Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
Audiobook9 hours
The Rise and Fall of a Medieval Family: The Despensers
Written by Kathryn Warner
Narrated by Jennifer M. Dixon
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
()
About this audiobook
The Despensers were a baronial English family who rose to great prominence in the reign of Edward II (1307-27) when Hugh Despenser the Younger became the king's chamberlain, favorite, and perhaps, lover. He and his father Hugh the Elder wielded great influence, and Hugh the Younger's greed and tyranny brought down a king for the first time in English history and almost destroyed his own family.
The Rise and Fall of a Medieval Family tells the story of the ups and downs of this fascinating family from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries, when three Despenser lords were beheaded and two fell in battle. We begin with Hugh, Chief Justiciar of England, who died rebelling against King Henry III and his son in 1265, and end with Thomas Despenser, summarily beheaded in 1400 after attempting to free a deposed Richard II, and Thomas's posthumous daughter Isabella, a countess twice over and the grandmother of Richard III's queen.
From the medieval version of Prime Ministers to the (possible) lovers of monarchs, the aristocratic Despenser family wielded great power in medieval England. Drawing on the popular intrigue and infamy of the Despenser clan, Kathryn Warner's book traces the lives of the most notorious, powerful, and influential members of this patrician family over a 200 year span.
The Rise and Fall of a Medieval Family tells the story of the ups and downs of this fascinating family from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries, when three Despenser lords were beheaded and two fell in battle. We begin with Hugh, Chief Justiciar of England, who died rebelling against King Henry III and his son in 1265, and end with Thomas Despenser, summarily beheaded in 1400 after attempting to free a deposed Richard II, and Thomas's posthumous daughter Isabella, a countess twice over and the grandmother of Richard III's queen.
From the medieval version of Prime Ministers to the (possible) lovers of monarchs, the aristocratic Despenser family wielded great power in medieval England. Drawing on the popular intrigue and infamy of the Despenser clan, Kathryn Warner's book traces the lives of the most notorious, powerful, and influential members of this patrician family over a 200 year span.
Author
Kathryn Warner
Kathryn is a self-confessed reading addict, who turned to writing during the dark moments when you finish a good book series and don’t know what to do with life now you’ve finished it. A former Math’s teacher, Kathryn has since taken a creative writing course to progress her passion for written words. This is her first novel to be published.
More audiobooks from Kathryn Warner
Living in Medieval England: The Turbulent Year of 1326 Edward II: The Unconventional King Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5
Related to The Rise and Fall of a Medieval Family
Related audiobooks
Lost Heirs of the Medieval Crown: The Kings and Queens Who Never Were Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Prince Who Would Be King: The Life and Death of Henry Stuart Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The House of Beaufort: The Bastard Line that Captured the Crown Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Inheritance: The Lost History of Mary Davies: A Story of Property, Marriage and Madness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Plantagenet Princesses: The Daughters of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKing of the North Wind: The Life of Henry II in Five Acts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Richard III: The Self-Made King Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Our Tempestuous Day: A History of Regency England Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Palaces of Revolution: Life, Death and Art at the Stuart Court Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKingmakers: How Power in England has Won and Lost on the Welsh Frontier Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Turbulent Crown: The Story of the Tudor Queens Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Isabella: She-Wolf of France Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Demon's Brood: A History of the Plantagenet Dynasty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Children of Henry VIII Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Pirate Queen: Queen Elizabeth I, Her Pirate Adventurers, and the Dawn of Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Alternative History of Britain: The Tudors Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGreat Ladies: The Forgotten Witnesses to the Lives of Tudor Queens Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5King John: Treachery and Tyranny in Medieval England: the Road to Magna Carta Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Queens of the Crusades: Eleanor of Aquitaine and her Successors Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lancaster and York Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mother of the Brontës: When Maria met Patrick Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Monarchy: From the Middle Ages to Modernity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ӕthelflӕd: The Lady of the Mercians Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Elizabeth of York Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great Harry: A Biography of Henry VIII Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Four Queens: The Provençal Sisters Who Ruled Europe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Alternative History of Britain: The Anglo-Saxon Age Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTudor: Passion. Manipulation. Murder. The Story of England's Most Notorious Royal Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Richard III and the Murder in the Tower Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Final Year of Anne Boleyn Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
European History For You
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The War on the West Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: with Pearl and Sir Orfeo Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Swingtime for Hitler: Goebbels’s Jazzmen, Tokyo Rose, and Propaganda That Carries a Tune Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Over My Dead Body: Unearthing the Hidden History of American Cemeteries Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Our Hideous Progeny: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Spare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sovietistan: Travels in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Remembering Peasants: A Personal History of a Vanished World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stalin Affair: The Impossible Alliance That Won the War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Iron, Fire and Ice: The Real History that Inspired Game of Thrones Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ripper: The Secret Life of Walter Sickert Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Joan of Arc: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England: 400 – 1066 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Project MK-Ultra: The History of the CIA’s Controversial Human Experimentation Program Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Teutonic Knights: A Military History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the Shadow of the Sword: The Birth of Islam and the Rise of the Global Arab Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related podcast episodes
The Wars of the Roses: The Rise of the Beauforts 0% found this document usefulMargaret of Anjou: Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Queen of England at the start of the Wars of the Roses 100% found this document usefulMedieval Archives Podcast: Episode 01 – Thomas Becket: In the first episode of the Medieval Archives podcast we discuss Thomas Becket. We discuss his early life, his rise to power as the Lord Chancellor of England and ultimately his role as the Archbishop of Canterbury. 100% found this document usefulS3.52 Henrietta Maria 0% found this document usefulJane Seymour of Wolf Hall 0% found this document usefulThe Second Barons' War: Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Simon de Montfort's fatal struggle with Henry III's forces 0% found this document useful
Related articles
The Princes In The Tower History RevealedUNLIMITED
The Princes In The Tower
Sep 30, 2021
5 min readThe Houses Of Lancaster And York History RevealedUNLIMITED
The Houses Of Lancaster And York
Sep 30, 2021
The house of Lancaster was founded in 1267, almost 200 years before the Wars of the Roses began. King Henry III created the earldom of Lancaster for his second son, Edmund Crouchback, who was also Earl of Leicester and held the lands of Derby, too. I
4 min readPeacemakers, Plotters And Survivors History RevealedUNLIMITED
Peacemakers, Plotters And Survivors
Sep 30, 2021
4 min readNew Research Reveals The Prehistoric Origins Of Scotland History ScotlandUNLIMITED
New Research Reveals The Prehistoric Origins Of Scotland
Feb 12, 2022
3 min read“This Was The Most Disastrous Moment In British Maritime History” BBC History MagazineUNLIMITED
“This Was The Most Disastrous Moment In British Maritime History”
Oct 29, 2020
11 min readHenry Viii’s Mistresses: Who Else Did The Tudor King Sleep With? History RevealedUNLIMITED
Henry Viii’s Mistresses: Who Else Did The Tudor King Sleep With?
Oct 29, 2020
7 min readThe Old English Manner Country LifeUNLIMITED
The Old English Manner
Jan 22, 2020
6 min readPrinces In The Tower Are History’s Greatest Mystery BBC History MagazineUNLIMITED
Princes In The Tower Are History’s Greatest Mystery
Aug 6, 2020
2 min readWhat If... The White Ship Hadn’t Sunk? History RevealedUNLIMITED
What If... The White Ship Hadn’t Sunk?
Sep 30, 2021
3 min readElizabeth At War All About HistoryUNLIMITED
Elizabeth At War
Dec 5, 2019
11 min readReconquistadors History of WarUNLIMITED
Reconquistadors
Apr 15, 2021
3 min readThe Richest Girl In The World Australian Women’s Weekly NZUNLIMITED
The Richest Girl In The World
Aug 12, 2020
10 min readBlanche of Castile (4 March 1188 - 27 November 1252) Medieval Warfare MagazineUNLIMITED
Blanche of Castile (4 March 1188 - 27 November 1252)
Oct 1, 2022
1 min readRegency Period LivingUNLIMITED
Regency
Aug 29, 2019
6 min readViking Discovery Antique TraderUNLIMITED
Viking Discovery
Aug 17, 2022
1 min readWho’s Who? Scotland MagazineUNLIMITED
Who’s Who?
Apr 14, 2023
5 min readThe CORONATION Discover BritainUNLIMITED
The CORONATION
Mar 3, 2023
3 min readWe Built Our Dream Home With PAAL Kit Homes BuildHomeUNLIMITED
We Built Our Dream Home With PAAL Kit Homes
Sep 15, 2021
1 min readThe Greatest Pretender BBC History MagazineUNLIMITED
The Greatest Pretender
Apr 15, 2021
8 min readTHE WHITE ROSE & THE TUDORS History of WarUNLIMITED
THE WHITE ROSE & THE TUDORS
Nov 29, 2018
3 min readA Medieval King… As You’ve Never Seen Him Before BBC History MagazineUNLIMITED
A Medieval King… As You’ve Never Seen Him Before
Jun 11, 2020
9 min readThe White Rose & The Tudors History of WarUNLIMITED
The White Rose & The Tudors
Mar 19, 2018
3 min readThe Last Of The English The FieldUNLIMITED
The Last Of The English
Aug 19, 2021
7 min readDawn Of A dynasty BritainUNLIMITED
Dawn Of A dynasty
Aug 11, 2023
5 min read13 More Medieval Queens History RevealedUNLIMITED
13 More Medieval Queens
Feb 18, 2021
Known as the Lady of the Mercians, Æthelflæd was the eldest daughter of Alfred the Great of Wessex. Though she played an important role in Anglo-Saxon England, her story is often overshadowed by her more famous father. Æthelflæd was born during a cha
8 min readKings And Queens History RevealedUNLIMITED
Kings And Queens
Dec 21, 2023
5 min readThe King They Couldn't Kill BBC History MagazineUNLIMITED
The King They Couldn't Kill
Aug 1, 2024
9 min readHEROES & VILLAINS Coin CollectorUNLIMITED
HEROES & VILLAINS
Feb 3, 2023
4 min readThe FIRST Edwardians Family Tree UKUNLIMITED
The FIRST Edwardians
Jun 11, 2021
11 min readThe WARRIOR KING BritainUNLIMITED
The WARRIOR KING
Aug 12, 2022
5 min read
Reviews for The Rise and Fall of a Medieval Family
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
0 ratings0 reviews