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Power and Identity in Lancastrian England: 1399-1461

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Power and Identity in Lancastrian England: 1399-1461 POWER AND IDENTITY IN LANCASTRIAN ENGLAND: 1399-1461 ENGLISH HISTORICAL WRITING IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY A PhD. Dissertation by FATİH DURGUN Departmen of History İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University Ankara June 2013 To my family and Chris POWER AND IDENTITY IN LANCASTRIAN ENGLAND 1399-1461: A STUDY OF HISTORICAL WRITING IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY Graduate School of Economics and Social Sciences of İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University by FATİH DURGUN In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY İHSAN DOĞRAMACI BILKENT UNIVERSITY ANKARA JUNE 2013 I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History. --------------------------------- Asst. Prof. David Thornton Supervisor I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History. --------------------------------- Asst. Prof. Paul Latimer Examining Committee Member I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History. --------------------------------- Asst. Prof. Julian Bennett Examining Committee Member I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History. --------------------------------- Asst. Prof. Oktay Özel Examining Committee Member I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History. --------------------------------- Prof. Burçin Erol Examining Committee Member Approval of the Graduate School of Economics and Social Sciences --------------------------------- Prof. Erdal Erel Director ABSTRACT POWER AND IDENTITY IN LANCASTRIAN ENGLAND 1399-1461: A STUDY OF HISTORICAL WRITING IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY Durgun, Fatih Ph.D., Department of History Supervisor: Asst. Prof. David Thornton June, 2013 The Lancastrian period, which began with the usurpation of Henry IV in 1399 and ended with the deposition of his grandson Henry VI in 1461, was one of the most significant periods in English history. This period witnessed a series of formative developments and events such as attempts by the Lancastrian dynasty to legitimise its position on the throne, the conflicts between central government and regional powers, the Hundred Years War, the Lollard heresy and the Wars of the Roses. Despite the formative importance of the period, Lancastrian history writing has been largely neglected and ignored for a number of reasons. Furthermore, the chronicles of the period have been considered as products of Lancastrian propaganda. Therefore, the main subject and intention of this thesis will be to reconsider historical writing produced in Lancastrian England in the light of current approaches in historiographical studies. iii As a whole, the analysis of the evidence in the chronicles will be made by reading them in the historical context in which they were written. In this sense, this study offers a re-contextualisaton of the historical writing produced during the Lancastrian period. Moreover, this thesis will contribute to a better understanding of the general characteristics of historical writing of the period by attempting to rescue it from near oblivion. Thus, this thesis, will hopefully help to fill a great gap in the field of the historiography of Lancastrian rule, in particular, and in the discussion of late medieval historical writing in general. Keywords: Lancastrian England, Historiography, Chronicles, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Propaganda iv ÖZET LANCASTER DÖNEMİ İNGİLTERE’SİNDE GÜÇ VE KİMLİK: 1399-1461 15.YÜZYIL TARİH YAZICILIĞI ÜZERİNE BİR ÇALIŞMA Durgun, Fatih Doktora, Tarih Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Yrd. Doç. Dr. David Thornton HAZİRAN, 2013 4.Henry’nin 1399 yılında tahtı ele geçirmesiyle başlayıp, torunu 6. Henry’nin 1461 yılında tahttan indirilmesiyle sona eren Lancaster dönemi İngiliz tarihinin en önemli dönemlerinden biriydi. Bu dönem, Lancaster hanedanın iktidardaki pozisyonunu meşrulaştırma çabaları, merkezi hükümetle yerel güçler arasındaki mücadeleler, Yüzyıl Savaşları, Lollard sapkınlık hareketi ve Güller Savaşı gibi bir dizi biçimlendirici gelişmeler ve olaylara tanıklık etmiştir. Dönemin biçimlendirici önemine karşın, Lancaster dönemi tarih yazıcılığı bazı nedenlerden dolayı ihmal ve göz ardı edilmiştir. Üstelik, dönemin kronikleri Lancaster propaganda ürünü olarak düşünülmüşlerdir. Bu nedenle, bu tezin ana konusu ve amacı Lancaster dönemi İngiltere’sinde ortaya konmuş olan tarih yazımı örneklerini tarih yazıcılığındaki çağdaş gelişmelerin ışığında yeniden irdelemek olacaktır. Bir bütün olarak, kroniklerdeki veriler ve bilgilerin analizi, yazıldıkları dönemin tarihsel bağlamı içinde okunarak yapılacaktır. v Bu bağlamda, bu çalışma Lancaster döneminde ortaya konan tarihi eserlerin yeniden bağlamsallaştırmasını önermektedir. Ayrıca, bu tez, dönemin tarih eserlerinin genel özelliklerinin daha iyi anlaşılmasına, bu eserleri unutulmaktan kurtarmaya çalışarak, katkı sağlayacaktır. Böylece, bu tez, özelde, Lancaster dönemi tarih yazıcılığı genelde ise geç Orta çağ tarih yazıcılığı alanlarında büyük bir boşluğun doldurulmasına yardımcı olmayı hedeflemektedir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Lancaster İngiltere’si, Tarih Yazımı, Kronikler, 4.Henry, 5. Henry, 6. Henry, Propaganda. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My supervisor David Thornton deserves special thanks for his encouragement and support throughout my thesis study and in my difficult times. Paul Latimer and Cadoc Leighton always provided me new perspectives to look at the historical texts critically.They all together have contributed much to my development in the scholarly studies. During my stay in Scotland for research at St.Andrews University, I worked with Prof. Chris Given-Wilson. Without his direction and help, I would not be able to understand the nature of medieval chronicle writing. I would also like to thank to the Ottomanist of our department Oktay Özel and Julian Bennett from the department of Archeology for their close interest in my study and Burçin Erol from Hacettepe University for her kind comments. My eternal friend, Selim Tezcan, one of the great Latinists in the world, corrected my several faults in dealing with difficult Latin texts of late medieval English historical world. He always showed self-devotion to me. My eternal brother Cumhur Bekar, was always with me in the dark ages of Ankara and now we will start with him the great struggle against ahistorical interpretation of the world around us. Without him, the struggles become meaningless for me. I cannot forget the contribution of another brother, Burak Özdemir, historian of Ireland and father of Yusuf. Uğur Çetin and Alperen Topal, my other brothers, helped me especially in dealing with spiritual crises in this process. Ferit Subaşı, became the source of energy with his positive approach and brotherhood. Lütfi Sunar, suddenly appeared in the vii last months of my study and now he is one of the greatest sources of inspiration in my life. The other friends Zeki Sarıgil, Polat Safi, Murat Hacıfettahoğlu, İsmail Demir and Eren Safi should be thanked for their support. I also want to thank to TÜBİTAK and Bilkent University for their financial support during my thesis study. Lastly, my family: You are the compassion of the Omnipotent on me. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT..........................................................................................................iii ÖZET ....................................................................................................................v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................vii TABLE OF CONTENTS......................................................................................ix CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION..........................................................................1 I.1 Historical Background .........................................................................2 I.2 Modern Scholarly Perception of Fifteenth - Century England ............8 I.3 Modern Scholarly Literature on the Historiography of the Lancastrian Period and Propaganda ..........................................................12 1.4 Chronicles and Historians of the Lancastrian Period ..........................15 1.5 Late Medieval English Historical Writing ..........................................25 1.6 Main Themes of the Thesis .................................................................29 CHAPTER II: HISTORIOGRAPHY, LEGITIMACY AND SUCCESSION PROBLEM............................................................................................................34 II.1 Introduction ........................................................................................34 II.2 The Importance of the Lancastrian Claim by Descent .......................40 II.3 Walsingham’s Changing Attitude to the Succession Problem ...........43 II.4 The Mortimer Claim and the “Crouchback Legend” in the Eulogium and Usk’s Chronicle .................................................................52 II.5 Bolingbroke, Succession Problem and the Chronicles.......................61 II.6 Resurgence of an Old Problem..........................................................63 II.7
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