Carlisle Castle
Carlisle Castle is located on the western end of Hadrian’s Wall at an old border between Scotland and England. Currently a Norman Castle dating to the 12th and 13th centuries, Carlisle was a palace and seat of the British Kingdom of Rheged until it was conquered by William Rufus in 1092. For hundreds of years, even before the arrival of the Roman legions, a British kingdom was centered on Carlisle. Once the Romans conquered Britian, they made where the castle stands today the nucleus of the fort of Luguvalium, which by the middle of the second century was one of the most important military bases in Roman Britain. The British returned after they left and then in turn were conquered by the Normans. Carlisle was besieged both by Robert the Bruce in the Scottish wars for independence and during the Read more…
King Edward I of England
King Edward is often viewed by historians as a strong king–one of the strongest, in fact. The people he conquered might not argue with that–only in equating ‘strong’ with ‘good’. He had many accomplishments during his reign that are viewed as beneficial to England–which from a certain perspective is true. One could argue (and I do) that conquering other peoples, while bringing in wealth in the short term, does long-term damage not only to the oppressed but the oppressor. 1239: born 17 June 1254: married Eleanor of Castille (he was 15, she 9) 1265: Defeated Simon de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham 1270: Joined the 9th crusade to the Holy Land 1274: Returned to England to take up the throne (Henry III, his father, had died in 1272) 1275-1290: Codified existing statues into a more cohesive system of law, Read more…
Wales and Scotland: War, Rebellion, and Edward I
Edward had his eyes on Wales for thirty years, ever since Llywelyn ap Gruffydd’s forces had swept through his lands (held custodially by Edward’s parents and guardians) in 1256. (see my post: https://sarahwoodbury.com/the-rising-of-1256/) Llywelyn’s army marched all the way to Deheubarth that summer and fall, and set the stage of Llywelyn’s twenty year supremacy in Wales. However, it wasn’t until 1267 that Edward’s father, Henry III, acknowledged Llywelyn as the Prince of Wales, a title he inherited from his grandfather–and another ten years after that before things fell apart for the Welsh prince. http://www.castlewales.com/llywel2.html Edward participated in the Ninth Crusade (see my post: https://sarahwoodbury.com/the-ninth-crusade/) and despite the fact that his father died in 1272, he didn’t return to England until 1274, at which point he immediately turned a covetous eye on Wales. Why Wales instead of Scotland? It seems likely Read more…
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