The Death of a King Read Online Free

probably, using some legal quibble to clear himself of any personal guilt in Edward II’s death. No, what fascinated me, Richard, was Orleton’s reference to the official investigation at the November Parliament of 1330. The great rolls of Parliament, preserved in the muniment room of the Tower of London, would have recorded such an event and this fact led me to consider a different approach to my inquiry.
    So far, I had relied on personal witness but Orleton had demonstrated the flaws of such a method which relied on hearsay, prejudice, half-truths and even deliberate lies. Moreover, most of the important witnesses were either dead or unapproachable. Consequently, by the time I entered Cripplegate early this afternoon, I had decided that the answers for which I was searching could lie here in London. As you know, Richard, the English may despise good government but they have an almost religious awe for competent administration. Ever since the early days of Henry the Angevin, this administration has revolved around the Chancery and the Exchequer. The former is the royal writing office which issues all writs, letters and proclamations whilst the latter is the treasury, controlling the revenues of the crown. Both are subject to royal scrutiny and so both keep meticulous accounts which they deliver annually to the great muniment room in the Tower. Of course, I am acquainted with both and I decided to reconstruct Edward II’s imprisonment by a thorough scrutiny of all government records for the year 1327.
    Such records, however, would only provide the facts but no narrative, no contemporary account. When I got back to my lodgings, I lay fully dressed on my bed wondering where I could find such a source. Then the bells of St Paul’s Cathedral began to ring out for Saturday vespers. The cathedral dominates Bread Street and the constant tolling of its bells from matins to compline has always irritated me, but this time they came as an answer to a prayer. The cathedral is staffed by canons and I am on cordial terms with their archivist, Simon Islip. I remembered a chance meeting a few months earlier when we discussed the highly delicate task of preserving vellum. Islip was greatly concerned with this matter as he was responsible for the annals of his cathedral which, he proudly maintained, served as a valuable history, not only of the capital but of the country at large. These annals may be the very things I need, a contemporary account of the events surrounding the death of Edward II.
    So, dear Richard, without stirring abroad, I can finish this wretched business. Tonight, I shall celebrate with a meal and a romp with my Kate, a description of whose charms and arts would only offend your celibate nature. I bid you adieu. God keep you. Written at Bread Street, 6 November, 1345.

Letter Three
    Edmund Beche to his friend, Richard Bliton, Prior of Croyland Abbey, greetings.
    I closed my last letter, Richard, so confident that my work amongst the records would finally finish the task, but they have simply clouded the matter further. At the same time I wrote to you, I also sent a report to the king, describing my interview with Orleton and explaining what I intended to do. His grace replied promptly. He expressed special interest in the bishop’s last meeting with Mortimer and ordered me to report again once he returns from his campaign against the French.
    I began my research at St Paul’s and in the Tower Muniment Room and, within three weeks, I was able to draw up a fairly accurate picture of Edward II’s capture and imprisonment. In 1322, after crushing his barons at the battle of Boroughbridge, Edward II and the Despenser family began to rule England like despots. Despenser the Younger totally controlled the king’s decisions and waged a savage vendetta against Isabella, who refused to accept his authority. He confiscated her lands and even organized a plot to allow the Scots to capture her. He insisted on sleeping in the same