Hugh the younger Despenser
Encyclopedia
Hugh Despenser, 1st Lord Despenser (c. 1286 – 24 November 1326), also referred to as "the younger Despenser", was the son and heir of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester (the elder Despenser), and Isabella
daughter of William, 9th Earl of Warwick
.
, Worcestershire
, King's Chamberlain
, Constable of Odiham Castle
, Keeper of the castle and town of Portchester
, Keeper of the castle, town and barton
of Bristol
and, in Wales
, Keeper of the castle
and town of Dryslwyn, and the region of Cantref Mawr
, Carmarthenshire
.
Also in Wales
, he was Lord of Glamorgan
which gave him possession of Cardiff Castle
.
He was also Keeper of the castles, manor, and lands of Brecknock, Hay
, Cantref Selyf, etc., in County Brecon
, and, in England
of Huntington
, Herefordshire
.
He was given Wallingford Castle
although this had previously been given to Queen Isabella
for life.
, daughter of Gilbert de Clare, 9th Lord of Clare and 7th Earl of Hertford and Joan of Acre
.
Eleanor's grandfather, Edward I
, owed the elder Despenser 2,000 marks (£ at today's prices) and the marriage settled this debt, and was a reward for the elder Hugh's loyal service.
When Eleanor's brother, Gilbert, was killed in 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn
, she unexpectedly became one of the three co-heiresses to the rich Gloucester
earldom, and in her right Hugh inherited Glamorgan
and other properties. In just a few short years Hugh went from a landless knight to one of the wealthiest magnates in the kingdom.
Eleanor was also the niece of the new king, Edward II of England
, and this connection brought Despenser closer to the English royal court. He joined the baronial opposition to Piers Gaveston
, the king's favourite
(and Hugh's brother-in-law, as Gaveston was married to Eleanor's sister Margaret).
Eager for power and wealth, Despenser seized Tonbridge Castle
in 1315, after his brother-in-law's death under the misapprehension that it belonged to his mother-in-law (he relinquished it on discovering that the rightful owner was the Archbishop of Canterbury
). In 1318 he murdered Llywelyn Bren
, a Welsh hostage in his custody.
Eleanor and Hugh had nine children to survive infancy:
, Despenser manoeuvred into the affections of King Edward, displacing the previous favourite, Roger d'Amory
. This was much to the dismay of the baronage as they saw him both taking their rightful places at court and being a worse version of Gaveston. By 1320 his greed was running free. Despenser seized the Welsh lands of his wife's inheritance, ignoring the claims of his two brothers-in-law. He forced Alice de Lacy, Countess of Lincoln, to give up her lands, cheated his sister-in-law Elizabeth de Clare
out of Gower
and Usk
, and allegedly had Lady Baret's arms and legs broken until she went insane. He also supposedly vowed to be revenged on Roger Mortimer because Mortimer's grandfather had killed Hugh's grandfather
, and once stated (though probably in jest) that he regretted he could not control the wind. By 1321 he had earned many enemies in every stratum of society, from Queen Isabella to the barons to the common people. There was even a plot to kill Despenser by sticking his wax likeness with pins.
Finally the barons prevailed upon King Edward and forced Despenser and his father into exile in August 1321. His father fled to Bordeaux
, and Despenser became a pirate in the English Channel
, "a sea monster, lying in wait for merchants as they crossed the sea". Following the exile of the Despensers, the barons who opposed them fell out among themselves, and the King summoned the two men back to England. Early in the following year, King Edward took advantage of these divisions to secure the surrender of Marcher Lord Roger Mortimer, and the defeat and execution of the Earl of Lancaster, the Despensers' chief opponents. The pair returned and King Edward quickly reinstated Despenser as royal favourite. His time in exile had done nothing to quell his greed, his rashness, or his ruthlessness. The time from the Despensers' return from exile until the end of Edward II's reign was a time of uncertainty in England. With the main baronial opposition leaderless and weak, having been defeated at the Battle of Boroughbridge
, and Edward willing to let them do as they pleased, the Despensers were left unchecked. They grew rich from their administration and corruption. This period is sometimes referred to as the "Tyranny". This maladministration caused hostile feeling for them and, by proxy, Edward II. Despenser repeatedly pressed King Edward to execute Mortimer, who had been held prisoner in the Tower of London, following his surrender. However, Mortimer escaped from the Tower and fled to France.
had a special dislike for Hugh Despenser the younger. Various historians have suggested, and it is commonly believed, that he and Edward had an ongoing sexual relationship. (Froissart
wrote that "he was a sodomite, even it is said, with the King.") Some speculate it was this relationship that caused the Queen's dislike of him. Others, noting that her hatred for him was far greater than for any other favourite of her husband, suggest that his behaviour towards her and the nation served to excite her particular disgust. Alison Weir
, in her 2005 book, Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England, speculates that he had raped Isabella and that was the source of her hatred. While Isabella was in France to negotiate between her husband and the French king, she formed a liaison with Roger Mortimer and began planning an invasion. Despenser supposedly tried to bribe French courtiers to assassinate Isabella, sending barrels of silver as payment. Roger Mortimer and the Queen invaded England in October 1326. Their forces numbered only about 1,500 mercenaries to begin with, but the majority of the nobility rallied to them throughout October and November. By contrast, very few people were prepared to fight for Edward II, mainly because of the hatred that the Despensers had aroused. The Despensers fled West with the King, with a sizable sum from the treasury. The escape was unsuccessful. Separated from the elder Despenser, the King and the younger Despenser were deserted by most of their followers, and were captured near Neath
in mid-November. King Edward was placed in captivity and later forced to abdicate in favour of his son. The elder Despenser (the father) was hanged at Bristol on 27 October 1326, and younger Despenser (the son) was brought to trial.
, before Mortimer and the Queen. He was judged a traitor and a thief, and sentenced to public execution by hanging, as a thief, and drawing and quartering
, as a traitor. Additionally, he was sentenced to be disembowelled
for having procured discord between the King and Queen, and to be beheaded, for returning to England after having been banished. Treason had also been the grounds for Gaveston's execution; the belief was that these men had misled the King rather than the King himself being guilty of folly.
Immediately after the trial, Despenser was dragged behind four horses to his place of execution, where a great fire was lit. He was stripped naked, and Biblical verses denouncing arrogance and evil were written on his skin. He was then hanged from a gallows 50 ft (15.2 m) high, but cut down before he could choke to death
.
In Froissart
's account of the execution, Despenser was then tied to a ladder, and —in full view of the crowd— had his genitals sliced off and burned (in his still-conscious sight) then his entrails slowly pulled out, and, finally, his heart cut out and thrown into the fire. Professor Clare Sponsler says that Froissart is the only source to describe castration, where all other contemporary accounts have Despenser quartered, hanged, and beheaded.
Just before he died, it is recorded that he let out a "ghastly inhuman howl", much to the delight and merriment of the spectators. Finally, his corpse was beheaded, his body cut into four pieces, and his head mounted on the gates of London. Mortimer and Isabella feasted with their chief supporters, as they watched the execution.
Four years later, in December 1330, his widow was given permission to gather and bury his remains at the family's Gloucestershire
estate, but only the head, a thigh bone and a few vertebrae were returned to her.
in Staffordshire
. The skeleton, which was first uncovered during archaeological work in the 1970s, appeared to be the victim of a drawing and quartering as it had been beheaded and chopped into several pieces with a sharp blade, suggesting a ritual killing. Furthermore, it lacked several body parts, including the ones given to Despenser's wife. Radiocarbon analysis
dated the body to between 1050 and 1385, and later tests suggested it to be that of a man over 34 years old. Despenser was 40 at the time of his death. In addition, the Abbey is located on lands that belonged to Hugh Audley, Despenser's brother-in-law, at the time.
No book-length biographical study of Hugh Despenser exists, although The Tyranny and Fall of Edward II: 1321–1326 by historian Natalie Fryde is a study of Edward's reign during the years that the Despensers' power was at its peak. Fryde pays particular attention to the subject of the Despensers' ill-gotten landholdings. The numerous accusations against the younger Despenser at the time of his execution have never been the subject of close critical scrutiny, although Roy Martin Haines
called them "ingenuous" and noted their propagandistic nature.
Despite the crucial and disastrous role he played in the reign of Edward II, Despenser is almost a minor character in Christopher Marlowe
's play Edward II
(1592), where, as "Spencer", he is little more than a substitute for the dead Gaveston. In 2006, he was selected by BBC History Magazine
as the 14th century's worst Briton.
His image on the stained glass window of the Banqueting Hall of Cardiff Castle
, shows his coat of arms inverted—a symbol of disgrace.
, the queen consort of King Richard III of England, is a direct descendant of Hugh Despenser the younger. Anne's grandmother, Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Worcester and Warwick
, was the granddaughter of Edward le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer
, who in turn was the grandson of the younger Despenser.
The sixth and last queen consort to Henry VIII
, Catherine Parr
, also descended from the 1st Baron le Despencer
, through his daughter Margaret, who married Robert de Ferrers, 4th Baron Ferrers of Chartley
.
The New England Protestant reformer Anne (Marbury) Hutchinson
was a descendant of Hugh through his grandson Edward. Through her many Americans, including George W. Bush
, can claim Hugh the younger as an ancestor.
Isabella de Beauchamp
Isabella de Beauchamp, Lady Kidwelly, Lady Despenser , was an English noblewoman and wealthy heiress. She married twice; firstly to Sir Patrick de Chaworth, Lord of Kidwelly, by whom she had a daughter, Maud Chaworth. Her second husband was Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester, by whom she had...
daughter of William, 9th Earl of Warwick
William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick
William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick was an English nobleman and soldier, described as a “vigorous and innovative military commander”...
.
Titles and possessions
Hugh Despenser the younger was knight of Hanley CastleHanley Castle
Hanley Castle is a village in Worcestershire, England, between the towns of Malvern and Upton upon Severn and a short distance from the River Severn. It lies in the administrative area of Malvern Hills District, and is part of the informal region known as The Malverns...
, Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, King's Chamberlain
Chamberlain (office)
A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
, Constable of Odiham Castle
Odiham Castle
Odiham Castle is a ruined castle situated near Odiham in Hampshire, United Kingdom. It is one of only three fortresses built by King John during his reign....
, Keeper of the castle and town of Portchester
Portchester
Portchester is a locality and suburb 10km northwest of Portsmouth, England. It is part of the borough of Fareham in Hampshire. Once a small village, Portchester is now a busy part of the expanding conurbation between Portsmouth and Southampton, on the A27 main thoroughfare...
, Keeper of the castle, town and barton
Barton
Barton is an archaic English word meaning lands of the manor or meadow and may refer to several places or people:-Australia:* Barton, Australian Capital Territory, Canberra...
of Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
and, in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, Keeper of the castle
Dryslwyn Castle
Dryslwyn Castle is a native Welsh castle, sited on a hill roughly halfway between Llandeilo and Carmarthen in Wales. It is notable inasmuch as it is the only native Welsh castle with three wards.- Excavation :...
and town of Dryslwyn, and the region of Cantref Mawr
Cantref Mawr
Cantref Mawr was a cantref in south-west Wales. It was of strategic importance in medieval Wales as the location of the main seat of the princes of Deheubarth at Dinefwr....
, Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
.
Also in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, he was Lord of Glamorgan
Lord of Glamorgan
The Lordship of Glamorgan was one of the most powerful and wealthy of the Welsh Marcher Lordships. Established by the conquest of Glamorgan from its last Welsh ruler the Anglo-Norman lord of Glamorgan like all Marcher lords ruled his lands directly by his own law, thus they could amongst other...
which gave him possession of Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The Castle is a Grade I Listed Building.-The Roman fort:...
.
He was also Keeper of the castles, manor, and lands of Brecknock, Hay
Hay-on-Wye
Hay-on-Wye , often described as "the town of books", is a small market town and community in Powys, Wales.-Location:The town lies on the east bank of the River Wye and is within the Brecon Beacons National Park, just north of the Black Mountains...
, Cantref Selyf, etc., in County Brecon
Brecknockshire
Brecknockshire , also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, and a former administrative county.-Geography:...
, and, in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
of Huntington
Huntington, Herefordshire
-History:Huntington was a Medieval borough founded as a replacement to nearby Kington which had been destroyed in 1216.Huntington was built as a new borough and was apparently in the first breath of life in 1228 when it was first mentioned...
, Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
.
He was given Wallingford Castle
Wallingford Castle
Wallingford Castle was a major medieval castle situated in Wallingford in the English county of Oxfordshire , adjacent to the River Thames...
although this had previously been given to Queen Isabella
Isabella of France
Isabella of France , sometimes described as the She-wolf of France, was Queen consort of England as the wife of Edward II of England. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre...
for life.
Marriage
In May 1306 Hugh Despenser the younger was knighted, and that summer he married Eleanor de ClareEleanor de Clare
Eleanor de Clare was the wife of the powerful Hugh Despenser the younger. She was born in 1292 at Caerphilly in Glamorgan, Wales. She was the eldest daughter of Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford and 7th Earl of Gloucester, and Joan of Acre, daughter of Edward I and Eleanor of Castile; thus...
, daughter of Gilbert de Clare, 9th Lord of Clare and 7th Earl of Hertford and Joan of Acre
Joan of Acre
Joan of Acre was an English princess, a daughter of the King Edward I of England and queen Eleanor of Castile...
.
Eleanor's grandfather, Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
, owed the elder Despenser 2,000 marks (£ at today's prices) and the marriage settled this debt, and was a reward for the elder Hugh's loyal service.
When Eleanor's brother, Gilbert, was killed in 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn
Battle of Bannockburn
The Battle of Bannockburn was a significant Scottish victory in the Wars of Scottish Independence...
, she unexpectedly became one of the three co-heiresses to the rich Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
earldom, and in her right Hugh inherited Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
and other properties. In just a few short years Hugh went from a landless knight to one of the wealthiest magnates in the kingdom.
Eleanor was also the niece of the new king, Edward II of England
Edward II of England
Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...
, and this connection brought Despenser closer to the English royal court. He joined the baronial opposition to Piers Gaveston
Piers Gaveston
Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the favourite of King Edward II of England. At a young age he made a good impression on King Edward I of England, and was assigned to the household of the King's son, Edward of Carnarvon...
, the king's favourite
Favourite
A favourite , or favorite , was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In medieval and Early Modern Europe, among other times and places, the term is used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler...
(and Hugh's brother-in-law, as Gaveston was married to Eleanor's sister Margaret).
Eager for power and wealth, Despenser seized Tonbridge Castle
Tonbridge Castle
Tonbridge Castle is situated in the town of the same name, Kent, England.-Early history:Following the Norman Conquest, Richard Fitz Gilbert was granted land in Kent to guard the crossing of the River Medway. He erected a simple Motte-and-bailey castle on the site. To dig the moat and erect the...
in 1315, after his brother-in-law's death under the misapprehension that it belonged to his mother-in-law (he relinquished it on discovering that the rightful owner was the Archbishop of Canterbury
Walter Reynolds
Walter Reynolds was Bishop of Worcester and then Archbishop of Canterbury as well as Lord High Treasurer and Lord Chancellor.-Life:...
). In 1318 he murdered Llywelyn Bren
Llywelyn Bren
Llywelyn Bren , or Llywelyn ap Gruffudd ap Rhys or Llywelyn of the Woods , was a nobleman who led a revolt in Wales during the reign of King Edward II of England in 1316. The revolt would be the last serious challenge to English rule in Wales until the attempts of Owain Lawgoch to invade Wales with...
, a Welsh hostage in his custody.
Eleanor and Hugh had nine children to survive infancy:
- Hugh le Despencer, 2nd Baron le DespencerHugh le Despencer, 2nd Baron le DespencerHugh le Despencer was the eldest son and heir of Hugh the younger Despenser, son of Hugh the elder Despenser. His father and grandfather both were executed in 1326. His mother was Eleanor de Clare, daughter of Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford and Joan of Acre...
(1308–1349), 2nd Baron Le Despencer, who was restored to his grandfather's title of Baron le Despencer in 1338. At his death without issue, his nephew EdwardEdward le Despencer, 1st Baron le DespencerEdward le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer, KG was the son of another Edward le Despenser and Anne, the sister of Henry, Lord Ferrers of Groby. He succeeded as Lord of Glamorgan in 1349.Le Despencer went with Edward the Black Prince to France, and was present at the Battle of Poitiers...
, son of Edward (below), was created Baron Le Despencer in a new creation of 1357. - Gilbert le Despenser, (1309–1381).
- Edward le DespenserEdward le DespenserEdward le Despenser was the third eldest son of Hugh le Despenser the Younger by his wife Eleanor de Clare.His father is famous for being the favourite of Edward II of England, and consequently being executed for it...
, (1310–1342), soldier, killed at the siege of VannesVannesVannes is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2000 years ago.-Geography:Vannes is located on the Gulf of Morbihan at the mouth of two rivers, the Marle and the Vincin. It is around 100 km northwest of Nantes and 450 km south west...
; father of Edward II le Despenser, Knight of the Garter, who became Baron Le Despencer in a new creation of 1357. His son was Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester and 2nd Baron Le Despencer of the 1357 creation, who was married to a daughter of Edmund of Langley, Duke of York, youngest son of Edward IIIEdward III of EnglandEdward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
, and was attainted and beheaded in 1400 for his attempts to restore Richard IIRichard II of EnglandRichard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
, his wife's cousin, to the throne. His attainder was reversed in 1461, with the victory of Edward IVEdward IV of EnglandEdward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
, and the barony of the first creation (1264/1295) was eventually awarded in 1604 to Dame Mary Fane, heiress of Thomas's daughter Isabel Le Despencer, who married two cousins. The barony is now held by the Viscounts FalmouthViscount FalmouthViscount Falmouth is a title that has been created twice, first in the Peerage of England, and then in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1674 for George FitzRoy, illegitimate son of King Charles II by Barbara Villiers. He was created Earl of...
. - Isabel le Despenser, Countess of ArundelIsabel le Despenser, Countess of ArundelIsabel le Despenser was the eldest daughter of Hugh Despenser the Younger and Eleanor de Clare. She was descended from Edward I of England through her mother, while her father is famous for being the favorite of Edward II of England.-Marriage:...
(1312–1356), married Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of ArundelRichard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of ArundelRichard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel and 8th Earl of Surrey was an English nobleman and medieval military leader.- Lineage :... - John le Despenser, (1311 – June 1366).
- Eleanor le Despenser, (c. 1315–1351), nun at Sempringham PriorySempringham PriorySempringham Priory was a priory in Lincolnshire, England, located in the medieval hamlet of Sempringham, to the northwest of Pointon. Today, all that remains of the priory is a marking on the ground where the walls stood and a square, which are identifiable only in aerial photos of the vicinity...
- Joan le Despenser, (c. 1317–1384), nun at Shaftesbury AbbeyShaftesbury AbbeyShaftesbury Abbey was an abbey that housed nuns in Shaftesbury, Dorset. Founded in the year 888, the abbey was the wealthiest Benedictine nunnery in England, a major pilgrimage site, and the town's central focus...
- Margaret le Despenser, (c. 1319–1337, nun at Whatton Priory
- Elizabeth le DespenserElizabeth le Despenser, Baroness BerkeleyElizabeth le Despenser was an English noblewoman. She was the youngest daughter of Hugh le Despenser the younger and his wife Eleanor de Clare. Her father is famous for being the favourite of Edward II of England, and being executed as a result of his position and actions...
, born 1325, died 13 July 1389, married Maurice de Berkeley, 4th Baron BerkeleyMaurice de Berkeley, 4th Baron BerkeleyMaurice de Berkeley, 4th Baron Berkeley the Valiant was an English peer born in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England to Thomas de Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley and Lady Margaret Mortimer.-Marriage and children:...
.
Political Maneuverings
Hugh Despenser the younger became royal chamberlain in 1318. As a royal courtierCourtier
A courtier is a person who is often in attendance at the court of a king or other royal personage. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
, Despenser manoeuvred into the affections of King Edward, displacing the previous favourite, Roger d'Amory
Roger d'Amory
Sir Roger d'Amory, Lord d'Amory, Baron of Amory in Ireland, was a nobleman and Constable of Corfe Castle.He was the younger son of Sir Robert d'Amory, Knight, of Bucknell and Woodperry, Oxfordshire...
. This was much to the dismay of the baronage as they saw him both taking their rightful places at court and being a worse version of Gaveston. By 1320 his greed was running free. Despenser seized the Welsh lands of his wife's inheritance, ignoring the claims of his two brothers-in-law. He forced Alice de Lacy, Countess of Lincoln, to give up her lands, cheated his sister-in-law Elizabeth de Clare
Elizabeth de Clare
Elizabeth de Clare was the heiress to the lordships of Clare, Suffolk in England and Usk in Wales. She was the youngest of the three daughters of Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford and Joan of Acre, and sister of Gilbert de Clare, who later succeeded as the 7th Earl...
out of Gower
Gower Peninsula
Gower or the Gower Peninsula is a peninsula in south Wales, jutting from the coast into the Bristol Channel, and administratively part of the City and County of Swansea. Locally it is known as "Gower"...
and Usk
Usk
Usk is a small town in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated 10 miles northeast of Newport.The River Usk flows through the town and is spanned by an ancient, arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. A castle above the town overlooks the ancient Anglo-Welsh border crossing - the river can...
, and allegedly had Lady Baret's arms and legs broken until she went insane. He also supposedly vowed to be revenged on Roger Mortimer because Mortimer's grandfather had killed Hugh's grandfather
Hugh le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer
Sir Hugh was an important ally of Simon de Montfort during the reign of Henry III. He served briefly as Justiciar of England in 1260 and as Constable of the Tower of London....
, and once stated (though probably in jest) that he regretted he could not control the wind. By 1321 he had earned many enemies in every stratum of society, from Queen Isabella to the barons to the common people. There was even a plot to kill Despenser by sticking his wax likeness with pins.
Finally the barons prevailed upon King Edward and forced Despenser and his father into exile in August 1321. His father fled to Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, and Despenser became a pirate in the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, "a sea monster, lying in wait for merchants as they crossed the sea". Following the exile of the Despensers, the barons who opposed them fell out among themselves, and the King summoned the two men back to England. Early in the following year, King Edward took advantage of these divisions to secure the surrender of Marcher Lord Roger Mortimer, and the defeat and execution of the Earl of Lancaster, the Despensers' chief opponents. The pair returned and King Edward quickly reinstated Despenser as royal favourite. His time in exile had done nothing to quell his greed, his rashness, or his ruthlessness. The time from the Despensers' return from exile until the end of Edward II's reign was a time of uncertainty in England. With the main baronial opposition leaderless and weak, having been defeated at the Battle of Boroughbridge
Battle of Boroughbridge
The Battle of Boroughbridge was a battle fought on 16 March 1322 between a group of rebellious barons and King Edward II of England, near Boroughbridge, northwest of York. The culmination of a long period of antagonism between the king and Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, his most powerful subject, it...
, and Edward willing to let them do as they pleased, the Despensers were left unchecked. They grew rich from their administration and corruption. This period is sometimes referred to as the "Tyranny". This maladministration caused hostile feeling for them and, by proxy, Edward II. Despenser repeatedly pressed King Edward to execute Mortimer, who had been held prisoner in the Tower of London, following his surrender. However, Mortimer escaped from the Tower and fled to France.
Relationship with Edward and Isabella
Queen IsabellaIsabella of France
Isabella of France , sometimes described as the She-wolf of France, was Queen consort of England as the wife of Edward II of England. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre...
had a special dislike for Hugh Despenser the younger. Various historians have suggested, and it is commonly believed, that he and Edward had an ongoing sexual relationship. (Froissart
Jean Froissart
Jean Froissart , often referred to in English as John Froissart, was one of the most important chroniclers of medieval France. For centuries, Froissart's Chronicles have been recognized as the chief expression of the chivalric revival of the 14th century Kingdom of England and France...
wrote that "he was a sodomite, even it is said, with the King.") Some speculate it was this relationship that caused the Queen's dislike of him. Others, noting that her hatred for him was far greater than for any other favourite of her husband, suggest that his behaviour towards her and the nation served to excite her particular disgust. Alison Weir
Alison Weir (historian)
Alison Weir is a British writer of history books, and latterly historical novels, mostly in the form of biographies about British royalty.-Personal life:...
, in her 2005 book, Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England, speculates that he had raped Isabella and that was the source of her hatred. While Isabella was in France to negotiate between her husband and the French king, she formed a liaison with Roger Mortimer and began planning an invasion. Despenser supposedly tried to bribe French courtiers to assassinate Isabella, sending barrels of silver as payment. Roger Mortimer and the Queen invaded England in October 1326. Their forces numbered only about 1,500 mercenaries to begin with, but the majority of the nobility rallied to them throughout October and November. By contrast, very few people were prepared to fight for Edward II, mainly because of the hatred that the Despensers had aroused. The Despensers fled West with the King, with a sizable sum from the treasury. The escape was unsuccessful. Separated from the elder Despenser, the King and the younger Despenser were deserted by most of their followers, and were captured near Neath
Neath
Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...
in mid-November. King Edward was placed in captivity and later forced to abdicate in favour of his son. The elder Despenser (the father) was hanged at Bristol on 27 October 1326, and younger Despenser (the son) was brought to trial.
Trial and execution
Hugh Despenser the younger tried to starve himself before his trial, but face trial he did on 24 November 1326, in HerefordHereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
, before Mortimer and the Queen. He was judged a traitor and a thief, and sentenced to public execution by hanging, as a thief, and drawing and quartering
Hanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
, as a traitor. Additionally, he was sentenced to be disembowelled
Disembowelment
Disembowelment is the removal of some or all of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract , usually through a horizontal incision made across the abdominal area. Disembowelment may result from an accident, but has also been used as a method of torture and execution...
for having procured discord between the King and Queen, and to be beheaded, for returning to England after having been banished. Treason had also been the grounds for Gaveston's execution; the belief was that these men had misled the King rather than the King himself being guilty of folly.
Immediately after the trial, Despenser was dragged behind four horses to his place of execution, where a great fire was lit. He was stripped naked, and Biblical verses denouncing arrogance and evil were written on his skin. He was then hanged from a gallows 50 ft (15.2 m) high, but cut down before he could choke to death
Asphyxia
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from being unable to breathe normally. An example of asphyxia is choking. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which primarily affects the tissues and organs...
.
In Froissart
Jean Froissart
Jean Froissart , often referred to in English as John Froissart, was one of the most important chroniclers of medieval France. For centuries, Froissart's Chronicles have been recognized as the chief expression of the chivalric revival of the 14th century Kingdom of England and France...
's account of the execution, Despenser was then tied to a ladder, and —in full view of the crowd— had his genitals sliced off and burned (in his still-conscious sight) then his entrails slowly pulled out, and, finally, his heart cut out and thrown into the fire. Professor Clare Sponsler says that Froissart is the only source to describe castration, where all other contemporary accounts have Despenser quartered, hanged, and beheaded.
Just before he died, it is recorded that he let out a "ghastly inhuman howl", much to the delight and merriment of the spectators. Finally, his corpse was beheaded, his body cut into four pieces, and his head mounted on the gates of London. Mortimer and Isabella feasted with their chief supporters, as they watched the execution.
Four years later, in December 1330, his widow was given permission to gather and bury his remains at the family's Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
estate, but only the head, a thigh bone and a few vertebrae were returned to her.
Aftermath
What may be the body of Despenser was identified in February 2008, at Hulton AbbeyAbbey Hulton
Abbey Hulton is a village in Staffordshire, England that now forms a suburb of the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The village was named after the former abbey that existed between the 13th and 16th centuries.- History :...
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. The skeleton, which was first uncovered during archaeological work in the 1970s, appeared to be the victim of a drawing and quartering as it had been beheaded and chopped into several pieces with a sharp blade, suggesting a ritual killing. Furthermore, it lacked several body parts, including the ones given to Despenser's wife. Radiocarbon analysis
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" ,...
dated the body to between 1050 and 1385, and later tests suggested it to be that of a man over 34 years old. Despenser was 40 at the time of his death. In addition, the Abbey is located on lands that belonged to Hugh Audley, Despenser's brother-in-law, at the time.
No book-length biographical study of Hugh Despenser exists, although The Tyranny and Fall of Edward II: 1321–1326 by historian Natalie Fryde is a study of Edward's reign during the years that the Despensers' power was at its peak. Fryde pays particular attention to the subject of the Despensers' ill-gotten landholdings. The numerous accusations against the younger Despenser at the time of his execution have never been the subject of close critical scrutiny, although Roy Martin Haines
Roy Martin Haines
Roy Martin Haines is a British historian.Haines is the son of Evan George Martin Haines, who served in the Welsh Guards during World War I and died in 1929 from an illness attributable to his military service...
called them "ingenuous" and noted their propagandistic nature.
Despite the crucial and disastrous role he played in the reign of Edward II, Despenser is almost a minor character in Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
's play Edward II
Edward II (play)
Edward II is a Renaissance or Early Modern period play written by Christopher Marlowe. It is one of the earliest English history plays. The full title of the first publication is The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, King of England, with the Tragical Fall of Proud...
(1592), where, as "Spencer", he is little more than a substitute for the dead Gaveston. In 2006, he was selected by BBC History Magazine
BBC History (magazine)
BBC History is a magazine devoted to history enthusiasts of all levels of knowledge and interest. Being a British publication, the magazine focuses particularly on British history, but its remit is worldwide...
as the 14th century's worst Briton.
His image on the stained glass window of the Banqueting Hall of Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The Castle is a Grade I Listed Building.-The Roman fort:...
, shows his coat of arms inverted—a symbol of disgrace.
Famous descendants
Anne NevilleAnne Neville
Lady Anne Neville was Princess of Wales as the wife of Edward of Westminster and Queen of England as the consort of King Richard III. She held the latter title for less than two years, from 26 June 1483 until her death in March 1485...
, the queen consort of King Richard III of England, is a direct descendant of Hugh Despenser the younger. Anne's grandmother, Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Worcester and Warwick
Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Worcester and Warwick
Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Worcester and Warwick was the posthumous daughter and eventually the sole heiress of Thomas le Despenser and his wife, Constance of York...
, was the granddaughter of Edward le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer
Edward le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer
Edward le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer, KG was the son of another Edward le Despenser and Anne, the sister of Henry, Lord Ferrers of Groby. He succeeded as Lord of Glamorgan in 1349.Le Despencer went with Edward the Black Prince to France, and was present at the Battle of Poitiers...
, who in turn was the grandson of the younger Despenser.
The sixth and last queen consort to Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr ; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen consort of England and Ireland and the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII of England. She married Henry VIII on 12 July 1543. She was the fourth commoner Henry had taken as his consort, and outlived him...
, also descended from the 1st Baron le Despencer
Edward le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer
Edward le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer, KG was the son of another Edward le Despenser and Anne, the sister of Henry, Lord Ferrers of Groby. He succeeded as Lord of Glamorgan in 1349.Le Despencer went with Edward the Black Prince to France, and was present at the Battle of Poitiers...
, through his daughter Margaret, who married Robert de Ferrers, 4th Baron Ferrers of Chartley
Robert de Ferrers, 4th Baron Ferrers of Chartley
Robert de Ferrers, 4th Baron Ferrers of Chartley was the son of John de Ferrers, 3rd Baron Ferrers of Chartley and Elizabeth de Stafford, a daughter of Ralph de Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford and Margaret de Audley....
.
The New England Protestant reformer Anne (Marbury) Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson was one of the most prominent women in colonial America, noted for her strong religious convictions, and for her stand against the staunch religious orthodoxy of 17th century Massachusetts...
was a descendant of Hugh through his grandson Edward. Through her many Americans, including George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, can claim Hugh the younger as an ancestor.