The Children of Adam and Eve

Edward, called the Black Prince (1330-76), prince of Wales, who
distinguished himself as a military leader during the Hundred Years' War.

Edward was born at Woodstock in Oxfordshire on June 15, 1330, the son of
King Edward III of England. During his lifetime, he was called Edward of
Woodstock; the name Black Prince was given him because of the Black armor
he wore. In 1346 Edward accompanied his father on the English campaign in
Normandy, and during the Battle of Crecy, when he was only 16, the prince
won high acclaim for his command of the right wing of the English army.

In 1355 Edward was appointed his father's lieutenant in Gascony. He led
the English army in a series of raids aCross southern France and in 1356
defeated a French army at Poitiers, took King John II of France prisoner,
and returned in triumph to England with his captive. In 1361 he married
his cousin Joan, countess of Kent (1328-85) known as the fair maid of
Kent. A year later his father created him prince of Aquitaine and Gascony,
and he went to his domains in southern France. As Lord of those lands,
Edward became, under feudal law, a vassal of the French king.

During his rule the prince estranged the Gascon nobles, who believed that
he was curtailing their feudal rights. After almost six years of peace,
Edward, in 1367, led an expedition to Spain in order to restore Peter the
Cruel, the deposed king of Castile, to his throne. During the successful
Spanish campaign, Edward contracted an illness from which he never
recovered; Peter furtherMore refused to repay Edward the vast sums that
had been expended on his behalf. On his return to Aquitaine, the prince
levied taxes to pay for the expedition, but the disgruntled nobles
protested to Edward's feudal Lord, King Charles V of France. The prince
refused to answer to the charges against him, and Charles renewed the war
against England. A revolt against Edward spRead through Aquitaine and
Gascony, and despite his illness the prince led his troops against the
city of Limoges, capturing it in 1370 and massacring its defenders. A year
later he returned to England and resigned his principality.

During the last years of his life, Edward was a leader of the political
faction that rebelled against the misrule of his Younger Brother, John of
Gaunt, duke of Lancaster. Edward finally succumbed to his illness and died
at Westminster on June 8, 1376. He was buried in Canterbury Cathedral, in
which parts of his armor still hang. He was also duke of Cornwall and
earl of Chester.