Transcriber's Note:
Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as possible, including non-standard spelling. Some changes of spelling and punctuation have been made. They are listed at the end of the text.
ENGLISH SCHOOL CLASSICS
With Introductions and Notes.
Edited by FRANCIS STORR, B.A.,
CHIEF MASTER OF MODERN SUBJECTS IN MERCHANT TAYLORS' SCHOOL, LATE SCHOLAR OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, AND BELL UNIVERSITY SCHOLAR.
Small 8vo.
Thomson's Seasons: Winter.
With an Introduction to the Series, by the Rev. J. Franck Bright,. M.A., Fellow of University College, and Historical Lecturer in Balliol, New, and University Colleges, Oxford, late Master of the Modern School at Marlborough College. 1s.
Cowper's Task.
By Francis Storr, B.A., Chief Master of Modern Subjects in Merchant Taylors' School. 2s.
Part I. (Books I. and II.), 9d. Part II. (Books III. and IV.), 9d. Part III. (Books V. and VI.), 9d.
Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel.
By J. Surtees Phillpotts, M.A., Head Master of Bedford School. 2s. 6d.
Part I. (Canto I. with Introduction), 9d. Part II. (Cantos II. and III.), 9d. Part III. (Cantos IV. and V.), 9d. Part IV. (Canto VI.), 9d.
Scott's Lady of the Lake.
By R. W. Taylor, M.A., Assistant-Master at Rugby School. 2s.
Part I. (Cantos I. and II.), 9d. Part II. (Cantos III. and IV.), 9d. Part III. (Cantos V. and VI.), 9d.
Notes to Scott's Waverley.
By H. W. Eve, M.A., Head Master of University College, London. 1s.
Waverley and Notes. 2s. 6d.
Twenty of Bacon's Essays.
By Francis Storr, B.A. 1s.
Simple Poems.
Edited by W. E. Mullins, M.A., Assistant-Master at Marlborough College. 8d.
Selections from Wordsworth's Poems.
By H. H. Turner, B.A., Scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge. 1s.
Wordsworth's Excursion.—The Wanderer.
By H. H. Turner, B.A., Scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge. 1s.
Milton's Paradise Lost.
By Francis Storr, B.A. Book I. 9d. Book II. 9d.
Selections from the Spectator.
By Osmund Airy, M.A., Assistant-Master at Wellington College. 1s.
Browne's Religio Medici.
By W. P. Smith, M.A., Assistant-Master at Winchester College. 1s.
Goldsmith's Traveller, and The Deserted Village.
By C. Sankey, M.A., Assistant-Master at Marlborough College. 1s.
Extracts from Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield.
By C. Sankey, M.A., Assistant-Master at Marlborough College. 1s.
Poems selected from the Works of Robert Burns.
By A. M. Bell, M.A., Balliol College, Oxford.
Macaulay's Essays:
- Moore's Life of Byron. By Francis Storr, B.A. 9d.
- Boswell's Life of Johnson. By Francis Storr, B.A. 9d.
- Hallam's Constitutional History. By H. F. Boyd, B.A., late Scholar of Brasenose College, Oxford. 1s.
Southey's Life of Nelson.
By W. E. Mullins, M.A., Assistant-Master at Marlborough College.
RIVINGTONS: LONDON, OXFORD, AND CAMBRIDGE
HISTORICAL HANDBOOKS
Edited by
OSCAR BROWNING, M.A.,
FELLOW OF KING'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE.
Crown 8vo.
History of the English Institutions.
By Philip V. Smith, M.A., Barrister at Law; Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. 3s. 6d.
History of French Literature.
Adapted from the French of M. Demogeot. By C. Bridge. 3s. 6d.
The Roman Empire. From A.D. 395 to A.D. 800. With Maps and Plans.
By A. M. Curteis, M.A., Assistant-Master at Sherborne School, late Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford. 3s. 6d.
History of Modern English Law.
By Sir Roland Knyvet Wilson, Bart., M.A., Barrister at Law; late Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. 3s. 6d.
English History in the XIVth Century.
By Charles H. Pearson, M.A., late Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. 3s. 6d.
The Reign of Lewis XI. With Map.
By F. Willert, M.A., Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford. 3s. 6d.
In Preparation.
The Great Rebellion.
By the Editor.
History of the French Revolution.
By the Rev. J. Franck Bright, M.A., Fellow of University College, and Historical Lecturer in Balliol, New, and University Colleges, Oxford; Author of an "English History for the use of Public Schools."
The Age of Chatham.
By Sir W. R. Anson, Bart., M.A., Fellow of All Souls' College, and Vinerian Reader of Law,
The Age of Pitt.
By the same.
The Supremacy of Athens.
By R. C. Jebb, M.A., Professor of Greek in the University of Glasgow.
The Roman Revolution. From B.C. 133 to the Battle of Actium.
By H. F. Pelham, M.A., Fellow and Lecturer of Exeter College, Oxford.
History of the United States.
By Sir George Young, Bart., M.A., late Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.
History of Roman Political Institutions.
By J. S. Reid, M.L., Christ's College, Cambridge.
RIVINGTONS: LONDON, OXFORD, AND CAMBRIDGE
HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHIES
EDITED BY
REV. M. CREIGHTON, M.A.
LATE FELLOW AND TUTOR OF MERTON COLLEGE, OXFORD.
Edward the Black Prince
HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHIES
Edited by
THE REV. M. CREIGHTON, M.A.
LATE FELLOW AND TUTOR OF MERTON COLLEGE, OXFORD
With Maps.
The most important and the most difficult point in historical teaching is to awaken a real interest in the minds of beginners. For this purpose concise handbooks are seldom useful. General sketches, however accurate in their outlines of political or constitutional development, and however well adapted to dispel false ideas, still do not make history a living thing to the young. They are most valuable as maps on which to trace the route beforehand and show its direction, but they will seldom allure any one to take a walk.
The object of this series of Historical Biographies is to try and select from English History a few men whose lives were lived in stirring times. The intention is to treat their lives and times in some little detail, and to group round them the most distinctive features of the periods before and after those in which they lived.
It is hoped that in this way interest may be awakened without any sacrifice of accuracy, and that personal sympathies may be kindled without forgetfulness of the principles involved.
It may be added that around the lives of individuals it will be possible to bring together facts of social life in a clearer way, and to reproduce a more vivid picture of particular times than is possible in a historical handbook.
By reading short biographies a few clear ideas may be formed in the pupil's mind, which may stimulate to further reading. A vivid impression of one period, however short, will carry the pupil onward and give more general histories an interest in their turn. Something, at least, will be gained if the pupil realises that men in past times lived and moved in the same sort of way as they do at present.
The series contains the following Biographies:
- [Price 2s. 6d.Simon de Montfort.
- [Price 2s. 6d.The Black Prince.
- Sir Walter Raleigh.
- Oliver Cromwell.
- The Duke of Marlborough.
- The Duke of Wellington.
LIFE OF Edward the Black Prince
BY LOUISE CREIGHTON
WITH MAP AND PLANS
RIVINGTONS WATERLOO PLACE, LONDON Oxford and Cambridge
MDCCCLXXVI
In peace, was never gentle lamb more mild,
Than was that young and princely gentleman;
... when he frown'd it was against the French,
And not against his friends; his noble hand
Did win what he did spend, and spent not that
Which his triumphant father's hand had won:
His hands were guilty of no kindred's blood,
But bloody with the enemies of his kin."
Shakespeare, Richard II. Act ii. Scene 2.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.EARLY YEARS OF THE BLACK PRINCE. Page 1330 Birth 1 Position of Edward III. 2 Fall of Mortimer 3 Scottish Affairs 4 1333 Edward's Claim to the French Crown 7 Prince Edward's Education 9 CHAPTER II.
BEGINNING OF THE FRENCH WAR. 1336 Flanders and Jacques van Arteveldt 12 1338 Edward III. sails for Flanders 14
CRESSY. Constitution of Edward III.'s Army 27 1346 Edward III. sails from Portsmouth 31 He lands at La Hogue 32 Capture of Caen 33 Edward III. marches up the Seine 34 Pursuit of Philip 35 Battle of Cressy 37 CHAPTER IV.
THE SIEGE OF CALAIS. 1346 Edward III. lays siege to Calais 46 1347 Surrender of the Garrison 49 Heroism of the Six Burghers 49 Edward III. returns to England 51 1349 Geoffroy de Chargny tries to retake Calais 52 CHAPTER V.
CHIVALRY. 1347 Effect of Edward's Victories on England 54 Chivalry 55 Education of a Knight 56 Institution of Knighthood 57 Ideal of Knighthood
THE BLACK DEATH. 1348 First appearance of the Black Death in England 72 Its Ravages 74 1349 The Flagellants 75 Effect of the Black Death on Labour 76 The Statute of Labourers 78 Condition of the Labourer 81 Langland's "Vision of Piers the Plowman" 82 CHAPTER VII.
RENEWAL OF WAR WITH FRANCE. 1350 Sea-fight with the Spaniards 86 1351 State of France 90 1354 Triple Invasion of France 92 1356 Burnt Candlemas 93 CHAPTER VII.
POITIERS. 1355 The Black Prince sails from Poitiers 94 His Raid into France 95 1356 He starts on his Second Campaign 96 Capture of Romorantin 97 Battle of Poitiers 98 Capture of King John 107 The Black Prince returns to Bordeaux 110 CHAPTER IX.
TRIUMPHAL RETURN TO ENGLAND. 1356 Entry of the Black Prince into Bordeaux 113 1357 Black Prince, with King John,
THE PEACE OF BRETIGNY. 1359 Edward III. leads a mighty Army into France 123 He lays siege to Rheims 125 He marches into Burgundy 127 Sir Walter Manny assaults the barriers of Paris 127 1360 Treaty signed at Bretigny 128 King John returns to France 129 Chandos Lieutenant in Aquitaine 131 CHAPTER XI
EDWARD III.'S JUBILEE. 1361 Meeting of Parliament 132 Black Prince's Marriage 133 John of Gaunt becomes Duke of Lancaster 133 Geoffrey Chaucer 134 1362 Edward III. celebrates his Jubilee 139 1363 Sumptuary Laws 140 Archbishop Islip's Remonstrance 141 Wealth of the City of London 142 King John's return to England 144 CHAPTER XII.
THE BLACK PRINCE IN AQUITAINE. State of Aquitaine 145 Bastides 146 Edward III.'s Policy in Aquitaine 147 Black Prince's Court at Bordeaux 149 1364 Birth of Prince Edward 150 State of Spain 151 Don Pedro and Henry of Trastamare 153 1366 Black Prince promises to help Don Pedro
SPANISH CAMPAIGN. 1367 Birth of Prince Richard 159 Troops meet at Dax 160 Bertrand Du Guesclin 161 Black Prince crosses the Pyrenees 162 Henry's Manifesto 163 Black Prince marches to Logrono 164 Battle of Navarette 165 Restoration of Don Pedro 169 Black Prince winters round Valladolid 170 He Returns to Aquitaine 171 CHAPTER XIV.
FAILURE IN AQUITAINE. Effects of Spanish Campaign 173 1368 Release of Du Guesclin 175 Death of Don Pedro 176 Hearth Tax in Aquitaine 177 Discontent in Aquitaine 177 1369 Black Prince summoned to Paris 179 Death of Chandos 180 1370 Siege of Limoges 183 1371 Black Prince returns to England 186 CHAPTER XV.
ENGLISH POLITICS. 1369 Death of Queen Philippa 187 Growth of Parliament 188 Parliaments of Edward I. 189 Parliaments of Edward III. 190 State of Clergy 192 1371 The Papacy 193 1351 The Popes at Avignon 194 1353 Statutes of Provisors and Præmunire 195
THE GOOD PARLIAMENT. 1376 Unpopularity of Lancaster 204 Meeting of Parliament 205 De la Mare, Speaker 206 Petitions of Parliament 208 Impeachments of Lyons, Lord Latimer, &c. 208 Impeachment of Alice Perrers 210 CHAPTER XVII.
DEATH OF THE BLACK PRINCE. 1376 Scene round Black Prince's Death-bed 212 His Funeral 215 His Character 217 Results of the French Wars 220 CHAPTER XVIII.
THE FIRST YEARS OF RICHARD II. Lancaster's return to power 221 1377 Charges of Heresy against Wiclif 222 His "Simple Priests" 223 1381 Peasant's Revolt 223 Insurgents enter London 224 Murder of Archbishop Simon Sudbury 225 Death of Wat the Tyler 225 Wiclif's Translation of the Bible 226 Summary 229 PLANS AND MAP. Plan of Cressy 39 Plan of Poitiers 99 Map of France at end of vol.
CHAPTER I.
Early Years of the Black Prince.
On the 15th June, in the year 1330, there were great rejoicings in the Royal Palace of Woodstock. One Thomas Prior came hastening to the young King Edward III. to tell him that his Queen had just given birth to a son. The King in his joy granted the bearer of this good news an annual pension of forty marks. We can well imagine how he hurried to see his child. When he found him in the arms of his nurse, Joan of Oxford, overjoyed at the sight, he gave the good woman a pension of ten pounds a year, and granted the same sum to Matilda Plumtree, the rocker of the Prince's cradle.
Perhaps with Edward's thoughts of joy at the birth of his son were mingled some feelings of shame. It was three years since he had been crowned, and yet he was King only in name. He was nothing but a tool in the hands of his unscrupulous mother Isabella, and her ambitious favourite Mortimer. He was very young, not quite eighteen, and had not had sufficient knowledge or experience to know how to break the bonds within which he was held. But with the new dignity of father came to him a sense of his humiliating position. He would wish that his own son, on reviewing his youth, should have different thoughts of his father than he had.
He can hardly have borne to look back upon his own youth, with its shameful memories. He had seen his father, Edward II., by his dissipated life and his slavish devotion to his favourites, alienate the affection of his subjects, and provoke the Barons to rise against him. Then, when peace had for awhile been restored, he had gone with his mother to France. He had seen her refuse to return to England at the King's demand; he had watched the growth of the disgraceful intimacy between her and Roger Mortimer, one of the rebel earls. At last, a powerless instrument in their hands, he had been taken by her and Mortimer to invade England, and Edward II.'s throne was attacked and overthrown by his own wife and son.
The rebellion was entirely successful. None were found to espouse the cause of the despised King. He was obliged formally to give up the crown to his son, and on the 20th January, 1327, Edward III., then only in his fourteenth year, was proclaimed King. All we know of the part taken by Edward III. himself in these proceedings is, that he refused to receive the crown without the sanction of his father. But he had no real power: all was in the hands of the Queen and Mortimer. Before the end of the year, feeling insecure whilst Edward II. was still alive, they caused him to be secretly murdered in the castle where he was imprisoned. Soon after they married the young King to Philippa, daughter of the Count of Hainault, a union destined in every way to contribute to his happiness and to the good of the kingdom.
The power of Queen Isabella and Mortimer continued unchecked till the birth of Prince Edward. It was a troubled world in which the little Prince first saw the light. For three years the English people had been subjected to a rule they detested, and their discontent had been gradually growing. One attempt at rebellion had been made by the King's uncle, Edmund Earl of Kent; but it had only ended in the execution of the simple, high-minded Earl. This had increased tenfold the hatred with which Mortimer was regarded. Edward III. felt that as a father he was no longer a mere boy, and could not continue to submit to his own degradation.
It was not difficult to find people ready and eager to enter into his plans. A conspiracy was formed, of which the Queen and Mortimer seem to have had dim suspicions. They tried to avert the danger by keeping Edward with them in Nottingham Castle. But he succeeded in gaining over the governor of the castle, and a body of armed men was introduced at midnight through a subterranean passage. They broke into the room where Mortimer was, and after a short struggle made him prisoner. The Queen, who was in the next room, burst in with agonized entreaties, "Fair son, fair son, oh spare the gentle Mortimer!"
Soon afterwards Mortimer was brought to trial, before a Parliament summoned by Edward, and was sentenced to be hanged. Queen Isabella was kept in honourable confinement till her death, twenty-seven years after.
Edward III. now took the entire management of affairs into his hands, and soon found that he had plenty to do. Whilst the little Prince was still in his cradle, his father was already perplexed by the events which were to lead to those wars in which both played such a brilliant part.
Edward III.'s grandfather, Edward I., had cherished the dream of uniting under his own rule England, Scotland, and Wales. At times he had been very near the fulfilment of this dream; but Scottish love of independence had been too strong for him. The Scots found powerful leaders; they struggled fearlessly against apparently hopeless odds, and at last secured the throne to Robert Bruce.
The English however would not give up the hope of conquering Scotland. One of the most unpopular acts of Queen Isabella and Mortimer had been the conclusion of a peace with Scotland, called the Treaty of Northampton, in which they had recognised Robert Bruce as King. Edward III. therefore was acting quite in accordance with the wishes of his people when he interfered with Scottish affairs.
The moment seemed hopeful. Robert Bruce was dead, his son David was a mere child, and a new claimant to the throne had arisen in Edward Baliol, whose father in former days had struggled for the crown against the Bruces. Baliol was successful, and David Bruce had to fly to France. Then Edward demanded that Baliol should recognise him as suzerain, that is, should acknowledge the over-lordship of the English King, and do him homage as one of his vassals.
Baliol consented, and this in the end lost him his crown. The Scottish nobles, who had fought so bravely for their independence, would own no allegiance to a monarch who could tamely submit to the King of England; they revolted, and chased Baliol from the throne. It was then that Edward was called upon to interfere actively; he summoned an army, and marched against the revolted Scots; they were completely crushed at the battle of Hallidon Hill, near Berwick. Berwick itself fell into Edward's hands, and remained part of the English dominions ever afterwards. Baliol was restored to the throne, and maintained there by Edward III.
The Scottish barons, however, still clung to the house of Bruce; they would not recognise Baliol, the sub-King of the King of England. They turned to France for help, and France was willing enough to listen to them and seize this opportunity of striking a blow at the growing power of the English Crown. Already, in the reign of Edward I., she had aided the Scots against the English; and it soon became clear to Edward III. that he could not hope for submission from Scotland until he had put an end to the intervention of France.
So we see that it is in the struggle between Scotland and England that we must look for the chief cause of the great French war, which was to drain the resources of both countries for a hundred years. We shall see, as we follow the course of events, how brilliantly this war opened, and how eager the English were to engage in it.
England, since Edward III. had become King in fact as well as in name, seemed inspired with a new life. The King was young and ambitious, anxious to promote his people's good, and eager to gain glory for himself. Commerce was extending on every side, and largely increasing the wealth of the country. National life beat vigorously, as we see, amongst other things, in the increased use of the English tongue. Formerly
It is not likely that any one ever thought this claim to be serious, or considered it to be any thing but a useful pretext for the war. Such as it was, Edward's claim to the French Crown came through his mother Isabella, granddaughter of Philip III. the Bold, King of France. Her three brothers had reigned one after another, and all died without male issue. On the death of the last, Charles IV., the crown passed to his cousin, Philip of Valois, son of Charles of Valois, the second son of Philip the Bold. Edward III., in asserting his claim, had to maintain, that though, according to the Salic law, females could not inherit the crown, they could transmit it to males.[1] He could never have seriously urged such a plea, if other causes had not led to a war with France, and in time made it useful for him to assume the title of King of France.
There can be no doubt that Edward was grievously provoked by the French before he made up his mind to engage in war. The restless ambition of Philip of Valois produced a general feeling of insecurity. His pirate ships interfered with the trade of the channel. He made constant encroachments upon the English possessions in France, and frequently threatened an invasion of England, whilst he thwarted in every possible way Edward's policy with regard to Scotland. Under these circumstances it was natural for the English King to go to war, though if the war had not aimed at conquest it would have been better for England in the end. Edward III., however, was full of youthful ambition. He did not care to look into the future, but rushed into the war as if it had been a great tournament, in which he and his knights might distinguish themselves.
So active were the fears of French invasion during the first years of Edward III.'s reign, that we find orders for putting the Isle of Wight and the southern coast into a state of defence; and in 1335 the young Prince was sent to Nottingham for safety. He must have been early accustomed to hear war talked of, and probably the chief part of his education was concerned with military exercises. We know little of his youth, except that he was educated under the direction of Dr. Walter Burley, of Merton College, Oxford, which, since its foundation by Walter de Merton, the Chancellor of Henry III., had produced most of the men distinguished in England for their learning. Dr. Burley, on account of his fame for learning and piety, had been appointed Queen's almoner; as his reputation increased at Court, he was finally appointed tutor to the Prince. In accordance with the custom of the times, many other young gentlemen were educated in common with Prince Edward, so that companionship might lend an increased interest to his studies. Amongst others, Simon Burley, a young kinsman of Dr. Burley's, was admitted to share these advantages. He became a great favourite with the Prince, and in time was made Knight of the Garter, and was entrusted with the education of the Prince's son, Richard of Bordeaux.
We can form a pretty good idea of the kind of education received by Prince Edward and his companions. Chivalry was then at its height, and it was necessary for every gentleman to be skilled in all knightly exercises. An accomplished knight must be endowed with beauty, with strength and agility of body; he must be skilled in music, be able to dance gracefully and run swiftly, to wrestle and sit well on horseback; above all, he must be skilful in the management of arms, and must thoroughly understand hunting and hawking. In these accomplishments were young Edward and his companions trained, and we cannot doubt that he, who was the very type of the chivalric spirit in its highest development, early learnt to excel in all knightly exercises.
There exists a rhyming chronicle in French of the life of Edward the Black Prince, by the Herald of Sir John Chandos, who was so constantly with the Prince, that we may believe that his herald writes from personal knowledge of the Prince's character. He says: