Page 82 - All About History - Issue 59-17

HEro Edward I was king
HEro

of England from
1272 to 1307
Villain?
Villain?
or

King

Edward I

The ‘Hammer of the Scots’ sought to exert

his will over the entire British Isles by
ruling with an iron fist

Written by Peter Price

dward I stands as one of the most celebrated A warrior through and through, much of
and vilified kings of Medieval England. Fêted Edward’s reputation comes from his various
at home for his military skill and governance, campaigns in England, Wales, Scotland, France
he his remembered as a tyrannical invader by and the Middle East. Early in his life he forged
Ethose unfortunate enough to get in his way. his reputation as a military man in the defeat
A fierce warrior and capable administrator, he was a rebellious group of barons led by Simon de
also ambitious to a fault. Montfort. Edward then travelled to the Holy Land
Edward’s large stature gave him the nickname to fulfil his crusading vows. By the time he reached
‘Longshanks’ and he loomed over his advisors Acre, there was little zeal left in the Christian forces Defining
and England’s neighbours in equal measure, and after a 10-year truce was signed with the moment
constantly looking to expand his the borders of Mamluks, Edward returned home. Expelling the Jews
his realm. While this behaviour was not unusual As king, his army was renowned throughout from England
for the period, Edward’s reckless spending and Europe as one of the largest and most In order to appease his nobles, Edward
ordered the expulsion of all of the Jews
heavy-handed approach to dealing with, in his eyes, disciplined — a force that would see him crush in England in 1290. The kingdom’s Jewish
unruly subjects, has seen him painted as more of a fermenting rebellion and bring Wales into his population at the time numbered around
a pantomime villain than heroic king. sphere of influence. 3,000 with the total population of his lands
Edward was not the first English monarch with His castle-building project in Wales would sitting at around three million — meaning
that he expelled one per cent of his
his name but was the first of Norman descent. become one of his lasting legacies and these subjects. This edict would not be
Before William the Conqueror came in 1066, the fortresses loomed over the countryside as a grand reversed until 1656.
Anglo-Saxon rulers of England used epithets rather statement of English military might. As imposing 1290
than numbers so although Edward the Confessor as the castles were, they were more costly than any
and several others predated him, Edward was that were built in England and almost bankrupted
known as the first once his son came to the throne. the kingdom.

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