CH. V. - How the Earl of Warwick, by the Assistance of Louis, King of France, drove King Edward IV. out of England, to the great Displeasure of the Duke of Burgundy, who received him into his Countries.- 1479,

THE Earl of Warwick, who followed Wenlock's counsel, landed in Normandy*, and was kindly received by the King of France, who furnished him with great sums of money to pay his troops. The Duke of Burgundy had at this time a great fleet abroad, infesting the king's subjects both by land and sea; and this fleet was so powerful, that none durst oppose it. The king ordered the Bastard of Bourbont, Admiral of France, with a strong squadron ‡, to assist the English against any attempt that should be made upon them by the Duke of Burgundy's fleet. All this happened the season before the surrender of St. Quentin and Amiens, which was in the year 1470. The Duke of Burgundy was stronger at sea than the Earl of Warwick and the king together; for at Sluys he had seized upon several great ships belonging to Spain and Portugal, and two Genoese vessels, besides many hulks from Germany.

King Edward was not a man of any great management or foresight, but he was of an invincible courage, and the handsomest prince my eyes ever beheld. The Earl of Warwick's landing in Normandy did not so much affect him as it did the Duke of Burgundy, who presently perceiving there were great transactions in England in favour of the Earl of Warwick, gave frequent information of it to that king, but he never heeded it; which in my opinion was great weakness, considering the mighty preparations the King of France had made against him, for he fitted out all the ships he could get, and well manned and victualled them, and ordered the English fugitives to be equipped. By his management also a marriage

* Between Honfleur and Harfleur, in May, 1470.

+ Louis, Bastard of Bourbon, a natural son of Charles I., Duke of Bourbon, by Jeanne de Bournan, was legitimated in September, 1463; he married Jeanne, a natural daughter of Louis XI., and died on the 19th of January, 1486.

According to Chastellain, it consisted of "sixty fine and powerful

ships."

was concluded between the Earl of Warwick's second daughter and the Prince of Wales*, which prince was the only son to King Henry VI. (who was at that time alive, and prisoner in the tower.) An unaccountable match! to dethrone and imprison the father, and marry his only son to the daughter of him that did it. It was no less surprising that he should delude the Duke of Clarence, brother to the king whom he opposed, who ought in reason to have been afraid of the restoration of the house of Lancaster; but affairs of so nice a nature are not to be managed without great cunning and artifice.

During the whole time of this preparation, I stayed at Calais to keep Lord Wenlock firm to his allegiance; but I could discover nothing of his juggling, though he had been at it for three months. My business with him then was, to desire that he would order twenty or thirty of the Earl of Warwick's servants who were there, to depart the town; for I was assured the king's fleet, in conjunction with the earl's, was ready to set sail from Normandy, and if they should land suddenly in England, it might happen that those servants of the Earl of Warwick's might raise some tumult or other in the town of Calais, that he might not be able to appease, for which reason I was very earnest for their being turned out. Before, he had always promised me he would, but then he took me aside, and told me that he would keep the town well enough, but he had something else to impart to me, and that was, that I would acquaint the Duke of Burgundy, that if he desired to show himself a friend to England, he would advise him to employ his good offices rather in mediating peace, than endeavouring to promote war; and this he said in respect of the preparations which the Duke of Burgundy had made against the Earl of Warwick. He told me farther, that it would be no hard matter to compass an accommodation, for that very day there was a lady passed by Calais into France, with letters to the Duchess of Clarence, and in them overtures of peace from King Edward; and he said truly;

* Edward, son of Henry VI. and Margaret of Anjou. He married Anne, youngest daughter of the Earl of Warwick, and was killed in the battle of Tewkesbury, on the 4th of May, 1471. His widow after wards married the Duke of Gloucester, who subsequently ascended th throne as Richard III.

but as he had done with others, so the lady dissembled with him; for her business was of another kind of importance, which she accomplished at last, to the prejudice of the Earl of Warwick and all his party.

You cannot be better informed by any other person of the secret contrivances and subtle collusions which happened on our side of the water, than by me, especially as to the transactions of these last twenty years.

The secret affair to be managed by this lady, was to solicit the Duke of Clarence not to contribute to the subversion of his own family, by endeavouring to restore the house of Lancaster; that he would remember their old insolences, and the hereditary hatred that was between them, and not be so infatuated as to imagine that the Earl of Warwick, who had married his daughter to the Prince of Wales, and sworn allegiance to him already, would not endeavour to place him upon the throne. This lady managed the affair that was committed to her charge, with so much cunning and dexterity, that she prevailed with the Duke of Clarence to promise to come over to the king's party as soon as he was in England. This lady was no fool, nor loquacious; and being allowed the liberty of visiting her mistress the Duchess of Clarence, she for that reason was employed in this secret, rather than a man. Wenlock was a cunning man, and shrewd enough; yet this lady was too hard for him, wheedled him, and carried on her intrigues till she had effected the ruin of the Earl of Warwick and all his faction; for which reason it is no shame for persons in his condition to be suspicious, and keep a watchful eye over all comers and goers; but it is a great disgrace to be outwitted, and to lose anything through one's own negligence; however, our suspicions ought to be grounded on some foundation, for to be over-suspicious is as bad the other way.

You have already been informed that the Earl of Warwick's fleet, with the squadron the King of France had sent to convoy him, was ready to sail, and that the Duke of Burgundy's navy lay ready at Havre to engage them; but it pleased God to order it so, that a great storm arising that night, the Duke of Burgundy's navy was driven by stress of weather, some into Scotland, some into Holland, and all of them dispersed after which, in a short time, the weather

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[1470. coming about fair for the Earl of Warwick, he took his opportunity, and sailed safely to England. The Duke of Burgundy had sent King Edward word of the port where the earl designed to land, and had persons constantly about him, to put him in mind of taking care of himself, and putting his kingdom in a posture of defence. But he never was concerned at anything, but still followed his hunting, and nobody was so trusted by him as the Archbishop of York and the Marquis of Montaguet, both the Earl of Warwick's brothers, who had sworn to be true to him against their brother, and all opposers whatsoever; and the king put an entire confidence in them.

*

Upon the Earl of Warwick's landing‡, great numbers came in to him; and King Edward when he heard it, was much alarmed; and (when very late) he began to look about him, and sent to the Duke of Burgundy to desire that his fleet might be ready at sea to intercept the Earl of Warwick on his return to France, for on land he knew how to deal with him. The Duke of Burgundy was not well pleased with these words, for he looked upon it as a greater piece of policy to have hindered the earl from landing, than to be forced to run the hazard of a battle, to drive him out again. The Earl of Warwick had not been landed above five or six days before the whole country came in to him, and he encamped within three leagues of the king, whose army was superior to the earl's (had they been all true to his interest), and waited on purpose to give him battle: the king was possessed of a fortified village or house§, to which (as he told me himself) there was no access but by one bridge, which proved of

* George Neville, Chancellor of the University of Oxford, was created Bishop of Exeter on the 25th of November, 1455, before he had attained his twentieth year. He became Lord Chancellor of England in 1460, and Archbishop of York in 1465; and he died on the 8th of June, 1476.

† John Neville, Marquis of Montague, married Isabella, daughter of Sir Edmond Ingoldsthrop of Borough Green, and was killed in the battle of Barnet on the 30th of April, 1471.

About four months after their departure from England, in August, the Earl of Warwick, the Duke of Clarence and their retainers landed, some at Plymouth, others at Dartmouth and Exmouth, and thence marched towards London.

§ Rapin states that Edward was at Lynn at this time.

great service to him; the rest of his forces were quartered in the neighbouring villages. As he sate at dinner, news was suddenly brought him that the Marquis of Montague, the Earl of Warwick's brother, and several other persons of quality, were mounted on horseback, and had caused their soldiers to cry, "God bless King Henry." At first King Edward would give no credit to it, but despatched other messengers to inquire, and in the meantime armed himself, and posted guards to defend the bridge in case of any assault. There was with him at that time a very prudent gentleman called the Lord Hastings, High Chamberlain of England, in great authority with the king; and he deserved it, for though his wife was the Earl of Warwick's sister, he continued loyal to his king, and was then in his service (as he told me afterwards) with a body of 3000 horse. There was likewise with him the Lord Scales † (brother to King Edward's queen) besides several good knights and gentlemen who began to think that all was not well, for the messengers confirmed what had been told the king before, and that the enemy was marching boldly on, with a design to surprise him in his quarters.

It happened by God's grace that King Edward's quarters were no great distance from the sea, and some ships that followed with provisions for his army, lay at anchor with two Dutch merchant vessels hard by. King Edward had but just time to get aboard one of them; his chamberlain stayed a little behind, and advised his lieutenant and the rest of the officers to go in with their men to the Earl of Warwick, but conjured them to retain their old affection and allegiance to the king and himself; and then he also went aboard the ship with the others, which were just ready to set sail. It is the custom in England, when a battle is won, to give quarter, and no man is killed, especially of the common soldiers (for they know everybody will join the strongest side), and it is

* William, Lord Hastings, son of Richard Hastings, and Alice, daughter of Lord Camoys. He married Catherine, daughter of Richard Neville, last Earl of Salisbury; and was beheaded by order of Richard III. on the 13th of June, 1483.

† Anthony Woodville, Lord Scales and Earl Rivers, was the son of Richard Woodville and Jacquetta of Luxembourg. He married 1. Elizabeth, daughter of Lord Scales, and 2. Mary, daughter of Henry Fitz Lewes. He was beheaded in 1483.