• General Notes

  Edward (èd´werd), kings of England. Edward I, 1239-1307 (r.1272-1307), was the son and successor of HENRY III. He gained new claims to France through his marriage (1254) to Eleanor of Castile and was responsible for his father's victory in the BARONS' WAR. As king, his conquest of Wales (1277-82) was followed by a long, futile campaign against Scotland (1290-1307). Edward's legal reforms, notably the statutes of WESTMINSTER, earned him the title "English Justinian." He restricted private and church courts and controlled land grants to the church. His Model Parliament (1295) marked greater participation by the barons, merchants, and clergy whose resistance to war taxation had forced him to confirm previous charters (e.g., MAGNA CARTA). His son, Edward II, 1284-1327 (r.1307-27), was a weak king, dissipated and self-indulgent. His reign was noted for internal dissension and the loss of Scotland. His insistence on having his favorite, Piers Gaveston, at court caused rebellion among the barons, who eventually had Gaveston killed. Edward's later favorites, Hugh le Despenser and his son, virtually ruled England (1322-26). They made a truce with ROBERT I and recognized him as king of Scotland. Edward's wife, Queen ISABELLA, refused to return from France while the Despensers ruled. She entered into an adulterous alliance with Roger de MORTIMER and invaded England. The Despensers were executed and Edward forced to abdicate. He was imprisoned and almost certainly murdered by henchmen of Isabella and Mortimer. His son, Edward III, 1312-77 (r.1327-77), was dominated by Isabella and Mortimer until he seized power in a coup in 1330, putting Mortimer to death and forcing his mother into retirement. He supported Edward de BALIOL against the young Scottish king DAVID II, but despite his victory at Halidon Hill in 1333, the Scottish question remained unsettled. In 1337 the HUNDRED YEARS WAR began; it would dominate Edward's reign. He and his son EDWARD THE BLACK PRINCE took an active part in the war, the first phase of which ended with the treaty of London in 1359. The war was renewed after various treaties and truces, but, like the Scottish wars, was inconclusive in Edward's reign. There were many constitutional developments in Edward's long reign. The most important of these was the emergence of Commons as a distinct and powerful group in PARLIAMENT. The king's constant need for money for his wars enabled Commons to assert its power to consent to all lay taxation. The Black Death (see PLAGUE) decimated the population, producing a labor shortage that enabled the lower classes to demand higher wages and social advancement. Edward quarreled with the church, and the resulting religious unrest found a spokesman in John WYCLIF. There was rivalry between a court party headed by Edward's son JOHN OF GAUNT and the parliamentary party, headed by the Black Prince. Edward was succeeded by RICHARD II.
  Source:
  The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia is licensed from Columbia University Press. Copyright © 1995 by Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

Details of Edward I "Longshanks" King of's family with Leonore Princess of Castille and Leon