unit 3- the war of the barons Flashcards
what was the parliament of devils?
In November 1459 Queen Margaret persuaded the King to call a parliament in Coventry, in order to disgrace York and his supporters publicly.
Margaret wanted to destroy York and his heirs; the Yorkist leaders were attainted.
Act of Attainder – branded York, Salisbury and Warwick traitors – most severe punishment possible:
Sentenced to death, if caught would be executed; lands and goods forfeit and seized by the Crown
All heirs would be disinherited – not only impoverishes family, but violated long-held traditional custom.
what was the act of attainder?
Act of Attainder – branded York, Salisbury and Warwick traitors – most severe punishment possible:
Sentenced to death, if caught would be executed; lands and goods forfeit and seized by the Crown
All heirs would be disinherited – not only impoverishes family, but violated long-held traditional custom.
what was the response to the parliament of devils?
Disinheriting heirs was considered too extreme a punishment, even for those guilty of treason.
Vast majority of nobility felt Margaret was going too far and felt a dangerous precedent had been set.
Harshness of punishment and viciousness of punishments led to the nickname ‘Parliament of Devils’.
what was the consequence of the parliament of devils
Seemed like a success for Margaret – gets what she wanted and appears to have removed York.
Disinheriting heirs shocks nobles – some turn against the Crown.
Yorkist cause ‘resuscitated’ by harshness of Parliament.
York left with nothing to lose and begins to view himself as Henry’s replacement.
Margaret may have turned York into the enemy she had styled him as - now no choice but to fight back and challenge Henry for the crown?
Battle of Blore Heath description
The Battle of Blore Heath took place on 23rd September 1459 and is considered by some historians to be the ‘real’ start of the Wars of the Roses. It was the only significant Yorkist success after the resumption of open warfare in 1459. The battle was fought between the Lancastrians, under Lord Audley, and the Yorkists, who were commanded by the Earl of Salisbury. The Yorkist army defeated a larger Lancastrian army, enabling it to join the Duke of York at Ludlow
The rout at Ludford bridge
12th October 1459, The Yorkist armies regrouped at Ludford Bridge in the town of Ludlow. During the night, Sir Andrew Trollope and his men, defected to the Lancastrians after accepting the Henry IV pardon. 13th Oct- hey ended up kneeling in submission before Henry IV, and as a result had become pardoned. The Duke of York had not only abandoned his troops, but also his wife Cecily Neville the Duchess of York, his two younger sons and daughter. Duke of York returned to Ireland with his son Edmund, Earl of Rutland. The Earl of Salisbury, Earl of Warwick and Edward, Earl of March fled to Calais.
what were the aims of the Yorkist invasion?
March 1460 - confident of support in Calais, Warwick left the garrison to go to Ireland to discuss campaign strategies with York
June 1460 – Lord Fauconberg (Warwick’s brother) led a raid on Sandwich in Kent, securing the port for Yorkist invasion
As part of the preparations a propaganda campaign to undermine the authority of Henry VI had been launched in England. ‘Evil counsellors’ were blamed for oppressing the Church and overtaxing the population.
26 June 1460 – the Yorkist forces, an army of 2000, led by Warwick, Salisbury and the Earl of March, landed in Sandwich then marched triumphantly through Kent to London, recruiting supporters along the way.
2 July 1460 – Yorkist forces arrived in London and were greeted as heroes. Henry VI had already fled the city and summoned his supporters to Northampton…
The battle of Northampton
10 July 1460- Disastrous for the Lancastrians, and aided by treachery in the king’s ranks. Outnumbered, the Lancastrian forces were defeated in 30 minutes, 300-400 men were killed out of the 50,000 on the field.
Defection of Lord Grey aided the Yorkists, turning the battle into a rout.
Lancastrian guns were bogged down, unable to cope with wet conditions.
Three of Henrys VI’s leading supporters, Buckingham, Shrewsbury and Egremont all killed.
Henry VI captured and taken to London, Yorkists continue to proclaim loyalty to the King.
Queen Margaret and Prince Edward fled (having remained in Coventry during the battle).
describe Richards return in 1460
Richard moved to press his claim to the throne based on the illegitimacy of the Lancastrian line.
Landing in north Wales, he and his wife Cecily entered London with all the ceremony usually reserved for a monarch.
Parliament was assembled, and when York entered he made straight for the throne, which he may have been expecting the Lords to encourage him to take for himself as they had Henry IV in 1399. Instead, there was stunned silence.
He announced his claim to the throne, but the Lords, even Warwick and Salisbury, were shocked by his presumption; they had no desire at this stage to overthrow King Henry. Their ambition was still limited to the removal of his bad councillors. (York has always been more radical than the Nevilles – remember Dartford!)
Act of Accord 1460
The next day, York produced detailed genealogies to support his claim based on his descent from Lionel of Antwerp and was met with more understanding.
Parliament agreed to consider the matter and accepted that York’s claim was better, but by a majority of five, they voted that Henry VI should remain as king.
A compromise was struck in October 1460 with the Act of Accord, which recognised York as Henry’s successor, disinheriting Henry’s six year old son, Edward.
York accepted this compromise as the best on offer. It gave him much of what he wanted, particularly since he was also made Protector of the Realm and was able to govern in Henry’s name. Margaret was ordered out of London with Prince Edward.
The Act of Accord proved unacceptable to the Lancastrians, who rallied to Margaret, forming a large army in the north.
what did the act of accord show?
The Act of Accord shows how much the nobility wanted to avoid any further warfare – they knew that choosing either Henry or York would lead to further conflict from the other.
So they chose both!
The Act of Accord was in reality an unworkable compromise, and never had any real chance of preventing war.
Margaret was certain to fight to protect her son’s claim to the throne…
what was the lancastrian revival in 1460
Margaret’s support in the Midlands had reduced following the battle of Northampton – with the deaths of local noblemen such as the Duke of Buckingham.
However she soon began to raise more troops in the North, with the help of the Earl of Northumberland [Percy] (rival to the Earl of Salisbury [Neville]).
The young Duke of Somerset and others loyal to the Lancastrian family soon joined her.
How do events in October 1460 show that York had misjudged the situation?
Expected acclaim when claimed the throne, but met with deafening silence – lack of support.
What does the Act of Accord tell us about the attitudes of the nobles at this time?
Nobles were desperate for peace – desperate compromise that didn’t work.
December 1460: Although the reasons remain unclear, what mistake did York make at the Battle of Wakefield?
Although outnumbered, came out of his castle at Sandal – Underestimated his enemy – Tricked? Taunted? Rescue his foragers?
