| | | 1325 | Peterborough's Central Tower |
| The central tower of Peterborough Cathedral was begun in 1325. |
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| Mar - Isabella leaves for France  |
| Isabella travelled to France to see King Charles IV her brother. Her mission was to bring to an end the disputes over land between France and England. The King agreed to the English reclaiming the lands of Gascony and Ponthieu as long as Edward came to Paris and paid homage. In Paris Isabella met Roger Mortimer who had recently escaped from the Tower of London. She fell in love with him. |
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| Sep - Prince Edward in France |
| In England, King Edward was persuaded not to go to France by the Despensers. The Despensers were worried that because their position of power in England was precarious, if Edward left the country they could could easily lose that power. Instead, it was decided that the King's son Prince Edward, only thirteen years old should go to France and pay homage instead. This was a big mistake. |
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| Sep 21 - Prince Edward is captured |
| Prince Edward met Charles IV and paid him homage. The French king gave the Prince the title of Duke of Aquitaine and informed the English King that the French were going to retain the Agenais, an area of southwest France. Prince Edward had effectively been captured and his mother, Isabella the English Queen, had begun the plans of removing her husband from the throne of England. |
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| Nov - Edward commands Isabella to return |
| At a Parliament called to discuss the situation in France, it was decided to send a petition to Isabella for her return to England. She refused. In France, her brother the King had become annoyed with Isabella's conduct. Isabella left France and went to the court of William II, Count of Hainault who assisted her with preparations to invade England. A promise was made to marry Prince Edward, now Duke of Aquitaine to William's daughter Phiippa. |
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| 1326 | Threat of invasion |
| Preparations were made in England for the threatened invasion from Isabella. Preparations were made difficult because Hugh Despensers was so unpopular. |
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| Clare College Cambridge founded |
| A new college is founded in Cambridge, called Clare College. |
| Oriel College Oxford founded |
| Edward II founded Oriel College, Oxford. |
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| Spring - Marriage arranged between Edward and Philippa |
| Isabella arranged the future marriage between her son Edward and Philippa the daughter of William count of Hainault. Isabella claimed part of Philippa's dowry in advance so that she could finance her invasion of England. |
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| Sep - Isabella and Mortimer land to take the throne |
| Isabella, the wife of Edward II and her supporters including Mortimer landed at Orwell in Suffolk. Their aim was to remove Edward II from his throne and place Prince Edward there as the new king. Isabella had no problem in raising an army from those opposed to the King and they advanced on London. Although Edward was in the Tower of London the rest of London was against him and he decided to leave the city and head west with his supporters including the Despensers and the Earl of Winchester. |
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| Oct - Prince Edward is declared Keeper of the Realm |
| Isabella entered Bristol and was welcomed by the citizens there. The Earl of Winchester who had taken to the castle decided the best action was surrender. He was executed on the 27th of October as a traitor. |
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| Nov - Edward captured |
| The King was captured in Wales at the Abbey of Neath. He had hoped to get some support in Wales but that was not to be the case. The Despensers were also captured. Hugh Despenser was given a short trial and executed as a traitor. Edward was taken to Kenilworth castle and imprisoned. |
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| 1327 | Jan - Edward III takes the throne |
| Henry III succeeds to the throne and is crowned at Westminster. |
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| Apr - Edward II is imprisoned |
| Edward II was imprisoned in Berkeley Castle. |
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| Sep - Edward II murdered at Berkeley Castle |
| Edward was buried at the abbey church at Gloucester. |
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| 1328 | Jan 24 - Edward III marries |
| Edward married Philippa of Hainault at York Minster. The marriage was arranged as many were at the time. The arrangement was organised as early as 1323, when she was not nine years old. The Bishop of Exeter visited Hainault to see the girl. |
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| Feb 1 - Charles IV of France Dies, followed by Philippe VI |
| After the death of Charles IV the next rightful claimant to the French throne was not clear-cut as there was no male heir. Isabella, the sister of Charles, had married Edward II and their son Edward III had just taken on the rule of England. Isabella put in a claim for her son but in France the first cousin of Charles was chosen. He was Philippe of Valois the grandson of Philippe III of France. |
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| May - Treaty of Northampton |
| England recognised the Declaration of Arbroath drawn up by Robert the Bruce in 1320. Scotland was accepted as an independent country under the rule of Robert. |
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| Summer - David (II) marries Joan |
| Part of the Treaty of Northampton was the betrothal of David (II), son of Robert King of the Scots, to Edward's sister Joan. The two were married in the same year. |
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| 1329 | Edward agrees to do homage to Philippe |
| Edward III agreed to do homage to Philippe of Valois for the lands he held in Aquitaine. Edward did not place his hands between Philippe's, a sign of total loyalty which would have been hard to go against, as Edward was unhappy about Philippe's claim to the French throne. Edward was hoping diplomatic endevours would help his position and wanted Philippe's daughter Joan to marry his first son Edward the Black Prince. |
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| Jun 7 - David II becomes king of Scotland |
| Robert I (the Bruce) of Scotland died and was followed by David (II). David was only 5 years old and so Edward Balliol claimed his right to the throne being the son of John who was king of Scotland from 1292 to 1296. |
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| 1330 | Sherborne Castle is given to the Earl of Salisbury |
| Edward III gave the castle at Sherborne to the Earl of Salisbury. |
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| York Minster West Window |
| Building work on the West Window of York Minster until 1338. |
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| Mar - Execution of Edmund, Earl of Kent |
| Mortimer arrested Edmund, Earl of Kent for openly opposing Queen Isabella and Mortimer himself. This act was the catalyst for Edward II to arrest Mortimer for treason. |
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| Jun 15 - Edward (the Black Prince) is born |
| Edward was born at the royal manor of Woodstock. |
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| Oct - Execution of Mortimer |
| Edward III arrested Mortimer at Nottingham Castle in October and tried him before Parliament. |
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| 1331 | Apr 4 - Meeting between Edward III and Philippe VI |
| In disguise Edward travelled to France to meet Philippe VI. At the meeting it was agreed that Edward did not have to do homage for Aquitaine. |
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| Nov 24 - David II is crowned |
| David II, at the age of 7, was crowned King of Scotland at Scone. |
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| 1332 | Jun 16 - Isabella born |
| Isabella, the daughter of Edward III and Philippa of Hainault, was born on this day. |
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| Aug 12 - Battle of Dupplin Moor |
| With help from English archers Edward Balliol forwarded his right to the Scottish throne by defeating David II's followers at Dupplin Moor. |
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| Sep 24 - Balliol crowned king of Scotland |
| Edward Balliol was crowned king of Scotland at Scone but was quickly forced over the border back to England prompting Edward III's assaults. |
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| Dec - Balliol overthrown |
| Balliol's fortunes changed when he was overthrown and had to flee to England. |
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| 1333 | Isle of Man comes under English control |
| Montagu, an English Baron, took control of the Isle of Man from Scotland. |
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| Mar 18 - Earl of Chester |
| Edward (the Black Prince) was given the title Earl of Chester on this day. |
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| Jul 19 - Battle of Halidon Hill |
| Edward had positioned his army on Halidon Hill overlooking Berwick which he had under siege. He choose the location because it allowed him to look out for the Scots who may try and relieve the Scottish who were besieged with the town. A Scottish force tried to get to Berwick put were defeated by Edward's army. Edward III's attacks on Scotland and victory at Halidon Hill put Edward Balliol back on the Scottish throne for four more years. Robert (II), the future King of the Scots, was one of the Scottish commanders at the battle of Halidon Hill. |
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| Jul 20 - Berwick surrenders to the English |
| After the defeat of their relief force at Haildon Hill the day before the Scots holding out in Berwick had no option but surrender to the English and Edward III. |
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| 1334 | The sprire of Salisbury Cathedral |
| The tower and spire of Salisbury Cathedral were constructed between 1334 and 1380. The spire at 404ft was the tallest stone spire built in the Medieval era. |
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| Jun - England takes control of parts of Scotland |
| Edward Balliol granted England control of parts of southern Scotland. |
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| 1335 | Qtr 2 - Edward attacks the Scots |
| Edward III, assisted by Balliol, moved up through Scotland. There was a chance that the French would invade while the King was in the North as Philippe VI had sent ships to help the Scottish cause. |
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| 1336 | Bampton Castle rebuilding work |
| License to crenelate (fortify) the castle at Bampton in Devon was granted. |
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| Aug 12 - Exports of Wool Stopped |
| Louis de Nevers, the count of Flanders from 1322, prohibited trade with England in an attempt to control the powerful cloth-weavers in the area. Louis suspected some kind of link between the weavers and England and so he banned the trade of wool to cut the supplies that their wealth relied on. Edward counteracted by changing the only continental port where wool was imported to from Bruges to Antwerp. |
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| 1337 | 1st Duke of Cornwall |
| Edward, the Black Prince, was given the title Duke of Cornwall by his father Edward III. The estate was created at this time is order to provide an annual income for the Prince and for future eldest sons of the monarch. |
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| Qtr 2 - Cardinals sent to Europe |
| Two cardinals, Peter Gomez and Bertrand of Montfavence, were sent by Pope Benedict XII to Europe to try and prevent the two kings from going to war. |
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| Jun - A comet is seen over France |
| A comet was seen in the skies of France and was viewed as a bad omen and that war was on the horizon. |
| Aug - Edward rescues Stirling Castle |
| Edward III reaches Stirling Castle with supplies to assist the English garrison there that was under siege from Sir Andrew Moray. |
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| Aug 14 - Robert III is born at Scone |
| Robert (III), the future king of Scotland, was born at Scone. |
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| Oct - Start of the Hundred Years' War |
| Relations between England and France were not good. Philippe VI the French King had sent ships to help the Scots who were attacking English merchant shipping and ports. There was the threat that the French would invade England. Edward III then laid a claim to the French throne. The claim centred on the fact that Isabella, his mother, was the daughter of Philippe IV. All of Philippe IV's sons (John I, Philippe V and Charles IV) had died without passing the French throne onto a son. On his death-bed Charles IV designated Philippe of Valois, his first cousin, as regent. Charles' wife was expecting a child and it was hoped that the child would be a boy. The child was a girl and Philippe of Valois claimed the throne for himself. Edward's claim to the throne was disputed because in French law it was stated that the line of succession could not pass through a female line. Philippe VI then declared that all of the English held lands in France were forfeit. These events were the start of conflict between England and France that would last (on and off) for more than one hundred years. |
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| 1338 | Construction of Ford Castle |
| Sir William Heron started building work on Ford Castle in Northumberland |
| Wells Cathedral scissor arches |
| The Scissor arches were added to prevent the collapse of the central tower. |
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| Qtr 1 - French attack English ports |
| Philippe used Genoese troops to attack ports on the south coast of England including Southampton, Plymouth, Hastings and Rye. The attacks reached right around the coast as far as Bristol. |
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| Apr - A comet seen in Europe |
| A second? comet trailing fire is seen in the skies over Europe. |
| Jul - Edward invades France |
| Edward crossed to Antwerp and attempted an invasion of France. |
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| Oct - French attacks continue on the south coast |
| Towns at Dover, Folkestone, Harwich, Hastings, Portsmouth, Rye, and the Isle of Wight were attacked and many merchant ships were destroyed. The attackers even sailed into Portsmouth harbour pretending to be English by raising English flags and sacked the town. |
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| Nov 29 - Lionel born to Queen Philippa |
| Queen Philippa gave birth to another son. The child was born in Atwerp. |
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| 1339 | Mar 12 - French attack Jersey |
| The French attack Gorey Castle on the island of Jersey but the castle's garrison held out and fought off the invaders. |
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| Mar 23 - French plan invasion |
| Philippe of France and the Normandy elite planned an invasion of England. Their invasion force consisted of around 20,000 to 25,000 men. |
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| Jul - French attack Dover |
| A French fleet attacked Dover, Folkstone and Sandwich but they were driven back to France. Boulogne was attacked in revenge. |
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| Sep - Edward in Northern France |
| With the promised help of the counts of Hainault and Namur Edward took his army into Northern France. The counts changed their minds as they had lands to lose if they fought against Philippe. Edward continued without their help and the English confronted the French at La Fremengerie. The French refused to fight and and English, short of supplies, turned back. |
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| 1340 | Building work at Windsor Castle |
| The Round Tower was rebuilt at Windsor Castle. |
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| Queen's College Oxford founded. |
| Queen's College Oxford founded by Robert de Eglesfield. |
| Battle of the Salado River |
| Portugal and Castile join forces and produce a major victory against the Moors. |
| Universal Crop Failure |
| Thousands die of starvation. |
| Jan 25 - Edward declares himself King |
| In Ghent (Flanders) Edward declared himself as the true King of France. When he left Flanders for England Philippa remained as assurance that money Edward owed would be paid. |
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| Mar 29 - Edward raises taxes |
| Parliament agreed to raise taxes so that Edward could fund an army to invade France. |
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| Jun 24 - Battle of Sluys |
| A naval battle between the English and French. The French tried to prevent the English ships landing at Flanders. The French were defeated by Edward's forces. Edward did not follow up with the advantage. |
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| Jul - Siege of Tournai |
| Edward besieged the important French town of Tournai. The town proved impossible to break and when Philippe arrived nearby with an army a truce was agreed. The truce with mediated by Philippe's sister who was also Edward's mother-in-law. The truce lasted until June of 1341. |
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| Sep 25 - Treaty of Esplechin |
| A peace treaty between Edward III and Philippe VI of France. Edward had large debts and further campaigning was not possible so he accepted that the truce between the two kings was the best course of action. This treaty marks the end of the first section of the Hundred Years War. |
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| Nov - Edward dismisses his Chancellor |
| Edward travelled back to England and came ashore at the Tower of London. He was horrified to find the castle unguarded. His anger did not stop with those in charge at the Tower. Edward sacked many of his advisors including the Chancellor, John Stratford, the Archbishop of Canterbury. |
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| 1341 | Spring - Edward raises funds |
| To raise funds for further French expeditions Edward had to confront Parliament. Parliament insisted that Edward reconfirmed various ancient charters. |
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| Jun - David II returns to Scotland |
| Edward Balliol is forced to leave Scotland when David II returns from France to claim the Scottish throne. |
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| Jul - Edward goes north |
| Edward went north to deal with the threat posed by David's return to Scotland. |
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| 1342 | Jan - Truce agreed with David II |
| Edward III and David II agreed to peace and Edward returns to London. |
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| Oct - Edward and Brittany |
| Edward sailed to Brittany to assist English troops already there. They were supporting Jean de Montfort's claim to be the Duke of Brittany. Philippe, king of France, disputed this claim and supported his own contender to the title. Edward left his eldest son in charge of England while he was away. |
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| Dec - Siege of Vannes |
| Edward had to control Vannes if he was to hold Brittany and he laid siege to the city. The city did not fall to the English. |
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| 1343 | Jan - Treaty of Malstroit |
| After a hard winter without any new gains in France Edward signed a new peace treaty with the French and returned to England. |
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| May 12 - The Black Prince becomes Prince of Wales |
| Edward, the Black Prince, was bestoyed with the title of Prince of Wales by his father Edward III at a ceremony at Westminster. |
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| 1344 | Construction of Chillingham Castle |
| Building work on Chillingham Castle was started by Sir Thomas De Heton. |
| Jan 19 - First Round Table at Windsor |
| A jousting tournament at Windsor castle may have been the time of the creation of the Order of the Garter based on the King Arthur's knights of the Round Table. The formal creation of the Order occurred in 1348. |
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| 1346 | Maxstoke Castle licence to crenellate |
| Edward gives permission to William de Clinton to build a castle. |
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| Jan 1 - Edward III orders an invasion fleet |
| Edward III gave the order that an invasion fleet should be assembled at Portsmouth harbour. |
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| Jul 5 - Edward departs Portsmouth |
| Edward III's invasion fleet finally left harbour, delayed by bad weather earlier in the year. Estimates of the number of men Edward took with him vary but could have been around 20,000. This would have required hundreds of ships to transport them all. |
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| Jul 12 - Edward III lands in Normandy |
| Edward's invasion fleet landed on the north west coast of Normandy at Saint-Vaast de la Hougue on the Cotentin Peninsula (also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula). Edward stayed there for several days while the large army came ashore. |
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| Jul 17 - Devastation of Normandy |
| Edward III's army began their march east across Normandy attacking and destroying French towns as they went. Those towns that did not surrender were shown no mercy and when they fell to the English many of the inhabitants were killed. Other towns surrendered to avoid bloodshed. Many hostages were taken and shipped back to England so that ransom money could be demanded. The English fleet sailed along the coast at the same time destroying French ships and attacking ports os they went. |
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| Aug - Edward III crosses the Seine |
| Philippe VI had ordered bridges across the Seine to be destroyed so that Edward could not cross the river. Edward marched south towards Paris but at Poissy his engineers managed to repair the bridge. His army crossed the river and turned north. |
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| Aug 26 - Battle of Crecy |
| Under Edward III, the English forces defeated a superior French army at Crecy. Estimates give the English numbers at around 12,000 and a French contingent at 36,000. The English longbow made its mark in the battle against the armour of the French knights. |
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| Sep 4 - Siege of Calais |
| Edward III began the siege of Calais that would last for almost a year. The governor of the town was man called Jean de Vienne. Edward demanded that the town should surrender but de Vienne refused, hoping that the town walls would hold the English out until Philippe VI could come to their rescue. The English set up camp around the town and arranged for supplies to be brought from England. Wooden houses were also built to house the soldiers while they waited. Philippa, the Queen even joined her husband at the camp. |
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| Oct 17 - Scots defeated at Neville's Cross |
| During Edward III's absence on the campaign of Crecy the Scottish king David II was approached by the French King Philippe VI of Valois to invade England. David II did so and advanced south but at Neville's Cross they met a band of monks, priests and landworkers who managed to defeat the Scottish army. The band were led by the archbishop of York William Zouche. David II was captured and sent to London to be held at the Tower. |
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| 1347 | The Black Death |
| Kipchak Mongols besieging a Genoese trading centre on the Crimean coast catapulted their own dead into the city. The cause of death was a mysterious disease. The Genoese escaped by sea taking the 'Black Death' with them. They landed at Messina in Sicily. Bubonic plague, which the Black Death was, was spread by the rat flea. The name Black Death came from the colour of the swelling in the groin, armpit or neck. The person suffering went into a coma and dies soon after. In Europe an estimated 25 million people died. The plague reached Britain in 1348 and again in 1360 and the population may have been reduced by a half. |
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| Aug - Calais captured by the English |
| Philippe VI finally arrived at Calais and challenged Edward III to a fight. Edward agreed but instead Philippe withdrew abandoning the town to the English. The governor, Jean de Vienne, had no other option other than to surrender the town to Edward. The town's leaders should have been executed according to siege rules because they refused to surrender when first asked, but Edward spared their lives and they were taken as hostages. The town of Calais was emptied of all its citizens and all their property was confiscated. Edward then made Calais English territory and sent word to England that anyone who wanted to live in Calais was welcome as long as they could get there quickly. |
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| Sep - Edward accepts truce |
| Edward III accepted a truce with France as the efforts abroad had been exhausting and he returned to England. Edward's popularity was high. He had beaten the French at Crecy and in his absence the Scots had been defeated at Neville's Cross. |
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| 1348 | Water gate built at Tower of London |
| Edward III had a water gate constructed at the base of the Cradle Tower. This allowed access to royal apartments directly from the river. |
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| Construction of Maxstoke Castle |
| Building work on Maxstoke Castle in the Midlands was begun by William De Clinton. |
| Founding of the Order of the Garter |
| King Edward III of England established the Order of the Garter, the first English order of knighthood. Based on the Knights of the Round Table and King Arthur. The name of the order is supposed to have originated when Edward III picked up a garter that had been lost on the dance floor during a banquet. Edward tied the garter around his own leg telling all present not to pass judgement. The garter may have belonged to the beautiful Joan of Kent. Joan was later to marry Edward's son, the Black Prince. |
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| Apr 23 - Creation of the Order of the Garter |
| On St. George's Day at Windsor Castle, the Order of the Garter was created. The initial Knights of the Order were: The King (Edward III); the Prince of Wales (The Black Prince); Henry, Earl (afterwards Duke) of Lancaster; Thomas Beauchamp, 3rd Earl of Warwick; the Captal of Buch; Ralph, Lord Stafford; Motacute, Earl of Salisbury; Sir Roger Mortimer; Sir John (afterward Lord) Lisle; Sir Bartholomew (afterwards Lord) Burghershe; Sir John Beauchamp; Lord Mohun; Sir Hugh Courtenay; Sir Thomas Holland; Lord Grey; Sir Richard FitzSimon; Sir Myles Stapleton; Sir Thomas Wales; Sir Hugh Wrottesley; Sir Neel Loryng; Sir John Chandos; Sir James Audley; Sir Otho Holland; Sir Henry Eam; Sir Sanchete d'Ambrichecourt; and Sir Walter Paveley. |
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| Jun - The Plague reaches England |
| The plague reached the shores of England first at Melcombe Regis in Dorset. By winter of the year, the plague had reached London. |
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| 1349 | Earthquake |
| From the Chronicles of Meaux Abbey came the report saying 'during Lent, six days before Easter Sunday, there occurred an earthquake throughout the whole of England so great that the monks of Melsa were thrown so violently from their stalls that they all lay prostrate on the ground.' |
| Meaux Abbey hit by epidemic |
| From the Chronicles of Meaux Abbey came the report saying 'Meaux Abbey suffered so severely that thirty-two monks, and seven conversi died, the majority being taken in the month of August.' |
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| Summer - The Plague is at its peak |
| The peak of the plague was reached in the summer of 1349. Estimates of a third of the population dying from the infection have been made but being accurate is very difficult. |
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| Qtr 3 - Spanish fleet sail up English Channel |
| Spain had signed a naval treaty with France and a fleet of Spanish galleys sailed past France and up the English Channel attacking English ships as it went. |
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