The Black Prince: England’s Greatest Medieval Warrior by Michael Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Black Prince is the story of Edward, Prince of Wales who was the eldest son of Edward III. Edward was born in 1330 and died in 1376. Edward III died the following year, so the Black Prince never became king; his son Richard II became king in 1377.

The Black Prince is remembered today mostly for his actions at the battle of Crecy (with his father), and his victory at Poiters. But in most modern histories of this era, he is just a cardboard figure. In this biography the author tries to show something of the man behind the image. And I think for the most part the author succeeds; we learn for example, that the Prince was very religious and devoted to his wife. And the Prince and his father did not always see eye to eye on policy – hence the Spanish campaign on behalf of Pedro the Cruel, which the Prince was very much opposed to.

One item that the author does discuss in detail is the Sack of Limoges during the Prince’s last campaign. The Prince is often held responsible for a massacre of civilians when the city was re-taken by English forces. As the author points out, this is just not the way that things happened, and he shows the inconsistencies in the various stories.

There still are a few mysteries. Nobody is sure why Edward was called the “Black Prince” – there is plenty of conjecture, and it does not seem to have been used during his lifetime, but that’s all we know for sure. And we also don’t know what the disease caused his death. Again, there are many theories, but nothing is certain.

I enjoyed this book – I think it sheds some valuable light of the life of an important figure in medieval history. if you are interested in this period of English and French history, I think you will enjoy this book.