Hugh LE DESPENSER, Knt., 2nd Lord Despenser

1286 - 1326  (40 years)

• Name	Hugh LE DESPENSER  [1]
  Suffix	Knt., 2nd Lord Despenser
  Birth	1286	Winchester, Gloucestershire, England   [2, 3]
  Gender	Male
  Name	Hugh Despenser  [4]
  Death	26 Nov 1326	Hereford, Herefordshire, England   [5]
  	he was tried on 24 November 1326, in Hereford, before Roger Mortimer and Queen Isabella. He was judged to be a traitor and a thief, and sentenced to execution by hanging as a thief, and drawing and quartering as a traitor. He was also sentenced to be disembowelled because of his disagreements with the queen, and to be beheaded after returning to England after being banished. Following the trial he was dragged behind four horses to his place of execution, facing a great fire. He was stripped naked and hanged from a gallows 50 feet high, then cut down before he choked to death. He was then tied to a ladder in front of the fire. The executioner climbed up the ladder and cut off his penis and testicles, which were then thrown into the fire, while he was still alive and conscious. The executioner then cut open his abdomen, and slowly pulled out and cut his entrails and heart, which were thrown into the fire. Finally, his corpse was beheaded, his body cut into four pieces, and his head mounted on the gates of London. There was much symbolism in Hugh's execution. Being dragged to his place of execution, with the crowd jeering, was proof that he had lost power. Hanging was reserved for a common thief. Castration showed that he had ceased to be a man. His evil ways were thought to be in his heart and entrails. Therefore, his disembowelment and burning in the fire showed that his lands were purged of all evil. The quartering and beheading of his corpse were considered to negate his chances of salvation after death.
  		Execution of Hugh le Despenser Execution of Hugh le Despenser, the Younger, 26 November 1326. An illuminated page from the chronicles of Jean Froissart.
  Person ID	I95508	Ancestral Trails
  Last Modified	24 Apr 2024

  
  

  Father	Sir Hugh LE DESPENSER, , Knight, of Loughborough, 1st Earl of Winchester,   b. 1 Mar 1260/61   d. 27 Oct 1326, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England (Age 65 years)
  Mother	Isabel DE BEAUCHAMP,   b. Abt 1265   d. Bef 30 May 1306 (Age ~ 41 years)
  Marriage	Bef 8 Nov 1287  [6]
  Family ID	F22866	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Eleanor DE CLARE,   b. Oct 1292, Caerphilly, Glamorgan, Wales
  Marriage	Aft 14 Jun 1306	Westminster, Middlesex County, England   [7, 8, 9]
  Children	1. Hugh LE DESPENSER, Knt.,   b. Abt 1308   d. 1348/49 (Age ~ 41 years)   2. Gilbert LE DESPENSER, Knt.,   b. 1309   d. 1381 (Age 72 years)   3. Edward LE DESPENSER, Knt.,   b. 1310   d. 1342 (Age 32 years)   4. John LE DESPENSER,   b. 1311   d. Jun 1366 (Age 55 years)   5. Isabel LE DESPENSER, Countess of Arundel,   b. 1312   d. 1356 (Age 44 years)   6. Eleanor LE DESPENSER,   b. Abt 1315   d. 1351 (Age ~ 36 years)   7. Joan LE DESPENSER,   b. Abt 1317   d. 1384 (Age ~ 67 years)   8. Margaret LE DESPENSER,   b. Abt 1319   d. 1337 (Age ~ 18 years)   9. Elizabeth LE DESPENSER,   b. 1325   d. 13 Jul 1389 (Age 64 years)
  Family ID	F23408	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	24 Apr 2024

  
  

• Sources

  [S2271] Magna Carta Ancestry, 2271. (Reliability: 3). lPage 275 [S2271] Magna Carta Ancestry, 2271. (Reliability: 2). lPage 275 [S2513] Millenium File, 2513. (Reliability: 3). [S4322] Wikipedia - Hugh le Despenser, the Younger, 4322. (Reliability: 3). [S2514] Wikipedia - le Despenser, 2514. (Reliability: 3). [S2271] Magna Carta Ancestry, 2271. (Reliability: 2). lPage 483 [S2271] Magna Carta Ancestry, 2271. (Reliability: 3). Page 276. [S2529] The Tyranny and Fall of Edward II 1321-1326, 2529. (Reliability: 2). Page 30 [S4322] Wikipedia - Hugh le Despenser, the Younger, 4322. (Reliability: 2).