Edward the Prince
Edward was born in 1284 on April 25, the feast of St. Mark, a day of bad omen. His life began with a sense of foreboding. He shared this birthday with Mortimer.
Edward's mother passed away when Edward was only six years old, and though he adored his stepmother it could not make up for that loss of his mother's affection.
"In the spring of 1303, when Prince Edward was nearly nineteen… the prince’s company was becoming more exotic and attractive. His love of jewelry was famous, and the whole court knew about his generous gift of a great ruby and gold ring to his stepmother, the young Queen Margaret of France, of whom he was very fond. He made similar gifts to his friend and companion, Piers Gaveston, a young Gascon knight, of whom he was even fonder. But Piers was only the foremost of a number of esquires who lived life to the full in the prince’s company. Together these young meant wanted to liven up the court, to escape its dull seriousness arising from the king’s old age and obsession with politics. They preferred jousting a music to politics and war. The prince, as the centre of this band of youths, delighted them by traveling with a lion, which he kept chained up with its own cart and keeper. He acquired a camel, which he kept at his manor of Kings Langley. Minstrels accompanied him from castle to castle, playing drums, rebecs, and viols in all the halls where he and his entourage feasted. Fools amused him and travelled in his company, and he was not averse to engaging with them in play fights."
"There was a more serious side to the prince, which was apparent in his religious zeal. He attended masses with great frequency, was often in the company of his personal priests, and was assiduous in his alms-giving. This apparent double-faced character, of simultaneous religiosity and frivolity, was certainly contradictory but nevertheless is not in doubt. "
In May 1306, at twenty-two years old, Edward II was knighted by his father and then sent to knight another mass of men, including Piers Gaveston, John Maltravers, and Roger Mortimer. "That day Prince Edward knighted men who would serve him and men who would denounce him, men who would betray him and take up arms against him, men whom he would put to death and men who would ultimately overthrow him... But all that was far off. The present was full of joy, celebration, and thoughts of the war in Scotland which lay ahead."
Later came a war, and though the king had ordered the knights to stay loyal to the army, twenty two men deserted, including Mortimer and Gaveston. All twenty two men were arrested and declared traitors by the king and were stripped of their titles and land. The men went to Prince Edward (II) to ask him to intercede. The prince spoke to his stepmother, Queen Margaret, and was largely successful. For the majority of the men, including Mortimer, the titles and land were restored. Among those who were not forgiven, however, was Piers Gaveston.
"The king had learnt of a secret compact between the prince and Gaveston which went far beyond the desertion of a few knights. It turned out that they were sworn together as brothers-in-arms: that they would fight together as brothers and protect each other against all other men, sharing all their possessions! It was outrageous. Although an admiration for Gaveston's excellent knightly qualities was understandable, a liaison which threatened to share the government of the realm with a provincial knight was unthinkable."
Edward responded by sending a messenger to his father to ask if, to remedy the fact that Gaveston was low-born, he could give Gaveston his own country, that of Ponthieu. "Upon hearing these words, spoken by the prince himself, the king flew into a rage, exclaiming, 'You wretched son of a whore! Do you want to give away lands now? You who have never gained any? As God lives, if not for fear of breaking up the kingdom, I would never let you enjoy your inheritance!' As he spoke the king seized hold of the prince's head by the hair and tore handfuls of hair out, then threw the prince to the floor and kicked him repeatedly until he was exhaused."
This request was what caused the banishment of Piers Gaveston.
Edward's mother passed away when Edward was only six years old, and though he adored his stepmother it could not make up for that loss of his mother's affection.
"In the spring of 1303, when Prince Edward was nearly nineteen… the prince’s company was becoming more exotic and attractive. His love of jewelry was famous, and the whole court knew about his generous gift of a great ruby and gold ring to his stepmother, the young Queen Margaret of France, of whom he was very fond. He made similar gifts to his friend and companion, Piers Gaveston, a young Gascon knight, of whom he was even fonder. But Piers was only the foremost of a number of esquires who lived life to the full in the prince’s company. Together these young meant wanted to liven up the court, to escape its dull seriousness arising from the king’s old age and obsession with politics. They preferred jousting a music to politics and war. The prince, as the centre of this band of youths, delighted them by traveling with a lion, which he kept chained up with its own cart and keeper. He acquired a camel, which he kept at his manor of Kings Langley. Minstrels accompanied him from castle to castle, playing drums, rebecs, and viols in all the halls where he and his entourage feasted. Fools amused him and travelled in his company, and he was not averse to engaging with them in play fights."
"There was a more serious side to the prince, which was apparent in his religious zeal. He attended masses with great frequency, was often in the company of his personal priests, and was assiduous in his alms-giving. This apparent double-faced character, of simultaneous religiosity and frivolity, was certainly contradictory but nevertheless is not in doubt. "
In May 1306, at twenty-two years old, Edward II was knighted by his father and then sent to knight another mass of men, including Piers Gaveston, John Maltravers, and Roger Mortimer. "That day Prince Edward knighted men who would serve him and men who would denounce him, men who would betray him and take up arms against him, men whom he would put to death and men who would ultimately overthrow him... But all that was far off. The present was full of joy, celebration, and thoughts of the war in Scotland which lay ahead."
Later came a war, and though the king had ordered the knights to stay loyal to the army, twenty two men deserted, including Mortimer and Gaveston. All twenty two men were arrested and declared traitors by the king and were stripped of their titles and land. The men went to Prince Edward (II) to ask him to intercede. The prince spoke to his stepmother, Queen Margaret, and was largely successful. For the majority of the men, including Mortimer, the titles and land were restored. Among those who were not forgiven, however, was Piers Gaveston.
"The king had learnt of a secret compact between the prince and Gaveston which went far beyond the desertion of a few knights. It turned out that they were sworn together as brothers-in-arms: that they would fight together as brothers and protect each other against all other men, sharing all their possessions! It was outrageous. Although an admiration for Gaveston's excellent knightly qualities was understandable, a liaison which threatened to share the government of the realm with a provincial knight was unthinkable."
Edward responded by sending a messenger to his father to ask if, to remedy the fact that Gaveston was low-born, he could give Gaveston his own country, that of Ponthieu. "Upon hearing these words, spoken by the prince himself, the king flew into a rage, exclaiming, 'You wretched son of a whore! Do you want to give away lands now? You who have never gained any? As God lives, if not for fear of breaking up the kingdom, I would never let you enjoy your inheritance!' As he spoke the king seized hold of the prince's head by the hair and tore handfuls of hair out, then threw the prince to the floor and kicked him repeatedly until he was exhaused."
This request was what caused the banishment of Piers Gaveston.
Edward the King
In July of 1307, King Edward I took his final breath, placing power in the hands of Edward II, who would immediately take over as king. The moment his father died, King Edward II recalled Gaveston from Exile. Less than a month later, he bestowed upon Gaveston one of the richest earldoms in the country, naming him Earl of Cornwall. In doing so, he also neglected his half-brother who had originally been slated for that very position. King Edward II also suggested making Gaveston a legitimate member of the royal family by marrying him to his niece Margaret de Clare. In bringing a man of such low-birth into the royal family, King Edward II made a lot of the court very angry, but others who had grown up with the new king, including Roger Mortimer, found no real fault.
In a tournament held at the wedding of Gaveston and Margaret de Clare, Gaveston led a team of young knights against the Earls of Warenne, Hereford, and Arundel. He won and, unsurprisingly, gloated. This angered Earl Warrenne terribly and sparked a wave of hatred against Gaveston which spread throughout the country.
When Edward left to marry Princess Isabella in France a month later, he named Gaveston sole Regent of England for the two weeks until he returned. Angry and concerned for the Crown, the Earls of Lincoln, Surrey, Pembroke, and Hereford, along with the Bishop of Durham and five barons, decided that their loyalty lay with the Crown, not the king, and that if the king were to act in a way that they felt was against the nation they would have to correct him by force.
In a tournament held at the wedding of Gaveston and Margaret de Clare, Gaveston led a team of young knights against the Earls of Warenne, Hereford, and Arundel. He won and, unsurprisingly, gloated. This angered Earl Warrenne terribly and sparked a wave of hatred against Gaveston which spread throughout the country.
When Edward left to marry Princess Isabella in France a month later, he named Gaveston sole Regent of England for the two weeks until he returned. Angry and concerned for the Crown, the Earls of Lincoln, Surrey, Pembroke, and Hereford, along with the Bishop of Durham and five barons, decided that their loyalty lay with the Crown, not the king, and that if the king were to act in a way that they felt was against the nation they would have to correct him by force.
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