Edward II , Yale University Press , Hard back , 2010 , 613 readable pages out of 687.

Edward II in brief

Edward II’s ( 1307 – 1327 ) reign as King of England is popular for a number of reasons: His defeat at Bannockburn ( 1314 ) not only undid everything his father ( Edward I ) had striven for in bringing the Scottish real under his dominion , but most importantly the defeat paved the way in securing Scotland’s future independence from the English Crown.

Edward’s notorious desire for court favourites – most famously epitomised by Peirs Gravestons where rumor had it they where involved in a sexual relationship with each other.  And then there was Hugh Despenser – a name that isn’t quite as famous as Gavestone, but nevertheless he had such an influence over the king and the decisions of government, that he – like Gavestone – was finally caught executed.

Another reason for Edward’s popularity – in hindsight at least – is that he is nestled between two great Kings of England’s History ; his father the Hammer of the Scots ( Edward I ), and his son Edward III.  They were everything Edward II wasn’t; able warriors , statesmen and great decision makers who oozed authority.  Edward certainly wasn’t a warrior and he relied on court favourites throughout his reign as he was almost incapable of making important decisions.

And lastly Edward is perhaps best known for the red hot poker incident that ended his life and reign while captor at Berkeley Castle in 1327.

The short review

Edward’s life, upbringing , reign and eventual capture and death is brilliantly portrayed in Phillips Book : Edward II.  It is a detailed survey of his life written within the context of the 13th Century when England was at war with Scotland and quarrelling with France over territory.

There has been much mystery and controversy surrounding Edward II in a number of areas in his life – his ‘relationship’ with Piers Gavestone , and his ‘death’ and apparent escape and survival.  In all aspects of the book Phillip constantly refers to the availability of the evidence and where evidence is lacking Phillips does not , or rarely does , pass judgement with absolute certainty.  Though he lacks certainty, Phillips is able to write around the subject , hypothesising in a scientific way as much as is possible and then forms his opinions with little to no sense of personal bias.  He does this when discussing Edward’s relationship with Gavestone which is concludes as one being based on a form of ‘brotherhood’ other than sexual.  But this conclusion doesn’t come after a single page of research but after a strenuous account of Piers and Edwards life using letters and other forms of primary sources as evidence.

Another use of Phillip’s scientific approach occurs when he asses the controversy surrounding Edward’s death.  He goes through all the accounts of what could have happened to him on that fateful night in Berkeley castle 1327 – did they really kill him with the use of a hot poker? or was this a story that developed later on that references is homosexual tendencies? or was he simply strangled instead? After Phillips detailed assessment of the events leading up to Edward’s capture and ‘murder’, Phillips then dedicates a chapter on the possibility of Edward II’s escape from Berkley and consequently his survival where he supposedly lived the remainder of his days in Italy as a hermit.  Once again Phillip’s puts on his white lab coat and goggles and analyses the minutest of details – which amongst many other thing includes the Feischi letter written to Edward III about the survival of his father – in order to form a conclusion.

The book is extremely long and very detailed as it is packed with and abundance of dates, places, and names of men and women not only in England at the time, but Europe.  In a sense this is standard practise in history writing.  However there is a feeling that one must have a contextual grasp of the era in which Phillip’s is writing about,  and therefore this is not a book for the complete beginner.  However the writing style is very much easy to read and enjoyable; Phillip’s doesn’t necessarily adopt complicated language when he doesn’t need to.  At times I did feel I needed to go back to check who was who and what they were doing as some names who appear early on is reffered to again later in the book.  And if I was confused or felt like I wasn’t clear on a particular topic of discussion – this often happens to me when I read history – I simply google it to get a breakdown of that particular event.

I highly recommend this book for people interested in the Plantagenet era of history or for those who have some background in the reign of Edward I and the wars of Scottish independence.