Editing Isabella of France (section)

=== Tensions in Gascony, 1323–1325 ===
[[File:Isabela Karel Eda.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|An early 15th-century [[Miniature (illuminated manuscript)|miniature]] showing the future [[Edward III]] as a boy, giving homage to [[Charles IV of France]] at centre right, under the guidance of Edward's mother, and Charles' sister, Isabella, in September 1325<ref>Ainsworth, p. 3.</ref>]]

Isabella's husband Edward, as the [[Duke of Aquitaine]], owed [[Homage (feudal)|homage]] to the King of France for his lands in [[Gascony]].<ref name=HolmesP16>Holmes, p. 16.</ref> Isabella's three brothers each had only short reigns, and Edward had successfully avoided paying homage to Louis X, and had paid homage to Philip V only under great pressure. Once Charles IV took up the throne, Edward had attempted to avoid doing so again, increasing tensions between the two.<ref name=HolmesP16/> One of the elements in the disputes was the border province of [[Agenais]], part of Gascony and in turn part of Aquitaine. Tensions rose in November 1323 after the construction of a [[bastide]], a type of fortified town, in [[Saint-Sardos, Lot-et-Garonne|Saint-Sardos]], part of the Agenais, by a French vassal.<ref>Neillands, p. 30.</ref> Gascon forces destroyed the bastide, and in turn Charles attacked the English-held [[Montpezat, Lot-et-Garonne|Montpezat]]. The assault was unsuccessful,<ref>Neillands, p. 31.</ref> but in the subsequent [[War of Saint-Sardos]], Isabella's uncle, [[Charles, Count of Valois|Charles of Valois]], successfully wrested Aquitaine from English control.<ref>Holmes, p. 16; Kibler, p. 201.</ref> By 1324, Charles declared Edward's lands forfeit and occupied the entirety of Aquitaine apart from the coastal areas.<ref>Kibler, p. 314.</ref>

Edward was still unwilling to travel to France to give homage due to England's precarious condition. Criminal gangs were occupying most of the country and there had been an assassination plot against Edward and Hugh Despenser in 1324, with the famous magician [[John of Nottingham]] being hired to kill the pair using [[necromancy]].<ref>Doherty, pp. 80–1.</ref> Edward was deeply concerned that, should he leave England, even for a short while, the barons would take the chance to rise up and take their revenge on the Despensers. Charles sent a message through [[Pope John XXII]] to Edward, suggesting that he was willing to reverse the forfeiture of the lands if Edward ceded the Agenais and paid homage for the rest of the lands.<ref>Sumption, p. 97.</ref> The Pope proposed Isabella as an ambassador, and Isabella saw this as a perfect opportunity to resolve her situation with Edward and the Despensers.{{cn|date=August 2023}}

Having promised to return to England by the summer, Isabella reached Paris in March 1325 and rapidly agreed to a truce in Gascony, under which Prince Edward, then thirteen years old, would come to France to give homage on his father's behalf.<ref name=DohertyP81>Doherty, p. 81.</ref> Prince Edward arrived in France, and gave homage in September. At this point, however, rather than returning, Isabella remained firmly in France with her son. Edward began to send urgent messages to the Pope and to Charles IV, expressing his concern about his wife's absence, but to no avail.<ref name=DohertyP81/> Edward instructed Isabella to come home in September, but she expressed concern the young Despenser would try to kill her upon her arrival, or the Earl of Richmond.<ref name=Parsons/> She also feared her own husband might attempt to have her killed.<ref name=Parsons/> For his part, Charles replied that the, "queen has come of her own will and may freely return if she wishes. But if she prefers to remain here, she is my sister and I refuse to expel her." Charles went on to refuse to return the lands in Aquitaine to Edward, resulting in a provisional agreement under which Edward resumed administration of the remaining English territories in early 1326 whilst France continued to occupy the rest.<ref>Kibler, p. 314; Sumption, p. 98.</ref>

Meanwhile, the messages brought back by Edward's agent [[Walter de Stapledon]], [[Bishop of Exeter]] and others portrayed a steadily worsening situation. They wrote that Isabella had publicly snubbed Stapledon; Edward's political enemies were gathering at the French court and threatening his emissaries; and that Isabella was dressed as a widow, claiming that Hugh Despenser had destroyed her marriage with Edward. Additionally, Isabella surrounded herself with mostly exiles, including [[Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent|Edmund of Kent]], [[John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond]],<ref name="DohertyP81" /> and her rumored lover Roger Mortimer.<ref name=Parsons/>