Biography of Hugh "Younger" Despencer 1st Baron Despencer 1286-1326

Chronicle of Geoffrey the Baker of Swynebroke. [September 1324] Those of Hereford he hated, having been deprived of his temporal possessions; those of Lincoln, Henry de Burghesh¹, although honoured with a bishop's mitre through royal promotion, nevertheless, due to the same guilt as the aforementioned Adam, knowing himself to be guilty, greatly feared and consequently hated them as well. On the other hand, all the knights and bishops who were friends of these men were burdened with sick hearts and prone to rage, held back only by reverence for the king's peace. To make matters worse, they provoked against themselves the furious wrath of the queen², a most violent and womanly wrath, because, due to the greedy counsel and arrangement of those men, the royal consort's household had been diminished, and fixed incomes had been assigned to her with strict limitation, forcing her to live on a more meager allowance than she was accustomed to. Thus, the insatiable feminine greed, frustrated in its desires—or perhaps the extravagant nature of womanhood, which that sex is ever wont to indulge—being denied its usual outlet, flared up not only against the Dispensers, but even against her husband, whom she accused of following their counsel more than hers.

Illos Herefordensis suis temporalibus privatus odiebat; illos Lincolniensis Henricus de Borewasch¹, quamquam regis promocione decoratus infula, tamen consimili culpa qua supradictus Adam sciens se noxium, valde metuebat et per consequens odiebat. Contra universi militum et episcoporum istorum amici habuerunt animos egro dolore sarcinatos et in furiam proclivos, et sola reverencia regie pacis manus continentes. Ad hoc contra seipsos in universum nefas rapidissimam iram femineam regine concitabant, eo quod, illorum avaro consilio et ordinacione familia consortis regie minorata, sibi certi reditus cum precisione fuerant taxati, parciori annona quam solebat victure. Unde avaricia insaciabilis feminina concupitis frustrata, aut certe prodigalitas muliebris artata, quarum alteri solet semper ille sexus indulgere, non solum contra Dispensatores, set et contra maritum, plus illos quam illam consiliis imitatum, exarsit in iras.

Note 1. Henry Burghersh (age 32), nephew of Bartholomew de Badlesmere, had been forced by Edward into the see of Lincoln when only in his twenty-ninth year and thus under the canonical age. The papal bull of appointment is dated 27th May 1320 (Fœdera, ii. 425). Previously the king had asked the pope to promote him to Winchester, 2nd November, 1319 (Fœdera, ii. 425). In spite of these favours he had joined in the rebellion of 1322. See Stubbs, Const. Hist., ii. 386. He was treasurer in 1327, and chancellor in 1328-1330. He died at Ghent in 1340.

Note 2. On the 18th of September 1324 the king took into his own hands the queen's estates, on the threat of a French invasion. Fœdera, ii. 569.

The Chronicle of Lanercost, 254: "But the queen had a secret motive for desiring to cross over to France; for Hugh Despenser the Younger (age 38), the King's agent in all matters of business, was exerting himself at the Pope's court to procure divorce between the King of England and the queen, and in furtherance of this business there went to the court a certain man of religion, acting irreligiously, by name Thomas de Dunheved, with an appointed colleague, and a certain secular priest named Master Robert de Baldock. These men had even instigated the king to resume possession of the lands and rents which he had formerly bestowed upon the queen, and they allowed her only twenty shillings a day for herself and her whole court, and they took away from her her officers and body servants, so that the wife of the said Sir Hugh was appointed, as it were, guardian to the queen, and carried her seal; nor could the queen write to anybody without her knowledge; whereat my lady the queen was equally indignant and distressed, and therefore wished to visit her brother in France to seek for a remedy."

Chronicle of Geoffrey the Baker of Swynebroke. [16th November 1326] The king¹, by the authority of the Bishop of Hereford, was entrusted to the custody of the Earl of Leicester, and brought to Kenilworth Castle², where he remained throughout the winter, in fairly honourable company and treated as a captive king ought to be.

Captis igitur rege, Hugone predicto comite Gloucestrie, magistro Roberto de Baldok, et Simone de Redynge, aliis sine cura fuge dimissis, custodie comitis Leicestrie rex autoritate concilii episcopi Herefordensis commendatus, ad castrum de Kenelworthe est adductus, ubi per totam hyemem in satis honesta mansit comitiva, nec aliter quam oportuit regem captivum custoditus.

Note 1. Edward was taken on the 16th November [1326]. Annales Paulini, 319: "And on the same day, Lord King Edward, while fleeing into Wales, was captured by the Welsh and taken to the castle of Llantrisant near Neath in Wales. Lord Hugh Despenser the Younger (age 40) was captured nearby in a certain wood, along with Master Robert de Baldock, the king's chancellor; Lord Thomas Wyther; John de Beck, knight; John le Blunt; John le Smale; Richard Holdene; Simon de Reading; and many others. All of them were taken to Hereford."

Scriptores X, 2766: Orleton in his apology, answering the charge that his sermon at Oxford had caused the people to seize and imprison the king, declares that it is notorious that Edward, on the capture of the younger Despenser, gave himself up to the earl of Lancaster: "It is manifestly false and maliciously alleged; for it is public and well known that the said lord king, after the capture of the said Hugh Despenser, who had held the king in captivity, came of his own free will to the lord Earl of Lancaster, his cousin, who received him honourably and accompanied him to his castle of Kenilworth. There, in the company of the said earl, during my departure from England on my way to the Roman Curia on behalf of the present lord king and the affairs of his kingdom, the said lord king, his father, was known to have remained safe and unharmed."

Note 2. Murimuth, 49: "Thus, with the help of the Welsh, on whom the king and his followers had placed their trust, they captured the king, Lord Hugh Despenser the Younger, Robert de Baldock, and Simon de Reading, not without the intervention of money, and showed no concern for the other members of the king's household. They handed the king over to the custody of the Earl of Lancaster, his cousin, who led him through Monmouth, Ledbury, and other places to his own castle at Kenilworth, where the king remained throughout the winter. Lord Hugh Despenser the Younger, Robert de Baldock, and Simon de Reading were taken to the queen, who was then at Hereford."

Edward was at Hereford on the 20th November, when he gave up the great seal, at Ledbury for some days at the end of November and beginning of December, and at Kenilworth on the 5th December. Fœdera, ii. 646, 647; Par!. Writs, ii. 350.

Chronicle of Geoffrey the Baker of Swynebroke. These matters concluded, the queen turned her attention to the Marches and remained at Hereford for a month. There, she divided her army and sent part of it with Henry, Earl of Leicester, and Master Rhys ap Howell¹, a Welsh cleric, to capture the king and those with him. The aforementioned earl was the brother and heir of the oft-mentioned Earl Thomas of Lancaster, and the said Rhys, who was sent with him, had once been imprisoned by royal justice in the Tower of London, but had been restored to liberty through the queen's power. Both the said earl and Rhys held estates and wide dominions near the place where the king was hiding; moreover, Rhys was very well known throughout the entire region. At last, the said earl and the cleric—through the corruption of the Welsh with a large sum of money—found the king in the monastery of Neath, along with Hugh Despenser the Younger, who had been left behind, seeking safety in flight. They were discovered by Welsh spies. Thus the king was captured, along with the said Hugh, the Earl of Gloucester, Master Robert de Baldock, and Simon de Reading; the others were left behind without pursuit.

Hiis ita confectis, ad partes marchie regina conversa, apud Herefordiam per mensem commorata, exercitum dividit, et cum eius una parte misit Henricum comitem Laicestrie et magistrum Resum ap Howel clericum, nacione Wallicum, comprehendere regem et sibi aderentes. Predictus comes erat germanus sepenominati et heres comitis Thome Lancastrie; et iste Resus, secum missus, quondam iusticia regali in turri Londoniarum incarceratus erat, set per regine potenciam sue libertati restitutus. Tam comes predictus quam iste Resus habuerunt possessiones et ampla dominia iuxta locum in quo rex latitabat; fuitque preterea Reso tota patria valde nota. Predicti finaliter comes et clericus, non sine magne pecunie interventu Wallicis corruptis, regem in monasterio de Neth, Hugonem Dispenser filium, desertum pro fuge presidio capescentem, per exploratores Wallicos invenerunt.

Note 1. Rhys ap Howell was implicated in the rebellion of 1322, but surrendered to the king. He was sent prisoner to Dover.

Murimuth, 35: "The queen, with her army, moved toward Hereford, where she remained for nearly a month with her paid troops and others, with only a few exceptions. From that place, she sent into Wales the Earl of Lancaster, Lord William la Zouche, and Master Rhys ap Howell, who had previously been freed from the prison of London, because they were well known in those parts, along with a few of the Marchers. These three held lands and lordships in Wales near the place where the king, as mentioned above, was in hiding."

Chronicle of Geoffrey the Baker of Swynebroke. In those days, as has been mentioned, negotiations were underway between the kings of England and France regarding peace, and it was necessary to appoint a suitable envoy for such a significant affair. The king, wishing to cross the sea himself for this purpose, was dissuaded¹ by the Earls of Winchester and Gloucester, who feared that, deprived of his company, they might fall into the hands of hostile neighbors, men who, they knew well, hated them. Moreover, they did not dare to cross with the king either, being well aware that the King of France, influenced by his sister and by Roger de Mortimer, harboured a deep and burning hatred for them. Thus, with the queen now flattering the king and drawing the other nobles to her side with the charm of a wise woman, promising peace between the realms with no small urgency—and with the aforementioned bishops secretly encouraging the royal advisors in the same direction—and with the majority of the nobles agreeing to the plan, the queen was entrusted with the much-desired diplomatic mission.

Erat illis diebus, ut tactum est, sentencia inter reges Anglie et Francie de pace tractanda, cuius legacionis nuncium competentem oporteret ordinare. Regi volenti pro tanto negocio transfretasse dissuadebant comites Wintonie et Gloucestrie, timentes ne, sui contubernio privati, inciderent in manus hostiles vicinorum, quibus sciebant se ipsos odiosos. Preterea nec audebant cum rege transfretare, quos non latuit quod ipsos rex Francorum faccione sororis sue et Rogeri de Mortemere violento veneno odivit. Igitur, ipsius regine iam regi blandientis ceterosque proceres prudentis femine sibi conciliantis atque pacem regnorum promittentis instancia non parva, predictis quoque episcopis in id idem occulte consules regios instigantibus, atque proceribus pro maiori parte ad hoc concordantibus, multum desiderata legacione fungitur regina².

Note 1. Vita Edward II, 282: "But Hugh Despenser the Younger, unwilling that anyone should give such advice, fearing the imminent danger it might bring, was reported to have arrogantly said in the presence of some: 'Now it shall be seen who dares advise our lord the king to cross over to his enemies; for whoever he is, he is clearly a traitor.' Upon hearing this threat, the prelates and nobles responded to the king's inquiry, saying: 'My lord, it is well known that many of the great men of the realm are absent; therefore, it is not fitting for us to respond in a matter so weighty without our peers.'"

Note 2. The queen left England early in March. On the 8th of the month Edward tells the pope that she has gone. Fœdera, ii. 595.

Chronicle of Geoffrey the Baker of Swynebroke. In the following year, by the counsel and ordinance of the prelates and other nobles, Hugh Despenser the Younger was appointed chamberlain of the king¹, in place of Peter, who had previously been removed. Unless the common reports are entirely false, the king had not only never loved him before but had even hated him. And so they more willingly chose him for this office, though later, when the king's disposition toward him changed for the better, those who had first promoted him came to despise him. Hugh's father was then still alive and prospering, a knight of great virtue, prudent in counsel, and valiant in arms. However, the downfall and ignominious end that eventually befell him were largely due to the excessive and disordered love he bore for his son, a man of striking physical beauty, but possessed of an insufferable arrogance and utterly depraved in his actions. Driven by ambition and greed, he advanced from disinheriting widows and orphans to the destruction of the king's chief nobles, and ultimately to his own ruin and that of his father.

Anno sequenti, ex consilio et ordinacione prelatorum et aliorum nobilium, Hugo Despenser filius fuit ordinatus camerarius regis loco Petri prius de medio subtracti, quem, nisi valentes dicere wlgo menciantur, rex antea nedum minime dilexit immo odivit; et eo libencius ad idem officium ipsum elegerunt, qui postmodum, regis animo erga ipsum in benignius commutato, eundem exosum habuerunt. Istius Hugonis pater tunc feliciter superstes erat, magne probitatis miles, consilio providus, armis strenuus, cuius confusionem et ignominiosum finem accumulavit amor naturalis set deordinatus quem visceribus paternis gessit erga predictum filium suum, corpore formosissimum, spiritu superbissimum, actu flagiciosissimum; quem spiritus ambicionis et cupiditatis a viduarum et orfanorum exheredacione in necem nobilium regis precipuorum et sui ipsius atque patris interitum precipitarunt.

Note 1. For a summary of the different estimates formed by contemporary writers of the conduct of the two Despensers, see Bishop Stubbs's Introduction to his Chronicles of the Reigns of Edward I. and Edward II., vol. ii. pp. 1. sqq. The younger Despenser was at first of Lancaster's party. He was continued in his office of chamberlain by the parliament of 1318, in which Lancaster's influence predominated.