The relationship between the Gascon noble Piers Gaveston (c. 1282–1312) and King Edward II of England (1284–1327) has long been the subject of debate. Fourteenth- and fifteenth-century gossip, the works of Renaissance writers, particularly Christopher Marlowe's Edward the Second (1592) and Derek Jarman's silverscreen adaptation of the same (1992), Hollywood's distortion of English medieval history in the form of Mel Gibson's Braveheart (1995), and a number of recent works of popular fiction have shaped the public perception of this relationship.

The story of Edward and Gaveston is quickly told. When Edward was prince of Wales, Gaveston joined his household, and the two became friends. Shortly before the death of King Edward I in 1307, Gaveston was banished from England. When young Edward became king, he recalled Gaveston from exile, appointed him earl of Cornwall, and gave him his niece, Margaret de Clare, in marriage. Early in 1308, while Edward II celebrated his wedding to Isabella of France on the continent, Gaveston briefly served as custos regni (keeper of the realm). Later that same year, baronial opposition pressured the king to send Gaveston into exile for a second time, and Edward appointed Gaveston his lieutenant in Ireland. This second exile was accompanied by a sentence of excommunication levelled against the earl by the prelates of England but later revoked by Pope Clement V. Gaveston returned to England in 1309, but was banished again in 1311 as a result of the Ordinances which the barons had forced upon the king.