scruffy1
Veteran Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Holy Year from Pamplona 2010, SJPP 2011, Lisbon 2012, Le Puy 2013, Vezelay (partial watch this space!) 2014; 2015 Toulouse-Puenta la Reina (Arles)
Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent (5 August 1301 – 19 March 1330)
A curious if somewhat indecisive member of the royal family of England, half-brother to King Edward II. Edmund supported the king until confronted by what historians define with a wink as the "favoritism" shown first towards Piers Gaveston, a dashing young handsome court retainer and later to Hugh Despenser also a young handsome court retainer. Edmund joined a rebellion led by Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer, whereby Edward II was deposed but found that he could not fit in with the new administration. The Earl soon began various ruses and stratagems in order to gain power, none of which were particularly successful. Believing that something was amiss, dreadfully askew in his life, Edmund decided to collect his wife, to take up the pilgrim's staff, and go on pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Mortimer, known as the Greatest Traitor and ruler of England from 1327 until 1330, heard of all Edmunds' plans through a personal network of spies. Deciding to remove a possible future attempt against his rule, Mortimer planned the murder of our repentant Earl while on his pilgrimage (such an unsavory cad!). Of course, Edmund had his own spies and upon learning of the planned assassination, he quickly turned back from France and returned to what he perceived as the safety of his estates in England. Poor Edmund! Mortimer entrapped the man into participating in yet another supposed coup attempt and the Earl quickly found himself with his head on the block, and a bit later under the floor blocks of Westminster Abbey. Mortimer? The execution of a royal prince was a great provocation to the seventeen-year-old Edward III. He had not been informed about the decision to execute his uncle, and it probably contributed to the king's decision to rise up against his protector. In 1330, Edward III installed himself in personal control of government, and moved to have Mortimer executed.
The pilgrimage could have saved Edmund's life, likewise, he might have been waylaid and deposed while on the Camino, then again, his visit in Santiago might have turned his life around and English history would have taken an unexpected diversion. One can't pick up any book dealing with the Middle Ages and not find Santiago or Saint James, or the Camino waiting to ambush the layreader.
A curious if somewhat indecisive member of the royal family of England, half-brother to King Edward II. Edmund supported the king until confronted by what historians define with a wink as the "favoritism" shown first towards Piers Gaveston, a dashing young handsome court retainer and later to Hugh Despenser also a young handsome court retainer. Edmund joined a rebellion led by Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer, whereby Edward II was deposed but found that he could not fit in with the new administration. The Earl soon began various ruses and stratagems in order to gain power, none of which were particularly successful. Believing that something was amiss, dreadfully askew in his life, Edmund decided to collect his wife, to take up the pilgrim's staff, and go on pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Mortimer, known as the Greatest Traitor and ruler of England from 1327 until 1330, heard of all Edmunds' plans through a personal network of spies. Deciding to remove a possible future attempt against his rule, Mortimer planned the murder of our repentant Earl while on his pilgrimage (such an unsavory cad!). Of course, Edmund had his own spies and upon learning of the planned assassination, he quickly turned back from France and returned to what he perceived as the safety of his estates in England. Poor Edmund! Mortimer entrapped the man into participating in yet another supposed coup attempt and the Earl quickly found himself with his head on the block, and a bit later under the floor blocks of Westminster Abbey. Mortimer? The execution of a royal prince was a great provocation to the seventeen-year-old Edward III. He had not been informed about the decision to execute his uncle, and it probably contributed to the king's decision to rise up against his protector. In 1330, Edward III installed himself in personal control of government, and moved to have Mortimer executed.
The pilgrimage could have saved Edmund's life, likewise, he might have been waylaid and deposed while on the Camino, then again, his visit in Santiago might have turned his life around and English history would have taken an unexpected diversion. One can't pick up any book dealing with the Middle Ages and not find Santiago or Saint James, or the Camino waiting to ambush the layreader.