Editing Edward I of England (section)

===Diplomacy and war on the Continent===
{{Further|Franco-Mongol alliance|Europeans in Medieval China#Diplomatic missions to Europe}}
[[File:Eduard+Filip.jpg|thumb|upright=1.17|alt=A miniature of Edward giving homage to Philip IV. Both men are wearing crowns and kneeling in front of one another.|Edward&nbsp;I (right) giving homage to [[Philip&nbsp;IV of France]] (left). As [[Duke of Aquitaine]], Edward was a [[vassal]] of the French king.]]
Edward never again went on crusade after his return to England in 1274, but he maintained an intention to do so, and in 1287 took a vow to go on another crusade.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hamilton|2010|p=55}}, {{Harvnb|Prestwich|1997|pp=326–328}}.</ref> This intention guided much of his foreign policy, until at least 1291. To stage a European-wide crusade, it was essential to prevent conflict between the sovereigns on [[Continental Europe]].<ref name="Prestwich 1997 333">{{Harvnb|Prestwich|1997|p=333}}.</ref> A major obstacle to this was the conflict between the French [[Capetian House of Anjou]] ruling southern Italy and the Crown of Aragon in Spain.<ref name="Prestwich 1997 333"/> In 1282, the citizens of Palermo rose up against Charles of Anjou and turned for help to [[Peter III of Aragon]], in what has become known as the [[Sicilian Vespers]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Runciman|1958|pp=128–149, 236–237}}</ref> In [[War of the Sicilian Vespers|the war]] that followed, Charles of Anjou's son, [[Charles of Salerno]], was taken prisoner by the Aragonese.<ref>{{Harvnb|Powicke|1962|pp=252–253}}.</ref> The French began planning an attack on Aragon, raising the prospect of a large-scale European war. To Edward, it was imperative that such a war be avoided, and in Paris in 1286 he brokered a truce between France and Aragon that helped secure Charles's release.<ref>{{Harvnb|Prestwich|1997|pp=323–325}}; {{Harvnb|Hamilton|2010|p=72}}.</ref> As far as the crusades were concerned, Edward's efforts proved ineffective. A devastating blow to his plans came in 1291, when the Mamluks [[Siege of Acre (1291)|captured Acre]], the last Christian stronghold in the Holy Land.<ref>{{Harvnb|Prestwich|1997|p=329}}.</ref>

Edward had long been deeply involved in the affairs of his own Duchy of Gascony.<ref name= Hamilton73>{{Harvnb|Hamilton|2010|p=73}}.</ref> In 1278 he assigned an investigating commission to his trusted associates [[Otto de Grandson]] and the [[Lord Chancellor|chancellor]] Robert Burnell, which caused the replacement of the [[seneschal]] Luke de Tany.<ref>{{Harvnb|Prestwich|1997|p=304}}.</ref> In 1286, Edward visited the region and stayed for almost three years.<ref>{{Harvnb|Morris|2009|pp=204–217}}.</ref> On Easter Sunday 1287, Edward was standing in a tower when the floor collapsed. He fell 80 feet, broke his collarbone, and was confined to bed for several months. Several others died.{{sfn|Tolan|2023|p=180}} Soon after he regained his health, he ordered the local Jews expelled from Gascony,{{sfn|Prestwich|1997|p=306}} seemingly as a "thank-offering" for his recovery.<ref>{{harvnb|Huscroft|2006|pp=145-146}}, {{harvnb|Tolan|2023|pp=180-181}}, {{harvnb|Morris|2009|pp=223-224}}</ref>{{efn|It has generally been assumed the expulsion was an attempt to raise capital to secure Charles's release. However, Edward donated what income was made from property seizures to mendicant orders.<ref>{{harvnb|Huscroft|2006|pp=145-146}}, {{harvnb|Tolan|2023|pp=180-181}}, {{harvnb|Morris|2009|p=226}}</ref>}}

The perennial problem was the status of Gascony within the Kingdom of France, and Edward's role as the French king's vassal. On his diplomatic mission in 1286, Edward had paid homage to the new king, [[Philip IV of France|Philip{{nbsp}}IV]]. Following an outbreak of piracy and informal war between English, Gascon, Norman, and French sailors in 1293, his brother Edmund Crouchback allowed Philip IV to occupy Gascony's chief fortresses as a show of good faith that Edward had not intended the seizure of several French ships or the sacking of the French port of [[La Rochelle]]. Philip refused to release the fortresses, and declared Gascony forfeit when Edward refused to appear before him again in Paris.<ref>{{Harvnb|Morris|2009|pp=265–270}}.</ref>

Correspondence between Edward and the [[Ilkhanate|Mongol court of the east]] continued during this time.<ref name="Prestwich 1997 330">{{Harvnb|Prestwich|1997|p=330}}.</ref> Diplomatic channels between the two had begun during Edward's time on crusade, regarding a possible alliance to retake the Holy Land for Europe. Edward received Mongol envoys at his court in Gascony while there in 1287, and one of their leaders, [[Rabban Bar Sauma]], recorded an extant account of the interaction.<ref name="Prestwich 1997 330"/> Other embassies arrived in Europe in 1289 and 1290, the former relaying Ilkhan Abaqa's offer to join forces with the crusaders and supply them with horses.<ref name="Prestwich 1997 330331">{{Harvnb|Prestwich|1997|pp=330–331}}.</ref> Edward responded favourably, declaring his intent to travel to the east once he obtained papal approval. This did not materialise, but the King's decision to send [[Geoffrey of Langley]] as his ambassador to the Mongols showed that he was seriously considering the prospective Mongol alliance.<ref name="Prestwich 1997 331">{{Harvnb|Prestwich|1997|p=331}}.</ref>

Eleanor of Castile died on 28&nbsp;November 1290.<ref>{{Harvnb|Morris|2009|p=229}}.</ref> The couple loved each other, and like his father, Edward was very devoted to his wife and was faithful to her throughout their marriage.<ref name= Hamilton62>{{Harvnb|Hamilton|2010|p=62}}.</ref> He was deeply affected by her death,<ref name=Chancellor203204>{{Harvnb|Chancellor|1981|pp=203–204}}.</ref> and displayed his grief by ordering the construction of twelve so-called [[Eleanor cross]]es,<ref>{{Harvnb|Raban|2000|p=40}}.</ref> one at each place where her funeral cortège stopped for the night.<ref>{{Harvnb|Morris|2009|pp=230–231}}.</ref> 

In 1294 a war at sea flared up between English and Norman privateers. Philip the Fair exploited the conflict to confiscate Gascony, provoking Edward to renounce his homage and declare war.{{sfn|Vale|1990|pp=392-94}} After the initial fighting in Gascony, both kings sought to widen the conflict by forging expensive alliances. Edward joined forces with [[Adolf, King of the Romans|Adolf of Nassau]] (the King of Germany),{{sfn|Pilling|2021|p=80}} the [[Count of Flanders]] and the barons of [[Franche-Comté]] in eastern [[Burgundy]]. Other members of the alliance included two of his sons-in-law, the [[Duke of Brabant]] and the Count of [[Bar-le-Duc]].{{sfn|Prestwich|1972|pp=172-73}} Edward's strategy was to attack the French on all fronts and stretch their forces to their breaking point.{{sfn|Pilling|2021|p=80}} Most of his allies did indeed go into action and caused considerable damage in [[Champagne (province)|Champagne]], Burgundy, Gascony and the [[Toulouse|Toulousaine]].{{sfn|Pilling|2021|p=98}} However, the King of Germany failed to join Edward in Flanders,{{sfn|Pilling|2021|pp=98, 104}} obliging the allies to seek a truce in October 1297.{{sfn|Pilling|2021|pp=96, 99}} Edward renewed his military contract with the Burgundians in March 1298, prolonging the war in Franche-Comté. This may have been an effort to distract Philip and prevent him from aiding the Scots.{{sfn|Pilling|2021|pp=102-103}} The war was effectively frozen by the [[Treaty of Montreuil (1299)|Treaties of Montreuil in 1299]], whereby Edward agreed to marry Philip's sister Margaret. As part of her dowry Philip returned the county of Ponthieu, which had been seized along with Gascony in 1294. This restored Edward's position as a vassal of the French king, although Gascony was not formally returned until the 1303 Treaty of Paris.<ref>{{harvnb|Prestwich|1997|p=416}}, {{harvnb|Chaplais|1982|pp=148-49}}</ref>