text: Queen of England

text: wife

text: Edward II

text: Philip IV of France

text: Joan I of Navarre

text: femme fatale

text: manipulative

text: baron

text: favourite

text: Piers Gaveston

text: the death of Gaveston

text: Hugh Despenser the Younger

text: Despenser War

text: Roger Mortimer

text: mercenary

text: regent

text: Edward III

text: murder of Edward II

text: wars with Scotland

text: Paris

text: Piers Langtoft

text: Guillaume de Nangis

text: Thomas Walsingham

text: Clement V

text: marriage by proxy

text: Philip IV of France

text: Joan I of Navarre

text: Louis

text: Philip

text: Charles

text: Western Europe

text: centralised royal power

text: Château du Louvre

text: Palais de la Cité

text: Edward

text: Edward I of England

text: Gascony

text: Anjou

text: Normandy

text: Aquitaine

text: Pope Boniface VIII

text: Boulogne-sur-Mer

text: baudekyn

text: velvet

text: taffeta

text: coif

text: Geoffrey of Paris

text: queen regnant

text: Piers Gaveston

text: Hugh Despenser the younger

text: Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster

text: Edward

text: Plantagenet

text: jousting

text: rural crafts

text: homosexuality

text: favourite

text: platonic

text: Piers Gaveston

text: Louis, Count of Évreux

text: Charles, Count of Valois

text: Thomas of Lancaster

text: Thomas of Lancaster

text: Isabella de Vesci

text: Eleanor

text: Henry de Beaumont

text: Ordinances of 1311

text: Tynemouth Priory

text: Scarborough Castle

text: Guy de Beauchamp

text: Thomas of Lancaster

text: Edward III

text: Hugh Despenser the elder

text: Welsh Marches

text: Tour de Nesle Affair

text: Louis

text: Charles

text: puppet show

text: purses

text: Norman

text: Tour de Nesle Affair

text: Blanche

text: Margaret of Burgundy

text: Joan of Burgundy

text: battle of Bannockburn

text: Great Famine

text: John

text: John Deydras

text: Henry de Beaumont

text: Isabella de Vesci

text: Sir James Douglas

text: Robert I of Scotland

text: capturing her at York

text: Roger Mortimer de Chirk

text: Roger Mortimer of Wigmore

text: Marcher Lord

text: Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke

text: Thomas of Lancaster

text: Leeds Castle

text: Bartholomew de Badlesmere

text: casus belli

text: Margaret

text: Despenser War

text: Great Seal

text: Chancery

text: Tower of London

text: battle of Boroughbridge

text: Marlborough

text: Devizes

text: Battle of Old Byland

text: Tynemouth Priory

text: Flemish

text: Lewis de Beaumont

text: Bishop of Durham

text: Charles IV of France

text: Roger Mortimer

text: Edward

text: Duke of Aquitaine

text: homage

text: Gascony

text: Louis X

text: Philip V

text: Charles IV

text: Agenais

text: Gascony

text: bastide

text: Saint-Sardos

text: Agenais

text: Montpezat

text: War of Saint-Sardos

text: Charles of Valois

text: John of Nottingham

text: necromancy

text: Pope John XXII

text: Prince Edward

text: Walter de Stapledon

text: Bishop of Exeter

text: Edmund of Kent

text: John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond

text: Roger Mortimer of Wigmore

text: Marcher lord

text: Joan de Geneville

text: Tower of London

text: Despenser wars

text: Roger Mortimer de Chirk

text: River Thames

text: Joan, Countess of Hainault

text: Philippa

text: Tour de Nesle Affair

text: Arthurian legends

text: William I, Count of Hainaut

text: Philippa

text: Brabant

text: men of war

text: Orwell

text: Bury St Edmunds

text: Cambridge

text: Thomas, Earl of Norfolk

text: Henry of Lancaster

text: Adam Orleton

text: bishop of Hereford

text: Dunstable

text: Bishop Stapledon

text: Gloucester

text: Bristol

text: Eleanor

text: Joan

text: Lundy

text: Hereford

text: Llantrisant

text: Edmund Fitzalan

text: drawn and quartered

text: Great Seal

text: Tower of London

text: Wallingford

text: next parliament

text: Adam Orleton

text: Bishop of Hereford

text: Edward III

text: Kenilworth Castle

text: Berkeley Castle

text: Lord Berkeley

text: Gloucester Cathedral

text: Fieschi Letter

text: poker

text: Berkeley Castle

text: Joan of Arc

text: Paul Doherty

text: Ian Mortimer

text: Alison Weir

text: David Carpenter

text: Edward III

text: Edward III

text: dower

text: realist

text: Treaty of Northampton

text: David Bruce

text: Gascon

text: Agenais

text: mark

text: claim on the French throne

text: John

text: Castilian

text: Leicester

text: Bedford

text: Henry de Beaumont

text: Edmund of Kent

text: Henry de Beaumont

text: Isabella de Vesci

text: Simon Mepeham

text: Archbishop of Canterbury

text: Nottingham Castle

text: keep

text: Tyburn

text: quartered

text: disembowelled

text: Berkhamsted Castle

text: Windsor Castle

text: Castle Rising

text: Norfolk

text: Agnes Strickland

text: nervous breakdown

text: minstrel

text: Charles II of Navarre

text: Joan

text: King David II of Scotland

text: Edward, the Black Prince

text: Agnes Mortimer, Countess of Pembroke

text: Roger Mortimer

text: St George's Day

text: astrology

text: geometry

text: nun

text: Poor Clares

text: Hertford Castle

text: London

text: Franciscan church

text: Newgate

text: Simon Islip

text: Black Prince

text: Christopher Marlowe

text: Edward II

text: Thomas Gray

text: William Shakespeare

text: Margaret of Anjou

text: Henry VI

text: The Bard

text: Bertolt Brecht

text: The Life of Edward II of England

text: Derek Jarman

text: "Edward II"

text: Tilda Swinton

text: Mel Gibson

text: Braveheart

text: Sophie Marceau

text: William Wallace

text: Edward III

text: miscarriage

text: Edward III

text: John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall

text: Eleanor of Woodstock

text: Reinoud II of Guelders

text: Joan of the Tower

text: David II of Scotland

text: Gytha of Wessex

text: Andrew II of Hungary

text: Anglo-Saxon

text: King of England

text: Harold Godwinson

text: Geoffrey the Baker

text: Hundred Years' War

text: Vita Edwardi Secundi

text: Carpenter, David

text: Castor, Helen

text: Doherty, P.C.

text: Mortimer, Ian

text: Weir, Alison

text: Isabella of France (1295–1358), Britannia biographical series

categories: People from Paris,Founders of English schools and colleges,Irish royal consorts,14th-century English women,14th-century women rulers,14th-century English people,1358 deaths,13th-century French women,French Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns,Edward II of England,House of Capet,French princesses,Philip IV of France,1295 births,13th-century French people,French expatriates in England,Duchesses of Aquitaine,English rebels,Women in 14th-century warfare,Poor Clares,14th-century French people,Women in medieval European warfare,14th-century French women,English royal consorts

paragraph: Isabella of France

paragraph: Isabella of France (1295 – 22 August 1358), sometimes described as the She-Wolf of France, was Queen of England as the wife of Edward II, and regent of England from 1327 until 1330. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre. Isabella was notable in her lifetime for her diplomatic skills, intelligence, and beauty. She became a "femme fatale" figure in plays and literature over the years, usually portrayed as a beautiful but cruel and manipulative figure.

paragraph: Isabella arrived in England at the age of 12 during a period of growing conflict between the king and the powerful baronial factions. Her new husband was notorious for the patronage he lavished on his favourite, Piers Gaveston, but the queen supported Edward during these early years, forming a working relationship with Piers and using her relationship with the French monarchy to bolster her own authority and power. After the death of Gaveston at the hands of the barons in 1312, however, Edward later turned to a new favourite, Hugh Despenser the Younger, and attempted to take revenge on the barons, resulting in the Despenser War and a period of internal repression across England. Isabella could not tolerate Hugh Despenser and by 1325 her marriage to Edward was at a breaking point.

paragraph: Travelling to France on a diplomatic mission, Isabella may have begun an affair with Roger Mortimer, and the two may possibly have agreed at this point to depose Edward and oust the Despenser family. The Queen returned to England with a small mercenary army in 1326, moving rapidly across England. The King's forces deserted him. Isabella deposed Edward, becoming regent on behalf of her son, Edward III. Some believe that Isabella then arranged the murder of Edward II. Isabella and Mortimer's regime began to crumble, partly because of her lavish spending, but also because the Queen successfully, but unpopularly, resolved long-running problems such as the wars with Scotland.

paragraph: In 1330, Isabella's son Edward III deposed Mortimer in turn, taking back his authority and executing Mortimer. The Queen was not punished, however, and lived for many years in considerable style—although not at Edward III's court, though she often visited to dote on her grandchildren and was marginally involved in peace talks—until her death in 1358.

paragraph: Section::::Early life and marriage: 1295–1308.

paragraph: Isabella was born in Paris on an uncertain date – on the basis of the chroniclers and the eventual date of her marriage, she was probably born between May and November 1295. She is described as born in 1292 in the Annals of Wigmore, and Piers Langtoft agrees, claiming that she was 7 years old in 1299. The French chronicler Guillaume de Nangis and English chronicler Thomas Walsingham describe her as 12 years old at the time of her marriage in January 1308, placing her birth between January 1295 and of 1296. A papal dispensation by Clement V in November 1305 permitted her immediate marriage by proxy, despite the fact that she was probably only 10 years old. Since she had to reach the canonical age of 7 before her betrothal in May 1303, and that of 12 before her marriage in January 1308, the evidence suggests that she was born between May and November 1295. Her parents were King Philip IV of France and Queen Joan I of Navarre; her brothers Louis, Philip and Charles became kings of France.

paragraph: Isabella was born into a royal family that ruled the most powerful state in Western Europe. Her father, King Philip, known as ""le Bel"" (the Fair) because of his good looks, was a strangely unemotional man; contemporaries described him as "neither a man nor a beast, but a statue"; modern historians have noted that he "cultivated a reputation for Christian kingship and showed few weaknesses of the flesh". Philip built up centralised royal power in France, engaging in a sequence of conflicts to expand or consolidate French authority across the region, but remained chronically short of money throughout his reign. Indeed, he appeared almost obsessed about building up wealth and lands, something that his daughter was also accused of in later life. Isabella's mother died when Isabella was still quite young; some contemporaries suspected Philip IV of her murder, albeit probably incorrectly.

paragraph: Isabella was brought up in and around the Château du Louvre and the "Palais de la Cité" in Paris. Isabella was cared for by Théophania de Saint-Pierre, her nurse, given a good education and taught to read, developing a love of books. As was customary for the period, all of Philip's children were married young for political benefit. Isabella was promised in marriage by her father to Edward, the infant son of King Edward I of England, with the intention to resolve the conflicts between France and England over the latter's continental possession of Gascony and claims to Anjou, Normandy and Aquitaine. Pope Boniface VIII had urged the marriage as early as 1298 but was delayed by wrangling over the terms of the marriage contract. Edward I attempted to break the engagement several times for political advantage, and only after he died in 1307 did the wedding proceed.

paragraph: Isabella and Edward II were finally married at Boulogne-sur-Mer on 25 January 1308. Isabella's wardrobe gives some indications of her wealth and style – she had dresses of baudekyn, velvet, taffeta and cloth, along with numerous furs; she had over 72 headdresses and coifs; she brought with her two gold crowns, gold and silver dinnerware and 419 yards of linen. At the time of her marriage, Isabella was probably about twelve and was described by Geoffrey of Paris as ""the beauty of beauties... in the kingdom if not in all Europe."" This description was probably not simply flattery by a chronicler, since both Isabella's father and brothers were considered very handsome men by contemporaries, and her husband was to nickname her "Isabella the Fair". Isabella was said to resemble her father, and not her mother, queen regnant of Navarre, a plump, plain woman. This indicates that Isabella was slender and pale-skinned, although the fashion at the time was for blonde, slightly full-faced women, and Isabella may well have followed this stereotype instead. Throughout her career, Isabella was noted as charming and diplomatic, with a particular skill at convincing people to follow her courses of action. Unusual for the medieval period, contemporaries also commented on her high intelligence.

paragraph: Section::::Queenship.

paragraph: As queen, the young Isabella faced numerous challenges. Edward was handsome, but highly unconventional, possibly forming close romantic attachments to first Piers Gaveston and then Hugh Despenser the younger. Edward found himself at odds with the barons, too, in particular his first cousin Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, whilst continuing the war against the Scots that he had inherited from Edward I. Using her own supporters at court, and the patronage of her French family, Isabella attempted to find a political path through these challenges; she successfully formed an alliance with Gaveston, but after his death at the hands of the barons her position grew increasingly precarious. Edward began to take revenge on his enemies, using an ever more brutal alliance with the Despenser family, in particular his new favourite, Hugh Despenser the younger. By 1326 Isabella found herself at increasing odds with both Edward and Hugh, ultimately resulting in Isabella's own bid for power and the invasion of England.

paragraph: Section::::Queenship.:Fall of Gaveston: 1308–1312.

paragraph: Isabella's new husband Edward was an unusual character by medieval standards. Edward looked the part of a Plantagenet king to perfection. He was tall, athletic, and wildly popular at the beginning of his reign. He rejected most of the traditional pursuits of a king for the period – jousting, hunting and warfare – and instead enjoyed music, poetry and many rural crafts. Furthermore, there is the question of Edward's sexuality in a period when homosexuality of any sort was considered a very serious crime, but there is no direct evidence of his sexual orientation. However, contemporary chroniclers made much of his close affinity with a succession of male favourites; some condemned Edward for loving them "beyond measure" and "uniquely", others explicitly referring to an "illicit and sinful union". Nonetheless, Isabella bore four children by Edward, leading to an opinion amongst some historians that Edward's affairs with his male favourites may have been platonic.

paragraph: When Isabella first arrived in England following her marriage, her husband was already in the midst of a relationship with Piers Gaveston, an "arrogant, ostentatious" soldier, with a "reckless and headstrong" personality that clearly appealed to Edward. Isabella, then aged twelve, was effectively sidelined by the pair. Edward chose to sit with Gaveston rather than Isabella at their wedding celebration, causing grave offence to her uncles Louis, Count of Évreux, and Charles, Count of Valois, and then refused to grant her either her own lands or her own household. Edward also gave Isabella's own jewelry to Gaveston, which he wore publicly. It took the intervention of Isabella's father, Philip IV, before Edward began to provide for her more appropriately.

paragraph: Isabella's relationship with Gaveston was a complex one. Baronial opposition to Gaveston, championed by Thomas of Lancaster, was increasing, and Philip IV began to covertly fund this grouping, using Isabella and her household as intermediaries. Edward was forced to exile Gaveston to Ireland for a period, and began to show Isabella much greater respect and assigning her significant lands and patronage; in turn, Philip ceased his support for the barons. Gaveston eventually returned from Ireland, and by 1309–11 the three seemed to be co-existing together relatively comfortably. Indeed, Gaveston's key enemy, Thomas of Lancaster, considered Isabella to be an ally of Gaveston's. Isabella had begun to build up her own supporters at court, principally the de Beaumont family, itself opposed to the Lancastrians; originating, like her, from France, the senior member of the family, Isabella de Vesci, had been a close confidant of Edward's mother Eleanor; supported by her brother, Henry de Beaumont, Isabella de Vesci became a close friend of Queen Isabella in turn.

paragraph: During 1311, however, Edward conducted a failed campaign against the Scots, during which Isabella and he only just escaped capture. In the aftermath, the barons rose up, signing the Ordinances of 1311, which promised action against Gaveston and expelled Isabella de Vesci and Henry de Beaumont from court. 1312 saw a descent into civil war against the king;– Isabella stood with Edward, sending angry letters to her uncles d'Évreux and de Valois asking for support. Edward left Isabella, rather against her will, at Tynemouth Priory in Northumberland whilst he unsuccessfully attempted to fight the barons. The campaign was a disaster, and although Edward escaped, Gaveston found himself stranded at Scarborough Castle, where his baronial enemies first surrounded and captured him. Guy de Beauchamp and Thomas of Lancaster ensured Gaveston's execution as he was being taken south to rejoin Edward.

paragraph: Section::::Queenship.:Tensions grow: 1312–1321.

paragraph: Tensions mounted steadily over the decade. In 1312, Isabella gave birth to the future Edward III, but by the end of the year Edward's court was beginning to change. Edward was still relying upon his French in-laws – Isabella's uncle Louis, for example, had been sent from Paris to assist him – but Hugh Despenser the elder now formed part of the inner circle, marking the beginning of the Despensers' increased prominence at Edward's court. The Despensers were opposed to both the Lancastrians and their other allies in the Welsh Marches, making an easy alliance with Edward, who sought revenge for the death of Gaveston.

paragraph: In 1313, Isabella travelled to Paris with Edward to garner further French support, which resulted in the Tour de Nesle Affair. The journey was a pleasant one, with lots of festivities, although Isabella was injured when her tent burned down. During the visit Louis and Charles had had a satirical puppet show put on for their guests, and after this Isabella had given new embroidered purses both to her brothers and to their wives. Isabella and Edward then returned to England with new assurances of French support against the English barons. Later in the year, however, Isabella and Edward held a large dinner in London to celebrate their return and Isabella apparently noticed that the purses she had given to her sisters-in-law were now being carried by two Norman knights, Gautier and Philippe d'Aunay. Isabella concluded that the pair must have been carrying on an illicit affair, and appears to have informed her father of this during her next visit to France in 1314. The consequence of this was the Tour de Nesle Affair in Paris, which led to legal action against all three of Isabella's sisters-in-law; Blanche and Margaret of Burgundy were imprisoned for life for adultery. Joan of Burgundy was imprisoned for a year. Isabella's reputation in France suffered somewhat as a result of her perceived role in the affair.

paragraph: In the north, however, the situation was turning worse. Edward attempted to quash the Scots in a fresh campaign in 1314, resulting in the disastrous defeat at the battle of Bannockburn. Edward was blamed by the barons for the catastrophic failure of the campaign. Thomas of Lancaster reacted to the defeats in Scotland by taking increased power in England and turning against Isabella, cutting off funds and harassing her household. To make matters worse, the "Great Famine" descended on England during 1315–17, causing widespread loss of life and financial problems.

paragraph: Despite Isabella giving birth to her second son, John, in 1316, Edward's position was precarious. Indeed, John Deydras, a royal Pretender, appeared in Oxford, claiming to have been switched with Edward at birth, and to be the real king of England himself. Given Edward's unpopularity, the rumours spread considerably before Deydras' eventual execution, and appear to have greatly upset Isabella. Isabella responded by deepening her alliance with Lancaster's enemy Henry de Beaumont and by taking up an increased role in government herself, including attending council meetings and acquiring increased lands. Henry's sister, Isabella de Vesci, continued to remain a close adviser to the Queen. The Scottish general Sir James Douglas, war leader for Robert I of Scotland, made a bid to capture Isabella personally in 1319, almost capturing her at York – Isabella only just escaped. Suspicions fell on Lancaster, and one of Edward's knights, Edmund Darel, was arrested on charges of having betrayed her location, but the charges were essentially unproven. In 1320, Isabella accompanied Edward to France, to try and convince her brother, Philip V, to provide fresh support to crush the English barons.

paragraph: Meanwhile, Hugh de Despenser the younger became an increasing favourite of Isabella's husband, and was believed by some to have begun a sexual relationship with him around this time. Hugh was the same age as Edward. His father, Hugh the elder, had supported Edward and Gaveston a few years previously. The Despensers were bitter enemies of Lancaster, and with Edward's support began to increase their power base in the Welsh Marches, in the process making enemies of Roger Mortimer de Chirk and his nephew, Roger Mortimer of Wigmore, their rival Marcher Lords. Whilst Isabella had been able to work with Gaveston, Edward's previous favourite, it became increasingly clear that Hugh the younger and Isabella could not work out a similar compromise. Unfortunately for Isabella, she was still estranged from Lancaster's rival faction, giving her little room to manoeuvre. In 1321, Lancaster's alliance moved against the Despensers, sending troops into London and demanding their exile. Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, a moderate baron with strong French links, asked Isabella to intervene in an attempt to prevent war; Isabella publicly went down on her knees to appeal to Edward to exile the Despensers, providing him with a face-saving excuse to do so, but Edward intended to arrange their return at the first opportunity.

paragraph: Section::::Queenship.:Return of the Despensers, 1321–1326.

paragraph: Despite the momentary respite delivered by Isabella, by the autumn of 1321, the tensions between the two factions of Edward, Isabella and the Despenser, opposing the baronial opposition led by Thomas of Lancaster, were extremely high, with forces still mobilised across the country. At this point, Isabella undertook a pilgrimage to Canterbury, during which she left the traditional route to stop at Leeds Castle in Kent, a fortification held by Bartholomew de Badlesmere, steward of the King's household who had by 1321 joined the ranks of Edward's opponents. Some historians believe that the pilgrimage was a deliberate act by Isabella on Edward's behalf to create a "casus belli". Lord Badlesmere was away at the time, having left his wife Margaret in charge of the castle. When the latter adamantly refused the Queen admittance, fighting broke out outside the castle between Isabella's guards and the garrison, marking the beginning of the Despenser War. Whilst Edward mobilised his own faction and placed Leeds castle under siege, Isabella was given the Great Seal and assumed control of the royal Chancery from the Tower of London. After surrendering to Edward's forces on 31 October 1321, Margaret, Baroness Badlesmere and her children were sent to the Tower, and 13 of the Leeds garrison were hanged. By January 1322, Edward's army, reinforced by the Despensers returning from exile, had forced the surrender of the Mortimers, and by March Lancaster himself had been captured after the battle of Boroughbridge; Lancaster was promptly executed, leaving Edward and the Despensers victorious.

paragraph: Hugh Despenser the younger was now firmly ensconced as Edward's new favourite and together over the next four years Edward and the Despensers imposed a harsh rule over England, a "sweeping revenge" characterised by land confiscation, large-scale imprisonment, executions and the punishment of extended family members, including women and the elderly. This was condemned by contemporary chroniclers, and is felt to have caused concern to Isabella as well; some of those widows being persecuted included her friends. Isabella's relationship with Despenser the younger continued to deteriorate; the Despensers refused to pay her monies owed to her, or return her castles at Marlborough and Devizes. Indeed, various authors have suggested that there is evidence that Hugh Despenser the younger may have attempted to assault Isabella herself in some fashion. Certainly, immediately after the battle of Boroughbridge, Edward began to be markedly less generous in his gifts towards Isabella, and none of the spoils of the war were awarded to her. Worse still, later in the year Isabella was caught up in the failure of another of Edward's campaigns in Scotland, in a way that permanently poisoned her relationship with both Edward and the Despensers.

paragraph: Isabella and Edward had travelled north together at the start of the autumn campaign; before the disastrous Battle of Old Byland in Yorkshire, Edward had ridden south, apparently to raise more men, sending Isabella east to Tynemouth Priory. With the Scottish army marching south, Isabella expressed considerable concern about her personal safety and requested assistance from Edward. Her husband initially proposed sending Despenser forces to secure her, but Isabella rejected this outright, instead requesting friendly troops. Rapidly retreating south with the Despensers, Edward failed to grasp the situation, with the result that Isabella found herself and her household cut off from the south by the Scottish army, with the coastline patrolled by Flemish naval forces allied to the Scots. The situation was precarious and Isabella was forced to use a group of squires from her personal retinue to hold off the advancing army whilst other of her knights commandeered a ship; the fighting continued as Isabella and her household retreated onto the vessel, resulting in the death of two of her ladies-in-waiting. Once aboard, Isabella evaded the Flemish navy, landing further south and making her way to York. Isabella was furious, both with Edward for, from her perspective, abandoning her to the Scots, and with Despensers for convincing Edward to retreat rather than sending help. For his part, Edward blamed Lewis de Beaumont, the Bishop of Durham and an ally of Isabella, for the fiasco.

paragraph: Isabella effectively separated from Edward from here onwards, leaving him to live with Hugh Despenser. At the end of 1322, Isabella left the court on a ten-month-long pilgrimage around England by herself. On her return in 1323 she visited Edward briefly, but refused to take a loyalty oath to the Despensers and was removed from the process of granting royal patronage. At the end of 1324, as tensions grew with Isabella's homeland of France, Edward and the Despensers confiscated all of Isabella's lands, took over the running of her household and arrested and imprisoned all of her French staff. Isabella's youngest children were removed from her and placed into the custody of the Despensers. At this point, Isabella appears to have realised that any hope of working with Edward was effectively over and begun to consider radical solutions.

paragraph: Section::::Invasion of England.

paragraph: By 1325, Isabella was facing increasing pressure from Hugh Despenser the Younger, Edward's new royal favourite. With her lands in England seized, her children taken away from her and her household staff arrested, Isabella began to pursue other options. When her brother, King Charles IV of France, seized Edward's French possessions in 1325, she returned to France, initially as a delegate of the King charged with negotiating a peace treaty between the two nations. However, her presence in France became a focal point for the many nobles opposed to Edward's reign. Isabella gathered an army to oppose Edward, in alliance with Roger Mortimer, whom she may have taken as a lover. Isabella and Mortimer returned to England with a mercenary army, seizing the country in a lightning campaign. The Despensers were executed and Edward was forced to abdicate – his eventual fate and possible murder remains a matter of considerable historical debate. Isabella ruled as regent until 1330, when her son, Edward deposed Mortimer in turn and ruled directly in his own right.

paragraph: Section::::Invasion of England.:Tensions in Gascony, 1323–1325.

paragraph: Isabella's husband Edward, as the Duke of Aquitaine, owed homage to the King of France for his lands in Gascony. Isabella's three brothers each had only short reigns, and Edward had successfully avoided paying homage to Louis X, and had only paid homage to Philip V under great pressure. Once Charles IV took up the throne, Edward had attempted to avoid doing so again, increasing tensions between the two. One of the elements in the disputes was the border province of Agenais, part of Gascony and in turn part of Aquitaine. Tensions had risen in November 1323 after the construction of a bastide, a type of fortified town, in Saint-Sardos, part of the Agenais, by a French vassal. Gascon forces destroyed the bastide, and in turn Charles attacked the English-held Montpezat: the assault was unsuccessful, but in the subsequent War of Saint-Sardos Isabella's uncle, Charles of Valois, successfully wrestled Aquitaine from English control; by 1324, Charles had declared Edward's lands forfeit and had occupied the whole of Aquitaine apart from the coastal areas.

paragraph: Edward was still unwilling to travel to France to give homage; the situation in England was febrile; there had been an assassination plot against Edward and Hugh Despenser in 1324, there had been allegations that the famous magician John of Nottingham had been hired to kill the pair using necromancy in 1325, and criminal gangs were occupying much of the country. Edward was deeply concerned that should he leave England, even for a short while, the barons would take the chance to rise up and take their revenge on the Despensers. Charles sent a message through Pope John XXII to Edward, suggesting that he was willing to reverse the forfeiture of the lands if Edward ceded the Agenais and paid homage for the rest of the lands: the Pope proposed Isabella as an ambassador. Isabella, however, saw this as a perfect opportunity to resolve her situation with Edward and the Despensers.

paragraph: Having promised to return to England by the summer, Isabella reached Paris in March 1325, and rapidly agreed a truce in Gascony, under which Prince Edward, then thirteen years old, would come to France to give homage on his father's behalf. Prince Edward arrived in France, and gave homage in September. At this point, however, rather than returning, Isabella remained firmly in France with her son. Edward began to send urgent messages to the Pope and to Charles IV, expressing his concern about his wife's absence, but to no avail. For his part, Charles replied that the, "queen has come of her own will and may freely return if she wishes. But if she prefers to remain here, she is my sister and I refuse to expel her." Charles went on to refuse to return the lands in Aquitaine to Edward, resulting in a provisional agreement under which Edward resumed administration of the remaining English territories in early 1326 whilst France continued to occupy the rest.

paragraph: Meanwhile, the messages brought back by Edward's agent Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter and others grew steadily worse: Isabella had publicly snubbed Stapledon; Edward's political enemies were gathering at the French court, and threatening his emissaries; Isabella was dressed as a widow, claiming that Hugh Despenser had destroyed her marriage with Edward; Isabella was assembling a court-in-exile, including Edmund of Kent and John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond. By this stage Isabella may have begun a romantic relationship with the English exile Roger Mortimer.

paragraph: Section::::Invasion of England.:Roger Mortimer, 1325–1326.

paragraph: Roger Mortimer of Wigmore was a powerful Marcher lord, married to the wealthy heiress Joan de Geneville, and the father of twelve children. Mortimer had been imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1322 following his capture by Edward during the Despenser wars. Mortimer's uncle, Roger Mortimer de Chirk finally died in prison, but Mortimer managed to escape the Tower in August 1323, making a hole in the stone wall of his cell and then escaping onto the roof, before using rope ladders provided by an accomplice to get down to the River Thames, across the river and then on eventually to safety in France. Victorian writers suggested that, given later events, Isabella might have helped Mortimer escape and some historians continue to argue that their relationship had already begun at this point, although most believe that there is no hard evidence for their having had a substantial relationship before meeting in Paris.

paragraph: Isabella was reintroduced to Mortimer in Paris by her cousin, Joan, Countess of Hainault, who appears to have approached Isabella suggesting a marital alliance between their two families, marrying Prince Edward to Joan's daughter, Philippa. Mortimer and Isabella may have begun a physical relationship from December 1325 onwards; If so Isabella was taking a huge risk in doing so – female infidelity was a very serious offence in medieval Europe, as shown during the Tour de Nesle Affair – both Isabella's former French sisters-in-law had died by 1326 as a result of their imprisonment for exactly this offence. Isabella's motivation has been the subject of discussion by historians; some believe that there was a strong sexual attraction between the two, that they shared an interest in the Arthurian legends and that they both enjoyed fine art and high living. One historian has described their relationship as one of the "great romances of the Middle Ages". They also shared a common enemy – the regime of Edward II and the Despensers.

paragraph: Taking Prince Edward with them, Isabella and Mortimer left the French court in summer 1326 and travelled north to William I, Count of Hainaut. As Joan had suggested the previous year, Isabella betrothed Prince Edward to Philippa, the daughter of the Count, in exchange for a substantial dowry. She then used this money plus an earlier loan from Charles to raise a mercenary army, scouring Brabant for men, which were added to a small force of Hainaut troops. William also provided eight men of war ships and various smaller vessels as part of the marriage arrangements. Although Edward was now fearing an invasion, secrecy remained key, and Isabella convinced William to detain envoys from Edward. Isabella also appears to have made a secret agreement with the Scots for the duration of the forthcoming campaign. On 22 September, Isabella, Mortimer and their modest force set sail for England.

paragraph: Section::::Invasion of England.:Seizure of power, 1326.

paragraph: Having evaded Edward's fleet, which had been sent to intercept them, Isabella and Mortimer landed at Orwell on the east coast of England on 24 September with a small force; estimates of Isabella's army vary from between 300 and around 2,000 soldiers, with 1,500 being a popular middle figure. After a short period of confusion during which they attempted to work out where they had actually landed, Isabella moved quickly inland, dressed in her widow's clothes. The local levies mobilised to stop them immediately changed sides, and by the following day Isabella was in Bury St Edmunds and shortly afterwards had swept inland to Cambridge. Thomas, Earl of Norfolk, joined Isabella's forces and Henry of Lancaster – the brother of the late Thomas, and Isabella's uncle – also announced he was joining Isabella's faction, marching south to join her.

paragraph: By the 27th, word of the invasion had reached the King and the Despensers in London. Edward issued orders to local sheriffs to mobilise opposition to Isabella and Mortimer, but London itself was becoming unsafe because of local unrest and Edward made plans to leave. Isabella struck west again, reaching Oxford on 2 October where she was "greeted as a saviour" – Adam Orleton, the bishop of Hereford, emerged from hiding to give a lecture to the university on the evils of the Despensers. Edward fled London on the same day, heading west toward Wales. Isabella and Mortimer now had an effective alliance with the Lancastrian opposition to Edward, bringing all of his opponents into a single coalition.

paragraph: Isabella now marched south towards London, pausing at Dunstable, outside the city on 7 October. London was now in the hands of the mobs, although broadly allied to Isabella. Bishop Stapledon failed to realise the extent to which royal power had collapsed in the capital and tried to intervene militarily to protect his property against rioters; a hated figure locally, he was promptly attacked and killed – his head was later sent to Isabella by her local supporters. Edward, meanwhile, was still fleeing west, reaching Gloucester by the 9th. Isabella responded by marching swiftly west herself in an attempt to cut him off, reaching Gloucester a week after Edward, who slipped across the border into Wales the same day.

paragraph: Hugh de Despenser the elder continued to hold Bristol against Isabella and Mortimer, who placed it under siege between 18–26 October; when it fell, Isabella was able to recover her daughters Eleanor and Joan, who had been kept in the Despenser's custody. By now desperate and increasingly deserted by their court, Edward and Hugh Despenser the younger attempted to sail to Lundy, a small island just off the Devon coast, but the weather was against them and after several days they were forced to land back in Wales. With Bristol secure, Isabella moved her base of operations up to the border town of Hereford, from where she ordered Henry of Lancaster to locate and arrest her husband. After a fortnight of evading Isabella's forces in South Wales, Edward and Hugh were finally caught and arrested near Llantrisant on 16 November.

paragraph: The retribution began immediately. Hugh Despenser the elder had been captured at Bristol, and despite some attempts by Isabella to protect him, was promptly executed by his Lancastrian enemies – his body was hacked to pieces and fed to the local dogs. The remainder of the former regime were brought to Isabella. Edmund Fitzalan, a key supporter of Edward II and who had received many of Mortimer's confiscated lands in 1322, was executed on 17 November. Hugh Despenser the younger was sentenced to be brutally executed on 24 November, and a huge crowd gathered in anticipation at seeing him die. They dragged him from his horse, stripped him, and scrawled Biblical verses against corruption and arrogance on his skin. He was then dragged into the city, presented to Queen Isabella, Roger Mortimer, and the Lancastrians. Despenser was then condemned to hang as a thief, be castrated, and then to be drawn and quartered as a traitor, his quarters to be dispersed throughout England. Simon of Reading, one of the Despensers' supporters, was hanged next to him, on charges of insulting Isabella. Once the core of the Despenser regime had been executed, Isabella and Mortimer began to show restraint. Lesser nobles were pardoned and the clerks at the heart of the government, mostly appointed by the Despensers and Stapleton, were confirmed in office. All that was left now was the question of Edward II, still officially Isabella's legal husband and lawful king.

paragraph: Section::::Invasion of England.:Death of Edward, 1327.

paragraph: As an interim measure, Edward II was held in the custody of Henry of Lancaster, who surrendered Edward's Great Seal to Isabella. The situation remained tense, however; Isabella was clearly concerned about Edward's supporters staging a counter-coup, and in November she seized the Tower of London, appointed one of her supporters as mayor and convened a council of nobles and churchmen in Wallingford to discuss the fate of Edward. The council concluded that Edward would be legally deposed and placed under house arrest for the rest of his life. This was then confirmed at the next parliament, dominated by Isabella and Mortimer's followers. The session was held in January 1327, with Isabella's case being led by her supporter Adam Orleton, Bishop of Hereford. Isabella's son, Prince Edward, was confirmed as Edward III, with his mother appointed regent. Isabella's position was still precarious, as the legal basis for deposing Edward was doubtful and many lawyers of the day maintained that Edward was still the rightful king, regardless of the declaration of the Parliament. The situation could be reversed at any moment and Edward was known to be a vengeful ruler.

paragraph: Edward II's subsequent fate, and Isabella's role in it, remains hotly contested by historians. The minimally agreed version of events is that Isabella and Mortimer had Edward moved from Kenilworth Castle in the Midlands to the safer location of Berkeley Castle in the Welsh borders, where he was put into the custody of Lord Berkeley. On 23 September, Isabella and Edward III were informed by messenger that Edward had died whilst imprisoned at the castle, because of a "fatal accident". Edward's body was apparently buried at Gloucester Cathedral, with his heart being given in a casket to Isabella. After the funeral, there were rumours for many years that Edward had survived and was really alive somewhere in Europe, some of which were captured in the famous Fieschi Letter written in the 1340s, although no concrete evidence ever emerged to support the allegations. There are, however, various historical interpretations of the events surrounding this basic sequence of events.

paragraph: According to legend, Isabella and Mortimer famously plotted to murder Edward in such a way as not to draw blame on themselves, sending a famous order (in ) which, depending on where the comma was inserted, could mean either "Do not be afraid to kill Edward; it is good" or "Do not kill Edward; it is good to fear". In actuality, there is little evidence of anyone deciding to have Edward assassinated, and none whatsoever of the note having been written. Similarly, accounts of Edward being killed with a red-hot poker have no strong contemporary sources to support them. The conventional 20th-century view has been that Edward did die at Berkeley Castle, either murdered on Isabella's orders or of ill-health brought on by his captivity, and that subsequent accounts of his survival were simply rumours, similar to those that surrounded Joan of Arc and other near contemporaries after their deaths.

paragraph: Three recent historians, however, have offered an alternative interpretation of events. Paul Doherty, drawing extensively on the Fieschi Letter of the 1340s, has argued that Edward in fact escaped from Berkeley Castle with the help of William Ockle, a knight whom Doherty argues subsequently pretended to be Edward in disguise around Europe, using the name "William the Welshman" to draw attention away from the real Edward himself. In this interpretation, a look-alike was buried at Gloucester. Ian Mortimer, focusing more on contemporary documents from 1327 itself, argues that Roger de Mortimer engineered a fake "escape" for Edward from Berkeley Castle; after this Edward was kept in Ireland, believing he was really evading Mortimer, before finally finding himself free, but politically unwelcome, after the fall of Isabella and Mortimer. In this version, Edward makes his way to Europe, before subsequently being buried at Gloucester. Finally, Alison Weir, again drawing on the Fieschi Letter, has recently argued that Edward II escaped his captors, killing one in the process, and lived as a hermit for many years; in this interpretation, the body in Gloucester Cathedral is of Edward's dead captor. In all of these versions, it is argued that it suited Isabella and Mortimer to publicly claim that Edward was dead, even if they were aware of the truth. Other historians, however, including David Carpenter, have criticised the methodology behind this revisionist approach and disagree with the conclusions.

paragraph: Section::::Later years.

paragraph: Isabella and Mortimer ruled together for four years, with Isabella's period as regent marked by the acquisition of huge sums of money and land. When their political alliance with the Lancastrians began to disintegrate, Isabella continued to support Mortimer. Isabella fell from power when her son, Edward III deposed Mortimer in a coup, taking back royal authority for himself. Unlike Mortimer, Isabella survived the transition of power, however, remaining a wealthy and influential member of the English court, albeit never returning directly to active politics.

paragraph: Section::::Later years.:As regent, 1326–1330.

paragraph: Isabella's reign as regent lasted only four years, before the fragile political alliance that had brought her and Mortimer to power disintegrated. 1328 saw the marriage of Isabella's son, Edward III to Philippa of Hainault, as agreed before the invasion of 1326; the lavish ceremony was held in London to popular acclaim. Isabella and Mortimer had already begun a trend that continued over the next few years, in starting to accumulate huge wealth. With her lands restored to her, Isabella was already exceptionally rich, but she began to accumulate yet more. Within the first few weeks, Isabella had granted herself almost £12,000; finding that Edward's royal treasury contained £60,000, a rapid period of celebratory spending then ensued. Isabella soon awarded herself another £20,000, allegedly to pay off foreign debts. At Prince Edward's coronation, Isabella then extended her land holdings from a value of £4,400 each year to the huge sum of £13,333, making her one of the largest landowners in the kingdom. Isabella also refused to hand over her dower lands to Philippa after her marriage to Edward III, in contravention of usual custom. Isabella's lavish lifestyle matched her new incomes. Mortimer, in effect her first minister, after a restrained beginning, also began to accumulate lands and titles at a tremendous rate, particularly in the Marcher territories.

paragraph: The new regime also faced some key foreign policy dilemmas, which Isabella approached from a realist perspective. The first of these was the situation in Scotland, where Edward II's unsuccessful policies had left an unfinished, tremendously expensive war. Isabella was committed to bringing this issue to a conclusion by diplomatic means. Edward III initially opposed this policy, before eventually relenting, leading to the Treaty of Northampton. Under this treaty, Isabella's daughter Joan would marry David Bruce (heir apparent to the Scottish throne) and Edward III would renounce any claims on Scottish lands, in exchange for the promise of Scottish military aid against any enemy except the French, and £20,000 in compensation for the raids across northern England. No compensation would be given to those earls who had lost their Scottish estates, and the compensation would be taken by Isabella. Although strategically successful and, historically at least, "a successful piece of policy making", Isabella's Scottish policy was by no means popular and contributed to the general sense of discontent with the regime. Secondly, the Gascon situation, still unresolved from Edward II's reign, also posed an issue. Isabella reopened negotiations in Paris, resulting in a peace treaty under which the bulk of Gascony, minus the Agenais, would be returned to England in exchange for a 50,000 mark penalty. The treaty was not popular in England because of the Agenais clause.

paragraph: Henry of Lancaster was amongst the first to break with Isabella and Mortimer. By 1327 Lancaster was irritated by Mortimer's behaviour and Isabella responded by beginning to sideline him from her government. Lancaster was furious over the passing of the Treaty of Northampton, and refused to attend court, mobilising support amongst the commoners of London. Isabella responded to the problems by undertaking a wide reform of royal administration, local law enforcement. In a move guaranteed to appeal to domestic opinion, Isabella also decided to pursue Edward III's claim on the French throne, sending her advisers to France to demand official recognition of his claim. The French nobility were unimpressed and, since Isabella lacked the funds to begin any military campaign, she began to court the opinion of France's neighbours, including proposing the marriage of her son John to the Castilian royal family.

paragraph: By the end of 1328 the situation had descended into near civil war once again, with Lancaster mobilising his army against Isabella and Mortimer. In January 1329 Isabella's forces under Mortimer's command took Lancaster's stronghold of Leicester, followed by Bedford; Isabella – wearing armour, and mounted on a warhorse – and Edward III marched rapidly north, resulting in Lancaster's surrender. He escaped death but was subjected to a colossal fine, effectively crippling his power. Isabella was merciful to those who had aligned themselves with him, although some – such as her old supporter Henry de Beaumont, whose family had split from Isabella over the peace with Scotland, which had lost them huge land holdings in Scotland – fled to France.

paragraph: Despite Lancaster's defeat, however, discontent continued to grow. Edmund of Kent had sided with Isabella in 1326, but had since begun to question his decision and was edging back towards Edward II, his half-brother. Edmund of Kent was in conversations with other senior nobles questioning Isabella's rule, including Henry de Beaumont and Isabella de Vesci. Edmund was finally involved in a conspiracy in 1330, allegedly to restore Edward II, who, he claimed, was still alive: Isabella and Mortimer broke up the conspiracy, arresting Edmund and other supporters – including Simon Mepeham, Archbishop of Canterbury. Edmund may have expected a pardon, possibly from Edward III, but Isabella was insistent on his execution. The execution itself was a fiasco after the executioner refused to attend and Edmund of Kent had to be killed by a local dung-collector, who had been himself sentenced to death and was pardoned as a bribe to undertake the beheading. Isabella de Vesci escaped punishment, despite having been closely involved in the plot.

paragraph: Section::::Later years.:Mortimer's fall from power, 1330.

paragraph: By mid-1330, Isabella and Mortimer's regime was increasingly insecure, and Isabella's son, Edward III, was growing frustrated at Mortimer's grip on power. Various historians, with different levels of confidence, have also suggested that in late 1329 Isabella became pregnant. A child of Mortimer's with royal blood would have proved both politically inconvenient for Isabella, and challenging to Edward's own position.

paragraph: Edward quietly assembled a body of support from the Church and selected nobles, whilst Isabella and Mortimer moved into Nottingham Castle for safety, surrounding themselves with loyal troops. In the autumn, Mortimer was investigating another plot against him, when he challenged a young noble, Montague, during an interrogation. Mortimer declared that his word had priority over the king's, an alarming statement that Montague reported back to Edward. Edward was convinced that this was the moment to act, and on 19 October, Montague led a force of twenty three armed men into the castle by a secret tunnel. Up in the keep, Isabella, Mortimer and other council members were discussing how to arrest Montague, when Montague and his men appeared. Fighting broke out on the stairs and Mortimer was overwhelmed in his chamber. Isabella threw herself at Edward's feet, famously crying ""Fair son, have pity on gentle Mortimer!"" Lancastrian troops rapidly took the rest of the castle, leaving Edward in control of his own government for the first time.

paragraph: Parliament was convened the next month, where Mortimer was put on trial for treason. Isabella was portrayed as an innocent bystander during the proceedings, and no mention of her sexual relationship with Mortimer was made public. Isabella's lover was executed at Tyburn, but Edward III showed leniency and he was not quartered or disembowelled.

paragraph: Section::::Later years.:In retirement, 1330–1358.

paragraph: After the coup, Isabella was initially transferred to Berkhamsted Castle, and then held under house arrest at Windsor Castle until 1332, when she then moved back to her own Castle Rising in Norfolk. Agnes Strickland, a Victorian historian, argued that Isabella suffered from occasional fits of madness during this period but modern interpretations suggest, at worst, a nervous breakdown following the death of her lover. Isabella remained extremely wealthy; despite being required to surrender most of her lands after losing power, in 1331 she was reassigned a yearly income of £3000, which increased to £4000 by 1337. She lived an expensive lifestyle in Norfolk, including minstrels, huntsmen, grooms and other luxuries, and was soon travelling again around England. In 1342, there were suggestions that she might travel to Paris to take part in peace negotiations, but eventually this plan was quashed. She was also appointed to negotiate with France in 1348 and was involved in the negotiations with Charles II of Navarre in 1358.

paragraph: As the years went by, Isabella became very close to her daughter Joan, especially after Joan left her unfaithful husband, King David II of Scotland. Joan also nursed her just before she died. She doted on her grandchildren, including Edward, the Black Prince. She became increasingly interested in religion as she grew older, visiting a number of shrines. She remained, however, a gregarious member of the court, receiving constant visitors; amongst her particular friends appear to have been Roger Mortimer's daughter Agnes Mortimer, Countess of Pembroke, and Roger Mortimer's grandson, also called Roger Mortimer, whom Edward III restored to the Earldom of March. King Edward and his children often visited her as well. She remained interested in Arthurian legends and jewellery; in 1358 she appeared at the St George's Day celebrations at Windsor wearing a dress made of silk, silver, 300 rubies, 1800 pearls and a circlet of gold. She may also have developed an interest in astrology or geometry towards the end of her life, receiving various presents relating to these disciplines.

paragraph: Isabella took the nun's habit of the Poor Clares before she died on 22 August 1358 at Hertford Castle, and her body was returned to London for burial at the Franciscan church at Newgate, in a service overseen by Archbishop Simon Islip. She was buried in the mantle she had worn at her wedding and at her request, Edward's heart, placed into a casket thirty years before, was interred with her. Isabella left the bulk of her property, including Castle Rising, to her favourite grandson, the Black Prince, with some personal effects being granted to her daughter Joan.

paragraph: Section::::Cultural depictions.

paragraph: Section::::Cultural depictions.:Literature and theatre.

paragraph: Queen Isabella appeared with a major role in Christopher Marlowe's play "Edward II" (c. 1592) and thereafter has been frequently used as a character in plays, books, and films, often portrayed as beautiful but manipulative or wicked. Thomas Gray, the 18th-century poet, combined Marlowe's depiction of Isabella with William Shakespeare's description of Margaret of Anjou (the wife of Henry VI) as the "She-Wolf of France", to produce the anti-French poem "The Bard" (1757), in which Isabella rips apart the bowels of Edward II with her "unrelenting fangs". The "She-Wolf" epithet stuck, and Bertolt Brecht re-used it in "The Life of Edward II of England" (1923).

paragraph: Section::::Cultural depictions.:Film.

paragraph: In Derek Jarman's film "Edward II" (1991), based on Marlowe's play, Isabella is portrayed (by actress Tilda Swinton) as a "femme fatale" whose thwarted love for Edward causes her to turn against him and steal his throne. In contrast to the negative depictions, Mel Gibson's film "Braveheart" (1995) portrays Isabella (played by the French actress Sophie Marceau) more sympathetically. In the film, an adult Isabella is fictionally depicted as having a romantic affair with the Scottish hero William Wallace. However, in reality, she was nine years old at the time of Wallace's death. Additionally, Wallace is incorrectly suggested to be the father of her son, Edward III, despite Wallace's death being many years before Edward's birth.

paragraph: Section::::Issue.

paragraph: Edward and Isabella had four children, and she suffered at least one miscarriage. Their itineraries demonstrate that they were together 9 months prior to the births of all four surviving offspring. Their children were:

paragraph: BULLET::::1. Edward III, born 1312

paragraph: BULLET::::2. John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall, born 1316

paragraph: BULLET::::3. Eleanor of Woodstock, born 1318, married Reinoud II of Guelders

paragraph: BULLET::::4. Joan of the Tower, born 1321, married David II of Scotland

paragraph: Section::::Ancestry.

paragraph: Isabella is descended from Gytha of Wessex through King Andrew II of Hungary and thus brought the bloodline of the last Anglo-Saxon King of England, Harold Godwinson, back into the English royal family.

paragraph: Section::::See also.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Geoffrey the Baker

paragraph: BULLET::::- Hundred Years' War

paragraph: BULLET::::- Vita Edwardi Secundi

paragraph: Section::::Sources.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Ainsworth, Peter. (2006) "Representing Royalty: Kings, Queens and Captains in Some Early Fifteenth Century Manuscripts of Froissart's Chroniques." in Kooper (ed) 2006.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Boutell, Charles. (1863) "A Manual of Heraldry, Historical and Popular." London: Winsor & Newton.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Carpenter, David. (2007a) "What Happened to Edward II?" "London Review of Books". Vol. 29, No. 11. 7 June 2007.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Carpenter, David. (2007b) "Dead or Alive." "London Review of Books." Vol. 29, No. 15. 2 August 2007.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Castor, Helen. (2011) "She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth", Faber and Faber .

paragraph: BULLET::::- Doherty, P.C. (2003) "Isabella and the Strange Death of Edward II." London: Robinson. .

paragraph: BULLET::::- Ewan, Elizabeth. "Braveheart." "American Historical Review." Vol. 100, No. 4. October 1995.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Given-Wilson, Chris. (ed) (2002) "Fourteenth Century England." Prestwich: Woodbridge.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Holmes, George. (2000) "Europe, Hierarchy and Revolt, 1320–1450, 2nd edition." Oxford: Blackwell.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Kibler, William W. (1995) "Medieval France: an Encyclopedia." London: Routledge.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Kooper, Erik (ed). (2006) "The Medieval Chronicle IV." Amsterdam: Rodopi.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Lord, Carla. (2002) "Queen Isabella at the Court of France." in Given-Wilson (ed) (2002).

paragraph: BULLET::::- Mortimer, Ian. (2004) "The Greatest Traitor: The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, Ruler of England 1327–1330." London: Pimlico Press.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Mortimer, Ian. (2006) "The Perfect King: The Life of Edward III, Father of the English Nation." London: Vintage Press. .

paragraph: BULLET::::- Myers, A. R. (1978) "England in the Late Middle Ages." Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Neillands, Robin. (2001) "The Hundred Years War." London: Routledge.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Sumption, Jonathan. (1999) "The Hundred Years War: Trial by Battle." Philadelphia: Pennsylvania University Press.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Weir, Alison. (1999) "Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy." London: The Bodley Head.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Weir, Alison. (2006) "Queen Isabella: She-Wolf of France, Queen of England." London: Pimlico Books. .

paragraph: Section::::External links.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Heidi Murphy Isabella of France (1295–1358), Britannia biographical series

description: Queen consort of England

wikidata_label: Isabella of France

wikipedia_title: Isabella of France


text:
roller derby
Chicago
Chicago Coliseum
Los Angeles Thunderbirds
Kansas City Bomber
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Philadelphia
Penn Jersey She Devils
Roller Derby Hall of Fame

categories: Roller derby skaters,1940 births,Sportspeople from Chicago,LGBT sportspeople from the United States,American roller skaters,LGBT people from Illinois,2011 deaths,Lesbian sportswomen

paragraph: Judy Sowinski

paragraph: Judy Sowinski (7 July 1940 – 27 July 2011) was a roller derby skater and coach.

paragraph: Sowinski was born in Chicago, and became interested in roller derby after watching a game at the Chicago Coliseum in 1957. She tried out and was soon picked up as a professional, skating for the San Francisco Bombers. She cultivated an obnoxious persona, but preferred the games themselves to remain genuine contests. She later also skated for the Philadelphia Warriors, spent nine years with the Los Angeles Thunderbirds, and captained the New York Bombers.

paragraph: In 1972, Sowinski appeared in "Kansas City Bomber", a movie set in the world of roller derby. She finally retired from the sport in the early 1980s, taking a job at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, living with her female partner. Judy returned to skating several times in the 80's and skated her last game in March 1992 at the Hershey Arena for the IRSD league run by Bob Raskin.

paragraph: Sowinski returned to roller derby in 2003, coaching the Penn Jersey She Devils, initially on an unpaid basis. In 2004, she was inducted into the Roller Derby Hall of Fame.

description: American roller skater

wikidata_label: Judy Sowinski

wikipedia_title: Judy Sowinski


text:
singer-songwriter
Atlantic Records
London Grammar
Vance Joy
Birdy
David Guetta
I'll Keep Loving You
Listen
ZHU
Generationwhy
Coldplay
Radiohead
Maroon 5
Iron & Wine
Death Cab for Cutie
Los Angeles

categories: American male singers,Songwriters from Washington (state),Singers from Washington (state),Musicians from Seattle,21st-century American singers,1991 births,Living people,21st-century male singers

paragraph: Jaymes Young

paragraph: Jaymes Young (born Jaymes McFarland; September 1, 1991) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. On September 9, 2013, he debuted his first extended play, "Dark Star EP". His debut album "Feel Something" was released on June 23, 2017.

paragraph: Section::::Career.

paragraph: In 2013 he was signed to a recording contract with Atlantic Records and toured with the trip hop trio London Grammar. He released his second EP "Habits of My Heart" on September 28, 2014, on Atlantic Records and opened for Vance Joy on the latter's "Dream Your Life Away" tour. He was featured alongside Birdy in David Guetta's "I'll Keep Loving You" on Guetta's 2014 album "Listen". In 2016, he worked with American electronic musician ZHU in co-writing and featuring un-credited vocals on two tracks, entitled "Hometown Girl" which was originally based on Meghan Gier and Benjamin Griffith's relationship and "Cold Blooded" which was based on Jaymes Young's life at a young age. The songs eventually became part of ZHU's debut studio album "Generationwhy", which was released on 29 July 2016.

paragraph: On May 11, 2018, McFarland said he was stepping away from the Jaymes Young project, saying on his Facebook "I'm taking a possibly permanent break from Jaymes Young as a project. I'll be back somehow someway... I can promise that. I owe a lot more music to those who have supported me. I'm following the path I feel is best. Thanks for listening."

paragraph: Section::::Personal life.

paragraph: McFarland grew up in Seattle, Washington, and attributes his varied interest in music to his music-loving parents and siblings (two older brothers and one younger sister). His musical influences include Coldplay, Radiohead, Maroon 5, Iron & Wine, and Death Cab for Cutie. McFarland began playing the guitar and writing lyrics at age 14. Music became a creative outlet for his ideas and inspiration. Apart from music, his interests include science and philosophy. He currently resides in Los Angeles. Before he adopted the name Jaymes Young, McFarland was a member of a small Seattle-based band named Corner State That released a single album in 2010.

description: American musician

wikidata_label: Jaymes Young

wikipedia_title: Jaymes Young


text:
test driver
automotive engineer
mechanic
Lamborghini
Auckland
New Zealand
Guerino Bertocchi
Maserati
Camoradi USA
Scuderia Serenissima
Maserati Tipo 61 "Birdcage"
Chevrolet Corvette
1960 24 Hours of Le Mans
Scuderia Serenissima
Ferrari 250 GTO
Ferrari 250 TR 61 Spyder Fantuzzi
Scuderia Ferrari
Sant'Agata Bolognese
350GT
autostrada
Varano Circuit
Milan
Modena
toll booths
Gianpaolo Dallara
Paolo Stanzani
Lamborghini Miura
400GT
Islero
Urraco
Jarama
Espada
Countach
LP500 prototype
Ferruccio Lamborghini
proof of concept
test mule
Miura P400 Jota
Jarama
Urraco
prototype
roll cage
quattrovalvole
V8
Misano Circuit
Valentino Balboni
Phoenix, Arizona

categories: 2013 deaths,Lamborghini people,New Zealand motorsport people,1938 births,Auto racing people

paragraph: Bob Wallace (test driver)

paragraph: Bob Wallace (193819 September 2013) was a New Zealand test driver, automotive engineer and mechanic, best known for his role in developing early Lamborghini road cars.

paragraph: Section::::Early life.

paragraph: Wallace was born in Auckland, New Zealand in 1938.

paragraph: He became involved in auto racing as a teenager, meeting local and international drivers and mechanics at races in New Zealand. He moved from Auckland to Italy in 1959, prompted by an invitation from Guerino Bertocchi to work at Maserati. When Wallace arrived in Italy, he was not able to get a job at Maserati. He instead worked as a mechanic for the racing teams Camoradi USA and Scuderia Serenissima. During his time with Camoradi, Wallace worked on the team's Maserati Tipo 61 "Birdcage" and Chevrolet Corvette, including at the 1960 24 Hours of Le Mans. Later on with Scuderia Serenissima, he would work on the Ferrari 250 GTO and Ferrari 250 TR 61 Spyder Fantuzzi and have contact with Scuderia Ferrari.

paragraph: Section::::Work at Lamborghini.

paragraph: Following the 1963 racing season, Wallace was hired by Lamborghini at the then-new factory in Sant'Agata Bolognese. Initially, his role was to assist in production of the 350GT as a mechanic and, in his words, "trouble-shooter". He was soon recognised at the factory as talented in vehicle evaluation and subsequently became the chief test driver for Lamborghini, a position which included duties as a road development engineer. The majority of Lamborghini testing at that time was conducted on public roads, including the autostrada and mountain roads, although cars were also run at tracks such as nearby Varano Circuit. During road tests, Wallace often engaged in informal competition with the Ferrari and Maserati test drivers, either directly or through timed runs such as the 105-mile distance between the Milan and Modena autostrada toll booths.

paragraph: In 1965, Wallace worked with Gianpaolo Dallara and Dallara's then-assistant Paolo Stanzani to develop the Lamborghini Miura. He conducted extensive road testing of Miura prototype and production cars, informing the development of Miura S and SV versions. He also participated in development of the 400GT, Islero, Urraco, Jarama, Espada, and most extensively, the Countach, including road-testing of the LP500 prototype.

paragraph: Wallace created three lightweight high-performance versions of Lamborghini road cars during his time at the manufacturer. Despite Ferruccio Lamborghini's reluctance to become involved with racing, Wallace believed Lamborghini production models had great competition potential and built these modified versions on his own initiative as both proof of concept exercises and test mules. The first and most well-known of these specials was the Miura P400 Jota. After creating the Jota, Wallace modified Jarama #10350 (known as the Jarama "Bob," RS, or Rally) with racing-oriented changes including a stiffened chassis, lighter body panels, modified aerodynamics, upgraded suspension, Miura wheels, and a reworked engine producing an estimated 380 bhp. The final Wallace special was the Urraco "Bob" (also known as the Rally or Rallye), created from the third Urraco pre-production prototype. The car was lightened, stiffened, and provided with aerodynamic enhancements, a roll cage, six-speed transaxle and a special "quattrovalvole" 3.0 litre V8 engine producing 310 bhp. This was the only one of the three factory-built Wallace Lamborghinis to actually race, in a single outing at Misano Circuit.

paragraph: Wallace left Lamborghini in 1975, following Ferruccio Lamborghini's sale of the company in 1974. Subsequently, Valentino Balboni took over as chief test driver.

paragraph: Section::::Later life.

paragraph: Following his departure from Lamborghini, Wallace and his wife settled in Phoenix, Arizona. There he established an independent mechanic shop, Bob Wallace Cars, where he restored and maintained Ferrari and Lamborghini cars. Much of Wallace's work at this shop involved race preparation for vintage Ferraris.

paragraph: Wallace died on 19 September 2013 at the age of 75.

description: New Zealand test driver

wikidata_label: Bob Wallace

wikipedia_title: Bob Wallace (test driver)


text: Lohusuu

text: Kreis Dorpat

text: Livland Governorate

text: Äksi

text: Baltic German

text: Estophile

text: Narva

text: Gymnasium

text: Torgau

text: Germany

text: theology

text: music

text: drawing

text: University of Halle

text: Estonia

text: Dorpat

text: Tartu

text: city councillor

text: Johann Gustav Stockenberg

text: Püssi Manor

text: Lüganuse

text: Viru-Nigula

text: Äksi

text: consistory

text: Livonia

text: Provost

text: Tartu

text: Estonian words

text: Estonian alphabet

text: Estonian

text: Estonian language

text: õ

text: Order of Saint Vladimir

categories: Estophiles,Estonian Lutheran clergy,Linguists from Estonia,Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class,19th-century Estonian people,Baltic-German people,1832 deaths,1763 births,Burials at Raadi cemetery,18th-century Estonian people

paragraph: Otto Wilhelm Masing

paragraph: Otto Wilhelm Masing ( in Lohusuu, Kreis Dorpat, Livland Governorate – in Äksi, Livland Governorate) was an early Baltic German Estophile and a major advocate of peasant rights, especially regarding education.

paragraph: Section::::Life.

paragraph: He received schooling at the town school of Narva (1777–1779) and then (1779–1782) at the Gymnasium of Torgau (Germany) before studying theology, music and drawing at the University of Halle, returning to Estonia in 1786.

paragraph: In 1796 he married Dorothea Amalie Ehlertz (1776–1809) in Dorpat (Tartu), a daughter of the city councillor Carl Ulrich Ehlertz (1739–1790) and his wife Louisa Dorothea née Stockenberg (1755–1803), a great-granddaughter of the sculptor Johann Gustav Stockenberg.

paragraph: Section::::Work.

paragraph: His first employment after concluding his studies was as private tutor at Püssi Manor for the children of the nobleman Otto Magnus von Toll.

paragraph: In 1788 he became the pastor of the (Lutheran) church in Lüganuse (1788–1795), then serving from 1795 in Viru-Nigula (1795–1815) and from 1815 in Äksi, where he remained as pastor until his death.

paragraph: From 1818 he also took on the post of assessor of the consistory of Livonia and from 1821 onwards he was also Provost for Tartu.

paragraph: Section::::Contributions as publicist and linguist.

paragraph: In 1795, Masing compiled and published a children's textbook for learning reading, the "ABD". (The letter 'C' does not appear in Estonian words, and back then, was not considered a member of Estonian alphabet. This considered, the title could be translated as "ABC.") He published a further textbook with methodical reading instructions, the "Luggemislehhed", in 1821.

paragraph: From 1821 to 1823, Masing published a newsletter "Marahva Näddala-Leht" (Estonian for "Peasant's Weekly"), one of the earliest regular publications in the Estonian language.

paragraph: Among other linguistic contributions, Masing is credited with creating the letter 'õ' to denote an Estonian phoneme not found in other nearby languages.

paragraph: Section::::Honours.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Imperial Russian Order of Saint Vladimir, 4th class (awarded 1821)

paragraph: Section::::External links.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Estonica: 1710–1850. The Baltic Landesstaat. Emergence of national consciousness and Estophilia

description: Estonian clergyman and linguist

wikidata_label: Otto Wilhelm Masing

wikipedia_title: Otto Wilhelm Masing


text: Windsor, New Jersey

text: Trenton, New Jersey

text: American

text: Republican Party

text: Windsor

text: Robbinsville Township, New Jersey

text: Trenton, New Jersey

text: New Jersey General Assembly

text: New Jersey Senate

text: Greenwood Cemetery

text: Hutchinson Mills, New Jersey

text: Christ Presbyterian Church

text: Info for Elijah Cubberley Hutchinson

text: The Political Graveyard

categories: New Jersey state senators,1932 deaths,People from Robbinsville Township, New Jersey,Members of the New Jersey General Assembly,Members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey,New Jersey Republicans,Presidents of the New Jersey Senate,1855 births,Burials in New Jersey,Politicians from Trenton, New Jersey

paragraph: Elijah C. Hutchinson

paragraph: Elijah Cubberley Hutchinson (August 7, 1855, Windsor, New Jersey – June 25, 1932, Trenton, New Jersey) was an American Republican Party politician who represented from 1915 to 1923.

paragraph: Section::::Biography.

paragraph: Hutchinson was born in the Windsor section of what is now Robbinsville Township, New Jersey on August 7, 1855. He attended the public schools and Riders Business College in Trenton, New Jersey. He became a merchant miller in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey and was interested in banking and in the manufacture of fertilizer. He served as township clerk for three years. Hutchinson was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly in 1895 and 1896, and served in the New Jersey Senate from 1899 to 1904 and was president of that body in 1903. He served as state road commissioner from 1905 to 1908.

paragraph: Hutchinson was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-fourth and to the three succeeding Congresses, serving in Congress from March 4, 1915 to March 3, 1923, but was unsuccessful in his bid for reelection in 1922 to the Sixty-eighth Congress.

paragraph: He resided in Trenton, until his death there on June 25, 1932. Hutchinson was interred in Greenwood Cemetery in Hamilton Township.

paragraph: Section::::Legacy.

paragraph: Although the mill he owned is no longer in existence, the neighborhood of Hamilton Township where it stood is known as Hutchinson Mills, New Jersey.

paragraph: Hutchinson was a founding member and elder of Christ Presbyterian Church (founded 1920; building dedicated 1924), located in the Hutchinson Mills section of Hamilton Township. At the focal point of the church's worship space is a historic stained-glass window depicting the resurrection scene from Mark 16 (Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome confronted by an angel pointing at the empty tomb), dedicated in memory of his late wife. Several other stained glass windows bear dedications by "Mrs. E.C. Hutchinson" and one is in the name of Stanley Hutchinson, in memory of his mother.

paragraph: Section::::External links.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Info for Elijah Cubberley Hutchinson, The Political Graveyard

description: American politician

wikidata_label: Elijah Cubberley Hutchinson

wikipedia_title: Elijah C. Hutchinson


text:
Ancient Egypt
twentieth dynasty
Great Royal Wife
Ramesses III
Ramesses VI
Ramesses V
Ramesses VII
Iset
Tyti
Mut
Karnak
God's Wife of Amun
Valley of the Queens
Champollion
Lepsius
Ramesses III
Ramesses VI
20th dynasty
Ptah
Sokar
Atum
Osiris
Ramesses VI
Anhur
Shu
Atum
Neith
Serket
Isis
Nephthys
granite
sarcophagus
Schiaparelli
Museo Egizio
Tomb of Queen Ese

categories: Queens consort of the Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt,12th-century BC women

paragraph: Iset Ta-Hemdjert

paragraph: Iset Ta-Hemdjert or Isis Ta-Hemdjert, simply called Isis in her tomb, was an Ancient Egyptian queen of the twentieth dynasty; the Great Royal Wife of Ramesses III and the Royal Mother of Ramesses VI.

paragraph: She was probably of Asian origin; her mother's name "Hemdjert" (or "Habadjilat" or "Hebnerdjent)" is not an Egyptian name but a Syrian one. One of her children are known to us, Ramesses VI, who succeeded his nephew Ramesses V, the short-lived son of Ramesses IV. Other than Ramesses V, the grandchildren of Iset Ta-Hemdjert include Ramesses VII, the God's Wife of Amun Iset, and princes Amunherkhopsef and Panebenkemyt; these are all the children of Ramesses VI. Ramesses IV was once thought to be this queen's own son too until it was revealed in a recent 2010 Journal of Egyptian Archaeology article that Queen Tyti was most likely to be this king's mother from copies of fragments of the tomb robbery papyri that Anthony Harris made revealing that she was Ramesses III's own wife plus the fact that she is known to have been a king's mother.

paragraph: Apart from the "Great Royal Wife" designation, she also held the titles of "God's Wife," and, during the reign of her sons, "King's Mother". She is shown on a statue of Ramesses III in the Mut temple at Karnak. She was still alive during the reign of Ramesses VI, when her granddaughter Iset became God's Wife of Amun.

paragraph: Section::::Tomb QV51.

paragraph: Isis Ta-Hemdjert was buried in the Valley of the Queens, in tomb QV51. The tomb was described by Champollion, and is documented in Lepsius' Denkmahler. The construction of the tomb may have started during the reign of her husband King Ramesses III, but it was finished during the reign of her son Ramesses VI. The tomb had been looted in ancient times and is mentioned in the papyri regarding the tomb robberies during the 20th dynasty.

paragraph: The tomb consists of a corridor ending in a main hall with two side chambers. The corridor is decorated with scenes showing the queen before a variety of divinities including Ptah-Sokar, Atum and Osiris.

paragraph: The outer jambs for the main hall contain a text by Ramesses VI. The queen appears before several gods, including Ptah. and hawk-god, the god Anhur-Shu and Atum. The side rooms are decorated with scenes showing a variety of goddesses including Neith, Serket, Isis, and Nephthys.

paragraph: Fragments of a red granite sarcophagus were recovered during the excavations by Schiaparelli and are now in the Museo Egizio in Turin, Italy.

paragraph: Section::::Outside Sources.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Tomb of Queen Ese Plan and description of the tomb

description: ancient Egyptian queen consort

wikidata_label: Iset Ta-Hemdjert

wikipedia_title: Iset Ta-Hemdjert


text:
Ancient Egypt
twentieth dynasty
Ramesses III
Judicial Papyrus of Turin
harem conspiracy
Pentawer
Tyti
Ramesses IV

categories: Queens consort of the Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt,12th-century BC women,Ramesses III

paragraph: Tiye (20th dynasty)

paragraph: Tiye was an Ancient Egyptian queen of the twentieth dynasty; a secondary wife of Ramesses III, against whom she instigated a conspiracy.

paragraph: Tiye is known from the Judicial Papyrus of Turin, which recorded that there was a harem conspiracy against Ramesses, in which several people in high positions in the pharaoh's government were involved. The conspirators wanted to kill the king and place Tiye's son Pentawer on the throne, instead of the appointed heir, the son of Tyti, one of the king's two chief wives.

paragraph: Ramesses was attacked by multiple assailants, one slitting his throat, another removing his big toe with a heavy sword or axe. However, his designated heir was able to control the situation, and succeeded him as Ramesses IV. The conspirators were caught, brought to trial, and condemned. Most were burned to death and their ashes scattered in the street. Others, including Pentawer, were compelled to commit suicide. It is not known what happened to Tiye.

description: ancient Egyptian queen consort

wikidata_label: Tiye

wikipedia_title: Tiye (20th dynasty)


text:
San Miguel de Gualdape
Toledo
mozarab
Islamic Spain
Spanish Monarchs
Nicolás de Ovando
Hispanola
Santo Domingo
alcalde mayor
Concepción
University of Salamanca
Ferdinand
Diego Colón
Real Audiencia
Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros
King Charles V
Hernán Cortés
conquest of Mexico
Diego Velázquez
Winyah Bay
Francisco de Chicora
Peter Martyr
encomienda
order of Santiago
Savannah River
Chesapeake Bay
Pawleys Island
Sapelo Sound
San Miguel de Gualdape
Saint Michael
St. Augustine, Florida
Roanoke Colony
Jamestown, Virginia
Hernando de Soto
Tristán de Luna
Short biography

categories: People of New Spain,1478 births,1526 deaths,Spanish explorers of North America,People of the Colony of Santo Domingo,Colonial United States (Spanish),People from Toledo, Spain,16th-century Spanish people

paragraph: Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón

paragraph: Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón (c. 1480 – 18 October 1526) was a Spanish magistrate and explorer who in 1526 established the short-lived San Miguel de Gualdape colony, the first European attempt at a settlement in what is now the United States. Ayllón's account of the region inspired a number of later attempts by the Spanish and French governments to colonize the southeastern United States.

paragraph: Section::::Life.

paragraph: Ayllón was born in Toledo around 1480, the younger son of a prominent family whose roots traced back to a high-ranking "mozarab" judge in Islamic Spain. His parents were city councilman Juan Vázquez de Ayllón and Inés de Villalobos. Ayllón received a good education in law and his father's position gave him valuable insights into the practice of politics.

paragraph: In 1502, the Spanish Monarchs sent Nicolás de Ovando to serve as governor of Hispanola in the Indies. Ayllón accompanied Ovando's flotilla and arrived at the capital, Santo Domingo, in April 1502. In 1504 Ayllón was appointed "alcalde mayor", the chief magistrate and administrative officer, of Concepción. Ayllón was expected to establish order in the turbulent gold-mining districts in the hinterlands of the island.

paragraph: In 1509 Ovando and his lieutenants, including Ayllón, were recalled to Spain and subjected to a "residencia", a review or audit of their term in office. Ayllón faced charges that he enriched himself unjustly but apparently was able to defend himself successfully with no harm to his career or his wealth. After his return to Spain he undertook additional studies in law and earned the equivalent of a masters degree from the University of Salamanca.

paragraph: Meanwhile, Ferdinand was concerned by his lack of control in the Indies and the growing influence of the new governor, Diego Colón. In 1511 Ferdinand established a royal appeals court, the "Real Audiencia" in Hispanola. The king demonstrated considerable faith in Ayllón when he appointed him as one of three judges of this important court meant to assert royal power in the colonies. Ayllón reached Hispanola in May, 1512 and quickly became an important figure in the politics of the island. Around 1514 he married the daughter of a wealthy miner, Ana de Bezerra, adding wealth and prestige to his political power. He also became owner of a sugar plantation and funded various slave-trading ventures. Complaints were made that Ayllón and the other judges were unfairly dominating the slave-market and driving up the price of slaves.

paragraph: When Ferdinand died in 1516, Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros became regent for the young King Charles V. Cisneros was determined to put an end to the abuse of the Indians. Ayllón and the other judges of the "audencia" were suspended in 1517 and put under investigation for alleged abuses. However, when Cisneros was removed from the regency, the "residencia" was cut short and the judges were restored to office in 1520.

paragraph: Even during his suspension, Ayllón remained an influential figure in the Indies. In 1519, after Hernán Cortés began his conquest of Mexico, Cortés declared his independence from Diego Velázquez, the governor of Cuba and sponsor of the expedition. Fearful that the dispute between Cortés and Velázquez would escalate into open warfare, Crown authorities sent Ayllón first to Cuba to confer with Velázquez and then on to Mexico in an attempt to convince both sides to settle their differences in court. When Ayllón reached Mexico, he was forcibly detained and sent back to Santo Domingo with nothing to show for his efforts.

paragraph: After Ayllón's reinstatement to the "audiencia" a ship arrived at Santo Domingo sometime around August 1521. The pilot, Francisco Gordillo, had been hired by Ayllón to lead a slaving expedition to the Bahamas. Finding the islands completely depopulated, Gordillo and another slaving ship piloted by Pedro de Quejo sailed northwest in search of land rumored to be found in that direction. On June 24, 1521, they made landfall at Winyah Bay on the coast of present-day South Carolina. After some preliminary exploration of the region, they kidnapped sixty Indians and brought them back to Hispanola.

paragraph: In addition to the Indian slaves, Gordillo and Quejo brought back glowing reports of the land they had found. They said it would not require military conquest and once settled the area would become a rich and prosperous colony. Ayllón was apparently inspired by these reports and soon wrote to the Spanish crown requesting permission to explore and settle the region. Later that same year he traveled to Spain on business for the "audencia" but used the opportunity to personally press his case for the new land. Ayllón took with him one of the captured Indians who had recently been baptized as Francisco de Chicora. In Spain they met the court chronicler, Peter Martyr, with whom Chicora spoke at length about his people and homeland, and about neighboring provinces.

paragraph: Ayllón signed a contract with the crown on June 12, 1523 allowing him to establish a settlement on the eastern seaboard and conduct trade with the local natives. He would be governor for life and the title "alguacil mayor" (high sheriff) would be held by him and his heirs forever. In return for these and numerous other privileges, Ayllón was required to perform a more detailed exploration of the region, establish missions, churches, and a Franciscan monastery to further conversion of the native population, and he was restrained from implementing an "encomienda" or other means of forcing Indian labor. While still in Spain Ayllón was also named a "comendador" in the military order of Santiago.

paragraph: Before returning home, Ayllon was ordered to Puerto Rico where he was required to complete a number of pending investigations and audits of current and former government officials. From the Crown's viewpoint, his efforts were successful in bringing some order to the government on the island and helped put an end to Diego Colón's independent authority in the islands.

paragraph: After an absence of three years, Ayllón returned to Santo Domingo around December, 1524 and, per his contract, began organizing an expedition to further explore the southeastern shore of North America. He hired Quejo to lead a voyage consisting of two caravels and about sixty crewmen. They set sail in early April, 1525 with instructions to explore 200 leagues (640 nautical miles) of coastline, record necessary bearings and soundings, erect stone markers bearing the name of Charles V, and obtain Indians who might serve as guides and interpreters for future voyages. They made their first landfall on May 3, 1525, likely at the Savannah River. From there they continued north until reaching Winyah Bay, the site of their original landing in 1521. It is not clear how much further north Quejo traveled, perhaps as far as Chesapeake Bay, but he observed that the coast beyond Winyah Bay was mostly sand dunes and pine scrub. The expedition returned home in July, 1525.

paragraph: Quejo's return marked the beginning of active preparation for a voyage of settlement led by Ayllón himself. He spent his own considerable fortune and even put himself into debt to outfit the expedition. A fleet consisting of six vessels carrying about 600-700 passengers and crew was assembled. Some women, children and African slaves were included among the settlers. Supplies and livestock, including cows, sheep, pigs and a hundred horses, were loaded and the fleet departed in mid-July, 1526. The large colonizing group landed in Winyah Bay on August 9, 1526 and encountered their first significant setback when their largest ship struck a sandbar and sank. There was no loss of life but a large portion of their supplies was lost. Ayllón ordered a replacement vessel to be built, probably the earliest example of European-style boat building in what is now the United States.

paragraph: Ayllón looked for a suitable site to establish a settlement at nearby Pawleys Island but the soil was poor and a sparse Indian population offered little chance for profitable trade. Several reconnaissance parties were sent out in a wide search for better opportunities. Based on their reports, Ayllón decided to move about 200 miles south to a "powerful river", probably the Sapelo Sound in present-day Georgia. Early in September, the healthy men rode to the new site on horseback while the rest traveled by ship. When they reached Sapelo Sound they began immediately to construct houses and a church.

paragraph: The short-lived colony of San Miguel de Gualdape was formally established on the festival of Saint Michael, September 29, 1526. It was the first European settlement in the present-day United States. Ayllón's rough-hewn town survived less than three months, enduring exhaustion, cold, hunger, disease, and troubles with the local natives. When Ayllón died on October 18, 1526 from an unnamed illness, the entire enterprise fell apart. The surviving colonists broke into warring factions and by mid-November decided to give up and sail home. Of the 600-700 people whom Ayllón had brought with him, only 150 survivors made their way back to Hispaniola that winter.

paragraph: San Miguel de Gualdape was the first European colony in what is now the United States, preceding St. Augustine, Florida (the first successful colony) by 39 years, the Roanoke Colony by 61 years, and Jamestown, Virginia by 81 years. Despite repeated attempts, archaeologists have been unable to locate the site of the town or the shipwreck in Winyah Bay.

paragraph: Section::::See also.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Hernando de Soto

paragraph: BULLET::::- Tristán de Luna

paragraph: Section::::External links.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Short biography

description: Spanish explorer

wikidata_label: Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón

wikipedia_title: Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón


text: Italian

text: designer

text: luxury goods

text: Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A.

text: Hollywood stars

text: wedge heel

text: Bonito

text: Italy

text: Avellino

text: confirmation

text: shoemaking

text: Naples

text: Boston

text: Massachusetts

text: California

text: Santa Barbara

text: Hollywood

text: made-to-measure

text: anatomy

text: University of Southern California

text: Florence

text: Maharani of Cooch Behar

text: Eva Peron

text: Marilyn Monroe

text: bankruptcy

text: Judy Garland

text: Over the Rainbow

text: The Wizard of Oz

text: cork

text: suede

text: World War II

text: Palazzo Spini Feroni

text: Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A.

text: fashion designer

text: James Ferragamo

text: Ruspoli

categories: 1898 births,Italian fashion designers,Altagamma members,Italian businesspeople,Shoe designers,People from the Province of Avellino,Italian billionaires,1960 deaths

paragraph: Salvatore Ferragamo

paragraph: Salvatore Ferragamo (5 June 1898 – 7 August 1960) was an Italian shoe designer and the founder of luxury goods high-end retailer Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A.. Ferragamo worked with many Hollywood stars in the 1920s, before returning to Italy to found the eponymous company making bespoke footwear. His creative approach to shoes spawned many innovations such as the wedge heel and cage heel.

paragraph: Section::::Early life.

paragraph: Salvatore Ferragamo was born in 1898 to a poor family in Bonito, Italy, near Avellino, the eleventh of 14 children. After making his first pair of shoes for himself, a pair of high heels, at age nine (and his sisters to wear at their confirmation), young Salvatore decided that he had found his calling.

paragraph: Section::::Career.

paragraph: After studying shoemaking in Naples for a year, Ferragamo opened a small store based in his parents' home. In 1914, he emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts, where one of his brothers worked in a cowboy boot factory. After a brief stint at the factory, Ferragamo convinced his brothers to move to California, first Santa Barbara then Hollywood. It was there that Ferragamo found success, initially opening a shop for repair and made-to-measure shoes, leading to a long period of designing footwear for the cinema. However, he could not fathom why his shoes pleased the eye yet hurt the foot, so he proceeded to study anatomy at the University of Southern California.

paragraph: After spending thirteen years in the US, Ferragamo returned to Italy in 1927, settling in Florence. He began to fashion shoes for women, from the Maharani of Cooch Behar to Eva Peron to Marilyn Monroe. He opened a workshop in the Via Mannelli, concentrating his efforts in experimenting with design, applying for patents for ornamental and utility models and some related inventions. Although he filed for bankruptcy in 1933 due to bad management and economic pressures, Ferragamo nonetheless expanded his operation during the 1950s to a workforce of around 700 expert artisans that produced 350 pairs of handmade shoes a day.

paragraph: "The Rainbow" was created by Salvatore Ferragamo in 1938 and was the first instance of the platform shoe returning in modern days in the West. The platform sandal was designed for American singer and actress Judy Garland. The shoe was a tribute to Garland's signature song "Over the Rainbow" performed in "The Wizard of Oz" (1939) feature film. The shoe was crafted using shaped slabs of cork that were covered in suede to build up the wedge and gold kidskin was used for the straps. His creation was a result of experimentations with new materials because of wartime rationing during World War II.

paragraph: Section::::Death and legacy.

paragraph: Salvatore Ferragamo died in 1960 at the age of 62, but his name lives on as an international company, which has expanded its operations to include luxury shoes, bags, eyewear, silk accessories, watches, perfumes and a ready-to-wear clothing line. At his death, his wife Wanda and later their six children (Fiamma, Giovanna, Fulvia, Ferruccio, Massimo and Leonardo) ran the company.

paragraph: His most famous invention is arguably the "Cage heel". Fiamma (Salvatore's eldest daughter who died in 1998) came up with the "Vara pumps" in 1978.

paragraph: A museum dedicated to Ferragamo's life and work opened in the Palazzo Spini Feroni in 1995. The palazzo had been bought by Ferragamo in the 1930s.

paragraph: In March 2013, Ferragamo's fashion house, Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A., established the Ferragamo Foundation in Florence. The foundation was formed to cultivate young fashion designers, based on the ideas of Salvatore Ferragamo.

paragraph: Section::::Present day.

paragraph: The company is owned by the Ferragamo family, which in November 2006 included Salvatore's widow Wanda, five children, 23 grandchildren and other relatives. There is a rule that only three members of the family can work at the company, prompting fierce competition.

paragraph: Section::::Family.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Wanda Ferragamo Miletti led the group since 1960, when her husband and founder of the company, Salvatore, died. She was honorary chairman until her death in 2018.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Ferruccio Ferragamo, chairman of the company

paragraph: BULLET::::- Giovanna Gentile-Ferragamo, vice president of Salvatore Ferragamo SpA

paragraph: BULLET::::- Leonardo Ferragamo, since 2000, has been the Director of Salvatore Ferragamo SpA, Ferragamo Finanziaria; Executive Vice President of the Fondazione Ferragamo.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Massimo Ferragamo, Chairman of Ferragamo USA.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Fulvia Visconti-Ferragamo, who died in March 2018, ran the fashion label's silk accessories division beginning in the 1970s. She was the Deputy Chairwoman of Ferragamo Finanziaria SpA.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Fiamma Ferragamo di San Giuliano, who died in 1998, was involved in the creation of some of the brand's products, such as Vara shoe and the Gancino.

paragraph: BULLET::::- James Ferragamo, Women's and Men's Shoes and Leather Goods Division Director for the Salvatore Ferragamo Group

paragraph: BULLET::::- Angelica Visconti Ruspoli, South Europe Director

paragraph: BULLET::::- Diego Paternò di San Giuliano coordinates the digital activities of the brand.

paragraph: Section::::External links.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Official website of the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum

description: Italian shoe designer

wikidata_label: Salvatore Ferragamo

wikipedia_title: Salvatore Ferragamo