alternatehistory.com
1330-6: England
1330-6: "FORTUNE'S RISING STAR"
"We have very little record of Gilbert Despenser immediately following the Earl of Kent's Rising--showing a lifelong talent for knowing when to retire from the public view, he seems to have kept a low profile. The closest news we have of him are a few land grants given to the Despensers in wake of the Rising, and a signature on the marriage contract of his sister Eleanor, the Baroness Audley of Barnstaple[1]. Only a few years later, Gilbert Despenser would make his own bond with an Audley--his cousin and ward, Margaret[2]...
"The marriage that would make Gilbert's fortune, raising him from his already sizable wealth to become one of England's premiere magnates[3], required a great deal of finesse on his part--he and Margaret Audley lay well within the prohibited degree of kinship, and would require the good favor of both church and crown. The latter however was more important than the former, and Gilbert already possessed a measure of it. What was needed was an excuse to exercise it. And the war with Scotland gave just that opportunity.
"Gilbert was among the English commanders at Dupplin Moor and Halidon Hill, demonstrating courage and fortitude by all accounts, and earning the good will of both Edward Balliol and the Prince... Reportedly, it was after Halidon that Gilbert approached the Prince with his design, which Edward agreed to as a means to end the two families long standing land disputes[4]. Indeed, a year later Gilbert would become the new Earl of Gloucester[5] both to recognize his new munificence and to gain funds for the ongoing struggle in Scotland... Gilbert was by most reports 'boundlessly pleased' by his advancement in rank, and be more pleased by the birth of his first son, Hugh..."
--From 'By Our Merits Have We Risen': The Despenser Dynasty by Augusta Lyme (1983)
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[1] IOTL, Eleanor was sent to a nunnery by the Mortimer regime, and the Baron Audley wed one Mortimer's daughters.
[2] IOTL, she wed Ralph de Stafford after being kidnapped by him. Her parents complained, but Ralph was one of Edward's inner circle, so they had to be satisfied with a few new titles. I told you all you'd be hearing about kidnappings again.
[3] On top of his share of his father's lands, Gilbert has gotten in the vicinity of £2314 a year from his wife's estates, which explains the OTL kidnapping quite well.
[4] The Audleys and the Despensers were involved in a long-standing dispute on who would inherit the properties of the late Earl of Gloucester.
[5] IOTL, Margaret's father Hugh was made Earl of Gloucester to make him more accepting of his daughter being kidnapped. It seems to have worked.
"We have very little record of Gilbert Despenser immediately following the Earl of Kent's Rising--showing a lifelong talent for knowing when to retire from the public view, he seems to have kept a low profile. The closest news we have of him are a few land grants given to the Despensers in wake of the Rising, and a signature on the marriage contract of his sister Eleanor, the Baroness Audley of Barnstaple[1]. Only a few years later, Gilbert Despenser would make his own bond with an Audley--his cousin and ward, Margaret[2]...
"The marriage that would make Gilbert's fortune, raising him from his already sizable wealth to become one of England's premiere magnates[3], required a great deal of finesse on his part--he and Margaret Audley lay well within the prohibited degree of kinship, and would require the good favor of both church and crown. The latter however was more important than the former, and Gilbert already possessed a measure of it. What was needed was an excuse to exercise it. And the war with Scotland gave just that opportunity.
"Gilbert was among the English commanders at Dupplin Moor and Halidon Hill, demonstrating courage and fortitude by all accounts, and earning the good will of both Edward Balliol and the Prince... Reportedly, it was after Halidon that Gilbert approached the Prince with his design, which Edward agreed to as a means to end the two families long standing land disputes[4]. Indeed, a year later Gilbert would become the new Earl of Gloucester[5] both to recognize his new munificence and to gain funds for the ongoing struggle in Scotland... Gilbert was by most reports 'boundlessly pleased' by his advancement in rank, and be more pleased by the birth of his first son, Hugh..."
--From 'By Our Merits Have We Risen': The Despenser Dynasty by Augusta Lyme (1983)
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[1] IOTL, Eleanor was sent to a nunnery by the Mortimer regime, and the Baron Audley wed one Mortimer's daughters.
[2] IOTL, she wed Ralph de Stafford after being kidnapped by him. Her parents complained, but Ralph was one of Edward's inner circle, so they had to be satisfied with a few new titles. I told you all you'd be hearing about kidnappings again.
[3] On top of his share of his father's lands, Gilbert has gotten in the vicinity of £2314 a year from his wife's estates, which explains the OTL kidnapping quite well.
[4] The Audleys and the Despensers were involved in a long-standing dispute on who would inherit the properties of the late Earl of Gloucester.
[5] IOTL, Margaret's father Hugh was made Earl of Gloucester to make him more accepting of his daughter being kidnapped. It seems to have worked.
- Space Oddity
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