EDWARD III., son of the preceding, was b. at Windsor, 13th Nov., 1312, and ascended the throne, 25th Jan., 1327. During his minority, the country was governed nominally by a council of twelve nobles and bishops, but really by Mortimer and his paramour Isabella. On the 24th Jan., 1328, the young king married Philippa, daughter of the earl of Hainault; and two years after, resolving to take the power into his own hands, he seized Mortimer, and put him to death, 29th Nov., 1330, and banished his mother, Isa bella, to her house at Risings (where she lived for twenty-seven years). He next invaded Scotland, to assist Edward Ballot, son of John Baliol, who, in the confusion that ensued on the death ot the great Bruce, had made a descent on the country, and got himself crowned at Scone. A bloody battle was fought at Halidon hill, near Berwick, 19th July, 1333, in which the Scots were completely defeated. Baliol now assumed the authority of a king, and did homage to E. for his possessions, the result of which act was, that he had to flee the kingdom in a few mouths, for the thing most intolerable to the Scot tish spirit was that any monarch should dare, or fancy he had a right, to surrender the inde pendence of his country. In the course of three years, E. thrice invaded Scotland; but though he frightfully wasted the country, and brought armies with him such as could not be successfully opposed, lie could not break the invincible spirit of the people, who, after each invasion had rolled over them like a flood, rose and rallied with a still more stub born and impassioned resolution to be free. But the scene of E.'s great exploits was France. Charles IV. having died without a son, Philippe of Valois. the nearest heir by the male line. ascended the throne. under the title of Philippe E. claimed the crown in right of his mother Isabella, sister of Charles; but as the law of France expressly excluded females from enjoying sovereign rights, it is manifest that E.'s claim was utterly groundless. The English king admitted that his mother, being a female,. could not inherit the crown of France, but affirmed, that he, as her son, might. But it is clear that ho could not receive from his mother rights to which she herself had no claim. Yet never was a bad cause ennobled with more splendid triumphs. E. declared war against Philippe in 1337. His first campaign was not very remarkable; but in 1346, accompanied by his eldest son, known as the black prince, he again invaded France, conquered a great part of Normandy, marched to the very gates of Paris, and on the 26th Aug., 1346, inflicted a tremendous defeat on the French at Crecy (q.v.). Here the black prince, though only sixteen, exhibited the courage and the prowess of a veteran, slaying with his own hand the king of Bohemia, who fought on the side of France. After some further successes, such as the reduction of Calais, a truce was concluded between the two nations for several years. Meanwhile, the Scots had sustained a severe defeat at Neville's Cross, near Durham, their king (David) being taken prisoner. In 1356, the war with France was renewed, and on the 19th Sept. of that year, the black
prince obtained a brilliant victory at Poitiers, king John of France (Philippe having been dead for some years) falling into his hands. The Scotch monarch was released for a ransom of £100,000 in 1357, and king John in 1360, when a peace was concluded between the French and the English, by which the latter were to retain their conquests, King John, however, finding it not consistent with the honor or desire of his country that such a peace should be carried out, magnanimously returned to captivity, and died in London, 8th April, 1364. Shortly before this date, David, king of Scotland, whose residence in England had extinguished the little patriotism he ever had, entered into a secret agreement with E., in virtue of which his kingdom—if he died without male issue—was to be handed over to the English sovereign. Meanwhile, the black prince, who had married Joanna, daughter of the earl of Kent, had received from his father Aquitaine and Gascony, and ruled there for some time very prosperously; but ultimately involving himself and his 'father in a war with France, which was disastrous in its issues, he was obliged, in 1374, to conclude a truce for three years. E. waged war no more. In spite of his brilliant victories, in spite of the dazzling valor of his son, he was at the last unsuccessful. Neither in Scotland nor in France did he realize his desires. Affairs at home were no less unsatisfactory in the last years of his life. He quarreled with his parliaments, and the black prince led the opposition. The latter, however, died 8th June, 1376, in the 46th year of his age, E. himself expired on the 21st June, 1377, after a reign of 51 years. By his wife, Philippa, he had seven sons and five daughters, several of whom died young. He was succeeded by his grandson Richard, son of the black prince, who ascended the throne as Richard IL—Tate reign of 'E. was marked by the great progress made in law—a greater number of "important new laws being passed than in all the preceding reigns since the conquest." Among these laws were several indicating the increasing repugnance of Englishmen to ecclesiastical, and especially to papal jurisdiction. Trial by jury also now began to supersede other modes of trial. Justices of peace likewise make their earliest appearance in this reign, and legal pro ceedings were ordered to be carried on henceforth in English, and not in French. Sir James Mackintosh is of opinion, that though E.'s " victories left few lasting acquisitions, yet they surrounded the name of his country with a luster which produced strength and safety"—an opinion which appears, on the whole, to be well founded. It remains to be said that E.'s reign witnessed the culmination of chivalry, and in the black prince, pos sessed a splendid example of its virtues and its vices. The fine arts, especially archi tecture and poetry, also attained a grand development. Chaucer, Gower, and several eminent chroniclers, flourished at this time, and in the sphere of religious reform 'stands out the noble and thoroughly English figure of Wickliffe.