Published On:2014/09/21
Posted by alialsayed
Edward II of England
| Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, and Was the first to carry the title of the Prince of Wales (during the reign of his father).He was King of England from 1307 until he wasdeposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne following the death of his older brotherAlphonso. |
Edward was a tall, strong and handsome youth who loved music and acting. He was homo-sexual and became excessively devoted to a succession of favorites. King Edward I had banished Edward's lover, Piers Gaveston, in an outburst of Plantagenet rage, "on account of the undue intimacy which the young Lord Edward had adopted towards him." in an attempt to curb their relationship. The younger Edward had asked his father to bestow the title of Count of Ponthieu on his lover. Edward I, irate at the fact that Edward “had an inordinate affection for a certain Gascon knight”, is said grabbed a handful of his son's hair, and pulled it out. The king threatened to disinherit his son, even going as far as to question the chastity of his beloved Queen, Eleanor of Castille.
Reign
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| Edward II shown receiving the English crown in a contemporary illustration |
King Edward II's inglorious reign began in 1307. One of his first acts as King was to re-call Piers Gaveston. The following year, Edward married the twelve year old Isabella of France, the daughter of Phillip IV by Jean of Navarre. He gave all the best jewels, received as wedding presents, to Gaveston, thereby grossly offending his bride. Although the marriage produced four children, two sons, the future Edward III and John and two daughters, Eleanor and Joan, later Queen of Scotland, Edward continued in his addiction to homo sexual favourites. To the chagrin of his neglected Queen, Gaveston was showered with favours and made Earl of Cornwall. He added to his growing unpopularity by insulting and ridiculing some of the most powerful barons, he called the Earl of Warwick the 'black hound of Arden', ‘Let him call me“hound”,’ the earl is said to have commented, ‘One day the hound will bite him.’ The king liked to dress like his friend Piers, Edward's relationship with Gaveston referred to as 'the sin against nature' was usually mentioned indirectly, with comparisons to the Old Testament love of King David for Jonathan, 'a love beyond the love of women'.
Battle of Bannockburn
By 1314, Robert the Bruce had recaptured most of the castles in Scotland once held by Edward, pushing raiding parties into northern England as far as Carlisle. In response, Edward planned a major military campaign with the support of Lancaster and the barons, mustering a large army between 15,000 and 20,000 strong. Meanwhile, Robert had besieged Stirling Castle, a key fortification in Scotland; its English commander had stated that unless Edward arrived by 24 June, he would surrender. News of this reached the King in late May, and he decided to speed up his march north from Berwick to relieve the castle. Robert, with between 5,500 and 6,500 troops, predominantly spearmen, prepared to prevent Edward's forces from reaching Stirling.
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| Depiction of the Battle of Bannockburnin 1314 from the Holkham Bible |
Edward stayed behind to fight, but it became obvious to the Earl of Pembroke that the battle was lost and he dragged the King away from the battlefield, hotly pursued by the Scottish forces. Edward only just escaped the heavy fighting, making a vow to found a Carmelite religious house at Oxford if he survived.The historian Roy Haines describes the defeat as a "calamity of stunning proportions" for the English, whose losses in the battle were hunger. In the aftermath of the defeat, Edward retreated to Dunbar, then travelled by ship to Berwick, and then back to York; in his absence, Stirling Castle quickly fell .
War With France
Edward's forces in Gascony were around 4,400 strong, but the French army, commanded by Charles of Valois, numbered 7,000. Valois took the Agenais and then advanced further and cut off the main city of Bordeaux. In response, Edward ordered the arrest of any French in England and seized Isabella's lands, on the basis that she was of French origin. In November he met with the earls and the English Church, who recommended that Edward should lead a force of 11,000 men to Gascony. Edward decided not to go personally, sending John de Warenne, the Earl of Surrey, instead. Meanwhile Edward opened up fresh negotiations with the French. Charles IV put forward various proposals, the most tempting of which was the suggestion that if Isabella and Prince Edward were to travel to Paris, and the Prince was to give homage to the French King for Gascony, he would terminate the war and return the Agenais. Edward and his advisers had concerns about sending the prince to France, but agreed to send Isabella on her own as an envoy in March 1325 . where she met and became the mistress of Roger Mortimer, an exiled opponent of Edward. In September 1326, they invaded England. There was virtually no resistance and the Despensers were captured and executed. Edward was deposed in favour of his and Isabella's son, who was crowned Edward III in January 1327.By : Samia
