Search

The Online Encyclopedia and Dictionary

 
     
 

Encyclopedia

Dictionary

Quotes

 

Hugh the younger Despenser

Hugh (1286 - November 26, 1326) was sometimes referred to as "the younger Despenser". He was the son and heir of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester, by Isabel Beauchamp , daughter of William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick .

He was knight of Hanley Castle , Worcestershire, King's Chamberlain, Constable of Odiham Castle , Keeper of the castle and town of Dryslwyn , and Cantref Mawr , Carmarthenshire, Keeper of the castle and town of Portchester, Keeper of the castle, town and barton of Bristol. He was also Keeper of the castles, manor, and lands of Brecknock, Hay, cantref Selyf , etc., co. Brecon , and Huntington, Herefordshire.

In May 1306 Hugh was knighted, and that summer he married Eleanor de Clare, a granddaughter of King Edward I of England. Her grandfather owed Hugh's father vast sums of money, and the marriage was intended as a payment of these debts. When Eleanor's brother was killed 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 Hugh closer to the English royal court. He joined the baronial opposition to Piers Gaveston, the king's favorite, and Hugh's brother-in-law, as Gaveston was married to Eleanor's sister. Eager for power and wealth, Hugh seized Tonbridge Castle in 1315. The next year he murdered Llywelyn Bren, a Welsh hostage in his custody.

Hugh Despenser became royal chamberlain in 1318. As a royal courtier, Hugh manoeuvred into the affections of King Edward, displacing the previous favorite, Roger d'Amory . By 1320 his tyranny was running free. Hugh 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 had Lady Baret's arms and legs broken until she went insane. He also vowed to be revenged on Roger Mortimer because Mortimer's grandfather had murdered Hugh's grandfather, and once stated that he regreted he could not control the wind. By 1321 he had earned many enemies in every strata of society, from Queen Isabella to the barons to the common people. There was even a bizarre plot to kill Hugh by sticking pins in a wax likeness of him.

Finally the barons prevailed upon King Edward and forced Hugh and his father into exile in 1321. His father fled to Bordeaux, and Hugh became a pirate in the English channel, "a sea monster, lying in wait for merchants as they crossed his path". The pair returned the next year and King Edward quickly reinstated Hugh as royal favorite. His time in exile had done nothing to quell his greed, his rashness, or his ruthlessness. Queen Isabella fled to France, where she formed a liaison with Roger Mortimer and began planning an invasion. Hugh tried to bribe French courtiers to assassinate Queen Isabella. This plan failing, he instead arranged for the death of Mortimer's uncle, Roger Mortimer of Chirk , who was in his custody. When Mortimer and the queen invaded, King Edward was desposed, Hugh's father was executed, and Hugh himself was captured.

Hugh tried to starve himself before his trial, but face trial he did on November 24, 1326. He was judged a traitor and a thief, was drawn and quartered, and his testicles were severed and burnt before him. He was beheaded, and his head was mounted on the gates of London.

Sources

  • Mortimer, Ian. The Greatest Traitor
  • Underhill, Frances. For Her Good Estate
  • Vita Edwardi II
Last updated: 10-23-2005 08:34:32
The contents of this article are licensed from Wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. How to see transparent copy