Edward I of England

**Edward I of England** (June 17, 1239 - July 7, 1307) was King of England from 1272 to 1307.

Edward was born on June 17, 1239 at the Palace of Westminster as the son of Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. He 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 in May 1264, Edward was held hostage to the rebellious barons, but escaped after a few months and joined the fight. By 1267, the rebellion was extinguihsed. Edward then joined the Ninth Crusade to the Holy Land, which accomplished little. On his way home, Edward was informed that his father had died. Making a slow return, he reached England in 1274 and was crowned on August 19, 1274.

Edward 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 suzertainty over the kingdom. In the First Scottish War of Independence that followed, the Scots perservered, even though the English seemed victorious at several points. 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.

During the Scottish war, Edward developed dysentery, and his condition deteriorated. On July 6, 1307, he encamped at Burgh by Sands, England, 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.

## Family

Edward married first to Eleanor of Castile in 1254.

* King Edward II of England - m. Isabella of France
* Eleanor of England - m. Henry III, Count of Bar
* Joan of Acre - m. (1) Gilbert de Clare (2) Ralph de Monthermer
* Margaret of England - m. John II of Brabant
* Elizabeth of Rhuddlan - m. (1) John I, Count of Holland (2) Humphrey de Bohun
* Mary of Woodstock - unmarried.
* Katherine (c. Jun. 17, 1264 - Sept. 5, 1264) - died young.
* Joanna (1265-1265) - died young.
* John (Jul. 13, 1266 - Aug. 3, 1271) - died young.
* Henry (May 6, 1268 - Oct. 14, 1274) - died young.
* Juliana (aft. May 1271 - Sept. 5, 1271) - died young.
* Alphonso, Earl of Chester (Nov. 24, 1273 - Aug. 19, 1284) - died young.
* Berengaria (May 1276 - c. 1278) - died young.

Edward married second to Margaret of France in 1299.

* Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk - m. (1) Alice Hales (2) Mary Brewes
* Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent - m. Margaret Wake
* Eleanor (May 6, 1306 - 1310) - died young.