Abstract

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited his people, he has come to their rescue and he has raised up a power for salvation in the House of his servant David.” Thus exclaimed the Lanercost chronicler after recounting the glorious deeds of King Edward III at Crécy and Calais in 1346–47. By the middle years of his reign Edward was already commonly seen as the divinely inspired instrument of English salvation, the epitome of Old Testament kingship, and an exemplar for Christian princes. English writers and artists made enthusiastic comparisons with Samson and David, with Arthur and Charlemagne. Edward was frequently portrayed as the great boar which, according to certain well-known political prophecies, would subdue England's enemies and restore the kingdom to its former greatness