The death of Edward I.

 

 

‘Although stricken with illness, Edward rode astride a horse, declining to be borne upon a litter!

With Robert Bruce and the Scots he was both extremely angry and very, very bitter!’

Oh! Oh! How the old king must have thundered against the Scottish upstart! Bruce’s unworthy ambitions had caused untold disruption, and a tranquil old age for Edward with his much younger wife at Westminster was now in jeopardy. Another fly in the ointment was the heir to the throne, his feckless son, Edward, young Ned. The only thing that King Edward and Robert Bruce could agree upon, was that the Prince of Wales was a most unimpressive figure with little in the way of political cunning or military ability. There had been times when the king had despaired of his son and heir.

Edward I and Prince Edward, the Prince of Wales.

Nevertheless, King Edward in his twilight days had hoped to be enjoying those ‘special years’ as ruler of the whole of Great Britain. It was his great desire to put all of the military unpleasantness behind him.

‘Oh! to be able to bask in old age at the palace at Westminster as Britain’s emperor in all my kingly glory!

Now the actions of that foul Jock, Bobby Bruce, has meant that events may well unfold as a very different story!’

Indeed, events did exactly that. Edward was never to see Scotland or Westminster ever again. King Edward died on July 7th at Burgh-by-Sands in Cumberland. The old warrior must have realized that the end was nigh, so how would he have viewed the results of his exertions during his long reign as king?

Wales had been brought under the jurisdiction of the English crown, but Scotland had managed to avoid that particular fate. This unpalatable fact clearly caused the king immense frustration.

Edward is remembered as a great lawmaker, and he has been referred to as the ‘Father of parliament’. The king summoned more parliaments than any of his predecessors and certainly made it into a more representative institution. The ‘Model parliament’ of 1295 brought together the nobles, the clergy, the shires and the towns in a manner far more inclusive than hitherto.

A later image of King Edward presiding over parliament.

Edward did not intend to concede power to the people but nonetheless, this constituted an important step in the development of the modern parliament.

Edward’s treatment of the Jewish people has quite rightly left a foul taste in modern mouths, but in this respect he was a creature of his times. Anti-Semitism was rife, not only in England, but across Christendom generally.

It is the duty of every king to beget an heir to carry the burden of kingship after his own death. Edward was only too well aware of the low calibre of the son he had begotten, and this would undoubtedly have been the source of more than a little unease to him as he lay on his deathbed.