Edward III

(1312–1377) ruled 1327–77. Edward was placed on the throne at the age of 14 after his father, Edward II, was forced to abdicate. For several years Isabelle, the queen mother, and her lover Mortimer were the real rulers. In 1330 the young king arrested his mother, had Mortimer put to death on the charge of murdering Edward II, and began to rule in his own right.

Edward renewed the old war with Scotland, and fighting dragged on for many years. However, he gave most of his attention to war with France. Edward laid claim, through his mother, to the French throne. Philip VI of France wished to drive Edward from his duchy of Aquitaine in southwestern France. The long series of conflicts called the Hundred Years' War opened in 1337. In 1346 Edward's army won a complete victory over the French at Crécy, and in 1347 took the port of Calais. In 1356 the king's son, Edward the Black Prince, defeated the French at Poitiers and captured King John II of France, Philip's successor. By the Treaty of Brétigny (1360) King Edward gained undisputed sovereignty over Aquitaine.

Meanwhile the Black Death struck England in 1348 and 1349, causing the death of one-third or more of the people. As workers became scarce, prices and wages rose. Parliament passed the Statute of Labourers in an attempt to freeze prices and wages. The law was hard to enforce, however.

During Edward's reign the people of England became unified in language. After the Norman Conquest of 1066 the upper classes spoke French, while the common people used Anglo-Saxon, or Old English. In 1362 Parliament passed a law requiring the use of English in law courts.

Because Edward was more interested in the conduct of war than in domestic affairs, Parliament gained new powers during his reign and became established as a permanent part of the government. The House of Lords and the House of Commons began to take their present forms.

Edward's reign ended in failure. After the war with France broke out again in 1369 the English armies were defeated. When a truce was arranged in 1375, Edward held only a few small possessions in France. Within England there was sharp division between two parties, which were led by the Black Prince and John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, sons of the king. The Black Prince died in 1376. When Edward III died in 1377 he was succeeded by the oldest son of the Black Prince, who became Richard II.