Aymer de Valence earl of Pembroke

Aymer de Valence Pembroke, earl of , d. 1324, English nobleman; nephew of Aymer of Valence, bishop of Winchester. He succeeded his father, William, half brother of Henry III, as earl of Pembroke in 1296. Sent by Edward I to suppress the Scottish uprising, he defeated Robert I at Methven (1306) but was himself defeated at Loudon Hill (1307). Under Edward II he was one of the lord's ordainers, appointed to limit the king's power. Disgusted by the murder (1312) of Piers Gaveston, the royal favorite, Pembroke switched his support to the king. He fought for Edward at Bannockburn (1314). By 1318 he had organized a moderate royalist group of barons, which mediated successfully between the king and the rebellious barons until displaced (1322) by Hugh le Despenser, the elder, and his son. Pembroke died suddenly on a diplomatic mission to France.

Bibliography: See study by J. R. S. Phillips (1972).

Methven, battle of, 1306. On 19 June 1306 a small force under Robert I Bruce was routed at Methven, near Perth, by an army commanded by Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, acting for Edward I. But within a year Bruce regained the initiative.

Methven, battle of, 1306. On 19 June 1306 a small force under Robert I Bruce was surprised and routed at Methven, near Perth, by an army commanded by Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, acting for Edward I. Bruce fled, his wife and young daughter were captured, and his brother Neil subsequently taken prisoner and hanged at Berwick. But within a year Bruce regained the initiative.

J. A. Cannon