Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall (c. 1284 – 19 June 1312) was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the favourite of Edward II of England.

Hamilton, have pointed out that concern over the two men's sexuality was not the crux of the nobility's grievances, which rather centred on Gaveston's exclusive access to royal patronage.

Piers Gaveston's father was Arnaud de Gabaston, a Gascon (southwest of France) knight in the service of Gaston VII, Viscount of Béarn.

[3] His service to Edward I of England stretched over a long period of time, starting in the Welsh Wars of 1282–83, in which he participated with a substantial contingent.

[3] Sometime before 4 February 1287, Claramonde died, and for the rest of his life Gabaston struggled to retain his wife's inheritance from rival claims by relatives and neighbours.

In early July 1307, Edward I fell ill while once more campaigning in the north, and lay dying at Burgh by Sands near the Scottish border.

[24] In addition to this, Edward also secured a prestigious marriage between Gaveston and Margaret de Clare, sister of the powerful Earl of Gloucester.

[24] Even though the new king was initially met with goodwill from his subjects, it was not long before certain members of the nobility became disaffected with Gaveston and the special relationship he enjoyed with Edward.

[28] When Edward II left the country early in 1308 to marry the French king's daughter Isabella, he appointed Gaveston regent in his place.

[32] Later that year, in the April parliament, the so-called Declaration of 1308 demanded the renewed exile of Gaveston, again without explicitly mentioning the favourite by name.

[35] Gaveston was not exiled immediately; he did not have to leave the realm until 25 June, but faced excommunication by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Winchelsey, should he return.

[40] Gaveston's lieutenancy was primarily of a military nature; by the early 14th century, Ireland had become a rebellious and unruly dominion for the English crown.

[58] As a result, Robert the Bruce had been able to regain the initiative in the war, reconquer lost territory, and stage destructive raids into the north of England.

[64] This meant that a moderating influence on the baronial party had been lost, at the same time as the antagonistic Earl of Lancaster – who was Lincoln's son-in-law and heir – emerged as the leader of the Ordainers.

[66] Bruce still evaded the English successfully, in early August even staging a raid into northern England, and shortly after this Gaveston withdrew to Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland.

[67] When parliament met on 16 August, the King was presented with a set of proposed reforms of the royal household, as well as specific attacks on individuals, including a demand for the renewed exile of Piers Gaveston.

[22] A cross with an inscription was erected at Blacklow Hill in 1823 by local squire Bertie Greathead on the site believed to be the location of Gaveston's execution.

[86] Edward also provided a generous endowment for Gaveston's widow Margaret, who in 1317 married Hugh de Audley, later Earl of Gloucester.

This Amie was a chamberlain of Edward III's wife, Queen Philippa, and later married John Driby, a yeoman of the royal family.

[90] During the previous raid on Newcastle, the King and Gaveston had to escape quickly, leaving behind horses and jewels worth a great amount of money.

[91] At the same time, the barons' extralegal action had alienated many of their former associates; the Earl of Pembroke, in particular, became strongly tied to the King's cause after the affront to his honour.

[92] Through the arbitration of the Earl of Gloucester and others, a settlement was finally reached on 14 October 1313, whereby the barons were given a pardon and the horses and jewels were returned to the King.

Chaplais cites the fact that Edward had four children with his wife – and even an extra-marital son – (despite bisexuality being a possibility) as well as the relative silence of contemporary commentators on the topic.

[99] He also finds it hard to believe that Philip IV of France would have allowed the English king to marry his daughter Isabella if Edward was known to be homosexual.

[102] Boswell argues that Edward and Gaveston fell victim to a new-found concern about sexual morals among the secular powers of Europe, manifested shortly before in the trial of the Knights Templar in 1307.

Gaveston was accused of such various crimes as draining the treasury, orchestrating the arrest of treasurer Walter Langton, and filling the court with foreigners.

Likewise, Geoffrey the Baker called him "graceful and agile in body, sharp-witted, refined in manner, [and] sufficiently well versed in military matters".

[97] Marlowe, however, focused exclusively on the negative aspects of Gaveston's biography, portraying him – according to Hamilton – as "a sycophantic homosexual with a marked tendency towards avarice, nepotism, and especially overweening pride".

The first modern historians to deal with the reign of Edward II – William Stubbs, Thomas Frederick Tout and James Conway Davies – added little to the understanding of Gaveston.

It is to this school of thought that Hamilton's biography belongs, in which he argues that it was Gaveston's exclusive access to royal patronage that was the driving force behind the baronial animosity towards him.