Hello everyone and welcome back to the History of England. Episode 93, The Wages of Tyranny.

So who here watched the Lord of the Rings films? I personally have to own up to a lifelong,

magical, and slightly sad passion for all things Tolkien-esque. For example, I have read

the Silmarillion. I tried to type up my own version of the Lord of the Rings book from

my friend's copy at the age of ten, because my mother wouldn't buy one for me. I got

as far as page 50. Anyway, you didn't come here for more limit memories, so back to the

point. If you are a Tolkien fan, I want to remind you about Wormtung or Grima. A nasty

piece of work, an evil counsellor who gains power over the king and poisons the court,

praying on the rest of the court and running the place in an atmosphere of hatred and fear.

Well, hello, huge of Spencer the Younger. Here we have fiction made flesh. Whatever you think

of Gavaston, love him or loath him, he at least didn't really have a lot of interest in power

per se. He just wanted to have a party. The Spencer wanted a party, but he wanted the

rest too. He wanted it all. And then, when he had it all, he wanted a bit more.

So we've already seen how the dispensers had effectively caused the war with Lancaster

through their avarice in Wales, and yet they'd emerged victorious. So now what was to stop

them? Edward is still around, but he's not the ruling monarch. He's just the monarch.

If you wanted something done, it was the dispensers' father and son that you went to see. If

you wanted to see the king, it's the dispensers you'd need to see.

Rather remarkably, if you just happened to be the king's wife, Queen, as their own, then

you would now have to have a dispenser in the room with you to see the king. Hence my

reference to Wormtung, somehow the dispensers warmed their way into a position where they

effectively controlled the king, Lockstock and Barrel, souped to nuts.

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