Edward I of England 1272 – 1307
By the Grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine
Known As "Edward de' Longshanks the Hammer of the Scots"
Born in June 1239 at
Westminster, Edward was named by his father Henry III
after the last Anglo Saxon king (and his father's
favourite saint), Edward the Confessor.
Edward's parents were renowned for their patronage of the arts (his mother, Eleanor of Provence, encouraged Henry III to spend money on the arts, which included the rebuilding of Westminster Abbey and a still-extant magnificent shrine to house the body of Edward the Confessor). As a result, Edward received a disciplined education - reading and writing in Latin and French, with training in the arts, sciences and music.
In 1254, Edward travelled to Spain for an arranged marriage at the age of 15 to 9-year-old Eleanor of Castile. Just before Edward's marriage, Henry III gave him the duchy of Gascony, one of the few remnants of the once vast French possessions of the English Angevin kings.
Gascony was part of a package which included parts of Ireland, the Channel Islands and the King's lands in Wales to provide an income for Edward. Edward then spent a year in Gascony, studying its administration.
Edward spent his young adulthood learning harsh lessons from Henry III's failures as a king, culminating in a civil war in which he fought to defend his father. Henry's ill-judged and expensive intervention in Sicilian affairs (lured by the Pope's offer of the Sicilian crown to Henry's younger son) failed, and aroused the anger of powerful barons including Henry's brother-in-law Simon de Montfort.
Bankrupt and threatened with excommunication, Henry was forced to agree to the Provisions of Oxford in 1258, under which his debts were paid in exchange for substantial reforms; a Great Council of 24, partly nominated by the barons, assumed the functions of the King's Council.
Henry repudiated the Provisions in 1261 and sought the help of the French king Louis IX (later known as St Louis for his piety and other qualities). This was the only time Edward was tempted to side with his charismatic and politically ruthless godfather Simon de Montfort - he supported holding a Parliament in his father's absence.
However, by the time Louis IX decided to side with Henry in the dispute and civil war broke out in England in 1263, Edward had returned to his father's side and became de Montfort's greatest enemy.
After winning the battle of Lewes in 1264 (after which Edward became a hostage to ensure his father abided by the terms of the peace), de Montfort summoned the Great Parliament in 1265 - this was the first time cities and burghs sent representatives to the parliament. (Historians differ as to whether de Montfort was an enlightened liberal reformer or an unscrupulous opportunist using any means to advance himself.)
Edward's parents were renowned for their patronage of the arts (his mother, Eleanor of Provence, encouraged Henry III to spend money on the arts, which included the rebuilding of Westminster Abbey and a still-extant magnificent shrine to house the body of Edward the Confessor). As a result, Edward received a disciplined education - reading and writing in Latin and French, with training in the arts, sciences and music.
In 1254, Edward travelled to Spain for an arranged marriage at the age of 15 to 9-year-old Eleanor of Castile. Just before Edward's marriage, Henry III gave him the duchy of Gascony, one of the few remnants of the once vast French possessions of the English Angevin kings.
Gascony was part of a package which included parts of Ireland, the Channel Islands and the King's lands in Wales to provide an income for Edward. Edward then spent a year in Gascony, studying its administration.
Edward spent his young adulthood learning harsh lessons from Henry III's failures as a king, culminating in a civil war in which he fought to defend his father. Henry's ill-judged and expensive intervention in Sicilian affairs (lured by the Pope's offer of the Sicilian crown to Henry's younger son) failed, and aroused the anger of powerful barons including Henry's brother-in-law Simon de Montfort.
Bankrupt and threatened with excommunication, Henry was forced to agree to the Provisions of Oxford in 1258, under which his debts were paid in exchange for substantial reforms; a Great Council of 24, partly nominated by the barons, assumed the functions of the King's Council.
Henry repudiated the Provisions in 1261 and sought the help of the French king Louis IX (later known as St Louis for his piety and other qualities). This was the only time Edward was tempted to side with his charismatic and politically ruthless godfather Simon de Montfort - he supported holding a Parliament in his father's absence.
However, by the time Louis IX decided to side with Henry in the dispute and civil war broke out in England in 1263, Edward had returned to his father's side and became de Montfort's greatest enemy.
After winning the battle of Lewes in 1264 (after which Edward became a hostage to ensure his father abided by the terms of the peace), de Montfort summoned the Great Parliament in 1265 - this was the first time cities and burghs sent representatives to the parliament. (Historians differ as to whether de Montfort was an enlightened liberal reformer or an unscrupulous opportunist using any means to advance himself.)
- Edward was known to be fond of falconry and horse riding. The names of his horses have survived: Lyard, his war horse; Ferrault his hunting horse; and his favourite, Bayard. At the Siege of Berwick, Edward is said to have led the assault personally, using Bayard to leap over the earthen defences of the city.
- Edward was largely responsible for the Tower of London in the form we see today, including notably the concentric defences, elaborate entranceways, and the Traitor's Gate.
- Edward initially intended to call himself Edward IV, recognising the three Saxon kings of England of that name. However, for unknown reasons, this designation does not appear to have been formally used, the King instead being known as 'King Edward' not only by custom (for a King would generally not be known by his regnal designation in ordinary conversation), but in all known formal documentation. Upon the accession of his son, also named Edward, the custom of the old reign was taken as rule - the new King was named Edward II, and the old Edward I. Technically, then, this established the custom of numbering English monarchs only from the Norman Conquest (although the issue only arises in the case of the Kings named Edward).
- Edward made extensive use of a large trebuchet called the "War Wolf " to besiege Scottish castles.
- Edwards Royal motto was pactum serva, 'Keep faith'
- Edwards was 6' 2'' tall that is way they called him "Longshanks"
Children of Edward and Eleanor:
- Daughter, stillborn in May 1255 in Bordeaux, France.
- Katherine, living 17 June 1264, died 5 September 1264 and buried at Westminster Abbey.
- Eleanor, born 17 June 1264 and died 12 October 1297. She married (1) Alfonso III of Aragon, (2) Count Henry III of Bar.
- Joan, born January 1265, buried at Westminster Abbey before 7 September 1265.
- John, born 13 July 1266, died 3 August 1271 at Wallingford, in the custody of his granduncle, Richard, Earl of Cornwall. Buried at Westminster Abbey.
- Henry, born before 6 May 1268, died 16 October 1274.
- Juliana (Katherine), born May 1271 in Palestine and died before September 1271.
- Joan of Acre born May 1271 and died 7 April 1307. She married (1) Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Hertford, (2) Ralph Morthermer, 1st Baron Monthermer.
- Alphonso, Earl of Chester, born 24 November 1273, died 19 August 1284, buried in Westminster Abbey.
- Margaret, born 15 March 1275 and died after 1333. She married John II, Duke of Brabant.
- Berengaria, born 1 May 1276 and died before 27 June 1278, buried in Westminster Abbey.
- Elizabeth? and Alice, died shortly after birth, January 1278.
- Mary, born 11 March 1279 and died 29 May 1332, a nun in Amesbury, Wiltshire (England).
- Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, born 7 August 1282 at Rhuddlan Castle, Denbighshire, Wales, died 5 May 1316 at Quendon, Essex, England. She married (1) John I, Count of Holland, (2) Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford & 3rd Earl of Essex.
- Edward of Caernarvon, later Edward II, King of England, born 25 April 1284 at Caernarfon, died 21 September 1327. He married Isabella of France.
- Beatrice, born c. 1286
- Blanche, born 1290
Children of Edward and Marguerite:
- Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk (1300–1338), married firstly, Alice Hayles and had issue. He married secondly, Mary Brewes and had issue.
- Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent, (1301–1330), married Margaret Wake, 3rd Baroness Wake of Liddell and had issue.
- Eleanor (1306–1311), died young.
His tombstone, reads Edwardus Primus Scotorum Malleus hic est, 1308. Pactum Serva, Latin for "Here is Edward I, Hammer of the Scots"; though this inscription was probably added in the sixteenth century.
Edward I depicted in Cassell's History of England (1902)
Edward I's Royal House Coat OF Arms
"Armorial of Plantagenet"