Season 5 | 1. Generation Kill

This episode delves into the grand but fraught beginnings of Edward I’s plans for his legacy, focusing on a historic event known as the Feast of the Swans.

1. Edward I's efforts to secure his legacy through the Feast of the Swans, symbolizing a transfer of power to the next generation.
2. The detailed description of the feast and the rituals of knighthood, illustrating the pageantry of medieval times.
3. The portrayal of Edward of Carnarvon's character, suggesting potential weaknesses in his ability to fulfill his father's ambitions.
4. The complex dynamics between personal ambitions, political strategies, and familial legacies in medieval England.
5. The episode sets the stage for future conflicts and the testing of Edward of Carnarvon's leadership as king.

1: The Feast of the Swans

This chapter describes the lavish Feast of the Swans, where Edward I knighted 300 young men, signaling his attempt to establish a robust legacy for England. Dan Jones: "Edward made every single one of them knights... The king is sending a message."

2: Edward of Carnarvon’s Leadership

Explores the characteristics and leadership potential of Edward of Carnarvon, amidst his father's towering legacy. Dan Jones: "Does young Edward have the killer instincts to be the king?"

3: The Vow and Its Aftermath

Focuses on Edward I's dramatic vow at the feast and the immediate military actions taken under Edward of Carnarvon’s command. Dan Jones: "He bellows out a holy oath... he plans on dying after fulfilling his vow."

1. Recognize the importance of planning for future generations when in positions of power.
2. Understand the symbolic power of rituals and ceremonies in solidifying leadership and legacy.
3. Assess the suitability of successors to ensure they uphold the values and objectives of their predecessors.
4. Consider the impact of personal health on professional responsibilities and plan accordingly.
5. Maintain a balance between personal ambitions and the responsibilities towards one's position and legacy.

Edward I is getting too old to fight his enormous list of enemies, and so begins handing over the reins of war to his son and a brand new generation of knights. But the old king has a gnawing feeling he can’t shake – does his heir have what it takes to rule, or is this the beginning of the end for the Plantagenets?

People

Edward I, Edward of Carnarvon

Content Warnings:

None

Dan Jones
On a spring evening in London, a crowd of young men stream into a grand hall at the palace of Westminster to the sound of minstrels playing. There are nearly 300 men in total. Theyre wealthy, fit and dressed in dazzling golden robes. They're slightly bruised and tired, but in high spirits because they're coming to the end of a truly epic weekend. Bonhomie is in the air.

New best friends clap each other on the shoulders and roar with laughter. There are bear hugs and high fives all round. These boys are on top of the world and they want everyone to know it. It's giving high school reunion frat party, the end of a bachelor weekend in Vegas.

As they file into the hall in Westminster, stressed out servants hurry around. The palace staff have had a long weekend too, but one of intense work rather than pleasure. Hours of toil in the kitchens have been building towards a grand feast. Messing up isnt an option no one wants to answer to the man organizing this shindig, Edward I, the king of England.

Edward, aka Longshanks a, aka the hammer of the Scots, is the fifth king of the Plantagenets, the dynasty who have ruled England for over 150 years. As of this month, May 1306, Edward himself has reigned for 33 and a half of those. He has a reputation as a fearsome and merciless warrior. And he's butted heads with rebel barons, muslim sultans, french kings, welsh princes and the scottish rebel William Wallace. More often than nothing, Edward has come out of these fights on top, and his enemies have come out of them in lots of little pieces.

But now hes almost 67 years old. His health is failing so badly he cant even ride a horse.

He still has a long list of people who he thinks need their heads kicked in, starting with his old enemies, the Scots. But hes also smart enough to know that hes no Liam Neeson, the aging action hero. Look just isnt working.

Thats why hes invited these 300 young men to London for a big weekend, culminating in a wild feast that afternoon, Edward made every single one of them knights. He started by dubbing his handsome, curly haired 22 year old son, Edward of Carnarvon, then let him do the same for all the other men.

By making all these new knights. The king is sending a message. Hes laying down his legacy. The young tyros sitting down to dinner, led by Edward of Carnarvon, are going to form the core of a new generation of english warriors. They will ensure that the spirit of Longshanks lives on.

Even when his body gives out, Edward is ceremonially handing over the baton or maybe the knuckle duster. The kings eyebrows may have been slightly raised at this so called cream of the crop he has assembled. They were supposed to spend the night before having a solemn vigil, but ended up having the medieval equivalent of a warehouse rave. Then today, in Westminster Abbey, the excitement caused a bit of a scrum. Several of the young men fainted and young Edward had to be protected from being squashed against the church altar by bodyguards on giant warhorses.

Theres a rumour that two guys were actually crushed to death. Still, here they are, 300 or, well, at least 298 of them, dubbed and dressed in gold and ready for the crowning glory, the feast. But no one is expecting what happens next once the food has been served. The menu hasnt survived, but Plantagenet court favorites include hare, peacock, deer and boar. King Edward calls the room to order.

Then musicians strike up a new tune and into the room come what one chronicler calls minstrels, carrying a drapery with manifold ornamentation. In fact, what the minstrels bring are two gold trimmed swans, real birds decorated with gold nets and piping.

These are set before the king. A hush goes round the room and Edward creaks to his feet. With as much energy as his old bones will allow, he bellows out a holy oath that he is going to punish the Scots for the latest heinous offence they have given him. Once he has done that, he says he will head off to the holy land to smite any enemies of christendom he can find, after which he plans on dying. Thats quite a bucket list of things to do before I die.

But the assembly knows better than to frown. As that thought sinks in, Edward of Carnarvon stands up. He goes one further. He promises that not only will he help his dad fulfill his vow, hell also not spend two nights in any one place until the Scots have been defeated.

Cue a drumming on the table. And great cheers of approval. After that, every baron and new knight in the hall has a go at making vows of their own, until by the end, theyve all sworn vengeance on the Scots and promised to uphold the legacy of Edward I. It's a hell of a scene. A feast worthy of old Edwards idol, the mythical british conqueror King Arthur.

But it's also a huge hostage to fortune. The feast of the swans should be the start of a new golden age in which Edwards new knights, led by his 22 year old son, carry on where the old man is leaving off. But thats not guaranteed.

Being the king is hard. It takes more than big talk and bedazzled birds to rule a medieval realm. And there are worrying signs that in fact the feast of the swans doesnt mark a glorious new age coming in. It may just be last. Hurrah.

I'm Dan Jones and from Sony Music Entertainment, this is history. Season five of a Dynasty to die for, episode one generation killed and when Henry III chose his royal advisors, he ended up with some very untrustworthy power grabbers, which led to poor management decisions, rebellions, and at least one person in prison. Why didnt he use indeed? Well, indeed wasn't around back then, but it is today indeed is the ultimate hiring platform with over 350 million global monthly visitors, according to indeed data and matching technology that helps you find quality candidates fast, use indeed for scheduling, screening and messaging so you can connect with candidates faster. When I was hiring, I didn't use indeed either, and the process was very slow and stressful.

So I I wish I had join more than 3.5 million businesses worldwide that use indeed to hire great talent fast, and listeners of this show will get a 100 pounds sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility@indeed.com. dynasty indeed.com dynasty terms and conditions apply. Need to hire you need indeed when we parted ways at the end of the last season of this podcast, Edward I was in a pretty good place. The year was 1298. He was 59 years old, but showing no signs of flagging.

Hed scored a huge victory over the Scots at the Battle of Falkirk, striking a blow against the rebel regime of William Wallace and edging a little closer in theory, to his dream of bringing Scotland under his control in a united Britain. Elsewhere, things were looking up, too, after some expensive and unpopular fighting with the king of France, Philip IV, star of our recent this is history spin off series the Iron King Edward was getting close to a settlement over the Plantagenet Duchy of Gascony. His barons had mostly quit griping about the costs of government, thanks to Edwards smart decision to reissue an updated magna Carta thats his grandad, King Johns charter of Liberties. And his heir, Edward of Caernarvon was alive. Unlike the three sons before him, who died in childhood or their teens, now its 1306.

In the intervening eight years. There have come some other reasons to be cheerful. Edward has indeed sealed the deal on Gascony with Philip IV. As part of it, hes married Philips sister Margaret, who is 40 years younger than him, and he has two more sons, Thomas of brotherton, whos six, and Edmund of Woodstock, whos five. And perhaps most pleasing of all, Edwards nailed William Wallace right to the wall.

After the battle of Falkirk, the rebel leader was heavily discredited. He quit Scotland and went to France. Listen to subscriber episode twelve from last season if you want to remind yourself of the legend that he fought a lion to impress the french king. In 1305, Wallace crept back to Scotland, but he was betrayed and captured by a scottish knight called John de Menteith. Menteith sent Wallace to England, where he was tried for treason in Westminster.

Then, in true Edward style, hanged, drawn, beheaded and quartered. His head was dipped in tar and ended up on a spike in London, and his butchered body was sent around England and Scotland. Given how precarious things were for Edward in 1297, youd imagine hed be pretty pleased with all that, except, well, not everything is absolutely a ok, as his vow at the feast of the swans suggested. Because in 1306, three big problems loom.

The first problem is simple and unsolvable. Edwards body is packing up. He turns 67 in June, a fine age in the 14th century. And considering hes survived assassination in the Holy Land, falling through a collapsing building in Bordeaux and being stamped on by his own horse in Falkirk, he cant really have any complaints. But he can, and very much does have complaints about the second problem Scotland.

Nice as it would be to think that turning William Wallace into Sashimi would have solved all his headaches, it hasnt. The Scots refusal to lie down and suffer. Edwards bullying was never about one guy alone. Now, in place of Wallace, Edward has a new and even more resourceful bogeymande, a fellow called Robert the Bruce. Robert the Bruce is from a long line of Bruces lords with lands in England and Scotland.

His relatives have already been involved in the struggle for independence. His granddad was one of the claimants in the great cause when Edward hosted an x factor style open audition for the crown of Scotland back in episode ten of season four. Now its roberts turn to have a go. Hes 32 years old in 1306. Hes educated and charismatic.

He has a strong claim to the scottish throne, and like many of his countrymen, he has developed a passionate urge to kick the English out once and for all.

For a long time, hes kept that at least partially under wraps. Bruce has learned the importance of playing nice with Edward in order to make sure he doesnt end up stripped of all his familys lands. But its been a tricky balance to strike. Bruces attempt to balance patriotism with pragmatism fails decisively in February 1306, just before the feast of the Swansea. What happens, in short, is that Bruce falls out with John Comyn, whos another scottish noble with a royal claim.

Bruce accuses Comyn of blabbing to Edward that hes plotting to rise up and claim the scottish throne. And then to teach Comyn a fairly permanent lesson, Bruce stabs him to death in a church in front of the altar. Oops. Bruce then hot foots it to scoon and has himself crowned as Robert I, king of Scots. Its precisely this outrage that Edward is railing against when he holds the feast of the swans and swears to smash the Scots to bits before he breathes his last.

So thats problem number two. But I said there were three problems. And its the third problem that has the potential to worry Edward even more than the puzzle of how best to obliterate Bruce. That problem is as close to home as you can get at the feast of the swans. Edward has shown his people that hes preparing to hand over power to his son Edward of Caernarfon, having him dub the 300 knights and swear one of the first oaths on the old gilded waterfowl.

Yet the king knows, and indeed some of the other men in the room that day know that Edward of Caernarvon isnt cut from quite the same cloth as he is.

Hes tall, good looking, with a great head of hair and pleasant manner. Hes a bit more fun loving and personable than his old dad. He has the common touch with servants and tradesmen, maybe because he was born on a castle building site. Theres a softer side to him that doesnt just spend every hour of the day thinking of new ways to grind his enemies into the dirt. He likes greyhounds, welsh music, rowing.

Hes not your run of the mill jock. None of this is bad, per se, but Edward of Caernarvon is also starting to send up just a few red flags. He may have vowed to help Daddy with the killing, but King Edward is starting to get the feeling that his son might just say any old thing if it seems to make people he likes happy. In fact, the boy seems to be much more inclined towards the sociable, friendly side of kingship than he is to being a big bully who makes people tremble with fear at the very mention of his name.

Does young Edward have the killer instincts to be the king? Does he have the character? Old Edward isnt sure. And as he sends his son to test his military metal in Scotland, it wont be long before he sees that his doubts are horribly well founded.

Matt Lewis
Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest these words set in motion a chain of gruesome events. I'm Matt Lewis. And I'm Doctor Eleanor Yoniga. On gone medieval, we are reliving the dramatic murder of Thomas Becket when he was surrounded by four of the king's knights and brutally struck down at the altar of Canterbury Cathedral. Did King Henry really want him dead?

Join us as we unwrap the enigma and get to the heart of what really happened to Thomas Beckett by subscribing to gone medieval from history hits hi, I'm Matt Lewis, historian and host of a new chapter of Echoes of History, a Ubisoft podcast brought to you by history hit. Join me and world leading experts every week as we explore the incredible real life history that inspires the locations, the characters, and the storylines of Assassin's Creed. Listen and follow echoes of history, a Ubisoft podcast brought to you by historyhit wherever you get your podcasts.

Dan Jones
It's mid July, 1306, just a few weeks on from the feast of the swans, and all across Scotland, towns and villages are burning.

A huge english army, spearheaded by those brand new knights, is cutting a swathe through the countryside, killing anyone who stands in their way and destroying homes and harvest. The screams of war women and children echo around the hills and glens, mingling with the brutal cries and laughter of the invading army. Any prisoners are not kept for ransom, but swiftly tried, then hanged or beheaded as traitors rather than as warriors standing up for their homeland.

Scottish knights are dragged through the streets of England cities before being butchered in public.

Even bishops are put in heavy chains and transported south to England to be thrown in dungeons.

This is a brutal invasion, yet it isn't Edward I who's leading it, it's his son and heir, Edward of Carnarvon. Edward 2.0 has backup. Theres plenty of his extended family, like his cousin Thomas of Lancaster, plus a whole host of his best newly minted knights, including his good friend, an ambitious warrior from gascony called Piers Gaveston. Edward I is so feeble that he hasnt been able to make it to Scotland at all. Hes limping north at a snails pace, staying in touch with the army via messengers, but not able to make any serious contributions.

This is an operation that he has ordered, but which is being carried out by the new generation, so the king ought to be pleased with how its going. After all, he basically invented the policy of shock and awe Scotland into submission. Remember, they call him the hammer of the Scots, not breakfast in bed and a foot massage for the Scots. But hes not pleased. Is Edward getting soft in his old age?

Has his son outstripped his own cruelness in a way that disturbs him? Well, no. Edward seems totally fine with the level of violence. Hes even signing off on some of the major public executions. The thing thats really upsetting the king is how his son just isnt taking any of this seriously enough.

Its supposed to be an important military campaign, but hes treating it as a joyride with his best pals. He also gets the impression that young Edward and his glee team arent discriminating very well between ordinary peasants and those who represent the independent minded scottish elite. Its like theyre doing what theyve been told to do but arent quite understanding the point of it all. Of course, these are just nagging doubts. What really sets Edward off is what happens at the end of summer, 1306.

By then, the campaigning in Scotland seems to be drawing to a natural conclusion. For the year, Robert the Bruce has disappeared into the countryside with his forces in retreat and his castles falling to english siege weapons.

There doesn't seem to be much more to do before winter sets in. So young Edward of Caernarvon, who's on the ground in Scotland, decides to allow some of his knights to stand down for the winter. He gives around two dozen of them, including his close pal Piers Gaveston, permission to leave the British Isles and go and have some fun hanging round at tournaments abroad. It's nice to be nice for the young knights. This seems natural.

They've done their job, got Bruce on the run, and now they can go blow off some steam and shake their tail feathers in the company of Europe's other elite young warriors. It'll be a gas. Some light fighting, a lot of flexing and maybe a bit of late night romance with the damsels.

When old Edward finds out about this, though, he goes ballistic. He orders the arrest of all the knights who have gone off partying, confiscates their lands and screams at anyone who will listen that they deserve to be locked in the Tower of London. It takes the intervention of the young queen Margaret to get Edward to cool it, and even then he wont agree to pardon the knights until after Christmas.

That escalated quickly. So whats going on? Is Edward overreacting? Probably. Of course, hes terribly unwell at this point, stuck in Lanacost Priory in Cumbria while his son and pals take over his pet project.

All the same, Edward has been around the block for long enough to trust his instinct. His plantagenet spidey sense is telling him that something is not right with the way that Edward of Carnarvon and friends are behaving. What exactly it is he cant quite put his finger on, but he isnt afraid to act on a feeling and it wont be long before Edward is proven right. His son and heir has some of the makings of a Plantagenet worthy of the name. Unfortunately, he also has some of the makings of a kid with sawdust for brains.

The first huge bust up between father and son is looming and when it happens, the only sensible thing to do is run for cover.

Find out why next time on this is history hello if you cant wait to see what happens next, dont forget the next episode is already out over on our subscriber channel. This is history plus. To start your free trial, go to thisishishistorypod.com or if youre on Apple Podcasts, you can just click try free on the show page. Theres also hours of subscriber only episodes where I chat with a producer about the nonsense the Plantagenets have been getting up to explore strange tangents, weird theories and answer your questions. See you there.