Edward II - Christopher Marlow
[alert-success] Edward II [/alert-success]
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Piers Gaveston, who was forced out of England and sent back to his home country of France, gets a letter from Edward II, his friend and lover. Edward II became King of England after his father died, and in his letter to Gaveston, he says that he has ended Gaveston's banishment and wants him to come share in his wealth and power. Gaveston agrees quickly because he is excited to see Edward and thinks that he can use the King's love to his own advantage.
Tensions rises even before Gaveston announces that he is going back to England. Edward II argues with a group of nobles who think Gaveston is a manipulative social climber and want him to stay away. Gaveston watches from a hiding place. Even though the Earl of Kent, who is the King's brother, tells Mortimer Junior and the other nobles that they are remarkably close to treason, they stand firm in their opposition and threaten war as they return to their homes. Gaveston then tells Edward who he is, and the two are happy to see each other again. Edward makes Gaveston Earl of Cornwall and gives him the power to give orders and take money from the treasury in the name of the King. But the happy reunion is ruined when the Bishop of Coventry shows up. He makes it clear that he also doesn't want Gaveston to come back. With Edward's support, Gaveston attacks the Bishop, puts him in jail, and takes his property.
The attack on Coventry and Edward's continued lack of care for his wife Isabella, who is the sister of the King of France, make the nobles think even less of Gaveston. Along with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the nobles Mortimer Junior, Mortimer Senior, the Earl of Warwick, the Earl of Lancaster, and the Earl of Pembroke issue an order for Gaveston's exile. But at first, Edward won't sign the order, even though they insist that he has duties to both the Church and the English nobility. In response, the nobles forcefully arrested Gaveston and threatened to start a rebellion. This made the King reluctantly agree to Gaveston's banishment, even though he was his favourite. Then there is a sad goodbye, and Edward says he will send money to Gaveston in Ireland.
Shortly after Gaveston leaves, Isabella tries to convince the nobles to let him come back. Edward, who thinks she had an affair with Mortimer Junior, blames her for Gaveston's exile and won't even talk to her while he's gone. The nobles agree because they think that bringing Gaveston back will at least give them a chance to kill him. The nobles don't agree with Edward's plan, but they seem willing to compromise, which makes the King like them again. He even gives Mortimer Senior the job of leading his army in Scotland. In the meantime, Edward gets ready for Gaveston's return by calling Gaveston's fiancee, Lady Margaret de Clare, back to court so they can get married. Lady Margaret is Edward's niece, so their marriage will officially make Gaveston part of the royal family. Lady Margaret brings along her tutor, Baldock, and a family servant named Spencer Junior. Both of these men want to work for Gaveston and become the King's favourites.
Gaveston gets back to court, but almost as soon as he does, he and the nobles get into another fight. When Mortimer Junior finds out that his uncle, Mortimer Senior, has been taken by the Scots and is being held for ransom, things only get worse. Edward doesn't want to pay for Mortimer Senior's release, so the nobles make a list of all the ways they think the King has been irresponsible: spending money on art instead of the military, putting diplomatic ties at risk by how he treated the Queen, ignoring the nobles' own opinions, and so on. Edward doesn't care about any of this, which turns off not only the nobles but also his own brother, who goes to join Mortimer Junior, Lancaster, and the other earls in planning an attack on the court at Tynemouth to capture Gaveston.
After the attack on the castle, Edward and Gaveston have to go their separate ways. The nobles decided to go after Gaveston, and they did catch up to him in the end. At first, they agree that Gaveston should be able to see Edward one last time before he is killed. Warwick, on the other hand, doesn't like the deal, so he hides and kills Gaveston as he is being led to the King. When Edward finds out about this, he vows to get even and gets ready to go to war with the nobles, who now want Edward to stop favouring Spencer Junior.
In the first battle, Edward's forces beat the nobles, and Warwick, Lancaster, and Mortimer Junior are all taken into custody. The first two are killed in the end, but Mortimer Junior and Kent are able to escape to France. There, they meet up with Isabella, whom Edward had sent to France with their son Prince Edward to talk about England's claims to the area of Normandy. Isabella's loyalty to her husband has worn thin, though, and she is now trying to find allies who will help her make her son king instead (something the Prince himself does not want).
Edward thinks he can stop the Queen from being a threat by buying off the French nobility, but Isabella and Mortimer, who are now in love, find help from a nobleman named Sir John of Hainault. With Kent, they go back to England and fight against the King's forces at Bristol. This time, Edward is the one who loses, but Baldock, Spencer Jr., and the king himself are able to escape to a monastery, where the Abbot offers to hide them. A man who works as a mower, though, tells on them, and all three are arrested. Spencer Junior and Baldock are taken away to be killed, while Edward is locked up in Kenilworth under the watch of the Earl of Leicester.
With the help of the Bishop of Winchester, Leicester gets Edward to give up his crown. Still, Mortimer Junior gets rid of Leicester quickly because he cares too much about Edward's situation. He replaces him with Berkeley, but then gets rid of him, too. Mortimer chooses Gourney and Maltravers as guards in the end. He tells them to torture Edward as much as possible and move him back and forth between Kenilworth and Berkeley to stop any attempts to escape. Mortimer has found out that Kent regrets his part in his brother's downfall and is planning to set him free. Gourney and Maltravers do what they are told. They make fun of Edward and catch Kent when he tries to talk to his brother.
The plans for Prince Edward's coronation have been made by Mortimer Junior. Since the new king is still a boy, Mortimer will have real power as both the Lord Protector and the Queen Mother's lover. Still, he thinks his position isn't really safe until Edward II is dead, so he hires an assassin, Lightborne, to kill Edward II. After sending Lightborne on his way, Mortimer quickly shows Prince Edward (now King Edward III) that he is in charge by putting Kent to death against the wishes of the new king.
Lightborne gets to Berkeley and tells Gourney and Maltravers about his mission. Unbeknownst to him, they have been told to kill him as soon as Edward dies. At first, Lightborne pretended to be on Edward's side. Then, he told the former king to lie down on a feather bed, where he killed him with a hot poker. Then, Gourney stabs Lightborne and runs away, while Maltravers tells Mortimer Junior about the crime. As he does this, Isabella goes crazy and tells him that Edward III has found out about his father's death and thinks she and Mortimer killed him. Then Edward III walks in with members of the nobility and the written order for Edward II's death that Mortimer had given. Mortimer says goodbye to Isabella and calmly accepts the fact that he is going to be killed. Isabella keeps trying to talk to her son, but she fails. In the end, Edward III puts her in jail until he can find out if and how she was involved in killing his father. Finally, he tells people to get a hearse ready for Edward II and puts Mortimer's head on it.
Tensions rises even before Gaveston announces that he is going back to England. Edward II argues with a group of nobles who think Gaveston is a manipulative social climber and want him to stay away. Gaveston watches from a hiding place. Even though the Earl of Kent, who is the King's brother, tells Mortimer Junior and the other nobles that they are remarkably close to treason, they stand firm in their opposition and threaten war as they return to their homes. Gaveston then tells Edward who he is, and the two are happy to see each other again. Edward makes Gaveston Earl of Cornwall and gives him the power to give orders and take money from the treasury in the name of the King. But the happy reunion is ruined when the Bishop of Coventry shows up. He makes it clear that he also doesn't want Gaveston to come back. With Edward's support, Gaveston attacks the Bishop, puts him in jail, and takes his property.
The attack on Coventry and Edward's continued lack of care for his wife Isabella, who is the sister of the King of France, make the nobles think even less of Gaveston. Along with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the nobles Mortimer Junior, Mortimer Senior, the Earl of Warwick, the Earl of Lancaster, and the Earl of Pembroke issue an order for Gaveston's exile. But at first, Edward won't sign the order, even though they insist that he has duties to both the Church and the English nobility. In response, the nobles forcefully arrested Gaveston and threatened to start a rebellion. This made the King reluctantly agree to Gaveston's banishment, even though he was his favourite. Then there is a sad goodbye, and Edward says he will send money to Gaveston in Ireland.
Shortly after Gaveston leaves, Isabella tries to convince the nobles to let him come back. Edward, who thinks she had an affair with Mortimer Junior, blames her for Gaveston's exile and won't even talk to her while he's gone. The nobles agree because they think that bringing Gaveston back will at least give them a chance to kill him. The nobles don't agree with Edward's plan, but they seem willing to compromise, which makes the King like them again. He even gives Mortimer Senior the job of leading his army in Scotland. In the meantime, Edward gets ready for Gaveston's return by calling Gaveston's fiancee, Lady Margaret de Clare, back to court so they can get married. Lady Margaret is Edward's niece, so their marriage will officially make Gaveston part of the royal family. Lady Margaret brings along her tutor, Baldock, and a family servant named Spencer Junior. Both of these men want to work for Gaveston and become the King's favourites.
Gaveston gets back to court, but almost as soon as he does, he and the nobles get into another fight. When Mortimer Junior finds out that his uncle, Mortimer Senior, has been taken by the Scots and is being held for ransom, things only get worse. Edward doesn't want to pay for Mortimer Senior's release, so the nobles make a list of all the ways they think the King has been irresponsible: spending money on art instead of the military, putting diplomatic ties at risk by how he treated the Queen, ignoring the nobles' own opinions, and so on. Edward doesn't care about any of this, which turns off not only the nobles but also his own brother, who goes to join Mortimer Junior, Lancaster, and the other earls in planning an attack on the court at Tynemouth to capture Gaveston.
After the attack on the castle, Edward and Gaveston have to go their separate ways. The nobles decided to go after Gaveston, and they did catch up to him in the end. At first, they agree that Gaveston should be able to see Edward one last time before he is killed. Warwick, on the other hand, doesn't like the deal, so he hides and kills Gaveston as he is being led to the King. When Edward finds out about this, he vows to get even and gets ready to go to war with the nobles, who now want Edward to stop favouring Spencer Junior.
In the first battle, Edward's forces beat the nobles, and Warwick, Lancaster, and Mortimer Junior are all taken into custody. The first two are killed in the end, but Mortimer Junior and Kent are able to escape to France. There, they meet up with Isabella, whom Edward had sent to France with their son Prince Edward to talk about England's claims to the area of Normandy. Isabella's loyalty to her husband has worn thin, though, and she is now trying to find allies who will help her make her son king instead (something the Prince himself does not want).
Edward thinks he can stop the Queen from being a threat by buying off the French nobility, but Isabella and Mortimer, who are now in love, find help from a nobleman named Sir John of Hainault. With Kent, they go back to England and fight against the King's forces at Bristol. This time, Edward is the one who loses, but Baldock, Spencer Jr., and the king himself are able to escape to a monastery, where the Abbot offers to hide them. A man who works as a mower, though, tells on them, and all three are arrested. Spencer Junior and Baldock are taken away to be killed, while Edward is locked up in Kenilworth under the watch of the Earl of Leicester.
With the help of the Bishop of Winchester, Leicester gets Edward to give up his crown. Still, Mortimer Junior gets rid of Leicester quickly because he cares too much about Edward's situation. He replaces him with Berkeley, but then gets rid of him, too. Mortimer chooses Gourney and Maltravers as guards in the end. He tells them to torture Edward as much as possible and move him back and forth between Kenilworth and Berkeley to stop any attempts to escape. Mortimer has found out that Kent regrets his part in his brother's downfall and is planning to set him free. Gourney and Maltravers do what they are told. They make fun of Edward and catch Kent when he tries to talk to his brother.
The plans for Prince Edward's coronation have been made by Mortimer Junior. Since the new king is still a boy, Mortimer will have real power as both the Lord Protector and the Queen Mother's lover. Still, he thinks his position isn't really safe until Edward II is dead, so he hires an assassin, Lightborne, to kill Edward II. After sending Lightborne on his way, Mortimer quickly shows Prince Edward (now King Edward III) that he is in charge by putting Kent to death against the wishes of the new king.
Lightborne gets to Berkeley and tells Gourney and Maltravers about his mission. Unbeknownst to him, they have been told to kill him as soon as Edward dies. At first, Lightborne pretended to be on Edward's side. Then, he told the former king to lie down on a feather bed, where he killed him with a hot poker. Then, Gourney stabs Lightborne and runs away, while Maltravers tells Mortimer Junior about the crime. As he does this, Isabella goes crazy and tells him that Edward III has found out about his father's death and thinks she and Mortimer killed him. Then Edward III walks in with members of the nobility and the written order for Edward II's death that Mortimer had given. Mortimer says goodbye to Isabella and calmly accepts the fact that he is going to be killed. Isabella keeps trying to talk to her son, but she fails. In the end, Edward III puts her in jail until he can find out if and how she was involved in killing his father. Finally, he tells people to get a hearse ready for Edward II and puts Mortimer's head on it.
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