All about history book of british rs 45

Edward II

Edward II, as depicted in Cassell’s History of
England, published around 1902

heading up the barons and power was shifting.
with the king not only insisting that it had been
An attempt to put aside their differences in 1318
unlawful to banish him but restoring his own
power. This angered the barons, who gathered their was marred by Edward II’s new favourites, Hugh le
Despenser and his son. And then, in 1320, the Scots
own armies.
signed the Declaration of Arbroath and asserted
In 1312, Gaveston was besieged in Scarborough
their independence. Although Edward II did not
Castle. After surrendering, he was taken to
recognise it, he signed a 13-year truce with
Deddington in Oxfordshire, but he was
Robert the Bruce who, by this point
then seized by the Earl of Warwick,
was seriously ill.
Guy de Beauchamp. Paraded
His
Not that it solved any of the
through the streets of Warwick
19-year reign
king’s problems. Civil war had
and imprisoned in the castle,
broken out in 1321, triggered
Edward II’s favourite was tried,
came to an end when

by tensions between the
taken to Blacklow Hill outside
he was betrayed by
Despenser family and the
of the town and beheaded. The
his own wife, forced
barons. Lancaster led a group
king vowed revenge.
of the Despensers’ enemies into
Two years later, Edward II
to abdicate and
battle,
seizing land. He was joined
sought to resolve the ongoing war
murdered
by Roger Mortimer of Wigmore,
with Scotland. Edward Bruce, the
who led the Marcher lords in a
brother of Robert the Bruce who had
revolt. Edward II’s men fought back and
seized the Scottish throne in 1306, had
Lancaster was defeated at Boroughbridge in 1322.
besieged Stirling Castle and this forced England’s
Lancaster was executed, but Mortimer escaped
hand. Around 2,000 cavalry and 15,000 infantry
from the Tower of London and fled to France.
were assembled against the Scots, but the resulting
At the same time, tensions with France began
Battle of Bannockburn in June 1314 proved too
flaring again and in 1325, Isabella was sent across

much. Over two days, Robert the Bruce’s men
the sea to help resolve them. Instead, she refused
put up a fierce fight and pushed the English back.
to return and allied herself with Mortimer, who
Humiliated, Edward II was unable to prevent
also became her lover. Together, they led an army
subsequent Scottish raids in the north of England,
to capture Edward II, forcing him to become the
nor the invasion of Ireland.
first English royal to abdicate, in his case in favour
It was a terrible time for the king. A shortage of
of his 14-year-old son, Edward III. Imprisoned and
food caused by terrible weather that devastated
tortured in the most grotesque of manners, he was
crops caused support for him to fall further.
murdered in Berkeley Castle in 1327.
Edward’s cousin, Thomas of Lancaster, was

Medicine was
positively medieval
Becoming severely ill during the time when
Edward II reigned was almost a direct route
to the grave. Only the wealthy had access to
trained doctors and even they would tend
to diagnose on the basis of examining blood,
stools and urine. Poor people had to rely on
passed-down traditional ‘cures’, accompanied
by a pleading prayer.

People were more

cultured in those days
Although Edward II enjoyed the company
of the lower classes, he loved music, sailing,
dancing and plays, and the time in which he
lived was certainly cultured. In 1308, Italian
poet Dante began to write his epic The Divine
Comedy, which has come to be seen as one of
the greatest works of literature.

Food was rather scarce
Poor harvests took their toll throughout the
early part of Edward II’s reign, leading the
masses towards hunger, but things got worse
when crop failures between 1315 and 1322 led
to famine. Peasants even feasted on seeds
that were intended for planting in the spring
and tens of thousands of starved to death.

Death was an obsession
for many
One of the most popular stories of the day
was a tale that most likely came from France.
It told of three corpses meeting three living
princes, warning that life would soon come
to an end for them. Death was a regular plot
driver in stories of the early 1300s.

War of Saint-Sardos
A conflict between the kingdoms of England and France ran
from October 1323 to September 1335 and it proved to be a

bitter blow for Edward II’s reputation. Edward was the Duke
of Aquitaine in France, but a dispute in the ancient region with
King Charles IV of France flared. The French were interfering
in the governing of Aquitaine and had agreed to build a royal
bastide in Saint-Sardos. When a French sergeant looked to
seize the site, he was hanged by a local landowner. The French
believed Edward II had ordered the killing, something he
denied. But the diplomatic gloves were off. Charles IV would
go on to conquer the Duchy of Guyenne in a battle that lasted
six weeks. It was a precursor to the Hundred Years’ War.

Life in the time
of Edward II

Inflation reached its
greatest ever rate

King Charles IV of France

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The pound sterling was established as
England’s main currency, but there was trouble
ahead. Inflation rocketed to a staggering
100.4 per cent in 1316. With half of the
pound’s value lopped off, great hardship
was caused among an already embattled
population. 20 shillings made up a pound, with

12 pence equalling one shilling.

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