Part VII – Henry VI (Act iii)
Wars of the Roses – Opening Moves
Lancaster vs. York
York’s skillful handling of the Burgundian wars during the 1440s had earned him much acclaim and goodwill both on English soil and also among French nobles. Another crucial aspect of his popularity was that he conveyed a sense of caring for the common man, English as well as French.
These two factors cannot be said to have been perceived by the people around him of Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, who had replaced York as Regent of France during the early 1450s. His lack of decisive of action after the succession in Provence and the annexation of Luxemburg by Burgundy was used by York to plant the idea that Somerset did not care about the well-being of the French. Thus, York was able to gain the support of most of the French nobles. On the home island the English nobles were fairly evenly split as to which faction to support, which is why the opening battles of the civil war was fought on French soil.
England during the civil war. Towton, Bosworth and Tewkesbury are marked.
Once news of the revolts in Vendée and Champagne spread to England, rumors abounded of who the instigator was. Historians have so far not been able to uncover any clear-cut evidence as to who the culprit was, but the circumstances and who stood to gain anything from these events clearly point towards Richard, Duke of York.
Just when the first trickles of news were received in England an army under the command of the newly appointed Clifford, loyal to Henry VI, was massacred in Dauphiné. The winter was particularly harsh and peasants familiar with every small road ambushed supply wagons. Once the army was sufficiently weakened a militia consisting of peasants and local nobles attacked and annihilated the army with its commander, in addition to Somerset who was on an inspection tour in southern France. Somerset was succeeded as Regent of France by his son, Henry Beaufort, now the new Duke of Somerset. Afterwards the militia simply melted away back into civilian disguise.
The country was thrown into complete disarray (Stability -2) causing the leadership to divert all funds towards maintaining order. These efforts paid off because within a year and a half it was considered much safer to travel through the country (Stability 0).
For Henry VI the first order of business was to put down the rebellions that had sprung up in France. He dispatched his armies and by the end of August both uprisings had been defeated. Although the army had handled the task relatively easily the King and nobles on both sides were shaken. For his part, York did not wish to have any more bloodshed, especially not English blood. Whether or not he had had a hand in the events in France he knew how to take advantage of them, that much is clear. It was around this time that he initiated another campaign to convince more English nobles of Henry’s unsuitability for the crown. In this he was highly successful as he managed to secure a parliamentary resolution declaring him Henry’s successor, instead of Henry’s son. By doing this he gained a mortal enemy in the form of Margaret of Anjou, Henry’s wife.
The turmoil in England did not go unnoticed in Europe. During the summer of 1456 Brittany once again made a bid for independence and broke her vassalization with England. Although Henry was a pacifist he had witnessed the successive breakdown in order and he decided to chastise Brittany – harshly. He was determined to bring Brittany back into the fold but (the new) Somerset sent word that the army needed until next spring to prepare and maneuver into position.
On July 1, 1457 war was declared on Brittany. English armies under Somerset immediately poured over the border and smashed the few troops Brittany had mustered. England was aided by the fact that during the fall the king of Brittany died and Artur III rose to the throne. This helped England not because he was a bad king but because a regime change always leads to vulnerability. His reign was to be short-lived because a year and a half later François II rose to the throne in his place – no doubt as a result of the turmoil caused by the war. After the initial battles only the cumbersome task of taking the enemy cities remained. This was completed by May 1459. The terms of the peace treaty were harsh: Brittany once again became an English vassal and Armor was ceded to England.
Around this time Mecklenburg and Austria declared war on Hessen, Bremen, Poland, Burgundy and Denmark. A year later Würzburg, Bavaria, Eire, Pommern, Holstein and Scotland declared war on Hessen, Bremen, Poland, Burgundy and Denmark. The expansion of Hessen at the expense of its neighboring duchies earlier in the same decade had now resulted in the explosion that the deceased Somerset had foreseen.
Meanwhile in England Richard, Duke of York, continued his scheming. But during the spring of 1460 he contracted a sickness from which he did not recover. He got progressively worse and passed away on August 5, 1460. He was succeeded by his oldest son Edward, who became the new head of the House of York. Edward proved to be a worthy successor to his father and managed to extract a guarantee from Parliament that he also inherited the succession to the throne that his father had received. Thus, he became the new target of Margaret of Anjou’s attacks, since she was determined that her own son should inherit the throne after her husband.
The uneasy peace that had existed quickly deteriorated into armed conflict. In January 1461 a battle was fought at Tewkesbury between forces under Edward and Henry. Edward won a marginal victory, but it was sufficient for him to march on London and claim the throne. He was crowned as Edward IV on March 5, 1461. However, Margaret of Anjou was a remarkably energetic woman (woefully ill-complemented by her husband) and raised support for her cause. Since Henry had simply been unseated the crowning of Edward sent shock-waves throughout the country and nobles flocked to the banner of either the red or the white rose. Matters came to a head on April 10, 1461 at Towton in central England where the largest battle on English soil to that date was fought – approximately 40,000 fighting men participated. Edward personally led his forces to a brilliant victory. But although most of the nobles among his enemies were slain, Henry and Margaret fled the battle with their son to Scotland. Still, Edward had consolidated his hold on the throne in a remarkably short time. Only time would tell what kind of a king he would be…
Edward IV at Towton
