tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post6174179065370189270..comments2024-03-14T05:56:44.390+00:00Comments on Edward II: The Despenser War of 1321 (part one)Kathryn Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00397714441908100576noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-63521517663114913722017-09-25T18:49:59.116+01:002017-09-25T18:49:59.116+01:00Thanks. I'll be interested to read it when it...Thanks. I'll be interested to read it when it's issued.Andrew-Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18102379297260308835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-5852731928425691132017-09-25T18:46:28.427+01:002017-09-25T18:46:28.427+01:00Thanks. I'll be interested to read it when it...Thanks. I'll be interested to read it when it's issued.Andrew-Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18102379297260308835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-47014614372673286462017-09-25T15:16:02.727+01:002017-09-25T15:16:02.727+01:00Hi Andrew, thank you! Oh yes, I never did write pa...Hi Andrew, thank you! Oh yes, I never did write part 2, did I? Oooopsie :-)<br /><br />How lucky you are to live in Caerphilly! You might be interested to know that my bio of Hugh Despenser the Younger will be out next year, and of course I talk about Caerphilly Castle and the siege of it in 1326/27 (there's also a blog post about it here)!Kathryn Warnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00397714441908100576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-21993160878846665022017-09-25T14:50:58.310+01:002017-09-25T14:50:58.310+01:00What a shame you never completed it! Living in Ca...What a shame you never completed it! Living in Caerphilly, an researching the civil war between Edward and Isabella, which culminated in a siege of the castle that dominates my town, I was loving this! Vast quantities of immensely detailed information, providing insights neglected by most others. Thank you for your efforts, and I do hope you can finish the rest.Andrew-Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18102379297260308835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-10570701200957669542007-03-13T19:05:00.000+00:002007-03-13T19:05:00.000+00:00Liam and Carla: thanks for making some really inte...Liam and Carla: thanks for making some really interesting points. Quite often in Ed II's reign, his favourites were blamed for his own misdeeds and shortcomings, presumably because it was much easier than criticising the king directly. (Although in 1315, a royal messenger was arrested for making derogatory remarks about the king.) Ed II's biographer RM Haines points out that the charges against Despenser put all the blame for the ills of the reign on one man and his father, and make him the 'villain of the piece' - though he *was* guilty of many of the charges, of course!<BR/><BR/>Carla: you make a good point about not wanting to show any weakness. I also wonder if Despenser's (and Mortimer's, etc) behaviour is that people with almost absolute power gradually lose their sense of reality and proportion. It seems so obvious with hindsight that both Despenser and Mortimer were heading for a fall, but they don't seem to have been aware of the hatred for them - or they were aware of it, but under-estimated it and over-estimated their abilities to deal with it.<BR/><BR/>Ed II's reign (and the beginning of Ed III's) would make a fascinating study of how power affects those who wield it! :)Kathryn Warnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00397714441908100576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-9662028400183063572007-03-13T16:41:00.000+00:002007-03-13T16:41:00.000+00:00Alianore - In one of the letters you quoted earlie...Alianore - In one of the letters you quoted earlier, Despenser says something to the effect of intending to grab as much as he can while he has the chance, and yet he must have known that he was taking bigger and bigger risks and that sooner or later he was going to push his enemies one step too far and precipitate a disaster. Why do you suppose he never knew when to stop? Mortimer and Isabella were the same later, so it's almost as if it was something embedded in the social culture. Maybe because if you ever stopped, or even slowed down, it would be seen as a sign of weakness? <BR/><BR/>Liam - that tends to puzzle me, too. I wonder if it might underlie the tendency to blame "the advisers" rather than the king, which you see in the Simon de Montfort rebellion against Henry III and again in the Peasants' Revolt. Almost as if it was impossible to imagine that a king, who ruled by divine right, could be at fault.Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-33477946348082694322007-03-13T15:35:00.000+00:002007-03-13T15:35:00.000+00:00Interesting post, and very informative! It seems t...Interesting post, and very informative! It seems to be an overlooked 'war' in England's history, sandwiched between the Matilda/Stephen war and the Peasants Revolt . . .<BR/><BR/>Since so many people believed in the divine right of kings back then, what can they have thought of a king like Edward II? It could hardly have been God's will that his representative be so dominated by a man like Despenser!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03188874002836550379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-55392565307394741742007-03-13T14:45:00.000+00:002007-03-13T14:45:00.000+00:00Thanks, Kate. Yes, Despenser frustrates me, becau...Thanks, Kate. Yes, Despenser frustrates me, because he had a lot of intelligence and ability and could have 'saved' Edward II's reign, but he misused it. Same with Roger Mortimer later - he also had a lot of ability, but made exactly the same mistakes as his predecessor.Kathryn Warnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00397714441908100576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-60624239129977273162007-03-13T12:48:00.000+00:002007-03-13T12:48:00.000+00:00Great post. I am surprised Edward wasn't killed o...Great post. I am surprised Edward wasn't killed off earlier as it must have been very frustrating for those who wanted the best for England to watch one man have so much power who wasn't the King. It was an interesting time with so many personalities coming into play. Especially when the loyalties of marriage are concerned. The mob would have been absolutely braying for Despensers blood by the time his execution arrived. He was a fool. Smart, but a fool nonetheless.<BR/>Can't wait to read the next installment.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-79238399224591370622007-03-13T09:14:00.000+00:002007-03-13T09:14:00.000+00:00Never has anyone's execution been so justified, Ga...Never has anyone's execution been so justified, Gabriele. ;) (Although the motives of those who had him executed were hardly pure!)<BR/><BR/>I find it really fascinating how Despenser managed to work his way into Edward's favour, to the extent that Edward was absolutely infatuated with him - Edward had never even liked him that much before. (At least, there's no evidence that he did.)Kathryn Warnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00397714441908100576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-31199467751403251972007-03-12T21:37:00.000+00:002007-03-12T21:37:00.000+00:00Hehe, Despenser so deserved his execution, though ...Hehe, Despenser so deserved his execution, though I think they way it was done smells of Isabelle's petty revenge on something other than violated Marcher rights. <BR/><BR/>One really wonders how Despenser managed to turn the king's favours so thoroughly since he wasn't a favourite in the beginning - other than fe. Gaveston.Gabriele Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17205770868139083575noreply@blogger.com