Timeline
o summer 1472 – Louis XI invaded the Duchy of Brittany, repelled by a force of English
archers
o September 1472 – alliance between the Duchy of Brittany and England agreed at
Chateaugiron
o October 1472 – Parliament met, with a war with France being the main priority and
taxation being granted to fund the campaign
o 1473 – further taxation granted due to insufficient money raised by the first tax.
o February 1474 – truce agreed between England and the Hanseatic League
o July 1474 – Treaty of London agreed between England and the Duchy of Burgundy to
invade France by July 1475
o July 1475 – England invaded France, without the support of Burgundy. England
began negotiations with France by August.
o 29 August 1475 – Treaty of Picquigny agreed between England and France. Louis XI
would pay an annual pension of £10 000 to the Edward. A 7 year truce was agreed,
with the promise of the marriage of the French Dauphin to Edward IV’s eldest
daughter, Elizabeth.
o July 1479 – marriage alliance between Edward IV’s daughter, Anne, and Archduke
Maximilian’s heir.
o August 1480 – treaty between England and Burgundy for Archduke Maximilian to
replace Edward IV’s French pension, after France stopped paying.
o Summer 1481 – marriage alliance between the Prince of Wales and the Duke of
Brittany’s heiress. France resumed paying Edward IV’s pension.
• Edward IV managed his reign by delegating local power to a small group of trusted nobles
with close personal connections. There were many vacancies after the deaths of Edward’s
former allies and the Nevilles. Thomas, Lord Grey of Groby and John, Lord Dynham
controlled the southwest of England. Wales and the Welsh Marches were harder to control,
although a council was created in 1473 to manage the region in the name of Edward IV’s
son.
• Edward also consolidated his power through foreign affairs. There was no longer the
constraint of attacking or allying with other powers that would aid the Lancastrians. One of
the main concerns of Edward’s second reign would therefore be foreign policy, and his
desire for the French campaign due to having a claim to the French crown and seeking
revenge for Louis XI’s role in the Readeption.
• Both of Edward’s brothers, Clarence and Gloucester, had Warwick’s lands divided between
them. However, both brothers had a dispute over the Beauchamp inheritance and Clarence
had a claim to it through his wife, Isabel Neville. Gloucester located and married Warwick’s
other daughter, Anne Neville, to secure his claim to the Beauchamp inheritance. A division
of the lands was agreed in principle, and Clarence was granted full security of the remaining
Warwick lands. The dispute was finally settled in May 1474 by Parliament, where Warwick’s
entire estates would be shared between Clarence, Gloucester, and their wives. The dispute
showed a disregard for inheritance rules, and Edward granting favours for his family.
• Two challenges were made against Edward IV in 1473, by John de Vere, Earl of Oxford, and
by Thomas Clifford. Oxford gained support in the French court and raided Calais, continuing
to plot with Louis XI. Oxford invaded Cornwall in September 1473, but surrendered in
February 1474.
• Edward also focused on ensuring the security of the Yorkist dynasty, either by a marriage
alliance or endowment of land. Edward’s son Richard was married to the Duke of Norfolk’s
heiress, ensuring that the lands would remain to Richard. Many proposals were planned for
Edward’s daughters. Edward also focused on securing the security of his nephews, by giving
Gloucester’s son the Earldom of Salisbury, and Clarence’s son the Earldom of Warwick.
The fall of Clarence
• Edward’s foreign policy focused on securing marriages for his children. After the death of the
Duke of Burgundy, his wife Margaret sought an English marriage to safeguard the
inheritance of the Duchy of Burgundy from Louis XI. Edward opposed Clarence marrying
Mary of Burgundy, due to the possibility of another betrayal and making another claim to
the throne through Mary.
• In March 1477, Lord Hastings set sail to invade France with Burgundy and was supported by
Gloucester. Edward IV called off the invasion due to it violating the terms of the Picquigny
treaty, stopping Clarence’s ambitions to the Duchy of Burgundy and Gloucester’s plans to
invade. Edward dismissed another marriage match, between Clarence and the Scottish
king’s sister.
• In April 1477, Clarence accused Ankarette Twynho, John Thursby, and Roger Tocotes, of
poisoning his wife. Edward IV arrested Dr John Stacy on charges of planning his death, who
also implicated Thomas Burdet. Clarence declared Burdet’s innocence before the King’s
Council, and Clarence was arrested in June 1477.
• January 1478 – Parliament made accusations against Clarence, including spreading rumours
of Edward IV’s illegitimacy and the judicial murder of Ankarette Twynho. Despite Edward’s
hesitations, Clarence was attainted and executed in February.
Foreign policy and Scotland
• Mary of Burgundy married Archduke Maximilian of Austria in August 1477, without Edward’s
support. Edward supported the Duchy of Burgundy to prevent a French invasion, whilst also
keeping a truce with France to ensure the pension and the marriage alliance with the
Dauphin.
• In winter 1478, relations with Scotland deteriorated due to skirmishes on the Anglo-Scottish
border. Edward IV offered James III an ultimatum, reinforced by appointing Gloucester as
Lieutenant-General of the Realm in May 1480. Edward IV had to delay his planned
expedition against the Scots until September 1480, likely due to his involvement in
negotiations with France, Brittany, and Burgundy.
• After a series of skirmishes in winter 1481-82, an agreement with the Duke of Albany was
made to claim the Scottish throne. Gloucester was successful in his campaign, with the
surrender of Berwick, but withdrew due to wanting to conduct negotiations with Edward
present.
• In October 1481, Edward called off all marriage agreements with Scotland and prepared to
secure financial aid for renewed war.
New methods of government
• The historian JR Green wrote that Edward IV was the creator of the ‘New Monarchy’, a shift
towards absolutism that involved destroying the power of the nobility and destroying the
traditional protections against arbitrary taxation and legislation. Indeed, Edward’s rule was
different from his Lancastrian predecessors.
• Edward used patronage to ensure that the nobility’s dedication to the king, without
subverting their power. He innovatively used Parliament by calling them for fewer but longer
sessions. His control of royal finances ensured that the Crown was solvent. Edward made key
decisions with petitions, complaints, and parliamentary bills. To ensure an efficient and
orderly monarchy, Edward relied on new men to carry out governmental functions; there
was a need to reassert royal authority after the nobility being devastated by the conflict.
• Finances – Edward IV used a variety of methods to maximise royal income, especially since
he had inherited a bankrupt monarchy.
o Edward used taxation four times during his reign, alongside forced loans and
‘benevolences’.
o Edward also had to rely on ordinary revenues, like England’s customs and the
revenue of crown estates.
o Austerity measures were used to try and control the financial situation.
o By using Acts of Resumption, Edward recovered royal lands that had been given
away by previous kings, meaning that he had more estates and therefore more
income. Rents were increased to maximise income.
o Edward exported wool in large quantities for profit.
o Edward’s officials managed the income of royal lands instead of the Exchequer. Part
of Edward’s financial policy was to bypass the Exchequer, which was an inefficient
institution. Money was diverted directly into the royal household’s coffers, a system
which would personally involve the king and a small group of royal servants.
o The household went under a series of reforms, cutting costs so that the household
cost less than it had under Henry VI.
o Edward also sold vacant prelacies, which couldn’t be sold according to the Magna
Carta.
• Edward IV also reformed the administration of the royal household by publishing a 1478
ordinance and the Black Book. It recorded the functions of the household offices, into ‘above
stairs’ and ‘below stairs’ departments. ‘Above stairs’ departments were expected to
maintain aspects of the household that would be seen by the public. The ‘below stairs’
departments existed to support the functions of the ‘above stairs’ and enable the display of
magnificence to the outside world. The Black Book attempted to describe and regulate
household expenses, establishing specific rules. The 1478 Ordinance improved methods of
accounting.
• Overall, Edward IV’s new government methods were not necessarily reforms, but good
management of already established systems. Most innovation occurred in finance, justice,
and dealing with localities.
Factional rivalries and court politics
• An alliance between Gloucester and Lord Hastings developed, due to their common interests
of wanting war with France in 1475, supporting Edward’s ambitions for the marriage of Mary
to Burgundy to Earl Rivers in 1477, and having a distaste for the Woodvilles.
• There were concerns about the Woodvilles’ growing power. Thomas Grey was created Earl
of Huntingdon in 1472 and Marquess of Dorset in 1475. Also, he was granted the wardship
and marriage of Clarence’s heir, the Earl of Warwick. Thomas Grey also planned to marry his
son to the heiress of the Duchy of Exeter.
• Gloucester might have viewed the Woodvilles as responsible for Clarence’s death. Lord
Hastings had a long-running dispute with the Marquess of Dorset. There were false rumours
of the Woodvilles planning to betray the town of Calais to France in August 1482, showing
their general unpopularity in England.
Change and continuity in English society during a decade of peace
• England had struggles enduring the economic slump between 1440 and 1480. International
trade was affected by the consequences of piracy and broken trade agreements. Edward IV’s
policies helped economic recovery; during the last few years of Edward IV’s reign, the
Merchant Adventurers were restored to levels of international trade seen before the
beginning of the civil wars. However, this was not universal: the Hanseatic League’s trade
fluctuated between 1460 and 1480, as well as other alien merchants.
• The consequences of the civil wars and decimation of many noble families meant that many
could climb the social ranks through reward and marriage, such as the ‘new men’ of
Edward’s first reign. For example, the Paston family made wise land purchases and strategic
marriage alliances that allowed them to elevate to the peerage. Upward social mobility was
also possible in urban areas, with some merchants being able to ascend to the status of
gentry eg Sir Matthew Phillip. This social mobility resulted in great changes to the make-up
of society due to a decrease in the noble elite.
• Edward relied on the loyalty and abilities of members of the landed class to maintain law
and order in England’s regions. Edward was a landowner and had a strong interest in the
general state of his properties. Wales was the target of tighter royal control after 1471. The
Welsh Council was founded to ensure that the marcher lords were appropriately performing
their functions.
The premature death of Edward IV and the crisis of the Yorkist succession
• 1482 – Edward attempted to keep an alliance with both France and Burgundy, whilst
preventing a Scottish invasion of northern England. In December, Archduke Maximilian
signed the Treaty of Arras with Louis XI, where his daughter Mary was betrothed to the
Dauphin. England was excluded from these negotiations (his daughter was no longer
betrothed to the Dauphin, as mentioned in Picquigny), the French pension was lost entirely,
and Calais was surrendered by hostile powers. Edward’s foreign policy since 1475 was
ruined.
• April 1483 – Edward IV died and resulted in the swift unravelling of many policies. Edward
died before he could renew war with France, though England’s finances may have been
unable to handle it.
• However, Edward IV’s heir was only 12 years old and would mean that England would be
ruled by a regency council. Edward’s premature death meant that there was insufficient
provision for the succession and caused uncertainty due to the division between the
Woodvilles and Gloucester & Lord Hastings.
• Edward’s policies only worked when he was in full control. Edward was not concerned about
the development of court and regional factions due to his ability to manage feuds. However,
Edward’s death meant that these factions could no longer be controlled and there would be
disputes over the control of the new monarch.
