The Triumph Of The Yorkists (1461-71) Flashcards
Consolidating Edward IV’s power
- Edward officially crowned king 28th June 1461
- first years of Edwards reign were dominated by consolidating his authority in the north and crushing Lancastrian opposition
the north:
- during Autumn 1461, Warwick and Lord Montagu slowly took control of Northumberland, with the surrender of Alnwick, followed by Dunstanburgh but victory was short lived as Alnwick recaptured, but it was eventually surrendered again following a long siege by Lord Hastings and Sir John Howard
Lancastrian opposition:
- Anjou had been negotiating with Louis XI and on 24th June 1462 they settled the secret agreement of Chinon in which Louis granted Margaret aid in return for Calais
- Lancastrian force landed near Bamburgh castle with 800 soldiers and instantly the castles of Bamburgh, Dunstanburgh and Alnwick opened their gates to her
- Yorkists control of Northumberland lost once again
- Edward gathered a force and news of this reached Anjou, who had failed to raise much local support, opted to sail for Berwick but was met with storm
- while she returned safely to Scotland, many of her army ended up being driven ashore where the kings men were waiting and they were slaughtered
- Warwick led the forces north to the rebel castles and wad ordered to starve the garrisons into submission and on 24th Dec 1462, both Bamburgh and Dunstanburg castles surrendered, but Alnwick was relieved by arrival of a Scottish army
- Yorkists did not hold castles for long and in April 1463 Sir Ralph Percy let Lancastrians back into castles
- with support of large Scottish army, they laid siege to Norham on Tweed July 1463
- in late 1463, Edward changed from military tactics to diplomatic tactics
- he agreed a truce with Louis XI and diplomatic efforts successful in Scotland, with a permanent settlement planned for March 1464
- Henry VI no longer welcome in Edinburgh and retreated to Bamburgh castle
- Lancastrians made one last attempt at crown, and Somerset who had briefly swore allegiance to Edward, changed sides and led this attack
- attempted to ambush Lord Montagu who was on his way to escort Scottish envoys
- 25th April 1464 Montagu successfully fought of Somerset at Hedgely Moor
- Montagu took the initiative while Edward made slow preparations to raise an army and encountered the Lancastrian force near Hexham on 15th May 1464 and won
- Somerset executed but Henry VI escaped
- having lost the principal commanders, Lancastrian garrisons in castles had no choice to surrender
- Henry VI was captured in Lancashire and imprisoned in Tower of London
Edwards marriage to Elizabeth of York
- in May 1464 Edward secretly married Elizabeth Woodville, a poverty stricken Lancastrian widow
- the marriage was an embarrassment to Warwick as he had been forging plans for Edward to marry a French princess, Bona of Savoy
- it also made the nobility question Edwards political judgment as it was an unsuitable match for a king and he did not discuss it with them
- the marriage was accepted however out of fear if losing the kings goodwill
- Elizabeth was introduced to the public on Michaelmas day (29th Sep) 1464 at Reading Abbey
- queens coronation on 26th May 1465
- Edward had to support Elizabeths large family and they were married of rapidly to members of the great families of England
- some of these marriages angered Warwick:
- Katherine Neville who was in her 60’s and widowed 3x was forced to accept marriage of the teenage John Woodville
- Thomas Grey to Anne Holland who was already betrothed Warwicks nephew, George Neville
- all these marriages also meant their were few suitable husbands left for Warwicks daughters
- left little choice other than Clarence and Gloucester for them, but Edward opposed this as it would make Nevilles too powerful
- this marriage, started the wheels turning again on the deepening of court factions
- Woodvilles influence in court overshadowed that of Warwicks and likely influenced his disaffection
Reasons for Warwicks disaffection
ambitions for his family:
- Warwick had plans to aggrandise his family on south of Wales, however Edward gave Jasper Tudors former Earl of Pemroke onto William Herbet
- diminishing of Neville power became more apparent when Edward dismissed Archbishop George Neville from Chancellor of England in 1467
foreign policy:
- failed marriage alliance with France which embarrassed him
- Warwick determined to forge Anglo-French alliance but clear Edward preferred an Anglo-Burgundian alliance as he already snubbed the French ambassadors in Sep 1464
- Woodvilles also in favour of Burgundian alliance
- two treaties, one political and one commercial, finally signed with Burgundy in Nov 1467
- confirmed with marriage of Margaret of York (Edwards sister) and Charles, Duke of Burgundy in 1468
- Edward declared his intention to invade France in May 1468
support from Clarence:
- one of Warwicks early moves was to draw into his party Clarence, who was heir to the throne
- Clarence was involved in Warwicks plan to get dispensation from the Pope so he could marry Isabel Neville (Warwicks daughter)
- was never clear if Warwick intended to replace Edward with Clarence, but was useful to have heir to throne in his camp as Edward and Elizabeth had not produced an heir by 1469
Robin of Redesdale & Robin of Holderness rebellion
- April 1469 popular uprising led by Robin of Redesdale in Yorkshire
- another led by Robin of Holderness, which aimed to restore the Percy Family as the Earls of Northumberland
- both rebellions quickly suppressed by Earl of Northumberland
The battle of Edgecote (26th Jul 1469)
- rebellion inspired by Neville party and leader again called himself Robin of Redesdale
- others involved included: Sir Henry FitzHugh and Sir Henry Neville
- Edward reacted slowly to the rebellion and on his way north he heard that he did not have the force to match the rebels
- he appeal for men to support him, but realising the Woodvilles were unpopular so decided to send them away
- sent Earl Rivers (Elizabeths father) and John Woodville to Wales and sent Anthony Woodville, Lord Scales to Norfolk
- Edward requested Clarence and Warwick come support him, however, they had already had secretly travelled to Calais for the marriage ceremony which took place on 11th July
- Warwick then declared support for Robin of Redesdale and returned to England and marched to meet Redesdales army
- Earl of Pembroke and Devon went to meet with king but met Redesdale force on clashed on 26th July 1469
- Pembroke and Devon had an argument night before and camped separately so Pembrokes troops met full force of rebels without support
- Warwicks support arrived and most royalists fled
- Pembroke, Devon, Rivers and John Woodville executed as soon as they were captured
- 29th July Edward captured after being deserted by his men after hearing about loss at Edgecote
- with Edward in custody, Warwick summoned Parliament at York in Sep 1469 but found he did not have the expected support
- not long after there was a Lancastrian uprising in the North which Warwick could not suppress without kings support so Edward was released and went with Warwick to suppress the uprising
The battle of losecote field (12th Mar 1470)
- as Edwards base of support had been decimated after Edgecote, he initially followed a policy of conciliation towards Warwick and Clarence while building up support but in reality, he could no longer trust them
- a major mistake Edward made was removing the earldom of Northumberland from Montague snd reinstating Henry Percy, and while Montague was compensated, he was not satisfied
- rebellion occurred again in early 1470 in Lincolnshire starting as a dispute between Sir Thomas Burgh and Lord Welles and his son Sir Robert Welles
- it escalated to an open challenge to the kings rule and Warwick and Clarence at the heart of it
- rebel army swiftly suppressed by Edward on 12th Mar and before Sir Robert Welles was executed he confessed Warwick and Clarence were at the root of the rebellion and planned to place Clarence on the throne
- 24th Mar 1470 they were both declared traitors and they escaped England heading for Calais but they were not let in so they turned to Louis XI and landed their ships in Honfleur on 1st May 1470
The Neville-Lancastrian alliance
- Louis summoned Anjou and persuaded her to form an alliance with Warwick
- plan was for Louis to support Warwick and Clarences return to England so they could take the throne and restore Henry VI
- Treaty of Angers officially signed 22nd Jul 1470 and terms were: Warwick purchased pardon of Anjou and her son, Anne Neville and Prince Edward were to marry, and Louis would support Warwick with armed forces
- plan was ideal for Warwick as it made him father in law to heir of the throne
- however it was not a great plan for Clarence as it would leave him with nothing
Warwick & Clarences return to England
- rebels released a manifesto justifying their support for Henry VI
- Neville inspired rebellion broke out in the north but was quickly dealt with, but showed there was still support for Warwick
- rebels invaded England without resistance as storm scattered English fleet in channel and Edward was north dealing with another rebellion
- they landed in Devonshire Sep 1470 and were joined by Shrewsbury and Lord Stanley and the growing force marched to Coventry
- up north, Edward had requested the assistance of Lord Montague, but due to Edward taking away his earldom of Northumberland, he went with a force intending to oppose Edward
- Edward took flight to Kings Lynn from where he set sail for the low countries and they were welcomed by Louis of Bruges, the governor of Holland
- with Edward gone, Henry was removed from the Tower of London on 3rd Oct 1470 and resumed power
Henry VI readeption government
- Henrys readeption caused turmoil among the nobility as there was clamour for the return of lands from Yorkist lords to Lancastrian ones
- many staunch Lancastrians, such as Somerset, didn’t accept Warwick as a leader and waited for the return of Anjou
- Warwick reclaimed Captaincy of Calais garrison and in order to honour Treaty of Angers, ordered garrison to start attacking Burgundian lands
- in response, Charles of Burgundy granted Edward £20,000 to his cause
- Edward made peace with the Hanseatic League, which supplied him with 14 ships
- Edward also made contact with Clarence and others (Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland) for potential support
- on 11th Mar Edwards fleet set sail from Holland and planned to arrive at Norfolk where he had support but coast had been secured by Oxford
- instead he landed at Ravenspur which was the site of Henry Bolingbrokes return when he reclaimed the throne from Richard II in 1399
- Edward found it difficult to gain support as north was Lancastrian territory
- Henry Percy showed him unofficial support by ‘doing nothing’, Edwards decision to restore the Northumberland earldom was finally paying off
- as he went south his support grew, and he reached Coventry where Warwick was but he chose not to fight which was a grave mistake
- Edward persuaded Clarence to support him and other support for Warwick was wavering, Somerset and Devon headed south to meet Anjou on her arrival
- Edward marched on to London where many chose to join him and some Lancastrians tried to rally support by parading Henry through the streets but it backfired as the old diminishing king did not compare to the favourability of Edward
- Edward let into London on 11th Apr 1471 and on doing so was able to meet his son, who had been born in sanctuary while he was in exile
The battle of Barnet (14th Apr 1471)
- on 14th Apr 1471 Warwick and Edwards force met at Barnet
- Warwicks force had been bombarding Yorkists throughout the night with artillery and at 4am, Edward decided to launch an attack, despite thick fog distorting vision
- Hasting engaged Oxford and Gloucester engaged Exeter
- Hastings lost to Oxford but due to fog Gloucesters men didn’t realise and kept fighting and defeated Exeter
- Gloucester then successfully flanked Warwicks force
- Oxfords force returned to the main battle and found themselves facing Montagues men, who mistook their livery for Edwards and attacked them so they fled thinking Montague had betrayed Warwick
- in all the chaos Edward sent his reserve force to finish of Montague and Warwick
- in the battle, Warwick, Montague, Exeter, lord Cromwell and Saye all died
The battle of Tewkesbury (4th May 1471)
- 2 days after Barnet, Anjou and Prince Edward landed in England and learnt of failure at Barnet
- Somerset now in command of her force
- aimed to avoid Yorkists until she had got to Wales and gained more support
- Edward ordered the Governor of Gloucester to shut the gates to Anjou, forcing her to go further up to Tewkesbury where Edward met her with his force on 4th May 1471
- Edward deployed small force to the woods to protect from left flank which also became reserve force
- Somersets force advanced Edwards left flank and clashed with Gloucester
-Edwards direct opponent was Lord Wenlock, but for some reason he remained static, allowing Edward to attack Somerset and he also sent out the reserve force from the woods to help - Somerset retreated and angry at Wenlock he killed him
- Edward charged and overwhelmed Lancastrian force
- Devon, Wenlock and Prince Edward all killed in battle and Somerset captured and executed 2 days later
- all over for Lancastrians as their leaders were dead and Anjou was in custody by 14th May
- Henry VI died on 21st May same day Edward returned to London, supposedly died of “displeasure and melancholy” upon hearing news of his sons death but most likely Edward killed him
- Anjou was ransomed by Louis and lived the rest of her life in poverty in France
Impact baronial wars had on English society
law & order:
- political turmoil allowed people to pursue vendettas
- in Parliament of 1472, Bishop of Rochester said even after Henrys death people were still violent
- 1470 Lincolnshire rebellion went unpunished
weakening of Aristocracy:
- between 1459-61, lots of nobles involved
- 14 Lancastrians and 2 Yorkists died in this period
- 58/70 nobles participated in one battle
- lost 1/4 of parliamentary peerage
- gentry also suffered, 42 knights executed at Towton
- fewer fought in 1469-71 as still suffering from prior battles
impact on economy:
- cost for city repairs and loans & taxes rose
- due to Warwicks piracy in channel, trade became risky
