Public Display and the Construction of Monarchy in Yorkist England, 1461-85 Carolyn Anne Donohue PhD History University of York September 2013 Abstract The years 1461-85 were a particularly volatile period for the English crown, damaged by civil war and repeated usurpation. Edward IV's accession in 1461 was the culmination of a decade of intense debate on governance that had descended into violent conflict. In order to sustain his position after seizing the throne, it was essential to establish military and administrative dominance within the realm, but also to assert his legitimacy and worthiness to rule, and urgently to secure the allegiance of his subjects. This dissertation examines the construction and evolution of Yorkist monarchy from this foundation in bloodshed and discord. The focus is on the ways in which royal display served to bond people to the regime and how texts and images asserted a distinct Yorkist royal identity. The investigation encompasses a wide range of public events centred on the display of majesty, from rituals such as coronations, funerals and marriages to civic pageantry, tournaments, the reception of distinguished visitors, and the king's performance in parliament, on the battlefield and as promoted and commemorated in Yorkist texts. This broad scope facilitates a comprehensive understanding of the significance of royal spectacle and the ideas and imagery of Yorkist monarchy that were of paramount importance throughout the period. The approach is thematic, analysing the places where Yorkist monarchy was displayed, the ways in which an elite was cultivated in circles of intimacy around the king, and the messages communicated through the written word and visual symbolism. Three dominant themes emerge throughout: the significance of the regime's foundation in civil war, fuelling the promotion of Edward IV as a warrior monarch and heightening the rhetoric of loyalty; the competition with Lancastrian kingship and the difficulties in dealing with a living, rival monarch in Henry VI through the 1460s, driving Edward IV's attitudes towards both Lancastrian foundations and Henry VI himself; and the impetus to fuse royal sites and symbolism with those of the house of York in order to elevate status and assert legitimacy. Contents Figures i Acknowledgements iii Declaration v Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Yorkist Royal Display: an Overview 11 Chapter 2 Place and Power: the Geography of Yorkist Monarchy 61 2.1 Locating the Yorkists 64 2.2 Yorkist Royal Sites 67 2.3 Magnate to Monarch: Dealing with the Lancastrian Legacy 94 Chapter 3 Circles of Intimacy (1): the Yorkist Elite 107 3.1 Identifying the Yorkists 110 3.2 Creating Intimacy: the Order of the Garter, Peerages and Knighthoods 120 3.3 Visible Hierarchy: Funerals, Marriages and the Trial of Clarence 162 Chapter 4 Circles of Intimacy (2): Wider Circles 177 4.1 Honoured Guests: Hospitality and Intimacy 178 4.2 Visible Majesty and Royal Generosity: Cultivating Wider Relationships 187 Chapter 5 Oaths, Speeches and Manifestos: the Power of the Word 197 5.1 Political Communication 198 5.2 The Legacy of the 1450s 216 5.3 Legitimacy and Warrior Monarchy 221 5.4 Loyalty, Betrayal and Peace 227 5.5 Usurpation and Reputation 252 Chapter 6 Bodies, Crowns and Badges: Visual Symbolism 263 6.1 The Kings' Two Bodies: Edward IV and the Body of Henry VI 265 6.2 The Crown 273 6.3 Yorkist Royal Identity 288 Conclusion 317 Appendix 319 Abbreviations 321 Bibliography 323 Figures 1. Genealogy from Edward III 3 2. Free Library of Philadelphia, MS Lewis E 201, Garter images 131 3. BL Royal MS 14 E ii, f. 1 132 4. BL Royal MS 14 E i, vol 1 f. 3r 132 5. Free Library of Philadelphia, MS Lewis E 201, motto of Edward IV 249 6. Screen image, Oliver King chantry, St George's Chapel, Windsor 282 7. Tomb effigy, Thomas Cokayne, All Saints Church, Youlgrave, Derbyshire 291 8. Richard III's boar, St Martin-cum-Gregory Church, York 291 9. BL Royal MS 14 E vi, f. 110 295 10. Free Library of Philadelphia, MS Lewis E 201, white hart 295 11. Falcon and fetterlock, St Laurence's Church, Ludlow 299 12. Canterbury Cathedral, north west transept window, Richard duke of York 299 13. BL Royal MS 19 A xix f. 4, white rose and fetterlock 299 14. BL Harley MS 7353, Clarence black bull pennon 302 15. Free Library of Philadelphia, MS Lewis E 201, Clarence black bull 302 16. Free Library of Philadelphia, MS Lewis E 201, Mortimer white lion 303 17. The National Gallery, London, The Donne Triptych by Hans Memling 303 18. University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, MS 1 304 19. University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, MS 1 304 20. University of Pennsylvania Library, Philadelphia, MS Roll 1066 305 21. Canterbury Cathedral, north west transept window, Edward IV 307 22. BL Harley MS 7353, Mortimer's Cross 309 23. BL Harley MS 7353, genealogy 309 i ii Acknowledgments There are many people whose support and encouragement have been hugely important to my work on this thesis. Firstly and most especially that of my supervisor, Dr Craig Taylor, whose guidance, advice, expertise and reassurance has been central throughout. I would also like to express my gratitude to Dr Sarah Rees Jones and Professor Mark Ormrod for their invaluable advice and assistance from the beginning of the project as members of my thesis advisory panel. I am also grateful for the academic and moral support I have received from Dr Jeremy Goldberg and Dr Sethina Watson; I have benefitted enormously from their encouragement and expertise. I also wish to acknowledge the significant help I have received with funding. I was awarded a Teaching Fellowship by the Department of History, which has been a tremendous financial support and a great experience throughout my time at the University of York. I have also been fortunate to receive assistance from the Richard III Society, which gave generous grants to fund archive work and study during the final stages of the thesis. A further grant from the Royal Historical Society towards research expenses helped with visiting archives. I am also grateful to have been awarded a scholarship by the Richard III Foundation. I have been extremely fortunate to have studied alongside a large group of wonderful and supportive people. Friends and fellow students have enriched my time and my thesis, offering inspiration, motivation and encouragement in teaching and writing, especially Elizabeth Barrett, Laura Chesworth, Rachael Whitbread, Kristin Bourassa and Charlotte Kingston. I am also grateful for the expert advice and help I have received from library and archive staff, particularly at the British Library and Norfolk Record Office. My biggest thanks, as ever, go to my family. My parents, sister and nephews have supported, encouraged and entertained me throughout. Thank you. iii iv Declaration The work submitted in this thesis is the author's own and has not been submitted for examination at this or any other institution for another award. v vi Introduction The Yorkist era was one of the most turbulent periods for the English monarchy. The years 1461 to 1485, from Edward IV's seizure of the throne to the death of Richard III at the battle of Bosworth, saw the demise of four kings and the throne change hands five times against a backdrop of bloody civil war. Throughout this quarter of a century the political climate was suffused with a heightened sense of competition for the crown, so that the right to it had to be defended. The Yorkist claim to rule did not suddenly emerge with Edward IV's elevation to the throne, but had been publicly presented five months earlier, when his father Richard, duke of York, had been accepted as legitimate heir to the throne by parliament.1 The Act of Accord, agreed on 25 October 1460, was the denouement of a decade marked by factional discord and conflict. Tensions between York and the Lancastrian king, Henry VI, and his government had mounted early in the 1450s and deteriorated into violent conflict in 1455.2 The attainder of the Yorkists in November 1459 escalated the antagonism, enemies taking to the battlefield again and with more bitterness and ferocity in 1459 and 1460.3 York's claim to the throne was both an attempt to elevate himself and a practical solution to the desperate political situation; it was also wholly unacceptable to supporters of the king.4 The agreement that York was the rightful heir to the throne in October 1460 was the platform upon which the monarchy of his son was constructed. By making his challenge 1 R. Horrox, 'Henry VI: Parliament of October 1460, Text and Translation', PROME (accessed 19 June 2013), items 18-19, 22, 27. The act recognised Henry VI as king for the rest of his life but declared York and his successors heirs to the throne. 2 On the 1450s see especially J.L. Watts, Henry VI and the Politics of Kingship (Cambridge, 1996), pp. 260-362; idem., 'Polemic and Politics in the 1450s' in John Vale's Book, pp. 3-42; R.A. Griffiths, The Reign of King Henry VI: The Exercise of Royal Authority 1422-1461 (London, 1981), pp. 693-853; idem., 'Duke Richard of York's Intentions in 1450 and the Origins of the Wars of the Roses', Journal of Medieval History, 1 (1975), pp. 187-209; M.K. Jones, 'Somerset, York and the Wars of the Roses', English Historical Review, 104 (1989), pp. 285-307. On the battle of St Albans, C.A.J. Armstrong, 'Politics and the Battle of St Albans', BIHR, 33 (1960), pp.