War, and the Defeat of Richard, Duke of York 1455 - 1460 Flashcards
Actions preluding the First Battle of Saint Albans
H6 a puppet in hands of wife
RDY fled north to raise and army – he, with the support of the Nevilles, intended to impose his will on H6 and his council.
Somerset and Margaret convinced H6 that RDY was plotting treason
H6 summoned RDY to Leicester to explain himself.
RDY surprised H6 by attending the meeting with 3000 men, whilst H6 only had 2000, so he was forced to negotiate – hours of negotiating - further evidence of the nobility’s desire not to fight.
Royal army, 2000 strong, barricaded itself in the town; Yorkist army had 3000. Earl of Wiltshire fled, disguised as a monk.
Nobody had planned to start the conflict until the Yorkists began collecting their army just days before the battle. Somerset and court party thus had the battle forced upon them. Conflict was not inevitable, therefore, but by 1455 events had given the mutual enmity such momentum that the battle took place even though nobles had tried consistently to prevent conflict.
The First Battle of Saint Albans
Aim was destruction of Somerset, elimination of Margaret’s influence and control of king. RDY led supporters ex. Neville Earls of Salisbury and Warwick, into rebellion against H6.
Failure of talks led to first Battle of St Albans. Skirmish in which 60-70 men killed: H6 was wounded by an arrow and among dead lay Somerset and Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland (Their heirs would seek revenge on Yorkists for their deaths).
H6 grazed on neck by an arrow – most shocking, and Yorkists had dared to attack while K’s standard was flying.
RDY had prevailed but he lacked the noble support necessary to control the king and his government – he had made himself protector once again in November. 1455 but resigned 3 months later
Compromise: RDY was reappointed to council and became K’s principal adviser. RDY’s ally, Warwick, appointed Captain of Calais
Strain proved too much and H6 lapsed into insanity. Nov 1455 - Feb 1456 RDY served a second term as protector – remarkable that civil war did not break out again before 1459.
In this period the Queen built up her power base in the Midlands, in the area where her young son held lands. Margaret emerged as leader of the Lancastrians.
1455-1459
Four years of ‘peace’:
Nobody wanted the fighting to continue.
RDY became protector again, and majority of nobles accepted this. Warwick became Captain of Calais.
Margaret did not trust RDY: March 1456, RDY’s protectorate ended. He wanted to pass a law taking back royal land granted to nobles and this lost him the nobles’ support. Nobles sympathising with Margaret took over leading positions in government and she moved court away from London to the Midlands.
Neither Margaret, nor York, dared attack the other: each did not want to risk losing the sympathy of the middle-ground nobles who wanted peace; this led to ‘Loveday’ ceremony.
How peaceful was England between 1455 and 1459? Desire on the part of most of the nobility to make govt work – neither the Yorkists or Lancastrians had the strength in numbers to take on the other.
London: Atmosphere tense
Yorkists took to wearing padded jackets, fearful of attack
Margaret of Anjou was disliked.
Courtenay-Bonville dispute: York intervened, however Courtenays (recent Yorkists) were later pardoned for attack and murder of Radford.
Why was York restored to the Protectorate on 19 Nov 1455?
Yorkist victory at St Albans: on its own, this was not the main reason – he only became protector in November.
His desire to secure power: York was confident he could win over most of the nobility by showing qualities of good and impartial leadership, and blaming Somerset meant that surviving nobles were exempt from blame.
Promise of reform: introduced limits to the expenditure of the royal household (e.g. Queen was limited to £10,000 p.a.). Also wanted to officially declare that ‘good Duke’ Humphrey of Gloucester had lived and died a true subject – wanted to associate himself with Gloucester and so boost his own popularity
Urgency of the situation in the South west – disorder: Failure of crown to deal with disorder in SW and Wales that contributed to York being given the protectorate e.g., Oct-Dec – Courtenays attacking the Bonvilles – murdering his lawyer, Nicholas Radford and taking control of Exeter – highly illegal, but King did nothing.
Second protectorate came to an end in Feb 1456 when Henry recovered sufficiently to take up the reins of govt again.
This time, Henry kept York and the Nevilles close, ensuring that York was acknowledged as his chief councillor, the role that York had claimed he wanted all along. Warwick was assisted by Henry in becoming Captain of Calais – the garrison had previously refused Warwick entry over lack of wages.
Margaret’s role in developing conflict between the factions
After St Albans, Margaret was convinced that York was a danger to her son’s future and must be destroyed.
April 1456 Margaret and Prince Edward left London and headed for the Midlands – the heart of Lancastrian power.
Kenilworth: Household was set up for Prince Edward containing people she could trust like Wiltshire and Beaumont. Also joined by Duke of Exeter, Earl of Devon and the new Somerset, Northumberland and Clifford (latter three held York responsible for the deaths of their fathers). In Aug 1456 the King joined Margaret at Kenilworth, meaning she could now control him and take command of royal appointments, placing her own men in positions of authority instead of York’s men, ex. Laurence Booth. Shift to Kenilworth meant that the Queen was now in power in court. Although her control of govt strengthened, her power base, like York’s, remained narrow as most nobles didn’t want to take sides. Margaret tried to win over some of the neutral nobles: Earls of Shrewsbury and Pembroke, who had both supported York’s protectorate, were brought over to the Lancastrian side with the former having had a favourable marriage arranged between his heir and the Duke of Buckingham’s daughter.
Having strengthened her hold on the Exchequer, the Queen saw to it that less and less money was sent to Calais with the result that Warwick found it increasingly difficult to pay the garrison. Warwick’s response was to pursue a career in piracy, attacking foreign trading ships, thus increasing his own popularity but also adding to the embarrassment of the govt.
The Loveday
Peace was fragile and ultimately, short-lived: in spite of H6’s attempts at reconciliation in March 1458, the so-called ‘Loveday’, distrust and suspicion lingered and eventually turned into bloody conflict.
Elaborately staged ritual reconciliation that saw members of the rival factions march arm-in-arm in St Paul’s, and which sought to heal divisions of St Albans (RDY hand-in-hand with Margaret, Somerset and Salisbury and Warwick with Northumberland).
York and the two Nevilles agreed to pay for a chantry at St Albans where prayers could be said for the souls of those killed in the battle.
Compensation agreed for deaths at St Albans – to Percy and Clifford. Through this period, London was packed with armed men; participants at the Loveday had each arrived with a large, armed following.
Superficial act of unity;
While RDY was away dealing with problems in Ireland, feud developed between Margaret and Warwick as Margaret attempted to have Warwick arrested on charges of privacy and riot. Warwick survived assassination attempt in London, November 1458, went on to cause havoc as a pirate.
Why did peace break down in 1459?
Battle of St Albans had brought about a blood feud
*York had made a deadly enemy of Margaret
*Henry was generally too ill, meaning that whoever had control of Henry had control of govt
*Margaret’s govt saw the removal of Yorkist appointments and their replacement with her own men, therefore signalling to York that he was back on the outside
Complete lack of trust between the two sides – often turned up with armed followers:
*Warwick’s rebellion persuaded key figures in the middle, like Buckingham, to side with Margaret
*Margaret now felt she had enough noble support to destroy York
*York felt that he could once again count on the Nevilles for military support
The flight of the Yorkists:
*The refusal of Warwick to obey govt orders and the reaction of Buckingham saw the Queen prepare for war.
*May – King and Queen sent out letters summoning their military forces to Leicester that month, and a Great Council was summoned for Coventry in June 1459 - those who failed to come were indicted.
Blore heath and Ludford
Great Council was summoned to Coventry for June 1459 – Yorkists weren’t invited, so feared they were about to be charged with treason. The Yorkists were aware that the Queen was making her move against them – call to arms – so York made plans for a meeting of his own at Ludlow. RDY and his supporters, Salisbury and Warwick, each raised an army, as did MoA and Buckingham. To prevent three Yorkist armies from joining together, Lancastrians under Lord Audley intercepted Salisbury at Blore Heath (Sept 1459): Audley defeated and killed, and Salisbury broke through.
Yorkists sent a message to the King justifying their actions and listing what they felt was wrong with the kingdom, blaming evil advisers. Court responded by offering to pardon all those who had laid down their weapons with the exception of those involved in Audley’s death - nobody accepted the pardon – lack of trust.
Yorkists merged armies and awaited Lancastrians at Ludford: when they showed, a large part of the Yorkist army defected to the other side (Calais Garrison who did not want to fight the King) Yorkists outnumbered 3 to 1: brief but bloody skirmish – RDY, Salisbury and Warwick fled at night, leaving troops to surrender, as well as many of their guns. Yorkist leaders left England; RDY and his second son Edmund fled to Ireland, while Salisbury, Warwick and RDY’s son Edward took shelter in Calais.
Parliament of Devils
Margaret persuaded H6 to call a parliament in Coventry in order to publicly disgrace RDY and his allies
Met in Nov 1459, parliament branded RDY, Salisbury and Warwick as traitors and sentenced them to death, as well as ordering the seizure of their lands and goods – Act of Attainder.
In total, 27 Yorkists were attainted: In a gross violation of long-held custom that protected the rights of innocent offspring, parliament also disinherited the Yorkist leaders’ heirs.
Last act shocked nobility – turned some against the Crown
Parliament became notorious and earned nickname, ‘Parliament of Devils’. Harsh treatment only stiffened Yorkists’ resolve for revenge – Margaret had backed Yorkists into a corner – they had no alternative but to fight.
Northampton and Wakefield
Warwick, Salisbury and RDY’s heir, Edward, Earl of March returned to England, landing on the south coast with an army of 2000 Calais veterans – they also brought a papal legate with them – gave pope’s blessing to Yorkist cause and excommunicated most of the Lancastrian nobles. Brought propaganda with them, setting out how they had been harshly treated but also proclaiming loyalty to Henry. Took London with ease, and recruited more troops – royal court had been in the Midlands at this time. Yorkist army under Warwick encountered H6’s army near Northampton:lLed by Duke of Buckingham, Lancastrians were heavily defeated owing to the treachery of Lord Grey of Ruthin, who changed sides and joined the Yorkists. H6 and Buckingham were captured, and the latter was executed (Earl of Shrewbury also killed), along with Lord Egremont. Yorkists knelt before H6, swearing loyalty
Act of Accord 1460
Control of govt and removal of evil councillors not enough for RDY (who had not been at Northampton, but in Ireland): 3 months after Northampton, he all but claimed the throne for himself. In September he marched on London and strode into the House of Lords, placing his hands on the empty throne. Instead of shouts of approval and acclamation, he was greeted by a deafening silence – until the archbishop of Canterbury asked RDY if he had come to see H6! Even his closest allies clearly disapproved of his move to claim the Crown for himself. People backed away from the sacrilegious act.
Compromise: forced H6 to agree to the Act of Accord (act of Parliament responsible for determining the line of succession to the throne).
This act shows how much the nobles wanted to avoid any further warfare – they knew that choosing either H6 or RDY would mean further conflict, so they chose both.
According to the terms of the act: H6 was to remain king for the rest of his life, H6’s son, Edward was disinherited, H6’s wife, Margaret, banished for life.
Succession entrusted to RDY and his offspring, who was recognised in law as heir-proper.
Wakefield 1460
Margaret refused to accept this – raised troops in the north – supported by great northern magnates who hated RDY and the Nevilles. She was always going to fight to protect her son’s claim. Duke of Somerset and earl of Northumberland joined her.
RDY, his second son Edmund, earl of Rutland and Salisbury marched to Yorkshire to meet her in battle
At Wakefield, (30 Dec 1460) the Yorkists were crushed by a much larger Lancastrian force: RDY and Rutland were killed and Salisbury captured and later executed. RDY’s severed head, with a paper crown on it, was stuck on the walls of York.
Second Battle of Saint Albans (Feb 1461)
To exploit Wakefield, Margaret hurried south to rescue her husband, who was in Warwick’s custody. Yorkists, under Warwick, suffered another decisive defeat at the second Battle of St Albans (17 Feb 1461)– Warwick had shown his failings as a military commander, believing that the enemy was still 9 miles away
H6 released and reunited with Margaret. Margaret marched towards London – en route, her army pillaged towns and villages, driving off cattle and sheep for food – Londoners heard about this and slammed the gates of the city shut. Margaret failed to take London, however and Warwick fled to the Welsh border to join up with Edward, Earl of March - instead, Margaret turned north – mistake? Allowed EDY to enter London.
Mortimer’s Cross and Towton
EDY was determined to avenge his father’s defeat and death. Marched north from Gloucester to intercept a Lancastrian army under James Butler, earl of Wiltshire and Lieutenant of Ireland and Jasper Tudor, earl of Pembroke, who had landed with a force of French mercenaries. Lancastrians routed at Mortimer Cross (early Feb 1461) – planned and led by the teenage Edward.
Within a month, Edward was in London where he was proclaimed King Edward IV on 4 March 1461, only by a small faction of nobles and merchants – Lancastrians had neglected London for many years – great London merchant companies tended to side with whoever controlled Calais – Warwick, since 1455. EDY ‘looked and behaved like a King’ and Warwick was popular in London.
Before being crowned, he marched north to confront the Lancastrians: Ferrybridge – skirmish that took place just before Towton, involved a small force of Lancastrians under Lord Clifford attempting to stop Yorkist troops under Warwick from using a river crossing at Ferrybridge. In ensuing fight, Clifford killed, Warwick wounded and Lancastrians fled.
Towton – (29 March) fought in a snowstorm the following day – largest armies ever assembled in the kingdom, with more than 50,000 involved. Great slaughter, Lancastrians routed. Towton was the decisive engagement that both sides had been seeking since the renewal of war in 1459. Battle lasted all day – was not easy victory for E4. H6, Margaret and their son Edward fled to Scotland while Edward returned to London to be crowned.
