Cassell's History of England, Vol. 2 (of 8) / From the Wars of the Roses to the Great Rebellion

by Anonymous

The country was doomed once more to experience the inconveniences of a regal minority, to witness the struggles and manifold mischiefs of ambitious nobles, while the hand of the king was too feeble to keep them in restraint. The execution of Surrey, and the imprisonment and attainder of the great Duke of Norfolk, left the Seymours completely in the ascendant; and having recently risen into note and power, they very soon showed all the inflated ambition of such parvenus. The Earl of Hertford, as uncle of the king, was in reality the man now in possession of the chief power. The king was but a few months more than nine years of age. Henry, his father, acting on the discretion given him by an Act of Parliament of the twenty-eighth year of his reign, had by will settled the crown on Edward, and had appointed sixteen individuals as his executors, who should constitute also the Privy Council, and exercise the authority of the Crown till the young monarch was eighteen years of age. To enable these executors, or rather, to enable Hertford, to secure the person of the king, and take other measures for the establishment of their position, the death of Henry was kept secret for four days. Parliament, which was virtually dissolved by his death, met on the 29th of January, and proceeded to business as usual, so that any acts passed under these circumstances would have clearly become null. On the 31st Edward entered London amid the applause of the people.

On the day after his arrival at the Tower, that is, on February 1st, 1547, the greater part of the nobility and the prelates were summoned, and assembled there about three o'clock in the afternoon, in the presence-chamber, where they all successively knelt and kissed his majesty's hands, saying every one of them, "God save your grace!" Then Wriothesley, the Chancellor, produced Henry's will, and announced from it that sixteen persons were appointed to be his late majesty's executors, and to hold the office of governors of the present king and of the kingdom till he was eighteen years of age. To these were added twelve others, who were to aid them in any case of difficulty by their advice. Yet, although these formed a second council, it was totally destitute of any real authority and could only tender advice when asked.

The announcement of these names excited much animadversion and some censure. It was remarked that the greater part of them were new men; and the chief council consisted of those who had been about Henry in his last illness. But what next was disclosed was more extraordinary. The executors, when assembled in the Tower on the day of the young king's proclamation, declared that "they were resolved not only to stand to and maintain the last will and testament of their master, the late king, and every part and parcel of the same, to the uttermost of their powers, wits, and cunning, but also that every one of them present should take a corporal oath upon a book, for the more assured and effectual accomplishment of the same." And now it was announced that the Privy Council, for the better despatch of business, had resolved to place the Earl of Hertford at their head. This was so directly in opposition to the will, which had invested every member of the council with equal power, that it was received with no little wonder. The fact was that Hertford—who, before the old king's death, had determined to seize the supreme power during the minority of his nephew—had secured a majority in the council, who, as we shall soon find, had their object to attain. Wriothesley was the only one who stood out. He assured them that such an act invalidated the whole will. But he argued in vain and, finding it useless, he gave way; and thus Hertford was now proclaimed Protector of the realm and guardian of the king's person, with the understood but empty condition, that he should attempt nothing which had not the assent of a majority of the council. His triumph was completed by the titles of Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector of England.

EDWARD VI.

Essex, that is Parr, brother of the late queen, became Marquis of Northampton; Lisle, Earl of Warwick; Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton; Sir Thomas Seymour, Baron Seymour of Sudeley, and Lord High Admiral; Rich became Baron Rich; Willoughby, Baron Willoughby; Sheffield, Baron Sheffield. Southampton was, however, soon compelled to resign office on the charge of having illegally put the Great Seal in commission.

Having thus seized and secured the actual sovereign power in England, Somerset began to turn his attention to foreign affairs. Henry VIII. had left it as a strict injunction to his council to secure the marriage of the Queen of Scots with his son Edward. Somerset, therefore, addressed a letter to the Scottish nobility, calling upon them to complete an arrangement which he recommended as equally advantageous with that to which they were bound by oaths, promises, and seals. The Scots took little notice of this communication from the man who had carried the commands of the late king through their land with fire and sword. The castle of St. Andrews, which the murderers of Cardinal Beaton held out against Arran, had in the course of this summer been surrendered to a French force, and the conspirators were conveyed to France. Some of them were confined in fortresses on the coast of Brittany, and others, amongst whom was John Knox, were sent to work in the galleys, whence they were not released till 1550. By the month of August, Somerset was once more prepared to invade Scotland, and to force, if possible, the young queen from the hands of Arran and the queen-mother. The forces were reviewed, and on the 29th they commenced their march. On the 2nd of September they were at Berwick, where they found Lord Clinton with the fleet, and from that point the army marched along the shore, supported by the ships at sea. Somerset took Douglas Castle, the property of Sir George Douglas, without resistance. The castle being rifled, was then blown up with gunpowder, as were also the peels of Thornton and Anderwick. Passing by Dunbar and the castle of Tantallon, the army, on Friday, the 8th of September, sat down near Prestonpans, the fleet being stationed opposite the town of Musselburgh.

To meet this invasion, Arran had sent the Fiery Cross from clan to clan through the Highlands, and had ordered every Scot capable of bearing arms to meet at Musselburgh. The two armies now lay at Pinkie, not much more than a couple of miles from each other. On the 9th the Scottish horse were seen parading themselves boldly on the height which lay between the hosts, called Falside, or Fawside Brae. The two armies had the sea to the north, while Falside rose facing the west, and having on its summit a castellated keep and a few huts.

Somerset and Warwick resolved to occupy the height on which stood St. Michael's Church, and for this purpose, early on the morning of the 10th, long called "Black Saturday" in Scotland, they advanced upon it about eight o'clock. But the Scots had also concluded to advance, and on the English approaching the first height, they were astonished to find that the Scots had quitted their strong position beyond the river, and were occupying the ground they had intended for themselves. It seems that the Scots had somehow got the idea that the English meant to retreat and escape them, and to prevent this they determined to surprise them in their camp, and were on the way for this purpose. At the sight of the English, the Scots pushed forward impetuously, hoping to get possession of Fawside Brae, but they were checked by a sharp discharge of artillery from the admiral's galley, which mowed down about thirty of them, as they defiled over the bridge near the sea. Seeing the English posted on the height with several pieces of artillery, the Scots halted in a fallow field, having in their front a deep ditch. The English, however, reckless of this obstacle, dashed on and, with Lord Grey at their head, made their way up to them. Standing in an almost impenetrable mass, the Scots kept crying, "Come here, loons! come here, tykes! come here, heretics!" and the like, and the English charging upon them, seemed for a moment to have disconcerted them, but soon were fain to turn and retreat. The flight became general, and the Scots rushing on expected to reap an easy victory. Lord Grey himself was severely wounded in the mouth, and the Scottish soldiers pressing on seized the Royal standard, when a desperate struggle ensued and, the staff of the standard being broken, part of it remained in the hands of the enemy, but the standard itself was rescued.

The fight now became general and fierce, and there was a hand-to-hand contest in which many fell on both sides; but the English commanders were men proved in many a great battle, and exerted themselves to restore order amongst their troops. Warwick was seen everywhere encouraging, ordering, and ranking his men afresh; while the artillery from the height, directed over the heads of their own regiments, mowed down the assailing Scots. The ardour of the soldiers restored, advantage was taken of the position of a large body of the enemy who in their impetuosity had rushed forward beyond the support of the main army. They were surrounded and attacked on all sides. Confounded by this unexpected occurrence, the Scots were thrown into confusion, and began to take to flight. Arran himself soon put spurs to his horse; Angus followed, and the Highland clans—who had never been engaged—fled en masse. The rout was general and the slaughter terrible, some making for Leith, some direct for Edinburgh, by fields or woods as they could, and others endeavoured to cross the marsh and reach Dalkeith.