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Mortimer Senior
Other than Mortimer Junior, Lancaster is perhaps the most outspoken of the lords who oppose Gaveston's relationship with Edward. He repeatedly warns the king, for instance, that his favoritism places his rule in jeopardy, and is ultimately eager to join forces with the other nobles to kill Gaveston and depose Edward. He is also presumably one of the most powerful members of the English nobility, since he is earl not only of Lancaster but also of Derby, Salisbury, and Lincoln. Interestingly, Gaveston says in an aside that he "abhors" Lancaster in particular—perhaps because of both the earl’s power and his vehemence in opposing Gaveston himself.
The Earl of Lancaster Quotes in Edward II
The Edward II quotes below are all either spoken by The Earl of Lancaster or refer to The Earl of Lancaster . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 1, Scene 1
Quotes
My lord, why do you thus incense your peers
That naturally would love and honour you,
But for that base and obscure Gaveston?
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Act 1, Scene 2
Quotes
Bishop of Canterbury: …We and the rest that are his councillors
Will meet and with a general consent
Confirm his banishment with our hands and seals.
Lancaster: What we confirm the King will frustrate.
Mortimer Junior: Then may we lawfully revolt from him.
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Act 2, Scene 2
Quotes
Base leaden earls that glory in your birth,
Go sit at home and eat your tenants' beef,
And come not here to scoff at Gaveston,
Whose mounting thoughts did never creep so low
As to bestow a look on such as you.
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Lancaster: Look for rebellion, look to be deposed:
Thy garrisons are beaten out of France,
And, lame and poor, lie groaning at the gates;
The wild O'Neill, with swarms of Irish kerns,
Lives uncontrolled within the English pale;
Unto the walls of York the Scots made road
And, unresisted, drove away rich spoils.
Mortimer Junior: The haughty Dane commands the narrow seas,
While in the harbour ride thy ships unrigged.
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Act 2, Scene 4
Quotes
Monster of men,
That, like the Greekish strumpet, trained to arms
And bloody wars so many valiant knights,
Look for no other fortune, wretch, than death;
King Edward is not here to buckler thee.
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The Earl of Lancaster Quotes in Edward II
The Edward II quotes below are all either spoken by The Earl of Lancaster or refer to The Earl of Lancaster . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 1, Scene 1
Quotes
My lord, why do you thus incense your peers
That naturally would love and honour you,
But for that base and obscure Gaveston?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 1, Scene 2
Quotes
Bishop of Canterbury: …We and the rest that are his councillors
Will meet and with a general consent
Confirm his banishment with our hands and seals.
Lancaster: What we confirm the King will frustrate.
Mortimer Junior: Then may we lawfully revolt from him.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 2, Scene 2
Quotes
Base leaden earls that glory in your birth,
Go sit at home and eat your tenants' beef,
And come not here to scoff at Gaveston,
Whose mounting thoughts did never creep so low
As to bestow a look on such as you.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Lancaster: Look for rebellion, look to be deposed:
Thy garrisons are beaten out of France,
And, lame and poor, lie groaning at the gates;
The wild O'Neill, with swarms of Irish kerns,
Lives uncontrolled within the English pale;
Unto the walls of York the Scots made road
And, unresisted, drove away rich spoils.
Mortimer Junior: The haughty Dane commands the narrow seas,
While in the harbour ride thy ships unrigged.
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Act 2, Scene 4
Quotes
Monster of men,
That, like the Greekish strumpet, trained to arms
And bloody wars so many valiant knights,
Look for no other fortune, wretch, than death;
King Edward is not here to buckler thee.
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