English King Edward III
Creator of the Order of the Garter
Compiled by D. A. Sharpe
King
Edward III was born November 13, 1312 at Windsor Castle,
Berkshire, England.
He died June 21, 1377 at Sheen Palace,
Richmond, Surrey, England.
He is related to our family, both on my fatherÕs side and on my motherÕs
side of the family.
Edward III is the 10th
great grandfather of Edward Carlton (born about 1610), the husband of Ellen
Newton (born about 1614), who was the stepdaughter of Danette Abney, the 5th
great granduncle of my
mother, Martha Dixon Chapman Sharpe. King Edward III also is the first
cousin, 11 times removed of Edward Southworth, the first husband of my
grandfather SharpeÕs 5th great grandmother, Alice
Carpenter, descended through her subsequent marriage to Plymouth Colony
Governor William Bradford.
In the Bible (John 6:31),
people following and questioning Jesus cited the fact that their forefathers,
out in the wilderness, had been given manna to eat by God. That was about 1,350 years prior to
their discussion with Jesus. That
length of time is similar as between us today and when King Edward III was on
the throne. It is not often that we
think of events that far removed from us today that we cite it in contemporary
debate!
Edward III became king of
England in 1327, only at age 15. He
succeeded his father, Edward II, and belonged to the Plantagenet family of
English rulers. During the 1330's,
Edward invaded Scotland. He won
victories there, but he could not crush the Scottish spirit of independence
that had been built up by the famous Scotsman, Robert
Bruce.
"Edward's forces won
the Battle
of Crecy in what is now the Normandy region of France. Though his son offered succor (help or
assistance in the battle), his father declined his help. This conflict was the
first major battle between France and England in the Hundred
Years' War (1337-1453). Edward claimed to be the rightful king
of France, and he conquered much of that country. He paid for the war by introducing an
efficient system of taxing imports.
"In the last few
years of his reign, Edward failed to provide vigorous leadership. The French recovered some of their land,
and Edward's popularity declined.
Even so, he was long remembered as an ideal king and a fine
soldier. Edward was born in
Windsor, near London."
Source: John Gillingham,
Senior Lecturer, London School of Economics and Political Science, Univ. of
London, World Book Encyclopedia CD1998.
He was said to have three
illegitimate children by Alice Perrers.
(Source:
http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon32.html)
"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 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 cloth industry) prospered and spread wealth across the
nation but was offset by the devastation wrought by the Black Death.
Early success in war ultimately failed to produce lasting results. Edward
proved a most capable king in a time of great evolution in England.
"Edward's
youth was spent in his mother's court and he was crowned at age fourteen after
his father was deposed. After three years of domination by his mother and her
lover, Roger
Mortimer, Edward instigated a palace revolt in 1330 and
assumed control of the government. Mortimer was executed and Isabella was
exiled from court. Edward was married to Philippa
of Hainault in 1328 and the union produced many children;
the 75% survival rate of their children - nine out of twelve lived through
adulthood - was incredible considering conditions of the day.
"War occupied the
largest part of Edward's reign. He and Edward Baliol defeated David II of
Scotland and drove David into exile in 1333. French cooperation with the Scots,
French aggression in Gascony, and Edward's claim to the disputed throne of
France (through his mother, Isabella) led to the first phase of the Hundred
Years' war. The naval battle of Sluys (1340) gave England control of the
Channel, and battles at Crecy (1346) and Calais (1347) established English
supremacy on land. Hostilities
ceased in the aftermath of the Black Death but war flared up again with an
English invasion of France in1355. Edward,
the Black Prince and eldest son of Edward III, trounced the
French cavalry at Poitiers (1356) and captured the French King John. In 1359, the Black Prince encircled
Paris with his army and the defeated French negotiated for peace. The
Treaty of Bretigny in 1360 ceded
huge areas of northern and western France to English sovereignty. Hostilities
arose again in 1369 as English armies under the king's third son, John of Gaunt,
invaded France. English military strength, weakened considerably after the
plague, gradually lost so much ground that by 1375, Edward agreed to the Treaty of Bruges,
leaving only the coastal towns of Calais, Bordeaux, and Bayonne in English
hands.
"The nature of
English society transformed greatly during Edward's reign. Edward learned from the mistakes of his
father and affected more cordial relations with the nobility than any previous
monarch. Feudalism dissipated as
mercantilism emerged: the nobility changed from a large body with relatively
small holdings to a small body that held great lands and wealth. Mercenary
troops replaced feudal obligations as the means of gathering armies. Taxation of exports and commerce
overtook land-based taxes as the primary form of financing government (and
war). Wealth was accrued by
merchants as they and other middle class subjects appeared regularly for parliamentary
sessions. Parliament formally divided into two houses - the upper representing
the nobility and high clergy with the lower representing the middle classes -
and met regularly to finance Edward's wars and pass statutes. Treason was defined by statute for the
first time (1352), the office of Justice
of the Peace was created to aid sheriffs (1361), and
English replaced French as the national language (1362).
"Despite
the king's early successes and England's general prosperity, much remained
amiss in the realm. Edward and his nobles touted romantic chivalry as their
credo while plundering a devastated France; chivalry emphasized the glory of
war while reality stressed its costs. The influence of the Church decreased but
John
Wycliff spearheaded an
ecclesiastical reform movement that challenged church exploitation by both the
king and the pope. During 1348-1350, bubonic plague (the Black Death) ravaged
the populations of Europe by as much as a fifty percent. The flowering English
economy was struck hard by the ensuing rise in prices and wages. The failed military excursions of John
of Gaunt into France caused excessive taxation and eroded Edward's popular
support.
"The last years of
Edward's reign mirrored the first, in that a woman again dominated him. Philippa died in 1369 and Edward took
the unscrupulous Alice Perrers as his mistress. With Edward in his dotage and the Black
Prince ill, Perrers and William Latimer (the
chamberlain of the household) dominated the court with the support of John of
Gaunt. Edward, the Black Prince,
died in 1376 and the old king spent the last year of his life grieving. Rafael Holinshed,
in Chronicles of England, suggested that Edward believed the
death of his son was a punishment for usurping his father's crown: "But
finally the thing that most grieved him, was the loss of that most noble
gentleman, his dear son Prince Edward . . . But this and other mishaps that
chanced to him now in his old years might seem to come to pass for a revenge of
his disobedience showed to his in usurping against him. . ."
Source: http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon32.html
On April 23, 1348, King
Edward III of England established the Order
of the Garter (April 23). A study of the Order is posted for easy
access and one can see that it still survives today as a functioning royal
order from the cited Internet web site below. The Order of the Garter is the most
senior and the oldest British Order of Chivalry. The Order, consisting of the King and
twenty-five knights, was intended by Edward III to be reserved as the highest
reward for loyalty and for military merit.
The origin of the emblem of the Order, a blue garter, is obscure. It is
said to have been inspired by an incident, which took place whilst the King
danced with Joan, Countess of Salisbury.
The Countess's garter fell to the floor, and after the King retrieved
it, he tied it to his own leg. Those watching this were apparently amused, but
the King admonished them saying, 'Honi soit qui mal y pense' (Shame on him who
thinks this evil). This then became the motto of the Order.
Source: http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page490.asp
Compiled by:
Dwight Albert (D. A.)
Sharpe
805 Derting Road East
Aurora, TX 76078-3712
817-504-6508
