Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Piers Gaveston

Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall, was born around 1284 and died on June 19, 1312. He is famous for the impact he had on the royal court of Edward II and the role he played in the kings eventual downfall. Contemporaries of the two, and many scholars since, have had a hard time framing the relationship between these men as anything other than a queer sexual relationship. The “were they/weren’t they” of these men is just one example of how our contemporary understanding of queer identity is hard to apply historically, as well as the frequent straight-washing of history.