All the World (Hand in Hand Chronicles)

Afterword/References

Obviously this is inspired by true events, but for narrative purposes I'm making the disclaimer that I did have to fill in gaps or details, and imagine conversations.
I'm not going to explain the exact timeline of real events here, because that would mostly be regurgitating Katheryn Warner's blog and book about Edward II, which are the definitive material on his and Gaveston's lives.  All major events of the book, and movements are true, including Gaveston's death, how Parliament was summoned, and the demands made. I'm going to elaborate here on why I took the view I did, and what I changed and why.

Gaveston died on 19 June, 1412. For the next six hundred years he will be presented as an arrogant, scheming, disgusting individual and a negative gay stereotype.
Simply put, as in the novel, the real Gaveston committed no crimes. 'Arrogance' 'fine clothes' and 'lording his power' are neither crimes nor exact, and they are written quite frankly by his murderers and their supporters. His only crimes were hunting on royal land (Edward pardoned him) and then in turn he did kill the man on the way to Scotland (Edward pardoned him...given the climate it was likely self defense, though I admit I made up the bit with the adders to explain what happened).

(Fine Clothes, it wouldn't be for another about fifty years that Sumptry Laws would be established, forbidding non-nobility from wearing certain clothes and furs. At this point there is no such law so Gaveston can legally wear whatever he wants, which is usually what Edward gave him...)

Biggest question, were Piers and Edward even lovers? Simply put, we don't know. We don't technically know who is sleeping with who unless children are produced and even then we can speculate if affairs happened. That said, it is clear based off his movements, statements, and actions, that Edward was attracted to men as well as women. He had a liason with a woman (presumably a sex worker) later in life. He has later relationships with men and would potentially even arrange liaisons with men beyond his significant others. He was bisexual. Ergo, I think it's a bit straight baiting to argue that a bisexual man who had an intense and obvious love for another man, was not in a relationship with him. Piers and Edward clearly cared about one another spent time together. No we don't ever know if anyone had sex or not, but that's true of any historical figure. To argue that Edward, a bisexual man who will later have, we are almost positive, sexual relationships with other men, did not have at least a romantic relationship with Piers, becomes rather silly. We're going to assume that they did.

We are never going to know what these people were actually like, but Gaveston, again, did nothing wrong. Edward bestowed honors upon him, but he never really profited heavily or abused his power. His only acts introduced to Parliament were a couple of disputes he settled for landowners, and such. In Ireland he did do a good job, he was popular, fixed a couple revolts, fixed a bridge. He was doing his job properly. Nothing to imply he was anything but an average person. Now I gave him character flaws, because, he's allowed to be mouthy, or arrogant, or just simply human. Humans mess up. They make mistakes.

He did not deserve to die.

He did nothing warranting death.

Scholars (Warner is even a bit guilty of this but she's usually quite fair) will say that he and Edward didn't 'learn their lesson' and that they should not have behaved how they did. This is victim blaming. Gaveston was given the Earldom and such by Edward, we have no proof he even asked for it. It did his life no good really. And (Warner does say this) he certainly did not deserve death. She does contend it wasn't purely prejudice.  I'm going with it basically was. Edward II, while not a wonderful king, hadn't reigned that long. Most kings, fuck up, their first few years. Nor had he done anything that awful, except being gay. He was gay. That is homophobia. And it's victim blaming to suggest Edward should have hidden it, simply put yes that might not have helped, but he wasn't in the wrong.