The ExEcution of Piers Gaveston

The ExEcution of Piers Gaveston

Edward II and his favourite, closest political and emotional ally, Piers Gaveston, are often thought to have been lovers.

The truth will never be known, as medieval chroniclers didn’t record what happened between the two men behind closed doors.

They did comment on the exceptional closeness of the relationship, recording the strength of Edward’s love for Gaveston when they first met in in about 1297.

Their love is often described at the time in fraternal terms, and they may have entered into a bond as ‘wed brothers’ or a ‘Bond of Brotherhood’.

It was a rite of passages for monarchs to keep mistresses alongside their faithful wives.

While queens were expected to stay faithful or virginal, kings were expected to appoint a royal mistress, to the point that the role of maîtresse-en-titre was an important position at court.

The maîtresse-en-titre was expected to be educated, aristocratic and above all, female.

So when King Edward II tried to treat his male ‘friends in the same way as female mistresses, there was a resistance.

Edward never had a female mistress, and even at his wedding banquet the King is said to have given more attention to Gaveston than to his new Queen, Isabella of France.

Piers Gaveston first appears in the then Prince Edward’s household accounts in 1300, when Edward was 15 and Gaveston not much older.

By 1306, Edward’s father, the ageing King Edward I had banished Gaveston to France.

Devastated to be apart from his favourite, Edward lavished Gaveston with gifts and accompanied him to Dover to see him off.
Quite why the King wanted to separate his son from Gaveston is unclear.

As soon as Edward I died in 1307, the two were reunited, whereupon Edward promptly made Gaveston Earl of Cornwall.

Gaveston was reunited with the King after his wedding, and the ‘Trokelowe’s chronicle’ notes that the King ran to Gaveston, showering him in kisses.

Edward and Isabella did have a child eventually, and upon the birth of Edward III the court and barons insisted that Gaveston be exiled from all royal lands.

Edward II eventually conceded and Gaveston fled to France.

However, the pair were not to be separated for long.
When Edward II allowed Gaveston to return to England, the northern earls attacked, forcing the king, Gaveston and a heavily pregnant Isabella to flee the city.

Gaveston was eventually captured, and on the 19th June 1312, he was taken out on the road towards Kenilworth.

Here, two Welshmen ran him through with a sword and b~headed him.

Gaveston’s body was simply left behind at the site of his exEcution.

Eventually, a group of Dominican friars brought it to Oxford.

A proper burial could not be arranged while Gaveston was still excommunicated.
It was not until 2nd January 1315, after the King had secured a papal absolution for his favourite, that he could have his body buried in an elaborate ceremony at the Dominican foundation of Kings Langley Priory.

Piers Gaveston’s tomb has since been lost.

A cross with an inscription was erected at Blacklow Hill in 1823, by local squire Bertie Greathead, on the site believed to be the location of Gaveston’s execution.

Edward II was said to be distraught and swore revenge on those who had killed Gaveston.

However, a war in Scotland soon distracted the king and he moved on….
He eventually found a replacement lover in 1318, when Hugh Despenser arrived at court…….

The 1823 Gaveston monument at Blacklow Hill Warwickshire, on the site believed to be the location of Gaveston’s execution.