Edward, Prince of Wales and Aquitaine

Edward, prince of Wales and Aquitaine, known as the Black Prince, is one of the legendary figures of English history, victor of three great battles and a model of chivalry and courtesy. Behind this image, which many of his contemporaries eagerly believed in, it is difficult to get at the realities of the life that he led. Most of his biographers have based their work on the vision of chivalry conjured up by Froissart, but the present book shuns this approach, to see what can be found in official records, particularly from those who campaigned with the prince. Special attention has been paid not only to the confused accounts of the great battles, but also to the prince's early years, his close companions who contributed to his successes, and to his government of Aquitaine, a very important part of his career. A number of persistent errors in early histories, deriving from Froissart, are corrected. A concluding chapter examines how the legend of the Black Prince (and his curious nickname) came into being. By separating the image and the reality, a clearer picture of the prince emerges.