The Black Prince: England's Greatest Medieval Warrior

by Michael Jones

As a child he was given his own suit of armor; at the age of sixteen, he helped defeat the French at Crécy. At Poitiers, in 1356, his victory over King John II of France forced the French into a humiliating surrender that marked the zenith of England’s dominance in the Hundred Years War. As lord of Aquitaine, he ruled a vast swathe of territory across the west and southwest of France, holding a magnificent court at Bordeaux that mesmerized the brave but unruly Gascon nobility and drew them like moths to the flame of his cause.


He was Edward of Woodstock, eldest son of Edward III, and better known to posterity as “the Black Prince.” His military achievements captured the imagination of Europe: heralds and chroniclers called him “the flower of all chivalry” and “the embodiment of all valor.” 


But what was the true nature of the man behind the chivalric myth, and of the violent but pious world in which he lived? This exemplary new history uses contemporary chronicles plus a wide range of documentary material—including the Prince's own letters and those of his closest followers—to tell the tale of an authentic English hero and to paint a memorable portrait of society in the tumultuous fourteenth century.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Medieval, Medieval History, British Literature, European History

488 pages, Hardcover

First published July 13, 2017

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Reviews

[Jeffrey Keeten · Rating 5 out of 5]

”At six years old he had been created the first duke in English history; at sixteen he had won fame by his bravery at Crecy; at twenty-six he had astounded Europe by capturing King John of France at Poitiers; at thirty-six he had sealed his supremacy as a military leader with his victory at Najera.”

But Edward the Black Prince would never be king.


Edward, The Black Prince

As I’ve been reading about the Plantagenets, a pattern has emerged of weak English Kings being followed by strong English Kings. King Henry III was fairly ineffectual and really only managed to hang onto his throne due to the courage and tactics of his son the future Edward I. Edward would wage effective war on the Welsh and the Scots. He was a commanding presence in height and temperament. His son Edward II was not a chip off the old block and was eventually overthrown by his French wife, Isabella, and her lover, Roger Mortimer. There were rumors that Isabella had her husband murdered by having a hot poker inserted into his arse, a harsh commentary on his preference for the company of men. Edward III at age 17 staged a coup against Mortimer to take back his throne, in more than just name, and had Mortimer hanged. His she-wolf mother was put under house arrest and shuttled about from castle to castle to keep her safely away from influencing the affairs of court.

Edward III proved a very competent king, not only as a ruler but also as a conqueror of France. The English longbow was proving to be a very effective weapon, and he used it to his best advantage. Not to take anything away from Edward III and his strategies, but until I read this book, I had no idea just how important his first born son and heir was going to prove to be in conquering France. The Battle of Crecy is where the Black Prince won his spurs holding the line against terrible odds and, even more astounding, at the tender age of 16. The Battle of Poitiers is where he was even more impressive, taking on a French army at least twice as large as his own and inflicting catastrophic casualties on the French with very few losses on his side. To make the victory absolutely complete, he also captured King John of France.

If the Black Prince had lived to succeed Edward III, I can easily imagine that France would have remained part of England for much longer and, who knows, potentially forever. Thomas Walsingham wrote: ”For while he lived they feared no invasion of the enemy, no onslaught of battle. Nor, in his presence, did they do badly or desert the battlefield. He never attacked a people he did not conquer; he never besieged a city he did not take.”

The pattern of weak king/strong king would have been broken, and the age of chivalry that directed so much of the Prince’s actions would have flowered and been the guiding light of knights of England for another generation. I have to believe that, if he had become Edward IV, his son, the boy made king at age ten, would have certainly had a much better chance to be a better king.


Edward’s Tomb at Canterbury Cathedral

Edward the Black Prince died on June 8th, 1376. King Edward III died July 5th, 1377. Due to the rules of primogentry, Richard is crowned king. Edward III’s second son to survive infancy was Lionel who unfortunately passed at the age of 29, but the candidate I am most interested in is his third son, John of Gaunt. He may have never had the success of his father and brother, and as de facto regent of Richard II, things were not exactly smooth with the nobles, but I feel that putting a man of 37 on the throne instead of a 10 year old boy would make more sense. Because of the illnesses of his father and his older brother, the responsibility of governing had been on John’s shoulders since 1370 anyway.

John’s son Henry would depose Richard II and become Henry IV. Really, Henry had no choice after Richard declared him disinherited and confiscated all of John of Gaunt’s land and wealth.*Sigh* maybe there were just too many royal male Plantagenets with varying degrees of legitimate claims to the throne of England to avoid a conflict. Richard was such a despised and weak king that the script really writes itself.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

There are a few things I want to highlight that speak to the character of the Prince.

First, he pardoned a very important writer. ”He paid 16 pounds toward the ransom of a young squire, a budding poet who had been captured by the French in the small skirmish after the army left Rheims. The man’s name was Geoffrey Chaucer”. All of English literature thanks you, Sir Edward.


Joan, Fair Maid of Kent

Second, he married for love. He was the most eligible bachelor in all of Europe and could have used marriage to form alliances with key allies, but he decided to marry the most lovely woman he had ever met, his cousin, the widowed Joan of Kent. They were completely devoted to one another, and unlike most royalty in similar circumstances, Edward did not keep mistresses. It was part of his code of conduct that supported his devotion to chivalry. The Black Death was on course to kill over a ⅓ of the population of Europe, so with the almost certainty of an early death looming over them, it may have contributed to what would be perceived as a selfish decision.

Third, he gave away so much of his wealth that many of his servants, by his death, were richer than he was. He was certainly searching for a higher idea of how to conduct his life beyond just possessing wealth or the trappings that accompany such riches.


Jean Froissart

The author, Michael Jones, relies heavily on the writings of Jean Froissart, a contemporary of the time, who for the most part seemed to try as best he could to tell the truth of the times without the bias of an affiliation with a country. I have not read Froissart’s writings, but will certainly be investigating him in the near future. The style of this book reads like a novel and brings the Black Prince alive, as well as the contemporary figures who permeated his life. The Castile campaign, when he put the odious Pedro back on the throne, showed how his sense of obligation (ill advised treaty) could sometimes overrule his own ideals. He wasn’t perfect, but certainly his early death was a lost opportunity for England. ”The Black Prince was a shooting star in the medieval firmament. His martial endeavour, his courage, and the full living of a chivalric life entranced his age--and, if we properly restore his military reputation, it can also fascinate our own.”

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[Geevee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A readable and solidly constructed story of Edward the Black Prince (b1330-d1376), who was the eldest of Edward III’s sons. Michael Jones does an able job of not just detailing the prince's life but also the complex relationships, alliances, feuds and manoeuvrings that encapsulates this period of medieval European history.

The Black Prince's father b1312-d1377 (reigned 1327-1377) was a superb knight and politically able monarch, who fought wars with France, Scotland and others. He was popular at home with his citizens and was respected by his allies and enemies.

Into this powerful court, where knighthood, chivalry and power politics were first and foremost, entered Prince Edward. He was trained by his father and those knights and men closest to Edward III, and was tested early with seeing his father fight successfully against Scotland, and then as a 16 year old he played a full and legendary part in the English victory over the French at Crécy.

The Black Prince's victory at Poitiers in 1356 resulted in the obliteration of the French army and the capture of the French king, John II. The prince treated John with courtesy and indeed kindness during the French king's years of captivity, and these behaviours were a key aspect of his life: that of generous, noble, chivalric and a man of his word, alongside his monogamous marriage and his piety, which was a key part of people's lives.

Later he won another famous victory at Nájera in 1367, campaigning to restore Pedro (the Cruel) to his throne in Castile. Yet this victory was neither a complete success nor something the prince had wanted. His father's orders had been to take the slippery Pedro and restore him to power as part of a wider English strategy to achieve greater power through conquest and alliances. The cost of this campaign to the Black Prince however was that it near bankrupted him, and saw his slide into ill health. His father sent him no monies to pay for the [ultimately] ill-fated Spanish campaign, expecting the financial promises Pedro had made to fill the hole: Pedro didn't pay and the Prince was unable to pay his troops and used his assets and taxation to try and fill the gap but the sum was too great (Pedro did give the prince a semi-precious stone, which is now held at the Tower of London - see below). This is a financial theme throughout his adult life, in part through his generosity to those whose served him and in how he operated as a knight of great fame and being expected to show wealth and taste, but his finances were always very tight. Spain, Castille and Pedro broke him financially and in health.

His rule of Aquitaine was greatly affected by both these aspects and a resurgent France under the wily Charles V saw a cash strapped England pressed and pressured as the next stage of the 100 years' war set to.

With England's fortunes ebbing at this stage the Prince was forced to return to England. He lived his final years quietly working to support crown and old friends and also preparing for death. He died in June 1376 and was buried in Canterbury Cathedral as per his wishes. His father outlived him by just a year.

Edward, the Black Prince's standing remained high at his death with his foes recognising the passing of a great chivalric knight of the battlefield. He was one of the great military tacticians of the medieval era and Charles V of France held a memorial service for his enemy - chivalry was alive and the Black Prince had secured his place in history.

Prince Edward - The Black Prince: also Edward Of Woodstock; Edward, Prince D’aquitaine; Edward, Prince Of Wales; Edward Duke Of Cornwall; Edward, Earl Of Chester.

The Black Prince's ruby now forms a central piece of the Imperial State Crown and is part of the Crown Jewels: https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-londo...

Edward's tomb remains to this day at Canterbury Cathedral: https://churchmonumentssociety.org/mo....

The Black Prince's Jupon/Surcoat replica: https://www.trc-leiden.nl/trc-needles...

[Leanda Lisle · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the morning after the battle of Crecy the sixteen-year old Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, came across the body of the blind Jean of Luxembourg. He had died in a suicidal charge against the English along with his men. The Prince took up Luxembourg’s badge of a silver ostrich feather and resolved to use it as his own. The heraldic background was black: the possible origin of his later sobriquet, the Black Prince.

There are other theories. The most banal is that the young Prince’s armour in 1346 was black. Shakespeare, more convincingly, suggested it was the name the French gave him for the black deeds he later committed during his period of the Hundred Years War. It was, perhaps, a combination of factors. The black background to the silver Prince of Wales feathers would have been the dominant colour of his livery, while the French had good reason to fear the brilliant English commander who pillaged their towns and routed their armies. In one French tapestry he was depicted with a demon’s horns.

The tension between hero and villain expressed in the Black Prince’s sobriquet existed also in the man. He was a killer with conscious: eternal judgment feeling very immediate to a warrior from a generation that had lived through the arrival of the bubonic plague.

It was two years after Crecy, in 1348, and the Black Prince was eighteen when the epidemic reached England. In Bristol, a chronicler noted, ‘Few survived more than two or three days’. As the plague spread, and killed between 1/3 and ½ of the population, the crops were left unharvested and livestock untended. 5000 dead sheep were spotted in one field alone. In London, the uncleaned streets ran with human waste, and processions of Flagellants, whipped their naked torsos with nail studded rope, crying out to God for mercy, as their blood mixed with the faeces at their feet.

It was while this epidemic was at its height, in 1349, that the Prince’s father, Edward III, inaugurated the chivalric Order of the Garter at Windsor Castle. Selection was based on acts of valour, but the statues of the Order were primarily religious.

These warriors knew death that could come suddenly, as it did with the plague, and they feared what came next - if not hell, then purgatory, where they would suffer for their sins, until they were ‘burned’ clean of them. They knew they should avoid doing evil, but it was a comfort to know that their fellow Garter knights were bound to have Masses said for their soul to help speed their passage through purgatory’s fires. It guaranteed them around 5000 Masses within three months of their death.

Some knights must have needed quite a lot help getting out of purgatory as God surely took a dimmer view of their past crimes than their commanders sometimes did. The Black Prince was prepared to overlook assault, housebreaking and abduction, in return for a man’s sword. Yet he also aspired to be a true Christian knight. This meant showing not only courage in battle, but also mercy to his defeated enemies, generosity to friends and the carrying out of acts of piety.

Unfortunately it was necessary sometimes to be brutal to ordinary townsfolk to demonstrate that their French lords could not protect them. Similarly, generosity to friends, and acts of piety - such as the Prince’s desire to found a Cistercian Abbey bigger even than Fountains in Yorkshire - necessitated placing financial pressure on his tenants. A Prince couldn’t let appearances slip (indeed it is appropriate that his biography is exquisitely produced and illustrated) . Wearing black was cool, even in the middle ages, for it was an expensive dye - but the Black Prince, also liked cloth made with pure gold thread and silk embroidered with pearls

One medieval cleric sneered that the vanity of the warrior class was such that they risked tripping up on their long tunics. But there was no danger of that with the Black Prince. His tailor was so good that he knighted him in front of his army, before spending eleven days spent wreaking havoc on the Count of Armagnac’s estates.

Michael Jones brilliantly brings to life the campaigns and battles that made the Black Prince’s name. At Poitiers in 1356 he broke all the rules of contemporary tactics, ordering a frontal assault on the forces of the French king, John II, while sending other cavalry to attack from the rear. He joined the head on attack, where a contemporary describes him ‘hewing at the enemy, lifting up his fallen comrades’. John II fought back with, ‘ a great axe ..in the thickest press of his enemies’. Around the king, ‘The standards wavered and the standard bearers fell. Some were trampled upon, their innards torn open, some spat out their own teeth. Many were stuck to the ground, impaled’.

Eventually John II was captured, and brought to England a prisoner. This victory was celebrated with a Garter tournament attended by Edward III and the queen dowager, Isabella. Some of the most colourful passages in Black Prince concern his adoring grandmother. Her husband, the homosexual Edward II, had preferred the company of Hugh Despenser who, it was said, lead ‘the monarch around as of he were teasing a cat with a piece of straw’. In due course Isabella was revenged. Despenser had his penis cut off before being castrated and disemboweled, while Edward II was, reputedly, sodomised to death with a hot poker. She now regretted some of this and planned to be buried near Edward II, and in her wedding dress.

Jones’s book features other women almost as intriguing as Isabella. Edward III’s last mistress, Alice Perrers, was only a teenager when the relationship began, but appears to have woven a similar spell over the old King to that Despenser had held over Edward II. Then there is the Black Prince’s beautiful wife Jeanette, who married in scarlet, had a penchant for slutty dresses, and to whom he would write loving letters from the front.

It is, however, the drama of the battles and the moral fog of war that dominate the narrative: the nobility of the love soldiers have for each other, and the sometimes base brutality of their acts of slaughter.

The Black Prince’s last years were spent in poor health, both physical, and, it seems, mental. The hero and the villain were one man and Michael Jones does justice to this complexity, while also giving us a gripping story in which we beat the French

An edited version of this review appeared in the Times

[Ірина Грабовська · Rating 5 out of 5]

Це прекрасна книга. Урочиста, як лицарський роман, всеосяжна, як хроніки Фруассара, і написана простою і зрозумілою мовою. Чудовий зразок публіцистичної історичної документальної прози, схожий на фільми Віасат Хісторі. Є певні неточності (особливо що стосується сестер і матері), і очевидна симпатія автора до Чорного Принца, але в цілому дуже добре. Психологічні портрети КУПИ відомих людей Англії, Іспанії, Франції, описи битв, такі, що хочеться наперед листати, описи внутрішнього двору в Аквітанії та устоїв життя 14 століття. Все дуже круто.

Хех. Коли я засную своє видавництво "Камікадзе", яке буде видавати заздалегідь дуже нішеві штуки із цільовою аудиторію в три людини, перекладемо її українською.

[Sud666 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edward of Woodstock. Duke of Cornwall and Prince of Wales. Son and Heir Apparent of the great Plantagenet battle-King of England, Edward III. Known to posterity as "The Black Prince" and considered one of the greatest knights of his era.

Michael Jones' excellent study of Prince Edward was superb. It is a tale intertwined with that of his illustrious father, King Edward III. At a time when the English throne was in conflict with the French throne, as usual, the combination of King Edward III and his equally puissant son, Prince Edward was a devastating one for France. At 16 years of age, Prince Edward would fight bravely and decisively during great historical battles such as the Battle of Crécy (1346), where he withstood a furious French assault. King Edward, upon learning that the Prince had not died in the assault, refused to send help in order that Prince Edward may "win his spurs" and the honor of the battle. Prince Edward, at 16, was able to rout the French and engage in battle with the Duke of Lorraine and the Counts of Alençon and Blois, all three of whom fell before the Prince.
Prince Edward would go on to cement his reputation as a fearsome warrior, wise battle leader, and regarded as one of the pillars of Chivalry, even by his rivals. The young Prince would also rescue his father during the Siege of Calais (1349). During this campaign at the Battle of Winchelsea (1350), prince Edwards ship was grappled by a large enemy Spanish ship, yet the Prince and his elite knights fought off the assault and ended up taking over the Spanish ship (with a little help from Henry of Grosmont, Earl of Lancaster).
The Prince would engage in numerous campaigns but in 1356, the Prince would once again engage in one of the Great Battles of history-the Battle of Poitiers. Here the vastly outnumbered Prince was able to take a strategic position and the subsequent battle (which sealed the reputation for the English longbow) would lead to the decimation of the cream of the French knighthood. Not only was Prince Edward able to rout the forces of the Dauphin, Charles, Duke of Normandy, as well as the forces under the command of Philip, Duke of Orléans, but he was able to capture the French King John II.

In 1361, Prince Edward would add the titles of Prince of Aquitaine and Gascony and married his cousin Joan, Countess of Kent, daughter of Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent, younger son of Edward I, and Margaret, daughter of Philip III of France.

Prince Edward would go on to campaign in Spain (1365-1367) and the War in Aquitaine (1366-1370). But during the latter stages of the Aquitaine War, the Prince fell ill. It would be this debilitating illness, the cause of which is still unknown but could have been prostrate or rectal cancer, that would cause his death in 1376. It would be Prince Edward's son, Richard II, would would inherit the throne.

One of the greatest knights of his era and a brilliant commander of men, Prince Edward would be held up as a model for chivalry. So what's with the whole "Black Prince" moniker? Historians are still split over the name. Firstly, it really wasn't used till the historian John Leland coined it around 1530 or 1540. Secondly, it was assumed that it was due to his wearing black armor, though there is little historical verification of this. More than likely, it could have had something to do with his shield (which makes more sense than black armor) or the fact that in the latter days of his life-due to his brutality during the Siege of Limoges (1370) he was written about poorly by the Bishop of Limoges, Froissart. This Bishop may have used the appellation Black Prince to refer to the Prince's brutal acts. This seems to be Michael Jones' belief as well.

Prince Edward was truly one of the greatest warriors of history and of prime importance to the history of England and the Plantagenet family. Sadly, his life was cut short due to illness. His beautiful tomb can be seen in Canterbury Cathedral and his effigy reads:

Such as thou art, sometime was I.
Such as I am, such shalt thou be.
I thought little on th'our of Death
So long as I enjoyed breath.
On earth I had great riches
Land, houses, great treasure, horses, money and gold.
But now a wretched captive am I,
Deep in the ground, lo here I lie.
My beauty great, is all quite gone,
My flesh is wasted to the bone.

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

While billed as a "major new biography of the Black Prince," this book is much more about the times in which Edward of Woodstock lived than about the man. In fact, I think this work has no more coverage of Edward than is typically found in biographies of his father, Edward III, or in general histories of the Hundred Years War. This fact notwithstanding, this is a highly informative volume that offers several perspectives I have not previously encountered, especially regarding Poitiers. On the other hand, the writing is a bit labored, resembling a text book more than an exciting work of narrative history.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written and researched book. The writer doesn't bog you down in tons of battles and events presents a very nice overview of the life and times of this personality. Very nice read. Very recommended

[RJay · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sadly, I was terribly disappointed in this book.

Three things annoyed me about this book:
1) The author makes statements about how the people he's writing about thought or felt as if they had somehow confided in him personally. The book is riddled with comments like: "Prince Edward had little inkling of all this before his mother's announcement." Or "Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer ... realized that a strong response was necessary..." The author cannot possibly know these details but writes as if they are facts. It is fine to suppose or suggest but insight into feelings or thoughts ought to be qualified as such.
2) In at least one case, the author's history is just plain wrong. He states that the bridge at Poissy, during the 1346 Normandy invasion, was rebuilt overnight. Wrong. The bridge at Carentan was rebuilt overnight. The English arrived at Poissy about mid-morning. The north bank held no French defenders at the time and one of the bridge's beams remained caught in the river below the footings. The carpenters hauled it up and had one beam in place when a French force appeared on the north bank. Northampton then led men-at-arms and archers across and drove off the French. Then the English spent the next day repairing the bridge. If the author misrepresented this rather well-known exploit, what else did he get wrong?
3) The author tells the tale about Joan of Kent and Thomas Holland's secret marriage. He purports that an 'alternative scenario' exists but attributes it to no one. (Did he make it up himself but doesn't have the courage to own it?) He suggests that Joan and Holland didn't marry secretly in 1340 but met and concocted that fake marriage story when Holland was a steward for the Montagues in 1345. Although nothing is footnoted, the chapter notes do cite two sources for his commentary about Joan of Kent, one of which is Wentersdorf's "Clandestine Marriages of the Fair Maid of Kent." This article cites the "Hardyng Chronicle" as the source for the tidbit about Holland being a steward for Montague. However, if one reads the Chronicle itself, written in verse 100 years after the fact, there is one stanza containing one line about the 'supposed' stewardship. And there is no mention of a year! So, Jones' alternative scenario is nothing but a load of hogwash.
Did I mention three things that annoyed me about this book? Make that four. In my opinion, a biography should be primarily about the person being written about. The first 200 pages of this biography are primarily about Edward III and his reign and political feud with Philippe VI. One could probably sum up the pages about the Black Prince himself in about 50 of the 400 pages. Most of it is about the times or other people.
Historians are supposed to 'get it right'. We depend upon them for accuracy, not supposition. You might feel this review is overly critical and it might be. But I met Michael Jones at a Black Prince conference hosted at Canterbury Cathedral last fall (2017) and also emailed him afterward with questions about sources for some of what was contained the BP biography. His response was that his notes were all put away and he had moved on to other projects. He basically blew me off. When I've written to other GR's authors their responses have been more than gracious. So, although I recommended my local library to buy this book I would not recommend it to others. P.S. The second source Jones cited (about Joan) is a 1947 Galway article about the Order of the Garter which is no longer valid (has been updated with more recent research) and noted by Jones - but he uses it anyway! He completely ignored information in Penny Lawne's biography of Joan of Kent (although it was listed in the Bibliography) nor did he include anything from the Holland family dissertation by Michael Stansfield. If you're going to trash someone, at least consult the best sources about them!

[Martin, I stand with ISRAEL · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the reasons I chose this book to read were the book’s numerous goods reviews. Unfortunately, most of these reviews were stolen from other reviewers. Some had pictures in their reviews. If anybody can tell me how to dothat, I would be very grateful. Anyways.

This book exceeded my expectations. It is not the best book I have ever read, but it is a page turner in certain parts.

The book starts with a brief history of Edward the II. It then proceeds to Edward’s son, Edward III. From Edward the III, we finally move on to his son Edward Of Woodstock or The Black Prince.

The Black prince was groomed to be a knight at a very early age. He fought in the battle of Crecy in France at sixteen. Later on, he won a battle at Poitiers in France and captured the King of France thus ending the battle,

He became Lord of Aquitaine which was large piece of Southwest France. Things went splendidly until.........

The Black Prince entered into agreement with a deposed King Don Pedro of Castile to get his kingdom back. The Black Prince with considerable debt re-installed Don Pedro on his throne in Castile. However, Don Pedro reneged on his debt to England. Thus began the long spiral down for the Black Prince.


England and the Black Prince eventually had to give up Aquitaine for three reasons. First, England, out of money, due to the Castilian war taxed Its Aquitaine subjects. Aquitaine rebelled. Secondly, the Black prince spent heavily on luxury, further dwindling government funds. Thirdly, the Black Prince health suddenly failed which would lead to an early death. Aquitaine disintegrated and fell back to France. 🇫🇷.

One of the major issues I had with this book was a dearth of maps. The author described various military battles. It would have been nice to see the places that were associated with the battles. I also had no idea where Aquitaine was. This is where Wikipedia comes in handy.

[happy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a very readable and informative book. Mr. Jones takes a very favorable look at one of England's great commanders of the 100 Yrs war or any war for that matter. The eldest son and heir of Edward III - Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, Prince of Aquitaine, Duke of Cornwall etc. He was at two of England’s greatest victories of early stages of the 100 yrs war - Crecy in 1346 and Poitiers 10 yrs later. At Crecy he commanded one of the wings of Edward III's outnumbered army at 16. It was a Crecy that Edward III said to one of his subordinates, "Let him earn his spurs" when the subordinate suggested reenforcing the Prince when he appeared to be in trouble. 10 yrs later he commanded another outnumbered English/Gascon Army and again routed the French. 11 yrs later he led another outnumbered English/Gascon Army into Spain/Castile to restore Pedro the Cruel to the Castilian throne, defeating the usurper’s army at Najera in 1367.

Mr Jones goes to great lengths to expound on Edward’s reluctance to assist Pedro. By all accounts Pedro was extremely cruel; he was not trustworthy and went against all of Edward’s Principles. But his father had a treaty with Pedro and basically ordered the Prince to support Pedro, so he did.

While a superb battle captain, the man Mr. Jones portrays was also very idealistic - he took the ethics of Chivalry seriously, which led to his misgiving about restoring Pedro to the throne. He is portrayed as generous to a fault, keeping his word - if at all possible, faithful to his wife (unlike most royalty), devoted to his God, etc.

While extolling his virtues, Mr Jones does point out some of his flaws - basically he never met a budget he couldn't bust. He was constantly short of cash and that affected his efforts to rule. With the treaty following the French defeat at Poitiers, the English controlled French province of Gascony was enlarged to the basic boarders of 12 century Aquitaine, and became independent of the French Crown. Edward III made his son the Prince of Aquitaine and expected the Principality to pay for itself. With all the debts the Prince had incurred and kept incurring, including the expedition to Najera, this proved to be impossible.

This leads to the exploration of one of the Black Prince’s great faults – he spent money as if it grew on trees, leading to excessive taxation and the ensuing discontent. The French King, Charles V, shrewdly played on this discontent and gradually weened the Gascon Nobles away from the Prince and the English Crown. It didn’t help at about this time he became serious ill and was incapacitated for long stretches of time. In fact, Mr. Jones makes a point that in his final campaign, he was so ill, he couldn't ride a horse and was carried on a litter. He eventually gave up Aquitaine and returned to England and prepared for death. He passed away in 1376 at age 46, predeceasing his father by about 9 months and is buried in Canterbury Cathedral.

All in all this is a very fine bio of one of the great warriors of English History. solid 4 star read.

[Alan Tomkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. I powered through this book in a week (quick time for this slow reader) because I could barely put it down. Thrilling narrative history that elucidates England's military campaigns during the reign of Edward III so much better than the biography of Edward III by Ian Mortimer that I recently read. This author, Michael Jones, seems to be a more credible historian, and certainly a much better organized writer. The focus here, of course is on Edward of Woodstock, eldest son of Edward III and known to history as the Black Prince, medieval England's greatest warrior and martial hero. He was justifiably regarded as the living embodiment of the chivalric ideal, and his feats and character come splendidly to life in these pages. If you are a fan of Plantagenet history, you will love this book.

[Tim O'Neill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very readable biography that allows a modern audience to understand the man and his historical context on their own terms. Edward of Woodstock comes across as a complex, decent and comprehensible human being thanks to Jones making the more (to us) unusual elements of the medieval culture explicable. The level of detail, especially regarding his military campaigns, aids the reader in understanding the complicated social, political and religious currents of the time. And the range of interesting historical characters who populate the action-packed story of the Prince's life means the narrative is never dull. Gaston "Fébus", Count of Foix, his long-running feud with Jean, Count of Armagnac, Bertrand du Guesclin, the ugly solider who rose to be Constable of France and Edward's formidable lieutenants like Sir John Chandos all make for a great story.

Jones also details the more personal and private aspects of Edward's life, particularly his life long and passionate love affair with his wife, the famously beautiful Joan "the Fair Maid of Kent". Jones makes a world that could be foreign and inaccessible easy to understand and tells the story of a man who, if things had gone differently, been a strong king and taken the history of later medieval England in a different direction.

[David Santiuste]

Michael Jones’s most recent book retells the story of Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, who is better known today as the Black Prince. Raised to be a warrior in the mould of his father, King Edward III, the Prince ‘won his spurs’ in battle at the tender age of sixteen. At Crécy he commanded a hard-pressed division of the English army, and thereafter his life was dominated by conflict with France. By the age of twenty-six, when he won a spectacular victory at the Battle of Poitiers, he had established himself as one of the greatest soldiers of his time. The Prince also caused a stir when he appears to have married for love, choosing as his bride the beautiful Joan of Kent. (Evidently he was willing to overlook Joan’s controversial past.)

In the summer of 1362, when the Prince was in his early thirties, he was entrusted by his father with the rule of Aquitaine (which at this point owed allegiance to the English king). While this was intended as a great honour, it proved to be a challenging task. The aristocracy of the region were notoriously fractious, and the Prince also became embroiled in a civil war in Spain. In 1367 he restored Pedro ‘the Cruel’ to the throne of Castile, although the Spanish king proved to be a fickle ally and his second reign was soon cut short. The expedition had important repercussions as its costs were enormous – and Pedro failed to pay his debts. Struggling to make ends meet, the Prince was forced to resort to unpopular taxation. This led to widespread resentment throughout his French domains.

The Spanish campaign was pivotal in another important respect, as it appears to have affected the Prince’s health. He began to show the first signs of an illness that would ultimately claim his life. By the autumn of 1369 he was reduced to travelling in a litter, but he was determined to lead his men in one last campaign. His target was the city of Limoges, whose lord (the bishop) had defected to the French king. Limoges was swiftly retaken, and according to the chronicler Jean Froissart over 3,000 of the city’s inhabitants were massacred; many historians have seen this as a stain on the Prince’s glittering reputation. Early in 1371 he returned to England. In the years that followed the French gained the ascendancy in warfare, and in the Prince’s absence much of Aquitaine was lost. He passed away in 1376, still only forty-five years old.

The Black Prince had a dramatic career, and in Michael Jones he has found a worthy biographer. Naturally much of the book is taken up with the Prince’s martial exploits, which Jones describes with authority and flair. His account of the Battle of Poitiers is particularly engaging. The Prince is depicted as a sound tactician – one who remained calm in adversity and was willing to listen to advice – but also as a charismatic leader who could inspire his men to extraordinary feats of arms. For medieval people, it seems, the Prince’s appeal lay in his genuine commitment to the ethos of chivalry, with its emphasis on prowess, loyalty, courtesy and piety. Jones argues persuasively that these core values formed the guiding principles of the Black Prince’s life.

On the whole, this is an admirably clear account, but it also conveys a deep sense of emotion; Jones appears to feel great sympathy for the Prince, whom he obviously admires. Nevertheless, he does not flinch from explaining how the Prince’s choices sometimes led to difficulties of his own making. He also acknowledges that the Prince could be a harsh master, especially in the pursuit of funds to pay for his extravagant lifestyle and incessant campaigns. The Prince was ruthless in exacting dues from his tenants in Cheshire, for example; this was something he regretted in his last days, as he attempted to make his peace with God. Yet we also gain a strong impression of a man who was always conscious of his responsibilities as well as his rights. Some of the most interesting passages in the book are concerned with the Prince’s exercise of lordship in Aquitaine, where he often emerges as more diligent and effective than is usually allowed.

Jones builds upon the work of other historians (notably Guilhem Pépin) to offer a full reassessment of Froissart’s description of the siege of Limoges, ultimately concluding that his account of a ‘massacre’ should be dismissed as fiction. However, this is not the only occasion when the Prince’s reputation has suffered at Froissart’s hands. Following the chronicler, the Prince’s Spanish campaign has often been portrayed as an act of hubris in which he overreached himself. In fact, it would seem the Prince had serious misgivings about the enterprise – not least because he despised Pedro of Castile, whose character was the antithesis of all the values he held most dear. Jones makes a convincing case that it was Edward III, not his son, who was the driving force behind the English intervention in Spain. For me, this is the most affecting part of the book, as we see the Prince struggling to balance the obligation of loyalty to his father with his wider sense of chivalric ethics.

Jones also captures the essence of how the Spanish campaign cast a dark shadow over the rest of the Prince’s life. Not only did he contract his mortal illness at this time, the expedition set in train a chain of events which eventually led to a breach between the Prince and his father (with both men seemingly blaming the other for the change in their fortunes). While he could still take pride in his achievements (as witnessed by the plans for his splendid tomb), his last years make for sad reading, as both the Prince and King Edward struggled to cope with the waning of their powers. It is pleasing to think they might have reconciled before the end.

I found this book a gripping read; it has that ‘just one more chapter’ quality that keeps you going late into the night. Moreover, while it seems likely that some of Jones’s conclusions will lead to further debate, it must be stressed that his work is based on extensive scholarship (including his own archival research). He provides a compelling and humane portrait of a medieval warrior, bringing the Black Prince and his world triumphantly to life.

[This review is also available at https://davidsantiuste.com/]

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is the second time I’ve listened to this book? But I think it may be one of my own-in-2-different-formats books. I got more out of it the second time (or third). He would have made a great king. Although his father, Edward III has already been judged as probably the most influential king in England’s history (at least genetically if nothing else), he didn’t age well, and I wonder if QEII lived so long and stayed so vital because of her tight knit family and the adoration of her husband as well as the support of the majority of the population of her country and commonwealths.

[Brendan (History Nerds United) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes a book takes on a subject that most people will say, “I heard of him,” but actually they know nothing more than that. This is one of those books.

I think even non-history folks will say they have heard of the Black Prince merely because his name is pretty cool, but they would fail to know anything else, including his name is Edward. Jones takes you through the entirety of Edward’s life and keeps the narrative flowing really well. I went from knowing very little about Edward to feeling like I knew all I can.

And this is certainly a subject worthy of a full book. Edward is a bunch of contradictions and there is just enough mystery around him to make things really interesting. I would like to know where the hell his moniker came from. Seriously, it’s very frustrating.

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very detailed, well written and balanced historical account of the life of the Black Prince, son of Edward III. Drawing from many original sources and written in a style both complex and engaging, this reads at times like a thriller, and at others like a biography. Highly enjoyable.

[Brian Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading about the Black Prince - the nickname for Edward of Woodstock, the eldest son of Edward III of England - is to read about the height of the chivalric age incarnated in reality. In the 1300s, English and French nobility in particular actually lived the values of King Arthur: the idea of chivalric ideals put into practice and embodied by pageantry and the rewarding of honorable behavior.

Nobody embodied this more than the Black Prince. He granted clemency to enemies when deserved, and operated by strict rules of honorable behavior. He was proud of his achievements and splendid appearance, even dictating that his "achievements" (gauntlets, helm, and knightly armor) be displayed at his tomb in Canterbury Cathedral where they remain to this day (I saw them again just last month). He won significant battles during his lifetime, "earning his spurs" of knighthood at Crecy at age sixteen and later capturing the French king at Poitiers. He married for love, and was utterly devastated when his eldest son died of plague at age 5. He governed at all times for what seemed best for country and the citizens of his conquests. He never desecrated churches purposely and made restitution when it was deemed that church was offended.

He died young, at age 46, a year before his father and failed to fulfill his duty to become Edward IV through no fault of his own. A nine year debilitating illness took him down, of which the typical explanations of dysentery or possibly cancer don't sound satisfactory to me. Perhaps he had Addison's or Lou Gehrig's disease of even leukemia before they knew what that was? Extreme weakness and bed ridden with some discharge of blood were the symptoms. Nine years is a long time. Only through this physical weakness were his achievements reversed. At his death, contemporaries already mourned the death of chivalry with him, ensuring his legend would live on. Considering that his son Richard II in essence squandered his monarchy and indirectly led to the Wars of the Roses would heighten that legend in comparison with the internal destruction of England by the descendants of Edward III.

The book is very well written and researched. Pages fly by swiftly with exciting information and accounts of battles. Nearly gave it five stars but it bogs down a bit in third quarter but much of that is on the subject's history and not the author. Still, for an account of English history at the height of Medieval pomp and circumstance, this book is hard to beat. Recommended for those interested in Medieval culture and the Hundred Years War between France and England (though the second half of that conflict occurs under descendants). Great stuff at times and the most recent account of this era with sympathetic accounts of the Plantagenets under Edward III (and Edward II as well which is recounted in the initial chapter).

[Jacob Stelling · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really enjoyable account which seeks to rehabilitate the Black Prince, particularly around his siege of Limoges, and arguably does a fairly admirable job.

This is an interesting and well-written narrative which draws extensively from primary material, and one which I think is enjoyable for anyone interested in the period.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Black Prince was the great medieval warrior Edward of Woodstock, the Prince of Wales and eldest son and heir of Edward III, who played a pivotal role in the beginnings of the Hundred Years War between France and England. He was destined never to succeed his father, dying a year before Edward III after a protracted, debilitating illness. His son, Richard II, succeeded to the throne at ten years old and never lived up to his father’s legacy. Michael Jones tells the Prince’s tale in this biography.

(n.b. throughout the book, Jones refers to Edward of Woodstock as ‘the Prince’ or by his better known but anachronistic sobriquet ‘the Black Prince’ to avoid confusion with his father, I’ve followed this convention in my review.)

I really, really loved this book. I mean, I pretty much loved it the first time I saw it – it is a visually stunning book. But so often a great cover disguises a weak book and this was not the case.

It’s clear, for a start, that Jones has great affection for his subject, but remains fair in his assessment. He wants readers to get a sense of what the Prince was like and he succeeds, tantalising us with the question, what if the Prince had remained healthy and had succeeded his father on the throne? History, England and France may have been very different indeed.

Jones’s writing is clear and strong, he doesn’t bog the reader down with an overload of information. Admittedly, there are some early chapters in which the history does feel a bit simplified, but this is limited to the overview of the history leading up to the Black Prince’s birth (e.g. the deposition of Edward II), so in my mind is forgivable.

This book is more geared towards the general reader – there is no formal academic referencing, but rather a section wherein Jones talks through his sources for each chapter. So if you’re looking for a specific reference on a point, you’re out of luck.

I do feel that I might not have the full picture of the Black Prince, that there are elements of his life missing. I feel compelled to read the biographies I have of his father (The Perfect King: The Life of Edward III, Father of the English Nation) and wife (Joan of Kent: The First Princess of Wales) soon in order to rectify it.

4 stars.

[Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive and gripping account of the life of the man who, quite possibly, personified chivalry (in all its hues) more than any other.

[Andrew Tollemache · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fascinating read into the life of King Edward III's prodigal son & heir Edward of Woodstock. Held up as the epiotome of medieval chivalric virtue and heroism, the Black Prince was one of Europe's most regarded battle commanders of the era. Edward won his spurs at age 16 fighting for his father, the King at Crecy. Then at 26 he stunned Europe by capturing the King of France and routing the French army at Poiters. He would then join his brother, Johonof Gaunt (The Red Prince) in successful raids into France and Spain.
However, before he could ever be crowned king, the Black Prince was stricken ill with one of those dreaded and hard to historically diagnose medievel diseases. Was it dysentery? Symptoms are right, but that kills in days maybe weeks...not 9 years. Maybe it was colorectal cancer? Who knows since the accounts are so inconsistent. The Prince would die before King Edward III and thus the Black Prince's son, Richard II would become a child king at age 7.
The Black Prince would always be contrasted with his brother John of Gaunt, who well not the militry leader BP was, had married well and acquired enormous wealth from his Lancaster estates. Gaunt's strong line of sons would clash with Richard II and his descendants, which would lay the groundwork for the Wars of the Roses which would tear England apart in the 15 century.

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was incredibly well researched, only a tinge sexist and extremely readable.
This covers way way way more than just Edward The Black Prince and his life. This covers his grandfather, father, the Monarchs of Castile, Navarre & France.
This is information dense and I'll probably reread this in the future.
I did not like the narrator of the audiobook that much, very droning college professor voice but it did not deter me from finishing.

[Mhollie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extensive. Very well written and researched. The Black Prince was the standard that which all chivalric knights, princes, and kings would be later held to. He embodied fearlessness and scorned death. Named the first Duke in English history, won his spurs at age 16 at the Battle of Creçy, and married for love. A story such as his has no equal.

[Bethany Currie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this as it was pacy and not too academic. Loses a star because there were some tangents I felt weren’t necessary- but still interesting overall. I liked the author’s critique of various sources as well.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

An expansive look at medieval life in England and France through the lens of Edward III and The Black Prince.

[Tracy Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth a read. The first book solely on the Black Prince. The first half is a bit patchy, due to a lack of documentary evidence on his early life, but the second half of the book more than makes up for it. The best king we never had.

[KB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although my interest in medieval history isn't exactly new, I've never done much reading on it. I took a couple related courses during undergrad (which was many, many moons ago), but I never looked for anything outside that. Recently, however, I thought I'd take the plunge. I'd never heard of Edward of Woodstock, the Black Prince. Nor had I heard of the author Michael Jones. Yet I found a book that was a total pleasure to read.

I see some reviewers debating the authenticity of Jones' writing and research. I have to be honest that I'm not in a good position to judge this myself. The medieval courses I took had very little to do with either England or France.

But for someone coming into this particular subject, I found the book to be quite easy to understand. The beginning chapters were a little difficult, because Jones doesn't just throw readers in with the Black Prince. Instead he provides much-needed context about the prince's father and grandfather. This sets the stage for everything to come later on in the story. I did find it a lot to take in at the time, but I think it was a necessary inclusion and once the story gets going, I found that I could settle into it easily.

As the subtitle of the book suggests, there is a strong focus on the Black Prince's military campaigns. This includes the battle of Crécy when he was only sixteen years old, the raids of 1355 and 1356, the battle of Poitiers, and the 1367 battles in Spain. These battles and campaigns are told quite vividly using contemporary sources. It's a fascinating image of the realities and brutality of a medieval battle:

The standards wavered and the standard-bearers fell. Some were trampled upon, their innards torn open; some spat out their own teeth. Many were stuck fast to the ground, impaled [by lances]. Some had lost arms; others wallowed in the blood of their comrades. Men slipped and were crushed by those falling on top of them.

I think Jones provides fair judgement on his subject. For all his military aptitude, the Prince was seemingly always plagued with issues of money. Part of this was his chivalric lifestyle and generosity - wanting to reward those loyal to him with land, gifts and titles. But he also seemed to enjoy some of the finer things in life. We learn near the end of the book that towards the end of Edward's life his reputation began to turn. The fouage tax in Aquitane, pardoning those close to him who had committed serious crimes, and his siding with Pedro of Castille did him no favours.

Edward would not go on to live a long a prosperous life, or to right some of his wrongs. He died from illness at age 46, and is buried in Canterbury Cathedral. His lasting image is one of military prowess and the brutality that came with it, earning him the title he's remembered to history by: the Black Prince.

There are some maps at the beginning (which I totally forgot about as I read and complained to myself that there were no maps). There's also a very handy timeline, an appendix about Limoges, and a note on sources. We get some pictures included as well.

I really enjoyed this book. I found the subject fascinating, and Michael Jones' writing really brought him to life. As I said, because I don't really know anything about this topic I'm not a good judge of the veracity of what Jones presents in this book. But I don't think he seeks to mislead readers or draw unreliable conclusions. And I think he actually gives quite a balanced view of the Prince.

It's just amazing to me that we can know so much about someone who lived so long ago, and the events that took place. And there I was, doing my master's degree on a First World War topic, thinking I'd have to go in a different direction because I couldn't find enough material. And that topic was only 100 years old. Not 600.

[Steve Cunningham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a highly readable and engaging overview of the life and career of Edward of Woodstock. It excels in comparing the chivalric ideal with the harsh realities of medieval warfare and governance, and is a superb primer on the origins and early stages of the Hundred Years war.
It is not without its flaws; the author's critical treatment of Jean Froissart's Chronicles - admittedly an indispensable source on the period - feels somewhat uneven, taking at near face value the compliments paid to the Black Prince while heavily dissecting Froissart's criticisms of him. There are also a number of passages where some more judicious editing would have improved the narrative coherence and clarity and eliminated some unnecessary repetitions. And there is the stylistic choice to refer to Edward throughout as "The Black Prince"; entirely understandable for reasons of clarity in places where his father Edward III is a near ubiquitous figure in the narrative, but it does create the effect of curiously distancing the reader from the subject. Symbolism is obviously an important aspect of Edward's story, yet at times it feels that the symbol is being discussed more than the man himself.
Nonetheless, given the distance in time and culture from the period to our own, this is a very fine biography of one of the key figures of English medieval history, and when it succeeds it creates an intimate and at times visceral portrait of a man striving to reconcile his ideals with the actions duty requires him to undertake.

[Emily Hird · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read quite a few books on Edward iii I have often come across the black prince as a background character. This is my first time reading a book with him front and centre and I have to say I really enjoyed it.

The author takes you through his life in an easy to follow chronological order. The pace is done very well. It kept me engaged, especially in the chapters covering the princes greatest battles.

This book really changed my opinions on the black prince. Growing up I always heard about his awful misdeeds. As I got older and could read for myself he was always portrayed as a great fighter but a poor ruler. This book completely changed my view. Yes he often put chivalry above other important factors but actually his biggest failing with Aquitaine were often due to poor decisions or indecisive action of his father. Furthermore, many of his misdeeds were actually over exaggerated by French propaganda. This was all news to me!

The story of the black prince is one of those big what if moments in history. What if he hadn’t of aided Pedro? What is he hadn’t have fallen ill? Or if Edward iii had died earlier. But even without those questions, it’s an exciting tale that I would recommend exploring.

It is sad how it ends, especially in regard to his useless son and the propaganda which still tarnishes his memory today. Maybe he needs a Hamilton style musical written about him to fix this!

But either way this is a great book about an incredible interesting historical figure which I would recommend to anyone who loves history, especially those with a love for the chivalry, violence and politics of 14th century England.

[Shrike58 · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you pick up this book, you're essentially getting the most positive "spin" you can get on the life of Edward of Windsor, better known as the "Black Prince," with the particular emphasis being on how the man took the precepts of Chivalry seriously, and how that influenced his conduct. The practice of Chivalry, in theory and practice is a big part of this work. This becomes significant as Jones debunks some of the more brutal acts associated with the man, and makes a good argument that, specifically, the massacre at Limoges, the last significant military event in the Prince's life was mostly negative propaganda. Also important is the Prince's relationship with his father, Edward III, particularly as the king's judgment became more dubious, and the Prince found himself being compelled to go on military adventures that compromised his policy as Prince of Aquitaine. All in all, this was a good study, that works equally well as social and political history before you tackle more academic works.