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Context: War of the Roses
Why were the Yorkists forced to flee? (Use the attatched pictures to answer question)
Transcribed Image Text:1445-1461
Source K A monastic chronicler based at St Albans comments on the outbreak
of civil war in 1459.
The Duke of York, the Earl of Warwick and the Earl of Salisbury conspired
together in 1459 against the King. Some people claimed that they had risen
against the King because the more powerful members of his council had
removed them from their rightful places. Another group said that they had
risen mainly for a different reason: so that the Duke of York might sit on the
King's throne and rule over his kingdom, and that possession of the throne
should be enjoyed by York and his heirs by hereditary succession.
Whethamstead's Register, compiled by 1461
What was the significance of the Parliament of Devils?
In scattering the Yorkists at Ludford Bridge in October, Margaret of Anjou
seemed to have secured for herself a position of tremendous strength. She
could have used this power to provide the kind of broad-based government
that the majority of the nobility wanted and in many ways she did just
that. With the exception of the leaders, many Yorkists including the Duke
of Norfolk, John Mowbray, who had become a supporter of York, received a
commission. What Margaret was not prepared to do, however, was put aside
her desire to destroy York and his heirs.
'Parliament of Devils' is the name given to the Lancastrian-dominated
parliament held at Coventry in November 1459. It was at this parliament that
the Lancastrians consolidated the victory they had had over the Yorkists at
Ludford Bridge. It was nicknamed the Parliament of Devils because of the
viciousness and unfairness with which the Yorkist leaders and, importantly,
their heirs were treated by the parliament.
At the parliament, the Yorkist leaders were attainted (punished by having
their lands and titles taken away from them) for treason and sentenced to
death. In total, 27 Yorkists, six of whom were peers, were condemned as
traitors and had their lands confiscated. The Lancastrians went even further
than this: they disinherited their heirs, barring them from succeeding to
their estates. The Yorkist lands were then given to loyal subjects of the King.
Disinheriting heirs was something new and was considered to be too extreme
a punishment even for those found guilty of treason. As far as the vast
majority of the nobility were concerned, Margaret of Anjou was going too far
and her actions set a precedent which worried them: if she could do this to
the Yorkists, she could do the same to others. In York's worst nightmares, he
could not have dreamt of a punishment so extreme for not only did it punish
him, but it punished his heirs for his actions as well.
Source L The Attainder of the Yorkist leaders at Coventry, November 1459 (The
Parliament of Devils).
Wherefore may it please your highness by the advice and assent of your lords
spiritual and temporal and of your commons assembled in this your present
parliament, and by the authority of the same to ordain, establish, and enact,
that the said Richard Duke of York, Edward Earl of March, Richard Earl of
Salisbury, Edmund Earl of Rutland, etc... for their said traitorous levying of
war against your said most noble person, at Ludford be declared attainted of
high treason, as false traitors and enemies against your most noble person..
The Indictment of Richard Duke of York from the Parliamentary Rolls, 1459
Source M The Lancastrian-dominated Coventry Parliament in November 1459
(the 'Parliament of Devils') draws up treason charges against Richard Duke of York.
When Richard was in Ireland as your lieutenant there, Jack Cade, your great
traitor, led a large insurrection in Kent in 1450. Some of his supporters,
when on the point of death, confessed their true intentions and on whose
behalf they had acted. They intended to have raised the Duke of York,
against all reason, law and truth, to the crown of England, which God has
ordained that you and your successors should bear.
Indictment of Richard of York, 1459.
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What were the results of Margaret's actions?
In taking the extreme step of disinheriting the heirs, Margaret left the
Yorkists with nothing to lose. It is likely that at this point York began to see
himself not so much as the rightful chief adviser or even the controller of
Henry VI, but his replacement. In punishing the Yorkists harshly, Margaret
may well have turned York into she had him as: a man
was that
who was determined to deprive her son of his inheritance. After all,
not exactly what she had just done to Edward, Earl of March, York's heir?
From York's point of view, he had learned that having control of Henry VI
was not enough, not when he was only periodically mentally ill and requiring
a protectorate. For when healthy, he had taken back control of government,
as was his right as king, and then returned to power those whom York had
York being nudged to the periphery once more. How else was
replaced,
York to regain power and protect his family and supporters if it were not by
making himself king? A protectorate could only last as long as the mental
illness remained and in Henry VI's case, no one knew how long that would be.
The extremeness of Margaret's punishment of the Yorkists appalled not
only
her victims, but also those members of the nobility who had no strong
affiliation one way or the other. These were the men who had held the middle
ground between York and Margaret, wanting to see a government
ment united
behind the King. Many had not wanted to take sides but had been persu
been persuaded
into the Queen's camp by what they perceived as the disgraceful actions of
the Earl of Warwick in refusing to obey direct orders and by the fact that
in supporting the Queen they were not going against the King. These men
now felt that in breaking the laws of inheritance, Margaret was going too
far
r and so they now felt more drawn to support York. The harshness of the
Parliament of Devils, rather than sealing the destruction of the Yorkist cause,
served to resuscitate it. When Warwick, Salisbury and March landed in Kent
in June 1460, many of the men of Kent, noblemen included, rose in support of
them, and on 2 July the city of London opened its gates to them before they
left to meet the King at the battle of Northampton on 10 July 1460.
Why had York triumphed by 1460?
After the rout at Ludford Bridge in October 1459, it looked as if it was all over
for the Duke of York and his allies and yet a year later he was acknowledged heir
to the throne of England. How had he been able to turn his fortunes around?
Margaret of Anjou
Firstly, some of the responsibility for this change in fortune must be given to
Queen Margaret and her Parliament of Devils for increasing nobles' sympathy
for the Duke of York and alienating the nobility from her own cause with her
Transcribed Image Text:the Roses 1445-1461
Activity
1 To what extent do the events of the Loveday support the attitude shown
by Margaret and York as reported in Source I? (page 65)
2 Look at Sources G, H and I (page 64-65). Write your own summary of the
state of disorder in England and Wales in the years 1455-59. Complete a
table like the one below to help you with this task.
Source
G
H
I
Source details about
the state of disorder in
England and Wales
What can be deduced about the
disorder in England and Wales
from the source detail
Why did peace break down in 1459?
In many ways it is surprising that war did not break out before 1459 and that
there was such a long period of peace after the Battle of St Albans in 1455.
Certainly, it is clear that despite Henry VI's attempt to bring peace and the
determination on the part of most of the nobility to work together in support
of a government under Henry VI, there was a steady march towards war. A
number of factors combined to help create the right circumstances for
warfare in 1459.
open
The Beat
■ The Battle of St Albans had brought about a blood feud as the heirs of
those killed at the battle sought vengeance.
■York had made a deadly enemy of Margaret of Anjou who believed he
mented the throne
wanted the throne and was a danger to her son.
H
■ Henry VI was generally too ill to govern in his own right meaning that
whoever had control of Henry VI had control of government.
Margaret's government saw the removal of Yorkist appointments and their
replacement with her own men thus signalling to York that he was back on
the outside of government.
Manna
There was a complete lack of trust between the two sides which saw nobles
regularly turning up at meetings complete with armed followers.
■Warwick's rebellion persuaded key figures in the middle ground who felt
the Earl had gone too far, such as the Duke of Buckingham, to side with
the Queen.
The Queen felt that she had enough noble support to destroy the Yorkists.
■York felt that he could once again count absolutely on the military
support of the Nevilles to whom it was now clear that they had no place
in a government under Margaret. York thought he could defeat the
Lancastrians once more.
The Flight of the Yorkists
The refusal of the Earl of Warwick to obey government orders and the
reaction of the Duke of Buckingham to his actions saw the Queen make
ready for war and weapons were ordered. In May the King and Queen sent
out letters summoning their military forces to Leicester that month and a
great council was summoned to meet at Coventry in June 1459. Those who
War and the de
failed to come were indicted, although there is some confusion as to whether
or not York, the Nevilles and the Bourchiers were even invited to attend. They
were, however, aware that the Queen was making her move against them (why
else was there a need for a call to arms?) and so the Duke of York made plans
for a meeting of his own at Ludlow, his castle in the Welsh Marches.
In September 1459, Warwick arrived from Calais narrowly escaping capture
by Somerset as he made his way to Ludlow but his father, Salisbury, was
intercepted at Blore Heath in Staffordshire on 23 September 1459 where he
managed to defeat and kill Lord Audley, the leader of the Lancastrian forces.
The Yorkists sent a message to the King justifying their actions and
listing what they felt was wrong with the kingdom, blaming these ills on
his evil advisers. The court responded by offering to pardon all those who
laid down their weapons with the exception of those involved in the death
of Audley. Lack of trust meant that no one accepted the pardon and so the
Lancastrian army advanced on Ludlow. The two sides met at Ludford Bridge
on 12 October. It became immediately clear that the Yorkists had failed to
garner enough support and were outnumbered three to one. To add to their
problems, the Yorkists lost the support of the Calais men who Warwick had
brought over with him as they were not prepared to take up arms against the
King (who was there) and they switched sides. Nevertheless, the Yorkist guns
began their bombardment of the Lancastrian position, but once darkness
fell the Yorkist leaders fled into the night leaving all their guns and some of
their family behind. York headed for Ireland with his second son, Edmund,
while his eldest son, Edward, Earl of March, headed south with the Nevilles
and went to Calais. York's two youngest boys were left behind at Ludlow. The
Yorkist cause had been left in ruins with Margaret triumphant.
on 12 Oct
Source J An anonymous chronicler writing shortly after Edward IV had seized
the throne in 1461 describes the Battle of Blore Heath, 1459.
............
Richard Earl of Salisbury with 7,000 well-armed men, dreading the malice
of his enemies and especially of the queen and her company, which hated
him mortally, and the Duke of York, and the Earl of Warwick too, took his
way towards Ludlow where the Duke of York was at that time. They could
then both ride together to the king at Coleshill in Staffordshire, to clear
themselves of certain false accusations regarding their loyalty that had been
dienseive
be accuse
made against them by their enemies. When the king heard of their coming,
inst them by their need him to gather a power to withstand
those who were with him counselled him to gather a power to
thom and in him that that
them, and informed him that they came to destroy him. The Queen was
then at Eccleshall and at once by her stirring the king assembled a great
army led by Lord Audley, which headed for Blore Heath. And there both sides
met and fought a deadly battle. Lord Audley was killed as were many of the
knights and squires of Cheshire that had fought for the Lancastrians. The Earl
Salisbury's two sons, Thomas and John, and Sir Thomas Harrington were
captured and imprisoned in the castle of Chester. The Earl went on to Duke
Richard at Ludlow, and from Calais came the Earl of Warwick.
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Adapted from an English Chronicle, written in the early 1460s.
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