A History of England, Period I. Mediæval Monarchy

by J. Franck Bright

Treaty of Pecquigni. Sept. 13.

These quarrels had occupied several years, but meanwhile matters of more national interest had also engaged Edward’s attention. Charles the Bold was full of vast plans for increasing his possessions, and with the Duke of Brittany alone of the peers of France, resisted the centralizing policy of Louis XI. He found no great difficulty in enlisting Edward in a coalition against that King. As early as 1472, the war had been spoken of as probable. It did not actually take place till 1475, after a treaty had been made by which Lorraine, Bar, and other districts lying between Burgundy and Flanders were to be given to the Duke, while Edward was content to stipulate for the acknowledgment of his title as King of France, and a formal coronation at Rheims. The war, begun on such feeble conditions, had a disgraceful conclusion. Money, of which Edward was very fond, was scraped together, chiefly by the personal application of the King for loans known as benevolences, and a considerable army landed in France. But Edward did not meet with the reception he had expected. Charles, whose mind was incapable of carrying out the vast schemes that it planned, was engaged in war in other parts of his dominions, and brought no help to his ally. The gates of Péronne were shut against him. St. Quentin, which Charles had told him would be given up to him by the Constable of St. Pol, opened fire upon his troops. Provisions were scantily supplied, and Louis, who well knew the character of his invader, saw his opportunity. At a private interview with the herald who brought the declaration of war, he bribed him, and won from him the hint that he might apply successfully either to Stanley or to Howard, counsellors high in Edward’s favour. He took the hint, found those Lords ready recipients of his bribes, threw Amiens open, and supplied the English army lavishly with food; and shortly persuaded Edward to arrange terms at a personal interview at Pecquigni. He was thoroughly afraid of the English soldiers, but rated them very low as diplomatists, and, as his manner was when he had great objects in view, was lavish with his money. A yearly pension, the expenses of the war, 50,000 crowns as a ransom for Margaret, and handsome bribes judiciously given to the chief members of the King’s Council, secured the withdrawal of the English army. At the same time it was arranged that the Dauphin should marry the Princess Elizabeth. It mattered little to him, having now the English King in his pay, that the English to cover their disgrace spoke of the money payments as tribute, and that Edward continued to bear the title of the King of France. Nothing can give a better view of the despicable character of that new nobility on which Edward rested, than the readiness with which they accepted the French King’s bribes.

Ambitious projects of marriage for his daughters.

The chief objects of Edward’s life were, to collect money to be spent in magnificent debauchery, and to secure the position of his house by great marriages for his daughters. He had thus arranged for the marriage of Elizabeth, his eldest, with the Dauphin of France; Mary was to have been married to the King of Denmark; Cicely to the eldest son of James III. of Scotland; Katherine to the son of the King of Castile; and Anne was destined for the son of Maximilian of Austria, who by his marriage with Mary of Burgundy had become the possessor of that duchy. None of these marriages took effect. The events connected with some of them fill up the remainder of the reign.

Affairs in Scotland.

Edward supports Albany. 1482.

England obtains Berwick.

James III. of Scotland was a man much like Edward, a product of the renaissance at that time making its way in England. Addicted to art in all its forms, he had surrounded himself with artists, and ennobled members of the lower orders, and had estranged all the old nobility. At the head of the discontented party was the King’s brother, the Duke of Albany. Although James had already received some of the dowry of the English Princess, in consequence probably of some French intrigues, he seemed inclined to withdraw from the engagement. Therefore, when Albany, a fugitive from Scotland, sought his protection, Edward determined to support him and his party, and, finally, made a treaty with him at Fotheringay, in which he spoke of him as King Alexander. He obtained from him a promise of homage, and of the cession of Berwick and some other districts. Albany also engaged to marry the Princess Cicely, who was to be transferred to him, although previously engaged to the son of the Scotch King. An invasion of Scotland under Richard of Gloucester, and a conspiracy which broke out at the Bridge of Lauder, where James’s favourite, Cochrane, was hanged, seemed for a moment to raise Albany to the summit of his ambition. But the Scotch had no intention of changing the succession to the throne, or suffering their kingdom to be in any way dependent on England. They restored Albany his property, but also returned the dowry of Cicely, and intimated that the match was entirely broken off. The advantage that the English gained from the whole affair was the much disputed town of Berwick.

The arrangements for the marriage between Elizabeth and the Dauphin were equally unsuccessful. Although that Princess had assumed the name of the Dauphiness, Louis was in no hurry to complete the marriage, and had indeed directed his views elsewhere. In 1477, Mary of Burgundy had married Maximilian the Archduke of Austria; and now Edward engaged to join him against France upon condition of receiving from him the same pension as Louis had paid him since Pecquigni. But, as usual, Louis’ diplomacy got the better of Edward’s. Mary of Burgundy died in 1482, and the French King contrived to make a treaty with Maximilian, by which the Dauphin, deserting Elizabeth, engaged himself to Margaret, the heiress of Burgundy. Edward was vowing vengeance at this trick, and speaking of a new invasion of France, when he died on the 9th of April, worn out probably by his self-indulgence.

Edward’s death. His character. 1483.