Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick
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Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick (d. August 10, 1315) was an English nobleman, and one of the principal opponents of Edward II's favourite Piers Gaveston.
He was the son of William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick and Maud FitzGeoffrey, and succeeded his father as earl in 1298. Later that year he distinguished himself at the Battle of Falkirk, and he subsequently served in other campaigns in Scotland. He also received grants of land in Scotland and, in 1309, he married Alice de Toeni, a Scots heiress.
Warwick had no great liking for Piers Gaveston, who had called Warwick "the black cur of Arden" (an allusion to Warwick's dark complexion and to the Forest of Arden in Warwickshire). Not long after Edward II's accession, he helped arrange for Gaveston's banishment, and refused to be reconciled with Gaveston when Gaveston returned the next year.
Warwick was one of the great peers who petitioned the king for reform of the government in 1310. The peers were successful in getting Gaveston banished again, and when he returned to England in 1312, Warwick was one of the 5 nobles who arrested him. Gaveston was placed in the custody of the Earl of Pembroke, but then on June 10 Warwick, with a force of 140 men, seized him and carried him off to Warwick castle. After the arrival of the confederate nobles, Gaveston was executed, though Warwick declined to be present.
Warwick, along with his allies, was eventually pardoned for the Gaveston affair in 1313. He and the others, nevertheless, refused to serve in the king's Scottish campaign of 1314. The next year Warwick suddenly fell ill and died. As was inevitable in such cases, there were rumours of poison.
| Peerage of England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William de Beauchamp |
Earl of Warwick 1298–1315 |
Succeeded by Thomas de Beauchamp |
