Edward II of England

 Edward II was born in April 25, 1284 to the great King Edward I and Eleanor of Castille in Caernaven Caste in Wales.  Edward II did not have a particularly happy childhood as he grew up under his overbearing father and in the absence of his mother.  Edward II had three older brothers, two of which died in infancy and the third unexpectantly in adolescence.  Thus, in 1307 Edward gained the throne of England and then married Isabella, daughter of Philip IV of France, in 1308 as a matter of convenience.

Edward is said to be as much of a failure as king as his father was a success.  Edward II’s contemporaries thought him to be an incompetent ruler.  They claimed that the king had been led and ruled by others, who had advised him badly to his own dishonor, and to the destruction of the Church and of all his people. He and neither made any effort to see of find out what was good or bad, nor taken any steps to remedy the situation when requested to do so by the great and wise men of the kingdom.  They also said that during all his reign, the king had been unwilling to take of believe good advice, and, instead of devoting his efforts to good government, he had spent all his time in unseemly pursuits, neglecting the affairs of the kingdom.

    Edward II possessed none of the chivalric qualities attributed to great men of his time.  Edward had no interest in knightly exercises such as joust and tourney.  Instead of spending time with nobility, he preferred to consort with singers, actors, oarsmen, diggers, etc., who shared his tastes.  This failure to understand the importance of patronage lost him the trust of nobility as he turned to unsuitable favourites such as Piers Gaveston and the Despensers whom he had homosexual relations with.  Because Edward did not care about his responsibilities as King, he appointed these men to handle his affairs.  Gaveston assumed this position and behaved like a second king who was above everyone, and had no equal.  He was accused of treason and executed.  When the younger Despenser was later appointed, he too was accused of the same crimes, namely accroaching royal power and dignity and counseling the king badly.  He was also executed one Edward was out of power.

    Edward faired no better as a soldier.  The rebellions of the barons opened the way for Robert Bruce to reconquer much of Scotland.  Bruce’s victory over English forces at the Battle of Bannockburn, in 1314, ensured Scottish independence until the union of England and Scotland in 1707.  Edward II’s reign took on an increasingly tyrannical aspect as he lost control.  During his reign, 28 knights and barons were executed for rebelling against the decadent king.

    War broke out with France in 1324, prompting Edward to send Isabella and their son Edward (later to become Edward III) to negotiate with her brother and French King, Charles IV.  Isabella fell into an open romance with Roger Mortimer, one of the Edward’s disaffected barons.  The rebellious couple invaded England in 1326, capturing and imprisoning Edward.  The king was deposed and replaced by his son, Edward III.  On September 21, 1327 at Berkley Castle King Edward II was murdered in prison by a red-hot iron inserted through his sphincter into his bowels.

    Edward II is the exact opposite of the chivalric knights we have been studying in class.  He possessed no skill in knightly and military exercises.  He had no ambition.  He showed no loyalty to his wife or people.  He used his power unfairly and cruelly.  Finally, his contemporaries found his actions to be immoral.  Without possessing any of the chivalric qualities necessary to be successful in his lifetime, Edward’s downfall was inevitable.  It seems as though Edward II was ahead of his time, because only today could such a leader (ex. President of the Untied States) get away with such cowardly (draft dodging) and immoral (extramarital affairs) behavior.

Internet

http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon31.html
Monarch of Britain:  Edward II

http://encarta.msn.com/index/conciseindex/6c/c6c24000.htm
Edward II—Encarta Concise Encyclopedia article

http://www.lambdawexpress.com/king
King Edward II (1284-1327)
 

Library

Chaplais, Pierre.  Piers Gaveston:  Edward II’s Adoptive Brother.  Oxford:
 Clarendon Press, 1994.

Fryde, Natalie.  The tyranny and fall of Edward II.  London:  Cambridge
 University Press, 1979.

Hutchison, Harold F.  Edward II.  New York:  Stein and Day, 1972.

Prestwich, Michael.  The Three Edwards.  New York:  St. Martin’s Press, 1980.