RICHARD OF YORK, CLAIMANT TO THE ENGLISH THRONE
AND ONE OF THE MAIN LEADERS OF THE WAR OF ROSES
[HISTORICAL IMAGE]
______________________________
EDMUND BEAUFORT, 2ND DUKE OF SOMERSET, THE GREAT RIVAL
OF RICHARD, DUKE OF YORK
HISTORICAL FICTION
KING EDWARD IV, SON OF RICHARD, DUKE OF
YORK
HISTORICAL IMAGE
KING EDWARD IV, SON OF RICHARD, DUKE OF
YORK
HISTORICAL FICTION
RICHARD NEVILLE, 16TH EARL OF WARWICK, THE KINGMAKER
COUSIN TO EDWARD IV, FIRST ALLY TO HIS FATHER, RICHARD,
DUKE OF YORK, THEN TO KING EDWARD IV
LATER THEY BECAME ADVERSARIES AND THE KINGMAKER TURNED
TO MARGARET OF ANJOU [BECOMING A ”LANCASTRIAN] TO RESTORE HENRY VI TO THE THRONE
HE FAILED AND LOST HIS LIFE IN THE BATTLE OF TEWKESBURY
HIS DAUGHTER, ANNE, LATER BECAME QUEEN OF ENGLAND,
MARRIED TO KING RICHARD III [BROTHER TO KING EDWARD IV]
[FICTION]
.jpg)
MARGARET OF ANJOU, QUEEN OF ENGLAND
MARGARET OF ANJOU, QUEEN OF ENGLAND
[HISTORICAL IMAGE]
TWO IMAGES OF MARGARET OF ANJOU, QUEEN OF ENGLAND
[FICTION]
MANIFESTO OF MARGARET OF ANJOU TO THE CITIZENS OF
LONDON IN 1461/LETTER TO SUSAN HIGGINBOTHAM
Dear Mrs Higginbotham
As you probably know, I am a great admirer of your interesting
historical novels, especially your accurate historical research.
Perhaps you’ll remember that I wrote you some comments on your novel about
Margaret of Anjou ”Queen of Last Hopes”
See
Since then I wrote some critical remarks on your post
”If Margaret, why not Cecily?”
See your post
See my comments, which were published on your webliog
”History Refreshed”
MANIFESTO OF MARGARET OF ANJOU TO THE CITIZENS
OF LONDON IN 1461
MANIFESTO OF MARGARET OF ANJOU TO THE CITIZENS
OF LONDON IN 1461
Recently I found by accident a very interesting Manifesto Queen
Margaret of Anjou had proclaimed in 1461 [so after the big Yorkst
defeat at Wakefield at 30 december 1460 and the death of the Duke of York, as the executions.of his second surviving son, Edmund, Earl of Rutland and his brother in law,Richard Neville, the 5th Earl of Salisbury]
See my website
The Manifesto was directed to the citizens of London to convince them, that her troops
would not loot and rape in the city, so that they would open the gates
for her.
We know thatthe citizens didn’t open the gates for her and how tragically it went for Margaret.
To me, the interesting aspect of this document is Margaret’s mentioning
of her great enemy Richard, Duke of York.
I will mention the text to you below, with the sources.
To check the authenticity of the source, I compared other texts
on the sources with other souces.
A text I used was the correspondence
of Catherine of Aragon,[ then widow of Arthur, late prince
of Wales, son to King Henry VII and Elisabeth of York, daughter to
King Edward IV and granddaughter to the Duke of York] , with her father
King Ferdinand of Spain.
That correspondence, by the way, casts an interesting light on the
precarious position of Catherine of Aragon, being the widow of
the late prince of Wales without having a new, official status
in England, while her father and father in law quarreled about
her dowry.
Anyway, I will show you the Manifesto below
Probably you are already aware of its existence and otherwise
it will surely be of interest to you.
See also my website page about the Wars of the Roses
Kind greetings
Astrid Essed
Amsterdam
The Netherlands
MANIFESTO OF MARGARET OF ANJOU
TO THE CITIZENS OF LONDON
SOURCE:
FULL TEXT OF
”LETTERS OF ROYAL AND ILLUSTRIOUS LADIES
OF THE TWELFTH CENTURY TO THE CLOSE
OF THE REIGN OF QUEEN MARY. [MICRFORM]”
SEE ALSO FOR A DIRECT ACCESS TO THE MANIFESTO
LETTER XXXVIII. Margaret of Anjou^ Queen of Henry F/., to the Citizens of London, a. d. 146 1 . [haul. MS, NO. 543, FOL. 147.] %* Hie following letter, or manifesto, needs UtOe comment ; it is one of the few productions of the high-spirited Margaret of Anjou now in existence. It was penned early in 1461 ; when, after the battle of Wakefield, which cost the Duke of York his life, the queen advanced towards London to secure the capitAl. It was addressed to^ the citizens of London, where the king was then residing, and its object was to secure, by fair promises, their fiivourable reception of hbrself and her troops, which 'were composed of an odd medley of EnglJsh» Scotch, Iri8h» and Welah» into^ the city. The eloquence of the queen proved unsuccessful, however. Hie Londoners, fearing the presence of such tumultuous, guests, chose to reinforce the army of the Barl of Warwick, and throw their powerful influence into the scale of Digitized by VjOOQ IC 96 LETTERS OF ROYAL AND iht Yorkists. Their determined enmity kept the queen at bay till the Earl of March (afterwards Edward IV.) joined his troops to those of the Earl of Warwick, and rendered her entrance into London impos- sible. The unfortunate Queen Margaret was destined never again to enter the capital of that kingdom which she had long ruled with so despotic a sway. Right trusty and well-beloved, we greet you heartily well. And whereas the late Duke of N. [York] of extreme malice, long hid under colours, imagined by divers and many ways and means the de- struction of my lord's good grace, whom God of his mercy ever preserve, hath now late, upon an untrue pretence, feigned a title to my lord's crown, and royal estate, and pre-eminence, contrary to his allegiance and divers solemn oaths of his own offer made, uncompelled or constrained, and fully pro- posed to have deposed him of his regality, ne had been (had it not been for) the sad (&rm)y unchangeable and true dispositions of you and others, his true liegemen, for the which your worshipful dispositions we thank you as heartily as we can. And howbeit, that the same untrue, unsad, and unadvised person, of very pure malice, disposed to continue in his cruelness, to the utterest undoing, if he might, of us, and of my lord's son and ours the prince, which, with God's mercy, he shall not be of power to perform, by the help of you and all other my lord's faithful disposed subjects, hath thrown among you, as we be certainly informed, divers untrue and Digitized by VjOOQ IC
ILLUSTRIOUS LADIES. 97 feigned matters and surmises ; and in especial, that Yfe and my Iord*s said son and ours should newly draw toward you with an unseen power of strangers, disposed to rob and to despoil you of your goods and havings (property) ; we will that you know for certain that, at such time as we or our said son shall be disposed to see my lord, as our duty is and so binds us to do, you, nor none of you, shall be robbed, despoiled, nor wronged by any person that at that time we or our said son shall be accompanied with, or any other sent in our or his name, praying you, in our most hearty and desirous wise, that [above] all earthly things you will diligently intend (attend) to the surety of my lord's royal person in the mean time; so that through malice of his said enemy he be no more troubled, vexed, nor jeoparded. And, so doing, we shall be unto you such lady as of reason you shall be largely content. Given under our signet, &c.