The Black Prince
Dan Snow's History Hit
History Hit
4.7 • 13.7K Ratings
🗓️ 27 April 2026
⏱️ 54 minutes
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Summary
He was one of medieval England’s most formidable warriors. Today we hear how Edward of Woodstock - the Black Prince - earned that reputation, tracing his rise during the Hundred Years’ War and exploring the nature of his command. We also confront the harsher realities of his campaigns, from brutal sieges to civilian suffering. Was he a hero, or something darker?
Joining us is Michael Jones, historian and author of "The Black Prince: England's Greatest Medieval Warrior".
Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.
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Transcript
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| 0:31.7 | The teenage prince was leading the vanguard. |
| 0:35.6 | It was a position of honour and a position of danger. |
| 0:39.3 | His father wanted his son blooded. |
| 0:42.3 | He wanted his son to win his spurs, |
| 0:44.3 | to emerge from his shadow, a leader in his own right. |
| 0:48.3 | And that is exactly what the young prince did that day. August 26th, 1346, at that battle of Cressy, |
| 1:01.1 | Prince Edward of England. Well, he came within a hair's breadth of being hacked to death, |
| 1:07.0 | but it's in those margins that legends are made. Henry V only just survived taking an arrow to the face when he was a lad. |
| 1:13.3 | Alexander the Great came millimeters from having his skull split in two at the launch of his invasion of Asia. |
| 1:19.0 | Napoleon took a bayonet in the thigh in his first battle. |
| 1:22.4 | And so it was with Prince Edward on that battlefield. |
| 1:26.3 | Cressy was the first major clash of the Hundred Years' War, and after that battle overnight, |
| 1:33.0 | Edward became one of Europe's most admired warrior princes. |
| 1:39.7 | You're listening to Dan Snow's history, and we are talking all things Edward, the Black |
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