The War of the Barons (1459-1461) Flashcards
23rd September 1459
Battle of Blore Heath
12th/13th October 1459
Ludford Bridge (stand off) - Yorkist Lords flee England. York and his son Rutland go to Ireland. Salisbury, Warwick, and Edward, Earl of March (future IV) go to Calais.
20th November 1459
Parliament of Devils
January 1460
- Lancastrians couldn’t dislodge Yorkists from Calais. Duke of Somerset (2nd one) (appointed theoretically as Captain of Calais) unable to dislodge Warwick or Fauconberg (his uncle and his deputy commander) from Calais.
- Yorkist forces raid Sandwich (port in Kent) - recapturing ships belonging to Warwick - impounded there in the previous year
- They also seize Lord Rivers (commander of Lancastrian fleet) and his son Anthony Woodville - berated by Warwick and Salisbury for their ‘lowly lineage’.
- Warwick defeats Somerset at skirmish at Newham Bridge (within Calais Pale).
March 1460
Warwick goes from Calais to Ireland and meets Richard, Duke of York. It is uncertain what was discussed but most likely a Yorkist raid.
June 1460
Fauconberg leads Yorkist raid on Sandwich (port in Kent) - raid destroys Lancastrian fleet. Yorkist forces now occupy Sandwich - it is their bridgehead for their planned invasion.
26th June 1460
Salisbury, Warwick and Edward, Earl of March sail from Calais to Sandwich. The Yorkist lords and their army march through Kent to London. The invasion is accompanied with propaganda. This stated they were loyal to the king, endangered by traitors of the king and they represent justice and the commonweal. The Duke of Suffolk and Edmund Beaufort - Duke of Somerset were dead so the Earl of Shrewsbury, Earl of Wiltshire and Viscount Beaumont were deemed ‘traitors’.
10th July 1460
Battle of Northampton - Duke of Buckingham, Earl of Shrewsbury and Lord Egremont were murdered + Henry VI is captured by the Yorkist forces + Margaret of Anjou and Prince Edward fleed to Coventry.
16th July 1460 and onwards
Salisbury, Warwick and March return to London with Henry VI. Regain control of the government. George Neville (Warwick’s brother) - Bishop of Exeter - becomes Chancellor. Viscount Bourchier (related to Nevilles) replaces Shrewsbury as treasurer. John Neville (another one of Warwick’s brothers) became Chamberlain - therefore controlled Henry VI’s royal household. Parliament is due to meet in October.
September 1460
York returns to England from Ireland.
October 1460
York approaches London - using the mannerisms of a King - Sword borne upright before him. He adopts the royal arms and drops Henry VI’s regnal year from documents + retains individuals without a clause reserving their allegiance to the King.
10th October 1460
York arrives at Parliament - summoned to Westminster. Claims to be the rightful king. Nobility didn’t seem to agree with him - even Salisbury and Warwick’s support seemed feign and minimal.
16th October 1460
York made to submit a formal case outlining his claim to the throne. This claim is thrown between judges and the lords tediously.
25th October 1460
Act of Accord (compromise produced by the lords) - outlined that Henry VI would remain King but following his death the crown would pass onto York or if he was dead onto his heirs (his oldest son was Edward, Earl of March). This disinherited Henry VI’s son Edward Prince of Wales.
October 1460
Lancastrian forces unite in northern England. Margaret of Anjou negotiates with James II (Scottish King) and guarantees his support - in return he would gain town Berwick-upon-Tweed. Duke of Somerset (Henry Beaufort) gathers his affinity at Hull along with those of other Lancastrian lords such as the Earl of Devon, Earl of Northumberland and the Earl of Westmorland.
December 1460
York and Salisbury lead a contingent of troops north from London to meet his threat (they claim to be acting in the name of Henry VI and to be heading north to restore order and stability). They base themselves at York’s castle at Sandal.
30th December 1460
Battle of Wakefield - York, Rutland, and Salisbury’s son Thomas Neville are murdered. Salisbury is executed the next day.
2nd-3rd February 1461
Battle at Mortimer’s Cross. Edward, earl of March, had been sent to Wales and the Marches in December 1460 to raise troops from his father’s estates. Hearing of his father’s death and the Lancastrians beginning to march south, Edward prepares to intercept them. However, receiving news that a Lancastrian force under the earls of Pembroke and Wiltshire is on the march in Wales, he turns his army around, confronts this Lancastrian force at Mortimer’s Cross (Herefordshire) and comprehensively defeats it. Pembroke and Wiltshire escape; Owen Tudor (Henry VI’s step-father) is captured and executed.
17th February 1461
2nd Battle of St Albans. Warwick had been left to guard London in December 1460. With the Lancastrian army now advancing towards London, Warwick raises a substantial force and preparing to meet the Lancastrian marches to St Albans. There is serious noble support for the Yorkists, Warwick being accompanied by the duke of Norfolk, the earls of Arundel and Suffolk, and six other lords including Warwick’s uncle, Fauconberg. It’s a distinctly chivalric leadership with some distinguished veterans from the Hundred Years War. Warwick takes Henry VI with him to add legitimacy to his army, that they are fighting in the name of the king.
Late February 1461
The Lancastrians advance on London. There is no Yorkist force blocking their way, the capital apparently there for the taking. However, the city authorities bar the gates and refuse entry to the Lancastrians. Margaret attempts to negotiate entry, but news that Edward, now accompanied by Warwick, is heading towards London leads to the collapse of negotiations. The Lancastrians withdraw to Yorkshire.
27th February 1461
Edward and Warwick enter London.
4th March 1461
Accession of Edward IV. An assembly of the people is called on 1 March and affirms that Edward should be king instead of Henry VI (quite who these ‘people were is uncertain, probably prominent citizens of London). On 4 March the ‘people’ confirm this outside St Paul’s Cathedral. The Yorkist legal argument is that Henry VI has forfeited the crown by breaking the Act of Accord with the killing of Richard, duke of York. [Edward was acclaimed as king, but wasn’t crowned - not yet. However, from this moment he is known as Edward I.
11th March 1461
Fauconberg leads an advance north. Yorkists have been given a generous loan by London. Edward and Norfolk follow 3 days later, linking up with Warwick in the Midlands. The Yorkist army marches north to Pontefract seeking a decisive showdown with the Lancastrians.
29th March 1461
Battle of Towton
28th June 1461
Edward IV (19 years old) is crowned as King in Westminster Abbey
