216 Constitutional History. [chap.
at Warwick’s behest; they would accept Edward again the
moment he proved himself the stronger. There were local
attachments and personal antipathies no doubt, but the body
politic was utterly exhausted, or, if beginning to recover from
exhaustion, was too weak and tender to withstand the slightest
blast or to endure the gentlest pressure. Margaret and her
son too were absent, and did not arrive until the chances were
decided against them.
Edward's
return in
March, 14
He gains
London.
Battle of
Barnet,
April 14,
1471.
In March 1471 Edward, who had obtained a small force
from his brother-in-law of Burgundy, sailed for England and,
after being repulsed from the coast of Norfolk, landed in York-
shire on the 14th, at the very port at which Henry IV had
landed in 1399. As if the name of the place suggested the
politic course, he followed the example of Henry IV, solemnly
declaring that he was come to reclaim his duchy only. At
York he acknowledged the right of Henry VI and the prince
of Wales ɪ. But at Nottingham he proclaimed himself king ; he
then moved on by Leicester to Coventry, where Warwick and
Montague were. Deceived by a letter from Clarence 2, they
allowed him to pass by without a battle, and he advanced,
gathering strength at every step, to Warwick, where Clarence
joined him. On the nth of April he reached London. Henry,
under the guidance of Archbishop Neville, had attempted to
rouse the citizens to resistance, but had completely failed.
Edward, on the other hand, was received with open arms by
archbishop Bourchier and the faithful Yorkists. On the 13th
he marched out of London, with Henry in his train, to meet
Warwick. He encountered him at Barnet the next day, Easter
day, and totally defeated him. Warwick himself and Montague
were killed in the battle or in the rout.
Margaret
lands.
The same day Margaret and her son landed at Weymouth,
and, as soon as the fate of Warwick was known, she gathered
the remnant of her party round her and marched towards the
north. On the 4th of May Edward encountered her ill-dis-
ciplined army at Tewkesbury, and routed them with great
1 Warkworth, p. 14 ; Fleetwood, Chr. Wliite Bose, pp. 40-42.
s Paston Letters, ɪi. 423 ; Warkworth, p. 15 ; Pleetwood, p. 50.
XVIII.]
Fate of Henri/ VT.
217
slaughter. No longer checked by the more politic influence Battle of
. . r Tewkes-
of Warwick, the king both in the battle and after it gave full ,
play to his lust for revenge. The young prince, Thomas У4’ 47
Courtenay the loyal earl of Devonshire, and lord Wenlock were
killed on the field; the duke of Somerset, the prior of the
Hospitallers, and a large number of knights were beheaded
after the battle, in spite of a promise of pardon. Queen Mar-
garet, the princess of Wales, and Sir John Fortescue were
among the prisoners1.
Edward’s danger was not yet quite over. On thgj 5th of
May the bastard of Fauconberg, Thomas Neville, Warwick’s berg,
cousin and vice-admiral, who had landed in Kent, reached
London, and, having failed to force an entrance, passed on to
cut the king off on his return. But his force, although large,
was disheartened by the news from Tewkesbury ; and, per-
suaded by the promises of immunity, he deserted them and fled.
Edward, with thirty thousand men under his command, on the
21 st of May re-entered London in triumph 2. The same night JJcat ʃʧɪ
king Henry died in the Tower, where he had been replaced
after the battle of Barnet. Both at the time and after, the
duke of Gloucester was regarded as his murderer ; and, al-
though nothing certain is known of the circumstances of his
death, it is most probable that he was slain secretly. So long
as his son lived, his life was valuable to his foes ; the young
Edward might, as claimant of the crown, have obtained from
the commons an amount of support which they would not give
to his father, whom they had tried and found wanting. Now
that the son was gone, Henry himself was worse than useless,
and he died. On Wednesday, the 22nd of May, his body lay
in state at S. Paul’s and Blackfriars, and on Ascension day he
was carried off to be buried at Chertsey3. Almost immediately Honour
he began to be regarded as a saint and martyr 4. In Yorkshire him after
especially, where he had wandered in his desolation, and where
, Warkworth, pp. 18, 19.
2 AVarkworth, p. 2i ; Fleetwood, pp. 86-92.
3 AVarkworth, p. 21 ; Fleetwood, pp. 93 sq.
4 ‘ Unde et agens tyranni, patiensque gloriosi martyris titulurɑ merea-
tɑr ; ’ Cont. Croyl. p. 566.