ced age.

[Sidenote: The Black Prince.]

The most remarkable of these warlike princes were Edward and John.
Edward was the oldest son, and John the third in order of age of those
who arrived at maturity. The name of the second was Lionel. Edward,
the oldest son, was of course the Prince of Wales; but, to distinguish
him from other Princes of Wales that preceded and followed him, he is
known commonly in history by the name of the Black Prince. He received
this name originally on account of something about his armor which was
black, and which marked his appearance among the other knights on the
field of battle.

[Sidenote: Richard II.]

The Black Prince did not live to succeed his father and inherit the
throne, for he lost his health in his campaigns on the Continent, and
came home to England, and died a few years before his father died.
His son, whose name was Richard, was his heir, and when at length old
King Edward died, this young Richard succeeded to the crown, under the
title of King Richard II. In the history of Richard II., in this
series, a full account of the life of his father, the Black Prince, is
given, and of the various remarkable adventures that he met with in
his Continental campaigns.

[Sidenote: John of Gaunt.]

Prince John, the third of the sons of old King Edward, is commonly
known in history as John of Gaunt. This word Gaunt was the nearest
approach that the English people could make in those days to the
pronunciation of the word Ghent, the name of the town where John was
born. For King Edward, in the early part of his life, was accustomed
to take all his family with him in his Continental campaigns, and so
his several children were born in different places, one in one city
and another in another, and many of them received names from the
places where they happened to be born.

[Illustration: Selecting the Roses.]

On the following page we have a genealogical table of the family of
Edward III. At the head of it we have the names of Edward III. and
Philippa his wife. In a line below are the names of those four of his
sons whose descendants figure in English history. It was among
the descendants of these sons that the celebrated wars between the
houses of York and Lancaster, called the wars of the roses, arose.

Genealogical Table of the Family of Edward III., Showing the
Connection of the Houses of York and Lancaster.

Genealogical table of the descendants of Edward III.