The reign of Edward I was one of the most important of medieval England, but the king's activities and achievements have not always received the full attention they deserve. The essays collected here offer fresh insights into Edward's own personality as well as developments in law, governance, war and culture. Edward the man emerges in chapters on his early life, his piety and his family, while the administrator king is discussed in evaluations of his two great ministers, his handling of the crucial issue of law and order and the way he managed the realm from abroad through his correspondence. Edward's nobles, both in England and Scotland, naturally appear as vital to understanding the reign, while his rule is set in a British and European context. Overall, the book aims to move the debate on the reign beyond K.B. McFarlane's hugely influential judgement that "Edward I preferred masterfulness to the arts of political management", by highlighting his skills -- and failings -- as a politician and manager.
ANDREW M. SPENCER Is Senior Tutor at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge; ANDY KING is a Lecturer in Medieval History, University of Southampton.
Contributors: Rod Billaud, Michael Brown, Caroline Burt, Charles Farris, Richard Huscroft, Andy King, Lars Kjaer, Kathleen Neal, Louise J. Wilkinson
