Title: Notes
Text:
Edward became the Prince of Wales in 1307 and was the King of England from 1272 to 1307.
Origins
Edward was the youngest son of Edward I and Eleanor of Castile, but he was the only son to live longer than his father. He was born in 1284 at Caernarvon Castle only a year after the castle's construction was begun. Edward may have been a lonely child as his father was always away fighting the Welsh, Scottish or French and his mother died when he was only young. His elder brothers had died before he was born and his sisters were married while they were young so Edward was on his own. This may explain the importance with which he regarded his friends. Edward I died on 7th July 1307 on the way to Scotland to conquer Robert the Bruce. The old King's dying request was that his son should carry his bones with him in battle until Robert was defeated, but Edward II had other ideas.
No taste for royal duties
Edward left Robert Bruce alone in the north and returned to London and to his friends. It seems that Edward II had no time for his royal duties. He preferred to spend time with Piers Gaveston who was a handsome Knight and Edward's companion since childhood. Gaveston was showered gifts and when Edward left for France in early 1308 to marry Isabella, the daughter of Philippe IV of France, Gaveston was left as Regent in charge of affairs in England.
Piers Gaveston
Gaveston had arranged the celebrations for Edward and his new Queen on their return to England, but there were problems with the arrangements and Edward spent more time with Gaveston than Isabella at the festivities. This troubled the new Queen and her attendants. It also troubled Parliament who decided that Gaveston was not fit for the elevated position that Edward had given to him, and told Edward to dismiss his favourite knight. In June of 1308, Gaveston was given the role of Lieutenant of Ireland and he left England, but he had returned by the middle of 1309. A group of 21 lords were elected in agreement with Edward to oversee the management of Edward's affairs. They were known as the 'Lords Ordainers' and their most powerful member was Thomas, Earl of Lancaster. In August 1311, the Ordainers received permission from parliament to dismiss Gaveston and take control of Edwards affairs completely. Gaveston left the country in November, but was back at Edward's side by Christmas. The Lords declared war on their king in early 1312 and Edward with Gaveston moved to York to prepare for civil war. The barons found Gaveston at Scarborough Castle in May and although he was promised safe passage if he surrendered, Gaveston was taken to Warwick Castle and then executed on June 19 by the Earls of Lancaster, Warwick, Arundel and Hereford.
Scotland
Since the death of his father, Edward had neglected the problem with the Scots. He had ventured briefly into Scotland in 1310, but gained nothing. Robert the Bruce had used the time to strengthen his position and in 1312 reclaimed most of the land in Scotland taken by the English. In June 1313 Bruce besieged Stirling Castle, the only castle left in English hands. The English governor of the castle Philippe de Mowbray came to an agreement with the Scots that if English forces had not reached the castle by midsummer 1314, Mowbray would surrender the castle to them. Bruce even let Mowbray leave the castle to inform the English king of the agreement. Edward had little choice but to prepared for war and called for an army to meet him at Berwick in June of 1314. Edward had collected a large army, double the size of the Scots'. The two armies met on June 24, Midsummer Day at the Bannock Burn where the Scots had prepared traps for the English troops. The English were defeated but Edward managed to escape to Berwick and then back to London.
Terrible years
The years 1315, 1316, 1317 and half of 1318 were extremely bad for Edward and England. Edward lost control of the country to the Ordainers lead by the Earl of Lancaster and very heavy rain across Europe destroyed crops for several years in a row. Robert the Bruce was unopposed in the north and captured Berwick and invaded Ireland. On Edward's side was Hugh Despenser (the younger). The two sides were reconciled by the Treaty of Leake in August of 1318 arranged by the 'Middle Party' lead by the Earl of Pembroke. A unified King and Ordainers combined their forces and marched north to regain Berwick from the Scots. While they besieged the town in June/July of 1319, a group of Scots invaded Yorkshire and defeated an army under the control of the Archbishop of York. Edward had to abandon the siege and return to deal with the Scots in Yorkshire (truce agreed?).
Hugh Despenser the Younger
Hugh Despenser the Younger and his father became Edward's new favourites at court and like Gaveston before them were richly rewarded by Edward. Hugh was given the title of Lord of Glamorgan and began to upset the Marcher Lords by obtaining their land in South Wales. The most powerful Marcher Loer was Roger Mortimer who sided with Lancaster against the king. In August 1321 the Marcher Lords with the help of Lancaster ensured that the Despensers were banished. The banishment did not last long and by January 1322, the Despensers were back. 1322 was the turning point for Edward when he first captured Roger Mortimer, sending him to the Tower of London and then the Earl of Lancaster was defeated at the Battle Boroughbridge. Lancaster was beheaded on March 22, 1322. Edward finally had his revenge for the murder of Gaveston ten years earlier.
Isabella, the 'she-wolf of France'
Following the death of Lancaster and the imprisonment of Roger Mortimer, Edward's new problem was his wife. Isabella may not have been very close to her husband especially when he had shown more interest in Gaveston and the Despensers. She started to openly oppose her husband and the Despensers and may have been visiting Mortimer in the Tower. Mortimer managed to escape from the Tower at the end of 1323 and he took a ship to France. In 1324, The French king Charles IV invaded Gascony and Isabella, as the king's brother, asked to go to France to negociate a peace. When Isabella reached France in 1325 it emerged that she had another agenda. She met up with Roger Mortimer and together they began to plot how to overthrow Edward and the Despensers. Isabella also managed to capture her own son, Edward (III) who had travelled to France to pay homage to the French king. The French king was not happy with his sister's actions and she had to go to Hainault where she managed to recuit an army. Isabella arranged the marriage of Edward (III) to Philippa, the daughter of the Count of Hainault. Isabella and Mortimer landed in England in September of 1326. Edward had little support in England and had to retreat to Wales. Edward and the Despensers were captured at the end of 1326, the Despensers being executed for treason. The Barons confirmed that Edward (III) should become the keeper of the realm and in January 1326, Edward II abdicated in favour of his son. Aware that Edward II still could pose a threat to them, Isabella and Mortimer had the old king murdered at Berkeley Castle.
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001.
Edward II
1284?1327, king of England (1307?27), son of Edward I and Eleanor of Castile, called Edward of Carnarvon for his birthplace in Wales. 1
The Influence of Gaveston
He became the first prince of Wales in 1301 and served in the Scottish campaigns from 1301 to 1306. The prince?s dissipation caused his father to banish young Edward?s friend Piers Gaveston, who, however, returned to England immediately on Edward II?s succession (1307) to the throne. Edward married Isabella of France in 1308. Edward?s reliance on Gaveston, both as intimate and adviser, to the exclusion of the baronial council, provoked a crisis. The barons forced Edward to banish (1308) Gaveston, but he soon returned (1309). In 1310 a baronial coalition compelled Edward to consent to the appointment of a committee of 21 lords ordainers to share his ruling powers. The committee drafted the Ordinances of 1311, which, in addition to banishing Gaveston, placed serious restrictions on the royal power. Gaveston was recalled (1311) again, however, and the barons resorted to arms, capturing and killing Gaveston in 1312. 2
Lancaster and the Despensers
Edward tried to renew his father?s campaigns against Scotland, but his forces were routed by Robert I at Bannockburn in 1314. General disorder followed in England, and for a while the most powerful man in the country was Edward?s cousin, Thomas, earl of Lancaster (see Lancaster, house of). Lancaster was supplanted (1318) by a moderate group of barons under Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, who conciliated the king and maintained a relatively stable government until 1321. In that year, Lancaster led a rebellion against the king?s new favorites, Hugh le Despenser (1262?1326) and his son. Lancaster was defeated and executed (1322). A Parliament at York (1322) revoked the Ordinances, and Edward, now dominated by the Despensers, regained control of the government. A truce was made (1323) with Robert I that virtually recognized him as king of the Scots. The Despensers carried through some notable administrative reforms, but their avarice caused them to make many enemies. 3
Abdication and Murder
When trouble threatened with the new king of France (Charles IV, brother of Edward?s queen, Isabella), the queen went as envoy to France in 1325, taking her son (later Edward III). Having been alienated by Edward?s neglect, she refused to return home while the Despensers ruled. Isabella, with her son and Roger de Mortimer, 1st earl of March, gathered a force and in 1326 invaded England. Edward II found no one to support him and fled westward. The Despensers were executed and Edward himself was captured and forced to abdicate (1327). He was imprisoned in Berkeley Castle and almost certainly murdered there. 4
EDWARD II (r. 1307-1327)
Edward II had few of the qualities that made a successful medieval king. Edward surrounded himself with favourites (the best known being a Gascon, Piers Gaveston), and the barons, feeling excluded from power, rebelled. Throughout his reign, different baronial groups struggled to gain power and control the King.
The nobles' ordinances of 1311, which attempted to limit royal control of finance and appointments, were counteracted by Edward. Large debts (many inherited) and the Scots' victory at Bannockburn by Robert the Bruce in 1314 made Edward more unpopular.
Edward's victory in a civil war (1321-2) and such measures as the 1326 ordinance (a protectionist measure which set up compulsory markets or staples in 14 English, Welsh and Irish towns for the wool trade) did not lead to any compromise between the King and the nobles.
Finally, in 1326, Edward's wife, Isabella of France, led an invasion against her husband. In 1327 Edward was made to renounce the throne in favour of his son Edward (the first time that an anointed king of England had been dethroned since Ethelred in 1013). Edward II was later murdered at Berkeley Castle.
Title: Reign 1307-1327
Text:
Edward II, King of England
Reigned: 1307-1327
1284-1327 (Murdered)
 Edward II lacked the royal dignity of his father
and failed miserably as
king. He inherited his father's war with Scotland and displayed his ineptitude as a soldier.
Disgruntled barons, already wary of Edward as Prince of Wales, sought to check his
power from the beginning of his reign. He raised the ire of the nobility by lavishing
money and other rewards upon his male favorites. Such extreme unpopularity would
eventually cost Edward his life.
Edward I's
dream of a unified British nation quickly disintegrated under his weak son.
Baronial rebellion opened the way for Robert Bruce to reconquer much of Scotland. In
1314, Bruce defeated English forces at the battle of Bannockburn and ensured Scottish
independence until the union of England and Scotland in 1707. Bruce also incited
rebellion in Ireland and reduced English influence to the confines of the Pale.
Edward's
preference for surrounding himself with outsiders harkened back to the troubled
reign of Henry III. The most notable was Piers Gaveston, a young Gascon exiled by
Edward I for his undue influence on the Prince of Wales and, most likely, the king's
homosexual lover. The arrogant and licentious Gaveston wielded considerable power
after being recalled by Edward. The magnates, alienated by the relationship, rallied in
opposition behind the king's cousin, Thomas, Earl of Lancaster; the Parliaments of 1310
and 1311 imposed restrictions on Edward's power and exiled Gaveston. The barons
revolted in 1312 and Gaveston was murdered -- full rebellion was avoided only by
Edward's acceptance of further restrictions. Although Lancaster shared the responsibilities
of governing with Edward, the king came under the influence of yet another despicable
favorite, Hugh Dispenser. In 1322, Edward showed a rare display of resolve and gathered
an army to meet Lancaster at the Battle of Boroughbridge in Yorkshire. Edward prevailed
and executed Lancaster. He and Dispenser ruled the government but again acquired many
enemies -- 28 knights and barons were executed for rebelling and many exiled.
Edward
sent his queen, Isabella, to negotiate with her brother, French king Charles IV,
regarding affairs in Gascony. She fell into an open romance with Roger Mortimer, one of
Edward's disaffected barons, and persuaded Edward to send their young son to France.
The rebellious couple invaded England in 1326 and imprisoned Edward. The king was
deposed in 1327, replaced by his son, Edward III, and murdered in September at Berkeley
castle.
Sir
Richard Baker, in reference to Edward I in A Chronicle of the Kings of England,
makes a strong indictment against Edward II:
"His great unfortunateness was in his greatest blessing; for of four sons
which he had by
his Queen Eleanor, three of them died in his own lifetime, who were worthy to have
outlived him; and the fourth outlived him, who was worthy never to have been born."
BIO Facts:
Edward
II (Reigned: 1307-1327 AD)
Born:
25 April 1284 at Caernarfon Castle, Gwynedd
Murdered:
21 September 1327 at Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire
Buried:
St. Peter's Abbey (Gloucester Cathedral), Gloucester, Gloucestershire
Parents:
Edward I
and Eleanor of Castile
Siblings:
Eleanor, Joan, John, Henry, Julian (alias Katherine), Joan, Alfonso, Margaret,
Berengaria, Mary, Alice, Elizabeth, Beatrice & Blanche
Crowned:
25 February 1308 at Westminster Abbey, Middlesex
Abdicated:
25 January 1327
Married:
25 January 1308 at Boulogne Cathedral
Spouse:
Isabella daughter of Philip IV, King of France
Offspring:
Edward, John, Eleanor & Joan
Contemporaries:
Robert Bruce (King of Scotland, 1306-1329)
Piers Gaveston
Thomas, Earl of Lancaster
Hugh Dispenser
Roger Mortimer
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