King Edward II : Edward of Caernarfon, his life, his reign, and its aftermath, 1284-1330

Edward of Caernarfon is best known today for his disastrous military defeat in 1314 at Bannockburn, where his English army was defeated by a vastly inferior Scottish force led by Robert the Bruce, leading to Scottish Independence. This catastrophe was one of many in a disastrous career marked by indolence, vengefulness, vacillation in relationships with France, deranged policies at home, and constitutional wrangling, ultimately brought to an end by a minor insurgency led by his vindictive wife and her paramour, a disaffected baron. Contents Preface Acknowledgments Abbreviations Illustrations PART ONE: EDWARD OF CAERNARFON, HIS KINGSHIP, AND ITS DENOUEMENT 1 Formative Years, 1284–1307 2 Royal Character: Prophesy and Retrospection 3 Faltering Steps, 1307–1308 4 The Last of the Gaveston Years: The Road to Bannockburn, 1308–1314 5 Descent into the Abyss: Civil Strife, 1314–1322 6 The Tyrannous Years: Baldock, Stapeldon, and the Despensers, 1322–1326 7 The Iron Lady: Isabella Triumphant, 1326–1330 8 Life after Death: Edward the Penitent Hermit PART TWO: THE COLONIAL EMPIRE 9 Scotland, 1290–1330 10 Ireland, 1295–1330 11 Gascony and England's Relations with France, 1259–1330 12 Summing Up APPENDICES A: Two Accounts of the Deposition of Edward II B: A Summary of the Charges against Mortimer MAPS Scotland in the Fourteenth Century Ireland in the Fourteenth Century The Pursuit and Capture of Sir Thomas Gurney The Supposed Journeyings of Edward of Caernarfon GENEALOGICAL TABLES England France Notes Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z