Becoming earl in
Staffordshire, one of the properties Edmund retained from the disgraced baron,
Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby On 26 October 1265, Edmund became the
Earl of Leicester when his father, King
Henry III of England, granted him the title and associated lands, following the re-creation of the earldom. Additionally, he received all the lands that had belonged to
Nicholas Segrave, 1st Baron Segrave, a rebel baron. Once the king's victory over the barons was assured, Edmund returned to England on 30 October 1265. As a political refugee, he harboured a desire for revenge against the barons. Alongside his brother
Edward, Edmund focused on suppressing the rebel barons known as the "disinherited", whose lands had been confiscated by the royal government. On 6 December of the same year, Edmund gained control of the castles of
Cardigan and
Carmarthen, and on 8 January 1266, he acquired the demesnes of
Dilwyn,
Lugwardine,
Marden,
Minsterworth and
Rodley. in
Warwickshire. Edmund received Kenilworth Castle following the
Dictum of Kenilworth, which was signed to break the six-month siege of the castle by Edmund, his brother
Edward, and his father King
Henry III of England.On 28 June of the same year, Edmund acquired the forfeited estates of
Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby, whose family had held a significant feudatory since the time of
Stephen, King of England. During the
Second Barons' War, Robert was seen as an unreliable and violent ally to the barons, as he failed to appear promptly at the
Battle of Lewes. Moreover, Robert had engaged in indiscriminate raids on lands belonging to his rival, Edward. As a result,
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, imprisoned him, fearing his excessive power. After receiving a pardon from Henry, Robert rebelled once again and was captured following his defeat at the
Battle of Chesterfield on 15 May of that year. Edmund compelled Robert to agree that he would regain his estates upon payment of an exceedingly hefty sum, fully aware that Robert would be unable to afford such a penalty. This allowed Edmund to retain control of Robert's estates. When Edward ascended to the throne, he granted Robert's former domain of
Chartley Castle to Edmund on 26 July 1276 and absolved Edmund from the debts owed by Robert and his ancestors on 5 May 1277. During the summer of 1266, Edmund led an army in
Warwick to counter the raids carried out by the rebels occupying
Kenilworth Castle. The Kenilworth garrison attempted to attack Warwick, but Edmund's forces successfully repelled them back to the castle. Subsequently, the royal army
besieged Kenilworth Castle, with Edmund commanding one of the four divisions alongside Henry and Edward. The siege concluded on 13 December with the implementation of the
Dictum of Kenilworth, which brought peace between the king and the baronial forces by 31 October. Either in the same month or the following year, Edmund acquired Kenilworth Castle. Since Prince
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd of the Welsh
Kingdom of Gwynedd was an ally of the barons, Henry dispatched Edmund, along with his
Justiciar,
Robert Walerand, on a diplomatic mission to negotiate peace with the prince on 21 February 1267. However, Llywelyn refused to make peace with the English until September, when Henry threatened to invade Gwynedd. Edmund continued his diplomatic activities by attending the knighting ceremony of his cousin
Philip, conducted by his uncle King
Louis IX of France, in Paris on 4 June. During his visit, he received the hospitality of
Robert II, Count of Artois, and Robert's sister
Blanche of Artois. in
Monmouthshire in Wales, one of the
Three Castles, which Edmund received from his brother
Edward. On 30 June 1267, Edmund became the
Earl of Lancaster following the title's creation by Henry, and he was granted the royal
demesne lands in
Lancashire, along with the lordships of
Lancaster,
Newcastle-under-Lyme and
Pickering. Edmund was also earl of
Leicester and later
Derby, though he is mostly associated with the earldom of Lancaster. On the same day, Edward granted Edmund the
Three Castles and
Monmouth Castle in Wales. The following year, Henry appointed Edmund as the Constable of
Leicester Castle, a royal possession held in the king's name. The conclusion of the Second Barons' War marked a significant turning point in Edmund's life. Although he had been disappointed by losing the
Sicilian crown to his uncle
Charles I of Anjou, he had now received a powerful earldom that established the
Lancastrian branch of the
Plantagenet dynasty. By this time, Edmund had gained a reputation as a ruthless and formidable warrior. With these acquisitions, he became the most influential peer in England. Even upon becoming king, Edward was not worried about Edmund's powerful position or the affairs of most of the baronage because of Edmund's unwavering loyalty to him.
First marriage and crusading (19th-century reproduction by
Henri d'Arbois de Jubainville)In the
Holy Land, under the leadership of the
Baibars, the
Mamluks captured the city of
Antioch, the last remnant of the
principality that bears its namesake. The fall of the city led the papal legate of England, Ottobuono—the future
Pope Adrian V—to preach for a new crusade. In an elaborate ceremony on 24 June 1268, Edmund pledged himself to undertake a crusade alongside his elder brother
Edward and their cousin
Henry of Almain. However, after years of civil war, the English crown had depleted its funds and could not support a crusade. Edward was forced to borrow a loan from his uncle, King
Louis IX of France, who was
organizing a large crusader force with the intent of invading
Tunis. Despite being in a better position with his newly received earldom, Edmund hastened to marry a wealthy lady to fund the crusade. On 20 November 1268, King
Henry III of England, Edmund's father, arranged a marriage between Edmund and the recently widowed
Isabel de Forz, 8th Countess of Devon. Isabel was a wealthy countess, holding the earldoms of
Devon and
Aumale, as well as the lordships of
Holderness and the
Isle of Wight. However, Edmund wanted to ensure the security of his inheritance and decided to marry Isabel's daughter,
Aveline de Forz, Countess of Aumale. The marriage between Edmund and Aveline was arranged by Edmund's mother,
Eleanor of Provence. On 8 or 9 April 1269, Edmund married 10-year-old Aveline, who was 14 years his junior, in
Westminster Abbey; the marriage could not be consummated until she turned 14. During 1269, Edmund and his brother Edward prepared for the crusade, although they also participated in carrying the remains of
Edward the Confessor to
Westminster Abbey following the partial completion of the church's reconstruction by Henry on 13 October 1269. In addition, Edmund assumed the title of
Earl of Derby because
Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby, was unable to fulfill his obligations. As a result, Edmund merged the title and estates of the Earldom with his Earldoms of
Leicester and
Lancaster. In the summer of 1270, Edmund and Edward were delayed in joining Louis on the crusade because their father was indecisive about participating. Upon the advice of his councilors, Henry chose to remain in England, while Edward led the first group of English crusaders, setting sail from
Dover on 20 August that year. The crusaders' plans failed when an epidemic broke out in their camp, killing Louis on 25 August. Edward arrived at Tunis on 10 November 1270, but it was too late to engage in battle due to the
Treaty of Tunis, which had been signed on 30 October. As a result, most of the crusaders returned home. Between 25 February and 4 March 1271, Edmund embarked for the
Holy Land, leaving his mother Eleanor in charge of his estates. We know a little of Edmund’s route from the Savoyard archives in Turin which places Edmund in
Saint-Georges-d'Espéranche in August 1271. Edmund was the guest of his maternal great uncle
Philip I, Count of Savoy and likely met his master mason
James of Saint George who would soon build castles in Wales for Edward. This is the first meeting of royal family with their future castle builder. Meanwhile, Edward had already set off on a
crusade to
Palestine to support
Bohemund VI of Antioch, and arrived in Acre on 9 May 1271. In September 1271, Edmund arrived with a larger army, reinforced by King
Hugh III of Cyprus, to assist his brother. Despite some successes, such as the raid on
Qaqun—where the crusaders reportedly killed one thousand
Turkomans—the seizure of numerous cattle and the repulsion of several Mamluk attacks, the limited size of the crusader forces compelled Hugh to sign a 10 year truce with Baibars in May 1272, much to Edward's dismay. With the crusade coming to an end, Edmund returned to England around 6 December, where he was greeted by jubilant crowds in London. However, Edmund's crusade proved futile and incurred significant expenses. Historians
Peter Heylyn and Simon Lloyd believe that Edumund received his
epithet 'Crouchback' during the crusade, suggesting it as a corruption of 'crossback', as Edmund wore a cross stitched into the back of his garments while on the crusade. In 1394,
John of Gaunt, the founder of the second
House of Lancaster and the husband of Edmund's great-granddaughter
Blanche of Lancaster, interpreted the epithet differently, believing that Edmund was a
hunchback. According to chronicler
John Hardyng, John would forge chronicles to assert that Edmund was the elder brother and not Edward, claiming that the crown passed over him due to his physical deformity. However,
Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March, presented evidence countering these claims, stating that the chronicles described Edmund as a handsome knight who was skilled in combat.
Second marriage to Blanche of Artois , Edmund's second wife, 1285|alt=Blanche of Artois, Edmund's second wife, 1285 Edmund's father King
Henry III of England died on 16 November 1272, and Edmund's elder brother
Edward was proclaimed king. However, Edward was on his way back to England from the
Holy Land and his journey was slow, as Edward had to negotiate with King
Philip III of France about several claims and put down a
Gascon revolt. A rumour spread that Edward was never going to return to England, leading to a growing rebellion in the northern part of the country. Edmund then dispersed the rebels with
Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Mortimer of Wigmore. In 1273, Edmund's wife Aveline turned fourteen and Edmund consummated his marriage with her. Edward returned to England on 2 August 1274, and he was crowned King Edward I of England on 19 August 1274. Edmund succeeded him as
Lord High Steward of England the following day. On 10 November 1274, Aveline suddenly died, leaving Edmund with no children and dashing his hopes to inherit Aveline's titles and earldoms. Edmund's maternal aunt and the Queen Dowager of France
Margaret of Provence wanted to secure a wealthy bride for her nephew not only for familial reasons, but to convince Edmund's brother Edward to support her claims to Provence against
Charles I of Anjou, King of
Sicily. Margaret pushed for the marriage of Edmund and
Blanche of Artois, Queen Dowager of
Navarre and widow of King
Henry I of Navarre, and the Countess of the wealthy and powerful
County of Champagne and Brie, which made up more than Edmund's lost possessions. Blanche accepted the match because she needed a second husband who was congenial to King
Philip III of France—who was Edmund's cousin—to help manage Champagne with her. However, the chronicler
John of Trokelowe reported that Edmund and Blanche had also known of each others' reputations as a chivalrous knight and a skilled and beautiful regent, respectively, and they became mutually attracted to each other. Blanche's brother
Robert II, Count of Artois, an ally to Charles, was furious upon hearing about their engagement, believing the English to still be hostile to France. Edward, meanwhile, was neutral toward the couple's betrothal, seeing it as nothing more than an additional familial link with his French relatives. On 6 August 1275, Edmund received a writ of protection to travel overseas from England to France to meet his bride. Between December 1275 and January 1276 in Paris, Edmund married Blanche, three years his junior, and thus became a stepfather to Blanche's daughter
Joan. In the name of Joan, Edmund became the
count palatine of Champagne and would govern the County along with his wife until Joan reached the age of majority. In January 1276, Edmund paid homage to Philip III, becoming his vassal. The kings of France struggled in controlling Champagne as a vassal until Joan's betrothal to
Philip the Fair, the son of Philip III, which allowed Philip III to fully control the county. Due to his commitments elsewhere, Edmund could only administer Champagne intermittently, with the Grand Butler of France
John II of Brienne serving in his absence. In June, Edmund brought Blanche to England to see his English possessions and in July he made a journey to his wife's kingdom of
Navarre, around the same time Blanche's brother Robert was pacifying the region.
Commander at Wales and diplomat Following the deterioration of relations between England and
Gwynedd, Edmund's brother King
Edward I of England declared war in November 1276. In early 1277, Edmund was summoned to return to England by Edward, along with other English nobles, to proceed against the Prince of Wales,
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. Edmund succeeded Payne de Chaworth as
capitaneus of the royal forces in South Wales in April and launched military operations against the Welsh alongside
Roger Mortimer and
William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick. Payne had previously had success in the valley of the
River Towy, capturing the castles of
Dryslywn,
Dinefwr,
Carreg Cennan and
Llandovery, allowing Edmund, who assumed his command, to push further north, seizing the lands of the Welsh noble Rhys ab Maelgwyn and taking
Aberystwyth at the end of July 1277. Edmund assigned his troops to rebuild
Aberystwyth Castle, then known as Llanbadarn Castle, and returned to England on 20 September, assigning Roger Myles as constable of the castle. The war ended with the
Treaty of Aberconwy in November 1277, with Gwynedd surrendering and ceding control over his vassals and conquered territories. In 1278, Edmund travelled to his dominion of
Champagne to administer the county, after which he returned to England to approve and attend the wedding of Llywelyn and his cousin
Eleanor de Montfort, the daughter of
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, in Worcester. In the same year, Edmund's wife Blanche gave birth to their son
Thomas, who became heir to the Earldom of Lancaster and all of Edmund's domains. The next year, Edward appointed Edmund to be Ambassador to France to negotiate with their cousin King
Philip III of France regarding the English claims on the Counties of
Agenais and
Quercy as part of the dowry of Edmund and Edward's grand-aunt
Joan of England, which were under the control of
Alphonse, Count of Poitiers. Since Alphonse died without issue, according to the
Treaty of Abbeville of 1259 signed between England and France, the counties as part of Joan's dowry were to be returned to the English crown. Edmund signed a treaty with Philip in May 1279, with Philip renouncing his 1275 oath of allegiance to the vassals of Aquitaine and ceding only Agenais to the English, as he did not believe Quercy to be a part of Joan's dowry. In addition, with the approval of Philip, Edmund started governing the County of
Ponthieu alongside his brother-in-law (through his sister
Beatrice) Duke
John II of Brittany on behalf of his sister-in-law
Eleanor of Castile, who inherited the County as Countess following the death of her mother
Joan of Dammartin in 1279.
Business in France in France In January 1280, a mob formed in
Provins, the capital of
Brie and also part of the County of Champagne, following the implementation of an unpopular tax, and installed Gilbert de Morry as mayor, killing the previous mayor William Pentecost. Edmund and the
Grand Butler of France John II of Brienne marched to Provins with an army, and the leaders of the mob fled, leaving the gates open. Edmund and John forfeited the town's privileges and authorities, disarmed the inhabitants of Provins and condemned the leaders of the mob to death or banishment, with Gilbert being excommunicated. John was more ruthless in punishing the inhabitants of Provins than Edmund; according to a chronicler of the abbey of Saint-Magloire, John ordered hangings, beheadings and mutilations. Edmund went back to visit his estates in England following his chastisement of Provins. Edmund returned to France and pardoned the town of Provins in July 1281 through the meditation of several church officials and Gilles de Brion, the grand mayor of
Donnemarie and brother of
Pope Martin IV. Edmund returned privileges to the town, and allowed the inhabitants of Provins to build new fountains, acquire buildings for their courts and establish a bell to mark the work hours and curfew; in exchange, he enacted a harsh tax on the town. The prosperity of Provins soon declined, in contrast to
Leicester, a town in Edmund's English domains that saw major growth during his reign. In the same year, Blanche gave birth to Edmund's second son
Henry, whose son
Henry of Grosmont would eventually become a powerful leader of England during the
Hundred Years' War. In the autumn of 1281, Edmund, as Count Palatine of Champagne, joined forces in
Mâcon in October with
Philip I of Savoy,
Robert II of Burgundy,
Otto IV of Burgundy and other nobles to support the claims of his aunt
Margaret of Provence to her homeland of
Provence against his uncle
Charles I of Anjou, who had solidified his control over the region and was unwilling to negotiate. Edmund and the nobles assembled their forces at
Lyon in May 1282 to invade Provence, but the eruption of the
Sicilian Vespers forced Charles to rent out Provence to Margaret, averting war. That same month, Edmund heard that Wales had
launched a war against England, and returned to England to command the English army in South Wales. The Prince of Wales
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd retreated southwards when Edward's army pressed hard in North Wales, but a detachment of Edmund's army lured Llywelyn into a trap and killed him in the
Battle of Orewin Bridge on 11 December 1282. Edward finalized his
conquest of Wales through the capture of Llywelyn's brother
Dafydd ap Gruffydd in June 1283, who succeeded Llywelyn as Prince of Wales in December.
Ceding Champagne and managing England As Joan approached the age of 11, the age of majority in France, Edmund debated with his cousin King
Philip III of France about whether Joan would still be under his guardianship until she turned 21, in accordance with the laws of Champagne. This would have allowed him to attain management and revenue of the county for a longer duration. For three months, Edmund would query on Joan's
age of majority until he finally yielded. When Joan reached the age of majority on 14 January 1284, Philip III compromised with Edmund's wife
Blanche of Artois on 17 May via a treaty, allowing her to keep several of her
dowerlands—the castles of
Sézanne,
Chantemerle,
Nogent-sur-Seine,
Pont-sur-Seine and
Vertus, and the Palace of Navarrese Kings in Paris—and paying 60 to 70 thousand
livres tournois to Edmund and Blanche. In addition, Philip relinquished any claim to half of the property acquired and held jointly by Blanche and her first husband King
Henry I of Navarre in Champagne, and extended this renouncement to Edmund. Following the marriage of Joan and Prince
Philip the Fair, Philip III's son, on 16 August 1284, Edmund renounced the title of Count Palatine of Champagne and ceded control of all of the county except his wife's dowerlands to Philip the Fair. Edmund and Blanche's last son, John, was born in May 1286. For the rest of the 1280s, Edmund oversaw the affairs of his lands, such as hiring a chaplain for
Tutbury Castle, but also accompanied his brother King
Edward I of England when he stayed in
Gascony for almost three years. His likely return to England a little earlier than Edward and by a direct sea route rather than by way of Ponthieu as did Edward is possibly indicated by a record of 26th June 1289 whereby he granted the maintenance of a lamp “burning day and night in the church of Saint Mary, before the altar of the holy cross” that is in Monmouth Priory. Edward inherited the
County of Ponthieu following the death of his wife
Eleanor of Castile on 28 November 1290. On 23 April 1291, due to Edmund's experience in managing his French domains, Edward granted Ponthieu to Edmund, which he was to administer until Edward's son
Edward of Caernarfon gained the age of majority. During the assembly at
Norham on 13 June 1291 to select the next
King of Scotland, Edmund witnessed the submission of rival claims to the Scottish crown under Edward's arbitration. Edmund also observed the claimants' pledges to accept his brother's decision and witnessed the Scottish nobility swearing fealty to Edward as their overlord. On 5 February 1292, Edmund was chosen as part of a five-member commission with full authority to establish and enforce regulations to uphold the use of arms in the kingdom. During the same year, he also provided bail for
Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester, when he was involved in a private war with
Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford, regarding their rights and privileges as
Marcher lords. In 1293, Edmund founded the
Abbey of the Minoresses of St. Clare without Aldgate, a convent for the Order of
Poor Clares, outside
Aldgate. Blanche, his wife, facilitated the arrival of the first nuns to the convent from France. Due to the high rank of Edmund and Blanche in society, the Abbey grew more rapidly than any other Minoresses house in England. Edmund also played a role in establishing a Greyfriars priory at
Preston, located in his earldom of Lancaster. == Last years, 1293–1296 ==