Middle+Ages+assignment

Middle Ages Research Assignment Edward II   Biography King Edward II was also called Edward the Caernarfon. He was born on the 25th of April 1284 and was crowned King of England on the 7th July 1307. He was deposed by his wife Isabella on the 25th of January 1327. Although King Edward II was between the reigns of the two strong rulers - King Edward I (his father) and King Edward III (his son) - King Edward II's reign was considered to be disastrous by some due to alleged imcompetence, political squabbing and military defeats.

Edward II was the fourth son to King Edward I and his first wife Eleanor of Castile, he was born at Caernarvon Castle. Edward II was the first prince to hold the title of Prince of Wales and was crowned on the 7th February 1301.

Edward I died on the 7th July 1307 en route to a campaign against the Scots, a war that had become the hallmark of his reign. A chronicler relates the Kind Edward I ordered his son "boil his body, extract the bones and carry them with the army until the Scots had been subdued." King Edward II however, did not follow this order as he took the body home and buried it in Westminster Abbey. He then withdrew from this battle between the Scots.

King Edward II was just as physically impressive as his father, but he liked entertainment more and did not focus as much on military. It was said that King Edward II was not a man of business. Edward II was so dominated by his father, that he simply lost confidence.

Edward married Isabella of France on the 25th of January 1308, in which he travelled to Boulogne. A month later, the two were crowed in Westminster Abbey. However, this relationship was disastrous from the beginning with Edward frequently neglecting Isabella who spent much more time with his father's friends.

Robert the Bruce had been slowly, but steadily reconquering Scotland. Each campaign begun by Edward II, from 1307 to 1314, had ended with Robert clawing back more and more land that Edward I had taken. Many of Robert’s strategies were foolproof against Edward II and his army. Robert united Scotland and said that he feared the old king’s bones more than he did his heir. On the 23rd of June, Edward was outsmarted by Robert again which that battle was regarded as one of England’s worst losses.

Later, Isabella found this relationship to stressful as she moved away from England. Isabella arrived in France in March 1325. She was now able to visit the royals and her family freely, all of whom she detested. She eventually deposed Edward which brought forth the rather successful reign of Edward III.

Story There King Edward II lay on his cold, stone and rock hard bed. Despite being king, his treatment was still quite average. The first light had just come up as he rolled away from his wife, Isabella. He had disliked her. From the minute they had married, Edward had disliked her. Just the way that Isabella went about things was not to Edward’s liking. As the sun rose up, constant thoughts of his father being a better king just overwhelmed him. He had lived under his shadows for so long now that his confidence was simply shattered. He had lost almost all the land in Scotland that his father had owned. The thoughts of him not being a worthy king was also very frustrating for him to have. He rolled back over to see Isabella as he said hello in the nicest way he could. Although he disliked her, he was still her husband and had to take care of her. Edward started to chuck on some dirty clothes as he went downstairs to a feast. The feast was always wonderful. It had all the food in the world that Edward wanted. He started shoving mouthfuls of food in his mouth with ever thinking about the word manners. Edward was almost finished, when Isabella came downstairs and she started eating. “Don’t eat too fast, darling,” Edward said, “You need to show manners.” “Yes I know dear, you have been nagging me about manners ever since I arrived here,” replied Isabella. “Well you know it’s the right way to go. Everyone needs to use manners in my castle.” As soon as Edward said that, a guard started to giggle. After the feast, Edward went outside the castle doors as inhaled a vast amount of fresh air. It was relieving to have all this fresh air. Usually, the castle was very stuffy and occasionally very smelly. He looked down onto England, the land that he ruled over. However, England did not show it’s appreciation for Edward as he heard constant shouts of “You don’t deserve the throne......Your father’s bones are even better than you......You’re a disgrace for England and the castle.” Edward absolutely hated these comments because he thought he was a good ruler, but deep down, King Edward II knew that he wasn’t even twice the ruler his father was. Edward rode his chariot into town as today he would visit a memorial for his great friend Piers Gaveston. Gaveston was a great friend and sidekick for Edward who was unfortunately assassinated by barons three years back. So Edward decided to make this day to celebrate Gaveston and the man he was. He was fast approaching the church as he saw the gravestone of Gaveston. The ceremony would begin as a priest would say a few words. Soon, Edward was invited to speak. He said, “People of England. You may not like me, but today, we celebrate the third anniversary of Piers Gaveston. He was a hero to me as well as my father. For those who don’t know, my father introduced me to Gaveston. I had treated him with respect ever since. It is an honour to say these words, and as the King of England, my I wish your day be well. Thank you.” After these words, Edward could hear some claps, but they were overshadowed by all the ‘boos’. It was so sad to see that the people disliked their king. Even the Scottish king did not fear him at all. The Scottish even said himself that he feared his father’s bones more than he feared him. Since the death of his father, the Scottish king had reconquered most of the land that was taken away from him during the reign of his father. This caused anger to flare up inside him like a chilli exploding in a red hot blast. After everyone had left the church, Edward would ride his chariot back towards his castle and would be greeted with Isabella. He would have nothing to do for the rest of the day, so he just went to the entertainment room and watched some comedy and some dancers especially for him. Edward would love this sort of entertainment; after all, this was much more relaxed than planning for a future attack, because chances are, that no one would plan an attack on England. Nightfall arrived upon England as the skies started to darken and the temperature started decreasing. Edward went towards to the dining room as a huge feast was prepared especially for him. It had everything everyone would ask for: chicken, lamb, bread and much more. Edward was especially looking forward to this time of the day for over ten years now. Although his respect was not earned from his people, his respect was earned from his palace guards and everyone working there and not one of them did their job badly. After that meal, Edward went back to the entertainment room as he watched some more stuff that suited his liking. After a while, Edward went up to his own room. He was often very tired and drunk after the night. He loved being the king apart from being called weak and feeble. Inside he knew it, but he just never wanted to admit it. Kings were never supposed to be a coward, but Edward was always a coward and that was not changing.