234 Edward IV
THE LATER YEARS OF THE LONG REIGNDespite the king’s early successes and a general prosperity,
problems in the kingdom did exist. The power of the
church declined, but John WYCLIFFE’s ecclesiastical reform
movement challenged the economic exploitation of the
church by both the king and the pope. During 1348–50
and 1362, bubonic plague or the Black Death cut the pop-
ulations of England and of Europe by as much as 50 per-
cent. The English economy was hampered by the ensuing
rising prices and wages struggling to keep up. The failed
military excursions of John of Gaunt into France resulted
in exorbitant taxation and eroded Edward’s popular sup-
port. After Edward declined in health and the Black Prince
died, his mistress, Alice Perrers (d. 1400), and William
Latimer (d. 1381) dominated the court with the support
of John of Gaunt. After Edward the Black Prince died in
1376, the old king spent the last year of his life grieving.
He died on June 27, 1377.
Further reading:W. M. Ormrod, The Reign of Edward
III: Crown and Political Society in England, 1327–1377,2d
ed. (Stroud, Gloucestershire: Alan Sutton, 2000); Michael
Packe, King Edward III,ed. L. C. B. Seaman (London:
Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1983); Michael Prestwich,
The Three Edwards: War and State in England, 1272–1377
(London: Methuen, 1980); Clifford J. Rogers, War Cruel
and Sharp: English Strategy under Edward III, 1327–1360
(Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2000); Scott L. Waugh,
England in the Reign of Edward III(Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1991).
Edward IV (1442–1483)Yorkist king of England
Born at ROUENon April 28, 1442, Edward IV was the son
of Richard Plantagenet (1411–60), duke of YORK, and
Cecily Neville (1415–95). He took part in the WARS OF
THEROSESfrom the first battle at Saint Albans on May 22,
1455, and in 1460 he accompanied Richard Neville
(1428–71), earl of Warwick, and the Calais garrison
when Warwick invaded ENGLAND. He later raised rebels
in Kent and in the north, demanding “good government.”
The success of this uprising established Richard of York
as regent and heir of the ineffective and mentally incom-
petent King Henry VI (1422–61, 1470–71), but Henry’s
queen, Margaret of Anjou (1430–82), did not accept this
political disinheritance of their son, Prince Edward of
Lancaster (1453–71). Her Lancastrian Army of the North
defeated and killed Richard of York at Wakefield on
December 30, 1460. Margaret liberated Henry VI but she
failed to capture and control London. Edward, now the
leader of the Yorkist party, entered the capital and
claimed the Crown.
Edward’s popular election by crowds at Saint John’s
Field on March 1, 1461, and at Saint Paul’s, WESTMINSTER
Hall and Abbey on March 4, 1461, was a constitutional
novelty. Edward moved quickly to consolidate his hold
on the crown and marched north where he won a 10-
hour battle at Towton on March 29, 1461. That left the
Lancastrians as fugitives. A June 28 coronation followed.
PARLIAMENTvoted attainders of Edward’s enemies but
granted no funds to him. It reminded the new king of his
promise of better government.RULE AND DEATH
Control of Edward’s government was a battlefield for the
Neville and Woodville families. He secretly married Eliza-
beth Woodville (1437–92) in May 1464; she gave him
two sons. In 1471 there began a last struggle with the
Lancastrians. Warwick, his one-time ally, was killed at the
Battle of Barnet on April 14, Prince Edward was killed at
Tewkesbury on May 4, Margaret of Anjou was captured,
and the mentally ill, but devious, Henry VI died or was
executed on the night of the army’s return to London on
May 21, 1471. The ensuing years of Edward’s reign were
occupied with maneuvering between the king of France
and the duke of Burgundy. He had his brother, George of
Clarence (1449–78), executed for TREASONon February
18, 1478, perhaps drowned in a vat of wine. Edward suf-
fered through the consequences to his popularity of being
perceived as taking payoffs from England’s enemy the
king of France, LOUISXI. King Louis’s 1482 publication
of a secret pension alarmed Edward sufficiently to induce
him to search for new diplomatic alternatives or alliances
that lasted up to the time of his sudden illness and death
at Westminster on April 9, 1483. Edward’s 12-year-old
son was proclaimed Edward V (1470–83), with his uncle,
Richard of Gloucester, the future RICHARDIII, as regent.
See alsoCOMMYNES,PHILLIPE DE.
Further reading:Charles Derek Ross, Edward IV,2d
ed. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1997); J.
R. Lander, The Wars of the Roses(New York: Capricorn
Books, 1965).Edward the Black Prince (Edward of Woodstock)
(1330–1376)knight, military leader
Born on June 15, 1330, Edward the Black Prince was also
known as Edward of Woodstock, after his place of birth;
as prince of Wales; and sometimes as Edward IV. He was
the eldest son of EDWARDIII and Philippa of Hainault (ca.
1314–69). On March 18, 1333, shortly before his third
birthday, he was created earl of Chester and was made
duke of Cornwall on March 3, 1337. During the next few
years, he was made guardian of the kingdom while his
father was absent on the Continent. On May 12, 1343,
Edward was crowned prince of WALES. At the age of 15
he was knighted by his father at La Hogue and took an
active role in the winning of the Battle of CRÉCYon
August 26, 1346, against the French. It was at this battle
that he obtained the epithet “the Black Prince,” according
to a 16th-century source because he wore black armor.WAR AND GOVERNMENT
In the following years Edward was active in the military
expeditions of his father, including the expedition to