Edward “The Black Prince” (1330 – 1376)
Born to royal parents, the warmongering English King Edward III and Philippa of Hainault, Edward Woodstock was always destined for military life. Aged just 16, he led the English against the French at the Battle of Crécy in 1346, winning a stunning victory. It was the Welsh longbowmen, in particular, who inflicted considerable damage on the heavily armored, yet heavily outgunned, French. Just ten years later, he fought again at the Battle of Poitiers (in which the French King John the Good was captured and the first knight on this list, his standard-bearer Geoffrey de Charny, was killed).
Historians dispute the origins of his epithet “the Black Prince“. It may have come from the color of his shield and armor, however, it may also have come from his reputation for brutality, particularly against the French at Aquitaine. One particular event marked him out: the massacre of 3,000 men, women, and children after the sack of Limoges in 1370. But while this was documented by the contemporary chronicler Jean Froissart, two other sources have come to light that cast doubt over Froissart’s claim; one saying that he just captured 200 men at arms, another that there were a total of 300 deaths during the sack of the city. It’s likely we’ll never know the truth.
Though still despised by the French, in the English tradition the Black Prince is often credited with upholding some of the best chivalric ideals, especially in the way he treated his captives with honor and dignity. But this was not always the case. In 1355 he launched one of his many chevauchée (mounted raids) across Languedoc in southern France. Attacks of this kind were not made for the purpose of fighting battles or consolidating positions, but to obtain plunder and ravage the lands. Even at the time, chevauchée were considered to be thoroughly unchivalrous as the people who suffered most in losing their lands, and indeed their lives were not knights but ordinary peasants.
Though becoming the founding member of the Order of the Garter (still in existence today) Edward’s greatness never translated into kingship. While campaigning to restore Don Pedro the Cruel to the Castilian throne in 1366—going by the name, one has to question Edward’s choice in candidate—Edward contracted what most people think was amoebic dysentery. His health went into sharp decline over the next ten years, and though he did manage at one stage to rise from his sickbed, don armor and defend Aquitaine against the French, he died in 1376 at the age of 45, just one year before his father. He is buried in Canterbury Cathedral, where his effigy is still open for visit by the public.