tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post3643333132471993393..comments2024-03-14T05:56:44.390+00:00Comments on Edward II: Edward II And His StepmotherKathryn Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00397714441908100576noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-89406249319676652222017-04-18T09:32:50.521+01:002017-04-18T09:32:50.521+01:00Good stuff once again!
One thing historians and p...Good stuff once again!<br /><br />One thing historians and people in general seem to forget: relationships change as the time passes by. When we are little kids, our parents are almost divine creatures, good or bad, and when we grow up we began to see them more as normal people. And when they become old, we began to understand them and their lives, their personal histories and how they became what they were.<br /><br />When we look at the kings and queens of old we very often see them as characters in a play or a movie, set in one well defined form against the tapestry of their surroundings, and often we forget that Edward at the age of fifteen was not the same guy as Edward at the age of twenty etc. The same goes with the queen in this case.<br /><br />Very often we also project our own experiences and relationships to those we read about or study.sami parkkonennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-19365301890237109472017-04-18T08:00:29.776+01:002017-04-18T08:00:29.776+01:00As a historian you make your points beautifully an...As a historian you make your points beautifully and over the years I feel I have come to know Edward well though as you point out we can never really know what he thought and felt. Although actions speak louder than words, a few words would have been immensely helpful. When I first sat down to research Marguerite for my novel "The Pearl of France" I found she merited just one sentence in this book which purported to be about Edward I - and a very short sentence at that! Luckily I discovered your blog which has been my lifeline ever since and has saved me from making innumerable historical blunders. But whereas a historian's job is to present the evidence and to say if conclusions can or, more often, can not be drawn from the evidence, the novelist has a different task. We novelists have to come down on one side of the argument or the other. I often say Kathryn provides the bones and my job is to clothe them to my readers' satisfaction. It would be a very dull book indeed if I said "she threw herself into his arms .... or perhaps she didn't."<br /><br />Speculation is very pleasurable and provides the novelist with both plot and insight into their characters' minds but in the end it is only speculation. It would be pleasant to think Marguerite had a good relationship with her stepson but whatever it was while her husband was alive, I agree with you that his death either changed their relationship or else revealed itself for what it had been all along. If she cared for him, which she may well have done, it would have been immensely difficult to see him taking decisions which she believed would ruin his life. This is something all mothers (and stepmothers can attest to)<br /><br />Once more, thank you Kathryn and keep up the good work. I'm sure there are plenty more little nuggets of information just waiting to be dug up.<br /> Caroline Newarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-84732829025455039122017-04-17T19:20:56.831+01:002017-04-17T19:20:56.831+01:00It has been put forward that Margaurite was angry ...It has been put forward that Margaurite was angry that Edward had given Piers the title of Earl of Cornwall and that she had wanted it for her own first born son. We can't know, but maybe supporting the barons was designed to hurt Edward.Anerjehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-80730417282052253262017-04-17T19:15:09.980+01:002017-04-17T19:15:09.980+01:00A couple of things to note by an amateur sleuth: p...A couple of things to note by an amateur sleuth: perhaps at the age of 15 when Edward I remarried, Edward II was either a shy youth (difficult age for young men) or rather terrified of his father (possible) and again, being a 'minor' just decided that Marguerite was his stepmother whether he approved or not and had to accept it. Perhaps not much love or feeling there but they just got along for appearances' sake. He must have felt his own mother's death deeply and in any case wasn't probably interested in cultivating a strong union with his stepmother: all speculation on my part. It can't have been an easy situation for Marguerite either; a formidable husband and king, domineering and 'know your place' situation. However, Marguerite and Edward II didn't appear to have had any major upsets even though she died only a year into Edward II's reign. On a happier note - in my opinion, the good that came out of Edward I's re-marriage was one of the two sons, 'Kent', who believed (and I think knew) his half-brother was alive and attempted to rescue him. Marguerite had a part that was possibly a life-line to Edward II and of course at the time didn't realise it because events had not unfolded yet and she wouldn't live to see the role her son played. AmandaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com