Life in 15th Century England - Part 2

Life in medieval England was varied but centred around commerce, crime, punishment, healthcare and living accommodations. 

HOUSING

An Englishman's home is his castle and nothing indicated social class more than medieval housing. The Norman Conquest in the 11th Century led to castles being built throughout England and the original timber motte and bailey castles were soon replaced with imposing stone fortresses. Castle architecture in the 15th Century had developed into the Perpendicular Medieval Gothic style with fan vaulted ceilings, timber-trussed hammerbeam roofs and decorative designs carved with chisels.

A castle dissected and displaying it's various rooms

The focal point inside a castle or manor house was the Great Hall where guests were wined and dined. Torches, candles and a fireplace illuminated the room with stone floors covered by carpet or mats. The walls of the Great Hall were decorated with gold paint, tapestries, shields, banners and paintings whilst wooden panelled wainscot lined the room walls. The castle air would be perfumed with sweet herbs such as lavender, camomile or rose petals to mask the pungent smells coming from the privy. 

The Great Hall was furnished with a main table positioned on a dais that was surrounded with chairs painted with the heraldic designs often in red, green, white, yellow and black colours. Other guests sat on wooden benches around trestle tables which would allow a quick removal for after-meal entertainment or sleeping area for servants.

Lords and Ladies slept upstairs in the Great Chamber or Solar that was named after the sun shining through the south faced windows. The solar was also used as a private sitting room and was furnished with beds, chairs and chests. Personal servants also slept in the solar on a portable pallet for added protection.

A bower would provide privacy for a Lady

The solar was connected to the bower room and was used by the Lady of the House and her ladies in waiting for embroidery, reading and music. The bower would be decorated with colourful tapestries, furs and pillows and the withdrawing room would later be renamed the drawing room. Clothes and jewels were kept in the wardrobe room that was connected to the solar and was an improvement from the original garderobe where clothes were kept in the latrine to deter moths.

Prayers were expected four times a day and would range between five and 30 minutes. Mass would be heard in the castle or house chapel and the small oratory room attached to the chapel would provide sanctuary for a private prayer. The oratory would be richly decorated with beautiful altar clothes and rich religious tapestries. 

Medieval oratories would have been similar to this German one

The castle was a symbol of power and had to be protected from enemies. Archers would be perched in the crenels on the battlements on top of the castle and would reload behind the stone merlons. The battlements also provided an ideal vantage point for defenders to view their oncoming enemy and the Duke of York likely weighed up his options looking down on to Wakefield Green from the battlements of Sandal Castle on the morning of 30 December 1460. York would later venture out on to the field in front of the castle and would meet his death there at the Battle of Wakefield.  

Wakefield was one of many towns throughout England with towns and villages consisting of farmers and tradesman living in houses and barns sheds clustered around the centre of the village. Commoners lived in houses of one or two rooms that were covered with thatched roofs and built together with wooden frames filled in with wattle and daub that consisted of strips of wood woven together and covered in a 'plaster' of animal hair and clay.

A medieval townhouse

More affluent towns had houses made of stone which were whitewashed or painted in bright colors with wooden shutters letting in the sunlight. An open fire was used for cooking and heating In the middle of the straw-covered earth floor and commoners sat around on benches or stools. Wooden table and chests stored clothes and other valuables while tools and utensils were kept on hooks. Rush lights dipped in animal fat illuminated the room animal fat.

Commoners were either free men or as "villeins" who bound to the land, working heavy labour for their lord and were subject to feudal dues. Village life was busy for both sexes and women would toil in the fields, wearing simple dress and living on a meager diet.

Outside influences would affect village life as trade began to spread as people began to be drawn to bigger towns and cities.

COMMERCE

The annexation of Flanders by the Burgundian empire allowed English traders to have easy access to exotic imports such as silks and spices. Merchants were soon protected by treaties and government troops whilst the workers banded together to form Guilds. A wide range of trades formed these guilds including bakers, butchers, grocers, millers, smiths, carpenters, weavers, masons and cobblers. Industry standards such as weights and measures were governed by the guilds and inspectors would visit shops to ensure compliance. The guilds would also assist members who were sick or in trouble and would often take care of families following a member's death.

A smith shows of his wares

Traders would teach their knowledge and skills to apprentices would also act as their master's domestic servant and helper. Upon completion of the apprenticeship, the relevant guild would certify them as journeymen who would travel across towns to learn more about the trade.

Market stalls in the town square

The market square would be at the centre of a medieval town and would hold markets at least once a week where local merchants would set up stall and sell their wares. Fairs were held several times a year and would attract foreign merchants into bringing fine wool, silks, spices, carpets and other items from far away lands. These fairs would last for days and would often attract performers such as strolling minstrels, performing tumblers, acrobats, and animal acts with trained bears and horses. 

CRIME & PUNISHMENT

The growth in population led to an increase in crime and the evolution of English justice from the Magna Carta would see juries of 12 men or a justice of the peace pass judgement. 

Gaols would generally be used to hold prisoners awaiting trial and Richard III's brief reign saw judicial reform that looked to protect the rights of the accused. Those who couldn't afford legal representation could have their cases heard by the Privy Council and the court would later be known as the Court of Requests. Bail legislation was also reformed to protect suspects from being imprisonment awaiting trial and asset seizure whilst ordering the translation of Laws and Statutes into English.

Petty crimes resulted in public shaming and humiliation

The sentences handed out to convicts would often involve severe punishments that looked to deter others from doing the same. Petty crimes resulted in being placed in the stocks to be publicly humiliated and shamed, stealing food to survive was punished with a hand being chopped off. More serious crimes would lead to punishment by death with heresy punished by being burnt at the stake, murderers were hanged and traitors would be executed by being hung, drawn and quartered in public as a deterrent.

The barbaric punishment of being hung, drawn and quartered would see the condemned hanged until they were half dead, taken down, and quartered by having their limbs torn by horses pulling them apart. The convict was still alive when their genitals and bowels would be cut from their bodies and thrown into a fire until finally being killed by decapitation.

Traitors would often be displayed as a warning to others

The body parts of traitors were often displayed as a warning to others like Jack Cade's torso being sent to the four corners of the rebel's home county of Kent and the decapitated heads of the Duke of York, Earl of Rutland and Earl of Salisbury were displayed on spikes atop of Micklegate Bar in York.

HEALTH

The Black Death had ravaged England in the 14th Century and fears of it returning were never far from the minds of those across all social classes. The wealthy would often live longer than the poor due to the unhygienic common living quarters of the commoners where a village or town street would be littered with human and animal waste. The town's sanitation would involve buckets of waste being thrown into the street whereas the wealthy were able to rid of their waste down the privy chute into a nearby moat or stream.

Monasteries had provided healthcare and lodging for the infirm for centuries but the lack of regular hospitals would lead to traders doubling up as doctors that included barbers as surgeons and gave rise to the village apothecary.

Health was often governed by the stars

The theory of the Four Humors from Greek doctor Galen was practiced over a millennium later and the unbalanced humors would be treated with blood letting either through piercing the skin or leeches. Religion, superstition and medical ignorance saw health governed by the stars and death or disease being reasoned by God's wrath in the form of omens. Such omens included the Solar Eclipse on the day of Queen Anne Neville's death or the rise of the sweating sickness after Henry Tudor had landed with French mercenaries in 1485 to claim the throne. 

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 - Margaret of Anjou Part 2 1453-1460

Margaret of Anjou was reputably the most powerful woman in 15th Century England by ruling through her passive husband, Henry VI. 

GRIEF, JOY, DESPAIR

The year 1453 was a turbulent one for Margaret of Anjou. On 28 February, Margaret's mother died and a pregnant Margaret grieved over the death of the influential Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine, through the first half of the year. This grief turned to joy when Margaret gave birth to Prince Edward of Westminster on 13 October but Henry VI didn't join in the celebrations.

Henry VI's domain over France was reduced to just Calais following the heavy defeat at the Battle of Castillon on 17 July 1453 and the king descended into a mental breakdown. Charles VI of France was known for his bouts of insanity and his grandson, Henry VI, showed signs of schizophrenia as paranoid hallucinations plagued him in late 1453.

Prince Edward of Westminster

Margaret tried to protect Henry VI by removing him to Windsor but the queen couldn't keep her husband's malaise secret when Henry VI wouldn't acknowledge his new-born son. The Great Council named Richard Duke of York Protector of the Realm and Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, was placed in the Tower of London. The queen and her prince retired to Greenwich Palace until Henry VI regained his senses at Christmas 1454. York relinquished being Protector and Somerset was reinstated as Captain of Calais. 

Orders were sent to convene a Great Council meeting for 21 May 1455 in Leicester, away from York's London supporters, and York saw this as an opportunity for the royal forces to arrest him. York, and his commanders, the Neville-father and son, Earl of Salisbury and Earl of Warwick, gathered troops and marched south to meet the royal forces before they reached Leicester.

Margaret stayed with her son in Greenwich and was dismayed to hear of York's swift victory at First Battle of St. Albans that left Somerset dead and her husband captured. York named himself Constable of England and Protector of the Realm once again when Henry VI had a mental relapse under York's watch.

The king recovered in February 1456 and Henry VI now accepted York's influence at court. Margaret was less accommodating to York and convinced Henry VI to move court to her heartland of Coventry. The royal couple went around the country to display their unity and prince but discontent was rumbling in the north between the feuding Neville and Percy families.

Henry VI tried to nullify the discord and peace talks in 1458 culminated on 25 March in the Loveday celebrations when the king proudly led former enemies out of St. Paul's Cathedral in amicable pairs. Behind the king followed Margaret arm-in-arm with the Duke of York and the queen wasn't ready to end her hostilities with York just yet. 

ANTAGONISER

The Earl of Warwick had since replaced the deceased Somerset as Captain of Calais and the queen looked to antagonise Warwick by supporting French raids on the English south coast and later unsuccessfully charged Warwick with piracy.

York decided to move on the royal forces and gathered with Warwick and Salisbury a Battle of Ludford Bridge in September 1459. Salisbury had earlier beaten Margaret's forces at Battle of Blore Heath but talk of royal pardons to those who would defect to the king spread throughout York's camp. Warwick's 600 men from Calais, led by Anthony Trollope, changed sides on the eve of battle and the Yorkist commanders fled into exile.

Richard Woodville, Earl Rivers and husband to Jacquetta of Luxembourg

York took his second eldest son, Edmund, Earl of Rutland, to Ireland whilst Warwick and Salisbury made their way to Calais with York's eldest son, Edward, Earl of March. Warwick still had a ship moored in Sandwich on the English south-east coast and Margaret sent the husband of long-time friend, Jacquetta of Luxembourg, to commandeer the vessel. This expedition would soon backfire when Richard Woodville, Earl Rivers, and his son, Anthony, arrived at Sandwich to take the ship but were taken prisoner. Warwick, Salisbury and March each ridiculed their captives in Calais, with Warwick berating Earl Rivers for being a son of a squire who had married himself into the nobility.

Warwick, Salisbury and March returned to England in June 1460 and met the royal forces at the Battle of Northampton on 10 July 1460. Margaret and Prince Edward stayed within the Northampton city walls whilst Henry VI stayed in his royal tent behind the Lancastrian front line. This front-line was soon breached due to Warwick and March bribing a key Lancastrian general, Lord Grey of Ruthin, and the king's troops quickly fled. Henry VI's tent was guarded by his lieutenants who died protecting the king.

Warwick and March greeted Henry VI and escorted him back to London. The queen and prince quickly fled north-west to Cheshire and later Wales. York arrived in England on 9 September to claim the English throne for himself but was balked by those on the council loyal to the royal couple.

DISINHERITED

York was able to have an Act of Accord passed that disinherited Prince Edward and recognised York, and his subsequent heirs, as successors to Henry VI's throne. Henry VI was still King of England but York was named Protector of the Realm once again.

James III of Scotland, potential ally to Margaret of Anjou 

Margaret and her disinherited son journeyed from Wales to Scotland and met with the new Scottish King, James III, to gain support. The border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed was offered up by Margaret in exchange for James III's support. Forces loyal to the royal couple grew south of the Scottish border and York marched north from London on 9 December 1460 to meet them. The two forces clashed at the Battle of Wakefield on 30 December 1460 which saw the deaths of York, Rutland and Salisbury. 

Margaret was overjoyed to hear the death of her fiercest adversary and how his claim to the throne was ridiculed with a paper crown adorning York's decapitated head on a spike overlooking the city of York.

Battle of Northampton 1460

Battle of Northampton as depicted by Matthew Ryan

After nine months in exile, Yorkist commanders Earl of Warwick and Edward, Earl of March, led their forces to victory in the Battle of Northampton on 10 July 1460.

 BACKGROUND

After fleeing the Battle of Ludford Bridge, Yorkist commanders Duke of York, Earl of Salisbury and Earl of Warwick were able to consolidate in exile despite having their lands and titles forfeited in an act of attainder. 

The Lord Chancellor of Ireland, Earl of Rutland, was able to learn more about his office when he accompanied his father, Duke of York, to Ireland. The Irish welcomed York and he peacefully received Warwick in March 1460 in order to plan their return to England.

Warwick had enjoyed exile in Calais and was accompanied by his father, Earl of Salisbury, and York's eldest son Edward, Earl of March. Henry VI had previously replaced Warwick as Captain of Calais with Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset, but Calais rallied behind Warwick and denied Somerset entry into the city. 

Somerset eventually made landfall at Guisnes and appointed Andrew Trollope the town's bailiff. This appointment was mainly due to Trollope's knowledge of the area before he betrayed Warwick at Ludford. Somerset had several skirmishes with Warwick's men but his presence in France was more of an irritant than a threat to Warwick.

Warwick still had a ship moored at a dock in Sandwich on the English south coast and Margaret of Anjou sent the husband of long-time friend, Jacquetta of Luxembourg, to commandeer the vessel. Richard Woodville, who was now Earl Rivers, and his son, Anthony, arrived at Sandwich but were later taken prisoner by Warwick's men and taken across the English Channel to answer to Warwick. Warwick, Salisbury and March each ridiculed their captives, with Warwick berating Earl Rivers for being a son of a squire who had married himself into the nobility to become a lord.  

Sandwich was to be the location of the return of Warwick, Salisbury and March to England on 26 June 1460. The three commanders gathered support in the south-east and Salisbury stayed behind to garrison the Tower of London. Warwick and March marched further north and their forces of 10,000 men met the royal forces at Northampton. 

BATTLE

Northampton battlefield map

The royal forces took up a defensive position in the grounds of Delapré Abbey behind a water-filled ditch topped with spikes, and in front of the River Nene near Northampton. 

Warwick had previously sent three emissaries to present the Yorkist grievances to the king but were denied by Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham. Buckingham sent word back that "The Earl of Warwick shall not come to the King's presence and if he comes he shall die." Upon arriving at Northampton, Warwick replied to Buckingham with the message that "at 2 o'clock I will speak with the King or I will die."

Warwick's army was twice the size of the Lancastrians and the Yorkists advanced at 2 o'clock into hard wind and rain. They were met with a fierce hail of Lancastrian arrows but the rain had made the royal artillery near useless. March took the vanguard up to the ditch guarding the Lancastrian right flank and his men were pleased to see Lord Grey of Ruthin offer a helping hand over the defences. 

Ruthin had personal gain from his treachery as March had previously agreed to support Lord Grey in a land dispute with Lord Fanhope.  The battle lasted just half an hour once the Yorkists were behind the Lancastrian front lines as the royal troops fled the king's defence. Henry VI had remained in his tent behind the frontline and his four lieutenants of Buckingham, Earl of Shrewsbury, Lord Egremont and Lord Beaumont, all died trying to stop the Yorkist approach to the royal tent.

A victorious Warwick kneels to Henry VI as depicted by Graham Turner

WIth the death of the despised royal councillors, Warwick and March respectfully greeted Henry VI, swore their loyalty to the crown and escorted the king to London. 

York now readied a return to England to claim the English throne for himself.

Battle of Ludford Bridge 1459

Ludford Bridge

Henry VI's Lancastrian army had their first victory of the Wars of the Roses with a bloodless battle at Ludford Bridge on 12 October 1459.

Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, victorious at the Battle of Blore Heath, linked up with his son, Earl of Warwick, and the Duke of York at Worcester on 10 October, 1459. The Yorkist commanders sent word to Henry VI that they had sworn an oath of loyalty to the king but decried the "evil councillors" surrounding him. The king responded by saying he would issue pardons to those who would join him within six days.

York retreated towards Ludlow and took up a fortified position near Ludford, Shropshire, by excavating a ditch on the opposite side of the River Teme from Ludlow and aimed cannons on Ludford.

Henry VI's presence at Ludford unsettled Warwick's contingency of 600 men from the Calais garrison who were unwilling to fight against their king. Word spread through the camp of the king's renewed wish for royal pardons for those who joined him and the Calais commander, Andrew Trollope, changed allegiances.

York reviewed the need to fight as he was severely outnumbered five to one with the royal forces totaling 30,000 men compared to York's 5,000. Under the cover of darkness, the Yorkist commanders abandoned their army and fled. York took his second son, Edmund, Earl of Rutland, to Ireland whilst Warwick, Salisbury and York's eldest son, Edward, Earl of March, fled to Calais.

Ludlow Market depicted by Louise Raynor

At dawn the next day the leaderless Yorkist troops knelt in submission before Henry VI and were pardoned. York left behind his wife Cecily, his two younger sons, George and Richard, and his youngest daughter, Margaret. The Duchess of York and her young children were found standing at Ludlow Market Cross and were placed in the care of Cecily's sister, Anne. Anne was married to Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham, and Buckingham kept Margaret of Anjou updated on the Nevilles' well-being. 

The Yorkist commanders may have been in exile but both York and Warwick were able to build on the military and financial support of Ireland and Calais. The royal couple responded in December 1459 by forfeiting York's, Salisbury's and Warwick's lands, titles and inheritance in an act of attainder. The Yorkist commanders would return to England in 1460 to reclaim their titles and power from the crown.

Profile - Richard Duke of York. Part 3 1456-1460

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

UNDER SUSPICION

In August 1456, the Queen of England, Margaret of Anjou, persuaded her husband, King Henry VI, to move the royal court to her heartland of Coventry. Margaret of Anjou was suspicious of Richard Duke of York due to him threatening the succession of her son, negotiating the possible marriage of his son Edward into the rival Burgundian family and was a key supporter of the Neville family. The Neville/Percy feud in the north was disturbing the peace and the king looked to reconcile the families through peace talks which culminated in Loveday summit on 24 March 1458.

Margaret of Anjou

Later that year, the queen unsuccessfully tried to convict Warwick of piracy in the English Channel and the invitation to attend the Great Council in Coventry in June 1459 was seen by York, Salisbury and Warwick as a ruse to arrest them. The three men rallied their troops and met at Worcester after Salisbury's advance was slowed in the Battle of Blore Heath.

York tried to move his men south on 11 October 1459 but was forced to head to Ludlow and met the king's troops in Ludford, Shropshire. The Battle of Ludford Bridge on 12 October 1459 saw Warwick's men from Calais refuse to fight against the king. 

RETREAT

York, Salisbury and Warwick left the battlefield field for what appeared a night at Ludlow but they never returned and abandoned their troops. York, with his second son Edmund, Earl of Rutland, fled to Ireland via Wales. Salisbury, Warwick and York's eldest son Edward, Earl of March, fled to Calais.

Ludford Bridge

The leaderless Yorkist troops knelt in submission before Henry VI at dawn the next day and were pardoned. York had left behind not only his troops but his wife Cecily, his two younger sons, George and Richard, and his youngest daughter Margaret. The Duchess of York and her young children were found standing at the Ludlow Market Cross and were placed in the care of Cecily's sister Anne, the wife of Margaret of Anjou supporter, Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham. 

York and Warwick were able to build on the military and financial support of Ireland and Calais and the royal couple responded by forfeiting York's, Salisbury's and Warwick's lands, titles and inheritance in an act of attainder in December 1459. 

York was in the same position as Henry Bolingbroke 60 years earlier and planned for an invasion. Warwick, Salisbury and Edward landed in Sandwich, England on 26 June 1460. The men of Kent rose to join them and London opened its gates to York's commanders on 2 July. Their growing army marched north into the Midlands, and defeated the royal forces at the Battle of Northampton on 10 July. Henry was once again captured by the Nevilles and taken back to London. 

CLAIMANT

York arrived in England on 9 September to take the throne. He marched to London under the banner of his great-great-grandfather Lionel of Antwerp, third son of Edward III, and displayed the Coat of Arms of England as he approached the capital.

York arrived in London on 10 October and took residence in the royal palace. Entering Parliament with his sword raised above him, York made for the empty throne and placed his hand upon it. York expected the assembled peers to acclaim him as King but they remained silent. Thomas Bourchier, the Archbishop of Canterbury, asked whether York wished to see the King and he replied, "I know of no person in this realm that owes not to wait on me, rather than I of him." This high-handed reply did not impress the court.

York advanced his claim to the crown by hereditary right the next day but his narrow support among his peers let him down. The best that York could achieve after weeks of negotiation was the Act of Accord. This recognised York and his heirs as Henry's successors and York was once again made Protector of the Realm on 31 October 1460.

Lancastrian forces began to build in the north and Margaret of Anjou met with the new Scottish King, James III, to gain his support. York reacted by moving north with Salisbury and Rutland on December 9. They would meet the Lancastrian army, and their deaths, three weeks later at the Battle of Wakefield. 

The decapitated heads of York, Salisbury and Rutland were put on spikes on top of Micklegate Bar in York. York suffered the indignity of the Lancastrians by having a paper crown put upon his head with a sign hanging from his spike stating: "Let York overlook the town of York."

Duke of York and his paper crown

York's remains were buried in Pontefract but were later moved to Church of St Mary and All Saints in Fotheringhay, Northamptonshire.

Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, was never able to sit upon the throne but his cause was quickly taken up by his son who would be crowned Edward IV a few months later. York would have been proclaimed King Richard III if he had ruled England and this title was taken up by his son, and namesake, in 1483.

Battle of Wakefield 1460

The Battle of Wakefield, on December 30 1460, was a pivotal clash in the Wars of the Roses that resulted in the deaths of key Yorkist commanders and serves as the opening for Loyalty Binds Me.

BACKGROUND

Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, family patriarch and Lord Protector of England, moved north from London on December 9th 1460 to counter the growing Lancastrian forces. York was joined by his son, Edmund, Earl of Rutland, and his brother-in-law, Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury. London was guarded by Salisbury's son, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, and York's eldest son, Edward, Earl of March, was dispatched to Wales to quell Lancastrian support.

York's progress north was slowed by widespread flooding and this allowed the Lancastrians forces to grow in the north. The northern Lancastrian army were led by Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, Lord John Clifford and Lord Thomas Ros. Reinforcements came from the West Country with men commanded by Henry Beauford, Duke of Somerset, and Thomas Courtenay, Earl of Devon, to amass an army of over 15,000 men gathered around Kingston-upon-Hull. A substantial amount encamped at Pontefract and began pillaging York's and Salisbury's nearby estates. Northumberland, Clifford and Somerset were ready to exact revenge on those who had killed their fathers five years previously at the First Battle of St. Albans.

York's force of 8,000 men arrived in Wakefield on 21 December after earlier skirmishes in Nottinghamshire. The gates of Wakefield were closed to York and he took residence nearby at Sandal Castle. The Lancastrian army encircled the castle and a Christmas truce was agreed upon with a battle commencing on the Feast of Epiphany, January 6. York sent word to his son in Wales to bring reinforcements, whilst his men at Sandal Castle grew hungry after depleting their provisions over Christmas. York decided to send out a foraging party on December 30 to get more provisions but they never returned.  

BATTLE

York took his men down from Sandal Castle later that day and were soon ambushed on Wakefield Green. As York engaged the Lancastrians to his front, others attacked him from the flank and rear, cutting him off from the castle and the scene was later described by Edward Hall “like a fish in a net, or a deer in a buckstall; so that he manfully fighting was within half an hour slain and dead, and his whole army discomforted."

Ruins of Sandal Castle

York's army was surrounded and destroyed with the dead numbering 2,500 Yorkist and 200 Lancastrians. York was killed in the battle but instructed his son to flee to Wales before dying. Rutland was soon captured and killed on Wakefield Bridge. Clifford cried out “By God’s blood, thy father slew mine and so will I do thee and thy kin” as he stabbed Rutland to death.

Salisbury, whose son Sir Thomas Neville died in battle, escaped the battlefield but was captured during the night, and was taken to the Lancastrian camp. Although the Lancastrian nobles had been prepared for Salisbury to ransom himself, he was dragged out of Pontefract Castle and beheaded by local commoners who felt animosity towards their former harsh overlord.

The heads of York, Rutland and Salisbury were later put on spikes on Micklegate Bar, the western gate into the city of York. The Duke of York was ridiculed with a a paper crown on his head and a sign around his spike that stated "Let York overlook the town of York."

Wakefield brought the end of York's claim to the throne but this was quickly taken up by his son, and future King, Edward VI. Wakefield set a grisly precedent in that after every following battle in the Wars of the Roses, the victorious side would eliminate any opposing leaders, making the struggle more bitter and revenge driven.