Richard The Chird (71 page)

V

1 Croy. Chron., p. 444.

2 For more about Brampton, see text p. 223.

3 See the Paston Letters, II, pp. 355 and 358; among those of the royal entourage whom young John Paston entertained one day at dinner were

"John of Par" and "Perse" (ibid., p. 358). The latter would seem to be Robert Percy, though the identification cannot be positively established. The former I conjecture to be a squire of Richard's because of Richard's close association with the Parre family: Hutton (Bosivorth, p. xxxiii) says that Thomas a Par and John Milwater, two of Richard's squires, were slain at his feet in the battle of Barnet; Sir William Parre was later a member of Richard's council (Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1476-85, p. 343: commission of oyer and terminer for York; Reid, King's Council in the North, p. 44).

For Richard's shortage of money, see his letter, p. 83 (printed in Original Letters, series 2, I, p. 143). This financial difficulty suggests that the King included him at the last minute.

4 The whole story is vividly unfolded iri a letter which young John Paston wrote to his brother, Sir John (Paston Letters, II, pp. 355-58).

5 See the second paragraph of note 3, above. Though the letter bears no year date, and though none has apparently been hitherto suggested, it must have been written in 1469. Privy seals show that Edward was at Walsingham on June 22 and at Lynn on June 26 (ibid^ p. 355, headnote to letter 612); Castle Rising lies between them; and on no other occasion is Richard known to have been in Norfolk with Edward in June before accompanying him northward.

6 Croy. Chron., p. 445.

T Chronicles of the White Rose, pp. 219-224.

8 Paston Letters, II, pp. 360-61.

9 Scofield, I, p. 497.

p^ 10 Scofield (I, p. 500), following the Croy land Chronicle, says that the Archbishop of York conveyed Edward to Middleham; but it is clear from a letter written at London by Sir John Paston on September 10 (Paston Letters, II, pp. 367-71) that the Archbishop had been in London for a considerable time and had, only one or two days before, started northward. It appears very unlikely that he took Edward to Middleham toward the latter part of August, rushed back to London to carry on the business of the council, and went northward again on September 8 or 9. Warwick, on the other hand, was In Yorkshire at the beginning of September (Scofield, I, p. 501). It was probably he, therefore, who conveyed the King. Vergil (p. 123) indicates that it was the Earl who accomplished Edward's removal, and an Italian in London reported, on August 16, that Clarence and the Archbishop were expected in the City (Cal. Milanese Papers, I, pp. 131-32). 11 Vergil, p. 125.

i> 12 Contemporary sources tell confused and conflicting stories about the end of Edward's captivity. On the Continent it was reported that, under the color of going hunting, Edward gave Warwick the slip and made his way to London (Cal. Milanese Papers, I, p. 133). Commynes says that with the help of the Duke of Burgundy, who found means of getting in touch with him, Edward escaped from Warwick (Memoires, I, p. 197). Vergil declares that after he had corrupted his guards, Edward escaped first to York and then into Lancashire, where Hastings had gathered a force which brought the King safe to London (pp. 123-14). The most authentic information, which is all too meager, occurs in a letter written by Sir John Paston from London in October, 1469 (Paston Letters, II, pp. 389-90): "The King is

come to London, and there came with him, and rode against [to meet] him, the Duke of Gloucester, the Duke of Suffolk, the Earl of Arundel, the Earl of Northumberland, the Earl of Essex, the Lords Harry and John of Buckingham, the Lord Dacres, the Lord Chamberlain [Hastings], the Lord Mountjoy, and many other Knights and Squires, the Mayor of London, 22 Aldermen, in scarlet, and of the Craftsmen of the town to the number of 200, all in blue. The King came through Chepe, though it were out of his way, because he would not be seen, and he was accompanied in all people with 1,000 horse, some harnessed and some not. My Lord Archbishop came 'with him from York, and is at the Moor [his great manor in Hertfordshire], and my Lord of Oxenford rode to have met the King, and he is with my Lord Archbishop at the Moor, and came not to town with the King; some say that they were yesterday three miles to the Kingwards from the Moor, and that the King sent them a messenger that they should come when that he sent for them. I wot not what to suppose therein; the King himself hath good language of the Lords of Clarence, of Warwick, and of my Lords of York and of Oxenford, saying they be his best friends; but his household men have other language, so that what shall hastily fall I cannot say."

From this letter Sconeld draws the positive conclusion that Edward "was brought to London voluntarily by the Archbishop" (I, p. 505, note 5), apparently leaning heavily on the statement "My Lord Archbishop came with him from York." What follows, however, suggests quite a different interpretation: that though Edward, to suit his own purposes, was content to have the world believe that he and the Nevilles were, and had been, friends, and though the Archbishop of York may have come south at the same time as the King—i.e., riding close behind his party-—Edward had, in fact, asserted his independence without seeking his captors' permission; and when George Neville sought to overtake him, in order to keep up appearances by entering London with him, the King made clear by his message that he was his own master. The fact that the Archbishop was under the necessity of overtaking the King certainly suggests that he had not come south with the royal entourage. The implications of this letter, coupled with the widespread reports of an escape, lead me to suppose that Edward, realizing Warwick's powerlessness to hold him longer, openly threw off his shackles; that is, he escaped simply by choosing the right moment to declare his independence.

About the middle of September a certain "Master Writtill," a servant of the Duke of Clarence's who was attempting to negotiate in the Pastons' behalf with the Duke of Norfolk, observes in a letter that "divers of my Lords [of the council] ... be at the King's high commandment hastily departed unto His Highness" but he expects "to have hearing in brief time of their hasty coming again" (Paston Letters, II, p. 377). Certainly Warwick, Clarence, and the Archbishop had no desire to strengthen Edward's hand by summoning his advisers to his side. It seems probable that Edward himself had boldly commanded their attendance without Warwick's knowledge or consent, so that he might return to his capital in royal state, surrounded by the chief lords of his court. It is this summons, coupled with Hastings' and Richard's probable providing of an armed escort, that accounts for the train of lords and soldiers with which the King entered London. According

to news received at the French court, "Lords and military commanders have fled from the earl and gone to meet the King" (Cal. Milanese Papers, I pp I33-34).

My version of Richard's share in his brother's "escape" from Warwick is necessarily conjectural. The rewards, and particularly the responsibilities, which Edward immediately after thrust upon his young brother (see chapter VI) suggest that in this crisis Richard demonstrated to the King not only his loyalty but his bravery and skill in handling affairs as well.

VI

1 For the grant to Richard of the constableship, see Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1467-77, p. 178; for the grant to Earl Rivers of the same, ibid., p. 19. Compare Ex-cerpta Histonca, p. 241. For a discussion of the authority of the Constable, see Chrimes, English Constitutional Ideas in the Fifteenth Century; and Mitchell, John Tiptoft.

2 For the grants of land to Richard, see Cal. Close Rolls, 1468-76, p. 102; Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1467-77, p. 179; Cotton Julius B XII, f. in et seq.

For the disaffection in Wales, see Cotton Vespasian F XIII, f. 38.

3 For the commission of array, see Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1467-77, p. 195; for the chief justiceship of North Wales, ibid., p. 178; for his appointment as Steward, Approver, and so on, ibid., p. 179; for his authority to recapture the castles, and so on, ibid., p. 180. Richard's success is indicated by the fact that nothing more is heard of difficulties with the castles of Carmarthen and Cardigan.

4 Richard's return to London is shown by the fact that he was witness to the creation of George Neville, son of John, Earl of Northumberland, as Duke of Bedford; this charter was sealed on January 5, 1470 (Cal. Charter Rolls, VI, p. 238). For his leadership of the commission of oyer and terminer, see Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1467-77, p. 198; for his appointment as Chief Justice and Chamberlain of South Wales, and Steward, and so on, ibid^ p. 185.

For Warwick as former holder of these offices, see Foedera, XI, p. 647; at the same time—i.e., during Edward's captivity—Warwick had also been made Constable of Cardigan Castle and Steward of other Welsh lands, offices which, like the chief justiceship and chamberlainship of South Wales, had belonged to his slain enemy Herbert, Earl of Pembroke (ibid., pp. 647-48). Edward ended Warwick's short-lived attempt to become the great power in Wales by conferring that power on his brother Richard.

5 Pp. 125-26.

6 My account of the events which follow is based principally on the Chronicle of the Rebellion in Lincolnshire, a detailed contemporary narrative, and on the confession of Sir Robert Welles (Excerpta Histories, pp. 282-84). Compare Scofield, I, pp. 509-14.

7 CaL Pat. Rolls, 1467-77, p. 205.

8 Past on Letters, II, p. 395.

9 Ibid., p. 396; Dignity of a Peer, V, p. 380 (Edward's proclamation at Nottingham, March 31, 1470, in which he explains that he was forced to give over the pursuit of Clarence and Warwick for lack of victuals); and also Cal. Close Rolls, 1468-76, p. 137 and pp. 135-36.

10 Dignity of a Peer, V, p. 379; Paston Letters, II, p. 396; CaL Pat. Rolls,

1467-77, p. 206. Percy had been released from the Tower on October 27, 1469, and had sworn an oath of allegiance to the King (Cal. Close Rolls, 1468-76, p. 100).

11 As far as I know, Richard's part in this campaign has been hitherto unnoticed; it must, in fact, be largely conjectured. My reconstruction has been developed from the following evidence: (i) The King's proclamation to the Sheriff of York on March 25 (see text, p. 96; ibid., p. 138; also Signed Bills, file 1501, 46—renumbered from 4339 as given by Scofield, I, p. 516, note 3). (2) The foregoing proclamation provides a motive—Richard's advance from Wales—for Stanley's sudden decision to desert Warwick and Clarence; since he entered London with them the following October (Chronicles of London, p. 182), he probably was able to show good reason for having failed to aid them. (3) It is well established that Richard did not set out from London with King Edward and that he was not with the King at York (an enumeration of the nobles who accompanied Edward makes no mention of the Duke of Gloucester: Six Town Chronicles, p. 164; and Richard did not witness the charter, issued March 25 at York, creating John Neville Marquess of Montagu: Dignity of a Peer, V, p. 379).

12 Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1467-77, p. 219.

13 On April 17, at Exeter, Richard was given a commission of array for Cornwall and Devon (ibid., p. 221).

14 Richard received commissions of array of June 2 for Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Hereford (ibid., p. 220) and a commission of oyer and terminer of July 11 for the city and county of Lincoln (ibid. 9 p. 221).

15 Idem.

is Foedera, XI, pp. 658-60.

1T Paston Letters, II, pp. 409-10.

18 For Warwick in France, see "The Manner and Guiding of the Earl of Warwick at Angers" in Original Letters, series 2, I, p. 132; or in Chronicles of the White Rose, p. 229; Cal. Milanese Papers, I, pp. 136-42; Com-mynes, Memoires, I, pp. 201-06; compare the accounts in Scofield, I, pp. 523-36 and in Bagley, Margaret of Anjou, pp. 196-204.

19 See W. I. Howard, "Economic Aspects of the Wars of the Roses in East Anglia," Eng. Hist. Rev., XLI (1926), pp. 170-89; Hearne's Fragment, in Chronicles of the White Rose, p. 29.

20 For King Henry's re-emergence from the Tower, see Fabyan, p. 6co. ** Paston Letters, II, p. 412.

22 For Edward and Richard in Burgundy, see Commynes, Memoires, I, pp. 207-16; also Waurin, III, p. 56; compare Scofield, I, pp. 562-68.

23 My account of Edward's invasion is mainly based on the Historic of the^Arrivall of Edward IV in England, an official report of his reconquest which was composed by one of his servants who was an eyewitness of most of the events he describes. Despite its obvious Yorkist bias, it is a narrative of inestimable value.

24 The Arrival! gives an interesting but not altogether convincing analysis of Montagu's motives; compare Vergil, p. 140; see also Scofield, L DD C7o-7i

** HMC, Rutland, I, pp. 2-5. ^ 57 1 '

26 Letters which Clarence wrote to Vernon establish his movements (idem.).

27 The Arrivall says that Clarence spoke "in his best manner," which would indicate that his eloquence was already well known. Compare his appearance before the royal council in the fall of 1471 (Cray. Chron., p. 470) and Mancini, p. 77 and note, p. 134.

28 Great Chronicle, p. 215.

29 Political Poems, II, ed. by Wright, p. 274. so Great Chronicle, p. 216.

VII

I have reconstructed the battle of Barnet from my own inspection of the ground, which I pursued in the light of three authoritative but unfortunately sketchy accounts, all of which were composed very shortly after the engagement: the narrative in the Arrivall; a letter which Richard's sister Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy, wrote to the Dowager Duchess Isabel (quoted by Mile. Dupont, the editor of Waurin's Anchiennes Cronicques, III, p. 213); and a report sent home by an Easterling, Gerhard von Wesel (Hanserecesse, vol. VI, Leipzig, 1890, pp. 415-18). Not only the Arrivall but the Chronicles of London and Vergil (pp. 143-47) describe the field as being "upon the plain without Barnet town" (Chronicles of London,

?. 184); and writing four days after the battle, in which he took part, Sir ohn Paston places it "upon the field, half a mile from Barnet" (Paston Letters, III, p. 4).