to her. What may be the body of Despenser was identified in February 2008 in the village of Abbey Hulton in Staffordshire, the former site of Hulton Abbey. The skeleton, which was first uncovered during archaeological work in the 1970s, appeared to be that of a victim of a drawing and quartering as it had been beheaded and chopped into several pieces with a sharp blade, suggesting a ritual killing. Furthermore, it lacked several body parts, including the ones given to Despenser's wife. Radiocarbon analysis dated the body to between 1050 and 1385, and later tests suggested it to be that of a man over 34 years old. Despenser was 39 at the time of his death. In addition, the abbey is located on lands that belonged to Hugh Audley, Despenser's brother-in-law, at the time. Legacy The Tyranny and Fall of Edward II: 1321–1326 by historian Natalie Fryde is a study of Edward's reign during the years that the Despensers' power was at its peak. Fryde pays particular attention to the subject of the Despensers' ill-gotten landholdings. The numerous accusations against the younger Despenser at the time of his execution have never been the subject of close critical scrutiny, although Roy Martin Haines called them "ingenuous" and noted their propagandistic nature. Despite the crucial and disastrous role he played in the reign of Edward II, Despenser is almost a minor character in Christopher Marlowe's play Edward II (1592), where, as "Spencer", he is little more than a substitute for the dead Gaveston. Despenser also appears as a character in Maurice Druon's historical fiction series Les Rois maudits, along with its television adaptations. In 2006, he was selected by BBC History Magazine as the 14th century's worst Briton. References Sources Further reading External links 1280s births 1326 deaths 13th-century English nobility 14th-century English nobility British and English royal favourites Executed English people People convicted under a bill of attainder People executed under the Plantagenets by hanging, drawing and quartering People executed under the Plantagenets for treason against England English pirates 14th-century criminals Hugh People knighted at the Feast of the Swans Burials at Tewkesbury Abbey Medieval English criminals Barons le Despencer Lords of Glamorgan