put to death in 1312.
1314 Battle of Bannockburn . Edward II’s forces suffered a humiliating defeat by Robert the Bruce. The Scots made effective use of the
shiltrom
, a tightly packed contingent of infantry pikemen; English cavalry forces proved ill-disciplined and many prominent knights were cut down. Edward II’s subsequent withdrawal from Scotland left significant parts of northern England vulnerable to regular and devastating Scottish raids and created much political discontent.
1320 Declaration of Arbroath . A group of Scotland’s political leaders appealed to the pope for assistance, declaiming – in words that have had resonance ever since – that ‘as long as a hundred of us are left, we will never submit on any condition to English rule’.
1327 Deposition of Edward II , accession of Edward III. The disastrous and tyrannical regime of Edward II and his cronies, the Despensers, was brought to a violent close in a coup led by his own wife, Isabella, and her lover, Roger Mortimer. Edward, taken prisoner while fleeing through Wales, was forced to abdicate the throne and was imprisoned at Berkeley Castle. A parliament called in the name of his 14-year-old son was summoned to Westminster and the new regime of Edward III began. Edward II was subsequently murdered and buried at Gloucester Abbey (now the cathedral), though some historians suggest that he escaped to the Continent. Isabella and Mortimer ran the country for three years, but in 1330 Edward III launched an attack on Mortimer at Nottingham Castle, put him to trial and execution, and assumed control of his regime.
1328 Treaty of Edinburgh . The new regime of Edward III acknowledged the independence of Scotland. The following year, Robert the Bruce died, succeeded by his young son David II. Later, in 1333, Edward III reopened the war in support of a rival claimant for the throne, Edward Balliol.
1337 Beginning of the Hundred Years War . Tensions between the English and French crowns over the Plantagenet possessions in Aquitaine had rumbled on since the Treaty of Paris of 1259, and the English argued that the duchy should be theirs in full sovereignty, not a fief held under the lordship of the king of France. In 1337 Edward III renounced his homage to Philip VI of France for the duchy and set about defending his rights there by force; for the first years of the war, however, diplomatic and military strategy was focused on the Low Countries and northern France. In 1340 Edward announced himself king of France by right of descent, through his mother, from the house of Capet.
1346 Battles of Crécy and Neville’s Cross . Edward III achieved a major victory over France’s Philip VI at Crécy. His commanders in northern England captured David II of Scotland at Neville’s Cross. These victories transformed Edward’s status, and the reputation of his armies, throughout Europe.
1348 Foundation of the Order of the Garter . Edward III celebrated his recent military successes by setting up what remains today as England’s oldest and most important order of chivalry.
1381
Peasants rise in revolt
CAROLINE BARRON
Throughout the British Isles in the later fourteenth century the standard of living was rising as the population decline brought about by the Black Death of 1347–50 led to an increase in per capita wealth. But in England, in particular, this increased prosperity was eroded by the rising costs of the war with France. Edward III’s early aggressive campaigns onto French soil, which had yielded prestige, booty and ransoms, were now replaced by a more defensive, and expensive, strategy. The French had turned the tables and in the 1370s raided the south coast of England, burning Rye and Winchelsea. In the last decade of his reign, Edward III withdrew from government, his son the Black Prince died in 1376 and his young grandson, Richard II, at the age of 11 succeeded him as king of England in 1377. He inherited a rich country saddled with an unwinnable
1314 Battle of Bannockburn . Edward II’s forces suffered a humiliating defeat by Robert the Bruce. The Scots made effective use of the
shiltrom
, a tightly packed contingent of infantry pikemen; English cavalry forces proved ill-disciplined and many prominent knights were cut down. Edward II’s subsequent withdrawal from Scotland left significant parts of northern England vulnerable to regular and devastating Scottish raids and created much political discontent.
1320 Declaration of Arbroath . A group of Scotland’s political leaders appealed to the pope for assistance, declaiming – in words that have had resonance ever since – that ‘as long as a hundred of us are left, we will never submit on any condition to English rule’.
1327 Deposition of Edward II , accession of Edward III. The disastrous and tyrannical regime of Edward II and his cronies, the Despensers, was brought to a violent close in a coup led by his own wife, Isabella, and her lover, Roger Mortimer. Edward, taken prisoner while fleeing through Wales, was forced to abdicate the throne and was imprisoned at Berkeley Castle. A parliament called in the name of his 14-year-old son was summoned to Westminster and the new regime of Edward III began. Edward II was subsequently murdered and buried at Gloucester Abbey (now the cathedral), though some historians suggest that he escaped to the Continent. Isabella and Mortimer ran the country for three years, but in 1330 Edward III launched an attack on Mortimer at Nottingham Castle, put him to trial and execution, and assumed control of his regime.
1328 Treaty of Edinburgh . The new regime of Edward III acknowledged the independence of Scotland. The following year, Robert the Bruce died, succeeded by his young son David II. Later, in 1333, Edward III reopened the war in support of a rival claimant for the throne, Edward Balliol.
1337 Beginning of the Hundred Years War . Tensions between the English and French crowns over the Plantagenet possessions in Aquitaine had rumbled on since the Treaty of Paris of 1259, and the English argued that the duchy should be theirs in full sovereignty, not a fief held under the lordship of the king of France. In 1337 Edward III renounced his homage to Philip VI of France for the duchy and set about defending his rights there by force; for the first years of the war, however, diplomatic and military strategy was focused on the Low Countries and northern France. In 1340 Edward announced himself king of France by right of descent, through his mother, from the house of Capet.
1346 Battles of Crécy and Neville’s Cross . Edward III achieved a major victory over France’s Philip VI at Crécy. His commanders in northern England captured David II of Scotland at Neville’s Cross. These victories transformed Edward’s status, and the reputation of his armies, throughout Europe.
1348 Foundation of the Order of the Garter . Edward III celebrated his recent military successes by setting up what remains today as England’s oldest and most important order of chivalry.
1381
Peasants rise in revolt
CAROLINE BARRON
Throughout the British Isles in the later fourteenth century the standard of living was rising as the population decline brought about by the Black Death of 1347–50 led to an increase in per capita wealth. But in England, in particular, this increased prosperity was eroded by the rising costs of the war with France. Edward III’s early aggressive campaigns onto French soil, which had yielded prestige, booty and ransoms, were now replaced by a more defensive, and expensive, strategy. The French had turned the tables and in the 1370s raided the south coast of England, burning Rye and Winchelsea. In the last decade of his reign, Edward III withdrew from government, his son the Black Prince died in 1376 and his young grandson, Richard II, at the age of 11 succeeded him as king of England in 1377. He inherited a rich country saddled with an unwinnable
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