EDWARD III. 



801 



was of an agreeable figure and mild disposition, but 

 indolent and fond of pleasure. After marching a 

 little way into Scotland, with the army collected by 

 his father, he returned, dismissed his troops, and 

 abandoned himself entirely to amusement. His first 

 step was to recall Piers Gaveston, a young Gascon, 

 whom his father had banished and whom he created 

 earl of Cornwall, and married to his niece. He then 

 went over to France to espouse the princess Isabella, 

 to whom he had been contracted by his father. Soon 

 after his return, the barons associated against the 

 favourite, Gaveston, whom they more than once 

 obliged the king to send away^ He was, however, 

 as constantly recalled when the immediate danger 

 was over, until an open rebellion took place ; and, 

 the person of Gaveston being captured, he was 

 executed as a public enemy. In 1314, Edward as- 

 sembled an immense army, to check the progress of 

 Robert Bruce, but was completely defeated at Ban- 

 nockburn. After the death of Gaveston, he selected 

 a similar minion in the person of Hugh Spenser, a 

 young nobleman whose father was living, upon whom 

 he lavished favours of every kind, until the barons 

 again rebelled, and, the parliament dooming the 

 Spensers to exile, the king was obliged to confirm 

 the sentence. Edward, however, on this occasion, in 

 concert with the Spensers, contrived to raise troops 

 and attack the barons, at the head of whom was his 

 cousin, the earl of Lancaster, who, being taken pris- 

 oner, was executed at Pomfret. Several others 

 also suffered, and the Spensers were enriched with 

 the spoils. Edward subsequently made another fruit- 

 less attempt against Scotland, which ended in the 

 conclusion of a truce of thirteen years. In 1324, 

 queen Isabella went to France to settle some disputes 

 in relation to Guienne, and, while there, entered 

 into a correspondence with several English fugitives, 

 in whose hatred to the Spensers she participated. 

 Among these was Roger Mortimer, a young baron 

 of the Welsh marches, between whom and Isabella a 

 criminal intercourse succeeded, in consequence of 

 which the queen was still more determined upon the 

 ruin of her weak and unhappy husband. Having 

 formed an association with all die English malcon- 

 tents, and being aided with a force by the count of 

 Hainault, she embarked for England in September, 

 1326, and landed in Suffolk. Her forces seized the 

 Tower of London and other fortresses, captured and 

 executed both the Spensers without trial, and at 

 length took the king prisoner, who had concealed 

 himself in Wales, with a view of escaping to Ireland. 

 The unfortunate Edward was confined in Kenil- 

 worth castle, and in January, 1327, his deposition 

 was unanimously voted in parliament, on the ground 

 of incapacity and misgovernment. A resignation of 

 the crown was soon after extorted from him, and he 

 was transferred to Berkeley castle, where Mortimer 

 despatched two ruffians, who, it is said, murdered 

 him, by thrusting a red-hot iron into his towels, that 

 no external marks of violence might remain, 21st of 

 September, 1327, in the twentieth year of his reign 

 and forty-third of his age. 



EDWARD III., son of Edward II.,by Isabella of 

 France, was born in 1313. On his father's deposi- 

 tion in 1327, he was proclaimed king, under a coun- 

 cil of regency, while his mother's paramour, Mor- 

 timer, really possessed the principal power in the 

 state. The pride and oppression of Mortimer now 

 became so intolerable, that a general confederacy 

 was formed against him, at the head of which was 

 the young king himself, who, now in his eighteenth 

 year, could ill brook the ascendency of his mother's 

 minion. The result was the seizure of Mortimer, in 

 the castle of Nottingham, where he lodged with the 

 queen, and his immediate execution upon a gibbet. 

 U. 



The queen was also confined to her house, with 

 a reduced allowance, and, although treated with 

 outward respect, never again recovered any degree 

 of authority. Edward now turned his attention to 

 Scotland. Assisted by some principal English no- 

 bles, who enjoyed estates in that country, which 

 were withheld from them contrary to the terms of 

 the late treaty, Edward Baliol, son of the John 

 Baliol to whom the crown had been awarded by 

 Edward I., raised a force, and, defeating the Scots 

 in a great battle, set aside David Bruce, then a 

 minor, and was crowned at Scone, in 1332. Baliol, 

 being driven away on the departure of his English 

 auxiliaries, applied to Edward, who levied a well- 

 appointed army, with which he defeated the regent, 

 Douglas, at the famous battle of Halidown-hill, in 

 July, 1333. This victory produced the restoration 

 of Baliol, who was, however, again expelled, and 

 again restored, until the ambition of Edward was 

 called off by a still more splendid object. The 

 crown of France, by the Salique law, liaving de- 

 volved to Philip de Valois, cousin-german to the 

 deceased king, Charles the Fair, Edward was in- 

 duced to claim it in right of his mother, that mo- 

 narch's sister. There existed other claims that were 

 superior; but these considerations weighed very 

 little with a young, ambitious monarch, eager for 

 conquest and glory. The first hostilities produced 

 nothing of much moment. Edward, in order to 

 obtain fresh supplies, made concessions to parliament 

 which he never intended to keep ; and, finding his 

 territory of Guienne threatened, he sent over a force 

 for its defence, and quickly followed himself, accom- 

 panied by his son Edward, the famous Black Prince, 

 all his chief nobility, and 30,000 men. The memor- 

 able battle of Crecy followed, Aug. 25, 1346, 

 which was succeeded by the siege of Calais. In 

 the mean time, David Bruce, having recovered the 

 throne of Scotland, made an incursion, at the head 

 of a large army, into England ; but, being met at 

 Durham by a much inferior force, raised by queen 

 Philippa, and headed by lord Percy, he was totally 

 defeated and taken prisoner, with many of his 

 principal nobles. Philippa went over to her husband 

 at Calais, and, by her interference prevented the 

 barbarous execution of Eustache de St Pierre and 

 five other citizens, whom Edward, on the capitulation 

 of the place, had determined to execute, in revenge 

 for his long detention in the siege. In 1348, a truce 

 was concluded with France. The year 1349 was dis- 

 tinguished by the institution of the order of the garter; 

 which, owing to the fame and chivalrous character of 

 Edward and his eldest son, soon became one of the 

 most illustrious orders of knighthood in Europe. 

 Philip, king of France, dying in 1350, was succeeded 

 by his son John, the commencement of whose reign 

 abounded with intestine commotion, and, in 1355, 

 Edward again invaded France on the side of Calais, 

 while the Black Prince, at the same time, led a 

 large army from Gascony. Both these expeditions 

 were attended with much plunder and devastation ; 

 and Edward, being recalled home by a Scottish in- 

 road, soon repelled it, and retaliated by carrying fire 

 and sword from Berwick to Edinburgh. During 

 this time, the prince of Wales had penetrated from 

 Guienne to the heart of France, where he was op- 

 posed by king John, at the head of an army nearly 

 five times more numerous. The famous battle of 

 Pcictiers ensued, in which the French monarch 

 being taken prisoner, Edward held at the same time 

 in captivity the kings of France and Scotland, the 

 most dangerous of his enemies. John was taken to 

 England, and treated with the greatest respect ; and 

 David was soon after liberated upon ransom. A 

 truce had been made with France after the battle of 



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