In Canterbury Cathedral an effigy of a mustachioed knight in full armor lies atop a marble tomb as if in a slumber that has lasted centuries. Bathed in the kaleidoscopic colored light that pours through the stained glass windows, his gauntleted hands are clasped together as if in prayer and his spurred feet rest upon a small grimacing lioness.
This is the tomb of Edward of Woodstock, aka “the Black Prince,” one of the greatest warriors of medieval England, who fought and survived countless battles of the Hundred Years’ War between England and France, only to die young of a disease caused by a bacterial infection.
Born in 1330 as the son of King Edward III of England and the Flemish-born Queen Philippa, Prince Edward grew up at a militarized time in Britain, during which the threat of a French invasion often seemed imminent. So from a young age, he was schooled not only in philosophy and logic but also in warfare.
His first experience of war came in 1346 when he joined his father in a campaign against the French armies in the famous Battle of Crécy. During the battle, the prince and his division charged into the midst of the fray and he was nearly killed by a furious counterattack. This prompted a knight to send an urgent message to the prince’s father to request reinforcements. In what can only be called an act of extreme “tough love,” the king replied that he would not send help as he wanted his son to “prove his spurs” in battle. The prince was to do exactly this, and the battle eventually resulted in an English victory.
Over the years that followed, the warrior prince fought in countless bloody battles, including the siege of Calais. At one point he (ironically) came to his father’s assistance, saving the king’s life during a French attack. At the naval battle of Winchelsea, the prince and his forces attacked a large Spanish ship allied with the French and, despite being outnumbered and nearly sunk, managed to defeat its crews. From 1355 to 1359 Edward conducted further military expeditions to France and fought and won several battles in the medieval French regions of Aquitaine, Poitiers, and Reims and then went to war as a mercenary in the battles between the Kings of Spain through the 1360s. He later became known as the Black Prince, possibly as a reference to the color of his armor, and possibly because he was merciless in battle.
Considered the quintessential chivalrous knight and a national war hero, Prince Edward proved a promising heir to the English throne. But he would never become king. Despite the Black Prince’s many successes in battle, he could not fight the illness that took his life at age 45, a year before the death of his father.
Know Before You Go
The tomb can be found easily as it is located in the center of the cathedral near the famous Thomas Becket shrine. A glass case on the wall nearby displays some heraldic artifacts once worn by the Black Prince. Canterbury Cathedral is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays and from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Sundays. The entrance fee is £12.50 but you can get a discount if you are a card-carrying student.
Katika Kanisa Kuu la Canterbury sanamu ya farasi mwenye ndevu na mavazi ya kivita iko juu ya kaburi la marumaru kana kwamba iko katika usingizi wa karne nyingi. Akiwa ameburudishwa na nuru ya rangi ya kaleidoskopi inayomiminika kupitia madirisha ya kioo, mikono yake yenye magoti imefungwa pamoja kana kwamba ni katika sala na miguu yake iliyoinuka imekaa juu ya simba-mwanamke mdogo anayetabasamu. Edward wa Woodstock, aka Black Prince, alikuwa mmoja wa mashujaa wa Uingereza wa enzi za kati, ambaye alipigana na kuokoka vita vya miaka mia moja kati ya Uingereza na Ufaransa, lakini alikufa akiwa mchanga kutokana na ugonjwa uliosababishwa na maambukizi ya bakteria. Alizaliwa mwaka 1330 na Mfalme Edward III wa Uingereza na Malkia Philippa wa Flanders, Prince Edward alilelewa wakati wa vita nchini Uingereza, wakati ambapo tishio la uvamizi wa Ufaransa mara nyingi ilionekana kuwa karibu. Kwa hiyo, tangu utotoni, alifundishwa si falsafa na nadharia tu bali pia vita. Mwaka 1346 alipokuwa akifanya kazi ya kijeshi, alijiunga na baba yake katika vita dhidi ya Ufaransa katika vita maarufu vya Crécy. Wakati wa vita, mkuu huyo na kikosi chake walishambulia katikati ya mapigano na karibu auawe na shambulio la kulipiza kisasi. Jambo hilo lilimchochea farasi mmoja atumie ujumbe wa haraka kwa baba ya mwana-mfalme ili kuomba msaada. Katika kile kinachoweza kuitwa tu kitendo cha "upendo mgumu" wa kupita kiasi, mfalme alijibu kwamba hangeweza kutuma msaada kwa kuwa alitaka mwanawe "ajaribu miiba yake" vitani. Mwana-mfalme huyo alipaswa kufanya hivyo hasa, na hatimaye vita hivyo viliongoza kwenye ushindi wa Waingereza. Katika miaka iliyofuata, mwana-mfalme huyo mpiganaji alipigana katika mapigano mengi ya damu, kutia ndani kuzingirwa kwa Calais. Wakati mmoja (kwa kushangaza) alimwendea baba yake, na kumwokoa mfalme wakati wa shambulio la Wafaransa. Katika vita vya Winchelsea, jeshi la Ufaransa lilishambulia meli kubwa ya Hispania iliyokuwa imeshambuliwa na jeshi la Ufaransa, na ingawa ilikuwa na idadi kubwa ya askari na ilikuwa karibu kuzama, walifaulu kuishinda. Tangu 1355 hadi 1359, Edward aliongoza safari zaidi za kijeshi kwenda Ufaransa na alipigana na kushinda vita kadhaa katika mikoa ya Ufaransa ya enzi za kati ya Aquitaine, Poitiers, na Reims, kisha akaenda vitani kama askari wa kulipwa katika vita kati ya wafalme wa Uhispania katika miaka ya 1360. Baadaye alijulikana kama Black Prince, labda kwa sababu ya rangi ya silaha zake, na labda kwa sababu alikuwa asiye na huruma katika vita. Akiwa mpiganaji wa kifalme na shujaa wa vita, Prince Edward alithibitika kuwa mrithi mwenye kutarajia wa kiti cha ufalme cha Uingereza. Lakini hangekuwa mfalme kamwe. Licha ya mafanikio mengi ya Black Prince katika vita, hakuweza kupambana na ugonjwa ambao ulimchukua maisha yake akiwa na umri wa miaka 45, mwaka mmoja kabla ya kifo cha baba yake. Kabla ya kwenda, kumbuka kwamba kaburi hilo linaweza kupatikana kwa urahisi kwa kuwa liko katikati ya kanisa kuu karibu na mahali patakatifu pa Thomas Becket. Kifuniko cha kioo kwenye ukuta ulio karibu huonyesha vitu fulani vya kale vilivyovaliwa na Mwana-Mfalme Mweusi. Kanisa kuu la Canterbury ni wazi kutoka saa 9 asubuhi hadi saa 5 jioni siku za wiki na Jumamosi na kutoka saa 12:30 jioni hadi saa 2:30 jioni Jumapili. Ada ya kuingia ni £ 12.50 lakini unaweza kupata punguzo kama wewe ni kadi-kuchukua mwanafunzi.