Edward IV first reign

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Edward IV 1st Reign

The personal rule of Edward IV and the political impact of his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville.

Edward and the nobility:

Edward understood that he needed to widen the circle of patronage to avoid Henry VI's mistakes but, as a result of war, the nobility were more divided than ever and Edward faced a difficult situation.

he based his policies on: pardon and reconciliation for Lancastrians and employment, patronage and reward for nobles of both factions

The Lancastrians were reluctant to accept his offers of reconciliation and employment because he did not have the financial or material resources to reward them. he had badly miscalculated the resources available to him

Edward also had trouble rewarding loyal Yorkists and he had to exploit defeated Lancastrian enemies by redistributing titles, offices and estates from at least 13 Lancastrian lords who were attainted at the Parliament of 1461.

in the 22 years of Edward's reign he created or revived at least 37 noble titles, 22 of which were bestowed in his first reign.

the principal beneficiaries of Edward's 'generosity' were:

Edward's brothers (Clarence held around £1.78 million worth of land, in today's money)

The Nevllies. Lord Montagu given Earldom of Northumberland and Warwick was given unparalleled power in the north of England virtually ruling as the king's viceroy.

The Woodvilles. Elizabeth's father made Earl Rivers.

William Lord Hastings: chamberlain of the king's household. and Sir William Herbert became the Earl of Pembroke and Wales.

The Lancastrian resistance:

Lancastrian invasion 1462: Margaret of Anjou won support in France with Louis XI by promising to return Calais should she win her throne back. she employed the services of Pierre de Breze, the finest warrior of the age. in November they landed near Bamburgh Castle (a Lancastrian stronghold) with 2,000 men, however Scottish support was lacklustre and local 'gentleman' the Bastard of Ogle put down a small Lancastrian force and in December Edward's massive army arrived and defeated the rebellion. however, he did opt to pardon the rebels. Somerset was initially part of this rebellion but after this joined the Yorkist cause (and apparently slept with Edward)

1463: another invasion by Pierre de Breze and Margaret, this time in Northumberland. the kind of Scotland joined the Lancastrians but warwick and his brother lord montagu chased them out and gave them little choice but to board a ship to Flanders.

Edward secured a truce with Scotland at the end of 1463. and opened negotiations with the French over a marriage alliance, signalling an end to foreign assistance for the Lancastrians.

Somerset would eventually betray Edward, attempting to encourage men to betray Newcastle and go over to the Lancastrian side, however he was recognised and forced to flee. he also attempted rebellions in Wales, Cheshire and Lancashire. he was eventually executed.

in 1465 Henry VI was captured and put in the tower of London and it seemed that the Lancastrian threat was defeated for now as Edward's force was always bigger.

Edward's success in dealing with Lancs.:

every uprising defeated- castles retaken 4 times, victories at Hexham, Hedglely Moor

Local gentry loyal to the crown- such as Bastard of Ogle

he got truces with both France and Scotland, which prevented the Lancastrians from having a power base

Lancs could not take a city

henry VI captured and imprisoned and Margaret had to flee to France.

Edward's failures in dealing with Lancs.:

too much forgiveness to rebels, allowed them to keep their castles and lands, damaged his reputation, he was not feared.

relied too heavily on Warwick and John Neville (Montagu)

created an inner circle of nobles, this excluded others and lead to rebellions

showed favour to Somerset- bad judgement

Lancastrians still had strongholds in Alnwick, Banburgh and Dunstanburgh. Harlech Castle held out until 1468

Edward's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville:

problems this caused:

she came from a low gentry family, she was not seen as a fit marriage for a king. it also annoyed the nobility when they were promoted to higher positions and given good marriages.

she had already been married to a Lancastrian Knight and had two young sons.

It annoyed Warwick because he was already arranging marriage to a French princess and Edward instead chose to ally with Burgundy as they were preferred by the Woodvilles, this was a public embarrassment.

advantages Elizabeth's family were given:

her father, Richard Woodville, was made earl rivers in 1466 he was also made treasurer of England instead of Warwick's uncle

her sisters were given good marriages over warwick's daughters

her sons were given control of Devon and the south west

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factional rivalries: Warwick the kingmaker; attempts to restore Henry VI; Margaret of Anjou; Edward, Prince of Wales

The Neville's Greed caused the conflict between Warwick and Edward:

Warwick was: the captain of Calais, Admiral of Ireland and England, Warden of the eastern marches on the Scottish boarder, constable of dover castle. he also held four earldoms

Warwick's brothers were also made lords and bishops (John Neville- Lord Montagu)

Warwick had a reputation for being the 'king in all but name' and come into conflict with other nobles such as William Herbert, as he wanted Herbert's title and lands and was not given them

warwick and Edward were also cousins and he felt he was owed more for his part in getting Edward the throne

he executed Herbert and others after Edgecoat Moor in 1469 which was completely unjustified as they were not up in arms against the king.

warwick maintained luxurious and extravagant lifestyle and channelled most of his remaining money into political activity

warwick was still loved by the common people, particularly the merchants in London, as he gave generous gifts of meat and food, even when he fell out of touch with the king

causes of the rebellion:

Warwick withdrew from court in 1467 as he felt alienated, embarrassed and annoyed by the Woodville's influence and Edward's move away from him.

George, Duke of Clarence: he too was greedy and felt snubbed by Edward after he was denied the marriage he wanted to marry Mary of Burgundy but instead Edward married his sister to Charles of Burgundy in order to prevent Clarence from gaining more power.

Edward sent warwick on a false mission to france to negotiate with Louis XI so he could get him out of the way, this angered and embarrassed W.

Edward also ignored Warwick's attempts to ally England and france with a marriage by marrying Elizabeth and then Marrying his sister to Charles the bold of burgundy, ruing all hopes of English-French alliance. this also gave Louis XI motivation against Edward.

Edward also refused Clarence's marriage to Warwick's daughter Isabel, infuriating them both.

Lancastrian invasions were also attempted at the same time as this (1468), notably by Jasper Tudor and Margaret of Anjou (from exile)

the Woodvilles were declining in popularity also amongst the commons and taxes and food prices rose, all leading to disillusion with Edward's governance, warwick used this and his popularity amongst the people to his advantage.

the rebellion, part 1, 1469:

April 1469 two uprisings were lead by "robin of redsdale" and "robin of Holderness", Warwick and Clarence were undoubtedly behind them and financed the rebellions, they were said to be in the name of political protest and poor harvest when I reality they gave Warwick and Clarence a distraction so they could travel to Calais.

Clarence was then married to Isabel Neville in Calais and they issued a manifesto stating their grievances. they then returned to England. Edward called his inner circle to defeat warwick and Clarence and a battle took place at Edgecoat Moor (26th July)in which Herbert and Devon were executed. Edward was then captured, as his own troops deserted him, and taken to Middleham Castle. (rivers and John Woodville were also captured and executed)

Warwick's attempts to govern on his own failed and government did not support him and he had to release Edward after a Lancastrian uprising threatened to overturn him.

the rebellion, part 2, 1470:

once Edward was reinstated he began to rebuild his power base by redistributing royal patronage and rewarding the loyal.

rebellion occurred again early in 1470 in Lincolnshire and Warwick and Clarence were thought to be at the heart of it, it was however quickly supressed by Edward, this became known as the battle of 'losecoat field' and on 24th of march W and C were declared traitors with a price placed on their heads.

W and C flee to Calais were they were turned away and continued to France where Louis XI persuaded Margaret of Anjou to ally with them in order to restore Henry VI. Edward of Westminster and Anne Neville's marriage was agreed as a truce, this would put Warwick in a strong position as he would be father in law of Henry's heir, Clarence however would be left with nothing if the plan worked.

W and C landed in Devon in September 1470 and were warmly received by Lord Stanley and Shrewsbury, meanwhile in the north Edward IV had been deserted by most of his troops and was forced to flee to Burgundy. when they landed, Clarence switched sides back to Edward, in return for forgiveness and therefore had little part in the readeption

Henry VI was restored to the throne in October 1470 as Edward's flight had left the throne open. the nobility was in chaos as they struggled to redistribute land and decide who to trust.

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The crushing of the Lancastrian cause: Barnet and Tewkesbury; the destruction of the Lancastrian nobility.

Edward's return: March 1471

Edward landed in East Yorkshire in March 1471, the gates of Hull were closed to him and he found that people were only friendly towards him when he was the Duke of York, rather than the king, so he claimed he only wanted to be York, not regain his throne. he then journeyed on to Wakefield.

meanwhile, John Neville attempted to rally troops in the north but was unsuccessful as many owed their allegiance to Henry Percy, a Lancastrian, who chose not to choose a side and so gave Edward free passage.

Edward's force was growing and his army contained many skilled Burgundian hand-gunners, which Warwick did not have any of.

Edward's now-massive force advanced towards Warwick who chose not to give battle but instead fled to hide behind the walls of Coventry. Warwick had put his trust in Clarence to arrive with a force to save him from Edward's siege but Clarence had defected and instead he and Edward joined at Warwick and headed towards London together, where they met Gloucester on the outskirts

the three brothers marched triumphantly into London and arrested Henry VI and George Neville.

Edward's army then marched towards Barnet and met Warwick who decided not to wait for Margaret's force and give battle anyway.

BARNET: the fog descended at Barnet, causing the two armies to line up incorrectly and Warwick's armies ended up firing on each other, leaving the Yorkists with a numerical advantage and were victorious as Gloucester defeated Exeter's force. Warwick was then hunted down and killed.

3 main factors that helped Edward:

Burgundian Help- raised an army where he didn't have one

Henry Percy- he was very powerful and didn't choose a side, if he had sided with Warwick it is unlikely that Edward could have won

Warwick's mistakes- trusted Clarence after he had snubbed him in the deal, doesn't wait for Margaret's army, loses support by promoting Henry, who is seen as a weak fool.

TEWKSBURY:

Margaret landed in the south west and learned abut the defeat at Barnet, she was disheartened but continued north to join up with other loyal forces. the Lancastrians sent false scouts so that Edward would think they were going south to London but Edward was too clever to fall for this and instead found concrete evidence that they were going towards Gloucester.

Edward commanded that the city of Gloucester close their gates to the Lancastrians meaning that they had to march to Tewkesbury so the Yorkists could close in on them

the two armies began battle next to a forest and the Duke of Somerset attempted to sneak up on the Yorkists but calculated it wrong and ended up in front of them and were attacked and got in the way of their own side. Somerset is thought to have taken out his anger on the main commander of the Lancastrian forces John Wenlock and supposedly bludgeoned him to death with a spear. with their leader dead, the Lancastrians were defeated

Destruction of Lancastrian nobility:

Prince Edward, Margaret's son, was killed in the fighting. as was the earl of Devon and Somerset. Margaret was captured and paraded through London and Henry was killed on May 21st 1471, supposedly by Richard of Gloucester. Margaret was eventually 'bought back' by Louis XI and lived the rest of her life in exile.

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the impact of the baronial wars on English society by 1471: the weakening of the aristocracy; the impact on trade and the economy.

Aristocracy:

far more affected than the common people

everyone had to choose sides, involvement was unavoidable.

Many of the gentry actually loaned money to kings, rocking the power balance.

However, during the 1450s it is noted that the nobility were becoming less inclined to fight, favouring the law or a life of luxury.

As the wars continued to rage on, the gentry became more reluctant to commit to a side e.g Sir Catesby who became more cautious and reluctant after being exiled in the 1460s.

Edward’s promotion of the Woodvilles may also be a contributing factor to this, also Edward’s manipulation of the law to disinherit the heirs of 5 noble families might have had something to do with it.

Some of the nobility were even turning down estates and titles as they wanted to disengage themselves from the conflict and danger (e.g Lord Mountjoy advised his brother against it in 1484).

1459-61 1/4 of noble houses were wiped out.

58 out of 70 took art in at least 1 battle

44 noblemen killed in the wars of the roses.

lots of bloodfeuds- Nevilles-Percys and Boneville-Courtenays

Towns:

Coastal and boarder countries were vital in maintaining English society in military preparedness.

In 1460, towns and villages in Norfolk paid the wages of 400 soldiers, while many towns raised local taxes to fund the civil wars.

Most towns sought to minimise their involvement in the wars, avoiding commitment to one side or the other

Towns were frequently called upon for soldiers, often for different sides of the war at various times.

The wars lead to much political confusion in towns and often fights about alliances.

Towns expanded their powers to tax people during the wars, often in order to pay soldiers’ wages

They had to make difficult choices about allegiance and sometimes got it wrong, this could result in the suspension of liberties and a costly series of negotiations e.g Clinque Ports who supported Warwick in 1470s.

towns put watchmen up, helped stop Margaret entering London in 1461.

towns such as Hull put chains across their harbours to stop Yorkist ships.

Margaret's soldiers had a reputation for invasion, essentially terrorising towns, made them unpopular and they weren't received in London in 1461.

Common people:

They were spared the worst horrors of war and parliament meant that their liberties were upheld

Taxation was increased to provide for all the fighting,

all able-bodied men between 16 and 60 had to serve in the army for at least 40 days a year.

It is believed that Towton in particular had very large numbers of common people fighting, 50,000, with a mass grave being found at the site, containing evidence that these were not usual soldiers- but common people.

Cade’s rebellion – particularly affected the common people.

‘sparing the commons’ was common practice for Edward until 1471.

Common people were disengaged from politics, they were especially reluctant to fight if it interfered with the harvest.

Civil war often provided a cover for other lawlessness, settling personal vendettas and just generally destabilising the country.

the wool trade regularly bankrolled the different warring parties in order to bring a swift conclusion to the fighting and to end political instability that was affecting their business.

the wars had less impact because they stopped doing 'chevauchee' (the practice of soldiers riding into a town and stealing from them and terrorising)