Camelot International: Britain's Heritage and History Heritage > Rulers Edward III, 1327-1377 Edward was born in 1312. He was married to Philippa, daughter of William III, Count of Hainault in Flanders. Their children were: Edward (the Black Prince), Isabella, Joanna, William, Lionel, John (of Gaunt), Blanche, Edmund, Mary, Margaret, William and Thomas. The start of Edwards life was in the shadow of his mother and her lover Mortimer. They used Edward as their puppet, controlling the government and the royal revenue. They arranged humiliating treaties with France. Their reign was resisted by some of the king's uncles. Eventually at the age of 17 and already a father, Edward was ready to assert himself, and although for many years he lived in the shadow of his father's weak and costly reign, he soon gained the respect of England by following the solid foundations set by his grand father, Edward I.

His first step in asserting his rule, was to judicially murder Mortimer, his mother's lover, by plucking him out of his mother's bed, and then have him hanged through the Act of Attainder, and confining Isabella for the rest of her life. Edward III was a popular, chivalrous King and picked his advisers wisely. He had a keen interest in the art of war and sought glory on the battlefield. His first taste of victory came in 1333 when his armies defeated the Scots at Halidon Hill. He soon turned his attention to France, believing that he had a strong claim to the French throne through his mother Isabella. Combined with a list of other grievances against the French. Edward gained the support of his nobles and fellow countryman and declared war on France. This period of hostilities which began in 1337 between England and France, became known as the Hundred Years War. The famous naval battle of Sluys in 1340 ended in defeat for the French, giving the English control of the seas around Britain. Difficulties in raising the money to wage war prevented Edward from campaigning with his soldiers in France until 1346.

With his son the Black Prince and an army which included three thousand armoured knights and ten thousand archers, Edward invaded France. He engaged the French forces near Crecy. Outnumbering the English by three to one, the French lunged at their foe in excitement and disarray. The intelligent use of archers caused huge casualties amongst them as they attacked the English persistently. Wave after wave of Frenchmen were struck down by the hail of English arrows leading to the destruction of their army. Edward went on to lay siege to Calais but even its defeat did not mean that he could control France. Another notable victory for the English took place at the battle of Poitiers in September 1356. Edward's eldest son, Edward of Woodstock (The Black Prince) employed similar tactics to those used at Crecy. Using defensive ditches and hedging to conceal themselves, the English archers rained showers of arrows onto the advancing Frenchmen breaking their assault. The Prince then ordered his knights to mount their heavy war horses and complete the rout of the French army once again. King John II of France was captured and French resistance ceased for the time being.

The treaty of Bretigny gave Edward sovereignty over Aquitaine and Calais but also entailed his renunciation of the French throne. The French warrior Du Guesclin soon fought back with his armies and regained much of the French territories from the English. During Edward's reign the Black Death struck Britain and by 1350 one third of the population had been wiped out by the disease. It was a sad end for Edward III. He died in 1377 of senile dementia, one year after his eldest son the Black Prince. He founded the Most Noble Order of the Garter, one of Europe's oldest and most distinguished orders of chivalry. He is buried in Westminster Abbey where his death mask is kept. The Black Prince 1330-1376 Born at the royal palace of Woodstock, Oxfordshire, in June 1330 Prince Edward, eldest son of Edward III became one of the most famous medieval warriors of all time His famous nickname, The Black Prince, probably dates from two hundred years after his death, and there seems to be no evidence that he wore the black armour that inspired the name. The predominance of black on his shield of peace however, may be the reason.

See inside back cover. He excelled in the arts of knighthood and his inspirational command of armies throughout Europe became legendary in his own lifetime. His most notable military achievement was the defeat of the French forces at Poitiers in 1356 and the capture of the French king John II. His interest in war and its related activities dominated his life. He often staged lavish tournaments and banquets to celebrate his victories. This arrogant display of wealth drew vast amounts of money from his estates which led to disorder in some areas. He was also capable of acts of cruelty during his campaigns in Europe. The Prince caught a disease during his time in Spain which led to his premature death at the age of forty- six. He had a special devotion to Canterbury Cathedral, where according to his wishes he was buried in 1376. His crested helmet, shield and buckler are still to be seen close to his magnificent monument shown here.

Edward, the Black Prince -- myArmoury.com An article by Chad Arnow Edward, The Black Prince, illustrated circa 1902 The gilt-bronze effigy at Canterbury Cathedral Few figures inspired reverence among the English and fear among the French during the Hundred Years War like the eldest son of Edward III, known to history as the Black Prince. Born June 15th, 1330, he was known early in life simply as Edward of Woodstock, named for the place of his birth. The young Edward, who possessed the striking blond hair and blue eyes of his Plantagenet forebears, was said to be strong-limbed at birth, and those who knew him were sure he would grow up to be a great warrior. Edward of Woodstock among the first English princes to hold the title Prince of Wales. His great-grandfather Edward I had wrested the title from the Welsh during a succession conflict and given it to his son, the ill-fated Edward II, from which it passed, mostly from generation to generation, until the present day.

In addition to that title, he was also variously known as the 14th Earl of Chester, the 1st Duke of Cornwall, and Prince of Acquitaine. When Edward III and his son returned from France, fresh from a series of victories, the king formed the now-famous Order of the Garter in the 1340s; the young Prince Edward was one of its first twenty-five members. The beginning of Prince Edward's major military exploits came at the Battle at Crécy in 1346. Dressed in black armour given to him by his father, Edward commanded a wing of the English army (with considerable help from experienced warriors like the Earls of Warrick and Oxford, Sir John Chandos and many others) in the first major pitched battle of the Hundred Years War. The nickname "Black Prince," first seen in the 16th century, seemingly comes from his choice in armour colors and from his use of black in heraldic devices, though some claim it resulted from his foul temper. Edward's renown grew ten years later when the 26 year-old prince led the outnumbered English army as they again defeated the French, this time at Poitiers .

He would continue to have success in smaller conflicts in France and in Spain (fighting on behalf of Pedro the Cruel), though the success at Poitiers was arguably the peak. Nonetheless, his fame in his home country never waned. The Black Prince died in 1376 after a six year illness. "When he came home to die at the age of forty-six, with the dreams of conquest shattered and the star of England in the descent," wrote Thomas B. Costain, "he was still the idol of the commonality." Edward of Woodstock was interred in Canterbury Cathedral in a tomb surmounted by a magnificent gilt-bronze effigy, showing the Black Prince in full battle dress. Equipment of the Black Prince The funerary achievements Reconstructed funerary achievements Edward left behind a rich trove of arms and armour. As was common in England at the time, some of his arms and armour were hung above his tomb.

Scholars debate the meaning of these funerary achievements: perhaps they were a symbol that the knight had done his service to God and country, and that his weapons were no longer needed and could return to the church that had sanctified them; or perhaps they were simply a monument to the military prowess of the decedent. His helm, gauntlets, quilted surcoat, shield, and scabbard still reside in the cathedral, largely undisturbed. Replicas hang directly above the tomb, while the originals sit, safely preserved, behind glass. The Black Prince's great helm is a magnificent example of 14th century head protection and decoration. Likely designed to fit over the crowned bascinet on Edward's effigy, the iron helm is constructed of plates riveted together and has the slightly domed top popular during the time. On the right side are pierced breath holes in the shape of a crown. Cross-shaped cutouts sit along either side of the centerline at the base. Whether one or both of these are decorations or a means of attaching a chain to keep the helm from being lost is unclear.

A striking feature is the inclusion of an imposing heraldic crest in the form of a leopard (a royal symbol of England to this day). Made of molded leather, it is covered with gilt and painted gesso (a substance like plaster used as a sort of primer for surfaces to be painted), much of which has not survived the ages. The effigy shows a drape covering the back of the helm that doesn't appear to have survived. A pair of hourglass gauntlets survives as well. Said to be made of gilt latten or copper, they are among the finer surviving gauntlets of the era. The finger plates survive on some digits and show spikes over the finger joints. A single removable gadling (ornaments attached to the gauntlets that act similarly to the modern brass knuckle) in the form of a leopard survives. Also displaying the heraldry of the Black Prince is his heater shield whose lack of strapping indicates it was likely made for his funeral. Made of poplar, it is covered with layers of canvas, gesso, parchment, and leather.

The face is decorated with leopards and fleurs de lys, the arms of England and France that Edward III took when he staked his claim to the French throne, and punched crosses. The surviving coat armour would have been a proud symbol of status and wealth in its original condition. Made of velvet (stuffed with wool and lined with satin), it featured the red and blue quarterly arms seen on the shield. It laces up the front with eyelets and appears to have originally had long sleeves, though its sleeves currently reach only to the elbow. A decaying scabbard, sans sword, still resides in the cathedral as well. Legend has it that Oliver Cromwell, knowing the chivalric significance of the Black Prince, stole the sword he left behind during the English Civil War. The disputed Black Prince sword, possibly from the tomb in Canterbury Cathedral A sword surfaced some years ago, "on the floor with a bundle of walking-sticks in a house-sale in 1945 or 1946," according to Ewart Oakeshott . It was in bad condition, with a portion of its sharply tapering Type XVa blade rusted off.

The hilt and upper portion of the blade, however, were in better condition. The broken-off portion of the blade was used as a template by the workshop of the Royal Armouries, and a new piece was welded onto the surviving sword. The grip, originally of an unusual shape, was replaced and the pommel and guard were blackened. Illustration of the sword depicted on the effigy Engraving of the effigy Oakeshott's research and study of this sword led, in his words, "inexorably to the possibility, even probability, that this [was] the sword which until the time of the Commonwealth (1649-1660) hung above the tomb of Edward, Prince of Wales, the Black Prince, in Canterbury Cathedral." While he knew he would never be able to conclusively prove this to be the case, he noted too much evidence to make "totally impossible to prove that it is not" Edward's sword. The surviving parts of the sword show the same pattern of patination as the helm above Edward's tomb, and the restored blade fits the remains of the scabbard. Its overall condition fits Oakeshott's version of the sword's history.

As further proof, the sword's blade bears a maker's mark later associated with cutlers appointed to the Royal House. Compelling as this evidence may be, it was not enough to convince officials at Canterbury to take the sword back when Oakeshott offered it to them. The sword remained in his collection for many years, but has since moved into the private sector. Part of the confusion and doubt about the discovered sword's provenance could stem from the fact that it is quite dissimilar from the one pictured on the effigy. The effigial sword possesses a wide, gently down-curving cross instead of a straight one with down-turned tips. The pommel of the effigial sword, while also of a wheel form, is proportioned differently and displays a heraldic lion instead of the cross formed from four hearts that appears on the disputed sword. It should not be surprising that armourers and weapons makers have replicated the arms of the Black Prince. His helm has been reproduced by several custom armourers, including Valentine Armouries and Arms & Armor . The effigial sword has been produced by custom swordsmiths on at least one occasion.

The disputed sword has been re-created, in widely varying degrees of historical accuracy, by companies too numerous to list. To this author's knowledge, only the Arms & Armor Black Prince Sword used Oakeshott's notes in its design. Conclusion Edward was "larger than life" in his day and was considered by many to be the flower of English chivalry. Costain describes him as "a national hero, and nothing he did... disturbed or diminished the admiration the public had conceived for him." The arms and armour left behind are those of a warrior of wealth and status, thought by some to be without equal in his day, and constitute some of the finer examples of 14th century arms and armour known. Talk about this article on the discussion forums About the Author Chad Arnow is a classical musician from the greater Cincinnati area and has had an interest in military history for many years. Though his collecting tends to focus on European weapons and armour of the High Middle Ages, he enjoys swords, knives and armour from many eras.

Sources Edward III Edward III Vianne - an English bastide in Gascony Roger and Isabella At the age of fourteen, Edward III was crowned king in February 1327; Henry of Lancaster headed the Council of Regency appointed for his minority. However, it was Isabella and Roger who ruled the roost. Roger Mortimer became Earl of March in 1328 and set about enriching himself with just as much rapacity as the Despensers had displayed. Too greedy for personal gain to finance a war with Scotland, he and Isabella agreed to a "Shameful Peace" in the Treaty of Northampton (1328.) This treaty also arranged the marriage of David (son of Robert the Bruce) with Joan (Edward III's younger sister.) Henry of Lancaster soon baulked at Mortimer's control, but prompt military action forced Henry to back down. Isabella and Roger also managed to entrap Edmund of Kent (son of Edward I by his second wife) into a foolish, seditious plot.

They hurriedly executed him (March 1330.) Henry of Lancaster tried another approach - he allied with two members of the royal household (Richard Bury and William Montagu) to persuade Edward III that it was time he was master in his own house. The restored gatehouse of Nottingham Castle Mortimer and Isabella got wind of the machinations and locked themselves in Nottingham Castle, but Edward III (guided by Montagu) sneaked in through a secret passage, killed Mortimer's guards, and arrested him. Mortimer was hanged, drawn and quartered (30 November 1330) and the vast wealth he had accumulated was seized by the crown. Isabella was confined (in considerable comfort) at Castle Rising, Norfolk. Roger Mortimer "ï¿½ a man who deposed Edward II and ruled in his stead for three years, who adulterously slept with the queen, who arranged the judicial murder of the king's uncle, the Earl of Kent, and who greedily gathered to himself vast estates throughout Britain and Ireland. ï¿½the extent to which he undermined the English monarchy is truly astounding.

By the standards of his own time, which are the only ones by which a man can be judged, he was most certainly the greatest traitor of his age". (Ian Mortimer, The Greatest Traitor) Edward III Edward III was utterly unlike his father. An accomplished politician, resourceful soldier and tactician, and imaginative promoter of trade and commerce, he displayed all the qualities of leadership that his father had lacked. Edward III and his wife made their own personal contribution to England's overpopulation. Edward III and the Hundred Years War Scotland was not the only issue causing friction between England and France. England retained control of Gascony , which yielded large revenues, but the French crown was eager to assert its feudal overlordship in the duchy. But in the early 1300s the French crown began to experience problems of its own. Matters came to a head when four kings died in rapid succession - none of them leaving male heirs. The Valois and English claims to succession to the throne of France When Louis X died in 1316, he left a daughter - Joan - but Philip V (his younger brother) succeeded in preference to her.

The principle that a woman could not reign was reinforced in 1322 when, on his death, his younger brother Charles IV succeeded before Charles' daughters. When Charles died the nearest heir was Edward III - son of Isabella - but the French asserted that "Salic Law" prohibited not only the succession of a woman to the crown but also the succession of a male heir whose claim was only through a female. The nearest heir whose claim was based solely on male ancestors was Philip, Count of Valois. A council of barons agreed that he should become the next king and he was crowned 27 May 1328. [The ruling dynasty of France was now known as the Valois dynasty and would last until the Bourbon dynasty began in 1589.] Initially Edward III did not press his claims to the crown, and indeed did homage for Gascony. But when in May 1337 Philip VI declared his intention to seize Gascony, Edward retaliated by asserting his claim to the French throne (October 1337), and war began.

Intermittent hostilities were to continue until 1453 in what became known as "The Hundred Years War." France in the Hundred Years War At first glance, it seemed that France must easily defeat England. France was perhaps two to four times as populous (its people numbered about 12,000,000 in 1330), and England's northern border was vulnerable to continued Scottish attacks. But England did have tactical advantages. Its soldiers were trained and experienced in the Scottish wars, and English longbowmen displayed an expertise unrivalled in Europe. The initial land campaigns launched by Edward III in 1339 and 1340 achieved little success - especially as his German allies soon deserted him. Edward III did win an important naval victory at the Battle of Sluys (24 June 1340.)The English fleet of about 150 ships, led by Richard Fille on the Cog Thomas, attacked the French fleet while still at anchor. Both wind and tide were in the English ships' favor, and the French (abandoned by their Genoese allies) were unable to maneuver.

The English - whose decks bristled with rapidly-firing bowmen - took or destroyed about 180 French ships. The virtual destruction of the French fleet opened the Channel to English invasion. [The picture on the English gold noble coin may be in commemoration of this victory.] The French and English agreed to a temporary truce in the Treaty of Esplï¿½chin (September 1340.) Nevertheless, French attacks on Gascony continued and Edward III supported an anti-French candidate in a succession dispute in Brittany. Another truce was agreed (at Malestroit in January 1343,) but only to give both sides time to prepare for more war. In July 1346, Edward III landed with an army of 15,000 men at St Vaast-de-la-Hogue (Houge) in Normandy. (Just a few miles north of what would later be named Utah Beach - one of the D-Day invasion landing beaches.) Edward III plundered his way through Normandy, bridged the Seine and moved east settling at a strong defensive position on a low hill before the wood of Crï¿½cy-en-Ponthieu.

There was no need for Philip VI to attack Edward's army, which was growing short of supplies. Philip wanted to defer battle at least until the next morning, when his forces would be rested and fully assembled, but his undisciplined and overconfident knights insisted on attack immediately; (it was about 4 pm.) The Battle of Crecy 26 August 1346 Edward III divided his men into three groups - each group was made up of dismounted cavalry and archers. His eldest son, Prince Edward commanded the force on the right flank, the king himself the center and reserve, and William de Bohun, the 1st Earl of Northampton, the left flank. Philip sent his Genoese crossbowmen to open the assault, but their range was shorter and rate of fire slower than that of the English longbowmen, who fired five to six arrows for every crossbow bolt. When the Genoese retreated the French knights rode them down as a "cowardly rabble" who "but blocked the advance." With no co-ordination or concentration of forces, the French knights repeatedly charged the dismounted English cavalry. Decimated by longbow fire, the cavalry made no impact on the solid English line.

Nightfall ended the slaughter - about 4,000 French soldiers, including about 1,500 French knights, died. Edward's army lost only a few score, and although outnumbered 3 to 1, Edward never needed to commit his reserve. Edward marched north and east and settled down to besiege Calais. Unable to act himself, Philip VI asked David II of Scotland for help, and in October 1346 David led a large Scottish army south against Durham. It was met by an English army under Lord Neville. The Scots army attacked over poor terrain (17 October 1346) and were cut down by English archers. The most disastrous outcome of this Battle of Neville's Cross (for Scotland) was the capture and lengthy imprisonment of David II. Scottish resistance continued, but was weakened. Calais finally surrendered to Edward III in August 1347. Edward filled it with English immigrants and it remained in English control until 1558. Prince Edward and the Battle of Poitiers The outbreak of the Black Death retarded military efforts for some years, but the English did not want peace.

They could not conquer all France but they did launch punitive raids (called chevauchï¿½es) aimed at undermining enemy morale, seizing plunder for themselves, and destroying French infrastructure. "In my youth the ï¿½ English were taken to be the meekest of barbarians. Today they are a fiercely bellicose nation. They have overturned the ancient military glory of the French by their victories so numerous that they, who once were inferior to the wretched Scots, have reduced the entire kingdoms of France by fire and sword to such a state that I, who had traversed it lately on business, had to force myself to believe that it was the same country I had seen before. Outside the walls of the towns there was not one building left standing". (Petrarch 1304 -1374) It was while conducting such a raid in September 1356 that Edward III's son , Prince Edward (many years later named the Black Prince for his black armor) encountered a French army of about 16,000 men led by King John the Good.

Prince Edward had only about one third that number of troops, but unable or unwilling to retreat, he established a defensive position in the hedges of the slightly hilly countryside. Edward had only a few archers, but the French failed to use their superiority in crossbowmen and launched a precipitate cavalry attack. The cavalry were thrown back by the English archers and English dismounted cavalry. Prince Edward then launched a surprise flank attack with a small force of cavalry and archers. Thrown into disorder, the French scattered. King John was captured and joined David II as a prisoner in London. Edward could have regarded the capture of King John as an opportunity to seize the French crown; instead he used it as a means of extorting vast sums of money. In the Treaty of Brï¿½tigny (1360,) France agreed to English control of Gascony and other land in Aquitaine, and to Calais. They also promised to pay three million gold crowns in ransom (c. ₤500,000). In exchange, Edward III released King John and stopped calling himself King of France. Warfare was resumed in Edward III's declining years but the successes were all French.

By Edward's death only the area immediately around Calais and a small strip of Gascony's coast remained securely in English hands. Shields of the Black Prince Shields of the Black Prince Considered by some to be the most chivalrous knight who ever lived, Edward of Woodstock, also known as the �Black Prince�, lived a life that was the stuff of medieval romance. The eldest son of King Edward III of England, he died before he could be crowned king himself. Yet he fought in two of the most famous battles of the Hundred years war, Crecy (1346), and Poitiers (1356), and during the latter he commanded the English forces, and captured the King of France and the young Dauphin. He also fought during the Najera campaign (1367), assisting Pedro of Castile in retaining his throne. His nickname the �Black Prince,� is said by some to be the result of his wearing black armour, but there is no evidence for this. Rather, it is more likely that the nickname came from his �shield of peace�, which he adopted after the battle of Crecy.

The old blind king John of Bohemia fought on the French side, and had two of his household knight�s tie their horses to each side of his own, and ordered them to lead him to the front line so that he could �strike a blow against the English.� After the battle, the old kings� body was found among the dead, along with his household knights, their horses still tied to one another. Edward was so moved when he heard this that he adopted the king�s arms, three ostrich feathers on a black field, with the motto �Ich Dien� (I serve) as his shield of peace. His royal arms were used as his �shield of war,� whereas he used the other (his shield of peace) when he competed in tournaments, which he was fond of doing. It is the black field on this second shield that earned him the nickname, the �Black Prince.� I have constructed both shields, the shield of war and the shield of peace. The shield of war has the royal arms, with the distinctive white label (three vertical bars), indicating Edward as the eldest son. This shield I copied from the surviving example hung over his tomb in Canterbury Cathedral, using the same dimensions and construction methods.

The quartered field is decorated with a diaper pattern of horizontal crosses, and the lions and fluer-de-lis are molded in the same fashion as the originals, then covered with 23 karat gold leaf. The shield of peace is somewhat more speculative, since no example of it survives, but I�ve attempted to keep it as historically accurate as possible. Shield of War: $6,000 The House of Plantagenet / Useful Notes - TV Tropes — 1066 and All That , Test Paper II, Question 2 The longest running dynasty in English history, running from 1154 to 1485. For much of this period, the King of England was also Duke of Normandy and ruled several other places — the first three Kings didn't speak English at all, and the first four identified themselves as French, or at least Angevin, first. French remained the official court language until 1361.

Part of the broader House of Anjou (hence the term "Angevin"), which was noted for having its members turn up just about everywhere you look in medieval European history, much like the Hapsburgs would later on (though the Angevins didn't quite reach the same scale). They also got the nickname " The Devil's Brood " from an old legend that they were descended from a union between some past Count of Anjou and the daughter of Satan himself, which offered as good an explanation as any for the family's leanings toward violence and infighting. (Interestingly, the Plantagenets themselves did little to discourage the legend.) The Wars of the Roses kicked off towards the end of this, so monarchs changed back and forth a bit. Note that the regnal numbers given below for the earlier kings are anachronistic. Like the Normans before them, the early Angevin kings were known only by their first name and a sobriquet, either a nickname or their place of birth—the former being more common in the earlier period, while place names became virtually standard towards the end of the main line of the dynasty.

Regnal numbers were assigned by monks in the time of Edward III.note they likely found three Edwards in a row a bit much The tradition of regnal nicknames continued until the end of the Plantagenet era, although (with a few exceptions) it wasn't used as often after Edward's reign. Each king's most common sobriquet is given here in parentheses after his regnal name. Fifteen male monarchs here: Henry II of England Lived: 5 March 1133 ï¿½- 6 July 1189 Reigned: 25 October 1154 ï¿½- 6 July 1189 Consort: Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine Nicknames: Henry Curtmantle (French: Court-manteau); Henry FitzEmpress; Henry Plantagenet It has been said that his father, Geoffrey V of Anjou, gave the Plantagenets their name from the broom-plant he wore on his chest, the Latin name of which was Planta Genista. This story, however, cannot be dated back beyond the 15th century.

(Neither can members of his family using "Plantagenet" as a last name; the first was Richard, Duke of York; pretender to the throne and father of Edward IV and Richard III). Stabilized England after the chaos of the Civil War between his mother Matilda and her cousin King Stephen (Matilda was the designated heir but, you know, she was a chick, plus married to Anjou, whose house was the traditional enemy of the House of Normandy, leading to the Civil War for all but 5 years of Stephen's disputed reign). Thanks to a combination of inheritance, marriage, conquest and treaties, ruled what would be later called the Angevin Empire (named for Anjou in western France), which comprised England, parts of Wales and Ireland, and the western half of modern France, stretching in all from the Scottish Border to the Pyrenees. It was less of a unified empire, and more of a collection of territories which happened to have the same overlord (though he still paid homage to the King of France for the French territories, it was pretty much lip service), but still damn impressive. Famous today for three things: 1.

Founded the concept of The Common Law , a legal system where the law is usually determined by court decisions, and the foundation for the legal systems of the UK, the United States and Commonwealth countries such as Canada. 2. After a dispute over who should be the High King of Ireland, he took advantage of a Papal Edict of 1158 ― issued by the only English Pope, Adrian IV (born Nicholas Breakspeare ( No, really )) ― that gave overlordship of Ireland to the King of England to establish an English zone of control (The Pale) around Dublin, which had repercussions for centuries to come . 3. The most (in)famous thing was that he got into a savage argument with the original Turbulent Priest , his one time friend Thomas Becket , Archbishop of Canterbury, over whether the Church was subordinate to secular authority. His expression of frustration was construed to be a Royal Command: a Rhetorical Request Blunder . Four knights made haste to Canterbury and brutally murdered Becket. The murder of an archbishop at the altar of his own cathedral on orders from the King was considered the worst crime in Christendom for a long time, and clouded Henry's reputation in history .

It was something Henry appeared to truly show regret and remorse for and he was publicly whipped as penance by the canons of Canterbury Cathedral.note He confessed his sins and ordered each Bishop present to strike him five times with a wooden rod, and then each of the eighty-odd monks to strike him three times, then spent a vigil at Becket's tomb. (Becket, on the other hand, got made into a saint and had a great film made about him in which he was played by Richard Burton ). Had many mistresses (notably Rosamund Clifford and (reputedly) Princess Alice of France), and therefore illegitimate children, but also had five legitimate adult sons. William died when only two years old, Henry the Young King died from dysentery, and Geoffrey of Brittany was trampled by a horse. When his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine had had enough of his infidelity and his high-handed ness over Aquitaine, she successfully manipulated her surviving sons into rebellion against him .

Henry (the Young King) Lived: 28 February 1155 ï¿½- 11 June 1183 Co-reigned: June 1170 ï¿½- 11 June 1183 Consort: Princess Margaret of France Nicknames: Henri le jeune roy Son of Henry II, appointed co-regent with his father, following the French tradition.

Because he predeceased his father, is not counted as Henry III, and it's often forgotten that he was ever King at all, inasmuch as, though he reigned, he never ruled, unlike his brotherï¿½ Richard I of England Lived: 8 September 1157 ï¿½- 6 April 1199 Reigned: 6 July 1189 ï¿½- 6 April 1199 Consort: Princess Berengaria of Navarre Nicknames: Richard the Lionheart (French: Richard Cï¿½ur de Lion) Richard I spent most of his reign abroad ― he was only in England for 6 months of his 10-year reign ― most famously leading the Third Crusade against Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, better known as Saladin . A small-scale pogrom kicked off around his coronation and he was forced to order the Jews of England to be left alone. An account of the massacre used the word holocaustum to describe it. Spent a massive amount of money on the Crusade, sold titles, raised taxes, etc..

Having managed to annoy Leopold V, Archduke of Austria, he was spotted in a village near Vienna eating roast chicken while dressed as a peasant, so was captured and held prisoner from 1192 to 1194. Cue one literal king's ransom (the sum was 2-3 times the annual income of the English crown). Richard spent most of the rest of his reign fighting Philip II Augustus of France and doing quite well. In 1199, he got shot by a crossbow bolt, was badly treated, and died. He wanted to let the fellow (in some accounts a young boy) who shot him go, but Mercadier, the captain of Richard's mercenaries, flayed him alive as soon as Richard had died, perhaps at the command of Richard's sister. Charming. Once shared a bed with Philip while he was a prince, leading to speculation that it was that sort of bed sharing, but it was more likely entirely non-sexual and just a political thing. Men shared beds more commonly in those days, and some places do still. While Richard I was away, Prince John, his brother , seized control of England from the regents the King had left in charge.

This plays a key part in the Robin Hood mythos, with Robin Hood fighting along with his band of outlaws to keep England safe from the corrupt rule of John until Richard's return. (In the early ballads, however, it's one of the Edwards' reigns that is the setting.) Historians differ wildly over Richard's quality. There is a statue of him, by Marochetti, outside the Palace of Westminster. Had no legitimate heirs, so the throne went to... John of England Lived: 24 December 1166 ï¿½- 18 or 19 October 1216 Reigned: 6 April 1199 ï¿½- 19 October 1216 Consort: (1) Isabella, Countess of Gloucester (1189—1199) (2) Isabella, Countess of Angoulême (1200—1216) Nicknames: John Lackland (French: Jean sans Terre) Fourth son of Henry II.

Known as "Lackland" (since, being the fourth son, he didn't get any land to inherit at first and then when he did, he lost all the French territories) and "Soft-sword" (for supposedly being a poor general). Henry II's youngest, he was also his most beloved son. The lacking of land was not intentional—John was supposed to become Lord of Ireland, but as Ireland had yet to be properly conquered when Henry the Young King, Geoffrey, and Richard went to war against their father, John never got his hands on the territory. Henry often showered John with gifts and responsibilities—indeed, the straw that broke the camel's back when it came to the Great Revolt was Henry II's transfer of three of Henry the Young King's castles to John. It should come as no surprise that it was John's decision to side with his brothers in the second revolt that sent Henry II, already seriously ill, catatonic to his deathbed. Gets a reputation for being evil, and was accused of murdering his nephew Arthur. Some revisionist historians think he was reasonably good, but unscrupulous, and with an eye for the ladies.

Similarly, many now believe that he was not so much an incompetent general as a ridiculously unlucky one. Fathered a lot of illegitimate kids, mostly with the surname FitzRoy (son of King) - sadly, is also known to have been a prolific serial rapist. As mentioned, plays a key role in the Robin Hood mythos, sometimes as the Big Bad to the Sheriff of Nottingham's Dragon . John has been blamed for losing France. Traditionally historians hold a rather mixed view of this; several centuries of nationalism in both England and France have led many to regard the Angevin Empire as something of an aberration and its demise as inevitable, or even welcome. Regardless, from a purely dynastic and personal point of view it is difficult to see it as anything other than a disaster. Anjou and Normandy were richer and more populated than most of England and their loss in 1203-04 fatally undermined his reign. You either like him or hate him. His refusal to admit Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury caused Pope Innocent III to place the English Church under an interdict from 1208 to 1214.

He was considered to be kind and friendly with the Jews, which was one of the things his enemies used to rally against him. The barons who hated him got him to sign the Magna Carta (Great Charter) in 1215, which the Pope annulled (not entirely unjustified; since John was forced to sign it, that is a pretty strong argument against its legitimacy). This caused the Barons to invite Prince Louis of France to invade England. John then died of dysentery while on campaign (though the legend persisted that he had been poisoned by a monk), and the Barons lost their appetites for French rule, so they reissued Magna Carta in the name of his nine-year-old son. Magna Carta was hugely significant as the first document forced onto a king by his subjects, to limit his powers and enshrine certain rights and liberties of the people. Though its specific clauses have been almost all repealed or modified (or codified in a different form) over the centuries, it remains one of the symbolic foundation stones of the unwritten British constitution and an important part of the extensive historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law in the English-speaking world.

When his Grandson Edward I (then a prince) named his first son John it caused a minor scandal. Since that John died in infancy, King John is the only English King to have been named John, and will probably remain so . The popular misconception that there is a taboo in the English (later British) royal against giving sons the name John is however disproved not just by Edward I's eldest son, but also by Edward III's son John of Gaunt (father of Henry IV) and George V's youngest son, Prince John. The Plantagenets (1216—1399) Henry III of England Lived: 1 October 1207 ï¿½- 16 November 1272 Reigned: 19 October 1216 ï¿½- 16 November 1272 Consort: Lady Eleanor of Provence Nicknames: Henry of Winchester Chafed under the restrictions of Magna Carta, and desperately wanted to recapture the lands his father lost. His political machinations backfired horribly, and for the first half of the 1200's he was essentially a puppet king, while the country was ruled by parliament .

This lasted until his son Edward made a daring escape from being held hostage, and won an important battle at Evesham in which the parliamentary leader Simon de Monfort was cut to pieces. Later half of his reign was rather stable, and he managed to make England economically strong again after the chaos of King John's reign. Often an overlooked monarch due to his rather mild and quietly eccentric nature, he kept a large zoo in the Tower of London. Notes left by his physicians show that he probably suffered from Alzheimer's Disease in the last year or so of his life. Edward I of England Lived: 17 June 1239 ï¿½- 7 July 1307 Reigned: 16 November 1272 — 7 July 1307 Consort: (1) Princess Eleanor of Castile (1254—1290) (2) Princess Margaret of France (1299—1307) Nicknames: Edward Longshanks ; Hammer of the Scots As established during his father's reign, a talented general. Also the first King truly raised as an Englishman since 1066.

Didn't care too much for the French territories, and was far more interested in re-establishing Roman Britannia. Successfully conquered and annexed Wales, and started the tradition , via some clever Loophole Abuse , of the heir to the throne being named the Prince of Wales.note It's a really funny story, actually. According to legend, the Welsh nobles, after Edward announced he was reviving the title—"Prince of Wales" had traditionally meant "sovereign ruler of Wales"—went up to him demanding "a prince born in Wales and speaking no language other than Welsh." He agreed, and presented them with his infant son Edward, born at Caernarfon Castle in Wales, who didn't speak any language at all — Welsh included. Controlled large parts of Scotland around the end of the 13th Century, becoming known as "The Hammer of the Scots".

Was not as evil as you see in Braveheart ( Dante thought well of him), but when re-crowned on the Scottish stone of Scone (pronounced skoon), is reported to have said "A man does a good thing when he rids himself of shit." The stone was kept in Westminster Abbey, was stolen and broken by four University of Glasgow students in 1950, and only returned to Scotland in 1996. Expelled all Jews from England; Jews were not allowed to return for over 350 years. When his beloved wife , Eleanor of Castile died in 1294, he established 12 stone crosses along the route her body took to be buried in Westminster Abbey. Died on his way north to handle the latest round of fighting with Scotland, leaving the throne to his son...

Edward II of England Lived: 25 April 1284 ï¿½- 21 September 1327 Reigned: 7 July 1307 ï¿½- 25 January 1327 Consort: Princess Isabella of France Nicknames: Edward of Caernarfon Every bit as physically tall and powerful as his father, but didn't care for war. Scotland eventually kicked him out in 1314. Spent much time indulging his passions of sailing, and granting favours and titles on his favourites. Widely rumoured to be an active homosexual, his relationships with Piers Gaveston and Hugh Despenser earned both men widespread enmity and, eventually, unpleasant deaths. Highly unpopular, he was murdered (supposedly by having a red-hot poker applied as an enema, though most historians think it was the less dramatic method of smothering with a pillow note Point being that, with English monarchs having assumed divine right, regicide was both high treason and a crime against God; to pull it off you needed a damn good reason, an impregnable position, or to make it look like natural causes.

Now, most of the poisons of the day could leave certain external signs that even the crude physicians of the day might recognise. As did smothering. But with dissection and autopsy forbidden by religious decree, Edward's alleged cauterised bowel would have left no external signs other than a sudden attack of terminal peritonitis.) by order of his wife Isabelle (the "She-Wolf of France") and her lover, who planned to rule though her fourteen-year-old son ... Edward III of England Lived: 13 November 1312 ï¿½- 21 June 1377 Reigned: 1 February 1327 ï¿½- 21 June 1377 Consort: Lady Philippa of Hainault Nicknames: Edward of Windsor Didn't take to being controlled very well. As soon as he was of age he seized power in his own right, executed his father's murderers and exiled his mother. Much more like his grandfather in both physical prowess and military talent.

Oversaw the start of The Hundred Years War , and had several noticeable victories against France and Scotland, such as the Battle of Crécy in 1346, before the Black Death put everything on hold. He never quite regained the initiative after that, and eventually signed a truce in 1367, leaving England better off than when they started. Spent a lot of his time after that trying to prevent the mass social changes unleashed by the plague , but ultimately failed . It was in 1373 that the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance was first formalized under the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1373 . A strange belief propagated by the movie Braveheart has Edward being the son of William Wallace. Wallace died in 1305, seven years before Edward was born; worse, Edward's mother was a nine-year-old child living in France at the time of Wallace's death. Several of his sons are notable for very important reasons, even though none of them ever became king. His eldest son was Edward the Black Prince ; dashing, courageous, a great general and highly popular.

(His third son was John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and his fourth was Edmund of Langley, Duke of York — remember those titles, they'll be important later ). Ultimately though, Edward died of dysentery two years before his father, so the throne went to his son... Richard II of England Lived: 6 January 1367 ï¿½- c. 14 February 1400 Reigned: 21 June 1377 ï¿½- 30 September 1399 Consort: (1) Princess Anne of Bohemia (1382—1394) (2) Princess Isabella of Valois (1396—1400) Nicknames: Richard of Bordeaux Ten years old at his succession, he showed what he could do at the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, where he defused the immediate threat to London while the leader, Wat Tyler, was butchered shortly behind them , and ultimately ordered the remaining rebels to surrender, which they did. This went to his head, however, and he started the tradition of addressing the King as "Majesty" and "Highness".

Like his great-grandfather, didn't care for the war with France, and was much more interested in art and architecture; he was also fond of good food, and had his cooks write a great cookbook, the Forme of Cury , one of the greatest surviving resources on the (upper-class) medieval kitchen (and a great source of inspiration if you ever want to make an unusual or especially fancy dish—you'll be surprised what medieval English chefs got up to, especially considering what their modern equivalents are famous for ). A group of nobles (the "Merciless Parliament") had some of his favorites executed for abusing his youth, and he repaid them in kindness ten years later, including having his Uncle, Thomas of Woodstock, smothered . The final straw came with the banishment for life of his cousin, John of Gaunt's eldest son Henry Bolingbroke, and the seizing of his valuable Lancastrian land. The other nobles rallied against him, and under the pressure, Richard folded. Like his great-grandfather he met a nasty end, being starved to death, and the nobles proclaimed his exiled cousin the new King...

The House of Lancaster (1399—1461, 1470—1471) Henry IV of England Lived: 15 April 1367 -ï¿½ 20 March 1413 Reigned: 30 September 1399 ï¿½- 20 March 1413 Consort: (1) Mary de Bohun (1380—1394) (2) Princess Joan of Navarre (1403—1413) Nicknames: Henry Bolingbroke In his youth was probably the best jouster in England (an opportunity to prove it against his only serious rival was interrupted by the king), and fought in a crusade. He made a rather sharp contrast with his egotistical (and childless) cousin, the king. Considered by many (including himself) to be Richard's obvious and legitimate heir, but never recognised as such by the king. Eventually lost patience and seized the throne after the king exiled him and took his estate. Thereafter, according to accounts, Angsted about stealing the crown a fair bit.

was rather poorly, and it was up to his son to put down a rebellion intended to put a descendant of an elder son of Edward III on the throne.note This was a descendant of Edward III's second son, Lionel of Clarence - whose only child married her cousin, the Duke of York, and combined their claims. The crown instead went to Bolingbroke's son... Henry V of England Lived: 16 September 1386 ï¿½- 31 August 1422 Reigned: 21 March 1413 ï¿½- 31 August 1422 Consort: Princess Catherine of Valois Nicknames: Henry Monmouth Had Richard II's body buried in Westminster, in part to assuage bad feelings caused by his father's seizing of the Crown, and in part because he had been closer to Richard than to his own father.note Some historians believe that Richard was grooming Henry Monmouth to succeed him. He then put down a Welsh rebellion, before turning his attention to resuming the Hundred Years War, his most famous activity. Parliament made the transition from writing their documentation in French to English under his rule.

Besides being William Shakespeare 's Henry V , "Prince Hal", is best known for winning the Battle of Agincourt, which in many ways was a rerun of Crécy 70 years earlier. Pretty much conquered most of Northern and Central France, and a treaty proclaimed him heir to the French Throne, making him the single most successful king in France since Henry II. Unfortunately struck down by dysentery two months before the French King died, so both crowns went to his nine-month old son... Henry VI of England Lived: 6 December 1421 ï¿½- 21 May 1471 Reigned: 31 August 1422 -ï¿½ 4 March 1461; 30 October 1470 ï¿½- 11 April 1471 Consort: Princess Margaret of Anjou Pretty much controlled by everyone around him, including his wife. His regents handled the emergence of Joan of Arc and the concept of France as a unified nation pretty badly, and the previous King of France's son was restored to the throne in 1431.

Though saintly in character, generally considered weak-willed, and mentally ill in his later years. After the Hundred Years war ended in 1453 with England only holding Calais, the nobles descended from the second and fourth sons of Edward III, who had been given land in and title of York, started the rebellion known as the Wars of the Roses . They seized the throne in 1461. Henry got it back in 1470, but not for long, and according to legend had his skull smashed in while in prison, returning the throne to... The House of York (1461—1470, 1471—1485) Edward IV of England Lived: 28 April 1442 ï¿½- 9 April 1483 Reigned: 4 March 1461 ï¿½- 3 October 1470; 11 April 1471 -ï¿½ 9 April 1483 Consort: Elizabeth Woodville At 6'4", the tallest Monarch in English History.

During his first reign, was pretty much a puppet for his cousin Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick ("the Kingmaker "). Warwick resented the growing power Edward's wife and her family had over him, and led an army against him, allowing Henry VI to reclaim the throne in the process. In a repeat of Henry IV, Edward landed on the coast and gathered support for his cause. Warwick and Henry's son were killed in battle, and Henry was quietly disposed of, leaving the cause of Lancaster to be championed by an obscure nobleman with only a tenuous claim to the throne, Henry Tudor . During his second reign, he had some military success against France (acquiring lots of money) and Scotland (acquiring some territory), but his health failed due to a sedentary lifestylenote although there has been some academic interest in the possibility that he was poisoned by the Nevilles and he died in 1483.

Edward had had his unreliable, alcoholic brother George Duke of Clarence killednote An urban legend that rose up shortly thereafter has George being drowned in a barrel of malmsey wine, but it appears he was simply starved to death, leaving his favourite and youngest brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester , as protector of his son... Edward V of England Lived: 2 November 1470 ï¿½- c. 1483 Reigned: 9 April 1483 ï¿½- 26 June 1483 Had the job two months, but was never crowned. His uncle had him imprisoned and had Edward IV's marriage invalidated, making him illegitimate and disqualified for the throne. Disappeared from the Tower of London, along with his younger brother. May or may not have been murdered by...

Richard III of England Facial reconstruction from bones, 2013 Lived: 2 October 1452 ï¿½- 22 August 1485 Reigned: 26 June 1483 ï¿½- 22 August 1485 Consort: Anne Neville Thanks to Sir Thomas More and William Shakespeare , the poster boy for Historical Villain Upgrade ; thanks to Sir George Buck, the poster boy for revisionist history . Was almost certainly not badly deformed (though the discovery of his skeleton proves he had scoliosis), nor probably irredeemably evil. Definitely seized the throne, but there's no direct evidence he was involved in the princes' disappearance. The perception that he did, though, was enough to make him very unpopular among some people.

Some people hypothesize he took the crown only because of a genuine belief that a boy-king would leave England vulnerable (as was shown by previous boy-kings) and that an adult should rule in his own right to keep England secure; he may also have acted purely in self-defense, believing that the young Edward V would be strongly influenced by his ambitious mother, who detested Richard and had been deeply involved in the condemnation and execution of Richard's brother, the Duke of Clarence. Richard's main achievement in his reign was improving conditions in Northern England, where he was pretty popular, too. In fact, he generally improved conditions for the lower orders and was loved for it by some, while said actions antagonised the nobility. He was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, the last English king to die in battle, and was succeeded by Henry Tudor as Henry VII, who beat him with foreign support (he was a Lancastrian, though several others had better claims). Through marriage, Henry VII united York and Lancaster into The House of Tudor . The last Plantagenet claimant to the throne was executed in 1499.

His skeleton was found in 2012—2013 under a car park in Leicester. They were verified as his bones by DNA from a descendant of his sisters. Contrary to popular belief, he wasn't a hunchback but suffered from a severe form of scoliosis which may have made one of his shoulders higher than the other. A facial reconstruction from his skull is shown above. Depictions in fiction In-universe, Henry VII retconned Richard IV's reign into nonexistence and made Richard III a villain. Richard IV would have been the royal title of Richard of Shrewsbury, the younger son of Edward IV and the younger brother of Edward V, had he and his brother not mysteriously vanished when they were children. The Lord Darcy stories depict an Alternate History where the Plantagenets still rule England in the 1960s. Which is now called the "Angevin Empire", and controls half of Europe.

(And is having a little cold war with the Polish Empire.) The bloodline's history diverges from ours in that Richard the Lionhearted survived his crossbow wound to return to England, exiling John Lackland from the country, and passing the throne to Geoffrey of Brittany's son Arthur in 1219. The TV series The White Queen (based on Philippa Gregory's Cousins' War series of books) follows the life of Elizabeth Woodville, a woman from a traditionally Lancastrian family who married Edward IV and was the mother of Edward V and his brother ("the princes in the Tower") as well as Elizabeth of York. In the short comic series The Black Dragon (set in 1193), the main protagonist is a nobleman exiled by Henry II who returns after the king's death. King Richard being absent on his crusade, Queen Eleanor makes a crucial appearance, assuming de-facto rulership of (mundane) Englandnote the distinction being important since it's a joint action with the Queen of Fairie England to deal with the crisis instigated by the villain(s). Almost every retelling of Robin Hood features Kings Richard the Lionheart and John Lackland. Few of them are remotely historically accurate.

George R.R. Martin 's A Song of Ice and Fire is a Fantasy Counterpart Culture inspired by medieval England. The Targaryen family is based on the Plantagenets (with a few Capetian-Valois thrown in). The "devil's brood" becoming "The Blood of the Dragon" (with literal dragons under their command). Several posthumous characters are based on them: Jaehaerys I (Henry II), Daeron the Young Dragon (Richard I and Henry V), Prince Rhaegar (Edward the Black Prince) and Queen Rhaenyra (Empress Matilda). The Baratheon family, descendants of Targaryens via a recent marriage are based on the Yorkist-Plantagenets — King Robert (Edward IV), Renly (George Clarence) and Stannis (Richard III). Alternative Title(s): The House Of Plantagenet :: Indexes ::

Question: By what nicknames was Edward, eldest son of Edward III known?
Answer: The Black Prince