Christopher Marlowe based Edward II on the story of the English king from Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles, also the source of many of Shakespeare's plays. All the major characters are historical, except for Edward's sadistic murderer, Lightborn, who was Marlowe's creation. Marlowe compressed the time and events, arranging, altering and telescoping them to create a stronger sense of cause and effect. Edward II actually ruled for 20 years, from 1307 until he was deposed in 1327. However, in many ways the facts of the play are historically accurate.

Edward II

His father, Edward I (ruled 1272-1307), was a great military man who conquered Wales and much of Scotland. As in the play, he banished Edward II's favorite Piers Gaveston, who was recalled upon Edward II's ascension to the throne. Edward II preferred to spend time with his low-born companions, lacked ambition or interest in affairs of state, and lost the lands that his father had conquered. His nobles revolted, resulting in his imprisonment, abdication, and eventual murder.

Many uncertainties exist about the nature of the relationship between Edward and a series of men, beginning with Gaveston and, most disastrously, with Hugh Despenser (called Spencer in Marlowe’s play). The understanding of homosexuality in the Early Modern period was very different from our own. There wasn't a sense of a gay identity or a sexual orientation. Homosexual acts were crimes that anyone might commit, like blasphemy or adultery. The term "sodomy" encompassed far more than homosexual acts, including many kinds of stigmatized human behavior. The term "sodomite" could mean a heretic, a savage, a cannibal, a Turk, or a defiler of boys, whores or animals. In contrast, male friendships could involve strong intimate bonds, including homoerotic elements, such as kissing and sharing beds.

– Contributed by the CST Education Department