Edmund FitzAlan, Earl of Arundel (* 1 May 1285, † 17 November 1326) joined the aristocratic opposition soon after the beginning of Edward II’s reign. He was one of the Lords Ordainer and was part of the tribunal that sentenced Gaveston to death. Then he had a change of heart. In 1321 his eldest son Richard married a daughter of Hugh Despenser. Arundel fought alongside the king against the Marcher lords and Lancaster, in whose death sentence he also participated. Mortimer had Arundel beheaded for high treason in 1326.
Edward II
Arundel delivers Edward II’s request to the nobles in [Scene 9] that he be allowed to see the captured Gaveston and offers to vouch for his return, as the lords do not trust the king’s word. Together with the Earl of Pembroke, he undertakes to fulfil the king’s wish and return Gaveston to the lords. In the quarto, Matrevis, rather than Arundel, is mentioned both in the scene directions and in the names of the roles. Edward II addresses Arundel again in [Scene 14] , but there the person addressed is also identified as Matrevis. Since Alexander Dyce’s edition1 , this confusion has been explained by the fact that one actor played both roles. Martin Wiggins, on the other hand, suspects that the two characters were merged during the writing or rehearsal period. Marlowe may also have made a simple mistake, for while in the 14th century there was a strict distinction between the Earl of Arundel and Sir Matrevis, from 1415 the Baron of Maltravers also held the title of Earl of Arundel. In Marlowe’s time, this was Philip Howard, one of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales. Thomas Watson and Robert Greene each dedicated a work to him.2 This would support the theory that the Pembroke and Arundel constellation represented Marlowe’s time rather than Edward II’s.3
In [Scene 11] rundel reports Gaveston’s murder to the king and in [Scene 14] he delivers the indictment against the lords.
