Edward II and the Rhetoricians of Myth

During the last twenty or twenty-five years medieval historians have been much interested in the composition of the English episcopate. A number of studies of it have been published on periods ranging from the eleventh to the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. A further paper might well seem superfluous. My reason for offering one is that most previous writers have concentrated on analysing the professional circles from which the bishops were drawn, and suggesting the influences which their early careers as royal clerks, university masters and students, secular or regular clergy, may have had on their later work as bishops. They have shown comparatively little interest in their social background and provenance, except for those bishops who belonged to magnate families. Some years ago, when working on the political activities of Edward II's bishops, it seemed to me that social origins, family connexions and provenance might in a number of cases have had at least as much influence on a bishop's attitude to politics as his early career. I there fore collected information about the origins and provenance of these bishops. I now think that a rather more careful and complete study of this subject might throw further light not only on the political history of the reign, but on other problems connected with the character and work of the English episcopate. There is a general impression that in England in the later middle ages the bishops' ties with their dioceses were becoming less close, and that they were normally spending less time in diocesan work than their predecessors in the thirteenth century.

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Reputation of Edward II, 1305–1697

10.1017/9789048552146 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Kit Heyam

Keyword(s):

Edward Ii

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Politics, Finance and the Church in the Reign of Edward II

10.1017/cbo9780511897511 ◽

1983 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Mark Buck

Keyword(s):

Edward Ii ◽

The Church

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The Tyranny and Fall of Edward II 1321-26, by Natalie FrydeThe Tyranny and Fall of Edward II 1321-26, by Natalie Fryde. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1979, x, 301 pp. $25.00

Canadian Journal of History ◽

10.3138/cjh.15.3.435-1 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 435-437

Author(s):

F. D. Blackley

Keyword(s):

Cambridge University ◽

Edward Ii

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Itineraries of Edward I. and Edward II

Notes and Queries ◽

10.1093/nq/s3-xi.263.29a ◽

1867 ◽

Vol s3-XI (263) ◽

pp. 29-29

Author(s):

W. H. Hart

Keyword(s):

Edward Ii ◽

Edward I

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The Bishops and the Deposition of Edward II

Studies in Church History ◽

10.1017/stc.2019.8 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 56 ◽

pp. 131-151

Author(s):

Samuel Lane

Keyword(s):

Legal History ◽

Legal Aspect ◽

Medieval England ◽

Political Society ◽

Edward Ii ◽

History Of ◽

The Church

The deposition of Edward II was a watershed in the legal history of later medieval England. However, the significance of the church in its accomplishment has remained controversial. This article offers a reassessment by providing a brief narrative of the episcopate's involvement in events; analysing the importance of their contribution, with particular reference to the quasi-legal aspect of proceedings; considering whether this participation reflected their own initiative or was something about which they had no choice; and questioning why so many bishops turned to oppose Edward II. It becomes evident that prelates played a key part in Edward II's downfall, and that they became involved as a consequence of the oppressive treatment which he had meted out to them, to their families and to political society more broadly.

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