-
The Battle of Cadsand
Edward III, King of England, had ascended to the throne, vacated by his overthrown and imprisoned father Edward II, in January 1327. Edward III as a descendant of William I (also known as ‘the conqueror’) had inherited the French titles of Duke of Guyenne and Count of Ponthieu, in addition to being the son of Isabella of France, the sister of the heirless King Charles IV of France. In 1328, when Charles IV died, Edward considered himself to have a legitimate claim on the French throne. The other major claimant was Phillip of Valois, a cousin of Charles IV, who as a descendant through the male line had the stronger…
-
Battle of Lewes
After inheriting his father’s throne at the age of nine years old, Henry III also inherited a bankrupt treasury and the Magna Carta signed by King John just a year before. As a result from the beginning of reign, Henry was forced into collecting unfavourable taxes. As he was still in his minority, for the first nine years of his rule the country was governed by a group of regents, including William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke and Hubert de Burgh. Following the death of his father, the Baronial opposition that had surfaced during John’s reign vanished, although some remained supportive of Louis of France who remained in control of the…
-
Marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II
Eleanor of the House of Poitiers was born somewhere between 1122 and 1124, the daughter of William X, Duke of Aquitaine and Aenor de Chatellerault. At a young age she was granted title of Duchess of Aquitaine, and by the age of thirteen/fifteen, on the death of her father in 1137, Eleanor inherited the Duchy in her own right. William had anticipated her value and had her betrothed to the soon to be Louis VII who was approximately two years older, the marriage took place in July of 1137, around which time both William and Louis VI passed away, and the Aquitaine lands passed as dowry to her husband. The…
-
John of Gaunt
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, was born on March 6, 1340 to King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. He was called “John of Gaunt” because he was born in Ghent, then rendered in English as Gaunt. He was born a member of the House of Plantagenet. His older brother Edward, Prince of Wales (the Black Prince) was next in line to the throne until his death in 1376 following a ten year battle with recurrent amoebic dysentery. When Edward III died in 1377 and his ten-year-old grandson succeeded as Richard II of England, John’s influence strengthened. However, many people suspected him of wanting to seize…
-
Edward II
The 25th April 1284, was the date that the controversial King Edward II (aka Edward of Caernarfon) was born at Caernarfon Castle in North Wales. He was the 4th son of Edward I and his first wife Eleanor of Castille. His elder brothers John and Henry having died before he was born, Edward became heir to the throne at just four months old, when his one remaining brother Alphonso died in August of 1284. In 1290, Edward I set about planning to marry Edward to Margaret of Norway who had a claim to the throne of Scotland. Unfortunately she died that same year. The same year Edward’s mother died, followed…
