Richard III: His Life & Character, Reviewed in the Light of Recent Research
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Title: Richard III: His Life & Character, Reviewed in the Light of Recent Research
Author: Sir Clements R. Markham
Release date: June 17, 2011 [eBook #36451]
Most recently updated: January 7, 2021
Language: English
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RICHARD III: HIS LIFE & CHARACTER, REVIEWED IN THE LIGHT OF RECENT RESEARCH ***
Produced by Al Haines
[Frontispiece: _King Richard III. From a picture in the National
Portrait Gallery_]
RICHARD III: HIS LIFE & CHARACTER
REVIEWED IN THE LIGHT OF RECENT RESEARCH
BY SIR CLEMENTS E. MARKHAM, K.C.B.
AUTHOR OF 'THE LIFE OF THE
GREAT LORD FAIRFAX' AND
'THE FIGHTING VERES'
WITH A PORTRAIT
LONDON: SMITH, ELDER, AND CO.
15 WATERLOO PLACE. 1906
(_All rights reserved_)
{v}
PREFACE
There are periods of history when the greatest caution is called for in
accepting statements put forward by a dominant faction. Very early in
my life I came to the conclusion that the period which witnessed the
change of dynasties from Plantagenet to Tudor was one of these. The
caricature of the last Plantagenet King was too grotesque, and too
grossly opposed to his character derived from official records. The
stories were an outrage on common-sense. I studied the subject at
intervals for many years, and in the course of my researches I found
that I more or less shared my doubts with every author of repute who
had studied the subject for the last three centuries, except Hume and
Lingard. My own conclusions are that Richard III. must be acquitted on
all the counts of the indictment. The present work is divided into two
parts, the first narrating the events of his life and times, and the
second examining the various accusations against him. I did not
contemplate publication because I thought that in these days prejudices
were too strong to make it possible that a fair and candid hearing
should be given to the arguments. But I determined to consult {vi}
some historical friends, and I was pleased to find that to a great
extent I was mistaken.
In the first place, I wrote a full abstract of my arguments, for
publication in the 'Historical Review,' acting under the advice of my
old schoolfellow, Professor Freeman, to whom I sent it in the first
instance. It so happened that Mr. Freeman had given attention to part
of the subject. He upset some odious fabrications of the chroniclers
affecting the character of Margaret of Anjou, by proving that she was
in Scotland at the time when the battle of Wakefield was fought.
Freeman seldom wrote on so late a period of our history, and we owe
this modern excursion to a visit to Mr. Milnes Gaskell at Thornes.
After reading what I sent him, Professor Freeman wrote on August 13,
1890: 'Your abstract has set me a-thinking. It is only a Robert of
Belleme who does that kind of thing. On your main point I will talk to
Gardiner and Stubbs. Meanwhile, I have shown your manuscript to Sidney
Owen, who read it and held it to be what lawyers would call
_considerable_. Owen had been at those times, and holds Henry VII. to
be at least capable of it.
'It would be a self-denying ordinance in Gairdner if he accepted your
view, for he has gone more straight at that time than anybody else.
Gardiner has written to him, and he is a little fierce, as was to be
expected, but if you are like me, no man's fierceness will hinder you
from dining and sleeping as well as usual. The matter is at all events
worth discussing.'
{vii}
Professor York Powell read my manuscript, and wrote: 'I have read the
manuscript and think there is something worth looking into. Henry's
conduct to Tyrrell is exceedingly suspicious. Either Richard or Henry
might have put the boys to death, but it would be interesting for many
reasons to know which it was. I am not convinced by Markham, but I do
not think Gairdner has the right to be cocksure. The Morton suggestive
idea is very ingenious and pretty, and quite probable. It has
interested me much to read Markham's letter, for I remember my
difficulties in the matter and the point I got to, that the great men
did not, for a time, hold the now vulgate view of the murder of the
princes. I should rejoice should Markham light upon additional
evidence in favour of his thesis, which _a priori_ is by no means
unlikely. There is something about Richard's character, ability, and
reign which, I think, attracts every real student of history, and gives
one a feeling that he has been unfairly dealt with.'
In 1891, the abstract of my work was published in the 'Historical
Review,' and Bishop Creighton, who was then the editor, wrote: 'Thank
you for your paper, which I have read with great interest. It
certainly makes out a strong case.'
There were two rejoinders from Mr. Gairdner, which enabled me to recast
and improve parts of my work by the light of his criticism.
I lost my adviser, Mr. Freeman, in 1892. One of the last things he did
was to warn me of an objection {viii} taken by Miss Edith Thompson,
which enabled me to meet it.[1]
After careful revision I showed my manuscript to the late Sir Archibald
Milman, who had given close attention to those times. On December 27,
1897, he wrote: 'It is your bounden duty to tell your story of Richard
III., giving the date for every fact. It is only by sticking to dates
that you get at truth in criminal causes, and the same method must be
followed at the bar of history. It would be a pleasure to think that
the last Plantagenet was not a cruel scoundrel. By giving dates and
authorities for them, you render a great service. Richard's loyalty
and able administration in the north seem inconsistent with such
ferocity. I was much interested in one of your facts, that, according
to the story put forward by Henry VII., the bodies of the little
princes were taken up from the place of hasty interment and placed in
consecrated ground. But lo! they remained under the staircase, where
they were found in Charles II.'s reign.'
In consequence of Sir A. Milman's letter I made another close scrutiny
of dates given by various authorities for the same events with
important results. I also went very carefully over the ground of the
battlefields of Wakefield, Towton, Barnet, Tewkesbury, and Bosworth;
and I added some chapters to the work.
{ix}
The correspondence to which I have referred has led me to the
conclusion that students of history are not, as I once believed,
unwilling to reconsider the questions which form the subject of the
present work, when they are presented from new points of view; and that
the well-known arguments which were supposed to suffice for the defence
of the Tudor stories in the past are in these days insufficient. The
numerous points now raised and submitted for the judgment of students
are at all events worth discussing. The present work is about as
complete as very frequent revision can make it.
[1] She pointed out that the titles of Norfolk and Nottingham, granted
by Edward IV. to his second son Richard, were given by Richard III. to
Lords Howard and Berkeley, and that, therefore, young Richard must have
been dead. The answer is that the grants to Lords Howard and Berkeley
were made on June 28, 1483, before it was even pretended that young
Richard had been murdered.
{xi}
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
_PART I_
CHAPTER I
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Description of Fotheringhay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Possessions of the Duke of York. Marriage . . . . . . . . 2, 3
Birth of Richard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Letter of Edward and Edmund to their father . . . . . . . 4
Children of the Duke of York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Richard a prisoner of war aged 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Refuge in John Paston's chambers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
CHAPTER II
DEATH OF RICHARD'S FATHER AND BROTHER AT THE BATTLE OF WAKEFIELD
The Duke of York declared Heir-Apparent . . . . . . . . . 9
The Duke and his family united at Baynard's Castle . . . . 10
March to Sandal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Description of Sandal Castle and its neighbourhood . . . . 12, 13
Battle of Wakefield. Death of the Duke . . . . . . . . . 14, 15
Death of Edmund, Earl of Rutland . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15, 16
Cruelty and inhuman folly of the Lancastrians . . . . . . 17
Edward's victory at Mortimer's Cross . . . . . . . . . . . 18
George and Richard sent to Holland for safety . . . . . . 18, 19
{xii}
CHAPTER III
THE CROWNING VICTORY OF TOWTON
Description of Edward IV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Edward proclaimed King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21, 22
March to the north. Yorkist leaders . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Lancastrian leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Sir Andrew Trollope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Description of the country round Towton . . . . . . . . . 26
Surprise at Ferrybridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Chase and death of Clifford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Yorkists march to Saxton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29, 30
Marshalling of the Lancastrians . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Battle of Towton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32, 33
Flight of Henry and his partisans. Edward at York . . . . 34
Coronation of Edward IV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Edward's generous treatment of his foes . . . . . . . . . 36
Chapel built by Richard at Towton . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
CHAPTER IV
THE CROWN LOST AND WON--BATTLE OF BARNET
Return of George and Richard from Holland . . . . . . . . 38
Their Dukedoms, Earldoms and Richard's K.G. . . . . . . . 38
Richard chief mourner at his father's obsequies . . . . . 39
Military training under Warwick . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Description of Richard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Treason of Warwick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Flight of Edward and Richard to Holland. . . . . . . . . . 42, 43
Expedition fitted out at Veere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Landing at Ravenspur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Edward's brilliant campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46, 47
Richard's negotiation with Clarence . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Battle of Barnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49, 52
CHAPTER V
MARGARET OF ANJOU AND HER SON EDWARD
Birth and marriage of Margaret . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53, 54
Birth of Edward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Adventures in the wars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56, 59
{xiii}
Home at Koeur-la-Petite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Edward's conversations with the Chief Justice . . . . . . 61, 66
Agreement with Warwick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Description of young Edward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
CHAPTER VI
THE BATTLE OF TEWKESBURY
Margaret and Edward land at Weymouth . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Advance to Bristol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
King Edward's plan of campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Description of the battle field . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
March of King Edward's army . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Battle of Tewkesbury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74, 75
Death of Edward of Lancaster on the battle field . . . . . 75
Execution of some leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Pardon of the rest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Death of Henry VI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Ransom of Margaret. Her death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
CHAPTER VII
MARRIED LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF RICHARD DUKE OF GLOUCESTER
Richard's march to Sandwich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Marriage of Richard and Anne Nevill . . . . . . . . . . . 81, 82
Richard with his brother in France . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Description of Middleham Castle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Home life at Middleham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82, 83, 84
Public duties. Frequent visits to York . . . . . . . . . 84
Warden of the Marches. Scottish campaign . . . . . . . . 84, 86
Death of Edward IV. Lady Grey. Children . . . . . . . . 86, 87
CHAPTER VIII
ACCESSION OF RICHARD III
Conspiracy of the Woodvilles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Richard made Protector by his brother's will . . . . . . . 89
Arrest of Rivers and his colleagues . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Queen Dowager in sanctuary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Richard and his mother . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Disclosure of Bishop Stillington . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
{xiv}
Account of Bishop Stillington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94-95
Foundation of the College at Acaster . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Children of Edward IV. illegitimate . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Hastings-Woodville conspiracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98, 99
Execution of Rivers and his colleagues . . . . . . . . . . 99, 100
Richard's title to the crown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Accession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
CHAPTER IX
CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE
Results of the Lancastrian usurpation . . . . . . . . . . 103
Effects of the Wars of the Roses . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
No destruction of the nobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Scenery. Country life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Castles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Hunting and hawking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
The Peerage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Town residences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Magnificence of the Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Wealth of merchants. City Companies . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Introduction of printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Caxton's works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114, 115
Literary noblemen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115, 116
Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Bishops. Clergy. Monasteries. Pilgrimages . . . . . . . 118-119
Lawlessness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Manor houses. Cultivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Condition of the people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122-123
Prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
CHAPTER X
REIGN OF RICHARD III
Description of the King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Treatment of his nephews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Coronation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126-127
Claim of Buckingham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Royal Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129-130
Rebellion of Buckingham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131-132
{xv}
List of traitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132-133
Parliament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Reforms. Revenue. Navy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Convocation. Agreement with the Queen Dowager . . . . . . 136
Death of the Prince of Wales. His tomb . . . . . . . . . 137
Edward Earl of Warwick made Heir-Apparent . . . . . . . . 138
King Richard's popularity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Conspiracy of Henry Tudor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
The King assembled troops at Nottingham . . . . . . . . . 141
Proclamation against Henry Tudor . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Peerage of Richard III. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Ministers of Richard III. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Commissioners for Peace with Scotland . . . . . . . . . . 145
Judges and Law Officers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Bishops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Knights of the Garter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Knights of the Bath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
CHAPTER XI
THE BATTLE OF BOSWORTH
Treachery of the Stanleys explained . . . . . . . . . . . 148, 149
King Richard's military talent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
English pluck displayed by Richard . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Loyal men flocking to the King's standard . . . . . . . . 151
Description of the country round Bosworth . . . . . . . . 152
Positions of the two armies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
King Richard leads his men to the encounter . . . . . . . 154
Treachery of Lord Stanley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
The King's gallant charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Death of the King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155-156-157
Richard buried at Leicester. Memorials . . . . . . . . . 158
Character of King Richard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
His generosity. Arbitrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Able administration. Building operations . . . . . . . . 161
Literary tastes. Founded the Heralds' College . . . . . . 162
Comparison of Richard and the Tudors . . . . . . . . . . . 162, 163
His married life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Contemporary Sovereigns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
{xvi}
_PART II_
CHAPTER I
THE AUTHORITIES
The Plantagenet Dynasty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Character and position of the accusers . . . . . . . . . . 167
Extravagance of their caricature . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Writers in the pay of the Tudors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
The notorious pamphlet by Morton . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168-171
Bernard Andre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Polydore Virgil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171-172
Rous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Fabyan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Warkworth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Continuators of the Croyland Chronicle . . . . . . . . . . 175-178
Official documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Hall, Grafton, Holinshed, Stow, Buck . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Reaction. Modern authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Miss Halsted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Upholders of the Tudor stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182-183
CHAPTER II
EXAMINATION OF THE CHARGES AGAINST RICHARD
Reckless profusion of abuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Deformity. Statement of Rous and Morton . . . . . . . . . 185
The truth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Object of the calumny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Tewkesbury. The truth told by all contemporaries . . . . 188-189
Fable by Fabyan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Polydore Virgil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Subsequent embellishments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Silence of Morton and Rous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191-192
Henry VI. Insinuations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Warkworth and Fabyan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194-195
The Croyland Monk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Polydore Virgil contradicts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
All unworthy of credit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Evidence of the accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
{xvii}
Evidence of a contemporary writer . . . . . . . . . . 198
The truth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Marriage. Richard and Anne really attached . . . . . . . 200
Attack of Miss Strickland, a specimen of the sort
of arguments used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Countess of Warwick. False statement of Rous . . . . . . 201
The truth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Death of Clarence. Charge absolutely groundless . . . . . 202
Another specimen of argument . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
The truth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
CHAPTER III
FURTHER CHARGES AGAINST RICHARD III
Some account of Morton, the chief accuser . . . . . . . . 205-207
Misrepresentation of events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208-210
Cunning misrepresentations respecting Hastings . . . . . . 210-212
Falsification of dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215-217
The accession. The true claim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Attempt of Henry VII. to destroy the evidence . . . . 219
Polydore Virgil's version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Morton's version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Fabyan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Further falsification of dates . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Buckingham's treason. False reason given for
his discontent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
The truth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Morton's account of conversations . . . . . . . . . . 225, 226
Second coronation. Statement disproved . . . . . . . . . 227
Death of the Queen. Slanders of Polydore and Rous . . . . 228
Elizabeth of York. Absurd rumour spread . . . . . . . . . 229
Elizabeth's letter to the Duke of Norfolk . . . . . . 229-230
Intrigues of Henry's mother . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Lord Strange. The truth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
CHAPTER IV
THE MAIN CHARGE AGAINST RICHARD III
Rests on the truth or falsehood of previous crimes . . . . 233
Richard's antecedents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Nothing to fear from his nephews . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
{xviii}
Treatment of others in the same position . . . . . . . . . 236
His nephews were probably members of his household . . . . 236
Bill, in March 1485, for the elder nephew . . . . . . . . 237
Conduct of the mother and sister . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238-239
Alleged rumours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240-242
Assertion of the French Chancellor . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Statements of Fabyan, Rous, Polydore, Andre . . . . . . . 244
Sir William Stanley's conduct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Baseless rumours promulgated by Henry . . . . . . . . . . 245
CHAPTER V
HENRY TUDOR IN THE DOCK
Description of Henry VII. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
His lawless executions after Bosworth . . . . . . . . . . 247
Responsible for the lives of royal children . . . . . . . 248
Henry's character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Necessity to strengthen his position . . . . . . . . . . . 250
His Parliament of outlaws. Unjust attainders . . . . . . 251
Loyal men attainted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Silent about the late King's nephews. Were they missing? 253
If alive, Henry's marriage necessitated their deaths . . . 254
Henry's treatment of other victims in his way . . . . . . 255
The fate of the princes, if alive, was sealed by
the marriage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Imprisonment of the Queen Dowager . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Henry put forward a story, in Polydore Virgil . . . . . . 258
A more detailed story, published by Rastell and Grafton 260-263
Rewards alleged to have been given by Richard
to murderers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264, 265
Confession of Tyrrel and Dighton fabricated . . . . . . . 267
Genesis of these stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Some account of Sir James Tyrrel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Henry's grant to John Green. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Tyrrel taken into favour. His two pardons . . . . . . . . 269
Murder of the two Princes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Relations silenced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270-271
Hush money to 'Black Will' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Reward to Dighton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Rewards and employments for Tyrrel . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Treacherous arrest and hurried execution of Tyrrel . . . . 273
Dighton to reside at Calais . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
The story put forward and generally accepted . . . . . . . 274
{xix}
Judicial murder of the Earl of Warwick . . . . . . . . . . 275
Henry's remorse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Elizabeth saw the cruel treatment of her mother and cousin
Her death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Henry's design to kill the Earl of Suffolk . . . . . . . . 277
His death. Successful as this world counts success . . . 278
Things unexplained . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279, 280
CHAPTER VI
MR. GAIRDNER'S RICHARD III
Mr. Gairdner's view of the alleged crimes . . . . . . . . 281
Views stated in Mr. Gairdner's preface . . . . . . . . . . 282
Richard's character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Richard acquitted of several charges . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Tudor fables irreconcileable with Richard's character . . 285
Mr. Gairdner's latest view of the Tewkesbury charge . . . 286-287
On Edward IV.'s proceedings after Tewkesbury . . . . . . . 289-290
His view of the Henry VI. charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
His rejection of the evidence of the writer in Fleetwood . 292
Acquits Richard of responsibility for the death of
Clarence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294-295
Position with regard to the title to the crown . . . . . . 296
Believes in the Duchess of York slander . . . . . . . . . 297
His reason for the belief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Murder of the Princes. Story admitted to be full
of inaccuracies and improbabilities . . . . . . . . . . 298
Richard could not have been a cool, calculating villain . 298
Must have been headstrong and reckless . . . . . . . . . . 298
Such a man might have committed the crime on a
sudden impulse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
The rising in Kent supposed to be the motive . . . . . . . 299
But the murders are stated to have been in August,
the rising in October. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Thus Mr. Gairdner's theory fails . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Mr. Gairdner supplies proofs of the King's popularity . . 300
Richard was the victim of the perfidy of a few traitors . 300
Mr. Gairdner's testimony to Richard's good qualities . . . 300
Great value of Mr. Gairdner's work . . . . . . . . . . . . 300-301
INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
{xx}
GENEALOGICAL TABLES
SEIZE QUARTIERS OF EDWARD IV. AND RICHARD III. . . . _to face page_ 6
SEIZE QUARTIERS OF ANNE NEVILL . . . . . . . . . . . " " 82
MAP
BATTLE OF BOSWORTH FIELD . . . . . . . . . . . . _to face page_ 328
{1}
LIFE OF RICHARD III
PART I
CHAPTER I
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
The castle of Fotheringhay[1] was the birthplace of our last
Plantagenet king. This venerable pile stood on the banks of the river
Nen, in Northamptonshire, amidst 'marvellous fair corn ground and
pasture.' From its battlements there was an extensive view, bounded to
the westward by the forest of Rockingham, while on the other side the
abbey church of Peterborough and the woods of Milton intercepted the
distant expanse of fen country. Originally built by bold Simon de St.
Liz in the twelfth century, the castle had fallen into ruin when it
reverted to the crown, and was granted by Edward III. to his son Edmund
of Langley.
Edmund, who was created Duke of York by his nephew Richard II., rebuilt
the castle and founded a college hard by. Fotheringhay was surrounded
by a double moat with drawbridges, the river Nen serving as the outer
moat on the south side, and the Mill Brook, {2} flowing between the
castle yard and the little park, to the east. The walls were of stone,
and the great gate in the north front was adorned with the arms of
England, as differenced for Edmund of Langley, impaling the arms of
Castille and Leon.[2] The keep, built in the shape of a fetterlock,
was on a mount in the north-west angle of the castle; and below there
was a great courtyard surrounded by stately buildings, a chapel, and
'very fair lodgings,' as Leland tells us. The great hall was seventy
feet long, with a deep oriel window at one end.[3]
Here dwelt Edmund the first Duke of York, his son Edward the second
Duke, who fell at Agincourt, and his grandson Richard, the third Duke.
Edmund projected the foundation of a college near the parish church, to
consist of a master, eight clerks, and thirteen choristers. He
commenced the choir, while his son and grandson completed and richly
endowed this religious house. The church was a fine specimen of the
Perpendicular architecture of the time, and the cloisters had numerous
windows filled with stained glass.
The third Duke of York resided at Fotheringhay during part of every
year when he was in England, {3} with his beautiful wife the Lady
Cicely Nevill, the 'Rose of Raby,' and their troop of fair children.
But he also held vast estates elsewhere. In Yorkshire the castles of
Sandal and Conisborough were part of his paternal inheritance. On the
Welsh borders he had succeeded to all the possessions of the Mortimers,
including Ludlow and Wigmore. For his mother was the heiress of Edmund
Mortimer, Earl of March, and also of Lionel Duke of Clarence, the
second surviving son of King Edward III. Baynard's Castle, in the City
of London, was the Duke's town house.
The 'Rose of Raby' bore her husband twelve children, and they came of a
right noble English stock. In their veins flowed the blood of
Plantagenet and Holland, Mortimer and FitzAlan, Nevill and Percy,
Clifford and Audley. Five of these fair branches died in infancy.
Ann, the eldest of those who survived early childhood, was born at
Fotheringhay in 1439. The three next, Edward, Edmund and Elizabeth,
first saw the light at Rouen, when their father was making a last
gallant stand for English dominion in France, from 1442 to 1444.
Margaret was born at Fotheringhay. The Duke and Duchess were ruling in
Ireland when George was born at Dublin Castle. The three last births
were at Fotheringhay, but of these only Richard, the eleventh child,
survived infancy.
Richard Plantagenet was born at Fotheringhay Castle on October 2, 1452.
He probably passed the first five years of his life there with George
and Margaret. The elder sisters, Anne and Elizabeth, were married to
'Lancastrian' noblemen, the Dukes of Exeter and Suffolk, when Richard
was still in infancy. His elder brothers, Edward Earl of March and
Edmund Earl of Rutland, were separated from him by an interval {4} of
ten years, and lived with their tutor Richard Croft at Ludlow or
Wigmore. So that Richard's childhood must have been passed with his
brother George and his sister Margaret, the future Duchess of Burgundy.
But both were a few years older than little Richard.
We obtain a glimpse of the home life of the two elder boys, Edward and
Edmund, from a letter to their father which has been preserved.[4]
'Right high and right mighty prince, our full redoubted and right noble
lord and father.
'As lowly with all our hearts as we, your true and natural sons can or
may, we recommend us unto your noble grace, humbly beseeching your
noble and worthy fatherhood daily to give us your hearty blessing;
through which we trust much the rather to increase and grow to virtue,
and to speed the better in all matters and things that we shall use,
occupy, and exercise.
'Right high and right mighty prince, our full redoubted lord and
father--
'We thank our blessed Lord, not only of your honourable conduct and
good speed in all your matters and business, of your gracious prevail
against the intent and malice of your evil willers, but also of the
knowledge that it pleased your nobleness to let us now late have of the
same by relation of Sir Walter Devereux Kt.[5] {5} and John Milwater
Esq.,[6] and John at Nokes, yeoman of your honourable chamber. Also we
thank your noble and good fatherhood for our green gowns now late sent
unto us to our great comfort, beseeching your good lordship to remember
our porteux,[7] and that we might have some fine bonnets sent unto us
by the next sure messenger, for necessity so requireth. Over this,
right noble lord and father, please it your highness to wit that we
have charged your servant, William Smyth, bearer of these, for to
declare unto your nobility certain things on our behalf, namely
concerning and touching the odious rule and demeaning of Richard Croft
and of his brother. Wherefore we beseech your gracious lordship and
full noble fatherhood to hear him in exposition of the same, and to his
relation to give full faith and credence. Right high and right mighty
prince, our full redoubted and right noble lord and father, we beseech
Almighty Jesus give you as good life and long, with as much continual
perfect prosperity as your princely heart can best desire. Written at
your castle of Ludlow on Saturday in Easter week.
'your humble sons
'Edward (Earl of March)
'Edmund (Earl of Rutland).'
The boys evidently did not like their tutor, declaring him to be
tyrannical and disagreeable.[8]
{6}
CHILDREN OF RICHARD, DUKE OF YORK
1. Anne. Born at Fotheringhay, August 11, 1439. (Duchess of Exeter.)
2. Henry. Born at Hatfield, February 10,1441. (Died in infancy.)
3. Edward. Born at Rouen,[9] April 28, 1442. (Earl of March. King.)
4. Edmund. Born at Rouen, May 17, 1443. (Earl of Rutland.)
5. Elizabeth. Born at Rouen, April 22,1444. (Duchess of Suffolk.)
6. Margaret. Born at Fotheringhay, May 3, 1446. (Duchess of Burgundy.
Died 1503.)
7. William. Born at Fotheringhay, July 7, 1447. (Died young.)
8. John. Born at Neath, November 7, 1448. (Died in infancy.)
9. George. Born at Dublin, October 21, 1449. (Duke of Clarence.)
10. Thomas. Born at Fotheringhay, 1450. (Died in infancy.)
11. Richard. Born at Fotheringhay, October 2, 1452.[10] (Duke of
Gloucester. King.)
12. Ursula. Born at Fotheringhay, July 20,1455. (Died in infancy.)
W. WYRCESTER, _Annales_, 460-477.
[Illustration: SEIZE QUARTIERS OF EDWARD IV. AND RICHARD III.]
Their father, the Duke of York, first Prince of the blood royal, was
the most powerful and wealthy, as well as one of the ablest noblemen in
the kingdom. He was moderate and prudent, and was unwillingly driven
into resistance to the misgovernment of the corrupt faction which
misused the powers they had seized, owing to the imbecility of Henry
VI. His original object was not to assert his own undoubted title to
the throne, but to obtain just and reasonable government by the removal
of corrupt and incapable ministers. 'After repeated experience of bad
faith, and after {7} fruitlessly endeavouring to bind Henry by pledges,
the Duke was at length forced into advancing his own claim.'[11]
Disaster followed the first attempt of the Duke of York at open
resistance. He was overpowered by the Lancastrian forces at Ludlow, in
October 1459, and his followers were scattered. The Duke himself, with
his son Edmund, fled to Ireland. His eldest son, Edward Earl of March,
escaped to Calais with the Earl of Warwick. The Duchess of York, and
her three young children, Margaret, George and Richard, were taken
prisoners at Wigmore. They were sent to Tunbridge Castle in the
custody of their mother's sister, the Duchess of Buckingham, who had
married a Lancastrian husband.
Little Richard was only seven years of age when he became a prisoner of
war. The detention was of short duration. His eldest brother landed
in Kent and marched to London. Troops flocked to the standard of the
gallant youth, and he advanced northwards against his enemies. The
Duchess of York then escaped from Tunbridge, and found an asylum for
her little children at the chambers of John Paston, in the Temple.[12]
Meanwhile Edward, Earl of March, won a great victory at Northampton,
and Henry VI. became his prisoner. He returned to London, but the
children had not been two days in John Paston's chambers before their
mother was summoned to meet her {8} husband at Hereford, who was
returning from Ireland. The children were left with servants. Young
Edward, however, while busily engaged in preparing for the defence of
the city, found time to visit his little brothers and sister every
day.[13]
[1] 'Fodringeia' in Domesday. 'Fodering' is part of a forest separated
from the rest, for producing hay.
[2] He married Isabella of Castille and Leon.
[3] Mary Queen of Scots was tried and beheaded in the great hall of
Fotheringhay. But it is untrue that the castle was destroyed by James
I. on that account. James granted it to Lord Mountjoy, and it was
intact, though out of repair, when it was surveyed in 1625. It began
to be dismantled soon after this survey; but the work of demolition was
very gradual. The college buildings had been desecrated and destroyed
by John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, to whom they were granted by
the government of Edward VI. The last remains of the castle were
demolished in the middle of the last century. See _Historic Notices in
reference to Fotheringhay_, by the Rev. H. K. Bonney (Oundle, 1821).
[4] _MS. Cotton, Vesp._, F. iii., fol. 9. Printed in the first series
of Ellis's original letters, i. 9, letter v.
[5] This Sir Walter Devereux, son of Walter Chancellor of Ireland 1449,
when the Duke of York was Lord Deputy, was born in 1432. He married
Anne, heiress of Lord Ferrers of Chartley, and was summoned to
Parliament by that title _jure uxoris_. Sir Walter Devereux, Lord
Ferrers of Chartley, fell gloriously at Bosworth, fighting for his
King, Richard III., the younger brother of his two young friends Edward
and Edmund. He was ancestor of the Devereux, Earls of Essex.
[6] Afterwards esquire to Richard Duke of Gloucester. He fell at the
battle of Barnet, fighting by his young master's side.
[7] Breviary.
[8] Richard Croft of Croft Castle, in Herefordshire, is the odious
ruler mentioned by the young princes. He was faithful to King Edward
during the Tewkesbury campaign; but the boys had some insight into
character. For Croft appears to have been a time-server. He got made
Treasurer of the Household to Henry Tudor, and fought for him at Stoke.
To please his new patron he appears to have told some story,
disparaging to Edward IV., which, in a garbled form, appeared in Hall's
_Chronicle_.
[9] Edwardus quartus Rothomagi natus. _Rous_, p. 210.
[10] Rous says that Richard was born on the feast of the eleven
thousand virgins, October 21. But this was really George's birthday,
in 1449.
[11] Gairdner. The Duke's mother, Anne Mortimer, was grand-daughter of
Philippa Countess of March, the only child of Lionel Duke of Clarence,
_second_ son of King Edward III. Henry VI. was great-grandson of John
Duke of Lancaster, _third_ son of Edward III.
[12] _Paston Letters_, i. 525. Christopher Hansson to John Paston.
[13] 'And sythe y left here bothe the sunys and the dowztyr, and the
Lord of Marche comyth every day to se them.'--_Paston Letters_.
{9}
CHAPTER II
DEATH OF RICHARD'S FATHER AND BROTHER AT THE BATTLE OF WAKEFIELD
In October 1460, the Duke and Duchess of York, with young Edmund Earl
of Rutland, reached London. The Duke's superior right to the crown, as
representative of the second son of Edward III. while Henry VI. only
derived from the third son, was recognised and declared by Act of
Parliament. But, in consideration of the reverence felt for his father
and of his own long tenure, it was enacted that Henry should retain the
throne for life, provided that he acknowledged the Duke as
heir-apparent. This Act of Settlement received the royal assent and
became law, all opposing statutes being repealed. On November 9, the
Duke of York was solemnly declared Heir-Apparent and Lord Protector
during Henry's life.
But Queen Margaret and her partisans refused to be bound by the acts of
the King, her husband, in Parliament. She fled to Scotland, and the
Lancastrians raised a formidable army in Yorkshire. It is probable
that the Duke of York was not fully aware of the numbers opposed to
him, though he may have foreseen that the Lancastrian army would become
larger if time was allowed to slip away. There was {10} also some
danger from the machinations of the Tudors[1] in Wales. Arrangements
to counteract these evils were promptly made. The Duke assembled a
small force to advance northwards and confront the Lancastrian army.
The Duke of Norfolk, who was warmly attached to the House of York, and
the Earl of Warwick were to remain in London until Christmas, and then
to follow with reinforcements. The young Earl of March advanced to the
Welsh borders to collect forces, disperse the Tudor rising, and then
join his father in Yorkshire.
On December 1, 1460, the Duke of York was with his wife and children at
Baynard's Castle for the last time. He bade farewell to his loving
Duchess and the children; little Richard was a child of eight, Margaret
and George a few years older. The gallant young Edmund Earl of Rutland
was nearly eighteen, well able to fight by his father's side, and he
accompanied the Duke. On December 2, the Duke of York set out with his
brother-in-law the Earl of Salisbury and the Earl of Rutland.
Salisbury had with him his son, Sir Thomas Nevill, and the force,
barely numbering 5,000 men, was led by other experienced captains.
Chief among them was old Sir David Hall, the Duke's faithful friend and
adviser in all military affairs. Sir John and Sir Hugh Mortimer,
illegitimate brothers of the ill-fated Earl of March, rallied to their
nephew's standard with many Yorkist knights, such as Sir Thomas Parr,
Sir Edward Bourchier, and Sir James Pickering. The force included a
company of Londoners under the {11} command of the Warden of the
Mercers' Company, stout John Harrow.
The Duke of York advanced by easy marches, for he did not reach his
castle of Sandal, about a mile south of Wakefield, until Christmas Eve.
Here he halted while a summons was sent out to assemble his Yorkshire
tenants and adherents. It is said that Lord Nevill, a kinsman of the
Duchess of York, came to Sandal as a friend of the Duke, and induced
him to grant a commission to raise men; and that when he had raised
about 8,000, he treacherously brought them to swell the ranks of the
Lancastrian army.[2]
At this time the Duke's eldest son Edward was at Shrewsbury. The poor
Duchess and her young children anxiously waited for news at Baynard's
Castle. Henry VI., with the Duke of Norfolk and the Earl of Warwick,
observed the festival of Christmas in the palace of the Bishop of
London, in St. Paul's Churchyard. Afterwards the King went to enjoy a
few days' hunting at Greenwich and Eltham. Queen Margaret and her son
were in Scotland. The Lancastrian leaders were assembled with a great
army at Pomfret.
Edward III. had granted Sandal and Conisborough Castles to his son
Edmund, the Duke's grandfather. The Duke himself had frequently
resided at Sandal, sometimes with his wife and family. The castle
stood on a grassy knoll, steep on one side, with a gentle slope to the
south. It is a little less than a mile from the bridge which spans the
river Calder at the town of Wakefield, the intervening space sloping
gently from Sandal. It was then partly wooded. Leland tells us the
bridge was of stone, with nine arches, and that it had on it 'a right
goodly chapel of our Lady.' It led to the {12} market place whence two
streets, called Norgate and Wrengate,[3] formed communications with
gates on the northern side of the town. The houses were then nearly
all of timber, but there was a handsome parish church consecrated in
1322, with a tower and spire 228 feet high. From the bridge one road
went south by Sandal to Barnsley and Sheffield; another branched off to
the eastward, and divided again into two, one leading to Doncaster, the
other to Pomfret. To the westward the river Calder flanked the fields
between Sandal and Wakefield Bridge. Near the castle is the fine
cruciform church of Sandal Magna, where there was a chantry belonging
to the castle.
There are scarcely any remains of Sandal Castle, which was razed by
order of the Long Parliament in 1648. But fortunately a drawing was
made in 1560 and preserved in the office of the Duchy of Lancaster. It
is engraved in the 'Vetusta Monumenta.' A lofty donjon, with flanking
round towers, stood on the verge of the steep descent to the
north-east, and two smaller square towers, connected by a wall, formed
the western face. The principal gate, protected by a barbican, was in
the centre of the southern face; and on this side the _enceinte_
consisted merely of a wall without towers. An arcade or cloister led
from the gate to the main entrance of the donjon, and the roofs of
various buildings appear above the parapet of the southern wall. On
the north-western side of the inner courtyard a flight of steps led to
a covered archway opening on a semicircular stone pulpit supported by a
single pillar. The castle was surrounded by a moat, and the ground it
covered was about forty yards square. We {13} gather these details
from the drawing. The existing ruins consist of part of the gatehouse,
three arches of the arcade leading to the keep, bits of wall on the
west side, and the great mound covering the ruins of the keep.
Sandal Castle was built on a natural hill of sandstone, and in those
days it must have presented an imposing appearance from Wakefield
Bridge, with its lofty towers rising over the trees. There were
extensive views in every direction from the castle walls. Northward is
Wakefield and the rich valley of the Calder. To the west were the
woods stretching away until the view is bounded by Woolley Edge. The
woods and lake of Chevet are to the south, and a wide extent of country
was visible to the east, with Nostell Priory and Walton Manor hidden
among the trees. But, although Sandal commanded extensive views, yet,
owing to the wooded character of the country, an enemy might approach
without his force being fully known to the garrison.
The Duke of York kept his Christmas in Sandal Castle, with his son
Edmund Earl of Rutland, his brother-in-law the Earl of Salisbury, old
Sir David Hall his trusty military adviser, many other captains, and
5,000 men. Sir David knew that the enemy was near in overwhelming
numbers. He anticipated a siege until relief could come from the
south, and he, therefore, sent out foraging parties to bring in
supplies.
The Lancastrian chiefs at Pomfret received news of the arrival of the
Duke at Sandal on Christmas Day. They were engaged for three days in
collecting their forces. On the 30th they began their march from
Pomfret, a distance of eight miles. Lord Clifford, with his Yorkshire
friends, led the van, so as to become {14} the right wing in forming
the battle, resting on the river Calder. The Dukes of Somerset and
Exeter and Earls of Devon and Northumberland were in the centre. The
rear, which would form the left wing in wheeling into line, was under
the command of the Earl of Wiltshire. Sir Andrew Trollope was the
principal military adviser and chief of the staff.
On the last day of the year the division under Lord Clifford came in
sight of the towers of Sandal, and attacked a foraging party which
appears to have been returning from Wakefield. This was seen from the
castle. The Duke determined to come to the rescue with his whole
force. He probably believed that Clifford was considerably in advance
of the main body of the enemy. Sir David Hall thought otherwise, and
strongly represented the danger of running such a risk. But the
chivalrous Duke spurned the idea of leaving his foraging party to be
destroyed without making an effort at their rescue.
The Lancastrians under Clifford were between the castle and Wakefield
Bridge, and the great gate faced to the south. It was, therefore,
necessary for the Yorkist force, barely 5,000 strong, to march out with
their backs to the enemy, and to deploy round the castle hill, before
forming line to attack. This was done, and a brilliant charge was made
on the field between Sandal and Wakefield--a Balaclava charge. The
Duke himself, rightful heir to the throne, and his trusty
brother-in-law, the Earl of Salisbury, led this forlorn hope. Near
them was the gallant young Prince Edmund in the flower of his age,
about to flesh his maiden sword. There, too, was old David Hall,
knowing that all was lost, but resolved to fight for his beloved master
to the end. Success must have {15} attended on the reckless bravery
which Hall deplored, if Clifford's force, about equal in numbers, had
been unsupported. But the main body of the Lancastrians arrived during
the thick of the fight with overwhelming numbers, while their left
wing, under the Earl of Wiltshire, cut off the retreat to the castle.
There was nothing left but to die bravely. The Duke of York fell,
fighting to the last. Camden says that there was a small space hedged
round enclosing a stone cross, on the spot where the Duke fell. His
faithful knights fell around him. Among them were his uncles John and
Hugh Mortimer, Sir David Hall the tried and trusty councillor, his
wife's nephew Sir Thomas Nevill, Sir Edward Bourchier, Sir Eustace
Wentworth, Sir James Pickering, Sir John Gedding, Sir Thomas Harington,
Sir Hugh Hastings, Captains Fitzjames, Baume, Digby and Ratford. Two
gallant brothers, William and Thomas Parr, fought steadily beside their
master. William was slain, but Thomas escaped, surviving to be the
grandsire of Queen Catherine Parr. Sir Walter Lymbricke, Sir Ralph
Stanley, Captain Hanson and John Harrow, the loyal mercer of London,
were wounded and taken prisoners.
When all hope was gone young Prince Edmund, with a few followers,
perhaps with the Harry Lovedeyne whose service was 'right agreeable' to
him and his brother in the happy days of their childhood, fought his
way through the encircling foe and reached Wakefield Bridge. But they
were closely pursued by some of Clifford's men, perhaps by Clifford
himself. Leland tells us that the prince 'was overtaken a little above
the bars beyond the bridge, going up a clyming ground'; that is in the
street leading up to the market place from the bridge. He and his few
followers turned at bay, and {16} we may be sure that young Edmund
Plantagenet did not die before his enemies had been made to pay dearly
for his life.[4]
No quarter was given to the defeated soldiers by the Lancastrians,
2,000 were slaughtered in the field or during the flight, and the
prisoners were all killed. The Earl of Salisbury escaped from the
battle, but was taken prisoner the same night by a servant of Sir
Andrew Trollope and conveyed to Pomfret, where he was put to death.
The Lancastrian leaders took counsel after the {17} battle, and decided
on the perpetration of an inhuman piece of folly. The bodies of the
Duke of York and of the Earls of Rutland and Salisbury were buried at
Pomfret. But their heads were ordered to be stuck on the gates of
York. The Duke's head was placed upon Micklegate Bar, with a paper
crown on it by way of insult. The heads of the Earls of Salisbury and
Rutland, of Sir Thomas Nevill, Sir Edward Bourchier, Sir Thomas
Harington, Sir William Parr, Sir James Pickering and John Harrow were
also ordered to be stuck on the different gates of York.
As soon as Queen Margaret received the news in Scotland, she came to
York and joined the victorious army. It was resolved to march direct
to London, and the northern soldiers were bribed by permission to
pillage the whole country. This they did for fifteen miles on either
side of their track; attacking churches, taking away vessels, books and
vestments, and even the sacramental pyx after shaking out the
eucharist, and killing the priests who resisted. Reaching St. Albans
they continued the work of pillage, and defeated the troops sent out
from London to oppose them. They even recovered the person of Henry
VI. But here their successes ended. The gates of London were closed,
provisions ran short, and the Lancastrian marauders retreated into
Yorkshire.[5]
{18}
When the dreadful news of the battle of Wakefield reached London, the
Duchess of York was plunged into grief at the loss of her noble husband
and gallant young son, and she was terrified for the safety of her
children. The two little boys, George and Richard, were put on board a
vessel in the Thames and sent to Holland. There, under the protection
of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, they were established at Utrecht
with suitable tutors. The Duchess of York, with her little daughter
Margaret, remained in London awaiting events.
The age of Edward Earl of March was then only eighteen years and eight
months. He was at Shrewsbury when the terrible blow fell upon him. It
spurred him into resolute action. He had collected a good force, with
which he turned upon the Tudors and crushed them at Mortimer's Cross.
There was a parhelion when the victory was decided. Edward adopted the
sun in splendour as his special cognizance. He then advanced to London
by rapid marches, and was proclaimed king as Edward IV.
Richard was thus hurried away to Holland. He {19} was but eight years
old when he saw his father and brother Edmund mount their horses at the
gate of Baynard's Castle; and when the sad news came that they were
slain, and that he would see them no more. In after years Richard took
part in the pious act of the children of the Duke of York. They
re-endowed the beautiful chapel on Wakefield Bridge, which was built in
the reign of Edward III.,[6] and dedicated it to the memory of their
brother Edmund.
[1] Owen Tudor, a Welsh squire, had three sons by Catharine, the widow
of Henry V.; Edmund and Jasper created by Henry VI. Earls of Richmond
and Pembroke, and Owen a monk at Westminster. They were half-brothers
of Henry VI.
[2] Stow's _Chronicle_, p. 412.
[3] An abbreviation of Warenne-gate. The Earls of Warenne and Surrey
were Lords of Wakefield for more than two centuries.
[4] Of all the baseless fabrications of the Tudor chroniclers, Hall's
story of the death of Edmund Earl of Rutland is the most absurd. Hall
says that the prince was scarcely twelve years of age, that his tutor
and schoolmaster, named Robert Apsall, secretly conveyed the little boy
out of the field, that they were espied and taken by Lord Clifford,
that the child knelt on his knees demanding mercy; that the
schoolmaster made a speech; that Clifford gave a truculent reply; and
that Clifford then struck the child to the heart with a dagger.
This fable rests on there being a child. If there was no child nothing
of the sort happened.
The contemporary evidence is simply that after the battle Lord Clifford
killed the Earl of Rutland on or near Wakefield Bridge. William of
Worcester says:--'_et in fugiendo post campum super pontem apud
Wakefelde Dominus de Clyfforde occidit Dominum Edmondum comitem de
Rutlande, filium Ducis Eborum_.' William of Worcester also gives the
birthdays of all the children of the Duke of York. Edmund was born at
Rouen on May 17, 1443. He was in his eighteenth year, and not a child.
It was George, born on October 21, 1449, in Ireland, who was in his
twelfth year when the battle of Wakefield was fought; but he was left
in London with his mother, as any child of that age was sure to have
been. Even if the Duke had brought a child to Sandal, he would have
been left in the castle, not taken into the thick of a desperate
battle. Edmund was old enough to accompany his father, and doubtless
acquitted himself manfully. These facts also relieve the gallant
Clifford's name from a vile calumny. Holinshed and Shakespeare follow
Hall, and all later historians have continued to repeat the absurd
story without taking the trouble to ascertain Rutland's age at the time
of the battle of Wakefield.
[5] The weight of authority is decisively against the Duke of York
having been taken prisoner, and in favour of his having been killed in
the battle. William of Worcester says: '_Ubi occubuerunt in campo Dux
Eborum, Thomas Nevill_,' &c. The Croyland chronicler, Fabyan, Polydore
Virgil, Hall, and Stow concur. Hall says, '_He, manfully fighting,
within half an hour was slain and dead_.' But Whethamstede states that
the Duke was taken prisoner and grossly insulted: that he was set upon
an ant-hill, a crown of woven grass was put on his head, and that the
soldiers bowed their heads before him, saying in derision: 'Hail, King
without a kingdom!' Whethamstede adds, '_non aliter quam Judaei coram
Domino_.' But this John Bostock of Whethamstede was Abbot of St.
Albans, and violently prejudiced against the Lancastrians for their
marauding and pillaging in his neighbourhood. It is generally stated
that Queen Margaret took part in the barbarities of her adherents.
Stow, for instance, says that Lord Clifford cut off the Duke's head,
put a paper crown on it, stuck it on a pole, and presented it to the
Queen, who 'was not lying far from the field.' But there is clear
proof that the Queen was actually in Scotland when the battle of
Wakefield was fought. William of Worcester says: '_Dicto bello finito
Regina Margareta venit ab Scotia Eboraco_.' This is confirmed by the
Croyland chronicler, who says, '_Inpartibus borealibus morabatur_.'
Margaret had nothing to do with the Lancastrian barbarities, except
that she allowed the heads to remain on the gates of York. She was
forced to tolerate the deeds of her savage adherents.
[6] See _The Chapel of Edward III. on Wakefield Bridge_, by N.
Scatcherd (1843).
{20}
CHAPTER III
THE CROWNING VICTORY OF TOWTON
When the Lancastrians, after their success at St. Albans, had failed
before London, they retreated northwards with the person of Henry VI.,
and proceeded to collect forces in Yorkshire for one more great effort,
making their headquarters in the city of York. Meanwhile the young
Earl of March, after his victory at Mortimer's Cross on February 2,
1461, advanced to London with his Welsh and border tenantry. He was
joined on the road by the Earl of Warwick, whose incapacity as a
military commander had been the cause of the disaster at St. Albans on
the 17th of the same month.
Edward was only in his nineteenth year when he entered London and
succeeded to his father's rights, and to the duty of avenging the
cowardly insults heaped upon that father's body. He found his mother,
the widowed Duchess, with his little sister Margaret, at Baynard's
Castle.
Edward was tall and eminently handsome, with a fair complexion and
flaxen hair, 'the goodliest personage,' says Comines, 'that ever mine
eyes beheld.' His capacity for command, his fortitude, and prudence
were far beyond his years, and he had already acquired experience in
two pitched battles.
{21}
On his arrival in London Edward called together a great Council of
Lords, spiritual and temporal, and declared to them his title to the
Crown. The assembled Lords determined that, as King Henry had,
contrary to the solemn agreement made with the Duke of York and the
Parliament which met in October 1460, violated his word, and as he was
useless to the Commonwealth, he should be deprived of all sovereignty.
Edward was elected and acknowledged as King.
That night the young King was once more at home with his mother and
sister; but it was a melancholy home-coming. Two months before, the
whole family was united at Baynard's Castle, now the father was slain
and his head fixed on Micklegate Bar at York. The beloved brother,
Edward's companion from earliest infancy, also dead; the two younger
brothers sent abroad for safety; his uncle, Salisbury, killed, with Sir
David Hall, the trusted friend of the family, and many more. Yet a
feeling of pride must have mingled with the bereaved mother's grief as
she gazed on the superb young warrior who was the last hope and prop of
her house.
Next day the citizens of London assembled at their muster in St. John's
Fields, just outside the city, where they were reviewed by Lord
Fauconberg, the King's uncle, an experienced warrior who had seen much
service in France. As Sir William Nevill, he was at the siege of
Orleans, and since 1429 he had been summoned to Parliament _jure
uxoris_, for he had married Joan, the heiress of the last Baron
Fauconberg. As soon as he had completed the muster, his nephew, George
Nevill, Bishop of Exeter, made a speech to the people. He explained to
them how King Henry had broken the agreement solemnly made {22} with
the Duke of York only four short months before; he demanded of them
whether they would have a forsworn king any longer to rule over them;
and he called upon them to serve and obey the Earl of March as their
earthly sovereign lord. The multitude cried 'Yea! Yea!' with great
shouts and clapping of hands. 'I was there,' says William of
Worcester, 'I heard them, and I returned with them into the city.'
On the same evening the Lords and Commons went to Baynard's Castle to
report what had taken place to young Edward, and he was persuaded to
assume the kingly office by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop
of Exeter. Next day, being March 4, he rode to St. Paul's as King
Edward IV. and made an offering. After _Te Deum_ he was conveyed to
Westminster, where he sat in the Hall while his title was declared to
the people as son and heir of Richard, Duke of York, and by authority
of Parliament. Henry VI. was deposed _quod non stetisset pacto, neque
paruisset senatus consulti decreto_. Edward then entered the Abbey
under a canopy in solemn procession, and received homage from the
lords, returning by water to London, where he was lodged in the
Bishop's palace. On the 5th he was proclaimed King through the city as
Edward IV; but there was to be no coronation until he was victorious
over his enemies.
No time was lost. On Saturday, March 7, the Earl of Warwick left
London for the north, with what Fabyan calls 'a great puissance of
people.' Four days afterwards the King's infantry followed, consisting
of borderers from the Welsh marches, Kentish men, and Londoners. On
Friday, March 13, Edward himself rode through Bishopsgate with a great
body of men, {23} and attended by many lords and knights. Since the
death of Sir David Hall, Edward's uncle Fauconberg was the most able
and experienced general on the Yorkist side, and he was now the King's
chief adviser. A powerful adherent was John Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk,
who is so frequently mentioned in the 'Paston Letters.' Representative
of Thomas de Brotherton, the youngest son of Edward I., the Duke had
vast wealth and great influence in the eastern counties, but he was in
failing health. Sir John Ratcliffe, K.G., called Lord Fitzwalter _jure
uxoris_, Sir Henry Ratcliffe, Lord Scrope of Bolton, Sir Walter Blount,
Sir John Wenlock, Sir John Dynham, Sir Roger Wolferstone, William
Hastings, Robert Home of Kent, the King's cousins Humphry and John
Stafford, were the principal captains.
The marches were made in a leisurely way to give time for followers to
join from various directions, and it was a fortnight before Edward
formed a junction with the Earl of Warwick, and mustered his army
between Pomfret Castle and Ferrybridge, about forty thousand strong.
Reinforcements had flocked to him during the march, especially in
Nottinghamshire. Sir John Ratcliffe, with a young illegitimate son of
the Earl of Salisbury, was stationed with a small force at Ferrybridge,
to guard the passage of the river Aire.
Meanwhile, the nobles who had rallied round the proud Margaret of Anjou
were collecting their strength at York. The Duke of Somerset, although
he was only in his twenty-fourth year, was the chief commander in the
Queen's army. The son of her favourite, who had been slain in the
first battle of St. Albans, and the head of a powerful connection,
Margaret {24} placed great reliance on the prowess and influence of the
young Duke. His first cousin was Thomas Courtenay, Earl of Devonshire,
a lad of twenty, who came to York with the Fulfords, Fortescues, and
other west-country squires. His sister Eleanor was married to James
Butler, Earl of Ormonde and Wiltshire, K.G., a more mature nobleman who
had reached his fortieth year, but who was more noted for running away
than for fighting. His brother, Sir John Butler, accompanied him.
Next to Somerset the most influential leader was Henry Percy, Earl of
Northumberland, who was also in his fortieth year. His family had
fought and bled in the Lancastrian cause. His father was slain at St.
Albans, his brother, Lord Egremont, at Northampton. Another brother,
Sir Richard Percy, now rode by the Earl's side at the head of a
numerous body of retainers. Lord Clifford, Lord Dacre of Gillesland,
Lord FitzHugh, and Sir John Nevill came with a great muster of West
Riding and Westmoreland yeomen; while Lord Welles and Sir William
Talboys rallied the Lincolnshire yeomen round their standards. Lord
Roos, Sir Ralph Eure, and Sir John Bigot of Musgrave Castle, joined the
army with their Yorkshire tenantry; and the Duke of Exeter, Lord
Hungerford, and Lord Beaumont swelled the throng with their levies.
Nor were lawyers and churchmen wanting to prop the falling cause. Sir
John Fortescue, the Lord Chief Justice, was at York, for he believed
the parliamentary title of King Henry to be good, and would not desert
him in his need. There too, in attendance on poor Henry, was Dr.
Morton, the parson of Bloxworth and Master in Chancery--a treble-dyed
traitor and falsifier of history, who afterwards flourished like {25} a
green bay tree, and died Cardinal Archbishop of Canterbury at the age
of ninety.
So far as experience and military training were concerned, the reliance
of the Lancastrians was on Lord Welles, Lord Hungerford, and Sir Andrew
Trollope. Lionel Lord Welles, now in his fifty-fifth year, had seen
much service in France, and had filled the important posts of
Lieutenant in Ireland and Captain of Calais. Lord Hungerford had
served under the great Talbot, and was present at the fatal battle of
Chastillon, where he was taken prisoner. At that time, during his
father's life, he was known as Lord Molines, in right of his wife.
Trollope was a veteran of the French wars, and seems to have been
looked to as the officer who would marshal the army and select
positions. He had been a trusted Yorkist captain, and was long in
command of the Calais garrison. But when the two rival armies were
confronted near Ludlow, in October 1459, he had secretly deserted with
a large part of the best soldiers from Calais and gone over to Queen
Margaret. This had given her a temporary triumph; and Trollope had
since been her most trusted military adviser.
The force collected at York numbered 60,000; and the largest bodies of
men that have ever tried conclusions on English ground were thus
gathered together between York and Pomfret.
A distance of twenty-five miles separated the towers of Pomfret Castle,
under whose shadows young Edward was marshalling his avenging army,
from Micklegate Bar, over which the head of his beloved father was
withering in the chilling gales of that bitter month of March 1461.
Nine of those miles covered the distance from York to Tadcaster on the
river Wharfe, and the {26} rest of the distance, from the Wharfe to the
Aire, was the scene of the momentous campaign.
The tract of country between the Wharfe and the Aire is a portion of
that magnesian limestone formation which extends in a narrow zone
across Yorkshire. It is crossed by the principal streams flowing to
the Humber, the Ure, the Nidd, the Wharfe, the Aire, the Went, and the
Don; and they all form picturesque gorges, with overhanging limestone
cliffs and crags, before they enter the great alluvial plain of York.
This hilly limestone region, between the Wharfe and the Aire, was once
a great forest of elm trees. It was the Elmet of remote times. When
the forest was cleared the name remained, and the people called the
limestone country 'Elmet lands.' The little river Cock rises on
Bramham Moor, flows through this limestone country in a winding course
among the undulating hills, and falls into the Wharfe below Tadcaster.
Passing the village of Barwick-in-Elmet, it winds along the skirts of
'Becca Banks,' so famous for rare wild flowers, flows under the bridge
at Aberford, and westward to Lead Hall, a farmhouse in a great meadow
about half a mile short of the village of Saxton. Thence it takes a
northerly course to its junction with the Wharfe. Here the winding
little brook has hills on either side, covered with woods, with Towton
on the right bank, and Hazlewood, the ancient seat of the Vavasours, to
the left. It passes through extensive willow garths, and by the
village of Stutton, entering the Wharfe, near Tadcaster, after a course
of about ten miles.
At present the road from York to Pomfret turns south at the end of
Tadcaster Street, and goes direct to Towton and Sherburn, passing the
lodge gate at {27} Grimston. But in those days it continued along the
left bank of the Cock to beyond Stutton, crossed the little brook by
Renshaw Wood, and led up a gentle slope to the hamlet of Towton. By
this route the Lancastrian army advanced from Tadcaster, and encamped
on the fields between Towton and Saxton. The main road leads direct
from Towton to Sherburn, leaving Saxton on the right, and
Scarthingwell, with its mere and heronry, on the left. From Sherburn
to Ferrybridge the distance is six miles due south. The distance from
Ferrybridge, by Sherburn and Saxton, to the battlefield of Towton is
nine miles.
On March 26, 1461, the great army of the Lancastrians was encamped
round the hamlet of Towton. King Edward's headquarters were at
Pomfret, and he had an advanced post to defend the passage of the river
Aire in his front, at Ferrybridge, under the command of the titular
Lord Fitzwalter, an experienced veteran of the French wars. The object
of the Lancastrian leader in advancing across the Wharfe was to oppose
the passage of Edward's army over the river Aire at Ferrybridge. The
deposed King and Queen, with Lord Roos and Dr. Morton, awaited the
event at York. But the Lancastrians were too late. Lord Clifford and
Sir John Nevill, however, did press forward in advance, in hopes of
surprising the outlying post of Yorkists at Ferrybridge. In this they
were successful. The guard at the bridge was taken completely by
surprise before the dawn of March 28, and slaughtered by Lord
Clifford's men. Lord Fitzwalter, hearing the noise, thought it was
merely a disturbance among his own soldiers. He jumped out of bed, ran
down with a battle-axe in his hand, and was slain as he came into {28}
the street. The brave young bastard of Salisbury fell with him.
This unexpected onslaught caused a panic in the Yorkist camp, which was
increased by the conduct of the excitable Earl of Warwick. He lost his
head, galloped up to the King's tent, dismounted and killed his horse,
crying out, 'Let him fly that will, for surely by this cross I will
tarry with him who will tarry with me, fall back fall edge!'[1] The
conduct of young Edward was very different. Perfectly cool and
collected, his firmness restored order among the soldiers. He soon saw
that the attack had been made by a small force which would as rapidly
retreat. He, therefore, gave prompt orders to his uncle, Lord
Fauconberg, to cross the river Aire at Castleford, about three miles to
the left, with troops led by Sir Walter Blount and Robert Home of Kent.
His object was to intercept the retreat of Lord Clifford. This
judicious order was ably carried out by the veteran general.
Fauconberg overtook the enemy, and a complete rout of the Lancastrians
followed. The chase was continued through Sherburn to a little dell or
valley called Dittingdale,[2] between Scarthingwell and Towton. Here
there was a rally, close to the outposts of the main army of the
Lancastrians. Lord Clifford, while taking off his gorget, owing to its
having chafed his neck, was struck {29} by an arrow and killed. Sir
John Nevill was also slain, and there was a great slaughter among the
flying troops. The Yorkist pursuers fell back on their supports
without serious loss.
Lord Clifford was only in his twenty-sixth year. His father was slain
at the first battle of St. Albans, and he had naturally joined the same
cause with enthusiasm. But, as has already been pointed out, the story
of his having assassinated a defenceless little boy on Wakefield Bridge
is a fiction. There is no reason to believe that Clifford was such a
base caitiff. He was evidently an active and enterprising leader. It
is the tradition of the family that he was buried, with a heap of
undistinguished dead, on the battlefield. Sir John Nevill, a younger
brother of the second Earl of Westmoreland, and father of the third
Earl, was probably buried within Saxton Church.[3] The loss of these
two gallant and influential young leaders, whose scattered fugitives
brought in the news on that Friday night, must have cast a gloom over
the Lancastrian army.
King Edward now resolved to advance with his whole force and attack the
enemy where he was encamped. He believed that the main body could not
have been very far distant when Lord Clifford was detached to make the
attack at Ferrybridge. The van division of the Yorkist army, led by
Lord Fauconberg and Sir Walter Blount, was already across the river
Aire, and orders were given to them to march northwards by Sherburn and
Saxton. The King himself, {30} with the Earl of Warwick, was to follow
at the head of the main body. The Duke of Norfolk should have led the
van, but he was taken ill, and it was arranged that he should remain
behind at Pomfret, with Sir John Wenlock and Sir John Dynham, and
follow next day with the rear division and any reinforcements that
might have arrived.[4]
During March 28, the Eve of Palm Sunday, the Yorkist army was marching
northwards in two divisions. It must have been late in the afternoon
when the division of Lord Fauconberg passed through Sherburn-in-Elmet,
a long street with the old Norman church on an isolated hill to the
westward. Two miles more brought him to Saxton late in the evening.
Saxton was a small village, with the manor house of the Hungates, and a
very old church of Norman times. Thence a steep ascent leads northward
to the battlefield. To the east is the high road from York to Pomfret,
passing over elevated ground. To the west is a ravine with sides
sloping down to the valley of the Cock. The latter brook is seen
winding through the {31} green valley, with roads on either side.
Northwards there was high undulating ground, and the hamlet of Towton
is two miles north of Saxton.
On the ground between Towton and Saxton the Lancastrian army was
encamped. The centre, led by the Earl of Northumberland and Sir
Richard Percy, with Lord Welles and Sir Andrew Trollope, was formed
across the road leading up from Saxton. To the east, forming the
Lancastrian left, Lord Dacre and his brother-in-law Lord FitzHugh were
encamped on some land called 'North Acres.' To the west, forming the
right wing, were the Earls of Devonshire and Wiltshire, and Lords
Hungerford and Beaumont. The Dukes of Somerset and Exeter commanded a
reserve at Towton village.
When Lord Fauconberg arrived at Saxton he ascertained the position of
the enemy and sent intelligence to the King. Edward had probably
reached Sherburn by that time, and he at once pushed forward to the
neighbourhood of Saxton. The whole Yorkist force numbered 48,640 men,
including the reserves, which were still at Pomfret under the Duke of
Norfolk.
Palm Sunday dawned and found the host of young Edward facing the long
array of Lancastrians. It was bitterly cold. The advance up the
hillside from Saxton village was made between eight and nine o'clock in
the forenoon, and when the hostile forces came in sight there was a
great shouting. At the same time snow began to fall. The wind was
northerly in the early morning, but it veered round, became fresher,
and by nine o'clock it was driving the snow full into the faces of the
Lancastrian troops. The two armies, just before they closed, were {32}
separated by an undulating depression which marks the exact position.
Lord Fauconberg caused every archer under his standard to shoot one
flight of arrows and then halt. The enemy felt the volley, but could
not judge of distances on account of the blinding snow. Their arrows
fell short. As soon as the quivers of the enemy were nearly empty,
Lord Fauconberg gave the order for his archers to advance, shooting as
they came on, and they not only shot off their own arrows, but gathered
those of the enemy and sent many of them back whence they came. Then
the Earl of Northumberland ordered his men to close, and the battle
became a fierce hand-to-hand combat all along the line. For several
hours the desperate conflict continued, ebbing and flowing with
doubtful result, the snow still falling. King Edward was everywhere,
exhorting and encouraging the men, leading them on when they wavered,
and helping the wounded out of the fray. The struggle was obstinate
and long doubtful. Men were falling fast on both sides. Lord Scrope
of Bolton was severely wounded. Robert Home, the valiant captain of
Kent, who came from Appledore on the Rother, fell dead.
Messengers had been sent in hot haste to hurry up the Duke of Norfolk
with the reserves. He arrived at about noon. With his trusty
lieutenants Wenlock and Dynham, he led his men up the road from
Sherburn, keeping well to the east of Saxton, and ailing upon the
Lancastrian left flank at 'North Acres.'
This was the turning point of the battle. The Lancastrians were
disheartened at the arrival of fresh foes. The fighting continued
until late in the {33} afternoon, and the slaughter was prodigious, but
gradually the Lancastrian left wing was doubled up on the centre; the
confusion increased, and there was a complete rout. Lord Dacre had
fallen early in the day. He was killed by a boy who shot him from a
'bur' tree,[5] when he had unclasped his helmet to drink a cup of wine.
The lad thus avenged his father's death, who had been slain by the
northern baron. Lord Caere's friends, Sir John and Sir Thomas
Crakenthorpe, from the banks of the Eden, fell with him. The Earl of
Northumberland, Sir Richard Percy, Lord Welles, and Sir Andrew Trollope
were slain in the thick of the fight, with many more. The retreat to
the eastward being cut off by the Duke of Norfolk, the defeated army
fled down the steep slopes into the valley of the Cock closely pursued.
The well-mounted noblemen, Somerset and Exeter, Devonshire and
Wiltshire, Beaumont, Hungerford, and FitzHugh, with many knights,
effected their escape. But the footmen were cut down by hundreds in
the pursuit. The little Cock beck is not very wide, but it is deep,
and many fugitives were drowned in it. The country people declared
that the pursuers crossed the brook on dead bodies, and that the river
Wharfe was coloured with blood. The Croyland monk relates that the
blood of the slain lay caked with snow, which then covered the ground,
and that afterwards, when the snow melted, the blood flowed along the
furrows and ditches for a distance of two or three miles. The chase
continued all night and part of next day.
Fully 10,000 were stated to have been wounded or {34} made prisoners,
and Polydore Virgil says that some were cured and some died. This
disposes of the statement of Hall, which is adopted by modern writers,
that no quarter was given. Edward always gave quarter to the men and
junior officers of a defeated army.
The fugitive nobles only had time to ride through York, calling upon
Henry and Margaret, with their child, to mount and ride as hard as
their horses would carry them. Away they went out of Bootham, and
through the dark forest of Galtres, to take refuge in Scotland.
King Edward advanced to York on Monday, March 30, 1461, where he was
received with great solemnity by the mayor and commons of the city, in
procession. They obtained grace through the intercession of Lords
Montagu and Berners. The heads of the Duke of York, the Earl of
Rutland, and the Earl of Salisbury were removed from the gates of York,
and placed with the bodies at Pomfret, preparatory to the subsequent
magnificent obsequies at Fotheringhay and Bisham.
Only four executions took place at York, of the Earl of Devonshire, Sir
Baldwin Fulford, Sir William Talboys, and Sir William Hill. The Earl
of Wiltshire was captured by William Salkeld at Cockermouth. For this
prominent actor in the barbarous deeds after Wakefield fight there
could be no forgiveness. He was beheaded at Newcastle on May 1.
The Earl of Northumberland, a first cousin of King Edward, was buried
in the north choir of St. Denis church at York, probably with his
brother Sir Richard Percy. The body of Lord Welles was taken to
Methley, and buried in the Waterton Chapel. Lord Dacre was buried,
with his horse, in Saxton churchyard, on the {35} north side of the
church, where there is a monument to his memory. The undistinguished
dead were at first buried in five great pits on the battlefield, and in
separate graves in the valley. It was a tradition that red and white
roses grew and flourished on the battlefield, and it is true that there
are many rose bushes in the meadows. Leland tells us that Master
Hungate of Saxton caused the dead bodies to be brought from the pits on
the battlefield, and buried in consecrated ground, in a trench running
the whole length of Saxton churchyard.
King Edward kept his Easter at York, which fell that year on April 5.
He then advanced as far as Durham, whence he returned southwards,
leaving the pacification of the north to the Earl of Warwick and his
brother Lord Montagu. Early in June Edward was at the manor of Sheen,
and on the 26th of that month he came from Sheen to the Tower of
London. On the 27th he created thirty Knights of the Bath, and on
Sunday the 28th he was solemnly crowned in Westminster Abbey by
Cardinal Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury.
The King liberally rewarded his supporters. The Duke of Norfolk died
in November 1461, and was buried before the high altar at Thetford.
But Lord Fauconberg was created Earl of Kent and Lord High Admiral. He
died in 1463. Sir Walter Blount was created Lord Mountjoy and a Knight
of the Garter. Sir John Dynham, a valued adherent, was created Lord
Dynham; and Sir John Wenlock, already a Knight of the Garter, was
created Lord Wenlock. Many Yorkists were knighted, either on the field
or afterwards at the coronation. Young William Hastings, the King's
most faithful follower, was {36} knighted on the field, and created
Lord Hastings, in July 1461. Among the Knights of the Bath were the
gentlemen of Nottinghamshire who had joined the King on the march
northward, Sir Robert Clifton, Sir Nicholas Byron, and Sir Robert and
Sir John Markham.
Edward IV. was 'a King who, with many faults, was most honourably
anxious from the first to do justice even to the meanest of his
subjects.'[6] After the first heat of battle had passed he was
placable and forgiving. He had strong and justifiable cause for
resentment against his opponents at Towton. In the white heat of his
indignation, with the sight of his father's head over Micklegate Bar
fresh in his recollection, he stayed his avenging hand after four
executions. The bill of attainder passed by his first Parliament
included 150 names, but many were afterwards granted full pardons, and
all who submitted received back portions of their estates. The Duke of
Somerset made his peace, and was taken into favour. The son of the
Earl of Northumberland was restored to all his father's honours. The
brother of the Earl of Wiltshire, though he was also at Towton, was
restored to all his estates, was taken into favour, and succeeded as
sixth Earl of Ormond. Similar forgiveness was extended to the
Courtenays, and to the brother of Lord Dacre. Although Lord Hungerford
continued in rebellion, Edward IV. treated his wife and young children
with kindness and generosity, making an ample provision for them out of
their father's forfeited lands. The son of Lord Welles was taken into
favour, and had a grant of all his father's forfeited property. Lord
FitzHugh was forgiven and employed in positions of importance. {37}
Mr. Thorold Rogers says:--'I entirely discredit the stories told of the
tyranny and suspiciousness of Edward IV. He never refused a petition
for pardon.'[7]
All historians unite in the statement that the old nobility of England
was nearly annihilated by the battles and executions during the Wars of
the Roses. But facts are opposed to this theory. Scarcely a single
peerage became extinct owing to the Wars of the Roses.[8]
The battles of Wakefield and Towton made a deep impression on the mind
of Prince Richard, although he was but eight years old. The fate of
his father and brother in a battle which drove him into exile, and then
the crowning victory following so rapidly, could not fail to do so. In
later years he erected a memorial chapel at Towton, where prayers were
to be offered up for the souls of the fallen. It was standing in
Leland's time, but there is now no vestige of this pious work of King
Richard III.[9]
[1] Mr. Green, in his _History of the English People_, places the time
of Warwick's killing his horse 'at one critical moment' during the
battle of Towton. But the evidence that this act of folly was
perpetrated owing to the panic after the surprise at Ferrybridge is
quite conclusive.
[2] Hall has _Dintingdale_, Habington spells it _Dindingdale_, Baker
has _Dandingdale_. There is no such place on the maps. But Whitaker,
in his _History of Craven_, says that the Rev. F. Wilkinson, Vicar of
Bordsey, discovered the almost forgotten name of Dittingdale, as that
of a dell or small valley in Scarthingwell Park.
[3] Leland says that the Earl of Westmoreland was killed, and buried
within Saxton Church. Hall also includes the Earl of Westmoreland
among the slain. They mistook him for Sir John Nevill. The Earl
himself did not die until 1485. Sharon Turner and later writers repeat
the blunder. The Earl of Westmoreland was not in the battle.
[4] Mr. Green says that 'the Duke of Norfolk came with a fresh force
from the eastern counties.' The Duke came from Pomfret, having left
London with the King. Sharon Turner says: 'We owe the remarkable fact
of the battle beginning at four o'clock in the afternoon and continuing
through the night, and of Norfolk's coming up the next clay at noon to
Hearne's fragment.' This fragment was transcribed by Hearne from an
old manuscript, but not older than Hall's _Chronicle_. The statement
that the battle began at four on Saturday afternoon and went on through
the night, not only contradicts Hall and Stow, but is also impossible.
Edward's army could not have got over the ground in time to begin the
battle at four in the afternoon. Possibly the mistake of the anonymous
writer of Hearne's fragment arose from having been told that Lord
Fauconberg came in sight of the Lancastrian army at twilight. It was
not the twilight of Saturday afternoon, but of Palm Sunday morning, as
Hall explains.
[5] _Loidis and Elmete_, p. 156. Dr. Whitaker says that the word
'_bur_' is very distinct in Glover's manuscript. It means an alder
tree, from the old Norse '_bur_' or '_baurr_.'
[6] Gairdner. Introduction to the _Paston Letters_, ii. p. xii.
[7] _Work and Wages_, ii. 316.
[8] The Duke of Exeter was separated from his wife, and had no
children. The Duke of Somerset, who was beheaded, had six daughters,
and another was unmarried. But the House of Somerset was perpetuated
in that of Beaufort. A few new peerages became extinct because their
recipients did not marry, such as Egremont and Wenlock. But Lord
Egremont was a Percy, and the family of Percy continued to flourish.
No more peerages became extinct owing to the Wars of the Roses than
would have done so in a time of profound peace.
[9] There is a warrant for 40_l._ to be given for building the chapel
at Towton, dated November 28, 1483 (Harl. MSS., No. 413). In July
1488, an indulgence of forty days was granted _ad speciosam capellam in
villa de Toughton (per Saxton) de novo a fundamentis sumptuose et
nobiliter erectam, super quodam loco seu fondo ubi corpora procerum et
magnatum ac aliorum hominum multitudine copiosa in quodam bello in
campis circumjacentibus inito interfectorum sepeliuntur_. In December
1502 another indulgence of forty days was granted. The exact site of
the chapel is the garden behind Mr. Kendall's house.
{38}
CHAPTER IV
THE CROWN LOST AND WON--BATTLE OF BARNET
The young princes, George and Richard, were in Holland for about six
months, under the protection of the Duke of Burgundy. They resided at
Utrecht. Then the news came of Edward's accession, and the crowning
victory of Towton. The two boys were brought home again, and were soon
under their mother's immediate care, with their sister Margaret.
Immediately after the coronation, George was created Duke of Clarence;
and Richard Duke of Gloucester, Earl of Carlisle, and Earl of
Richmond,[1] a title which had merged in the crown after the attainder
of Edmund Tudor. Richard was created a Knight of the Garter in 1465.
In February 1466 his sword and helmet were placed in St. George's
Chapel, and he took possession of his stall in the following April.
His stall plate is now in the ninth stall on the south side of the
choir, in St. George's Chapel at Windsor. The arms are France and
England quarterly, with a silver label of three points, each ermine
with a canton gules. The crest is a crowned leopard gold, on a cap of
estate, with a label as in the arms, round his neck. The helm is
barred as used in the _melee_, the only one on the early plates, the
rest all being tilting helms.
{39}
The first public appearance of young Richard was on the occasion of his
father's solemn obsequies. The Duke of York's body, and that of his
son Edmund Earl of Rutland, had to be conveyed from Pomfret to
Fotheringhay, and the Duke of Gloucester, then in his fourteenth year,
was appointed by the King to be chief mourner. On July 22, 1466, the
bodies of Richard Duke of York, and of his son, Edmund Earl of Rutland,
were taken from their temporary resting place at Pomfret, and placed in
a chariot covered with black velvet, richly embroidered with cloth of
gold. At the feet of the Duke stood the figure of an angel clothed in
white, bearing a crown of gold, to signify that of right he was a king.
The chariot was drawn by four horses trapped to the ground. Every
horse carried a man, and upon the foremost rode Sir John Skipwith, who
bore the Duke's banner displayed. Bishops and abbots, in their robes,
went two or three miles in front, to prepare the churches for the
reception of the bodies.'[2] The boy Duke of Gloucester followed next
after the chariot, accompanied by noblemen and heralds. In this order
they left Pomfret and rested that night at Doncaster. Thence they
proceeded by easy stages to Blythe, Tuxford, Newark, Grantham, and
Stamford. On Monday, July 27, the procession arrived at Fotheringhay.
The bodies were carried into the church by servants of the deceased,
and received by the King and his Court in deep mourning.
Edward IV. built a magnificent shrine in the choir, over the tombs of
his father and brother, and completed the works of the college,
including the cloister.[3]
{40}
There is reason to believe that the young Duke of Gloucester received
his knightly training in the use of arms from the age of fourteen, in
the household of his cousin the Earl of Warwick. There are payments to
the Earl for costs and expenses incurred by him on account of Richard,
the King's brother. Here he was the companion of Francis Lovel and
Robert Percy, for both of whom he formed a friendship which ended only
with death. Here too he was the playfellow of his cousin Anne Nevill,
and an attachment was probably then formed between them, which was
destined to bear fruit in after years. We find Richard and Anne
sitting together at the installation feast of her uncle the Archbishop
of York in 1467.
Richard was short in stature, with a delicate fragile frame, the right
shoulder being slightly higher than the left. But he had been inured
to warlike exercises, and was fond of hunting and all manly sports. He
had light brown hair and a very handsome face, full of energy and
decision, yet with a gentle and even melancholy expression when the
features were at rest.[4]
{41}
While Richard was receiving a knightly education in the north, his
brother Edward was conducting his own and the country's affairs
recklessly and without wisdom. The secret marriage ceremony he went
through with the widow of Lord Grey of Groby, and her subsequent
coronation, had estranged the nobles, and their disgust was increased
by the promotion and enrichment of her Woodville relations. The Earl
of Warwick, the cousin and formerly the supporter of Edward, became the
chief among the malcontents. He married his daughter Isabella to the
Duke of Clarence, without the King's consent or knowledge, and
afterwards fostered and encouraged disturbances and insurrections. At
last he went to France with Clarence, and made an agreement with
Margaret of Anjou to restore Henry VI. to the throne. Finally he
returned to England, with the Duke of Clarence, as an open enemy of
King Edward. Troops rapidly flocked to his standard, and the country
was lost and won as if by magic.
Warwick had used all his arts of persuasion to induce the younger
brothers of the King to be false to their allegiance. With Clarence he
succeeded; but Richard never wavered for a moment. His loyalty to his
brother was not to be shaken. There is something very touching in the
unalterable affection between Edward and Richard. In Edward, from the
time when he used to visit his little brother every day in Paston's
chambers, to the hour of his death, there was a loving protection and a
solicitude for the lad's welfare which was shown in many ways. On the
part of Richard there was loyalty and zeal for his elder {42} brother's
service as well as warm affection. His motto was
'LOYAULTE ME LIE.'[5]
(Loyalty bindeth me.)
From the moment that Warwick became a traitor, Richard was constantly
by his brother's side, sharing his long marches,[6] his dangers and
hardships. When Warwick landed and proclaimed the restoration of Henry
VI., King Edward summoned his forces to assemble at Doncaster,
particularly relying on the Marquis Montagu, Warwick's brother, in
whose loyalty he implicitly believed. Edward related to the historian
Comines the events immediately preceding his flight from the kingdom.
He was in a fortified house with his friends, to which the only access
was a bridge, and the troops were quartered in the villages near.
Suddenly news arrived that Montagu and others were riding among his
soldiers shouting for Henry. Edward hastily put on his armour and sent
a body of faithful adherents to defend the bridge. There was nothing
left but flight. Accompanied by his brother Richard and a few loyal
friends the King galloped off, leaving Lord Hastings to gain time by
defending the bridge. Hastings made some terms for his followers with
Montagu, and then followed his master. Reaching Lynn, in Norfolk, the
fugitives found two Dutch vessels on the point of sailing. They
immediately went on board without other clothes than _leurs habillemens
de guerre_.[7] The brothers were accompanied in their flight by Lords
Hastings, Rivers, and Saye, and a few faithful knights. Narrowly
escaping capture by an Easterling ship, they landed near Alkmaar {43}
in North Holland. A gown lined with martens was the only thing of
value wherewith King Edward could pay his passage; and he was saved
from capture by the Easterlings through the intervention of the Sieur
Louis de Bruges, Lord of Gruthuus, who received the fugitives with
generous hospitality and conducted them to The Hague. King Edward and
his host were brother Knights of the Golden Fleece, an obligation which
the lord of Gruthuus most fully recognised. He gave up his great house
at Bruges for the use of the exiled princes, who resided there during
the ensuing winter, and he also lent them his chateau of Oostcamp.
From Bruges, King Edward and his brother proceeded to the court of the
Duke of Burgundy at St. Pol, to seek for aid in recovering the crown of
England. Charles the Bold publicly declined to interfere, and the
Lancastrian Duke of Somerset hurried to London with the good news. But
Charles had been married, in 1468, to the Princess Margaret of York,
who was devotedly attached to her brothers. She opened a
correspondence with the Duke of Clarence in England, to induce him to
return to his allegiance. Through her influence, the aid which had
been withheld publicly was given in secret. She smoothed all
difficulties, and enabled her brothers to undertake their romantic
enterprise. For Edward was resolved to recover his crown, and Richard,
from this time, was his efficient lieutenant.
Richard's services in Flanders, and especially in fitting out the
expedition, secured for him the full confidence of his brother. The
ships had to be equipped very secretly and with great care. The
Duchess Margaret had procured a grant of 15,000 florins, and permission
to get ready four ships of Flanders and thirteen {44} hired
Easterlings[8] which were to be at Edward's service until he should
land in England, and for fifteen days afterwards. The next step was
the selection of a seaport where the expedition could be quietly fitted
out. The Lord of Gruthuus again proved a friend in need. He had
married Margaret, the sister of Henry van Borselle, Lord of the island
of Walcheren. The traditions of the family of Borselle were adverse to
the House of Lancaster, for Francis van Borselle was the lover, and
eventually the husband, of that unfortunate Jacoba of Holland who was
treated so shamefully by Humphrey Duke of Gloucester. The excellent
ports of Veere and Flushing were, therefore, placed at Edward's
disposal.
The expedition was fitted out in the port of Veere, under the
protection of Henry van Borselle. Besides the King and young Richard,
Lords Hastings, Rivers, and Saye were the principal leaders. The
expeditionary force consisted of 900 men, in addition to the crews of
the ships. A select body of 300 Flemish gunners, armed with hand-guns,
formed part of the little army; and this is nearly the first time that
these new weapons are mentioned in English warfare. The men carried
slow matches, and are called 'smoky gunners' by Fabyan. Richard
actively helped in the preparation of this daring little expedition at
Veere; for by this time the King had learned to appreciate his
brother's remarkable ability and fitness for command.
By the end of February 1471, the ships were ready. They were brought
down the Channel from Veere to Flushing and the troops were embarked.
{45} But they had to wait nine days in Flushing Roads for a fair wind,
and it was not until Monday, March 11, that the gallant adventurers
sailed for the Norfolk coast. Edward was in one ship with Lord
Hastings, while his brother had a separate command in another vessel,
each being followed by a squadron of transports. It is probable that
the exiled King shaped a course for the coast of Norfolk in the hope
that the influence of the Duke, who was faithful to his cause, would
ensure him a cordial reception. But he was disappointed. Two knights,
named Sir Robert Chamberlain and Sir Gilbert Debenham, went on shore at
Cromer and found the country occupied by Warwick's adherents. Edward,
therefore, steered for Yorkshire, and encountered a gale of wind which
lasted from March 12 to 14, scattering his little squadron. When
Edward and Hastings anchored off Ravenspur,[9] on the Holderness coast,
no other vessel was in sight. The King landed and burnt his ship,
resolved to regain his crown or perish in the attempt.
Edward stood on that dreary waste of sand with 500 followers. The
look-out was black indeed. He had seen nothing of the other ships
since they were separated by the gale off Cromer. He sent scouts to
the adjacent villages, but not a man ventured to join his standard.
While hesitating what should be the next step, horsemen appeared over
the brow of a rising ground. The adventurers stood to their arms, but
a few minutes turned anxiety into joy. The young Duke of Gloucester
was seen to be at the head of a little force of 300 men. He had
effected a landing {46} at a point about four miles from Ravenspur, and
hurried to join his brother. Soon afterwards Lord Rivers, who had
reached the shore at a place called Pole, fourteen miles away, made his
appearance. Thus was the little force once more united. They marched
to Beverley and thence to York, but although armed men were seen, no
one either molested them or came to their assistance. There appears to
have been no ill-will among the people, but fear of the power of the
Earl of Warwick and a belief that Edward's cause was hopeless.
The authorities of York did not dare to receive Edward as King. It was
thought advisable that, at this stage, he should only claim his
hereditary dukedom.[10] This deceived no one, but it would enable the
mayor and aldermen of York to defend their conduct in the event of
Edward's overthrow. They received him into their town, gave him
supplies, and next day he marched southwards to Tadcaster.
The campaign by which Edward regained the crown was one of the most
brilliant that has ever been conducted by an English general. It
elicited proofs of consummate military skill from the Yorkist princes,
and displays of valour and presence of mind in action which were never
surpassed by any of their race. Edward IV. is entitled to an equal
place as a military commander with Edward III. or Henry V. His
strategy and resource were superior to those of either. He never lost
a battle, though he never {47} declined a combat. In three short
months from the time that he landed with a handful of men on the coast
of Holderness, he had outwitted and out-manoeuvred his opponents, had
won two pitched battles, and had recovered his crown. Richard deserves
scarcely less credit. He was only eighteen, yet he contributed largely
to the success of the campaign, while in battle his brother entrusted
the young prince with important separate commands.
Edward's little band of adventurers was opposed by the whole resources
of England in the hands of the Earl of Warwick. The Earl himself was
posted with a strong force at Coventry. His brother Montagu occupied
an advanced position at Pomfret to intercept the invaders on their
southward march. The Earl of Oxford was advancing from the Eastern
counties, and Clarence from London. By a masterly flank march the King
passed to the westward of Pomfret and reached Nottingham, leaving
Montagu in his rear baffled and outwitted. At Nottingham loyal men
began to flock to the King's standard. The Earl of Oxford and Duke of
Exeter had advanced against him from the Eastern counties, but the
rumoured increase of his forces made them halt at Newark. The King
pressed onwards to Leicester, and marching thence to Coventry, offered
battle to the Earl of Warwick, who was behind the walls with 7,000 men.
Warwick declined. He was taken completely by surprise. This was on
March 29, only a fortnight after Edward had landed. Without losing a
moment the royal army marched on to Warwick, and on the approach of
Clarence from London, his brothers encamped in a field three miles on
the road to Banbury.
{48}
The negotiations between King Edward and Clarence were conducted
throughout by their younger brother Richard, and to him is due the
credit of the reconciliation which took place. He thus restored one
brother to his throne, and reclaimed the other from dishonour. The
defection of Clarence left no enemy between the King and his capital.
Edward reached Daventry on the night of April 6, attending divine
service there on Palm Sunday. On the 9th he was at Northampton, and on
the 11th he entered London, where he was joyfully received by the
citizens.
Warwick was outwitted like his brother. There was nothing left for him
but to follow the King, who could give him battle or not as he chose.
So the baffled Earl concentrated his army, calling up Montagu from
Pomfret, Vere and Exeter from Newark, and Somerset from the west.
Having united his forces he marched towards London, reaching St. Albans
on the 12th, and encamping on Gladmore Heath to the north of Barnet,
and about ten miles from London, on the afternoon of April 13.
[Sidenote: Battle of Barnet]
The King only had one full day in London, in which to organise his
little army, now increased to 9,000 men, and to rest the faithful few
who had marched with him from Ravenspur. He entered London on the
11th, and in the forenoon of the 13th he marched out to encounter his
enemies. Advancing to Barnet his scouts drove out the scouts of
Warwick and chased them for half a mile. The King then marched through
the town, and reached Gladmore Heath when it was dusk. He encamped
much nearer the enemy than he intended, and by reason of the darkness
his line was not formed directly in front of the opposing force. {49}
The King's right extended beyond Warwick's left, while his left was
similarly overlapped by Warwick's right. In one respect this was
fortunate, for Warwick's artillery was in his right wing, and he kept
up a fire all through the night[11] without doing any damage to his
adversaries, because their left wing was not posted in front of the
rebel right wing; but somewhat to the eastward of it.
Warwick had drawn up his army with his brother Montagu and John Vere,
son of the attainted Earl of Oxford, in charge of the right wing
consisting mainly of cavalry; the Duke of Somerset in the centre with
archers and bill-men; and Warwick himself, with the Duke of Exeter, in
command of the left wing. The opposing force of the King was inferior
in numbers to that of the rebels. Edward, accompanied by Clarence and
Henry VI., commanded the centre in person. On the left was Lord
Hastings, while young Richard Duke of Gloucester, who was only eighteen
years of age, had charge of the right wing. A strong body of infantry
was kept in reserve. The King ordered strict silence to be observed
throughout the night.
When the morning of Easter Sunday, April 14, at length dawned there was
a dense fog, so that the two armies could barely distinguish each
other. At half-past four the King advanced his standards, and sounded
his trumpets for battle. There were flights of arrows, and then the
opposing forces closed and encountered each other with hand strokes, in
the thick mist. For a long time it was impossible for the leaders to
know what was taking place in different parts of the field. Oxford
found little to oppose him. He charged the {50} followers of Lord
Hastings and easily routed them, continuing the chase beyond Barnet.
Then he returned to reinforce the main body; but here a fatal mistake
occurred. The cognizance of King Edward was the sun in splendour,
adopted after seeing the parhelion at Mortimer's Cross. The cognizance
of the Veres was a star with rays.[12] When the soldiers of Warwick's
centre, under Somerset, saw a fresh body of men approaching under the
banner of the star, they mistook it for the King's cognizance and
thought they were attacked in flank. A cry of treason ran through
their ranks. Up to this time they had stubbornly resisted the
onslaughts of King Edward and his men, but now they broke and fled.
Somerset and Vere rode away with their men, and made good their escape.
Meanwhile the Duke of Gloucester had led his troops to a furious attack
on the enemy's left wing which was commanded by Warwick in person. The
Duke himself plunged into the thickest of the fight. His two esquires,
John Milwater[13] and Thomas Parr, were slain by his side. At the
moment when the fate of the battle was still uncertain, and when the
King heard that his young brother was hard pressed, the reserves were
brought into action, just as Somerset's division began to waver.
Victory then ceased to be {51} doubtful, and soon there was complete
rout all along the rebel line. The Earl of Warwick and his brother
Montagu fell either in the battle or in attempting to escape. The
accounts vary. Though enemies and traitors to the royal brothers, they
were cousins, and had once been devoted friends. The King sincerely
mourned the death of Montagu, and the depth of Richard's sorrow is
proved by his subsequent intercession for Montagu's heirs. The bodies,
after being laid for two days in St. Paul's Cathedral, were honourably
interred in the burial place of their mother's family at Bisham. The
losses on the King's side included Lord Saye, who had shared Edward's
exile, Humphrey Bourchier Lord Cromwell,[14] another Sir Humphrey
Bourchier,[15] son of Lord Berners, and the son and heir of Lord
Mountjoy. The losses, on both sides, {52} amounted to about 1,500
men.[16] King Edward and the Duke of Gloucester returned to London the
same day, while their army rested for the night on the battlefield.
[1] _Rot. Parl._ vol. vi. p. 227. Halsted, i. 432.
[2] Sandford, p. 391.
[3] The tombs were desecrated in the time of Edward VI., when the
college was granted to John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. Queen
Elizabeth gave orders that they should be restored. The bones of
Richard Duke of York, of the Duchess Cicely, and of Edmund Earl of
Rutland, lapped in lead, were removed into the parish church. For the
choir, where they rested under the beautiful shrine, had been
destroyed. Mean monuments of plaster were then erected over them, and
over the remains of Edward Duke of York, on either side of the altar.
They are specimens of the taste of the Elizabethan age, fluted columns
supporting a frieze and cornice, ornamented with the falcon and
fetter-lock. In the inscriptions they have forgotten the name of young
Edmund Earl of Rutland.
[4] Portrait at Windsor Castle. Dr. Parr, in a letter to Roscoe,
speaking of the head of Lorenzo (the Magnificent) prefixed to Roscoe's
biography, says: 'I am very much mistaken if, by invigorating a few
traits, it would not make an excellent head of Richard III.'--_Life of
Roscoe_, i. 178.
[5] Buck, p. 83.
[6] _Paston Letters_, ii. 357, 389.
[7] Comines.
[8] The ships of the towns belonging to the Hanseatic League, in the
Baltic, and on the Elbe, were known in England by the name of
Easterlings.
[9] Ravenspur appears, from the description of the writer in Fleetwood,
to have been inside Spurn Head. He says: 'He landed within Humber on
Holderness side, at a place called Ravenspoure.'
[10] The Tudor chroniclers, as is their wont, grossly exaggerate and
misrepresent this incident: introducing imaginary details, including an
oath before an altar, vows of allegiance to Henry VI., and other
romances. These are the offspring of their zeal to please their Tudor
paymasters, by traducing the House of York.
[11] Warkworth says that: 'each of them loosed guns at other all
night.' Balls have been dug up weighing 1-1/2 lbs.
[12] The second Alberic de Vere, father of the first Earl of Oxford,
was a crusader. In 1098 he was in a battle near Antioch when the
infidels were defeated. During the chase, a silver star of five points
was seen to descend from heaven and light on Alberic's shield, there
shining excessively. It had ever since been borne in the first quarter
of the Vere arms. This is the old tradition. Modern heralds suspect
that the mullet was merely a mark of cadency adopted by the second
brother of the second Earl, who retained it when he became third Earl.
[13] Mentioned in the letter of Edward and Edmund to their father.
[14] Ralph Cromwell, fourth Baron Cromwell, who was Lord Treasurer for
Henry VI., and was the builder of Tattershall Castle, died childless in
1455. His sister Maud married Sir Richard Stanhope and had a daughter
Maud, whose husband Sir Humphrey Bourchier, third son of Henry
Bourchier Earl of Essex, by the Princess Isabel Plantagenet (aunt of
Edward IV.), took the title of Lord Cromwell _jure uxoris_. This Lord
Cromwell seems to have been a student of law as well as a soldier.
There is a manuscript copy of the statutes of Edward III. in the
Hunterian Library of Glasgow University which once belonged to him. At
the beginning there is the following entry: '_Eximii et preclari
militis liber, Johannis Markham capitalis just, de B. Regis, Liber
Humfredi Bourchier dmus Cromwell ex dono supradicti_'; and at the end:
'_This boke is mine Humphrey Bourchier Lord Cromwell by the gift of the
right noble and famous judge Sir John Markham Chief Justice of the
King's Bench_.'
[15] Sir John Bourchier, fourth son of William Bourchier Earl of Eu, by
Anne, daughter of Thomas Duke of Gloucester, married the heiress of Sir
Richard Berners, and was summoned to Parliament as Lord Berners in 1455
to 1472. The second Humphrey Bourchier who was slain at Barnet was his
son. Fabyan and Habington call him 'Lord Barnes.'
[16] Fabyan gives the number at 1,500. Habington says 4,600. Hall is
unreliable as usual. He says 10,000 on both sides. Although some
writers say that the King's army was superior in numbers, it is
probable that, while Edward only had 9,000 men, the forces of Warwick
were very much more numerous.
{53}
CHAPTER V
MARGARET OF ANJOU AND HER SON EDWARD
It is necessary to look back a few years in order to consider the lives
of the mother and son who now, for a time, come prominently into
connection with the life story of Richard Duke of Gloucester.
Margaret, second daughter of Rene of Anjou and Isabelle of Lorraine,
was born at Pont-a-Mousson on March 23, 1429, and baptized at Toul. As
a child she went with her mother to Capua and Naples. Provence was
also one of her homes, but she returned to Lorraine in her fifteenth
year. She was only sixteen when the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk came
to Nancy to demand her hand for Henry VI. of England, and in November
1444 she was married by proxy amidst great rejoicings; for the event
secured a lasting peace with France. There was a great tournament in
the Place de Carriere at Nancy to celebrate the event, at which Charles
VII. and many of the chief nobles of France were present. Charles
tilted with King Rene, bearing on his shield the serpent of the fairy
Melusina. The daisy was young Margaret's cognizance, and Pierre de
Breze, Lord of Varenne, and Seneschal of Normandy, maintained the
pre-eminence of the 'daisye flower' against all comers in the Place de
Carriere.[1] This was {54} no passing sentiment. Two at least in that
brilliant throng remained true to the fair princess to the bitter end,
Pierre de Breze and the Duchess of Suffolk.
Margaret was not only very beautiful, she was endowed with rare gifts
of intellect, which had been cultivated by travel in Italy and
Provence, and through communion with her accomplished father. She set
out for England attended by the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk and a train
of nobles. On her way she supped with the Duke of York at Mantes, and
reached Honfleur on April 3, 1445. Thence she sailed across to
Portsmouth, where she slept at the Maison Dieu. She was then taken in
a row-boat to Southampton, but her marriage was delayed for some time
by an illness. Henry VI., who was in his twenty-fourth year,[2] had
been waiting for his bride at Southwick. The marriage took place at
Titchfield Abbey on May 30.
Never was a young girl placed in a more wretched position. Married to
a poor feeble creature who could be neither companion nor protector,
surrounded by self-seeking intriguers, living in a foreign country with
few to sympathise with or care for her; the years that followed her
marriage could not fail to embitter the brave heart that no misfortune
had power to crush. For years she lived on, the memories of the bright
and happy court of her father gradually fading, while the cruel facts
of her miserable position hardened round her.
It was in the eighth year after her marriage that Margaret became a
mother. Her whole soul opened to the loving influence. All her
pent-up womanly feelings found a vent. She at last had something to
live for. Her brilliant intellect, her fortitude and {55} devotion,
her great powers of endurance, all she had, her whole being, became
centred in this child--the one thing she had to love. For him she
would face dangers, dare more than most men in perils and hardships,
and, if need be, would become as a tigress at bay in defence of her
young.
The prince was born at Westminster on October 13, 1453, being just one
year younger than Richard. It was at a time when Henry VI. was in one
of his fits of complete mental derangement which came upon him
periodically, as they did upon his grandfather Charles VI. of France,
from whom no doubt he inherited them. The Duke of York was
administering the realm. The child was proclaimed Prince of Wales and
Earl of Chester. His mother was just twenty-four, and Henry was in his
thirty-third year. The Queen had lost her mother, to whom she was
fondly attached, on the previous February 28. In hopes that the name
would endear her boy to the people, Margaret gave him that of Edward.
He was baptized by Cardinal Kemp, Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by
Waynflete of Winchester, the Duke of Somerset and Duchess of
Buckingham[3] being sponsors. He was also created a Knight of the
Garter.
From his very cradle the child was in the midst of war and turmoil.
The misgovernment of the Beauforts had strengthened the legitimate
claim of the Duke of York, which would never have had a chance against
the parliamentary title of an able and popular king. But the Yorkists
now had to reckon with the gifted and intrepid Queen, whose whole soul,
and whose every gift of mind and body, were concentrated with fierce
devotion {56} on the defence of her child's birthright. Nothing but
death could make her desist from efforts on his behalf.
Young Edward was only in his second year when the first battle of St.
Albans was fought, on May 22, 1455. His mother had taken him to
Greenwich, where she received the news of the death of Somerset and her
other supporters, and of the wound received by Henry. During the
following four years there were hollow reconciliations, but a death
struggle was inevitable; and in June 1459 the court left London for
Warwick, virtually to take the field. The child Edward was only five
years old. He was destined never to see London again.
Margaret strove to make the child popular with the people, and to
excite a feeling of loyalty for him. He was named Edward to remind
them of the king who added to the glory of England at Cressy and
Poitiers. She adopted the badge of Edward III. as that of the Prince,
and the pretty little boy, with long golden hair, distributed silver
swans among the people wherever he went. The Queen could not bear him
out of her sight, yet her dauntless eagerness would not allow her to be
absent from scenes of strife, when her child's future depended on the
result. Mother and child looked down on the battle of Blore Heath from
the tower of Muccleston Church, and when Lord Audley was routed they
fled to Eccleshall Castle. Then there were a few months of dawning
hope, which was crushed at Northampton. Again Margaret watched the
fortunes of the day with her child. She heard of the treachery of
Grey, she saw the gallant young Edward of York leading his men over the
trenches, and that the day was lost. The King fell into the hands of
her enemies.
On the evening of that July 9, 1460, she rode away {57} with her
beloved child, a homeless fugitive. Between Eccleshall and Chester she
was made prisoner by a party led by one John Cleger, a servant of Lord
Stanley. Every instinct was on the alert when danger approached her
child. She watched an opportunity while her captors were rifling the
baggage, and escaped with little Edward in her arms. The adventures
through which they passed are not recorded, but she was eventually
joined by the Duke of Somerset, who conducted her to a safe refuge at
Harlech Castle in Wales.
The Duke of York, with Henry in his power, induced the Parliament to
alter the succession, and the claims of Henry's son were ignored.
Henry VI. wrote a letter to his wife, ordering her to accept the new
settlement, and to join him in London with her child. This must have
been one of the bitterest moments of her unhappy life. But no reverse
could daunt this romantic heroine. She went by sea from Harlech to
Scotland, and thence called upon all her supporters in the north to
rally round the standard of King Henry. Margaret's appeal met with a
prompt answer, and on the last day of the year 1460 the Duke of York
lost his life at Wakefield, overwhelmed by superior numbers. The road
was thus open to London, and Margaret made a vigorous effort to recover
the birthright of her child. On February 17, 1461, she won the second
battle of St. Albans and recovered the person of her husband; but she
failed to induce the citizens of London to open their gates to her, and
was obliged to retreat northwards. The Queen and her child appear to
have been in the thick of the fight; and this was the third battle at
which Edward had been present before he had reached his eighth year.
The royal party retreated to York, while preparations {58} were made
for the final and decisive struggle between the two factions. On March
4, 1461, the young Earl of March was proclaimed King, and on the 29th
he won the crowning victory of Towton.
Queen Margaret, with her husband and child, had remained at York, and
there she received the news of the destruction of her hopes. There was
nothing left for her but instant and rapid flight. The fugitives from
Towton told her to mount at once, and the unhappy family, with a few
faithful friends, galloped out of Bootham Bar, and plunged into the
forest of Galtres. The Dukes of Somerset and Exeter and Lord Roos
attended them. They escaped to Berwick and thence to Edinburgh, where
Henry found a suitable abode with the Grey Friars. Margaret passed the
following winter in Scotland, but in the spring, seeing no present hope
from her English adherents, who appeared to be crushed, she resolved to
seek help from abroad. Taking the little prince with her, she sailed
from Kirkcudbright in April 1462, and landed in Brittany, whence she
proceeded to the court of her cousin Louis XI., who was then at Chinon.
It was resolved that some assistance should be given to the undaunted
heroine in men and money. Her old champion Pierre de Breze now flew to
the succour of the forlorn Margaret in her distress. He organized an
expedition, and in October 1462 he sailed to the coast of
Northumberland with the Queen and her son. They landed at Tynemouth,
but the foreign levies were repulsed and fled to their ships,
abandoning de Breze and the Queen. The fugitives were afterwards cut
to pieces by troops under Sir Robert Ogle when they landed at Holy
Island. De Breze, with Margaret and her child, escaped from Tynemouth
in a fishing boat and, after a {59} perilous voyage, they landed safely
at Berwick, which was then a Scottish port.
In Scotland there was but a cold welcome for Queen Margaret. It was
necessary to make her way to Bamborough, which still held out for her,
and there, abandoning present hope, the Queen and her child embarked to
commence a life of exile in April 1463. They were accompanied by a
band of faithful friends who would not desert them in their extremity.
Chief among them was the Lord Chief Justice, Sir John Fortescue.
The Duke of Somerset, now a double-dyed traitor, with Sir Hugh Percy
and others then rose in rebellion, and captured the castles of Alnwick
and Bamborough. The Marquis Montagu, followed by Edward IV. in person,
advanced rapidly from the south to put down the new insurrection. On
April 25, 1464, the insurgents were defeated at Hedgley Moor, and soon
afterwards the rest of Somerset's forces entrenched themselves near
Hexham. Poor Henry was brought from Edinburgh, where he was quite
contented with his Grey Friars, to the camp. The entrenchments were
thrown up on Lyvel's plain, near Dowelwater, and Somerset awaited the
attack. On May 8, 1464, Montagu came in sight, assaulted the position,
and, after a desperate resistance, carried it with great slaughter.
The Duke of Somerset, Lords Roos and Hungerford were taken and
beheaded, Henry galloped off on a swift horse in the direction of the
Scottish Border. He concealed himself in the west of Yorkshire for a
year, but was captured at Bolton Hall in June 1465 and taken to the
Tower.[4]
{60}
Meanwhile, Queen Margaret encountered a furious gale of wind which
lasted for twelve hours, but her vessel at length reached the Flemish
port of Sluys. Thence she proceeded by Lille and Hesdin to the Court
of the Duke of Burgundy at St. Pol. Here the exiles were hospitably
received and supplied with money, and, after some stay, they went on to
the castle of Koeur-la-Petite near St. Mihiel, on the Meuse. King Rene
had assigned this castle as the residence of his daughter and grandson,
with their followers.
No boy who had only reached his eleventh year ever went through such
vicissitudes as Edward of Lancaster. He had been at four pitched
battles, had ridden over hundreds of miles, had been seized by robbers,
had wandered in trackless forests, had passed many nights on the bare
ground, and in open boats. He had made hairbreadth escapes, and had
suffered privations and hardships. Few children could have survived
such a life. He must have had a robust frame combined with the high
courage of his race. Through all, and protecting him at every step, he
had his heroic mother as his companion; surrounding and pervading his
life with her devoted love. Such experiences must have left a deep
impression on the boy's character. It was a wild and turbulent opening
for the young life, but now at last there was to be a brief interval of
rest. For a few years he was to live more peaceably, receiving
instruction and enjoying some pleasures, before destiny hurried him to
a violent death.
St. Mihiel is a small town on the right bank of the Meuse, in the
diocese of Verdun and Duchy of Bar. Near it there are enormous rocks
overhanging the river, called Les Falaises de St. Mihiel. In the
fifteenth {61} century there was cultivation along the river banks,
while extensive forests covered the Argonne mountains further back.
Nearly opposite St. Mihiel, on the left bank of the river, was the old
castle of Koeur-la-Petite, which Rene gave to his daughter Margaret[5];
and he contributed to her support as far as his narrow means would
allow. Here she dwelt for the five succeeding years, watching the
growth and education of her boy, and enjoying more happiness than she
had known since her ill-fated marriage. She was within a few miles of
Pont-a-Mousson, the place of her birth, and often saw her beloved
father, and her sister Iolanthe.
Young Edward was devoted to field sports and martial exercises. His
companions were the sons of knights and esquires who had remained
faithful to his mother; and he loved to gallop with them over the
valley, and to exercise with sword and lance. So much of his time was
passed in these outdoor exercises that, as his years increased, the
graver advisers of his mother began to think that he should give rather
more of his attention to the acquisition of learning.
Among the exiles was the most learned and accomplished lawyer who sat
on the English bench during the fifteenth century, and the young prince
enjoyed the advantage of his companionship and instruction. John
Fortescue of Ebrington was born in 1394, was educated at Exeter
College, and became Lord Chief Justice in 1442. Considering the
parliamentary title of the Lancastrian King not only good in itself,
but even better than a merely hereditary title, he became a steady
adherent of Margaret of Anjou. He wrote a treatise supporting the
claim of the Lancastrians on principles of constitutional law; while
his presence in {62} their camp gave judicial countenance to the appeal
to arms. During his exile he mainly resided at St. Mihiel, in
attendance on the little court of Koeur-la-Petite, and superintended
the education of the prince. He was anxious to impart a knowledge of
England and of English constitutional law to a prince who might some
day have to rule over freedom-loving Englishmen, but who left his
country when he was too young to recollect much about it. Fortescue
has related the occasion of these studies being commenced, and the
progress that was made.
'The Prince,' says the aged Chief Justice, 'as he grew up, applied
himself wholly to martial exercises. He was often mounted on fiery and
wild horses which he did not fear to urge on with the spur. Sometimes
with his lance, sometimes with his sword, he made it his diversion to
assault the young gentlemen, his attendants, according to the rules of
military discipline.' In this Sir John Fortescue encouraged him, but
he also urged him to study law, quoting Deuteronomy xvii. 18, 19. The
boy replied that, although he ought to read the Divine law, it did not
follow that he should study human laws. He said this thoughtfully, and
looking very intently at the old judge. Fortescue answered that human
laws were also sacred, that they were no other than rules whereby the
perfect notion of justice could be determined, and that this justice
must be the subject of the royal care. Quoting Wisdom i. 1, he said,
'Be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Love righteousness, ye judges
of the earth. To love justice,' he concluded, 'you must acquire a
competent knowledge of the laws.' Prince Edward was convinced by the
discourse of his venerable tutor. He said, 'You have overcome me, good
Chancellor, with your {63} agreeable discourse, and have kindled within
my breast a thirst for a knowledge of the law.' The boy candidly
confessed that he did not wish to pass all his younger years in such
studies. Then Sir John Fortescue explained to him the amount of legal
knowledge that was necessary for a prince. In one year he could
acquire sufficient acquaintance with the laws of England, and at the
same time he could continue to inure himself to those martial exercises
to which his natural inclination prompted him so much. 'Still make
your diversion as it best please you, at your leisure,' said the tutor.
After this conversation, the aged judge of seventy-five and the young
prince of fifteen devoted some hours of each day to a study of the
English Constitution. These lectures, in the form of dialogues, were
afterwards embodied by Fortescue in a treatise entitled 'De Laudibus
legum Angliae,' which was first printed in 1537. Edward began by asking
his instructor to satisfy him that the laws of England were better
adapted for the government of that kingdom than the civil law of the
Holy Roman Empire. Fortescue proceeded to establish this point,
specially dwelling on the fact that the English statutes were not made
by the will of the Kings, but were enacted by the concurrent consent of
the whole people, by their representatives in Parliament. He then
explained the territorial division of England into counties, the duties
of sheriffs, the method of empannelling juries, the procedure in civil
and criminal causes. The boy approved highly of the system of trial by
jury, the jurors being men chosen from among neighbours who knew the
country and people. 'I know of myself,' he remarked, 'more certainly
what is doing at this time in the Barrois where I reside, than what is
doing in England.'
{64}
On another day the Chief Justice illustrated the good results of the
English Constitution by comparing the condition of England with that of
France ruled by a despotism. 'In the land of England,' he said, 'there
are no wolves nor bears. The grazing lands are enclosed with hedgerows
and ditches and planted with trees which fence the herds and flocks
from bleak winds and sultry heat. There are many franklins and yeomen,
of estates sufficient to make substantial juries, not a few spending
100_l._ a year and more. Other countries are not in such a happy
situation, and not so well stored with inhabitants.' The prince then
remarked that he could understand how the wealth and populousness of
England had been caused by the superior excellence of her laws. But a
doubt about the number of jurors had occurred to his youthful mind. He
said, 'Although this method of sifting out the truth highly pleases me,
yet there rests this doubt with me. Our blessed Saviour says: "It is
written in your law that the testimony of two men is true" (John viii.
17), and again in Matthew xviii. 16.' Fortescue answered that our jury
law did not contradict this, for if the testimony of two be true, _a
fortiori_ that of twelve ought to be presumed to be so. 'The more
always contains in it that which is less.' Besides in England some
cases may be proved before two only, such as facts occurring on the
high seas, and proceedings before the Lord Constable and Earl Marshal.
On another occasion, having previously shown that the prosperity of
England was due to laws agreed to by the people, Fortescue illustrated
the evils of despotic power by the condition of France. 'You will
remember,' he said, 'that you saw in France how the villages are {65}
so much oppressed by the King's soldiers that you could scarcely be
accommodated in your travels. The troops pay for nothing, and treat
the people barbarously if they are not satisfied. Thus the poor people
are exposed to great calamities. The King of France will allow no one
to use salt, but what is bought of himself at his own arbitrary price.
All growers of vines must give a fourth to the King. All the towns pay
the King great yearly sums for his men-at-arms; so that the peasants
live in great hardships and misery. They wear no woollen. Their
clothing consists of little short jerkins of sackcloth, no trowse but
from the knees upwards, and legs exposed and naked. The women all go
barefoot. The people eat not meat, except the fat of bacon in their
soup. Nor are the gentry much better off. If an accusation is brought
against them, they are examined in private, and perhaps never more
heard of.
'In England it is very different. No one can abide in another man's
house without his leave, or take his goods, except the King by his
purveyors at a reasonable price. The King cannot put on taxes, nor
alter the laws, nor make new ones. The English never drink water
except for penance. They eat all sorts of flesh and fish. They are
clothed throughout in good woollens; and are provided with all sorts of
household goods. An Englishman cannot be sued except before the
ordinary judge.' Having drawn this contrast between the French and
English, the old judge continued: 'These advantages are due to the
political mixed government which prevails in England. Those Kings who
have wished to change it preferred ambition, luxury, and impotent
passion to the good of the State. Remember that the king is given for
the sake of the kingdom, not the kingdom for the sake of the king.'
{66}
Edward, although he frequently intervened with pertinent questions,
showing that he was giving close attention to the subject, fully
concurred in the arguments of his tutor, and must have derived great
benefit from this course of studies. He was impressed with the duties
of an English king, with the limited character of his power, and with
the importance of a parliamentary title. Fortescue also began to
occupy the young Prince in the active transaction of affairs of State.
Edward himself wrote a despatch to Sir Thomas Butler, Earl of Ormonde,
who was in Portugal representing the cause of the House of Lancaster to
King Alfonso V.,[6] and he was acquainted with the proceedings of Sir
John Fortescue when he made journeys to the court of Louis XI.
The residence at Koeur-la-Petite lasted for five years, 1465-69. The
peaceful home was broken up through the treachery of the turbulent and
self-seeking Earl of Warwick. Exasperated with Edward IV., owing to
his marriage and connexion with the Woodville faction, Warwick had
resolved to abandon the cause with which he was connected by ties of
relationship and by life-long service. He had married his daughter
Isabel to the Duke of Clarence without the King's consent, and had
alienated that vacillating prince from his brother. He came to France
with the Countess, his two daughters Isabel and Anne, and Clarence: and
proposed to King Louis to espouse the cause of his cousin Margaret, and
to restore Henry to the throne. The fear of an alliance between Edward
IV. and the Duke of Burgundy caused Louis to entertain Warwick's
scheme. But it was most distasteful to Margaret. Much as she {67}
longed for the restoration to her child of his birthright, she found it
difficult to accept such aid. Warwick had not only been the most
inveterate enemy of her family, he had also made himself personally
odious to Margaret. He was now a double-dyed traitor. His motives
were transparently selfish, and she believed neither in his new-born
loyalty nor in his ability to help her. But the persuasions of Louis
XI. and of her own relations at length induced her to come to the
French court. The Queen and her son, attended by Sir John Fortescue
and their other faithful adherents, left the happy home in the lovely
valley of the Meuse in December 1469.
Margaret arrived at Tours, where the French court then was, accompanied
by Prince Edward, King Rene, her brother John of Calabria, her sister
Iolanthe, and her brother-in-law Ferry de Vaudemont. Warwick arrived
soon afterwards, and with much reluctance Margaret consented to an
interview. Negotiations were continued for several months; and on July
15 the court moved to Angers, where the Countess of Warwick and her
daughter Anne were in attendance.
Warwick asked that Prince Edward should marry his daughter Anne, as the
reward of his assistance. At first the Queen positively refused, but
she at last gave a conditional and very unwilling assent, moved by the
importunities of Louis XI. and her relations. The marriage was not to
take place until after Henry VI. was restored to the throne and, if
Warwick failed, the agreement was at an end. 'The said marriage shall
not be perfyted until the Earl of Warwick has recovered the realm of
England for King Henry.'[7] They were never married. They {68} were,
indeed, too young, Edward being seventeen, and Anne barely fourteen.[8]
Knowing the dislike of his mother to such a union, and strongly
prejudiced against it himself, it is not likely that Edward ever took
more notice of Warwick's child than ordinary courtesy required, if
indeed he ever saw her.
Queen Margaret made preparations for a voyage to England, where her
supporters were expected to rise in the western counties and Wales.
Warwick had preceded her by several months. Margaret was in her
forty-second year, and she had lost some of her buoyancy and vigorous
hopefulness with her youth. Still as determined as ever to assert the
rights of her son, she trembled for his safety. She got ready to
embark with feelings of deep anxiety and foreboding. Edward reached
his seventeenth birthday in October 1470, and in November Queen
Margaret and the Prince entered Paris, and were honoured with a grand
official reception. Edward was now a handsome lad of seventeen, with a
robust frame well seasoned by active outdoor life. He was tall for his
age, with the features of his mother, and long golden hair. He was a
good horseman and a practised man-at-arms. Well instructed in all the
literary culture of the time, and doubtless inheriting some of his
grandfather's love of poetry and romance, young Edward had also
carefully studied the constitution and laws of England. He was fully
convinced of the justice of his cause by the reasoning of one of the
ablest lawyers of the time, and the hereditary bravery of his race now
filled him with martial ardour. But he was still very young, and all
these qualities of head and heart were as yet only budding towards
maturity.
[1] Barante.
[2] Born in 1421.
[3] A Nevill. Sister of the Duchess of York.
[4] See _Archaeologia_, 47 (ii), p. 265. Margaret was not at the battle
of Hexham, and the robber story is a fabrication.
[5] Villeneuve, _Vie de Roi Rene_.
[6] Alfonso V. was a grandson of Queen Philippa, sister of Henry IV. of
England, therefore a second cousin of Henry VI.
[7] Ellis, _Original Letters_, Second Series, i. 132.
[8] Born June 11, 1456.
{69}
CHAPTER VI
THE BATTLE OF TEWKESBURY
There was long delay in the arrival of Queen Margaret in England with
reinforcements. She was prevented from sailing by contrary winds at
Harfleur. Three times the ships put to sea, and were forced to return.
The Countess of Warwick, with her daughter Anne, arrived first at
Portsmouth and, hearing of the death of her husband at Barnet soon
afterwards, she took sanctuary in Beaulieu Abbey. Queen Margaret with
her son Edward, Sir John Langstrother, Prior of St. John, Sir John
Fortescue, and many exiled knights landed at Weymouth on April 14, the
very day of the battle of Barnet.
Weymouth was then a small seaport with no suitable accommodation for so
large a concourse. The Queen, therefore, passing through Dorchester,
at once advanced fifteen miles northward from the sea coast, to the
Abbey of Cerne. Dr. Morton, who accompanied her, had once been a monk
at Cerne; and the Abbot was his old friend. This circumstance no doubt
led to the decision of Queen Margaret to seek the hospitality of Abbot
Roger Bemynster, and here she received tidings of the battle of Barnet,
a disaster which seemed fatal to her cause. At first she was
overwhelmed, and wished her boy to return to France. But in a few days
she was joined by Edmund Beaufort, {70} the last Duke of Somerset, and
his brother John. Somerset had commanded the archers at Barnet, but
had escaped and found his way to the Queen. Jasper Tudor,[1] the Earl
of Devonshire, and Lord Wenlock followed closely on the heels of
Somerset. They entreated her to persevere, assuring her that the west
of England was ready to rise in her support, and that levies had
actually been called out, with Exeter as the rendezvous. With some
reluctance she consented, and her gallant son entered upon the last
three weeks of his young life. Tudor was despatched to raise forces in
Wales. Margaret, with the rest of her adherents, left Cerne Abbey
after a stay of about ten days, marched to Exeter and thence, by
Taunton, Glastonbury and Wells, to Bristol. Fresh levies joined and
increased her forces as she advanced.
On April 16 King Edward heard that Queen Margaret had landed. He had
returned to London two days before, after his victory at Barnet. On
the 19th he went to Windsor and waited to collect men, celebrating the
feast of St. George there on the 23rd. He saw at once that the enemy
had only two courses: either to march on London and give him battle, or
to go northwards and unite with Tudor's levies in Wales. His policy
was to engage his adversaries as soon as possible, before they could be
reinforced. He was not likely to receive more support until he had
gained a decisive victory, and his position was established. Queen
Margaret's generals tried to deceive him by {71} sending detachments in
several directions; but his final conclusion was that they intended to
take a northerly direction, by crossing the Severn and marching into
Wales. This it was his intention to prevent.
The King left Windsor on April 24, accompanied by his brothers Clarence
and Gloucester, by Lords Hastings and Dorset, and by his old tutor
Richard Croft. He had some artillery, which caused him to proceed by
easy marches. A few reinforcements had arrived. Among them were forty
soldiers paid and clothed by the city of Norwich. On the 27th Edward
was at Abingdon, and on the 29th at Cirencester. He kept a somewhat
northerly line, so as to fall on the enemy's flank if a rush was made
at London. At Abingdon he heard that the Queen was at Wells. News
came to Cirencester that she would be at Bath next day, and then
advance to attack him. So he moved to meet her as far as Malmesbury.
Then the news arrived that she had gone to Bristol, and had resolved to
give him battle at Chipping Sodbury. Lancastrian parties had even been
sent to take ground on Sodbury Hill. On Thursday, May 2, the King
marched to Chipping Sodbury, but found no enemy. It was a feint. The
Lancastrians had gained a day on him, and were in full march to
Gloucester. It was now a race to the Severn. It was life and death to
the Lancastrian army to cross the river and join Tudor on the Welsh
border. It was equally life and death for King Edward to prevent it.
He encamped in a valley between the hill and Sodbury village on the
night of the 2nd, anxiously waiting for correct intelligence. At three
in the next morning he heard that the enemy was making a forced march
on Gloucester. Luckily the castle was held by Richard, son of Lord
{72} Beauchamp of Powyke, for the King. Edward sent a trusty
messenger, urging them to hold out, with the assurance that he was
following rapidly. The messenger arrived in time.
The Lancastrian army had marched all through the night from Bristol,
over the plain between the Cotswold Hills and the Severn. At ten in
the forenoon of May 3, the Queen's forces came before the gates of
Gloucester and summoned the place. Sir Richard Beauchamp manned the
walls and refused to surrender. There was no time to spare. It was
thought wiser to proceed to Tewkesbury without resting. They arrived
at Tewkesbury at about four in the afternoon of the same day. But the
troops had marched, during that day and the night before, a distance of
thirty-six miles without rest. The men were exhausted, and could go no
further. Margaret wanted them to pass over the Severn, but it was
represented to her that if they could cross the river the King could
follow, and attack them when they were worn out with fatigue. The
Queen was right. It was resolved, however, that the troops should
obtain some rest, and that a strong position should be taken up and
entrenched, outside the town of Tewkesbury. There was a bridge over
the Avon in those days, but none over the Severn at Tewkesbury.
Close to the first mile-post on the turnpike road, on the west side of
Tewkesbury, there is a range of elevated ground called Holme Hill,
where a castle once stood. The present workhouse is built on part of
the site. Close behind it there is a field called 'the Gastons,'[2]
and some ground laid out as a cemetery. {73} On the east side of the
road is Gupshill farm and gardens, and a field called 'Margaret's
camp.' The Lancastrian position included the Gastons and Gupshill,
with the abbey and the houses of the town immediately in the rear. It
is described as 'a place right evil to approach.'[3] Strong
entrenchments were thrown up in the front and both flanks, strengthened
by muddy lanes and ditches.
On the same morning of May 3, at early dawn, King Edward marshalled his
forces at Chipping Sodbury in three battalions, and prepared for a long
march, with scouts in front and on the flanks. His infantry numbered
3,000 men. It was a very hot day and he took a direct line over the
Cotswold Hills; rightly judging that the enemy, having failed before
Gloucester, would make for Tewkesbury. Thither, therefore, he marched
direct without a halt. The men found neither food nor even water,
except at one small brook. But the King allowed no rest. He reached
Cheltenham as the enemy got to Tewkesbury. At Cheltenham he served out
the rations that had been brought, the men having marched 28 miles.
Then he resumed the march, and at night he encamped within two miles of
the enemy's position, having marched over thirty-four miles.
At dawn on Saturday, May 4, 1471, the army of Queen Margaret prepared
to resist the assault of the King's forces. The van was commanded by
Edmund Duke of Somerset, and his brother Sir John {74} Beaufort. Young
Prince Edward was to lead the main battle, assisted by Lord Wenlock and
the Prior of St. John. The rear division was under the Earl of
Devonshire. Queen Margaret parted with her son that morning in deep
anxiety, for the first and alas! the last time. She retired to a small
religious house at Gupshill, with the Countess of Devonshire, the Lady
Vaux and other ladies.
King Edward[4] arranged his army in three divisions. Young Richard of
Gloucester[5] commanded the van guard with the artillery. The King
himself led the centre. Hastings and Dorset conducted the rear. The
King had observed a park with much wood to the right of the enemy's
position, and he posted 300 spearmen there, to act as occasion might
require. He then displayed his banners, blew his trumpets, and marched
straight on the entrenchments.
Gloucester found so many hedges and deep dikes in front of him that he
could not break into the enemy's line so as to come hand to hand. He
ordered up the artillery and, also using arrows, opened on Somerset's
division. Galled by the fire, Somerset then led his men down some
lanes on the King's flank, which he had previously reconnoitred, and
fell upon the troops of the Yorkist centre with great fury, driving
them backwards. He charged Gloucester with the same impetuosity, and
was in the full tide of success when, just as the King was rallying his
men, the select 300 spearmen from the wood attacked Somerset's rear and
caused a panic. This gave the King time to reform and resume the
fight. Somerset's {75} men now fell back, while the Duke of Gloucester
made a desperate assault on the Lancastrian centre, behind the
entrenchments. There was a short and gallant struggle, in which young
Prince Edward fleshed his maiden sword, and then the Lancastrians broke
in all directions. The rout was complete. The abbey water mills were
in a meadow close to the town, and here many fugitives were drowned.
There was a great slaughter in the 'Bloody Meadow' to the rear of the
Lancastrian position, for it leads to a ford or ferry over the Severn
called Lower Lode. But soon the King gave orders to spare the
fugitives.
The brave young Prince, who led the main battle of the Lancastrians,
bore himself valiantly, and played the man before his people in that
supreme moment of his life. Of that we need have no doubt. Borne away
in the rout, and followed closely by the victorious enemy, he was slain
between Gastons and Tewkesbury. The closing scene is dimly shown to
us. The horse is wounded and on its knees. Then the rider receives
his death blow from behind. The helmet had been struck off. The
bright golden locks sink down on the horse's mane,[6] and in another
moment horse and rider fall and are ridden over. Thus ended the life
of Sir Edward Plantagenet, K.G., Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester.
His age was seventeen years and six months. He was a boy of great
promise; courageous, intelligent, and affectionate. His short life
must have embraced a large share of happiness. Even during all the
dangers and hardships of his childhood, the loving arm of the devoted
mother must have diverted those terrors {76} which cause misery to
unprotected children. The life at Koeur-la-Petite was a period of
unclouded pleasure. Then came the excitement of the last campaign, and
a glorious death on the battlefield. The body of Prince Edward was
buried in Tewkesbury Abbey church.
The Earl of Devonshire, Lord Wenlock, Sir John Beaufort, Sir William
Vaux, Sir Edmund Hampton, Sir E. Whittingham, Sir William Melding, Sir
John Seymour, Mr. Henry, a captain of Bristol, and Sir William Roos
were among the slain. Beaufort, Hampton, Vaux, Whittingham and Roos
had shared the Queen's exile at Koeur-la-Petite.
The lords and knights who escaped from the battlefield took refuge in
the abbey church, which, however, had no special privilege of
sanctuary. They were tried for treason before the Earl Marshal and the
Lord High Constable, a court which is recognised as legal by Chief
Justice Fortescue. Thirteen[7] were condemned, and were beheaded in
the market place of Tewkesbury on May 6, 1471. It must be remembered
that the treason of which most of them were guilty was double-dyed,
that is, they had been forgiven and had again become traitors.
Duke of Somerset
Prior of St. John Sir W. Newborough
Sir Gervase Clifton Sir Walter Courtenay
Sir Humphrey Audley James Gower
Sir Hugh Carey Lewis Miles
Sir Thomas Tresham Robert Jackson
Henry Tresham John Flory, of France
{77}
Gower was the young Prince's sword-bearer. Audley and Courtenay shared
the Queen's exile. These might have been spared. Edward IV. was
generous and forgiving after the first fury of the moment had passed.
All inferior officers and soldiers were pardoned. Sir John Fortescue
received pardon and died at a good old age at his seat at Ebrington in
Gloucestershire. The intriguing Earl of Ormonde was also pardoned, as
were many leading captains of the defeated army, Sir Henry Roos, Sir
John Giles, Sir William Grimsby, Fulford, Parker, Basset, Throgmorton,
Walleys and many more. Dr. Morton and Dr. Makerel, who were with the
Queen, were also pardoned.
The King conferred knighthood on forty-three officers; including his
old tutor Richard Croft, Sir John Pilkington, and Sir Thomas Strickland
from Yorkshire; Sir Terry Robsart, Sir Edward Wodehouse, and Sir
William Brandon from Norfolk; Sir John St. Lo, Sir E. Corbet and Lord
Cobham. The names of Nevill, Courtenay, Berkeley, Hastings, Harington,
Grey, Tyrrel, Pierpoint, Parr, Welby, Ratcliffe, Devereux also appear.
One turns with shuddering pity from the anguish beyond all power of
utterance, from the black despair in the religious house at Gupshill
where the Queen awaited the issue of the battle with her ladies.[8]
They escaped across the Avon, and took refuge at Payne's Place in the
parish of Bushley. Next day, continuing their journey towards
Worcester, they found shelter in {78} some religious house near that
city. There they were captured by Sir William Stanley. It was
reported that he announced the prince's death with callous brutality.
It mattered little. The blow must have stunned the unhappy mother and
nothing could add to its crushing effect. Her real life ended with
that of her beloved child. Queen Margaret was brought to Edward IV. at
Coventry, by Sir William Stanley, on May 11, and to the Tower of London
on the 22nd.
Henry VI. died in the Tower on the 24th, at the comparatively early age
of forty-nine. As Margaret arrived on the 22nd, she probably attended
her husband during the last two days of his life. The Lancastrian
leaning of the family of Lord Rivers, who was then Constable of the
Tower, would ensure facilities being extended to her. Thence Margaret
of Anjou was removed to Windsor, a ransom having been demanded for her.
With thoughtful kindness King Edward finally entrusted the charge of
the poor Queen to her old friend the Dowager Duchess of Suffolk at
Ewelme.[9] The Duchess had come to Nancy for Henry's bride, and had
seen the beautiful young princess at the brilliant tournament. She now
received her, after twenty-seven years, a childless and despairing
widow, crushed to the earth by grief unspeakable. Margaret resided
with the Duchess at Ewelme, and afterwards {79} at Wallingford Castle
until the ransom was paid by old King Rene.
On August 29,1475, the ransom, amounting to fifty thousand crowns,
having been paid, Queen Margaret proceeded to embark at Sandwich,
attended by three ladies and seven gentlemen, and escorted by Sir John
Haute. She landed at Dieppe, and signed a renunciation of all rights
derived from her marriage, at Rouen on January 29, 1476. Thence she
went to Reculee, a league from Angers, where she lived with her old
father until his death in 1480, aged seventy-two. The last sad years
were passed at the chateau of Dampierre on the Loire, near Saumur,
under the care of Francois de Vignolle, an old and faithful servant of
her family. The brave and loving soul was at length released.
Margaret of Anjou died at the age of fifty-two, on August 25, 1482,
eleven years after the light went out of her life. She was buried in
the cathedral of Angers.
[1] Jasper and Edmund Tudor were created Earls of Pembroke and Richmond
by Henry VI. They were attainted and deprived of their earldoms by
Edward's first Parliament. Subsequently Richard, Duke of Gloucester,
was created Earl of Richmond; and the son of King Edward IV. became
Earl of Pembroke.
[2] Leland says: '_intravit campum nomine Gastum_,' and '_nomina
occisorum in bello Gastriensis prope Theokesbury_.' A place called
'the Vineyard' is mentioned. But 'vineyards' were merely apple
orchards. Where manors were held of the King, the tenants were obliged
to pay yearly a vessel of wine made of apples, or cider.
[3] 'In a close harde at the toune's end, having the toun and abbey at
their backs, and before them defended by lanes and deep ditches and
hedges.'--Holinshed.
[4] Then aged twenty-nine. Born April 28, 1442.
[5] Then aged eighteen and a half. Born October 2, 1452. He was just
a year older than Prince Edward.
[6] So much is shown in a picture accompanying the narrative sent to
Flanders by an eyewitness. It is in the public library at Ghent. See
also _Archaeologia_, xxi. 11-23.
[7] In the Pastern Letters there is a list of sixteen, Sir John Delves,
Sir William 'Newbery' added, and Audley given twice, Jackson not being
given (iii. 9).
[8] Speed, p. 684. See also a paper by the Rev. E. E. Dowdeswell on
the 'Movements of Queen Margaret after the battle of Tewkesbury,' in
the Transactions (x. 144) of the Bristol and Gloucestershire
Archaeological Society.
[9] 'As for Queen Margaret, I understand that she is removed from
Windsor to Wallingford nigh to Ewelme, my Lady of Suffolk's place in
Oxfordshire.'--_Paston Letters_, iii. 83.
Ewelme belonged to the Chaucer family, and Alice, the heiress of
Geoffrey Chaucer, married William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk. In 1424
the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk built a palace at Ewelme, rebuilt the
church, and founded a hospital and a school there. Queen Margaret was
received by the Duchess at Ewelme, and afterwards at Wallingford Castle.
{80}
CHAPTER VII
MARRIED LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF RICHARD DUKE OF GLOUCESTER
While the King was engaged at Tewkesbury, the bastard of his uncle,
Lord Fauconberg, made an attack on London Bridge, and when he was
repulsed, he retreated to Sandwich. This disturbance hastened the
return of Edward IV., who reached the Tower on May 21. To the Duke of
Gloucester was entrusted the duty of following up the bastard, and
early next morning he started for Kent. Arriving by forced marches at
Sandwich, the rebel was taken by surprise and surrendered on the 26th.
He was a first cousin of the King and of the Duke of Gloucester, though
illegitimate; son of the general to whom, next to Edward, the victory
of Towton was due. Richard took him to Middleham, and treated him
kindly as a prisoner at large. But he escaped, was taken at
Southampton, tried for his original treason, and beheaded.
Peace was once more restored to the land, and the Duke of Gloucester's
great services were recognised by the country. The King and Parliament
were soon afterwards occupied with Richard's marriage.
The estates of the Earl and Countess of Warwick were forfeited, and the
Duke of Clarence, who had married the elder daughter, Isabella, desired
to obtain the whole for himself. The Countess of Warwick, {81} when
she returned from France with her daughter, Anne, and received the news
of her husband's death, took sanctuary in Beaulieu Abbey on the
Southampton Water. After Tewkesbury, Clarence claimed the wardship of
Anne, and tried to get her into his power.
The Duke of Clarence was grasping and selfish. He had no stability of
character, was vacillating, and easily influenced by bad advisers. It
is not clear how his sister-in-law escaped from his clutches; but his
object was to prevent her from marrying and to seize her share of her
parents' property, as well as that of his wife. It is certain that
Anne left her mother at Beaulieu and placed herself under the
protection of her uncle, George Nevill, Archbishop of York. But the
circumstances are unrecorded. There is mention of a disguise as a
cookmaid. The Archbishop placed her in sanctuary at St.
Martin's-le-Grand: where her inclinations and wishes could in no way be
influenced or overridden.
The young Duke of Gloucester sought the hand of his cousin Anne. They
had been playfellows as children, and now the cousins formed an
attachment which endured until death, Richard only surviving his wife
for four months. Anne accepted the proposal of Richard, and his suit
was approved by the King and by the Archbishop, the guardians of the
two lovers. But Clarence made unreasonable difficulties about the
settlement. From the 'Paston Letters' we learn that 'the King
entreateth my Lord Clarence for my Lord Gloucester, and he answereth
that he may well have my lady, his sister-in-law, but they shall part
no livelihood.'
At length the marriage settlements were arranged by Parliament.
Middleham was included in Gloucester's share of the Warwick
inheritance. In 1472, Richard {82} and Anne were happily married in
Westminster Abbey by the Archbishop of York. His age was nineteen,
that of his wife sixteen.
[Sidenote: Middleham Castle]
Their home was at Middleham, in beautiful Wensleydale, and Anne's
mother, the Countess of Warwick, was taken from her sanctuary at
Beaulieu, to live with them. Here the Duke and Duchess passed several
years, winning golden opinions from the people of the north, and
acquiring great popularity in Yorkshire.
In 1475, the Duke of Gloucester was called from his home to accompany
the King when he invaded France. Louis XI. offered a large sum of
money if Edward IV. would abandon his ally, the Duke of Burgundy, and
make peace. He also bribed Dr. Morton and Edward's principal
courtiers. Under the evil influence of Morton and the Woodville
faction, the King of England, after an interview with Louis, acceded to
the disgraceful bargain. But the Duke of Gloucester also had an
interview with King Louis and was not to be corrupted. He objected to
the arrangement, and would have no part in it. His conduct was
honourable and consistent. He maintained that faith ought to be kept
with England's ally.
Richard Duke of Gloucester lived at Middleham Castle, with his wife and
child, for ten years, from 1472 to 1482, from his twentieth to his
thirtieth year. Here he had passed his early youth, had formed his
most enduring friendships, and had first seen his cousin Anne. The ten
years of peaceful married residence at Middleham was no doubt the
happiest period of Richard's short but eventful life.
[Illustration: SEIZE QUARTIERS OF ANNE NEVILL]
The ruins of the grand old pile, with the village and the church at
their feet, still form a conspicuous object on the southern slope of
Wensleydale. Middleham {83} is about a mile and a half above the
junction of the Ure and the Cover. In rear of the castle are the
breezy downs, and in front the river Ure flows through rich pastures,
with the town of Leybourne on the opposite slope. The castle consisted
of a lofty Norman keep surrounded by an enceinte eighty yards long by
sixty-five wide. The keep, which was built by Robert FitzRanulph in
1190, was fifty feet high, with walls nine feet thick, strengthened at
the angles by buttresses rising into rectangular turrets. It was
divided into two large rooms on each floor, the great hall having a
lofty arched window, due to the taste of the Duke of Gloucester. In
the north-east angle there was a curious mural chamber, twelve feet
long by nine, opening on to the hall, and the east face of the keep was
one side of the chapel. The outer walls were thirty feet high with
square towers at the angles, and a gatehouse on the north face. The
residential buildings stood against three sides of the _enceinte_, and
seem to have communicated with the great hall in the keep by a covered
passage.
The nearest neighbours of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were the
Monks of Jervaux and Coverham, their cousin the Lord Scrope of
Bolton,[1] and the Metcalfes of Nappa Hall.[2]
The manuscript volume No. 433 of the Harleian collection in the British
Museum supplies a few {84} glimpses of the home life at Middleham. We
read of a pack of hounds and of the wages of a jester. There is the
election of a king of rush bearing, and of a king of Middleham,
evidently games for the amusement of the Duke's little son Edward, who
was born about 1473.[3] The child's tutor was Richard Bernall, and the
cost is recorded of his primer and psalter, and of satin to cover them.
There are also payments for green cloth for my lord prince, and for a
feather for my lord prince.
[Sidenote: Richard's able administration]
Though Middleham was Richard's home, his official residence, as Chief
Seneschal of the Duchy of Lancaster in the north parts, was at Pomfret
Castle. He also stayed occasionally at Sheriff Hutton, Skipton, and
Barnard Castle. He was regarded as a trusted friend by his neighbours,
and in September 1481 we find Lady Latimer showing her confidence in
his integrity by appointing him supervisor of her will. She was a
sister of his mother-in-law, the Countess of Warwick. The Duke of
Gloucester bestowed great benefits on the city of York, where he was
much beloved. During his frequent visits he was usually the guest of
the Augustine friars,[4] and in their monastery he conferred with the
authorities touching their local affairs. He was actively engaged in
administrative work, and in giving his time to settle the affairs of
his neighbours from 1472. In that year we find him writing about a
robbery of cattle at Spofforth. In 1482 he was an arbitrator in the
dispute between Robert Plumpton and his heirs-general.[5] He improved
and beautified {85} several Yorkshire churches, building an additional
chapel at Sheriff Hutton, founding colleges at Middleham[6] and Barnard
Castle, and a memorial chapel near the battlefield of Towton. Crosby
Place, in Bishopsgate, became the town residence of the Duke and
Duchess of Gloucester, after the death of its wealthy founder, Sir John
Crosby, in 1475.
Richard, Duke of Gloucester, had been created Great Chamberlain and
Admiral of England by his brother, and he was Lord Warden of the Cinque
Ports. His little son Edward became Earl of Salisbury in 1478.[7] In
1480, when Richard had attained the age of twenty-eight, he was
appointed Lieutenant-General of the North and Warden of the Marches.
By his skill and energy he subdued part of the western border of
Scotland for an extent of more than thirty miles, bringing portions
under obedience to the King of England, 'to the great rest and ease of
the inhabitants of the west marches.'[8] His administration was so
able that it was remembered long after as a very model of
efficiency.[9] In 1482 he received command of an army for the invasion
of Scotland. In the summer of that year he entered Edinburgh, where he
was received by the malcontent nobles rather as a {86} friend than as
an enemy. He reconciled King James III. with his brother, enforced all
the English demands, and captured the town and castle of Berwick after
an obstinate resistance. This was a great achievement, and gave
England an important advantage in case of future hostilities.
Richard's services were cordially recognised by the Parliament which
met in January, and no man stood in higher honour throughout the
kingdom.
[Sidenote: Children of Edward IV.]
King Edward IV. died at Westminster on April 9, 1483, and was buried at
Windsor. He had gone through a marriage ceremony with Elizabeth,
daughter of Sir Richard Woodville of Grafton, and widow of Sir John
Grey of Groby, on May 1, 1464. Besides the priest and his assistant,
the only witnesses were Lady Grey's mother and two unnamed gentlewomen.
Edward IV. had three sons and seven daughters by Lady Grey, of whom two
sons and five daughters survived him.[10] He also had one son and one
daughter {87} by Elizabeth Lucy.[11] The Duke of Clarence had left a
son Edward and a daughter[12] by Isabella, daughter of the Earl of
Warwick.
[1] Lord Scrope was faithful to the end. His sister Agnes was married
to Sir Richard Ratcliffe, one of the most loyal of Richard's friends.
[2] James Metcalfe of Nappa, near Aysgarth, served at the battle of
Agincourt. He had two sons, Miles and Thomas. Immediately after his
accession Richard III. appointed Miles Metcalfe one of the Judges of
the County Palatine of Lancaster, and Thomas Metcalfe Chancellor of the
Duchy (_York Records_, p. 58 _n_).
[3] According to Rous he was seven and a half in 1483, when he was made
Prince of Wales. But the date in the text is more probable. See
Sandford, p. 410.
[4] _York Records_, p. 125 _n._
[5] _Plumpton Correspondence_.
[6] See the _History of the Collegiate Church of Middleham_, by the
Rev. Wm. Atthill (Camden Society, 1847). The licence for erecting the
church into a college was granted to the Duke of Gloucester on February
21, 1478, and he issued the Statutes on July 18, 1478. Miss Halsted,
the laborious and conscientious biographer of Richard III., had a
romantic attachment for Middleham, as the scene of the ill-fated young
King's happy married life. She eventually married the Rector, and was
buried in Middleham Church.
[7] _Rot. Parl._ 17 Ed. iv. p. 2, m. 16.
[8] _Rot. Parl._ vi. 204.
[9] Gairdner, p. 48, quoting Brewer's _Letters and Papers of Henry
VIII._, vol. i. nos. 4518-5090, and vol. iv. no. 133.
[10] Elizabeth, born at Westminster on February 11, 1465. (Sandford
says 1466, but Nicolas gives good reason for 1465 being the year.)
Cicely. The date of her birth is not recorded; but she came next to
Elizabeth. Henry Tudor married her to his old uncle, Lord Welles, some
time before December 1487. On his death in 1499, she married one Kyme
of Lincolnshire. She died in about 1503.
Edward was born in sanctuary on November 14, 1470. On July 26, 1471,
he was created Prince of Wales, and on June 20, 1475, Duke of Cornwall
and Earl of Chester. He was also created Earl of March and Pembroke.
Richard was born at Shrewsbury in 1473, and was created Duke of York on
May 28, 1474, Duke of Norfolk and Earl of Warren and Nottingham on Feb.
7, 1477. On January 15, 1478, he was married to Anne, daughter and
heiress of John Mowbray Duke of Norfolk, she being then aged six. She
died soon afterwards.
Anne was born in 1475, and in 1495 she married Thomas Howard Earl of
Surrey; but no children survived infancy. She died before 1515.
Katherine, probably born in 1479, and in about 1495 she married William
Courtenay Earl of Devon, and died in 1527.
Bridget, the youngest child, was born at Eltham on November 10, 1480.
She became a nun at Dartford, where she died in 1517.
[11] Edward IV. had two children by Elizabeth Lucy. Arthur, who was
created Viscount Lisle in 1524, and died in 1540; and Elizabeth,
married to Lord Lumley.
[12] George Duke of Clarence, by his wife Isabella, daughter of Richard
Nevill, Earl of Warwick, left two children:
Edward, born at Warwick Castle on February 21, 1475, and created Earl
of Warwick by his uncle Edward IV., after his father's execution, in
1478.
Margaret, born at Farley Castle near Bath in 1473, created Countess of
Salisbury in 1514, and married to a Tudor partisan named Richard Pole.
She was murdered by Henry VIII. on May 27, 1541.
{88}
CHAPTER VIII
ACCESSION OF RICHARD III
The Queen and her relations had acquired predominating influence in the
counsels of Edward IV. Her brother Anthony was Earl Rivers, another
brother Lionel was Bishop of Salisbury, her son Thomas Grey had been
created Marquis of Dorset. Her sisters had been married to the Duke of
Buckingham, the Earls of Kent, Arundel, Huntingdon and Lord Strange.
Her brother-in-law, Edward Grey, had been made Viscount Lisle.
This Woodville faction had the design to monopolise all the powers of
the state. The Woodvilles had received bribes from Louis XI., had
caused the death of Clarence, and had shared his inheritance. They now
looked to the minority of King Edward's son as an opportunity for still
further gratifying their ambition. But they had never succeeded in
alienating the affections of the King from his brother Richard.
At the time of the King's death his son Edward was residing at Ludlow
in charge of his uncle Lord Rivers, his half brother Sir Richard Grey,
his cousin Sir Richard Haute, Sir Thomas Vaughan and Dr. Alcock, Bishop
of Worcester. The Marquis of Dorset, another half-brother of young
Edward, was in possession of the Tower. The other chief councillors of
the late King, including Bishops Rotherham and {89} Morton, the Duke of
Buckingham, Lords Hastings, Stanley and Howard, were in London. The
Duke of Gloucester was far away in the marches of Scotland.
[Sidenote: Richard appointed Protector]
By his will King Edward IV. left the care of his son's person and the
government of the kingdom during the minority to his brother Richard,
without any colleague.[1] Richard Duke of Gloucester was a prince who
had shown valour and generalship in the field, wisdom and ability in
his civil administration. As a councillor he had upheld the honour of
his country. He was beloved by the people of the north, and was
deservedly popular throughout the land. He proceeded to York on
hearing of his brother's death and attended the solemn obsequies in the
minster. He then caused his nephew to be proclaimed, and began the
journey to London, with 600 gentlemen of the north in attendance, all
in deep mourning. He came to assume the responsibilities imposed upon
him by his brother.
Very different was the conduct of the Woodvilles. They formed a
conspiracy to set aside the late King's wishes, to exclude the Duke of
Gloucester, and to retain by force the authority they had hitherto
exercised through the Queen's influence. Rivers set out from Ludlow
with 2,000 men, and a large supply of arms, on April 24.[2] Dorset
seized the arms and treasure in the Tower, and fitted out a naval force
to secure command of the Channel. Council Orders were issued in the
names of Rivers--'Avunculus Regis,' and of Dorset--'Frater regis
uterinus,' while that of the Duke of Gloucester was excluded. There
can be no doubt of the treasonable designs of the Woodville {90}
faction, which are indeed proved by these overt acts; and which went
the length of conspiring against Richard's life.[3]
[Sidenote: Arrest of Rivers]
The Duke of Buckingham hurried from London with 300 men, to warn
Gloucester of his danger, and found him at Northampton on April 29,
where he had expected to meet his nephew. They ascertained that Rivers
had arrived that very morning with young Edward, and had pushed on to
Stony Stratford, fourteen miles nearer London, to avoid a meeting
between the boy and his uncle. This made his conduct still more
suspicious. Rivers then, with Richard Grey and a portion of his force,
returned to Northampton to give some plausible explanation to the two
Dukes, while young Edward was to be hurried on to London. Gloucester
acted with prompt decision. There was not a moment to lose. A Council
was summoned, consisting of the nobles present, and it was resolved
that Rivers and his fellow-conspirators should be arrested. The
combined companies of Gloucester and Buckingham numbered 900 men.
Rivers had a force of 2,000, but he had only brought a portion to
Northampton, and his arrest, with his nephew Richard Grey, was effected
without resistance. Gloucester then advanced rapidly to Stony
Stratford, and was just in time. He found young Edward and his retinue
on the point of starting for London. Vaughan and Haute were arrested;
and the four prisoners were sent to Yorkshire to await their trials.
Lord Rivers was taken to Sheriff Hutton, Grey to Middleham, Vaughan and
Haute to Pomfret. {91} Dr. Alcock was not suspected of complicity in
the plot. He was a Yorkshireman and a staunch supporter of the White
Rose. His subsequent conduct in welcoming King Richard at Oxford,
accompanying him in his progress, and giving him the aid of his
diplomatic services, proves that Bishop Alcock recognised the justice
of that King's accession.[4]
The troops of Rivers, now without a leader, submitted to the Duke of
Gloucester, who then resumed his journey, in company with his nephew.
They reached London on May 4. As soon as the Queen Dowager heard that
the plot was discovered, she went into sanctuary at Westminster[5] with
her son Richard and five daughters. Here she was joined by her other
son Dorset.
Young Edward took up his abode at the Bishop's Palace in St. Paul's
Churchyard. Gloucester went to reside with his mother, the widowed
Duchess of York, at Baynard's Castle. This edifice stood at the foot
of St. Andrew's Hill, on the banks of the Thames, a little {92} west of
St. Paul's.[6] After the death of her noble husband at the battle of
Wakefield, in 1460, the Duchess of York took little part in public
affairs, although she survived for upwards of 33 years. A happy
married life of 22 years was followed by a long and sorrowful
widowhood. The wayward and lawless conduct of her eldest son with
regard to his matrimonial affairs doubtless caused her constant
anxiety, while the death of her son George by the hand of his brother
added another pang to the widow's grief.
Richard, so far as appears, can have given his mother neither anxiety
nor sorrow. Living happily at Middleham, married to his mother's
grand-niece, and always gaining applause and approval whenever he took
part in public affairs, he must have been the son from whom his mother
derived most comfort. It was natural that, in this crisis of his
fortunes, he should have sought counsel and support under that mother's
roof, and we may fairly conclude that the subsequent proceedings, which
led to Richard's assumption of the crown, had the sanction and approval
of the Duchess of York.[7] The Duke of Gloucester had been recognised
{93} as Protector of the Realm before his arrival in London,[8] and on
May 13 he summoned a Parliament to meet on the 25th of the following
month. When the Duchess of Gloucester reached London on June 5, the
Duke left Baynard's Castle, where he had resided with his mother for
upwards of a month, and removed to Crosby Place[9] with his wife.
[Sidenote: Bishop Stillington's revelation]
Up to this time affairs had gone smoothly. On June 5 the Protector had
given detailed orders for his nephew's coronation on the 22nd, and had
even caused letters of summons to be issued for the attendance of forty
esquires who were to receive the knighthood of the Bath on the
occasion.[10] But now there came a change. Dr. Robert Stillington,
Bishop of Bath and Wells, apparently on June 8, revealed to the Council
the long-concealed fact that Edward IV. was contracted to the Lady
Eleanor Butler, widow of a son of Lord Butler of Sudeley, and daughter
of the first Earl of Shrewsbury, before he went through a secret
marriage ceremony with the Lady Grey.[11]
{94}
Dr. Stillington thus becomes a very important personage in the history
of King Richard's accession; and it will be well to learn all that can
be gleaned of his life. He first saw the light in an old brick manor
house, which still stands on the right bank of the Ouse at Acaster
Selby (then within the parish of Stillingfleet), about nine miles south
of York.
The family of Stillington had long been established here, renting land
from the Abbot of Selby, when two sons, Thomas and Robert, were born to
Thomas Stillington and his wife Catherine, daughter of John Halthorp.
Thomas succeeded to the paternal estate, while Robert was destined for
the priesthood. He was sent to Oxford, and eventually took the degree
of Doctor of Law with great distinction. He was a Fellow of All Souls,
and became Rector of St. Michael's, Ouse Bridge, and a Canon of York in
1448 and 1451. Stillington was ever loyal to the cause of the White
Rose. At some time in or before 1463, he witnessed the marriage
contract which united Edward IV. to the Lady Eleanor Butler; the King
strictly charging him not to reveal it. When Edward subsequently went
through the same ceremony with the Lady Grey, his mother the Duchess of
York, who was in the secret, remonstrated, but without avail. Edward
was self-willed and headstrong. The Lady Eleanor retired to a convent
in Norwich, where she died on July 30, 1466, and was buried in the
Church of the Carmelites.[12]
In 1466 Dr. Stillington became Bishop of Bath and Wells, and in the
same year Edward IV. made him Keeper of the Privy Seal. On June 8,
1467, he was installed in the high office of Lord Chancellor, in
succession to Archbishop Nevill. He delivered a very {95} eloquent and
statesmanlike speech at the opening of Parliament in May 1468, which
made a deep impression. After holding the office of Chancellor, with
dignity and credit, for six years, he resigned, owing to ill-health, in
1473. He was afterwards employed on an embassy to Brittany.
If the Queen Dowager and her relations had any knowledge of the first
marriage, Bishop Stillington would be a source of anxiety and fear to
them; while they could never be certain who else might know the secret
besides the King's mother. We find that the Duke of Clarence was
attainted on February 7, 1478, on a series of charges, most of them
frivolous and none sufficiently grave to account for his death at the
hands of his own brother. There must have been something behind. Mr.
Gairdner has suggested that the execution of Clarence was due to his
having discovered the secret.[13] Certainly that would satisfactorily
account for it. The influence of the Woodvilles was paramount, and it
would then be a necessity of their continuance in power that Clarence
should cease to live. The character of Clarence made it impossible
that a secret would be safe with him. His death was the only safe
course for the Woodvilles. It is very significant that, at the very
time of Clarence's attainder, Bishop Stillington was arrested and
imprisoned[14] for 'uttering words prejudicial to the King and his
State.' He was pardoned in the following June 1478. All this points
clearly to the discovery of the first contract by Clarence, and to the
utterance of some imprudent {96} speech by the bishop, which was
expiated by imprisonment followed by renewed promises of silence.
During the years following his imprisonment, Bishop Stillington appears
to have devoted himself to the duties of his diocese. He always
retained feelings of affection for the family at Acaster, and for the
home of his childhood on the banks of the Ouse. Towards the close of
his long and honourable career he founded a collegiate chapel on his
brother's land at Acaster, dedicated to St. Andrew, for a provost and
fellows, and for free education in grammar, music and writing. The
grant was confirmed by King Richard III. in 1483. A fine collegiate
church of brick, eighty-seven feet long and twenty-one broad, rose upon
the banks of the Ouse, with twenty windows filled with stained glass.
It was a memorial of the good bishop, and members of his family in
later generations left in their wills that they wished to be buried at
St. Andrew's college. The site is now marked by a few grassy
mounds.[15]
{97}
Dr. Stillington was a good and pious bishop, an able statesman, and a
most loyal and faithful adherent of the White Rose. His one fault was
that he did not ensure his own destruction by proclaiming Edward's
secret before that King's death. There was no urgent obligation to do
so; but when the time arrived, he was bound to come forward, and he was
probably urged by the Duchess of York to publish the truth. Richard
had hitherto been ignorant of the early intrigues of his brother. He
was only eleven and a half when the widow of Sir J. Grey was taken into
favour, and the Butler contract was of a still earlier date.
The announcement must have fallen on Richard and the Council like a
thunder clap. It was inevitable that the matter should be thoroughly
sifted. There was a prolonged sitting of the Lords Spiritual and
Temporal in the Council Chamber at Westminster, on June 9.[16] Bishop
Stillington 'brought in instruments, authentic doctors, proctors, and
notaries of the law, with depositions of divers witnesses.'[17] The
majority of the Council must have seen at once that the illegitimate
son of the late King could not succeed. Such a proceeding would
inevitably be the precursor of innumerable troubles. The case was
prepared to be laid before the Parliament which was summoned to meet on
June 25.
There was, however, a small but powerful minority in the Council, led
by Lord Hastings and Bishop Morton, to whom the prospect of losing the
openings to their ambition offered by a minority was most distasteful.
They commenced opposition[18] and began to {98} meet apart, plotting
against the Protector's government. This was soon followed by overt
acts. Hitherto all orders and grants had been issued 'by the advice of
our uncle, Richard Duke of Gloucester, Protector and Defender.' But on
the 9th, and again on June 12, the conspirators issued orders without
the Protector's name. They were preparing for open hostility.
Hastings was intriguing with his former adversaries, the Woodvilles,
both at Westminster and in Yorkshire. On June 10 the Duke of
Gloucester became thoroughly alarmed. He despatched a letter to his
faithful city of York, asking that troops might be sent up to protect
and support him. It was delivered on the 15th. On the 11th a similar
letter was sent to his cousin, Lord Nevill. Meanwhile, the Hastings
faction was not idle. A _supersedeas_ was secretly issued to the towns
and counties, ordering the Parliament not to assemble.[19] It was
received at York on June 21. This was done to delay or prevent the
consideration of the question of illegitimacy, and of the evidence
submitted by Bishop Stillington. Finally a plot was formed to seize
the Protector and put him to death.[20]
[Sidenote: Conspirators thwarted]
The conspiracy was divulged to the Protector by Master William Catesby,
who was in the confidence of Hastings. The danger was imminent. It
was probably a question of hours. Richard acted with characteristic
promptitude and vigour. On June 13 he proceeded in person to the Tower
with a body of retainers, and arrested Lord Hastings at the council
{99} table on a charge of treason. The conspirators were caught, as it
were, red-handed. A proclamation was then issued, giving the details
of the plot, but unfortunately no copy remains. Hastings was condemned
and executed on June 20, a week after his arrest.[21] The danger over,
Richard mourned for the loss of his old companion in arms.
'Undoubtedly the Protector loved him well, and was loth to have lost
him.'[22] A prominent feature in Richard's character was his
generosity to the relations of his political opponents. In this
respect the conduct which was habitual with him was almost
unprecedented in his, and indeed in later times. In the case of
Hastings, he at once restored the children in blood, and granted the
forfeited estates to the widow. He also liberally rewarded the brother
of Hastings for past services, and granted all his requests.
The conspirators in Yorkshire would probably have been pardoned, if
they had not joined in this new treason with Hastings. But now an
order was sent, through Sir Richard Ratcliffe, for a tribunal to
assemble at Pomfret, to try Lord Rivers and his companions. The Earl
of Northumberland was president of the court. They were found guilty.
The accomplished Earl philosophically prepared for death. He had
played for high stakes, had lost, and was ready to pay the penalty. He
showed his confidence in the integrity and kindly feeling of the Duke
of Gloucester by appointing him supervisor to the will which he made at
Sheriff Hutton on June 23.[23] The trust was not misplaced. On the
{100} 25th, Rivers, Grey, Haute, and Vaughan were beheaded. Those
arrested in London, with Hastings, were treated with unwise leniency.
The treacherous Stanley was not only pardoned, but rewarded. Bishop
Morton was merely taken into custody, and placed in charge of the Duke
of Buckingham. Archbishop Rotherham, a weak tool in the hands of the
others, after a brief detention, was allowed to return to his diocese.
Jane Shore, the mistress of Dorset, had been the medium of
communication between Hastings and the Woodville faction. A penance
was imposed upon her by the Church for her vicious life. But she was
treated with considerate forbearance by Richard, whom she had tried to
injure. He ordered her to be released, and consented, though
reluctantly, to her marriage with his Solicitor-General.
The formidable coalition of the two malcontent parties was thus
completely broken. The Woodvilles gave up all further resistance to
the Protector's government. The Bishop of Salisbury, brother of the
Queen-Dowager, and her brother-in-law, Viscount Lisle, came over to his
side.[24] Elizabeth also, at the intercession of the Archbishop of
Canterbury, sent her younger son Richard to join his brother Edward on
June 16.[25] She herself remained in sanctuary with her daughters for
a time, in order to make better terms.
[Sidenote: Title to the crown]
In spite of the _supersedeas_ which was treacherously sent out by the
conspirators to prevent the meeting of Parliament,[26] the Lords
Spiritual and Temporal and the Commons had assembled in London on the
day {101} appointed, June 25, and formed what in later times would have
been called a Convention Parliament. The proofs of the previous
contract of Edward IV. with Lady Eleanor Butler were laid before this
assembly by Bishop Stillington and his witnesses, and it was decided by
the three Estates of the Realm that the illegitimate son could not
succeed to the throne. Owing to the attainder of the Duke of Clarence,
his children were not in the succession. The Duke of Gloucester was,
therefore, the legal heir: and it was resolved that he should be called
upon to accept the high office of King. A statement of the royal
title, styled 'Titulus Regius,' was prepared, in which it was set forth
that the children of Edward IV. by the Lady Grey were illegitimate
owing to that King's previous contract with the Lady Eleanor Butler,
that in consequence of the attainder of the Duke of Clarence, his two
children were incapacitated; and that Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was
the only true and rightful heir to the throne.
The children of Edward IV. being illegitimate, Richard was certainly
the legal heir, because the children of Clarence were disabled by law.
But their disability could be set aside at any time by a reversal of
their father's attainder, or by the removal of any corruption in blood
inherited in consequence of that attainder. Edward Earl of Warwick,
son of George Duke of Clarence, was the rightful heir to the throne,
when the children of Edward were proved to be illegitimate. He was
born at Warwick Castle on February 21, 1475, and at this time his age
was eight years and four months. But even if Richard had attempted to
substitute this child for the son of the late King, it is very unlikely
that the assembled {102} notables would have consented. They dreaded,
above all things, a long minority. When his own son died prematurely,
King Richard showed his sense of the strong claim of his nephew by
declaring young Warwick to be his heir.
It is alleged that on Sunday, June 22, 1483, an eminent preacher named
Dr. Shaw had delivered a sermon at Paul's Cross, in which he explained
the royal title to the people; and that a speech was made to the same
effect, by the Duke of Buckingham, at the Guildhall on the 24th. This
is not improbable.
On June 26,[27] the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and the Commons
proceeded to Baynard's Castle with the _Titulus Regius_, to submit
their resolution and to petition Richard to assume the crown. He
consented. He was then aged thirty years and eight months. On the
27th he delivered the Great Seal to Dr. Russell, Bishop of Lincoln, a
prelate celebrated for learning, piety, and wisdom.[28] On the 28th a
letter was despatched to Lord Mountjoy at Calais, with instructions to
acquaint the garrison of the new King's accession, and to secure their
allegiance. Richard III. then organised his Council, and surrounded
himself with able and upright advisers. There were only two false
friends among them--the traitors Buckingham and Stanley.
[1] Bernard Andre, 23. Polydore Virgil, 530 (171, 173 Eng. trans.)
[2] Rous, 212. Croyland, 564.
[3] Rous says they had contrived the Duke's death, 213. Also the
Croyland Monk, 565: 'Conspiratum est contra eos, quod ipsi
contrivissent mortem ducis Protectoris Angliae.'
[4] John Alcock was the son of a burgess of Hull, and was educated at
the grammar school of Beverley. He graduated at Cambridge in 1461. He
was Dean of St. Stephen's, Westminster, and one of the King's Council
in 1470, and Bishop of Rochester in 1472. In 1476 he was translated to
Worcester, and in 1483 was tutor to young Edward. He was at Oxford to
welcome Richard III. after his coronation, and accompanied him on his
progress to Warwick. In 1484 he was one of the Commissioners delegated
to treat with the Scottish Ambassadors. In 1486 he was translated to
Ely, where he built a tower of the Bishop's palace, and a beautiful
chapel for his interment. His attachment to the house of York is shown
by the ornaments in the vaulting of the basement of the tower, and in
the chapel. The rebus on his name (two cocks with their feet on a
globe) occurs alternately with the '_rose en soleil_,' the badge of
Edward IV. Bishop Alcock founded Jesus College at Cambridge. He died
at Wisbeach in 1500.
[5] Croyland 565. Rous, 213.
[6] Baynard's Castle was so called from Baynard, one of the companions
of the Conqueror, who had license to fortify his house on Thames bank
within the city. It was fortified by his descendant in 1110 A.D. In
1428 it had become the property of the crown and, having been destroyed
by fire, it was rebuilt by Humphrey Duke of Gloucester. On his
attainder it again reverted to the crown, and was granted to Richard
Duke of York. It was long the residence of his widow, and here both
Edward IV. and Richard III. accepted the crown. Baynard's Castle was
gutted in the Great Fire of 1666. It had long been rented by the Earls
of Pembroke, but seems to have been in a ruinous condition. It was
probably pulled down during the clearance operations after the fire.
[7] One letter has been preserved from Richard III. to his mother,
after his accession. It is written in most affectionate terms, and
shows deference to her wishes. After her last surviving son's death at
Bosworth the Duchess retired from the world entirely, living at her
castle of Berkhampstead, under the rules of one of the monastic orders.
She died in 1493, and was buried by the side of her husband at
Fotheringhay.
[8] Mr. Gairdner has pointed out that he was styled Protector in two
documents upon the Patent Rolls, dated April 21 and May 2.
[9] Crosby Place, in Bishopsgate Street, was built by Alderman Sir John
Crosby, who died in 1475. The Duke of Gloucester had a lease of it
from Sir John's widow. It must have been a princely residence, and the
hall is still one of the finest examples of Perpendicular domestic
architecture of the fifteenth century.
[10] Rymer, vol. xii. p. 186; Anstis, Obs.; Sir Harris Nicolas,
_History of the Orders of Knighthood_, iii. ix.; Ellis, _Original
Letters_, 2nd series.
[11] Comines says that the contract was made by the Bishop of Bath and
Wells, who told Comines that he afterwards married Edward and Lady
Eleanor. The King charged him strictly not to reveal it. (Phil. de
Comines, ii. 157.)
[12] Weever's _Funeral Monuments_.
[13] Gairdner's _Richard III._, p. 91.
[14] Rymer, xii. 66. In the papers of the Stonor family there is a
letter from Elizabeth Stonor to her husband, dated March 6, 1478, in
which she said that the Bishop of Bath had been brought into the Tower
since her husband departed.
[15] All was destroyed and sold in the reign of Edward VI. (1552). But
a view of the ruins, and of a monument of the founder of Acaster
College, with a ground plot, is mentioned in Gough's _Topography of
Yorkshire_, 1804, p. 469. Rents at the dissolution 27_l._ 13_s._
4_d_. Worth 553_l._ 6_s._ 8_d_. Granted in 15
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