Fatal Distraction
Edward II was given the crown of England on condition that he had nothing more to do with Piers Gaveston, and he did not keep his word.
1307-1312
King Edward II 1307-1327
Edward II was given the crown of England on condition that he had nothing more to do with Piers Gaveston, and he did not keep his word.
1307-1312
King Edward II 1307-1327
Edward II succeeded Edward I in 1307, and was nothing like his father. Edward ‘Longshanks’ had been a man of determination, firm in governance at home, single-minded in his campaign to bring Wales and Scotland to heel. His son, though ‘fair of body and great of strength’, could govern neither England nor himself.
abridged
A WEAK man who cannot fulfil his duties generally leans for support on some favourite; and, in nine cases out of ten, the favourite he chooses is a bad one. Edward was no exception to this rule. Already, as Prince of Wales, he had shown a foolish liking for Piers Gaveston, a Gascon knight; and Edward I had banished this Gaveston from England, and made the prince promise never to recall him; for he saw that Gaveston was a bad companion for his son.
As soon as Edward was seated on the throne, he sent for his dear friend, received him on his arrival with open arms, and bestowed so much wealth and such broad lands upon him, that the nobles were very angry and not without cause; for they saw a young stranger, who had not yet done anything for England, preferred before the oldest and the best of themselves. Gaveston, by his haughty and insolent behaviour, embittered them still more.
The king was now obliged to go over to France to marry Isabella, the sister of the French king;* and he appointed Gaveston, the stranger, guardian of England in his absence. Thereupon the nobles united against the favourite; and the new queen, who saw that her husband preferred Gaveston’s company to hers, joined them with right good-will.
* Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall (?1284-1312).
* Isabella of France (1293-1358), reputed to be one of the most beautiful women of her time, married Edward II in 1308. She was much wronged, but dutiful, and bore the King four children in the years following Gaveston’s fall in 1312. Her resolution broke in 1325, however, and on a visit to Paris she became Roger Mortimer’s mistress.