Was Edward the Black Prince really a nasty piece of work?

He was the superstar of his age, winning his spurs in battle aged just 16. But the reputation of Edward of Woodstock - or the Black Prince, as he has become known to history - is still the subject of the same type of dispute that rages over the reputations of Richard III and Oliver Cromwell.

A persistent theory runs that Edward's nickname refers to the cruelty he inflicted upon the French during the Hundred Year's War - the dynastic struggle for the crown of France.

The blackest stain upon Edward's reputation is the sack of the French town of Limoges in September 1370.