the Archbishop of Canterbury threatens to "discharge these lords / Of duty and allegiance to [Edward]", and Edward asks, "Why should a king be subject to a priest?" (1.4.61–62, 96). In her essay "Marlowe, History, and Politics", Paulina Kewes asserts that Edward II uses religious history to comment on politics: "Marlowe...[invites] the audience to consider the contingent religious colouring of the conflict between the crown and the nobility...Marlowe's target is the widespread use of religion to justify political heterodoxy." Social status Edward II is a play that is deeply aware of social status and its relationship to birthrights. Mortimer is deeply resentful of Gaveston's social mobility and repeatedly claims that Gaveston is "hardly a gentleman by birth" (1.4.29). Later, when Mortimer Senior asserts that "the mightiest kings have had their minions" (1.4.390), Mortimer responds that Gaveston's "wanton humour grieves [him] not, but this [he scorns], that one so basely born / Should by his sovereign's favour grow so pert / And riot it with the treasure of the realm" (1.4.401–404). The nobility's treatment of Spencer and Spencer Senior mirrors their treatment of Gaveston. When Spencer and Lancaster start arguing about treason, Pembroke responds by calling Spencer a "base upstart" (3.3.21). The nobility also call Spencer a flatterer multiple times. However, in Edward II, social mobility, social status, and power come with consequences. Clifford Leech shows how the play ties together themes of power, social status, and suffering, stating, "In Tamburlaine [Marlowe] had already contemplated power, and saw the spectacle inevitably involved suffering. Here the suffering, still consequential on the exercise and the dream of power, is the major fact." Leech notes that each of the characters who strives for power or holds a powerful position in the play—Edward, Gaveston, the Queen and Mortimer—each meets a tragic end as they vie for power Stage history and adaptations According to Andrew Gurr, the first-known performance of Edward II was in 1592 by the Earl of Pembroke's Men, possibly at the Theatre. Roslyn Knutson has speculated on the original performance for Edward II. In her essay, "Marlowe, Company Ownership, and the Role of Edward II", she argues that Edward II was written for Edward Alleyn and Strange's Men; however, Pembroke's Men performed Edward II with Richard Burbage (the most prominent actor in William Shakespeare's playing company) as Edward. Knutson uses the number of lines assigned to players, Marlowe's familiarity to the different play