In 1354 – 1355 Edward and his court wavered between optimism that a negotiated settlement was within their grasp – and determination to continue to prosecute the war. The Treaty of Guines looked to have given Edward more than he could have hoped for – Aquitaine, Anjou and Calais in return for peace and the renunciation of his claims. But in the end it was to be war again. The Black Prince started things off with the Great Chevaucee.
The Great Chevaucee
The Black Prince gained his first independent command, appointed by his father to the province of Gascony. He was to spend much of his life there, and his son and heir would be born in Bordeaux. His first campaign showed that the early promise of Crecy was to be fulfilled – a daring raid across southern France right across to the Mediterranean, while the French watched incapable of stopping him.
The chevaucee gained no territory. But it exposed the weakness of French arms, it took the wealth of the south away from king John while they rebuilt their defences, and established a fearsome reputation for the Prince.
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