Warkworth's Chronicle 1471
Warkworth's Chronicle 1471 is in Warkworth's Chronicle.
10 Apr 1471. Kyng Herry thenne was in Londone, and the Archebysshoppe of Yorke, withein the Bysschoppys of Londone palece. And on the wennysday next before Ester-day, Kynge Herry and the Archebysschoppe of Yorke with hym roode aboute Londone, and desirede the peple to be trew unto hym; and every manne seide thei wulde. Nevere the latter, Urswyke, recordere of Londone, and diverse aldermen, suche that hade reule of the cyte, commaundede alle the peple that were in harnes, kepynge the cite and Kynge Herry, every manne to goo home to dynere; and in dyner tyme Kynge Edwarde was late in1, and so went forthe to the Bisshoppes of Londone palece, and ther toke Kynge Herry and the Archebisschoppe of Yorke, and put theme in warde, the thursday next before Ester-day.
Note 1. And in dyner tyme Kynge Edwarde was late in. Edward was admitted into London on the 11th of April. The Archbishop suffered himself to be taken at the same time, but was released in two days afterwards, and obtained full pardon. There is one remarkable circumstance in this pardon; it remits all crimes before April the 13th, and yet is dated April the 10th, the day probably on which the Archbishop agreed with Edward to admit him into the city. See Carte's History of England, book 13, p. 787, n., and Fœdera, XI. 709. Warkworth remarks very strongly upon his conduct at p. 26 of his Chronicle. Cf. MS. Bib. Coll. Trin. Oxon. 62 (10).
And the Archebysschoppe of Cawnterbury, the Erle of Essex, the Lorde Barnesse, and suche other as awyde Kynge Edwarde good wylle, as welle in Londone as in othere places, made as many menne as thei myghte in strengthynge the seide Kynge Edwarde; so then he was a vij. Ml. menne, and ther thei refresched welle them self alle that day, and good frydai. And upone Ester evyne, he and alle his oste went toward Barnett, and caryede Kynge Herry withe hym: for he hade understondyng that the Erle of Warwycke and the Duke of Excetre, the Lorde Markes Montagu, the Erle of Oxenforde, and many other knyghtes, squyers, and comons, to the nombre of xx. Ml., were gaderide togedere to feghte ageyne Kynge Edwarde. 
14 Apr 1471. But it happenede that he withe his oste were enterede into the toune of Barnet, before the Erle of Warwyke (age 42) and his host. And so the Erle of Warwyke (age 42) and his host lay witheoute the towne alle nyght, and eche of them loosede gonnes at othere, alle the nyght. And on Ester day in the mornynge, the xiiij. day of Apryl, ryght erly, eche of them came uppone othere; and ther was suche a grete myste, that nether of them myght see othere perfitely; ther thei faughte, from iiij. of clokke in the mornynge unto x. of clokke the fore-none. And dyverse tymes the Erle of Warwyke (age 42) party hade the victory, and supposede that thei hade wonne the felde. But it hapenede so, that the Erle of Oxenfordes men hade uppon them ther lordes lyvery, bothe before and behynde, which was a sterre withe stremys, wiche [was] myche lyke Kynge Edwardes lyvery, the sunne with stremys1; and the myste was so thycke, that a manne myghte not profytely juge one thynge from anothere; so the Erle of Warwikes menne schott and faughte ayens the Erle of Oxenfordes menne, wetynge and supposynge that thei hade bene Kynge Edwardes menne; and anone the Erle of Oxenforde and his menne cryed " treasoune! treasoune! " and fledde awaye from the felde withe viij. c. menne. The Lorde Markes Montagu (age 40) was agreyde and apoyntede with Kynge Edwarde, and put uppone hym Kynge Edwardes lyvery; and a manne of the Erles of Warwyke sawe that, and felle uppone hyme, and kyllede hym. And whenne the Erle of Warwyke (age 42) sawe his brothere dede, and the Erle of Oxenforde fledde, he lepte one horse-backe, and flede to a wode by the felde of Barnett, where was no waye forthe; and one of Kynge Edwardes menne hade espyede hyme, and one came uppone hym and kylled hym, and dispolede hyme nakede. And so Kynge Edwarde gate that felde.
And ther was slayne2 of the Erle of Warwyke (age 42)s party, the Erle hym self, Markes Montagu (age 40), Sere William Tyrelle, knyghte, and many other. The Duke of Excetre (age 40) faugth manly ther that day, and was gretely despolede and woundede, and lefte nakede for dede in the felde, and so lay ther from vij. of clokke tille iiij. after none; whiche was take up and brought to a house by a manne of his owne; and a leche brought to hym, and so afterwarde brought in to sancuarij at Westmynster.
And one Kynge Edwardes party was slayne the Lorde Crowmwelle (age 40), sonne and heyre to the Erle of Essex (age 67), Lord Barnes (age 55) sonne and heyre (age 36)3, Lorde Say (age 43)4, and dyverse other, to the nombre (of bothe partys) iiij. Ml menne. And, after that the felde was don, Kynge Edwarde commaundyd bothe the Erle of Warwikes body and the Lord Markes (age 40) body to be putt in a carte, and returned hym with alle his oste ageyne to Londone; and there commaundede the seide ij. bodyes to be layede in the chyrche of Paulis, one the pavement, that every manne myghte see them; and so they lay iij. or iiij. days, and afterwarde where buryede. And Kynge Herry, beynge in the forwarde durynge the bataylle, was not hurt; but he was broughte ageyne to the Toure of Londone, ther to be kept. 
Note 1. The sunne with stremys. The crest of the Kynaston coat is supposed to have been assumed from this time, and in allusion to this event.
Note 2. And ther was slayne. A very comprehensive list is given in MS. Arundel, Mus. Brit. 28, fol. 25, vº. The brass matrix of the seal of the Earl of Warwick, taken from him when he was slain, is in the British Museum; an impression may be seen among the charters, xxxiv. 33.
Note 3. Lord Barnes sonne and heyre. Sir Humphrey Bourchier (age 36). His gravestone remains in Westminster Abbey, denuded of his figure in brass plate, but retaining an epitaph of fourteen Latin hexameters, commemorative of his prowess and the scene of his death. They commence:
Hic pugil ecce jacens, Bernett fera bella cupiscens, [Here lies a fighter, Bernett, desiring fierce wars]
Certat ut Eacides, &c. &c. [Striving like Achilles.]
See engravings in Gough's Sepulchral Monuments, vol. II. pl. LXXXVI; Harding's Antiquities in Westminster Abbey, pl. VIII. It may be remarked that the word in the eighth line read parvulus by Gough, &c. is really pimulus, i. e. primulus, used instead of primus for the sake of the metre. - J.G.N.
Note 4. Lord Say. This nobleman [William Fiennes 2nd Baron Saye and Sele (age 43)] was formerly on the Lancastrian side, but received Edward's pardon on the 5th of May, 1462; Chart. Antiq. Mus. Brit. VIII. 13.
14 Apr 1471. And Quene Marget, and Prince Edwarde hire sonne, with other knygtes, squyres, and other menne of the Kyng of Fraunce, hade navy to brynge them to Englond: whiche, whenne thei were schipped in Fraunce, the wynde was so contrary unto them xvij. dayes and nyghtes, that [thei] myght not come from Normandy with unto Englonde, whiche withe a wynd myght have seylede it in xij. oures; whiche at the xvij. dayes ende one Ester day at the evyne the [i] landed at Weymouthe, and so by lande from Weymouthe the[i] roode to Excetre; and mette withe hire, at Weymouth, Edmunde Duke of Somersett, the Lorde Jhon his brother, brother to Herry Duke of Somerset slayne at Exham, and Curteney the Erle of Devynschyre, and many othere.
15 Apr 1471. And on Ester mounday was brought tithingys to them, that Kynge Edwarde hade wonne the felde at Barnett, and that Kynge Herry was put into the Toure ayene1. And anone ryghte thei made oute commaundementes, in the Quenes name and the Prynce, to alle the weste countre, and gaderet grete peple2, and kepte hire wey towarde the toune of Brystow.
Note 1. Kynge Herry was put into the Toure ayene. See Devon's Issue Rolls of the Exchequer, p. 491.
Note 2. And gaderet grete peple. Bouchet, in Les Annales d'Acquitaine, says that there were plus de lx. mil hommes armez. Edit, Par. 1558, fol. 121, vº.
04 May 1471? And when the Kynge herd that thei were landede, and hade gaderede so myche peple, he toke alle his hoste, and went oute of Londone the wennysday in Ester weke, and manly toke his waye towarde them; and Prynce Edwarde herd therof; he hastede hym self and alle his oste towarde the towne of Glouceter, but he enteryd noʒt into the towne, but held forthe his wey to the towne of Teukesbury, and ther he made a felde1 noʒt ferre from the ryver of Saverne; and Kynge Edwarde and his oste came uppone hym, the saturday the fourth day of Maij, the yere aforeseide of oure Lorde a Ml. cccclxxj., and the xj yere of Kynge Edwarde. And Edmunde Duke of Somersett, and Sere Hugh Curteneye, went oute of the felde, by the whiche the felde was broken; and the moste parte of the peple fledde awaye from the Prynce, by the whiche the feld was loste in hire party. 2And ther was slayne in the felde, Prynce Edward3, whiche cryede for socoure to his brother-in-lawe the Duke of Clarence. Also ther was slayne, Curteney the Erle of Devynschyre, the Lorde Jhon of Somersett, the Lorde Wenloke, Sere Edmunde Hampden, Sere Robart Whytyngham, Sere William Vaus, Sere Nicholas Hervy, Sere Jhon Delvis, Sere William Feldynge, Sere Thomas Fiztharry, Sere Jhon Leukenore, knyghtes; and these were taken and behedede afterwarde, where the Kynge hade pardoned them in the abbey cherche of Teukesbury, by a prest that turnyd oute at his messe and the sacrament in his handys, whanne Kynge Edwarde came with his swerde into the chirche, requyrede hyme by the vertu of the sacrament that he schulde pardone alle tho whos names here folowe; the Duke of Somersett, the Lorde of Seynt Jhones, Sere Humfrey Audeley, Sere Gervis of Clyftone, Sere William Gremyby, Sere William Cary, Sere Thomas Tresham, Sere William Newbrugh, knyghtes, Herry Tresham, Walter Curtenay, Jhon Florey, Lowes Myles, Robart Jacksone, James Gowere, James Delvis, sonne and heire to Sere Jhon Delvis; whiche, uppone trust of the Kynges pardone yevene in the same chirche the saturday, abode ther stille, where thei myght have gone and savyd ther lyves; whiche one monday aftere were behedede4, noʒtwhitstondynge the Kynges pardone5. And afterward these ladyes were takene, -Quene Margaret, Prynce Edwardes wyf, the secunde dowghtere of the Erle of Warwyke (deceased)s, the Countasse of Devynschire, Dame Kateryne Vaus. And these were taken, and noʒt slayne; Sere Jhon Fortescu, Sere Jhon Sentlow, Sire Herry Roos, Thomas Ormonde, Doctour Makerell, Edward Fulforde, Jhon Parkere, Jhon Bassett, Jhon Wallys, Jhon Thromere Throgmertone, and dyverse other men. And there was takene grete good, and many good horse that were brought frome beyond the see.
Note 1. And ther he made a felde. The place where the battle of Tewkesbury was fought is now called Glaston Meadow. - Rudder's History of Gloucestershire, p. 736. I have been further assured that this field is now called the Bloody-Field by the common people living near the spot.
Note 2. Cf. Memoires Olivier de la Marche. Edit. Brux. 1616, p. 502.
Note 3. And there was slayne in the felde Prynce Edward.- "[Slain at Tewkesbury by King Edward the Fourth.]. ”Rot. Harl. C. 7, Memb. 5.
Note 4. The prior of St. John's in Smithfield was among them.-MS. Arund. Coll. Arm. 5, fol. 171, vº.
Note 5. Noʒtwithstondynge the Kynges pardon. Edward's policy was despotic in the extreme; he told De Comines that it was his object to spare the common people, but cut off the gentry. The destruction of these noblemen and gentlemen was an awful example of his barbarity, as well as his deficiency of common honesty.
14 May 1471. And in the same tyme that the batelle of Teukesbury was, Sere Watere Wrotty[s]le and Geffrei Gate, knygtes of the Erle of Warwyke (deceased)s, were governers of the towne of Caleys, dide sende Sere George Broke knyghte oute of Caleys, with ccc. of soudyours unto Thomas Bastarde Fakynebrygge, that was one the see with the Erle of Warwyke (deceased)s navy, that he schulde the navy save, and goo into Kent, and to reyse alle Kent, to that entente to take Kynge Herry oute of the toure and distroye Kyng Edwarde, yf he myghte; whiche Bastarde came into Kent, to Caunturbury, and he, withe helpe of other gentylmenne, thei reysed up alle Kent, and came to Londone the v. day of Maij the yere aforeseide. But thenne the Lorde Scales, that Kynge Edwarde hade lefte to kepe the cyte, with the Meyre and Aldermen, wulde noʒt suffre the seid Bastarde to come into the cite; for thei had understondynge that Prince Edwarde was dede, and alle his hoste discomfytede: wherefor the Bastarde loosede his gonnes into the citee, and brent at Algate and at Londone brygge1; for the whiche brynnynge, the comons of Londone where sore wrothe, and gretely mevyd ayens them: for and thei had noʒt brent, the comons of the cyte wulde have leett them in, magre of the Lorde Scales hede, the Mayre and alle his brethyr.
Note 1. At Algate and at London Brygge. "Super pontem Londonie, cum dominibus quibusdam adjacentibus, combusserunt, et similiter alias juxta Algate succederunt [They burned on London Bridge, along with certain adjacent houses, and likewise, they occurred elsewhere near Aldgate]." - MS. Arundel, Coll. Arm. 5, fol. 171, v. In MS. Arundel, Mus. 28, fol. 25, v, this event is stated to have taken place on the 14th of May, — xiiij °. die mensis Maij supra dict '; the anonymous scribbler of the notes in this MS. informs us that Lord Rivers put the Bastard to flight.
Wherefor the Bastarde and alle his hoste went overe at Kyngstone Brygge, x. myle westwarde, and hade purposed to have distruyt Kynge Edwarde, or to have dryve hym oute of the londe. And if the Bastarde hade holde forthe his way, Kynge Edwarde be possibilyte coude noʒt be powere haf recisted the Bastarde; for the Bastarde hade moo then xx. Ml. goode men welle harnessede, and evere as he went the peple felle to hym. The Lorde Scales, and dyverse othere of Kynge Edwardes counselle that were in Londone, sawe that the Bastarde and his oste went westwarde, and that it schuld be a grettere juperdy1 to Kynge Edwarde thenne was Barnet felde or Teukesbury felde, (in so moche when the felde of Teukesbury was done, his oste was departede from;) wherefor thei promysed to the Bastarde, and to dyverse other that were aboute hym, and in especyalle to one Nicholas Fauntt, Meyre of Caunterbury, that he schulde entret hym to turne homwarde ageyn. And for as myche as fayre wordes and promyses makes fooles fayne2, the Bastarde commaundede alle his oste to turne to Blakhethe ageyn; whiche was distruccion of hyme self and many othere; for anone after, by the Duke of Gloucetre in Yorkeschyre, the seide Bastarde was behedede3, notwithstondynge he hade a chartere of pardone; and Nicholas Fauntt was afterward hangede, drawene, and quarterede in Caunterbury. And whene the Bastarde and alle his oste were come to the Blakheth ageyne, in the next mornynge he withe the soudyours and schypmen of Caleis, to the nombre of vj. c. horsemen, stole awaye frome the oste and roode to Rouchester, and frome thens to Sandwyche, where the Bastard abode the Kynges comynge, and the soudyours saylede overe see to Caleys. And whenne the oste understode that ther Capteyne was stole from them, thei kepte them togedere alle a day and a nyght, and thanne every manne departede to his owne howse. And when Kynge Edward herde thereof, he was gladde, &c.
Note 1. Juperdy i.e. jeopardy.
Note 2. See this proverb illustrated in Sir Walter Scott's novel of the Abbot, iii. 91-2.
Note 3. This event took place two days before Michaelmas day in the same year, and his head was placed upon London Bridge "lokyng into Kent warde." - Paston Correspondence, ii. 82. Cf. MS. Arundel, Mus. Brit. fol. 25, vº.
Here is to knowe that Kynge Edwarde made oute commyssyons to many schyres of Englonde; whiche in a x. dayes ther came to hym, where he was, to the nowmbre of xxx. Ml., and came withe the Kynge to Londone, and ther he was worschipfully receyvid1.
Note 1. And ther he was worschipfully receyvid. mensis Maii die xxjº. rediit Rex Edwardus ad civitatem Londonie, cum nobili triumpho." - MS. Arundel, Mus. Brit. 28, fol. 25, v °. The same writer says that he brought Queen Margaret with him in curru precedente exercitum. In this triumph he was accompanied by the Dukes of Clarence, Gloucester, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Buckingham; also the Earls of Northumberland, Shrewsbury, Rivers, Essex, Worcester, Pembroke, & c. See the long list given in the same MS.
21 May 1470. And the same nyghte that Kynge Edwarde came to Londone, Kynge Herry, beynge inwarde in presone in the Toure of Londone, was putt to dethe1, the xxj. day of Maij, on a tywesday nyght, betwyx xj. and xij. of the cloke, beynge thenne at the Toure the Duke of Gloucetre, brothere to Kynge Edwarde, and many other; and one the morwe he was chestyde and brought to Paulys, and his face was opyne that every manne myghte see hyme; and in hys lyinge he bledde one the pament ther; and afterward at the Blake Fryres was broughte, and ther he blede new and fresche; and from thens he was caryed to Chyrchesey abbey in a bote2, and buryed there in oure Lady chapelle. On the morwe that the Kynge was come to Londone, for the goode servyse that Londone hade done to hym, he made knyghtes of the Aldermenne3, Sere Jhon Stokstone, Sire Rauf Verney, Sere Richard Lee, Sere Jhon Yonge, Sere William Tayliour, Sere George Irlande, Sere Jhon Stokere, Sere Mathew Philyppe, Sere William Hamptone, Sere Thomas Stalbroke, Sere Jhon Crosby, Sere Thomas Urswike, Recordere of Londone.
Note 1. Was putt to dethe. "He dyid put to silence in the Tour of London, the xxj. day of May, aº. 1471, buryid first at Chertesey and after at Wyndesore." - Rot. Lansd. Mus. Brit. 6. In the old ballad of the "Wandering Jew's Chronicle" this event is thus versified:
"I saw the white and red rose fight,
"And Warwick gret in armour bright,
"In the Sixth Henries reign;
"And present was that very hour,
"When Henry was in London Tower,
"By Crookt-backt Richard slain.”
But this subject has been so much before the reader that I refrain from adding more. I give, however, a few references, from my miscellaneous notes, which may assist any future inquirer who desires to investigate more at length into various matters connected with the popular opinion of Henry VI. after his death, his burial places, & c.: Widmore's History of Westminster Abbey, pp. 118-120; Ash- mole's History of the Order of the Garter, p. 136; MS. Cotton. Cleop. E. III; Monast. I. 277; British Topographer, II. 112, n; Gent. Mag. LVI.; MS. Cole Collect. XLII. 378; ib. XIII; Hormanni Vulgaria, Lond. 1519, fol. 3, rº; Barrington on the Statutes, p. 253; Parker Antig. Brit. Eccl. 229, edit. Drake, p. 447; Fuller's Church History, IV. 153; Wilkins's Concil. IV. 635; Spelman, II. 720; Walpole's Fugitive Pieces; MS. Sloan. 1441.
Note 2. Caryed to Chyrchesey Abbey in a bote. Henry's body was protected by soldiers from Calais, and, rather singularly, for the possession of that city had been a hard point of contention between the rival parties. The extreme anxiety of Queen Margaret to possess it, may be seen from a very curious document now preserved in the Royal Archives of France, and the title of which is given in MS. Addit. Mus. Brit. 9346, fol. 116, rº.
In the Issue Rolls of the Exchequer, we find money paid to Hugh Brice on the 24th of June for the expenses of Henry's funeral, for conveying his body from the Tower to St. Paul's, and from thence to Chertsey. From these and several other statements of expences in the same rolls, it fully appears that every respect was paid to the corpse; but Mr. Devon has attempted to draw from this an argument for the natural death of the King, not taking into consideration that the very fact of much attention having been paid to his funeral obsequies would render it more than probable that it was done to conceal the appearance of any hostile feeling: had Henry died a natural death, it appears to me that the haste of Edward's departure into Kent, and the length of time necessarily elapsing before he could have become acquainted with the news, would have almost rendered any definite orders for his funeral next to impossible. Many writers have committed the error of affirming that Henry was buried without honours. - Camden's Britannia, edit. Gough, I. 167.
Note 3. The names of these aldermen are given by Stowe, Edit. 1755, Survey of London, II. 222.
After 21 May 1470. And after that, the Kynge and alle his oste roode into Kent to Caunterbury, where many of the countre that where at Blakhethe withe the Bastarde, were arestede and brought befor hym; and ther was hangyd, drawene, and quarteryd, one Fauntt of Caunterbury1, that was lovynge to the Erle of Warwyke (age 41); whyche entreytede the Bastarde for to departe frome his oste; and many dyverse menne of the cuntre were hanged and put to dethe.
Note 1. One Fauntt of Canterbury. In the Issue Roll of the Exchequer, 11 Ed. IV. we find the sum of 17. 3s. 4d. paid to one John Belle, for the value of a horse and harness to conduct this Nicholas Faunte from the Tower of London to the King, then in Kent. Hasted is one of the very few writers who quotes Warkworth's Chronicle, which he does on this point. - History of Kent, IV. 433.
In the Introduction I have extracted from Lidgate's poem on the Kings of England; and, for want of a better situation, I here give another version of the stanzas on the reigns of Henry VI. and Edward IV. from a MS. of the commencement of the sixteenth century:
"The vjth Henry his sone was after him fosterde in all vertu,
By just titull and by inheritaunce,
By grace afore provyde of Criste Jhesu,
To were ij crownes bothe in Inglande and in Fraunce.
Above erthly thingis all God was in his remembraunce;
What vertuus lyfe he led his myraculis now declare!
xxxix. yere he bare dyadym and septure,
In Wyndesore College of the Garter he lyethe in his sepulture.
After Henry the vjth, Goddis campyoun and trewe knyght,
Edward the iiijth obteynede Septure and Crowne,
From the hy Plantagenate havynge titule and right,
xxij. yere the saide Edwarde flowerede withe wysdome, riches and renowne.
Grete welthe and plente in his dayes all penery put downe,
All Cristyn princes were glade withe hym amyte to make,
Whiche onely with a loke made Fraunce and Scotlande to quake;
In the College of the Garter where he governoure was and hede,
He chase the place of his sepulture, for his body to be beriede in when he was dede.”
MS. Bib. Reg. 18 D. II. fol. 182. v °.
This version is completely remodelled; the MS. Sloan. 1986 )fol. 199, rº. — 213, vº.) contains another different edition of the fifteenth century.
Aftere that, the Kynge roode unto Sanwyche, and beside alle the Erle of Warwykes navy there, that the Bastarde hade reule of, and toke the Bastard withe hyme, and returned ageyne to Londone. And immediatly after that was the Lorde Denham and Sere Jhon Fog and dyverse othere made commyssioners, that satt uppone alle Kent, Sussex, and Esex, that were at the Blakhethe, and uppone many othere that were nozt there; for some manne payed cc. marke, some a c. pownde, and some more and some lesse, so that it coste the porest manne vij. s. whiche was noʒt worthe so myche, but was fayne to selle suche clothinge as thei hade, and borowede the remanent, and laborede for it aftyrwarde; and so the Kynge hade out of Kent myche goode and lytelle luff. Lo, what myschef groys after insurreccion! &c.