A History of England, Period I. Mediæval Monarchy

by J. Franck Bright

At the next Parliament, which was held at Leicester, many of the nobles appeared in arms. At the same time the news of the defeat of Kyriel at Formigny arrived; and at once the men of Kent, who were probably in close alliance with the seamen who had executed Suffolk, rose. Their leader was Jack Cade. He led the insurgents under strict discipline towards London, assuming the name of Mortimer, and we cannot but believe with the knowledge of the Duke of York. Two papers were sent in to the Government; one called the Complaints, the other the Demands, of the Commons of Kent. In these were summed up the causes of the unpopularity of Suffolk; and the restoration of Richard of York to favour was demanded. Unable to hold their advanced position, the insurgents fell back to Sevenoaks, but there they were successful against a hasty attack by Sir Humphrey Stafford.[94] The King retired from London, and so far yielded as to order the apprehension of Lord Say, one of the obnoxious councillors. Cade then advanced, took possession of Southwark, and appeared in London, under the title of the Captain of Kent, and in the arms of Stafford. The burghers of London, full of sympathy for the demands of the Kentish men, and pleased with the strict discipline preserved, sided at first with the insurgents. At a formal trial presided over by the Lord Mayor, Say, who had fallen into the hands of the people, was condemned and immediately executed. Meanwhile, almost at the same time, Ascough, the obnoxious Bishop of Salisbury, was put to death by his own followers at Eddington. Thus all the obnoxious ministers had been got rid of. London was now in the hands of the populace. The temptation was too strong for them, and some plundering took place. On this the Londoners took fright, and, when the insurgents retired for the night to Southwark, broke down and defended the bridge. Cade, unable to regain London, fell back, and after his followers, deceived by a promise of general pardon, had chiefly dispersed, was pursued and put to death near Lewes by Iden the sheriff.

Continued discontent.

York’s appearance in arms. 1452.

The disaffection was by no means quieted. Complaints were bitter, that by repeated prorogations of Parliament supplies were obtained without any redress of grievances, and that the bishops and clergy sided with the oppressors. While public feeling was in this irritable condition, York, suddenly leaving his government of Ireland without leave, appeared on the Welsh border with 4000 of his vassals. In this threatening manner, and accompanied by the Duke of Norfolk, the Earls of Devonshire and Salisbury, the whole clan of the Nevilles, and the Lords Cromwell[95] and Cobham, he appeared at Westminster. Meanwhile, Somerset, the acknowledged head of the rival party, returned from France, and received the office of Constable. The parties were assuming form, and a crisis was evidently at hand. York made a formal demand for the dismissal of Somerset and the punishment of the Duchess of Suffolk. As yet, however, the Government was strong enough to refuse these demands, and during the whole of the year 1451, without any public acts, the quarrel was becoming more embittered. In Devonshire Lord Bonville was at open war with the Earl of Devonshire. In the North, Percy, Lord Egremont, was fighting with the Earl of Salisbury. And in the winter, the Welsh vassals of York were gathered round the castle of Ludlow. Hitherto York and his partisans had persistently declared themselves the faithful servants of the Crown, interested only in the removal of the King’s bad ministers. None the less, in the beginning of the year 1452, Somerset and the King marched into the West, where York had been collecting his vassals, while York, moving in the opposite direction, passed the royal troops, and appeared in Kent, where he felt sure of support.

He is duped into submission.

This summoned the King back towards London; he took up his position at Blackheath, and there received the demands of York, to which he consented, promising to imprison Somerset, and to form a new council. Trusting to this promise, York disbanded his army, and went to have an interview with the King. He there discovered, to his dismay, that he had been deceived. His rival was in the tent, and evidently still in favour. Hot words were exchanged, but ultimately York was compelled to renew his oath of loyalty, and the Somerset party for the instant triumphed. The next Parliament was strongly in their favour; the speaker, Thomas Thorpe, a strong partisan of the Lancastrians. The King’s half-brothers, the sons of Owen Tudor, (Edmund, Earl of Richmond, and Jasper, Earl of Pembroke,) were brought prominently forward as members of the royal house, and Cardinal Kemp, now Archbishop of Canterbury and Chancellor, declared that the Government would enforce peace by arms if necessary.

Imbecility of the King. Prince of Wales born. 1454.

York’s first Protectorate.

This triumph was of short duration. News arrived of the failure of the new expedition for the rescue of Guienne, and of the death of Talbot, Lord Shrewsbury, its leader, at Castillon. And worse than that, the King, who had all his life suffered both from bodily and intellectual weakness, fell into a condition of hopeless imbecility. Under these circumstances, the birth of a Prince called Edward, which might have added to the strength of the Lancastrian party, was but a source of weakness. York, as heir presumptive to the throne of a sickly monarch, might have been contented to wait; the birth of a new heir apparent urged him to do what he had to do quickly. The opportunity, too, now offered itself; during the imbecility of the King, some regent was wanted; there was no excuse for passing over York. An instant change of government was the consequence. Somerset was apprehended. Even the Parliament chosen under the Lancastrian influence could not refuse, after it had obtained proof of Henry’s folly, to appoint Richard. The amount of authority given him seems to have been exactly that which Gloucester had enjoyed. He was President of the Council, and chief executive officer. His office was terminable at the royal will. Though thus limited, his power was sufficient to enable him to change the constitution of the Council, to carry through a breach of Parliamentary privilege by imprisoning for a debt Thorpe the speaker, and on the death of Cardinal Kemp, to appoint his brother-in-law Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, to the chancellorship.

Recovery of the King. 1454.