Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent
Edmund of Woodstock | |
---|---|
Earl of Kent | |
Reign | 26 July 1321 – 19 March 1330 |
Successor | Edmund, 2nd Earl of Kent |
Born | 5 August 1301 Woodstock, Oxfordshire |
Died | 19 March 1330 (aged 28) Winchester Castle |
Burial | |
Spouse | Margaret Wake, 3rd Baroness Wake of Liddell |
Issue | Edmund, 2nd Earl of Kent Margaret of Kent , Margaret, Viscountess of Tartas Joan of Kent John, 3rd Earl of Kent |
House | Plantagenet |
Father | Edward I of England |
Mother | Margaret of France |
Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent (5 August 1301 – 19 March 1330), whose seat was
Discontent against the King grew and eventually affected Edmund. The discontent was largely caused by Edward's preference for his new favourites,
Once the new king,
Family background and early years
Edward I of England had a great number of children with his first wife, Eleanor of Castile, but only one son who survived into adulthood – the future Edward II (born 1284).[a] After Eleanor died, the king married Margaret of France, with whom he had two children who survived to adulthood: Thomas (born 1300) and, when the king was sixty-two, Edmund.[2][b] Edmund was born at Woodstock in Oxfordshire on 5 August 1301, and was therefore referred to as Edmund of Woodstock.[3] Son of the English king, he was also, through his mother, grandson of Philip III of France.[3] On 7 July 1307, before Edmund had turned six, King Edward I died, leaving Edmund's half-brother Edward to succeed as King Edward II.[4]
Though not resident in the two boys' household, Edward I had taken great interest in the princes' upbringing and well-being.
When Edward II came to the throne, however, he went against his father's wishes by granting the earldom of Cornwall to his favourite Piers Gaveston.[7] According to the chronicle Vita Edwardi Secundi, this act was a grave insult to the king's younger brothers.[8] Edward II, nevertheless, took steps to provide his half-brother with an income; grants made in 1315 and 1319 secured Edmund 2000 marks a year.[3] In May 1321, Edmund received the strategically important Gloucester Castle, and further grants followed his creation as Earl of Kent on 28 July 1321.[9][c]
Edward II's close relationship with Gaveston had been a source of conflict at court, and Gaveston's execution by a group of rebellious barons in 1312 had brought the country to the brink of civil war.[10] As Edmund came of age, he became an important member of the circle around his brother. In 1318, the Treaty of Leake was drafted as an effort to reconcile the opposing parties, and Edmund – as his first public act – was among the witnesses to sign this treaty.[11]
Further official appointments followed. In the spring of 1320 he took part in an embassy to Pope John XXII in Avignon, where the mission was to absolve the king of his oath to uphold the Ordinances, a set of restrictions imposed on royal authority by the baronage.[11] Later that year, he joined his brother the king in Amiens, where Edward was paying homage to the French king.[12] In October 1320, Edmund attended his first parliament.[3]
Civil war
As the political conflict escalated into full-scale
In October, Edmund was once more employed in a move against Badlesmere, when he took part in a siege on Leeds Castle in Kent, which was held by Badlesmere.[3] After Badlesmere was forced to surrender, hostilities moved to the Welsh Marches, where Roger Mortimer and others were in open revolt.[14] Once confronted with the royal army, Mortimer surrendered without a fight, and attention turned to the leader of the baronial opposition, Thomas of Lancaster. Edmund, who had taken part in the Marcher campaign, was now ordered, with the Earl of Surrey, to take Lancaster's castle of Pontefract.[15] On 17 March 1322, Lancaster was captured after his defeat at the Battle of Boroughbridge and brought to Pontefract.[16] Here, Edmund was on the jury that condemned him to death for treason.[d]
Even with Lancaster defeated, the battle against the rebels was not over. Edmund was charged with overtaking
Scotland and France
With domestic opposition largely neutralised, the king turned his attention to Scotland. A major campaign was organised in August, but the effort ended in total failure when the English were routed by the Scots, led by Robert the Bruce, at the Battle of Old Byland on 14 October 1322.[18] Edward II himself had to flee the battlefield to avoid capture, and Edmund was with him as the royal army retreated to York.[19] The king's inability to handle the Scottish situation was becoming apparent. Andrew Harclay, who had defeated Lancaster at Boroughbridge, and for this had been created Earl of Carlisle and appointed Warden of the Marches to Scotland, signed a peace treaty with the Scots without royal sanction in January 1323.[20] When the king found out, he ordered Harclay's arrest. Edmund was one of the judges who passed judgement on Harclay, who was hanged, drawn and quartered for treason.[3] With Harclay gone, Edmund was given responsibilities for the defence of the northern border, but the situation remained untenable.[9] On 30 May 1323, Edmund was on the council that agreed to a thirteen-year truce with Scotland.[3]
Meanwhile, the English king's possessions in France were coming under threat from the French king.
Deposition of Edward II
Edward II's refusal to pay homage to the French king was based on concern for his royal sovereignty, but also on fear of a potential resurgence of domestic resistance.[25] For this reason, he sent his wife Isabella to negotiate with King Charles, who was her brother.[26] The Queen departed for France on 9 March 1325, and in September she was joined by her son, the heir to the throne, Prince Edward.[27] Isabella's negotiations were successful, and it was agreed that the young Prince Edward would perform homage in the king's place, which he did on 24 September.[3] Not long after this, Edmund joined the queen and prince in Paris. A circle of opposition was emerging around the queen, including the exiled Roger Mortimer. Edmund, who had previously been steadfast in his support for his half-brother, now joined the plot against the king.[28] Though he still distrusted Mortimer, his hatred for the Despensers seems to have been even greater at this point.[29] When Edmund, along with the others, ignored the king's order to return to England, his lands were confiscated in March 1326.[3]
In September, Isabella and Mortimer invaded England with mercenary soldiers, and Edmund took part in the invasion.
Death and aftermath
After participating in the planned rebellion, Edmund became less popular at court. He was still allowed to accompany the king's wife
The execution of a royal prince was a great provocation to the seventeen-year-old Edward III, who had not been involved in the decision, and it probably contributed to the king's decision to rise up against his protector.[38] In October 1330, Edward III carried out a coup installing himself in personal control of the government, and Mortimer was executed.[39] Among the charges against Mortimer was that of procuring Edmund's death, and the charges against the late Earl of Kent were annulled.[40] In late 1325, Edmund had married Margaret Wake, sister of Thomas Wake, Baron Wake of Liddell, and the couple had several children.[3] His lands and titles descended on his oldest son by the same name, but this Edmund himself died in October 1331. The earldom then passed to the younger son John.[41]
Edmund was not particularly popular while he was alive, nor did he enjoy a good reputation after his death. His unreliability in political issues, and repeated shifts in allegiance, might have contributed to this. His household was also said to behave in a way that caused popular resentment, taking provisions as they passed through the countryside while offering little compensation.[3] At the same time, it has been pointed out that Edmund showed a great deal of loyalty to Edward II, in spite of receiving relatively little rewards and recognition from his brother.[42]
Children
Name | Birth date | Death date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Edmund, 2nd Earl of Kent | 1326 | bef. 5 October 1331 | |
Margaret of Kent | 1327 | 1352 | Was to marry Arnaud Amanieu, Lord of Albret but the plans fell through.
|
Joan of Kent | 28 September 1328 | 7 August 1385 | Known as "The Fair Maid of Kent". Married Edward, the Black Prince, son of Edward III .
|
John, 3rd Earl of Kent | 7 April 1330 | 26 December 1352 |
Ancestry
Ancestors of Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent Adelaide of Burgundy | |||||||||||||
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Notes
a. ^ A detailed account of the children of Edward I can be found in Michael Prestwich's biography of the king.[44]
References
- Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundelof Arundel Castle was executed in 1326 for his part in the rebellion against King Edward II, whereupon Arundel Castle was forfeited to the crown, and was granted by Edward II to his half-brother Edmund of Woodstock
- ^ Marshall (2006), p. 190.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Waugh (2004).
- ^ Prestwich (1997), pp. 556–557.
- ^ Marshall (2006), p. 197.
- ^ a b Lawne (2010), p. 28.
- ^ McKisack (1959), p. 3.
- ^ Lawne (2010), p. 29.
- ^ a b c Lawne (2010), p. 31.
- ^ Prestwich (2007), pp. 188–9.
- ^ a b Lawne (2010), p. 30.
- ^ Phillips (1972), p. 192.
- ^ Prestwich (2007), pp. 197–8.
- ^ Prestwich (2007), p. 198.
- ^ McKisack (1959), p. 66.
- ^ Maddicott (1970), pp. 311–2.
- ^ a b Lawne (2010), p. 33.
- ^ Barrow (1965), p. 317.
- ^ Lawne (2010), p. 32.
- ^ Phillips (1972), p. 229.
- ^ Prestwich (2007), p. 303.
- ^ Phillips (1972), p. 232.
- ^ McKisack (1959), p. 109.
- ^ a b Lawne (2010), p. 34.
- ^ McKisack (1959), pp. 108–9.
- ^ Tuck (1985), p. 88.
- ^ Lawne (2010), p. 35.
- ^ Prestwich (2007), p. 215.
- ^ McKisack (1959), p. 93.
- ^ McKisack (1959), pp. 82–3.
- ^ Tuck (1985), p. 90.
- ^ Tuck (1985), p. 97.
- ^ Haines (2003), p. 216.
- ^ Tuck (1985), pp. 99–100.
- ^ a b McKisack (1959), p. 100.
- ^ Prestwich (2007), p. 223.
- ^ Lawne (2010), p. 47.
- ^ Given-Wilson (1996), p. 33.
- ^ Prestwich (2007), pp. 223–4.
- ^ Tuck (1985), p. 103.
- ^ Powicke (1961), p. 434.
- ^ Lawne (2010), pp. 46–7.
- ^ Watson, G.W. (1895). "The Seize Quartiers of the Kings and Queens of England". In H.W. Forsyth Harwood (ed.). The Genealogist. New Series. Vol. 11. Exeter: William Pollard & Co. pp. 30 (father), 79 (mother).
- ^ Prestwich (1988), pp. 122–33.
Bibliography
- ISBN 9780748620227.
- ISBN 0198223013.
- Given-Wilson, Chris (1996). The English Nobility in the Late Middle Ages. London: Routledge. ISBN 0415148839.
- Haines, Roy Martin (2003). King Edward II: Edward of Caernarfon, His Life, His Reign, and Its Aftermath, 1284–1330. Montreal, London: McGill-Queens University Press. ISBN 9780773524323.
- Lawne, Penny (2010). "Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent (1301–1330): a study of personal loyalty". In Chris Given-Wilson (ed.). Fourteenth Century England VI. Boydell & Brewer. pp. 27–48. ISBN 9781843835301. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
- Marshall, Alison (2006). "The childhood and household of Edward II's half-brothers, Thomas of Brotherton and Edmund of Woodstock". In Gwilym Dodd; Anthony Musson (eds.). The Reign of Edward II: New Perspectives. Boydell & Brewer. pp. 190–204. ISBN 9781903153192.
- ISBN 0198217129.
- OCLC 132766.
- OCLC 426691.
- Powicke, Maurice; E.B. Fryde (1961). Handbook of British Chronology (2nd ed.). London: Royal Historical Society.
- OCLC 185679701.
- Prestwich, Michael (1997) [1988]. Edward I (updated ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300072090.
- Prestwich, Michael (2007). Plantagenet England: 1225-1360 (new ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198228448.
- ISBN 0006860842.
- Waugh, Scott L. (2004). "Edmund, first earl of Kent (1301–1330)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. .