Friday 14 August 2020

Burial of Piers Gaveston

 

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'.