1 00:00:01,600 --> 00:00:04,480 Speaker 1: One quick note before we start. We now have Noble 2 00:00:04,519 --> 00:00:08,160 Speaker 1: Blood merch. I am so excited about all of it. Personally, 3 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:10,440 Speaker 1: I cannot wait for my pins and monks to come 4 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:12,600 Speaker 1: in the mail. The link for the store is in 5 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:16,160 Speaker 1: the episode description and pinned on the Noble Blood Twitter account. 6 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:18,960 Speaker 1: And as always, just a quick reminder, you can also 7 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:22,640 Speaker 1: support the show on Patreon if you want access to bibliographies, 8 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:26,479 Speaker 1: episode scripts another fun bonus content. But of course the 9 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:29,080 Speaker 1: best support you can give to the show is just listening, 10 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:32,519 Speaker 1: and I am so grateful for you. Let's get started. 11 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio 12 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:43,520 Speaker 1: and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Minky. Listener discretion is advised. 13 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 1: The Baron of Lancaster and the Baron of Warwick walked 14 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:56,280 Speaker 1: a man with ropes around his wrists to the top 15 00:00:56,320 --> 00:01:00,240 Speaker 1: of a hill on a warm June morning. The two 16 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:04,760 Speaker 1: barons were quiet as they walked, listening to the monotonous, 17 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:09,080 Speaker 1: deadening pace of their footsteps in the grass. The prisoner 18 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:12,960 Speaker 1: was also silent, no tears, no begging, same as it 19 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:15,919 Speaker 1: had been during his trial just a few days prior 20 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 1: at Warwick's Castle, where a handful of other nobles had 21 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:24,920 Speaker 1: condemned the prisoner to death. The word trial is loosely 22 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:29,479 Speaker 1: applied here. There was no judge, no representation for the defendant. 23 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 1: They said that the charge was disobeying the terms of 24 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:36,319 Speaker 1: inordinance they had agreed upon with the king, But everyone 25 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: involved knew what the real charge was. Being the King's favorite, 26 00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 1: occupying all of his attention, receiving an endless dream of 27 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 1: his money and his favor. King Edward the Second was 28 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:54,720 Speaker 1: devoted to this man in a way that he never 29 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:58,279 Speaker 1: was to anyone else in his life, not even his wife. 30 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:02,560 Speaker 1: Everyone knew who the real love of the King's life was, 31 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:08,480 Speaker 1: and so Pierce Gaveston, first Earl of Cornwall, was sentenced 32 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 1: to death. There were two men on the hill to 33 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:16,360 Speaker 1: do the actual execution. One took a sword and first 34 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:19,760 Speaker 1: ran it through Gaveston's stomach and then pulled it back 35 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 1: out with a sickening squish. They all waited until Gaveston 36 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:28,079 Speaker 1: fell to the grass, and then his head was sliced off. 37 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 1: The men who were still alive looked away from the 38 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 1: mangled body and began walking back down the hill towards home. 39 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:42,359 Speaker 1: Gaveston's body was left outside for the elements without a burial, 40 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,440 Speaker 1: to decompose in the grass and be picked at by 41 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:49,240 Speaker 1: the birds and rodents happening by. He was twenty eight 42 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:52,840 Speaker 1: years old at the time of his death. King Edward 43 00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:57,080 Speaker 1: the Second would be furious, demented with rage and grief 44 00:02:57,200 --> 00:02:59,960 Speaker 1: when he heard that his love Pierce Gaveston had been 45 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,160 Speaker 1: and murdered by the barons, but his options when it 46 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: came to retaliation were limited. The barons had been filling 47 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:09,920 Speaker 1: in the vacuum of power left by the weak and 48 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 1: ineffectual king, building their own private armies. The king's own wife, 49 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: Queen Isabella, had been watching it all unfold for years, 50 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:21,800 Speaker 1: and she had her own ideas for how the country 51 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 1: should be run. And she was about to meet a 52 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,960 Speaker 1: man who would help her with her coup. Her heart 53 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:30,960 Speaker 1: had been broken by a king who never cared about 54 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,200 Speaker 1: her at all. She could at least take a country 55 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: out from under him. I'm Danis Schwartz, and this is 56 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:51,040 Speaker 1: noble blood. According to the Chronicle of the Civil Wars 57 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:54,440 Speaker 1: of Edward the Second, the first time the future King 58 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:58,520 Speaker 1: Edward the Second saw Pierce Gaveston, he tied himself to 59 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 1: him against all more hurdles, with an indissoluble bond of love. 60 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: It was twelve nine seven. Pierce Galveston was a teenager, 61 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 1: the son of a knight from Gasson, who had joined 62 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 1: the army of King Edward, the first to fight in Flanders. 63 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:18,640 Speaker 1: The King saw the young boy particularly handsome, but also 64 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:24,840 Speaker 1: particularly graceful, athletic and well mannered. He embodied the values 65 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:26,680 Speaker 1: for a young man at the time when it came 66 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:31,080 Speaker 1: to bearing and male conduct, and so the King appointed 67 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:34,680 Speaker 1: the young man to join his son's household, to join 68 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:37,839 Speaker 1: the staff of the Prince of Wales, and hopefully to 69 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:41,239 Speaker 1: serve as a good example. The King was a little 70 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:44,600 Speaker 1: worried about his son. That word the second seemed to 71 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:49,440 Speaker 1: gravitate towards activities associated with the lower class, like growing 72 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:53,000 Speaker 1: and the menial hypnotic work of farm hands like hedging 73 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:56,520 Speaker 1: and ditching around fields. But when Edward the Second it 74 00:04:56,600 --> 00:05:01,680 Speaker 1: wasn't playing farm hand, he seemed spoiled. A wealthy dilettante. 75 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 1: He played the organ and a Welsh string instrument known 76 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:08,479 Speaker 1: as a crwth, which is spelled I kid you not 77 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:14,120 Speaker 1: ce r w t h. The Welsh language does not 78 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 1: mess around. The Prince bred horses and greyhounds. He kept 79 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 1: a pet Cammell and a pet lion that he insisted 80 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:25,000 Speaker 1: on bringing with him on a campaign he went on 81 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 1: in Scotland with his father. All of that to say 82 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 1: he needed good upper class boys in his household to 83 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:37,640 Speaker 1: model good courtly behavior for him. When Galveston arrived to 84 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:41,240 Speaker 1: the Prince's household, they were about the same age. Galveston 85 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:45,000 Speaker 1: may have been one or two years older, but from 86 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 1: that point on the two young men were inseparable. It 87 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:54,359 Speaker 1: was love in every sense of the word. They rode together, 88 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: walked together, talked together, played together. It was no secret 89 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:02,919 Speaker 1: with whom the Prince was spending all of his time, 90 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:06,360 Speaker 1: and the Prince was already working hard to elevate Gaveston's 91 00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:11,960 Speaker 1: position in the household. He was designated associates or a companion, 92 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:15,240 Speaker 1: rather than what one might have expected, which was for 93 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:19,120 Speaker 1: him to be a scoutefer or an esquire. The two 94 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 1: men were so close that when the King wanted to 95 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:26,479 Speaker 1: punish his son for loudly voicing his disparaging opinion about 96 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:30,240 Speaker 1: the Bishop of Chester, he did so by exiling Pierres 97 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:34,560 Speaker 1: Gaveston to France. Gaveston was still granted a salary while 98 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:37,279 Speaker 1: he was away quote for as long as he shall 99 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:40,560 Speaker 1: remain in parts beyond the sea during the King's pleasure 100 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:51,440 Speaker 1: and waiting for recall, Edward the Second was bereft. He 101 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:54,479 Speaker 1: wrote a letter to his sister Elizabeth, hoping that she 102 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:58,160 Speaker 1: could talk to their stepmother and get her to intercede 103 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:01,760 Speaker 1: with the king to bring Gavest back. We would be 104 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:05,520 Speaker 1: greatly relieved of the anguish which we have endured, Edward 105 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:08,760 Speaker 1: the Second wrote, and from which we continue to suffer 106 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:13,720 Speaker 1: from one day to the next. Eventually, the King forgave 107 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:18,480 Speaker 1: his son's trespasses. When the prince was knighted, Gaveston was 108 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:22,360 Speaker 1: returned to his household like a graduation gift, and in 109 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:25,440 Speaker 1: thirteen o six the two boys both accompanied the king 110 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:29,240 Speaker 1: on an army expedition to Scotland to follow up on 111 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:34,240 Speaker 1: a victory over Robert the Bruce. If you've seen Braveheart first, 112 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:37,440 Speaker 1: please know that it is only history in the loosest 113 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 1: possible sense, but this is also around the time period 114 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:44,680 Speaker 1: where it is supposed to have happened. Edward the Second 115 00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:47,760 Speaker 1: Father is Edward the First, of course, also known as 116 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:52,440 Speaker 1: long Shanks. Edward the Second in the movie Braveheart is 117 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:57,040 Speaker 1: portrayed as effeminately gay. So now might be a good 118 00:07:57,040 --> 00:07:59,920 Speaker 1: time to take a brief break from the story to 119 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:03,280 Speaker 1: discussed the ways we talk about homosexuality when it comes 120 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 1: to history, especially history as far back as the fourteenth century. 121 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:11,800 Speaker 1: A lot of pre eminent queer theorists and scholars actually 122 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:15,920 Speaker 1: disagree as to whether it's useful or helpful to call 123 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:19,200 Speaker 1: someone like Edward the Second gay when that isn't how 124 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:22,560 Speaker 1: he would have identified himself, or really how anyone at 125 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:25,600 Speaker 1: the time would have characterized him. But to me, it 126 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:30,000 Speaker 1: also feels like a useless exercise to tie ourselves into knots, 127 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:33,560 Speaker 1: as some writers do trying to paint Edward the Second 128 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:37,160 Speaker 1: and Pierce Gaveston as best bros. The fact of the 129 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:41,079 Speaker 1: matter is that textual evidence is that Edward and Gaveston 130 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:45,559 Speaker 1: had a relationship that went beyond the normal courtly affection 131 00:08:45,679 --> 00:08:49,080 Speaker 1: between two men at the time, something that was noted 132 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:55,600 Speaker 1: and observed contemporaneously, albeit obliquely. As Peter Ackroyd writes in 133 00:08:55,679 --> 00:09:00,079 Speaker 1: his book Queer History, their relationship emphasizes that five and 134 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:04,600 Speaker 1: perhaps non existent line between camaraderie and same sex love, 135 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:07,560 Speaker 1: as we've come to see in the sort of florid 136 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:11,679 Speaker 1: portrayals of courtly love between men in the fourteenth century 137 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:15,600 Speaker 1: and beyond. Edward the Second and Gaveston would go on 138 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:20,400 Speaker 1: to have a formal relationship as wedded brethren, a union 139 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:23,480 Speaker 1: that would have been solemnized before an altar in a church. 140 00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:27,160 Speaker 1: I suppose the apt comparison there is something like them 141 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:32,200 Speaker 1: being blood brothers. But again, how disingenuous to pretend that 142 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:35,280 Speaker 1: this is a story about two bros who were such 143 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:37,800 Speaker 1: close bros that they decided to kneel in a church 144 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:41,360 Speaker 1: side by side to show what bros they are. An 145 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:45,720 Speaker 1: anonymous writer of a contemporary biography wrote, quote, I do 146 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:49,640 Speaker 1: not remember to have heard that one man so loved another. 147 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:54,000 Speaker 1: Our king was incapable of moderate favor, and on account 148 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:58,079 Speaker 1: of Pierce was said to forget himself, And so Pierce 149 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:03,280 Speaker 1: was accounted a sorcerer. At the time, sorcerer was coded 150 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:08,120 Speaker 1: language for someone who engaged in homosexual acts, an allegation 151 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:12,040 Speaker 1: put more explicitly by a Cistercian monk who wrote of 152 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:16,320 Speaker 1: Edward the second, and please forgive my Latin or lack thereof, 153 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:24,880 Speaker 1: in vito sodomitico numium delectabut or he wallowed in sodomy. 154 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:34,280 Speaker 1: Edward the Second would go on to father five children, 155 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:38,080 Speaker 1: one illegitimate, more than fulfilling his duty with his wife 156 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:41,439 Speaker 1: of providing the country with a male heir. But a 157 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:44,959 Speaker 1: king doing his duty to provide an air can sort 158 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:48,360 Speaker 1: of be considered an endeavor completely disparate from ideas of 159 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:52,240 Speaker 1: love or companionship. So I think we should resist the 160 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:57,280 Speaker 1: temptation to, as I saw one less than reputable internet analysis, 161 00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:01,760 Speaker 1: to celebrate Edward the Second as the first bisexual king 162 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:06,000 Speaker 1: of England. That terminology simply doesn't hold the same meaning 163 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:09,040 Speaker 1: it does today when applied to seven hundred years ago, 164 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:12,880 Speaker 1: and so personally I agree with the historians who don't 165 00:11:12,920 --> 00:11:16,640 Speaker 1: quite see that sort of formal denomination as particularly useful 166 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:19,640 Speaker 1: in this case. I do find it helpful just to 167 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:23,160 Speaker 1: remember that, even though he lived in the thirteen hundreds, 168 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:26,480 Speaker 1: Edward the Second was a human being. He was a 169 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:30,280 Speaker 1: human being who fell deeply and madly in love with 170 00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:34,120 Speaker 1: a man, and that relationship would be the central one 171 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:38,760 Speaker 1: for almost his entire life, and that love would eventually 172 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:48,640 Speaker 1: lead to both of their downfalls. Though the king had 173 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:53,480 Speaker 1: restored Gaveston to his son's household, the reunion wouldn't last long. 174 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:58,000 Speaker 1: After the campaign in Scotland, the army set up camp 175 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:01,520 Speaker 1: for the winter in Lander Coast, near the English border. 176 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:07,319 Speaker 1: That winter, twenty two prominent knights, including Gaveston, left camp 177 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:11,160 Speaker 1: without permission to sail to France for a series of tournaments. 178 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:14,480 Speaker 1: When the men returned, they found that the king had 179 00:12:14,559 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: confiscated all of their lands in anger at their disobedience. Eventually, 180 00:12:20,679 --> 00:12:23,160 Speaker 1: the king calmed down and he realized it was just 181 00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:27,079 Speaker 1: a youthful indiscretion and all of the knights were forgiven 182 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:32,960 Speaker 1: and pardoned all of the knights except Gaveston. Out of 183 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:37,840 Speaker 1: the twenty two men, only Gaveston was banished, once again 184 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:43,120 Speaker 1: forced to leave the country. The exact reason for Gaveston's 185 00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:46,920 Speaker 1: uniquely harsh punishment isn't known, but it's possible that the 186 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:50,160 Speaker 1: king wanted his son to move on from his teenage 187 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:52,800 Speaker 1: crush so that he could be ready for his new 188 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:57,840 Speaker 1: bride incoming from France. King Edward the First had arranged 189 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:01,400 Speaker 1: for his son to marry Isabella, daughter of Philip the 190 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:04,640 Speaker 1: Fourth or Philip the Fair, when she was just two 191 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:08,360 Speaker 1: years old. Now that she was twelve, it was finally 192 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:11,560 Speaker 1: time to make good on that betrothed, though in case 193 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:15,960 Speaker 1: you were wondering, Edward the Second was twenty three, but 194 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:21,120 Speaker 1: before the wedding actually took place, Edward the First died suddenly, 195 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:25,080 Speaker 1: and so the prince ascended to the throne as King 196 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:29,480 Speaker 1: Edward the Second. The first thing Edward did as king 197 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:33,600 Speaker 1: was bring back Galveston and grant him the impressive title 198 00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:37,920 Speaker 1: of Earl of Cornwall. It wasn't unheard of for a 199 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:41,600 Speaker 1: king to give a lower born gentleman such a grand title, 200 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:45,760 Speaker 1: but given the nature of the king's relationship with Galveston, 201 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:50,920 Speaker 1: it narrowed some eyes, especially because before the late king 202 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:54,080 Speaker 1: died he had been planning on giving that earldom to 203 00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:57,600 Speaker 1: one of his sons by his second wife. The earldom 204 00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:00,960 Speaker 1: was supposed to go to a prince, and here comes 205 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:04,280 Speaker 1: this new king giving it to an upstart son of 206 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:08,280 Speaker 1: a knight. The new king also set Gaveston up with 207 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:11,920 Speaker 1: a well placed wife of his own, Margaret Declare, sister 208 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:16,360 Speaker 1: of the Earl of Gloucester and Edward's niece. Gaveston was 209 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:21,120 Speaker 1: also appointed regent temporarily while Edward went to France to 210 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:29,640 Speaker 1: marry his own bride, the thirteen year old Isabella. The 211 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:32,840 Speaker 1: wedding in France went right as planned, and so young 212 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:36,400 Speaker 1: Isabella accompanied her new husband back to England, where they 213 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:40,400 Speaker 1: would have another wedding ceremony and their official coronations as 214 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:44,360 Speaker 1: Queen and King of England. They arrived back on the 215 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:48,560 Speaker 1: shores of Dover on a cold February afternoon, and that 216 00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:54,080 Speaker 1: very moment would doom their entire marriage. Who was waiting 217 00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 1: on the shore for the new king and his new bride, 218 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:00,600 Speaker 1: then the real love of the King's life, Pierre Gaveston. 219 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:04,560 Speaker 1: As soon as he set foot to grass, the King 220 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:09,640 Speaker 1: ran towards his lover, laughing and crying. They embraced for 221 00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:14,880 Speaker 1: a long time. They kissed, all the while thirteen year 222 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:18,840 Speaker 1: old Isabella of France was just standing there, chilled by 223 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:22,360 Speaker 1: the February air and the wind whipping up from the sea, 224 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:27,760 Speaker 1: watching her new husband so deeply and so clearly in 225 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:32,080 Speaker 1: love with a person that wasn't her. At their coronation, 226 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:36,320 Speaker 1: Gaveston took most of the attention, to the shock of 227 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:40,640 Speaker 1: nearly everyone there. He arrived wearing purple, a color meant 228 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:44,200 Speaker 1: to be worn by only the king. An onlooker noted 229 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:46,840 Speaker 1: that he looked more like the god Mars than a 230 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:51,280 Speaker 1: mere mortal At the banquet. Afterward, the King spent the 231 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:55,960 Speaker 1: entire night perched on Gaveston's small couch, gazing up into 232 00:15:56,040 --> 00:16:00,240 Speaker 1: his eyes, laughing and flirting with him. The King early 233 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:04,160 Speaker 1: so much as acknowledged his new bride. The scene was 234 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:08,680 Speaker 1: so outrageous that two of Isabella's uncles left the party 235 00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:12,960 Speaker 1: in disgust. Life as the new Queen of England was 236 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:18,280 Speaker 1: miserable For Isabella. She was young, all alone, and her 237 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:22,720 Speaker 1: husband constantly humiliated her with his lack of affection and 238 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:27,120 Speaker 1: overt love for Gaveston. She wrote to her father, King 239 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:31,000 Speaker 1: Philip the Fair that she was being treated poorly. The 240 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:33,240 Speaker 1: money that was supposed to be given to her by 241 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:36,680 Speaker 1: her new husband seemed to be slow coming. While there 242 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:40,720 Speaker 1: was never any shortage for whatever extravagance Pierce Gaveston wanted, 243 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:44,720 Speaker 1: the jewels that Isabella's father had presented to the King 244 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:48,760 Speaker 1: as part of her dowry were being freely shared between 245 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:55,560 Speaker 1: the King and Galveston. Isabella also told her father that 246 00:16:55,640 --> 00:16:58,640 Speaker 1: the barons of England were getting fed up as well, 247 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:03,640 Speaker 1: that they hate at Gaveston and the King's outright favoritism. 248 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:07,080 Speaker 1: That there were rumors that Gaveston had cruel little nicknames 249 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:09,520 Speaker 1: for all of them that he used behind their backs. 250 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:14,879 Speaker 1: The beloved Earl of Lincoln Gaveston called burst Belly, and 251 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:18,560 Speaker 1: the Earl of Warwick was quote the black dog of Arden. 252 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:24,200 Speaker 1: King Edward the Seconds untamed affections for this man, We're 253 00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:30,280 Speaker 1: making him and England vulnerable. In thirteen o eight, the 254 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:34,760 Speaker 1: great Barons of England demanded that the King send peers 255 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:39,880 Speaker 1: into exile. Faced directly by the displeasure of his nobles, 256 00:17:40,359 --> 00:17:43,919 Speaker 1: the King agreed. Exile also meant that he was forced 257 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:47,760 Speaker 1: to strip Gaveston's earldom, but the King compensated for it 258 00:17:48,119 --> 00:17:52,240 Speaker 1: by immediately appointing Gaveston as the King's lieutenant in Ireland, 259 00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:56,520 Speaker 1: and Edward the Second was king. He did have some power, 260 00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:00,880 Speaker 1: and he assumed that the barons would settle down, and 261 00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:03,439 Speaker 1: so a year later, when he assumed things would have 262 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:07,480 Speaker 1: calmed a bit, he brought Gaveston back to England. He 263 00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:13,760 Speaker 1: was wrong. Things had not calmbed down. By March thirteen ten, 264 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:18,000 Speaker 1: the barons were all but threatening civil war if the 265 00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:21,359 Speaker 1: King refused to sit down with them and negotiate what 266 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:25,560 Speaker 1: to do about the Gaveston problem. With his hands tied, 267 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:29,520 Speaker 1: Edward the second agreed to create an organization called the 268 00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:33,679 Speaker 1: Lords Ordainers, a group of twenty one earls, barons and 269 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:36,560 Speaker 1: bishops who would agree on the rules when it came 270 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:40,760 Speaker 1: to managing the King's household. The Ordainers came up with 271 00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:45,560 Speaker 1: a number of new rules, including once again exile for 272 00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:50,640 Speaker 1: the King's favorite. When faced with a group of angry nobles, 273 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:53,040 Speaker 1: some of whom had spent the better part of the 274 00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:58,199 Speaker 1: past few years assembling private armies, the King found he 275 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:02,840 Speaker 1: had very little actual power. He bargained, saying he would 276 00:19:02,840 --> 00:19:06,520 Speaker 1: agree to all of the rules except the banishment of Gaveston. 277 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:11,760 Speaker 1: The nobles refused him, and so for the third and 278 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:22,360 Speaker 1: final time, Gaveston was formally banished from England. It would 279 00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:25,000 Speaker 1: only be a few months before the King decreed that 280 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:29,640 Speaker 1: the Ordainers were actually operating illegally, that the proclamations didn't 281 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:33,480 Speaker 1: mean anything, so that he could bring Gaveston back, but 282 00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:38,159 Speaker 1: the nobles would refuse to back down, which meant that 283 00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:41,239 Speaker 1: as soon as Gaveston was back in England, he and 284 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:44,280 Speaker 1: the King were now on the run from the king's 285 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:49,080 Speaker 1: own nobleman. While fleeing the Earl of Lancaster in May 286 00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:52,440 Speaker 1: of thirt twelve, the King was forced to leave most 287 00:19:52,480 --> 00:19:55,320 Speaker 1: of his retinue and baggage behind so that he could 288 00:19:55,359 --> 00:19:59,960 Speaker 1: travel light and avoid capture. So at Newcastle he abandoned 289 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:04,160 Speaker 1: and his jewels and plates. He abandoned several valuable war 290 00:20:04,280 --> 00:20:09,520 Speaker 1: horses and various assorted trappings, and he also abandoned his wife, 291 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:14,760 Speaker 1: who was five months pregnant. Edward, the seconds only concern 292 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:20,520 Speaker 1: was Galveston. Gaveston fortified himself at Scarborough Castle, where he 293 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:24,120 Speaker 1: was besieged by the Earls of Pembroke and Warwick. It 294 00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:27,479 Speaker 1: was around this time that Gaveston was also excommunicated by 295 00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:32,680 Speaker 1: the Archbishop Winchesley at St Paul's. The nobles meant war. 296 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:37,040 Speaker 1: The siege ended with Gaveston's surrendering to the Earl of 297 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:40,320 Speaker 1: Pembroke on the condition that they would negotiate with the 298 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:44,119 Speaker 1: King for an acceptable course of action and have until 299 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:48,480 Speaker 1: August one to do it. Pembroke agreed, and he took 300 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:52,880 Speaker 1: Galveston into his custody to Deddington in Banbury, where he'd 301 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:55,760 Speaker 1: be kept until they finalized their deal with the King. 302 00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:01,040 Speaker 1: Pembroke guaranteed his safety, and word was sent onto the King, who, 303 00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:07,080 Speaker 1: of course immediately began riding north, but then Pembroke spent 304 00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:10,840 Speaker 1: a weekend away with a cousin, and whether it was 305 00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:17,480 Speaker 1: purposeful or just an unfortunate coincidence, Gaveston was left unguarded. 306 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:21,960 Speaker 1: When the Earl of Warwick heard that the hated Gaveston 307 00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:27,120 Speaker 1: was so close, he sprung into action and captured him himself. 308 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:31,840 Speaker 1: He brought the king's favorite back to Warwick in chains, 309 00:21:32,359 --> 00:21:35,760 Speaker 1: parading him through the streets like a common thief while 310 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:39,359 Speaker 1: the crowd jeered at him and made of scene gestures. 311 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:44,440 Speaker 1: Before the king could even finish his travels, the earls 312 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:48,080 Speaker 1: completed a quick sham trial and brought Pierce Gaveston to 313 00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:52,359 Speaker 1: black Low Hill, where two Welsh executioners were ready to 314 00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:55,720 Speaker 1: kill him by running him through, first with a sword 315 00:21:56,200 --> 00:22:05,600 Speaker 1: and then by cutting off his head. His body was 316 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:10,119 Speaker 1: left to rot on the hill. Gaveston being excommunicated at 317 00:22:10,119 --> 00:22:13,080 Speaker 1: the time, meant that he couldn't have a proper Christian burial, 318 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:17,720 Speaker 1: although the king did immediately begin fighting to recover the 319 00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:20,600 Speaker 1: body and give his love the resting place he thought 320 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:25,879 Speaker 1: he deserved. Gaveston's body was eventually rescued and embalmed, and 321 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:29,120 Speaker 1: buried in the Dominican friary at King's Langley and hare 322 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:32,760 Speaker 1: to share. But it wouldn't be until eighteen twenty three 323 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:36,800 Speaker 1: that a local squire would erect a monument for Pierce Gaveston, 324 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:41,760 Speaker 1: which would read, under his name quote the minion of 325 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:46,680 Speaker 1: a hateful king beheaded by barons as lawless as himself. 326 00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:52,000 Speaker 1: According to that squire, there were no heroes in this story. 327 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:56,399 Speaker 1: The king mourned deeply, and though during the following period 328 00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:59,640 Speaker 1: he would sire heirs with his wife, his heart never 329 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:03,000 Speaker 1: covered from the loss of his greatest love. The man 330 00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:07,760 Speaker 1: he had spent thirteen years with. You would eventually, nearly 331 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:10,760 Speaker 1: a decade later, find a new favorite, a man named 332 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:15,000 Speaker 1: Hugh Dispenser, the younger. Unlike Pierce Gaveston, who had been 333 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:18,040 Speaker 1: relatively moderate in his spending and not too keen on 334 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:23,840 Speaker 1: making enemies what good it did him you, Dispenser was shameless. 335 00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:27,600 Speaker 1: He spent wildly, and it wasn't long before the nobles 336 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:32,080 Speaker 1: were calling him another Gaveston. The Queen, for her part, 337 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:38,080 Speaker 1: despised Dispenser. Here was another young upstart, not only taking 338 00:23:38,119 --> 00:23:42,639 Speaker 1: her husband's attention again but flaunting it. It goes without 339 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:46,320 Speaker 1: saying that the King's treatment of his wife hadn't improved 340 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:49,439 Speaker 1: since the first time they set foot on English soil together. 341 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:53,639 Speaker 1: Once her household had been fleeing a Scottish army, and 342 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:57,280 Speaker 1: her husband had so dawdled on sending support that it 343 00:23:57,359 --> 00:24:01,560 Speaker 1: led to her just barely escaping with her life. Queen 344 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:04,760 Speaker 1: Isabella eventually persuaded her husband to let her go to 345 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:07,800 Speaker 1: France to negotiate with her brother, who was by then 346 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:10,960 Speaker 1: the King. It was while she was at French court 347 00:24:11,119 --> 00:24:15,040 Speaker 1: that she met a man named Roger Mortimer, a formerly 348 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:18,159 Speaker 1: powerful English lord who had been forced to flee the 349 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:22,199 Speaker 1: country after a failed rebellion against Edward the Second. The 350 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:25,960 Speaker 1: friendship between the Queen and Mortimer deepened when it was 351 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:29,760 Speaker 1: revealed that they had a common goal removing Edward from 352 00:24:29,800 --> 00:24:35,160 Speaker 1: the throne. The two became lovers, and eventually Mortimer led 353 00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:38,680 Speaker 1: an expedition that would see the pair of them successfully 354 00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:47,480 Speaker 1: seize control of the English throne. Hugh de Spenser was 355 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:50,800 Speaker 1: captured and found guilty on more charges than he could 356 00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:54,760 Speaker 1: answer for. He knew that execution was coming to him, 357 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:58,480 Speaker 1: and that that execution would be grim, and so before 358 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:01,280 Speaker 1: his verdict, he had been trying to starve himself to death, 359 00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:05,040 Speaker 1: but it didn't work, and he was right about the 360 00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:09,840 Speaker 1: execution being grim. So if you're a little squeamish about gore, 361 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:14,240 Speaker 1: you might want to fast forward about thirty seconds. The 362 00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:18,359 Speaker 1: king's new favorite was dragged through the streets naked and 363 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:22,760 Speaker 1: publicly humiliated, with men writing Bible verses on his skin, 364 00:25:23,359 --> 00:25:26,680 Speaker 1: Bible versus about the many sins of which he had 365 00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:31,680 Speaker 1: been formally accused. Dispenser was to be hanged as a commoner, 366 00:25:32,119 --> 00:25:35,639 Speaker 1: but the news was released before he was fully asphyxiated 367 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:40,280 Speaker 1: and so still breathing, but only barely. Dispenser was tied 368 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:43,760 Speaker 1: to a ladder and a red hot blade was used 369 00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:49,360 Speaker 1: to slice off his genitals. From there he was beheaded 370 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:53,679 Speaker 1: and drawn and quartered. His head was mounted on the 371 00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:58,720 Speaker 1: gates of London. King Edward the Second was captured soon 372 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:02,600 Speaker 1: afterward and forced to abdicate in favor of his young son, 373 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:05,840 Speaker 1: Edward the Third, who would be king in name only 374 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:09,840 Speaker 1: as Queen Isabella, and Roger Mortimer ruled as regent in 375 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:14,879 Speaker 1: his stead. While captured and imprisoned, Edward died either of 376 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:18,679 Speaker 1: a mysterious illness or more likely at the behest of 377 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:22,920 Speaker 1: the new regime. The rumor with not much factual evidence 378 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:26,680 Speaker 1: behind it, but the rumor that's plenty colorful is that 379 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,400 Speaker 1: he was killed by guards in a way that wouldn't 380 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:33,359 Speaker 1: show much damage to the outside of his body. Another 381 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:36,159 Speaker 1: warning here, I'm going to say this as delicately as 382 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:41,040 Speaker 1: I can by shoving a flaming hot poker up his 383 00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:45,640 Speaker 1: rear end. But that detail lurid as it is maybe 384 00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:50,160 Speaker 1: an example of historical embellishment, meant to emphasize the gossip 385 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:55,280 Speaker 1: around the king's relationships and sexual proclivities, but that rumor 386 00:26:55,320 --> 00:27:00,400 Speaker 1: in itself is evidence that the King's relationships were explicitly sexual. 387 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:04,480 Speaker 1: No one ever shoves a red hot poker up someone's 388 00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:08,560 Speaker 1: but because they're upset that he's such close platonic bros 389 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:18,120 Speaker 1: with another man. That's the tragic story of Pierce Gaveston 390 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:21,359 Speaker 1: and King Edward the Second. But stick around after a 391 00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:24,600 Speaker 1: brief sponsor break to hear more about what happened with 392 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:36,800 Speaker 1: Queen Isabella. Edward the Third eventually came of age and 393 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:41,560 Speaker 1: overthrew the regency of Roger Mortimer and Queen Isabella. Roger 394 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:45,679 Speaker 1: Mortimer was killed, but graciously Edward the Third spared the 395 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:49,439 Speaker 1: life of his mother. The Queen was briefly imprisoned, but 396 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:52,680 Speaker 1: then allowed to live in a palace just away from court. 397 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:56,439 Speaker 1: Edward the Third did one more thing to honor the 398 00:27:56,560 --> 00:28:00,840 Speaker 1: memory of his father, the man whom he could scarcely remember, 399 00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:04,000 Speaker 1: but who had been so deeply betrayed by his wife 400 00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:08,960 Speaker 1: and fellow countrymen. When Queen Isabella died, her son Edward 401 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:13,800 Speaker 1: the Third had something wrapped in linen and buried alongside her. 402 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:19,080 Speaker 1: It was King Edward the seconds embalmed heart, the thing 403 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:23,359 Speaker 1: that had caused so much trouble and strife and pain. 404 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:28,040 Speaker 1: At last, for the first time and only in death, 405 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:39,160 Speaker 1: what Queen Isabella finally have it. Noble Blood is a 406 00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:41,800 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio and Grimm and Mild from 407 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:44,880 Speaker 1: Aaron Manky. The show was written and hosted by Dana 408 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:49,360 Speaker 1: Schwartz and produced by Aaron Mankey, Matt Frederick, Alex Williams, 409 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:52,800 Speaker 1: and Trevor Young. Noble Blood is on social media at 410 00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:55,320 Speaker 1: Noble Blood Tales, and you can learn more about the 411 00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:58,320 Speaker 1: show over at Noble Blood Tales dot com. For more 412 00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:01,560 Speaker 1: podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, 413 00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:04,920 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. 414 00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:06,560 Speaker 1: H