User:Chantryjean/edwardiv

Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England. The first half of his rule was marred by the violence associated with the Wars of the Roses, but he overcame the Lancastrian challenge to this throne at Tewkesbury in 1471 to reign in peace until his sudden death. Before becoming king he was 4th Duke of York, 7th Earl of March, 5th Earl of Cambridge and 9th Earl of Ulster. He was also the 65th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece.

Accession to the throne
Edward of York was born at Rouen in France, the second child of Richard, 3rd Duke of York (who had a strong genealogical claim to the throne of England ), and Cecily Neville. He was the eldest of the four sons who survived to adulthood. His younger brother Edmund, Earl of Rutland, died along with his father fighting for the Yorkist cause. The Duke of York's assertion of his claim to the crown in 1460 was the key escalation of the conflict known as the Wars of the Roses. When his father was killed at the Battle of Wakefield, Edward inherited his claim.

With the support of his cousin Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick ("The Kingmaker"), Edward defeated the Lancastrians in a succession of battles. And while the Lancastrian Henry VI and Queen Margaret of Anjou were campaigning in the north of England, Warwick gained control of the capital and had Edward declared king in London in 1461. Edward strengthened his claim with a decisive victory at the Battle of Towton in the same year, in the course of which the Lancastrian army was virtually wiped out. Even at the age of nineteen, he had remarkable military acumen and a notable physique, being described as handsome and affable. His height is estimated at 6ft 4in, making him the tallest among all English, Scottish and British monarchs to date.

Overthrow
Warwick, believing that he could continue to rule through Edward, pressed him to enter into a marital alliance with a major European power. Edward then alienated Warwick by secretly marrying Elizabeth Woodville, the widow of a Lancastrian sympathiser, in 1464.

Elizabeth's mother was Jacquetta of Luxembourg, widow of Henry VI's uncle, John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford, but her father, Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers, was a new-minted baron. Elizabeth's marriage to Edward IV made the unmarried among her twelve siblings desirable matrimonial catches.

Although they posed no immediate threat to Warwick's own power, Warwick resented the influence this group had over the King and, with the aid of Edward's disaffected younger brother George, Duke of Clarence, Warwick led an army against Edward.

The main part of the king's army (without Edward) was defeated at the Battle of Edgecote Moor in 1469, and Edward was subsequently captured at Olney. Warwick then attempted to rule in Edward's name, but the nobility, many of whom owed their preferments to the king, were restive, and with the emergence of a counter-rebellion, Warwick was forced to release Edward. At this point Edward did not seek to destroy either Warwick or Clarence but instead sought reconciliation among them.

In 1470 Warwick and Clarence rebelled again. This time they were defeated and forced to flee to France. There, they made an alliance with Margaret of Anjou, and Warwick agreed to restore Henry VI in return for French support in an invasion, which took place in late 1470. This time, Edward was forced to flee when he learned that Warwick's brother, John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu, had also switched to the Lancastrian side, making Edward's military position untenable.

Restoration
Henry VI was briefly restored to the throne in 1470 in an event known as the Readeption of Henry VI, and Edward took refuge in Burgundy, accompanied by his younger brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester. The rulers of Burgundy were his brother-in-law Charles, Duke of Burgundy, and his sister Margaret of York. Despite the fact that Charles was initially unwilling to help Edward, the French declared war on Burgundy. This prompted Charles to give his aid to Edward, and from Burgundy he raised an army to win back his kingdom.

When Edward returned to England with a relatively small force, he avoided capture. The city of York only opened its gates to him after he promised that he had just come to reclaim his dukedom – just as Henry Bolingbroke had done seventy years earlier. As he marched southwards he began to gather support, and Clarence (who had realised that his fortunes would be better off as brother to a king than under Henry VI) reunited with him. Edward entered London unopposed, where he took Henry VI prisoner. Edward and his brothers then defeated Warwick at the Battle of Barnet, and with Warwick dead he eliminated the remaining Lancastrian resistance at the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471. The Lancastrian heir, Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, was killed on the battlefield. A few days later, on the night that Edward re-entered London, Henry VI died. One contemporary chronicle claimed that his death was due to "melancholy," but it is widely suspected that Edward ordered Henry's murder in order to remove the Lancastrian opposition completely.

Edward's two younger brothers, George, Duke of Clarence, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later King Richard III of England), were married to Isabella Neville and Anne Neville. They were both daughters of Warwick by Anne Beauchamp and rival heirs to the considerable inheritance of their still-living mother, leading to a dispute between the brothers. In 1478, Clarence was eventually found guilty of plotting against Edward, imprisoned in the Tower of London and privately executed on 18 February 1478: according to a long standing tradition he was "drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine".

Later reign and death
Edward did not face any further rebellions after his restoration, as the Lancastrian line had virtually been extinguished, and the only rival left was Henry Tudor, who was living in exile.

In 1475, Edward declared war on France and came to terms with the Treaty of Picquigny, which provided him with an immediate payment of 75,000 crowns and a yearly pension of 50,000 crowns. He also backed an attempt by Alexander Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany, brother of King James III of Scotland, to take the Scottish throne in 1482. Gloucester led an invasion of Scotland that resulted in the capture of Edinburgh and the king of Scotland himself, but Albany reneged on his agreement with Edward. Gloucester decided to withdraw from his position of strength in Edinburgh. However, Gloucester did recover Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Edward's health began to fail, and he became subject to an increasing number of ailments. He fell fatally ill at Easter 1483, but lingered on long enough to add some codicils to his will, the most important being his naming of his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, as Protector after his death. He died on 9 April 1483 and is buried in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. He was succeeded by his twelve-year-old son, Edward V of England.

It is not known what actually caused Edward's death. Pneumonia and typhoid have both been conjectured, as well as poison. Some attributed his death to an unhealthy lifestyle, as he had become stout and inactive in the years before his death.

Achievements
An extremely capable and daring military commander, Edward destroyed the House of Lancaster in a series of spectacular military victories; he was never defeated on the field of battle. Despite his occasional (if serious) political setbacks — usually at the hands of his great Machiavellian rival, Louis XI of France — Edward was a popular and very able king. While he lacked foresight and was at times cursed by bad judgement, he possessed an uncanny understanding of his most useful subjects, and the vast majority of those who served him remained unwaveringly loyal until his death.

Domestically, Edward's reign saw the restoration of law and order in England (indeed, his royal motto was modus et ordo, or "method and order"). The latter days of Henry VI's government had been marked by a general breakdown in law and order, as well as a sizeable increase in both piracy and banditry. Interestingly, Edward was also a shrewd and successful businessman and merchant, heavily investing in several corporations within the City of London. He also made the duchy of Lancaster property of the crown, which it still is today. During the reign of Henry there had been corruption in the exchequer. Edward made his household gain more control over finances and even investigated old records to see payments had been made. Documents of the exchequer show him sending letters threatening officials if they did not pay money. His properties earned large amounts of money for the crown.

Collector
The court of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville was described by a visitor from Europe as ‘the most splendid … in all Christendom.’ Edward spent large amounts on expensive status symbols to show off his power and wealth as legitimate monarch of England. His collecting habits show that he was not only a good soldier and administrator, but had an eye for fashionable style and an interest in scholarship, particularly history. In addition to fine clothes, jewels and furnishings, he acquired a collection of beautifully illuminated historical and literary manuscripts, many of which were made specially for him by craftsmen in Bruges  The contents of these works tell us something of his interests: they focus on the lives of great rulers including Julius Caesar,, historical chronicles, , as well as instructional and religious works,. These were books for both entertainment and instruction. It is now known where or how Edward's library was stored, but it is recorded that he transferred volumes from the Great Wardrobe to Eltham Palace and that he had a yeoman 'to kepe the king's bookes'. The fact that more than forty of his books survive intact from the 15th century, suggests that they were carefully stored together. Today they form the foundation of the Royal Collection of manuscripts at the British Library.

Dynasty
Ultimately, despite his military and administrative genius, Edward's dynasty survived him by little more than two years, but Edward was one of the few male members of his dynasty to die of natural causes. Both Edward's father and brother were killed at the Battle of Wakefield, while his grandfather and another brother were executed for treason. Edward's two sons were imprisoned and disappeared (presumed killed) within a year of Edward's death. The king's youngest brother, Richard, (later Richard III) was famously killed in battle against Henry Tudor at Bosworth Field.

Issue
Edward IV had ten legitimate children by Elizabeth Woodville, seven of whom survived him. They were declared illegitimate by Parliament in 1483, clearing the way for Richard III to become King.


 * Elizabeth of York, queen consort to Henry VII of England (11 February 1466 – 11 February 1503).
 * Mary of York (11 August 1467 – 23 May 1482).
 * Cecily of York (20 March 1469 – 24 August 1507); married first John Welles, 1st Viscount Welles and second Thomas Kyme or Keme.
 * Edward (4 November 1470 – 1483?); briefly succeeded his father, as King Edward V of England. Was the elder of the Princes in the Tower.
 * Margaret of York (10 April 1472 – 11 December 1472).
 * Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York (17 August 1473 – 1483?). Was the younger of the Princes in the Tower.
 * Anne of York, Countess of Surrey (2 November 1475 – 23 November 1511); married Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk.
 * George Plantagenet, Duke of Bedford (March 1477 – March 1479).
 * Catherine of York (14 August 1479 – 15 November 1527); married William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon.
 * Bridget of York (10 November 1480 – 1517); became a nun.

Edward had numerous mistresses. The best known was Elizabeth Shore, called Jane Shore.

He reportedly had several illegitimate children:


 * By Elizabeth Lucy or Elizabeth Waite.
 * Elizabeth Plantagenet (born circa 1464), married Sir Thomas Lumley in 1477.
 * Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle (1460s/1470s – 3 March 1542).
 * By unknown mothers. Recent speculations suggests them as children by Lucy or Waite.
 * Grace Plantagenet. She is known to have been present at the funeral of her stepmother Elizabeth Woodville in 1492.
 * Mary Plantagenet, married Henry Harman of Ellam, son of Thomas and Elizabeth Harman and widower of certain Agnes.
 * A daughter said to have been the first wife of John Tuchet, 6th Baron Audley.

Perkin Warbeck, an impostor claimant to the English throne, who claimed to be Edward's son Richard of Shrewsbury, reportedly resembled Edward. There is unconfirmed speculation that Warbeck could have been another of Edward's illegitimate sons.

Successors
Edward IV's eldest son was invested with the title of Prince of Wales at the age of seven months. At the age of three, he was sent by his father to Ludlow Castle as nominal head of the Council of Wales and the Marches, a body that had originally been set up to help the future Edward V of England in his duties as Prince of Wales. The prince was accompanied to Ludlow by his mother and by his uncle, Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, who carried out many of the administrative duties associated with the presidency of the Council. The king visited his son occasionally at Ludlow, though, as far as is known, he never ventured into Wales itself. It is clear that he intended this experience of government to prepare his son for the throne.

Although his son was quickly barred from the throne and replaced by Richard of Gloucester, Edward IV's daughter Elizabeth of York later became the Queen consort of Henry VII of England. The grounds for Titulus Regius, passed to justify the accession of Richard of Gloucester, were that Edward had been contracted to marry another woman prior to his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville. Lady Eleanor Butler (a young widow, daughter of John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury) and Edward were alleged to have been precontracted; both parties were dead by this time, but a clergyman (named only by Philippe de Commines as Robert Stillington, Bishop of Bath and Wells), claimed to have carried out the ceremony. The declaration was repealed shortly after Henry VII assumed the throne, because it illegimitised Elizabeth of York, who was to be his queen.

The final fate of Edward IV's legitimate sons, Edward V and Richard, Duke of York, is unknown. Speculation on the subject has given rise to the "Princes in the Tower" mystery.

Was Edward illegitimate?
Evidence that Richard of York was not the biological father of Edward IV remains subjective and disputed among modern historians. For centuries it was generally accepted that the issue began as a propaganda exercise by his younger opponents, who exploited it in order to discredit Edward and his heirs for their own benefit. The claims were based around Edward's appearance and the circumstances surrounding his overseas birth.

During his own lifetime, it was noted that Edward showed little resemblance to his father. Subsequent portraits depict Edward with a large rounded face and lantern-jaw whereas Richard of York is shown as having had thinner and more pointed facial features. Also, Edward's then-exceptional height of over 6 feet contrasted notably with other members of the House of York, who were not well known for their height (though Edward's younger brother George was also tall and fair, and said to bear a marked resemblance to him). Questions about his paternity were raised during Edward's own reign, for example by Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, in 1469, and repeated by George shortly before his execution in 1478, but with no evidence; in propaganda wars, such as these, many statements were used that perhaps had no basis in truth.

Dominic Mancini claimed that Cecily Neville, mother of both Edward IV and Richard III, was herself the basis for the story: when she found out about Edward's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville in 1464, Cecily flew into a rage. Mancini reported that the Duchess, in her anger, offered to declare him a bastard. However, this is not supported in contemporary sources, but is probably reflective of contemporary opinion.

Prior to his succession, on 22 June 1483, Richard III declared that Edward V was illegitimate, and three days later the matter was addressed by parliament. In Titulus Regius (the text of which is believed to come word-for-word from the petition presented by Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, to the assembly which met on 25 June 1483, to decide on the future of the monarchy), Richard III is described as "the undoubted son and heir" of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and "born in this land" — an oblique reference to his brother's birth at Rouen and baptism in circumstances which could have been considered questionable. There is no confirmation for the view – as fictionalised in William Shakespeare's Richard III (Act 3, Scene 5) – that Richard made any claims about his brother's legitimacy, as his claim was based on the supposed illegitimacy of Edward IV's children. According to Polydore Vergil, Duchess Cecily, "being falsely accused of adultery, complained afterwards in sundry places to right many noble men, whereof some yet live, of that great injury which her son Richard had done her." If she had indeed complained – as would befit a high-ranking lady of renowned piety, as she had been regarded – these petitions may have had some effect: the allegations were dropped and never again pursued.

However, in a 2004 television documentary, records were found in the Rouen Cathedral archives which revealed that, from 14 July to 21 August 1441, the crucial five-week period in which Edward must have been conceived, Edward's supposed father was away on campaign at Pontoise, several days' march from Rouen (where Cecily of York was based), and that prayers were being offered for his safety. This was taken to suggest that the Duke of York could not have been available to father Edward, who was born on 28 April 1442 indicating a conception date close to 22 July 1441. It is unlikely that Edward was born premature, as there is no written evidence from the time to suggest that he was (sickly or premature babies with a claim to the throne were a risk and therefore almost certainly would have had their births recorded). Furthermore, the christening celebration of Edmund, Earl of Rutland, the second son of Richard and Cecily, was a lavish and expensive affair at the cathedral, while the christening of the couple's firstborn son Edward was a low key and private affair in a side chapel. This could be interpreted as indicating that the couple had more to celebrate together at the birth of Edmund. For more details about this theory, see the TV programme Britain's Real Monarch.

Counter-arguments to this theory are that the Duke of York could have returned to Rouen from Pontoise, as there was a road in English hands, or that Edward could have been born premature despite the lack of evidence. Baptisms were often performed quickly then for fear of the child dying, and Cecily had already had children who died young. It has also been pointed out that Edward IV could claim the crown from Henry VI by right of conquest, whether he was a legitimate child or not, and that he was the eldest male heir in the senior line, since Richard, Duke of York, never contested his paternity. Under English common law a child born to a married woman is presumed to be her husband's, although the husband may contest the presumption. Also, even if he were illegitimate, Edward still had a direct (albeit legally barred) blood-claim to the throne through his mother Cecily, who was a great-granddaughter of Edward III through John of Gaunt and his illegitimate daughter (Cecily's mother) Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland. Although this claim was through an illegitimate line, it was no weaker than that of Henry Tudor, who dislodged the House of York from the throne in 1485.

In fiction
See Cultural depictions of Edward IV of England

Achievements
An extremely capable and daring military commander, Edward destroyed the House of Lancaster in a series of spectacular military victories; he was never defeated on the field of battle. Despite his occasional (if serious) political setbacks — usually at the hands of his great Machiavellian rival, Louis XI of France — Edward was a popular and very able king. While he lacked foresight and was at times cursed by bad judgement, he possessed an uncanny understanding of his most useful subjects, and the vast majority of those who served him remained unwaveringly loyal until his death.

Domestically, Edward's reign saw the restoration of law and order in England (indeed, his royal motto was modus et ordo, or "method and order"). The latter days of Henry VI's government had been marked by a general breakdown in law and order, as well as a sizeable increase in both piracy and banditry. Interestingly, Edward was also a shrewd and successful businessman and merchant, heavily investing in several corporations within the City of London. He also made the duchy of Lancaster property of the crown, which it still is today. During the reign of Henry there had been corruption in the exchequer. Edward made his household gain more control over finances and even investigated old records to see payments had been made. Documents of the exchequer show him sending letters threatening officials if they did not pay money. His properties earned large amounts of money for the crown.

Court
The court of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville was described by one visitor from Europe as ‘the most splendid … in all Christendom.’ Edward spent large amounts on expensive status symbols to bolster his image as the legitimate monarch of England. Time spent at the court of his brother-in-law, the Duke of Burgundy had given him an appreciation of fashionable Burgundian style. In addition to clothes, furnishings and art, he acquired a collection of beautifully illuminated historical and literary manuscripts, many of which were made specially for him by craftsmen in Bruges. The contents of these works tell us something of his interests: they focus on the lives of great rulers including Julius Caesar, (Royal MS 17 F ii), historical chronicles (e.g. Royal MS 15 E iv), as well as instructional and religious works (e.g.,Royal MS 15 D i) These were books for both entertainment and instruction. It is now known where or how Edward's library was stored, but there is a record of him transferring volumes from the Great Wardrobe to Eltham Palace. More than forty of his books survive intact from the 15th century and form the foundation of the Royal Collection of manuscripts at the British Library, see Royal manuscripts, British Library.

Dynasty
Ultimately, despite his military and administrative genius, Edward's dynasty survived him by little more than two years, but Edward was one of the few male members of his dynasty to die of natural causes. Both Edward's father and brother were killed at the Battle of Wakefield, while his grandfather and another brother were executed for treason. Edward's two sons were imprisoned and disappeared (presumed killed) within a year of Edward's death. The king's youngest brother, Richard, (later Richard III) was famously killed in battle against Henry Tudor at Bosworth Field.