Medieval England: The Reign of Edward I, 1272–1307
What's covered
Key facts
Government, the rights of King and people
The 1290 Edict of Expulsion expelled all Jews from England under Edward I, one of the earliest expulsions of an entire Jewish community from a European kingdom.
Medieval England: the reign of Edward I, 1272–1307
The Statute of Mortmain (1279) prevented land being transferred to the Church without royal licence, protecting the Crown's feudal revenues from being lost to perpetual ecclesiastical ownership.
Life in medieval towns and villages
The charter that granted self-government rights to a medieval town was a borough charter.
Location and function
The site also held a tithe barn and other, mainly timber-framed, domestic buildings, because a bishop's household needed room for staff, guests and attendants, as well as stables, bakehouses and breweries.
Location and landscape
Wallace and Moray positioned the Scottish army on the high ground of Abbey Craig, about a mile north-east of the bridge, and attacked from there.
People and events
When as many English had crossed as they could deal with, the Scots came down from the high ground and sent spearmen to seize the foot of the bridge, so no passage or retreat remained open.
People, events and change
In the 18th century the ruins were used as a barn, with large archways cut through the north and south walls, and the south-west tower was given a pyramid roof and turned into a dovecote.
Significance and legacy
The film Braveheart shows the battle in an open field with the bridge playing no part, a version not supported by the contemporary chroniclers, though it has kept the battle well known.
Structure and design
The living rooms were on the first floor: a large hall at the east end, divided by an open arcade and reached by outside steps, with private chambers to the west; the ground floor held storage and service rooms.
The contest for power
Edward I's 1297 confrontation with barons and clergy forced him to confirm Magna Carta and accept no taxation without consent, reinforcing limits on royal power.
Practice questions with answers
A taste of the 66 questions in this topic, answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
Why did Edward I's legal statutes such as Quo Warranto matter?
- •They abolished the right of free men to bring complaints against their lord in any court
- ✓They forced barons to prove their feudal privileges by royal charter, strengthening Crown authority over local lords
- •They handed all royal courts to the Pope to settle disputes between English barons and bishops
- •They removed sheriffs from English counties and replaced them with French-speaking justiciars
What were guilds in medieval English towns?
- ✓Associations of craftsmen or merchants who controlled training, set quality standards and protected their trade
- •Bands of armed retainers raised by a lord to defend his town from Welsh and Scottish raids
- •Religious orders of monks who lived inside town walls and supplied charity from the abbey
- •Royal courts that prosecuted serfs who left the lord's manor without licence to seek work
Why do historians call Acton Burnell a fortified manor house rather than a true castle?
- •It was built after Edward I banned new private castles, so it had to be officially recorded as a house
- •It was built without the king's permission, so it could not legally be described as a castle at all
- ✓Its large first-floor windows suggest it was built for comfort and display rather than to resist a serious attack
- •Its walls were built of timber rather than stone, so they could never have held out against siege engines
Why did the loop of the River Forth beside the bridge favour the Scots in 1297?
- •English troops who crossed were caught in thick forest, where Scottish horsemen could ambush them from cover
- •English troops who crossed were forced uphill onto rocky slopes, where Scottish archers could shoot down at them
- ✓English troops who crossed were hemmed in by the river on three sides, with the Scots blocking the only way out
- •The bend slowed the current, so Scottish boats could land spearmen behind the English camp on the south bank
Who was the last native Prince of Wales defeated by Edward I in 1282?
- •Dafydd ap Gruffudd
- ✓Llywelyn ap Gruffudd
- •Owain Glyndŵr
- •Rhys ap Thomas
How did the Scots use the crossing to trap the English army?
- •They attacked before anyone crossed, holding the southern end of the bridge while archers shot from the castle
- •They let the knights cross alone, then pulled the bridge down with ropes to cut them off from the infantry
- ✓They waited until part of the army had crossed, then charged down and seized the northern end of the bridge
- •They waited until the whole army had crossed, then set fire to the bridge so that nobody could escape
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