Wars of the Roses Weaponary and Tactics

The wars raged across 15th Century England made it essential for forces to be properly armed and protected.

ARMOUR

Men-at-arms in the thick of the action were fitted with heavy armour with a breast-plate underneath a leather brigandine or chain-mail hauberk. Attached to the breastplate were the plate armoured gorget around the neck, pauldron over the shoulders, couter over the elbows, vambraces over the forearms, tassets over the thighs and culet over the lower back. Added protection was found with plate-armoured gauntlet gloves and knights wore lance rests attached to the breast plate to steady their lances for a firmer blow.

Horses were also glad in plate armour

The main disadvantage of heavy armour was the lack of mobility and the quick-moving infantry wore a mail shirt over a padded aketonmail, with added munitions plate covering the most important body parts.  Light armour mostly consisted of padded cloth and leather with the archer's bracer providing a leather armguard to protect the fletching of an arrow. 

A Richard III re-enactor wears a crowed sallet helmet

Helmets also varied in design depending on how much protection was needed. Heavy helmets were made from steel plate, covered the head with visors on bascinets, armets, sallets and close helmets. Richard III was likely wearing a crowned sallet when he charged Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth.

Medium helmets were made of steel, but didn't protect the entire head like the visor-less barbute helmet. Light helmets were usually caps made of cloth and leather but archers preferred the wide-brimmed steel kettle hats for greater field of vision and to shield their eyes from the sun. Helmets were often customised with different colours, plumes, coifs and bevors. 

Archers wore kettle helmets to shield their eyes from the sun

COMBAT WEAPONS

The advancements in protective armour led to the development of the longsword which allowed a double-handed grip with the sword's longer hilt. The finest swords of the era were stamped with a German Passau wolf and the unusually hard Toledo steel forged in Spain. Daggers were often used as a side-arm and the small, sharp bladed wound on top of Richard III's skull showed that they were used as execution weapons, with two hands likely used to push the pommel into Richard III's skull.

Other weapons used by men-at-arms included hammers, maces, axes, spears and pole arms like the halberd. The halberd was inexpensive to produce and very versatile in battle as the hook and axe head were able to pull horsemen to the ground. The large hole at the base of Richard III's skull shows that a halberd likely sliced the back of the king's head and struck the fatal blow. The bill hook was also effective at bringing down a horseman with the pronounced hook able to find a chink in the knight's armour. 

A halberd likely struck the fatal blow to Richard III

Men on horseback attacked in triangular formations, with the most heavily armored knights at the front. They defended themselves with shields and attacked with a wooden lance that would shatter upon impact. Richard III was the head of a triangular formation charging towards Henry Tudor and his lance shattered into the helmet of Tudor's standard bearer, Sir William Brandon.

RANGED WEAPONS

The longbow gained it's notoriety at the Battle of Agincourt with a fast reload, accurate archers, armour-piercing bodkin heads and light-weight bowstaves. Compulsory longbow training was enforced in 1470 and many of the fragile yew bowstaves would often break and needed replacing. This led to a shortage in yew and this was overcome by Richard III increasing the tax on ships arriving in English ports to 10 bowstaves per tun in cargo, up from 4 bowstaves decreed in the Statue of Westminster 1472.

Longbowmen in action at the Battle of Towton (Graham Turner)

An effective longbowman took years of strength and skill training whilst a crossbow could be used effectively after a week's training. The crossbow was more powerful than a longbow thanks to a greater release of kinetic energy but it was more inaccurate and had a slower shooting rate than an average longbow. The archers took central position in battle formations and usually engaged the enemy before a main assault of mounted knights. Crossbowmen were also utilised in counterattacks to protect their infantry.

Cannon fires at a Battle of Tewkesbury festival

Arrows would eventually be replaced by gunpowder and shot in the coming centuries. The Wars of the Roses saw artillery like culverins used to supplement infantry attacks and bombards brought siege to Bamburgh Castle in 1464. Transporting artillery from camp-to-camp provided to be cumbersome and firearms, such as hand culverins, hand bombards and hand cannons developed.

TACTICS

In the early 1450s the act of gathering troops and marching to battle didn't usually result in combat as Duke of York's standoff at Dartford showed. Henry VI may have been expecting the same when he garrisoned the wall-less town of St. Albans in 1455 but York decided to end hours of stalemate by launching the First Battle of St. Albans.

A commander would line his troops into three 'battles' - the vanguard leading the attack, the main in the middle, and the rearguard often holding back reserves. Archers had previously launched the opening salvo into opposing infantry but by the mid-1400s this had developed into a stalemate of opposing bowmen fighting each other. Men-at-arms would either lead the vanguard on foot (Battle of Northampton) or on horseback (Battle of Blore Heath). 

Lord Audley leads a cavalry charge at Blore Heath

Armies made best use of their terrain and would fortify their positions by using bodies of water and marshland, digging trenches and setting up wooden spikes to deter on-coming cavalry. Deception was used effectively by Earl of Salisbury at Blore Heath by removing his soldiers from the front line to give the impression of retreat to Lord Audley. Audley was lured into taking his cavalry over a stream and was unable to avoid Salisbury's returning men.

The rank-and-file troops were gathered by their lords or knights and served in all of their disputes wearing the lord's ‘livery’ and fought under their banner. In return, the lord ‘maintained’ their tenants' rights and claims. This ‘livery and maintenance’ soon developed into ‘bastard feudalism’ as cash rewards replaced traditional land gains. 

The level of professionalism varied amongst the troops who would often flee the battlefield or surrender unarmed when the fight was lost. The Wars of the Roses was mainly a dispute between noble families and the rank-and-file were spared the bloodshed of their noble commanders whose heavy armour would hinder them escaping a melee.  

Battle of Wakefield saw the end of chivalric ransoms

The Battle of Wakefield saw the conflict take a grisly turn when captured nobles were executed instead of being customarily ransomed and these deaths made the battles extremely personal. The Battle of Ludford Bridge was a rare occasion in the Wars of the Roses where battle commanders, facing defeat, fled the battlefield to fight another day. The move by York to withdraw should be seen as calculated as he was hugely outnumbered following a large defection. Cowardice at Ludford should be viewed with caution as most of those who fled the battlefield - York, his son, the Earl of Rutland, Rutland's uncle, Salisbury and Salisbury's son, the Earl of Warwick, would later die in, or shortly after, battle.

The other escapee of Ludford was York's eldest son, Edward, who would claim the throne in 1461 after fighting amongst 50,000 men at the Battle of Towton that left 26,000 dead. Richard III would also charge into battle and refused to withdraw from the Battle of Bosworth after he was dismounted. Bosworth would ultimately be decided by those fighting under livery and maintenance as Sir William Stanley led his men at the crucial moment to attack the king.

The 30 years between the First Battle of St. Albans and Bosworth had periods of uneasy rest but the brutal battles and the twisted machinations would ensure that blood would soon be spilt and the long vaunted days of chivalry were over

Profile - Edmund Plantagenet, Earl of Rutland 1443-1460

Edmund Plantagenent, Earl of Rutland, was second son to Richard, Duke of York, who fought alongside his father at the Battle of Wakefield.

BOY CHANCELLOR

Rutland was born in Rouen, France, in 17 May 1443 as the fifth child and second surviving son of the Duke of York and Cecily Neville. Edmund was granted the Earldom in 1446 and was tutored by Richard Croft at Ludlow Castle, his father's Shropshire estate. York showed his love to his eldest sons, Edward, Earl of March, and Rutland, by giving them green gowns as Easter gifts in 1454 despite York being busy at court becoming Protector of the Realm that spring.

York held the title Lieutenant of Ireland and appointed Rutland as Lord Chancellor of Ireland when his son was just eight-year-old. With Rutland underage, governing Ireland's coffers was tasked to Deputy Chancellors Edmund Oldhall, brother to York's Chamberlain, and then John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury. 

Following defeat at the Battle of Ludford Bridge on 12 October 1459, York took Rutland to Ireland via Devon and Wales, whilst leaving his wife and young children, Margaret, George and Richard, to the might of the royal army. The 16-year-old Rutland was able to study his father command order and respect in Ireland but soon discovered their stay in exile wouldn't last long after York discussed return plans with his nephew, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, at Waterford in spring 1460.

York and Rutland returned from Ireland on 8 September 1460, landing in north Wales, and traveled to Ludlow and Hereford. It was at Hereford where Rutland met up with his mother and younger siblings but he followed his father's march south to London. York's march was signaled with the flying of the royal standard as if it was his own and York proclaimed his right to the throne by placing a hand upon it on 10 October 1460.

York's actions were derisive and alienated his supporters including Warwick and his father, Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury. An incensed Warwick challenged York in the pretender's Westminster apartments but a brave and loyal Rutland came to his father's defence by saying to Warwick, "Fair Sir, be not angry, for you know that we have the true right to the crown, and that my lord and father must have it."   

Rutland clashed with the Earl of Warwick following York's public claim to the throne

Rutland's older brother Edward, who had escaped Ludford Bridge to Calais with Warwick, looked to calm the atmosphere by saying to Rutland, "Brother, vex no man, for all shall be well." Edward left the apartments with Warwick and Rutland stayed by his father's side. Later that month, Parliament passed an Act of Accord that decreed York and his heirs would inherit the throne after Henry VI, despite the fact that the king had a son, Prince Edward of Westminster.

Rutland accompanied his father's march north from London on 9 December 1460 after York and Salisbury's northern estates had been looted by Lancastrian forces. After a skirmish with the troops of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset, at Worksop, Nottinghamshire, York's army reached Sandal Castle near Wakefield on 21 December 1460.

BATTLE

The Battle of Wakefield on 30 December 1460 saw York lead his men out of Sandal Castle in search for a foraging party who had earlier left under the  apparent safety of a Christmas truce. The Lancastrian forces were led by Somerset, Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, and Lord John Clifford, whose fathers had all died at First Battle of St. Albans five years previously.

York was ambushed on Wakefield Green and commanded his son to flee the battle to meet up with his brother, Edward, who was building up reinforcements in the Welsh marches. Under protest, Rutland left the battlefield and made it as far as Wakefield Bridge before he was captured. Clifford met his captive on the bridge and was urged by Rutland's tutor, priest Robert Aspell to ransom Rutland, "for he is the Prince's son, and peradventure may do you good hereafter." Clifford replied in anger, "By God’s blood, thy father slew mine and so will I do thee and thy kin,” before stabbing Rutland to death.

Rutland begs Sir John Clifford for mercy

The decapitated head of Rutland would soon join the heads of his father and uncle on spikes atop of Micklegate Bar in York. The bodies of Rutland and York were hastily buried in Pontefract Priory until Edward, now King Edward IV, reinterred them in the family vault at Fotheringhay Castle on 30 January 1466.

Profile - Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, 1406-1455

Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, enjoyed favouritism at the royal court despite his ineptness and created many enemies, the biggest of which was Richard, Duke of York.

RISE TO POWER

The Duke was born in 1406 to John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset and Margaret Holland and his paternal grandparents were John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and his mistress, Katherine Swyford. 

Somerset' rise to power owes credit to the actions of his uncle, Cardinal Beaufort, who wielded influence on the Privy Council and Somerset became Lieutenant of France in 1446. York was expecting a third term in office in France and was aggrieved to be replaced by Somerset.

Cardinal Beaufort - Somerset's powerful uncle

The French campaign of the late 1440s turned into a disaster for Somerset who was unprepared for France breaking truce and taking Normandy from the English. Somerset, stationed in Rouen, negotiated with the French to hand over the city if they allowed England to keep towns along the Norman coast. The French soon broke terms and captured the ports of Honfleur and Harfleur, famously won by Henry V almost 35 years previously.

DISCONTENT

England was now full of discontent following the capitulation in France and the south coast was fearful of a French invasion. Jack Cade led a rebellion against the king and he publicly named York as a successor to the throne. York's claim to the throne was a strong one with him being great-great-great grandson to Edward III's third son, Lionel of Antwerp and grandson to Edward III's fifth son, Edmund of Langley. Somerset also had royal blood as he descended from Edward III's fourth son, John of Gaunt, and the descending Beauforts were declared legitimate by Richard II on the provision that they wouldn't claim the throne. Many at court wondered whether Somerset would actually stake a claim to the throne after Cardinal Beaufort had died in 1447 and the king had yet borne an heir. 

Somerset's loss of Normandy was completed in July 1450 when he handed Caen over to the French and York demanded that Somerset be held to account. King Henry VI agreed to arrest Somerset but his wife, Margaret of Anjou, convinced the king to not only remove charges against Somerset, but to also appoint him as Constable of England. The 20-year-old queen had grown close to Somerset and rumours spread throughout court that Margaret was cuckolding the king with Somerset.

Margaret of Anjou - Somerset's confidant and rumoured lover

York returned to England from his lieutenancy of Ireland in September 1450 and implored the king to imprison Somerset for his failures. Parliament impeached Somerset three months later and was taken to the Tower of London but the queen intervened once again and ordered his releases. Londoners loyal to York were incensed and ransacked Somerset's home, much to the king's dismay.

Troops were rallied by York and marched to London to find the capital gates locked. York faced Henry VI's army at Dartford on March 2 1451 and the king agreed to York's demands of arresting Somerset and declaring York his heir in exchange for the duke's allegiance. The queen, unaware of the bargain, saw her beloved Somerset arrested the next day and argued with the king for his release. 

York entered the king's tent to continue negotiations and came across the queen, with Somerset by her side, arguing with the king. Margaret projected her anger towards York and demanded him to be arrested instead. The king once again bowed to his queen by releasing Somerset and had York swear an oath of allegiance at St. Paul's Cathedral. York was left dismayed when Somerset was appointed Captain of Calais and removed himself from court.

Somerset's rise to power also aggrieved other nobles as he was awarded wardship of Glamorgan in June 1453 on lands owned by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. This land dispute would result in Warwick crucially siding with his uncle, Duke of York, a decision that would later haunt Somerset.

A month later, English defeat at the Battle of Castillon resulted in the loss of Gascony and left Calais as the only English possession in mainland France. This sent Henry VI into a mental breakdown that would leave the king unable to recognise his new born son, Prince Edward. Henry VI's disregard of his son led many, including Warwick, to question whether the prince was actually the result of an adulterous affair between Somerset and the queen.

On 24 October 1453, Somerset, in the queen's name, summoned a Great Council to determine a possible regency and York was uninvited. Somerset relented to the nobles' protests and allowed York to attend. York flexed his muscles and, upon appointment as Protector of the Realm, placed Somerset in the Tower of London. The king regained his senses in late 1454 and would listen to his wife's demands once again by releasing Somerset and reinstated him as Captain of Calais.

BOSOM OF POWER

York once again removed himself from court and began arming himself for a potential conflict. Somerset was back in the bosom of power with the queen by his side and the two effectively ruled England. They summoned a Great Council meeting to be held in Leicester instead of London and York viewed his invitation as a possible ruse. Somerset and the queen convinced the king that York's refusal to attend was a declaration of war and Henry VI ordered York to attend.

On 22 May 1455, York's forces, along with Warwick and his father, Earl of Salisbury, met the royal army at the First Battle of St Albans. York had looked to avoid conflict with Henry VI and, like Dartford, sent word of negotiations to the king. Somerset goaded the king to send back words of aggression to York who attacked the town shortly thereafter.

York and Salisbury led the attack on the Lancastrian defences but Lord Thomas Clifford repulsed their efforts. Warwick came through the inn gardens and attacked Clifford from the rear. Lancastrians signalled the call to arms with a tolling of the abbey bell and Somerset joined the melee. He was in a desperate hand-to-hand combat by Castle Inn and became distracted when he saw the inn's sign. He recognised a soothsayer's prophecy to him that said to stay away from castles and his hesitancy allowed the Yorkist soldier to strike home. 

A plaque marking the spot of Somerset's death in modern St. Albans

York was victorious at St Albans and escorted the king back to London. Somerset was buried in St. Albans Abbey but his cause was taken up by his son, Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset, who avenged his father's death five years later at the Battle of Wakefield with the death of the Duke of York.

Profile - Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury 1400-1460

Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, was a key Yorkist supporter in the beginning of the Wars of the Roses, and was also brother-in-law to Richard, Duke of York.

WARDEN OF THE NORTH

The Earl of Salisbury was born in 1400 at Raby Castle in County Durham and was the eldest son of Ralph de Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, and Joan Beaufort, daughter of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford. Salisbury's father was responsible for the wardship of the orphaned Duke of York, and Ralph Neville betrothed the wealthy duke to his youngest daughter, Cecily.

Richard Neville was married to Alice Montacute, daughter and heiress of Thomas Montacute, the Earl of Salisbury, sometime before February 1421 when they attended the coronation of Queen Catherine of Valois as a married couple. Ralph Neville died in 1425 and Richard inherited the family residence of Middleham Castle with the Earldom of Salisbury coming three years later when Alice's father died.

Middleham Castle - Seat of Neville Power

Salisbury became a commander at the age of 20 when appointed Warden of the West March on the Scottish border and was rewarded by Henry V in his appointment of Justice of the Peace in Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Durham. Salisbury began to frequent the royal court and accompanied the young King Henry VI to France for his coronation in 1431 and his fealty was rewarded by becoming Warden of the East March on the Welsh border.

In 1436, Salisbury resigned from both posts and accompanied York, the newly appointed Lieutenant of France, with 1,300 men-at-arms and archers to protect English lands on the French domain. Salisbury returned the following year and was repaid with a seat on the King's Council whilst also resuming the Wardenship of the West March. The wardenship caused resentment with the Percy family, who had lands just south of the Scottish border in Northumberland.

The Percys were aggrieved when Salisbury recruited men in their Cumberland and Westmorland estates and the Percys flouted Salisbury's rule during the Battle of Sark against the Scots in 1448. Salisbury was to feel the wrath of the Percys up close on 24 August 1453 when Thomas Percy, Lord Egremont, attacked Salisbury at Heworth Moor, outside York, on the journey home to Sheriff Hutton. Salisbury was returning from the wedding of his son Thomas and he fought off Egremont's men unscathed.

YORKIST

Salisbury's eldest son became Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick when he married the Warwick heiress Anne Beauchamp in 1449. Warwick was to exceed his father in lands, wealth and titles but remained loyal and Salisbury would take a high place in the Privy Council after Henry VI's mental breakdown. 

During the king's illness, York was elected Protector of the Realm on 27 March 1454 and assigned his brother-in-law as Chancellor. Salisbury wasn't able to tackle government overspending for long as York's influence diminished when Henry VI regained his sense on Christmas Day 1454. York and Warwick's enemy, Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, was released from the Tower of London and Salisbury resigned as Chancellor in 1455.

Henry VI's return to health saw Salisbury resign as Chancellor

English queen, Margaret of Anjou, focused her resentment on the Yorkists and requested the nobles to attend a Great Council meeting in Leicester on 21 May 1455. York, along with Salisbury and Warwick, saw the invitation as a ruse and took up arms to intercept the royal party before they reached Leicester.

Yorkist and royal forces clashed at the First Battle of St. Albans where Salisbury's and York's attempts to break the Lancastrian front line was assisted by Warwick's surprise attack from Lord Thomas Clifford's rear. The Lancastrian army was defeated and the king's lieutenants, including Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland, were killed. Henry VI was discovered in a tanner's house and Salisbury bent the knee with York and Warwick to show their allegiance to the king. 

Salisbury rode alongside the king as he was escorted back to London and his son was appointed Captain of Calais after York was proclaimed Constable of England that was later relinquished when Henry VI returned to good health. Warwick kept his captaincy of Calais and Margaret convinced the king to move the royal court to Coventry in Lancastrian heartland. York and Salisbury retired to their estates of Ludlow and Middleham but Salisbury was soon aggravated by the Percys.

Henry VI looked for peace throughout the nobility and called for talks in early 1458. The talks were disrupted by Sir John Clifford, Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland and Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset, whose fathers died at St. Albans. Henry VI conceded and allowed them to be compensated by York, Salisbury and Warwick. The peace talks culminated at Loveday 24 March 1458 but the public display of peace didn't continue as Margaret of Anjou and Warwick sparred with each other either side of the English Channel with Warwick lucky to escape London with his life.

MASTER OF DECEPTION

York and Salisbury gathered troops in anticipation and word was sent to Warwick to do the same. Salisbury left Middleham and marched south-west to meet York but was intercepted by royal forces at the Battle of Blore Heath on 23 September 1459. 

Lord Audley leads the attack on Salisbury

Margaret of Anjou had heard of Salisbury's movements and sent James Tuchet, Lord Audley, to intercept him. Audley chose the open field of Blore Heath in Staffordshire to attack Salisbury with his 10,000 men and took position behind a stream out Salisbury's archers range. Salisbury showed his experience by enticing Audley to cavalry charge when he feinted a retreat and two subsequent charges from the Lancastrians couldn't break Salisbury's lines. The fighting left 2,000 Lancastrians, including Audley, dead.

Salisbury was aware that the main Lancastrian army was nearby and tasked a friar to fire cannons left on the battlefield to mask his retreat. This ingenuity resulted in Salisbury linking up with York and Warwick by Ludlow. The royal army forced York to encamp south of Ludlow at the Battle of Ludford Bridge. The king's presence led to the defection of Warwick's forces and the three Yorkist commanders fled the battlefield with Salisbury, Warwick and York's son, Edward, Earl of March, headed south to Calais.

Exile in Calais lasted eight months with Warwick meeting with York in Ireland in March 1460 to plan their return two months later. Salisbury stayed in London to hold the city as Warwick and March successfully fought the royal forces at Battle of Northampton. Warwick returned to London with the king and York came to the city on 10 October 1460 to claim the throne for himself. York's unsuccessful public display to take the throne for himself alienated Salisbury and Warwick who were hesitant in deposing the king.

An Act of Accord on 24 October 1460 decreed that York and his subsequent heirs would inherit the throne after Henry VI but Margaret of Anjou was courting Scottish support with James III. 

News of Northumberland mobilising forces and raiding Salisbury and York estates led the two nobles, along with York's second eldest son, Edmund, Earl of Rutland, to leave London and march north. The Yorkist army clashed with Edmund Beaufort's army at Worksop, Nottinghamshire, and reached Sandal Castle near Wakefield on 21 December 1460. York was drawn out onto Wakefield Green and ambushed at the Battle of Wakefield on 30 December 1460. 

A crushing Yorkist defeat saw York die on the battlefield and Rutland was caught fleeing the battle and executed. Salisbury's attempt to flee the lost battle lasted a few more hours than Rutland's and he was caught and held at Pontefract Castle. Salisbury's captors were contemplating a ransom when the earl bribed a jailor to apparent safety but commoners saw Salisbury leaving, sprung an attack and executed him.

Salisbury's head would be spiked alongside those of York and Rutland on Mickelgate Bar in York but the Neville dynasty didn't end there. Warwick would later be the "Kingmaker" and Salisbury's grand-daughter, Anne Neville, became Queen Consort when Richard III came to the throne 23 years after the rout at Wakefield.

Profile - Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, Part 1 1428-1458

Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, will forever be known as the "Kingmaker" due to the power he wielded during the Wars of the Roses.

EARL OF RICHES

The powerful magnate was born on 22 November 1428 to Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, and Alice Montague. The Nevilles had held Yorkshire strongholds since the 13th Century and Warwick's grandfather, Ralph, Earl of Westmorland,  joined the family to royal lineage with his marriage to Joan Beaufort, youngest daughter of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford.

Richard's betrothal at six years-of-age to Anne Beauchamp would prove to be highly fortuitous when the Beauchamp earldom of Warwick passed to him aged 20. Warwick owned land in 18 counties, from Cornwall to Yorkshire, with the greatest concentration in the West Midlands including the majestic Warwick Castle.

Warwick's early foe, Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset on horseback

A land dispute in Glamorgan, Wales, with the Lancastrian favourite, Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, led Warwick to side with his uncle, Richard, Duke of York, in the tumultuous year of 1453.

There had been eight childless years of marriage between King of England Henry VI and his queen consort Margaret of Anjou and the birth of Prince Edward of Westminster in 1453 should have strengthened the reign of Henry VI. But the king's mental breakdown left the country without a ruler.  

Henry VI's illness led to the king not acknowledging the existence of his son and Warwick contributed to court rumours that the baby boy was a bastard son born through an adulterous affair between the queen and Somerset.

Somerset's disastrous command of France led to his imprisonment in the Tower of London by York, now acting as Lord Protector following the king's incapacity. The head of the king's council, backed by Warwick and his father, was able to bring order and looked to balance the Crown's finances but York's peers were wary of the duke's true intentions. 

York was soon to resign as Protector when Henry VI regained his senses on Christmas Day 1454 and Somerset's swift release from the Tower led to the Yorkist faction to retire to their estates. Warwick quickly began assembling an army along with York and Salisbury and the three nobles suspected that the royal court was moving against them after they received invitations for a Great Council meeting in Leicester that would discuss the king's safety 'against his enemies'.

IN COMMAND

York led his men south to intercept Henry VI's men before they reached Leicester and the two forces clashed at the First Battle of St. Albans. 

The decisive moment in the battle came when Warwick led his men through inn gardens and attacked Lord Thomas Clifford's men holding the line against York and Salisbury's charges. The surprise attack from behind Clifford created a fierce battle through the streets of St. Albans and Warwick soon had the advantage when the Lancastrians fled.

Warwick instructed his archers to target the area around the king's royal standard on St. Peters Street and arrows rained down on the Lancastrian nobles. Clifford, Somerset, and Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, lay dead whilst Humphrey Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, and the king were struck in the face by Warwick's arrows. The king sought refuge in a tanner's house and was soon discovered by York. The Yorkist commanders knelt in front of their king and pleaded forgiveness for their actions in that they never intended to harm the king.

York and Warwick discover Henry VI's whereabouts (depicted by Graham Turner)

Henry VI accepted and was escorted back to London alongside York and Salibury, with Warwick leading the way with the king's sword. After another bout of illness, Henry VI recovered in early 1456 and recognised York's influence in court by awarding Warwick Captain of Calais on 20 April 1456. Warwick courted favour with the town's powerful wool merchants with financial rewards and began to build a vital power base in England's last French domain.

POPULAR

Warwick's popularity in London increased when he stopped Italian traders from taking an unlimited supply of English wool after the Italians exploited a royal licence that was granted to them.

The queen looked to maneuver against the Yorkists by negotiating terms with her uncle, King of France Charles VII, in exchange for military support. The French seized on this and attacked the English south coast town of Sandwich and whispers spread throughout court that Margaret was behind the attack in order to antagonise Warwick across the Straits of Dover in Calais.

Warwick's new foe - Queen Margaret

Discontent rumbled throughout the land due to Margaret's attempts of conscription and the raging battle between the northern Neville and Percy families, led Henry VI to look for peace and initiated talks in early 1458. The arrival of Sir John Clifford, and other nobles whose fathers were slain at St. Albans, threatened to disrupt the talks but Warwick, York and Salisbury agreed to pay for a chantry in the town and further compensated the fallen families.

The talks culminated in a public display of harmony between Yorkist and Lancastrian supporters on Loveday, 24 March 1458. Henry VI led the procession of harmonious inter-family couples with Warwick, following behind York and the queen, knowing that peace would be short lived.

Profile - Henry VI Part 1 1421-1460

The reign of Henry VI on the English throne was a turbulent and fractious one.

BABY KING

The son of King Henry V and French Princess, Catherine of Valois, was born at Windsor on 6 December 1421. The warrior king, Henry V, was campaigning in France when he suddenly died of dysentery on 31 August 1422. Henry VI became the youngest  ever English monarch the next day and the 10-month-old Henry was proclaimed king of France when his grandfather, Charles VI, died a few weeks later. 

The English nobles swore their allegiance to Henry VI and a regency council gathered to rule in the king's name. Henry VI' mother was kept out of the regency by the king's uncles, John, Duke of Bedford and Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. Bedford was appointed senior regent of the realm and regent of France whilst Gloucester was appointed Protector and Defender of the Realm.

Bedford knighted the king at Leicester in May 1426 and Henry VI was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey on 6 November 1429. This was in reaction to Charles VII's defiant coronation as King of France at Reims Cathedral four months earlier.

Henry VI himself was crowned King of France on 26 December 1431 but his power eroded when English allies in Burgundy changed their allegiances and sided with Charles VII during the Congress of Arras in 1435. Bedford died a week before the congress concluded.

A shy and pious Henry VI came of age in 1437 and his peaceful policy towards France caused divisions at court. The king's half-uncle, Cardinal Beaufort, and William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, sought peace whilst Gloucester, and Richard, Duke of York, looked for war.

Beaufort and Suffolk convinced Henry VI that a royal marriage to Charles VII's niece, Margaret of Anjou, would bring peace with France. The French king seized on this opportunity and negotiated with Suffolk the return of English territories back to the French in exchange for the marriage. These negotiations were kept secret from the English court for around a year after Henry VI married Margaret of Anjou on 23 April 1445.

Henry VI marriage to Margaret of Anjou

Public anger towards these negotiations focused on Suffolk and the royal couple charged Gloucester with treason in 1447 for instigating this anger. Gloucester soon died in custody and Cardinal Beaufort would die shortly after. Henry VI promoted the Cardinal's nephew, Edmund Beaufort, to 2nd Duke of Somerset and gave him the lieutenancy of France. This caused friction with York who had been demoted from Lieutenant of France to be Lieutenant of Ireland.

Somerset's command of France was disastrous and England's south coast was fearful of a French invasion. Discontent boiled over when Suffolk was caught and executed after Henry VI had allowed him to flee into exile. 

REBELLION

The south-east rebelled under Jack Cade who declared he would "destroy" the king and "bring" York to the throne. Henry VI initially sent a small force to quash the rebellion but fled to Warwickshire once Cade marched on London. Cade was unsuccessful in replacing the king but York returned from Ireland in 1450 to take his place on the council.

York demanded Somerset's arrest over France, which Henry VI initially agreed but the queen's intervention would made Somerset Captain of Calais. An agitated York asserted his claim to the throne in 1452 by marching his troops to London.The city was barred to York and the duke had to concede to the king after being outnumbered in Dartford, Kent. The king placed York under house arrest for two weeks until the duke pledged allegiance and Henry VI would later strip York of his terms of office.

Henry VI sits as Duke of Somerset (centre) and Duke of York argue

Somerset's French campaign began to haunt Henry VI, with the heavy loss at the Battle of Castillon in 1453, reducing England's French domain to just Calais. The king now descended into a mental breakdown with acute schizophrenia and hallucinations preventing him to recognise the birth of his son, Prince Edward, on 13 October 1453.York was declared Protector of the Realm in 1454 and placed Somerset in the Tower of London, but he would soon be released after Henry VI regained his senses later that year.

York took up arms and intercepted the king's forces on 22 May 1455 as Henry VI made his way to Leicester for a Great Council meeting. York had gained the support of the wealthy Neville family and he relied on the father and son of Earl of Salisbury and Earl of Warwick to outnumber the royal forces at the First Battle of St. Albans. The quick battle through the streets of St. Albans saw the death of Somerset and Henry was deserted by his standard bearer. The king took refuge in a tradesman's house before being discovered by York and escorted back to London.

PRISONER

York declared himself Constable of England and later Protector of the Realm once again when  Henry VI had another bout of mental illness during his imprisonment. The king recovered in February 1456 and had to accept York's influence at court. The queen was less accommodating to York and convinced Henry VI to move court to her heartland of Coventry.

Henry VI tried to nullify the discord between his northern lords and their supporters by having peace talks in 1458 but the queen continued her grievances. York, Salisbury and Warwick were summoned to the Great Council at Coventry and responded by gathering troops at the Battle of Ludford Bridge on 12 October 1459. 

The king promised the Yorkists that he would grant pardons to those who put down their arms and this was too much of an offer for Warwick's Calais troops, led by Andrew Trollope. York and his commanders fled Ludford into exile shortly after hearing of Trollope's treachery. The royal couple issued an act of attainder later that year which forfeited the Yorkist commanders' lands and titles. 

Warwick, Suffolk and York's eldest son, Edward, Earl of March, returned to England in June 1460 and met the royal forces at the Battle of Northampton on 10 July 1460. Treachery struck again, this time in favour of the Yorkists, as Lord Grey of Ruthin, gave March a helping hand over the Lancastrian front line defences. 

Henry VI's commanders defended their king to the death and a victorious Warwick greeted the king outside his royal tent. Warwick and his men swore their allegiances to the king and escorted him to London once more.

Warwick kneels before Henry VI before taking him to London as depicted by Graham Turner

Henry VI's place on the throne was now in doubt as York arrived in London three months later to take the throne but Henry VI's supporters denied York to sit on the throne. After weeks of negotiation, an act of accord was passed that disinherited Prince Edward and recognised York (and his subsequent heirs) as Henry's successors. York was once again made Protector of the Realm and Henry VI was his prisoner.

Meanwhile, the queen was building Lancastrian support and met with the new Scottish king, James III to offer the English border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed in exchange for his support.

York left London to meet the growing Lancastrian forces at the Battle of Wakefield and left Warwick to watch over the royal captor. 

First Battle of St. Albans 1455

First Battle of St. Albans depicted by Matthew Ryan 

The 'Cousins War' or 'War of the Roses' fought between England's nobility began in earnest at St. Albans on 22 May 1455.

BACKGROUND

Henry VI's mental breakdown after heavy English defeats in France in 1453 brought the need for governance and Richard, Duke of York, became Protector of the Realm on 27 March 1454. 

York had held grievances with Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, ever since the king decided to make Somerset Lieutenant of France in 1448 instead of granting a third term to the incumbent York.

Battle of Castillon of 1453 depicted by Graham Turner

Somerset's term in office was disastrous, with the heavy defeat at the Battle of Castillon in 1453 leaving Calais as the only English territory in mainland France. York had previous animosity to Somerset's father when the king had shown favouritism towards the 1st Duke of Somerset by granting him, and not York, much needed troops in France 10 years earlier.

York charged the 2nd Duke of Somerset for failing to assert England's authority in France and imprisoned him in the Tower of London.  But Somerset was soon to be freed when Henry VI recovered in late 1454. Henry VI continued to antagonise York by removing him as Captain of Calais and replaced him with Somerset.

The king summoned the meeting of the Great Council in Leicester and York viewed this invitation cautiously. York met with his loyal commanders, Neville father and son, Earl of Salisbury and Earl of Warwick, and decided to march south with a growing force to meet the king before he arrived at Leicester.

York sent word to Henry VI and the Archbishop of Cantebury of his intentions to not harm the king due to his faith and allegiance but took up arms to counter the "sinister, malicious and fraudulent" members of government. 

BATTLE

Henry VI's army of 2,000 troops arrived at St. Albans first on 22 May 1455 and encamped along Tonman Ditch. The 7,000-strong Yorkist army arrived and made camp in Keyfield to the east of the barred town. Negotiations lasted three hours but broke down when York's demands of Somerset's surrender were denied. 

York led the surprise attack on the town before noon but was repulsed at the barricades by Lord Thomas Clifford and his men. Warwick outflanked the Lancastrians by rushing through the gardens between Key Inn and Chequer Inn and attacked Clifford's men from behind.

The battle through the streets of St. Albans lasted around half an hour as the Lancastrian rank and file deserted their nobles. Somerset, Clifford and Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, lay dead.  

Humphrey Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, sought sanctuary in the town's abbey after being hit in the face by an arrow and the Yorkist archers struck the king in the neck. Henry VI was left alone in St. Peter's Street and the king sought refuge in a tradesman's house until he was discovered by York.

Duke of York is told of Henry VI's whereabouts depicted by Graham Turner

York declared his faith to the crown and was ready to show the king his devotion with his men at any time. The king was escorted back to London and took up residency at the palace of the Bishop of London. 

York declared himself Constable of England and made Warwick Captain of Calais. Henry VI had another bout of mental illness during his imprisonment and York became Protector of the Realm once again. 

Henry VI recovered in February 1456 and York resigned his office of Protector. The king now accepted York's influence at court and allowed Warwick to keep his command of Calais. Henry VI showed faith in York by reinstating him as Lieutenant of Ireland and sent York to the Scottish border to defend against a possible invasion.

Profile - Richard Duke of York. Part 2 1450-1456

Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, was arguably one of the most influential figures in 15th century England.

UNREST

William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, was publicly blamed for the loss of French lands over the marriage between Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou and the growing dissension led to him being impeached by parliament. Henry VI was forced to send his confidant into exile in January 1450 but Suffolk's ship to Calais was intercepted. Suffolk was captured, put on trial and executed with his body found on a Dover beach.

Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, disastrous lieutenancy of France came to a head with the loss of Normandy and the returning soldiers discontent boiled over in Portsmouth. Unpaid soldiers vented their frustration to the king's Lord Privy Seal by lynching him.

Distrustful of the monarchy and fearful of a French invasion, the south coast rebelled under Jack Cade. The "Captain of Kent" called himself John Mortimer to associate himself with York and his ancestors. Cade went further by proclaiming in the Complaint of the Poor Commoners of Kent that he would "destroy" the king and his friends, and then "bring the Duke of York to be king."

Jack Cade depicted by Sir John Gilbert

Henry VI responded by sending a small force to quash the rebellion but Cade led his men to victory at the Battle of Solefields. Further bloodshed forced Henry VI to flee London to Warwickshire. Cade promises of not harming the capital disappeared when his rebels drunkenly looted the city and Cade subsequently lost local support. Cade fled the city but was soon caught and executed.

Rebellion was still rife in the south with Sussex yeomen, John and WIlliam Merfold, proclaiming to a crowd that the "king was a fool" and that "another king must be ordained to rule the land."

PRETENDER

York seized on the hostile sentiments and landed in Wales on 7 September 1450. Gathering troops and evading Henry VI's interceptors along the way, York arrived in London on 27 September 1450. York presented a list of grievances and demands to the council, including the arrest of Somerset. The king initially agreed, but Margaret of Anjou intervened, and countered York by making him Justice of the Forest South of the Trent. York's chamberlain, Sir WIlliam Oldhall, was also made parliamentary speaker. 

York's inability to influence the Privy Council was confirmed when Somerset was made Captain of Calais and York retired to his residence at Ludlow Castle in Wales. York changed tactics a year later. In 1452, after the birth of his final son, Richard, York returned to London to protest his loyalty to the king and assert his inheritance to the throne. He found the gates to the city barred on the king's orders and conceded to Henry VI after he found his army outnumbered in Dartford, Kent.

Duke of Somerset (centre) argues with Duke of York as Henry VI sits

The king listened to York's complaints about Somerset but ordered York to be taken under house arrest in London until York pledged an oath of allegiance at St. Paul's Cathedral two weeks later. York was to see his power erode over the next year with him being stripped of Ireland and South of Trent titles and his supporters punished for their role in Dartford. York was also seeing his path to the throne diminish with the queen being pregnant.

England's defeat at the Battle of Castillon in August 1453 left Calais as the only English possession in France and this sent Henry VI into a mental breakdown. The breakdown was so severe that the king didn't even acknowledge the birth of his son, Edward Prince of Wales, on 13 October, 1453. This instigated a meeting of the Great Council to decide the governorship and York attended despite Somerset's opposition. York asserted his power by placing Somerset in the Tower of London and was declared Protector of the Realm and Chief Councillor on 27 March 1454, much to the queen's opposition.

PROTECTOR

York looked to tackle government overspending by appointing his brother-in-law, Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, as Chancellor. This came to a halt when Henry VI regained his senses at Christmas 1454 and awarded the Captaincy of Calais to the recently-released Somerset.

Orders were sent for the nobility to convene at the Great Council at Leicester on 21 May 1455, away from Somerset's enemies in London and York feared he would be charged with treason. York, Salisbury, and Salisbury's son, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, raised an army in the north and intercepted Somerset and the king at St. Albans in the First Battle of St. Albans on 22 May 1455. The king's army of 2,000 was ill-equipped and outnumbered by York's and Nevilles' more experienced army totaling 8,000.

First Battle of St. Albans depicted by Graham Turner

York was eager to clear his name and requested the king to remove certain Lancastrian advisers from his council. Negotiations went back and forth between the two camps for three hours to no avail and York ordered his men to attack the king's troops occupying the town. York caught them by a surprise and a quick battle in the streets resulted in the deaths of Somerset and Warwick's northern rivals, Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, and Lord Thomas de Clifford.

More importantly, York had the king captured and escorted back to the capital. York declared himself Constable of England and made Warwick Captain of Calais. The king was held prisoner and wasn't present when parliament reconvened in November due to another bout of madness. York resumed as Protector of the Realm during Henry VI's illness but surrendered the title when the king recovered in February 1456.

Henry VI accepted that York and his supporters had great influence at court and allowed Warwick to keep his command of Calais and York and Salisbury remained on the Privy Council. York was reinstated as Lieutenant of Ireland and was sent to the Scottish border to defend against a possible invasion.