ι86
Constitutional History.
[chap.
all Lancastrians, are not attached to it. There can he no
doubt that the king had a large majority of supporters among
the lords, independently of the influence which the prelates
consistently exercised on behalf of peace. The commons cannot
be so distinctly classified, but it would seem that parties in
most of the counties were so nearly balanced as to enable
either faction by a little exertion to influence the elections in
Locaidiatri- their own favour1. The north of England, notwithstanding
t«o parties. the influence of the Nevilles, was loyal ; the old feud between
the first and second families of earl Ralph made the head of the
house, the earl of Westmoreland, at least half Lancastrian ; the
estates of the Percies and Cliffords, and of the duchy of Lan-
caster, gave great influence in Yorkshire to the same party;
the queen had succeeded in raising a strong feeling of affection
in the western counties. In the east, Norfolk, Suffolk2, and
Kent seem generally to have been inclined to the duke of
York, who was also strong on the marches. The south-western
counties did not witness much of the military action of the
time, and bore their share in the common burden quietly; no
politician sufficiently prominent to be chosen speaker repre-
sented any western county during the whole struggle.
The parɪia- The parliament of Coventry sat only for a month, and at-
SoivedtDec. tempted nothing further. On the 20th of December it was
20' ɪ459' dissolved by the lord chancellor in a speech abounding with
gratitude3. In this short campaign Henry had shown energy,
decision, and industry, which earlier in his reign might have
The king’s insured him a happy career. Moderation, mercy, and readiness
and policy, to forgive he invariably showed. If he seems to have been
unwise just now in driving his formidable antagonist to ex-
tremities, it must be remembered that he had borne and for-
given very much already, that he must have earned the scorn
of the nation if he endured the defiance of his subjects, however
1 Unfortunately the returns for the parliaments of 1459 and 1460 are so
imperfect as to preclude any comparison of names.
2 John de la Pole, the young heir of the duke of Suffolk, was a Yorkist,
and married a daughter of the duke of York ; he was restored to the
dukedom in 1463.
3 Rot. Parl. v. з;?о.
XVIIi.] Yorkist Rising of 1460.
187
powerful, and that he was fully awake to the jeopardy in which
his son’s inheritance stood.
The sentence passed against the rebellious nobles served only The YoriUst
to confirm them in their purpose. They were out of the king’s desalt on a
reach; the duke of York in Ireland and the Nevilles at Calais κngland∙
were able to concert measures for an invasion of England ; the
king had neither politic counsel, nor military skill, nor suffi-
cient resources to dislodge them. The queen’s efforts to stir up
the native Irish and the French against their strongholds served
only to increase her unpopularity ; the successive attempts made The royal
* ɪ ɪ ** forces f<til to
by the lord Audley, lord Rivers, Sir Baldwin Fulford, and the seize Calais,
duke of Somerset, to seize Calais, or to neutralise its importance
by occupying Guisnes, to clear the channel from Warwick’s
cruisers, or to guard against his landing at Sandwich, proved
ludicrously ineffectual. The treasurer, by severe requisitions Unpopu-
from the Yorkist towns, and by the exercise of the right of the Trca-
surer.
purveyance, which, in the abeyance of all administrative order,
was the only means left for raising supplies from day to day,
drew down popular hatred on the cause which was reduced to
such expedients. The first half of the year 1460 passed away
whilst the clouds were thus gathering. In March1 Warwick Warwick
passed over to Ireland, whence, having arranged his plan of concert an
ɪ ∙ 111 1 invasi°n∙
operations with the duke, he returned to Calais in June2 and
immediately prepared for the attack. On the 26th of that Landing of
month, Salisbury, Warwick, and Edward earl of March, the
eldest son of the duke of York, crossed over to Kent ; they had
a papal legate in their company and were immediately joined
by archbishop Bourchier and a host of Kentish men3.
In the document4 which now or a little earlier was addressed Manifesto
by the duke and the three earls to the archbishop and commons the Yorkist
of England may be read their formal indictment against the the king⅛nst
government of Henry VI. It contains many points which are fnenda∙
mere constitutional generalities, statements that have no special
reference to the circumstances of the times, and charges which
ɪ W. Wore. P- 772 ; Eng- chr∙ P- 85∙ s W. Wore. p. 772.
3 W. Wore. p. 772 î Eng. Chr. p. 86.
4 Stow, pp. 407, 408 ; Eng. Chr. pp. 86, 87. See Gregory, p. 206.