A – for Amy, alleged illegitimate daughter of Piers and an unknown mistress.
B – for Blacklow Hill, the site of Piers murder.
C – for Cornwall, Piers’ earldom.
D – tempted to out dog, as in Black dog, but will go for Deddington, where Piers was surprised and taken by Guy, Earl of Warick.
E – who else – but Edward II – either Piers’ adopted brother or lover, whichever interpretation you go for.
F – for forks – how else would Piers eat his pears?
G – obviously Gaveston, so how about Gascony, birthplace of Piers.
H – Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, who deliberated Piers’ fate at Warwick.
I - for Ireland, where Piers served as Edward’s lieutenant.
J – Joan, Piers daughter with his wife Margaret de Clare. Or possibly one of Piers’ greatest loves – jewels!
K – Knaresborough castle, belonging to Piers.
L – as in Langley, one of Edward and Piers’ favourite palaces and site of the priory, the eventual resting place of Piers.
M – Margaret de Clare, wife of Piers and niece of Edward II.
N – for Piers ‘insulting’ nicknames for the nobility. Lancaster the fiddler, Lincoln, Burst Belly and not forgetting the Black dog of Arden, Warwick.
O – those awful Ordinances!
P – Perrot – Edward’s pet name for Piers.
Q – how about as in Queen? For Isabella. Of whom Piers may have said ‘who?’
R – as in Richmond, Earl of, whom Piers once professed to lova above all others.
S – for Scarborough, the castle at which Piers surrounded, and where his headless ghost is said to wander.
T – tournaments, which Piers was partial to – he ‘deserted’ Edward Ist’s Scottish campaign for tournaments in France.
U – hmm, this is tricky – how about ‘unsuitable’ – what many thought of Piers as a companion for Prince Edward.
V – for the Vita Edwardi Secundi, one of the main sources for information on Piers.
W – is for Wallingford, where Piers humiliated the nobility at his own tournament.
X – xenophobia – was one of the reasons for hatred of Piers because he was foreign?
Y – York – where Edward fled to try and raise an army to protect Piers.
Z – ok, I admit to scraping the barrel here – zany, a suitable adjective to describe Piers’ humour and wit?