| Name | 'Edward III' PLANTAGENET "King of England" |
| Birth | 13 Nov 1312, Windsor Castle, London, ENGLAND |
| Death | 21 Jun 1377, Shene Palace, ENGLAND Age: 64 |
| Burial | Westminister Abbey, London, ENGLAND |
| Occupation | Royalty |
| Father | 'Edward II' PLANTAGENET "King of England" (1284-1327) |
| Mother | Isabella "of France" (1292-1358) |
| 1 | Isabella Perez DE CASTILE |
| Children | Constance |
| Richard |
| 2 | Philippa de HAINAULT |
| Birth | 24 Jun 1311, Valenciennes, BELGIUM |
| Death | 14 Aug 1369, Windsor Castle, London, London, ENGLAND Age: 58 |
| Burial | Westminster Abbey, London, London, ENGLAND |
| Father | William "III" "Willem" "the Good" de HAINAULT "Count of Hainalut & Holland" (1286-1337) |
| Mother | Jeanne de VALOIS (1294-1342) |
| Marriage | 24 Jan 1327, York Minster, Yorkshire, ENGLAND |
| Children | Edward "the Black Prince" |
| Isabella "of England" (1332-~1382) | |
| Joan | |
| William | |
| Lionel (1338-1368) | |
| John "of Gaunt" (1339-1398) | |
| Edmund (1341-1402) | |
| Blanche De La Tour | |
| Mary | |
| Margaret | |
| William | |
| Thomas (~1360-1397) |
Edward III, 1312-77 (r.1327-77), was dominated by Isabella and her lover, Roger Mortimer until he seized power in a coup in 1330, putting Mortimer to death and forcing his mother into retirement. He supported Edward de BALIOL against the young Scottish king DAVID II, but despite his victory at Halidon Hill in 1333, the Scottish question remained unsettled. In 1337 the HUNDRED YEARS WAR began; it would dominate Edward's reign. He and his son EDWARD THE BLACK PRINCE took an active part in the war, the first phase of which ended with the treaty of London in 1359. The war was renewed after various treaties and truces, but, like the Scottish wars, was inconclusive in Edward's reign. There were many constitutional developments in Edward's long reign. The most important of these was the emergence of Commons as a distinct and powerful group in PARLIAMENT. The king's constant need for money for his wars enabled Commons to assert its power to consent to all lay taxation. The Black Death (see PLAGUE) decimated the population, producing a labor shortage that enabled the lower classes to demand higher wages and social advancement. Edward quarreled with the church, and the resulting religious unrest found a spokesman in John WYCLIF. There was rivalry between a court party headed by Edward's son JOHN OF GAUNT and the parliamentary party, headed by the Black Prince. Edward was succeeded by RICHARD II.
Edward III (reigned 1327-77) was 14 when he was crowned King and assumed government in his own right in 1330. In 1337, Edward created the Duchy of Cornwall to provide the heir to the throne with an income independent of the sovereign or the state. An able soldier, and an inspiring leader, Edward founded the Order of the Garter in 1348.
At the beginning of the Hundred Years War in 1337, actual campaigning started when the King invaded France in 1339 and laid claim to the throne of France. Following a sea victory at Sluys in 1340, Edward overran Brittany in 1342 and in 1346 he landed in Normandy defeating the French King, Philip IV, at the Battle of Crécy and his son Edward (the Black Prince) repeated his success at Poitiers (1356). By 1360 Edward controlled over a quarter of France. His successes consolidated the support of the nobles, lessened criticism of the taxes, and improved relations with Parliament. However, under the 1375 Treaty of Bruges the French King, Charles V, reversed most of the English conquests; Calais and a coastal strip near Bordeaux were Edward's only lasting gain.
Failure abroad provoked criticism at home. The Black Death plague outbreaks of 1348-9, 1361-2 and 1369 inflicted severe social dislocation (the King lost a daughter to the plague) and caused deflation; severe laws were introduced to attempt to fix wages and prices. In 1376, the 'Good Parliament' (which saw the election of the first Speaker to represent the Commons) attacked the high taxes and criticised the King's advisers. The ageing King withdrew to Windsor for the rest of his reign, eventually dying at Sheen Palace, Surrey.
The fifty-year reign of Edward III was a dichotomy in English development. Governmental reforms affirmed the power of the emerging middle class in Parliament while placing the power of the nobility into the hands of a few. Chivalric code reached an apex in English society but only masked the greed and ambition of Edward and his barons. Social conditions were equally ambiguous: the export of raw wool (and later, the wool industry) prospered and spread wealth across the nation but was offset by the devestation wrought by the Black Death.
The Battle of Halidon Hill 1333AD
Soon after the death of Robert the Bruce, Edward Balliol laid claim to the Scottish throne. However Edward was not very popular with the Scots, who eventually rebelled, forcing Edward Balliol to flee south.
Edward Balliol was friend and ally of King Edward III of England, he appealed to Edward for assistance and so the young King (14years of age) decided to set an example and punish the Scots.
On 1st April 1333 Edward III arrived at Durham and stayed at the priory, Queen Philippa arrived a few days later and caused a stir amongst the monks by entering the priory through the Abbey gates. It was unheard of having a woman present as St Cuthbert had a mortal aversion to the presence of a woman. King Edward was informed of this, whereupon he immediately ordered the Queen to arise, and while still in her bed-clothes sent her back through the same gates that she arrived to stay in the Castle.
On April 12th the King and his troops marched north and laid siege against Berwick Castle. After a month, the Castle still remained in the hands of the Scots, so Edward sent his army into Scotland to burn and pillage. When he returned, the Scots still had not surrendered, so Edward increased the siege by blockading the Castle also from the sea.
The brave garrison getting no relief eventually the Scots offered terms of capitulation, agreeing to deliver the Castle after 5days provided the English did not attack. Sir Alexander Sutton - the Castle's deputy governor delivered his eldest son into Edwards hands as part of the agreement. Edward already had his youngest son as prisoner
Meanwhile the prospect of a rescue force coming to the aid of Berwick became a reality when Archibald Douglas amassed a formidable army of over 13,000 Scots. Edward threatened Sir Alexander Sutton that he would kill his sons if he did not surrender immediately. Alexander refused, so Edward broke the agreement and Sir Alexander watched in horror, as a gallows was erected and both his sons were executed before him.
A plan was developed to try and divert King Edward away from Berwick by marching his army towards Bamburgh Castle - south of Berwick.
The reason for this was that Queen Philippa was in residence. It was hoped that the King would see the threat to her, and move his forces south to her rescue. Edward was not concerned of this because he knew that Bamburgh was well protected and a successful siege unlikely.
To place his army in a better position, Edward decided to march a section of his army towards Halidon Hill and took up a defensive position upon its slopes. The defensive position was well thought out, as the bottom of the hill was protected by a swamp, an area which would cause the Scots a major problem.
Not only was the position strong, but Edward's army was a professional army created from the many battles and lessons learnt of earlier years. The forward positions of the army consisted of the English Bowmen who were extremely proficient of delivering an arrow from the famous longbow which could penetrate 4 inches of solid oak. Behind the Bowmen were the Knights on horseback, mainly English nobles who were well equipped.
A great deal of blood was about to be shed along the hillside and the fields beyond, the site of 13,000 Scots advancing towards the English must have been a frightening view, however the Bowmen held their ground and stood in order with the Knights alongside. The hated Edward Balliol himself was in command of one section of Edward's army. Douglas failed to appreciate to strength of the force he was about to do battle with, and so the brave Scots advanced upon the hill without stopping to evaluate the situation.
Thinking that the ground was firm, the Scots advanced, Douglas realized too late that the ground was in fact a swamp. The swamp became a heaving mass of bodies, as the Scots struggled to gain a foothold, the remaining mass of Scots were at a loss as what to do next. Edward's archers seized this opportunity, and delivered a volley of arrows towards the Scots chaos, virtually every arrow must have found a mark as the Scots were densely grouped, wave after wave of arrows pierced the Scottish warriors, killing and injuring thousands. The Scots struggled free and started to ascend the hill, but unfortunately for them, with their energy drained, further volleys of arrows lay waste to them. The English seeing the carnage that they had inflicted upon the Scots charged forward, the Scots held firm for a while, but fully exhausted, their ranks broke as the English onslaught surged forward.
When the English finally dispersed, the slopes of Halidon Hill were covered with approx 4000 dead Scots including Douglas himself, the remaining Scots fled into the fields pursued by the English Knights and Bowmen, by the end of the day more Scots lay dead in the surrounding area as the English celebrated their victory. - [1]
[1] - http://www.whosyomama.com/gabroaddrick3/8/5428.htm