Medieval France
(1312–1377). King of England and claimant to France. The son of Edward II and Isabella of France, Edward III became king of England in 1327, when his mother led a coup that deposed his father. Through his mother, Edward was the grandson of Philip IV of France and nephew of Louis X, Philip V, and Charles IV. He was therefore nearer in relation to the last Capetians than was Philip VI of Valois. But the successions of Philip V and Charles IV had established precedents excluding the succession of daughters, and the French princes decided in 1328 to exclude those whose claim was through the female line. At that time, and in 1329 and 1331, Edward had rendered homage to Philip VI for his French fiefs, acts implying acceptance of Philip’s succession. But despite this Valois diplomatic victory, the issue of Edward’s claim to the throne did not disappear, and it became a major subtheme of the Hundred Years’ War.
Edward laid claim to the throne in 1337 and by 1340 was using the title “King of France.” His reasons for reviving his claim were twofold. First, it transformed the feudal dispute over Gascony that had triggered the war from an unequal contest between the king of France and a rebellious vassal to a contest between equals. Second, it allowed Edward’s partisans in such areas as Flanders and Brittany to support his cause without technically rebelling against the throne.
It was thus an important diplomatic and propaganda tool in his war with France.
How seriously did Edward take his claim? There is little doubt that his major aim in the war was to defend and secure his patrimony in Gascony, and in a number of negotiations he seemed willing to relinquish his claim to the throne of France in exchange for full sovereignty (rather than feudal tenure) over a Gascony freed of French territorial inroads. Edward was a master opportunist, and keeping his claim alive gave him many opportunities. Yet it is also probable that Edward and many of his English followers thought that his becoming king of two kingdoms was at least within the realm of possibility. Indeed, in the three years after the capture of King John II at Poitiers in 1356, culminating in the campaign against Reims and Paris in 1359, Edward must have felt within reach of this goal. In fact, it was always unlikely that Edward could have been accepted as king by a sufficient number of the French nobility. His great-grandson Henry V actually came closer to making good on the family claim.
Stephen Morillo
[See also: CALAIS; CHARLES V THE WISE; CRÉCY; HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR; ISABELLA OF FRANCE; PHILIP VI]
Le Patourel, John. “Edward III and the Kingdom of France.” Hisrtoy 43(1958):173–89.
Perroy, Édouard. The Hundred Years War, trans. W.B.Wells. New York: Capricorn, 1965.
Prestwich, Michael. The Three Edwards: War and State in England, 1272–1377. New York: St. Martin, 1980.
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