The emergence of petitioning as a means of presenting complaints to the crown both in and outside Parliament in the hope of the provision of a remedy has been well rehearsed in modern scholarship and elsewhere in this volume. Under normal circumstances a steady stream of petitions was probably presented by petitioners seeking remedy, and at times of Parliament there was a particular and accepted opportunity for a wide range of individuals from the most powerful to the humble to seek remedy on a diverse range of issues in the knowledge that there was an administrative system to receive and process their complaints and requests. However, at times of crisis it was inevitable that the numbers would be considerably swelled. This is noticeable in 1289–90 when Edward I invited his subjects to present complaints against royal officials. It is also noticeable in the figures produced by Gwilym Dodd for the numbers of private petitions presented to Parliament in 1378–9, 1382 and 1388, all times of major upheaval in the first decade or so of Richard II’s reign.

This study focusses on another period of crisis, that which encompassed the years from 1322 to 1330. The period extends from the baronial revolt, which culminated in the decisive defeat of the baronial opposition dominated by Thomas of Lancaster, earl of Lancaster at the battle of Boroughbridge on 16 March 1322, through the periods of the ‘tyranny’ of Edward II and the Despensers, the two Hughs, father and son, from 1322 to 1326, and the rule of Roger Mortimer, earl of March and Queen Isabella from 1327 to 1330, and concludes with the very beginning of Edward III's personal reign. It is conveniently divided into two sub-periods for the purpose of this study – 1322–6 and 1327–30 – neatly dissected by the deposition of Edward II and the accession of his son, Edward III. It relies on the evidence drawn from 333 of the 346 files of petitions in the National Archives series SC 8 (Ancient Petitions). This, then, is a study of the period of Despenser rule and its immediate aftermath, focussed through the lens of one particular source. Although little time will be spent in the consideration of events before 1322, it is important to bear in mind that this crisis period had its genesis in events that extended as far back as Edward I's reign.