page_title: Edward II of England
section_title: Burial and cult
hierarchical_section_title: Edward II of England / Death (1327) / Burial and cult
caption_attribution_description: English: Edward ll tomb
context_page_description: Edward II, also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to the throne following the death of his elder brother Alphonso. Beginning in 1300, Edward accompanied his father on campaigns to pacify Scotland. In 1306, he was knighted in a grand ceremony at Westminster Abbey. Following his father's death, Edward succeeded to the throne in 1307. He married Isabella, the daughter of the powerful King Philip IV of France, in 1308, as part of a long-running effort to resolve tensions between the English and French crowns.
  Edward had a close and controversial relationship with Piers Gaveston, who had joined his household in 1300. The precise nature of their relationship is uncertain; they may have been friends, lovers or sworn brothers. Edward's relationship with Gaveston inspired Christopher Marlowe's 1592 play Edward II, along with other plays, films, novels and media. Gaveston's power as Edward's favourite provoked discontent both among the barons and the French royal family, and Edward was forced to exile him.
context_section_description: Edward's body was embalmed at Berkeley Castle, where it was viewed by local leaders from Bristol and Gloucester. It was then taken to Gloucester Abbey on 21 October, and on 20 December Edward was buried by the high altar, the funeral having probably been delayed to allow Edward III to attend in person. Gloucester was probably chosen because other abbeys had refused or been forbidden to take the king's body, and because it was close to Berkeley. The funeral was a grand affair and cost £351 in total, complete with gilt lions, standards painted with gold leaf and oak barriers to manage the anticipated crowds. Edward III's government probably hoped to put a veneer of normality over the recent political events, increasing the legitimacy of the young king's own reign.
  A temporary wooden effigy with a copper crown was made for the funeral; this is the first known use of a funeral effigy in England, and was probably necessary because of the condition of the King's body, as he had been dead for three months. Edward's heart was removed, placed in a silver container, and later buried with Isabella at Newgate Church in London. His tomb includes a very early example of an English alabaster effigy, with a tomb chest and a canopy made of oolite and Purbeck stone. Edward was buried in the shirt, coif and gloves from his coronation, and his effigy depicts him as king, holding a sceptre and orb, and wearing a strawberry-leaf crown. The effigy features a pronounced lower lip, and may be a close likeness of Edward.
  Edward II's tomb rapidly became a popular site for visitors, probably encouraged by the local monks, who lacked an existing pilgrimage attraction. Visitors donated extensively to the abbey, allowing the monks to rebuild much of the surrounding church in the 1330s. Miracles reportedly took place at the tomb, and modifications had to be made to enable visitors to walk around it in larger numbers. The chronicler Geoffrey le Baker depicted Edward as a saintly, tortured martyr, and Richard II gave royal support for an unsuccessful bid to have Edward canonised in 1395. The tomb was opened by officials in 1855, uncovering a wooden coffin, still in good condition, and a sealed lead coffin inside it. The tomb remains in what is now Gloucester Cathedral, and was extensively restored between 2007 and 2008 at a cost of over £100,000.
caption: Edward II's tomb at Gloucester Cathedral
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