Edward I Plantagenet King of England
Alias:<ALIA> /Longshanks/
Reign 1272-1307
Born: 17 June 1239 at the Palace ofWestminster
Died: 7 July 1307 at Burgh-on-Sands, Cumberland
Buried: Westminster Abbey, Middlesex
Crowned: 19 August 1274 at Westminster Abbey, Middlesex
Married: (1st) October 1254 at Las Huelgas, Castile; (2nd) 10 September
1299at Canterbury Cathedral
Spouse: (1st) Eleanor daughter of Ferdinand III, Kingof of Castile &
Leon; (2nd) Margaret daughter of Philip III, King of France
Offspring: (1st) Eleanor, Joan, John, Henry, Julian (alias Katherine),
Joan,Alfonso, Margaret, Berengaria, Mary, Alice, Elizabeth, Edward,
Beatrice & Blanche; (2nd) Thomas, Edmund & Eleanor; (Illegitimate)
supposedly one
Contemporaries: Robert Burnell (Chancellor, 1272-1288); Alexander III
(King of Scotland, 1249-1286); Robert Bruce; William Wallace; Philip IV
(King of France, 1285-1314); Llywelyn ap Gruffydd
Edward I, nicknamed "Longshanks" due to his great height and stature, was
perhaps the most successful of the medieval monarchs. The first twenty
years of his reign marked a high point of cooperation between crown and
community. In these years, Edward made great strides in reforming
government, consolidating territory, and defining foreign policy. He
possessed the strength his father lacked and reasserted royal
prerogative. Edward fathered many children as well: sixteen by Eleanor
of Castile before her death in 1290, and three more by Margaret.
Edward held to the concept of community, and although at times
unscrupulously aggressive, ruled with the general welfare of his subjects
in mind. He perceived the crown as judge of the proper course of action
for the realm and its chief legislator; royal authority was granted by
law and should be fully utilized for the public good, but that same law
also granted protection to the king's subjects. A king should rule with
the advice and consent of those whose rights were in question. The level
of interaction between king and subject allowed Edward considerable
leeway in achieving his goals.
Edward I added to the bureaucracy initiated by Henry II to increase his
effectiveness as sovereign. He expanded the administration into four
principal parts: the Chancery, the Exchequer, the Household,and the
Council. The Chancery researched and created legal documents while the
Exchequer received and issued money, scrutinized the accounts of local
officials, and kept financial records. These two departments operated
withinthe king's authority but independently from his personal rule,
prompting Edward to follow the practice of earlier kings in developing
the Household, a mobile court of clerks and advisers that traveled with
the king. The King's Council was the most vital segment of the four. It
consisted of his principal ministers, trusted judges and clerks, a select
group of magnates, and also followed the king. The Council dealt with
matters of great importance to the realm and acted as a court for cases
of national importance.
Edward's forays into the refinement of law and justice had important
consequences in decreasing feudal practice. The Statute of Gloucester
(1278) curbed expansion of largeprivate holdings and established the
principle that all private franchises were delegated by, and subordinate
to, the crown. Royal jurisdiction became supreme: the Exchequer
developed a court to hear financial disputes, the Courtof Common Pleas
arose to hear property disputes, and the Court of the King'sBench
addressed criminal cases in which the king had a vested interest. Other
statutes prohibited vassals from giving their lands to the church,
encouraged primogeniture, and established the king as the sole person who
could make a man his feudal vassal. In essence, Edward set the stage for
land to become an article of commerce.
Edward concentrated on an aggressive foreign policy. A major campaign to
control Llywelyn ap Gru
Eleanor Berenger Princess of Castile
Alias:<ALIA> Countess /de Ponthieu/
King of France Philippe IV Capet
Alias:<ALIA> The Fair of /France/
Alias:<ALIA> /Joan/
GIVN Juana (Jeanne) Princess
SURN Navarre
NSFX [Queen of France
AFN 8XJH-28
DATE 7 MAY 2000
TIME 21:56:56
Ist Earl of March Roger De Mortimer
He was the 1st EARL OF MARCH, opposed EDWARD 2ND and the Despencers in Wars of 1321-22. Escaped to France where Queen ISABELLA became his
mistress. They invaded England and forced EDWARD 2ND to abdicate (1326).
Virtually ruled England until EDWARD 3RD had him seized, tried, and
executed.Hung by order of Edward III, King of England
Known as the She-Wolf of France[91502.ftw]
Known as the She-Wolf of FranceGIVN Isabelle Princess of
SURN France
NSFX [Queen of Englan
AFN 8XJD-8V
DATE 7 MAY 2000
TIME 11:45:20
Known as the She-Wolf of France[91502.ftw]
Known as the She-Wolf of FranceGIVN Isabelle Princess of
SURN France
NSFX [Queen of Englan
AFN 8XJD-8V
DATE 7 MAY 2000
TIME 11:45:20
Eudes IV De Burgundy Duke of Burgundy
Alias:<ALIA> King of /Thessalonica/
Alias:<ALIA> Of Artois /Joan/
John De Beaufort Marquis of Dorset
Alias:<ALIA> 1st Earl of /Somerset/, Fairborn
Marquess of Dorset and Beaufort[91502.ftw]
Marquess of Dorset and Beaufort
Alias:<ALIA> of /Gaunt/
John of Gaunt (1340-1399)
Born: March 1340 at St. Bavon Abbey, Ghent, Flanders
Earl of Richmond
Earl of Lancaster
Earl of Derby
Earl of Lincoln
Earl of Leicester
Duke of Lancaster
King of Castile & Leon
Died: 3rd February 1399 at Leicester Castle, Leicestershire
This prince, the fourth son of King Edward III and Queen Philippa, was
born at Ghent (or Gaunt)in Flanders, in 1340. In his infancy, he was
created Earl of Richmond and, by that title, admitted into the Order of
the Garter upon the death of ThomasHolland, Earl of Kent, one of the
original knights. In 1359, at Reading Abbey(Berks), he married Blanche,
the younger of the two daughters and co-heirs of Henry, Duke of
Lancaster, and upon the death of his father-in-law, in 1361,he was
advanced to that Dukedom. He held also, in right of his wife, the
Earldoms of Derby, Lincoln and Leicester, and the high office of Steward
of England.
Blanche, dying in 1369, the ambition of the Duke - who had taken an
active part in the war carried on by the his brother, Black Prince, for
the restoration of Peter, King of Castile & Leon - induced him to direct
his viewstowards Constance, the elder of the two daughters of that
monarch, then lately slain by his illegitimate brother, Henry of
Transtamare, his successor under the title of Henry II. In 1372, the Duke
married this princess and thus assumed the regal style of those kingdoms.
These titular honours were ascribed to him in the writs of summons to
Parliament from that year until 1386, when,by an arrangement with King
John I of Castile & Leon, the son and successor of Henry, Catherine, the
only daughter of the Duke of Lancaster by Constance,was betrothed to
Henry, Prince of Asturias, his heir-apparent, and the crownsettled upon
the issue of that alliance.
Although John of Gaunt had been engaged in warlike enterprises from his
earliest years, yet his martial achievements did not increase the lustre
of British glory or secure for himself the character of a great
commander. In three expeditions into France, in 1369, 1370 and 1373, he
gained no laurels and the peculiar misfortunes which attendedthe last,
when a considerable number of his followers perished amongst the
mountains of Auvergne, rendered him very unpopular on his return to
England in July 1374. All Guienne and Gascony, with the exception of the
towns of Bordeaux and Bayonne, had fallen from their allegiance and a
suspension of hostilities was negotiated at Bruges, by the Duke and
others, with the Duke of Anjou, before the expiration of that year.
After the death of the Black Prince, in1376, the Duke of Lancaster
acquired a marked ascendency in the councils ofthe infirm monarch, his
father. His administration of public affairs is said,furthermore, to
have been stained by several acts of violence. On the 16th June 1386, "at
the palace of John of Gaunt, King of Castile & Leon, in the convent of
the Friars Carmelites, at Plymouth" (where he was then sojourning prior
to his embarkation for Spain), he gave his remarkable testimony in favour
of the right of Sir Richard Scrope to the arms borne by him in the
celebrated controversy between Scrope and Sir Robert Grosvenor. John
continued to govern the Kingdom during the minority of his nephew,
Richard II, by whom, in 1389, he was created Duke of Aquitaine. His power
increasing, he proffered, inopen parliament, a claim to the succession
for his son, Henry Bolingbroke (later King Henry IV), as son to Blanche,
great-grandaughter of Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster, whom, he
pretended, had been elder brother to King Edward I, but set aside on
account of his deformity. The weakness of this pretension, which, if
established, would have been fatal to the reigning monarch, was opposed,
without difficulty, by Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, who, as sonand
heir of Philippa, the daughter and heir of
Edward I Plantagenet King of England
Alias:<ALIA> /Longshanks/
Reign 1272-1307
Born: 17 June 1239 at the Palace ofWestminster
Died: 7 July 1307 at Burgh-on-Sands, Cumberland
Buried: Westminster Abbey, Middlesex
Crowned: 19 August 1274 at Westminster Abbey, Middlesex
Married: (1st) October 1254 at Las Huelgas, Castile; (2nd) 10 September
1299at Canterbury Cathedral
Spouse: (1st) Eleanor daughter of Ferdinand III, Kingof of Castile &
Leon; (2nd) Margaret daughter of Philip III, King of France
Offspring: (1st) Eleanor, Joan, John, Henry, Julian (alias Katherine),
Joan,Alfonso, Margaret, Berengaria, Mary, Alice, Elizabeth, Edward,
Beatrice & Blanche; (2nd) Thomas, Edmund & Eleanor; (Illegitimate)
supposedly one
Contemporaries: Robert Burnell (Chancellor, 1272-1288); Alexander III
(King of Scotland, 1249-1286); Robert Bruce; William Wallace; Philip IV
(King of France, 1285-1314); Llywelyn ap Gruffydd
Edward I, nicknamed "Longshanks" due to his great height and stature, was
perhaps the most successful of the medieval monarchs. The first twenty
years of his reign marked a high point of cooperation between crown and
community. In these years, Edward made great strides in reforming
government, consolidating territory, and defining foreign policy. He
possessed the strength his father lacked and reasserted royal
prerogative. Edward fathered many children as well: sixteen by Eleanor
of Castile before her death in 1290, and three more by Margaret.
Edward held to the concept of community, and although at times
unscrupulously aggressive, ruled with the general welfare of his subjects
in mind. He perceived the crown as judge of the proper course of action
for the realm and its chief legislator; royal authority was granted by
law and should be fully utilized for the public good, but that same law
also granted protection to the king's subjects. A king should rule with
the advice and consent of those whose rights were in question. The level
of interaction between king and subject allowed Edward considerable
leeway in achieving his goals.
Edward I added to the bureaucracy initiated by Henry II to increase his
effectiveness as sovereign. He expanded the administration into four
principal parts: the Chancery, the Exchequer, the Household,and the
Council. The Chancery researched and created legal documents while the
Exchequer received and issued money, scrutinized the accounts of local
officials, and kept financial records. These two departments operated
withinthe king's authority but independently from his personal rule,
prompting Edward to follow the practice of earlier kings in developing
the Household, a mobile court of clerks and advisers that traveled with
the king. The King's Council was the most vital segment of the four. It
consisted of his principal ministers, trusted judges and clerks, a select
group of magnates, and also followed the king. The Council dealt with
matters of great importance to the realm and acted as a court for cases
of national importance.
Edward's forays into the refinement of law and justice had important
consequences in decreasing feudal practice. The Statute of Gloucester
(1278) curbed expansion of largeprivate holdings and established the
principle that all private franchises were delegated by, and subordinate
to, the crown. Royal jurisdiction became supreme: the Exchequer
developed a court to hear financial disputes, the Courtof Common Pleas
arose to hear property disputes, and the Court of the King'sBench
addressed criminal cases in which the king had a vested interest. Other
statutes prohibited vassals from giving their lands to the church,
encouraged primogeniture, and established the king as the sole person who
could make a man his feudal vassal. In essence, Edward set the stage for
land to become an article of commerce.
Edward concentrated on an aggressive foreign policy. A major campaign to
control Llywelyn ap Gru
Ferdinand III Alfonsez De Castile King of Spain and Leon
In 1217 Ferdinand's mother, Berengaria, renounced her title to the
Castilianthrone in favor of her son. Alfonso, who had himself expected
to acquire Castile, was angered at his wife's action, and, aided by a
group of Castilian nobles favorable to his claim, made war upon his newly
crowned son. Ferdinand, however, with the wise counsel of his mother,
proved more than a military match for Alfonso, who at length was forced
to abandon his plan of conquering Castile.
Through the good offices of Berengaria, Ferdinand was able to effect the
peaceful union of Leon and Castile upon the death of his father in 1230.
Ferdinand devoted his energies to prosecuting the war against the Moors,
conquering Cordoba in 1236 and Seville in 1248. He was rigorous in his
suppressionof the heretical Albigenses, a fact largely responsible for
his canonizationmore than two centuries later. In 1242 Ferdinand
reestablished at Salamancathe university originally founded by his
grandfather.
He was a just ruler, frequently pardoning former offenders to his throne.
Feast day: May30
Patron: of engineers
Ferdinand III (of Castile and León)
Ferdinand III (of Castileand León), called The Saint (1199-1252), king
of Castile (1217-52) and of León (1230-52); he was the son of King
Alfonso IX of León and Castile. In 1217 Ferdinand's mother, Berengaria,
renounced her title to the Castilian throne infavor of her son. Alfonso,
who had himself expected to acquire Castile, wasangered at his wife's
action, and, aided by a group of Castilian nobles favorable to his claim,
made war upon his newly crowned son. Ferdinand, however, with the wise
counsel of his mother, proved more than a military match for Alfonso, who
at length was forced to abandon his plan of conquering Castile. Through
the good offices of Berengaria, Ferdinand was able to effect the peaceful
union of León and Castile upon the death of his father in 1230. Ferdinand
devoted his energies to prosecuting the war against the Moors, conquering
Córdoba in 1236 and Seville in 1248. He was rigorous in his suppression
of theheretical Albigenses, a fact largely responsible for his
canonization more than two centuries later. In 1242 Ferdinand
reestablished at Salamanca the university originally founded by his
grandfather.
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