Edmund FitzAlan, 2nd Earl of Arundel

Edmund Fitzalan, 2nd Earl of Arundel (1 May 1285 – 17 November 1326), was an English nobleman prominent in the conflict between King Edward II and his barons. His father, Richard Fitzalan, 1st Earl of Arundel, died in 1302, while Edmund was still a minor. He, therefore, became a ward of John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, and married Warenne's granddaughter, Alice. In 1306 he was styled Earl of Arundel, and served under Edward I in the Scottish Wars, for which he was richly rewarded.

After Edward I's death, Arundel became part of the opposition to the new king Edward II, and his favourite Piers Gaveston. In 1311 he was one of the so-called Lords Ordainers who assumed control of the government from the king. Together with Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, he was responsible for the death of Gaveston in 1312. From this point on, however, his relationship with the king became more friendly. This was to a large extent due to his association with the king's new favourite Hugh Despenser the Younger, whose daughter was married to Arundel's son. Arundel supported the king in suppressing rebellions by Roger Mortimer and other marcher lords, and eventually also Thomas of Lancaster. For this, he was awarded land and offices.

His fortune changed, however, when the country was invaded in 1326 by Mortimer, who had made common cause with the king's wife, Queen Isabella. Immediately after the capture of Edward II, the queen, Edward III's regent, ordered Arundel executed, his title forfeit and his property confiscated. Arundel's son and heir Richard only recovered the title and lands in 1331, after Edward III had taken power from the regency of Isabella and Mortimer. In the 1390s, a cult emerged around the late earl. He was venerated as a martyr, though he was never canonised.

Family and early life Edmund Fitzalan was born in the Castle of Marlborough, in Wiltshire, on 1 May 1285. He was the son of Richard Fitzalan, 1st Earl of Arundel (1267–1302), and his wife, Alice of Saluzzo, daughter of Thomas, marquess of Saluzzo in Italy. Richard had been in opposition to the king during the political crisis of 1295, and as a result, he had incurred great debts and had parts of his land confiscated. When Richard died on 9 March 1302, Edmund's wardship was given to John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey. Warenne's only son, William, had died in 1286, so his daughter Alice was now heir apparent to the Warenne earldom. Alice was offered in marriage to Edmund, who for unknown reasons initially refused her. By 1305 he had changed his mind, however, and the two were married.

In April 1306, shortly before turning twenty-one, Edmund was granted possession of his father's title and land. On 22 May 1306, he was knighted by Edward I, along with the young Prince Edward (the future Edward II). The knighting was done in expectation of military service during the Scottish Wars, and after the campaign was over, Arundel was richly rewarded. Edward I pardoned the young earl a debt of £4,234. This flow of patronage continued after the death of Edward I in 1307; in 1308 Edward II returned the hundred of Purslow to Arundel, an honour that Edward I had confiscated from Edmund's father. There were also official honours in the early years of Edward II's reign. At the new king's coronation on 25 February 1308, Arundel officiated as chief butler (or pincerna), a hereditary office of the earls of Arundel. After Gaveston returned, his behaviour became even more offensive, and opposition towards him grew. In addition to this, there was great discontent with Edward II's failure to follow up his father's Scottish campaigns. On 16 March 1310, the king had to agree to the appointment of a committee known as the Lords Ordainers, who were to be in charge of the reform of the royal government. Arundel was one of eight earls among the twenty-one Ordainers.

The Ordainers once more sent Gaveston into exile in 1311, but by 1312 he was back. Now the king's favourite was officially an outlaw, and Arundel was among the earls who swore to hunt him down. The leader of the opposition—after Lincoln's death the year before—was now Thomas, Earl of Lancaster. In June 1312 Gaveston was captured, tried before Lancaster, Arundel and the earls of Warwick and Hereford, and executed. A reconciliation was achieved between the king and the offending magnates, and Arundel and the others received pardons, but animosity prevailed. In 1314 Arundel was among the magnates who refused to assist Edward in a campaign against the Scots, contributing to the disastrous English defeat at the Battle of Bannockburn. The most significant factor in this process though, was the marriage alliance between Arundel and the king's new favourites, the Despensers. Hugh Despenser the Younger and his father Hugh Despenser the Elder were gradually taking over control of the government, and using their power to enrich themselves. While this alienated most of the nobility, Arundel's situation was different. At some point in 1314–1315, his son Richard was betrothed to Isabel, daughter of Hugh Despenser the Younger. Arundel voted for the expulsion, but later he claimed that he did so under compulsion, and also supported their recall in December. Early in 1322, Arundel joined King Edward in a campaign against the Mortimer family.

Ancestry