Edward I was the fifth King of England of the House of Plantagenet.

Although Henry III's reign is remembered for the Civil War led by Montfort, it must be remembered that he had ruled for nearly sixty years and it was only in the last decade of his reign that the troubles errupted. By the standards of the times his reign was one of peace and prosperity for England, so much so that when he died in 1272, Edward, his son and successor was far from England crusading and yet the government of the realm continued peacefully until his return to English soil.

The struggle between crown and barons continued throughout Edward's reign and, to combat it, he reformed both the law and the Great Council - the latter into a parliament which remained unaltered in its basic form for some five hundred years. In law, Edward attempted to replace certainty in those areas of law where there were uncertainty and to do so in such a manner that the interpretation favoured the crown against the barons.

These arrangements were settled in the Model Parliament called to sit in 1295 and so-called because this arrangement remained unchanged for some five hundred years. The elected representatives of the shire were collectively called the commons.

Subduindg Sctoland, however, was a task of a much different order; not only was there less legal pretext for doing so, but Scotland physically a far larger and more challenging country to deal with. Two ooportunities presented themselves to Edward on the death of Alexander III of Scotland and later his infant daughter Margaret, when the Scottish nobles (many of whom were his vassals in respect of lands which they also held in England) asked him to arbitrate between rival claimants to the Scottish crown.

Edward I agreed to arbitrate between the contenders but only on condition that, previous Scottish Kings having done homage to the Kings of England, the successful candidate for the Scottish Crown must do likewise. Understanding Edward's claim to suzerianty over Scotland to be a formality, the Scots agreed and the decision fell in favour of John Baliol.

The Scots soon found to their surprise that Edward I had intended his claim as no formality but expected a very real acceptance of his authority over Scotland and John Baliol rebelled. Baliol's revolt was crushed by Edward who resumed the Scottish Crown as his right by forfeit of his vassal's rebellion. The lands of Baliol's supporters were also forfeited and English officers and garrisons were sent to Scotland were they behaved as rulers of a vanquished foe, much as the Normans had done following their conquest of England in 1066.

With no king to lead them, the Scots followed William Wallace who raised an army of followers and, for a time, drove the English from Sctoland. Edward vowed vengeance for the revolt and Wallace's army was overwhelmed by the skill of the English archers at the battle of Falkirk. Wallace himself was taken to England as a captive to die a traitor's death. The Scots again found themselves under the harsh rule of the English.

Edward I died of dysentery on July 7th, 1307, at Burgh on the Sands near Carlisle. He was aged 68.

Robert Bruce, grandson of the claimant to the Scottish throne, committed a murder for which he could have no hope of pardon and made his own bid to liberate Scotland from the grip of the English and the Scottish crown which had been forfeited by Baliol. The aged Edward I assembled a great host to crush the new rebellion but died before he could reach Scotland and his army of invasion was disbanded. He was succeeded to the throne by his son as Edward II.