The importance of Edward I of England cannot be understated in the impact on European and British history during his time as the heir to the throne and King of England.
He took part in events that would define English, Scottish and France relations until the 17th century and the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
So, what makes the importance of Edward I of England so relevant to today’s people in England during Edward’s time as Lord Edward, which was the title given to him as the successor of King Henry III of England, who was king from 1216 to 1272.
Edward accomplished as the heir to the English throne was ending the Barons Wars between the King of England and his Lords, starting with the First Barren war from 1215 to 1217 fought between King John and his Lords over the great Charter known to history as Magna Carter.
The second Barons war was fought between King Henry III of England and his old ally and brother-in-law Simon de Montfort was also the Earl of Leicester and married to King Henry’s sister Eleanor.
The Baron’s war took place between 1264 to 1267, in which two battles were fought, the battle of Lewis 1264 and the second battle 1265 where Simon Mumford and one of his sons were killed.
What is so important about this period was that it determined the constitutional make-up of the United Kingdom for the next four centuries and the closest the United Kingdom would flirt with republicanism until the time of King Charles I of England and the Lord protector Oliver Cromwell during the English Civil War which lasted from 1642 to 1651.
The legacy of this conflict established Edward I of England as a warrior prince and king in waiting for his father, Henry III of England, that ruled the kingdom for over 50 years.
This demonstrates the importance of Edward I of England because since the death of Henry II of England, who ruled from 1154 to 1189, England lacked a strong, charismatic and decisive King Richard the Lionheart ruled from 1189 to 1199 and had all of these qualities.
Still, he bogeyed the finances of the realm due to being ransomed from the holy Roman Emperor and fighting the Third Crusade.
King John, who reigned from 1199 to 1216, was a very weak king due to his personality defects and inability to inspire loyalty from his own Barons.
That’s why he is known to history as John the bad, John the worst or John soft sword.
The successor to King John, the nine-year-old Henry III of England, reigned from 1216 to 1272 and ruled for over 50 years.
Unfortunately, he was never trained to rule as England’s King’s Regency did not truly end until he was in his 30s and his Regent’s never prepared him appropriately to be a mediaeval warrior king.
Now we come to the importance of Edward I of England what he did was not Parliament working and hosted at least 50 parliaments during his time as the King of England he also conquered Wales. He brought the principalities into the English kingdom.
The other two longest legacies that affect the British Isles to this day are the animosity between England, Scotland and France due to the Allude alliance forged between the kings of Scotland and Philip iV of France.
This alliance between Scotland and France against the kingdom of England was one of the leading causes of the war between these kingdoms and helped to contribute to the cause of the Hundred years’ War from 1337 to 1453.
What the alliance meant was that England was hemmed into the North by Scotland and to the south by France, who repeatedly attempted until the final defeat of England during the reign of King Henry VI of England, where all but Calais was lost to the Kings of France with Charles the victorious/Charles Vii of France bringing the final defeat of the Plantagenet Holdings that was inherited from Eleanor of Aquitaine the first Plantagenet Queen of England and wife to King Henry II of England.
Closing statement
When writing this article, I’ve tried to keep it brief and concise; please let me know if you found this description and information useful; I will also leave a YouTube link to my podcast so that you will be able to hear me talking about the importance of the Edward I of England.
If you wish to delve deeply into the life of King Edward I of England and his kingship, I strongly recommend reading the English Yale series of English monarchs and A great and terrible king Marc Morris.
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