Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland (2 of 6): England (10 of 12) Edward the Second, the Sonne of Edward the First — Reading Notes

The King's Counterfeit Gravity

Holinshed presents Edward II as a ruler who initially 'counterfeited a kind of gravitie' under the advice of prudent counselors, but whose natural 'lightnesse' soon broke through. The chronicle's language of performance—'shew some likelihood of good proofe'—suggests that the king's virtue was a temporary mask. This theme of dissembling extends to the court: officers are 'remooued' and replaced with the king's favorites, most notably Piers Gaveston, whose return from banishment triggers the arrest of his enemy, the bishop of Coventry. The text records that Gaveston was given the bishop's 'mooueables' while the bishop himself was sent 'from castell to castell as a prisoner.' Such details underscore a system where personal loyalty trumps institutional continuity.

The chronicle's structure reinforces this volatility. Events are listed in rapid succession—the seizure of the Isle of Man by Robert Bruce, the removal of the Earl of Pembroke from the wardenship of Scotland—without causal explanation. The reader is left to infer that Edward's disordered governance weakened the realm. Holinshed's moralizing aside, comparing the king's anger to 'the roring of a lion,' frames the narrative as a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked royal wrath.

The Execution of Lancaster and Its Aftermath

The execution of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, is the dramatic center of the excerpts. Holinshed reports that Lancaster was 'adiudged to die, according to the law' for treasons, murders, and burning of houses, but was pardoned from drawing and hanging because he was the queen's uncle. He was beheaded at Pomfret on March 22. The chronicle then lists a series of executions across England—at York, Bristol, Gloucester, London, and elsewhere—naming barons, knights, and esquires who suffered the same fate. This catalogue of death emphasizes the scale of the king's revenge.

Yet the narrative does not end with Lancaster's death. Holinshed immediately records a dispute among the people: 'whether he ought to be reputed for a saint or no.' Some argued that his alms deeds and his 'true quarell' merited sainthood; others pointed to his adultery, his wrathful killings, and his protection of 'apostataes and other euill dooers.' The chronicler presents both sides without resolution, leaving the reader to weigh the evidence. This ambiguity is a hallmark of Holinshed's method: he reports conflicting opinions rather than imposing a single judgment.

Scriptural Framing and the Limits of Power

Holinshed frequently invokes biblical authority to interpret events. After Lancaster's execution, he cites 'the wisedome of Salomon' that 'the anger and displeasure of the king is as the roring of a lion, and his reuenge ineuitable.' This scriptural lens transforms a political execution into a moral lesson about the dangers of provoking a sovereign. Yet the chronicle also undercuts this absolutist message by recording the subsequent debate over Lancaster's sanctity, suggesting that royal judgment is not final.

The text's treatment of Lancaster's fall is notably structured as a rise-and-fall narrative. At his peak, Lancaster possessed 'fiue earledomes' and was 'one of the mightiest earles in christendome.' Holinshed then quotes a Latin tag—'Inuida fatorum series, summisq; negatum Stare diu'—meaning that the envious sequence of fate denies the highest a long stand. This classical allusion, paired with the scriptural proverb, creates a layered commentary on the transience of power. The chronicle thus functions not only as a record of events but as a meditation on the moral and cosmic order that governs them.

Readers approaching this chronicle should attend to its dual voice: the factual recitation of regnal years, battles, and executions, and the moralizing asides that interpret those facts. Holinshed rarely settles a controversy; instead, he presents competing accounts—as with Lancaster's disputed sanctity—and lets the reader judge. Pay particular attention to the lists of executed lords and the rapid shifts in fortune, as these reveal the chronicler's interest in the instability of power. The text rewards those who read slowly, noting where Holinshed quotes scripture or classical authors, for these are the moments where he steps back from narrative to offer a broader perspective on the events he records.

Reading Holinshed’s Edward II, I kept thinking how strange it is that a king’s counterfeit gravity still shadows these old pages, just as the Conquest’s causes do in The history of the Norman conquest of England, its causes and its results, Volume 1 (of 6) — Inside the Classic. Both feel like half-heard rumors from a room we can’t quite enter.