How It's Used

"George II issued only one official public proclamation: The Edict of Loyalty to All the Bushes.

"Unlike other monarchs, he did not exile or execute jealous and scheming family members. He had always suspected his younger brother Jeb was less than vigorous in protecting his southern flank during the Hundred Chads' War. He did not like Jeb's overreliance on the Countess of Not Counting, Katherine de Medicis. But he did not want la guerre folle, a silly, fratricidal War of the Rosebushes, so he did not charge Jeb with treason. He did, however, christen him the Black Prince.

"War of Succession. In 2002, the kingdom entered a dark period when the Regents fell into a ruthless struggle for power. George II was oblivious to the intrigues all around him and ruled serenely until 2008, when Jeb of Tallahassee arose to do battle with Hillary of Chappaqua."

—Maureen Dowd, "When the Boy King Ruled," The New York Times, December 31, 2000.

"The series of stamps, issued in July 1974, featured Robert the Bruce, the Scottish king who defeated the English at Bannockburn, Edward the Black Prince, who established a reputation for valour during the Hundred Years War with France; Owain Glyndwr, the Welsh Prince who led an ultimately unsuccessful rebellion against English rule; and Henry V, hero of Agincourt."

—Shirley English, "Scottish Office hammering for king," The Times (UK), January 1, 2004.

"On the other hand -- and this is better in theory than in the generally undistinguished playing -- the wide-ranging diplomatic chatter and its translation into action make for a quintessential Washington play. Not that Banno sets it here; it seems to take place across much of the past 70 years, with World War II air raid sirens and padded sweaters for the English soldiers, yet with kilted Scots gone punk (leather jackets and no shirts) in their brief scenes laying siege to the Countess before the briefly gallant Edward drives them away.

"And it sure seems like contemporary England when Edward's son, the Black Prince (Jason McCool, strapping and eager), is ceremonially outfitted with a flak jacket and sent abroad to war.

"But is it legitimate Shakespeare?"

—Nelson Pressley, "A Timeless Power Play; 'Edward III': Shakespeare? Maybe. Shakespearean? For Sure," The Washington Post, April 5, 2007, p. C05.

"The unifying figure in this phase of the war, from 1369 to 1399, is John of Gaunt. The fourth son of Edward III, he was the richest man in England, with possessions in almost every county, and with the resources to put a private army in the field. He dominated or attempted to dominate English policy and military operations when the Black Prince's health began to fail, during the dotage of King Edward, and through the youth of the unstable Richard II. This is not the 'old Gaunt' we know from Shakespeare, the wise patriotic warrior - he was only 59 when he died - but a man afflicted with interminable frustrations and disappointments. In Sumption's view, he was rarely more than a mediocre commander after his early flair in campaigns with the prince: his expeditions into France almost all ended in failure, his armies depleted by disease and hunger, and by constant harassment by the French."

—Graham Parry, "War without end: No wonder the late 14th century was such a depressing time," The Guardian (UK), May 16, 2009.

Links

Beyond eAlmanac
Wikipedia article on Edward, the Black Prince