Historians of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries have concluded that the system of retaining knights was devised principally to provide a pool of skilled fighting men who could be called upon to serve in royal campaigns. Household knights nearly always formed the nucleus of the king's heavy cavalry in major armies. It has also been recognized that they were useful in providing military leadership. Many acted as constables of strategically important castles and some were given command of small and medium sized forces. It is likely that most English kings took a very active interest in supervising the military activities of household knights. Aside from occupying positions of responsibility, they were, in any case, his most trusted liege men. By implication, an examination of the activities of household knights in the context of war is likely to reveal something of a king's style and quality of rule. However, the military side of household service under Edward II has been almost entirely ignored. The existence of a considerable body of work in relation to the household knights of earlier kings and their contribution, often highly significant, to the waging of royal wars makes this all the more apparent. The ignominious defeat at Bannockburn will probably always stain Edward's reputation, but not until other aspects of his conduct as a military commander have been considered can he be properly judged. The purpose of this paper is to take a step towards that end by examining how effectively he directed the knightly retinue.