The Perfect King (24 page)

Imagine a total of commissioned items amounting to twenty times this list for a single year. The quantity of costume, its richness and the imagination which went into designing and making it, are extraordinary, even for a medieval king. This particular writ includes a series of hangings 'all of which have been ornamented at the king's request' showing that Edward was personally behind-at least some of the court's brilliant decoration. The unbounded extravagance of this display is something to which historians have rarely done justice, and biographers have never even mentioned. Edward's mounting debts have usually been blamed exclusively on his wars, but making new and dazzling costumes for dozens and sometimes hundreds of men on a monthly or even more frequent basis cannot have helped the royal finances, especially when they were made of expensive cloths and - for the elite - decorated with furs and pearls.

Picking out choice items from an adjacent writ enrolled on the same parchment roll, we see that Edward's St George tournament armour was accompanied by 'three horse harnesses of the same livery with pennons, flags and standards'. He also ordered 'two great suits of armour for tournaments, one for the joust embroidered with the arms of Lionel'. This was for just one tournament, that at Dunstable in January
1334.
The reason for Edward's choice of Sir Lionel - a knight of the Arthurian Round Table - was not that he was a hero, for he tried to kill his beloved brother. It was a reference to growing up under Mortimer. Lionel and his brother, Sir Bors, had grown up under the domination of an interloper lord who had made himself king at their father's expense. No fewer than
135
knights and esquires took part in the Dunstable tournament, and Edward seems to have clothed many of them elaborately. And for the next tournament, he clothed them all in something different. The whole court and all its chivalric onlookers were dressing up, role-playing and changing identities in line with the king's whims and passions.

So many clothes are mentioned in the accounts that it is difficult to believe that Edward wore any single item regularly, perhaps with the exception of his golden and gem-encrusted eagle crest. This goes for armour as well as daily wear. In
1330
he employed seven armourers, including several foreigners, showing that he used not just the best local manufacturers (such as Thomas Copham, and William Standerwyk) but foreign-born experts, such as John of Cologne, Gerard of Tournai and Peter of Bruges. He also imported pieces of German and Italian armour.-' In
1338
his list of armourers included several more foreigners, James of Liege, Gottschalk and Arnold of Cologne and Herman Keplyn.*
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And all these men were turning out quantities of equipment. At Barnard
Castle
in July
1334
he ordered the controller of his wardrobe, William Zouche, to account with Gerard of Tournai for a total of one hundred and seven pieces of armour then brought to his chamber, including a number of 'black helmets for war', burnished helmets, tournament helmets 'with gilded eye-holes', a complete suit of jousting armour and, most interestingly, 'a plate corset lined in white silk for the king's person [and] an identical corset for the person of William Montagu', early appearances of the breastplate.
Armour developed very rapidly over the course of Edward's reign, so that the general coif or hauberk of chainmail - ubiquitous in
1330
- had become a thing of the past for the leading knights in his army by
1345.

Those who benefited most from all this elaborate costume-making were, of course, those closest to Edward: his wife and his selected band of knights. Even after Halidon Hill, Edward continued his bonding exercise with his
leading men by giving them costl
y tournament gear and linking them into a fraternity of warriors. He himself would fight in their mock-armies during a tournament, or joust in their coats of arms. On many occasions he ordered a pair of suits so that a particularly favoured knight should be seen to be dressed like the king. In late
1334
or early
1335
he ordered 'two surcoats of tawny-red decorated with various birds, from the mouth of which springs forth a roll bearing song lyrics and another bearing a different legend', one of these surcoats being for the king, the other for Sir William Montagu.
Over and over again we read of clothes being given away. Some of these were for the king and later distributed after being made or worn once.
Others were made expressly for the band of his intimate knights.
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Yet other items were made so that Edward and his son were seen in the same livery, accentuating their royalty. On one occasion, although his son was still only a toddler, Edward ordered for himself, his son Edward and Sir Willi
am Montagu a brown coat and mantl
e each. These were:

embroidered with gold trees and garnished with silk fowl, trimmed with gold throughout, and decorated with birds on branches; on the breasts of these birds were two embroidered angels studded with pearls holding a golden crossbow crafted with gilt silver and a string of pearls.
1
'

In this way the little prince was tied into the band of close knights at court. B
y the age of four he had a littl
e palfrey of his own, and was receiving decorative apparel for it. By the age of seven he had his own suit of armour.
34
He would have never have known a time when he was not associated with the military elite of England. The only significant difference from Edward's own upbringing was that his son was surrounded by this new confraternity of knights, led by his warrior father, which was most unlike growing up at the court of Edward II.

*

Edward in
1334
was fully adult, a proven leader, favoured by God, and a dazzling king of a magnificent court. His family was fine, and growing; his marriage was a good one. And to cap it all, he had the two things which most men who have reached a pinnacle of achievement lack: health and youth. But he also had problems. In his very victory, in his chivalry and public religiosity, in his encouragement of overseas diplomatic links through marriage, and in his refusal to compromise over the Agenais, Edward had established a culture of triumphant belligerence which neither
Scotland
nor France could ignore. In particular, he had failed completely to reverse the tide of Scottish patriotism, and had failed to press home his advantage after Halidon Hill.

In terms of
conquering
Scotland
, Edward had been rather short-sighted. In his determination to confront the Scottish army he had concentrated wholly and exclusively on one big battle. Although he had proved his leadership qualities during that battle, he had ignored the wider aspects of subduing a country, expecting
that
it would capitulate. He was not far wrong - only five
castle
s continued to hold out against his rule - yet he did not attempt to subdue these last few rebels. Instead he let Balliol take responsibility for putting down all opposition. Edward concentrated instead on exerting his maximum gains from Balliol, in terms of grants of land. The ease with which he could control his client king fooled him into thinking that he had power over
Scotland
. In reality, Edward provided insufficient men to keep the northern kingdom subdued, and this, coupled with Balliol's own shortage of men, allowed the Scottish rebels to regroup. Most of all, Edward let slip through his fingers the one man he should have secured above all others, his brother-in-law, King David II.

The landing of David II and Queen Joan in France in May
1334
merely confirmed what Edward had hitherto only suspected: France would continue to support his enemy. While Edward took part in yet more extravagant jousts at Burstwick, including gunpowder demonstrations,
th
e Scottish rebels were covertly winning over many of the leaders who had ostensibly acknowledged Edward's overlordship. France too was shifting towards a position of war. The newly installed archbishop of Canterbury, John Stratford, was deep in negotiations with the French king. At the begining of July Stratford returned with the news that Philip was prepared to bargain over the Agenais but he demanded to know why Edward continued openly to support Balliol against his own brother-in-law, whom Philip regarded as the rightful king. Why had Edward again received
Balliol’
s hom
age as King of Scots? This greatl
y complicated the discussions over the Agenais and put
negotiations about the French th
rone beyond the reaches of diplomacy. Significantly it ensured that any refugees from English administration north of th
e border had a safe refuge south
of the Channel, where they could regroup and plan.

Edward did not doubt the seriousness of this resumption of the alliance against him. After Stratford's return to England, Edward attended one more tournament at Nottingham, but this was probably die last for some years. He sent messengers back to Philip to discuss a possible meeting between the two men about the crusade, as if this was a carrot with which to tempt Philip into sacrificing David II. But although Philip might have been prepared to do almost anything to be able to lead his expedition to the Holy Land, he could not acquiesce to Edward's demands. He had to maintain his opposition to this young English lion, and hope that by encouraging others to oppose him, Edward would receive such a setback that he would learn some humility. If Edward were to receive a bloody nose in
Scotland
, for example, the way would be left free for Philip to lead his c
rusade without Edward, and with
out having to share the glory.

What Philip probably could not have appreciated was how much the tentative eighteen-year-old he had met in
1331
had grown in confidence. Edward had already decided on his course of action, and it was straightforward. He was not going to compromise with Philip de Valois, David II or anyone, under any circumstances. As early as August
1334
he was thinking of a new expedition to
Scotland
. He summoned parliament to meet in September, and made preparations for the defence of the north.

Ball
iol's allies were deserting the English cause, Berwick was threatened with attack and, amid all this distant confusion, the idea that only he, Edward, could
quell the Scottish revolt greatl
y appealed to him. At the September parliament he personally paid for a settlement between two of his warring lords - Edward Bohun and Henry Percy - in order to secure their support. He asked parliament to grant him a tax for the forthcoming war. As parliament -deliberated, news came that one of Edward's principal agents in
Scotland
, Richard Talbot, had been captured. Another, Henry Beaumont was besieged in Dundarg
Castle
, and yet another, David of Strathbogie, had been pursued and forced to swear allegiance to David II. It only remained for Edward Balliol to take the fast road back to safety in Carlisle for the north of England to be threatened once more. Parliament gave him everything he wanted.

No one can doubt Edward's resolution in organising his new Scottish campaign. Troops were to assemble at very short notice, on
6
October, at New
castle
. Monthly loans were secured from the Italian bankers, the Bardi. Clerics and laymen were induced to give personal loans to the king New means of taxation were devised to maximise Edward's ability to raise and sustain an army.
38
Old forms of taxation were revamped to guarantee delivery of specific amounts of silver.
39
Once again, all those of sufficient income were ordered to become knights. Edward was not just mobilising English society, he was forcing it through a socio-economic funnel so that it might more efficiendy respond to his demands. By the end of December
1334,
negotiations with Philip had been terminated, the army had gathered, banners bearing the royal arms and the arms of St George and St Edmund had been ordered, hundreds of pennons bearing St George's arms were in the making, and Edward was dressed in new armour and surrounded by a bodyguard of two hundred mounted archers picked from the men of Cheshire.

Archers were an essential part of Edward's new army, and his willingness to employ them was one of the real achievements of his war policy at this time. It was experimental, cutting-edge strategic thinking, combining the manoeuvrability of the Scots army in
1327
with the firepower of the English archers at Dupplin Moor and Halidon Hill. On this expedition there were
481
mounted archers in his own household. He also provided
371
knights and men-at-arms. Other lords provided at least
838
knights and men-at-arms and
771
mounted archers.
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The sheriffs of the English counties also were required to raise and send large numbers of infantry archers. Lancashire alone was expected to provide four thousand, Yorkshire more than five thousand. Only a fraction of these turned up, but the message was emphatic. The sheriff of Lancashire may well have scratched his head on receiving the royal writ, and wondered where he was going to find four thousand men who could shoot longbows rapidly and accurately, but he would have known that this was what could be expected in future campaigns.