EDOARDO III, king of ENGLAND. - Son and successor of E. II, b. at Windsor on 13 Nov. 1312, d. at Sheen on 21 June 1377. He began the Hundred Years’ War against France, to whose throne he laid claim. In 1340 he assumed the title of king of France, occupying vast territories there through a series of successful campaigns in which his namesake son, known as the “Black Prince,” played a major part.
In order to finance his undertakings, E. III imposed extremely heavy taxes, which exhausted England and caused great discontent. Toward the Church, E. III resumed the policy of his predecessor Edoardo I, aimed at limiting the power of the Pope in England; in 1353, by the decree Praemunire, he forbade the receipt of benefices from the hands of the Pope. This attitude, although it did not call into question the spiritual mission of the Church and the papacy, favored the revolutionary work of reform initiated by Giovanni Wiclef, who found powerful supporters at court.