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|]] |- | |} Edward of Woodstock, Prince Of Wales , KG ( June 15 1330 – June 8 1376 ), popularly known as '''the Black Prince''', was the eldest son of King Edward III Of England and Philippa Of Hainault , and father to King Richard II Of England . He himself never ruled as king, pre-deceasing his father by one year and allowing the throne to pass to his son Richard, a minor. Life Birth, Early Significance and titles Born at Woodstock Palace in Oxfordshire , Edward was created Earl Of Chester in 1333 , Duke Of Cornwall in 1337 (the first creation of an English Duke ) and finally invested as Prince Of Wales in 1343 . His birth was significant to the royal family in some views, as it is said that it gave Edward III and his associates the confidence that the Plantagenet dynasty would continue, so that they could go ahead with the overthrow of Mortimer and Isabella in 1330 without feeling the dynasty was at risk. Edward served as a symbollic regent during periods of time in 1339,1340 and 1342 whilst Edward III was on campaign. He was expected to attend all council meetings, and he performed the negotiations with the papacy about the war in 1337. His early life saw a rise in fashion sense (taking a fancy to red and purple velvet cloaks and hats), and his early love for tournaments was revealed over a disinterest in learning (like his father). He also developed his recklessness with money which would culminate in the end of his career (with his love of gambling). Military career Edward proved to have a prodigious military talent, as shown by his bravery at the Battle Of Crécy when he was only sixteen years of age. He followed this up ten years later with another Hundred Years' War victory at the Battle Of Poitiers (allowing in the long run the treaty of Bretigney to be signed after severe anarchy in France), and in 1367 with the victory at the Battle Of Najera in northern Castile . He continued the practice of using Welsh and English archers in the English army, and the English owed much of their subsequent military success to the supremacy of the English Longbow over the continental Crossbow . He proved repeatedly that his longbowmen were not only able to fire far faster than crossbowmen, but more accurately at far greater distances. He also successfully used longbows in association with strong infantry holds and men-at-arms after the French cavalry started wearing light but invinsible Plate Armour , proving longbow superiority even against plate armour by knocking down the actual horses with arrows and the firm infantry holds (ditches, stakes, potholes, hedges, wagons, marshes, mud, rectangular thorny boxes and hedgehog balls), and using men-at-arms (often mounted) to wipe out the severely wounded French. Edward was also one of the first military leaders to introduce a Uniform , clothing his Cheshire and Flintshire troops in green and white cloth. However, Edward generally avoided conventional battle (despite his tactical superiority), preferring to continue the Chevauchee strategy of his father, wreaking havock on the civilians of France through pillage, looting, slaughter and rape (sometimes covering more then 1000 km's of land).The aim behing this was to show the French that their king could not help them (successfully causing the many internal issues of 1356 to 1560- ie the peasent movements, mercenary raids, power struggles, company revolts, Jacquerie rebellions, etc) as well as being a successful form of economic warfare. Edward was generally superior to his fellow commanders at chevauchees being a clean mix between speed and destruction during the attack raids (generally lasting a couple of months) as his fellow commanders were often too slow and destructive, or too fast and weak. Edward even used specialised raider units for the job, and he scanned areas far and wide with recon mercenaries before attacking. However, Edward's weakness (as with all English commanders of the time) was the retreat from the area (when resources inevitably were strained) as the raiders were usually slowed down by their prisoners and spoils of war (not willing to give up any), and too much trust was put into information from prisoners (who would try and trick the English. That is why such major battles like Crecy ended up occurring. The Black Prince is associated with at least two major atrocities in war: commanding the slaughter of some 3,000 civilian inhabitants (women and children included) of Limoges in 1370 after a siege provoked by the bishop of Limoges inviting the French to retake the city (1369 saw Charles The Wise redeclare war on England, starting the second period of the Hundred years war), and taking part in the raid of Caen during the Normandy Chevauchee of 1346 in which 2,500 civilians were slaughtered. Final campaign and illness, death and burial His military campaigning on behalf of Pedro of Castile, known to his enemies as ' Pedro The Cruel ', ruined Edward's health as well as his finances, and he was forced to give up the administration of Aquitaine in 1371 and return to England. Whilst making an attempt to involve himself in the government of England, he soon had to give up any hope of resuming military activity, and he died aged 45 from Dropsy at Westminster on Trinity Sunday , June 8 1376 , leaving his young son as heir to the throne. He is buried in The Corona, Canterbury Cathedral , opposite his nephew Henry IV Of England , where his original Heraldic attributes may be seen. Edward's will had stipulated not only the design for his tomb but had also specified that he should be buried in the Crypt of the cathedral. This request was ignored, however, and the military hero interred alongside the tomb of St Thomas in the Trinity Chapel. The effigy of the Prince—although gold in colour—was cast in Latten , an Alloy of Copper , Zinc , Lead and Tin . His sickness is considered by some historians as not the only reason for his loss of power in 1371. He had made a reputation for cruelty at the Siege of Limoges when the war resumed and he was expected to defend Aquitaine. When the campaign in Spain had not payed off (as Pedro was murdered), England went in debt because of Edward, and the Black Prince's heavy taxes just caused resentment. As a result, Edward III found himself being forced to stick with a commander who was sick, resented, and not careful with money. Some time into his rule, Edward made matters worse when the French called him to Paris to explain himself; his reply was "I'll come to Paris with 40,000 men behind me". Emblem The emblem of the Prince of Wales's feathers and its accompanying motto, ''Ich dien'' (German: "I serve"), are said to have been inherited by the prince from King John Of Bohemia , against whom he fought in the Battle Of Crécy . According to legend, after the battle, the prince walked over to the king of Bohemia's dead body. The King had ridden into battle despite his blindness, and Edward admired his bravery. He picked up the King's helmet, lined with ostrich feathers, and took the King's motto, ''Ich dien''. This emblem and motto were not exclusively used by the Black Prince, but also by his brothers. This story, however is only partly true; while it is true that he adopted the ostrich feathers from the king of Bohemia, the emblem he used was used before him by other English monarchs Marriage and issue Edward had been raised with his cousin Joan "The Fair Maid Of Kent" . After marrying her in October, 1361 (a controversial match), Edward was sent to rule the province of Aquitaine as prince on behalf of his father. During this period, he fathered two sons, Edward (who died in infancy) and Richard, who would later rule as Richard II Of England . He was given the lordship of Biscay by Pedro I Of Castile in 1367. The name "Black Prince" Edward is almost always now called the "Black Prince", but he was never known as such during his lifetime (instead being known as '''Edward of Woodstock''' after his place of birth). The "Black Prince" title does not appear in writing until at least 200 years after his death. Its origin is uncertain; while some later historians have speculated that he may have worn black armour (possibly presented to him by his father at the battle of Crécy), or a black Surcoat over his armour, it is also likely that the name was first coined by French chroniclers in reference to the ruinous military defeats he had inflicted on France or his cruelty in these. One (possibly apochryphal) Etymology of the phrase has it deriving from the blackness of his tomb effigy from dirt and/or black polish, when it is in fact shiny metal. View On Chivalry Edward lived in a century of decline for the knightly ideal of Chivalry . The formation of the Order Of The Garter , an English royal order of which Edward was a founding member, signified a shift towards patriotism and away from the crusader mentality that characterized England in the previous two centuries. Edward epitomizes this evolution because of his seemingly divided views. Edward displayed obedience to typical chivalric obligations through his pious contributions to Canterbury Cathedral throughout his life. He, like many in the English royal family, was married and buried there. However, during his campaigns in France, his practice of accepted chivalric wartime practices was somewhat inconsistent. On one hand, he treated John The Good and his youngest son (whom he captured at Poitiers) with great respect, at one point giving John leave to return home, and he reportedly prayed with John at Canterbury Cathedral. Notably, he also allowed a day for preparations before the Battle of Poitiers so that both sides could discuss the upcoming battle with one another, and so that the Cardinal of Perigord could plead for peace. On the other hand, his chivalric leanings were overridden by pragmatism on more than one occasion. His Chevauchee tactics were not in keeping with contemporary notions of chivalry, but they were quite successful in accomplishing the goals of his campaigns and weakening the French's ability to wage war. Moreover, he was exceptionally harsh to and contemptuous of lower classes in society, and this was exemplified by heavy taxes he levied as Prince of Aquitaine and by the massacres he perpetrated at Limoges and Caen. However, Edward's behavior was typical of an increasing number of knights and nobles during the late Middle Ages who paid less and less attention to the high ideal of chivalry. List of Major Campaigns . The 1345 Flanders Campaign (Northern Front) .The Crecy Campaign {Normandy Front) .The Siege Of Calais (Northern Front) . The Calais Counter-offensive (Northern Front) . Les Espagnols Sur Mer {English Channel Front) . The Great Raid Of 1355 (Aquitaine-Languedoc Front) . The Aquitaine Conquests {Aquitaine Front) .The Poitiers Campaign (Aquitaine-Loire Front) .The 1357-1358 Raids of Central France and Paris {Loire-Central-Normandy Front) .The Reims Campaign (Normandy-Northern-Central-Loire-Ardennes Front) .The Najera Campaign {Castille Front) .The Siege of Limoges {Aquitaine Front) Strategic Significance (in the order of the previous list) -No significance. Finished after 3 weeks when an ally was murdered. -Crippled French army for 10 years, allowing the siege of Calais to occur with little conventional resistance before the plague set in. Normandy virtually under English control, but a decision is made to focus on northern France, leaving Normandy under the control of England's vassal allies instead. -Though long, the inhabitants suffered extremely worse (resulting to eating dogs, rats and babies), and it gave the English personal and vassal control over northern France before the temporary peace (due to The Black Death ). -Calais remains in English hands. -Little significance; a Pyrrhic Victory preventing the raids in Essex by the Spaniards. -Crippled southern France economically, and caused resentment of the French throne. 'Cushioned' the area for conquest, opened up allances with neighbours in Aquitaine ( Charles The Bad of Navarre is most notable), and caused many regions to move towards an autonomous state from France (as France was certainly not as united as England). -Allowed much firmer control in Aquitaine, much land for resources and many people to fight for Edward. -Crippled the French Army for the next 13 years, causing the anarchy and chaos which would inevitably cause the Treaty Of Bretigney to be signed in 1360 (Jacquerie rebellions, great companies, peasent revolts, power struggles, civil war, mercenary revolts,etc). There is no leader, there is challenge towards Charles the Wise, and more aristocrats have been killed at Crecy and Poitiers then those lost to the Black Death. -Increases France to move into disarray, with the need for peace. -Peace finally achieved with the Treaty of Bretigney. But, on the same terms, England is left with about a third of France rather then a little under half (which they would have received through the Treaty of London (which John agreed to, but the other aristocrats did not)). This is due to the failure to take Reims which led to the need for a safe passage out of France. As a result, a lesser treaty was agreed to and Edward III was obliged to drop his claims to the French throne (bit of failure as Edward III was not crowned at a taken Reims, but then again he secretly never dropped his claims). France is still forced to pay a huge ransom for John the Good in the treaty (which was around 4 times the size of France's gross annual pay) and they never received John anyway, as the English were not satisfied (the final sum was a little bit short of what they wanted). Thus, a mixed result, but mostly positive. -Pedro the Cruel is temporarily saved from a coup, thus confirming Castillian Spanish dedication to the Prince's cause (at this time, a time of peace), but Pedro is murdered later on, ruining the effort. The Prince (as a result) made a mistake in making a puppet in Spain as the government went broke, leading to heavy taxes in Aquitaine, thus resentment, thus mass murder by the prince, thus more severe resentment, and Charles the Wise taking advantage of the resentment. -The Black Prince is removed from office for sickness and financial issues, but also partly due to the cruelty of the siege. As a result, the English war effort against Charles the Wise and Bertrand Du Guesclin is doomed without the Prince. The Prince's brother John Of Gaunt was disinterested with the war in France, and more interested with the War Of Succession in Spain. Further reading
See also HMS Black Prince , for Royal Navy ships named in his honour The Black Prince's Ruby which he forced Pedro the Cruel to give to him after the Spanish campaign for his ungratefulness.
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