Edward I: A New King Arthur? PDF
Preview Edward I: A New King Arthur?
Andy King EDWARD I A New King Arthur? Contents Preface Note on the Text Genealogical Table EDWARD I Prologue: A European King 1. Lion or Leopard? Apprenticeship in Civil War 2. King and Reformer: Edward’s Government 3. Britain and France: Overlordship and War 4. Edward’s Kingship: Patronage, Punishment and Political Theatre Conclusion: A Great King? Illustrations Appendix: Surviving Buildings Associated with Edward I Further Reading Notes Picture Credits Acknowledgements Follow Penguin Penguin Monarchs THE HOUSES OF WESSEX AND DENMARK Athelstan Tom Holland Aethelred the Unready Richard Abels Cnut Ryan Lavelle Edward the Confessor James Campbell THE HOUSES OF NORMANDY, BLOIS AND ANJOU William I Marc Morris William II John Gillingham Henry I Edmund King Stephen Carl Watkins Henry II Richard Barber Richard I Thomas Asbridge John Nicholas Vincent THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET Henry III Stephen Church Edward I Andy King Edward II Christopher Given-Wilson Edward III Jonathan Sumption Richard II Laura Ashe THE HOUSES OF LANCASTER AND YORK Henry IV Catherine Nall Henry V Anne Curry Henry VI James Ross Edward IV A. J. Pollard Edward V Thomas Penn Richard III Rosemary Horrox THE HOUSE OF TUDOR Henry VII Sean Cunningham Henry VIII John Guy Edward VI Stephen Alford Mary I John Edwards Elizabeth I Helen Castor THE HOUSE OF STUART James I Thomas Cogswell Charles I Mark Kishlansky [Cromwell David Horspool] Charles II Clare Jackson James II David Womersley William III & Mary II Jonathan Keates Anne Richard Hewlings THE HOUSE OF HANOVER George I Tim Blanning George II Norman Davies George III Amanda Foreman George IV Stella Tillyard William IV Roger Knight Victoria Jane Ridley THE HOUSES OF SAXE-COBURG & GOTHA AND WINDSOR Edward VII Richard Davenport-Hines George V David Cannadine Edward VIII Piers Brendon George VI Philip Ziegler Elizabeth II Douglas Hurd To Claire, my Clio Preface ‘If ever there was a national hero, it was Edward of England.’1 So wrote Edward Jenks in his hagiography of Edward I, published in the ‘Heroes of the Nations’ series in 1902. Today, however, the king is perhaps best known as the cold-hearted, ruthless, warmongering tyrant (and defenestrator of Piers Gaveston) portrayed by Patrick McGooghan in that epic Hollywood fantasy Braveheart (1995). It has become a cliché for the authors of books about medieval kings to start by pointing out that it is scarcely possible to write a biography of their subject, in the modern sense of the genre. Clichéd it may be, but largely true, for there is scant evidence to shed light on the private motivations behind a king’s public deeds. Indeed, it is not always possible to distinguish between what was done by the king himself, what was done at the king’s direct order, and what was done by his officials acting in his name (possibly without his knowledge). Even the king’s own words were frequently written up after the event by royal officials with only general reference to what he actually said, or were entirely invented by imaginative chroniclers, who set out to provide a moral or poetic – rather than a strictly historical – truth. But if Edward himself remains something of an enigma, we know a great deal about his reign. At this time, England was perhaps the most bureaucratic government in Western Christendom; vast quantities of its records, set down on acres of dried sheepskin, are still preserved at The National Archives. And notwithstanding their literary flourishes, most of the chronicle accounts are, in fact, very well informed. Edward remains one of England’s more controversial kings, but he was very much a prince of his time, ruling in accordance with contemporary moral and political precepts. Undoubtedly a covetous and ruthless man, he nevertheless acted according to his lights; this book attempts to explain those lights. Note on the Text MONEY Medieval England had a currency based on the Carolingian French denominations of pounds, shillings and pence. Most coinage was minted as silver pennies. 1 pound (£) = 20 shillings (s) = 240 pennies (d) 1s = 12d The mark, used as a unit of account, equalled two-thirds of a pound 1 mark = 13s 4d It is difficult to make meaningful comparisons with modern prices, but at this time £5 was considered a reasonable annual salary for a clerk; those with an annual income of £40 were considered sufficiently wealthy that they ought to take up knighthood; and an annual income of £1,000 was considered sufficient to maintain the estate of an earl. In the late thirteenth century, England’s total money supply was perhaps not much more than £1 million. The crown’s ordinary annual income was £26,828 3s 9¼d, according to a somewhat spuriously precise Exchequer estimate of 1284. GASCONY AND AQUITAINE Gascony is a region of south-west France centred on Bordeaux. From 1154 until 1450, the kings of England ruled Gascony as dukes of Aquitaine. Technically, Gascony was a lordship within the larger duchy of Aquitaine, but in practice the English referred to Gascony and Aquitaine interchangeably.
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