The Treaty of Leake was an agreement between the "Middle Party", including courtier adherents of

Edward II of England Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...

, and the king's cousin, the Earl Thomas of Lancaster and his followers. It was signed at Leake in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

on 9 August 1318. The treaty was meant to reconcile the King and his

favourite A favourite (British English) or favorite (American English) was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated s ...

s with Lancaster and other baronial opponents. Central to the negotiations were Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and various

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

s. The negotiations opened with a parley at Leicester between the leaders of the "Middle Party" and Lancaster or his representatives. The maintenance of the

Ordinances of 1311 The Ordinances of 1311 were a series of regulations imposed upon King Edward II by the peerage and clergy of the Kingdom of England to restrict the power of the English monarch. The twenty-one signatories of the Ordinances are referred to as the L ...

, the basis for reforms during the reign of Edward, was part of the agreement from the first, and the final agreement officially approved them. The removal of evil counsellors, a constant in pressure for reform from the earliest days of

Piers Gaveston Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall (c. 1284 – 19 June 1312) was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the favourite of Edward II of England. At a young age, Gaveston made a good impression on King Edward I, who assigned him to the househ ...

's ascendancy, were set aside. Pardon for Lancaster and his friends for all trespasses was extended. A

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

was to be summoned, and, most of all, a council was to be formed, a member of which should be a

banneret A knight banneret, sometimes known simply as banneret, was a medieval knight ("a commoner of rank") who led a company of troops during time of war under his own banner (which was square-shaped, in contrast to the tapering standard or the penn ...

nominated by Lancaster, who would not otherwise be present. Without the agreement of the council the King was not to exercise authority. At a meeting in the

exchequer In the civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty’s Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's '' current account'' (i.e., money held from taxation and other government revenu ...

it was agreed that Lancaster, who had shunned previous parliaments, should be invited to the next as a peer of the realm, "but without accroaching sovereignty towards the others", for Lancaster, by far the greatest of the English magnates, assumed for himself what McKisack terms "a uniquely privileged position ''vis-à-vis'' both the king and his fellow-barons."McKisack 1959:53. The King made a statement at St Paul's Cathedral that he would conform to the Ordinances, make peace with Lancaster, with whom he had been waging all but open war, and rely henceforth on the advice and counsel of his barons. Lancaster insisted that lands alienated by the King should be resumed to their rightful owners and that evil counsellors be removed, so that he could approach the King with security. Five days after signing, the King and Lancaster met to exchange the kiss of peace, and specific letters of pardon were issued to 600 of the Earl's men.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leake, Treaty of 1310s treaties Treaties of medieval England 1318 in England