The Historical Reputation of Edward IV 1461-1725 Andrew Robert Whittle King Edward IV by Unknown English artist; oil on panel, circa 1540. NPG 3542 PhD University of East Anglia, School of History June, 2017 This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with the author and that use of any information derived there-from must be in accordance with current UK Copyright Law. In addition, any quotation or extract must include full attribution. i ii ABSTRACT This thesis comprises a chronological study of different historical accounts of Edward IV’s life and reign from his life until the early eighteenth century. It focusses primarily on the way that historical portrayals of the king changed and developed alongside political, cultural and technological factors, something which has never been done before in any great detail. It begins begin with an examination of the primary sources from Edward’s reign, including the propagandist accounts The Historie of the Arrivall of Edward IV and The Chronicle of the Rebellion in Lincolnshire , the Crowland Chronicle Continuations , Warkworth’s Chronicle , and the vernacular urban chronicles of London and Bristol. It will contextualise these by briefly examining the English chronicle tradition up to the fifteenth century, as well as the historical treatment of other late medieval kings, especially Henry V and Henry VI The core of the thesis concerns itself with historical accounts over the period from 1485 to the early seventeenth century, during which Edward IV’s historical reputation underwent its greatest period of development. One chapter concerns itself with humanist authors, particularly Polydore Vergil and Thomas More, and the contribution of the French memoirist Philippe de Commynes. The next examines the impact of commercial printing during the mid- Tudor period, focussing upon the work of Richard Grafton, John Stow and Raphael Holinshed. Tudor and early Stuart Ballads, poems and plays featuring Edward are studied in order to give some indication of the perception of Edward IV in popular culture, with particular attention played to Heywood’s First and Second Parts of King Edward IV and Shakespeare’s Henry VI Part 3 and Richard III . Finally, later Stuart and early eighteenth century histories showing the final consolidation of Edward IV’s historical reputation are studied, with particular reference to William Habington’s History of Edward IV and Rapin de Thoyras’s History of England . iii Contents Abstract......................................................................................................................iii Contents.....................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgements....................................................................................................vi Abbreviations.............................................................................................................vii Introduction................................................................................................................1 Edward IV: a neglected monarch...................................................................4 Edward IV in the Twentieth Century.............................................................12 Edward IV in Life............................................................................................15 Sources and Methodology.............................................................................27 Chapter One: The Earliest Chronicles, 1455-1487......................................................37 Henry V’s Vitae as Historical Models.............................................................39 Edward IV in Contemporary Accounts...........................................................42 The Chronicle of the Rebellion in Lincolnshire..............................................44 Clemency and ruthlessness...........................................................................47 The Historie of the Arrivall of Edward IV.......................................................51 The Chronicle of John of Warkworth.............................................................61 The Crowland Chronicle Continuations.........................................................65 Urban Chronicles and the Influence of London.............................................70 Chapter Two: Thomas More, Polydore Vergil and Humanism: Edward IV in the Early Tudor period....................................................................................................................84 Polydore Vergil’s Anglica historia in context.................................................90 Thomas More, Richard III and Edward IV......................................................107 Chapter Three: The Later Tudors and the past..........................................................118 Fabyan and Hall: Evolving Interpretations....................................................126 Edward Hall’s Political History.......................................................................130 Fabyan’s and Hall’s Imitators and Successors...............................................153 Holinshed’s Chronicle....................................................................................166 iv Chapter Four: Shakespeare and Heywood, Drama and Dramatists...........................182 Setting the Scene: Drama before Shakespeare.............................................184 Ballads and political poems...........................................................................188 Tudor Gossip: Edward IV and Jane Shore......................................................196 Thomas Heywood and The First and Second Parts of Edward IV..................203 Heywood and Edward IV...............................................................................207 The Opening Act............................................................................................212 Edward IV and the Tanner.............................................................................225 Heywood’s Edward and the question of money...........................................231 Edward in France...........................................................................................237 Heywood in Summary...................................................................................242 Edward IV and Shakespeare..........................................................................245 Chapter Five: The Stuarts and the Civil War...............................................................257 The early seventeenth century: from Crowe to Daniel.................................260 John Trussel...................................................................................................271 William Habington.........................................................................................277 Giovanni Francesco Biondi............................................................................289 Into the Eighteenth Century..........................................................................296 Conclusion..................................................................................................................308 Bibliography...............................................................................................................314 Manuscript sources....................................................................................................307 Primary Printed Sources.............................................................................................307 Secondary Printed Sources.........................................................................................328 Unpublished Material.................................................................................................348 Electronic Resources...................................................................................................348 v Acknowledgements This work was completed with funding from the University of East Anglia and with support from the Disabled Students Allowance. I am very grateful for the financial support and for having been given the opportunity to write this thesis. This thesis could not have been completed without the constant help and support of my supervisor, Carole Rawcliffe. I will forever appreciate her invaluable guidance at every stage of the process, from application to final completion, as well as for her moral and emotional support throughout. Special appreciation must also go to Prof. Nick Vincent and Dr Jessica Sharkey for their valuable advice on the early chapters of the thesis; Dr Thomas Roebuck for their helpful commentary on Early Modern literature and especially for their help getting to grips with Thomas Heywood; Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh for allowing me to read their unpublished article on revolt in Canterbury; Dr Linda Clark for graciously lending me their copy of Henry VIII: The Evolution of a Repuation , which proved to be a useful example for my own work to follow. My thanks also to Prof. Mark Goldie, Cambridge University; the librarians at Cambridge, UEA, the Bodleian and British Library; Ian Palfrey, NRO; Dr Andrew Buck, QMUL; and the members of the Medieval History Seminar and LDC Medieval and Early Modern Research Seminar, especially James Barnaby, Rich Daines, Jo Porter, Sally Spong, Hugh Doherty, Elizabeth McDonald and Thomas Rutledge. This thesis is dedicated to