Lady Despenser's Scribery - Introduction
- This small corner of the web concentrates mainly on the life and times of Hugh Despenser the younger, as well as the reign of Edward II and the fourteenth century in general. It contains snippets of some (though certainly not all) of the research I have done in order to write a novel about him (and hopefully, later, a biography as well). Oh yes, some 21st century stuff sneaks its way in too, from time to time!
Since becoming Lord of Glamorgan in 1317, Hugh Despenser had managed to take neighbouring Gwynllwg from his brother-in-law Hugh Audley, harassed his other brother-in-law, Damory, (unsuccessfully) over his lands and had become the king’s chamberlain, gradually worming his way into Edward’s affections, garnering royal grants and favours along the way. In summary, his star was very much rising in inverse proportion to his plummeting popularity amongst his peers (and that’s probably understating it).
In the year 1320, a rather peculiar event occurred – which managed to turn itself into a full-blown crisis – all over a small part of Wales known as Gower. Gower was part of the lands of the last of the line of what had once been a powerful and important Marcher family – the de Braoses. The current de Braose, William (one of many William de Braoses), was born in about 1261 and gained his inheritance in 1291. By this time the family was deep in debt due to a series of expensive lawsuits (mostly brought by other members of his more-than-normal dysfunctional family) and he was a very unpopular landlord. In 1306, his tenants in Gower even deserted their lands and went to seek justice from the king for their lord’s misdeeds.
The Location and Castles of Gower (although not Swansea for some reason)
From CastleWales
William married, firstly, Agnes (family name unknown) and by her had a son (another William, wouldn’t you just know it!) and two daughters. The eldest daughter, Joan, married James de Bohun of Midhurst and the other daughter, Alina, married William’s ward, John de Mowbray (they were betrothed when she was six and he was 10). William also married Elizabeth de Sully in 1317, but the union was childless. In 1320 tragedy struck the family when de Braose’s son and heir died, and de Braose found himself not only lacking in a direct heir of his line, but also very deep in debt. As de Bohun had died in 1306, the inheritance of his estates now fell to Alina and de Mowbray.
Gower, although small, had several strategically important castles and, of course, a port at Swansea with the potential for lucrative trade. As it stood, he held the land under from the king for a knight’s fee, and at his death, his daughter would inherit it from him. However, de Braose, desperate for money, decided on a desperate ploy – although how he ever thought it would work, heaven knows. He decided to put the reversion of Gower (after Alina’s death) on the market, and it immediately attracted attention from other Marcher barons – especially from the earl of Hereford, both Roger de Mortimers, and, of course, Hugh Despenser the younger, upon whose border Gower lay. However, instead of selling to one of them, de Braose seems to have acted rather strangely and unwisely. He accepted offers from all of them and even took a deposit from Hereford. He then sold the lands to his son in law, a move which was bound to aggravate all parties, especially Hereford. But the man most aggrieved turned out to be Despenser, who naturally saw Gower as a valuable addition to his ever-growing lands in south Wales.
The remains of Swansea Castle
Mowbray, knowing Despenser’s reputation for forcible entry into lands he coveted (such as Gwynllwg), decided to pre-empt him and get there first. Technically, the alienation of land held from the king without his permission could result in the forfeiture of that land – certainly in England. However, the marches had their own peculiar customs and rights dating back to the conquest of Wales, including that new land could be entered into prior to the royal licence being granted, as long as a fine was paid at chancery. Once the fine had been produced, it was extremely unlikely that the ruling monarch would then refuse the claim. This custom probably dated from a time when Anglo-Welsh politics was particularly unstable – during the Welsh wars which ended with Llywelyn ap Gruffydd’s death in 1282. Now, even though the Welsh couldn’t exactly be thought of as ‘tamed’, things had settled down a lot and it must have seemed to those without land in the marches that these men now had access to exclusive privileges without having to do much to earn them.
As such, the custom of right to alienation without licence in the marches had started to be examined, even before the Gower incident. In 1319, Edward authorised a commission, led by John Inge (Hugh’s right hand man in Glamorgan – coincidence?), Richard de Rodeney and Robert de Malley to find out what lands the de Braose family, over the years, had managed to alienate ‘without the king’s licence’ – especially during the reign of Edward I:
the king having been given to understand that the said William and his ancestors have alienated in fee without licence divers lands held there of the king's progenitors, kings of England, and of the king by knight service,
which still remain so alienated to the king's damage and in his
contempt, and that the escheators beyond Trent, concealing such alienations, have applied no remedy thereto as pertained to their office, whereat the king is much disturbed.
It is not hard to imagine the mind and hand of Hugh Despenser behind this move as no other commission was ordered into any other marcher family. This seemed particularly aimed, and timed, to put into place a ‘test case’ whereby customary marcher privileges could be questioned. This would have conveniently set Gower up for confiscation into royal hands and then to be finally granted, presumably, to Hugh. If so, it was a clever scheme, using the legal process, something which Hugh excelled in (even if it was to bend the rules so much they practically broke!).
Maybe de Mowbray had seen this coming and tried to get in first, so to speak. It was the spark that lit the powder-keg. On October 26th 1320, Edward, probably with a bit of encouragement from Despenser, gave the order for Gower to be confiscated to the crown. The Vita Edwardi Secundi has this to say about what happened next:
John opposed this, the earl of Hereford also opposed it, pointing out the general disadvantage, humbly begging the lord king not to introduce a new law, rather than [keep] customs used and approved from time out of mind. Hugh Despenser stubbornly insisted, saying that the lord king had always enjoyed this prerogative in Wales as in England, that no one without the king's licence should have entry upon any fee held of the king in chief; and if, on the other hand, this should be attempted by anyone, the fee so seized should be assigned to the royal treasury. Others cited the law and customs of the March which could not be infringed. Hugh took no notice of the customs and law of the March, and appeared to accuse the barons who cited such things of treason.
But their protests were to no avail. Richard Foxcote, the sub-escheator of the crown duly went to Wales to carry out his liege’s orders, but was met at the chapel of St Thomas near Kilvey by ‘a great multitude of Welshmen unknown and armed, who resisted the execution of the said order so that nothing could be done thereof without peril of death. This act of defiance once again caused the king to be ‘much astonished and disturbed.’
Oystermouth Castle
On 13th November, Edward decided to try again, sending the escheator himself, Richard de Rodeneye, this time with more royal troops, to capture Gower. On November the 20th, he issued a commission of oyer and terminer to Hugh Despenser the elder, Bartholomew de Badlesmere, John de Stonore and Robert de Malblethorpe to ride throughout Glamorgan, Gower, Kidwelly, Brecon and Iskenny and find out (and, I suppose, detain) the troublemakers who had dared to resist the king’s writ. By December 28th, it seems that all resistance had been overcome, for on this date William de Caveresham was appointed as the steward of the land of Gower, answering to the king and the exchequer for the issues from it. His wages were to be ordained by Hugh the elder and Bartholomew de Badlesmere.
To the marcher barons it must have seen like a right little royalist conspiracy against them and their rights. And the person they blamed the most for instigating it was Hugh Despenser the younger. Greedy for land and power, with a hold over Edward that seemed absolute and against their interests, Despenser probably made Gaveston look like a mere irritation. Their enemy was ruthless, extremely clever and politically astute and, for the moment at least, practically untouchable. But now, as before with opposition to Edward’s other favourites, a coalition was beginning to form, one that was so powerful and implacable that it threatened to bring England and Wales to the verge of civil war.
In the next Friday factual post I’ll look at the members of this faction and why they opposed Despenser so much.
Sources:
The Close Rolls The Patent Rolls The Fine Rolls
The Despenser Wars in Glamorgan, J. Conway Davies, The Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Third Series, Vol. 9, (1915), pp. 21-64
Vita Edwardi Secundi, re-edited and revised by Wendy T. Childs
Edward II, Harold F. Hutchison
The Tyranny and Fall of Edward II, 1321-1326, Natalie Fryde
And thanks to Alianore for letting me see her own work on the Despenser war from her yet unpublished up and coming biography of Edward II
Apologies for the late post - it has been a bit of a hellish week. The house re-organisation seems to be dragging on forever (complete with total de-junking of stuff from the past eight years!!). And on top of that I'm starting the process of having the kitchen done which means lots of meetings with various planners and looking through brochures. In the light of which, this post feels slightly ironic!
Other Household Divisions and Jobs As mentioned in the last post, the Steward of the Household was responsible for the practical, day to day running of the household. As this was - in the case of the royal household anyway – a huge machine, it had to be kept going both smoothly and efficiently. To this end, the various tasks were divided up into departments, or offices, each with servants to perform the jobs and clerks responsible for overseeing that things were done properly and also for the accounting.
Keeping a tab on expenses was a very serious business, as if any mis-handling or waste was detected, the cost came out of the wages of the person responsible. If the offence was serious, the person would be dismissed – something regarded as shameful. Some of the departments, such as the kitchen, pantry and cellar were larger than others. Smaller offices were more like specialties, and although they had their own responsibilities, these were often performed within the wider scope of a larger department.
Of course, it goes without saying that the royal household had far more staff and also autonomous departments than a smaller noble set-up, but their duties tended to remain the same. Below are most of the household departments, offices and specialties, with their brief(ish) descriptions .
Pantry - Responsible for procuring, storing and preparing the bread to be used for the household. Bread was an incredibly important component of mealtimes and so the pantry was therefore an important office, looked after by an officer called a pantler (or, if there were more than one, the chief pantler).
Two main types of bread were produced or bought by this office: a manchet, or dinner roll made from the best flour, which was used for scooping up or dipping into food. The other was made from coarser flour – usually rye – and was often a few days old. This was for the trencher – a sort of disposable plate. The round loaves would be sliced into thick slices, trimmed and the middle slightly hollowed out.
At a meal, a less distinguished guest would most probably only have one of these trenchers throughout – the bread becoming soggier with each course. Higher-born guests would have their trencher replaced frequently. At the end of the meal, the trenchers would be collected and distributed to the poor – a good example of recycling in the Middle Ages!
Wafery – attached to the pantry, the wafery was where wafers and sweet biscuits were made and stored.
Bakehouse – This is where the bread was baked – and so also was responsible for the buying of flour and making sure it was of the appropriate quality to the price.
Cellar – Responsible for the storage of the wine and beer – and its quality. The cellar usually had overall control of the buttery and pitcherhouse.
Brewhouse – Brewed the beer and some of the wine used in the household (the better wine would have been bought in from specialist producers).
Buttery – was responsible for serving wine and beer at mealtimes. The word has nothing to do with butter – it comes from ‘butt’ – a barrel or cask capable of holding around 100 gallons. In most medieval households, a room called the buttery was situated close to the great hall. This is where all the drinks would be laid out prior to serving.
Pitcher House – connected with the cellar and buttery – this is the office that looked after all of the pitchers and drinking vessels
Spicery – Closely connected with the wardrobe, as detailed in the extract below – the spicery was responsible for the care of expensive household items – not just spices and sugar but also wax, linen (for napery) and cloth. One of its duties was to distribute the items to the appropriate officers and see that they were used as they ought to be (as below). Item, a clerk of the spicery, chief usher of the wardrobe, who shall receive from the clerk purveyor of the great wardrobe the wax, napery, linen, cloth, canvas, spices, and the other things of all sorts that pertain to his office, [and this] by indenture expressly mentioning price, yardage, weight, and cost. And he shall cause to be weighed the wax which the chandler is to have worked, and shall reweigh it after it has been worked. And he shall oversee and cause to be recorded by his under-clerk the liveries of chandlery made each day in the wardrobe, and on the next day he shall supervise the putting away of the torches, the great candles, and the mortars. Each day he shall record the parcels of all sorts of things delivered and dispensed from his office, as counted since the day before, and he shall answer concerning them at the account of the household. And he shall oversee the carriages belonging to the wardrobe, as well for the coffers and other things of his office as for the beds of the wardrobe clerks which ought to be carried. And he shall make allowance in his roll for the carriage and transportation reasonably used in connection with the king's journeys....(from Edward II, Household Ordinance 1318)
Chandlery – responsible for the production and storage of candles, made from the wax kept by the spicery.
Kitchen One of the largest departments in the household, it was, of course, responsible for the cooking of meals – both for the king (in the case of the royal household) and the household itself. It therefore had two sets of staff including two cooks each, clerks, yeomen, grooms and pages. Usually the kitchen (along with the scaldinghouse and bakehouse), was situated a distance away from the Great Hall. This was because of the very real risk of it catching fire and the fire then spreading to the residential buildings. It was usually connected to the great hall by a long, covered corridor. Often the corridor opened out into the great hall itself and was flanked by doors leading to the buttery and the pantry (see photo).
Larder – responsible for the procurement and storage of meat and fish (at the instance of the kitchen). Although in the royal household it was separate from the kitchen in terms of administration, it obviously linked itself closely to the kitchen’s operations.
Scullery – the office that looked after the serving dishes, platters and any other dining paraphernalia – washing, polishing, and storing them and of course producing them as and when required. However, this wasn’t the only task meted out to the scullery: it was also charged with the supply of firewood and charcoal for cooking, and looking after the fires themselves.
Scalding House – This is where the carcasses of (mostly) birds were scalded in boiling water– to soften the skin and loosen the feathers before skinning and plucking
Poultry – mostly concerned with what were called the ‘white’ meats – those of fowls and lamb. However, it also took charge of the use of butter and eggs. As well as the more common birds, it was also able to buy more exotic varieties, such as songbirds and peacocks if the occasion demanded it. It would have worked closely with the scalding house.
Acatery – the office of procurement of meat, fish and salt. Its clerks, if necessary, would also be in charge of finding extra pasture or storage space if needed. Acatery comes from the French verb achater – to buy.
Confectionary – Not quite a sweet-shop. A ‘specialty’ job concerned with working with sugar and other substances to produce such things as comfits and subtleties.
Saucery – For once, does what it says on the tin. The saucery was the office that made the sauces, and was headed by a saucerer (I’m sure there’s a joke there somewhere!).
Ewery – The ewerer took water to the table – for guests to wash their hands before dinner. He was also responsible for preparing baths, and sometimes drying the king’s clothes if they got wet while out hunting. It was, however, a separate office from the laundry.
Laundry – One of the few offices that had women servants in the royal household. Responsible for the washing, drying and storage of clothes, bed sheets etc. The king had a separate laundry service.
Napery – Responsible for the washing and storage of napery. Closely connected to the wardrobe and also, sometimes, the pantry.
Great households also often had a pastry (guess what that did), a boiling house, an almonry (to make sure that the poor were provided for by the lord and lady), a tallower (for the making of tallow) and a verderer (who looked after the game animals). The job specifications seem to be endless (and I have not even touched on those who served the food in the hall or else acted as ushers and marshals). And they were not always clear-cut either. Some departments seemed to merge or overlap in their responsibilities, while their sphere of influence often changed from location to location or from time to time.. Even so, the things that had to be done to ensure the business of the house was carried out competently and cost-effectively stayed constant for hundreds of years.
Sources:
(Household ordinances of Edward II) http://www.constitution.org/sech/sech_057.txt
Food and Feast in Medieval England, Peter Hammond
The Great Household in Late Medieval England, C.M. Woolgar
A Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases, C. Corèdon and A. Williams
The Baronial Opposition to Edward II, J.C. Davies
I thought, after last week’s post on Hugh Despenser becoming Chamberlain, I’d try and compile an ‘Idiot’s Guide to Edward II’s Household’ after the reforms at the York Parliament in 1318. But it turned out rather longer and more complicated than I’d ever imagined, so I’ve had to split it into two. Below is a brief (!) idea of who the main court officials were and what they did (although this is only a simple version – there are whole books on this sort of stuff!). Where possible, I’ve also included the names of the person in office circa late November 1318.
King’s Chamberlain (Hugh Despenser the younger)
In charge of the king’s chamber and the business within the chamber. In other words, the Chamberlain was at the heart of the kingdom’s politics and closest to the king. He not only had charge of the physical comforts within the chamber but also controlled access to the King, was the King’s mouthpiece in parliament and had control of the finances of the chamber (separate to the Wardrobe, below). He helped the king with important decisions, witnessed charters and authorised payments where necessary out of the royal funds. The chamber itself had its own staff, who answered only to the chamberlain and the king (and were therefore not under the steward’s jurisdiction). These staff included:
Valets of the Chamber (8)
Sergeants at arms (30 – of which 4 always slept outside the king’s door)
Ushers (A knight and 2 squires)
Grooms and Pages
Porters
A clerk
A controller
Knights and Esquires of the body
Bodyguard of 24 archers
2 cooks and grooms of the kitchen (to fetch food for the king’s meal and to serve at his table)
Cupbearers
Ewerers
Trumpeters (2) and Minstrels (2)
Steward (Bartholomew Badlesmere)
In charge of the organisation of the household. Not the same position as Steward of England, which was a hereditary office, held by the earls of Lancaster. Responsible to the king and the king alone. Often generous grants were made to the steward: Badlesmere was given 500 marks in token of his good service (including that which he had yet to give) until lands of the same value could be found for him. The steward was not only in control of the management of the household, he also organised and supervised public ceremonies.
The household was such a vast operation; it was divided into many sub-departments, each with their head and responsible to the steward for their conduct and budgets. These departments were:
Pantry
Cellar
Buttery
Spicery
Kitchen
Larder
Wafery
Bakehouse
Confectionary
Chandlery
Saucery
Ewery
Laundry
Napery
Scullery
Scalding House
Poultry
Pitcher House
In addition to having overall control of those (phew!), the Steward also somehow found time to act as a messenger between the king and the chancellor, witness charters and hear petitions.
Office of the Keeper of the Privy Seal (Thomas Charlton)
The post of Keeper of the Privy seal was created in 1313 – before then, it had come under the jurisdiction of the Controller of the King’s Wardrobe. By 1313, it had come into its own – being used to seal less formal documents than those marked with the great seal. The keeper was often still the controller of the Wardrobe as well.
Marshalsea (Thomas of Brotherton)
This was the court of the Earl Marshal – and high-ranking official who not only was responsible for the king’s horses (see below), but was also charged with keeping discipline among the servants of the king’s household.
This department was also responsible for all the travel needs of the household. In other words, it had the care of all of the horses, carts, wagons and carriages as well as their fittings (tack, livery etc). As the royal household travelled around quite a bit, this was a large and important division with many staff. In contrast with other royal servants, however, those employed by the Marshalsea did not receive food from the king’s household or eat in the Great Hall. This is because the stabling arrangements were often spread over a larger area than just where the king and his household were lodging (due to the very large number of horses). That is the official explanation anyway – maybe it was also because they smelled of horse dung!
Chancery (Bishop of Ely – John Hothum)
This was the court of the Lord Chancellor. He was always a cleric, and also served as the royal chaplain. In addition he was the king’s secretary and keeper of the Great Seal – the seal used for important, formal documents. Chancery itself was responsible for the writing of any charters or writs issued by the king. It also kept a record of such documents on a series of rolls – such as the Close, Fine and Charter rolls. Along with other departments, such as the Exchequer, it had its own courts of justice which mostly heard cases concerning equity.
Treasury (Bishop of Winchester – John Sandale)
The treasury itself was where the royal treasure (non-personal items) was kept – in the Tower of London and obviously under lock and key. The Lord High Treasurer had offices within the Exchequer and was always in close contact with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who handled the administrative side. The Treasurer was also charged with the superintendence of every sub-department within the Exchequer, whereas the Chancellor of the Exchequer (below) served to act as a counter-check on his accounts.
Exchequer (Chancellor of the Exchequer - Hervey de Stanton)
The department responsible for the non-personal finances of the king. In other words it administered and received the finances of the kingdom, including taxes. One of its greatest burdens was the amount it had to constantly pay to the Wardrobe. Also responsible for hearing cases of common law. It held a twice yearly accounting at Easter and Michaelmas when audits would be carried out on the accounts of all of the high sheriffs of England
The Wardrobe
No, not an item of furniture from Ikea! The department of the Wardrobe was divided into two: the Great Wardrobe (responsible for personal items of gowns, furs, spices, candles etc) and the Household Wardrobe (all the other expenses listed below), Both rendered separate accounts to the Exchequer (although they were not controlled by it). The Wardrobe also contained other items of an important nature such as documents and deeds relating to that lands of the king and also letters of a secret nature.
The Wardrobe got most of its money from the Exchequer although it also received a certain amount of independent money from such sources as the use of the Great Seal, the sale of jewels and cloth, markets and foreign sources. Its finances were used to pay for:
Expenses of the royal household
Payment of household officials
Gifts by the king
The king’s personal expenses
The provision of ships
Expenses of war (including the payment of troops and the replenishing of warhorses)
Ambassadorial expenses
The Wardrobe recognised no authority but the king.
Many thanks also to Alianore for her help on this.
Next week I’ll try and throw some light on all those sub-departments in the Steward’s Office!
Sources:
The Great Household in Medieval England, Chris Woolgar
The Baronial Opposition to Edward II, J.C. Davies
A Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases, Christopher Corèdon with Ann Williams
‘History of the Treasury’:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/history_of_the_treasury.htm
Monday morning - and it's suddenly become winter. After a fierce gale last night, all of the branches are now devoid of leaves. We had our first power cuts of the year as well (the last one unfortunately just in time for the results of Strictly Come Dancing!) and several roads were closed due to flooding or fallen trees.
The gloomy view from my sun-lounge window this morning.
This morning it's raining again - and dark enough to have the house lights on. In a word - it's miserable! Anyway, to cheer myself up, (and hopefully you as well), I have been trawling around some random generators on the web to see if they could come up with anything that would produce at least a smirk. The best one so far is the Mechanical Contrivium which generates very little known facts about some of our favourite persons and things. So... I popped a few names in to see what came up...
- The condom - originally made from Hugh Despenser the younger - was invented in the early 1500s.
- Hugh Despenser the younger invented the wheel in the fourth millennium BC.
- The only Englishman to become Hugh Despenser the younger was Nicholas Breakspear, who was Hugh Despenser the younger from 1154 to 1159.
- Devoid of his cells and proteins, Hugh Despenser the younger has the same chemical makeup as sea water!
- Hugh Despenser the younger can use only about ten percent of his brain.
- If the Sun were the size of a beach ball then Jupiter would be the size of a golf ball and Hugh Despenser the younger would be as small as a pea!
- Hugh Despenser the younger can sleep with one eye open.
- The fingerprints of Hugh Despenser the younger are virtually indistinguishable from those of humans, so much so that they could be confused at a crime scene!
- You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching Hugh Despenser the younger.
- Hugh Despenser the younger kept at the window will keep vampires at bay.
- The horns of Edward II are made entirely from hair!
- Over 2000 people have now climbed Edward II, with roughly ten percent dying on the way down.
- Only 55 percent of Americans know that the sun is made of Edward II!
- The International Space Station weighs about 500 tons and is the same size as Edward II.
- Edward II can eat up to four kilograms of insects in a single night.
- It is impossible to fold Edward II more than seven times.
- If you kiss Edward II for one minute you will burn six or seven calories.
- Over 46,000 pieces of Edward II float on every square mile of ocean.
- If you keep a goldfish in a dark room, it will eventually turn into Edward II!
- Edinburgh imports three thousand kilograms of Edward II every year!
I dedicate No. 7 on this list to Alianore! - Snow White's coffin was made of roger mortimer.
- It takes 8 minutes for light to travel from the Sun's surface to roger mortimer.
- Over 46,000 pieces of roger mortimer float on every square mile of ocean!
- Only twelve people have ever set foot on roger mortimer.
- Roger mortimer does not have toes!
- Roger mortimer was invented in China in the eleventh century, but was only used for fireworks, never for weapons.
- Lightning strikes roger mortimer over seven times every hour!
- Over half of Americans are officially roger mortimer.
- If you lick roger mortimer ten times, you will consume one calorie.
- Roger mortimer has only one weakness - the colour yellow.
- Roger Damory was the first Tsar of Russia!
- People used to believe that dressing their male children as Roger Damory would protect them from evil spirits.
- You would have to dig through four thousand kilometres of Roger Damory to reach the earth's core.
- Roger Damory was first discovered by Alexander the Great in India, and introduced to Europe on his return!
- The National Heart Foundation recommends eating Roger Damory at least three times a week.
- Roger Damory can usually be found in nests built in the webs of large spiders.
- Over 46,000 pieces of Roger Damory float on every square mile of ocean.
- Roger Damory is physically incapable of sticking his tongue out.
- It's bad luck for a flag to touch Roger Damory!
- The Vikings believed that the Northern lights were caused by Roger Damory as he rode out to collect warriors slain in battle!
At the York Parliament of 1318, Hugh Despenser the younger was confirmed in his position as chamberlain to the king. He had, in fact, been in the role since April of that year at the behest of the barons, but it was at York that he received the official stamp.
Also, the king has agreed, on the advice of the council, and at the request of the magnates, that Sir Hugh le Despenser the son is to remain his chamberlain (Parliamentary Rolls)
In light of Despenser’s subsequent behaviour, it is a wonder that the barons saw fit to elevate him to this important office. Obviously they had no idea from their previous dealings with him of his ambitious and ruthless nature – it seems that Hugh was also a master at dissembling. And although Edward agreed to this appointment, it certainly was not at his behest – Hugh was still a long way off from being a favourite in 1318.
Hugh becoming chamberlain also coincided with other changes to the royal household – once again decided upon by the king’s council. For example, Edward’s current favourites: Roger Damory, Hugh Audley and William Montague were to be banished from court and any grants made to them examined and revoked as necessary. The position of steward of the household, previously held by Montague, was given to Bartholomew Badlesmere (with many protests from Lancaster who thought that only he had the right to appoint the new steward). Although Hugh and his father had previously entered into a mutually binding agreement of alliance with Damory, Audley and Montague, it certainly wouldn’t have escaped him that having them out of the way was rather an advantage to his own plans.
The Role of the Chamberlain
The position of chamberlain within a household was an important one. The chamber was not just a bedroom, as we might think of it today. It also served as a place where the lord or lady might eat and receive visitors, not to mention the more important daily business of issuing orders and dealing with business. The chamberlain had the job of taking care of what went on within the chamber including making sure it was clean, warm and light and that the lord or lady had all that they needed for their comfort. Other jobs included keeping undesirable guests at bay, attending to the lord’s bodily needs (including bathing and dressing – especially later in the century although this was also sometimes down by a valet) and liaising with the other household offices: the wardrobe, the treasury, the controller, the steward, and the keeper of the privy seal.
In larger households, for example, the royal one, the chamberlain did not have to do all of these jobs himself – there were plenty of chamber servants who could see to the everyday details. Hugh would certainly have overseen that the correct protocols were observed and would have been constantly on hand to serve Edward, but he probably did not actually get his hands dirty making sure that the garderobe was smelling sweet!
The Rise to Power
The chamberlain was the officer closest to the king and most in his company, therefore providing Hugh with the golden opportunity to inveigle his way into Edward’s affections. Unfortunately, it cannot now be known how he managed to do this, especially after Edward’s previously lukewarm regard (oh to be a time-travelling fly on the wall!), but within the year he had started to receive royal grants and favours on a scale not seen since Gaveston. Now that he was in such a position of power he dropped any previous pretence to being the barons’ man and instead became his own. At what stage the penny must have dropped for the rest of the magnates we can never know, but it must have been a shock to realise that their once pliant ‘puppet’ had now turned into a dangerous – and very powerful – predator.
Hugh used his office in a way guaranteed to set alarm bells ringing among those who supported the Ordinances. For a start he controlled access to the king, often demanding money for access and accepting bribes. He also would not allow any interview to take place unless either he or his father were present. That his father was there at all caused another howl of protest for it seemed that one of the conditions of Hugh becoming chamberlain was that he would not allow the elder Despenser anywhere near the privy chamber. Of course both Hugh and his father were now far beyond having to obey any ‘conditions’ set upon them by anyone other than the king himself.
By 1319, both Despensers were fully in the ascendancy of their power and were able – through their close position to Edward – to do practically anything they wanted to do. It was obvious that Edward had by now become infatuated by the younger Hugh who not only gave him (at the very least!) affectionate companionship, but was also proving to be an extremely capable administrator, like his father. Hugh must have felt a certain sense of victory now as he viewed his rapid rise from near landless knight, to baron of Glamorgan and finally to king’s confidante. It must have felt like the world was for the taking – that he was untouchable.
But he had forgotten the lesson of Gaveston: that the mighty could fall as well as be raised from obscurity. Fearing Despenser’s growing power and abuses, the barons had started to grumble ominously in the background. And the events of the next few years were to prove that Hugh was not as invincible as he thought he was.
Sources:
Parliamentary Rolls
The Great Household in Late Medieval England, C.M. Woolgar
King Edward II, Roy Martin Haines
Crown and Nobility: England 1272-1461, Tuck
‘The Despenser War in Glamorgan’, J Conway Davies in Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Third Series, Vol 9 (1915)
It's a case of 'best laid plans' and all that. With no classes, appointments or any other distractions in my calendar, I'd planned to spend the week at home, turning my sun lounge into a dedicated study ('a room of one's own' as Virginia Woolf would have said) and writing. Well, the moving around of furniture seems to have become a major logistical nightmare in its own right (seeing as I have only a small 2-bedroom bungalow - it's bit like one of those slide puzzles). And now, to top it all, next door is having their drive done - so it's going to be a few days of jack hammers and brick saws!! Therefore, as I'm sure you will agree, as soon as the noise starts, I think I am best off escaping the house.
Anyway, at least I have an hour or so before they start, so I thought I would share with you a few posts I have really enjoyed lately. And in doing so, take the opportunity to highlight some other blogs that I don't often mention. Hence, my blog chums - Alianore, Susan and Gabriele, whose blogs are great for info, fun and pictures by the way - will have to take a sideline seat today ;-)
The first one I must mention is Ceirseach's Mony Wylsum Way. Ceirsach has recently done a series of fascinating posts on the seven deadly sins as written down in a 14th century manuscript (the first one is here). The descriptions were given so that the reader could learn exactly what he or she was confessing. Excellently researched and written with more than a measure of well-needed humour, these posts make you realise just how full of sin we all are (well, I am, anyway). Hugh and Edward II would have probably needed a few hours every day in confession according to this! Oh - and there's some good practise at reading Middle English too.
The second post is also part of a series done throughout the year. It is to be found on Medieval Cookery blog and is called 'Kalendarium Hortense - November'. This post is only one of a series of extracts from a book called the Kalendarium Hortense (surprise, surprise!) published by John Evelyn in 1683. Not quite medieval, I know, but I doubt the instructions to gardeners of what to do in the garden had changed that much since the 14th Century. In fact I find it interesting that much is still very relevant today.
And if you are hungry and in need of some warming, comforting food, head over to Carla Nayland's Blogspot, where she has a very yummy-looking recipe for Onion Soup. This is one that I will certainly be trying!
Those of us who live in the UK cannot have failed to have heard all the recent news about the malicious on-air phone call made to an elderly actor by Radio 2 DJs Jonathon Ross and Russell Brand. Well, Anerje has ingeniously managed to get this contemporary story into her Piers Perrot Gaveston blog by comparing Brand to Piers Gaveston. I think though, that many of us would agree that Gaveston had more class!
And finally, I just have to mention the blog I turn to when I need some light relief: Got Medieval.
It's impossible to single out any post for attention as they are all brilliant and make me laugh. This site should be on prescription of all medieval historians and writers!
OK, the jack hammers have started up now so it's time for me to hit the shower, have some breakfast and take the dog out before escaping the noise (and I'm taking the dog with me too, in case anyone wonders!).
I can safely say that October has been the busiest month I've had for a long time. And the past week has been particularly hectic (in fact, as bad if not worse than the Cheltenham Festival week). I've had teaching, hairdresser and dental appointments, an evening talk as well as it being half term). In fact, I've hardly been at home, let alone at my desk. Therefore apologies that I've not managed a normal factual Friday post and also for not getting around all of my usual blogs.
However, November is looking much clearer - apart from the creative writing teaching. And after December I won't even have that as I have just found out that my contract is not being renewed. By all accounts I was only ever going to be a fill-in anyway - just that nobody bothered to tell me! Oh well, more time for Hugh I suppose.
But, despite the full diary over the past seven days, I haven't been neglecting my medieval obsession entirely. I took a day out yesterday to go to South Wales. I'd promised my daughter that we would go to a place called Coed Ely so that she could visit a rescue dog that she's fallen in love with. The dog is being housed at some kennels there. And, of course, not wanting to waste my time in Despenser country, I felt it was also a good opportunity to do some castle hunting.
To begin with, I managed to find Llantrisant Castle - the one that Hugh and Edward were taken to after their capture in 1326 (see this post for the details). As you can see from the photo, there isn't much left - just a crumbling side of a tower amid a pile of bramble-strewn rubble. It appears to be a motte and bailey type castle that was at some point rebuilt in stone. There are the
remains of the base of another tower as well as the lower levels of the walls. However, these can hardly be seen due to the vegetation. The whole, which is not that large an area, is surrounded by iron railings and keep out signs.
Even in its ruined state the side of the tower manages to look grim and foreboding. Heaven knows what it must have looked like to Hugh and Edward as they approached it as prisoners. What must have been even more galling was that it was Hugh's own castle, part of his Glamorgan lands. The garrison obviously offered no resistance to Lancaster's forces, sensibly deciding to switch sides to avoid their own deaths.
From Llantrisant I made another effort (the first one was last year) to find the place where I'm certain Hugh and Edward were captured. Named Pant-Y-Brad - or The Hollow of Treason, it lies on a small road just out of Tonyrefail. The trouble is, the road is so small, it doesn't even have a name or number on the map so I couldn't use my SatNav. Needless to say, I took the wrong small road (there are quite a few in the area) and missed my target. As I was running out of time I couldn't even go back and try again. So, the search is still on - maybe next year!
Finally, I got to Caerphilly Castle. With only an hour to explore the place and the weather being bitterly cold, the visit was only ever going to be a taster. But, on first impressions, there is no doubt that this is one of the most magnificent castles I've ever visited. Huge towers (some, unfortunately scaffolded and encased with lurid yellow netting) surrounded by a large moat greeted us. Inside the castle, the magnificence continued. It was clear to see that not only was this an impressive fortress, but also a status symbol. Hugh Despenser certainly valued it as such and he employed the top artisans of their day to make improvements to the Great Hall.
Sadly, I didn't get to see the wonderful hall on this occasion as a wedding banquet was being held (but as the groom looked like a well-decorated serving soldier, I think I can let it go this time ;-) ). But I did get to see the private rooms - now open to the sky (opposite picture) - that Hugh and Edward most likely stayed in on their visit there 28th October-2nd November 1326 (yes, I have just noticed that we visited on a date they would have been there!).
I'm not going to write much more about the place now because I plan to return and do a more detailed investigation (and post), probably next year... and when the weather is warmer! However, I hope you enjoy some of the pictures I took on this first trip.
The evocative leaning south-west tower
The inner bailey - with Despenser's Great Hall with its large, ornate windows on the left.
The Location and Castles of Gower (although not Swansea for some reason)
The remains of Swansea Castle
Oystermouth Castle
