King Edward III of England began a war that lasted almost an entire century (The Hundred Years War 1377 - 1453).  His goal was control of France. The war continued for decades and King Edward's son, who was popularly known as the "Black Prince", captured the French King John, took him to England, and held him for ransom.

A truce was declared and negotiations began. Because northern France had been in turmoil for so long, the countryside was full of mercenaries turned highwaymen, who were robbing and pillaging at will.

In 1358, King Edward hired Hugo de Mors, of the Netherland Morses, to provide military escort for the English negotiations party traveling to Paris.  In1360, he accompanied the King himself.  In that ear, Kings did not provide men for service; rather they hired men-at-arms.  Hugo was a proven warrior; a Knight, and military leader, and was in charge of the military force that controlled the Moers Castle region.  He was a member of a very prominent family.

After the war, Edward III invited many of the Netherlanders to settle in the sparsely populated East Anglia portion of England, and become farmers and merchants.  Hugo de Mors was given property in this rural part of eastern England. Although there is no record of Hugo staying in England, the Mors family was prominent in the area in the 1380s. And the Morse Coat of Arms used in East Anglia was the same as that used by Hugo's family in the Netherlands (see the Coat of Arms at the top of this page).

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