Piers Gaveston's First Exile
Piers Gaveston was exiled from England no fewer than three times. I wonder if that's a record? Here's some info on the first one.
On 26 February 1307, the ageing Edward I ordered Piers out of the country and told him to return to Gascony, his homeland. The odd thing is that this exile was evidently not intended to punish Piers. Edward ordered him to leave England "after three weeks from the next tournament", which was 30 April - so he set the date more than two months ahead, and allowed Piers to go jousting. He also granted Piers a generous income of 100 marks (66 pounds) a year, and the exile was not intended to be permanent - the king told Piers to stay in Gascony "until he shall be recalled by the king." This is from Foedera, and the Close Rolls confirm this: "...he shall remain in parts beyond sea during the king's pleasure and awaiting recall." If Edward I had been angry with Piers personally, it would be very apparent, and he clearly wasn't.
According to the chronicle of Walter of Guisborough, Edward I exiled Piers because his son Edward of Caernarfon had asked him for permission to grant his county of Ponthieu to his friend. It's also likely that Edward I was concerned about the nature of the relationship between his son and Piers, and that Piers had far too much influence over the young Prince of Wales (and he was entirely right to be concerned, as Edward demonstrated over the next few years).
Piers and Edward were forced to swear on the Host and sundry other relics that they would obey this order, and although Piers did indeed leave the country, he went to Ponthieu, Edward of Caernarfon's inheritance from his mother, not Gascony as ordered.
Edward accompanied Piers to Dover, where he seems to have departed a few days later than he should have, and gave him numerous presents - no fewer than sixteen tapestries, four green, four yellow, four with coats of arms decorated on them, and four green with red rosettes. (I wonder why Edward thought it was necessary to give Piers quite so many tapestries.) He also gave him two quilted tunics and sent after him two splendiferous jousting outfits, one of green velvet embroidered with pearls, gold and silver piping and gold aigulettes, the other somewhat plainer, of green sindon. As if this wasn't enough, he sent him five horses and the whopping sum of £260, something like 100 times most people's annual income.
Before Piers' exile, Edward of Caernarfon had been intending to visit Ponthieu, but Edward I countermanded the order in early June, presumably to keep the two men apart. Piers benefited from the stores of food collected there for Edward's visit, and was given thirteen swans and twenty-two herons.
Piers' first exile lasted only a few weeks. Edward I died on 7 July 1307, and as soon as Edward II heard the news on the 11th, he recalled his friend, almost certainly the first act he took as king. Supposedly, his father ordered him on his deathbed not to recall Piers, but there wasn't a snowflake's chance in hell that Edward would obey him. After all, he was king now and could do anything he wanted...so he thought.
Edward and Piers were reunited at Dumfries sometime in early to mid August. For the next few months, Edward proceeded to demonstrate that he cared little about anyone or anything that wasn't Piers. On 6 August, he made his friend earl of Cornwall, possibly without Piers' prior knowledge, as Edward would claim in a letter to the Pope the following year (though Edward can't really be trusted here, and also said that he made Piers earl of Cornwall on the advice of his barons, which certainly isn't true - he was trying to get the Pope on his side, shortly before Piers' second exile began). Edward also arranged his friend's marriage to Margaret de Clare on 1 November 1307, which evidently had been planned for a few months, as the charter granting the earldom of Cornwall to Piers on 6 August was decorated with the de Clare arms as well as Piers' own.
Edward's overriding obsession with Piers over the next few months led inexorably to Piers' second exile in June 1308, the subject of the next post!
Posted by Alianore 07 March, 2008 at 3:46 PM