Siege of Leeds
Who Fought
Royal forces of Edward II, employing ballistas,
the garrison of Leeds Castle under the direction of Margaret de Clare.
History & Significance
Year 1321 (MCCCXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.
January 19 – King Edward II of England appoints the Archbishop of York; the Bishops of Carlisle, Worcester, and Winchester; the Earls of Pembroke, Hereford and Badlesmere; and six other people to negotiate with Scotland for a final peace treaty or an extension of the Pembroke treaty of 1319 before its expiration on Christmas Day.
January 20 – The English Parliament appoints a commission to inquire about illegal confederacies in Wales against the King.
January 30 – The Welsh Earls of Hereford, Arundel and Surrey, and 26 other people are forbidden from attending any meetings to discuss matters affecting King Edward II.
February 10 – By papal verdict announced in the Polish town of Brześć, the Teutonic Knights are ordered to return the coastal region of Gdańsk Pomerania to Poland, having annexed and occupied it since 1308. The Teutonic Order appeals the judgment and continues fighting against Poland, with a new Polish–Teutonic War breaking out soon afterward.
March 22 – The first Genkō era begins in Japan after the end of the Gen'ō era.
April 8 – In the Delhi Sultanate of India, European Dominican missionaries who have accompanied Jordan Catala are killed while stranded on Salsette Island. Jordan escapes and continues his ministry.
April 12 – Sweden's governing council votes to bar foreigners from the royal palace, and to request that the Norwegian council admonish the regent Ingeborg to avoid taking advice from foreigners when making decisions. Ingeborg, who is serving as regent for her minor son, King Magnus, ruler of Sweden and Norway, has become infamous for making decisions without consultation from the councils of either of the kingdoms.
April 14 – Prince Wenceslaus of Płock allies with the Teutonic Knights of Poland and signs an agreement at the city of Golub, pledging to prevent Lithuanian troops from passing through his principality.
April 19 – At Easter, the Byzantine civil war of 1321–1328 breaks out in the Byzantine Empire as Co-Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos flees Constantinople to Adrianople, where he sets up his court and initiates an uprising against his grandfather, the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos. The 24-year-old Andronikos is joined by Theodore Synadenos and John Kantakouzenos in the rebellion. Syrgiannes Palaiologos leads an expeditionary army towards the capital, forcing the emperor to negotiate.
May 5 – Wars of the Rügen Succession: Dukes Otto I of Pomerania, Vartislav IV of Pomerania-Wolgast and Barnim III of Pomerania-Stettin reach a mutual inheritance contract with Vitslav III of Rügen.
The ground they fought on
The site of Siege of Leeds lies on Pennine Lower Coal Measures Formation And South Wales Lower Coal Measures Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Westphalian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.
Royal forces using ballistas besieged Leeds Castle in Kent after Margaret de Clare, wife of the castle's governor Baron Badlesmere, refused Queen Isabella admittance to the castle and ordered arrows to be fired upon the Queen and her escort; the castle surrendered on 31 October 1321, and Margaret was sent to the Tower of London, becoming the first recorded female prisoner in its history.
- Unknown from sources; arrows were fired by the garrison upon Queen Isabella and her escort during the initial confrontation.
Frequently Asked Questions
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- 1321 · Wikipedia
- Margaret de Clare, Baroness Badlesmere · Wikipedia