were also executed, among these Clifford and the baron John Mowbray. As for Robert Holland, his defection saved him from execution, but his close association with Lancaster made him suspect in the eyes of the king, and he was imprisoned until 1327. The very next year he was murdered, possibly by order of Henry, Thomas's brother and heir.

Andrew Harclay was richly rewarded for his loyal and competent performance at Boroughbridge. On 15 March he was created Earl of Carlisle, and promised lands worth 1000 marks yearly. Yet Harclay, who had turned down Lancaster's overtures to join in the rebellion, was no great adherent of the king. As a warden of the Scottish Marches he grew constantly more frustrated with the king's idleness, and eventually negotiated a peace treaty with the Scots. This action on Harclay's part amounted to treason, and early in 1323 he was apprehended by the king's men, and hanged, drawn and quartered.

As for Edward II himself, his dependence on the Despensers grew only deeper, and their transgressions more severe. In 1327, his wife Isabella, together with her lover Roger Mortimer, staged a coup against the king. Edward II was deposed and his son, Edward III, succeeded in his place.