Edward II Research Paper

Edward II of England

Edward II was born in April 25, 1284 to the great King Edward I and Eleanor of Castille in Caernaven Caste in Wales. Edward II did not have a particularly happy childhood as he grew up under his overbearing father and in the absence of his mother. Edward II had three older brothers, two of which died in infancy and the third unexpectantly in adolescence. Thus, in 1307 Edward gained the throne of England and then married Isabella, daughter of Philip IV of France, in 1308 as a matter of convenience.

Edward is said to be as much of a failure as king as his father was a success. Edward II’s contemporaries thought him to be an incompetent ruler. They claimed that the king had been led and ruled by others, who had

Edward had no interest in knightly exercises such as joust and tourney. Instead of spending time with nobility, he preferred to consort with singers, actors, oarsmen, diggers, etc., who shared his tastes. This failure to understand the importance of patronage lost him the trust of nobility as he turned to unsuitable favourites such as Piers Gaveston and the Despensers whom he had homosexual relations with. Because Edward did not care about his responsibilities as King, he appointed these men to handle his affairs. Gaveston assumed this position and behaved like a second king who was above everyone, and had no equal. He was accused of treason and executed. When the younger Despenser was later appointed, he too was accused of the same crimes, namely accroaching royal power and dignity and counseling the king badly. He was also executed one Edward was out of

The rebellions of the barons opened the way for Robert Bruce to reconquer much of Scotland. Bruce’s victory over English forces at the Battle of Bannockburn, in 1314, ensured Scottish independence until the union of England and Scotland in 1707. Edward II’s reign took on an increasingly tyrannical aspect as he lost control. During his reign, 28 knights and barons were executed for rebelling against the decadent king.

War broke out with France in 1324, prompting Edward to send Isabella and their son Edward (later to become Edward III) to negotiate with her brother and French King, Charles IV. Isabella fell into an open romance with Roger Mortimer, one of the Edward’s disaffected barons. The rebellious couple invaded England in 1326, capturing and imprisoning Edward. The king was deposed and replaced by his son, Edward III. On September 21, 1327 at Berkley Castle King Edward II was murdered in prison by a red-hot iron inserted through his sphincter into his