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Tam May, Author
About The Waxwood Series
About The Paper Chase Mysteries
Gnarled Bones And Other Stories
The Waxwood Series
The Specter (Waxwood Series: Book 1)
False Fathers (Waxwood Series: Book 2)
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The Dream Book Blog
Release Day Blitz for False Fathers (Waxwood Series: Book 2)!
False Fathers Front Cover Photo Credit: Photo Credit: Portrait of a Young Man, Ferdinand von Wright, 1860s, portrait, oil on canvas, Finnish National Gallery: BotMultichill/Wikimedia Commons/PD old 100 expired
Title: False Fathers
Series: Waxwood Series, Book 2
Author: Tam May
Genre: Historical Fiction/Coming of Age
Sometimes no father is better than a false father.
At nineteen, Jake Alderdice is shy, contemplative, and passionate about art. With the death of his grandfather, shipping magistrate Malcolm Alderdice, he becomes the new family patriarch and heir to Alderdice Shipping and Alderdice Luxury Liner. After two years of mourning, he is ready to add to the family honor just as all the Alderdice men have, but as an artist, not a shipping magistrate. His plans are delayed with his mother announces the family will be retreating to Waxwood, now a fashionable resort town favored by the San Francisco elite, for the summer, fulfilling her father's dying wish to "go back".
On the train, he meets Harland Stevens, an enigmatic but charming older man, who has come to Waxwood as chaperone and guide to his college-aged cousin Roger and Roger's friends. Mr. Stevens, or, as he tells Jake, "just Stevens", takes an interest in the young man's ambitions, and introduces him to the town's most prominent gallery owner. But when Jake takes his paintings for appraisal, the man delivers a fatal blow — Jake's mythology-inspired paintings are too original for the market of realistic landscape paintings favored by Gilded Age patrons.
Stevens seizes the devastated and wandering Jake and counsels him toward a more aggressive but moralistic path to manhood inspired by Teddy Roosevelt and Thoreau. Jake proves himself to be more studious and serious than Roger and his friends. Impressed with the young man's determination to take over his grandfather's business, Stevens introduces him to The Order of Actaeon, a secret society built upon those ideals favored by his idols.
But the path to emotional maturity and masculine identity is, Jake learns, a complex thing in the Gilded Age. Will his journey free him from the Alderdice family illusions, half-truths, and lies that have kept him a child, just as it did his sister Vivian's six years before? Or will it lead him into the world of Actaeon, where the hunter becomes the hunted?
You can pick up your copy of the book at a special promotional price at the following online retailers:
Apple iBooks (iTunes)
The afternoon sun had arrived with its vengeance of rising heat. Jake took out his handkerchief and wiped at his forehead. At the same time, he felt something inside him shiver. He couldn't help but think of what Vivian would have said, if she had heard the tale. He knew she would have found it one more reason to avoid Stevens, as the story would have struck her as another way in which Roger had been right about the way in which Stevens and his father engineered their will against the will of others.
"I suppose your father understood you." He put the handkerchief away and made a shot through the hoop in front of him.
As Stevens set down his mallet down, Jake felt the weight of his expectant eyes. "I thought you would change your mind."
"Change my mind?"
"About needing guidance," said the redhead. "You needn't be abashed. Other young men such as yourself have come to me when they needed a father too."
"I didn't say I needed a father." Jake looked at the tussled grass at his feet. "I only meant I would be grateful for any ideas you have for me about my new undertakings."
"As you wish," said Stevens, though his eyes sparkled in the sun.
Tam May grew up in the United States and earned her B.A. and M.A in English. She worked as an English college instructor and EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teacher before she became a full-time writer. She started writing when she was 14, and writing became her voice. She writes fiction about characters who find their future by exploring their personal past influenced by the time in which they live.
Her first book, a collection of contemporary short stories titled Gnarled Bones And Other Stories, was nominated for a 2017 Summer Indie Book Award. She is currently working on a Gilded Age family saga. The first book, The Specter, is now available, and the second book, False Fathers, will be out in December, 2019. She is also working on a historical mystery series featuring a turn-of-the-century New Woman sleuth. Both series take place in Northern California.
She lives in Texas but calls San Francisco and the Bay Area "home". When she's not writing, she's reading classic literature and historical fiction, watching classic films, or cooking up awesome vegetarian dishes.
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Author: tammayauthor
Tam May grew up in the United States and earned her B.A. and M.A in English. She worked as an English college instructor and EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teacher before she became a full-time writer. She started writing when she was 14, and writing became her voice. She writes characters who examine their past in order to move into their future and are influenced by the time in which they live. Her first book, a collection of contemporary short stories titled Gnarled Bones And Other Stories, was nominated for a 2017 Summer Indie Book Award. She is currently working on a Gilded Age family saga. The first book, The Specter, is now available, and the second book will be out in December, 2019. She is also working on a historical mystery series featuring a turn-of-the-century New Woman sleuth. Both series take place in Northern California. She lives in Texas but calls San Francisco and the Bay Area "home". When she's not writing, she's reading classic literature and historical fiction, watching classic films, or cooking up awesome vegetarian dishes.	View all posts by tammayauthor
Author tammayauthorPosted on December 28, 2019 November 30, 2019 Categories author, books, fiction, historical, men, novel, psychology, reading, series, The Dream Book Blog, The Gilded Age, Uncategorized, writingTags 19th century, America, Caiifornia, coming of age, family drama, family saga, Gilded Age, historical fiction, masculinity, men, new release, release day, San Francisco, series, SFBay Area, Waxwood Series
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Vivek Reddy, Matthew Price, Miguel valderrabano, Jose Sanchez, Shephal Doshi, Nicole Gordon and David Holmes Jr.
Left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) with the Watchman Device (Boston Scientific, MN) is an alternative to warfarin for stroke risk reduction in high risk non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients. This analysis presents the most updated clinical event rates over the longest course of follow-up for the 2 randomized clinical trials: PROTECT AF (5 yrs) and PREVAIL (3 yrs).
LAAC clinical event rates and stroke outcomes were from pooled PROTECT AF 5-year and PREVAIL 3-year patient-level data were aggregated and analyzed on an intent-to-treat basis.
The baseline risk of stroke for the732 device patients included in the analysis was 3.6% based on a medican CHA2DS2-VASc score of 3.4. Procedural complications included effusion (4.4%), major bleeding (2.3%), stroke (1.0%), and device embolization (0.5%). Rate Ratios for ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, and major bleeding post-procedure were 1.35, 0.16, and 0.62, respectively. Among patients who suffered a stroke in the device group, Modified Rankin Scores (MRS) were 75.8% (0-2), 3.0% (3), 15.2% (4-5), and 6.1% (6).
Using the combined randomized clinical data, along with increased follow-up, provides the most complete evaluation of WATCHMAN efficacy. Consistently low rates of events, comparable to those expected with anticoagulation in this high risk population, support an LAAC therapy strategy for stroke risk reduction in NVAF patients.


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Archive for the tag "Edmund of Rutland"
If things had been different, might Richard and George have been buried at Fotheringhay….?
Richard, 3rd Duke of York
It occurs to me to wonder if Richard intended to be lain to rest at Fotheringhay with his father, the 3rd Duke of York, and brother, Edmund of Rutland. Wouldn't he think he belonged with them – no matter how fond he was of his beloved Yorkshire?
Of course, things changed radically when he became king, because kings were (in general) buried at Westminster. Richard's brother, Edward IV, was to start a new fashion for burials at St George's Chapel, Windsor, which he himself had completed. I know there are other exceptions to Westminster, e.g. John at Worcester and Edward II at Gloucester, but perhaps Edward, once he became king, wanted to start a new trend—which he did, because there are now ten monarchs in St George's Chapel.
The tomb of Edward IV, King of England and Elizabeth Woodville at St. George's Chapel in Windsor, England (circa 15th century) from the Works of William Shakespeare. Vintage etching circa mid 19th century.
But do we know what George of Clarence really wanted? If he'd been a good boy and survived his considerable transgressions against Edward, would he still have picked Tewkesbury? That was where his wife Isabel was buried, but would he have wanted her to remain there when he himself died?
Entrance to vault of George of Clarence, Tewkesbury Abbey
Might he have wanted her to be moved to Fotheringhay, where they could lie together again? Moving remains around to suit later interments was quite common, as shown by the Duke of York and Edmund of Rutland being brought south to Fotheringhay. And Richard himself moved Henry VI from Chertsey to St George's, Windsor. Maybe this latter act was an indication of what Richard Intended for himself? Who knows? He didn't leave instructions, and so it is still a mystery to this day. All we do know is that he wouldn't have chosen Leicester, because he had no connection with that city. He lies there today because at the time of his death it was the closest suitable place to the battlefield.
Tomb of Richard III at Leicester Cathedral of Saint Martin.
And from thinking all this, my musings wandered to whether or not Richard would think George wished to remain in Tewkesbury. On the instructions of Edward IV, Richard, as Duke of Gloucester, had originally escorted the remains of his father and second eldest brother south from Pontefract to Fotheringhay, and that experience must have been a hugely emotional and important time for him. Fotheringhay was surely the place he too expected to eventually be lain to rest? After all, he didn't know that for the last two years of his life he would be king.
York is always put forward as his inevitable choice, but we don't know for certain. Once he was crowned, no doubt he felt he had to conform. He'd buried Anne at Westminster, and maybe, had he lived, there would have been a tomb there for them both, and for their son, who'd have been brought from wherever he was laid to rest. We still do not know where little Edward of Middleham was buried, all record has been lost.
Or maybe Richard too would have chosen Windsor, after all, that was where he'd moved Henry VI. Perhaps he intended his wife and son to go there too? The guesswork is infinite. Oh, for his fifteenth-century iPhone, and a casual note left on Medieval Messenger on the eve of Bosworth. Not that Henry Tudor would have honoured such a wish anyway.
Tomb of Henry VI, St George's, Windsor.
If Edward had lived on, and Richard had never become king, what would have happened to the remains of both Richard and George? Let's imagine they died before Edward, leaving him the only surviving brother. Even if they had specified their choice of burial place, I have a feeling that he'd have laid them to rest at Fotheringhay, with their father and other brother. And surely he'd have had Anne and Isobel and their children moved to lie with them? Or is that just too simple and neat a solution?
Posted by viscountessw in Alternative History, battles, buildings, genealogy, religion and tagged Anne Neville, Battle of Bosworth, Chertsey, Edmund of Rutland, Edward II, Edward IV, Edward of Middleham, Elizabeth Wydeville, Fotheringhay, George Duke of Clarence, Gloucester Cathedral, Henry VI, Henry VII, Isabel Neville, John, Leicester cathedral, Pontefract, Richard Duke of York, St. george's Chapel, Tewkesbury Abbey, Wakefield, Westminster Abbey, Worcester Cathedral, York Minster
The truth about the Christian New Year's Eve….
From https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-sylvester-pope-101
New Year's Eve now and New Year's Eve in the mediaeval period actually refer to two different calendar days. Old New Year's Eve was 24th March. For an easy-to-understand explanation, please go to here, but whichever the day, it was still New Year's Eve. We now celebrate it with much fun, laughter and hope, but its history is rather different. And so this article of mine has appeared on the day as we know it now.
From https://www.weekendnotes.com/where-to-spend-new-years-eve-in-canberra/
The name Sylvester is a reference to New Year's Eve, because St Sylvester's Day is celebrated then. This saint's day is still widely celebrated, although not particularly here in the United Kingdom. The Germans, for instance, call New Year's Eve Silvester. See this site
From https://www.eventbrite.de/e/mega-silvester-berlin-201920-tickets-67021094899?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
St Sylvester was first Pope Sylvester I, and was in office from 314 to 335. (see Brittanica Online) He died on 31st December 335, hence it is his feast day. He is the one who converted the Emperor Constantine to Christianity.
"The Donation of Constantine", Gian Francesco Penni, Sala di Costantino in the Vatican
There was a second St Sylvester who was also a Pope, 999 to 1003, but apart from having taken the name Sylvester (he was originally Gerbert of Aurillac) I do not think he was connected with New Year's Eve. He was the one who introduced Europe to the decimal system. Pope Sylvester III took office in 1045, and is believed by many to be an antipope (see explanation of antipopes here) Pope Sylvester IV was another who was considered to be an antipope.
New Year's Eve was the birthday of Bonnie Prince Charlie. It was also the birthday of the French admiral who was defeated by Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar. Pierre-Charles-Baptiste-Silvestre de Villeneuve was born on 31st December 1763. Hence the name Silvestre being added.
Admiral Pierre-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Sylvestre de Villeneuve from From https://www.frenchempire.net/biographies/villeneuve/
When it comes to English medieval history, the closest I can come to New Year's Eve is the Battle of Wakefield, which took place the day before in 1460. To learn more, go to Battlefields of Britain As the 3rd Duke of York and his second son, Edmund, Earl of Rutland, were killed at the battle, I imagine that New Year's Eve was a time of utter sorrow for their remaining sons/siblings.
Both images above are from http://www.warfaremagazine.co.uk/articles/Nation-in-Conflict-The-Battle-of-Wakefield/87
The Scots have their New Year's Eve celebrations too. They call it Hogmanay. If you go to this article you can read all about it. The name is thought to have been used after the return of Mary, Queen of Scots, to Scotland from France in 1561. The origin of the name Hogmanay is not really known, but the above BBC Newsround link offers quite a number of possibilities.
Now, in the present day there is no ignoring the claims that most of our Christian feasts and festivals have a pagan origin. I don't know whether to give this credence or not. Julius Caesar was said to have used 31st December/1st January to honour the two-faced Roman god Janus, god of changes and beginnings. Janus was said to look back into the past and forward into the future. That sounds logical enough to me.
The Roman God Janus
from https://www.mercatornet.com/features/view/who-was-janus-the-roman-god-of-beginnings-and-endings/20868
So, while you're all enjoying your parties tonight, seeing in the New Year and singing with gusto—and not a little alcoholic assistance!—perhaps you should raise your glasses to Julius Caesar, St Silvester I, Bonnie Prince Charlie, and poor old defeated Admiral Villeneuve (who, was returned to France by the British, and was quite amazingly supposed to have committed suicide by "six stab wounds in the left lung and one in the heart". That, ladies and gentlemen, was quite feat, I think you'll agree. I can't imagine anyone believed it was self-inflicted!
Villeneuve was interred at the Church of Saint Germain in Rennes, pictured here in 1910
from http://www.wiki-rennes.fr/Fichier:Eglise_saint_germain.jpeg
I will end this now, but but not before reminding you of the very first Sylvester I ever knew – yes, Sylvester the Cat, who so wanted to eat that annoying Tweety-Pie. Personally I always hoped he'd succeed. Was there ever a more irritating, stupid-looking canary? Anyway, here's a link to make you laugh as you see out 2019! I'll bet a lot of you remember I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvNfPSXWZqw
Let's Hope 2020 is a Good One!
Posted by viscountessw in anniversaries, battles, buildings, culture, religion and tagged Admiral Villeneuve, Antipopes, Charles "III", Constantine, conversion, decimal system, Edmund of Rutland, Eglise St. Germain Rennes, Gregorian Calendar, Hogmanay, Horatio Nelson, Janus, Julian Calendar, Julius Caesar, Mary Stuart, Naval warfare, New Year's Eve, paganism, popes, Richard Duke of York, saints, St. Sylvester, suicide, Trafalgar, Wakefield | Leave a comment
Edmund, Earl of Rutland, a life cut short.
Fotheringhay Church and Yorkist Mausoleum 1804. Watercolour by unknown artist.
A link here to an excellent article on Edmund, Earl of Rutland. The History Geeks can be found on Facebook:
The article also give a plausible reason as to why Edmund's christening ceremony at Rouen was much more opulent than his brother Edward's earlier one – which has led to much debate and speculation that Edward was illegitimate.
I think Edmund may have become a dependable and worthy member of the Plantagenets and his early death, at the age of 17, leads to a 'what if?'. Everything may well have been so different. But it was not to be and its easy to imagine the grief that must have overwhelmed his mother, when the news was broken to her of the terrible outcome of Wakefield. Not only did she lose Edmund but her husband, who must have been her rock throughout most of her life. However Cicely was to carry on and to suffer even more tragedy later including the judicial murder of another son, Clarence, and the violent death of her youngest surviving son Richard at Bosworth. But that is another story.
To focus back on Edmund – his early life which he shared much of with his oldest brother Edward – is covered in the article as are the delightful letters written by the pair of them while at Ludlow to their father which alway make me smile. Assuring their 'Lorde and Fader' of their 'wilfare' at the writing of the letter, they tell him 'We were in good helth of bodis thonked be God' and 'beseche your good Lordeschip that hit may plaese yowe to sende us Harry Lovedeyne grome of your kechyn whose svice is to us ryght agreable And we will sende yowe John Boyes to wayte on your good Lordeschip' (1)! Nice try boys!..sadly we dont know if it worked..
Edmund's and Edward's signatures on a letter to their father June 1454.
But the madness that become known as the Wars of the Roses was to end Edmund's life in the cruellest way. Edmund fought along side his father and maternal uncle at the Battle of Wakefield – 30th December 1460 – and its hard to read the suggestion that, had Edmund had travelled west with his brother Edward, he may have survived. But stay with his father he did – and died – after a failed attempt to flee, murdered some say by Lord Clifford or at the very least on his orders.
After the battle Edmund and his father's heads, together with that of his uncle Richard Earl of Salisbury, which had been detached ty a mob, were placed upon Micklegate Bar, York. A further heartache no doubt for Cicely but an act which spurred the Yorkists on. Determined to avenge his father and brother's deaths, but three months later, Edward finally crushed the Lancastrians at Towton. One of his first actions was to have Edmund buried with his father at the Cluniac Priory of St John in Pontefract. Later in 1476, they were both ceremoniously reburied at Fotheringhey in St Mary's Church, York in the chancel, but it remains unclear whether Edmund was buried in the same vault as his father or in the Lady Chapel. When Cicely's time came she was, presumably, buried in her husband's vault according to a request in her will. Richard and Cicely's bodies were moved into a joint tomb in 1573 on the instructions of Elizabeth I, where they rest to this day. The Lady Chapel was destroyed and it is not known whether Edmund was found and re-buried with his parents – no mention of it was made – or found and lost again or still remains undiscovered. It would appear, sadly, that his remains were forgotten about at the time and are now lost (2). I do hope very much that, whether his remains were found or not, they still lay not far from his parents.
The tomb of Richard Duke of York and Cicely Neville Edmund's parents. It is unknown whether Edmund was reburied with his parents. Tomb erected at the instruction of Elizabeth Ist.
Excerpta Histórica: Or, Illustrations of English History p9, Samuel Bentley.
Creating and Recreating Yorkist Tombs in Fotheringhay online article Sofija Matich and Jennifer S Alexander.
Posted by sparkypus in anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy and tagged Battle of Bosworth, Cecily Neville, christening, Edmund of Langley, Edmund of Rutland, Edward IV, executions, Fotheringhay, George Duke of Clarence, Harry Lovedeyne, John Boyes, Lord Clifford, Ludlow Castle, Micklegate Bar, Mortimers, Priory of St. John the Baptist, reburials, Richard III, Richard of Salisbury, Rouen, royal tombs, signatures, Sir Edmund Mortimer, The history geeks, Wakefield, York | Leave a comment
Plantagenet Ireland and Poynings' Law
It is fair to say that most medieval English kings had little interest in Ireland except as a source of revenue. (The same was probably true about England and Wales but it seems too cynical to say it, and at least they did live there.)
Prior to the Bruce invasion, Ireland yielded between £5000 and £20,000 a year to the Exchequer. Even the lower figure was a useful sum in medieval terms, bearing in mind that the "qualification" for an earldom at this point was about £666. So in a bad year, Ireland gave the king the equivalent of more than seven earldoms, after expenses.
By the 1350s the net revenue was down to between £1,000 and £2,000, while by the start of Richard II's reign Ireland was running a deficit. Given the general state of the Exchequer this was a Very Bad Thing and Something Had To Be Done. (1)
Of course, simply pulling out of Ireland and making a saving was unthinkable. Instead various half-hearted measures were tried, and various people lined up to take the place in hand, ranging from Robert de Vere (created Duke of Ireland!) to Thomas, Duke of Gloucester, the King's uncle. The matter was evidently seen as (relatively) a low priority, and in view of the state of England at this time, this is quite understandable.
Eventually, in 1394, Richard II himself, personally, set out for the Emerald Isle with a well-equipped army 7000-8000 men. By the standards of English military expeditions in Ireland it was extraordinarily successful and well-executed. Not that Richard II gets much credit for it. By January 1395 the various Irish chiefs had begun to submit to Richard and by early Spring the capitulation was complete.
Richard, writing to his Council in England, stated that rebellion arose from past failures of government and that unless mercy was shown his opponent would ally with the "wild Irish". He therefore proposed to take them under his protection until their offences had been purged or excused. (2)
This conciliatory policy towards the Irish speaks strongly in Richard's favour. He intended that from now on there should be "liege Irish" as well as "liege English" and he tried to settle some of the many grievances (mainly about land) between the two groups. Of course this was a major task, and probably could never have been completed to everyone's satisfaction even if Richard had remained in Ireland for ten years. However, it was a settlement of sort.
Unfortunately Richard was forced to cut his visit short due to issues in England, leaving the young Earl of March behind as Lieutenant. March was of course also Earl of Ulster, and in that capacity had land issues of his own., particularly with the O'Neill family. By 1396 March was leading major raids into O'Neill territory, and the short period of peace was under extreme strain. By 1397 Leinster was also in a state very close to war.
In 1398, not long after extending March's term of office, Richard II decided to replace him with the Duke of Surrey, Thomas Holland. Surrey, Richard's nephew of the half-blood, was another young and inexperienced man, with the added disadvantage that he had no hereditary lands in Ireland at all. He required, therefore, heavy subsidy from the Exchequer. Before the change could be completed, March had been killed in the fighting, as was his son in 1425.
King Richard now decided on a second personal visit to Ireland. This was a strange decision, given that he had just annexed the lands of Bolingbroke and Mowbray, and that Bolingbroke was in France, poised to invade England. However, we have the benefit of hindsight. Richard had no reason to suspect that the French, his supposed allies, would allow any such thing – and but for a temporary shift in power at the French court, they would not have done.
Richard's second visit to Ireland was less successful. In a parley between Thomas Despenser, Earl of Gloucester and Art Macmurrough – who styled himself King of Leinster – the latter made it clear he was unwilling to submit. Before much more could be done Richard was forced to leave Ireland to confront Bolingbroke, and Ireland was once again left more or less to its own devices.
It is remarkable that any remnant of English lordship survived Henry IV's reign, given the state of Henry's Exchequer and the low priority given to Ireland by a king who was fighting on several fronts, including internal battles against his opponents. But the fact is that somehow, it did. Indeed Irish-based ships co-operated with Henry in the re-conquest of Anglesey.
Henry V and Henry VI were also unable (or unwilling) to give great priority to Ireland. Ralph A. Griffiths states "The isolated administration entrenched in Dublin and its 'pale' was more often than not subject to the rough dictates of Anglo-Irish magnates like Desmond and Ormond, and for some time past it had been assailed by a Celtic resurgence among the native Irish themselves that was cultural and social as well as military in character." (3)
The attitude of the Anglo-Irish peers was to remain key, because unless and until the English government was willing and able to finance significant military intervention in Ireland, their power made them the most effective players on the island. Of course, the rivalries between them meant that the Crown was often able to play one family off against another.
In 1437 the author of The Libelle of Englysche Polycye expressed concern about the state of royal government in Ireland, suggesting the country could become a base for French, Scottish and even Spanish enemies, with whom hostile elements in Ireland could form an alliance. This fear of encirclement explains much of English/British policy towards Ireland over the next several hundred years, although in the short term very little was done about it, not least because England simply did not have the resources. (Such resources as were available were being thoroughly over-stretched in France.)
By this time the Irish revenues were failing to maintain the cost of government there, and even its most senior officers struggled to obtain their salaries. In 1441 it was reported that the charges of the Justiciar of Ireland and his underlings exceeded revenue by £1,456. (4)
In December 1447, Richard, Duke of York took on the role of Lieutenant of Ireland, with a salary of 4000 marks for the first year and £2000 in each of the following years of a supposed ten year appointment. York, who was very much at odds with Suffolk and Somerset at home, was effectively 'promoted' to a backwater. Those responsible doubtless thought that it would keep him quiet (and busy) for a long time. He was, of course, Earl of Ulster, and therefore had very significant landed interest in the country.
Not until summer 1449 did York actually set out – from Beaumaris. Even then he did so only because the King pressed him to go. He was received ' with great honour, and the earls of Ireland went into his house, as did also the Irish adjacent to Meath, and gave him as many beeves for the use of his kitchen as it pleased him to demand.' (5)
That Richard, Duke of York, was a successful Lieutenant of Ireland is in some ways surprising. He was an aristocrat to his finger tips, and not generally noted for his people skills. If he had strengths they lay in his relative honesty and relative efficiency as an administrator and soldier. York failed miserably to unite the English nobility behind him, and yet he seems to have been well-regarded in Ireland. (In contrast to John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, who was positively hated in the same role.)
York quickly summoned a great council at Dublin which ensured the protection of certain hard-pressed castles and towns and also sought to address some of the more extravagant abuses of the Irish government.
His problem was that the money he had been promised largely failed to appear. He received less than half of what he should have in the first two years, and that was in tallies. After December 1449 he received nothing at all. (6)
This helps explain why York eventually threw in his hand and returned to England.
However, after the debacle at Ludford Bridge, York was sufficiently confident of his welcome to return to Ireland (with his second son, Rutland) and was able to use it as a secure base to plot the overthrow of Henry VI's government.
York encouraged or allowed the Irish Parliament to pass legislation which left the country almost, but not quite independent, Henry VI's sovereignty being reduced to little more than a cipher. It was even declared that the introduction of English Privy Seal Letters into Ireland was a breach of the country's liberties. In return the Parliament voted York men and money, and rejected Henry VI's attempts to remove York from office. The duke was not quite King of Ireland, but he was something very close.
Thereafter Ireland became strongly Yorkist – even into early "Tudor" times. It may be that York's almost accidental policy of granting autonomy was the answer to the Question. In May 1487, a young boy was crowned at Dublin's Christ Church Cathedral (right) as "Edward VI". He may actually have been the ill-fated Earl of Warwick by that name but is traditionally named as "Lambert Simnel", who was taken to work in Henry VII's kitchen after the battle of Stoke Bridge ended his insurrection the following month. In his identification of the boy (7), Ashdown-Hill uses historical, numismatic and physical evidence cogently, as ever, eliminating the other possibilities.
As a result of "Lambert"'s coronation, Henry VII's regime decided to control Ireland more closely. The "Statute of Drogheda" (left) ("An Act that no Parliament be holden in this Land until the Acts be certified into England") was passed in early or mid-1494 and is described as 10 Hen.7 c4 or 10 Hen.7 c9. It is also known by the name of the newly appointed Lord Deputy at the time: Sir Edward Poynings (1459-1521) and specified that no Irish Parliament could meet until its proposed legislation had been approved by the Lord Deputy, his Privy Council, the English monarch and his Parliament. Ireland was thus legislatively subjugated and its status changed again under the "Crown in Ireland Act" in 1542, becoming a kingdom ("An Act that the King of England, his Heirs and Successors, be Kings of Ireland") under the same monarch as England, in place of a lordship. Curiously, this was in the same year that Wales was subsumed by the Kingdom of England (Laws in Wales Acts). As the sands of the "Tudor" era ran out, the Earl of Essex was sent to suppress another Ulster rebellion but ignored his orders and returned home to aim for the crown. James VI/I's subsequent plantations filled the power vacuum left by the O'Neills.
Consequently, the "English Civil War" is also known as the "War of the Three Kingdoms", each of which had a different religious settlement as Charles I's reign began. Similarly, legend has it that George I expressed to plant St. James' Park with turnips and asked an aide the price: "Only three crowns, Sire". Poynings' Law is still in force in Northern Ireland, whilst it was fully repealed in the Republic as late as 2007.
(1) All figures are from Richard II, Nigel Saul, page 273
(2) For more detail see Saul, p 281.
(3) The Reign of King Henry VI, Ralph A. Griffiths page 411.
(5) Irish chronicle quoted in The Reign of King Henry VI, Ralph A. Griffiths page 421.
(7) The Dublin King, John Ashdown-Hill particularly chapters 1-5.
Posted by sighthound6 in anniversaries, battles, buildings, law, religion and tagged "Lambert Simnel", anecdotes, Anglesey, Art MacMurrough, Beaumaris, Charles I, coronations, Crown in Ireland Act, Drogheda Castle, Dublin Cathedral, Earls of Desmond, Earls of Ormond, Earls of Ulster, Edmund Duke of Somerset, Edmund of Rutland, Edward Bruce, Edward II, Edward of Warwick, English Privy Seal Letters, executions, finance, France, George I, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Henry VII, Ireland, Irish Parliament, James VI/I, John Ashdown-Hill, John Earl of Shrewsbury, justiciar of Ireland, Leinster, Lieutenant of Ireland, London, Ludford Bridge, Nigel Saul, numismatics, O'Neills, Parliament, Poynings' Law, Ralph Griffiths, repeal, Richard Duke of York, Richard II, Robert Devereux Earl of Essex, Roger Mortimer 4th Earl of March, Scotland, Sir Edmund Mortimer, Sir Edward Poynings, Sir William de la Pole, Spain, St. James' Park, Stoke Field, Thomas Despenser, Thomas Holland, Thomas Mowbray Earl of Norfolk, turnips, Ulster, Ulster plantation, Wales, War of the Three Kingdoms
SHAKESPEARE'S RICHARD III: HERO OR VILLAIN?
" Never let it be said that fate itself could awe the soul of Richard.
Hence babbling dreams, you threaten here in vain;
Conscience avaunt, Richard's himself again"
(The tragical history of King Richard the Third)[1]
Richard's himself again: or is he?
There is a moment in Olivier's film of Shakespeare's play 'The Tragedy of King Richard the Third' that is not Shakespearean. It occurs during the Bosworth scene just as the king is about to ride into battle. Unnerved by the ghostly apparitions in the night of his vengeful victims, Richard's courage seems to desert him ('O Ratcliffe, I fear, I fear '). However, the sight and sound of Richmond's army approaching rouses his natural 'heroical temperament' and as he rides away he whispers in White Surrey's ear 'Richard's himself again', which is not a phrase you will find in any extant Quarto or Folio edition of the play. It is, in fact, an interpolation from Coley Cibber's seventeenth century adaptation and a small but significant example of Olivier's editing. Its purpose is to reinforce the notion that Richard's courage and resolution are unimpaired on the morning of battle. Its importance to Cibber (and presumably to Olivier also) is that it counters the insinuation in some interpretations of the play that King Richard was demoralized by guilt, fear and desperation at Bosworth.
Even though Olivier's film is so heavily modified that much the subtlety of Shakespeare's original play is lost, it should not be thought that his adaptation is inartistic. He is simply one of a number of distinguished actors and directors who between the reigns of the first and second Elizabeth have imposed their artistic ambition on the play. The point is that Shakespeare's plays are not fossils set in stone. They are each subject to historical relativity and usage. Succeeding generations of actors, directors and producers have adapted them according to their artistic taste or the cultural, social and political ethos of their society. Indeed, it is possible that this play was used as a metaphor for exploring the concerns of contemporary first Elizabethans as well as those of later cultures. Modern performances of the play have portrayed Richard as a proxy for Hitler, Idi Amin, Saddam Hussein, and 'Rikki Ortega' (a fictitious Californian gangster) among others.[2] Henry Goodman in the RSC's 2003 production found 'parallels for Richard's deranged mind' in the fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter.[3] Anthony Sher (1984), looking for clues of Richard's stage personality studied the psychology of the real serial killer and necrophile Dennis Nilsen who murdered at least twelve men between 1978 and 1983. Contemporary socio-cultural themes such as physical and mental disability, gender, racial and class discrimination, and the importance of Richard III as a 'case study' of tyranny, are all now aspects of modern performances. [4] In fact, so different is the public taste for this play today that I wonder whether Shakespeare would recognize it as the one he wrote for Richard Burbage in the last decade of the sixteenth century.
The play that Shakespeare actually wrote was an immediate smash-hit financially and critically. Moreover, Burbage's portrayal of Richard was so powerful that it defined performances of the play for generations afterwards and contributed an epic snippet of Shakespearean erotic mythology, which we learn from John Manningham, a student at the Inner Temple, who wrote in his diary in 1602: 'Upon a time when Burbage played Richard III there was a citizen grew so far in liking with him, that before she went from the play she appointed him to come that night unto her by the name of Richard III. Shakespeare, overhearing their conclusion, went before, was entertained and at his game ere Burbage came. The message being brought that Richard III was at the door, Shakespeare caused return to be made that William the Conqueror was before Richard III.' I don't know whether this anecdote is true or not, but it is at the very least an indication of the sensuousness of Shakespeare's characterization of Richard and the popularity of his play.
The old adage that 'plays are meant to be performed not read' may be corny but it's true nonetheless. The importance of actors and directors in shaping our opinion of this play cannot be overstated. In my copy of the RSC's text, it states quite clearly that the best way to understand this play is to see or ideally to participate in it. It is my aim in this article to explore the theme of change in the production, presentation and performance of Richard III. Naturally, I am aware that it is this play that is in no small part responsible for the historical Richard's bad reputation. Nevertheless, having written some articles in favour of the factual Richard III, I feel compelled to write a few lines in defence of the fictional one and the man who created him.
The distinction I make between the fictional and the factual Richard is not artificial and it is important. It is ignored or blurred too often and for too long in discussions and analysis of the play or the man. [5] There are almost as many myths about the play as there are about Richard. Chief among these is the notion that Shakespeare is personally to blame for the misjudgement of history. I hope to show that is not true and that Shakespeare was far from being a Tudor stooge. While there is no doubt that he embraced the Tudor narrative of Richard as a villain or that he structured his play around the Tudor histories of Thomas More and Edward Hall, Shakespeare doesn't make Richard out to be as bad as he might have done.
'Matters of state, not fit to be suffered'
We now have a better appreciation of Tudor bias. The depiction of Richard as a monstrous villain without any redeeming characteristics was necessary to bolster Henry VII's weak royal title. The fact is that in Tudor England and particularly during the Elizabethan period the condemnation of Richard in literature was practically unanimous. Regardless of his personal opinion, therefore, Shakespeare had little choice other than to conform to the 'tenets of Tudor orthodoxy'. The Privy Council enforced strict censorship of 'certain matters of state not fit to be suffered'. Shakespeare would have been extremely foolish to depart from the prescribed doctrine on touchy issues such as the legitimacy of the Tudor dynasty.[6] The contemporary notion of kingship held that it was contrary to God's law to depose a crowned and anointed king. Even a tyrant enjoyed God's protection; however, whereas a tyrant must be endured a usurper was outside God's law and could be overthrown with impunity. It was, therefore, necessary to depict Richard III as a usurper and a tyrant. Otherwise, it would call into question Tudor legitimacy and, more importantly, the validity of Elizabeth's succession.[7]
In that context, it is all the more remarkable that Shakespeare does not depict Richard as the unrelieved monster of Tudor dogma. He is charismatic and his sardonic humour soon has the audience laughing with him; indeed, they are, in a sense, his co-conspirators. From the moment he enters the stage, Richard takes control of the play and the audience. Conversely, Shakespeare does all he can to downplay Richmond's role. He writes nothing to make him personally attractive to the audience. He is not even mentioned until the fourth act and doesn't appear on stage until the last. There is no scope for the audience to form any sort of relationship with such a boring, distant and obscure antagonist. Neither does Shakespeare write anything to counter suggestions that Richmond's claim to the throne is questionable. In fact, it is soon clear that Richard cannot be defeated by any human adversary, least of all Richmond whose sole purpose is to be the clunky deus ex machina figure who is still alive at the end;[8] it is an indication of his dramatic irrelevance. I will return to these points later but for now I want to mention the play's textual history.
Textual problems
Shakespeare wrote this play either in 1692 or 1694. The case for 1692 is based entirely on speculation about Shakespeare's professional relationship with Ferdinando Lord Strange, a descendant of William Stanley the earl of Derby.[9] Although that date cannot be dismissed out of hand, it seems more likely that the play was written in 1594 for the Lord Chamberlain's Men. They were by far the most important and influential company of actors and in Richard Burbage they had the greatest actor of his generation. Writing for them was a good career move for Shakespeare who needed a star actor to play Richard. The Tragedy of Richard III together with the three parts of Henry VI comprised Shakespeare's first tetralogy of history plays.[10] He wrote the second tetralogy about a few years later. Confusingly, these plays are about earlier kings: Richard II, Henry IV parts 1 and 2 and Henry V. The two tetralogies together chart the course of English history from the reign Richard II to the death of Richard III.
It is disappointing — to say the least — that none of the surviving Quarto and Folio texts of this play were authorised by Shakespeare. Experts cannot even be sure whether the synthetic text currently used in performance is an accurate representation of the version first performed by the Lord Chamberlain's Men. The Quarto text of the play (a small booklet) was printed in 1597 (Q1) and thereafter re-printed five times (in 1598,1602,1605,1612 and 1622). Unfortunately, each re-print was copied from the previous one, thus perpetuating existing errors and adding new ones. Consequently, every print after Q1 is different from every other print, which makes the Quarto version useless as a performance text. It is possible (I put it no higher) that Q1 is a 'memorial' version of the play assembled from memory by actors who had lost or forgotten their prompt sheets, or who wished to streamline the play for a provincial performance.[11] The First Folio (F1) version of the play was published in 1623 as part of a compendium of Shakespeare's plays. It might have been copied from an independent manuscript that pre-dates Q1 (Is it Shakespeare's original version? Who knows?) Understanding the relationship between these versions of the play is the most difficult textual problem of all Shakespeare's plays; it has troubled scholars for years. F1 is longer than Q1. Whether, this us due to a reduction in Q1 or an enlargement of F1 is anyone's guess. All we can truthfully say about these texts is that they differ from each other and are error-full.[12]
Coley Cibber (1671-1757) was an actor-manager, who at the turn of the eighteenth century wrote and printed a vigorous and populist adaption of Shakespeare's play. He reduced its length by cutting all but eight hundred lines from Shakespeare and adding two thousand of his own, together with lines from Henry V and Henry VI part 3. The characters of Clarence, Edward IV, Rivers and Queen Margaret are omitted altogether. Despite being mocked at the time for its crudity, Cibber version became the standard performance text from 1700 until 1821. It was not until the last quarter of the nineteenth century that the F1 became the preferred stage text play. Cibber understood his audience. Shakespeare's play was too long for eighteenth century playgoers who had no connection with, or understanding of fifteenth century politics. The real problem for purists is that Cibber's adaptation concentrates attention even more on Richard at the expense of his lively interactions with Edward, Clarence, Margaret and Buckingham, which make Shakespeare's play so compelling.[13] In that sense, Cibber's alterations are crude.
'The Play's the thing…'
'The tragedy of King Richard the Third' is indubitably a psychological profile of a dramatic villain. Richard's solo entrance and memorable opening soliloquy are indicative of his dramatic dominance and also of Shakespeare's artistic intention to create a star theatrical villain rather than continue the cyclic theme of atrocity and revenge, as seen in the Henrician plays.[14] It is a change, which whether intended or not, challenges the idea that the first tetralogy represent a serial epic that is intended to be seen as a set and in sequence after the second tetralogy. It is a conundrum that has produced two distinctly different schools of thought. One is teleological in nature; the other is analogical.
The teleological theory interprets the cycle of history plays from Richard II to Richard III within the context of Tudor historiology and literature. The death of Richard III is seen as the preordained end of a curse that had afflicted England since the murder of Richard II. In the three parts of Henry VI, Shakespeare constantly links the present with the past. He never lets us forget that the usurpation of Henry Bolingbroke and the murder of Richard of Bordeaux were the root causes of division and tumult. Professor EMW Tillyard writing in the mid twentieth century argues that all four plays are united in political themes of order and chaos, and unity and civil war. : "The main business of the play [Richard III] is to complete [the] national tetralogy and to display the working out of God's plan to restore England to prosperity…in its function of summing-up and completing what has gone before, Richard III inevitable suffers as a detached unit." [15] He asserts that such a conclusion is inescapable in view of the 'plays failure to remember' Clarence's perjury to Warwick, Queen Margaret's mock crowning of York, the murder of Rutland and the murder of Prince Edward by York's sons; If it were not so, implies Tillyard, the play would not make sense to audiences. " For the purposes of the tetralogy and most obviously for this play, Shakespeare accepted the prevalent belief that God had guided England into the haven of Tudor prosperity" [16] Tillyard's suggestion that Richard III is a religious play can only be substantiated if it is judged according to the traditional Tudor narrative, wherein both Richard and Richmond are God's instruments. Richard is God's scourge; Richmond, his emissary.
Tillyard's only concession to Richard's dramatic importance is that he is so evil and depraved, and his sins are so vast that his evil is absorptive and not contagious "He is the great ulcer of the body politic into which all impurity is drained and against which all the body politic are united."[17] Nowadays, Tillyard's ideas are regarded as sentimental "The view from a Cambridge college window looking out at a world at war [the Second World War] and nostalgic for a more stable and comprehensible historical process"[18] Whilst there are some obvious flaws in professor Tillyard's logic, it is ridiculous to suggest that his ideas are based on nothing more than wishful thinking. However, his assumption that all Elizabethan's shared the Tudor view of harmony is patently untrue. There was extreme political and religious division among the population.
The play's theatrical history shows that from the sixteenth century until the twenty first century, political thinkers have used it as a medium for expressing their concerns in times of oppression and/or suppression. These performances use Richard's rise to power, his elimination of opponents, his dissembling and his amorality as an oblique warning against the onset of tyranny in their own times. The fact that the play lends itself to this approach indicates that it is far more complicated than professor Tillyard suggests. It's a point picked up by Sir Richard Eyre, former Artistic Director of The National Theatre. His production of Richard III starring Ian Mckellen toured the world in 1990 and inspired the subsequent film. Eyre's decision to set the play in the 1930's during the rise of Fascism was an artistic one based on his opinion that " We have to keep thinking of ways of doing Shakespeare's plays. They don't have absolute meanings. There is no fixed, frozen way of doing them. Nobody can mine a Shakespeare play and discover a 'solution' [sic]." [19] However, in 1991 he took the play to Rumania, which he regarded as its spiritual home and used its enduring political power as a warning against tyrants such as the Romanian despot Ceausescu, and others such as Stalin and Mao Tse Tung. Eyre even suggests that Richard III could be seen as a handbook for Tyrants.
I must admit that the most memorable performances that I have seen (Olivier, Mckellen, Sher and Rylance) have been when the play was performed alone rather than as one of a sequence of plays. As a schoolboy, I watched the BBC's 1960 production 'Age of Kings' in which the first and second tetralogies were broadcast over many weeks. As I recall, Paul Daneman was a drab and unconvincing Richard and Sean Connery was a surreal Hotspur. I found Peter Hall's 1963 RSC production of the Wars of the Roses, which was based on the first tetralogy, equally uninspiring. Ian Holm's Richard being small of stature was incapable of dominating the play physically or dramatically. I was not impressed. I learned later that this casting was deliberate. The aim was to portray Richard as just another royal pretender.
My difficulty with the teleological and analogical concepts is that they are prescriptive. Tillyard's Richard is God's instrument and therefore not responsible for his actions as the end is pre-ordained. The notion that the play is actually a metaphor for tyranny is equally limiting since it dismisses Richard as nothing more than a cruel brute of a type that historically were responsible for countless innocent deaths. In my personal opinion, neither approach does justice to Shakespeare's artistry and this play's complexity. The reality is that Richard displays aspects of both theories and more. We cannot even be sure of the play's genre. Shakespeare called it a 'tragedy'; the compilers of the First Folio, classified it as a 'history'. In the last century, professor AP Rossiter identified elements of comedy in the play. What are we supposed to think? I don't believe that Shakespeare's creativity was limited by anything so rigid as genre. Polonius' suggests as much in this little speech to Hamlet wherein he introduces 'the actors' to the prince. "The best actors in the world either for tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral, pastoral-comical, historical-pastoral, tragical-historical, tragical-comical-historical-pastoral, scene individable, or poem unlimited. Seneca cannot be too heavy, not Plautus too light for the law of writ and the liberty, these are the only men." [20] I like to think that Shakespeare was writing from his experience with the Lord Chamberlain's Men.
Shakespeare's description of the play as a tragedy does not imply an ethical or emotional judgement. It is a definition of the plays structure, which is based on the classical Senecan tragedies that depict the rise of great men and their downfall at fortune's wheel.[21] It is Shakespeare's way of heralding his artistic transition from the dramatization of chronicle histories to the creation of a histrionic and complex theatrical protagonist as the centrepiece of his drama. It was professor A P Rossiter in a lecture given ten years after Tillyard's book who drew attention to the paradoxicality of Richard's character, which he suggests "…decisively complicates the plays moral and political significance."[22] The problem as Rossiter sees it, is the illogicality between the concept of Richard as 'a huge triumphant stage figure' and his depiction by Tillyard within a rigid Tudor concept of retributive justice. Richard contradicts the expressly Christian notion of the Vice character in medieval morality plays; he is "…a heroic exemplar of humankind as being able to exert will; the world is poorer for his loss."[23] This characterization also undermines the simplistic analogical idea that Richard is simply an evil man in a long line of evil men.
Shakespeare's apparent conformity with conventional Tudor historiography is therefore complicated by his depiction of Richard as a caricature combining features from three theatrical characters familiar to Elizabethan audiences: the 'de Casibus tragedian'[24], the demonic-comedian Vice character of the morality plays and the Marlovian Machiavellian of the Elizabethan stage. Above all, Shakespeare's Richard is an actor. He is charming, witty, intelligent and eloquent, and dissembles his many parts so brilliantly that those whom he intends to kill do not realise until the very last moment that he is not their friend. He is Shakespeare's version of a 'thoroughly bad man in the role of a monarch and hero' Rossiter describes him thus: " He [is] a mocking comedian, a 'Vice' king but with a clear inheritance from the old Vice moralities: part symbol of evil, part comic devil and chiefly — on stage — the generator of roars of laughter at wickedness the audience would …condemn in reality."[25]
His sardonic sense of humour is not a conventional rendering of Tudor doctrine. He makes us laugh. We are on his side. We enjoy this gritty comedy because we are Richard's confidantes. We see the fools he dupes through his eyes and with his mind. We rejoice in their downfall. Richard is not just a consummate actor; he is also a consummate villain. He knows what he wants. He delights in telling us what he is going to do, and he does it. He can assume any mood or passion at will. He is believed without question. He has perfected simulation of every feeling and phrase to serve his purpose. And he has eliminated any weakness that might betray him, such as feelings of compunction, pity and uncertainty of mind.[26] Richard has all the qualities of the complete Machiavellian: " …lifelong and unremitting vigilance in relentless simulation and indomitable deception." [27] By presenting Richard in this form, Shakespeare is neither proving nor de-bunking the Tudor myth. Instead of certainty we have only ambiguity.
[1] Coley Cibber – The tragical history of King Richard the Third. Altered from Shakespeare by Coley Cibber, Esq. (London 1769 print) p.66
[2] John Jowett (ed) – Richard III by William Shakespeare (Oxford 2000) p.17; Annalieze Connelly (ed) – Richard III: a critical reader (Bloomsbury/Arden 2013) pp.111-150 passim.
[3] Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen (eds) – Richard III by William Shakespeare (Macmillan/RSC Shakespeare 2008) p.167.
[4] Bate ibid; Connolly pp.33-45 passim; the rise of Material Culturism has politicized the play. Material Culturists use a close examination of the play's text to identify the 'dominant hegemonic force in society' (e.g. Crown, Church, Family and so forth) and the methods for disseminating their doctrine/ideology. By analyzing the text Material Culturists hope to spot examples of dissent and complicity with the dominant force's doctrine/ideology. It is a methodology that tends to spotlight those people who are disadvantaged and/or marginalized by society, by virtue of their race, religion, gender, class or disability.
[5] Stephen Greenblatt – Tyrant: Shakespeare on power (The Bodley Head 2018) pp.53-95; professor Greenblatt has an interesting theory on tyrants and especially how they come to power. His view of Richard is wholly negative. He is a 'worthless piece of work. There is no secret about his cynicism, cruelty and [treachery], no glimpse of anything redeemable in him and no reason to believe he could ever rule the country effectively… he leaves nothing behind except wreckage. It would have been better had he never been born'. Greenblatt is a professor of the Humanities and an expert on the works of Shakespeare: I am not. Nevertheless, there is much about his book with which I disagree. It is, I believe a good example of the simplistic thinking that comes from basing an opinion of the play on a study of the text conducted in an academic vacuum without the context of performance. But most of all I cannot accept his premise that Shakespeare's characterization of Richard is an accurate representation of the real man, or that it was ever intended to be
[6] Greenblatt pp.1-23; contains a discussion on Shakespeare's freedom of speech in the context of late Elizabethan religious fanaticism, domestic political intrigue and the threat to the English succession from a foreign power.
[7] Jowett pp.11-16
[8] Shorter Oxford English Dictionary – "dues ex machina (literally: 'God from the machine'): a divine power, event, or person arriving in time to solve a difficulty (often rather contrived) interposition, esp. in a novel or play". For example, 'and then I woke up'.
[9] Jowett PP. 4-6; Shakespeare's manipulation of history to put a positive spin on William Stanley's part in Richard III's downfall has tempted some scholars to speculate that the play was written in 1692 for Lord Strange's Men. Ferdinando Lord Strange was a descendant of the said Thomas Stanley Earl of Derby and also of Henry VII (by Henry's granddaughter Margaret Clifford). This may explain why Shakespeare has tactfully ignored Stanley's acquiescence in Hastings' execution, his part in crushing Buckingham's rebellion, the rewards he received from King Richard and his 'wait and see' policy in 1485. Thomas Stanley is also portrayed as leading the Stanley contingent that surrounded and killed the King, whereas it was actually his brother William. It might also explain why Thomas Stanley has such a prominent role in the final scenes: presenting Henry with his crown and predicting the joyous union of York and Lancaster. Lord Strange and his family were noted for their Roman Catholic sympathies; however, in true Stanley fashion they managed to keep on the right side of the Reformation by hunting down Jesuits. From both the protestant and the catholic perspectives, Strange's loyalty was suspect.
[10] Jowett pp. 73-74; the three Henrician plays were first published under the following titles: The First part of Henry VI (taken from the First Folio, there being no earlier text); The Contention of the Houses of York and Lancaster (now Henry VI part 2) and The True Tragedy of Richard Duke of York and the Good King Henry the Sixth (now Henry VI part 3).
[11] Bate p.18; the title of the 1597 print makes interesting reading: "The Tragedy of King Richard the Third, containing the treacherous plots against his brother Clarence; the pitiful murder of his innocent nephews; his tyrannical usurpation; with the whole course of his detested life and deserved death. As has been lately performed by the Lord Chamberlain's men, his servants"
[12] Jowett pp.110-120; Bate pp.9-15; both these editors provides extensive discussion on the textual chronology and problems arising from Quarto and Folio editions. See also Julie Hankey (ed) – Shakespeare's Richard III in Performance (Junction Books 1981) pp. 27-32. It is also worth considering EAJ Honigmann (ed) – Richard III by William Shakespeare (Penguin 1968) pp. 242-244. His textual notes were still helpful to me fifty years after they were written.
[13] Bate p.16; Richard had 32% of the lines in F1; more than any other Shakespearean protagonist except Hamlet (37%). Richmond by comparison has 4% of the lines, which is an index of his artistic importance. In Cibber's adaptation, Richard's share rises to 40%.
[14] Richards solo appearance and his opening soliloquy are unique in the Shakespearean canon. He is the only protagonist to open and speak first in his own play.
[15] EMW Tillyard – Shakespeare's History Plays (Penguin 1962) pp.200-04
[16] Tillyard ibid
[17] Tillyard p.208
[18] Connelly pp. 33-45;
[19] Bate and Rasmussen p.200
[20] TJB Spencer (ed) – Hamlet by William Shakespeare (Penguin 1996) p.115 Act 2, Scene 2; 'the law of writ and the liberty plays': Polonius is distinguishing between plays that follow classical principles, like Ben Johnson's and plays like Shakespeare's with greater freedom of structure. The mixture of tragical-comical-historical-pastoral seems absurd until we recall that Shakespeare wrote Cymbeline.
[21] Jowett pp. 23-24; Seneca (BC 4-AD 65) was a Roman stoic philosopher and dramatist. He is famous for ten tragical plays that depict the rise of great men and their ruination or self-destruction due to uncontrolled emotion or madness. Seneca was widely read in medieval and renaissance Christendom. His tragedies influenced Shakespeare and other Elizabethan writers.
[22] AP Rossiter – Angels with Horns: fifteen lectures on Shakespeare (Longman 1989 edition) pp.1-22; see also Jowett p.10.
[23] Jowett pp.10-11 citing Nicholas Brooke – Shakespeare's Early Tragedies (1968) pp. 78-79.
[24] De Casibus vivorum illustrium (on the fate of famous men): this is an encyclopedia of historical biographies dealing with the fortunes and calamities of famous men from Adam until the fourteenth century: not only their lives, but also their moral virtues.
[25] Rossiter p.15
[27] Rossiter ibid
Posted by zenonian in anniversaries, sources, The play's the thing and tagged "Princes", "Tudor" "sources", Anthony Sher, Anthony Woodville, bias, Catholicism, Ceaucescu, Coley Cibber, Edmund of Rutland, Edward IV, Elizabeth I, Ferdinando Stanley, fiction, First Folio, George Duke of Clarence, Hamlet, Hannibal Lecter, Henry IV, Henry of Buckingham, Henry V, Henry VI, Henry VII, historical drama, Hitler, Idi Amin, John Manningham, Lady Margaret Clifford, Laurence Olivier, Lord Chamberlain's Men, Lord Strange, Mao Tse Tung, Margaret d'Anjou, Polonius, Privy Council, Richard Burbage, Richard Duke of York, Richard II, Richard III, Richard of Warwick, Rylance, Saddam Hussain, Shakespeare, Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Richard Ratcliffe, Sir William Stanley, Stalin, tetralogy, Thomas Stanley, Tillyard, tyranny, White Surrey | Leave a comment
The story of Middleham Castle….
The Battle of Wakefield took place on 30th December, 1460. It ended when Richard, Duke of York, lost his life. As did his second son, Edmund, Earl of Rutland. The victors were the Lancastrians, in the name of their feeble-minded king, Henry VI.
York's claim to the throne finally came to fruition in the forms of two of his other sons, Edward IV and the youngest, Richard III. And one of Richard's favourite homes—if not the most favourite—was Middleham Castle in Yorkshire.
But Middleham Castle was around for a long time before Richard came along, and was still there when he had gone. To read more of its history, which includes the great Earl of Warwick, the "Kingmaker", go here.
Posted by viscountessw in anniversaries, battles, buildings and tagged Alan the Red, Anne Neville, castles, Edmund of Rutland, Edward of Middleham, English Heritage, Hastings, Henry VI, Middleham, Nevilles, Ralph Earl of Westmorland, Richard Duke of York, Richard III, Richard of Salisbury, Richard of Warwick, Wakefield
Was a chapel for the House of York planned at Westminster Abbey in 1483…?
A short while ago, I came upon a reference to the foundation stone of Henry VII's chapel in Westminster Abbey (visible in this illustration of the abbey as it may have been in the Tudor period) have been laid first in April 1483. It was from here, as follows:-
". . .Elizabeth [of York] was given a lavish funeral. She lay in state at the Tower, and was interred later at Henry VII Lady Chapel (the foundation stone of which was laid in April, 1483). She and Henry lay there together, their graves topped with an elaborate bronze effigy. . ."
I asked the Henry "Tudor" Society blog if they could clarify this date, which I thought would probably mean that Edward IV had some input or other. There was no response. I decided the whole thing must be an error, because the date for laying of the foundation stone is always given as 1503.
Nevertheless, the point niggled away. What if it were true? What if that foundation stone had indeed been laid in April 1483? This, of course, led me to consider what was going on in that month of that year. Answer? The death of Edward IV. Not yet the accession of Richard III, because Edward's eldest son was to be Edward V. Was Edward IV's sudden death merely a curious coincidence? Regarding the date, not anything untoward.
I thought no more of it. Then, while pursuing the part of the reference below that refers to Richard III having removed Henry VI's remains from Chertsey by violence, I noticed the accompanying details about the so-called saintly king's intended resting place in Westminster Abbey.
It reads as follows, from The Archaeology of the Medieval English Monarchy by John Steane, page 183:
". . .While Edward [IV] was king the remains of Henry VI were left in obscurity at Chertsey, whither they had been removed after his [Henry's] mysterious death in the Tower. The government had given out that Henry died from 'pure displeasure and melancholy', but popular belief was that he had been murdered, possibly by the Duke of Gloucester. . . (Pause for savage expletives!!!) . . . Prominent political figures who died by violence were likely to earn a popular reputation for sanctity. In Henry VI's case, bouts of insanity and a reputation for other-worldliness in his own lifetime may have encouraged the formation of a saintly cult. Richard III took steps to supervise this phenomenon more closely when he authorized the removal of the body of Henry VI from Chertsey to Windsor. Although not canonized he [Henry VI] was popularly regarded as a saint and pilgrims flocked to Windsor, contributing to a decline in the numbers wending their way to the shrine of St Thomas at Canterbury.
Tomb of Henry VI at St George's Chapel, Windsor
". . .A rather unseemly wrangle followed. [My note: When, exactly? In Richard's reign, or after Bosworth?] The abbeys of Chertsey and Westminster both put forward claims to the body. Chertsey's claim was on the grounds that Richard III had taken it by violence to Windsor [Huh? I hope this is just a generally accepted term for moving remains around, not yet another accusation to lay at Richard's door.] Westminster based its case on the fact that workmen and vergers at the abbey had clear recollections that Henry had marked out a place for himself in the abbey choir during his lifetime. The canons of Windsor joined in, strenuously arguing in favour of the saintly royal corpse remaining there. The upshot was that the new chapel prepared at Westminster was used for its founder, Henry VII, while Windsor kept Henry VI under the south aisle of St George's chapel. His arms are carved in the fan vaulting over the bay in which he had been reburied after his arrival from Chertsey. . ."
The above details are also to be found in Historical Memorials of Westminster Abbey by Dean Stanley, who says that Henry VII intended a new Westminster chapel for Henry VI, whom he thought would soon be canonised. But Henry VI wasn't canonised, and Stanley believes Henry VII wasn't prepared to lavish money on a non-saint. So he appropriated the planned chapel for himself alone. (This is on page 138 of my February 1911 edition.) All of which suggests that the present Henry VII chapel certainly wasn't originally intended just for Tudor himself, but for him to rest beside St Henry VI. And presumably soak up the reflected glory.
So, a chapel at Westminster, already commenced for Henry VI, was eventually used for solely for Henry VII. .Oh, and by the way, this would presumably mean that Henry VII would be removing Henry VI's remains by violence, since Windsor was hardly likely to surrender their royal golden goose without protest. And there is a strong suggestion that the remains were actually brought to Westminster, and when the canonisation failed to materialize, were returned to Windsor. Very respectfully, of course. And maybe followed by a Tudor scowl.
However, Henry VI had apparently already chosen his place in Westminster, but in the abbey choir, not Henry VII's new chapel, which was erected on the site of the old Lady Chapel, behind the altar. This made me wonder if Henry VI's known personal choice of Westminster had led to an earlier plan to accommodate the saintly king's wish. OK, it's a possible flight of fancy on my part, but it could perhaps offer an explanation for the intriguingly rogue mention of April 1483
I don't think there is any doubt that in 1503 Henry VII commenced his own chapel, the one that is still there now. But just how much of a previous "new" Henry VI chapel might have remained very close by? An earlier foundation stone, perhaps laid around the time of Edward IV's death in April 1483? It would have been superseded by the 1503 foundation stone, of course, but there is still the thought (mine, I own up) that another chapel could have been planned from the time of Edward IV/Richard III.
Then again, maybe in April 1483, this originally planned new chapel was not intended for Henry VI at all. Might Edward IV, knowing he was on his deathbed, have decided he wanted to be laid to rest in Westminster? I know he left in his will that it was to be Windsor, but might he have changed his mind at the eleventh hour? He surely wouldn't normally have built anything for holy but pesky Henry VI, whom he'd despatched to obscurity in Chertsey. Out of sight, out of mind. Edward had no reason to think fondly of Henry VI, unless, of course, his own imminent death made him want to take precautions for an assured entry into heaven. In which case, of course, why not bring the holy chap to Windsor? But just maybe, with the Grim Reaper approaching the castle, a grand joint venture with Henry VI at Westminster would seem just the necessary safeguard? Being nice to the royal "saint" would earn brownie points in heaven and on earth, which I'm sure is what Henry VII was to think in turn. Edward would also have been content that his son and brother, Richard of Gloucester, would carry out these last-minute plans. Edward had no scruples about intending his illegitimate son to ascend the throne at Richard's expense. In fact, I don't think Edward had many scruples at all. If any. But that's beside the point.
However, if Edward had decided belatedly on his own burial in Westminster, it did not come to fruition. He was interred in Windsor. That is not to say that his successor, Richard III, did not intend to honour his late brother's possible last wish (if such a wish had existed). Who knows what Richard had in mind? He left no record, so people like me have to read the facts and try to interpret them, and as I am not a historian, the result is rambling articles like this!
Moving human remains around to different places was quite common back then. In 1476, on Edward's instructions, his father and brother had been removed from Pontefract to Fotheringhay, escorted on the journey by Richard, so it was certainly established practice in their immediate family. Richard had Henry VI brought from Chertsey to Windsor, even though Henry had wanted to rest in neither, but in Westminster. But this may have been expediency on Richard's part, to accommodate the growing cult around Henry's tomb. Maybe even to reflect a heavenly glow over Edward IV? Like so many things with Richard, we cannot know anything for certain.
So. . .what was this possible other chapel at Westminster? Surely not anything to do with the old Lady Chapel, which was definitely pulled down to accommodate Henry VII's grand plan. No, for there seems to be a suggestion that this enigmatic earlier project was something new in April 1483. Might it have been a magnificent tomb for the House of York? Might Richard have eventually planned to bring Edward IV from Windsor and George of Clarence from Tewkesbury? Maybe his father and older brother Edmund from Fotheringhay? Perhaps even Henry VI from Windsor? Whatever his motives and final intentions, the chapel if it existed (for this is all "reading between the lines" on my part) was somewhere Richard would have seen, with great sadness, as a final resting place for his queen, his son. All too soon, of course, it would have been his own too.
But it was never built. Maybe never even planned. Who knows? I just have this feeling that Henry VII was almost pipped at the post by a Yorkist chapel. If only everyone today flocked to see the York Chapel, with all the grand tombs of the family of Richard III. If only. . .
Posted by viscountessw in anniversaries, buildings, religion, sources and tagged Canterbury Cathedral, Chertsey, Dean Stanley, Edmund of Rutland, Edward IV, Elizabeth of York, Fotheringhay, foundation stones, George Duke of Clarence, Henry VI, Henry VII, John Steane, Lady Chapel, pilgrims, Pontefract, reburials, Richard III, royal tombs, St. george's Chapel, St. Thomas, Tewkesbury Abbey, Westminster Abbey, Windsor Castle
BLOOD OF ROSES (A Novella of Edward IV's Victory at Towton)
Richard, Duke of York and his second son Edmund were killed at the battle of Wakefield at the bitter end of 1460. Within weeks, the Duke's eldest son Edward was on the road with a mighty army, seeking revenge–and a crown.
The novella BLOOD OF ROSES by J.P. Reedman covers the period from the Duke's death to Edward's Coronation on June 28 1461. Edward's early battles are curiously sidelined in most fiction, despite their importance, while his amorous pursuits often seem to take the fore! This 'slice of life' fiction book tries to redress that balance slightly.
In February 1461 Edward fought the first of his battles for the throne at Mortimer's Cross, where the parhelion, the Three Suns, appeared in the sky. Edward sensed the fear and doubt growing in his men at the sight of this phenomena, and, aged only 18, showed great cleverness in convincing them it was a GOOD omen–the sign of the Holy Trinity. The battle went decively for the Yorkists, with Jasper Tudor's father Owen being executed in Hereford's town square. Legend says a deranged lady took his head and sat on the market cross crooning to it as she brushed its hair…
With Edward were the Croft family of Croft Castle, which is on the Welsh borders. This is the family made famous by the letter sent from Ludlow to the Duke of York by his young sons, Edward and Edmund, asking for bonnets and other items. At first reading, one section of the letter seems to be against bullying behaviour by the Croft sons, who were also at Ludlow, but is in fact, on second reading, against the 'odious and demeaning' treatment of them, a fact recently noted by Dr John Ashdown-Hill. Richard Croft went on to serve Edward IV (so clearly no friction there!), then Richard III and Henry Tudor.
Mortimer's Cross was a great victory but there was then a distinct setback when the Earl of Warwick was defeated by the Lancastrians at St Albans, and King Henry, until then a Yorkist prisoner, taken to rejoin his wife, Margaret of Anjou. Nonetheless, Edward entered London and was proclaimed king, although he sworehe would not wear the crown until he had defeated his enemies utterly. Gathering his army, he began a hard march north.
At Ferrybridge, the Lancastrians attacked the Yorkists over the damaged bridge crossing the Aire, in a night-raid led by Lord Clifford, the presumed murderer of Edmund of Rutland, who had appeared suddenly with his 'chosen' men, the Flower of Craven. At first the Yorkists were thrown into disarray, with Lord Fitzwalter being hewn down the moment he stepped from his tent to see what the commotion outside was about. Luckily, William Neville, Lord Fauconberg, the most experienced commander of the Yorkist host, took the lead and crossed near Castleford to attack the Lancastrian flank. Fauconberg was a small-framed man, often described as 'little Fauconberg' who had a long military career, having served in France, including at the famous Siege of Orleans. He was an uncle of Edward, being the third son of Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmorland and his wife Joan Beaufort (Edward's maternal grandparents.) Fauconberg made short work of Clifford's Flower of Craven, and Clifford himself was killed, mostly like by an arrow when removing his gorget.
Then the Yorkist army pushed on to Towton, fought on Palm Sunday and in a fierce snowstorm. Some have questioned the possibility of a snowstorm that late in the year, but looking at our recent March weather, it is not impossible at all that there was indeed heavy snow! The bad weather was advantageous to the Yorkists, with the worst of the weather being at their backs and driving into the faces of their enemies. The Lancastrian archers were at a distinct disadvantage with the strong wind blowing their arrows astray.
The battle was hard fought, nevertheless, as the Lancastrian forces far outnumbered those of the Yorkists. However, when the Duke of Norfolk's contingent arrived, led by John Howard, the battle finally turned in Edward's favour. A rout ensued and the battlefield became a killing field. The waters of nearby Cock Beck ran red with blood and filled with bodies. The area was afterwards called Bloody Meadow.
It was the bloodiest battle ever fought on English's soil, with figures as high as 28,000 stated for the casualties. Even given the exaggeration of the chroniclers of the day, it was undoubtedly a huge amount of slain. In recent years some of the remains of the fallen have been recovered, mostly around Towton Hall, where archaeologists recently found the remains of Richard III's chapel to the fallen soldiers subsumed into the inner fabric of the hall. The skeletons recovered showed the terrifying brutality of medieval warfare–shattered skulls, slashing injuries, facial mutilation, slicing marks that may have been the removal of ears…
Chivalry died a death upon this field of blood. But England had a new king–Edward of York, the Sunne in Splendour.
BLOOD OF ROSES IS AVAILABLE IN KINDLE AND PRINT FROM AMAZON
BLOOD OF ROSES
Posted by hoodedman1 in anniversaries, battles and tagged Bloody Meadow, Castleford, Cock Beck, Croft Castle, Edmund of Rutland, Edward IV, Flower of Craven, Henry VI, Hereford, Janet Reedman, Jasper "Tudor", Joan Beaufort, John Mowbray Duke of Norfolk, London, Lord Clifford, Lord Fitzwalter, Margaret d'Anjou, Mortimer's Cross, Orleans, Owain Tudor, Palm Sunday, parhelion, Ralph Earl of Westmorland, Ricardian fiction, Richard Duke of York, Richard of Warwick, Second Battle of St. Albans, snowstorm, sunne in splendour, Towton, Towton Chapel, Wakefield, William Neville Lord Fauconberg, Yorkshire
Might Richard have become Archbishop of Canterbury….?
An oft-asked question arose again the other day. Had Richard been originally intended for the Church? He was the youngest son of the 3rd Duke of York, and the Church was the fate of most aristocratic youngest sons. It has been suggested to me that such early training would explain his beautifully precise handwriting. After all, his letters and signature make his peers look uneducated!
Yes, his piety is frequently remarked upon, but then they were all pious in those days. Outwardly, at least. Richard's piety seems to be have deeper, because the purity of his private life is also remarked upon. He does not seem to have strayed from the marriage bed, which was surely very unusual. He was a young king, and good-looking. His scoliosis wouldn't been seen because good tailoring would hide it, so none of the awful lies perpetrated by Shakespeare would have applied. He would have been a prime target for female advances. These advances do not seem to have been welcomed. At least, if they were, post-marriage he hid it well! Before marrying Anne, he fathered illegitimate children and acknowledged them all, so he was red-blooded.
Was he a reluctant temporal lord? Was his brilliance on the battlefield, enjoyment of sumptuous fashionable clothes and penchant for lavish festivities a smokescreen? Would he much rather have been Archbishop of Canterbury? That might have depended upon which point in his life it was decided he should not enter the Church after all. When might that have happened? What might have prompted it?
I do not know the finer points of such things, and for all I know the precise proof of it all is known to exist, but if so, I am ignorant of it. So, simply looking on the surface, I would guess a decision to change his destiny was maybe made after Wakefield. The deaths of his father and brother Edmund might have decided the eldest brother, Edward, Earl of March, who would become King Edward IV, that his youngest brother would be better employed as a soldier, "going forth and multiplying" for the benefit of the House of York.
Richard (then eight years old) and his slightly older brother George were children at that time, and exiled safely to their aunt in Burgundy. After the soon-to-be Edward IV's subsequent victory at Towton, they were brought home. Is that when and why it was agreed that Richard and the Church should no longer be an item? Richard was thus created Duke of Gloucester, and George, for whom the Church was not a consideration, became Duke of Clarence.
So, is it possible that until being sent into exile in Burgundy, Richard had been trained and prepared for the Church? I can remember how, at that same age of eight, I absorbed education like blotting paper. I read books by the score, and everything that was drummed into me at school was taken on board, as modern parlance has it. In the 15th century, when strictness and volume of tuition would have far exceeded that of the 20th century, Richard (being studious by nature) would have been much higher quality blotting paper! For instance, if the Church was involved, he'd have been be well on the way to a thorough knowledge of Latin. It nearly happened to his nephew and did happen to his great-nephew.
I'm sure there are those who will read this and have more informed thoughts and explanations. If so, I hope they will share them.
Posted by viscountessw in Alternative History, religion and tagged Archbishop of Canterbury, church, Edmund of Rutland, education, Edward IV, exile, George Duke of Clarence, Henry VIII, Latin, Reginald Cardinal Pole, Richard Duke of York, Richard III, Towton, Wakefield
How Edward IV ascended the throne of England….
The Wars of the Roses did not commence, à la Bard, with white and red roses snatched and brandished in a garden by opposing lords, but they were foreshadowed at the turn of the fifteenth century when Henry of Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster, usurped and murdered Richard II.
Bolingbroke was the son and heir of Richard II's uncle, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, through Gaunt's first marriage, to Blanche of Lancaster. It was through Blanche that the dukedom came to Gaunt. Bolingbroke was therefore the undisputable heir of the House of Lancaster.
But Gaunt had other children by other women, especially a nest of illegitimate Beauforts by his liaison with Katherine de Roët/Swynford, who had been governess to his children by Blanche. Gaunt wanted the Beauforts to be legitimized, and Richard II eventually agreed. Letters Patent were issued in 1397.
When Bolingbroke stole the throne and murdered Richard, he also made sure that his half-siblings, the Beauforts, could not succeed to the throne. He did this by adding a clause to the original Patent of legitimation. This was popularly regarded as valid, but maybe it was not, because the original patent had received parliamentary sanction.
Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou
The Lancastrian line held power until the reign of Bolingbroke's grandson, the weak, ineffectual Henry VI. At first childless, Henry had to decide on an heir. If the Beauforts were set aside, the next legitimate heir to the throne was Richard, 3rd Duke of York, who descended from Gaunt's younger brother, Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York. But, York was also descended, through his Mortimer mother, from Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, who was an older brother of Gaunt's. Not the oldest, of course. That honour went to the Black Prince, father of Richard II.
Gaunt and the Lancastrians did their utmost to insist that rights to the throne could not descend through a female line. They were wrong. For instance, Henry II's claim came through his mother, the Empress Matilda, whose opponent, Stephen, also claimed through his mother. So, the Lancastrians were good at dealing from the bottom of the pack. Gaunt himself laid claim to the throne of Castile in right of his second wife! And he had gained the incredibly wealthy and important dukedom of Lancaster through his first wife. But that was different, of course. Oh, of course. So, they were hypocrites.
This was the situation when Henry VI needed an heir. York felt, rightly, that he was the legitimate heir. He did not claim that the House of Lancaster had no right to the throne, only that he was the next heir. Then, miraculously (or by the divine intervention of the Beaufort Earl of Somerset) Henry VI's queen provided the much-needed son. In the nick of time, eh? Poor Henry believed he was the father, but a lot of people saw hanky-panky at work…and Somerset's Beaufort fruitfulness.
York, Somerset and Henry VI
York's claims went quiet again. But as the years passed, Henry's queen, Margaret of Anjou, grew fearful that York's designs on the crown would be at the expense of her son. She was aided and abetted in this by the powerful Duke of Somerset. York realized that he and his House were in danger of extinction, and chose to stand up for his rights.
Thus began the Wars of the Roses, a tussle that went on for decades and resulted in the crown going from Lancaster to York, and then back to Lancaster….if Henry Tudor can be described as a Lancastrian. He was descended through the Beauforts, who, according to Henry IV, could not succeed to the throne. But that is yet another story. So, too, is the fact that if the claim to the throne could descend through the female line, then Philippa, one of Gaunt's daughters by Blanche of Lancaster, and thus full sister of Henry IV, had to be considered. She had married the King of Portugal, and had sons. Philippa's younger sister, Elizabeth, had married the Duke of Exeter, but their line was not considered either. Besides, Philippa was the older sister, and her line not only legitimate, but secure. However, as far as I can ascertain, her claim does not appear to have been even vaguely considered.
By this time York was the father of four sons: Edward, Earl of March (Edward IV), Edmund, Earl of Rutland, George, Duke of Clarence, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Richard III). The first two were old enough to fight. Another of York's great assets was the Earl of Warwick, who is now known to us as the "Kingmaker".
Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick
George, Duke of Clarence
Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Edmund, Earl of Rutland
With Margaret determined to protect her son's rights, battles commenced, and fortunes swung. Then York and his second son, Edmund, were slain by treachery (the same fate as that suffered by the last of the sons, the brave Richard III) at the Battle of Wakefield. York and Edmund's heads were displayed on the gate of York city. At least Richard III did not suffer that.
Now York's eldest son, Edward, the new Duke of York, became the figurehead of the Yorkist cause. Bitterly angry about the fate of his father and brother, he took up the cudgels and, with Warwick at his side, triumphed over the Lancastrians to take the throne. He was proclaimed king on 4th March 1461. After a few years there was a hiccup, and he was forced to flee the country with his younger brother, George and Richard. Henry VI was reinstated. Edward returned, and after another bout of battles (and quarrelling with and alienating Warwick, to say nothing of having George switch sides more than once) Edward finally demolished Lancaster at the Battle of Tewkesbury on 4th May 1471. He gained victory with his brothers fighting at his side. Somerset was captured and beheaded. Margaret of Anjou's son, the Prince of Wales, was also slain, and Margaret's will finally broken. Days later, Henry VI, died in the Tower of "melancholy". Hmm. Let's just say that his survival would have been inconvenient to Edward, who wouldn't want him returning to the throne again.
And so England had her first Yorkist king for the second time. If you see what I mean. The above is clearly somewhat condensed, and many of the finer points have had to be omitted, but it's the gist of how handsome, dashing, charming Edward, Earl of March, became King Edward IV.
Posted by viscountessw in anniversaries, battles, genealogy and tagged "Beauforts", "Tudors", cartoons, Castile, Catherine de Roet, Edmund Duke of Somerset, Edmund of Langley, Edmund of Rutland, Edward IV, Edward of Lancaster, Edward the Black Prince, executions, George Duke of Clarence, Henry II, Henry IV, Henry VI, Henry VII, humour, John of Gaunt, Lancastrians, Lionel of Antwerp, Margaret d'Anjou, Matilda, Mortimers, Phillippa of Lancaster, Richard Duke of York, Richard II, Richard III, Richard of Warwick, Shakespeare, SHW, Stephen, Tewkesbury, Tower of London, usurpation, Wakefield, Wars of the Roses, York, Yorkists

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S.G. Lovell is a stay at home mum, wife, and independent author.
She loves winter in Queensland, mind puzzles, and serene places.
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