Editing Edward III of England (section)

== Mid-reign (1337–1360) ==
{{Further information|Hundred Years' War, 1337–1360}}

=== Sluys ===
In 1337, [[Philip VI of France]] confiscated the English king's [[Duchy of Aquitaine]] and the [[Count of Ponthieu|county of Ponthieu]]. Instead of seeking a peaceful resolution to the conflict by paying homage to the French king, as his father had done, Edward responded by [[English claims to the French throne|laying claim]] to the French crown as the grandson of [[Philip IV of France]].{{Efn|Edward did not officially assume the title "[[List of English monarchs|King of England and France]]" until January 1340, partly to reassure his allies on the continent.{{Sfn|Allmand|1988|p=13}}}} The French rejected this based on the precedents for [[Patrilineality|agnatic succession]] set in 1316 and 1322 and upheld the rights of Philip IV's nephew Philip VI, leading to tensions that caused the [[Hundred Years' War]].{{Sfn|Sumption|1999|p=106}} In the early stages of the war, Edward's strategy was to build alliances with other Continental rulers. In 1338, [[Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor]], named Edward [[Vicar general]] of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] and promised his support.{{Sfn|Rogers|2000|p=155}} As late as 1373, the [[Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1373]] established an [[Anglo-Portuguese Alliance]]. These measures produced few results.{{Sfn|McKisack|1959|pp=128–129}}

The only major military victory during this phase of the war was the English naval victory at [[Battle of Sluys|Sluys]] on 24 June 1340, which secured control of the [[English Channel]].{{Sfn|McKisack|1959|pp=128–129}} This victory decimated a superior French fleet and lowered the threat of a French invasion of England, which increased English desires to attack France. This situation lasted less than a year. Edward was unlikely to have been happy with this victory due to his continuing financial problems.{{Sfn|Allmand|1988|p=13}} The English also captured 166 French merchantmen; they had been raiding the south coast of England for several years and were unpopular amongst English sailors. Up to 16,000 French sailors were killed and French captain, [[Nicolas Béhuchet]] – who could otherwise have expected to be [[ransom]]ed – was hanged from his own [[Yard (sailing)|yardarm]].{{sfn|Cushway|2011|p=98}} Edward saw God's hand in his victory and a triumphal coin was struck in commemoration – showing Edward in a ship, probably meant to be Béhuchet's own – and the King gained a reputation as a naval warrior.{{sfn|Cushway|2011|p=99}}{{efn|Although Edward fought at Sluys, he did not command the navy; his admiral was [[Robert Morley, 2nd Baron Morley|Robert Morley]], who was greatly rewarded for his seamanship in money, grants and a large pension, indicating that Edward recognised the debt Morley was owed.{{sfn|Cushway|2011|pp=99–100}}}}

=== Cost of war ===
Meanwhile, the fiscal pressure on the kingdom caused by Edward's expensive alliances led to discontent at home. The regency council at home was frustrated by the mounting national debt, while the King and his commanders on the Continent were angered by the failure of the government in England to provide sufficient funds.{{Sfn|Prestwich|2005|pp=273–275}} To deal with the situation, Edward himself returned to England, arriving in London unannounced on 30 November 1340.{{Sfn|McKisack|1959|p=168}}{{Sfn|Jones|2013|pp=385–390}} Finding the affairs of the realm in disorder, he purged the royal administration of a great number of ministers and judges.{{Sfn|Fryde|1975|pp=149–161}} These measures did not bring domestic stability, and a stand-off ensued between the King and [[John de Stratford]], [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], during which Stratford's relatives [[Robert Stratford]], [[Bishop of Chichester]], and [[Henry de Stratford]] were temporarily stripped of title and imprisoned respectively.{{Sfn|Myers|1953|p=69}} Stratford claimed that Edward had violated the laws of the land by arresting royal officers.{{Sfn|Prestwich|2005|pp=275–276}} A certain level of conciliation was reached at the Parliament of April 1341. Here Edward was forced to accept severe limitations to his financial and administrative freedom, in return for a grant of taxation.{{Sfn|McKisack|1959|pp=174–175}} Yet in October the same year, Edward repudiated this statute and Archbishop Stratford was politically ostracised. The extraordinary circumstances of the April Parliament had forced the King into submission, but under normal circumstances, the powers of the king in medieval England were virtually unlimited, a fact that Edward was able to exploit.{{Sfn|Ormrod|2000|pp=23–25}}

[[File:Edward III Groat.jpg|thumb|left|[[Groat (coin)|Groat]] featuring Edward III]]

Historian [[Nicholas Rodger]] called Edward III's claim to be the "Sovereign of the Seas" into question, arguing there was hardly any [[History of the Royal Navy|royal navy]] before the reign of [[Henry V of England|Henry V]] (1413–1422). Despite Rodger's view, [[John, King of England|King John]] had already developed a royal fleet of [[galley]]s and had attempted to establish an administration for these ships and others which were arrested (privately owned ships pulled into royal/national service). [[Henry III of England|Henry III]], his successor, continued this work. Notwithstanding the fact that he, along with his predecessor, had hoped to develop a strong and efficient naval administration, their endeavours produced one that was informal and mostly ad hoc. A formal naval administration emerged during Edward's reign, comprising lay administrators and led by William de Clewre, Matthew de Torksey and John de Haytfield successively bearing the title of ''Clerk of the King's Ships''. [[Robert de Crull]] was the last to fill this position during Edward III's reign{{Sfn|Rose|1982|p=7}} and would have the longest tenure in this position.{{Sfn|Sherborne|1994|p=32}} It was during his tenure that Edward's naval administration would become a base for what evolved during the reigns of successors such as [[Henry VIII]]'s ''Council of Marine'' and ''Navy Board'' and [[Charles I of England|Charles I]]'s ''Board of Admiralty''. Rodger also argues that for much of the fourteenth century, the French had the upper hand, apart from Sluys in 1340 and, perhaps, off [[Battle of Winchelsea|Winchelsea]] in 1350.{{Sfn|Rodger|1997|p=99}} Yet, the French never invaded England and King [[John II of France]] died in captivity in England. There was a need for an English navy to play a role in this and to handle other matters, such as the insurrection of the Anglo-Irish lords and acts of piracy.{{Sfn|McKisack|1959|p=509}}

==== Command structure ====
Edward's military command structure began with himself at the centre, and then members of the court acted as his generals. This included the King's family, and Edward utilised the martial capabilities of his sons, particularly his eldest son, Edward the Black Prince. This was not only pragmatic, in that they were all good warriors, but had the added propaganda value of demonstrating the hereditary nature of Edward's claim to the French throne.{{Sfn|Allmand|1988|p=70}}{{Efn|This policy was not confined to Edward III; the French king also employed his three brothers in the command positions, while Edward's successor in the war, [[Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry V]], not only employed his three brothers in France but lost them there too.{{Sfn|Allmand|1988|p=70}}}} However, command was not always the prerogative of the nobility. [[Knights Banneret]] – knights able to lead other knights{{Sfn|Hefferan|2021|p=115}} – were also favoured as leaders of armies or divisions,{{Sfn|Allmand|1988|p=70}} as they were also already close to the king, being part of his household and bodyguard. They bore particular responsibilities during King Edward's ''[[chevauchée]]s'', which often required the main army to split into smaller forces, each requiring its own captain.{{Sfn|Hefferan|2021|p=115}} This sometimes led to dissension. For example, in the 1369 [[Loire]] campaign, the [[John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke|Earl of Pembroke]] shared command with [[Sir John Chandos]]; although the latter was appointed [[seneschal]] of France by the Black Prince, Pembroke refused to work beneath him on account of his superior social status.{{Sfn|Barber|2004a}}{{Sfn|Jack|2004}} Ultimately, though, the task of raising the armies that they would lead fell to both: the aristocracy could raise the largest number of tenants and [[Affinity (medieval)|retainers]] after the King, but it was the lower men who acted as recruiting sergeants in the regions.{{Sfn|Allmand|1988|pp=70–71}} Unlike during his father's or great-grandfather's campaigns in Scotland, the [[feudal levy]] ― whereby military service was provided for free in exchange for land rights ― by the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War it had become the norm for men of all ranks to be paid for their service from the King. In return, the crown shouldered the responsibility for paying for the bulk of equipment. The military historian Andrew Ayton has described this transition as amounting to a "military revolution", and one spearheaded by the King himself.{{Sfn|Ayton|1994|p=96}}

=== Crécy and Poitiers ===
By the early 1340s, it was clear that Edward's policy of alliances was too costly, and yielded too few results. The following years saw more direct involvement by English armies, including in the [[Breton War of Succession]], but these interventions also proved fruitless at first.{{Sfn|Mortimer|2006|p=205}}{{Efn|The main exception was [[Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster|Henry of Lancaster]]'s victory in the [[Battle of Auberoche]] in 1345.{{Sfn|Fowler|1969|pp=58–59}}}} Edward defaulted on [[Florence|Florentine]] loans of 1,365,000 [[florin]]s, resulting in the ruin of the lenders.{{Sfn|Arrighi|2002|p=101}}

A change came in July 1346, when Edward staged a major offensive, sailing for [[Normandy]] with a force of 15,000 men.{{Sfn|McKisack|1959|p=132}} His army [[Battle of Caen (1346)|sacked]] the city of [[Caen]], and marched across northern France, to meet up with [[Flemish people|Flemish forces]] in [[County of Flanders|Flanders]]. It was not Edward's initial intention to engage the French army, but at [[Crécy-en-Ponthieu|Crécy]], just north of the [[Somme (river)|Somme]], he found favourable terrain and decided to fight a pursuing army led by Philip VI.{{Sfn|Prestwich|2005|pp=316–318}} On 26 August, the English army defeated a far larger French army in the [[Battle of Crécy]].{{Sfn|DeVries|1996|pp=155–176}} Shortly after this, on 17 October, an English army defeated and captured King David II of Scotland at the [[Battle of Neville's Cross]].{{Sfn|Waugh|1991|p=17}} With his northern borders secured, Edward felt free to continue his major offensive against France, [[Siege of Calais (1346)|laying siege]] to the town of [[Calais]]. The operation was the greatest English venture of the Hundred Years' War, involving an army of 32,000 men.{{Sfn|Ormrod|2000|p=26}} The siege started on 4 September 1346, and lasted until the town surrendered on 3 August 1347.{{Sfn|Sumption|1999|pp=537, 581}}

[[File:Edward III counting the dead on the battlefield of Crécy.jpg|thumb|Edward III counting the dead on the [[Battle of Crécy|battlefield of Crécy]]]]

After the fall of Calais, factors outside of Edward's control forced him to wind down the war effort. In 1348, the [[Black Death in England|Black Death]] struck England with full force, killing a third or more of the country's population.{{Efn|For more on the debate over mortality rates, see:{{Cite book |last=Hatcher |first=John |title=Plague, Population and the English Economy, 1348–1530 |date=1977 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=0-3332-1293-2 |location=London |pages=11–20}}}} This loss of manpower led to a shortage of farm labour and a corresponding rise in wages. The great landowners struggled with the shortage of manpower and the resulting inflation in labour cost.{{Sfn|Waugh|1991|p=109}} To curb the rise in wages, the King and Parliament responded with the [[Ordinance of Labourers]] in 1349, followed by the [[Statute of Labourers]] in 1351. These attempts to regulate wages could not succeed in the long run, but in the short term they were enforced with great vigour.{{Sfn|Prestwich|2005|pp=547–548}} All in all, the plague did not lead to a full-scale breakdown of government and society, and recovery was remarkably swift.{{Sfn|Prestwich|2005|p=553}} This was to a large extent thanks to the competent leadership of royal administrators such as Treasurer [[William Edington]] and Chief Justice [[William de Shareshull]].{{Sfn|Ormrod|1986|pp=175–188}}

It was not until the mid-1350s that military operations on the Continent were resumed on a large scale.{{Sfn|Prestwich|2005|p=550}} In 1356, Edward's eldest son, [[Edward the Black Prince|Edward, Prince of Wales]], won an important victory in the [[Battle of Poitiers]]. The greatly outnumbered English forces not only routed the French, but captured the French king John II and his youngest son, [[Philip the Bold|Philip]].{{Sfn|McKisack|1959|p=139}} After a succession of victories, the English held great possessions in France, the French king was in English custody, and the French central government had almost totally collapsed.{{Sfn|McKisack|1959|pp=139–140}} There has been a historical debate as to whether Edward's claim to the French crown originally was genuine, or if it was simply a political ploy meant to put pressure on the French government.{{Efn|For a summary of the debate, see {{harvnb|Prestwich|2005|pp=307–310}}}} Regardless of the original intent, the stated claim now seemed to be within reach. Yet a campaign in 1359, meant to complete the undertaking, was inconclusive.{{Sfn|Prestwich|2005|p=326}} In 1360, therefore, Edward accepted the [[Treaty of Brétigny]], whereby he renounced his claims to the French throne, but secured his extended French possessions in full sovereignty.{{Sfn|Ormrod|2000|pp=34–37}} Edward kept his subjects fully informed of political and military developments abroad by a large number of regular reports from himself and his captains to various outlets, including [[convocation]], the [[City of London]] and the archbishops, that, while the scholar A. E. Prince acknowledged that taken singularly, these reports may not represent a cohesive [[public relations]] within government, they do perhaps indicate, as a whole, the existence of a "simple propaganda organization" with which the King boosted domestic morale.{{sfn|Prince|1926|p=417}} These then ended up as part of popular chronicles, either verbatim or in part, whether newsletters or public letters.{{sfn|Curry|2003|p=7}}