Edward I (Longshanks) Plantagenet, King of England

Male 1239 - 1307  (68 years)


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  • Name Edward I (Longshanks) Plantagenet 
    Suffix King of England 
    Born 16 Jun 1239  Palace of Westminister, London, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Died 07 Jul 1307  Burgh by Sands, Cumberland, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Buried Westminster Abbey, London, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Notes 
    • Wikipedia

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_I_of_England

      He was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons. In 1259, he briefly sided with a baronial reform movement, supporting the Provisions of Oxford. After reconciliation with his father, however, he remained loyal throughout the subsequent armed conflict, known as the Second Barons' War. After the Battle of Lewes, Edward was hostage to the rebellious barons, but escaped after a few months and joined the fight against Simon de Montfort. Montfort was defeated at the Battle of Evesham in 1265, and within two years the rebellion was extinguished. With England pacified, Edward joined the Ninth Crusade to the Holy Land. The crusade accomplished little, and Edward was on his way home in 1272 when he was informed that his father had died. Making a slow return, he reached England in 1274 and was crowned at Westminster on 19 August.

      He spent much of his reign reforming royal administration and common law. Through an extensive legal inquiry, Edward investigated the tenure of various feudal liberties, while the law was reformed through a series of statutes regulating criminal and property law.

      Increasingly, however, Edward's attention was drawn towards military affairs. After suppressing a minor rebellion in Wales in 1276-77, Edward responded to a second rebellion in 1282-83 with a full-scale war of conquest. After a successful campaign, Edward subjected Wales to English rule, built a series of castles and towns in the countryside and settled them with English people.

      Next, his efforts were directed towards Scotland. Initially invited to arbitrate a succession dispute, Edward claimed feudal suzerainty over the kingdom. In the war that followed, the Scots persevered, even though the English seemed victorious at several points. At the same time there were problems at home. In the mid-1290s, extensive military campaigns required high levels of taxation, and Edward met with both lay and ecclesiastical opposition. These crises were initially averted, but issues remained unsettled. When the King died in 1307, he left to his son, Edward II, an ongoing war with Scotland and many financial and political problems.

      Edward I was a tall man for his era, hence the nickname "Longshanks". He was temperamental, and this, along with his height, made him an intimidating man, and he often instilled fear in his contemporaries. Nevertheless, he held the respect of his subjects for the way he embodied the medieval ideal of kingship, as a soldier, an administrator and a man of faith. Modern historians are divided on their assessment of Edward I: while some have praised him for his contribution to the law and administration, others have criticised him for his uncompromising attitude towards his nobility. Currently, Edward I is credited with many accomplishments during his reign, including restoring royal authority after the reign of Henry III, establishing Parliament as a permanent institution and thereby also a functional system for raising taxes, and reforming the law through statutes.

      At the same time, he is also often criticised for other actions, such as his brutal conduct towards the Scots, and issuing the Edict of Expulsion in 1290, by which the Jews were expelled from England. The Edict remained in effect for the rest of the Middle Ages, and it was over 350 years until it was formally overturned under Oliver Cromwell in 1656.

      Edward was born at the Palace of Westminster on the night of 17-18 June 1239, to King Henry III and Eleanor of Provence. Edward is an Anglo-Saxon name, as was not commonly given among the aristocracy of England after the Norman Conquest, but Henry was devoted to the veneration of Edward the Confessor, and decided to name his firstborn son after the saint.

      There were concerns about Edward's health as a child, and he fell ill in 1246, 1247, and 1251. Nonetheless, he became an imposing man; at 6 feet 2 inches he towered over most of his contemporaries.

      In 1254, English fears of a Castilian invasion of the English province of Gascony induced Edward's father to arrange a politically expedient marriage between his fourteen-year-old son and thirteen-year-old Eleanor, the half-sister of King Alfonso X of Castile. Eleanor and Edward were married on 1 November 1254 in the Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas in Castile.

      Eleanor of Castile had died on 28 November 1290. Uncommon for such marriages of the period, the couple loved each other. Moreover, like his father, Edward was very devoted to his wife and was faithful to her throughout their married lives ? a rarity among monarchs of the time. He was deeply affected by her death. He displayed his grief by erecting twelve so-called Eleanor crosses, one at each place where her funeral cortège stopped for the night.

      He and Eleanor had between 14 to 16 children. Of these, five daughters survived into adulthood, but only one son outlived his father, namely King Edward II (1307-1327).

      1. John (13 July 1266-3 August 1271), predeceased his father and died at Wallingford while in the custody of his granduncle Richard, Earl of Cornwall, buried at Westminster Abbey.

      2. Henry (6 May 1268-14 October 1274), predeceased his father, buried in Westminster Abbey.

      3. Alphonso, Earl of Chester (24 November 1273-19 August 1284), predeceased his father, buried in Westminster Abbey.

      4. Son (1280/81-1280/81), predeceased his father; little evidence exists for this child.

      5. King Edward II (25 April 1284-21 September 1327), eldest surviving son and heir, succeeded his father as king of England. In 1308 he married Isabella of France, with whom he had four children.

      6. Daughter (May 1255-29 May 1255), stillborn or died shortly after birth.

      7. Katherine (before 17 June 1264-5 September 1264), buried at Westminster Abbey.

      8. Joanna (Summer or January 1265-before 7 September 1265), buried in Westminster Abbey.

      9. Eleanor (c. 18 June 1269-19 August 1298), in 1293 she married Henry III, Count of Bar, by whom she had two children, buried in Westminster Abbey.

      10. Juliana (after May 1271-5 September 1271), born and died while Edward and Eleanor were in Acre.

      11. Joan of Acre (1272-23 April 1307), married (1) in 1290 Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Hertford, who died in 1295, and (2) in 1297 Ralph de Monthermer. She had four children by Clare, and three or four by Monthermer.

      12. Margaret (c.15 March 1275-after 11 March 1333), married John II of Brabant in 1290, with whom she had one son.

      13. Berengaria (May 1276-between 7 June 1277 and 1278), buried in Westminster Abbey.

      14. Daughter (December 1277-January 1278), buried in Westminster Abbey.

      14. Mary of Woodstock (11/12 March 1279-29 May 1332), a Benedictine nun in Amesbury, Wiltshire, where she was probably buried.

      15. Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (c. 7 August 1282-5 May 1316), married (1) in 1297 John I, Count of Holland, (2) in 1302 Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford. The first marriage was childless; by Bohun Elizabeth had ten children.

      Edward died fighting Robert the Bruce in Scotland. Edward responded with severe brutality against Bruce's allies and supporters. Bruce's sister, Mary, was hung in a cage outside of Roxburgh for four years. Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan, who had crowned Bruce, was hung in a cage outside of Berwick Castle for four years. Bruce's younger brother Neil was executed by being hanged, drawn, and quartered. The story of William Wallace is famous as is his death, thanks to the movie Braveheart set during this time. This brutality, though, rather than helping to subdue the Scots, had the opposite effect, and rallied growing support for Bruce.

      Edward was suffering ill health, He developed dysentery, and his condition deteriorated. On 6 July he encamped at Burgh by Sands, just south of the Scottish border. When his servants came the next morning to lift him up so that he could eat, he died in their arms.

      Edward I's body was brought south, lying in state at Waltham Abbey, before being buried in Westminster Abbey. His tomb was an unusually plain sarcophagus of Purbeck marble, without the customary royal effigy, possibly the result of the shortage of royal funds after the King's death. Traces of the Latin inscription Edwardus Primus Scottorum Malleus hic est, 1308. Pactum Serva ("Here is Edward I, Hammer of the Scots, 1308. Keep the Vow"), which can still be seen painted on the side of the tomb, referring to his vow to avenge the rebellion of Robert Bruce.

    Person ID I36056  Master File
    Last Modified 8 Sep 2016 

    Family Eleanor of Castile,   b. 10 Jan 1240, Burgos, Provincia de Burgos, Castilla y León, Spain Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 28 Nov 1290, Harby, Nottinghamshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 50 years) 
    Children 
     1. Princess Joan of Acre,   b. Apr 1272, Acre, Holy Land Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 23 Apr 1307, Clare, Suffolk, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 35 years)
    Last Modified 8 Sep 2016 
    Family ID F14861  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart