Edward II: The Chameleon (The English Monarchs Series) by Phillips Seymour

Author:Phillips, Seymour [Phillips, Seymour]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780300156577
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2010-06-07T23:00:00+00:00

PART TWO

THE RISE AND RISE OF A NEW FAVOURITE

The Younger Despenser was not a new figure on the political scene. The prominence of his father, Hugh Despenser the Elder, among the councillors of both Edward I and Edward II218 had brought him marriage in 1306 to Eleanor de Clare, one of the sisters of the earl of Gloucester,219 the right to a share in the lands of the earldom after the earl's death at Bannockburn, and a summons to parliament among the magnates in 1314.220 Ironically, it seems that initially at least Edward II may have disliked and even hated Despenser.221 There is however considerable evidence that his wife was a particular favourite of Edward II, and this may have been of great advantage to him in first gaining and then maintaining his influence over the king.222 In May 1315, at the time when he was trying to hasten delivery of Eleanor's portion of the inheritance, Despenser seized Tonbridge castle from its custodian, the archbishop of Canterbury, and for a month refused to surrender it.223 Despenser's violent assault on John de Roos in Lincoln cathedral during the parliament of January 1316 may have been another early indication of his future conduct.224 Although Lancaster regarded Despenser's father as one of his chief opponents and spent a great deal of time and energy in trying to have him removed from the king's council, he does not at first appear to have regarded the Younger Despenser with the same degree of hostility, reserving his venom for other royal favourites, Audley, Damory and Montacute. But the Younger Despenser's power was increasing. One significant moment was the delivery in November 1317 of his wife's portion of the Gloucester lands; another was his appointment as chamberlain of the king's household in 1318, the same office that had been held by Piers Gaveston, giving him ready access to the king. Lancaster had however already concluded that Despenser was a possible threat to him by April 1318, when he suggested during the negotiations at Leicester that the two Despensers should agree to become his retainers for life.225 This was clearly designed to bring them under his personal control rather than simply augment his military resources.226 Despenser's role in fostering enmity between Edward II and the earl of Lancaster during the siege of Berwick in September 1319 suggested that Lancaster's judgement was right and was another indication of Despenser's growing power and influence.

The base of Despenser's territorial power lay in the Welsh March. In the partition of 1317 he had acquired the lordship of Glamorgan, valued at almost £1,300 a year and the most important of all the Clare lands. It included several castles, at Cardiff the centre of the lordship, Llantrisant, and the great fortress of Caerphilly, one of the most powerful castles in Britain.227 In 1326 Llantrisant and Caerphilly were both to play a leading part in the final days of Edward II's reign. The lordship of Gwynllwg, which had previously been dependent on Glamorgan, formed part of Hugh Audley's share of the inheritance and was in future to be organized as a separate lordship.

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