Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England

by Alison Weir

  By the middle of April, William de Montagu had returned from Avignon and informed Edward III of the code to be used in his letters to the Pope. One of them is extant, bearing the earliest surviving signature of an English king,233 but there is no evidence that Edward ever used this device to complain of his mother or of Mortimer to the Pope.

  On 16 April, through Isabella’s influence, her clerk, Robert Wyville, was made Bishop of Salisbury, despite being illiterate.234

  Mortimer had now built up a vast landed estate, but what he and Isabella needed was money. Should there be an uprising against them, or an invasion, ready cash would buy them soldiers and the wherewithal to bribe their way out of a crisis. Already, Kent’s goods had been sold and the money put in the Exchequer.235 During the last Parliament, Mortimer had demanded money for an expedition to Gascony and had ordered Convocation to raise it, but Archbishop Meopham had objected, clearly—and doubtless correctly—suspecting that Isabella and Mortimer would appropriate it for themselves.236 But there were other ways of raising cash.237 On 20 April, all Mortimer’s debts to the Exchequer were forgiven.238 Five days later, grants were made to him and his son Geoffrey, the latter receiving the lion’s share of Kent’s estates.239 Further grants were made to Isabella and Mortimer on 12 July,240 and to Mortimer in August, and a loan offered by the City of London was haughtily accepted as a gift.241

  Around May and June, Isabella and Mortimer were busily granting the rest of Kent’s property to their remaining supporters, the Earl of Surrey, Hugh de Turpington, Oliver Ingham, Simon de Bereford, Maltravers, Berkeley, and the Burghershes, in return for undertakings to attend the King with an armed following in the event of war.242 One man who was definitely not to be bought was Arundel’s dispossessed heir, Richard FitzAlan, who was arrested at the beginning of June for plotting Mortimer’s downfall.243

  After 4 May, Isabella went to stay at Eltham,244 and on the nineteenth, aware that the birth of her grandchild was imminent, she wrote to Bishop Stratford, reminding him to pay Philippa arrears of the allowance that the King had granted her for her chamber. Stratford had been a very vocal opponent of the government during Lancaster’s rebellion, but he had been reconciled to the King early in 1330,245 and the tone of the Queen’s letter is unexpectedly warm, suggesting that she was prepared to forgive and forget the past:

  Greetings and true love.

  We pray you from the depths of our heart to make immediately available to our very dear daughter the Queen those Letters Patent under the Great Seal in which the King our son assigned her 10,000 [sic] marks for her chamber, to be received from the Exchequer of our said son, and which—as you know—his father agreed to. And in addition to this, please also cause writs of liberate to be issued for 500 marks for the term of Easter last past, and for the remaining 500 marks for Michaelmas next coming, for the whole year, and have these delivered to Sir William Colby, his clerk, for the love of us.

  May the Lord keep you.

  Given at our manor of Eltham on 19 May.246

  The reference to Edward II’s agreeing to the settlement on Philippa is strange, since he was believed to be dead by the time she came to England, and he had not been involved in the marriage negotiations. It probably refers to arrangements he had discussed years before for a settlement on any future bride for his son. The fact that Isabella mentions him at all to Bishop Stratford suggests that his name was not taboo but that Isabella referred to him openly, something she might not have done had she had a guilty conscience.

  The Queen Mother was back at Woodstock when, at ten o’clock in the morning of 15 June, Queen Philippa gave birth to a beautiful healthy son, an heir to England.247 Named Edward, like his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, this boy was to win lasting renown as the “Black Prince” in the decades to come. He was Isabella’s first grandchild, and the surviving evidence suggests that there was always a close bond between them.

  Isabella and Mortimer stayed at Woodstock for three days after the birth, then went to Gloucester from 20 to 23 June,248 which meant that they were absent from Philippa’s churching and the great banquet that followed it.

  On 8 July, Edward III sealed the new treaty with France.249 The next day, the council met at nearby Oseney Abbey250 and found itself dealing with yet another crisis, for a warning had just been received from Count William of Hainault that Henry de Beaumont, Rhys ap Gruffydd, and other exiles were planning to invade England from Brabant, and that their friends in Wales were poised to attack Mortimer’s lands.251 Immediately, the council sent a message summoning Isabella and Mortimer urgently back from Gloucester, then ordered a general muster of troops throughout the realm and forbade all tournaments, in case they served as a pretext for armed men to gather.252 On 11 July, the Mayor of London was ordered to meet with the King at Woodstock.

  Isabella and Mortimer were back at Woodstock by 15 July,253 to hear that the Mayor had begged to be excused from waiting upon the King since he was needed in London to deal with the mounting unrest there, which had no doubt been precipitated by the invasion scare. But the Queen would brook no excuses, and he was commanded to present himself and two dozen leading citizens at Woodstock on 27 July for talks on how to deal with the present emergency, during which the Londoners would declare their loyalty to the King, and Isabella, in return, would graciously solicit a pardon for Hamo de Chigwell.254 Mortimer immediately canceled plans he had made to go on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint James at Compostela in Spain, for he dared not leave the country at this juncture, and throughout July and August, various measures were deployed for the defense of the realm.255 They were sufficient to deter the invaders but not to stop their plotting, from their safe distance, the destruction of Isabella and Mortimer.

  On 17 July, at Isabella’s request, the King made a grant to Saint Peter’s Hospital in York, which had been founded before the Conquest and later became known as Saint Leonard’s Hospital. That month, Isabella again made Mortimer the heir to several of her properties,256 which lends substance to Froissart’s assertion that, some time after Kent’s execution, “great infamy fell on the Queen Mother (whether justly or not I do not know) because it was reported that she was with child by Mortimer.” It is indeed possible that Isabella was pregnant at this time, but the “great infamy” did not fall upon her until later in the year, as will be seen.

  By 29 July, the court had moved to Northampton.257 On that day, Maltravers was replaced by Mortimer’s man Sir Hugh de Turpington as Steward of the Household.

  The court was at King’s Cliffe on 6 August, Stamford on the tenth, Bourne in Lincolnshire on the fourteenth, Lincoln on the twenty-fourth, and Clipstone on 1 September. On 6 September, the council was summoned to meet at Nottingham, where the King and his train arrived four days later.258

  On 15 September, the Pope wrote to Edward III and Queen Isabella in response to Edward’s letter of 24 March. With perhaps more than a touch of irony, he expressed his deep surprise at Kent’s claim that Edward II was still alive, especially since the late King had been given a state funeral: “the Pope believes and holds firmly that those who were present could not possibly have been deceived, and did not attempt to deceive. If the funeral had been in secret, there would have been some grounds for suspicion, but as it was public, there were none.” He protested, rather too vehemently, that he had not believed in Kent’s incredible claims, and that, if he had, he would not have dealt directly with the Earl but would have warned the King and the Queen Mother immediately.

  Perceptive, shrewd, and well informed, John XXII evidently realized that Isabella and Mortimer were on a headlong course to disaster, for he concluded by offering the Queen some sage advice: “Whatever you do, do prudently, and keep an eye on the end; and put up with minor irritations lest worse be thrust on you.”259 Unfortunately, it was advice that came all too late.

  Nottingham Castle had originally been built on the orders of William the Conqueror in 1068 on a high sandstone crag that towered 130 feet over the town and th
e River Trent; it had been rebuilt by Henry II a century later and was now a mighty stronghold that held “no peer in the kingdom.” The royal apartments boasted a mural depicting scenes from the life of Alexander the Great, and the chapel, dedicated to Saint Catherine, was richly furnished and decorated with wall paintings of the saint’s life.260

  Security was tight for the meeting of the council, which reflects Mortimer’s increasing paranoia. He was attended as always by his 180 armed followers, and guards were posted all around the castle. The Queen and Mortimer took up lodgings in the most secure part, the “old tower,” as the keep was known, and each night, every door and gate was locked and barred, and the keys brought to Isabella, who slept with them under her pillow.261

  By now, the King had had enough. His uncle’s execution, the birth of a son and heir, the mounting catalog of his grievances against Mortimer, the slights to his wife, the realization that his mother was pregnant with a bastard child—Froissart says that the rumors had “finally reached the ears of the King”—and the approach of his eighteenth birthday, when he would attain his majority, had all had a deep psychological effect on Edward III. He no longer wished to be associated with the factional squabbles and general unrest that had been the consequences of Isabella and Mortimer’s rule, and he had grown increasingly resentful of his mother’s tutelage. His dealings with the French would have reinforced the conviction he undoubtedly shared with most of his contemporaries that women were not born to rule nor to wield dominion over men. Edward may also have heard the rumors that were apparently gaining currency in Nottingham, that Mortimer “thirsted for the destruction of the royal blood and the usurpation of the royal majesty.”262

  It was Edward himself who, by his own admission, conceived a “secret design” against Mortimer,263 probably around late September or early October, since there is no evidence of his coup’s being planned earlier, although the King had probably been growing ever more desperate to get rid of Mortimer for at least a year, since Montagu’s secret visit to the Pope. Now he realized it had become imperative that he do so, for the man was dangerous and, even if he did not have designs on the Crown, was dragging the monarchy into disrepute.264 Edward himself later informed John XXII that the only persons to whom he initially confided his plans were William de Montagu and Richard de Bury, his devoted friends, in whose discretion he had every confidence.265

  Edward seems to have had no clear idea as to how his design was to be carried out, but he knew that any plan had to be foolproof, since the consequences of failure did not bear thinking about. It was Montagu who came up with a workable but daring scheme. He had befriended William d’Eland of Basford, the deputy constable of the castle, who was in charge in the absence of the constable, Lord Grey of Codnor. Eland was no friend to Mortimer and was willing to divulge the existence of a secret passage that had been cut through the massive rock on which the castle was built;266 this passage still survives today and is known as “Mortimer’s Hole,”267 although evidently neither Mortimer nor Isabella knew of its existence. Entry to it was gained via a postern gate near the “Trip to Jerusalem,” an inn that dated from 1189, the year in which Richard the Lion-Hearted departed on the Third Crusade. The tunnel was between six and ten feet wide and had rough steps where the gradient was at its steepest. It led up to the kitchen in the keep, which was next to the great hall. Upstairs were the chambers occupied by the King, Isabella, and Mortimer. It was through this passage that Montagu would gain access to the castle.

  In order to carry out his plan, Montagu enlisted the support of at least two dozen other young courtiers whose loyalty to the King could be counted on. Among them were Edward’s cousins, the ailing John de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, and his brothers Humphrey and William; Ralph de Stafford; Robert de Ufford; William de Clinton; John Neville of Hornby; William Latimer; Thomas Garton; and Robert Digby.268

  Many historians have claimed that Lancaster was involved in this conspiracy, but this is unlikely, unless it was secretly to offer his moral support. Lancaster had no means of gaining access to the King, and his name is not recorded among the conpirators. Nevertheless, Edward must have known that, when the time came, he could count on him as an ally.

  The council met at Nottingham on 15 October. The chief items on its agenda were Philip VI’s refusal to ratify the recent peace treaty unless Edward III paid liege homage, and matters of national security, which needed to be addressed in the wake of the recent invasion scare. At this council, according to Baker, Mortimer “shone with all too transient honour as Isabella’s chief adviser, whose word was law to those assembled.”

  On 16 October, Lancaster appeared in Nottingham and took up lodgings near the castle. He was virtually blind now and, according to Baker, looked like an old man, even though he was not yet fifty, but Mortimer did not believe him harmless and angrily objected to his presence, demanding, “Who made him so bold to take up his lodgings close to the Queen?” As a result, Lancaster was moved to new accommodation a mile out of the town, with John de Bohun.269

  Some members of the King’s household, realizing that something was afoot, warned Mortimer and Isabella that Edward was plotting to overthrow them and that Montagu had openly asserted that Mortimer had had Edward II murdered.270 On 18 or 19 October, the King, Montagu, and eight of their friends were summoned before Isabella, Mortimer, Chancellor Burghersh, and the council and interrogated.271 Mortimer, “wrathful as a devil,”272 dramatically accused the King and his companions of plotting against him. Edward denied it, as did Montagu, who sprang to his feet and defied any man to call the King a traitor, then sharply declared that he himself had done nothing against his allegiance. Mortimer snapped back that, when the King’s wishes were in conflict with his own, they were not to be obeyed.273 Afterward, realizing that it was only a matter of time before Mortimer moved against them, Montagu warned Edward “that it was better that they should eat the dog than let the dog eat them”; the King, despite some misgivings, agreed that they should strike now before it was too late and commanded Eland to leave the postern gate open, on pain of death. Montagu and the rest of the conspirators then left Nottingham, intending that Mortimer should think that they had fled for their lives.274

  At midnight on 19 October, Montagu and his men returned and, carrying torches, made their way up the secret passage to the keep. The King, who knew he was watched by Mortimer’s spies,275 had had to remain inside the castle; since his physician was later rewarded for assisting in the plot, it is possible that he had connived to help Edward feign illness. This would have given the King an excuse to withdraw to his chamber, where his mother and Mortimer would have expected him to remain.276 But after everyone had retired for the night, Edward emerged and made his way downstairs, probably in disguise (it is tempting to speculate that he had changed clothes with his physician). When Montagu and the rest appeared, he was waiting for them in the kitchen or hall, ready to lead them upstairs to the royal apartments.

  They advanced with drawn swords, but outside the door of the Queen’s chamber, they were challenged by Hugh de Turpington, the Steward of the Household, and Richard Monmouth, Mortimer’s squire, who had escaped from the Tower with him in 1323. Turpington shouted, “Traitors! You shall die an evil death here!” But in the short but fierce fight that followed, it was he who perished under the violent impact of Sir John Neville’s mace, while Monmouth was fatally stabbed.

  The King did not want his mother to see him, so he stayed just outside the door to keep watch, “his weapon at the ready,” while Montagu and his companions burst into the Queen’s chamber,277 where they found Isabella, Mortimer, Chancellor Burghersh, Simon de Bereford, and Oliver Ingham, who had just concluded a meeting at which they had resolved to arrest Montagu and his friends and were all about to retire for the night. Mortimer drew his sword and sprang to defend himself, killing one of his assailants, but he was quickly overpowered by Sir John de Moleyns, who arrested him in the King’s name. Bereford and Ingham were seized and bound, and Bish
op Burghersh was apprehended while trying to escape down the privy shaft.

  Isabella watched in horror as her lover was pinioned. It had all happened so quickly, but she was fast realizing that her world was falling in ruins about her. She could not see her son, but she suspected that he was nearby, and in her anguish, she screamed, “Bel fitz! Bel fitz! Eiez pitie du gentil Mortimer!” (“Fair son! Fair son! Have pity on the good Mortimer!”). But Edward ignored her and would not show his face. Passionately, she begged Montagu and the others “to do no harm to the person of Mortimer because he was a worthy knight, her dear friend and well-beloved cousin,” but they heeded her not. Mortimer and the other captives were marched out of the chamber and down to the great hall to meet their fate, and the door slammed shut on the Queen, locking her in with her fears and her misery.278

  PART THREE

  Isabella

  Our Lady Queen Isabella

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Our Dearest Mother

  After Mortimer and the others had been taken away, Isabella’s door was locked and the room placed under guard.

  When the worst happened, Isabella’s first thoughts had been for Mortimer’s safety. Maybe she had feared that he would be summarily executed. That was in Edward III’s mind, too, but having summoned and conferred with Lancaster during the night, he was persuaded that that would be just another act of tyranny and agreed to send Mortimer to London to be tried by his peers in Parliament.1 Early the next morning, the once-mighty Earl of March was taken south to Leicester in chains.2 The lords and the people gathered to watch as he and the other prisoners were escorted through Nottingham, and at his approach, they shouted loudly. A jubilant Lancaster was among them, wildly gesticulating for joy and throwing his cap in the air.3