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Quiz about Edward II  the Monarch Who Failed
Quiz about Edward II  the Monarch Who Failed

Edward II - the Monarch Who Failed Quiz


His father conquered Wales and his son defeated the French but Edward II remains firmly on the list of great losers. Try this multi-choice quiz to see why.

A multiple-choice quiz by Philian. Estimated time: 7 mins.
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Author
Philian
Time
7 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
133,728
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
15
Difficulty
Difficult
Avg Score
7 / 15
Plays
781
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
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Question 1 of 15
1. How many sisters did Edward II have? Hint


Question 2 of 15
2. What title did Edward II bestow on his friend Gaveston? Hint


Question 3 of 15
3. Edward I disliked Gaveston so much that he is reported to have made a personal physical attack on the Prince (later Edward II) in his anger. What form did this attack take? Hint


Question 4 of 15
4. What were the names and titles of Edward II's two half-brothers? (They shared the same father but a different mother; one of the half-brothers was executed in 1330). Hint


Question 5 of 15
5. Edward II was succeeded by Edward III but, apart from this eldest son, what were the other children he had by his wife Isabella? Hint


Question 6 of 15
6. Which of the following activities were strongly to Edward II's tastes? Hint


Question 7 of 15
7. Which unusual country activities did Edward II like to take part in? Hint


Question 8 of 15
8. At which castle in the north of England did Edward's favourite Gaveston fall into the hands of the rebel lords? Hint


Question 9 of 15
9. Which rich nobleman died at Bannockburn with the result that the three heiresses to his vast estates were married off to the King's favourites? Hint


Question 10 of 15
10. The Earl of Lancaster (Edward's cousin) was the greatest land owner in the north of England and became the king's greatest opponent. What was his first name? Hint


Question 11 of 15
11. What happened at the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322? Hint


Question 12 of 15
12. Which position did Robert Baldock hold under Edward II? Hint


Question 13 of 15
13. Who or what was responsible for the overthrow of the Despenser rule of the country? Hint


Question 14 of 15
14. In which part of Britain was Edward II when he was taken prisoner by Henry of Lancaster, the previous earl's brother? Hint


Question 15 of 15
15. What was the only condition that Edward II asked for when he agreed to resign the throne? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. How many sisters did Edward II have?

Answer: five

Mary became a nun. All of the other four sisters married -Eleanor married the King of Aragon, Joan married the Earl of Gloucester, Margaret married the Duke of Lorraine, Elizabeth married the Count of Holland and later the Earl of Hereford and Essex. Edward I had ensured that his family was very powerfully connected.
2. What title did Edward II bestow on his friend Gaveston?

Answer: Earl of Cornwall

This is the first example of Edward's foolish misuse of the power of patronage. Giving titles and lands was a way of confirming the allegiance of powerful men to the crown. Previously, Cornwall was a title that went to a member of the royal family and not to a foreign (Gascon in Gaveston's case) nobody.
3. Edward I disliked Gaveston so much that he is reported to have made a personal physical attack on the Prince (later Edward II) in his anger. What form did this attack take?

Answer: He pulled out handfuls of Edward's hair.

Edward I's temper was said to be remarkable. On another occasion he lost his temper with one of his daughters and ruined one of her pieces of jewellery. Edward II's "fondness" for Gaveston set him at odds with his father and then later with his principal noblemen.
4. What were the names and titles of Edward II's two half-brothers? (They shared the same father but a different mother; one of the half-brothers was executed in 1330).

Answer: Thomas Earl of Norfolk, and Edmund, Earl of Kent

It was Edmund, Earl of Kent who was executed in 1330. This was during the time that the young Edward III was controlled by his mother and her lover, Roger Mortimer.
5. Edward II was succeeded by Edward III but, apart from this eldest son, what were the other children he had by his wife Isabella?

Answer: one son and two daughters

Edward's second son was John, Earl of Cornwall (after Gaveston's death). John died in 1336 aged 20. Edward II's daughter Joan married David Bruce, King of Scotland. His younger daughter married Reynald, Duke of Gueldres. Though rumoured to be homosexual, Edward did his "royal duty" and produced legitimate issue to carry on the line.
6. Which of the following activities were strongly to Edward II's tastes?

Answer: boating and swimming

Edward's delight in sports to do with the water was well known. After defeat at the Battle of Bannockburn the Scots composed a mocking song to taunt the English, "What would the King of England have won Scotland with 'Rumbalow'?" An oarsman's chant of the time was "Heavalow, Rumbalow".
7. Which unusual country activities did Edward II like to take part in?

Answer: hedging and ditching

After Bannockburn one royal messenger said it was not surprising the king did not win battles as he spent his time hedging and ditching rather than hearing mass. One household account records quantities of iron and plaster bought for "the private works of the king". He also liked to build walls.
8. At which castle in the north of England did Edward's favourite Gaveston fall into the hands of the rebel lords?

Answer: Scarborough

The rebel lords (sometimes called the Ordainers because of the list of ordinances or demands they drew up) soon disposed of Gaveston once he was in their power. The Earl of Warwick managed to steal him away from the safe-conduct of the Earl of Pembroke. After a quick trial he was executed at Blacklow Hill.
9. Which rich nobleman died at Bannockburn with the result that the three heiresses to his vast estates were married off to the King's favourites?

Answer: Earl of Gloucester

Hugh Audley and Wiiliam Montague were just household knights who married two of the three heiresses to Gloucester's fortune. The third heiress was married to the younger Despenser who gradually became Edward II's most preferred favourite. Eventually Despenser began to make inroads into the lands of the other two unfortunate knights. Once again Edward II misused the power of patronage and this time with the greatest windfall of land known to any medieval monarch.
10. The Earl of Lancaster (Edward's cousin) was the greatest land owner in the north of England and became the king's greatest opponent. What was his first name?

Answer: Thomas

Thomas of Lancaster organised the opposition to the King and his favourites. However,historians have judged that he had almost as little skill for leadership as Edward. He was involved in too many private land disputes and quarrels to carry through to a conclusion any rebellion against Edward II.
11. What happened at the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322?

Answer: Lancaster was defeated, captured and executed.

Lancaster didn't really put up much of a fight. Unlike Edward I or Edward III neither Edward II nor Thomas of Lancaster seem to have had much relish for a military campaign. Boroughbridge was won for Edward II by Andrew Harclay (Earl of Carlisle), employing tactics he had learned from the Scottish campaigns.
12. Which position did Robert Baldock hold under Edward II?

Answer: Chancellor

Baldock was ruthless and efficient where raising money was concerned. He was a close ally of Despenser. One of his tactics was to force men to pay large fictitious debts by producing fraudulent deeds. Most of this money went straight to Despenser rather than to the Exchequer.
13. Who or what was responsible for the overthrow of the Despenser rule of the country?

Answer: The faction led by Queen Isabella and Mortimer

Lnacaster was long dead. Mortimer was a Marcher lord but only became Earl of March after Isabella had taken over. The Archbishop of Canterbury did help to force the issue of Edward II's abdication after the Despensers had been executed.
14. In which part of Britain was Edward II when he was taken prisoner by Henry of Lancaster, the previous earl's brother?

Answer: Wales

As soon as Isabella landed in Suffolk in September 1326 all of Edward II's supporters ran away. Edward himself was eventually captured in Glamorgan and taken to Kenilworth Castle by Henry of Lancaster. Despenser was executed at Hereford and his genital were cut off and burned in front of him for being a heretic and a sodomite.
15. What was the only condition that Edward II asked for when he agreed to resign the throne?

Answer: That his son should succeed him as Edward III

The Archbishop of Canterbury by this stage was also against Edward. This was because Edward had failed not just in the patronage of the nobles but also in keeping on the right side of the Church. Edward's son did succeed him but, though Edward was killed in 1327, Mortimer's rule was not overturned until October 1330.
Source: Author Philian

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Lanni before going online.
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