Editing Edward II of England (section)

==Edward as king==
===Kingship, government and law===
{{Multiple image|total_width=333|image1=Seal of Edward II.jpg|image2=Seal of Edward II-2.jpg|footer=Edward's [[Great Seal of the Realm|Great Seal]]|alt1=Drawing of Great Seal|alt2=Reverse of Great Seal}}

Edward was ultimately a failure as a king; the historian Michael Prestwich observes that he "was lazy and incompetent, liable to outbursts of temper over unimportant issues, yet indecisive when it came to major issues", echoed by Roy Haines' description of Edward as "incompetent and vicious", and as "no man of business".<ref>{{Harvnb|Prestwich|2003|p=73}}; {{Harvnb|Haines|2003|pp=142, 164}}.</ref> Edward did not just delegate routine government to his subordinates, but also higher level decision making, and [[Pierre Chaplais]] argues that he "was not so much an incompetent king as a reluctant one", preferring to rule through a powerful deputy, such as Piers Gaveston or Hugh Despenser the Younger.<ref>{{Harvnb|Chaplais|1994|pp=2–3}}.</ref> Edward's willingness to promote his favourites had serious political consequences, although he also attempted to buy the loyalty of a wider grouping of nobles through grants of money and fees.<ref>{{Harvnb|Given-Wilson|1996|pp=31–33, 154}}.</ref> He could take a keen interest in the minutiae of administration, however, and on occasion engaged in the details of a wide range of issues across England and his wider domains.<ref>{{Harvnb|Rubin|2006|p=39}}.</ref>{{Efn|Most historians suggest that Edward increased his engagement with administration in the 1320s, although Michael Prestwich suggests that many of Edward's later correspondence on governmental issues were written for him by the Despensers. Generally, current historians have tended to stress Edward's later role in governance, even if he did not necessarily prove to be a competent or successful administrator. Miri Rubin argues that he was "deeply involved" in governance and portrays Edward's abilities sympathetically; Anthony Musson stresses Edward's later involvement in the legal system; Seymour Phillips argues that Edward was more closely involved in governmental business than has been previously suggested, although his interest was "sporadic and unpredictable", and heavily influenced by his advisors; Roy Haines notes Edward's "idiosyncrasy" in engaging in business, and the dominant role of the Despensers in setting policy, but stops short of Prestwich's position.<ref>{{Harvnb|Prestwich|2007|p=219}}; {{Harvnb|Rubin|2006|p=39}}; {{Harvnb|Musson|2006|pp=140–141}}; {{Harvnb|Phillips|2011|p=608}}; {{Harvnb|Haines|2003|pp=164–165}}.</ref>}}

One of Edward's persistent challenges through most of his reign was a shortage of money; of the debts he inherited from his father, around £60,000 was still owing in the 1320s.<ref>{{Harvnb|Phillips|2011|p=129}}; {{Harvnb|Prestwich|2003|pp=93–94}}.</ref> Edward worked his way through many treasurers and other financial officials, few of whom stayed long, raising revenues through often unpopular taxes, and requisitioning goods using his right of prise.<ref name=Prestwich2003PP94Phillips2011PP218/> He also took out many loans, first through the Frescobaldi family, and then through his banker Antonio Pessagno.<ref name="Prestwich2003PP94Phillips2011PP218">{{Harvnb|Prestwich|2003|pp=94–95}}; {{Harvnb|Phillips|2011|pp=218–219}}.</ref> Edward took a strong interest in financial matters towards the end of his reign, distrusting his own officials and directly cutting back on the expenses of his own household.<ref>{{Harvnb|Haines|2003|p=164}}; {{Harvnb|Rubin|2006|p=37}}.</ref>

Edward was responsible for implementing royal justice through his network of judges and officials.<ref>{{Harvnb|Musson|2006|pp=140–141}}.</ref> It is uncertain to what extent Edward took a personal interest in dispensing justice, but he appears to have involved himself to some degree during the first part of his reign, and to have increasingly intervened in person after 1322.<ref>{{Harvnb|Musson|2006|pp=162–163}}.</ref> Edward made extensive use of [[Roman civil law]] during his reign when arguing in defence of his causes and favourites, which may have attracted criticism from those who perceived this as abandoning the established principles of [[English common law]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Musson|2006|p=157}}.</ref> Edward was also criticised by contemporaries for allowing the Despensers to exploit the royal justice system for their own ends; the Despensers certainly appear to have abused the system, although just how widely they did so is unclear.<ref>{{Harvnb|Musson|2006|pp=159–160}}.</ref> Amid the political turbulence, armed gangs and violence spread across England under Edward's reign, destabilising the position of many of the local [[gentry]]; much of Ireland similarly disintegrated into anarchy.<ref>{{Harvnb|Haines|2003|pp=148, 300–301}}; {{Harvnb|Rubin|2006|p=50}}; {{Harvnb|Waugh|1991|p=161}}.</ref>

Under Edward's rule, parliament's importance grew as a means of making political decisions and answering petitions, although as the historian Claire Valente notes, the gatherings were "still as much an event as an institution".<ref>{{Harvnb|Valente|1998|p=868}}; {{Harvnb|Dodd|2006|pp=165–166}}; {{Harvnb|Rubin|2006|pp=50–52}}.</ref> After 1311, parliament began to include, in addition to the barons, the representatives of the [[knight]]s and [[burgess (title)|burgesses]], who in later years would constitute the "[[House of Commons of England|commons]]".<ref>{{Harvnb|Dodd|2006|pp=169, 172–173}}.</ref> Although parliament often opposed raising fresh taxes, active opposition to Edward came largely from the barons, rather than parliament itself, although the barons did seek to use the parliamentary meetings as a way of giving legitimacy to their long-standing political demands.<ref>{{Harvnb|Dodd|2006|pp=170–171, 175–177}}; {{Harvnb|Rubin|2006|p=32}}.</ref> After resisting it for many years, Edward began intervening in parliament in the second half of his reign to achieve his own political aims.<ref>{{Harvnb|Dodd|2006|pp=180–182}}.</ref> It remains unclear whether he was deposed in 1327 by a formal gathering of parliament or simply a gathering of the political classes alongside an existing parliament.<ref>{{Harvnb|Dodd|2006|pp=167–168, 179}}.</ref>

===Court===
[[File:Cambridge 1575 colour Trinity College.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=detail of 1575 map|1575 map of [[Cambridge]] showing the [[King's Hall, Cambridge|King's Hall]] (top left) founded by Edward]]

Edward's royal court was itinerant, travelling around the country with him.<ref>{{Harvnb|Prestwich|2006|p=64}}.</ref> When housed in Westminster Palace, the court occupied a complex of two halls, seven chambers and three [[chapel]]s, along with other smaller rooms, but, due to the Scottish conflict, the court spent much of its time in Yorkshire and Northumbria.<ref>{{Harvnb|Prestwich|2006|pp=64–65}}; {{Harvnb|Rubin|2006|p=33}}.</ref> At the heart of the court was Edward's royal household, in turn divided into the "hall" and the "chamber"; the size of the household varied over time, but in 1317 was around five hundred people, including household knights, squires, and kitchen and transport staff.<ref>{{Harvnb|Prestwich|2006|p=63}}.</ref> The household was surrounded by a wider group of courtiers, and appears to have also attracted a circle of prostitutes and criminal elements.<ref>{{Harvnb|Prestwich|2006|pp=63, 65}}.</ref>

Music and minstrels were very popular at Edward's court, but hunting appears to have been a much less important activity, and there was little emphasis on chivalric events.<ref>{{Harvnb|Prestwich|2006|pp=69, 72}}.</ref> Edward was interested in buildings and paintings, but less so in literary works, which were not extensively sponsored at court.<ref>{{Harvnb|Prestwich|2006|pp=66–68}}.</ref> There was an extensive use of gold and silver plates, jewels and enamelling at court, which would have been richly decorated.<ref name=Prestwich2006P69/>{{Efn|Among his more esoteric valuables, Edward had a pitcher, allegedly made from a [[griffin]]'s egg.<ref name="Prestwich2006P69">{{Harvnb|Prestwich|2006|p=69}}.</ref>}} Edward kept a [[camel]] as a pet and, as a young man, took a [[lion]] with him on campaign to Scotland.<ref>{{Harvnb|Phillips|2011|p=75}}.</ref> The court could be entertained in exotic ways: by an Italian [[snake-charmer]] in 1312, and the following year by 54 nude French dancers.<ref>{{Harvnb|Prestwich|2006|pp=61, 69}}; {{Harvnb|Phillips|2011|p=75}}; {{Harvnb|Rubin|2006|p=33}}.</ref>{{Efn|The historian Miri Rubin argues that the displays show a lack of royal decorum. The historian Michael Prestwich notes that these court events imply to many "a decadent extravagance, fitting the familiar stereotype of the king", but goes on to argue that the court was really "conventional, and perhaps even rather dull"; Seymour Phillips questions if the naked French dancers were genuinely extravagant or simply intended to fit in with local French royal culture.<ref>{{Harvnb|Prestwich|2006|pp=61, 74}}; {{Harvnb|Phillips|2011|p=75}}; {{Harvnb|Rubin|2006|p=33}}.</ref>}}

===Religion===
Edward's approach to religion was normal for the period, and the historian Michael Prestwich describes him as "a man of wholly conventional religious attitudes".<ref name="Prestiwch2006P67">{{Harvnb|Prestwich|2006|p=67}}.</ref> There were daily chapel services and [[almsgiving]] at his court, and Edward blessed the sick, although he did this less often than his predecessors.<ref name=Prestiwch2006P67/> Edward remained close to the Dominican Order, which had helped to educate him, and followed their advice in asking for papal permission to be anointed with the Holy Oil of St. Thomas of Canterbury in 1319; this request was refused, causing the king some embarrassment.<ref>{{Harvnb|Phillips|2011|pp=65–66}}.</ref> Edward supported the expansion of the universities during his reign, establishing [[King's Hall, Cambridge|King's Hall]] in Cambridge to promote training in religious and civil law, [[Oriel College]] in Oxford and a [[Trinity College Dublin#History|short-lived university in Dublin]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Musson|2006|p=157}}; {{Harvnb|Phillips|2011|pp=61–62}}.</ref>

Edward enjoyed a good relationship with [[Pope Clement&nbsp;V]], despite the king's repeated intervention in the operation of the English Church, including punishing bishops with whom he disagreed.<ref>{{Harvnb|Menache|2002|p=60}}; {{Harvnb|Phillips|2011|p=263}}.</ref> With Clement's support, Edward attempted to gain the financial support of the English Church for his military campaigns in Scotland, including taxation and borrowing money against the funds gathered for the crusades.<ref>{{Harvnb|Menache|2002|pp=66, 70–71, 73}}.</ref> The Church did relatively little to influence or moderate Edward's behaviour during his reign, possibly because of the bishops' self-interest and concern for their own protection.<ref>{{Harvnb|Haines|2003|p=337}}.</ref>

[[Pope John XXII]], elected in 1316, sought Edward's support for a new crusade, and was also inclined to support him politically.<ref name="Phillips 2011 263">{{Harvnb|Phillips|2011|p=263}}.</ref> In 1317, in exchange for papal support in his war with Scotland, Edward agreed to recommence paying the annual Papal tribute, which had been first agreed to by King [[John, King of England|John]] in 1213; Edward soon ceased the payments, however, and never offered his homage, another part of the 1213 agreement.<ref name="Phillips 2011 263"/> In 1325 Edward asked Pope John to instruct the Irish Church to openly preach in favour of his right to rule the island, and to threaten to excommunicate any contrary voices.<ref>{{Harvnb|Haines|2003|p=286}}.</ref>