Episode Details

Edward I built the greatest castle network in medieval Europe, codified English common law, expelled the Jews from England, and crushed Wales so thoroughly that he gave the conquered nation a prince from his own family. He was chivalric, devout, and utterly merciless — a combination his enemies understood too late.

This episode traces Edward from the civil wars of his father's reign through the conquest of Wales, the Scottish wars, and the legal reforms that shaped English governance for centuries.

• He built a network of castles in Wales that remains one of the greatest medieval engineering achievements
• He expelled all Jews from England in 1290, and they were not formally readmitted for over 350 years
• He codified English common law through statutes that remained in force for centuries
• He died marching north to fight Robert the Bruce and ordered his bones carried into battle