Edward IV's second reign Flashcards
What is Edward’s situation like following Tewkesbury?
Very strong: Nevilles wiped out, Henry and prince Edward killed. Only claimant left is Henry Tudor
Who holds the Lancastrian claim when Edward becomes King?
Henry Tudor
Where does Henry Tudor’s claim derive from?
His father is the uterine brother of Henry VI
- Margaret Beaufort is a descendant from John of Gaunt, son of Edward III
Where is Henry Tudor for the duration of Edward’s reign?
In exile in the Duke of Francois’ court (Brittany)
Who is the only Lancastrian left in England for Edward’s reign?
John de Vere, Earl of Oxford
Outline briefly how Edward ruled England in his second reign
Divides England into South East, South West, Midlands, North East, North West, Wales
Who rules the South East? Also describe how successful they are
Edward - very successful and peripatetic. Builds up lots of connections by good lordship
Who rules the South West? Also describe how successful they are
Thomas Grey (Dorset) - Marrys into local families (Cecily Bonville, heriess of William Lord Bonville) Rules it very well
Who rules the North East? Also describe how successful they are
Gloucester - Rules hardest place of England extremely well, especially due to history of invasions and rebellions (Holderness and Resedale). Granted a palatine and rules exceptionally
What is a palatine?
Essentially ruling like a king in the area - can raise tax, army, administer justice etc.
Who rules the North West? Also describe how successful they are
Stanleys - successfuly gather affinity and have a powerbase
Who rules the Wales? Also describe how successful they are
Anthony Woodville (Rivers) - Prince Edward is in Ludlow and leader of Council of Wales. Rules very well in the name of Prince Edward
Who rules the Midlands? Also describe how successful they are
Hastings - from Midlands and very popular as good lord. Rules East Anglia as well
When was Prince Edward born?
1471
When was Prince Richard born?
1473
Why does Hastings rule East Anglia?
Granted to Prince Richard but he is a minor
What is important about how all 5 people rule (excluding Edward)
They successfuly gather an affinity and owe their position to Edward so he could guarantee loyalty
What is the situation with Clarence? Why doesn’t he rule an area of England?
Not trusted by Edward as he betrayed him when he married Isabel Neville in July 1469. Unstable political figure which grew
Where does Clarence hold lands?
Welsh march where he is a prominent magnate but not a marcher lord
What 2 things does Clarence do in 1477 that pushes Edward to accuse him of treason?
Judicially murders Anchorette Twynyhoe
Publicly defends Dr John Stacy and Thomas Burdet after they had been sentenced to death
When was Clarence executed?
February 1478 in private
What are the areas of finance that Edward does very successfully in?
Crown lands, customs dues , tax, trade, benevolences, foreign treaties
How does Edward manage Crown lands?
Appoints commissioners to investigate revenues. Also held vast swathes of land from the Duchy of York and Lancaster and granted even more from acts of attainder on rebels between 1461-71 (and Clarence!)
Give an example of Edward’s successful management of Crown lands
Portion of the Duchy of Lancaster yielded £347/year in 1476 rose to £885 by 1483
How much money was Edward making from his Crown lands a year?
£30,000
What are customs dues?
Taxes on import and export of goods
How does Edward increase the revenue from customs dues?
Personal trader of cloth, wool and tin and rented ships
- Made alliances with Hansa League (1473-4), France (1475) and Burgundy (1478)
Give an example to show how successful Edward was with customs dues
£25k/year in 1461 rose to £35k in his second reign
What were fuedal dues?
Prerogative rights - wardship, vacant bishoprics, fines, marriages
What were wardships?
When the king became the guardian of a young rich noble without any parents
Why were wardships valuable for Edward?
Some are very lucrative, and a friendship is often developed
- The king can sell them to nobles looking for a marriage or can decide who they marry
Give examples of Edward using his wardship
- Marrying Buckingham to Catherine Woodville in February 1466
- Selling the wardship of the Earl of Shrewsbury to Hastings for £300/year when they were worth £1000/year
Why were vacant bishoprics important for Edward to exploit?
The Church owned 1/3 of the land in England, making Bishops major landowners
- Edward delayed appointments of bishops by months or even years and when one was appointed, he charged them a tax
Why was it important that Edward collected fines?
More fines collected shows more interest in law and order. Gives incentive to King to be interested as fines go to the crown
What extraordinary streams of income did Edward sucessfully exploit?
Parliamentary taxation, belevolences, French pension, bank loans
Give examples of Edward successfully exploiting parliamentary taxation
1472-75 He was granted more money than Henry V (£100k). He kept all this as well essentially defrauding the tax payers
Give examples of Edward successfully exploiting benevolences
He collected £20k+ from benevolences. Although resented, no magnate refused this and it did not cause rebellions showing Edward’s security
Give examples of Edward successfully exploiting the French pension
Got paid £15k upfront and £10k/year afterwards. Gave Edward £85k total
Give the dates of the French pension
July 1475 until August 1480-Summer 1481, the until December 1482 due to the treaty of Arras
Why was Louis willing to pay so much money to Edward?
Was looking to expand into Europe, not fight the English
- Reminiscencesn of Agincourt 1415, when they were outnumbered 5:1 but still lost
- Edward was an extremely capable general with an enthusiastic and expereinced nobility behind him
What was the treaty of Picquigny?
7 year truce with France
- Marriage between the Dauphin and Elizabeth of York
- 15k upfront and 10k/year afterwards
Give examples of Edward successfully exploiting bank loans
Borrowed so much money that the Medici bank closed down in London in 1478 with total losses of 51,533 florins
- Bankers more willing to loan him money
Why was Edward able to demand so much money from the Medici bank?
He threatened to not continue the export of English wool to Florence, which they needed to balance the books
How did Edward innovate in terms of collecting and administrating the money?
Put money through the King’s Chamber
Why was putting money through the King’s chamber a success?
People were fearful of the King, and therefore less likely to swindle the King.
- Bypassed the corrupt and inefficient Exchequer
Which sources comment on how much money Edward had?
Crowland Chronicle and Philippe de Commynes
What explicit example shows the extent of Edward’s money towards the end of his reign?
Invading Scotland in 1481 and waged war for 2 years without waging a tax
What were Edward’s motivations for invading France when he decided in 1472?
- Agreed with the Duke of Burgundy
- Edward has a claim to the French Crown as King of England
- French gave assistance to Henry and Margaret
- Only 22 years ago England held 1/3 of France
- Brittany open to alliance
How much money did Parliament promise Edward?
100k over 3 years
When did England come to a truce with Scotland?
1472
When did Brittany and Burgundy join alliance with England against France?
1474
How many men did Edward lead across the channel?
12k
When did Gloucester marry Anne Neville?
July 1472
Give an example in the north and midlands of noble families fueding which Edward ended
Stanleys and Harringtons in the north (ended 1475)
- Vernon and Grey in Derbyshire
(Gloucester and Clarence over Warwick’s inheritance)
When was the treaty of London?
July 1474
What were the conditions of the treaty of London?
Burgundy would support England’s invasion of France and recognise Edward as King of France and Burgundy could reclaim sovreign territories
Describe the plan for the invasion of Scotland
Initially Edward would lead but this was replaced by Gloucester
- Put Albany on the throne in return of Berwick
- Captured James III and Edinburgh but then the brothers made peace
- Richard took Berwick after withdrawing then disbandoned his army
