UNKNOWN MASTER, English
(active 1330s)

Tomb of Edward II

1330s
Purbeck marble and alabaster
Cathedral, Gloucester

The tomb of Edward II has its alabaster effigy set within stunning stone cages of pinnacles and ogee arches. The body of the deposed monarch, which had been so ignominiously penetrated at his murder, is presented as calm, whole and inviolate. The king's body has been transformed into something like a saintly relic because of this shrine-like structure which encloses it.