![Beauchamp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Beauchamp.svg)
Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick (c. 127212 August 1315) was an English
magnate
The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...
, and one of the principal opponents of King
Edward II
Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...
and his favourite,
Piers Gaveston
Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall (c. 1284 – 19 June 1312) was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the favourite of Edward II of England.
At a young age, Gaveston made a good impression on King Edward I, who assigned him to the househo ...
. Guy was the son of
William de Beauchamp, the first Beauchamp
earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the United Kingdom. The title has been created four times in English history, and the name refers to Warwick Castle and the town of Warwick.
Overview
The first creation c ...
, and succeeded his father in 1298. He distinguished himself at the
Battle of Falkirk
The Battle of Falkirk (''Blàr na h-Eaglaise Brice'' in Gaelic), on 22 July 1298, was one of the major battles in the First War of Scottish Independence. Led by King Edward I of England, the English army defeated the Scots, led by William Wal ...
and subsequently, as a capable servant of the crown under King
Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...
. After the succession of Edward II in 1307, however, he soon fell out with the new king and the king's favourite,
Piers Gaveston
Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall (c. 1284 – 19 June 1312) was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the favourite of Edward II of England.
At a young age, Gaveston made a good impression on King Edward I, who assigned him to the househo ...
. Warwick was one of the main architects behind the
Ordinances of 1311
The Ordinances of 1311 were a series of regulations imposed upon King Edward II by the peerage and clergy of the Kingdom of England to restrict the power of the English monarch. The twenty-one signatories of the Ordinances are referred to as the Lo ...
, that limited the powers of the king and banished Gaveston into exile.
When Gaveston returned to England in 1312—contrary to the rulings of the Ordinances—he was taken into custody by
Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (c. 127523 June 1324) was an Anglo-French nobleman. Though primarily active in England, he also had strong connections with the French royal house. One of the wealthiest and most powerful men of his age, ...
. Warwick abducted Gaveston and, together with
Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster
Thomas of Lancaster, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, 2nd Earl of Leicester, 2nd Earl of Derby, ''jure uxoris'' 4th Earl of Lincoln and ''jure uxoris'' 5th Earl of Salisbury (c. 1278 – 22 March 1322) was an English nobleman. A member of the House of Pl ...
, had him executed. The act garnered sympathy and support for the king, but Warwick and Lancaster nevertheless managed to negotiate a royal pardon for their actions. After the disastrous defeat at the
Battle of Bannockburn
The Battle of Bannockburn ( gd, Blàr Allt nam Bànag or ) fought on June 23–24, 1314, was a victory of the army of King of Scots Robert the Bruce over the army of King Edward II of England in the First War of Scottish Independence. It was ...
in 1314, King Edward's authority was once more weakened, and the rebellious barons took over control of government. For Warwick the triumph was brief; he died the next year.
Guy de Beauchamp is today remembered primarily for his part in the killing of Gaveston, but by his contemporaries he was considered a man of exceptionally good judgement and learning. He owned what was for his time a large collection of books, and his advice was often sought by many of the other earls. Next to Lancaster, he was the wealthiest peer in the nation, and after his death his lands and title were inherited by his son,
Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick
Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick, KG (c. 14 February 131313 November 1369), sometimes styled as Lord Warwick, was an English nobleman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War. His reputation as a military leader was so for ...
.
Family background
![Guy2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Guy2.jpg)
Guy de Beauchamp was the first son and heir of
William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick
{{Infobox noble
, name = William de Beauchamp
, title = 9th Earl of Warwick
, image =Beauchamp.svg
, caption =Arms of Beauchamp: ''Gules, a fesse between six cross crosslets or''
, alt ...
, (c. 12381298). His mother was
Maud FitzJohn
Maud FitzJohn, Countess of Warwick (c. 1238 – 16/18 April 1301) was an English noblewoman and the eldest daughter of John FitzGeoffrey, Lord of Shere. Her second husband was William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick, a celebrated soldier. ...
, daughter of
John Fitzgeoffrey, who was
Justiciar of Ireland
The chief governor was the senior official in the Dublin Castle administration, which maintained English and British rule in Ireland from the 1170s to 1922. The chief governor was the viceroy of the English monarch (and later the British monarch) ...
and a member of the council of fifteen that imposed the
Provisions of Oxford
The Provisions of Oxford were constitutional reforms developed during the Oxford Parliament of 1258 to resolve a dispute between King Henry III of England and his barons. The reforms were designed to ensure the king adhered to the rule of law and ...
on King
Henry III. William was the nephew of
William Maudit, 8th Earl of Warwick
William Mauduit, 8th Earl of Warwick or William Maudit (c. 1221 – 8 January 1268) was an English nobleman and participant in the Second Barons' War.
He was the son of Lady Alice de Newburgh (daughter of 4th Earl of Warwick from his second wife, ...
, and when his uncle died without issue in 1268, he became the first Beauchamp
earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the United Kingdom. The title has been created four times in English history, and the name refers to Warwick Castle and the town of Warwick.
Overview
The first creation c ...
.
In 1271 or 1272 his first son was born, and in reference to the new family title, William named his son after the legendary hero
Guy of Warwick
Guy of Warwick, or Gui de Warewic, is a legendary English hero of Romance popular in England and France from the 13th to 17th centuries. The story of Sir Guy is considered by scholars to be part of the Matter of England.''Boundaries in medieval r ...
.
William de Beauchamp was a capable military commander, who played an important part in the Welsh and Scottish wars of King
Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...
.
A marriage between Guy and Isabel de Clare, daughter of
Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford
Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, 7th Earl of Gloucester (2 September 1243 – 7 December 1295) was a powerful English noble. He was also known as "Red" Gilbert de Clare or "The Red Earl", probably because of his hair colour or fiery temp ...
, was contemplated, or possibly even took place and then annulled.
It was not until early 1309 that Guy married
Alice de Toeni
Alice de Toeni, Countess of Warwick (c. 1284 – bef. 8 January 1325) was a wealthy English heiress and the second wife of Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick, an English nobleman in the reign of kings Edward I and Edward II. He was one of th ...
, a wealthy
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
heiress. By this time Guy had already succeeded as Earl of Warwick, after his father's death in 1298.
By his wife, Alice, Guy had two daughters and two sons—Thomas, his heir and successor, and
John de Beauchamp John Beauchamp or John de Beauchamp may refer to:
* John de Beauchamp (MP for New Shoreham) ( 1330s), English politician
* John Beauchamp (MP for New Shoreham) (fl. 1330s–1340s), may well be the same person as the one above
* John de Beauchamp of ...
, Lord Beauchamp KG (13152 December 1360), who carried the
royal standard
In heraldry and vexillology, a heraldic flag is a flag containing coats of arms, heraldic badges, or other devices used for personal identification.
Heraldic flags include banners, standards, pennons and their variants, gonfalons, guidons, an ...
at the
Battle of Crécy
The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 in northern France between a French army commanded by King PhilipVI and an English army led by King EdwardIII. The French attacked the English while they were traversing northern France du ...
.
*Maud de Beauchamp (died 1366), married before Easter term 1332 Geoffrey de Say, 2nd Lord Say, by whom she had issue. The
Barons Saye and Sele are their descendants.
*Elizabeth de Beauchamp (c. 13161359), married before Easter term 1332
Thomas Astley, 3rd Lord Astley, by whom she had two sons, William Astley, 4th Lord Astley and Sir Thomas Astley, ancestor of the
Astleys of Patshull and of Everley.
By an unknown mistress (or mistresses), Earl Guy also had three daughters:
*Isabel de Beauchamp; married John de Clinton.
*Emma de Beauchamp; married Roland de Oddingseles.
*Lucia de Beauchamp (also known as Lucy); married Robert de Napton, Knt., the son of Sir Adam Napton. Lucia and Sir Robert had a son Adam Napton, who married Margaret Helier
Service to Edward I
Edward I knighted Guy de Beauchamp at Easter 1296.
[Cokayne (1910–59), xii, pp. 370–2.] Warwick's career of public service started with the
Falkirk campaign in 1298.
Here he distinguished himself, and received a reward of Scottish lands worth 1,000
marks
Marks may refer to:
Business
* Mark's, a Canadian retail chain
* Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain
* Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members
* Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel ...
a year.
[Maddicott (1970), p. 69.] At this point his father was already dead, but it was not until 5 September that Guy did homage to the king for his lands, and became Earl of Warwick
and hereditary
High Sheriff of Worcestershire
This is a list of sheriffs and since 1998 high sheriffs of Worcestershire.
The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of t ...
for life. He continued in the king's service in Scotland and elsewhere. In 1299 he was present at the king's wedding to
Margaret of France at Canterbury, and in 1300 he took part in the Siege of
Caerlaverock Castle
Caerlaverock Castle is a moated triangular castle first built in the 13th century. It is located on the southern coast of Scotland, south of Dumfries, on the edge of the Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve. Caerlaverock was a stronghold of th ...
.
The next year he was a signatory to a letter to the Pope, rejecting Rome's authority over the
Scottish question, and also participated in negotiations with the French over the release of the Scottish king
John Balliol
John Balliol ( – late 1314), known derisively as ''Toom Tabard'' (meaning "empty coat" – coat of arms), was King of Scots from 1292 to 1296. Little is known of his early life. After the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, Scotland entered an ...
.
He was present at the
Siege of Stirling in 1304, serving under
Edward
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
, the
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
.
In March 1307 he made preparations to accompany Prince Edward to France, but this journey never took place.
Early in 1307, Edward I made his last grant to Warwick, when he gave him John Balliol's forfeited lordship of
Barnard Castle
Barnard Castle (, ) is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, Northern England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum's has an 18th-century Silver Swan automato ...
in
County Durham
County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly About North East E ...
.
On 7 July that year, near
Burgh by Sands
Burgh by Sands () is a village and civil parish in the City of Carlisle district of Cumbria, England, situated near the Solway Firth. The parish includes the village of Burgh by Sands along with Longburgh, Dykesfield, Boustead Hill, Moorhouse ...
in
Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
, Warwick was present when King Edward died. Together with
Thomas, Earl of Lancaster
Thomas of Lancaster, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, 2nd Earl of Leicester, 2nd Earl of Derby, ''jure uxoris'' 4th Earl of Lincoln and ''jure uxoris'' 5th Earl of Salisbury (c. 1278 – 22 March 1322) was an English nobleman. A member of the House of Pl ...
, and
Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln
Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln (c. 1251February 1311), Baron of Pontefract, Lord of Bowland, Baron of Halton and hereditary Constable of Chester, was an English nobleman and confidant of King Edward I. He served Edward in Wales, France, and S ...
, he carried the ceremonial swords at the coronation of King
Edward II
Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...
on 25 February 1308.
Conflict with Edward II
Before his death, the old king had exiled Prince Edward's favourite
Piers Gaveston
Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall (c. 1284 – 19 June 1312) was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the favourite of Edward II of England.
At a young age, Gaveston made a good impression on King Edward I, who assigned him to the househo ...
, and Warwick was among those charged with preventing Gaveston's return. The new king, however, not only recalled his favourite, but soon also gave him the title of
earl of Cornwall
The title of Earl of Cornwall was created several times in the Peerage of England before 1337, when it was superseded by the title Duke of Cornwall, which became attached to heirs-apparent to the throne.
Condor of Cornwall
*Condor of Cornwall, ...
. Warwick was the only one of the leading earls who did not seal the charter, and from the start took on an antagonistic attitude to Edward II.
Gaveston was a relative upstart in the English aristocracy, and made himself unpopular among the established nobility by his arrogance and his undue influence on the king. He gave mocking nicknames to the leading men of the realm, and called Warwick the "Black Dog of Arden".
![Seal of Edward II](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Seal_of_Edward_II.jpg)
Gaveston was once more forced into exile, but Edward recalled him in less than a year. The king had spent the intervening time gathering support, and at the time, the only one to resist the return of Gaveston was Warwick. With time, however, opposition to the king grew. Another source of contention was Edward abandoning his father's Scottish campaigns, a policy that opened the
Border
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
region up to devastating raids from the Scots. This affected Warwick greatly, with his extensive landed interest in the north. Tensions grew to the point where the king in 1310 had to ban Warwick and others from arriving at parliament in arms.
They still did, and at the parliament of March 1310, the king was forced to accept the appointment of a commission to draft a set of
ordinances towards reform of the royal government.
The leaders of these so-called Lords Ordainers were
Robert Winchelsey
Robert Winchelsey (or Winchelsea; c. 1245 – 11 May 1313) was an English Catholic theologian and Archbishop of Canterbury. He studied at the universities of Paris and Oxford, and later taught at both. Influenced by Thomas Aquinas, he was a sc ...
,
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
, on the side of the clergy, and Warwick, Lincoln and Lancaster among the earls.
[McKisack (1959), p. 10.] Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, was the most experienced of the earls, and took on a modifying role in the group. Thomas of Lancaster, who was Lincoln's son-in-law and heir, was the king's cousin and the wealthiest nobleman in the realm, but at this point he took a less active part in the reform movement. Warwick is described by some sources as the leader of the Ordainers; he was certainly the most aggressive.
The set of Ordinances they drafted put heavy restrictions on the king's financial freedom, and his right to appoint his own ministers. It also—once more—ordered Gaveston to be exiled, to return only at the risk of
excommunication
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
.
Gaveston's death
Gaveston's third and final exile was of even shorter duration, and after two months, he was reunited with King Edward II in England. Archbishop Winchelsey responded by excommunicating Gaveston, as the Ordinances had stipulated. Lancaster, who had by this time succeeded his father-in-law Lincoln, had taken over leadership of the baronial opposition. While the King departed for
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
, a number of the barons set out in pursuit of Gaveston. Gaveston ensconced himself at
Scarborough Castle
Scarborough Castle is a former medieval Royal fortress situated on a rocky promontory overlooking the North Sea and Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. The site of the castle, encompassing the Iron Age settlement, Roman signal station, an Ang ...
, and on 19 May 1312, agreed on a surrender to
Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, as long as his security would be guaranteed.
Pembroke lodged his prisoner in
Deddington
Deddington is a civil parish and small town in Oxfordshire about south of Banbury. The parish includes two hamlets: Clifton and Hempton. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,146. Deddington is a small settlement but has a c ...
in
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
. On 10 June, while Pembroke was away, Warwick forcibly carried away Gaveston to
Warwick Castle
Warwick Castle is a medieval castle developed from a wooden fort, originally built by William the Conqueror during 1068. Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England, situated on a meander of the River Avon. The original wooden motte-an ...
. Here, in the presence of Warwick, Lancaster and other magnates, Gaveston was sentenced to death at an improvised court. On 19 June he was taken to a place called Blacklow Hill—on Lancaster's lands—and decapitated. According to the ''
Annales Londonienses
Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts.
List of works with titles contai ...
'' chronicle, four shoemakers brought the corpse back to Warwick, but he refused to accept it, and ordered them to take it back to where they found it.
[Hamilton (1988), p. 99.] Gaveston's body was eventually taken to Oxford by some Dominican friars, and in 1315, King Edward finally had it buried at
Kings Langley
Kings Langley is a village, former Manorialism, manor and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, north-west of Westminster in the historic centre of London and to the south of the Chiltern Hills. It now forms part o ...
.
The brutality and questionable legality of the earls' actions helped win political sympathy for the king. Pembroke was particularly offended, as he had been made to break his promise of safety to Gaveston, and his chivalric honour had been damaged. From this point on Pembroke sided firmly with King Edward in the political conflict. The king himself swore vengeance on his enemies, but found himself unable to move against them immediately, partly because they were in possession of a number of highly valuable royal jewels taken from Gaveston. A settlement was reached in October, whereby the rebellious barons and their
retainers
Retainer may refer to:
* Retainer (orthodontics), devices for teeth
* RFA ''Retainer'' (A329), a ship
* Retainers in early China, a social group in early China
Employment
* Retainer agreement, a contract in which an employer pays in advance for ...
received a pardon. The king nevertheless emerged strengthened from the events, while Warwick and Lancaster were largely marginalised. This all changed in 1314, when the king decided to stage his first major campaign against the Scots. Warwick and Lancaster refused to participate and the campaign ended in a humiliating English defeat at the
Battle of Bannockburn
The Battle of Bannockburn ( gd, Blàr Allt nam Bànag or ) fought on June 23–24, 1314, was a victory of the army of King of Scots Robert the Bruce over the army of King Edward II of England in the First War of Scottish Independence. It was ...
on 24 June. This led to another political reversal and Edward was forced to reconfirm the Ordinances, and submit to the leadership of the rebellious barons.
Death and historical assessment
![Beauchamp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Beauchamp.svg)
In mid-July Warwick had to withdraw from government to his estates on account of illness. When he died on 12 August 1315, political leadership was soon left almost entirely to Lancaster. The chronicler
Thomas Walsingham reported rumours that the king had had Warwick poisoned. He was buried at
Bordesley Abbey
Bordesley Abbey was a 12th-century Cistercian abbey near the town of Redditch, in Worcestershire, England.
The abbey's foundation was an act of Waleran de Beaumont, Count of Meulan, who gave the monks of Garendon Abbey in Leicestershire some ...
in
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...
, an establishment to which his family had been benefactors.
In value, his possessions were second only to those of the earl of Lancaster among the nobility of England.
His lands, though primarily centred on
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
and
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...
, were spread over nineteen counties as well as Scotland and the
Welsh Marches
The Welsh Marches ( cy, Y Mers) is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods.
The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ...
.
His heir was his eldest son, whom he had named Thomas after the earl of Lancaster.
Thomas, born probably on 14 February 1314, did not succeed to his father's title until 1326, as
Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick
Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick, KG (c. 14 February 131313 November 1369), sometimes styled as Lord Warwick, was an English nobleman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War. His reputation as a military leader was so for ...
.
In the meanwhile Warwick's possessions went into the hands of the king, who donated Warwick's hunting dogs to the earl of Pembroke. A younger son, named John, also became a peer, as
John de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Beauchamp. Like his elder brother, he distinguished himself in the
French wars
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...
, and was a founding member of the
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...
.
Guy de Beauchamp is probably best remembered for his opposition to King Edward II, and for his part in the death of Gaveston.
To contemporaries, however, he was considered a man of considerable learning and wisdom. His library, of which he donated 42 books to Bordesley Abbey during his lifetime, was extensive. It contained several
saints' lives
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...
as well as
romances about
Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
and
King Arthur
King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
.
As mentioned, Edward I entrusted the supervision of his son to Warwick. Likewise, when the earl of Lincoln died in 1311, he supposedly instructed his son-in-law Thomas of Lancaster to heed the advice of Warwick, "the wisest of the peers".
[Maddicott (1970), p. 115.] Chronicles also praised Warwick's wisdom; the ''
Vita Edwardi Secundi'' says that "Other earls did many things only after taking his opinion: in wisdom and council he had no peer".
Later historians have reflected this view; in the 19th century,
William Stubbs
William Stubbs (21 June 182522 April 1901) was an English historian and Anglican bishop. He was Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford between 1866 and 1884. He was Bishop of Chester from 1884 to 1889 and Bishop of O ...
called Warwick "a discriminating and highly literate man, the wisdom of whom shone forth through the whole kingdom".
He was politically and economically well connected by traditional ties of kinship and marriage.
Warwick's death came at an inconvenient time and Thomas of Lancaster proved unequal to the task of governing the nation, so that further years of conflict and instability followed. Nevertheless, the problems of Edward II's reign were deep, and in the words of
Michael Hicks: "one must doubt whether even Warwick could have brought unity as one chronicler supposed".
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warwick, Guy De Beauchamp, 10th Earl Of
1270s births
1315 deaths
13th-century English nobility
14th-century English nobility
Beauchamp
High Sheriffs of Worcestershire
Guy