Edward I (17 June 1239–7 July 1307), also Longshanks (meaning 'long legs') and the Hammer of the Scots, was a Plantagenet King of England. He became king on 21 November 1272, until his death in 1307. His mother was Queen Eleanor of Provence and his father was King Henry III of England. As a younger man, Edward fought against Simon de Montfort in defence of his father's crown. He went on a Crusade, and his father died as Edward was on his way back. As a ruler, he improved the laws and made Parliament regular, and more important. He conquered Wales, and subdued the Welsh by brutal policies. He was determined to control Scotland through puppet kings and just managed to do it during his lifetime. He expelled the Jewish people from England.
Young Edward
Edward was born at Westminster in June 1239 to the English King Henry III and his wife, the French noblewoman and English Queen Eleanor of Provence. The baby Edward and was named after an earlier king, Edward the Confessor, who happened to be a personal hero of his father King Henry The boy Edward would have a good education, being taught in Latin and French which were the most used languages in Europe at the time.
In 1254, English fears of a Castilian invasion of the English province of Gascony induced Edward's father to arrange a marriage between his 15-year-old son and the 13 year-old Eleanor, the half-sister of King Alfonso X of Castile.
Eleanor and Edward were married on 1 November 1254 in Castile. As part of the marriage agreement, the young prince got grants of land worth 15,000 marks a year. Though the endowments King Henry made were sizable, they offered Edward little independence. He had received Gascony as early as 1249, but Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, as royal lieutenant, drew the income. In practice, Edward derived neither authority nor revenue from this province. The grant he received in 1254 included most of Ireland, and much land in Wales and England, including the earldom of Chester, but the king kept control over the land, particularly in Ireland, so Edward's power was limited there as well, and the king got most of the income from those lands.
Civil war
The years 1264–1267 saw the conflict known as the Second Barons' War, in which baronial forces led by Simon de Montfort fought against those who remained loyal to the king. The first scene of battle was the city of Gloucester, which Edward, now a young man who could participate in battles, managed to retake from the enemy. When Robert de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, came to the assistance of the rebels, Edward negotiated a truce with the earl, the terms of which he later broke. Edward then captured Northampton from de Montfort's son, also Simon. The baronial and royalist forces finally met at the Battle of Lewes, on 14 May 1264. Edward, commanding the right wing, performed well, and soon defeated the London contingent of de Montfort's forces. Unwisely, however, he followed the scattered enemy in pursuit, and on his return found the rest of the royal army defeated. By the agreement known as the Mise of Lewes, Edward and his cousin Henry of Almain were given up as prisoners to de Montfort.
Edward remained in captivity until March, and even after his release he was kept under strict surveillance. Meanwhile, de Montfort used his victory to set up a de facto government. He even summoned the Parliament of 1265, known as de Montfort's Parliament.
Then, on 28 May 1265, Edward managed to escape his custodians and joined up with the Earl of Gloucester, who had recently defected to the king's side. Montfort's support was now dwindling, and Edward retook Worcester and Gloucester with relatively little effort. Meanwhile, Montfort had made an alliance with Llywelyn and started moving east to join forces with his son Simon.
Edward managed to make a surprise attack at Kenilworth Castle, before moving on to cut off the earl of Leicester.
The two forces then met at the second great encounter of the Barons' War the Battle of Evesham, on 4 August 1265. Montfort stood little chance against the superior royal forces, and after his defeat he was killed and mutilated on the field.