King Edward I: Why Was He Such a Tyrant?
Tudors Dynasty & Beyond
RedTop Media / Rebecca Larson
4.4 • 869 Ratings
🗓️ 16 December 2025
⏱️ 73 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
Edward I dreamed big—perhaps too big. While remembered for his brutal campaigns in Wales and Scotland, Edward also longed to take the fight to France, only to be repeatedly pulled back by crises closer to home.
Joined by Matthew Lewis, we examine how Edward’s crusading experience in the Holy Land, his views on conquest and treason, and his willingness to use extreme punishments shaped his reign. Together, we ask whether Edward’s reputation as a tyrant reflects cruelty—or a king trapped between imperial ambition and domestic rebellion.
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Host: Rebecca Larson
Guest: Matthew Lewis
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is the Tudors Dynasty and Beyond podcast. |
| 0:05.4 | History with a Twist. |
| 0:07.3 | And now your host, Rebecca Larson. |
| 0:10.2 | Hello and welcome back to the show. |
| 0:12.3 | I'm your host Rebecca Larson. |
| 0:14.0 | And today I'm very happy to welcome back. |
| 0:16.5 | Once again, Matt Lewis, welcome back. |
| 0:19.8 | Hello, I'm very much the bad smell you can't get rid of at the moment, aren't I? |
| 0:24.1 | Matt, I was not expecting. |
| 0:26.8 | You know, I always enjoy having you on the show. |
| 0:29.7 | I feel like we have a good time. |
| 0:31.3 | You can pretty much talk about anything medieval, |
| 0:34.3 | and that is an area that I'm fascinated with, but I don't necessarily know nearly enough, |
| 0:41.8 | and you are to me the expert on medieval stuff. So I asked you back. The last episode that we did |
| 0:48.4 | was Henry III, who the hell is he, or was he? And during that episode episode I said I wanted to talk about Edward |
| 0:56.4 | the first because he is another one and I think really I want to know why was |
| 1:01.2 | he such a tyrant I feel like that's that's the theme for today's episode am I |
| 1:06.5 | wrong in thinking that he was a tyrant who is this this monster? It depends who you ask. I mean, |
| 1:13.3 | if you ask anyone in Wales or Scotland, probably still today, they will say absolutely yes, |
| 1:18.5 | he's a tyrant and a monster. There are many ways in which he ticked a lot of the boxes for |
| 1:25.2 | an ideal medieval king, though. So perhaps if you're English during |
| 1:29.2 | his reign, you're probably thinking he's less of a tyrant and more of the kind of leader that |
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