爱德华三世(1312～1377年)

Edward III

别名温莎的爱德华（Edward of Windsor）

英格兰国王（1327～1377），其母法国的伊莎贝拉罢黜其父爱德华二世，让十五岁的爱德华三世加冕为王。伊莎贝拉和情夫莫蒂默暗中操纵朝政四年，他们说服爱德华承认苏格兰的独立（1328）。1330年将莫蒂默处死後，爱德华成为英格兰独立的统治者。因自称为法国国王而揭开了百年战争（Hundred Years' War）的序幕。1342年，他设立嘉德勳位（Order of the Garter）。1346年在克雷西战役（Battle of Crécy）击败法国军队，翌年占领加莱（Calais）。後因财力不济，被迫停战。1348年黑死病（Black Death）袭击英格兰，战事仍持续进行。1356年苏格兰投降，同年他的儿子黑太子爱德华（Edward the Black Prince）在普瓦捷战役（Battle of Poitiers）获胜。1360年爱德华放弃对法国王位的要求，以换取亚奎丹（Aquitaine），但之後查理五世（Charles V）拒绝接受「加莱条约」（Treaty of Calais）时，战事再度展开；爱德华丢失了亚奎丹，1375年重新与法国订立停战协议。爱德华晚年昏愦，完全被情妇佩雷尔斯（Alice Perrers）和儿子冈特的约翰（John of Gaunt）所左右。

English version：

1312～1377年

Edward III

King of England (1327-77). His mother, Isabella of France, deposed his father Edward II and crowned the 15-year-old Edward in his place. Isabella and her lover Roger de Mortimer governed in Edward's name for four years and persuaded him to grant the Scots their independence (1328). After having Mortimer executed in 1330, Edward became the sole ruler of England. By asserting his right to the French crown, he began the Hundred Years' War. He instituted the Order of the Garter in 1342. He defeated the French at the Battle of Crécy (1346) and captured Calais (1347), though lack of funds forced him to sign a truce. The Black Death hit England in 1348, but fighting continued. The Scots surrendered to Edward in 1356, and the same year his son Edward the Black Prince won a major victory for the English at the Battle of Poitiers. In 1360 Edward gave up his claim to the French crown in return for Aquitaine. The war later resumed when Charles V repudiated the Treaty of Calais; Edward lost Aquitaine, and he signed a new truce in 1375. In his later years he fell under the influence of his greedy mistress Alice Perrers and his son John of Gaunt.