Edward III 233younger Hugh le Despenser (d. 1326). After sending
Isabel to France to negotiate a dispute between him and
her brother, he had to deal with her attempt to dethrone
him when she returned in 1326 with troops and the sup-
port of her lover Roger Mortimer (ca. 1287–1330).
Unable to count on the support of his barons, who he
had offended by his unwillingness to consult them and
his poor use of royal patronage, Edward fled to the west
but was captured on November 16, 1326, at Neath in
Glamorgan. On June 20, 1327, he was forced to resign
the throne. Imprisoned in Berkeley Castle, Edward was
poorly treated and murdered about September 21, 1327.
He was buried at Gloucester Abbey, regarded by some as
a saint.
Further reading:Martin Bucke, Politics, Finance and
the Church in the Reign of Edward II: Walter Stapeldon,
Treasurer of England(Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1983); Natalie Fryde, The Tyranny and Fall of
Edward II, 1321–1326(Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1979); Michael Prestwich, The Three Edwards: War
and State in England, 1272–1377 (London: Methuen,
1980).
Edward III (Edward of Windsor)(1312–1377)king of
England
Born on November 13, 1312, the eldest son of EDWARDII
and Isabel of France (1292–1322) at Windsor Castle,
Edward spent his youth in his mother’s court and was
crowned at age 14 after his father was deposed. After
three years of domination by his mother and her lover,
Roger Mortimer (ca. 1278–1330), Edward instigated a
palace revolt in 1330 and took control of the government.
Mortimer was executed on November 29, 1330, and
Isabel was exiled from court. Edward had married
Philippa of Hainault (ca. 1314–69) in 1328 and the union
produced 12 children.WA R
War occupied the largest part of Edward’s reign. He and
Edward Balliol (ca. 1283–1364) defeated DAVIDII of Scot-
land and drove David into exile in 1333. French coopera-
tion with the Scots, French aggression in Gascony, and
Edward’s claim to the disputed throne of FRANCEthrough
his mother, Isabella, the daughter of KINGPHILIPIV, led
to the first phase of the HUNDREDYEARS’WAR. A naval
battle at Sluys in 1340 gave ENGLAND control of the
Channel, and battles at CRÉCYin 1346 and Calais in 1347
established English supremacy on land. Hostilities ceased
in the immediate aftermath of the Black Death, of 1347,
but war flared up again with an English invasion of
France in 1355. EDWARD THEBLACKPRINCE, eldest son of
Edward III, massacred the French cavalry at POITIERSin
1356 and captured the French king, John II (r. 1350–64).
In 1359, the Black Prince encircled Paris with his army
and the defeated French negotiated for peace. The Treaty
of Brétigny in 1360 ceded huge areas of northern and
western France to English sovereignty. Hostilities arose
again in 1369 as English armies under the king’s third
son, JOHN OFGAUNT, invaded France but were unsuccess-
ful in reasserting military dominance. English military
strength had weakened considerably after another plague
in 1362. By 1375, Edward had to agree to the Treaty of
Bruges, keeping only the coastal towns of Calais, Bor-
deaux, and Bayonne.SOCIETY LAW AND TAXES
English society changed in several ways during Edward’s
reign. Edward learned from the mistakes of his father
and strove for more cordial relations with the nobility
than had any previous monarch. The number of the
nobility fell and it changed from a large body with
small holdings to a small body that held great lands
and wealth. Mercenary troops came to replace feudal
obligations as the means of assembling armies. Taxation
of exports and commerce overtook taxes based on land
values as the primary form of financing of government
and war. Wealth was raised from MERCHANTSas they and
other middle-class subjects appeared regularly for
parliamentary sessions and granted taxation. PARLIA-
MENTformally divided into two houses, the upper repre-
senting the nobility and high clergy and the lower
representing the middle classes. It had to meet regularly
to finance Edward’s wars and pass statutes. TREASON
was defined by STATUTEfor the first time in 1352, the
office of justice of the peace was created to aid sheriffs
in 1361, and English replaced French as the national
language in 1362.Edward II, king of England(Courtesy Library of Congress)