planning rebellion.
The last real fighting of the Wars of the Roses had taken place at
Blackheath and the siege of Exeter, but Clarence had been a true male heir
of the House of Plantagenet and all the time he lived he was a threat to
the House of Tudor. His death truly marked the end of the Wars of the
Roses, and thereafter Henry VII’s reign was peaceful apart from a few minor
and futile plots by the exiled Edmund, Earl of Suffolk, younger brother of
John, Earl of Lincoln, and the last possible Yorkist claimant to the throne
of England.
Appendix 1 Armies
In 1341 Edward III had revolutionized the structure of European armies
by instituting in England a system of written indentured contracts between
the Crown and prominent military leaders. Under this system the military
leaders, or 'captains' and 'lieutenants', contracted with the king to
provide an agreed number of men for military service, promising to bring
them to a place of assembly by a certain date. The indenture set out
precisely how long the men would have to serve, their rate of pay,
obligations and privileges. The captains were responsible for paying these
men, the king giving securities to repay the money at a later date.
These captains raised their companies by making a series of similar
contracts with knights and man-at-arms, again stipulating the terms of
service and the types of soldiers they would be expected to contribute. The
captains usually sought these 'sub-contractors' amongst their friends,
kinsmen, tenants and neighbors.
These companies, composed entirely of volunteers, created in effect a
royal standing army; for the men were professional soldiers who, although
raised, led and paid by their captains, regarded themselves firstly as
English soldiers, owing allegiance to their king and fighting only his
enemies.
Inevitably, many of the most powerful captains were of the nobility, for
they had the position at court, the wealth, and the connections to raise
large contingents. In order to be able to satisfy at once any request by
the king for a company, such lords frequently maintained a permanent force,
contracting their sub-contractors for life with annuities. These men often
held offices (such as chamberlain or steward) in the magnate's household or
on his estates, and probably provided in their turn the key contingents in
his company.
This system was introduced to deal with the demand for expeditionary
forces to invade France during the Hundred Years' War, and the need to
maintain permanent royal garrisons in the castles and towns across the
channel. But it had the effect of creating large forces commanded by the
great barons, and during the course of the Hundred Years' War these
magnates became virtually petty kings within their own domains: the great
northern families of Percy and Neville, for example, fought each other in
the Wars of the Roses as much for supremacy in the North as for who should
control the government of all England.
The three greatest landowners of the second half of Henry VI's reign
were the Earl of Warwick and the Dukes of Buckingham and York. Humphrey
Stafford (died 1460), 1st Duke of Buckingham, had a personal retinue often
knights and 27 esquires, many of whom were drawn from the Staffordshire
gentry. These men were paid annuities to retain their loyalty (hence
'retainers'), the best-paid in Buckingham's retinue being Sir Edward Grey
(died 1457) who was retained for life in 1440 at Ј40 per annum. Two knights
(Sir Richard Vernon and Sir John Constable) received annuities of Ј20 p.e.,
but Ј10 was the customary annuity for a knight, with esquires paid from Ј10
to Ј40 marks per annum.
These knights and esquires were the subcontractors, and each would have
provided a contingent of archers and men-at-arms. When their contingents
were amalgamated, considerable armies could be gathered. For example, in
January 1454, 2,000 badges of the Stafford knot were produced for
distribution to Buckingham's men; in 1469 the Duke of Norfolk fielded 3,000
men and some cannon; while a great soldier and statesman of the ability and
ambition of Warwick would have been able to count on thousands of men
scattered over no fewer than 20 shires.
Note the predominance of archers. The contemporary Paston letters give a
good idea of the value of the longbowman during the Wars of the Roses. When
Sir John Paston was about to depart for Calais, he asked his brother to try
to recruit four archers for him: 'Likely men and fair conditioned and good
archers and they shall have 4 marks by year and my livery', (i.e. they were
to be permanent retainers, on annuities).
These were ordinary archers, as opposed to an elite or 'de maison'
archer who would serve permanently in the household troop of a great lord.
Warwick considered such men to be worth two ordinary soldiers – even
English ones! In 1467 Sir John Howard hired such an archer, offering him
Ј10 a year – the annuity paid to knights – plus two gowns and a house for
his wife. As an extra inducement he gave the man 2s. 8d., two doublets
worth 10s. and a new gown (a term often applied to the livery coat). When
Sir John bought himself a new bow, for which he paid 2s., he bought for
this elite archer four bows costing 5s. 11.5d. each, a new case, a shooting
glove, bowstrings, and a sheaf of arrows which cost 5s.: at that price they
were probably the best target arrows available.
Edward IV's leading captains for his 1475 expedition to France had the
following retinues:
|Duke of Clarence |10 knights 1,000 archers |
|Duke of Gloucester |10 knights 1,000 archers |
|Duke of Norfolk |2 knights 300 archers |
|Duke of Suffolk |2 knights 300 archers |
|Duke of Buckingham |4 knights 400 archers |
This contract system still existed in the mid-15th century, and the end
of the Hundred Years' War in 1453 flooded England with large numbers of men
who had no trade other than that of soldier. Returning to England, these
men now assumed the aspect of mercenaries, unemployed and troublesome.
Bored and hungry, they eagerly sought employment with the great barons.
Such large private armies were extremely dangerous to the king. Lacking a
standing army of his own, he could now only control unruly or even disloyal
barons by using the private armies of those barons who remained loyal. Of
course, loyal barons were rewarded with valuable offices and vast estates –
which enabled them to hire even larger armies until, as with Warwick, they
became powerful enough to attempt the overthrow of their benefactor.
This weakness in the royal authority led to corruption in high offices,
and especially in the judiciary system. Whenever the interests of a
landowner were involved in a legal case, rival bodies of armed men, wearing
the liveries and badges of the lords who maintained them, would ride into
the county town and bribe or intimidate judge and jury.
During the regency of Henry VI's reign the legal system finally
collapsed, and the barons began to resolve their quarrels over land and
inheritances by making war against each other: might was right, and it
became commonplace for heiresses to be abducted, minor lords to be
imprisoned or even murdered, and for 'evidence' to be procured by bribery
or threat.
Since justice was no longer obtainable by fair means, many of the yeoman
farmers and smaller landowners of the lesser gentry now turned to the
barons for their personal protection and for the protection of their lands
and rights. This led to the polarization, which is such a feature of the
Wars of the Roses.
The yeomen and lesser gentry entered into another form of contract,
known as 'livery and maintenance', whereby they undertook to wear the
baron's livery – i.e. a tunic in his colors and bearing his household badge
– and to fight for him in times of need. In return they received his
protection whenever they needed it.
From the above can be seen that an 'army' of the Wars of the Roses might
consist of a magnate's personal or household troops (or bodyguard – usually
of knights, sergeants and archers), plus his tenants, together with paid
mercenaries or contract troops – both English and foreign specialists such
as gunners and hand gunners – and 'livery and maintenance' men who were
unpaid but who had a personal stake in the fighting.
The only forces under the king's personal command were his bodyguard of
knights and sergeants and the large, professional body of men who formed
the royal garrison at Calais. Edward IV also had a permanent bodyguard of
archers, and one of Henry VII's first actions on seizing the throne was to
found the Yeomen of the Guard, a body of some 2,000 archers under a
captain. These first saw active service in 1486, when they were used in the
suppression of northern rebels.
Finally, in times of great need, the king might also use Commissions of
Array to call out the local militia. In theory the king's officials chose
the best-armed men from each village and town to serve the king for up to
40 days, the men's provisions being provided by their community. In
practice, the king's authority was frequently misused, and great landowners
often sent letters to the lesser landowners and councils of towns where
they had influence, reminding those in authority of past favors and hinting
at benefits yet to come.
An example is given in the contemporary Stonor letters and papers for
the Oxfordshire half-hundred of Ewelme, which provided from its 17 villages
a total of 85 soldiers, 17 of whom were archers. Eweime itself produced six
men: 'Richard Slythurst, a harness [i.e. armored] and able to do the king
service with his bow. Thomas Staunton [the constable], John Hoime, whole
harness and both able to do the king service with a bill. John Tanner, a
harness and able to do the king service with a bill. John Pallying, a
harness and not able to wear it [presumably it did not fit him]. Roger
Smith, no harness, an able man and a good archer'. Other men without
harness are described as 'able with a staff.
Muster rolls are another source of such information. The muster on 4
September 1457 before the king's officials at Bridport, Dorset, shows that
the standard equipment expected was a sallet, jack, sword, buckler and
dagger. In addition, about two-thirds of the men had bows and a sheaf or
half a sheaf of arrows. There was a sprinkling of other weapons – poleaxes,
glaives, bills, spears, axes and staves; and some odd pieces of armour –
hauberks, gauntlets, and leg harness. Two men also had pavises, and the
officials recommended more pavises be made available.
In May 1455 the mayor of Coventry was ordered by royal signet letter to
supply a retinue for the king. The town council decided to supply a hundred
men with bows, jacks and sallets, and a captain was elected to lead them.
The retinues supplied for Edward IV's expedition to France are divided
into 'lances' in the Continental manner, but it is most unlikely that the
forces engaged in the Wars of the Roses were ever formally divided in this
manner. Rather they were grouped by weapon and armour, by companies and
under the banners of their captains, and grouped into 'vaward', 'main' and
'rearward battles' under the standard of a major figure. The army as a
whole would often be commanded by the leading political figure, assisted by
military advisers. In the case of the king's armies the commander-in-chief
would be the lieutenant or captain of the region: officers such as the
Warden of the Marches, Lieutenant of Ireland, or Lieutenant of the North,
the latter post being granted to Fauconberg in 1461 and to Warwick in 1462.
Many of the commanders, particularly at company level, were not knights
but experienced soldiers, though many of them were subsequently knighted on
the field of battle. Lovelace was only an esquire, but rose to be Captain
of Kent through his military skills. Trollope was another soldier who rose
to high command, and was rewarded for his services by a knighthood at
Second St. Albans. Men such as Trollope were frequently the military brains
or 'staff officers' behind the magnates who led the 'battles'. On the other
hand, constables of towns played a key role in recruiting contingents, and
they may often have commanded companies, as may sheriffs. Such men may not
have had any military skill.
Although the wars started with small armies of experienced soldiers, as
time went on the proportion of veterans diminished and, generally speaking,
the armies had insufficient cohesion for elaborate tactics: most battles
began with an archery duel, which tended to cancel out the value of the
longbow, followed by a vast and contused melee on foot. The commander of an
army could do little once the melee commenced, though he might hold back a
small mounted reserve under his personal command, or detach a formation
prior to the battle to use in an outflanking maneuver.
Large numbers of the troops were mounted – not just the knights and
esquires, but many of the men-at-arms. Some of these 'mounted infantry'
were used as mounted scouts, flank guards and the like, but apart from an
occasional mounted reserve of only 100 men or so, the armies dismounted to
do battle, all horses being sent to the rear with the baggage. Primarily
this was because of the weapons used and the facts that few mounted men
were sufficiently experienced to fight effectively on horseback. However,
the fact that many men of all arms were mounted did tend to lead to the
formation of special vanguards of all-mounted troops, who were used to
spearhead movement prior to a battle.
Because of the fear of treachery, it was essential that the major
commanders fight on foot to indicate their willingness to stand and die
with their men. It was for this reason that so many of the nobles were so
easily killed or captured once their army was defeated. The mounted
reserves therefore tended to be composed of lesser knights or bodyguards,
and were led by minor commanders, such as Sir John Grey of Codnor, an
experienced soldier but a knight of low rank and position, who led the
Lancastrian cavalry reserve at Second St. Albans.
Appendix 2 Characters.
|Henry V (1387 - 1422) - King of England |
| |
| |
|Years lived: 1387 - 1422 |
| |
|Years ruled: 1413 - 1422 |
| |
|Son of: Henry IV and Mary de Bohun |
| |
|Married to: Catherine de Valois |
| |
|Children: Henry VI |
| |
|Henry V, a member of the House of Lancaster, was crowned king in 1413 at the |
|age of 26. Henry spent most of his reign campaigning in France in order to |
|regain territories claimed by his ancestors. The highlight of his three |
|invasions of France (1415, 1417-1421, and 1422) was the Battle of Agincourt |
|fought on October 25, 1415 during the Hundred Year's War. In a span of a few |
|short hours, Henry crushed a much larger French army leaving him in control of |
|Northern France. Henry died at the age of 35 of an unknown illness, leaving the|
|crown to his infant son, Henry VI. |
| |
|Richard III, King of England 1483 - 1485 |
| |
|Years lived: 1452 - 1485 |
| |
|Years ruled: 1483 - 1485 |
| |
|Son of: Richard, Duke of York, and Cecily Neville |
| |
|Married to: Anne Beauchamp Neville (1472) |
| |
|Children: Edward, Prince of Wales |
| | |
| | |
|Richard III, the younger brother of Edward IV, was made duke of Gloucester at |
|age nine. He fough for Edward at the battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury in 1471.|
|When Edward died in 1483 he took control of Edwards heirs, Edward V and his |
|brother Richard. The young brothers were held in the Tower of London and |
|murdered in June 1483. Richard III was crowned king that year. He was killed |
|by Henry VII at the battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. |
Appendix 3 Genealogies
House of Lancaster
The Lancastarian claim to the throne was via Edward III's third son John
of Gaunt. In October 1460, an Act of Accord designated that the royal
succession would move to the house of York after Henry VI's death. The
houses of Lancaster and York were united when Henry VII married the
Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV.
Sons of Edward III (1312-1377)
