20 Most Evil People of the 13th Century CE

Key Facts

Other names	Longshanks
Born	1239
Location	Westminister
Bloodline	Plantagenet
Married	Eleanor of Castile
Children	Edward II
Position	King of England (1272-1307)
Died	July 1307 (Aged 68)

Source of Facts and Important Announcement

Status	Under Article 64.6 of the Covenant of One-Heaven (Pactum De Singularis Caelum) by Special Qualification shall be known as a Saint, with all sins and evil acts they performed forgiven.
Date of formal Beatification	Day of Redemption UCA[E1:Y1:A1:S1:M9:D1] also known as Fri, 21 Dec 2012.
Source of Facts	Self Confession and Revelation of Sainthood by the Deceased Spirit as condition of their confirmation as a true Saint.

Background

Edward was born at the Palace of Westminister in 1239 to King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. In 1254, following the estrangement of Simon V Montfort, the Duke of Gascony, King Henry made an arrangement with King Alfonso of Castile (1252-1284) that his sister (Eleanor) marry Edward.

Contrary to the mythology concerning the English province of Gascony during this period, the Basque noble family of Montfort ruled the region with absolute authority and not even the French would dare challenge the Montfort basque nobles lest these famed and bloodthirsty warriors responded.

It is more than probable that Eleanor and her uncle Peter of Savoy sought Edward to influence his father against antagonising and confronting Duke Simon V Montfort, who himself was offered the crown of Castile by the French in 1252 and rejected it.

From all accounts, it is clear that in youth Edward worshipped the famous Montfort Lord High Steward's as his idols. When Duke Simon V Montfort send his eldest son Simon VI to court on his behalf, he developed a close early friendship with Edward.

Young Simon VI Montfort was taken by the petitions of the rebellious nobles -- in particular Gilbert de Clare the 3rd Earl of Gloucester against King Henry III and in 1258, Simon VI Montfort was elected by the nobles as the Speaker of the First English Parliament at Oxford to promote the Provision of Oxford and reform the Monarchy.

Incredibly, it appears that Edward sided with Simon VI Montfort and the rebellious nobles against his father. The situation had become intolerable for King Henry and he ordered his son into exile in France.

Duke Simon V Montfort of Gascony still refused to come to England to quell the growing rebellion and in 1263, forces loyal to the crown defeated young Simon VI killing him. This roused the old Duke out of his self imposed retirement and the whole of the Basque militia who arrived in England no later than April 1264 to reinforce Gilbert de Clare's army.

Henry released his son (Edward) from arrest and pledged him the crown if he helped defend it against the growing forces against him. The armies of Henry III and Duke Simon V met at Lewes, Sussex in May 1264 and the forces of Simon smashed the royal army, capturing King Henry III and his son Prince Edward as well as Richard of Cornwall.

Duke Simon V then forced the King to sign the Mise of Lewes--ratifying the Provisions of Oxford--for which his son had died in trying to get the King to agree. Following his defeat of the King and rule as defacto "king" of England, it appears Simon V Montfort showed no inclination to penalize his royal lords further.

This rare sign of honor allowed Prince Edward to rally a second army and force a confrontation at Eversham Worcestershire in August 1265 at which Simon V was killed. The death of the legendary Simon V Montfort deeply affected Edward for the rest of his life.

In 1268, Edward left on a Crusade to the Middle East, financed principally upon the compromise of taxes for recognition of the Magna Carta. Whilst in the Middle East, he received word of the death of his father (1272), but did not return to England until 1274.

His first order of business, using lawyers provided by the Roman Cult was to establish a clear legal framework concerning the authority of the king and the limit of authority of nobles. This was done throught the creation of the Quo warranto--that if proof of a right could not be produced, then it naturally reverted to the King.

Edward then turned his attention to finally subjugating the Welsh and Scots. In July 1277, Edward invaded Wales with a force of over 15,000 against the smaller forces of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd. The war was bloody with victories and defeats on both sides until the death of Llywelyn at the Battle of Orewin Bridge. While the Welsh continued to rebel (1287-8) and 1294-5), Edward had crushed their independence and by 1284, the Statute of Rhuddlan created the Principality of Wales --with an administration modelled on the reforms by Edward for England.

Following victory in Wales, Edward set out on his own personal pilgrimage by 1286 to Gascony and the birthplace of his heroes Simon IV Montfort and Simon V Montfort. The king did not return to 1289 -- attesting to the importance he still held for the Montfort name. Upon his return to England, King Edward restored some titles to the Montfort family, including granting York to Amaury Montfort, son of Duke Simon V Montfort and Eleanor of England as well as restoring noble title to the Montforts who had escaped to France and Brittany.

With fresh Basque mercenaries to bolster his army, Edward now focused his attention towards doing to Scotland what he had done to Wales. To try and wedge the Scottish against each other, Edward first used his influence in the choosing of John Balliol as King of Scotland over other contenders in 1292. Then in 1294, Edward demanded that the king provide soldiers for military service against France. Given the long and deep relationship between Scotland and France, this call was rejected and Scotland and England were now at war.

The military success of Edward against the Scots is questionable as battles such as Falkirk (1298) drained his ability to continue constant military pressure on the Scots and make deep inroads into their territory. However, his political and diplomatic campaign produced far more success.

Scottish leaders such as Robert Bruce were more than happy to hand over Scotland to England, in exchange for the same legal recognitions instituted by Edward for English noble families, ensuring the safety of their lands, titles and inheritance. When the Scots murdered Bruce (1304) for his treachery, Edward was enraged and ordered that all of Bruce's noble supporters as well as opponents should be executed.

Edward died in July 1307. He was succeeded by his son Edward II.


Home
People