Edward 3rd 1327-1377 (14 when crowned)

One of England’s great kings (perhaps the greatest) regaining much of the land lost by his father. (Ireland, Scotland and large tracts of western France. Military acumen was the most admired characteristic for any medieval king. The other was the production of a good quantity of loyal male heirs. Edward had 13 children with his wife, the Dutch princess Philippa including three famous boys, the Black Prince, John of Gaunt (Earl of Lancaster) and Edmund (Duke of York).

Edward’s mother was Princess Isabella, daughter of the French King and through this line Edward saw himself as the rightful heir to the French throne. His efforts to achieve this by military means commenced what historians call the 100 years war (England against France).

Edward was the first to spot the potential of the Long Bow as a “weapon of mass destruction”, used against the Scots first and then the French. A strong trained bowman could shoot arrows from this bow with much greater velocity than hitherto the bow being crafted from a laminate from two parts of a yew tree. The pulling strain needed was about 180 lbs. Arrows from this bow could kill a French knight in full armour at a distance of almost half a mile. The numbers of arrows taken into a major battle would be measured in millions (3 or 4)

To produce archers with both skill and strength Edward banned all other sports, like football and had compulsory Sunday training and archery tournaments. (Together with jousting). Edward was the first King in Europe to field an army of trained professionals, mainly farm workers, to fight against the socially elite mainly Frennch nobles and Knights. 

Law order and justice

Edward’s father had totally lost the faith of parliament (Barons and Clergy) but Edward 3rd was totally different, making a point of governing by the rules of parliament where he had sufficient presence and charisma to generally get his way particularly in raising taxes to finance his battles.   

The House of Lords was created under Edward 3rd thus separating elected members or “commoners” from Lords and Bishops. 

Edward also created the “Order of Knights of the Garter” as a sort of inner circle of trusted warriors. He modelled this on the mythical Knights of the Round Table of the pre-Saxon King Arthur. These Garter Knights, very often sons or other relations and became famous and feared in battle due to their skills, swordsmanship and loyalty to the King. 

The Black Death, population, economy and finance

Half way through Edward’s long reign of 50 years the worst plague to hit Europe struck in England. Prior to this the population of England had increased from 3.5 million in Norman times to some 7 million. Just before  the plague struck there was a series of bad harvests which reduced the population by about 1 million. Note much of the arable land had been turned over to sheep. Then the Plague struck a weakened population and reduced the number of people living in England down to about 3.5 million in some 3 years.

The Plague was carried by black rats who lived cheek by jowl with humans allowing the plague carrying flees to jump easily to whole families.  A few hundred years later the black rat was ousted by the present day grey rat which has not got the same affinity with humans.

The economy of the country was not totally devastated as the main export earner was wool from sheep being exported  to Flanders and Florence financed and shipped by Italian Banks.

Edward borrowed heavily from these banks to finance the 100 years war. When Edward refused to pay his debts the Italian banks involved went bust.

One of the mysteries of his reign was the alleged murder of his father, Edward 2nd by his mother the French Isabella and her lover Mortimer who ruled while Edward 3rd was in his minority (too young). Recent research has shown that Edward 2nd was not murdered but simply spirited away into obscurity by Mortimer. Edward 3rd met his “murdered” father some 10 years after the alleged event at a location in Germany.    

Chronological summary 

1312 Edward 3rd born at Windsor Castle.

1325 Edward at only 13 leads his first campaign against the Scots.

1327 Edward 2nd is murdered by his wife, the French princess Isabella and her lover Mortimer. Isabella and Mortimer rule England as Edward 3rd is only 16. Charles 4th King of France dies and French Princess Isabella immediately claims her son Edward is the rightful heir. Request refused on the basis that in France females have no rights to royal succession.

Note modern historians claim that Edward 2nd was not murdered rather just spirited away to secret captivity to enable Isabella and Mortimer to rule the country.

1328 Edward only 16 is married to Dutch Princes Philippa also aged 16.

1328 Isabella and Mortimer still in charge, weakly confirm Scottish independence. “Treaty of Edinburgh”.

1329 Robert Bruce charismatic leader of the Scots dies from leprosy. He is succeeded by his son David Bruce known as King David 2nd.

1330 Edward now 17 assumes Royal Powers, arrests and executes Mortimer and puts his mother under life time house arrest.

Edward’s wife Philippa produces their first son also called Edward but later nicknamed the Black Prince.

1333 Edward renews English dominance in Scotland by military action, ousting David and installing his own favourite Balliol. The significant battle takes place on Dupplin Moor (7 miles south east of Perth) when Edward’s supporters beat a Scottish army of twice his size with the first ever use of the English Long Bow in international warfare. (It had been used domestically 10 years previously in Yorkshire at the battle of Boroughbridge.)

1334 David flees to France and Balliol transfers the whole of southern Scotland to England. It doesn’t last.

1335-8 Regular military excursions into Scotland in support of Balliol.

1338 Edward 3rd meets his father Edward 2nd in Koblenz Germany, for the first time since his alleged murder by Mortimer.  

1336 Philip 4th dubious inheritor of the French throne in English eyes invades Bordeaux in Gascony/Aquitaine south west coastal France (then English land) and assembles a fleet to invade England. Thus it is actually France who starts the Hundred Years War. 

Background to Hundred Years War

In 1150 English King, Henry 2nd‘s territory in France was bigger than England. Indeed he was ruling more of France than the French King due to firstly his Normandy ancestors, his birth place in Anjou, conquests in Brittany and his wife’s inheritance of the huge area of land known as Aquitaine. That is the whole of France east of Paris extending to Spain and the Marseilles in the south.

Who lost it? Most say the cruel and useless John but perhaps the blame should be pointed at the historically popular Richard 1st “The Lion Heart” who instead of consolidating his huge territories was swanning off to Jerusalem on a Crusade with his homosexual lover the French King.

Henry 3rd in the 1200s, not a noted general, was regularly in France trying to regain Plantagenet land. His only reward was the retention of Gascony in the treaty of Paris in 1259.

The loss of these beautiful territories in France would rankle in the minds of English Kings for years to come. 

1337-1453 The Hundred Years War with France normally said to be started by Edward to protect English territory and support his claim through his mother (who was the daughter of the French King Philip 4th) to the throne of France. But actually the French invaded English territory first. (See above)

1338 French fleets invade England around Southampton, Dover and the Thames Estuary for London but are effectively beaten off. 

1st Phase of war

1339 Edward takes an army to France and is joined by men from Flanders and Normandy loyal to the English but makes no headway. Edward now declares himself King of France and follows this with an assault on the French navy at Sluys were after a huge battle the French navy is destroyed. Sluys is close to the mouth of the Rhine on the boarders of present day Holland and Belgium then the northern boarder of French Flanders.

1341 David Bruce returns to Scotland and with French support campaigns against England in the north.

1343 A truce is signed with France. 

2nd Phase of war

1346 The war recommences in earnest as Edward, having skirmished in France for two years, invades Normandy with 30,000 men and advances to the gates of Paris. From here he is beaten back by a French army of 100,000 to the French coast at Crecy, near the mouth of the river Somme south of Calais. Here the English regrouped and using their longbowed archers positioned on both his flanks to maximum effect, routed the French killing 30,000 of them. The French were still fighting in Feudal fashion with knights on horseback in heavy armour surrounded by their surfs with swords and mace and some with slow firing cross bows. English archers could have perhaps 3 arrows in the air at any one time.

Edward then attacks the well fortified coastal town of Calais which he takes but only after an 11 month siege. Calais remains in English hands for 150 years and prospers hugely as a trading port and landing stage.

In the mean time the Scots with their partners the French invade the north of England but are defeated by Englishmen Percy and Neville who take the Scottish King David Bruce prisoner.

1948 The Black Death hits both France and England both countries loose almost half their populations and fighting stops.  

The 3rd phase of war

1350-5 David Bruce attempts to buy his release by offering the throne of Scotland to Edwards heirs. Offer rejected perhaps not believed and the Scots invade Berwick on Tweed.

1356 Now there are two battle savvy Edwards, the king now 43 who leads another campaign against the Scots and his eldest son, just 26 and living in Bordeaux as governor of Gascony, Edward the Black Prince.

At the battle near Poitiers The Black Prince takes the King of France prisoner.

The English are now totally in control of both France and Scotland with both kings in prison hence a big treaty is signed the “Great Peace” or “Peace of Bretigny”:

• Edward can keep Gascony, Poitou, Guienne, Calais and a few smaller ones but must give up his claim to the French Crown.

• The French King John 2nd should be released for a ransom of 3 million Crowns. (£700,000)

The Ransom is never paid and French King John dies in an English prison. 

1361 Renewed outbreak of the Plague.  

The 4th phase of war

1369 The new French King Charles 5th tears up the agreement of Bretigny and restarts the war. Some of the inhabitants of Limoges desert the Black Prince who responds by massacring the lot (3000)

The French under Charles start making steady military and naval progress against an aging Edward and then a sickening Black Prince (died 1376) and on Edwards death in 1377 aged 65 the English are left only with Calais in the north of France and the coastal part of Gascony including Bordeaux in the south.  

Edward is succeeded by the eldest son of his eldest son the Black Prince, Richard 2nd aged 10 

Other changes in Edward reign

The loss of life during the Black Death caused a shortage of labour. Indeed some land was not tilled at all. This allowed some survivors the opportunity to work farms for themselves for the first time and for others to join groups demanding better wages. See Richard 2nd.  

Also Edward oversaw three huge improvement in parliamentary government.

1. It was illegal to raise money without the permission of parliament.

2. Both the Commons and the Lords must agree before any chance in the law could be made.

3. The Commons could investigate public abuses and impeach councillors.

Also

Treason was defined, which for those found guilty could result in death by hanging, drawing and quartering as;

• To plan for the death of the King or his eldest son.

• To commence a war against the King.

• To support the King’s enemies.

• To mint a counterfeit coin.

• To kill any Judge or the chancellor or the treasurer. 
  

At the same time futher effort was made to reduce Papal influence in the country. For example any person receiving money from the Pope would be punished and the money made over to the King.