He was of above-average height, so he was named Longshanks.
On June 17, 1239, Edward I Plantagenet, a powerful medieval English king, was born. He was born to Queen Eleanor of England, daughter of the Count of Provence. Interestingly, Eleonora’s father, i.e. Eduard’s grandfather, was Count Ramon Berenger IV. of Provence, had four daughters who in turn married kings of different European states. Eduard thus had close relatives on his mother’s line on other European royal thrones.
As king he ruled England from 1272 to 1307, i.e., 43 years of his life until his death, at the then rather high 69th year. He was of above-average height, so he was named Longshanks. Before he became king he took part in the Crusades. After becoming king he carried out a conquest attack on Wales and then tried to conquer all of Scotland as well. There he clashed with the forces of the famous William Wallace, known by the nickname Braveheart. In general, Edward was an above-average ambitious and aggressive ruler, and because of his rampage in Scotland, he was nicknamed Malleus Scotorum.
