Edward I

by Andy King

Edward I (1272-1307) is one of the most commanding of all English rulers. He fought in southwest France, in Wales, In Scotland and in northern France, he ruled with ruthlessness and confidence, undoing the chaotic failure of his father, Henry III's reign. He reshaped England's legal system and came close to bringing the whole island of Great Britain under his rule. He promoted the idea of himself as the new King Arthur, his Round Table still hanging in Winchester Castle to this day. His greatest monuments are the extraordinary castles - Caernarfon, Beaumaris, Harlech and Conwy - built to ensure his rule of Wales and some of the largest of all medieval buildings.

Andy King's brilliant short biography brings to life a strange, complex man whose triumphs raise all kinds of questions about the nature of kingship - how could someone who established so many key elements in England's unique legal and parliamentary system also have been such a harsh, militarily brutal warrior?

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Medieval History, European History, Medieval, British Literature

160 pages, Paperback

First published November 24, 2016

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

A strange, uneven book. The important things are all here: the famous (and probably apocryphal) story about Edward’s wife Eleanor sucking poison from his wound to save his life from an assassination attempt while on crusade; his quick doffing of the crown at his coronation and declaration of refusal to wear it again until he’d recovered all the lands lost by his father Henry III; his seizure of power in Wales, construction of Caernarfon Castle and creation of the title of Prince of Wales for the monarch’s firstborn son; his role in shaping the subsequent development of the Houses of Parliament and establishment of means by which individuals could petition the crown; his expulsion of Jews from England; and of course his various “hammerings” of the Scots. But Andy King spends about as much time on many of these as I’ve just done here, meanwhile devoting strangely disproportionate attention elsewhere. There is, for example, a dull, overlong and, er, taxing chapter on the byzantine fundraising schemes used to generate resources for crusades and for wars with France, Scotland and Wales—but the poison-sucking and the mention of the mourning Edward’s construction of the memorial Eleanor Cross monuments on the route from Lincoln to Westminster Abbey are literally all that’s here of Eleanor of Castile. Even Edward’s attempts to frame his reign as Arthurian in its glory, which find their way into the very title itself, see almost no development until the last 2-3 pages of the final chapter. And what emerges here in general is a strange mix of neutral and not, an oddly distant, uncritical pen portrait of Edward Longshanks that you might say is as unduly easy on the “Hammer of the Scots” as Braveheart is unduly hard.

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

This moves along quickly and fully attempts to keep up with complicated politics ...yet🤔
This is just not long enough to cover my gap in knowledge about this time period.
As much as I dread it I think I'm gonna have to try Marc Morris' biography of Edward I🤷🏾‍♀️

[Carolyn Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, political biography of King Edward I that captures the contradictions within the king's life and reign. Edward was an admirer of the legend of King Arthur and confirmed Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest, making a public show of consulting his leading subjects through regular parliaments. However, Edward also annexed Wales, invaded Scotland and seized lands belonging to his subjects on dubious pretexts. Edward favoured brutal, theatrical punishments for those defied him including hanging, drawing and quartering for a Welsh prince and imprisonment in an outdoor cage for one of the sisters of Robert the Bruce.

The book is primarily a political biography with Edward's close relationship with his first wife, Eleanor of Castile and conflicts with his heir, the future Edward II, summarized in the first chapter. Nevertheless, there are bursts of Edward's Plantagenet temperament throughout the text, especially his contempt for one of the main claimants to the throne of Scotland who asked for Edward's support and received the reply: "Have we nothing better to do than win kingdoms for you?" The author concludes that Edward was an effective medieval king but also details his ruthlessness and greed.

[Blair Hodgkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This bite-size biography and analysis doesn't worship its subject, but it does shed some light on Edward's standings as a king by putting his actions in the perspective of his era's expectations of the office. I enjoyed the conclusions particularly. It's a brief book and it flies by.

[massmarketbareback · Rating 4 out of 5]

i read this book as part of some research i was doing. it was a wonderfully concise way for me to digest the information I needed to gather.

[Farah Mendlesohn · Rating 2 out of 5]

The weakest of the series so far.

I’ve been reading them in chronological order. Most of the series gives us a clear framework for understanding actions and policies. The first half of this book is just One Damned Thing After Another. Analysis is left late, if offered at all. And too much if it feels like the evenhandedness of an A level essay, full of qualifications and contradictions.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short book about a very substantial and active reign is not going to include everything in detail, but it gives a useful insight into how Edward I was effective in reshaping England’s legal system and establishing a Parliament that transformed government. Many aspects of the king’s reign were put into perspective by the descriptions of his actions on policies concerning Scotland, Wales and France. In all, a useful synopsis of the important events of Edward’s reign.

[Ivan Monckton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent Penguin Monarchs volume. Edward I, we are told, is credited with reforming the way the government and legal processes and record keeping was dealt with, called Parliaments on a regular basis, and took notice of their advice. He was the first mediaeval king not to have armed rebellions within England, though fe fought wars agains the Welsh & Scots. He was considered harsh, but fair, with a penchant for hideous public executions. Recommended!

[Al Lock · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very solid and easily read overview of Edward I, and his place among the Kings of Britain of that era. Interesting reading, well-researched.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice concise book in the Monarchy series

[Profesor Mermelada · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good enough. Shall detail later.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

good, a basic survey of Edward. It doesn't get into the nitty-gritty details. however, he does provide a general bio of Edward and his reign

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

really fascinating mini-bio of a proper medieval king!

[Abhijeet Ganguly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enriching book on medieval England and one of her best remembered Kings, Edward I.

The book is written for light reading and doesn't go into too much academic detail. The writing is crisp and to the point with enough subjective details to help the reader understand the historical context. One gets a fair outline of England as a political geography and it's standing among it's neighbours during the medieval times. The author has followed the analytical approach as the various chapters try to look into the cause and effect relationship of Edward's actions during his reign in view of the prevailing political climate and how he dealt with them keeping the interests of his crown paramount.

Let's look at some of the interesting things we learn from this book:

1) A King needed various attributes to survive and succeed during those treacherous times, such as pragmatism, religious affiliation, paying heed to counsel, loyalty through grants and patronage etc.

For example, Edward I realized the mistakes his father Henry III made during his reign and avoided them. His practice of taking counsel from Parliament before important decisions thereby increased the acceptance of his decisions among the subjects.

2) Before the reign of Edward I, there was prevalence of oral records and rights/identity based on historical lineage. His emphasis on written records as a part of functioning of Government was a major improvement from the past.

3) The concept of Parliament in medieval times was far removed from it's modern avatar.

4) He had named his first born son (future Edward II) as " Prince of Wales " in 1301 after the infant was born there. This tradition has continued to this day with Prince Charles being the current holder of the title. It is a tradition that goes back 700 years!

As the author writes in the concluding part that although Scottish and Welsh history may record him as a ruthless tyrant but English history records him far more favourably for he managed to bring the whole of British Isles under his rule something his predecessors couldn't.

This book is recommended for those with a fondness for history.

[Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

King's knowledge on one of England's more famous kings (especially of those of the medieval era) is sufficient to give an informative insight to the actions and the reasoning behind them, of warrior-king Edward I.
For a short biography, King succeeds in effectively explaining major events during Edward's rule; his conquest of Wales and Scotland; his wars with the French; his tireless effort to hold Parliament, to attempt to give counsel on matters across his realm, and of course his innovation in reforming the bureaucracy of the country, using Rolls and writs to document the workings of a growing Christian power.