I04 Despenser and the Visconti 



XII. DESPENSER AND THE VISCONTI 



After Lionel's death, Edward Despens.er/ who was next in 

 command,^ estabhshed his headquarters at Alba, and declined to 

 restore to Galeazzo the Piedmontese places which formed part 

 of Violante's dowry.^ Thereupon Galeazzo declared war upon 



^Despenser (b. 1336?) was the second cousin of Lionel's first wife. 

 He fought at Poitiers, and was a Knight of the Garter. Edward III calls 

 him 'our dear cousin' on Nov. 21, 1374 (Rymer). He distinguished 

 himself in the service of Urban V (d. Dec. 19, 1370), if we may trust the 

 testimony of Walsingham (l. 309; cf. Cont. Murimuth, pp. 206-7) : 'Pro 

 Papa vero militavit Dominus de Spenser, qui laudabiliter se gessit ibidem 

 post mortem Ducis Clarentire.' He died in 1375, leaving a son, Thomas, 

 who became Earl of Gloucester. Froissart spent three days with him at 

 Berkeley Castle in September, 1366 (Kervyn 2. 86), and celebrates him in 

 the following lines (Buisson de Joncce 269-277) : 



— 'Et le grant seigneur Espensier, 



Qui de larghece est despensier. 



Que t'a il fait?' — 'Quoi?' di je, 'asses; 



Car il ne fu onques lasses 



De moi donner, quel part qu'il fust : 



Ce n'estoient cailliel ne fust, 



Mes chevaus et florins sans compte ; 



Entre mes mestres je le compte 



Pour seignour, et e'en est li uns.' 



Elsewhere he calls him 'li plus jolis chevaliers, li plus courtois, li plus 

 honnourables et amoureus qui fust en tout Engleterre' (Kervyn 2. 106) ; 

 'friche, gentil, et vaillant chevalier, et grant chapitainne de gens d'armes' 

 {ib. 8. 280) ; 'gentil coers et vaillans chevaliers, larges et courtois' {ib. 

 8. 312). See also p. 72. 



" 'Ipsius Leonoti gentium duclor' (Benvenuto). 



^This would seem quite unjustifiable, in the light of the marriage-contract 

 (see p. 29), which explicitly provides that 'defuncto dicto domino Leon- 

 ello sine haerede de dicta domina Violante procreando, dominium dictarum 

 terrarum ad prsefatum dominum Mediolanensem, et ejus hseredes, integre 

 devolvatur' (Rymer). Despenser's action is attributed by Froissart to the 

 suspicion (see p. 88) that Lionel had been poisoned (Kervyn 7. 251; cf. 

 8. 1 12-3, 208) : 



'Vous aves bien chy-dessus oy comment li dus de Clarense fu 

 maries en Lombardie a le fille monseigneur Galeas, liquels dus, asses 

 tost apries son mariage, trespassa de ce siecle [en Ast en Piemont], 

 dont ses gens furent moult esmervilliet; car il estoit jones chevaliers, 

 fors et appers durement. Si souppegonnerent que on ne I'euist empoi- 

 sonnet, et en fist guerre moult grande et moult forte li sires Despens- 



