Bowman, Gaynor (2013) Edward II : England's lost saint? Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) thesis, University of Kent. (doi:10.22024/UniKent/01.02.86517) (KAR id:86517)
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.22024/UniKent/01.02.86517 |
Abstract
The cult that arose around the posthumous memory of Edward Il is currently recognised but dismissed as a brief, localised aberration, dependent upon external stimulus. The subsuming understandings required to support and project an image of Edward Il as a saintly figure remain unexplored. Therefore, this thesis through a synthesis and analysis of literary and material sources, read against contemporary political, cultural and religious views, aims to identify the foundations of his alleged sanctity and assess the nature, scope and duration of his veneration. This study contends that the idea of Edward Il as a martyr developed three years after his death when it was announced that he had been murdered. The vital nucleus to this was the deeply acculturated belief in the ' inherent sanctity of an anointed king, catalysed into veneration by the abject horror of his murder. This conviction adopted a political dimension in retrospective criticism of the regime of Isabella and Mortimer, which had supplanted the rule of Edward Il and usurped the rule of Edward Ill. The understanding of Edward Il as a saintly figure who stood against the usurpation of God's order became quiescently embedded into the contemporary spiritual hierarchy, resulting in some evidence of it becoming overlooked (as perhaps in the Luttrel/ Psalter) or under evaluated. This argument is explored through fresh interpretations, some re -dating and close readings of four literary pieces. The Lament of Edward If reveals a previously undetected analogy of Edward Il as Boethius. The Vita et Mars is suggested as a hagiography for the king. The Fieschi Letter is considered as a piece of anti-English propaganda emanating from the Hundred Years War and Adam Davy's 5 Dreams about Edward If is re-contextualised as a piece of propaganda possibly written or adapted to gain support for Bishop Despenser's crusade of 1383.
Item Type: | Thesis (Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)) |
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DOI/Identification number: | 10.22024/UniKent/01.02.86517 |
Additional information: | This thesis has been digitised by EThOS, the British Library digitisation service, for purposes of preservation and dissemination. It was uploaded to KAR on 09 February 2021 in order to hold its content and record within University of Kent systems. It is available Open Access using a Creative Commons Attribution, Non-commercial, No Derivatives (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) licence so that the thesis and its author, can benefit from opportunities for increased readership and citation. This was done in line with University of Kent policies (https://www.kent.ac.uk/is/strategy/docs/Kent%20Open%20Access%20policy.pdf). If you feel that your rights are compromised by open access to this thesis, or if you would like more information about its availability, please contact us at ResearchSupport@kent.ac.uk and we will seriously consider your claim under the terms of our Take-Down Policy (https://www.kent.ac.uk/is/regulations/library/kar-take-down-policy.html). |
Uncontrolled keywords: | Christian saints, Martyrdom, Christianity, Medieval |
Subjects: | D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain |
Divisions: | Divisions > Division of Arts and Humanities > School of History |
SWORD Depositor: | SWORD Copy |
Depositing User: | SWORD Copy |
Date Deposited: | 30 Oct 2019 13:55 UTC |
Last Modified: | 09 Dec 2022 19:36 UTC |
Resource URI: | https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/86517 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes) |
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