How did Edward maintain the position of the Yorkists? Explain the possible factors and justify the most important one in detail
How did Edward maintain the position of the Yorkists? Explain the possible factors and justify the most important one in detail
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How did Edward maintain the position of the Yorkists?
Explain the possible factors and justify the most important one in detail (Use the pictures)
Transcribed Image Text:Enquiry topic: Wars of the Roses 1445-1461
To consider
To what extent did Margaret of
Anjou bring about the downfall of
the House of Lancaster in 1461?
among
to the figure cut by Henry VI. On 3 March 1461, a council consisting of the
Archbishop of Canterbury, the Duke of Norfolk and the Earl of Warwick
others agreed that Edward should be king of England. The next day
at Westminster Edward was publicly proclaimed King Edward IV. Edward
had taken advantage of the unpopularity of Queen Margaret, the lack of
good governance by Henry VI, the horrors of the northern host whether real
or imagined, the groundwork of his father, the Act of Accord and his ability
on the battlefield to fulfil his father's dream of a Duke of York on the throne
of England.
Chapter takeaways
• The Battle of St Albans was a victory for the Duke
of York but even though the Duke of Somerset had
been killed, the issues that had troubled Henry VI's
reign remained unresolved.
• The defeat at St Albans was a serious blow for Henry
VI after which he never fully recovered his mental
health, although there were times when he seemed
better than others.
• Margaret of Anjou emerged as the leader of the
Throughout this period the issue of local rivalries and
feuding continued to be a problem with outbreaks of
violence in the north and south-west of England.
• Any attempt to bring harmony between the nobility,
such as Henry VI's Loveday of 1458, failed as dislike,
distrust and the desire for vengeance were too
entrenched.
The viciousness of Margaret's actions ++
Transcribed Image Text:mading
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War and the defeat of Richard, Duke of York
The Battle of Mortimer's Cross, 2 February 1461
Edward, Earl of March, was in the Welsh Marches for Christmas having been
sent to Wales on his first independent mission. He was preparing to return
to London when news reached him that the Earl of Wiltshire had landed
in South Wales with an army made up of Irish, French and Breton soldiers
and was marching on Hereford. The new Duke of York intercepted them at
Mortimer's Cross and was victorious in the battle there. Owen Tudor was
executed, but the Earl of Pembroke, Tudor's son, managed to escape along
with the Earl of Wiltshire. Edward had gained the prestige that came with
winning his first battle.
Margaret's northern host
Having defeated York at Wakefield, Margaret and her northern army headed
for London. On the way, her army reputedly pillaged the towns and villages
they passed through. Much was written about this 'northern host' by
fearful contemporaries, but whether its reputation for destruction and
looting is based on its actions or on Yorkist propaganda is unclear. The
Croyland Chronicler writes of 'a whirlwind from the north,... a plague of
locusts covering the whole surface of the earth'. What he fails to give us
are any specific details of places and people, but instead writes of general
destruction and murder. Whethamstead's Register, written by someone
who was at the second Battle of St Albans in 1461, describes the 'northern
invasion' as being worse than anything caused by Attila's Huns, but
despite this description the actual details he writes about simply describe
the actions of a regular army seeing to its needs by living off the civilian
population. It was this army that defeated Warwick's at St Albans on 17
February 1461. After some fierce fighting in the town the Yorkists fled. Some
of the Yorkist leaders were captured, the most notable being Lord Bonville
who was executed. But the most important person to fall into Lancastrian
hands was the King, who, having been carelessly left behind, was able to
rejoin his wife and son.
The reputation of Margaret's army was now so bad that, after victory
at the second Battle of St Albans, the city of London was nervous about
letting her in. Negotiations between the Queen and the city authorities
ensued and the result was that Margaret made the decision to send her
army to Dunstable. This was so that there could be none of the pillaging of
which the Londoners had grown increasingly fearful. Yorkist propaganda
had added to London's fears; for example there was a ballad which said, 'All
the lords of the north they wrought by one assent, For to destroy the south
country they did all their entent'. This, combined with what they had heard
of the northern army, had made the townsmen of London even more pro-
York. In not entering London, however, Margaret had made a huge tactical
error for she had left the way open to the new Duke of York who was now on
his way.
Edward, Duke of York
When news of the defeat at St Albans reached Edward in Wales, he set off
immediately for London, meeting up with the Earl of Warwick on the way.
The warm reception Edward received from London on 26 February 1461
could not have been more different from the one that Margaret of Anjou had
received. At eighteen years of age, 6ft 4ins tall and good-looking, Edward
was seen by the people of London as their young saviour in sharp contrast
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