A Potted History of The Medieval Kings (and Queen): England's Early Rulers (British Kings And Queens Book 2) by McGyver Gerry

Author:McGyver, Gerry [McGyver, Gerry]
Language: eng
Format: azw
Published: 2015-05-02T16:00:00+00:00

King Edward I (1239-1307)

History has, on the whole, treated Edward I kindly. During his own time, though, Edward was considered an angry, no-nonsense king by his subjects. He had a fierce temper, and this, combined with his well-above average height, made him an intimidating character. Edward was not loved by his subjects, but his contemporaries regarded him as a good soldier and strong ruler, which for the time was a positive thing.

Edward became king when he was 33, and he made a great effort to reinforce royal supremacy and authority, something that had arguably been missing in the reigns of his immediate predecessors. Not that this was necessarily a good thing for his subjects - Edward expelled all Jews from England in 1290, for example, following the lead set by his father. This law was not repealed until as late as 1656.

Besides being given the moniker ‘Longshanks’ due to his great height (he has been measured subsequently as being 6 foot 2 inches tall, making him something of a giant for the time he lived in), Edward was also known as ‘Hammer of the Scots’ due to his harsh treatment of his northern neighbours. Movie fans will recognise Edward from his depiction in the historical mish-mash that is Mel Gibson's film Braveheart, in which an exaggerated version of Edward's character is portrayed on screen.

Edward has been credited with introducing an expanded role for parliament. In 1295 he set a parliamentary precedent by insisting that in addition to the usual lords and bishops, two knights from each county should attend parliament when a sitting was called. The knights were representatives of their county, and had the right to vote on behalf of the people they were representing.

This was an innovation for the English parliament. But while Edward might at first glance have been consenting to a more democratic way of ruling, he was in fact being politically shrewd. Edward was frequently fighting one battle or another - he had brought Wales under English rule in 1283, and wanted to do the same with Scotland - and these military campaigns were expensive. By acknowledging that parliament had a legitimate role in government, as a body that was representative of the people, Edward secured the trust of the nobility and thus was able to raise taxes without the kind of backlash and complaining that his father had to endure.

Edward left his son and successor Edward II plenty of financial and political problems after dying of dysentery at Burgh By Sands in Cumbria while fighting the Scots.

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