Edward of Woodstock, “The Black Prince” ( born Edward of Woodstock, “the Black Prince” ; June 15, 1330 , Woodstock - June 8, 1376 , Palace of Westminster ) - the eldest son of King Edward III of England, 1- Earl of Chester since March 18, 1333 [1] , 1st Duke of Cornwall since March 3, 1337 [1] , Prince of Wales since May 12, 1343 [1] , knight of the Order of the Garter since 1348 [1] , ruler of Aquitaine with the title "Prince of Aquitaine" from July 19, 1362 [1] , the lord of Biscay and Castro-Urdiales in Castile from September 23, 1366 [1] . The commander of the Hundred Years War .
Edward the Black Prince | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Edward, the Black Prince | |||||||
![]() Edward the Black Prince. Thumbnail from the , 1430/1440 | |||||||
| |||||||
Predecessor | Edward ii | ||||||
Successor | Richard II | ||||||
| |||||||
Predecessor | Edward III | ||||||
| |||||||
Predecessor | new title | ||||||
Successor | Henry V | ||||||
| |||||||
Predecessor | new creation | ||||||
Successor | Richard II | ||||||
Birth | June 15, 1330 Woodstock ( Oxfordshire , England ) | ||||||
Death | June 8, 1376 (aged 45) Palace of Westminster | ||||||
Burial place | Canterbury Cathedral , Kent | ||||||
Kind | Plantagenets | ||||||
Father | Edward III | ||||||
Mother | Philippe Genenegau | ||||||
Spouse | Joanna, Countess of Kent | ||||||
Children | , and | ||||||
Rank | |||||||
Battles | |||||||
Biography
Edward was the eldest son of the English king Edward III and Philippe Gennegau , born in Woodstock on June 15, 1330. During his lifetime, he was known as Edward Woodstock; The nickname Black Prince arose no earlier than the 16th century and, according to one version, is associated with the color of his armor [2] , or with the conditional image of the color of his armor among chroniclers. There is another suggestion why Edward was nicknamed “Black”: during his campaign in France, he gave a whole village to plunder his troops and did not try to obstruct the riots.
He kept a luxurious courtyard in Berkhampted, in Kennington. The father several times appointed him the "guardian" of the kingdom: it was too much for the child - the first time it happened when he was eight years old - and it did not mean anything, because in reality the political power together with the king moved to the mainland. In 1333, Edward received the title of Earl of Chester , in 1337 - the title of Duke of Cornwall (this was the first ducal title created in England), and in 1343 became Prince of Wales . During his father's overseas campaigns in 1338 and 1342, the young Edward formally replaced him on the English throne. In 1345, Edward first accompanied the king on a foreign campaign.
In 1346, the Black Prince participated in the campaign of Edward III in Normandy , where he was knighted and has since played an important role in the war with France . At the Battle of Crescy, sixteen-year-old Edward commanded the right flank of the English army and did an excellent job - the British won. The following year, Prince Edward took part in the siege of Calais , and in October 1347, he returned to England with his father. The Black Prince became one of the first knights of the Order of the Garter , founded by his father in order to revive the knightly traditions in the spirit of the legends of King Arthur . He was not pushed aside. Under Crescie, the Prince of Wales commanded an army corps — enough to risk his life at sixteen, but not enough to share his father’s glory.
Returning to France with his father, the Black Prince participated in the defense of Calais in 1349 and in a naval battle with the Castilians off the southern coast of England in 1350. In September 1355, Prince Edward became the head of the English army in Gascony and made a devastating raid on Armagnac and Languedoc , reaching Narbonne . September 20, 1355 the Black Prince took up positions in Hyeni. Before personally undertaking a large-scale action in the north of France, Edward III instructed his eldest son to conduct an operation behind enemy lines in order to forge a part of the Valois army in the south. The Aquitaine front was secondary, but provided good strategic opportunities. There, the Black Prince will take the first steps as a commander.
In August 1356, the Black Prince from Bergerac led the troops into a new raid to the north, but met with the larger army of the French king John II the Good and tried to retreat. However, the French army caught up with the British at Poitiers , where a decisive battle took place on September 19, which predetermined the further course of the Hundred Years War . Edward tactically surpassed his opponent, which allowed him to gain a complete victory over the superior forces of the French and capture their king.
Prince Edward treated the captive French king with all the nobility, allowing him to lead a lifestyle that was customary for his status. The captive was taken to Bordeaux , and then to England. In 1359, the Black Prince again participated in the military campaign of his father in northern France, participated in the signing of peace in Brittany . The case was drawing to a close. November has come. Winter was approaching. Papal legates intervened in the matter, whom the Black Prince forced two days to wait for passes, and ultimately refused them without any explanation. Than negotiate without much confidence in success, he chose to retreat. The raid of 1355 was not a conquest - keeping a conquered would be very expensive. It was just a show of strength. The English did not need Languedoc, they wanted nothing to threaten them from this side next spring. In October 1361, Edward married his cousin Joanna of Kent , widow of Thomas Holland , Earl of Kent, and the mother of his three children. Froissart claims that it was a marriage of love, and that the king did not know about him in advance. Nevertheless, Edward III confirmed the choice of his son and in July 1362 transferred to him all his possessions in southern France along with the title of Prince of Aquitaine .
In February 1363, Prince Edward and Joanna moved to Gascony, which became their residence for the next eight years. Edward wanted to create an outstanding courtyard in Bordeaux and tried to win the support of the Gascons, but the local nobility, led by Count Jean I d'Armagnac , was dissatisfied with the separation from France and looked suspiciously at Edward's attempts to reform the management system. The prince had better relations with the cities on which he relied as a counterweight to the aristocracy. Eduard appointed mainly his compatriots to the main managerial posts.
In 1367, Pedro the Cruel , deposed King of Castile arrived at Edward's court in Bordeaux, who convinced the prince to help him return to the throne. In February 1367, Edward led his army to Castile through the Ronceval Gorge . On April 3, the English prince won his last major victory, defeating the Castilian army under the command of Bertrand du Haecklen at the battle of Naher , then went to Burgos for the approval of Pedro on the Castilian throne. For help, Edward received from Pedro the title of ruler of Biscay and Castro-Urdiales . He spent four months in Castile, lived mainly in Valladolid . Many of his soldiers could not survive the hot Spanish summer, and the prince himself also showed symptoms of a deadly disease for the first time ( Froissart mentions a “daily increasing tumor”). In August 1367, he took the remnants of his troops back to Bordeaux. The Spanish campaign completely emptied the treasury of the prince in order to improve his financial situation, he was forced to impose high taxes on Aquitans.
The Aquitaine barons were extremely outraged by the new tax, Count d'Armagnac, secretly collaborating with the French king Charles V , turned to him for help. Charles V declared the English possessions in France illegal, Edward III again began to claim the throne of France, and in 1369 the Hundred Years War resumed. By the end of the year, all of Aquitaine was engulfed in uprisings, the Black Prince with weakened health and lack of resources was no longer able to keep Aquitaine under his control. On September 19, 1370, he took the rebellious city of Limoges and ordered out of revenge three thousand of its inhabitants. In early 1371, the seriously ill prince returned to England, leaving Gascony to his brother John Gaunt . In August 1372, he and his father undertook a campaign in France, but adverse winds prevented the landing of the British troops.
On June 8, 1376, a year before his father died, Prince Edward died and was buried in Canterbury Cathedral . The English crown was inherited by his son Richard II . In addition to Richard, the Black Prince had another son from Joanna, Edward, who died at the age of 6. The prince also had at least three illegitimate children.
Marriage and children
Wife: from October 10, 1361 (Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England) Joanna the Beautiful Virgin of Kent (September 29, 1328 - August 8, 1385), 4th Countess Kent , 4th Baroness Woodstock and 5th Baroness Wake of Liddell from 1353, daughter of Edmund Woodstock , 1st Earl of Kent, and Margaret Wake , 3rd Baroness Wake of Liddell, widow of Thomas Holland , 1st Earl of Kent. Children:
- Edward of Angouleme (January 27, 1365–1372) He was a favorite of his father, his death was a strong blow for Edward [3] .
- Richard II of Bordeaux (January 6, 1367 - January 6 / February 14, 1400), Prince of Wales, Earl of Cornwall and Earl of Chester from 1376, King of England 1377–1399
Edward the Black Prince in Art
In the literature
- The Black Prince often appears in Arthur Conan-Doyle’s homology dedicated to the Hundred Years War: Sir Nigel Loring and The White Squad .
- The Black Prince is one of the supporting characters in the novel by Alexander Dumas "Bastard de Moleon", dedicated to the raid Dugeklen in Spain since the time of Pedro the Cruel .
- Mentioned in the books of M. Druon "Lily and the Lion" and "When the King destroys France."
- The Prince of Aquitaine is mentioned in the poem of the French poet Maurice Rollin "Unfortunate."
- Mentioned in the series Thomas from Hookton (The Quest for the Grail) by writer Bernard Cornwell .
In the movie
- The protagonist of the American film "The Dark Avenger" ("The Black Prince", 1955). The role of Edward was played by Errol Flynn .
- The Black Prince is one of the supporting characters in the 2001 film “ The Knight 's Story ,” played by James Purefoy . In the film, the Black Prince and the main character (performed by Heath Ledger ) meet several times, after which the Black Prince begins to patronize the main character for his knightly qualities.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales . Thepeerage Date of treatment February 18, 2019.
- ↑ Edward, son of Edward III // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- ↑ Norwich D. History of England and the Shakespearean Kings. - S. 83.
Literature
- Horse P.A. ,. Edward, son of Edward III // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- Edward, the Black Prince // Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition. - New York: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1911.- T. 8.
- Ustinov V.G. Black Prince. - M.: Young Guard, 2019.- (ZHZL)
- Norwich D. History of England and Shakespearean Kings / Per. from English I.V. Lobanova. - M .: Astrel, 2012. - 414, [2] p. - (Historical Library). - ISBN 978-5-271-43630-7 .
- Eugene Perrois . Hundred Years War. - M. , 2006.
- Herbert Hewitt . Born with a sword in his hand. - M. , 2010.
- Jean Favier . Chronicles of the centenary war. - SPb. , 2008.
Links
- EDWARD III 1327-1377, RICHARD II 1377-1399 (English) . Foundation for Medieval Genealogy. Date of treatment January 30, 2011.
- Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales . Thepeerage Date of treatment February 18, 2019.