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1447 - 1454
Henry still had not signed the treaty in November of 1447. Charles VII of France was so enraged he invaded Le Mans in Maine. Henry agreed to surrender and accepted a truce to be signed in April of 1450. Edmund Duke of Somerset went back to Normandy in 1448 as Governor of Normandy and commander in chief of the English forces. He bungled his duties so that he lost all the English holdings to King Charles. Suffolk urged Henry to break the truce and attack Fougeres in March of 1449. By summer the French had overrun Normandy and by October, Somerset agreed to surrender Rouen, his seat of government, if the French would let the English keep the towns they held on the Normandy coast. Somerset honored his part of the agreement but the French broke their promise and captured all the ports of Hafleur that had been won by Henry V.
Henry’s obvious inability to act without council from his wife and her two cohorts was beginning to tell on the English people. The furious Lords and the Commons accused the court of all sorts of crimes with the worst villain being none other than the Duke of Suffolk. His secret clause in the Treaty of Tours was only one of the many measures he took upon himself without the approval of the Council. In fact he had so manipulated everyone that there was no unity within the governing bodies. The Queen, who was alarmed by all the charges that were brought against Suffolk, urged Henry to call Parliament and to deal with the matter. Parliament convened in November. Suffolk’s enemies were many and they brought as many charges against him. Parliament recessed for Christmas. In January 1450 an incident in Portsmouth further complicated matters. The bishop of Chichester was sent to Portsmouth to pay sailors who were leaving for Normandy. He seized the opportunity of a captive audience to preach to them of Suffolk’s misdeeds but they wanted their money and were so disruptive he couldn’t be heard. When he paid them their wages, which were far less than promised, they accused him of betraying England. In arrogance he chastised them for insulting a man of God; the crowd then beat him to death. When news came of the Bishop’s death Parliament refused to reconvene.
By now Suffolk was frantic to hold on to his position. In desperation and with the Queen’s help, he arranged a marriage between Margaret Beaufort and his son, John de la Pole. The little girl was only seven years old. Such an alliance would cement his family’s assent to the throne if the little girl’s husband were ambitious enough to bring pressure to bear. That is, if the Queen had no heir of her own. Parliament did reconvene later in January and Suffolk addressed it with how loyal he had always been and how hard he had worked for the crown. Parliament needed a scapegoat for the King’s terrible mistakes, so on January 26th Suffolk was sent to the Tower of London. The Commons drew up an indictment while the Lords remained quiet. All of the charges that were reported to the King previously were now in the formal indictment; most notably, the infamous secret clause in the Treaty of Tours now translated into an act of treason and the marriage pact he arranged for his son was presented as an attempt to depose the King. The Queen’s name was never mentioned in the last charge. The King bypassed due process by taking the case under his own advisement. Of course, he floundered and procrastinated. He questioned Suffolk at length but Suffolk denied every charge. It was evident the Commons and the people were to be denied their pound of flesh. The Queen who was anxious to save her old mentor convinced the King to exile him. During the preparation for his trip Suffolk barely escaped a lynch mob. He set sail for France on the 30th of April. Later that day a ship that was part of the royal fleet greeted his ship. Suffolk was invited on board and for the next four days faced a kangaroo court that found him guilty. They put him into a small boat and a sailor cut off his head, rowed him to shore and dumped him there. His body lay on a Dover beach for a month before the King had it moved for burial. The Queen cried for days but her sorrow soon turned to rage and she with Somerset began a campaign of retribution.
A few months later a man named John Cade started a rebellion. His cause was the same as Richard of York’s so the King blamed Richard for starting it from his post in Dublin. Richard had nothing to do with it but was very interested in the outcome. The rebellion had strong support at first but eventually failed with the usual outcome. Cade was beheaded and displayed for the public. It had nothing to do with the Wars of the Roses but it had an impact on it. In July 1450, Somerset and a ragtag army returned from France having lost Caen to the French. York heard of it and wrote to the King and asked that Somerset be tried for treason. Somerset went to the Queen and she interceded on his behalf. The King gave in to her and rewarded Somerset for his service and made him the Constable of England. A furious York set sail from Ireland for Wales. He rode to Ludlow where he was joined by Lord Dudley, the Bishop of Gloucester and four thousand troops. As they marched to London they were joined by thousands more angry citizens. An army was sent to meet them but Richard managed to escape capture. On September 29th Richard went to Westminster and demanded to see the King. The King had barricaded himself in his privy chamber but Richard pounded on the door until the King agreed to see him. Richard swore his loyalty to the King then in a voice loud and clear repeated all of the grievances regarding the lack of good government. On the 30th Richard presented two written complaints. The first one required the King to recognize him as heir presumptive, a complaint of not been included among the King’s counsels, and for repayment for his personal expenses while he was in Normandy. The second was a repeat of Cade’s manifesto regarding all the complaints of the citizenry. Richard of York, through this document, cemented his relationship with the people of England.
The Commons brought York into Parliament and he in turn brought in many of his supporters who now dominated this governmental body. In the meantime the Queen gathered Edmund, Duke of Somerset, to her circle to defuse York’s rise to power. York prevailed and Somerset was impeached by Parliament on December 1st. Somerset was sent to the Tower of London but within hours the King and Queen had him released in defiance of Parliament. On the 3rd of December the King put on his armor and rode through the city at the head of a parade of his loyal courtiers and one thousand soldiers. This posturing did nothing to sooth the feelings of the people so he returned to court and appointed Somerset chamberlain of the royal household. When Parliament reconvened after the Christmas break the Commons presented a bill naming twenty-nine courtiers who had committed crimes against the crown. Henry testily refused to recognize any of the charges against his favorites. He was finally persuaded to take action against most of the people named and exile them but he never carried out his promise. It soon became apparent the King had no intention of reforming the government. His household was bankrupt and his credit was gone. Henry genuinely did not understand the seriousness of his situation or that of his country. The Queen and Somerset had seen to it he would never understand the corruption that they were all mired in.
In June of 1451 the French invaded Bordeaux, the capital of Aquitaine, the motherland of Eleanore, the matriarch of the Plantagenet family. In August Aquitaine fell and England was in shock. The wine trade was lost and so were the citizens of Aquitaine who considered themselves English and who immediately petitioned Henry for aid. People at home were in a great state of alarm, which the Duke of York used to strengthen his stand. He began a letter writing campaign to gain aid from landowners. His network of faithful followers extolled his cause amongst the people; they, in turn, needed little convincing. Early in 1452 York’s propaganda machine suggested the King was better fit for a monastery and that the Queen was usurping the throne. According to English law of the time queen was a name only and no woman should ever rule. All of this only managed to anger Margaret further and in the spring she and Somerset were determined to convince the King that Richard had set out to capture the throne. She knew Richard was planning something, if not what she was accusing him of, and made a terrible political mistake. The Earl of Douglas was visiting court and she asked him to bring his Scottish army to Henry’s aid. The Earl readily agreed to help Henry if there was to be an encounter and returned to Scotland. The people, of course, were more incensed than ever as the Scots were traditional enemies of the English. Luckily for the Queen but not for Douglas’ he was murdered a few days after returning home.
By now the Duke of York is building up a strong following and is preparing to march on London and the King is building an army. Richard made it to London with his followers only to find the King had ordered the Lord Mayor to bar the gates. When Richard and his troop turned away, the King gave chase but Richard and his men managed to elude him. On March 1st 1452 the King and Queen their battalion came within three miles of Richard. He had 24,000 soldiers; Richard had 20,000 men and several ships waiting at the coast if he had to take flight. York knew he was at a disadvantage, not in so much in numbers as he had superior armament, but because he lacked aristocratic backing; meaning a fight would be construed as an act of treason. The next morning the Queen sent the Earls of Salisbury and York and two bishops to make a truce. The King commanded Richard, through them, to return to his allegiance. He in turn agreed to do so if the King would punish Somerset for his crimes. The deputation agreed to take Richard’s request to the King. On returning to camp they had Archbishop Kempe keep the Queen occupied while they spoke with the King. The King agreed with the demand and countered with an order for Richard to disband his troops. Richard complied and that evening the King and his army withdrew.
Somerset was arrested the next day and was seen by the Queen who demanded to know what was happening. She ordered Somerset freed and stormed to her husband’s tent with Somerset by the hand. As she was railing against her husband Richard arrived with his party to sign the truce. He soon realized he was in the middle of a terrible quarrel and found himself joining in. The Queen began screaming for Richard’s arrest, which the King refused to make but he did let Somerset remain free. The whole incident ended with Richard riding to London in front of the court procession as a prisoner would and then apologizing in a ceremony at St Paul’s cathedral; after which, he was allowed to retire to Ludlow. The only reason the Queen couldn’t have him put on trial was his enormous popularity. On April 7th the King pardoned everyone involved including Richard and later in August on his progress, the King even visited York at Ludlow socially.
Margaret, realizing she had lost much ground with the English people, cast about for ways to rectify her situation. Because there was no money in the treasury the people of Aquitaine had been stranded when Charles VII annexed it. The Queen thought if they could be freed she might be vindicated so she wrote to Phillip of Burgundy, the same Phillip who betrayed Henry with Charles two years earlier. But Phillip’s relationship with his king was falling apart so he responded with a large sum of money and the King sent Talbot of Shrewsbury to France with a contingent of soldiers. They invaded Bordeaux and with the help of the citizenry, routed the French garrison. To the great relief of the English people Talbot captured more and more territory. Eventually he would need reinforcements but when he appealed to the Queen and Parliament for them he was put off with procrastinations and he was left frustrated and furious. His victories had stabilized loyalty toward the crown and away from York for the time being, which was all the royals cared about.
In the spring of 1453 King Charles knowing that Talbot was hurting for reinforcements sent his troops to surround Aquitaine. French troops had been retreating to the town of Castillon whose citizens smuggled a desperate plea to London for help. Soon Talbot received word that the French were retreating and gave chase. It was not true. The French army turned on him and pushed his forces back, capturing him and hacking him to pieces with a battle-axe in front of his men. When Parliament finally acted to send 20,000 archers but government corruption was so bad no one would sign up to go. King Charles was victorious and reversed the Hundred Years War. For the first time in 300 years the English had no territories in France except Calais. In an act of kindness Charles sent the English home unmolested. Parliament made no move to compensate those who had lost so much. York was furious; he had spent most of his own money to protect what Henry V had fought so hard for only to see England disgraced. The King was totally to blame.
Early in 1453 Henry VI, who was always extremely generous with his family members, raised his two young half brothers, Edmund and Jasper Tudor, to the peerage. With this benefit came their admittance to Parliament. The two young men now in their twenties were fiercely loyal to the King. So their presence in government raised his credibility somewhat. Around this same time the Queen discovered she was pregnant. For the first time in eight years there was to be an heir to the throne who was not a presumptive.
By August, when Margaret was seven months along, the King became mysteriously ill. He complained of being terribly sleepy at dinner one night and by morning was completely senseless. He lost the function of his arms and legs and was in a stupor. Given his character and the sequence of events of the past few years with all the responsibilities he was clearly not capable of dealing with this breakdown was inevitable. It was a complete mental breakdown and he would remain in this state for the next eighteen months. Margaret was left with responsibility of running the government. She had the King removed to Windsor to conceal his illness. Henry’s maternal grandfather’s, Charles VI, insanity was horrible and had far reaching effects on his government. Margaret was afraid that because of the parallels in both men’s lives Henry’s illness would become as disruptive. She was insightful in that respect. It should be noted here; there is a form of dementia that is inherited only through male members of families. Quite possibly this family was affected however, the Tudor brothers showed no signs of mental problems. In any case, Margaret took great pains to keep his illness secret and to have him cured. The poor man underwent all manner of medieval treatments spanning the range from bleedings to purgatives during the following months. In October the Queen was delivered of a healthy baby boy whom she named Edward. She had him christened with the sponsorship of Somerset and the Archbishop of Canterbury. Custom dictated she could not attend and the baby’s father was absent because of his illness. York was furious his old enemy should be the sponsor and later someone amongst the Yorkists started a rumor the baby was Somerset’s. Richard had no part in the rumor but he took no measures to stop it either. Almost immediately it became apparent to Margaret a regent had to be named and it was her great wish she should enjoy the next fifteen years in that capacity. Somerset called all the important magnates to settle the matter and took great pains to exclude Richard of York. This infuriated the Duke of Norfolk who was very much in Richard’s alliance. He demanded that Richard be included to which end Somerset had no choice. Richard seized the opportunity of his inclusion to gather support against Somerset. His principal ally among the magnates was the Earl of Warwick, the richest and one of the most arrogant men in the country. It was to the crown’s misfortune that he had suffered many of the same humiliations over the years as Richard had because of Somerset. Warwick was truly a great man. Aside from his personal ambitions, which were enormous and mostly political, he was a charismatic leader. He also happened to be York’s nephew; his father, Richard of Salisbury, was Cecily’s brother. It was common knowledge that the King’s pious view of sex had forbidden him access to his wife except for the purpose of procreation. And, in view of the rumors regarding baby Edward’s paternity the gathering of magnates decided the King must first recognize the child before they could determine regency. Warwick, undiplomatically, charged the Queen with fraud and adultery in front of this great gathering, for which Margaret measured him among her dearest enemies. An interesting incident, considering the very outspoken York remained quiet during Warwick’s dissertation.
Margaret wouldn’t cease her bid for power and being the woman she was, single minded and driven, she perceived that she was rightful person to act as regent. There is no doubt she had her son’s interest at heart and that she was truly concerned for the King’s health but she absolutely ached for power and would have it at any cost. Her haughtiness angered the people and the peerage would have nothing to do with a woman in any political role. For this she blamed the House of York and, with Somerset again, set out to bring it down. The magnates, influenced as they were by Warwick’s great leadership, were swerved toward naming York regent. In October the Archbishop Kempe of Canterbury died. His death forced an immediate decision as a new Archbishop had to be named. York’s influence was growing rapidly by now and the King’s Council, fearful of the ruin of the government in the hands of Somerset (the hands of the Queen), threw their lot in with his party. It was decided to try to rouse the King before any decisions were made. As with the attempt to have him recognize his son there was absolutely no response. Parliament nominated Richard of York Protector of the Realm for as long as the King was incapacitated; even the Tudor brothers supported the appointment citing the opposition to female rule. If the King did not recover York would hold the office for fourteen years. York was formally appointed in a ceremony on April 3rd 1454 wherein he pledged allegiance to Henry VI.
Chapter 3 | History
