Category: Shakespeare

Death of Edmund of Rutland

30/12/2019

On the 30th December in 1460 after the Battle of Wakefield, Edmund Earl of Rutland, son of Richard Duke of York was executed in an act of revenge.

The Murder of Rutland by Lord Clifford by Charles Robert Leslie

The most common story told is that Edmund was captured, whilst escaping the battlefield, on a bridge in the town where the Chantry Chapel of St Mary the Virgin stood, but the quality of his armour was noticed by Lancastrian John Clifford who asked him his name. At that point, it seems, Clifford was unaware who Rutland was and was possibly thinking along the lines of a ransom, but a priest going by the name of Aspell shouted: "spare him for he is the Prince's son." And thus Rutland's fate was sealed.

It was then that John Clifford saw an opportunity to avenge his father's death, his father Thomas Clifford died in the first battle of St Albans in 1455. For Clifford, the "sight of any of the House of York was fury to torment his soul."

It is John Leland, the 16th century antiquary, who first mentions that it was Clifford who murdered the seventeen-year-old Edmund, William of Worcester in his Annales Rerum Anglicarum writes "and in the flight after the battle, Lord Clifford killed Edmund Earl of Rutland, son of the Duke of York, on the bridge at Wakefield." but its Shakespeare who puts the following words into Clifford's mouth.

"Thy father slew mine; and so will I do thee and all thy kin."

The violence and family feuds did not end with the death of Edmund.

Interesting, the word feud in English and in Latin means the threat to take revenge and these acts of vengeance were often the result of a long standing feud, and you will get no bigger than the ill feeling between York and Lancaster.

Vengeance, in what ever time period, is one of the worst of human traits, but it is an intriguing one none the less.

There is a little more on the act of revenge in my blog which can be accessed here:
meanderingthroughtime.weebly.com/wars-of-the-roses-blog/vengeance-is-mine

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Henry Percy 1st Earl of Northumberland

10/11/2016

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Henry Percy, first Earl of Northumberland was, according to Shakespeare:

"the ladder upon which the mounting Bolingbroke ascends the throne.”

This statement reflects the rise of the Percy family during the reign of Richard II and the subsequent usurpation of the throne by Henry Bolingbroke.

Henry Percy was born on the 10th November 1341/2. The first two decades of Percy's life were unremarkable, however the twenty years following his father's death lead Percy to great heights of power and influence, not only in his own stamping ground but in the country as a whole. Henry Percy headed a family that included his sons Henry 'Hotspur' and Thomas, all three were guardians of the English boarder with Scotland. As Lords of the North, and as the previous statement states, they were involved in the future Henry IV taking the crown of England. However, siding with Henry had its problems, and the Percy's would soon regret helping Bolingbroke take his seat on the throne of England.

We cannot think of the Percy family without considering the part they played in the Wars of the Roses. Many believe that the First Battle of St Albans, in 1455, was as much about the ongoing squabble between the Percy's and their nemesis the Neville's, as it was about the wider squabble, that of the House of York and Lancaster. It cannot be doubted that this battle, for the individual members of these two northern families, was very personal, each trying to destroy the other under the guise of a greater cause.

The origins of Percy/Neville squabble had it roots in land, or the loss of it, bitterness turned to anger, discussion to litigation, skirmishes into outright warfare that initiated the

'the beginning of the greatest sorrows in England."

Henry Percy died a traitor at Bramham Moor, the last battle of the Percy's rebellion, on the 19 February 1408 and as was the norm for a traitor, his head was decapitated and sent to London, placed for all to see on London Bridge, it was reunited with his quartered remains and eventually buried in York Minster.

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“Vengeance is mine"

24/7/2015

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Behavioural scientists who have studied revenge scanned the brains of people who had been wronged, and the researchers gave these people a chance to punish the wrongdoers. As the victims considered revenge, it was noted that this action caused a notable amount of activity in what scientists call the Caudate Nucleus, an area in the brain that processes rewards, which the researchers equated to the same feeling we feel when we smoke or eat chocolate. Just as one piece of chocolate
doesn't satisfy our craving, the act of revenge doesn't deliver justice, it prolongs hostility and leads to other acts of vengeance,
creating an unending circle of retaliation.

Revenge is ages old, God himself wanted the monopoly on it, Shakespeare wrote of it and the leather clad Beatrix Kiddo practiced it, but vengeance comes at a cost, no more so than in the time of the Wars of the Roses. Deaths as the result of vengeance were frequent occurrences, Edmund, Earl of Rutland, Owen Tudor and Roger Vaughan are an example of this practice. Their deaths were linked, they died over a ten-year period, but despite this length of time and not surprisingly, the pain each felt never diminished, but what is surprising is that each of the condemned never expected it to happen to them and each pleaded for his life.

On the 25th of October 1460, the Act of Accord acknowledged Richard, Duke of York, as the heir to Henry VI and effectively disinherited Henry VI’s son Edward. It was hoped that this agreement would put an end to the political tension that had caused so much trouble in previous years, but it was not to be. The Act of Accord naturally left the Lancastrians foaming at the mouth, many were angry that the act had swept the rules of primogeniture under the carpet, a rule that had protected the rights of the noble family for decades, without which there would be chaos.

Many Lancastrians rallied to the cause resulting in a number of revolts occurring in the country with Henry's queen, Margaret of Anjou, at its helm. The first serious clash happened in Yorkshire, just over two months after the Act of Accord was signed, as Margaret had headed to Wales, Richard, Duke of York, now heir apparent made his way towards Sandal Castle to meet the forces of the opposing army, even though York's force outnumbered the Lancastrian's by two to one the battle went the way of Lancaster. Richard, Duke of York died in battle that day at Wakefield. David Hume in his History of England writes of York's death

"The Duke himself was killed and beheaded, and when his body was found among the slain, the head was cut off by Margaret's orders and fixed on the gates of York, with a paper crown upon it, in derision of his pretended title.'

York died among his men, a noble death you could say, his second son, Edmund Earl of Rutland died that day too but his death was a cruel one at the hands of John Clifford. Clifford had a reputation for brutality on the battlefield, John Leland, wrote in 1540 that Clifford was

'for killing of men at the bataill was caullid the boucher.'

The most common story told is that Edmund was captured as he fled the battle field, but the quality of his armour was noticed by Clifford who asked him his name. At that point, it seems, Clifford was unaware who Rutland was and was possibly thinking along the lines of a ransom, but a priest going by the name of Aspell shouted "spare him for he is the Prince's son." And thus Rutland's fate was sealed. It was then that John Clifford saw an opportunity to avenge his father's death, his father Thomas Clifford died in the first battle of St Albans in 1455. For Clifford the

"sight of any of the House of York was fury to torment his soul"

It is John Leland, the 16th century antiquary, who first mentions that it was Clifford who murdered the seventeen-year-old Edmund, William of Worcester in his Annales Rerum Anglicarum writes "and in the flight after the battle, Lord Clifford killed Edmund Earl of Rutland, son of the Duke of York, on the bridge at Wakefield." but its Shakespeare who puts the following words into Clifford's mouth.

"Thy father slew mine; and so will I do thee and all thy kin"

Thus the seeds were set for bloody revenge, it was Owen Tudor who was the next to die on the order of another angry and grieving young man.

Edward had celebrated the Christmas of 1460 in Gloucester with John Tuchet, Walter Devereux, William and Richard Herbert and Roger Vaughan. These five Welsh men were, not only linked to one another by blood and marriage but were an important part of the Yorkist political connection, it was Roger Vaughan of Tretower, who in 1461, would be Edward's henchman.

Tudor, along with his son Jasper, had been recruiting men from Wales previous to the Battle of Mortimer's Cross and had made their way to Herefordshire by the beginning of February 1461. After the battle, the elderly Welsh leader was captured along with Henry Scudamore and John Throckmorton. On the news of Tudor's capture, Edward ordered Roger Vaughan to Usk Castle, where it is said Owen Tudor was held captive. Scudamore and Throckmorton may have escaped death but Tudor was summarily executed, beheaded in Hereford market square, the axe swung by Roger Vaughan.
The story of how Tudor met his death is much written about as are his final words

"That hede shalle ly on the stroke that was wonte to ly on Quene Kateryns lappe'

Even though Edward could be lenient if he wished, he had no intention of being so with Owen Tudor.

Tudor was executed not because he, along with his son Jasper, was making some attempt to free Henry VI from his captor, or that he had recruited troops in Wales or taken up Margaret of Anjou's cause or because of any treasonous act. Owen Tudor met his death because Edward was determined to avenge the death of his father and brother just as Clifford had. The Earl of March, as Edward IV, did not require that his men love him, but he certainly expected them to obey him.

Twenty three days after the Battle of Mortimer's Cross and the death of Owen Tudor, Jasper Tudor wrote to Roger Puleston, Governor of Denbigh Castle, of the defeat at Mortimer's Cross and how he would avenge the death of his father.

"Right trusty and well beloved cousins, and friends, we grete you well. And suppose that yee have well in you remembrance the great dishonour ahd rebuke that we and yee late have by traitor Marche, Harbert and Dunne, with their affinityes, as well in letting us fo our journey to the Kinge, as in putting my father your kinsman to the death, and their trayterously demeaning, we purpose with the might of our lord, and assistance of you and other our kinsman, men and friends, within a short time to avenge.
Written at our towne of Tenbye the xxvth of ffeur. J Penmroke"

Jasper Tudor would spend the next twenty five years as a man on the run, in those years he remained bitter, bitter about the Lancastrian's final defeat, bitter about the loss of land and power in Wales, but he never forgot the name of the man who decapitated his father, but it was ten long years before he would be face to face with him. During Tudor's exile, the Lancastrians made some attempt to drum up support in Brittany, France and Scotland, invasion plans were made and thwarted but eventually Jasper Tudor along with Richard Neville, and Edward's brother the Duke of Clarence arrived in England and landed in Dartmouth and headed for Wales picking up Henry, the future Henry VII on the way. Henry VI was restored to the throne of England on the 30th October 1470, it is Jasper Tudor who had played a significant role in the restored Lancastrian regime but it was, as we have seen, at a personal loss to himself. Is it any wonder then that he seized the opportunity when it did arrive, of unleashing all his pent-up anger on one man, Roger Vaughan.

The Vaughan's were a rich and influential Welsh family, who received the lands and castle of Tretower in the historical county of Brecknockshire via marriage to the daughter of John Bluet of Raglan. Roger Vaughan was active in the service of the Yorkist and as we know he was with Edward, Earl of March at Mortimer Cross. Whilst Jasper Tudor was effectively in exile, his Lancastrian supporters had not been inactive, Roger Puleston, Philip Mansel and Hopkin ap Rhys had been causing problems and it was Roger Vaughan who quashed an insurrection at Carmarthen. Vaughan did his job and captured all three men, but Edward decided to pardon all three, and Rhys and Mansel's land were forfeited and given to Roger Vaughan.

It was at Tewkesbury, in the May of 1471, that all the hopes of the Lancastrians were dashed, Edward, son and heir to Henry VI was dead. Roger Vaughan, it seems, did not fight at Tewkesbury, neither did Jasper Tudor, he was holed up at Chepstow Castle. Edward, as Edward Hall, the 16th century chronicler pointed out was

"not beynge out of feare for the Earl of Pembroke"

Edward ordered Vaughan and William Herbert to Chepstow to take Jasper Tudor, but unfortunately for Vaughan, Tudor knew he was coming, and his thoughts quickly turned to revenge. Vaughan, Hall continues was

"stronge of people and frendes, to the entendt of some gyle or sodaynly to trap and surprise the erle"

but it seems, Jasper Tudor wasn't without friends himself

"having intelligence of certayne frendes how that watche was privilie leyed for him, sodainly in the town took Roger Vaughan"

His father's executioner was captured. According to John Leland, who was writing during the time of Henry VIII, Roger Vaughan pleaded for his life, the words he received in reply were

"that he should have such favour as he shewid to Owene his Father'

Roger Vaughan, executioner of Owen Tudor, went to the block within the town walls of Chepstow, his death was the last in this chain of retaliatory acts. No one avenged his death, although one Guto'r Glyn, Welsh bard and poet and an adherent to the Yorkist's did call for vengeance on his behalf.

Interestingly, the word feud in English and in Latin means the threat to take revenge and these acts of vengeance were often the results of a long standing feud, and you will get no bigger than the ill feeling between York and Lancaster.
Vengeance, in whatever time period, is one of the worst of human traits, but it is an intriguing one nonetheless.

So, what is vengeance?

It is a word often used to explain and justify violence, and the violent actions of Jasper Tudor, Edward IV and John Clifford, were an act of personal vengeance. The actions of these three men were allowed to happen because medieval law permitted vengeance, and as long as this kind of action is sanctioned by the king and carried out by one of his nominated officers it was not murder.

Let me end with the words of Martin Luther King Jr

"The old law of 'an eye for an eye' leaves everybody blind."

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The Earl of Warwick’s Vow Previous to The Battle of Towton.

14/7/2015

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The Earl of Warwick's Vow Previous to the Battle of Towton 1797 Henry Tresham

In this rather dramatic image we can Richard Neville cutting the throat of his horse after informing Edward IV of the events of the Battle of Ferrybridge on the 28th March 1461.

Richard Neville looks towards the heavens as he makes his vow. Those who look upon him clearly see him as divine, with his exaggerated arm movements and his nakedness (despite Tresham painting his body grey as if he wears armour) he is truly god's representative on earth.

Henry Tresham's painting is not unlike the work of Henry Fuseli (much of whose work is similar to William Blake's) whose themes are often religious, violent and unclear. In this art work Tresham has chosen to illustrate Warwick's actions from William Shakespeare Henry VI Part Three: Act II. Scene V.

RICHARD
Ah, Warwick, why hast thou withdrawn thyself?
Thy brother's blood the thirsty earth hath drunk,
Broach'd with the steely point of Clifford's lance;
And in the very pangs of death he cried,
Like to a dismal clangour heard from far,
'Warwick, revenge! brother, revenge my death!'
So, underneath the belly of their steeds,
That stain'd their fetlocks in his smoking blood,
The noble gentleman gave up the ghost

WARWICK
Then let the earth be drunken with our blood:
I'll kill my horse, because I will not fly.
Why stand we like soft-hearted women here,
Wailing our losses, whiles the foe doth rage;
And look upon, as if the tragedy
Were play'd in jest by counterfeiting actors?
Here on my knee I vow to God above,
I'll never pause again, never stand still,
Till either death hath closed these eyes of mine
Or fortune given me measure of revenge.

EDWARD
O Warwick, I do bend my knee with thine;
And in this vow do chain my soul to thine!
And, ere my knee rise from the earth's cold face,
I throw my hands, mine eyes, my heart to thee,
Thou setter up and plucker down of kings,
Beseeching thee, if with they will it stands
That to my foes this body must be prey,
Yet that thy brazen gates of heaven may ope,
And give sweet passage to my sinful soul!
Now, lords, take leave until we meet again,
Where'er it be, in heaven or in earth.

Far too melodramatic for my taste, this tale of Warwick slaughtering his own horse is as untrue as Tresham's image is strange - is it any wonder we get the wrong idea of great characters in history.

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Death of Edmund of Rutland

Henry Percy 1st Earl of Northumberland

“Vengeance is mine"

The Earl of Warwick’s Vow Previous to The Battle of Towton.

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