IMC 2021: Sessions
Session 2210: 14th-Century England, III: Royal Favourites and Political Intrigue - Sex, Favour, and Influence
Friday 9 July 2021, 14.15-15.45
| Sponsor: | Society for 14th-Century Studies |
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| Organiser: | Gwilym Dodd, Department of History, University of Nottingham |
| Moderator/Chair: | Chris Given-Wilson, St Andrews Institute of Mediaeval Studies, University of St Andrews |
| Paper 2210-a | John de Ferrers, Seneschal of Gascony: In Search of a Lost Inheritance (Language: English) Index terms: Administration, Politics and Diplomacy |
| Paper 2210-b | 'Vos Maisons sount pris al oeps le count': Walter Bedwyn, Treasurer of York, and the Return of Piers Gaveston (Language: English) Index terms: Administration, Archives and Sources, Ecclesiastical History, Politics and Diplomacy |
| Paper 2210-c | 'Willing to abandon his shield and seek the battle in bed': Edward III, Alice Perrers, and Sexual Distraction from Warfare (Language: English) Index terms: Gender Studies, Military History, Political Thought, Women's Studies |
| Abstract | This session considers the impact of royal favourites on politics and governance in 14th-century England. The first paper re-examines the appointment of John de Ferrers as Seneschal of Gascony in January 1312, arguing that the role given to Ferrers was an aspect of a new political alignment which joined Edward II, Piers Gaveston and Walter Langton in common cause against the Lords Ordainer. The second paper sheds new light on a letter surviving amongst the Ancient Correspondence (SC 1) at The National Archives, which recounts Piers Gaveston's arrival in York from exile early in 1312, identifying for the first time the true recipient. The final paper explores the evidently inaccurate, but widely perceived, connection between Edward III's mistress, Alice Perrers, and the failure of the English war effort. |