ENCYCLOPEDIA OF

THE WARS OF

THE ROSES

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF

THE WARS OF

THE ROSESJohn A. Wagner

ABC A CLIOSanta Barbara, California Denver, Colorado Oxford, England

Copyright 2001 by John A. WagnerAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrievalsystem, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, withoutprior permission in writing from the publishers.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataWagner, J. A. (John A.)

Encyclopedia of the Wars of the Roses / John A. Wagnerp. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 1-85109-358-3 (alk. paper) ISBN 1-57607-575-3 (e-book)1. Great BritainHistoryWars of the Roses,

14551485Encyclopedias. I. Title.DA250.W34 2001942.04dc21

2001001605

06 05 04 03 02 01 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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This book is printed on acid-free paper I.Manufactured in the United States of America

To the women who have made a difference:my mother,

Dolores Burmahln Wagner;my grandmothers,

Olivia Gruhle Burmahln and Dorothy Stephanie Wagner;my mother-in-law,

Mary Schultz Bronski;my great-aunt,

Elizabeth Butler Burmahln;and, of course, my wife,

Donna Bronski

Guide to Related Topics, xiiiPreface, xxiii

Acknowledgments, xxviiIntroduction, xxix

Chronology:Wars of the Roses, xxxiii

Encyclopedia of the Wars of the Roses

vii

Contents

AAccord, Act of (1460), 1Affinity, 2Alnwick Castle (14611464), 2Angers Agreement (1470), 3Anglica Historia (Vergil), 4Archers, 5Armies, Recruitment of, 6Armies, Size of, 7Armies, Supplying of, 8Armor, 9Artillery, 11Attainder, Act of, 13

BBadges, 15The Ballad of Bosworth Field, 16Bamburgh Castle (14611464), 16Barnet, Battle of (1471), 17Bastard Feudalism, 19Battles, Nature of, 20Beaufort, Edmund, Duke of Somerset

(c. 14061455), 22Beaufort, Edmund, Duke of Somerset

(14391471), 23Beaufort Family, 25

Beaufort, Henry, Duke of Somerset(14361464), 25

Beaufort, Margaret, Countess ofRichmond and Derby (14431509),26

Beaumont, William, Lord Beaumont(14381507), 27

Berwick-on-Tweed, 28Blore Heath, Battle of (1459), 29Blount, Walter, Lord Mountjoy

(d. 1474), 30Bones of 1674, 30Bonville, William, Lord Bonville

(13931461), 31Booth, Lawrence, Archbishop of York

(d. 1480), 32Bosworth Field, Battle of (1485), 33Bourchier, Henry, Earl of Essex

(d. 1483), 34Bourchier, Thomas, Cardinal

Archbishop of Canterbury (c. 14041486), 35

Brackenbury, Sir Robert (d. 1485), 36Bray, Sir Reginald (14401503), 37Brz, Pierre de, Seneschal of

Normandy (c. 14081465), 37

Brittany, 38Buckinghams Rebellion (1483), 39Burgundy, 41Butler, James, Earl of Wiltshire and

Ormond (14201461), 42Butler Precontract (1483), 43

CCaister Castle, Siege of (1469), 45Calais, 46Castillon, Battle of (1453), 47Casualties, 48Catesby, William (14501485), 49Caxton, William (c. 14211491), 50Cely Letters and Papers, 51Charles VII, King of France

(14031461), 52Charles VIII, King of France

(14701498), 53Charles, Duke of Burgundy

(14331477), 54Chinon Agreement (1462), 54Chronicle of the Rebellion in Lincolnshire

(1470), 55Clarence, Execution of (1478), 56Clifford, John, Lord Clifford

(c. 14351461), 57Clifford, Thomas, Lord Clifford

(14141455), 58Commissions of Array, 58Commons (Common People) and the

Wars of the Roses, 59Compilation of the Meekness and

Good Life of King Henry VI(Blacman), 60

Cook, Sir Thomas (14201478), 61Coppini Mission (14591461), 62Cornelius Plot (1468), 63Council, Royal, 63Council Meeting of 13 June 1483, 64Court, Royal, 66Courtenay, Henry, Earl of Devon

(Lancastrian) (c. 14351469), 67

Courtenay, John, Earl of Devon(Lancastrian) (c. 14401471), 67

Courtenay, Peter, Bishop of Winchester(14321492), 68

Courtenay, Thomas, Earl of Devon(14141458), 68

Courtenay, Thomas, Earl of Devon(14321461), 69

Courtenay-Bonville Feud (1450s), 70Coventry Parliament (1459), 71Croyland Chronicle, 72

DDartford Uprising (1452), 73De Facto Act (1495), 74Devereux, Walter, Lord Ferrers of

Chartley (14321485), 74Dinham, John, Lord Dinham (d. 1501),

75Dunstanburgh Castle (14611464), 76

EEdgecote, Battle of (1469), 79Edward IV, King of England

(14421483), 80Edward IV, Overthrow of (1470), 82Edward IV, Restoration of (1471), 83Edward V, King of England (1470

c. 1483), 84Edward of Lancaster, Prince of Wales

(14531471), 86Elizabeth of York, Queen of England

(14651503), 87English Church and the Wars of the

Roses, 88English Economy and the Wars of the

Roses, 89

FFerrybridge, Battle of (1461), 91First Protectorate (14541455), 92Fitzgerald, Gerald, Earl of Kildare

(14561513), 93

viii CONTENTS

Fitzgerald, Thomas, Earl of Desmond (c. 14261468), 93

Fitzgerald, Thomas, Earl of Kildare (d. 1478), 94

Fortescue, Sir John (c. 13941476), 94France, 95Francis II, Duke of Brittany (d. 1488),

97

GGeneralship, 99Gentry, 100Grey, Edmund, Earl of Kent

(c. 14201489), 101Grey, Thomas, Marquis of Dorset

(14511501), 101Gruthuyse, Louis de, Seigneur de la

Gruthuyse, Earl of Winchester (c. 14271492), 102

HHanseatic League, 105Harbingers, 106Hardyngs Chronicle, 106Harlech Castle (14611468), 107Hastings, William, Lord Hastings

(c. 14301483), 108Hedgeley Moor, Battle of (1464), 110Henry VI, King of England

(14211471), 111Henry VI, Illness of, 113Henry VI, Murder of (1471), 113Henry VI, Part 1 (Shakespeare), 114Henry VI, Part 2 (Shakespeare), 116Henry VI, Part 3 (Shakespeare), 117Henry VII, King of England

(14571509), 117Herbert, William, Earl of Pembroke

(d. 1469), 119Heworth, Battle of (1453), 121Hexham, Battle of (1464), 122The History of King Richard III (More),

122

History of the Arrival of Edward IV, 123Holland, Henry, Duke of Exeter

(14301475), 124Howard, John, Duke of Norfolk

(d. 1485), 125Howard, Thomas, Earl of Surrey and

Duke of Norfolk (14431524), 125Hundred Years War (13371453), 126Hungerford, Robert, Lord Hungerford

(14311464), 127Hungerford, Sir Thomas (d. 1469), 128Hungerford, Sir Walter (d. 1516), 129

IIreland, 131

JJack Cades Rebellion (1450), 133Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Duchess of

Bedford (c. 14161472), 134James II, King of Scotland

(14301460), 136James III, King of Scotland

(14511488), 136James IV, King of Scotland

(14731513), 137

KKennedy, James, Bishop of St. Andrews

(c. 14061465), 139

LLancaster, House of (13991461,

14701471), 141Landais, Pierre (d. 1485), 143Langstrother, Sir John, Prior of the

Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem(14161471), 144

Livery and Maintenance, 145London, 145London Chronicles, 147Losecote Field, Battle of (1470), 148Louis XI, King of France (14231483),

149

CONTENTS ix

Love-Day of 1458, 150Lovell, Francis,Viscount Lovell

(c. 1456c. 1487), 151Lovell-Stafford Uprising (1486), 152Ludford Bridge, Battle of (1459), 153

MMalory, Sir Thomas (c. 14161471), 155Manner and Guiding of the Earl of Warwick

at Angers (1470), 156March on London (1461), 157Margaret of Anjou, Queen of England

(14301482), 158Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy

(14461503), 160Mary of Gueldres, Queen of Scotland

(d. 1463), 161Memoirs (Commines), 162Men-at-Arms, 162Mercenaries, 163Military Campaigns, Duration of, 164Mortimers Cross, Battle of (1461), 166Morton, John, Cardinal Archbishop of

Canterbury (c. 14201500), 166Mowbray, John, Duke of Norfolk

(14151461), 167Mowbray, John, Duke of Norfolk

(14441476), 168

NNavy, 169Neville, Anne, Queen of England

(c. 14531485), 171Neville, Cecily, Duchess of York

(14151495), 172Neville Family, 173Neville, George, Archbishop of York

(14321476), 174Neville, Sir Humphrey (c. 14391469),

175Neville Inheritance Dispute

(14711475), 176

Neville, Isabel, Duchess of Clarence(14511476), 177

Neville, John, Earl of Northumberlandand Marquis of Montagu (c. 14301471), 178

Neville, John, Lord Neville (d. 1461),179

Neville, Richard, Earl of Salisbury (c. 14001460), 180

Neville, Richard, Earl of Warwick(14281471), 181

Neville, Sir Thomas (c. 14291460), 183

Neville, Thomas, Bastard of Fauconberg(d. 1471), 184

Neville, William, Lord Fauconberg andEarl of Kent (d. 1463), 184

Neville-Percy Feud (1450s), 186Nibley Green, Battle of (1470), 187North of England and the Wars of the

Roses, 188Northampton, Battle of (1460), 190

OOxford Conspiracy (1462), 193

PParliament, 195Paston Letters, 196Peerage, 197Percy, Henry, Earl of Northumberland

(13941455), 198Percy, Henry, Earl of Northumberland

(14211461), 199Percy, Henry, Earl of Northumberland

(14461489), 200Percy, Thomas, Lord Egremont

(14221460), 201Philip, Duke of Burgundy (13961467),

202Plantagenet, Edmund, Earl of Rutland

(14431460), 203

x CONTENTS

Plantagenet, Edward, Earl of Warwick(14751499), 204

Plantagenet, George, Duke of Clarence(14491478), 204

Plantagenet, House of (11541485), 206Plantagenet, Richard, Duke of York

(14111460), 207Plantagenet, Richard, Duke of York

(1473c. 1483), 209Plumpton Letters and Papers, 210Pole, John de la, Duke of Suffolk

(14421491), 210Pole, John de la, Earl of Lincoln

(c. 14641487), 211Pole, William de la, Duke of Suffolk

(13961450), 212Prerogative, 213Princes in the Tower, 214Propaganda, 215

RRadford, Nicholas (d. 1455), 219Ratcliffe, Sir Richard (d. 1485), 220Readeption (14701471), 220Recueil des Croniques et Anchiennes Istories

de la Grant Bretaigne, a present nommeEngleterre (Waurin), 221

Retainers, 223Retaining, Acts against, 224Rhys ap Thomas (14491525), 225Richard II, Deposition of (1399), 226Richard III, King of England

(14521485), 228Richard III, Historical Views of, 230Richard III, Northern Affinity of, 232Richard III (Shakespeare), 233Robin of Holderness Rebellion (1469),

234Robin of Redesdale Rebellion (1469),

234Roos, Thomas, Lord Roos

(14271464), 235

The Rose of England, 236Rotherham, Thomas, Archbishop of

York (14231500), 237Rous, John (c. 14111491), 238Russell, John, Bishop of Lincoln

(d. 1494), 239

SSt. Albans, Battle of (1455), 241St. Albans, Battle of (1461), 242Sanctuary, 243Scales, Thomas, Lord Scales

(13991460), 244Scotland, 244Second Protectorate (14551456), 246Shakespeare and the Wars of the Roses,

247Shaws Sermon (1483), 249Shore, Elizabeth (Jane) (d. 1527), 250Simnel, Lambert (c. 1475c. 1525), 251The Song of Lady Bessy, 252Stafford, Henry, Duke of Buckingham

(c. 14541483), 252Stafford, Humphrey, Duke of

Buckingham (14021460), 253Stafford, Humphrey, Earl of Devon

(14391469), 254Stamford Bridge, Battle of (1454), 255Stanley, Thomas, Earl of Derby

(c. 14351504), 256Stanley, Sir William (d. 1495), 257Stillington, Robert, Bishop of Bath and

Wells (d. 1491), 257Stoke, Battle of (1487), 258Stonor Letters and Papers, 259Sun in Splendor/Sunburst Badge, 260

TTailboys, Sir William (c. 14161464),

263Tewkesbury, Battle of (1471), 263Thomas ap Gruffydd (d. 1473), 265

CONTENTS xi

Tiptoft, John, Earl of Worcester (c. 14271470), 266

Titulus Regius, 267Touchet, James, Lord Audley

(c. 13981459), 269Tower of London, 269Towns and the Wars of the Roses, 271Towton, Battle of (1461), 272Trollope, Sir Andrew (d. 1461), 273Tudor, Edmund, Earl of Richmond

(c. 14301456), 273Tudor, House of (14851603), 274Tudor, Jasper, Earl of Pembroke and

Duke of Bedford (c. 14311495), 276Tudor, Owen (d. 1461), 277Tunstall, Sir Richard (d. 1492), 277Twt Hill, Battle of (1461), 278Tyrell, Sir James (14451502), 279

UThe Union of the Two Noble and Illustrious

Families of Lancaster and York (Hall), 281Urswick, Christopher (14481521), 281Usurpation of 1483, 282The Usurpation of Richard III (Mancini),

284

VVaughan, Sir Thomas (d. 1483), 285Vere, John de, Earl of Oxford

(14431513), 285

WWainfleet, William, Bishop of

Winchester (c. 13951486), 287Wakefield, Battle of (1460), 288Wales, 289Warbeck, Perkin (14751499), 290Warkworths Chronicle, 291Wars of the Roses, Causes of, 292Wars of the Roses, Naming of, 294Weaponry, 295Welles Uprising (1470), 296Wenlock, John, Lord Wenlock

(d. 1471), 297Westminster-Ardtornish, Treaty of

(1462), 298Whethamstede, John, Abbot of St.

Albans (c. 13901465), 298Woodville, Anthony, Earl Rivers

(c. 14421483), 299Woodville, Elizabeth, Queen of England

(c. 14371492), 301Woodville Family, 302Woodville, Lionel, Bishop of Salisbury

(c. 14461484), 303Woodville, Richard, Earl Rivers

(c. 14101469), 304

YYork, House of (14611470,

14711485), 307Yorkist Heirs (after 1485), 308

xii CONTENTS

Appendix 1: Genealogies, 311Appendix 2: Map of Wars of the Roses Battle Sites, 317

Appendix 3:Table of Dynastic Affiliations, 319Appendix 4: Involvement of the Higher Peerage in the Wars of the Roses, 323

Appendix 5: European Rulers in the Fifteenth Century, 327Appendix 6: Popes and English Church Leaders in the Fifteenth Century, 329

Appendix 7: Selected Historical Fiction with Fifteenth-Century Characters and Settings, 331Appendix 8: Selected Web Sites for Fifteenth-Century Topics, 337

Bibliography, 343Index, 353

About the Author, 367

Battles and CampaignsAlnwick CastleBamburgh CastleBarnet, Battle ofBattles, Nature ofBlore Heath, Battle ofBosworth Field, Battle ofCastillon, Battle ofDunstanburgh CastleEdgecote, Battle ofEdward IV, Overthrow ofEdward IV, Restoration ofFerrybridge, Battle ofHarlech CastleHedgeley Moor, Battle ofHeworth, Battle ofHexham, Battle ofLosecote Field, Battle ofLudford Bridge, Battle ofMarch on LondonMilitary Campaigns, Duration ofMortimers Cross, Battle ofNibley Green, Battle ofNorthampton, Battle ofSt. Albans, Battle of (1455)St. Albans, Battle of (1461)Stamford Bridge, Battle ofStoke, Battle ofTewkesbury, Battle ofTowton, Battle ofTwt Hill, Battle ofWakefield, Battle of

BrittanyBrittanyBurgundyFranceFrancis II, Duke of Brittany

Henry VII, King of EnglandLandais, Pierre

BurgundyBrittanyBurgundyCharles, Duke of BurgundyFranceGruthuyse, Louis de, Seigneur de la

Gruthuyse, Earl of WinchesterHanseatic LeagueMargaret of York, Duchess of BurgundyMemoirs (Commines)Philip, Duke of BurgundyRecueil des Croniques et Anchiennes Istories de la

Grant Bretaigne, a present nomme Engleterre(Waurin)

Simnel, LambertWarbeck, Perkin

Castles and FortressesAlnwick CastleBamburgh CastleCaister Castle, Siege ofDunstanburgh CastleHarlech CastleTower of London

Church and ChurchmenBooth, Lawrence, Archbishop of YorkBourchier, Thomas, Cardinal Archbishop of

CanterburyCoppini MissionCourtenay, Peter, Bishop of WinchesterEnglish Church and the Wars of the RosesKennedy, James, Bishop of St. AndrewsLangstrother, Sir John, Prior of the Hospital of

St. John of Jerusalem

xiii

Guide to Related Topics

Morton, John, Cardinal Archbishop ofCanterbury

Neville, George, Archbishop of YorkRotherham, Thomas, Archbishop of YorkRussell, John, Bishop of LincolnSanctuaryShaws SermonStillington, Robert, Bishop of Bath and WellsUrswick, ChristopherWainfleet, William, Bishop of WinchesterWhethamstede, John, Abbott of St. AlbansWoodville, Lionel, Bishop of Salisbury

Economic MattersCaxton, WilliamCely Letters and PapersCook, Sir ThomasEnglish Economy and the Wars of the RosesHanseatic LeagueLondonTowns and the Wars of the RosesWars of the Roses, Causes of

Edward IV, First Reign of(14611470)Alnwick CastleAngers AgreementBamburgh CastleBurgundyCaister Castle, Siege ofChinon AgreementChronicle of the Rebellion in LincolnshireCornelius PlotDunstanburgh CastleEdgecote, Battle ofEdward IV, King of EnglandEdward IV, Overthrow ofFerrybridge, Battle ofHanseatic LeagueHarlech CastleHedgeley Moor, Battle ofHexham, Battle ofLosecote Field, Battle ofManner and Guiding of the Earl of Warwick at

AngersNibley Green, Battle ofOxford ConspiracyRobin of Holderness RebellionRobin of Redesdale Rebellion

Towton, Battle ofTwt Hill, Battle ofWelles UprisingWestminster-Ardtornish, Treaty ofWoodville Family

Edward IV, Second Reign of(14711483)Barnet, Battle ofClarence, Execution ofEdward IV, King of EnglandEdward IV, Restoration ofFranceHanseatic LeagueHenry VI, Murder ofHistory of the Arrival of Edward IVNeville Inheritance DisputeTewkesbury, Battle ofWoodville Family

Families, Noble and RoyalBeaufort FamilyCourtenay-Bonville FeudLancaster, House ofNeville FamilyNeville-Percy FeudPlantagenet, House ofTudor, House ofWoodville FamilyYork, House of

FeudsBeaufort, Edmund, Duke of Somerset

(d. 1455)Beaufort, Henry, Duke of SomersetBonville, William, Lord BonvilleCaister Castle, Siege ofClifford, John, Lord CliffordCourtenay, Thomas, Earl of Devon

(d. 1458)Courtenay, Thomas, Earl of Devon (d. 1461)Courtenay-Bonville FeudHeworth, Battle ofMowbray, John, Duke of Norfolk (d. 1461)Mowbray, John, Duke of Norfolk (d. 1476)Neville FamilyNeville, John, Earl of Northumberland and

Marquis of MontaguNeville, Richard, Earl of Salisbury

xiv GUIDE TO RELATED TOPICS

Neville, Richard, Earl of WarwickNeville, Sir ThomasNeville-Percy FeudNibley Green, Battle ofPercy, Henry, Earl of Northumberland

(d. 1455)Percy, Henry, Earl of Northumberland

(d. 1461)Percy, Thomas, Lord EgremontPlantagenet, Richard, Duke of York (d. 1460)Radford, NicholasStamford Bridge, Battle of

FranceAngers AgreementBrz, Pierre de, Seneschal of NormandyBrittanyBurgundyCalaisCastillon, Battle ofCharles VII, King of FranceCharles VIII, King of FranceChinon AgreementFranceHanseatic LeagueHundred Years WarLouis XI, King of FranceManner and Guiding of the Earl of Warwick at

AngersMemoirs (Commines)Warbeck, Perkin

GentryBrackenbury, Sir RobertBray, Sir ReginaldCatesby, WilliamFortescue, Sir JohnGentryHungerford, Sir ThomasHungerford, Sir WalterMalory, Sir ThomasNeville, Sir HumphreyNeville, Sir ThomasNeville, Thomas, Bastard of FauconbergPaston LettersPlumpton Letters and PapersRadford, NicholasRatcliffe, Sir RichardRhys ap Thomas

Stanley, Sir WilliamStonor Letters and PapersTailboys, Sir WilliamThomas ap GruffyddTrollope, Sir AndrewTudor, OwenTunstall, Sir RichardTyrell, Sir JamesVaughan, Sir Thomas

Government, Politics, andParliamentAccord, Act ofAttainder, Act ofClarence, Execution ofCouncil, RoyalCouncil Meeting of 13 June 1483Court, RoyalCoventry ParliamentDe Facto ActFirst ProtectorateFortescue, Sir JohnHenry VI, Illness ofHenry VI, Murder ofHundred Years WarLove-Day of 1458ParliamentPrerogativePropagandaReadeptionRetaining, Acts againstRichard II, Deposition ofSanctuarySecond ProtectorateTitulus RegiusUsurpation of 1483Wars of the Roses, Causes of

Henry VI, Reigns of (14221461,14701471)Accord, Act ofCastillon, Battle ofCompilation of the Meekness and Good

Life of King Henry VI (Blacman)Coppini MissionCourtenay-Bonville FeudCoventry ParliamentDartford UprisingFirst Protectorate

GUIDE TO RELATED TOPICS xv

Henry VI, King of EnglandHenry VI, Illness ofHenry VI, Murder ofHundred Years WarJack Cades RebellionLove-Day of 1458March on LondonNeville-Percy FeudNorthampton, Battle ofReadeptionSt. Albans, Battle of (1455)St. Albans, Battle of (1461)Second ProtectorateStamford Bridge, Battle ofWakefield, Battle of

Henry VII, Reign of (14851509)Anglica Historia (Vergil)Beaufort, Margaret, Countess of Richmond

and DerbyBosworth Field, Battle ofBray, Sir ReginaldCharles VIII, King of FranceDe Facto ActElizabeth of York, Queen of EnglandGrey, Thomas, Marquis of DorsetHenry VII, King of EnglandLovell-Stafford UprisingMorton, John, Cardinal Archbishop of

CanterburyPlantagenet, Edward, Earl of WarwickRhys ap ThomasRichard III, Historical Views ofSimnel, LambertStanley, Thomas, Earl of DerbyStanley, Sir WilliamStoke, Battle ofTudor, House ofTudor, Jasper, Earl of Pembroke and Duke of

BedfordUrswick, ChristopherVere, John de, Earl of OxfordWarbeck, PerkinWars of the Roses, Naming ofYorkist Heirs (after 1485)

Historical Sources and Literary WorksAnglica Historia (Vergil)

The Ballad of Bosworth FieldCely Letters and PapersChronicle of the Rebellion in LincolnshireCompilation of the Meekness and Good

Life of King Henry VI (Blacman)Croyland ChronicleHardyngs ChronicleHenry VI, Part 1 (Shakespeare)Henry VI, Part 2 (Shakespeare)Henry VI, Part 3 (Shakespeare)The History of King Richard III (More)History of the Arrival of Edward IVLondon ChroniclesManner and Guiding of the Earl of Warwick at

AngersMemoirs (Commines)Paston LettersPlumpton Letters and PapersRecueil des Croniques et Anchiennes Istories de la

Grant Bretaigne, a present nomme Engleterre(Waurin)

Richard III, Historical Views ofRichard III (Shakespeare)The Rose of EnglandRous, JohnShakespeare and the Wars of the RosesThe Song of Lady BessyStonor Letters and PapersThe Union of the Two Noble and Illustrious

Families of Lancaster and York (Hall)The Usurpation of Richard III (Mancini)Warkworths ChronicleWhethamstede, John, Abbott of St. Albans

IrelandButler, James, Earl of Wiltshire and OrmondFitzgerald, Gerald, Earl of KildareFitzgerald, Thomas, Earl of DesmondFitzgerald, Thomas, Earl of KildareIrelandScotlandSimnel, LambertWalesWarbeck, Perkin

Lancaster, House of, Membersand Partisans ofBeaufort, Edmund, Duke of Somerset

(d. 1455)

xvi GUIDE TO RELATED TOPICS

Beaufort, Edmund, Duke of Somerset (d. 1471)

Beaufort FamilyBeaufort, Henry, Duke of SomersetBeaufort, Margaret, Countess of Richmond

and DerbyBeaumont, William, Lord BeaumontBonville, William, Lord BonvilleBrz, Pierre de, Seneschal of NormandyButler, James, Earl of Wiltshire and OrmondClifford, John, Lord CliffordClifford, Thomas, Lord CliffordCook, Sir ThomasCourtenay, Henry, Earl of Devon

(Lancastrian)Courtenay, John, Earl of Devon (Lancastrian)Courtenay, Thomas, Earl of Devon (d. 1458)Courtenay, Thomas, Earl of Devon (d. 1461)Edward of Lancaster, Prince of WalesFortescue, Sir JohnHenry VI, King of EnglandHolland, Henry, Duke of ExeterHungerford, Robert, Lord HungerfordHungerford, Sir ThomasLancaster, House ofLangstrother, Sir John, Prior of the Hospital of

St. John of JerusalemMargaret of Anjou, Queen of EnglandMorton, John, Cardinal Archbishop of

CanterburyNeville FamilyNeville, George, Archbishop of YorkNeville, Sir HumphreyNeville, John, Earl of Northumberland and

Marquis of MontaguNeville, John, Lord NevilleNeville, Richard, Earl of WarwickNeville, Thomas, Bastard of FauconbergPercy, Henry, Earl of Northumberland

(d. 1455)Percy, Henry, Earl of Northumberland

(d. 1461)Percy, Thomas, Lord EgremontPlantagenet, House ofPole, William de la, Duke of SuffolkRoos, Thomas, Lord RoosScales, Thomas, Lord ScalesStafford, Humphrey, Duke of BuckinghamTailboys, Sir William

Thomas ap GruffyddTouchet, James, Lord AudleyTrollope, Sir AndrewTudor, Edmund, Earl of RichmondTudor, House ofTudor, Jasper, Earl of Pembroke and Duke of

BedfordTudor, OwenTunstall, Sir RichardVere, John de, Earl of OxfordWainfleet, William, Bishop of WinchesterWenlock, John, Lord WenlockWoodville, Anthony, Earl RiversWoodville, Richard, Earl Rivers

Military MattersArchersArmies, Recruitment ofArmies, Size ofArmies, Supplying ofArmorArtilleryBastard FeudalismCasualtiesCommissions of ArrayGeneralshipHarbingersHundred Years WarMarch on LondonMen-at-ArmsMercenariesMilitary Campaigns, Duration ofNavyRetainersSun in Splendor/Sunburst BadgeWeaponry

NobilityBeaufort, Edmund, Duke of Somerset

(d. 1455)Beaufort, Edmund, Duke of Somerset

(d. 1471)Beaufort FamilyBeaufort, Henry, Duke of SomersetBeaufort, Margaret, Countess of Richmond

and DerbyBeaumont, William, Lord BeaumontBlount, Walter, Lord MountjoyBonville, William, Lord Bonville

GUIDE TO RELATED TOPICS xvii

Bourchier, Henry, Earl of EssexButler, James, Earl of Wiltshire and OrmondClifford, John, Lord CliffordClifford, Thomas, Lord CliffordCourtenay, Henry, Earl of Devon

(Lancastrian)Courtenay, John, Earl of Devon (Lancastrian)Courtenay, Thomas, Earl of Devon (d. 1458)Courtenay, Thomas, Earl of Devon (d. 1461)Devereux, Walter, Lord Ferrers of ChartleyDinham, John, Lord DinhamFitzgerald, Gerald, Earl of KildareFitzgerald, Thomas, Earl of DesmondFitzgerald, Thomas, Earl of KildareGrey, Edmund, Earl of KentGrey, Thomas, Marquis of DorsetGruthuyse, Louis de, Seigneur de la

Gruthuyse, Earl of WinchesterHastings, William, Lord HastingsHerbert, William, Earl of PembrokeHolland, Henry, Duke of ExeterHoward, John, Duke of NorfolkHoward, Thomas, Earl of Surrey and Duke of

NorfolkHungerford, Robert, Lord HungerfordJacquetta of Luxembourg, Duchess of BedfordLovell, Francis,Viscount LovellMowbray, John, Duke of Norfolk (d. 1461)Mowbray, John, Duke of Norfolk (d. 1476)Neville, Cecily, Duchess of YorkNeville FamilyNeville, Isabel, Duchess of ClarenceNeville, John, Earl of Northumberland and

Marquis of MontaguNeville, John, Lord NevilleNeville, Richard, Earl of SalisburyNeville, Richard, Earl of WarwickNeville, William, Lord Fauconberg and Earl

of KentPeeragePercy, Henry, Earl of Northumberland

(d. 1455)Percy, Henry, Earl of Northumberland

(d. 1461)Percy, Henry, Earl of Northumberland

(d. 1489)Percy, Thomas, Lord EgremontPlantagenet, Edmund, Earl of RutlandPlantagenet, Edward, Earl of Warwick

Plantagenet, George, Duke of ClarencePlantagenet, Richard, Duke of York (d. 1460)Plantagenet, Richard, Duke of York

(d. c. 1483)Pole, John de la, Duke of SuffolkPole, John de la, Earl of LincolnPole, William de la, Duke of SuffolkRoos, Thomas, Lord RoosScales, Thomas, Lord ScalesStafford, Henry, Duke of BuckinghamStafford, Humphrey, Duke of BuckinghamStafford, Humphrey, Earl of DevonStanley, Thomas, Earl of DerbyTiptoft, John, Earl of WorcesterTouchet, James, Lord AudleyTudor, Edmund, Earl of RichmondTudor, Jasper, Earl of Pembroke and Duke of

BedfordVere, John de, Earl of OxfordWenlock, John, Lord WenlockWoodville, Anthony, Earl of RiversWoodville FamilyWoodville, Richard, Earl Rivers

North of EnglandAlnwick CastleBamburgh CastleBerwick-on-TweedBooth, Lawrence, Archbishop of YorkClifford, John, Lord CliffordClifford, Thomas, Lord CliffordDunstanburgh CastleFerrybridge, Battle ofHedgeley Moor, Battle ofHeworth, Battle ofHexham, Battle ofLovell, Francis,Viscount LovellNeville FamilyNeville, George, Archbishop of YorkNeville, Sir HumphreyNeville Inheritance DisputeNeville, John, Earl of Northumberland and

Marquis of MontaguNeville, John, Lord NevilleNeville, Richard, Earl of SalisburyNeville, Richard, Earl of WarwickNeville, Sir ThomasNeville, William, Lord Fauconberg and Earl

of Kent

xviii GUIDE TO RELATED TOPICS

Neville-Percy FeudNorth of England and the Wars of the RosesPercy, Henry, Earl of Northumberland

(d. 1455)Percy, Henry, Earl of Northumberland

(d. 1461)Percy, Henry, Earl of Northumberland

(d. 1489)Percy, Thomas, Lord EgremontRichard III, Northern Affinity ofRobin of Holderness RebellionRobin of Redesdale RebellionScotlandStamford Bridge, Battle ofWakefield, Battle of

Princes in the TowerBones of 1674Brackenbury, Sir RobertEdward V, King of EnglandHenry VII, King of EnglandThe History of King Richard III (More)Plantagenet, Richard, Duke of York

(d. c. 1483)Princes in the TowerRichard III, King of EnglandRichard III (Shakespeare)Stafford, Henry, Duke of BuckinghamTower of LondonTyrell, Sir JamesUsurpation of 1483The Usurpation of Richard III (Mancini)Woodville, Elizabeth, Queen of EnglandYorkist Heirs (after 1485)

Rebellions, Uprisings,and DisordersBuckinghams RebellionCaister Castle, Siege ofChronicle of the Rebellion in LincolnshireCornelius PlotCourtenay-Bonville FeudDartford UprisingEdgecote, Battle ofEdward IV, Overthrow ofEdward IV, Restoration ofHeworth, Battle ofJack Cades RebellionLosecote Field, Battle of

Lovell-Stafford UprisingNeville-Percy FeudNibley Green, Battle ofOxford ConspiracyRichard II, Deposition ofRobin of Holderness RebellionRobin of Redesdale RebellionSimnel, LambertStoke, Battle ofWarbeck, PerkinWelles UprisingYorkist Heirs (after 1485)

Richard III, Reign of (14831485)Beaufort, Margaret, Countess of Richmond

and DerbyBosworth Field, Battle ofBrackenbury, Sir RobertBray, Sir ReginaldBuckinghams RebellionButler PrecontractCatesby, WilliamCouncil Meeting of 13 June 1483Edward V, King of EnglandElizabeth of York, Queen of EnglandHastings, William, Lord HastingsThe History of King Richard III (More)Howard, John, Duke of NorfolkHoward, Thomas, Earl of Surrey and Duke of

NorfolkHungerford, Sir WalterLovell, Francis,Viscount LovellMorton, John, Cardinal Archbishop of

CanterburyNeville, Anne, Queen of EnglandPlantagenet, Richard, Duke of York

(d. c. 1483)Princes in the TowerRatcliffe, Sir RichardRhys ap ThomasRichard III, King of EnglandRichard III, Historical Views ofRichard III, Northern Affinity ofRichard III (Shakespeare)Shaws SermonStafford, Henry, Duke of BuckinghamStanley, Thomas, Earl of DerbyStanley, Sir WilliamStillington, Robert, Bishop of Bath and Wells

GUIDE TO RELATED TOPICS xix

Titulus RegiusTyrell, Sir JamesUsurpation of 1483The Usurpation of Richard III (Mancini)Vaughan, Sir ThomasWoodville, Anthony, Earl RiversWoodville, Elizabeth, Queen of EnglandWoodville FamilyWoodville, Lionel, Bishop of Salisbury

Royalty and RulersCharles VII, King of FranceCharles VIII, King of FranceCharles, Duke of BurgundyEdward IV, King of EnglandEdward V, King of EnglandEdward of Lancaster, Prince of WalesElizabeth of York, Queen of EnglandFrancis II, Duke of BrittanyHenry VI, King of EnglandHenry VII, King of EnglandJames II, King of ScotlandJames III, King of ScotlandJames IV, King of ScotlandLancaster, House ofLouis XI, King of FranceMargaret of Anjou, Queen of EnglandMargaret of York, Duchess of BurgundyMary of Gueldres, Queen of ScotlandNeville, Anne, Queen of EnglandPhilip, Duke of BurgundyPlantagenet, House ofRichard II, Deposition ofRichard III, King of EnglandTudor, House ofWoodville, Elizabeth, Queen of EnglandYork, House of

ScotlandBerwick-on-TweedIrelandJames II, King of ScotlandJames III, King of ScotlandJames IV, King of ScotlandKennedy, James, Bishop of St. AndrewsMary of Gueldres, Queen of ScotlandScotlandWales

Warbeck, PerkinWestminster-Ardtornish, Treaty of

Social StructureAffinityArmies, Recruitment ofBadgesBastard FeudalismCommons (Common People) and the Wars

of the RosesGentryLivery and MaintenancePeerageRetainersRetaining, Acts againstWars of the Roses, Causes of

SourcesSee Historical Sources and Literary Works

TownsBerwick-on-TweedCalaisCely Letters and PapersCook, Sir ThomasLondonLondon ChroniclesMarch on LondonTower of LondonTowns and the Wars of the Roses

Treaties and AgreementsAngers AgreementChinon AgreementWestminster-Ardtornish, Treaty of

Tudor, House of, Members andPartisans ofBeaufort FamilyBeaufort, Margaret, Countess of Richmond

and DerbyBray, Sir ReginaldCourtenay, Peter, Bishop of WinchesterElizabeth of York, Queen of EnglandGrey, Thomas, Marquis of DorsetHenry VII, King of EnglandHoward, Thomas, Earl of Surrey and Duke of

Norfolk

xx GUIDE TO RELATED TOPICS

Hungerford, Sir WalterMorton, John, Cardinal Archbishop of

CanterburyRhys ap ThomasStanley, Thomas, Earl of DerbyStanley, Sir WilliamTudor, Edmund, Earl of RichmondTudor, House ofTudor, Jasper, Earl of Pembroke and Duke of

BedfordTudor, OwenUrswick, ChristopherVere, John de, Earl of Oxford

WalesDevereux, Walter, Lord Ferrers of ChartleyEdward of Lancaster, Prince of WalesHarlech CastleHerbert, William, Earl of PembrokeIrelandLudford Bridge, Battle ofMortimers Cross, Battle ofRhys ap ThomasScotlandStafford, Henry, Duke of BuckinghamThomas ap GruffyddTudor, Edmund, Earl of RichmondTudor, House ofTudor, Jasper, Earl of Pembroke and Duke of

BedfordTudor, OwenTwt Hill, Battle ofVaughan, Sir ThomasWales

Wars of the Roses, First Phase(14591461)Accord, Act ofBlore Heath, Battle ofCoppini MissionCoventry ParliamentFerrybridge, Battle ofLudford Bridge, Battle ofMarch on LondonMortimers Cross, Battle ofNorthampton, Battle ofSt. Albans, Battle of (1461)Sun in Splendor/Sunburst Badge

Towton, Battle ofTwt Hill, Battle ofWakefield, Battle ofWars of the Roses, Causes of

Wars of the Roses, Second Phase(14691471)Angers AgreementBarnet, Battle ofCaister Castle, Siege ofChronicle of the Rebellion in LincolnshireEdgecote, Battle ofEdward IV, Overthrow ofEdward IV, Restoration ofHenry VI, Murder ofHistory of the Arrival of Edward IVLosecote Field, Battle ofManner and Guiding of the Earl of Warwick at

AngersNibley Green, Battle ofReadeptionTewkesbury, Battle ofWelles UprisingWars of the Roses, Causes of

Wars of the Roses,Third Phase(14831487)Bosworth Field, Battle ofBuckinghams RebellionButler PrecontractCouncil Meeting of 13 June 1483The History of King Richard III (More)Princes in the TowerRichard III, Northern Affinity ofShaws SermonStoke, Battle ofTitulus RegiusUsurpation of 1483The Usurpation of Richard III (Mancini)Wars of the Roses, Causes ofWars of the Roses, Naming ofYorkist Heirs (after 1485)

WeaponsArchersArmorArtilleryWeaponry

GUIDE TO RELATED TOPICS xxi

WomenBeaufort, Margaret, Countess of Richmond

and DerbyElizabeth of York, Queen of EnglandJacquetta of Luxembourg, Duchess of BedfordMargaret of Anjou, Queen of EnglandMargaret of York, Duchess of BurgundyMary of Gueldres, Queen of ScotlandNeville, Anne, Queen of EnglandNeville, Cecily, Duchess of YorkNeville, Isabel, Duchess of ClarenceShore, Elizabeth (Jane)Woodville, Elizabeth, Queen of England

York, House of, Members andPartisans ofBlount, Walter, Lord MountjoyBonville, William, Lord BonvilleBourchier, Henry, Earl of EssexBourchier, Thomas, Cardinal Archbishop of

CanterburyBrackenbury, Sir RobertCatesby, WilliamCourtenay, Peter, Bishop of WinchesterDevereux, Walter, Lord Ferrers of ChartleyDinham, John, Lord DinhamEdward IV, King of EnglandEdward V, King of EnglandElizabeth of York, Queen of EnglandFitzgerald, Gerald, Earl of KildareFitzgerald, Thomas, Earl of DesmondFitzgerald, Thomas, Earl of KildareGrey, Edmund, Earl of KentGrey, Thomas, Marquis of DorsetHastings, William, Lord HastingsHerbert, William, Earl of PembrokeHoward, John, Duke of NorfolkHoward, Thomas, Earl of Surrey and Duke of

NorfolkJacquetta of Luxembourg, Duchess of BedfordLovell, Francis,Viscount LovellMargaret of York, Duchess of BurgundyMowbray, John, Duke of Norfolk (d. 1461)

Mowbray, John, Duke of Norfolk (d. 1476)Neville, Anne, Queen of EnglandNeville, Cecily, Duchess of YorkNeville FamilyNeville, George, Archbishop of YorkNeville, John, Earl of Northumberland and

Marquis of MontaguNeville, Richard, Earl of SalisburyNeville, Richard, Earl of WarwickNeville, Sir ThomasNeville, William, Lord Fauconberg and Earl

of KentPercy, Henry, Earl of Northumberland

(d. 1489)Plantagenet, Edmund, Earl of RutlandPlantagenet, Edward, Earl of WarwickPlantagenet, George, Duke of ClarencePlantagenet, House ofPlantagenet, Richard, Duke of York (d. 1460)Plantagenet, Richard, Duke of York

(d. c. 1483)Pole, John de la, Duke of SuffolkPole, John de la, Earl of LincolnRatcliffe, Sir RichardRichard III, King of EnglandRotherham, Thomas, Archbishop of YorkRussell, John, Bishop of LincolnStafford, Henry, Duke of BuckinghamStafford, Humphrey, Earl of DevonStanley, Thomas, Earl of DerbyStanley, Sir WilliamStillington, Robert, Bishop of Bath and WellsTiptoft, John, Earl of WorcesterTyrell, Sir JamesVaughan, Sir ThomasWenlock, John, Lord WenlockWoodville, Anthony, Earl RiversWoodville, Elizabeth, Queen of EnglandWoodville FamilyWoodville, Lionel, Bishop of SalisburyWoodville, Richard, Earl RiversYork, House ofYorkist Heirs (after 1485)

xxii GUIDE TO RELATED TOPICS

The Encyclopedia of the Wars of the Roses pro-vides its users with clear, concise, and basic de-scriptions and definitions of people, events,and terms relating in some significant way tothe series of civil conflicts that disturbed En-glish politics and society in the second half ofthe fifteenth century, and that later came to beknown as the Wars of the Roses. Because thebook focuses exclusively on the Wars of theRoses themselveswhat caused them, howthey were fought, and what effects they hadon English life and governmentit is not ageneral overview of fifteenth-century Englandbut a specialized treatment of one of the mostimportant aspects of English history duringthat century.

The Encyclopedia was written primarilyfor students and other nonspecialists whohave an interestbut little backgroundinthis period of British history. Besides provid-ing a highly usable resource for quicklylooking up names and terms encountered inreading or during study, the Encyclopedia of-fers an excellent starting point for classroomor personal research on subjects relating tothe course, causes, and consequences of theWars of the Roses. The entries provide thebasic information needed to choose or honea research topic, to answer small but vitalquestions of fact, and to identify further andmore extensive information resources. TheEncyclopedia also serves as a handy guide forthose interested in re-creating the militaryand social aspects of the wars, as well as auseful readers companion for those whosereading on the periodwhether of fictionor nonfictionis more for enjoyment thanfor study.

Scope of the BookIn chronological terms, the Encyclopedia of theWars of the Roses concerns itself largely withthe most active phases of civil conflict in thelate fifteenth century, primarily the years14591461, 14691471, and 14831487, theperiods when politics was most disordered, so-ciety was most disrupted, and military activitywas most intense. Some entries, such as thoseon the Neville-Percy Feud and the Yorkistpretender Perkin Warbeck, cover the politicalturmoil that preceded civil war in the 1450sor the dynastic uncertainty that lingered afterthe fighting in the 1490s. Other entries, suchas those describing the deposition of RichardII in 1399 or the Hundred Years War of thefourteenth and fifteenth centuries, coverbroader topics or issues related to the long-term causes of the Wars of the Roses.

In geographical terms, the Encyclopedia isconcerned not only with the course of politi-cal and military events in England, but withhow the English civil wars both affected andwere influenced by people and happenings inneighboring states. Readers will find entriesthat relate the Wars of the Roses to relevantcontemporary events in the other states of theBritish Isles (Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) andin the most important states on the continent(Brittany, Burgundy, and France). Also in-cluded are foreign rulers and leaders whoseactions and decisions affected the civil wars,such as Frances Louis XI, Scotlands Mary ofGueldres, and Burgundys Charles the Bold.

Criteria for InclusionTo be included in the Encyclopedia, a topic,event, or person had to have a role in some

xxiii

Preface

significant aspect of the Wars of the Roses.Nonbiographical entries relate mainly tomilitary issues (e.g., the raising of armies, thenature of combat, and the use of navalforces), to political terms and events (e.g., theemployment of attainder, the Readeptiongovernment, and the usurpation of 1483), tothe major battles of the Wars of the Roses(e.g., Towton, Barnet, and Bosworth Field),and to the chief historical sources for thecivil wars (e.g., Sir Thomas Mores History ofKing Richard III, Philippe de ComminessMemoirs, and the continuations of the Croy-land Chronicle).

Because the Wars of the Roses were dynas-tic struggles concerned with who should ex-ercise the powers of the Crown, the great ma-jority of biographical entries cover the mostactive participants in the conflicts, that is, no-blemen and members of the English royalfamily. Also included are entries on the con-tending branches of the royal family, such asthe houses of Lancaster, York, and Tudor; onkey magnate families, such as the Nevilles andthe Woodvilles; on important members of thegentry, such as Sir John Fortescue and WilliamCatesby; on politically active members of theclergy, such as Bishop John Morton and PriorJohn Langstrother; and on broad social classes,such as the peerage, gentry, and commons.

Structure of EntriesThe Encyclopedias 281 entries, 130 of whichare biographical, average about 500 words inlength. Each entry opens with a sentence orbrief paragraph that carefully places its subject,whether a person, event, or term, within thecontext of the Wars of the Roses, explainingthe subjects significance for the emergence,course, or impact of the civil wars. Each entryalso contains numerous cross-references to re-lated entries (which appear in SMALL CAPI-TALS) and concludes with one or more rec-ommendations for additional reading. Thesereading recommendations include both schol-arly works and popular treatments. In a fewcases, older books have been included if nomore recent study has been published or if theolder work remains the accepted scholarly

standard on the subject, as is the case, for in-stance, with biographies of some lesser-knownfigures. Also included in the readings are im-portant essays and papers published in bookform in collections of articles. All works ap-pearing at the ends of entries as further read-ing are listed in the general bibliography,which also contains numerous other worth-while books not found among the entry rec-ommendations. A reader interested in furtherreading on a particular person or topic shouldcheck both the general bibliography and thefurther reading listings at the ends of relevantentries.

All biographical entries provide the per-sons title or office. For titles of nobility, onlythe highest title attained is given; thus, An-thony Woodville is noted as Earl Rivers, thetitle he acquired on his fathers death, and notas Lord Scales, the title he had held previously.In a few cases, such as Jasper Tudor, who wasearl of Pembroke throughout the Wars of theRoses and only became duke of Bedford later,both titles are given. Except in cases wherebirth dates are unknown, as is often the casewith fifteenth-century figures, life dates arealso supplied for all biographical entries.When exact birth or death years are uncertain,the c. notation, meaning circa, or at aboutthat time, precedes the date to indicate thatthe year given is approximate. When a singleyear is preceded by d., the year given is thedeath date, and the birth date is totally un-known. The date ranges supplied for rulingmonarchs are birth and death dates, not theyears of their reign, which are given in the textof the entry. Finally, the spelling for all titles offifteenth- and sixteenth-century publicationshas been modernized.

Additional FeaturesPreceded by a brief, general introduction thatdescribes the historiography of the Wars of theRoses, the entries are augmented by a map ofbattlefield sites, a detailed chronology, and fivegenealogical tables depicting the royal housesand important noble families. Appendixes alsoinclude a listing of fifteenth-century monarchsin England and neighboring countries, a quick

xxiv PREFACE

reference table showing the (sometimes shift-ing) dynastic allegiances of important noble-men, a table showing the consequences of in-volvement in the wars for the higher peerage,and an annotated listing of useful Wars of theRoses Web sites. Besides an extensive generalbibliography, which is divided by broad topics,the Encyclopedia also includes a bibliography ofhistorical fiction with Wars of the Roses char-

acters and settings and a detailed subjectindex. When used with the cross-references inthe entries, the Guide to Related Topics willallow readers to trace broad themessuch asthe north of England, local feuds, or foreignaffairsthrough all their most importantevents, ideas, and personalities and so will helpto provide users with a sound basic under-standing of the Wars of the Roses.

PREFACE xxv

I want to thank the photo archive staffs of thefollowing institutions for the illustrations theyhelped provide for this volume: the British Li-brary; the British Museum; the Public RecordOffice, London; the National Portrait Gallery,London; the Birmingham Art Gallery; theUniversity of Ghent; the Brooklyn Museum;and the Bibliothque Municipale dArras.

At Arizona State University, I wish tothank the staff of Hayden Library for assistingme in obtaining necessary and sometimes ob-scure research materials, and the members ofmy British history classes for helping me honeideas and definitions with their questions,comments, and interest.

At ABC-CLIO, I wish to thank BobNeville for his help in getting this book underway and for keeping it on track; Michelle

Trader for carefully shepherding it throughthe production process; Liz Kincaid for han-dling the illustrations; and Silvine MarburyFarnell for expert copyediting.

I also want to thank all the members of myfamily in PhoenixGene, Fran, Michael,Mary, Courtney, Mary, and Kerbyand myfamily in WisconsinKaren, Fred, Paul,Katie, Patrick, Peter, Charles, Debbie, Scott,Tammy, Haley, and my dad, Joefor support-ing me in the long and sometimes tediousprocess of putting together a good referencebook. And, for keeping me quiet companythrough long hours at the computer, I thankmy little button-nosed friend, Midnight. Fi-nally, I must express my gratitude and love tomy wife, Donna, without whose unfailingsupport nothing of any value is ever possible.

xxvii

Acknowledgments

Until the mid-twentieth century, the natureand consequences of the series of civil con-flicts fought in England in the late fifteenthcentury were not in doubt. These civil wars,which in the nineteenth century were termedthe Wars of the Roses, were a time of polit-ical chaos, economic disorder, social disrup-tion, cultural stagnation, and even moral de-cline. The royal family was torn apart, and thepolitically influential classes, the nobility andgentry, destroyed themselves in a series ofbloody battles fought to determine whowould wear the Crown and control the royalgovernment. The detrimental effects of thisprolonged warfare severely damaged not onlythe English polity, but also the whole of En-glands economy and society.

Reflecting this accepted view of the latefifteenth century, the 1911 edition of the En-cyclopaedia Britannica described the Wars of theRoses as a series of civil wars characterizedby a ferocity and brutality which are practi-cally unknown in the history of English warsbefore or since (Pollard, p. 13). Two decadesearlier, William Denton, a fellow of WorcesterCollege, had written that the Wars of theRoses caused the baronage of England to bealmost extirpated, and that the commonpeople, although slaughtered in greater num-bers than in any former war on English soil,suffered even more grievously from thewant, exposure and disease that the warsengendered. The standard of morality, con-cluded Denton, could not have been lowerthan it was at the end of the fifteenth cen-tury (Denton, pp. 118119). This horrificview of the late fifteenth century, which hadslowly but steadily developed throughout thesixteenth century, was largely uncontested for

over 300 years, from 1600 to the first decadesof the twentieth century.

Although the actual term Wars of theRoses was unknown in the fifteenth and six-teenth centuries, the concept of the warringroses was familiar to anyone who lived underthe rule of the Tudors between 1485 and1603. Within months of winning the thronein August 1485, Henry VII ordered the blend-ing of the red rose emblem (symbolizing hisown Lancastrian lineage) with the white roseemblem (symbolizing his wifes Yorkist blood)to form the two-color Tudor rose, a new royalemblem to signify for all the peace and unitythat Henrys accession and marriage hadbrought to England. Because the size and im-portance of Henrys accomplishment were di-rectly related to the disorder and destructive-ness of what had gone before, histories of thefifteenth century written under the Tudors inthe sixteenth century tended to magnify thehorrors of the civil war and vilify the actionsof Henrys defeated predecessor, just as thatpredecessor had sought to justify his ownusurpation by denouncing the actions of thosewho had ruled before him. In Titulus Regius,the parliamentary declaration of his title to thethrone, Richard III had listed in lurid detailthe failings of his brothers administration,which, the document concluded, had broughtgreat sorrow and heaviness [to] all true En-glishmen. And Edward IV, in 1461, had por-trayed his seizure of the Crown as makingright the terrible crime against Gods law[and] mans liegance committed by the Lan-castrians when they deposed Richard II in1399 (Pollard, pp. 8, 9).

By the mid-sixteenth century, the propa-ganda of a succession of usurpers of the En-

xxix

Introduction

glish Crown had become the commonly ac-cepted framework for explaining the courseand consequences of fifteenth-century Englishhistory. Developed by such early Tudor histo-rians as Sir Thomas More in his History of KingRichard III (c.1513) and Polydore Vergil in hisAnglica Historia (1534), the outlines of thisframework were picked up and widely dis-seminated by Edward Halls The Union of theTwo Noble and Illustrious Families of Lancasterand York (1548), a chronicle that by its verytitle proclaimed the benefits of Tudor rule. ForHall, the Wars of the Roses encompassed notonly the battles fought between the 1450s andthe 1480s, but the entire sweep of English his-tory from 1399 to 1485, a period defined bythe deposition of a rightful king, the divinepunishment of the whole realm for this un-lawful act, and the restoration of divine orderand favor as symbolized by the accession ofHenry VIII, a descendant of both warringhouses. Such were the misery . . . murder and. . . execrable plagues that England had suf-fered before Henry VII that Hall wrote, mywit cannot comprehend nor my tongue de-clare neither yet my pen fully set forth all theterrible consequences of that time (Ellis, p. 1).

In 1561, at the start of the reign of Eliza-beth I, Henry VIIIs daughter, Sir ThomasSmith wrote a pamphlet that elaborated onwhat Hall could not describe. According toSmith, the civil wars of the fifteenth centurywere a time when blood pursued blood andensued blood till all the realm was brought togreat confusion and England in the last yearsof Henry VI was almost a very chaos (Aston,pp. 282283). Thus, the Elizabethans, thensome seventy years removed from the civilwars, and well aware of the political upheavalsthat disturbed their own times, could be se-cure in the knowledge that their troubles inno way approached the chaos that hadreigned before Henry VII.

This notion of chaos before the coming ofthe Tudors was reinforced in the sixteenthcentury by the spread of humanism, a move-ment that saw the Middle Ages as a long bar-ren period standing between the gloriousachievements of the classical world and the re-

vival of classical learning in contemporarytimes. Henry VIIs accession was well suited toserve as the initiating event of this classical re-newal, and the Wars of the Roses servedequally well as the period of most intensedarkness before the humanist dawn. Thus, thehumanist view of the Middle Ages fit wellwith the official view of the fifteenth centurybeing developed by Tudor propaganda andhistoriography. Humanism also encouragedthe writing of English history and the use ofthat history as a moral yardstick for critiquingcontemporary politics and society. And no pe-riod was more fraught with moral lessons thanthe Wars of the Roses.

In the 1590s, William Shakespeare, makinguse of Holinsheds Chronicles and other histo-ries deriving from Hall, More, and other earlyTudor sources, applied his genius to the rap-idly solidifying historiography of the Wars ofthe Roses. Basing no less than eight plays onfifteenth-century English history, Shakespearedramatized, sharpened, and darkened the con-ventional view of the period, and exploredbroader themes that connected it to the politi-cal concerns of his own times. The plays, fromRichard II to Richard III, presented a unifiedexplanation of the fifteenth century thatwarned anyone in their Elizabethan audiencesto refrain from active opposition to the lawfulmonarch, lest the horrors of the Wars of theRoses descend again upon England. By 1600,few English subjects questioned that the fif-teenth-century civil wars were a time of polit-ical, social, and economic chaos unleashed bythe deposition of one king in 1399 and endedby the accession of another in 1485.

Except for occasional attempts to rehabili-tate the reputation of Richard III, such as theefforts of Sir George Buck in the seventeenthcentury, Horace Walpole in the eighteenthcentury, and Caroline Halsted in the nine-teenth century, the traditional view of theWars of the Roses continued unchallenged al-most into the twentieth century. By encourag-ing the publication and study of fifteenth-cen-tury documents, whether public records orprivate papers, the development of modernhistorical research in the mid-nineteenth cen-

xxx INTRODUCTION

tury confirmed the prevailing interpretationof the period. The Paston Letters, which firstbecame available in an edition published be-tween 1787 and 1823, and the ongoing publi-cations of the Deputy Keeper of PublicRecords and the Camden Society providedhistorians with an accumulating mass of evi-dence that the fifteenth century had indeedbeen a time of turbulence and disorder. Storiesof corruption, violence, and lawlessnessemerged from such sources as the records ofthe Court of Kings Bench and the proceed-ings of royal councils and local commissions.Such evidence convinced the medieval histo-rian Bishop William Stubbs that all that wasgood and great in [late medieval life] was lan-guishing even unto death (Stubbs, p. 632) andpersuaded Charles Plummer, as he wrote inthe introduction to his edition of Sir JohnFortescues Governance of England, that thescourge of a social system he called bastardfeudalism was responsible for a total break-down of law and order in late fifteenth-cen-tury England.

However, certain records seemed to tellanother story, and a few historians in the latenineteenth and early twentieth centuriesbegan to cautiously suggest that perhaps theWars of the Roses had not been as widely dis-ruptive as had been thought. In 1874, in hisShort History of the English People, J. R. Greenagreed that there were few periods in Englishhistory from which we turn with suchweariness and disgust as from the Wars of theRoses (Green, p. 288), but he also proposedthat the worst aspects of the conflict werelargely confined to the nobility and their re-tainers. The merchants of the towns and thepeasants of the countryside suffered less fromthe civil wars because they largely avoidedparticipation in them. In 1886, ThoroldRogers, thanks to his detailed study of fif-teenth-century economic documents, sup-ported Greens dissent by declaring that theagricultural classes must have had only atransient and languid interest in the factionfight (Rogers, p. 240), for the evidence wasthat the fifteenth century was for them a pe-riod of general prosperity. In 1923, C. L.

Kingsford, drawing upon the Stonor familyarchives and other legal documents, expandedthis notion by arguing that the Wars of theRoses were not nearly as destructive as hadbeen thought, and that many members of thefifteenth-century gentry, such as the Stonors,had thrived, while taking little or no part inthe conflict.

These first stirrings of revisionism became atransforming movement through the scholar-ship of K. B. McFarlane, who, for more thanthirty years before his death in 1966, con-ducted studies that ranged widely over the latemedieval period. McFarlane refuted Plum-mers thesis that bastard feudalism was a struc-turally corrupt social system and the rootcause of the disorder and lawlessness thatplagued fifteenth-century society. Bastard feu-dalism, argued McFarlane, was a generally ef-fective response to the needs of late medievalsociety and the basis of English political inter-action from the thirteenth to the sixteenthcenturies, not simply an aberration of the latefifteenth century. McFarlane also believed thatthe disorder caused by the Wars of the Roseswas limited and arose mainly from the inabil-ity of Henry VI to function effectively.

Although he published little on the civilwars themselves, McFarlane inspired throughhis teaching a great many historians whothoroughly reinvigorated and transformed thestudy of the Wars of the Roses after 1960. Byrevising, expanding, and refining McFarlanesbasic ideas, a host of scholars working in thelast third of the twentieth century questionednot only the effects of the Wars of the Roses,but their causes and their chronology. In the1970s, J. R. Lander and Charles Ross bothconcluded that the Wars of the Roses saw lit-tle real fighting, caused little real destruction,and had little real effect on trade and agricul-ture. Ross declared that the late fifteenth cen-tury supported a rich, varied and vigorouscivilization [that] . . . was a product of politicalviolence which did nothing to hinder itssteady development (Ross, p. 176). By theearly 1980s, when John Gillingham describedfifteenth-century England as a society orga-nized for peace and the most peaceful

INTRODUCTION xxxi

country in Europe (Gillingham, pp. 14, 15),some historians had taken the traditional viewto the opposite extreme and argued that theWars of the Roses were hardly wars at all andhad exercised almost no influence on most as-pects of fifteenth-century society. Althoughthis view has been much revised and largelyrejected, the received tradition of a horrificseries of devastating civil wars has also beenlargely dismissed.

Stripped of the certainty of the past, theWars of the Roses are currently among themost controversial events in English politicalhistory. Most historians now agree that theterm Wars of the Roses, no matter how un-satisfactory it may be in any number of ways,can be used to describe a period of about fourdecades in the second half of the fifteenthcentury during which England experiencedongoing political instability and intermittentopen warfare. Beyond that, historians workingat the start of the twenty-first century are indisagreement over such fundamental issues aswhen these periods of warfare started andended, and even over how many such wars ac-tually occurred.

McFarlane described three wars, coveringthe years 14501464, 14641471, and 14831487, while John Gillingham identified threewars dated 14551464, 14691471, and14831487. Ross talked about three periodsof warfare, but only two wars, arguing thatthe conflicts of 14601464 and 14691471were two parts of the one war between Lan-caster and York, while the 14831487episode was really a separate struggle be-tween York and Tudor. Meanwhile, in the1980s, Anthony Goodman characterized theWars of the Roses as merely a related seriesof military eruptions occurring between1452 and 1497, whereas in the 1990s Chris-tine Carpenter sought to understand thecivil wars within the broader context of aperiod running from the commencement ofthe personal rule of Henry VI in 1437 to thepeaceful accession of Henry VIII in 1509. Asthese widely differing views illustrate, thestudy and interpretation of the Wars of the

Roses is today one of the most engaging anddynamic subfields in English history.

ReferencesAston, M. E.Richard II and the Wars of the

Roses, in F. R. H. DuBoulay and C. M. Barron,eds.The Reign of Richard II: Essays in Honour ofMay McKisack. London:Athlone, 1971.

Buck, Sir George. The History of King Richard III.Edited by A. N. Kincaid. Stroud,Gloucestershire, UK: Sutton Publishing, 1982.

Carpenter, Christine. The Wars of the Roses: Politicsand the Constitution in England, c.14371509.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.

Denton, William. England in the Fifteenth Century.London: George Bell, 1888.

Ellis, Henry, ed. Halls Chronicle. London, 1548;reprinted New York: AMS Press, 1965.

Gillingham, John. The Wars of the Roses: Peace andConflict in Fifteenth-Century England. BatonRouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1981.

Goodman, Anthony. The Wars of the Roses: MilitaryActivity and English Society, 145297. NewYork: Dorset Press, 1981.

Green, J. R. A Short History of the English People.3d ed. London: Macmillan, 1916.

Halsted, Caroline A. Richard III as Duke ofGloucester and King of England. 2 vols. London,1844; reprinted Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK:Sutton Publishing, 1977.

Kingsford. C. L. Prejudice and Promise in FifteenthCentury England. Ford Lectures of 1923.Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1925.

Lander, J. R. Crown and Nobility, 14501509.Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press,1976.

McFarlane, K. B.The Wars of the Roses, inEngland in the Fifteenth Century. London:Hambledon Press, 1981.

Plummer, Charles. Introduction to Sir JohnFortescue, The Governance of England, edited byCharles Plummer. Oxford: Oxford UniversityPress, 1885.

Pollard, A. J. The Wars of the Roses. New York: St.Martins Press, 1988.

Rogers, J. E. Thorold. Six Centuries of Work andWages. London: Sonnenschein, 1886.

Ross, Charles. The Wars of the Roses. London:Thames and Hudson, 1987.

Stubbs, William. The Constitutional History ofEngland. vol. 3. 5th ed. Oxford: ClarendonPress, 1897.

Walpole, Horace. Historic Doubts on the Life andReign of Richard III. Edited by P. W. Hammond.Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: SuttonPublishing, 1987.

xxxii INTRODUCTION

1399 29 September. Deposition ofRichard II; accession of Henry ofBolingbroke as Henry IV, first kingof the house of Lancaster.

1411 22 September. Birth of RichardPlantagenet, future duke of York.

1413 20 March. Death of Henry IV;uncontested accession of Henry V,second king of the house ofLancaster.

1415 25 October. Battle of AgincourtHenry V wins major victory overthe French.

1417 Henry V conquers Normandy.1420

1420 22 May. Treaty of Troyes recognizesHenry V as heir to Charles VI ofFrance, disinherits the DauphinCharles, future Charles VII.2 June. Henry V marries Catherineof Valois, daughter of Charles VI ofFrance.

1421 6 December. Prince Henry, son ofHenry V and future Henry VI, isborn at Windsor.

1422 31 August. Death of Henry V;uncontested accession of nine-month-old Henry VI, third king ofthe house of Lancaster.21 October. Death of Charles VI ofFrance; Charles VII accepted asking in areas of France outsideAnglo-Burgundian control.

1428 28 November. Birth of RichardNeville, future earl of Warwick.

1429 8 May. English abandon siege ofOrleans in France.17 July. Charles VII is crowned kingof France at Rheims.

6 November. Henry VI is crownedking of England at Westminster.

1430 23 May. Joan of Arc is captured byBurgundian forces.

1431 30 May. Joan of Arc is burned atthe stake for heresy in Rouen.16 December. Henry VI is crownedking of France at Paris.

1435 15 September. Death of John, dukeof Bedford, uncle of Henry VI andregent of France.21 September. Burgundians abandonEnglish alliance and conclude treatywith France.

1436 17 April. Paris falls to the forces ofCharles VII.8 May. York appointed lordlieutenant of France.

1437 3 January. Death of Catherine ofValois, mother of Henry VI.12 November. The minority ofHenry VI, now almost sixteen,formally ends.

1440 2 July. York appointed lord lieutenantof France for a second time.12 September. Henry VI foundsEton College.

1441 12 February. Henry VI foundsKings College, Cambridge.

1442 28 April. Birth of Edward, earl ofMarch, eldest son of the duke ofYork and future Edward IV.

1443 30 March. Henry VI appoints JohnBeaufort, duke of Somerset,captain-general of France andGascony.31 May. Birth of MargaretBeaufort, future mother of HenryVII.

xxxiii

Chronology: Wars of the Roses

1445 23 April. Henry VI marriesMargaret of Anjou.

1447 23 February. Death of Humphrey,duke of Gloucester, uncle andformer lord protector of Henry VI.9 December. York appointed lordlieutenant of Ireland.

1448 16 March. English surrender LeMans, the capital of Maine, to theFrench.

1449 21 October. Birth of George, son ofduke of York, and future duke ofClarence.29 October. English surrenderRouen, the capital of Normandy, tothe French.

1450 15 April. English defeat at the Battleof Formigny allows French tooverrun much of Normandy.2 May. William de la Pole, duke ofSuffolk, after being impeached byParliament and banished byHenry VI, is murdered by sailorswhen trying to leave thekingdom.JuneJuly. Jack Cade rebels occupyLondon.12 August. French captureCherbourg and end English rule inNormandy.

1451 12 June. French capture Bordeauxin Gascony.

1452 2 March. York ends his oppositionto the court and submits to theking at Dartford.2 October. Birth of Richard,youngest son of the duke of Yorkand future Richard III.23 October. English recaptureBordeaux.November. Henry VI ennobles hisuterine half brothers, Edmundand Jasper Tudor, as earls ofRichmond and Pembroke,respectively.

1453 17 July. French victory at Castillonends English rule in Gascony;Calais is only remaining Englishpossession in France.

c. 1 August. Onset of Henry VIsfirst bout of mental illness.24 August. Percy and Nevillefamilies clash at Heworth.13 October. Birth of Edward ofLancaster, son of Henry VI andMargaret of Anjou.

1454 27 March. York is named lordprotector during the kings illness.c. 31 October. Percy and Nevillefamilies clash at Stamford Bridge.c. 25 December. Henry VI recovers.

1455 January. York surrenders the officeof protector.22 May. First Battle of St. AlbansYork and his allies, the Neville earlsof Salisbury and Warwick, wincontrol of the king and kill theirchief enemies: Somerset,Northumberland, and Clifford.19 November. York is appointed lordprotector for the second time.

1456 25 February. York resigns as lordprotector.August. Court travels to Coventryand the Midlands.

1457 28 January. Birth of Henry Tudor,earl of Richmond, the futureHenry VII.

1458 25 March. Henry VI mediates thelove-day of 1458, a negotiatedsettlement between York and hisNeville allies and the heirs of theirvictims at first Battle of St.Albans.

1459 23 September. Battle of BloreHeathRichard Neville, earl ofSalisbury, defeats a Lancastrian forcetrying to block his junction withYork.1213 October. Heavilyoutnumbered, the Yorkist lordsabandon their men and flee fromthe royal army at Ludford Bridge;York goes to Ireland andWarwick, Salisbury, and March goto Calais.20 November. Lancastrian-controlledParliament opens at Coventry.

xxxiv CHRONOLOGY

1460 26 June. Yorkist earls of Warwick,Salisbury, and March land inEngland from Calais.10 July. Battle of NorthamptonWarwick captures Henry VI andcontrol of the government.3 August. James II of Scotland killedby a cannon fired to celebrate thearrival of his wife, Mary of Guelders,at the siege of Roxburgh; accessionof eight-year-old James III.30 December. Battle of Wakefielddefeat and death of York, Salisbury,and Yorks second son, EdmundPlantagenet, earl of Rutland.

1461 2 February. Battle of MortimersCrossYorkist victory in Wales.17 February. Second Battle of St.AlbansMargaret of Anjou defeatsWarwick and reunites herself andher son with Henry VI.4 March. Edward, earl of March,Yorks eldest son, takes coronationoath and is proclaimed king asEdward IV at Westminster.2728 March. Battle ofFerrybridgeLancastrian attemptsto prevent a Yorkist crossing of theRiver Aire.29 March. Battle of TowtonEdward IV wins throne and HenryVI and his family flee intoScotland.28 June. Official coronation ofEdward IV.22 July. Charles VII of Frances dies;accession of Louis XI.16 October. Battle of Twt HillYorkist victory in Wales.4 November. Opening of EdwardIVs first Parliament.

1462 Led by Margaret of Anjou,1463 Lancastrians based in Scotland

several times seize and lose theNorthumbrian castles of Alnwick,Bamburgh, and Dunstanburgh.

1464 25 April. Battle of HedgeleyMoorYorkist victory in thenorth.

1 May. Edward IV secretly marriesElizabeth Woodville.15 May. Battle of HexhamYorkist victory leads to theexecution of Henry Beaufort, theLancastrian duke of Somerset.25 December. Elizabeth Woodville ispublicly introduced to the court asqueen.

1465 13 July. Henry VI is captured inLancashire and imprisoned in theTower of London.

1467 15 June. Death of Philip the Good,duke of Burgundy; accession ofCharles the Bold.

1468 3 July. Margaret of York, sister ofEdward IV, marries Charles theBold, duke of Burgundy.3 August. Edward IV concludes analliance with Burgundy, agreeing tosend English troops to support theduke against France.14 August. Lancastrian defenders ofHarlech Castle in Wales surrender.

1469 AprilJuly. Robin of RedesdalesRebellion is fomented by Warwick.11 July. Clarence marries Warwicksdaughter, Isabel Neville, at Calais.26 July. Battle of Edgecote MoorWilliam Herbert, earl of Pembroke,and other Yorkist lords are defeatedand executed by Warwick.29 July. Deserted by most of hissupporters, Edward IV is taken intocustody by Warwicks brother,George Neville, archbishop ofYork, who places the king underthe earls protection.c. 10 September. Warwick is forcedby rebellion to release Edward IVfrom custody.

1470 12 March. Battle of LosecoteFieldEdward IV defeats rebelsoperating under the direction ofWarwick and Clarence.early April. Warwick and Clarenceflee England.22 July. Warwick and Margaret ofAnjou meet in Angers to conclude

CHRONOLOGY xxxv

a formal accord known as theAngers Agreement.25 July. Prince Edward of Lancasteris formally betrothed to Warwicksdaughter, Anne Neville.c. 15 September. Warwick andClarence land in West Country anddeclare for Henry VI.1 October. Elizabeth Woodville, wifeof Edward IV, takes sanctuary withher children at Westminster.2 October. Isolated in the north,Edward IV and a small party ofsupporters, including Richard, dukeof Gloucester, flee England forBurgundy.6 October. Warwick enters Londonin triumph.2 November. Birth in sanctuary ofPrince Edward, eldest son ofEdward IV and future Edward V.26 November. ReadeptionParliament meets at Westminster.c. 13 December. Prince Edward ofLancaster marries Anne Neville.

1471 14 March. Edward IV lands inEngland at Ravenspur, Henry ofBolingbrokes landing site in 1399.3 April. Clarence abandons Warwickand is reconciled with his brothers,Edward IV and Gloucester.14 April. Battle of BarnetWarwick is defeated and killed;Margaret of Anjou and PrinceEdward of Lancaster land inEngland at Weymouth.4 May. Battle of TewkesburyPrince Edward of Lancaster is killedon the field.7 May. Margaret of Anjou iscaptured and taken to the Tower ofLondon.21 May. Edward IV enters Londonin triumph; Henry VI is murderedin the Tower of London.2 June. Jasper Tudor, earl ofPembroke, escapes from Englandwith his nephew, Henry Tudor, earlof Richmond.

c. 1472 Richard, duke of Gloucester,marries Anne Neville, daughter ofWarwick and widow of PrinceEdward of Lancaster.

1473 c. 17 August. Birth of Richard,second son of Edward IV andfuture duke of York.30 September. John de Vere, theLancastrian earl of Oxford, seizesSt. Michaels Mount on the tip ofCornwall.

1474 May. An act of Parliament attemptsto settle the long-running disputebetween Edward IVs brothers, thedukes of Clarence and Gloucester,over the division of their wivesNeville inheritance.25 July. Treaty of Londonconcludes a formal alliancebetween England and Burgundyagainst France.

1475 4 July. Edward IV crosses to Calaisto begin invasion of France.29 August. Edward IV concludesTreaty of Picquigney with LouisXI, ending the English invasion ofFrance.

1476 21 December. Death of Isabel,duchess of Clarence.

1477 5 January. Death in battle ofCharles the Bold, duke ofBurgundy, ally and brother-in-lawof Edward IV.

1478 18 February. George, duke ofClarence, is executed in the Towerof London.

1482 27 March. Death of Mary, duchessof Burgundy, begins ultimatedivision of Burgundy betweenFrance and Maximilian Habsburgof Austria, Marys husband andeventual ruler of the Netherlands.11 June. Treaty of Fotheringhay isconcluded between Edward IV andthe duke of Albany, brother ofJames III of Scotland.29 August. Death of Margaret ofAnjou, widow of Henry VI, inFrance.

xxxvi CHRONOLOGY

1483 9 April. Death of Edward IV;accession of Edward V.30 April. Richard, duke ofGloucester, takes charge of hisnephew, Edward V, at StonyStratford on the road to London.13 June. Summary execution ofWilliam Hastings, Lord Hastings.17 June. Richard, duke of York,leaves sanctuary at Westminster tojoin his brother, Edward V, at theTower of London.22 June. Dr. Ralph Shaw delivers apublic sermon at Pauls Cross inLondon setting forth Richard ofGloucesters claim to the throne.26 June. At an assembly ofpolitical notables at BaynardsCastle in London, Henry Stafford,duke of Buckingham, presentsRichard of Gloucester with apetition requesting him to takethe throne.6 July. Coronation of Richard III.30 August. Death of Louis XI ofFrance; accession of Charles VIII.JulySeptember? Probable deaths ofEdward V and his brother Richard,duke of York, in the Tower ofLondon.October. Buckinghams Rebellionfails; Henry Tudor, earl ofRichmond, aborts planned landingin England.2 November. Buckingham isexecuted at Salisbury.25 December. Henry Tudor, earl ofRichmond, takes oath to marryElizabeth of York, eldest daughterof Edward IV.

1484 23 January. Richard IIIs onlyParliament opens atWestminsterthe membersattaint the Buckingham rebels,including Henry Tudor, andembody the petition of June1483, which asked Richard III totake the Crown, in the statuteTitulus Regius.

1 March. With her daughters,Elizabeth Woodville, widow ofEdward IV, leaves sanctuary atWestminster.April. Death of Edward ofMiddleham, only child of Richard III.September. Three-year truce isconcluded between England andScotland; Henry Tudor, earl ofRichmond, flees from Brittany toFrance.

1485 16 March. Death of Anne Neville,wife of Richard III.30 March. Richard III is forced byrumor to publicly deny anyintention of marrying his nieceElizabeth of York, eldest daughterof Edward IV.7 August. Henry Tudor, earl ofRichmond, lands with an invasionforce at Milford Haven in Wales.22 August. Battle of BosworthFieldRichard III is defeated andkilled; accession of Henry Tudor,earl of Richmond, as Henry VII.30 October. Coronation of Henry VII.7 November. Henry VIIs firstParliament opens at Westminster.

1486 18 January. Henry VII marriesElizabeth of York, daughter ofEdward IV.19 September. Birth of PrinceArthur, first child of Henry VII.

1487 24 May. Lambert Simnel, whoclaims to be a nephew of EdwardIV, is crowned king of England inDublin.16 June. Battle of StokeHenryVII defeats Yorkist supporters ofLambert Simnel.

1488 11 June. Death of James III ofScotland after Battle ofSauchieburn; accession of James IV.

1489 28 March. Treaty of Medina delCampo is concluded with Spain.

1491 28 June. Birth of Prince Henry,future Henry VIII.

CHRONOLOGY xxxvii

November. Perkin Warbeck, anotherpretended son of Edward IV,appears in Ireland.

1492 8 June. Death of ElizabethWoodville, widow of Edward IV, atBermondsey Abbey.3 November. Treaty of Etaples isconcluded with France, forcingWarbeck to leave France forBurgundy. Warbeck spends most of1492 in France and Burgundy,where he is supported by Margaret,duchess of Burgundy and sister ofEdward IV.

1495 23 July3 August. Warbeck launchesunsuccessful invasion of Kent.November. Warbeck is given shelterin Scotland by James IV.21 December. Death of Jasper Tudor,duke of Bedford and uncle ofHenry VII.

1496 February. The treaty calledIntercursus Magnus is concludedwith the Netherlands.

1497 17 June. Henry VII crushesCornish rebels at the Battle ofBlack Heath.7 September. Warbeck lands inCornwall.30 September. The truce leading tothe Treaty of Ayton is concludedwith Scotland, ending Scottishsupport for Warbeck.5 October. Warbeck surrenders andconfesses his imposture of Richard,duke of York, second son ofEdward IV.

1499 16 November. Execution ofWarbeck.29 November. Execution of EdwardPlantagenet, earl of Warwick, son ofGeorge, duke of Clarence, andnephew of Edward IV.

1501 14 November. Prince Arthur, eldestson of Henry VII, marries theSpanish princess Catherine ofAragon.

1502 2 April. Death of Prince Arthur.6 May. Execution of Sir JamesTyrell for allegedly murderingEdward V and his brother onRichard IIIs orders in 1483.

1503 11 February. Death of Elizabeth ofYork, wife of Henry VII anddaughter of Edward IV.23 June. Prince Henry, heir to theEnglish throne, is betrothed to hisformer sister-in-law, Catherine ofAragon.8 August. Princess Margaret, eldestdaughter of Henry VII, marriesJames IV of Scotland.

1506 30 April. The treaty IntercursusMalus is concluded with DukePhilip of Burgundy; the treaty leadsto the expulsion of the Yorkistpretender, Edmund de la Pole, earlof Suffolk, from the Netherlands.

1509 21 April. Death of Henry VII;uncontested accession of HenryVIII as second king of the house ofTudor.29 June. Death of MargaretBeaufort, mother of Henry VII.

xxxviii CHRONOLOGY

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF

THE WARS OF

THE ROSES

Accord, Act of (1460)Although meant to end the political instabilitycaused by the rival claims of the royal housesof LANCASTER and YORK, the Act of Ac-cord of October 1460 helped transform a dy-nastic dispute into a civil war. By disinheritingEDWARD OF LANCASTER, Prince of Wales,and vesting the succession to the throne inRichard PLANTAGENET, duke of York, andhis heirs, the act compelled Queen MAR-GARET OF ANJOU and her followers to takearms against the settlement as the only way toensure the future of the prince and the Lan-castrian dynasty.

The Lancastrian defeat at the Battle ofNORTHAMPTON in July 1460 left bothHENRY VI and the government in the handsof Richard NEVILLE, earl of Warwick, Yorksmost prominent supporter. In exile in IRE-LAND since the Battle of LUDFORDBRIDGE in late 1459, York returned to En-gland in September. By moving across thecountry in leisurely state and settling himselfin the royal apartments at Westminster, Yorkleft no doubt that he intended to claim thethrone. In LONDON, Warwick; his father,Richard NEVILLE, earl of Salisbury; andYorks son Edward, earl of March (see ED-WARD IV), established a Yorkist regime, call-ing a PARLIAMENT to meet at Westminsterin early October. On 10 October, York en-tered the Parliament chamber and made toseat himself on the throne; when this actionelicited silence rather than acclaim, Arch-bishop Thomas BOURCHIER asked the dukeif he wished to see the king. Although Yorkreplied that the king should rather come tosee him, the lords obvious disapproval of hisactions caused York to withdraw.

On 16 October, York formally laid hisclaim to the Crown before Parliament. Sup-ported by a pedigree that detailed Yorks royaldescent, the claim sought to prove the Lancas-trians usurpers. After a week of debate, thelords crafted the Act of Accord, which disin-herited the Prince of Wales and gave the suc-cession to York and his heirs. On 25 October,both Henry VI and York accepted the settle-ment. Given immediate approval by Parlia-ment, the act avoided the unwanted deposi-tion of Henry VI, while giving York aninterest in maintaining the political stability ofthe realm, even though it lessened the likeli-hood of his accession, the duke being ten yearsolder than the king.

The act assigned York and his two eldestsons 10,000 marks from the revenues of theprinces earldom of Chester, thus deprivingthe prince of income as well as status.York wasgiven powers similar to those he enjoyed dur-ing his two protectorates in the 1450s. On 31October, the lords swore to accept York as heirand the duke swore to accept Henry VI asking for life. The act was then publicly pro-claimed throughout the realm. The greatweakness of the Act of Accord was its disre-gard of the queen and her commitment to hersons right to the Crown. The act quicklydrove Lancastrians, who considered Henry VIa prisoner acting under duress, into the field tooverthrow the Yorkist regime.

See also First Protectorate; Second Protectorate;Wakefield, Battle ofFurther Reading: Griffiths, Ralph A., The Reignof King Henry VI (Berkeley: University ofCalifornia Press, 1981); Johnson, P. A., Duke Richardof York (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988); Wolffe,Bertram, Henry VI (London: Eyre Methuen, 1981).

1

A

Act of Accord. See Accord, Act of

Act of Attainder. See Attainder, Act of.

AffinityIn fifteenth-century England, an affinity was aweb of political and social connections con-structed by a nobleman, either on the basis ofroyal favor and personal political standing oron the basis of family and territorial influence.

A noble created an affinity by assembling aband of followers, known as RETAINERS,who were sworn to provide their lord withlegal, political, or military service in return formoney. Retainers also expected that the lordsinfluence would be exercised on their behalfin legal proceedings and in pursuit of officeand other rewards. Retainers signaled their at-tachment to a lords affinity by wearing his liv-ery (i.e., uniform) or his BADGE or emblem.The dispersal of fees and wages by a magnateto the members of his affinity was the heart ofthe social system known as BASTARD FEU-DALISM. Although individual retainers couldbe household servants or legal or financial ad-visors, a large affinity above all provided itslord with a military force that could be usedboth to support and threaten the Crown. Al-though not private armies because they wererarely kept under arms for long, noble affini-ties formed the core of royal forces sent toFRANCE or used to crush internal rebellion.During the WARS OF THE ROSES, suchaffinities constituted the bulk of the militaryforces raised by both parties. Although at-tempts were made through PARLIAMENT tolimit retaining, the Crown, dependent onnoble affinities for military strength, soughtonly to control such groupings.

An example of an affinity created on thebasis of personal influence was the one con-structed by William HASTINGS, Lord Hast-ings, whose peerage and estates derived fromhis close friendship with EDWARD IV. Hast-ingss influence with the king attracted manymembers of the GENTRY to his affinity, whichwas soon extensive and therefore a valuable

resource for the house of YORK in militaryemergencies. During his 1471 campaign to re-gain the Crown, Edwards initially thin forceswere soon swollen by the arrival of loyalmembers of Hastingss affinity (see EDWARDIV, RESTORATION OF). In 1483, control ofsuch military potential made Hastings a dan-ger to Richard, duke of Gloucester (seeRICHARD III); when he began to fear thatHastings might mobilize his affinity on behalfof EDWARD V, Gloucester ordered Hastingsssummary execution (see COUNCIL MEET-ING OF 13 JUNE 1483).

A powerful and extensive connection basedon family loyalty and landholding, as well ason personal political influence, was the Nevilleaffinity, controlled after 1460 by RichardNEVILLE, earl of Warwick. The most influen-tial subject in the realm during the early yearsof Edward IV, and possessing a mighty militaryreputation (see GENERALSHIP), Warwickcould also draw on a deeply engrained loyaltyto his family among the gentry of the north,where the Neville lands were concentrated.When Warwick brought this affinity into al-liance with the house of LANCASTER in1470, he was able to restore HENRY VI to thethrone.After Warwicks death in 1471, EdwardIV ensured that his brother Gloucester, thehusband of Warwicks daughter AnneNEVILLE, became heir to the family loyaltyand territorial power upon which the Nevilleaffinity was based.

See also Livery and Maintenance; Neville Family;North of England and the Wars of the Roses;PeerageFurther Reading: Hicks, Michael, BastardFeudalism (London: Longman, 1995); Walker, S.,The Lancastrian Affinity, 13611399 (Oxford:Oxford University Press, 1989).

Alnwick Castle (14611464)Along with the other Northumberlandfortresses of BAMBURGH and DUNSTAN-BURGH, Alnwick Castle demonstrated the in-security of EDWARD IVs throne by fallingseveral times into Lancastrian hands between1461 and 1464.

2 ACT OF ACCORD

After the Yorkist victory at the Battle ofTOWTON in March 1461,Alnwick was one ofseveral northern strongholds that remainedunder the control of RETAINERS loyal to theLancastrian Percy family (see entries underPERCY). The castle fell to Richard NEVILLE,earl of Warwick, in September, but was lostagain in November to a Lancastrian raidingparty from SCOTLAND under Sir WilliamTAILBOYS. Realizing that the Northumber-land fortresses were vulnerable so long as theLancastrians could cross the border, Edward IVnegotiated a three-month truce with Scotlandto begin in June 1462. Edward used the cease-fire to retake the lost castles, with Alnwickfalling in July after a short siege conducted byWilliam HASTINGS, Lord Hastings, and SirJohn HOWARD. Once again,Yorkist control ofthe fortress was short-lived, for in late OctoberAlnwick capitulated to MARGARET OFANJOU and her newly landed force of FrenchMERCENARIES under Pierre de BRZ. TheLancastrian royal family and de Brz retired toScotland in November upon receiving news ofan approaching Yorkist army. By early Decem-ber 1462, Warwick was coordinating sieges ofall three castles, with the Alnwick operationunder the command of William NEVILLE, earlof Kent; Anthony WOODVILLE, Lord Scales;and John TIPTOFT, earl of Worcester.

On 5 January 1463, a Scottish relief forceunder de Brz and the Scottish earl of Angusappeared at Alnwick. Warwick, perhaps con-scious of the low morale of his men, who hadbeen maintaining a difficult siege in midwin-ter, declined to fight. Robert HUNGER-FORD, Lord Hungerford, commander of theAlnwick garrison, marched his men out of thecastle and withdrew into Scotland with deBrzs force. Warwick installed a Yorkist gar-rison in Alnwick, but Hungerford retook thecastle in March when the Yorkist commander,Sir Ralph Grey, defected and allowed the Lan-castrians to enter the fortress unopposed. ByJune, Warwick and his brother John NEVILLE,Lord Montagu, were again marching north.The Nevilles surprised a large Scottish army asit was besieging Norham Castle; the Scotsforce, which included not only JAMES III and

his mother MARY OF GUELDRES, but alsothe Lancastrian royal family, fled in panic be-fore the Yorkist army. This defeat cooled Scot-tish support for the Lancastrians and allowedthe negotiation of a ten-month Anglo-Scot-tish truce in December.

With Scotland thus neutralized, the Yorkistsbegan a campaign to end Lancastrian activityin Northumberland once and for all. In April1464, Montagu defeated a Lancastrian forceunder Henry BEAUFORT, duke of Somerset,at the Battle of HEDGELEY MOOR west ofAlnwick. The Lancastrian survivors of thatbattle gathered at Alnwick, where, under thenominal leadership of HENRY VI himself,they reformed and marched out to again faceMontagu. At the Battle of HEXHAM on 15May, Montagu defeated and captured Somer-set, while the demoralized remnants of Som-ersets force retreated to Alnwick, which theysurrendered to Warwick on 23 June. Alnwickwas henceforth Yorkist, and the Northumber-land phase of the civil wars was over.

Further Reading: Haigh, Philip A., The MilitaryCampaigns of the Wars of the Roses (Stroud,Gloucestershire, UK: Sutton Publishing, 1995);Pollard, A. J., North-Eastern England during the Warsof the Roses (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990).

Angers Agreement (1470)By forging an alliance between RichardNEVILLE, earl of Warwick, and Queen MAR-GARET OF ANJOU, the Angers Agreement ofJuly 1470 made possible the overthrow of ED-WARD IV and the restoration of HENRY VIand the house of LANCASTER.

In April 1470, after the failure of their at-tempt to dethrone Edward IV, Warwick