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 vk.com/englishlibrary vk.com/bastau 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 45