14th Century (1300s)

Question 1

Who was William Wallace? (c. 1270–1305)

Answer 1

• Who He Was:
  
  • Scottish knight and rebel leader during the First Scottish War of Independence,
  • Won the Battle of Stirling Bridge (1297), inspired future rebellion.
  • Captured and executed in 1305 by Edward Longshanks.

Footnote: Wallace was not a king of Scotland.

Question 2

What were the key causes and outcomes of the First Scottish War of Independence? (1296-1328)

Answer 2

• Causes:
  
  • Succession crisis after the death of King Alexander III left Scotland without a clear male heir
  • John Balliol chosen as king with Edward Longshanks as arbiter.
  • Dispute ensued; Edward invaded Scotland in 1296, deposing John and beginning occupation
• Outcomes:
  
  • Eventually led to the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton in 1328, recognizing Scotland’s independence.

Footnote: War involved key figures like Wallace, Robert the Bruce, and Edwards I and II.

Question 3

Who was Robert the Bruce and how did he secure Scottish independence? (r.1306-1329)

Answer 3

• Who He Was:
  
  • Crowned King of Scots in 1306.
  • distant descendant of King David I (r.1123-1153).
• Significance:
  
  • Led Scotland during the later stages of the First Scottish War of Independence.
  • Secured a decisive victory at the Battle of Bannockburn (1314).

Footnote: His kingship was contested early on but legitimized after English setbacks.

Question 4

What challenges defined Edward II’s reign? (r.1307-1327)

Answer 4

• Who He Was:
  
  • Successor to and son of Edward Longshanks.
• Challenges:
  
  • Marked by military failures, including his defeat at Bannockburn.
  • Eventually deposed by his wife, Isabella.

Footnote: First anointed English king deposed since Æthelred in 1013.

Question 5

What were the major events during Edward III’s reign? (r.1327-1377)

Answer 5

• Key Events:
  
  • Sucessor to and son of Edward II following the latter’s deposition.
  • Outbreak of the Hundred Years War and the Black Plague.
  • Expansion of English power and territory over France.

Footnote: Sometimes referred to as Edward of Windsor to distinguish him from his father.

Question 6

What caused the Hundred Years’ War? (1337–1453)

Answer 6

• In 1328, Charles IV of France died without a male heir.
• Edward III of England, Charles’ nephew through Isabella of France, claimed the throne.
• French nobles invoked Salic Law (no inheritance through women) and crowned Philip VI of Valois instead.
• Edward refused to renounce his claim; war ensued.

Edward’s claim on the French throne came via his mother, Isabella of France. It is the longest-lasting war in European history.

Question 7

What impact did the Black Plague have on England? (1347-1351)

Answer 7

• Impact:
  
  • Killed an estimated one-third of England’s population; came through Bristol’s port.
  • Disrupted fighting in the Hundred Years’ War.

Footnote: Other plagues returned in waves through the 14th–17th centuries, destabilizing population recovery.

Question 8

What was the Statute of Praemunire? (1353)

Answer 8

• Law under Edward III barring appeals to Papal courts in Rome for English legal cases
• Reinforced royal sovereignty and weakened clerical privilege

Footnote: Early assertion of national jurisdiction over international (Papal) authority.

Question 9

Who was Richard II? (r.1377-1399)

Answer 9

• Who He Was:
  
  • Succeeded at the age of 10 following his grandfather Edward III’s death.
• Downfall:
  
  • A capricious king whose actions alienated the nobility.
  • Eventually deposed by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke (Henry IV).

Footnote: Reign marred by court factionalism and inability to manage post-plague unrest. I love Shakespeare’s Richard II play.

Question 10

Who was Henry IV (Bolingbroke)? (r. 1399–1413)

Answer 10

• Henry IV usurped the throne in 1399; reigned until 1413.
• First king of the cadet branch, the House of Lancaster, (Plantagenet dynasty).
• His reign was marked by ongoing uprisings from rival factions.

Footnote: Faced uprisings: Percy Rebellion, Owain Glyndŵr’s revolt; legitimacy questioned due to his usurpation.

Question 11

What is the significance of the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1373?

Answer 11

• World’s longest continuous alliance; affirmed through marriage (John of Gaunt’s daughter Philippa to King John I)
• An alliance between England and Portugal that endures to this day.

Footnote: Renewed during Napoleonic Wars and WWII; cornerstone of Anglo-Portuguese ties.

Question 12

What happened at the Battle of Poitiers? (1356)

Answer 12

• Edward the Black Prince led 6,000 English soldiers to victory against 15,000 of the French
• Used defensive archery tactics; captured King John II of France

Footnote: Major ransom (3 million écus) followed; marked apex of English battlefield dominance.

Question 13

What did the Treaty of Brétigny accomplish? (1360)

Answer 13

• Ended the first phase of the war following Poitiers
• England retained Calais and expanded Aquitaine
• King John II ransomed.

Footnote: A temporary peace; conflict resumed 9 years later (1369).

Question 14

Who was Geoffrey Chaucer and what did he write? (c.1343-1400)

Answer 14

• Who He Was:
  
  • English poet and author.
• What He Wrote:
  
  • Authored the The Canterbury Tales, a seminal work in English literature that depicted medieval society.

Footnote: Helped popularize (Middle) English as a literary language over the more popular Latin and French. Regarded as the “Father of English Literature”.