Edward I: Legal and Constitutional Developments

Even more important than Edward's military exploits were the legal and constitutional developments of his reign; Edward has been called the English Justinian. He asserted the judicial supremacy of the crown by his quo warranto proceedings (inquiries to determine “by what warrant” private jurisdictions were held), which culminated in the statutes of Gloucester (1278) and of Quo Warranto (1290). By his law of 1285, Circumspecte agatis, he forced church courts to confine themselves to ecclesiastical cases. His three statutes of Westminster (1275, 1285, 1290; see Westminster, Statutes of) formulated the advances of a century of common law and supplemented them.

By his Statute of Mortmain (1279), Edward prohibited grants of land to the church without the king's permission. In turn the English clergy, backed by Pope Boniface VIII's bull Clericis laicos (1296), refused in 1297 to contribute to Edward's campaign against the French until the king boldly denied protection to them and their goods and even threatened to confiscate all church property. This action was mainly prompted by his need for funds, as was his expulsion (1290) of the Jews from England (which enabled him to seize their property). His expensive wars also necessitated the frequent summoning of Parliament to grant taxes. The so-called Model Parliament of 1295 included representatives of the shires, boroughs, and lesser clergy, but the composition of Edward's parliaments varied.

The increasing resistance of the country to heavy taxation and the refusal of many barons to fight in France in 1297 forced Edward to issue a confirmation of the charters of liberties, including the Magna Carta and those signed by Henry III. The king also promised that he would collect the nonfeudal forms of taxation only with the consent of Parliament. He did not keep this promise, however, and the last years of his reign were marked by increasing baronial opposition to the crown. This opposition and the war with Scotland proved to be a disastrous legacy for his son and successor, Edward II.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Legal and Constitutional Developments
• Military Exploits
• Early Life
• Bibliography

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