Celebrate,
my tongue, the death of Piers who disturbed England.
Whom the
king in his love placed over all Cornwall
Hence in his
pride he would be called earl and not Piers.
The people
of the kingdom were saddened by the defrauding of the treasure.
When Piers
would become wastefully insolent with the treasury,
Not bearing
in mind what the future day might produce for him.
This is the
work of our salvation that Piers is dead.
He who was
unwilling to have an equal, clothed in the extreme pride.
He who had
placed himself as a head above his equal loses his own head.
Justly his
body is pierced whose heart was so puffed up;
Land, sea,
stars and world rejoice in his fall.
Now he no
longer behaves himself as an earl, or a king;
The unworthy
man, worthy of death, undergoes the death he merits.
Glory be to
the Creator
! Glory to the earls
Who have
made Piers die with his charms!
Henceforth
may there be peace and rejoicing throughout England!
Amen!
We are used to reading the views of chroniclers of the time, whatever their bias. This song, however, captures all the supposed faults of Piers. What stands out for me is the pride of Piers, with his insistence on being called Earl Of Cornwall and seeing himself above even those who he is not equal to. His love of fine living matches his pride, with him 'clothed in extreme pride'. The accusation that he stole the treasure of the King is also mentioned, and the idea that he was 'wastefully insolent with the treasury' suggests to me that he himself wore these jewels. There is a mention of the Edward II, in that he loved him enough to make him Earl Of Cornwall, but everything else is directed at his his pride, and what is evident to me from that is that the barons main bone of contention was that Piers had risen too far above his station. There's no mention of Piers being ambitious, manipulating the king, or those insulting nicknames for the barons. There is no criticism of Edward II as such. If this was a popular song of the time, then it has been clearly influenced by the barons, and it is their views that are expressed. Their focus is that Piers is an upstart, with no right to be raised up to be Earl of Cornwall, and that they loathed the pride he felt in this and no doubt exhibited. Throw in an inaccurate fact that he took England's treasure for himself, and the barons felt they were perfectly justified in their actions, bringing 'peace and rejoicing' to the realm. Unfortunately for them, it had the reverse effect, because Edward II was a man hellbent on revenge. No doubt the barons encouraged their retainers and followers to sing this song, but just as the chroniclers reflect their personal views, so this song reflects what the barons wanted believed at the time by the common people.
