EDWARD II
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EDWARD III
by the death of Earl Simon on the field. In 1270 Edward set out on a crusade, and two years later barely saved himself by his great strength from being murdered by one of the infamous sect of the Assassins. While he was still absent, his father died, and Edward was proclaimed king, but did not reach England till nearly two years after. He at once began that policy of reform which has given him the name of the English Justinian, and made his reign almost the most important period in the constitutional history of England. His first war was with the Welsh, and ended in the complete subduing of that nation at the defeat and death of Prince Llewellyn and the execution of Prince David as a traitor in 1283. In 1290 he banished all the Jews from the kingdom, to the number of over 16,000, on the charge of excessive usury. About the same time the contest for the Scottish crown gave Edward a chance to assert the old claim of the English crown to the over-lordship of Scotland. He decided the contest in favor of John Balliol, who swore homage to him for the whole of Scotland. Meanwhile a war with France was threatening, and Edward called together an assembly which was practically the beginning of the modern English parliament. Balliol soon found his position as a vassal-king intolerable, and open war broke out in 1296. Edward marched north, forced Balliol to surrender, and subdued the kingdom in five months. Then he sailed to Flanders to carry on the French war; but, in order to make peace with his nobles at home, he confirmed the Great Charter and added other clauses, thus finally establishing the right of the people themselves to deterniLie their own taxation. As a landmark in the history of England, this is second only to Magna Charta itself. Affairs in Scotland soon compelled his return from Flanders. Wallace had collected a large force, and completely defeated an English army at Stirling (1297). Edward, however, defeated Wallace at Falkirk, and afterwards (1305) executed him as a traitor. He then prepared a new constitution for the conquered kingdom, and made arrangements for the representation of the Scots in the English parliament, a measure which, had it been successful, would have joined England and Scotland together four centuries before the union took place. But, before long, Robert Bruce raised a revolt, murdered the regent, Comyn, and was crowned king (1306). Edward at once set out against him, but died on the way, in July, 1307, at Burgh-on-Sands, near Carlisle, leaving his son Edward the command not to bury his body till he had utterly conquered the Scots. The people loved him dearly. See The Early Plan-ta^enets, by Stubbs, in Epochs of Modern
Edward II, son of the preceding, was born in Wales, April 25, 1284, and created Prince of Wales in 1301, being the first heir to the English throne who bore that title. He accompanied his father on his last expedition to Scotland, but, instead of carrying out his dying command, he returned to London and gave himself up to pleasure. He came to the throne in 1307, but always was under the influence of favorites. The first of these was a Gascon, Piers de Gaveston, whom he left as guardian of the kingdom while he went to France to marry Isabella, the daughter of Philip V. The nobles demanded the banishment of Gaveston, and twice he was forced to leave the kingdom, being filially executed by the nobles in 1312. Two years later Edward invaded Scotland at the head of 100,-ooo men, but suffered a terrible defeat by Robert Bruce at Bannockburn, which secured the independence of Scotland. In 1321, with the aid of his new favorite, Hugh le Despenser, and his son, Edward overthrew and put to death his minister, Lancaster, who had controlled him for some years. He then sent Isabella, his wife, to France to treat with her brother, the French king, about a quarrel which had arisen between the two countries. Isabella despised her husband and hated the Despensers, and so joined several of the discontented nobles in a conspiracy against Edward. She landed in Suffolk with a force in September, 1326, captured the king and cast him into prison. The Despensers were executed, and Edward was compelled to resign the crown. He was murdered at Berkeley Castle a few months later, in 1327.
Edward III, son of the preceding, was born at Windsor in 1312, and was crowned king, Jan. 29, 1327. During his childhood the country was governed nominally by a council of nobles, but really by Roger Mortimer and Queen Isabella. In 1330 Edward seized Mortimer and put him to death, and sent away his unworthy mother. He then invaded Scotland to help Edward Balliol, son of John Balliol, who had secured the crown. He defeated the Scots at Halidon Hill (1333), and made Balliol do homage to him. As a warrior, Edward's greatest exploits were in France. He laid claim to the French throne and made war on Philip VI. This was the beginning of the Hundred Years' War. His claim, through his mother, a sister of Charles IV, was groundless; but, nevertheless, he carried on the contest with great vigor. He laid heavy taxes on the people in order to raise money for the war, and was obliged to grant many valuable privileges, especially to the nobles. Accompanied by his eldest son, called the Black Prince, he conquered a great part of Normandy and gave the French a terrible defeat at the famous
