The Woodville family are synonymous with the Wars of the Roses. While much has been published on the family as a whole, especially Elizabeth, wife of Edward IV, Anthony Woodville – the favourite sibling of Elizabeth – has been largely overlooked by history. He is famed for his arrest and execution in June 1483, but there is much more to learn from his life. Woodville was a man with an important cultural role. He was a knight, had a successful jousting career, and worked with the printing pioneer William Caxton. He was the printer’s only long-lasting patron in England and acted as translator for him, using the books printed by Caxton to educate Edward, Prince of Wales, the future Edward V.
This book seeks to bring Anthony Woodville out of the shadows of history, giving him the recognition he deserves and challenging the negative perceptions around him by investigating his personality and personal achievements in military, diplomatic and literary capacities.
I have always had the impression that Anthony Woodville would have stood out in any period of history. A Renaissance man, he championed the arts, patronised the printing press, was a renowned jouster and so well respected by his king that he was entrusted with the education and upbringing of the Prince of Wales – the future King Edward V.
I do think Woodville would have stood out in any generation, but it didn’t hurt that his sister was Elizabeth Woodville, Queen of England.
Anthony Woodville, as the queen’s brother, was at the centre of events during the reign of Edward IV. He accompanied his brother-in-law into exile when Henry VI briefly reclaimed the throne in 1470-71. He appeared in tournaments to celebrate the marriage of the king’s sister, Margaret, to the future duke of Burgundy. He was a poet and writer and was a patron of William Caxton, the man who brought the printing press to England. Caxton printed and published Woodville’s English translation of The Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers. So why is there not a larger body of work on him?
Danielle Burton has rectified this omission with her fascinating, in-depth study, Anthony Woodville, Sophisticate or Schemer? She delves deep into Woodville’s life, family, loves and career.
The Woodville family are often viewed as grasping and power hungry. This is true of some of the family members, particularly Thomas Grey, Marquess of Dorset, who was the eldest son of Anthony’s sister Elizabeth by her first marriage to John Grey. However, Anthony, while of course benefitting from the advancement of his sister to the status of queen, notably avoided meddling wherever possible. His interests in piety, tutoring Edward, the Prince of Wales, jousting, and translating books let him play a background role in the Wars of the Roses.
While Anthony Woodville may have been a secondary figure in political terms, it is clear that he had a significant part in transforming English culture, especially through his patronage of William Caxton, as well as his tutelage of Edward. Prince of Wales, who resided at Ludlow Castle for around ten years. According to Dominic Mancini, and Italian visitor who stayed in England between late summer 1482 and July 1483, Anthony Woodville was ‘always considered a kind, serious and just man’ who was ‘tested by every vicissitude of life.’ It was for this reason that he had been entrusted with the ‘care and direction’ of the prince. Further to Mancini’s description of Anthony, he purposefully contrasts his character with that of other Woodvilles, who were ‘detested by the nobles.’ There is a certain amount of truth in this, for unlike some other family members Anthony preferred to stay away from court life, favouring more academic and religious pursuits.
As a debut work, Anthony Woodville, Sophisticate or Schemer? is very impressive. It is clear that Danielle Burton has done her research, thoroughly, using primary sources where possible. She uses her extensive knowledge of Anthony Woodville to suggest reasons for his actions and to fill in the gaps of our knowledge, clearly indicating her theories and supporting arguments. There are some minor errors, which other reviewers have highlighted, but nothing that changes the thrust of the arguments nor detracts from the enjoyment of reading. They certainly do not devalue the biography as a whole and are more a sign of the writer’s inexperience of the editing process. I certainly would not expect it to put a reader off.
I suspect Anthony Woodville is Danielle’s historical crush, but this adds to the passion in her retelling of his story. We all fall in love with our subjects, just a little bit. You cannot spend years studying a person without doing so.
Danielle Burton’s arguments are balanced and do not present Anthony Woodville and some flawless super hero. Rather, he is an accomplished knight who had his flaws and would often look to his own advantage. Who wouldn’t? He was, however, loyal to Edward IV and his nephew, Edward V. And, having been the younger Edward’s guardian since his early years, was probably a great influence on the teenage king. This would Explain why Richard, Duke of Gloucester – the future Richard III – saw him as a threat. In Anthony Woodville, Sophisticate or Schemer? Danielle looks into the events of 1483 in great detail, examining the relationship between Richard and Anthony and analysing what went wrong and why. Anthony Woodville’s execution at Pontefract Castle is a tragic consequence of the power struggle that followed the death of Edward IV and accession of Anthony’s charge, Edward V.
All in all, Anthony Woodville, Sophisticate or Schemer? by Danielle Burton is a much-needed addition to the study of the Wars of the Roses, highlighting a man of great influence who is often overlooked in favour of his royal contemporaries. It is an impressive piece of work.
To Buy the Book:Anthony Woodville, Sophisticate or Schemer? is available from Amazon or direct from Amberly Publishing.
About the Author: Danielle Burton has had a keen interest in the Wars of the Roses from a young age, including being a member of the Richard III Society since the age of 9. She has presented aspects of her research into the life of Anthony Woodville at various academic conferences, and works in the heritage sector.
*
My Books:
Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.
Out Now!Women of the Anarchy
Two cousins. On the one side is Empress Matilda, or Maud. The sole surviving legitimate child of Henry I, she is fighting for her birthright and that of her children. On the other side is her cousin, Queen Matilda, supporting her husband, King Stephen, and fighting to see her own son inherit the English crown. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how these women, unable to wield a sword, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It show how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other.
Coming on 15 June 2024: Heroines of the Tudor World
Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. These are the women who made a difference, who influenced countries, kings and the Reformation. In the era dominated by the Renaissance and Reformation, Heroines of the Tudor World examines the threats and challenges faced by the women of the era, and how they overcame them. From writers to regents, from nuns to queens, Heroines of the Tudor World shines the spotlight on the women helped to shape Early Modern Europe.
King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. It is is available from King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops or direct from Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon. Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and Bookshop.org.
Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.
Podcast:
Have a listen to theA Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell and Elizabeth Chadwick, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.
*
Don’t forget!Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.
For forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.
You can be the first to read new articles by clicking the ‘Follow’ button, liking our Facebook page or joining me on Twitterand Instagram.
Today, it is a pleasure to welcome debut author, Wendy Johnson, to History…the Interesting Bits as part of her blog tour to celebrate the launch of Wendy’s first novel, The Traitor’s Son.
Middleham Castle – Home to Kings and Kingmakers
Middleham Castle, North Yorkshire, bastion of the illustrious Neville family and home to both Richard Neville, earl of Warwick and his cousin, the future Richard III, is an evocative and fascinating place.
Eleven miles from the market town of Richmond, and a stone’s throw from Leyburn, the castle stands at the heart of Middleham, amid Wensleydale’s rolling hills. The visitor’s first impression, on approaching its cavernous gatehouse, is that these ruins have witnessed the very essence of history, and if only walls could talk, they would have a treasure trove of secrets to reveal.
An earlier castle once stood on nearby William’s Hill, but the present edifice began to rise in the 1170s. The fortress came into the possession of the Neville family when Mary FitzRanulph married Robert Neville in the thirteenth century. However, Middleham appears to have been considered less important than Robert’s other castles at Raby and Sheriff Hutton.1 Later Nevilles made a number of improvements – heightening the towers and creating a new and larger gatehouse – but it was in the later fifteenth century that the castle became the home of some of the most influential figures of the Wars of the Roses: the three Richards.
Richard Neville, earl of Salisbury; Richard Neville, earl of Warwick; and Richard Plantagenet, duke of Gloucester were each caught up in one of the most dramatic periods of English history, when the crown changed hands from Lancaster to York, York to Lancaster, and back again in the course of only ten years.
Following the fateful Battle of Wakefield in 1460, Salisbury was captured and executed. His son, the enigmatic and forceful Earl of Warwick, was largely responsible for helping Edward IV, the first Yorkist king, to win the throne in 1461.
Richard duke of Gloucester, Edward’s youngest brother, who ascended the throne as Richard III, spent much of his life at Middleham. Installed in his cousin, Warwick’s, household at the age of twelve, Richard embarked on his knightly training under the earl’s tutelage, learning the military and social graces required of a chivalric warrior. At the age of twenty, following his marriage to Warwick’s daughter, Anne, Middleham became Richard’s favourite residence.
My debut novel, The Traitor’s Son, re-imagines these early years. As a grieving and fatherless boy, Richard finds solace in the company of his cousin, the Earl of Warwick, whose paternal influence repairs the boy’s shattered life. The castle of Middleham plays an important role in the novel – representing a new and, at first, unnerving, part in Richard’s journey, as he wonders whether he is able to live up to the earl’s expectations. I have chosen to illustrate Richard’s early feelings for Middleham and for his formidable cousin in the following scene, when the boy has been summoned into Warwick’s presence.
‘Belly lurching, he follows the earl’s man down the tight spiral and out into the bailey. Kitchen boys are throwing out slops, bandying jests, sniggering. As he approaches, they fall silent, snatching caps and bobbing knees. The air is cool, pungent with the scent of verdure and horse dung, birds chirruping in the violet dusk. A solitary crow swoops from the keep, hops across the earth in the clumsy, jerking manner of his breed, then takes off again in the direction of the practice yard.
He should have fetched a cloak. It’s so much colder here in the land of the Nevilles, plagued as it is with a perpetual wind sweeping from the moors and striking like a whiplash. He shivers, wondering why Warwick has hauled him from what little comfort there is to be had on such a dismal evening. To draw conclusions on the day’s events? To tell him he has failed?
Torchlight bobs on towering stone as they mount the steps to the keep. Challenged twice in the ascent, he could be at Westminster, and Warwick a king at the heart of the labyrinth. Surely, he thinks, it’s the dread of the moment that gives this impression, the creeping suffocation of growing darkness, the brilliance of the wind-torn flames. Warwick is my cousin and my tutor; he is not my sovereign.
The Middleham known to both Richard and Warwick was larger than the ruined fabric we see today. In addition to the keep, towers and surrounding ranges, there would have been stables, an armoury, a blacksmith’s forge and many more domestic buildings all integral to the daily life of the castle, as well as to the role of its lord as upholder of his estates and a foremost figure in society. How magnificent that life was, can be gleaned by the splendour of the Middleham Jewel: a fifteenth century gold and sapphire pendent found in the vicinity of the castle in 1986. Current thinking is that the jewel belonged to a woman – the most likely candidate being Anne Beauchamp, Warwick’s countess, or possibly Anne Neville, Warwick’s daughter, and wife of Richard III. Although the original pendent is on display in the Yorkshire Museum, York, a replica has pride of place in the castle’s English Heritage shop.
I find that visualising the past can help stir the imagination, as one explores Middleham’s evocative and dramatic ruins. If you’ve never experienced Middleham’s magic for yourself, then try following in the footsteps of kings and kingmakers, you’ll not regret it.
“Exquisitely written. An evocative and thoughtful retelling of the early life of Richard III.” Philippa Langley, MBE
Synopsis:
Caught between a king and a kingmaker, young Richard Plantagenet knows he’ll have to choose…
1461: Richard Duke of York, King by Right, has been branded a traitor and slain by his Lancastrian foes. For his eight-year-old son—Richard Plantagenet—England has become a dangerous place.
As the boy grapples with grief and uncertainty, his elder brother, Edward, defeats the enemy and claims the throne. Dazzled by his glorious sibling, young Richard soon discovers that imperfections lurk beneath his brother’s majestic façade. Enter Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick—cousin, tutor, luminary—whose life has given him everything but that which he truly craves: a son. A filial bond forms between man and boy as they fill the void in each other’s lives. Yet, when treachery tears their world asunder, Richard faces an agonizing dilemma: pledge allegiance to Edward—his blood brother and king—or to Warwick, the father figure who has shaped his life and affections.
Painfully trapped between duty and devotion, Richard faces a grim reality: whatever he decides will mean a fight to the death.
In “The Traitor’s Son”, Wendy Johnson masterfully weaves a tapestry of loyalty, love, and sacrifice against the backdrop of England’s turbulent history. Through the eyes of a young Richard III, readers are transported into a world where every choice is fraught with peril, and the bonds of kinship are tested to their limits. As Richard Plantagenet navigates the explosive tensions within his own family, readers are swept along on a journey of intrigue and passion that will leave them spellbound until the final page.
1) Middleham Castle from the Gatehouse (Wendy Johnson); 2) Middleham Castle: North Range (Wendy Johnson); 3) Middleham Castle: Towards the Gatehouse (Wendy Johnson).
About the author:
Wendy has a lifelong passion for medieval history, its people, and for bringing their incredible stories to life. Her specific areas of interest are the fifteenth century, the Wars of the Roses, and Richard III in particular. She enjoys narratives which immerse the reader in the past, and tries faithfully to recreate the later Middle Ages within in her own writing. She has contributed to a number of historical anthologies and was a runner up in the Woman and Home Short Story Competition 2008.
A member of the Richard III Society since 1986, Wendy is also a founder member of Philippa Langley’s Looking for Richard Project, which located the king’s lost grave in 2012. She co-authored Finding Richard III: the Official Account of Research by the Retrieval and Reburial Project in 2014, and in 2019 received the Richard III Society’s Robert Hamblin Award.
THE TRAITOR’S SON, volume one in a Richard III trilogy, is Wendy’s debut novel and she is currently working on the sequel.
*
My Books:
Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.
Out Now!Women of the Anarchy
Two cousins. On the one side is Empress Matilda, or Maud. The sole surviving legitimate child of Henry I, she is fighting for her birthright and that of her children. On the other side is her cousin, Queen Matilda, supporting her husband, King Stephen, and fighting to see her own son inherit the English crown. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how these women, unable to wield a sword, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It show how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other.
Coming on 15 June 2024: Heroines of the Tudor World
Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. These are the women who made a difference, who influenced countries, kings and the Reformation. In the era dominated by the Renaissance and Reformation, Heroines of the Tudor World examines the threats and challenges faced by the women of the era, and how they overcame them. From writers to regents, from nuns to queens, Heroines of the Tudor World shines the spotlight on the women helped to shape Early Modern Europe.
King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. It is is available from King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops or direct from Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon. Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and Bookshop.org.
Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.
Podcast:
Have a listen to theA Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell and Elizabeth Chadwick, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.
*
Don’t forget!Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.
For forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.
You can be the first to read new articles by clicking the ‘Follow’ button, liking our Facebook page or joining me on Twitterand Instagram.
Today it is an absolute pleasure to welcome fellow historian Julia A. Hickey to History… the Interesting Bits. I have been following Julia’s work for many years and regularly turn to her blog, The History Jar, for information and inspiration for my own work. And, apparently, Julia does the same with History… the Interesting Bits, so we’re forming a bit of a mutual appreciation society. Julia’s latest book focuses on the Wars of the Roses and, in particular, the wife and daughters of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, known to history as ‘The Kingmaker.’ And here she is to give us a little taster of her book, The Kingmaker’s Women, Anne Beauchamp and Her Daughters, Isabel and Anne Neville by Julia A Hickey.
So, it’s over to Julia…
The Kingmaker’s Women, Anne Beauchamp and Her Daughters, Isabel and Anne Neville.
Julia A. Hickey
Anne Neville, Middleham Church
Isabel and Anne Neville led brief but turbulent lives. Their father, Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick by right of his wife, Anne Beauchamp, was at the heart of the conflicts of the mid-fifteenth century, earning himself the name ‘Warwick the Kingmaker’. Countess Anne and her children were chronicled, on occasion, alongside the earl in his long-played political game spanning more than twenty years, concluding only with his death on a foggy Easter morning at Barnet in 1471. It is impossible to write about their lives without setting them in the context of the War of the Roses and the earl’s influence upon it.
Anne Beauchamp, descended from King Edward III, the Despensers and the Mortimers as well as the earls of Warwick, was married to Richard Neville in 1434 at Abergavenny when she was 8 years-old and her husband was only 6. The union was subsidiary to the wedding of their siblings Henry Beauchamp, the 13th Earl of Warwick’s heir, and Cecily Neville which was celebrated at the same time. There was no reason to expect that the marriage would transform Richard, who was heir to his father Richard Neville and his mother, Alice Montacute, the heiress of the Earl of Salisbury, into one of the most powerful nobles of the fifteenth century.
It was Anne’s unexpected inheritance of the earldom of Warwick and all its estates upon the death of her brother in 1446 followed by her young niece, named after her, in 1449 that transformed the couple’s fortunes. Anne, who had three elder half-sisters from the 13th earl’s first marriage to Elizabeth de Berkeley, was the only full-blooded relation of the 15th countess. The law, viewing the deceased countess’s collateral heirs, saw only that Anne was more closely related to her niece than the other women. Inheritance was not awarded based on direct descent from Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick who had been outlived by both his son and his granddaughter. The decision triggered a legal dispute and a feud with the families of Anne Beauchamp’s half-sisters which resonated throughout the conflict between York and Lancaster. As daughters of the 13th earl, Margaret, Eleanor and Elizabeth expected to be coheiresses to the earldom alongside their younger half-sibling. Margaret’s husband, John Talbot, contended that as the husband of the 13th earl’s eldest daughter, it was he rather than Richard Neville who should become the 16th Earl of Warwick by right marriage (jure uxoris).
Middleham Castle
The new countess travelled with her husband, oversaw the management of their estates in his absence, was party to his schemes and subject to the State’s wrath after his death. One of the consequences of the lived experience of the countess and her daughters was that they did not leave the kind of documentary trail that would help to shine a light upon their lives in present times. It was only when medieval women became widows in receipt of dower and jointure rights that they gained legal independence and a voice in the official record. Isabel, born in 1451, and Anne, born in 1456, grew up, lived and died largely unheralded in a masculine world, or so it appears at first glance. Dig deeper and the echo of women with voices demanding to be heard, including Countess Anne, can be found in court records, financial accounts, charters and wills; books commissioned by wealthy well-educated women like the Nevilles and Beauchamps; as well as the establishment of chantries and the building of parish churches throughout the realm.
Isabel Neville, who died when she was 25, was married, in secret at Calais, to King Edward IV’s brother George, Duke of Clarence in 1469. Her father was eager to link the Neville name with that of Plantagenet. Clarence was desirous of the match because Isabel was the elder daughter of one of England’s most powerful men and an heiress to vast estates. There was also a distinct possibility that Warwick would topple Edward from the throne as the relationship between the men deteriorated and place Clarence upon it in his brother’s stead. Circumstantial evidence demonstrates that Isabel was beloved by George who was only a year older than his bride. Unlike the king, Clarence had no known mistresses or illegitimate children. No one can know how Isabel felt about her husband; her experience as a fugitive in 1470, forced to give birth onboard ship to a still born child outside Calais; or the turning of her husband’s coat that September when he re-joined his brother’s cause. It had become clear that Warwick was less interested in making him king than Clarence might have previously supposed. Nor is it possible to know what the relationship between the two sisters was like when Anne Neville was placed in George’s custody in 1471 or even if Isabel supported George’s attempt to prevent the division of her parents’ estates. It is certainly true that Clarence was grief-stricken by his wife’s death and he was permitted, as he desired, to be interred next to Isabel at Tewkesbury following his own execution for treason in 1478.
Warwick Castle
The idea of heiress as powerless trophy is a trope embedded into our common view of Anne Neville, thanks to Shakespeare’s portrayal of her in Richard III as a pawn furthering her father’s ambitions. She has also served since Tudor times as a sickly cypher to illustrate Richard’s manifest evil. The story, told by Shakespeare, is based on Sir Thomas More’s History of King Richard III. In reality, Anne’s life was an example of the changeability of fortune depicted by the popular medieval philosophy of Fortuna’s wheel. History does not know if she was a woman of courage or shrewd intelligence in the way the Lady Margaret Beaufort is recognised, but John Rous who knew Anne described her as ‘amiable and beauteous and in conditions full commendable and right virtuous’. Whatever her health might have been, she was made of the same stern stuff as Henry Tudor’s mother to whom she was distantly related. Anne endured a sea battle when her father was forced to flee England in 1470; was married to Edward of Lancaster, the son of her father’s bitterest enemy; made a forced march with the Lancastrian army from the south of England to Tewkesbury in 1471; was widowed after five months of marriage; and escaped the clutches of her land-hungry brother-in-law. She preferred to risk the criminals of St Martin’s sanctuary near Westminster so that she could make a second marriage to Richard, Duke of Gloucester who would fight for her inheritance and see her returned to her own rightful position in society.
Anne’s marriage to Richard was unusual for a couple of their rank in that no dowry could be agreed for her because, by then, the estates associated with the Nevilles and the Earldom of Warwick lay within the king’s gift. The legal rights of Anne’s mother, the suo jure Countess of Warwick, were stolen from her by King Edward IV and Parliament through the simple expedient of having Anne Beauchamp declared legally dead. The countess’s letters written from sanctuary at Beaulieu following her husband’s death demanding her legal rights remain as testimony to both her own education and the potential power of aristocratic women to intervene in political decision making. The effectiveness of her correspondence to the highborn men and women who surrounded the king is best illustrated by Edward IV’s orders that she should be prevented from the continuation of her writing.
Memorial brass to Isabel Neville and George, Duke of Clarence, Tewkesbury Abbey
Had King Edward IV not died in 1483 while his eldest son was still a child, Anne Neville might have spent the remainder of her days overseeing her household and servants at Middleham as the Duchess of Gloucester. Hers would have been a story of estate management, a piety shared with her spouse, and the trials of childbirth.
Fortuna’s wheel carried Anne to the apex of society when her husband was declared King Richard III on 25 June 1483. As queen she chose to surround herself with Neville kinswomen familiar since childhood, including her own illegitimate half-sister, Margaret Huddleston who was married to the Lord of Millom. Fate continued its abrupt revolution. The loss of her only son, Edward of Middleham, followed hard on the heels of a double coronation and triumphant progress to York. It was not long before Anne became so unwell that her doctors prohibited the king from sharing her bed. As winter turned into spring in March 1485, Anne died and was buried in Westminster Abbey, leaving behind only rumour, speculation and rebellion. Five months later Richard was dead at Bosworth, buried with scant regard for ceremony, leaving Anne to be characterised as a victim rather than a woman born with a powerful name and the potential of political agency.
Even more extraordinary, the circumstances surrounding the end of Isabel and Anne Neville’s lives were both followed by accusations of murder and witchcraft. Clarence, to modern eyes at least, maddened with grief following the untimely death of Isabel in December 1476, accused one of his wife’s own household of murder. Ankarette Twynyho, possibly a trusted midwife, was shoehorned by the duke into an evolving stereotype of a witch. Clarence had no hesitation either in kidnapping the woman or having her judicially murdered. Later, the Tudor propaganda machine, whatever the truth of the matter, vilified Richard III as the murderer of his nephews, a poisoner and a man of such diabolical intensity that he terrified Anne into an early grave.
Countess Anne lived on after her daughters. Consigned to the footnotes or forgotten by history, the suo jure Countess of Warwick, declared legally dead in 1474, refused to be stripped of her voice or her rights. She may have commissioned The Pageants of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick and the Rous Roll that depict the lives of the Earls of Warwick, the countess, and Isabel and Anne. There was no such thing as a bad Earl of Warwick in her opinion. She knew that her power and that of her daughters lay in the land that they represented, in their kinship networks and the men they slept with.
A pragmatist and survivor, Countess Anne negotiated her return to legal life with the accession of the Tudors on the condition that she broke the entail that lay upon her estates and gifted then to Henry VII. When she died in 1492, she was buried next to her husband in Bisham Abbey. She left Isabel’s surviving children, Margaret and Edward, nothing, apart from a Plantagenet legacy that would see Edward, the 17th Earl of Warwick, executed for treason in 1499 and, Margaret Pole, suo jure Countess of Salisbury, butchered by an inept headsman in 1541.
Medieval chroniclers and the focus of history’s lens marginalises women like Countess Anne and her daughters by imposing a distinction between the masculine public and the feminine domestic spheres. The messy reality is that the countess and her daughters, and women like them, lived complex and sometimes contentious lives, risking everything to protect their family’s interests.
To Buy the Book
The Kingmaker’s Women, Anne Beauchamp and Her Daughters, Isabel and Anne Neville by Julia A Hickey, published by Pen and Sword is currently priced at £20.00. It is available direct from Pen and Sword as well as from Amazon and Waterstones. It is the third of Julia’s books to be published by Pen and Sword. The Son that Elizabeth I Never Had: The Adventurous Life of Robert Dudley explores the life of the Earl of Leicester’s illegitimate son while Medieval Royal Mistresses: Mischievous Women who Slept with Kings and Princes takes an overview of the women who shared the beds of some of England and Scotland’s rulers.
About the author
Julia Hickey describes herself as a general historian but is often drawn back to the Wars of the Roses and the Tudor period. Her interest in history began at an early age when she lived near Plymouth and her father recounted the story of Sir Francis Drake playing bowls before setting sail to vanquish the Armada. She has a particular passion for the reivers who operated in the borders between England and Scotland before James I ascended the throne in 1603 not only because riding names such as Armstrong and Musgrave resonate in her husband’s family tree but because a glimpse may be caught of ordinary men and women in ballads of the period. Little known or untold stories, the contribution made by women and the lives of people who populate the footnotes of History fascinate her. She is at her happiest exploring and photographing castles, ruins, cathedrals and stately homes – preferably followed by a visit to a café.
Her first degree was in English and History from the University of Kent which she followed up with an M.A. by research and teaching qualification. Since then, she has taught in a range of settings from secondary schools to venues used by the Workers Educational Association (WEA). These days she is a freelance speaker, writer and blogger at thehistoryjar.com. She can also be found at https://www.instagram.com/thehistoryjar/ and https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryJar.
When she’s not writing, she can be found in her garden, enjoying the Peak District in all its seasons or crafting. Almost inevitably her interests take a historical turn. This year she has taken part in the Unstitched Coif, a co-created artwork and research project undertaken by a PHD student at Sheffield in association with the V & A Museum, using blackwork embroidery to stitch a previously unworked seventeenth century design.
*
My Books
Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.
Out now: King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye
In a time when men fought and women stayed home, Nicholaa de la Haye held Lincoln Castle against all-comers, gaining prominence in the First Baron’s War, the civil war that followed the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215. A truly remarkable lady, Nicholaa was the first woman to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Her strength and tenacity saved England at one of the lowest points in its history. Nicholaa de la Haye is one woman in English history whose story needs to be told…
On the one side is Empress Matilda, or Maud. The sole surviving legitimate child of Henry I, she is fighting for her birthright and that of her children. On the other side is her cousin, Queen Matilda, supporting her husband, King Stephen, and fighting to see her own son inherit the English crown. Both women are granddaughters of St Margaret, Queen of Scotland and descendants of Alfred the Great of Wessex. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how these women, unable to wield a sword, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It show how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other.
Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.
Podcast:
Have a listen to theA Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.
*
Don’t forget!Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.
For forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.
You can be the first to read new articles by clicking the ‘Follow’ button, liking our Facebook page or joining me on Twitterand Instagram.
On 22 August 1485, Henry Tudor emerged from the Battle of Bosworth victorious. His disparate army vanquished the forces of Richard III and, according to Shakespeare over a century later, brought ‘smooth-faced peace, with smiling aplenty and fair prosperous days’ back to England. Yet, all was not well early in the Tudor reign. Despite later attempts to portray Henry VII as single-handedly uniting a war-torn England after three decades of conflict, the kingdom was anything but settled. Nor could it be after a tumultuous two-year period that had witnessed the untimely death of one king, the mysterious disappearance of another, and the brutal slaughter of a third on the battlefield. For the first time in one compelling and comprehensive account, Nathen Amin looks at the myriad of shadowy conspiracies and murky plots which sought to depose the Tudor usurper early in his reign, with particular emphasis on the three pretenders whose causes were fervently advanced by Yorkist dissidents ‒ Lambert Simnel, Perkin Warbeck, and Edward, Earl of Warwick. Just how close did the Tudors come to overthrow long before the myth of their greatness had taken hold on our public consciousness?
Nathen Amin has surpassed himself. The House of Beaufort was a brilliant book, but Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Simnel, Warbeck and Warwick, is even better. looking into the threats and challenges faced by Henry’s fledgling Tudor dynasty, Nathen tells the story of the pretenders who would steal Henry’s crown, either in their own name, or in the name of those they claimed to be.
I have been waiting for this book for a long time! Delayed by Covid, the anticipation only became greater. So, when it finally arrived, I could not wait to dive in. And I was not disappointed. Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Simnel, Warbeck and Warwick is a much-needed investigation into the various pretenders that Henry VII faced during his time on the throne. Focusing on fact, rather than fiction, it takes the reader on a chronological journey through the reign of henry VII, presenting each pretender as they appeared in the timeline.
As you would expect, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck take up a fair amount of the discussion. But there are others, not least Edward, Earl of Warwick, son of George Duke of Clarence, who I had not even considered as a pretender until this book. Although I understand the reasoning behind identifying young Warwick as a pretender, I do see him more as a pawn to the machinations of others, than a man capable of claiming the throne – and holding on to it. Nathen Amin makes a good argument to him being a pretender, but equally points out that Warwick, beyond his ancestry and title, was little threat to the first Tudor king.
An enormous amount of research has gone into this book – and it shows. Nathen Amin has carefully and meticulously followed the trails of the pretenders, from their humble origins to the moment they made a play for the throne – and beyond. Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Simnel, Warbeck and Warwick also turns the spotlight on those who engineered or assisted these acts of defiance and resistance, analysing the actions and motives of the pretenders’ supporters, both practical and political, from rebellious Yorkist sympathisers to the crowned heads of Europe.
In a frantic attempt to persuade their hesitant peers to join their cause, the Staffords started spreading false rumours in the locality that their attainders had been overturned, even producing forged letters patent and claiming Henry had pardoned them of all offences. They also announced that Lovell had captured the king at York, and such a disingenuous strategy soon paid some dividend, for the Staffords started to amass a small band of adherents who had no qualms about openly plotting Henry’s death. The rebels even started championing the name of Warwick in public, alluding to the young Yorkist prince held in the Tower of London. It was unquestionably treasonous activity, and all were partaking in a deadly game against overwhelming odds.
The employment of the Warwick name was likely connected to another minor plot uncovered a few miles north of London in early May 1486, adding to the king’s growing burden, in which several conspirators armed themselves with ploughs, rakes and woolsacks and attempted to assault some members of the royal household. Although the basic weapons suggest the revolt was poorly planned and trivial in comparison to similar uprisings, the insurgents involved did provocatively wave a ragged staff banner, a well-known heraldic device associated with previous generations of Warwick earls, including the present incumbent’s grandfather Richard Neville, the 16th Earl, better remembered as ‘the Kingmaker’ for his tireless scheming during the earlier phases of the Wars of the Roses. It certainly wasn’t escaping the attention of some disaffected Yorkist diehards that there was still a prince of Yorkist blood known to be alive, albeit confined within the walls of the Tower.
Momentarily boosted by a slight upturn in support, the Staffords were even able to briefly enter Worcester after the town guard proved embarrassingly lax in their defence of their gateways, a dereliction of duty which earned the bailiff and commonalty the severe displeasure of their irritated sovereign. Nonetheless, the rebel efforts proved in vain
The famous Shakespeare phrase ‘uneasy lies the head that wears a crown’ (from Henry IV) certainly rang true for Henry VII and Nathen Amin demonstrates how the first Tudor king’s throne was plagued by threats from pretenders with differing levels of credibility. Certainly, Simnel, Warbeck and Warwick presented the greatest threats, but Amin demonstrates how Henry could not be complacent against any challengers, no matter how unfeasible their claim. While the author mentions the Princes in the Tower, and discusses their likely fate, he does not let himself get distracted by the arguments into that fate. Rather, he concentrates on the opportunities offered by the uncertainty surrounding what happened to them, and how the various pretenders played on this to serve their own ends – or the ends of those pulling the strings.
Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Simnel, Warbeck and Warwick by Nathen Amin is a thoughtful examination of the challenges that Henry VII faced during his reign. It is also thought-provoking. It will make you think about your own views on the subjects it touches on, from the possibility that Warbeck was Richard, Duke of York, to the murder – or not – of the Princes in the Tower, and to the legitimacy of the rule of Henry VII himself. Nathen Amin’s conclusions are thoroughly and comprehensively argued, leaving the reader to re-examine their own previously conclusions and convictions. While it presents Henry VII in a positive light, the book does not shy away from offering criticism where it is merited, nor does it vilify Richard III.
Nathen Amin has produced a balanced, thoughtful examination of the pretenders who threatened Henry VII’s throne. Going back to the primary evidence, he has carefully and meticulously peeled away the rumours, innuendos and propaganda to present his findings in engaging, accessible prose.
Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Simnel, Warbeck and Warwick an essential addition to every War of the Roses library. It also serves as an engaging and entertaining read for anyone with more than a passing interest in the fates of the Princes in the Tower, the establishment of the Tudor dynasty and the numerous threats that Henry VII had to face in order to establish that dynasty.
About the author:
Nathen Amin is an author from Carmarthenshire, West Wales, who focuses on the fifteenth century and the reign of Henry VII. He wrote ‘Tudor Wales’ in 2014 and ‘York Pubs’ in 2016, followed in 2017 by the first full-length biography of the Beaufort family, ‘The House of Beaufort’, an Amazon #1 bestseller.
Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Simnel, Warbeck and Warwick is now available from Amberley Publishing and Amazon.
*
My Books
Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, of the successes and failures of one of the most powerful families in England, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III.
‘Rebellion?’ The word is a spark. They can start a fire with it, or smother it in their fingertips. She chooses to start a fire.
You are born high, but marry a traitor’s son. You bear him twelve children, carry his cause and bury his past.
You play the game, against enemies who wish you ashes. Slowly, you rise.
You are Cecily.
But when the king who governs you proves unfit, what then?
Loyalty or treason – death may follow both. The board is set. Time to make your first move.
Told through the eyes of its greatest unknown protagonist, this astonishing debut plunges you into the closed bedchambers and bloody battlefields of the first days of the Wars of the Roses, a war as women fight it.
What a fabulous debut novel!
I had already been hearing good things about Annie Garthwaite’s book, Cecily, when I was offered a review copy from NetGalley. So, of course, I jumped at the chance to read it. A book about one of the strongest and most influential women of the 15th century was bound to interest me. I have forever been fascinated with the Wars of the Roses, after all, and written a number of articles about members of the House of York. I’ve also researched and written about Cecily’s amazing mother, Joan Beaufort, and impressive grandmother, Katherine Swynford. So, I was interested to read Annie Garthwaite’s take on this incredible woman.
And I was not disappointed,. It is hard to believe that Cecily is a debut novel. Beautifully written and composed, it transports the reader back the turmoil of fifteenth century England and shows us the Wars of the Roses through the eyes of Cecily and her husband, Richard, Duke of York. Though historical fiction, it has a sense of reality that is not always present in novels.
Cecily takes no wine in Lent but, when its privations are over, she had chance to share her uncle’s gift with unlooked-for visitors. Bedford’s widow comes to Fotheringhay. Not the gentle duchess Anne she’d come to care for in France, but pretty young Jacquetta, who took that lady’s place after plague demanded she vacate it.
In truth, of course, she’d met Jacquetta too, that time in Paris.
It was the morning after Henry’s crowning and she and Richard had been staying in the Bedfords’ household. Their new good fortune had made them more hungry for excitement than sleep, so they stole out in the cold dawn light, planning to take horses and race each other over the frost hard fields beyond the city. They were laughing as they came, thinking themselves alone, until they turned a corner into the mews and saw Jacquetta, daughter of Bedford’s ally the Count of St Pol, leaning down from a fine grey mare and kissing John of Bedford hard on the mouth.
They brazened it out. Jacquetta smiled boldly, gave brief farewells and was gone. Bedford, dismissive, bade them take whichever of his horses they fancied and enjoy their morning. Richard thanked him warmly but couldn’t look him in the eye.
Cecily could.
‘I believe it was Jacquetta’s uncle who captured the peasant Joan when the English could not and sold her to you for ten thousand livres,’ she said, pulling on her gloves. ‘I suppose that, for such service, you owe her much.’
Enough fr him to marry her, it seems. Duchess Anne died the winter after Cecily returned from France. By spring the Duke of Bedford had dried his tears in Jacquetta’s lap and taken her to wife. Cecily had grieved for it but, in truth, who could blame him? Jacquetta was sixteen, untouched by grief and, likely, fertile. He was forty years old and lonely; the king’s her and childless. After the wedding he’d brought his new wife briefly to England and had grace enough to look shamefaced when he’d asked Cecily to be a friend to her. ‘She knows no one here, you see. And I must be busy, so…’
He’d come to make pleas to the council for more money and more men. They begrudged giving either to a man who kept losing. Even then, he’d looked ill; whip thin and hollow. She’d told him so.
‘I’m just tired, Cecily,’ he’d shrugged. ‘This endless war.’
So, out of pity, and because, in truth, he’d been a maker of her fortune, she’d taken Jacquetta into her company, tolerated her French gossip; her vanity and foolishness.
Cecily is a marvellous, sweeping story, that follows the fortunes of the house of York, through the eyes of its duchess, from the last years of the Hundred Years War, through the turbulent ups and downs of the Wars of the Roses, to the triumphal coronation of Edward IV. Meticulously researched, it strikes the perfect balance between portraying national and international events, and the family life of Cecily and her husband, Richard. Ambition, love and loss, victory and defeat all play a powerful part in the narrative.
The storyline is fast-paced, the political and physical landscape of fifteenth century England providing a wonderful backdrop to the dramatic events of the era. Annie Garthwaite tries to get in the heads of her characters, depicting the Yorks not just as whit knights in shining armour, but as genuine, real people, with their own foibles and ambitions. I do love the depth of the characters. Cecily herself is not perfect, and is the product of her experiences – Annie Garthwaite has really considered how Cecily’s personality would be affected by her experiences and by the characters around her, both friends and enemies alike. The complexities of the family relationships involved in the Wars of the Roses can sometimes get confusing, but the author has managed to navigate her way through the complex relationships to craft a story that is, at once, enjoyable and intriguing.
I can heartily recommend Cecily by Annie Garthwaite to anyone with a passion for historical fiction, and for the Wars of the Roses period, in particular. The book does not disappoint!
About the author:
Annie Garthwaite grew up in a working-class community in the north-east of England. She studied English at the University of Wales before embarking on a thirty-year international business career. In 2017 she returned to her first love, books, and set out to write the story of a woman she had always felt drawn to: Cecily Neville. This became her debut novel, Cecily.
Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, of the successes and failures of one of the most powerful families in England, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III.
Every Londoner has money worries. Talented artist and some-time sleuth, Seb Foxley, is no exception.
When fellow craftsmen with debts to pay are found dead in the most horrid circumstances, fears escalate. Only Seb can solve the puzzles that baffle the authorities.
Seb’s wayward elder brother, Jude, returns unannounced from Italy with a child-bride upon his arm. Shock turns to dismay when life becomes more complicated and troubles multiply.
From counterfeit coins to deadly darkness in London’s worst corners; mysterious thefts to attacks of murderous intent, Seb finds himself embroiled at every turn. With a royal commission to fulfil and heartache to resolve, can our hero win through against the odds?
Share Seb Foxley’s latest adventures in the filthy streets of medieval London, join in the Midsummer festivities and meet his fellow citizens, both the respectable and the villainous.
The Colour of Evil by Toni Mount is the 9th book in Toni’s marvellous Sebastian Foxley Medieval Mystery series. If you haven’t read any of these books yet, you are really missing a treat!
Toni Mount has a unique, engaging writing style. Her beautiful prose and clever use of language instantly transports you back to 15th century England. The story revolves around a series of murders linked to counterfeit coins, into which Seb Foxley is brought as a consultant by the local bailiff.
The eponymous hero of the story, Seb Foxley, is a wonderful, intelligent character, who is, perhaps, a little too straitlaced and naive for his own good. His brother is a little too worldly-wise and entitled, but much less self-aware than is good for a grown man – I wanted to punch him on a number of occasions (and I’m not a violent person). The Colour of Evil places these brothers at the heart of the story, highlighting their conflicts and rivalries as London is in the grip of a series of gruesome murders.
As the mystery deepens, the reader is absorbed into the sights, smells and story of London; the excitement, fear and mystery is palpable. The Colour of Evil is an absorbing thriller.
Over ale, Thaddeus told me of the man – the thief we had taken in possession of his ill-gotten gains.
‘His name is Philip Hartnell, a most respectable citizen and a cutler by craft. He said he was walking along Bladder Street, passed the house with its window wide to the pleasant evening air when he saw the candlesticks by the open casement. At a glance, he was quite certain they were the same ones he had bought his wife as a wedding gift ten years since. His wife has much fondness for the sticks, so he took them, thinking to please her.’
‘Had they been stolen away from him previously, then? Is that the way of it?’ I sipped my ale. Thaddeus did likewise afore continuing.
‘That was my first thought. I tell you, Seb, it took a deal of cajoling and probing to get the truth out of Philip Hartnell. The candlesticks weren’t stolen from him but he apparently gave his goodwife to think they had been taken. The truth is that Hartnell has fallen into debt. He took the candlesticks to a goldsmith and sold them to pay off a sizeable loan. When his wife found them gone, she was much upset – more so than Hartnell ever expected. Thus, he told her they had been stolen, rather than admit his actions and the fact that he was over the ears in debt to a moneylender.’
‘An unfortunate situation but how does that excuse his actions of yestereve?’
‘It doesn’t. Besides, the candlesticks he stole from the house in Bladder Street were never his. Similar in shape but not the same ones.’
‘He has no right to them, even had they been the same. He sold them and has had the profit from the sale. Hartnell is a thief and we caught hm. He deserves just punishment, does he not? I do not see any reason for your difficulties in this matter, Thaddeus.’
‘He had never had any dealings with the law before, Seb. He’s a respected member of the Cutlers’ Company and a churchwarden. He loves his wife and family, works hard and earns a good living.’
‘Not good enough, so it would seem, else why would he be in debt?’
‘A foolish mistake, he said though he withheld further details. I had the feeling another woman was involved. In every other respect, Hartnell is a decent citizen. I think he deserves a second chance.’
‘What of the house in Bladder Street? The folk he robbed? Not to mention all the neighbourhood having to rally to the hue-and-cry.’
‘The candlesticks were returned – dented, it’s true but Hartnell says he will pay for their repair. The householder is agreeable. Besides…’
Thaddeus drained his ale.
‘Besides?’
‘Philip Hartnell is not alone, Seb. He is the fourth… no, the fifth respectable citizen that has come to my notice, by one means or another, who has found himself in debt and unable to repay. There’s something going on in London, concerning underhanded financial dealings, and I don’t like the smell of it.
‘Watch your purse, my friend. Every one of them is of middling status like you. Outwardly decent and honest yet they find themselves in dire need, monetarily. I wouldn’t want that to happen to you.’
‘Fear not, I owe no man so much as a ha’penny. So you will let Hartnell go?’
‘Aye, I think so. Both Newgate and the Counter are overfull of vile inmates. Hartnell is not of their kind. They’d make a hearty supper of him on his first day inside.’
The Colour of Evil by Toni Mount paints a wonderful, full-colour image of London in the time of Edward IV. The streets, taverns, work places and dark alleys are brought to vivid, vibrant life by Toni Mount’s beautiful prose and fantastic imagination. The author’s research is impeccable, her knowledge of 15th century medieval England allowing the reader to sit back and be transported back in time. Toni Mount clearly demonstrates how the guilds, the law and money, works and how it was all an integral part of life in medieval London. She recreates the world of 500 years ago to give the reader not only a great story, but the experience of being amongst the people and places of the time.
The characters are wonderfully individuals, each with their own strengths and flaws – though some have mostly flaws and very few strengths. I always think the sign of a good book is when you find yourself frustrated with the actions of a favourite character – or wanting to punch one who seems thoughtless or heartless; or when you find yourself egging a character on – or wanting to shout ‘no, don’t go down there’. The Colour of Evil certainly takes you through all these emotions and more.
The Colour of Evil by Toni Mount is a beautifully crafted mystery that brings the dark, dangerous streets of medieval London to life. Toni Mount is a magician with words, weaving a captivating story in wonderful prose. The Colour of Evil is, to put it simply, a pleasure to read.
If you haven’t read a Seb Foxley book before, don’t worry, each book works as a standalone. Though I have to warn you – after reading one, you will want to read the rest!
Toni Mount earned her Master’s Degree by completing original research into a unique 15th-century medical manuscript. She is the author of several successful non-fiction books including the number one bestseller, Everyday Life in Medieval England, which reflects her detailed knowledge in the lives of ordinary people in the Middle Ages. Toni’s enthusiastic understanding of the period allows her to create accurate, atmospheric settings and realistic characters for her Sebastian Foxley medieval murder mysteries. Toni’s first career was as a scientist and this brings an extra dimension to her novels. It also led to her new biography of Sir Isaac Newton. She writes regularly for both The Richard III Society and The Tudor Society and is a major contributor of online courses to MedievalCourses.com. As well as writing, Toni teaches history to adults, coordinates a creative writing group and is a member of the Crime Writers’ Association.
Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, of the successes and failures of one of the most powerful families in England, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III.
Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surreywill be released in the UK on 31 May and in the US on 6 August. And it is now available for pre-order from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US and Book Depository.
Today it is a pleasure to welcome author and historian Toni Mount to the blog, as part of Toni’s blog tour for her fabulous new novel, The Colour of Evil, which is released on 25th March.
The Root of all Evil – Money to spend in Medieval London
Portrait of Sebastian Foxley by Dmitry Yakovsky @ Madeglobal Publishing
The theme in my latest novel in the The Colour of … series is money, whether earning it, owing it, forging it or even murdering because of it. Our hero, Seb Foxley, has to solve the mysteries, however he can. So I thought an article about medieval money might interest readers.
Silver penny of Henry II – note the cross-shape on the reverse so it could be cut accurately into halfpennies or farthings
From Anglo-Saxon times, England’s currency system was based on the penny which contained one pennyworth of silver. These were minted from high quality ‘sterling’ silver, so called because the earliest coins were known as steorlings or little stars; perhaps a star was part of the original design. By the time of William the Conqueror [1066-86] a pounds worth of starlings was accepted as well-respected money across Europe. However, not all Kings of England took care to keep constant the value of silver in a penny. Henry I’s reign was a particularly bad time for the coinage and in 1124 the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded that ‘pennies were so adulterated, a pound at market could not purchase twelve pence worth of anything’. Since 12 pence = 1 shilling and 20 shillings = £1, this meant a penny wasn’t worth one-twentieth of its original value back in 1066. The reign of King Stephen [1135-54] didn’t help as it was a period of almost constant civil war. In fact, things became worse because different factions set up their own mints and coins became mere tokens, often spendable only within the jurisdiction of a particular faction. Somebody had to sort out the mess.
Fortunately for the reputation of England’s monetary system, Henry Plantagenet became King Henry II in 1154 and from 1158 he issued an entirely new set of currency, asserting royal control over just thirty designated mints and restored not only the silver content of the pennies but confidence in English money. And this was a good time to do so because trade across Europe was changing from the barter system, when a dozen eggs could pay for a pair of shoes to be mended, or a day’s work might be repaid with a sack of flour, to the purchase of goods and services using money.
It was easier also to gather taxes and customs duties for the king in coin, rather than in kind, and Henry demanded efficiency in their collection. In fact, the system worked so well in England that when Henry’s son, Richard the Lionheart, was held to ransom in 1192 for the incredible sum of £100,000 [about $17.5 million today], most of it was gathered in England and paid in English pennies, despite Richard’s realm including much of France at the time.
Westminster Hall where the Trial of the Pyx were first held
Having put the monetary system in good order, the ‘Trial of the Pyx’ was invented to keep it that way and safeguard the value of new-minted coins. It is thought that this institution began in the twelfth century but in 1282 Edward I made it official and records have been kept ever since. Conducted like a public legal trial, twelve ‘discreet and lawful’ citizens of London and twelve members of the Goldsmiths’ Company sat as a jury to judge the legitimacy of the newly minted coins. Coin samples were taken from every minting and set aside for assay in secure chests called pyx – hence the name of the trial. It’s the same word used for the box in which consecrated bread is kept at Holy Communion, showing the significance of this procedure. For centuries they were stored in the Pyx Chamber in Westminster Abbey, along with other important items belonging to both state and church.
Early trials were held first in Westminster Hall and later in the Exchequer at Westminster, taking place annually. The jury was summoned by and the trial presided over by the King’s [or Queen’s] Remembrancer of the Royal Courts of Justice. The size, weight, silver purity and content of the coins were all examined and verified, the jury passing its verdict on the results. The trial was held at the beginning of the year on the previous year’s samples, allowing two months for the proceedings and a third month for the assayers’ testing and reports before the Remembrancer announced the result of the trial.1
The medieval monetary system of England was complicated, to say the least. As I write this, it’s fifty years since the decimalisation of our coinage in Britain [15th Feb 1971] and our own pre-decimalisation coinage was still based upon the medieval system: 12 pennies [12d] = 1 shilling; 20 shillings [20s] = £1 and, therefore 240 pennies = £1. It made accounting tricky and you had to know your 12 times table. But until 1489, there was no coin of the value of £1 and there were no shilling coins until 1504.
Richard III groat (1483-85)
In some ways, to the average carpenter, shoemaker and housewife, this didn’t matter very much because with a skilled man’s wages counted in pennies, the chance of him requiring, handling – or even seeing – a coin of denomination larger than a groat was slim indeed. A groat was a silver coin worth 4 pennies, the word ‘groat’ being a corruption of the French word gros, meaning large because, in 1279, when Edward I first issued it, it was the biggest coin in circulation. 3 groats = 1 shilling but even then a groat was engraved with a design to divide it exactly into four quarters so it could be reduced to 2 half-groats [worth 2d each] or even 4 equal pennyworths of silver. The round 1 penny coins [1d] were similarly engraved so they could be cut into 2 halfpennies and again into 4 farthings [originally ‘fourthings’]. England still used farthings as proper, circular coins, not cut-downs, into the 1950s. These were the coins of everyday use in medieval times.
But there were people who dealt in larger sums than pennies. A medieval merchant’s cargo of wine imported from Bordeaux was going to cost more than a few pence, as would the hire of the ship and the customs duties to be paid. Counting out hundreds of tiny coins, some of them wedge-shaped from being cut down, was a time-consuming business and time – as ever – was money. So it made sense to have some higher value coins in use for such transactions. Pounds and shillings, maybe? No. Nothing so simple as that. The account ledgers might show business conducted in pounds, shillings and pence but the coins changing hands bore little resemblence to what was noted down. A common amount used in both theoretical and practical accounting was the mark.
Edward IV gold angel, worth 6s 8d or half a mark note the image of the Archangel Michael slaying the devil
The mark had been around since Anglo-Saxon times and had varied in value but, by the fifteenth century, a mark was worth 13s 4d. This may seem an arbitrary amount but is 160 pennies = two-thirds of £1. The half-mark [6s 8d, one-third of £1 or 80 pence] was an actual coin so that three half-marks equalled £1 in total comprised of just three coins that were so much easier to count and handle. There were even quarter-marks worth 3s 4d. This explains the frequent appearance of these values in medieval accounts ledgers. The half-mark was minted in gold and at various times was known as the noble, the rose-noble and the angel – this last after the image of St Michael the Archangel on the reverse. There was also a short-lived gold ryal [or royal] from 1465 worth 10 shillings.
Henry VII was not only determined to refill his empty coffers, by fair means or otherwise – his tax-gatherering methods were notorious – he wanted to be certain the actual coins were worth their face value, so one of the first things he did after becoming king was overhaul the coinage. Firstly, in 1489, he invented the £1 coin, called it a sovereign and had it minted in gold with his own image on the the obverse – a declaration that the Tudor king had arrived, if ever there was one.
The 10 shilling ryal and the 6s 8d angel were both reminted as silver coins, their previously gold counterparts having often been hoarded or melted down into cups, plates and jewellery. Pennies, half-groats [2d] and groats were all redesigned and their silver content assured, as well as the new silver shillings by 1504.
Henry VII gold sovereign worth £1
Readers may think that the writing of cheques cannot predate the banking system – the Bank of England was first set up in 1694, although Italian bankers go back centuries before that. Surprisingly, the first ‘cheques’ were invented by ordinary citizens and had nothing to do with banks. Rather, it had to do with keeping heavy valuables safe. In medieval times, people kept their assets in solid form, as gold plate, silver gilt candlesticks, fine goblets, jewellery and even expensive textiles and books. The crown jewels were frequently used as collateral to borrow money by kings in need of ready cash. A wary citizen would want his bulky treasures stored safely where thieves couldn’t help themselves and even the Royal Treasury at Westminster was looted on one occasion in the fourteenth century – the thieves were apprehended in the end but not all the swag was recovered. However, few folk had the facilities for storing their treasures. Important documents were sometimes locked in a chest at the parish church to which only the priest and the churchwarden had keys. But there wasn’t room for stacks of gold plate or suchlike. In London, the Goldsmiths’ Company kept their precious resources in their vaults underneath Goldsmiths’ Hall and were willing to rent out space to others to store their assets. This kept everything secure but what happened when, say, a wealthy merchant wished to use his set of gold plate to purchase a house from a rich widow? Instead of going to the goldsmiths, demanding his plates and then carrying the heavy weight across the city, risking robbery along the way, and handing them to the widow who would probably then have to arrange the plates’ return to the goldsmiths’ for safe-keeping, the cheque was invented. The cheque was simply a written document to inform the goldsmiths that the wealthy merchant’s gold plate stored in their vaults had now been transferred to the property of the rich widow. No physical effort, inconvenience or risks of loss were involved.
A cheque dated 16th February 1659 No medieval cheques are known to survive but would have looked similar, probably with a red wax seal, as here
In fact, bank notes, invented much later, were simply ready-written cheques made out for specific sums and, in theory at least, like the earlier cheques, could be used to redeem the valuables themselves. Today, Bank of England notes still say in very small print ‘I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of five pounds’, or whatever the value, signed on behalf of the Government and Company of the Bank of England by the bank’s Chief Cashier. I wonder what they’d do if I did present my fiver and demand the equivalent in silver or gold? Laugh themselves silly, probably.
Huge thanks to Toni for a fantastic article and good luck with the new book. To look back on the rest of the blog tour:
About ‘The Colour of Evil’:
Every Londoner has money worries. Seb Foxley, talented artist and some-time sleuth, is no exception but when fellow indebted craftsmen are found dead in the most horrible circumstances, fears escalate. Only Seb can solve the puzzles that baffle the authorities and help Bailiff Thaddeus Turner to track down and apprehend the villains.
When Seb’s wayward, elder brother, Jude, returns, unannounced, from Italy with a child-bride upon his arm, shock turns to dismay as life becomes more complicated and troubles multiply.
From counterfeit coins to deadly darkness in the worst corners of London, from mysterious thefts to attacks of murderous intent – Seb finds himself embroiled at every turn. With a royal commission to fulfil and heartache to resolve, can our hero win through against the odds?
Share Seb Foxley’s latest adventures in the filthy streets of medieval London, join in the Midsummer festivities and meet his fellow citizens, both the respectable and the villainous.
Toni Mount earned her Master’s Degree by completing original research into a unique 15th-century medical manuscript. She is the author of several successful non-fiction books including the number one bestseller, Everyday Life in Medieval England, which reflects her detailed knowledge in the lives of ordinary people in the Middle Ages. Toni’s enthusiastic understanding of the period allows her to create accurate, atmospheric settings and realistic characters for her Sebastian Foxley medieval murder mysteries. Toni’s first career was as a scientist and this brings an extra dimension to her novels. It also led to her new biography of Sir Isaac Newton. She writes regularly for both The Richard III Society and The Tudor Society and is a major contributor of online courses to MedievalCourses.com. As well as writing, Toni teaches history to adults, coordinates a creative writing group and is a member of the Crime Writers’ Association.
Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, of the successes and failures of one of the most powerful families in England, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III.
Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surreywill be released in the UK on 31 May and in the US on 6 August. And it is now available for pre-order from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US and Book Depository.
The Wars of the Roses is one of the most dramatic and fascinating periods in medieval history. Much has been written about the leading personalities, bitter dynastic rivalries, political intrigues, and the rapid change of fortune on the battlefields of England and Wales. However, there is one aspect that has been often overlooked, the role of castles in the conflict.
Dan Spencer’s original study traces their use from the outbreak of civil war in the reign of Henry VI in the 1450s to the triumph of Henry VII some thirty years later. Using a wide range of narrative, architectural, financial and administrative sources, he sheds new light on the place of castles within the conflict, demonstrating their importance as strategic and logistical centres, bases for marshalling troops, and as fortresses
Dan Spencer’s book provides a fascinating contribution to the literature on the Wars of the Roses and to the study of siege warfare in the Middle Ages.
The Castle in the Wars of the Roses by Dan Spencer provides a unique perspective on that most famous of civil wars in England. Dr Spencer combines the story of the Wars of the Roses with the varied uses of the castle during the period, as defensive structures, administrative centres and homes for the nobility. Dan Spencer establishes that the castle as a military structure was still an important asset to any army and served to guard the marches of Wales and Scotland and to act as muster points for gathering armies. Castles were strong defensive structures that could be garrisoned whenever the war came too close, though as Dr Spencer highlights, permanent garrisons were rare by this time, they could provide effective defence and intimidation when needed.
I was aware of a number of sieges during the Wars of the Roses, mainly those at Dunstanburgh and Bamburgh. However, I was not aware that that was just the tip of the iceberg. According to Dan Spencer, there were 36 definite sieges and several more possible sieges – for which there is little contemporary information, so we can’t say for certain. These possible sieges include where there are written orders for a castle to be invested, but no further report of whether the siege was undertaken or the castle surrendered without a fight.
In The Castle in the Wars of the Roses, Dan Spencer argues that while the use of the castle was declining, it still played an important role in the conflict. The book is written in a narrative, chronological style, whereby Dr Spencer tells the whole story of the Wars of the Roses, but with particular focus on the siege warfare and the use and provision of castles. It is an excellent read.
The fall of Bamburgh marked the end of a four-year-long struggle for control of Northumberland. This was part of a wider dynastic conflict between the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions for control of the kingdom of England. For much of the second half of the fifteenth century these two rival houses fought a series of wars to win the English throne, which since the nineteenth century has been commonly called the Wars of the Roses. This era is without a doubt one of the most popular topics in medieval English history. Numerous books, articles, plays and films have been produced over the centuries. Looking at all sorts of aspects ranging from the dynamic personalities of key figures, such as Richard III, the causes of the conflict, its long-term legacy and the military campaigns, particularly the major battles. Given this vast output on the subject, it may be pertinent to ask why it is necessary for yet another book to be written. The answer is that one important area has been almost wholly neglected: the role of the castle in the Wars of the Roses.
Why has this been the case? One explanation is the perception that the campaigns of the Wars of the Roses were dominated by decisive battles, in which castles played a very minor role. This argument does have some substance. The era was unusual for the frequency with which significant battles took place. Nevertheless, this does not tell the whole story. As we will see, there were many campaigns in which castles were used in a significant way. Similarly, the late Middle Ages has been characterised as a period in which castles were in a state of transition and decline, in which their traditional role as fortresses was increasingly no longer necessary due to changes in warfare and society.
While there are many books on the Wars of the Roses, none have looked at the conflict in quite this way before. Dan Spencer covers every aspect of the conflict and the actions of the leading players involved, including Henry VI, Edward IV, Warwick the Kingmaker, Richard III, etc. While the major battles are also covered, the spotlight is on the castles, their role in the conflict ad the tactics used to successfully prosecute a siege. Dan Spencer’s impeccable research means that he can build a deep understanding of the layout of each castle, the provisions it stored and the garrison that manned it.
The Castle in the Wars of the Roses analyses not only the strength of a castle, but the prosecution of these sieges and the reasons for their success or failures. Using primary sources, archaeological evidence and his own extensive experience of castles, Dan Spencer has produced a fascinating book that can only add to our knowledge of the Wars of the Roses. The text is supported by wonderful colour images of the castles mentioned, and detailed floor plans. It is whole knew way of looking at the conflict, providing a freesh perspective.
Well written in an engaging narrative, The Castle in the Wars of the Roses is a fascinating, addictive read. And a perfect Christmas present!
The Castle in the Wars of the Roses is available from Amazon or direct from Pen & Sword Books (with 30% off in December!)
About the author:
Dr Dan Spencer has made a special study of late medieval warfare, focusing in particular on gunpowder artillery and castles. Recent publications include The Castle at War in Medieval England and Wales and Royal and Urban Gunpowder Weapons in Late Medieval England. To find out more visit danspencer.info or follow him on Twitter and Instagram @Gunpowderdan.
He became king before his first birthday, inheriting a vast empire from his military hero father; she was the daughter of a king without power, who made an unexpected marriage at the age of fifteen. Almost completely opposite in character, together they formed an unlikely but complimentary partnership. Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou have become famous as the Lancastrian king and queen who were deposed during the Wars of the Roses but there is so much more to their story. The political narrative of their years together is a tale of twists and turns, encompassing incredible highs, when they came close to fulfilling their desires, and terrible, heart-breaking lows. Personally, their story is an intriguing one that raises may questions. Henry was a complex, misunderstood man, enlightened and unsuited to his times and the pressures of kingship. In the end, overcome by fortune and the sheer determination of their enemies, their alliance collapsed. England simply wasn’t ready for a gentle king like Henry, or woman like Margaret who defied contemporary stereotypes of gender and queenship. History has been a harsh judge to this royal couple. In this discerning dual biography, Amy Licence leads the way in a long-overdue re-evaluation of their characters and contributions during a tumultuous and defining period of British history.
I have to confess that I do tend to read about the Wars of the Roses from the Yorkist side, so it was quite refreshing to read a book that delves into the lives of the leaders of the Lancastrian faction of the era. Henry VI & Margaret of Anjou: A Marriage of Unequalsis an illuminating and entertaining read.
And it was quite an education. Amy Licence is one of those authors who manages to look at her subjects with a great degree of equanimity. There appears to be no actual bias for or against the objects of her study. This was proven in her biographies of Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn; each book looked at the protagonist with a distinct lack of pre-conceptions and judgement, presenting a clear and unbiased analysis on each queen as a unique individual. And she has managed to achieve the same balance in this book.
Amy Licence has turned her talent and passion for history to an analytical assessment of the two figures who led the Lancastrian faction during the Wars of the Roses. The author assesses each character – Henry VI and his queen Margaret of Anjou – as individuals and as a couple, analysing the challenges they faced, the decisions they made, and how Henry’s mental health affected their abilities to rule the kingdom effectively.
The fragile peace of March 1458 did not last. The combatants who had walked hand-in-hand from St Paul’s were soon plotting against each other’s lives, lying in wait in dark corners of the city with swords drawn. Responsibility for the outbreak of hostilities in 1459 has often been placed firmly by historians with Queen Margaret and her band of followers, but it was not this simple. The Pro-Yorkist ‘English Chronicle’ related how she now ‘ruled the roost as she like’ and Benet records that she was the instigator of the Coventry parliament that June, during which York and his allies were declared to be traitors, stripped of their assets and attainted. It was the unavoidable fate of the last Lancastrian family that their immediate successors would judge them harshly. Being on the losing side, on the wrong side of history, they are represented in the surviving chronicles as being deeply flawed; Henry weak and ineffectual and Margaret ambitious and warlike, while their son has been reduced to a blood-thirsty stereotype. Thank goodness, breathed the writers of the York-ruled 1460s and 70s, that the Lancastrians had been prevented from dominating England and establishing their line. It was not until the advent of the Tudors and the reign of Henry’s half-nephew, Henry VII, that a reappraisal of Henry VI began, but Margaret would have to wait significantly longer. As a woman taking an active part in a bloody conflict that threatened the throne of her husband and son, Margaret was a convenient scapegoat of contemporary, and subsequent, chroniclers who did not want to place blame for the next phase of war directly on the shoulders of an annointed king.
Henry VI & Margaret of Anjou: A Marriage of Unequalslooks not only at the king and queen but also at those who shared their life and times, their son, their allies and those who sought to bring them down. The author looks into their actions and personalities, their presence on the international stage, and how the acted and interracted with the factions at court and the people of England itself. Every reader will come away with a greater understanding of the conflict which dominated England for over thirty years, now known as the Wars of the Roses, and of Henry’s and Margaret’s roles in the causes and course of the war.
Amy Licence’s unique and individual writing style is both easy and entertaining. It flows so well that it feels more like you’re reading a novel than a factual historical text. However, the impeccable research and intuitive analysis means that this book is accessible to both the casual reader, amateur historian and expert, alike. Ms Licence does not go easy on her subjects and is not afraid to say when they got things wrong. However, she is also fair and points out when history has been harsh and unforgiven, both on the couple – both together and as individuals – their friends and their enemies.
On the whole, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read, which focused on the less popular Lancastrian side of the argument and, as a a result, fills a void in the study of the era. If you want a greater understanding of the effects on history of the marriage of Henry and Margaret, of Henry’s illness, and of Margaret’s attempts to control her own life and the destinies of her husband and son, this is the perfect book.
Henry VI & Margaret of Anjou: A Marriage of Unequalsis an engaging and entertaining book which will add depth to any history library and is a must-read tome for anyone fascinated by the Wars of the Roses. I highly recommend it.
About the Author:
Amy Licence is an historian of women’s lives in the medieval and early modern period, from Queens to commoners. Her particular interest lies in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century, in gender relations, Queenship and identity, rites of passage, pilgrimage, female orthodoxy and rebellion, superstition, magic, fertility and childbirth. She is also interested in Modernism, specifically Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group, Picasso and Post-Impressionism.
Amy has written for The Guardian, The TLS, The New Statesman, BBC History, The English Review, The Huffington Post, The London Magazine and other places. She has been interviewed regularly for BBC radio, including Woman’s Hour, and made her TV debut in “The Real White Queen and her Rivals” documentary, for BBC2, in 2013. She also writes historical and literary fiction and has been shortlisted twice for the Asham Award.
Tracing the fortunes of the women who had a significant role to play in the momentous events of 1066, Silk and the Sword: the Women of the Norman Conquest is available from Amazon UK, Amberley Publishing and Book Depository. It is scheduled for release in the US on 1 March 2019 and is available for pre-order from Amazon US.
Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:
Telling the stories of some of the most incredible women from Medieval history, Heroines of the Medieval World, is now available in hardback in the UK from both Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK, in the US from Amazon US and worldwide from Book Depository. It will be released in paperback in the UK from 15 March 2019 and is available for pre-order on Amazon.
*
Be the first to read new articles by clicking the ‘Follow’ button, liking our Facebookpage or joining me on Twitter.
We often hear the story that Katherine Parr was used to marriage to older men when she accepted the proposal of Henry VIII in 1543. Her second husband, Lord Latimer, was a widower with young children and twenty years older than his bride. And her first husband, it has often been said was a man much older in years. However, this story has arisen from a case of mistaken identity, between a grandfather and grandson of the same name, Edward Burgh.
Katherine Parr’s first husband was Edward Burgh (pronounced Borough) of Gainsborough in Lincolnshire. And Katherine’s early biographers appear to have assumed that this was Edward Burgh senior, Lord Burgh from 1496 to his death in 1528.
The Burgh family were descended from Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent and Justiciar for King John and Henry III. Hubert had even been married, briefly, to King John’s first, discarded wife, Isabel of Gloucester. The first Thomas Burgh had fought at Agincourt and married Elizabeth Percy, a co-heiress of a junior branch of the mighty Percy family, the Earls of Northumberland. It was through Elizabeth Percy that the manor house at Gainsborough came into the Burgh family, inherited from her father; she then left the estate to her son Thomas (II) Burgh, Baron Gainsborough, on her death in 1455.
Thomas (II) Burgh was a trusted Yorkist, named sheriff of Lincoln in 1460 and, later, an Esquire of the Body for King Edward IV. By the end of 1462 he had been knighted and was a member of the Privy Council. By 1464 he had married a wealthy widow Margaret, dowager Lady Botreaux and daughter of Lord Thomas Ros. It was Sir Thomas Burgh who, along with Thomas Stanley, rescued Edward IV from his imprisonment in Middleham Castle by the Earl of Warwick.
The sacking of Burgh’s manor house at Gainsborough was the opening move of the rebellion of Richard, Lord Welles, in 1470, which eventually saw Edward IV escaping to Flanders and the brief readeption of Henry VI; Edward IV recovered his kingdom in 1471, with the Battle of Tewkesbury, and Henry VI’s mysterious death in the Tower of London just days later, putting an end to Lancastrian hopes. On Edward IV’s death, Sir Thomas had initially supported the succession of his brother, Richard III, but switched his allegiance to Henry Tudor shortly after King Richard visited the Sir Thomas’s Hall at Gainsborough. What had been said to make this staunch Yorkist transfer his support to a Lancastrian pretender, we can only guess….
Gainsborough Old Hall
In 1496, Thomas was succeeded as Baron Gainsborough by his son, Edward Burgh, who married Anne Cobham, daughter of Sir Thomas, 5th Baron Cobham of Starborough, when he was 13 and she was just 9 years old. It was from this marriage that the Burgh’s would inherit Starborough Castle.
Although he won his knighthood on the battlefield at Stoke in 1487, and was a Member of Parliament for Lincoln in 1492, Edward appears to have been less politically capable than his father. He soon fell foul of King Henry VII, whether it was because of the fact he associated with those the king distrusted, or due to early signs of mental illness, in December 1496, Edward was forced into a legal bond where he was obliged to present himself to the king wherever and whenever it was demanded, and to vow to do his subjects no harm.¹ He was even remanded to the custody of the Lord Chamberlain and had to seek royal permission if he wanted to leave court for any reason. For a time, he was incarcerated in the Fleet Prison, but managed to escape, despite his promise and financial guarantee not to; an action which put him in thousands of pounds of debt to the king.
From his mother, Margaret de Ros, it seems Edward had inherited a mental illness, one which also affected his Ros cousins, Sir George Tailboys and Lord Ros of Hamlake. As a result, in 1509, ‘distracted of memorie’, he was declared a lunatic.² His wife died in 1526 and he died in 1528, never quite recovering his wits. He was succeeded as Baron Burgh of Gainsborough by his son, Thomas (III).
In 1496, aged just 8-years-old, Thomas (III) had married Agnes Tyrwhitt. The marriage had been arranged by his grandfather, Thomas (II) and gave the younger Thomas useful contacts within Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, contacts he would need to counteract the damaging effects of his father’s mental illness and royal disfavour. Thomas (III) pursued a dual career, combining service as a justice of the peace in Lindsey with his service at court. In 1513 he was knighted on the battlefield of Flodden, the same field on which James IV of Scotland met his death. He was Sheriff of Lincoln in 1518-19 and 1524-25. He was appointed Anne Boelyn’s Lord Chamberlain in May 1533, and held the middle of the queen’s train at her coronation. He was also one of the twenty-six peers who sat at Anne’s trial in 1536.
Thomas (III) and his wife had as many as 12 children. The eldest of which was Edward, who died in 1533. It was this Edward who was the 1st husband of Katherine Parr, a marriage that had been arranged in 1529 by Sir Thomas and Katherine’s widowed mother, Maud Parr; her husband, Thomas Parr of Kendal, had died in 1517. Maud had taken it upon herself to arrange her daughter’s future. After a failed proposal to marry Katherine to Henry Scrope, the son of Lord Scrope of Bolton, due to the prospective groom’s lack of enthusiasm, Maud turned to another of her late husband’s relatives and arranged for Katherine to marry Edward.
Young Edward was of a similar age to his wife, not the old man as was stated in Katherine’s early biographies, when he was mistaken for his grandfather. Katherine was 17 at the time of the marriage, with Edward in his early twenties. It is impossible not to muse on how life could have been so different for Katherine, had this first marriage proved longer-lasting.
The great hall of Gainsborough Old Hall viewed from the solar
Sir Thomas, however, was renowned for his violent outbursts and wild rages (possibly due to the inherited mental instability in the family) and had a tyrannical control over his family. The first two years of the marriage, spent at Sir Thomas’s Hall at Gainsborough, was a miserable time for Katherine. She wrote, regularly, to her mother of her unhappiness and it seems the situation was only resolved following a visit by Maud Parr, who persuaded Sir Thomas to allow Edward and Katherine to move to their own, smaller, house at Kirton-in-Lindsey.
We don’t know whether Edward was a sickly individual (he may have inherited his grandfather’s mental illness), or whether or not he succumbed to a sudden illness, but their happiness was short-lived, as he died in the spring of 1533. Having no children, Katherine was left with little from the marriage, and, with her mother having died the previous year, and with her siblings in no position to assist her, she was virtually alone in the world. It was possibly as a remedy to her isolation that Katherine married her second husband, John Neville, 3rd Baron Latimer, who was twenty years her senior, in the 1534. There is no record that Katherine served any of Henry VIII’s queens. Her first appearance at court seems to be in 1542, when she became a lady-in-waiting in Mary Tudor’s household, before she caught the King’s eye.
Katherine had not forgotten her time with the Burgh family, however, and when she became queen Katherine paid a pension from her own purse to her former sister-in-law, Elizabeth Owen, widow of her husband’s younger brother, Thomas. Poor Elizabeth had been accused of adultery, during her husband’s lifetime, by her domineering father-in-law, Sir Thomas, and her children were declared illegitimate by a private Act of Parliament in 1542. Although, it does appear that Thomas had a partial change of heart before his death in 1550, as his will included a bequest for ‘700 marks towards the preferment and marriage of Margaret, daughter of Dame Elizabeth Burgh, late wife to Sir Thomas my son, deceased …’ ³
Gainsborough Old Hall
Sir Thomas, Baron Burgh of Gainsborough, was eventually succeeded by his third surviving son, William, born in the early 1520s. He married Katherine Fiennes de Clinton, daughter of Edward Fiennes de Clinton – the future Earl of Lincoln – and Elizabeth (Bessie) Blount, a former mistress of Henry VIII and mother of the king’s illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset.
Lord Latimer died on 2 March 1543 and Katherine became Queen of England when she married Henry VIII on 12 July the same year. Her marriage to the king would last less than 4 years and ended with Henry’s death on 28 January 1547. In May 1547 Katherine secretly married her 4th and final husband, Sir Thomas Seymour, brother of her predecessor as queen, Jane Seymour, and uncle of King Edward VI. She died at Sudeley Castle on 5 September 1548, having given birth to a daughter, Mary, 6 days earlier. She was buried in the chapel at Sudeley on the same day. Her daughter was given into the custody of Katherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk, but disappeared from history whilst still a toddler.
*
Footnotes: ¹ ² & ³ Gainsborough Old Hall, Extended Guide Book by Sue Allen
Sources: Gainsborough Old Hall, Extended Guide Book by Sue Allen; In Bed with the Tudors by Amy Licence; oxforddnb.com; The Life and Times of Henry VIII by Robert Lacey; England Under the Tudors by Arthur D Innes; The Earlier Tudors 185-1558 by JD Mackie; Elizabeth’s Women by Tracy Borman; Henry VIII: King and Court by Alison Weir; In the Footsteps of the Six Wives of Henry VIII by Sarah Morris and Natalie Grueninger; Ladies-in-Waiting: Women who Served at the Tudor Court by Victoria Sylvia Evans; The Life and Times of Henry VII by Neville Williams; The Six Wives and Many Mistresses of Henry VIII: The Women’s Stories by Amy Licence; Tudorplace.com; John Leland Leland’s itinerary in England and Wales 1535-43 edited by L Toulmin Smith (1906-10); Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII 1509-47 edited by JS Brewer, James Gairdner and RH Brodie, HMSO London 1862-1932; Privy Purse Expenses of King Henry VIII from November MDXIX to December MDXXXII edited by Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas 1827.
*
My books
Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:
Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available, please get in touch by completing the contact me form.
Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, of the successes and failures of one of the most powerful families in England, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey is now available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US,Bookshop.org and Book Depository.
History... the interesting bits! 