Thomas of Lancaster already held Lancaster, Leicester, and Derby when his wife Alice de Lacy inherited Lincoln and Salisbury from her father. The combined five earldoms gave him a virtually unassailable territorial power base. Lancaster then refused to meet Edward II in Scotland to perform homage for the new lands. The king had to cross back into England to receive it, showing how inheritance could change the balance between monarch and magnate. The same concentration of estates helps explain Lancaster's later ability to sustain baronial opposition and private war.
Notable Point · 22:09-22:42
Lancaster's five-earldom power base
Henry de Lacy's death transferred Lincoln and Salisbury to Thomas of Lancaster, giving the opposition leader five earldoms and leverage even over where he would perform homage.