But if Edward was powerless to conquer the baronage he could still by evading the observance of the Ordinances throw the whole realm into confusion.

The two years that follow Gaveston's death are among the darkest in our history.

A terrible succession of famines intensified the suffering which sprang from the utter absence of all rule as dissension raged between the barons and the king.

At last a common peril drew both parties together.

The Scots had profited by the English troubles, and Bruce's "harrying of Buchan" after his defeat of its Earl, who had joined the English army, fairly turned the tide of success in his favour.