John of London's Commendatio Lamentabilis in Transitu Magni Regis Edwardi, a eulogy for Edward I of England composed c.1307, has been overlooked by historians and literary scholars alike. As we will see, this means setting aside one of the most widely copied texts about the king, and one that presents a highly complex view of kingship. Michael Prestwich has been one of the Commendatio's few modern readers to recognize its value as a source if not for Edward's life, then certainly his posthumous reputation. I would like to build on his work here, and will suggest that there was more to the Commendatio than immediately meets the eye. While by no means a literary or intellectual masterpiece, it was nonetheless distinctive in its structure and content, and different in equal measure from English and mainland European models of writing about dead kings. Because of these textual and stylistic idiosyncrasies, moreover, the Commendatio offers a rare insight into the political mentalities of late thirteenth- and early fourteenth-century England, as well as into the ideology of kingship not only in Plantagenet England, but in Western Europe as a whole.

To get a flavour of John's writing and imagery, a short summary of the Commendatio is required. The text opens with a dedicatory preface to Edward's widow, and promises to offer an account of the late king's physical appearance and morals, which, in turn, is set alongside Peter of Blois' description of Henry II. Edward’s eyes were thus normally as tranquil and peaceful as those of the dove, but when angry, they resembled those of a lion.