Edward the Black Prince as their lord, but the murder of Jacob van Artevelde put an end to this project. Both in September and in the following April the prince was called on to furnish troops from his principality and earldom for the impending campaign in France, and as he incurred heavy debts in the king's service his father authorised him to make his will, and provided that in case he fell in the war his executors should have all his revenue for a year. Edward, Prince of Wales sailed with King Edward III on 11 July 1346, and as soon as he landed
Edward the Black Prince steel". Richard Barber suggests that the name's origins may have lain in pageantry, in that a tradition may have grown up in the 15th century of representing the prince in black armour. He points out that several chronicles refer to him as Edward the IV (the title he would have taken as King had he outlived his father): this name would obviously have become confusing when the actual Edward IV succeeded in 1461, and this may have been the period when an alternative had to be found. Edward's reputation for brutality in France is also well documented, and it is