‘The Sun In Splendor’: Reign Of Edward IV (1471-83) Flashcards
Consolidating Edward’s position on the throne
destruction of Lancastrian nobility:
- after Tewkesbury, Thomas Neville attacked London on 12 May 1471 but it was successfully defended and on his retreat he met the kings army and the rebels dispersed
- only two Lancastrian claimants to the throne left, and both claims weak: John II of Portugal & Henry Tudor
domestic policies:
- Earl of Essex reinstated as Treasurer
- 1473, a council was created, headed by Earl Rivers, in order to manage Wales in the name of the young Edward, Prince of Wales
- Norfolk, Suffolk, Lord Howard in charge of East Anglia
- Thomas, Lord Stanley in charge of Lancashire and Cheshire
Edwards foreign policy
Scotland:
- 1474 - Anglo-Scottish treaty, marriage alliance between Cecily and future James IV, Edward agreed to pay dowry
- 1478 - James III offered sister Margaret as bride for Earl Rivers
- Winter 1478 - breach of truce occurred at boarders by Scots
- Edward decided on a military expedition and naval force led by Lord Howard successfully raided the Firth of Forth in July 1481
- Edward wanted to stay south so he could monitor France so Gloucester and Northumberland went to deal with Scots
- James III disaffected brother Alexander arrived boosting campaign
- 1482 Scots offered peace treaty and renewal of former agreement, Gloucester demanded surrender of Berwick and Cecily’s dowry payed back
- Scots agreed and Gloucester abandoned Edinburgh and withdrew to Berwick
- Edward then called of the marriages, demanded the return of the dowry and didnt renew short truce
France:
- desired a new French campaign dubbed the ‘Kings great enterprise’
- Burgundy and Brittany began to put together an offensive alliance against France which attracted Edward
- however Brittany backed down in face of possible invasion and Burgundy distracted in the East
- Edward, with some difficulty, raised money from Parliament and planned to raid in 1473, but was postponed until 1475
- Edward had pinned Charles down and even Brittany returned timidly to the alliance
- when he arrived in Calais, instead of being joined by Burgundian army, Charles arrived late, with only a bodyguard in attendance
- Edward secretly contacted Louis and agreed to take his army out of France for an immediate payment of £15,000 and annual payment of £10,000 as long as both kings lived
- Dauphin was to marry Edwards eldest daughter, without a dowry and provide her with a jointure of £60,000
- public truce for 7 years and free trade for each others merchants
- 29th Aug 1475 was agreed in person and became Treaty of Picquginy
- Edward left France and Charles was furious with the treaty
The Beauchamp-Despenser inheritance dispute
- lands formerly belonging to Warwick were divided between Clarence and Gloucester
- Edward was determined not to let Clarence’s previous disloyalty affect his standing, so he faced few consequences
- neither brother was content with what they had been granted
- main dispute over the Beauchamp inheritance, to which Clarence had a claim through his wife Isabel Neville, yet Warwick had another daughter, Anne who was the key to securing the full inheritance
- Anne was Clarences ward and he had no intention of letting her marry Gloucester
- Clarence kept Anne well hidden, however Gloucester located her, seized her and took her to the sanctuary of St Martins where he married her sometime between Feb-July 1472
- Edward summoned them to put their dispute before the Royal Council and Clarence declared while Gloucester may have Anne he may not have her lands
- on 18th Mar 1472 Clarence was granted full security in the remainder of the inheritance and was created Earl Of Warwick and Salisbury a week later
- this was particularly unsatisfactory for Anne de Beauchamp (Anne and Isabels mother), who a large part of the estates should have belonged too
- she mounted a legal challenge to protect her rights and in Parliament in May 1474 it was finally settled
- Isabel and Anne and their husbands were granted full estates of Warwick that were to be divided between them
- Anne de Beauchamp was stripped of her inheritance and declared legally dead
- showed Kings relationship with Clarence was not as strong as with Gloucester and that he couldn’t fully trust him
Marriage alliances
Edward, Prince of Wales:
- 1476 - planned to marry daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain but dropped
- planned to marry daughter of Duke of Milan & Bona of Savoy but dropped
- 1480 - daughter of Duke of Brittany, with dowry of 100,000 crowns
Mary of York:
- betrothed to King Fredrick of Denmark
Cecily of York:
- betrothed to future king of Scotland, James IV
Richard of York:
- married to Anne Mowbray
Elizabeth of York:
- betrothed to Dauphin in Treaty of Picquigny
Clarences downfall
long-term causes:
- entering Lancastrian alliance
- marriage to Isabel Neville (without permission)
- involvement in killing key nobles (William Herbet, Devon, Rivers, John Woodville)
- Beauchamp-Despenser inheritance dispute
immediate causes:
- Isabel Neville died Dec 1476 and a new marriage between Mary of Burgundy and Clarence was denied by Edward making Clarence angry
- Clarence arrested Ankarette Twynyho, John Thursby and Roger Tocoats accusing them of poisoning Isabel
- Twynyho and Thursby tried by a jury full of Clarence supporters and executed
- Edward arrested and tortured Dr John Stacy & Thomas Burdet (Clarences servants) for necromancy and planning to kill the king
- Clarence declared Burdet innocent before kings council
- Edward arrested Clarence and he was sent to Tower of London June 1477
- he was condemned on the 7th Feb 1478 and executed on the 18th Feb 1478
- on top of everything else, Clarence thought to have been spreading rumours of Edward being illegitimate, saying Cecily Neville (his mother) had an affair with an archer called Blayborne in which Edward was conceived
New methods if government
changes in government methods:
- Edward worked successfully with Parliament, called it let frequently but for longer sessions
- he took direct control of royal finances
- however Edward had some similarities with previous monarchs:
- rarely acted alone, relying on household men and also administration of the his Council
- recognised the need to restore power of nobility after devastation of war, rewarding loyal supporters
- overall Edward recognised need to restore law and order, so he relied on new men to carry out functions of government
finances:
- Edward inherited a bankrupt throne which was in debt by £372,000
- royal expenditure was £50,000 per year, so going to be difficult to pay back debt
- Edward turned to taxes 4 times in his reign (twice the promise of war didnt happen)
- effects of Great Slump (1440-80) still felt
Edwards methods to manage finance:
- Acts of resumption: recovery of royal land granted by other monarchs
- bypassing the Exchequer: money was directly diverted into the coffers of the royal household and Edward was personally involved with management
- recoinage of 1464: an effective but unpopular move, gained £17,500 in 2 years
- after 1475, received French pension (£10,000 per year) from Treaty of Picquigny
the royal household:
- administration of royal household was in desperate need of reform
- tackled this by recording its workings and later in 1471-72 publishing The Black Book of the Household of Edward IV
- the book aimed describe and regulate expenses of the household, and establish rules to govern
- household finances still problematic after 1472, so the Ordinance of 1478 outlined the economies which were to be made
- reduced household expenditure of 1478
- overall Edwards new government most successful in finance and was able to make the crown solvent by the end of his reign
Trade and economy
- international trade suffered with the political instability of England; piracy, broken trade agreements and general slumps in commerce all consequences
- Edward made efforts to bring stability after 1471 which were highly beneficial to Englands merchants
- English merchants could trade independently but many were associated with guilds
- 15th century saw an expansion of many of the livery companies, such as The Merchants Adventurers Company
- their trade activities fell dramatically by 1450, by thanks to Edwards efforts, by 1480 they were far more prosperous then ever before
- other groups didn’t recover so well. The Hansa merchants were significantly involved in politics of Edwards foreign policy, Hanseatic trade was at a halt until 1475 because of its dispute with Edward, but as soon as good relations wrested restored their trade recovered
- most significant was wool trade, and other significant ones were cloth and wine
- wool trade was important because it concerned not only merchants but producers
- therefore fluctuations would have a bearing on the rural economy
- despite economic slump, wool trade did not decline until outbreak of civil war
- pre civil war: 8,000 sacks per year
- 1459-62: 5,000 sacks per year
- after 1471: averaged around 10,000 sacks per year
- shows after 1471 wool trade quickly recovered
- this upturn in trade was partly due to Yorkist policy of providing well for the security of Calais which ensure a safe base for English merchants on European mainlands
Social mobility
- social mobility: movement of different individuals, families, households
- consequences of civil war uncreased social mobility
- many climbed the social ranks through reward and marriage
- social mobility also possible in urban areas, individual could rise from apprentice to master craftsman, either by using their skill, inheriting a business or marriage
- was not uncommon for a merchant to aspire to join ranks of gentry
- e.g. Sir Matthew Philip became a supplier to the royal court as a goldsmith by 1424 and in 1471, he was knighted and owned land in Kent
- **elevation was no longer just for the king to bestow, but could be bought by those who profited through various means
Edwards premature death and crisis of succession
- Edward died 9th Apr 1483 and in his final days made amendments to his will
- his death was so sudden that on the day of his burial, his tomb was only half completed
- Prince Edward was only 12 years old, and due to the prematurity of Edwards death, he had not made adequate provisions for succession
- his sudden death meant all restraints on faction leaders were removed, which left them to fight for the control of the new young monarch
