EDWARD III

The House of Plantagenet had its origins in a cadet branch of the original counts of Anjou, the dynasty established by Fulk I of Anjou at the beginning of the 10th century. The Plantagenet dynasty ruled England for over three hundred years, from 1154 -1485. They were a remarkable family, providing England with fourteen of its kings. The surname Plantagenet, which was to become one of the most famous in England, seems to have derived from a nickname adopted by Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, the father of Henry II and refers to his habit of wearing a sprig of broom or planta genista in his helmet. The dynasty produced such varied characters as the charismatic Edward III, one of the most dominant personalities of his age, was the son of Edward II and Isabella of France. He was born at Windsor Castle on 13th of November, 1312 and created Earl of Chester at four days old. He was married to his cousin, Phillipa of Hainault, the daughter of William the Good, Count of Hainault and Holland and Jeanne of Valois, granddaughter of Phillip III of France. The marriage had been negotiated by Edward's mother, Isabella, in the summer of 1326. Edward and Phillipa produced fourteen children in all; Edward the Black Prince ( 1330-1376); Lionel of Antwerp (1338-1368); Jhon of Gaunt (1340-1399); Edmund of Langley (1341-1402); Thomas of Woodstock (1355-1397), Isabella Plantagenet (1332-1382); Joan Plantagenet (1335-1348); Blanche Plantagenet (1342) who died soon after she was born; Mary Plantagenet (1344-1362); Margaret Plantagenet (1346-1361). Edward III is considered by many historians to have been one of the most successful kings had ever ruled over England; his reign last over 50 years. The first point I would like to make is that Edward was too young when he was crowned, he was only 14 years old and for about three years Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer ruled England. But as soon as her son King Edward III was crowned he kept the Queen incarcerated for the rest of her life and executed Royer Mortimer. Edward still very young he had to take charge of the kingdom and respond to disasters that his father had done in his reign.

In my opinion Edward possessed perfect qualities for a medieval charismatic, heartily heterosexual, fair minded and on the whole even tempered. For example The Hundred Years War where Edward had an important role have a historical meaning for multiple factors; the most important for me is the fact that that war was a dynastic conflict, the war gave impetus to ideas of French and English materialism. On the other hand this war determinate the introduction of weapons and tactics that supplanted the feudal armies dominated by heavy cavalry. But that was not the only legacy of Edward, he did give impetus to an increase in Parliament's role in governance, even if his deference to Parliament was pragmatic rather than ideological, and his contribution to a distinct sense of English identity have attracted the title, "father of the English nation In September 1376 the king was unwell and was said to be suffering from an abscess. He made a brief recovery but, in a fragile condition, suffered a stroke at Sheen on 12th June, 1377. Edward III was buried in Westminster Abbey, the gilt-bonze effigy of the king lies on top of a tomb chest with six niches along each long side holding miniature effigies of the kings twelve children. Edward was succeeded by his grandson, Richard II, the eldest surviving son of the Black Prince. Edward was succeeded by his grandson, Richard II, the eldest surviving son of the Black Prince. To sum up I believe that Edward was able to transform England from a politically-ruined nation in to a country that dared to take on the might of France an went on to win a number of historical battles on their own land.

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