I
can't believe I've never written about the burial of Piers Gaveston
before. Having written about his 'execution' and his body left by the
roadside, I've never written about what happened next.......because it's not a
simple case of Edward II receiving the body and providing a fine tomb for Piers
at Kings Langley, where they had spent many happy times. This is
indeed what happened, but not until January 1315, 3 years after his death, that
Piers was laid to rest. So why did Edward wait so long? Piers
had been excommunicated by the Pope in January 1312, and as such could not be
buried in consecrated ground. Edward was determined to get this
reversed. Also, maybe Edward wanted to bring the murderers of Piers to
justice so that he could avenge Piers and he could rest in peace. This is
mentioned in the chronicle Vita Edwardi
Piers body was left outside Warwick
Castle, allegedly left by some shoemakers who discovered it where it had been abandoned.
The Annales Londonienses says the shoemakers re-attached the head and brought
it to Warwick Castle. Guy of Warwick, who had ambushed and kidnapped
Piers, recoiled in horror and would not accept the body. Indeed, he did
not want it on his land. Was this a sign of his guilt, or the fear of
what Edward II would do? The body was then taken by the Dominican Friars,
an order favoured by Edward II, and taken to Oxford, There the body was
guarded by Thomas de London and Philip de Eyndon before being moved to
Langley. Edward had Piers wrapped in cloth of gold and was preserved by
spices. He also arranged to have prayers said for the soul of
Piers, whilst he sought the sentence of excommunication to be revoked.
This was done by Walter Reynolds, the Archbishop of Canterbury. By this
time, Edward had achieved some sort of peace with the murderers of Piers.
But it was all for show, as subsequent events would prove.
Unsurprisingly, the funeral of Piers
was lavish. Edward paid £300 of 3 clothes of gold to bury Piers in, and
also arranged to have 23 tuns of wine and food to be provided. The Earls
of Pembroke and Hereford were invited to attend, as well as the bishops of
London, Bath and Wells, Worcester and Winchester. Edward's Queen,
Isabella, also attended. Notable absentees were Guy of Warwick and Thomas
of Lancaster. After 2 and a half years, Piers was finally laid to
rest. Edward built Piers a fine tomb, which sadly no longer
exists. He continued to pay for prayers to be said for the soul of Piers
and for the upkeep of his tomb. But if Warwick and Lancaster thought this
was the end of the matter, they were very much mistaken.
Sources - J S Hamilton 'Piers
Gaveston, Politics and Patronage in the reign of Edward II'.
