Edward III

1327 - 1377

aka Edward of Windsor

Edward was a popular choice for King despite being a teenager when his father died. He was tall and handsome, ambitious and daring. He enjoyed the revelries of the Court, which included putting on plays, tournaments and lavish feasts. Edward had a romantic, chivalrous nature but he was also ruthless and opportunistic. Life at Court and on the battlefield proved to be lively and expensive. Despite this, during his reign, he gave England a period of much needed stabiity and is seen as the quintessential English King,

As he was only 14 when he came to the Crown, Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer reigned as regents. They proved to be corrupt and unpopular. They caused offence by signing the Treaty of Northampton in 1328 which recognised Scotland’s right to be independent of England. Despite Scotland having been its own nation since the Battle of Bannockburn, the English felt the treaty led to a ‘Shameful Peace’. Edward appears to have shared the national mood. In 1330, three years after his coronation, he moved against his mother and her lover. While they both slept at the keep at Nottingham Castle, Edward and 23 of his men used a secret passageway to enter their chamber unobserved. They arrested Roger. He was found guilty of the murder of Edward’s father, among other crimes, and was hung. Isabella was held captive, in comfort, at Castle Rising in Norfolk.

Three years later, in 1333, Edward moved against the Scots, specifically King David II, and won the battle of Halidon Hill. King David’s successor Edward Balliol could not hold his position, and three years later King David was back in charge. He moved against England in 1346 but was captured.

Edward’s mother, Isabella, was the daughter of King Philip IV of France. Edward therefore felt justified in staking a claim to the title King of France following his uncle’s death. In 1337 Edward and his rival for the French throne, Philip VI of Valois, declared war. This was the start of the Hundred Years’ War with France. England won a very bloody naval victory at Sluys in 1340, securing passage across the Channel. Edward went on to win a decisive victory at Crecy in 1346. His archers fired a volley of arrows that were reportedly so dense, they turned the sky black. The French, with cross bows and superior numbers, could not hold off Edward’s long bows. 10,000 French men fell compared to 100 English. The following year Edward took Calais by peaceful means due to the bravery of six townsmen who offered their lives to secure those of their country men.

Despite Edward’s successes, this was a difficult time for England. Soldiers, labourers and farmers were being decimated by the Black Death. This led to famine and poverty. The war was an expensive pursuit and in 1360 Edward dropped his claim to the French Crown in exchange for undisputed lands. Ten years later, under his direction, his sons reasserted his claim. The Black Prince murdered the inhabitants of Limoges. He returned to England to face strong condenmation for this war that had cost so many lives and so much money. Condemnation became action and in 1376 the ‘Good Parliament’ was convened. It quickly took action against the people closest to the King, including his mistress.

Edward’s first wife Philippa was popular, despite trying to sell the crown jewels to Germany, but she died young. His mistress, Dame Alice Perrers,
was generally disliked and Edward’s popularity dipped as a result. When he died, Alice is said to have slipped the rings from his lifeless fingers and lived merrily on the proceeds for the rest of her life. At the end of Edward’s reign, England held only Calais, Bordeaux and Bayonne. His son John had begun to take control of state affairs, as Edward suffered ill-health. He died of a stroke, aged 64, in 1377.

When evaluating Edward’s legacy, the importance of chivalry cannot go unnoted. Edward wanted his knights to embrace the notion of public servitude. He recreated King Arthur’s Round Table and in 1348 he created the Order of the Garter. Edward staged tournaments, even at the height of the Black Death. As a young King he was larger-than-life but as his reign continued, his ambition began to cost the nation and he was reigned in.

Edward III Factfile