Long Live The King: The Mysterious Fate Of Edward II

289 Pages·2017·4.32 MB·English

by  Kathryn Warner

LONG LIVE THE KING
LONG LIVE THE KING
T M E II
HE YSTERIOUS FATE OF DWARD
K W
ATHRYN ARNER
This book is dedicated to John Alan Lamb, in memory of sixteen years.
First published in 2017
The History Press
The Mill, Brimscombe Port Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 2QG
www.thehistorypress.co.uk
This ebook edition first published in 2017
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© The Kathryn Warner, 2017
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EPUB 978 0 7509 8327 3
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C
ONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Timeline
Dramatis Personae
Introduction
Part I: The Reluctant King
1 The Making of the Reluctant King, 1284–1314
2 The King and the Contrariants, 1314–1324
3 Invasion and Deposition, 1325–1326
4 Imprisonment of a King, 1327
Part II: The King is Dead
5 The Murder of a King
6 The Funeral of a King
7 The Murderers of a King
Part III: Long Live the King
8 The Rescuers of the King
9 The Rescuers of the King Part 2
10 The King in France, Germany and Italy
11 The King in France, Germany and Italy Part 2
12 William the Welshman
Part IV: Arguments For and Against Edward II’s Murder and Survival
Conclusion
Afterword
Appendix 1: The Fieschi Letter
Appendix 2: The Melton Letter
Appendix 3: Lord Berkeley’s Testimony
Appendix 4: The Confession of Edmund of Woodstock
Abbreviations in Notes and Bibliography
Notes
Select Bibliography
A
CKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Ian Mortimer, without whom it would not have
been possible to write this book. His immense research on Edward II’s survival
after 1327 has blazed a trail for the rest of us, and his tireless dedication to
uncovering the mysteries of what happened in and after 1327 has long been an
inspiration to me.
I also owe a great debt to my friends of the Auramala Project in Italy, who
are doing incredible research on the possibility of Edward II’s survival in that
country. In particular I wish to thank Ivan Fowler, MariaRosa Gatti, Elena
Corbellini, Mario Traxino, Stefano Castagneto, Luciano Maffi, Elena
Giacomotti, Simone Bertelegni and Alice Galbiati.
Thank you to my lovely talented friend Craig Robinson for taking superb
photographs for me to use in the book, and to everyone at Berkeley Castle,
especially Helen Berryman and Joshua Nash, for giving Craig access and for
permission to use the photos here.
Thank you to the staff at Gloucester Cathedral, Bristol Cathedral, Cologne
Cathedral (especially Christine Di Costanzo), St Mary’s church in Berkeley, the
church of Sant’Eustorgio and the office of cultural heritage in Milan, the
cathedral archive of Genoa, the capitulary library in Vercelli, the hermitage of
Sant’Alberto, Oramala Castle, the Archives départementales de l’Hérault, and
the DGA Education, Culture, Jeunesse, Sport, Loisirs in Montpellier.
Thank you to the excellent genealogist and researcher Kevin McKenzie, who
has helped me and the Auramala Project so much and given so generously of his
time and expertise.
Thank you again to my wonderful friends in Italy, especially Gianna
Baucero, Claudia Bergamini, Ezio Candellone, Maurizio Tarotti, Gabriela
Grandi, Andrea Candellone, Angela Barbero Candellone, Claudia Candellone,
Alberto Portalupi, Gaia Portalupi, Lorenzo Tarotti, Gian Luca Marino, Fabrizio
Zerbin, Caterina Costanza, Massimo Greppi, Enza Battaglia, Monsignor Sergio
Salvini, His Excellency the Archbishop of Vercelli Father Marco Arnolfo,
Timoty Leonardi, and Margherita Grillo, with whom I spent a wonderful day
exploring historic Milan.
Thank you to the staff at the seminary of Vercelli, the university library of
Pavia, Original History Walks and the Chesterton Association, and all the others
in Vercelli and Pavia who have been so incredibly generous, kind and
welcoming.
Thank you to the Reverend Chris Harrington, Mary Cummins, Lesley
Pinchbeck, Pete Banks, Sue Banks, Chris Cullen, Michael Cullen, Marilyn
Scholefield and everyone at St Andrew’s church, Heckington, Lincolnshire, for
inviting me to speak there about Edward II and for their kind hospitality. Thank
you to all the staff at the English Library Düsseldorf, a resource I have enjoyed
for many years, and also for inviting me to speak there.
Thank you to Paul Dryburgh for giving me the opportunity to speak about
Edward II at the International Medieval Congress, and to Professor Mark
Ormrod of the University of York for moderating our session.
For all their support and help, thank you to my dear friends Laurel Albright,
Juliana Brümmer, Rachel Fitzpatrick, Valentino Krìžanić Kovačić, Vishnu Nair,
Jen Parcell, Sami Parkkonen, Joanne Renaud, Gillian Thomson, Julie Thomson,
Sarah Ursell, Masud Vorajee and Kate Wingrove. Thank you to all my history
friends on my blog and my social media, especially Bev Newman and Susan
Wakefield for helping to suggest the book’s title. Thank you to all of you who
have been so kind to me during recent difficult times. Thank you to all my
wonderful students in Düsseldorf.
Thank you always and forever to my mum Elaine, my dad Phil, my stepmum
Betty and my father-in-law Alan for your endless love and support.
Without John Lamb, I would not have been able to write this book. I’m sorry
that you never got to read it, my love.
Last but certainly not least, thank you to my editor Mark Beynon and
everyone at The History Press for giving me the opportunity to write a book I’ve
been desperate to write for years.