History tells us that Edward II died at Berkeley Castle in 1327 in agony, with a red-hot poker inserted inside him. This is one of the most famous and lurid tales in all of English history. But is it true? Much evidence suggests that Edward did not die at Berkeley Castle at all, but was still alive years after his supposed death. Medieval historian Kathryn Warner explores in detail Edward’s downfall and forced abdication in 1326-1327, the role played in it by his wife Isabella of France, the wide variation in chronicle accounts of his murder at Berkeley Castle, and the fascinating possibility that Edward was alive in Italy many years after his official funeral was held in Gloucester in 1327.

Long Live the King: The Mysterious Fate of Edward II

Biographies & Memoirs

Warner, Kathryn

Historical

The History Press

In 1453, Richard, Duke of York, claimed the throne of England from his Lancastrian kinsman Henry VI, and set off a series of conflicts between rival branches of the English royal family, better known as the Wars of the Roses. Blood Roses traces the origins of this bitter rivalry all the way back to 1245 with the birth of the first Earl of Lancaster, Henry III’s younger son, Edmund. Thomas, the second Earl, was the first cousin and most dangerous enemy of King Edward II, and ended up being executed after a decade and half of rivalry and conflict. Thomas’s nephew Henry, the first Duke of Lancaster, was one of the great figures of the 14th century and was the father-in-law of Edward III’s third son John of Gaunt, probably the most famous member of the House of Lancaster. Edward III’s fourth son Edmund of Langley founded the House of York in 1385; his son Edward was killed at Agincourt in 1415 and was the uncle of Richard, duke of York. Blood Roses takes the reader through 170 years of bloody warfare and political intrigue, and sets the scene for one of the most famous conflicts in English history.

Blood Roses: The Houses of Lancaster and York Before the Wars of the Roses

Edward II’s murder at Berkeley Castle in 1327 is one of the most famous and lurid tales in all of English history. But is it true? 
?For over five centuries, few people questioned it, but with the discovery in a Montpellier archive of a remarkable document, an alternative narrative has presented itself: that Edward escaped from Berkeley Castle and made his way to an Italian hermitage. 
In Long Live the King, medieval historian Kathryn Warner explores in detail Edward’s downfall and forced abdication in 1326/27, the role possibly played by his wife Isabella of France, the wide variation in chronicle accounts of his murder at Berkeley Castle and the fascinating possibility that Edward lived on in Italy for many years after his official funeral was held in Gloucester in December 1327.

The Black Death in England: Journal of the Plague Years in the Fourteenth Century

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Diseases & Physical Ailments

Pen and Sword History

Philippa of Hainault: Mother of the English Nation

New paperback edition—Philippa of Hainault: Mother of the English Nation. The first biography of a remarkable and influential English queen.\nPhilippa of Hainault: Mother of the English Nation is the first full-length biography of the queen at the center of the some of the most dramatic events in English history. Philippa's marriage to Edward III was arranged in order to provide ships and mercenaries for her mother-in-law to invade her father-in-law’s kingdom in 1326, yet it became one of the most successful royal marriages and endured for more than four decades. The chronicler Jean Froissart described her as, "The most gentle Queen, most liberal, and most courteous that ever was Queen in her days."\nPhilippa stood by her husband’s side as he began a war against her uncle, Philip VI of France, and claimed his throne. She frequently accompanied him to France and Flanders during his early campaigns of the Hundred Years War. She also acted as regent in 1346 when Edward was away from his kingdom at the time of a Scottish invasion. She appeared on horseback to rally the English army to victory.\nPhilippa became popular with the people due to her kindness and compassion. This popularity helped maintain peace in England throughout Edward's reign. Her son, later known as the Black Prince—the eldest of her thirteen children— became one of the greatest warriors of the Middle Ages. Her extraordinary life did not escape tragedy: in 1348 three of her children died, almost certainly of the Black Death.

Amberley Publishing

John of Gaunt: Son of One King, Father of Another

'Old John of Gaunt, time-honour'd Lancaster' John of Gaunt (1340-1399) was the son of one king and the father of another. He claimed a Spanish kingdom via his wife, daughter of King Pedro the Cruel. He was the wealthiest, most powerful and most hated man in England for decades. He had a famous and enduring love affair with his mistress Katherine Swynford, whom he later married. He was sometimes the ally and sometimes the enemy of his capricious nephew Richard II. His descendants battled for control of the kingdom during the Wars of the Roses. Via his three marriages, he was the ancestor of numerous royal and noble families across Europe. John of Gaunt is the first biography of this most intriguing of men to appear for decades, and the first to tell his personal story.

Edward II's Nieces: The Clare Sisters: Powerful Pawns of the Crown

Community & Culture

Living in Medieval England: The Turbulent Year of 1326

History

Europe

Edward II: His Sexuality and Relationships

Sex and Sexuality in Medieval England allows the reader a peek beneath the bedsheets of our medieval ancestors, in an informative and fascinating look at sex and sexuality in England from 1250 to 1450. It examines the prevailing attitudes towards male and female sexual behaviour, and the ways in which these attitudes were often determined by those in positions of power and authority. It also explores our ancestors' ingenious, surprising, bizarre and often entertaining solutions to the challenges associated with maintaining a healthy sex life. This book will look at marriage, pre-marital sex, adultery and fornication, pregnancy and fertility, illegitimacy, prostitution, consent, same-sex relationships, gender roles and much more, to shed new light on the private lives of our medieval predecessors.

Sex and Sexuality in Medieval England

Self-Help

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Warner, Kathryn. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Warner, Kathryn

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Warner, Kathryn. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Long Live the King: The Mysterious Fate of Edward II

Blood Roses: The Houses of Lancaster and York Before the Wars of the Roses

Long Live the King: The Mysterious Fate of Edward II

The Black Death in England: Journal of the Plague Years in the Fourteenth Century

Philippa of Hainault: Mother of the English Nation

John of Gaunt: Son of One King, Father of Another

Edward II's Nieces: The Clare Sisters: Powerful Pawns of the Crown

Living in Medieval England: The Turbulent Year of 1326

Edward II: His Sexuality and Relationships

Sex and Sexuality in Medieval England