The War of St Sardos and the Deposition of Edward II (1323–1327)

Abstract

This chapter investigates the bureaucratization of administrative and diplomatic practices during international political conflict and domestic turmoil at the time of the Anglo-French war of St Sardos (1323–5) and the deposition of Edward II (1327). The specific aim of this section is to demonstrate how domestic and international conflicts influenced record-keeping and diplomatic practice in England and the papal curia, ultimately questioning whether bureaucratic developments were entirely driven by what Weber called an ‘autonomous’ logic. Focusing on the surviving English and papal diplomatic correspondence, the chapter first looks at how John XXII arbitrated in the Anglo-French conflict and dealt with the English domestic crisis, drawing on the evidence of the registers of secret letters, which were created by the papal chamber as a new series of registers in order to record political correspondence. It then examines English diplomatic correspondence and record-keeping in the same period, in particular the Roman rolls and the Treaty rolls, emphasizing the practices adopted by the English crown’s administrative departments at times of internal and domestic crisis.