Edward I of England

King Edward I of England (June 17, 1239 – July 7, 1307), popularly known as "Longshanks" because of his 6 foot 2 inch frame and the "Hammer of the Scots" (his tombstone, in Latin, read, Hic est Edwardvs Primus Scottorum Malleus, "Here lies Edward I, Hammer of the Scots"), achieved fame as the monarch who conquered Wales and who kept Scotland under English domination. He reigned from 1272 to 1307, ascending the throne of England on November 21, 1272 after the death of his father, King Henry III of England. His mother was Queen consort Eleanor of Provence.

Military campaigns

Crusades

In 1269 Cardinal Ottobono, the Papal Legate, arrived in England and appealed to Prince Edward and his brother Edmund to participate in the Eighth Crusade alongside Louis IX of France. In order to fund the crusade, Edward had to borrow heavily from Louis IX and the Jews of England. It is estimated by scholars such as P.R. Coss that Edward raised and spent close to half a million livres. The number of knights and retainers that accompanied Edward on the crusade was quite small, possibly around 230 knights. Many of the members of Edward's expedition were close friends and family including his wife Eleanor of Castile, his brother Edmund, and his first cousin Henry De Alamain. The original goal of the crusade was to relieve the beleagured Christian stronghold of Acre, but Louis had been diverted to Tunis. By the time that Edward arrived at Tunis, Louis had died of disease. The majority of the French forces at Tunis returned home, but a small number of them joined Edward who continued onward to Acre to participate in the Ninth Crusade. After a short stop in Cyprus, Edward arrived in Acre with thirteen ships. While in Acre, Edward engaged in diplomacy with the Mongols hoping to form an alliance against Sultan Baibars of Egypt. This did not come to fruition. In 1271 Hugh III of Cyprus arrived with a contingent of knights. The arrival of the additional forces emboldened Edward, who engaged in a raid on the town of Ququn. Soon afterward Edward signed a ten year peace treaty with Baibars. Around the same time, Edward was nearly assassinated but warded off his attacker, according to Matthew Paris, by bludgeoning his would be assassin with a metal tripod. Edward left the Holy Land and returned to England in 1272.

Related Topics:
1269 - Eighth Crusade - Louis IX of France - Livres - Eleanor of Castile - Acre - Tunis - Ninth Crusade - Mongols - Baibars - Hugh III - Matthew Paris

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Overall, Edward's crusade was insignificant and only gave the city of Acre a reprieve of ten years. However, Edward's reputation was greatly enhanced by his participation in the crusade and was hailed by some contemporary commentators as a new Richard the Lionheart.

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Furthermore, some historians believe Edward was inspired by the design of the castles he saw while on crusade and incorporated similiar features into the castles he built to secure portions of Wales, such as Caernarfon Castle.

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Welsh Wars

One of Edward's early achievements was the conquest of Wales. Under the 1267 Treaty of Montgomery, Llewelyn ap Gruffydd had extended Welsh territories southwards into what had been the lands of the English Marcher lords, and gained the title of Prince of Wales although he still owed homage to the English monarch as overlord. Edward refused to recognise the Treaty which had been concluded by his father. In 1275, pirates in Edward's pay intercepted a ship carrying Eleanor de Montfort, Simon de Montfort's only daughter, from France (where her family had lived in exile) to Wales, where she expected to marry Llywelyn. The parties' families had arranged the marriage previously, when an alliance with Simon de Montfort still counted politically. However, Llywelyn wanted the marriage largely to antagonise his long-standing enemy, Edward. With the hijacking of the ship, Edward gained possession of Eleanor and imprisoned her at Windsor. After Llywelyn repeatedly refused to pay homage to Edward in 1274-5, Edward raised an army and launched his first campaign against the Welsh prince in 1276-77. After this campaign Llywelyn was forced to pay homage to Edward and was stripped of all but a rump of territory in Gwynedd. But Edward allowed Llywelyn to retain the title of Prince of Wales, and the marriage with Eleanor de Montfort went ahead.

Related Topics:
1267 - Treaty of Montgomery - Llewelyn ap Gruffydd - Prince of Wales - 1275 - Eleanor de Montfort - France - Wales - Windsor - Gwynedd

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However, Llywelyn's younger brother, Dafydd (who had briefly been an ally of the English) started another rebellion in 1282. Llywelyn died shortly afterwards in a skirmish. Subsequently, Edward destroyed the remnants of resistance, capturing, brutally torturing and executing Dafydd in the following year. To consolidate his conquest, he commenced the construction of a string of massive stone castles encircling the principality, of which Caernarfon Castle provides a notable surviving example. Wales became incorporated into England under the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 and in 1301 Edward created his eldest son Edward Prince of Wales, since which time the eldest son of each English monarch has borne the same title.

Related Topics:
Dafydd - 1282 - Caernarfon Castle - Statute of Rhuddlan - 1284 - 1301 - Prince of Wales

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Scottish Wars

Edward then turned his attentions to Scotland and on May 10, 1291 Scottish nobles recognised the authority of Edward I. He had planned to marry off his son to the child queen, Margaret of Scotland (Called 'The Maid of Norway') but when Margaret died the Scottish nobles agreed to have Edward select her successor from the various claimants to the throne, and he chose John Balliol over other candidates. Edward was anxious to impose his overlordship on Scotland and hoped that John Balliol would prove the most biddable candidate. Indeed, Edward summoned John Balliol to do homage to him in Westminster in 1293 and made it clear he expected John's military and financial support against France. But this was too much for Balliol, who concluded a pact with France and prepared an army to invade England.

Related Topics:
May 10 - 1291 - Margaret of Scotland - John Balliol - Other candidates - Homage - Westminster - 1293

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Edward gathered his largest army yet and razed Berwick, massacring its inhabitants, proceeding to Dunbar and Edinburgh. The Stone of Destiny was removed from Scone Palace and taken to Westminster Abbey. Until 1996, it formed the seat on King Edward's Chair, on which all English monarchs since 1308 have been crowned, with the exception of Mary I. In 1996, the stone was returned to Scotland, to return only during royal coronations. Balliol renounced the crown and was imprisoned in the Tower of London for three years before withdrawing to his estates in France. All freeholders in Scotland were required to swear an oath of homage to Edward, and he ruled Scotland like a province through English Viceroys.

Related Topics:
Berwick - Dunbar - Edinburgh - Stone of Destiny - Scone Palace - King Edward's Chair - 1308 - Mary I - Tower of London - Freeholders

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Opposition sprang up (see Wars of Scottish Independence), and Edward executed the focus of discontent, William Wallace, on August 23, 1305, having earlier defeated him at the Battle of Falkirk (1298). His plan to unite the two countries never came to fruition during his lifetime, however, and he died in 1307 at Burgh-by-Sands, Cumberland on the Scottish border, while on his way to wage another campaign against the Scots under the leadership of Robert the Bruce. Against his wishes, Edward was buried in Westminster Abbey. His son, King Edward II of England, succeeded him.

Related Topics:
Wars of Scottish Independence - William Wallace - August 23 - 1305 - Battle of Falkirk (1298) - Cumberland - Robert the Bruce - Westminster Abbey - Edward II of England

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