Appeals to the Past in Sovereignty Disputes in Wales, Scotland, and England during Edward I’s Reign (1272–1307)

This thesis explores appeals to the past in sovereignty disputes in Wales, Scotland, and England during Edward I of England’s reign (1272–1307). It argues that elites appealed to history to negotiate these polities’ relationships to the past and project a particular dynamic between and within the polities in the present. Britain’s elites used the past to foster senses of national and political identity, construct nations and polities, and legitimate rulers. They contended that a valid connection between past and present was a fundamental requirement for the existence of sovereignty and the ability of someone to be sovereign.