The Fieschi Letter

This famous letter was written by Manuele de Fieschi, a sober Papal notary not given to telling porkies as far as we know. The letter appears to be genuine. It tells how Edward II escaped from Berkeley castle, and went to live abroad – rather than dying or being killed by Mortimer. 

In the name of the Lord, Amen. Those things that I have heard from the confession of your father I have written with my own hand and afterwards I have taken care to be made known to your highness.

First he says that feeling England in subversion against him, afterwards on the admonition of your mother, he withdrew from his family in the castle of the Earl Marshal by the sea, which is called Chepstow. Afterwards, driven by fear, he took a barque with lords Hugh Despenser and the Earl of Arundel and several others and made his way by sea to Glamorgan, and there he was captured, together with the said Lord Hugh and Master Robert Baldock; and they were captured by Lord Henry of Lancaster, and they led him to the castle of Kenilworth, and others were [held] elsewhere at various places; and there he lost the crown at the insistence of many. Afterwards you were subsequently crowned on the feast of Candlemas next following. Finally they sent him to the castle of Berkeley.

Afterwards the servant who was keeping him, after some little time, said to your father:

Lord, Lord Thomas Gurney and Lord Simon Bereford, knights, have come with the purpose of killing you. If it pleases, I shall give you my clothes,  that you may better be able to escape.

Then with the said clothes, at twilight, he went out of the prison; and when he had reached the last door without resistance, because he was not recognised, he found the porter sleeping, whom he quickly killed; and having got the keys of the door, he opened the door and went out, with his keeper who was keeping him. The said knights who had come to kill him, seeing that he had thus fled, fearing the indignation of the queen, even the danger to their persons, thought to put that aforesaid porter, his heart having been extracted, in a box, and maliciously presented to the queen the heart and body of the aforesaid porter as the body of your father, and as the body of the said king the said porter was buried in Gloucester.

And after he had gone out of the prisons of the aforesaid castle, he was received in the castle of Corfe with his companion who was keeping him in the prisons by Lord Thomas, castellan of the said castle, the lord being ignorant, Lord John Maltravers, lord of the said Thomas, in which castle he was secretly for a year and a half.

Afterwards, having heard that the Earl of Kent, because he said he was alive, had been beheaded, he took a ship with his said keeper and with the consent and counsel of the said Thomas, who had received him, crossed into Ireland, where he was for – nine months.

Afterwards, fearing lest he be recognised there, having taken the habit of a hermit, he came back to England and proceeded to the port of Sandwich, and in the same habit crossed the sea to – Sluys. Afterwards he turned his steps in Normandy and from Normandy as many do, going across through Languedoc, came to Avignon, where, having given a florin to the servant of the pope, sent by the said servant a document to Pope John, which pope had him called to him, and held him secretly and honourably more than fifteen days. Finally, after various discussions, all things having been considered, permission having been received, he went to Paris, and from Paris to Brabant, from Brabant to Cologne so that out of devotion he might see The Three Kings, and leaving Cologne he crossed over Germany, that is to say, he headed for Milan in Lombardy, and from Milan he entered a certain hermitage of the castle of Melazzo, in which hermitage he stayed for two years and a half; and because war overran the said castle, he changed himself to the castle of Cecima in another hermitage of the diocese of Pavia in Lombardy, and he was in this last hermitage for two years or thereabouts, always the recluse, doing penance and praying God for you and other sinners.

In testimony of which I have caused my seal to be affixed f the consideration of Your Highness. Your Manuele de Fieschi, notary the lord pope, your devoted servant.

 

 

2 thoughts on “The Fieschi Letter

  1. I found the finding of the letter and what it said regarding Edward ll absolutely amazing. A fantastic story. Turned history on its head. Id love to see it its on my bucket list. I’m fascinated in medievil history. At the moment I’m doing some study of the Wars of the roses and the hundred years War and I can’t get enough of it. Thank you for posting this. Have you ever seen the document by Edward Vl it’s called ‘devices’ I think and held in the temple library in London. As you probably already know what its about.

    1. Hi, and yes I love medieval history too!” I do cover the Devise of Edward VI – also a fascinating document and event. I take the approach in the podcast that the the usurper was Mary, rather than Lady Jane Grey as a result…

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