180 Constitutional History. [ciiai,.
The duke of
York had
not mended
matters.
king’s sudden recovery brought to a precipitate end both the ses-
sion of the parliament and the supremacy of the protector. Be-
fore he was formally relieved from his office he and "Warwick
had come up with a large guard to parliament ; he had not
strengthened his political position during his short term of
office ; and he went out leaving affairs in worse confusion than
that in which he had found them.
Pacific ex-
ertions of
Henry.
Influence of
the duke of
Bucking-
ham.
Intrigues
with Scot-
land and
France.
352. Two years of comparative quiet followed the king’s re-
storation to health. Henry made a sustained effort to keep peace
between the parties which were gathered round the queen
and the duke of York. They watched one another uneasily, but
neither would strike the first blow1- The death of Somerset
had deprived the duke of his main grievance, and the queen of her
ablest adviser : the chief object of each seems to have been to pre-
vent the other from gaining supreme influence with the king.
Henry was willing to listen to the duke, but could scarcely be
expected to trust him. He showed no vindictive feeling towards
the Nevilles; in March 1456 he assented to the promotion of
George Neville to the see of Exeter. He retained for several
months the ministers whom the duke had appointed, and prob-
ably gave his confidence chiefly to the duke of Buckingham, who
was constantly called in to take the part of a mediator. But a
state divided against itself is not secured by the most skilful
diplomacy against attacks from without ; and Margaret of Anjou
had little scruple about employing the services of foreign foes to
overthrow her foes at home. The king of Scots, whose mother was
a Beaufort, made the death of Somerset an opportunity of
declaring that he would not be bound by the truce which had
been concluded in 14532 ; the duke of York, acting in the
king’s name, accepted the challenge; the king found himself
obliged to repudiate the action of the duke ; the nation was
taught that the court was in league with the Scots, and as
a matter of fact Scotland became the refuge of the defeated
Lancastrians. The French in the same way were courted by
the queen, who, intent upon the victory of the moment, would
1 See Paston Letters, i. 386, 387, 392.
s See Beckington, Letters, ii. 139-144 ! cf∙ Rymer, xi. 383.
XVIII.]
History of 1456 and 14,57.
181
not see that a national dynasty cannot be maintained by the
forces of foreign enemies. The duke of York, on the other
hand, was intriguing with the duke of Alençon, who was con-
spiring against Charles VII1. In October 1456 the king Council at
11 , ° Coventry,
called a council at Coventry, in hopes of turning this political Oct. 1456.
armistice into such a peace as might make concordant action
possible. The lords attended in arms, and the duke of Buck-
ingham had to make peace between Warwick and the young
Somerset2. The council had no other result than a change of Cimngeof
ministers; the Bourchiers, whose leaning towards the duke
of York was becoming more decided, were removed; bishop
Waynflete -became chancellor3, and the earl of Shrewsbury
treasurer4. The removal of the Bourchiers perhaps indicates
that the mediating policy of the duke of Buckingham was
exchanged for a more determined one, and that the duke of
York was henceforth to be excluded from the royal councils.
In 1457 the alarm of war on the side of France became more ʌiarɪɪɪ of
threatening; Calais was known to be in the utmost danger5;™’457
Sandwich and Fowey were taken by the French fleets, and no
power of resistance seems to have been forthcoming6. Henry
travelled through the country making ineffectual attempts at
reconciliation, and received again at Coventry the oath of the
duke of York, who was however warned that he was pardoned
for the last time7. The queen negotiated with the national
1 Cont. Monstr. liv. iii. c. 77. 2 Paston Letters, i. 408.
s Oct. и ; Ordinances, vi. 360 ; Rymer, xi. 383.
4 Oct. 5 ; Paston Letters, i. 403, 407.
s Mathieu de Coussy ascribes the attack on the English coast by Pierre
de Brezé in 1457 to an agreement between Margaret and Charles VII;
and gives an account of an alliance with Scotland to be cemented by the
marriage of two sons of Somerset with two daughters of James II (Buchon,
ΛXXvi. 295, 296). Du Clercq, who recounts the invasion, does not mention
the agreement with Margaret; liv. iii. c. 28. Both parties had the idea of
strengthening themselves by French alliances ; Cont. Monstr. liv. iii. cc.
77, 89. But of course York’s intrigues with Alençon would be regarded
as justified by the fact that Charles VII uas the national enemy.
6 Eng. Chron. ed. Davies, p. 74.
7 Such seems to have been the object of a great council called to meet
at Coventiy Feb. 14, 1457 ; in which the duke swore that he would seek
redress only by legal means, and was warned that he was pardoned for the
last time ; Rot. Parl. v. 347 ; Gregory, p. 203 ; Ordinances, vi. 433. Mr.
Gairdner (Paston Letters, i. cxxviii. sq.) traces the king’s movements by
the datos of privy seals. Cf. Fabyan, p. 631.