Childhood
Hawkwood's youth is shrouded in tales and legends and it is not exactly clear how he became a soldier. According to the most accepted tales, he was a second son of a tanner in Sible Hedingham in Essex and was apprenticed in London. Other tales also claim that he was a tailor before he became a soldier.
Hawkwood served in the English army in France in the first stages of the Hundred Years' War under Edward III. According to different traditions Hawkwood fought in the battles of Crécy and/or Poitiers but there is no direct evidence of either. Different traditions maintain that the King or Edward, the Black Prince knighted him. It has also been speculated that he assumed the title with the support of his soldiers. His service ended after the Treaty of Brétigny in 1360.
Read more about this topic: John Hawkwood
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