EDWARD III.—1327 to 1377.
How Queen Isabella was put in prison, and her favourite hanged; how
Queen Philippa did much good for the people; and how Edward the Third
went to war to conquer France.
When poor Edward of Caernarvon was murdered, his son Edward, who had
been made king in his place, was only fourteen years old.
Queen Isabella and her wicked friend Mortimer ruled the kingdom, as
they said, only for the good of young king Edward. But, in reality,
they cared for nothing but their own pleasure and amusement, and
behaved so ill to the people, that the young king’s uncles and some
other barons joined together against Mortimer. But he was too strong
for them, and beheaded one of the king’s uncles.
At last the young king had the spirit to seize Mortimer, and he was
hanged for a traitor. Queen Isabella was put in prison: but as she
was the king’s mother, he would not have her killed, although she was
so wicked, but gave her a good house to live in, instead of a prison,
and paid her a visit every year as long as she lived. Thus, the young
King Edward the Third, at eighteen years old, took the kingdom into
his own hands, and governed it wisely and happily.
In many things he was like his grandfather, Edward the First. He was
wise and just to his own subjects. He was fond of war, and sometimes
he was cruel.
I must tell you a little about his wife and children, before we speak
of his great wars.
His wife’s name was Philippa of Hainault. She was one of the best and
cleverest and most beautiful women in the world.
She was very fond of England, and did a great deal of good to the
people. A great many beautiful churches were built in Edward’s reign,
but it was Queen Philippa who encouraged the men who built them.
She paid for building a college and new schools in Oxford and other
places. She invited a French clergyman, named Sir John Froissart, to
England, that he might see everything, and write about it in the book
he called his Chronicles, which is the most amusing book of history I
ever read. Queen Philippa and her son, John of Gaunt, who was called
the Duke of Lancaster, loved and encouraged Chaucer, the first great
English poet. By and by, when you are a little older, you will like
to read the stories he wrote. Besides all this, there were some good
men who wished to translate the Bible into English, so that all the
people might read and understand it. The leader of these good men was
John Wiclif, the first great reformer of religion in England. In this
reign the great people began to leave off talking Norman French and
to talk English, almost like our English now. And the king ordered
the lawyers to conduct their business in English instead of French.
Queen Philippa had a great many children, all of whom she brought
up wisely and carefully. Her eldest son Edward was called the Black
Prince, it is said because he used to wear black armour. He was the
bravest and politest prince at that time in the world; and Queen
Philippa’s other sons and her daughters were all thought better than
any family of princes at that time.
We must now speak of the king and his wars. These wars made him leave
England, and go to foreign countries very often; but as he left Queen
Philippa to take care of the country while he was away, everything
went on as well as if he had been at home.
Soon after Edward became King of England, Charles, King of France,
who was Edward’s uncle, died. And as Charles had no children, Edward
thought he had a right to be King of France, rather than his cousin
Philip, who had made himself king on Charles’s death. The two cousins
disputed a good while as to who should be king. At last, as they
could not agree, they went to war, and this was the beginning of the
long wars which lasted for many kings’ reigns between France and
England.
In that time, a great many kings and princes, and barons, or, as they
began to be commonly called, nobles, did many brave and generous
deeds, and gained a great deal of honour for themselves, and glory
for their country; but the poor people, both in England and France,
suffered a great deal. The English parliament was so pleased that
our kings should overcome the French, that they allowed the king
to have such great taxes to pay the soldiers with, that the people
could hardly keep enough to live upon. And the French people suffered
more, because, besides paying taxes, the armies used to fight in
their land, and the soldiers trampled down the corn in the fields,
and burned their towns and villages, and often robbed the people
themselves. And so it must always be in a country where there is war.
If the captains and officers are ever so kind, and the soldiers ever
so good, they cannot help doing mischief where they fight.
In the next chapter I will tell you of two or three of the chief
things that happened while King Edward was at war with France.