King Edward I Longshanks

1239 – 1307 · Generation XIV · King of England (r. 1272–1307)

Edward I Longshanks (1239–1307). King of England (r. 1272–1307). Married Eleanor of Castile in 1254. Castle-builder and lawgiver; the Eleanor crosses trace his wife’s funeral road to Westminster. Before his crown he had already crushed Simon de Montfort at Evesham and taken the cross for the Ninth Crusade, learning of his father’s death on the slow journey home. As king he reformed criminal and property law by statute, helped establish Parliament as a permanent institution, and conquered Wales, settling English towns in the shadow of his fortresses. Invited to arbitrate the Scottish succession, he claimed overlordship and invaded, beginning a war of independence that outlasted him — he is remembered as the “Hammer of the Scots” — while also fighting France for Gascony. Six feet two and quick-tempered, he intimidated his contemporaries; his record is stained by the 1290 edict expelling England’s Jews.

Line of descent: King William I The Conqueror → King Henry I → Matilda the Empress → King Henry II → King John → King Henry III → King Edward I Longshanks.

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Parents

• King Henry III (1207 – 1272)
• Eleanor of Provence (1223 – 1291)

Partners

• Married Eleanor of Castile (1241 – 1290) in 1254 — one child together

Children

• King Edward II (1284 – 1327)

Life

• 1239 — Born
• 1254 — Married Eleanor of Castile
• 1272 — Edward learns that he has succeeded to the throne on his way home from the Crusade
• 1274 — Edward is crowned in Westminster Abbey
• 1282 — Edward invades North Wales and defeats Llewellyn ap Gruffydd the last ruler of an independent Wales
• 1290 — Edward's wife Eleanor dies at Harby in Nottinghamshire. Her body is brought back to London and a cross erected at each stop along the journey - Geddington, Hardingston, Waltham, and the most famous at Charing Cross.
• 1292 — Edward chooses John Balliol to be the new King of Scotland
• 1295 — John Balliol reneges on his allegiance to Edward and signs alliance with King Philip IV of France
• 1296 — Edward invades Scotland, defeats the Scots at Dunbar and deposes Balliol. He then takes over the throne of Scotland and removes the Stone of Scone to Westminster.
• 1297 — Scots rise against English rule and, led by William Wallace, defeat Edward at the Battle of Stirling Bridge
• 1298 — Edward invades Scotland again and defeats William Wallace at the Battle of Falkirk
• 1299 — Edward marries Margaret of France
• 1301 — Edward makes his son Prince of Wales, a title conferred on every first born son of the monarchy ever since.
• 1307 — Died
• 1307 — Edward attempts to invade Scotland again, but dies on his way north