Edward 1 of england biography definition

Edward I, known by many names including, ‘Edward Longshanks’, ‘Hammer of the Scots’ and ‘English Justinian’, reigned as King of England from 1272 until 1307.

Edward I was born in June 1239 at the Palace of Westminster, son of King Henry III and Eleanor of Provence.

His father decided to give him a name which had not been popular amongst the English aristocracy, in honour of Edward the Confessor. During young Edward’s childhood, poor health was a massive concern, nevertheless as an adult he reached a rather imposing six foot two inches in height, which was extremely rare for the time and earned him the nickname “Longshanks”, meaning “long legs”.

When Edward was fourteen years of age, his father made the decision, for political reasons, to arrange a marriage between his son and thirteen year old Eleanor, the half-sister of King Alfonso X of Castile.

The motivation behind this arrangement was induced by fears of a Castilian invasion of