"I have a soul that, like an ample shield,
Can take in all, and verge enough for more."
55. "Edward the Second, cruelly butchered in Berkeley Castle" (Gray).
The 1st ed. and that of 1768 have "roofs;" the modern eds. "roof."
Berkeley Castle is on the southeast side of the town of Berkeley, on
a height commanding a fine view of the Severn and the surrounding
country, and is in a state of perfect preservation. It is said to
have been founded by Roger de Berkeley soon after the Norman
Conquest. About the year 1150 it was granted by Henry II. to Robert
Fitzhardinge, Governor of Bristol, who strengthened and enlarged it.
On the right of the great staircase leading to the keep, and
approached by a gallery, is the room in which it is supposed that
Edward II. was murdered, Sept. 21, 1327. The king, during his
captivity here, composed a dolorous poem, of which the following is
an extract:
"Moste blessed Jesu,
Roote of all vertue,
Graunte I may the sue,
In all humylyte,
Sen thou for our good,
Lyste to shede thy blood,
An stretche the upon the rood,
For our iniquyte.
I the beseche,
Most holsome leche,
That thou wylt seche
For me such grace,
That when my body vyle
My soule shall exyle
Thou brynge in short wyle
It in reste and peace."
Walpole, who visited the place in 1774, says: "The room shown for the
murder of Edward II., and the shrieks of an agonizing king, I verily
believe to be genuine. It is a dismal chamber, almost at the top of
the house, quite detached, and to be approached only by a kind of
foot-bridge, and from that descends a large flight of steps, that
terminates on strong gates; exactly a situation for a _corps de
garde_."
56. Cf. Hume's description: "The screams with which the agonizing
king filled the castle."
57. _She-wolf of France_. "Isabel of France, Edward the Second's
adulterous queen" (Gray). Cf. Shakes. 3 _Hen. VI._ i. 4: "She-wolf of
France, but worse than wolves of France;" and read the context.