CHAPTER VI

GLOUCESTER AS FIRST COUNCILLOR

The coronation of Henry VI. had its significance at home as well as abroad; for Gloucester it meant the abandonment of the title which he had held since the death of Henry V. The festivities were barely over when Parliament declared that, since the King was now crowned, he had taken the responsibility of the government on himself, and that therefore the Protectorate was at an end: on November 15 Humphrey resigned his office, stipulating that by this action he did not prejudice the right of his brother Bedford.[749] In this premature ending of the Protectorate we cannot fail to see the hand of Beaufort and the jealousy of the Regency Council. To say that a child, who had not attained the age of eight, had become capable of governing the country simply because a ceremony, which might have been performed with equal justice seven years earlier, had taken place, was on the face of it absurd. It may be that Beaufort had suggested the coronation to Bedford when he was in France with this end in view; certainly this summary ending of the Protectorate shows that the Council were determined to limit the power of the man who was nominally at the head of affairs, thereby hoping to increase their own importance. The lords had just told Gloucester that the title of Protector was nothing but a title, and now they proceeded to take away even that, and to reduce him to the rank of First Councillor. There was neither logic nor policy in this action. Whilst it could not serve to help on the good government of the kingdom, it only added another reason for the discontent and factiousness of the man it was meant to curb.

We find Gloucester's protest against his compulsory resignation of the Protectorate in this very same Parliament, when it was questioned whether a cardinal had a right to be a member of the Council. Beaufort secured another victory when the Lords decided that not only was it allowable but very desirable that he should attend the meetings of the Council on all occasions, except when matters connected with the Papal See were under discussion.[750]

1430] THE FORTY SHILLING FRANCHISE

The Bishop of Winchester had now considerably more power than his rival, and we may see traces of the antipathy to Gloucester prevalent amongst the Lords of Parliament in a famous measure passed in the second session of this same Parliament. The representatives of the counties in Parliament were chosen in the County Court, and Henry IV. had taken steps to make this representation adequately reflect the wishes of all who had access to that court. A reaction against this wide qualification for the franchise now set in, and it was ordained that none but those who possessed a freehold of the value of forty shillings a year, and resided within the county, could vote for the knights of the shire who sat in Parliament.[751] It is to be noticed that, whilst driving the theory of constitutional government to an extreme, Parliament was now limiting the possibilities of its claim to represent the nation: the reason is obvious. The more limited the franchise, the more powerful would be the lords who desired to rule the country, and the less powerful would be Gloucester, who numbered his supporters amongst the rank and file of the commonalty now excluded from the franchise. The Bill spoke of the riot and disturbance caused 'by great attendance of people of small substance and no value whereof every of them pretended a voice equivalent, as to such elections, with the most worthy knights and squires resident,'[752] and the true meaning of this complaint does not lie far below the surface. Humphrey may be indicted on many counts, but he cannot be said to have championed the lords against the people. What strength he had was based on his personal popularity with the 'people of small substance,' and his opponents were the men who, working under the pretence of desiring a stronger Parliament, were attempting to secure absolute domination over the country. Having secured a preponderance in the kingdom, they proceeded to quarrel among themselves, since the inevitable result of conciliar government was at this time civil war. Gloucester, with all his faults, stood for the rights of the people, not perhaps from disinterested motives, but because the people were ready to support him. Neither lords nor commons had an exclusive right to govern the kingdom during a minority, nor had they the political capacity to do so, but this limitation of the franchise was a measure aimed by the nobility at Gloucester and the commons at once. Supported by Beaufort, who thought himself able to control them, the lords shut the door on those who alone could check their turbulence, and weakened the position of a man, who with a less limited power might have given strength to the kingdom and dynasty, even although he was almost entirely selfish in his aims. Beaufort was not able to control them, and the ultimate result of their quarrels was civil war.

1430] GLOUCESTER MADE REGENT

While these measures to prevent the ascendency of Gloucester in the councils of the nation were being taken, preparations were being made for the journey of the young King to France; they were pervaded by a spirit of precaution. The articles for the regulation of the Council, which had been made in the first Parliament of the reign, were re-enacted and expanded so that there should be no possibility of the conciliar government being weakened by the machinations of the First Councillor.[753] At the same time careful arrangements were made for the government of the kingdom in the King's absence; all were agreed that it was impossible to leave the kingdom in the hands of any one but Gloucester, yet his powers as Regent must be limited. Cardinal Beaufort was induced to escort Henry VI. to France, and the Council was divided into two parts, one to accompany the King, the other to remain in England. These two divisions were to be independent of one another except in matters of the greatest importance, but the Regent of England was prevented from turning the English Council into a body composed of his own supporters by the provision that no councillor could be dismissed save with the consent of both Councils.[754] At the same time the weakness of the Council as a governing body was made manifest by the steps taken to prevent the Duke of Norfolk and the Earls of Huntingdon and Warwick from attacking one another whilst accompanying the King. Humphrey took his own precautions to prevent armed dissensions in this Council, and exacted an oath from these three lords that they would not in person resent any injury done them, but bring any dispute among themselves before the Council.[755]

In spite of the proceedings of his opponents, it is evident that the abolition of the Protectorate had not shorn Gloucester of all his power. In this quarrel of the lords he had successfully asserted his right to impose order and to keep the peace, and on December 23 of the previous year he had secured a handsome allowance for his exertions as First Councillor. For his attendance at the Council whilst the King was still in England, he was paid at the rate of two thousand marks a year, and as Regent in the King's absence he was to receive double that sum. A proviso was also added that if he should be put to extra expense or trouble in some matter in which he had the consent of the Council, he was to have an extra grant, and if, by reason of the urgency of the matter, he should be compelled to act without the consent of that body, he was to be paid therefor at their next meeting.[756]

Whilst the last preparations for the journey were being made, Gloucester had accompanied his nephew as far as Canterbury on his way to the coast. There Easter had been kept, and it was there also that Gloucester took the steps already recorded towards securing peace amongst the lords who were to accompany their young sovereign to France.[757] There, too, in his capacity of Warden of the Cinque Ports, he had prepared for the transhipment of the expedition by ordering ships to be in readiness to carry the King across the Channel.[758] On April 23 his commission as Regent during the King's absence was signed. By it he was authorised to hold Parliaments and Councils, and with their assent to ordain such things as were necessary for the welfare of the King and the realm. He might also exercise the royal authority in all matters pertaining to ecclesiastical elections, but he was to do everything by the advice of the Council and not otherwise.[759] Next day the little King set sail on his way to secure the empty honour of the crown of France, whilst his uncle turned back to undertake the cares of that other kingdom, which was in the end to prove an almost equally illusory possession.[760]

The first year of Gloucester's regency passed without any incident of interest. The government was quietly conducted, and the discussions which continually arose when Beaufort was in the country were for the time forgotten. Negotiations were carried on with Scotland, in which Lord Scrope, a supporter of Gloucester, seems to have acted with energy and ability.[761] But despite several journeys to the north, and a seeming readiness on both sides to come to an understanding,[762] no definite settlement was made, and he was again sent to Scotland in November.[763] Thus the year passed quickly away, and there was found to be no need for the summoning of Parliament till early in 1431.[764]

1431] MEETING OF PARLIAMENT

The session which then began was even more uneventful than that of the preceding year, though Beaufort came over to attend it,[765] and the lack of political quarrels speaks for the good government of the Regent and the powerlessness of the Cardinal when his turbulent supporters were absent in France. Only one event in Parliament is worthy of record, and this points to the financial distress of the country and to the waning affection for the war. In response to the Pope's efforts in the direction of peace, the Lords and Commons joined with hearty goodwill in an attempt to further his wishes by appointing the King's three uncles, Bedford, Gloucester, and Beaufort, to treat of peace with the envoys of France and of Rome, and by instructing them to agree to any terms they might think reasonable, saving the liberties of the King's subjects.[766] According to a later chronicler the powers thus conferred were the occasion of an amicable meeting between the Regent and the Cardinal on matters of foreign policy.[767] At any rate, Beaufort returned to France without any fresh cause of dispute having arisen between him and his nephew.

1431] SEDITION OF 'JACK SHARPE'

When Parliament had been dissolved Gloucester went down to Greenwich to spend Easter, and on St. George's Day he presided at a Chapter of the Order of the Garter at Windsor.[768] He was suddenly called away by disturbances in the Midland Counties. A certain William Perkyns, otherwise known as William Maundyvyll, who for the purposes of his agitation called himself 'Jack Sharpe of Wygmoreland,' had lately been distributing pamphlets in London, Coventry, and Oxford, which took the form of a petition to the King and Lords of Parliament, showing the waste which ensued from the possession of temporalities by the bishops, abbots, and priors of the Church, and praying for their resumption by the Crown. It was suggested that the proceeds of this confiscation should be devoted to the endowment of a hundred almshouses and the financing of a certain number of earls, knights, and squires, but that the confiscations themselves should only affect the high dignitaries of the Church.[769] The mention of 'Wygmoreland' savoured too much of the House of Mortimer for the Regent to ignore the movement, while the prelates were in a frenzy at this attack on their coveted possessions. The idea thus propounded was no new one, for in the Parliament of 1410 this resumption of ecclesiastical temporalities had been suggested, and the future Henry V. had opposed it,[770] while at a later date Oldcastle had circulated pamphlets recommending such a course.[771] In remembrance of this incident the cry of heresy and Lollardy was raised, and it was declared that Jack Sharpe with his 'fals feleshipp' wished to destroy the Church.[772] Thus political security and religious orthodoxy both summoned Gloucester from his ease, and he hastened to Abingdon, in which neighbourhood the malcontents were said to be assembled. By the help of one William Warberton, Jack Sharpe with many of his associates was found in hiding at Oxford, where the Chancellor and bailiffs arrested him on the Thursday before Whitsunday.[773] Brought before the Regent, he was condemned to death and executed at Abingdon, and his head was placed on London Bridge.[774]

In the part he took in the suppression of 'Jack Sharpe' Gloucester was actuated as much by a desire to enforce the arm of the law on all disturbers of the peace, and on all who might be thought to threaten the House of Lancaster, as by the claims of the higher clergy to be protected. About this time, however, he further countenanced the extinction of heresy by being present at the burning at Smithfield of an old priest who denied the validity of the sacraments of the Church.[775] In this he was merely carrying out the general policy of the Government, for instances of the execution of Lollards and other heretics were of comparatively frequent occurrence.

The danger to Church and State was over, and the movement of the man of 'Wygmoreland' had been suppressed by the Regent's quick and decided action, yet the very assumption of this name showed that the House of Lancaster was not free from the danger which had threatened in the Southampton conspiracy of 1415, and in the later pretensions of the Earl of March. The inevitable dynastic struggle was only postponed till a time when a weak and vacillating king in the hands of unintelligent advisers should find himself unable to cope with a movement which this time had been nipped in the bud.

After the execution of 'Jack Sharpe' Gloucester visited several other places in the kingdom, making inquisitions concerning certain heretics, traitors, and rebels, and punishing them according to their demerits.[776] Indeed during the Regency executions for illegal acts and Lollardy were frequent; now it was a courtier punished for the misuse of a patent seal, now a Lollard who by his faith threatened the House of Lancaster. All through Humphrey's justice seems to have been firm and true, and during the time of his government of the kingdom one chronicler at least appears to hint at a more drastic and organised government by the number of executions that he records.[777] At the same time there is no record of any serious disturbance in the kingdom, and the rising of Jack Sharpe is peculiar, not because of its existence, but because of the summary justice meted out to it. By November Humphrey was back again to London and in attendance at the Council. The days of the Regency were now drawing to a close. The King was now, after many delays, on the eve of his coronation in Paris,[778] and his return to England at the beginning of the New Year was certain. With him would come Beaufort and his supporters in the Council, and Gloucester feared that fresh attacks would be made on his position. He therefore prepared to meet them by a counter-movement, to be made whilst he was still governing the country and had a complete ascendency over the Council, and it was to this end that the question of Beaufort's cardinalate was again raised.

1431] INTRIGUE AGAINST BEAUFORT

At a meeting of the Council on November 6 the King's Serjeant and Attorney presented a petition which requested that Beaufort should be deprived of his see of Winchester on the ground of his having accepted a cardinal's hat. In support of this petition it was argued that Archbishops Langham and Kilwardby had been deprived for this reason, and that the good of the kingdom demanded compliance with these precedents. The Regent, who evidently inspired this action on the part of the legal officials of the Crown, asked the Bishop of Worcester whether it was true that the Cardinal had procured from Rome an exemption for himself, his city, and his see from the jurisdiction of the Primate. After much hesitation the Bishop was compelled to acknowledge that the Bishop of Lichfield had told him that he had acted for Beaufort in the purchase of such an exemption from the Pope. After debate the matter was referred to the judges, who were instructed to search the records and give their decision on the legal point. Meanwhile nothing further was to be done till the Cardinal returned to justify his action.[779]

Though to us this attack may seem trivial, and its occurrence, at a time when its object was not in the country to defend himself, unfair, we must not forget that the Cardinal had laid himself open to the gravest suspicion by invoking the interference of Rome in a matter of purely English importance. It is also to be noticed that Beaufort had realised the probability of losing his English benefices when created cardinal, as at the time of his appointment he had procured a papal Bull which enacted that 'he schuld have an reioyse all the benefyces spirituell and temporell that he hadde had in Englond.'[780] Thus he had laid himself open to the pains and penalties of the statute of Provisors, which forbade the acceptance of letters from the Pope appointing people to benefices in England, and showed that Gloucester's suspicion that he was using the papal alliance for furtherance of his ambitions at home was fully justified. Jealousy of papal power had ever been one of the chief tenets of the Englishman's creed, and had a less powerfully connected ecclesiastic than Beaufort ventured on such a step, his punishment would have been swift and sure. Indeed the only voice raised in protest against the action of the Council in this matter was that of the Bishop of Carlisle,[781] a man well known to be a minion of the Beaufort party, and one to whose appointment to his present see both Gloucester and Lord Scrope had objected strongly only a few years before.[782] The decision of the judges seems to have been hostile to the Cardinal, for on November 20 the Council ordered writs of Præmunire and attachment upon the Statute to be sealed against him, though they were not to be executed till the King came back.[783]

Thus Gloucester thought that he had successfully clipped the wings of his rival, and his ascendency in the Council was still further emphasised by a movement to increase his salary as Regent. According to the existing arrangement he received two thousand marks per annum as First Councillor, and four thousand marks whilst he was Regent in the King's absence. It was the Treasurer, Lord Hungerford, who now proposed in the Great Council, on the same day as the writ of Præmunire was issued, that in consideration of the great expenses that Gloucester had incurred in the past, both in preserving the kingdom from the malice of rebels and traitors, and 'especially of late concerning the taking and execution of the most horrible heretic and impious traitor to God and the said Lord King, who called himself John Sharp, and of many other heretical malefactors his accomplices,' he should receive an increase of two thousand marks per annum for his services as Regent, returning to his usual salary when the King came back.[784]

1431] GLOUCESTER'S SALARY INCREASED

That this was an evasion of a demand for increased pay by Gloucester seems to be evident, as the Regency was drawing to a close, and therefore no material benefit would accrue to the Regent by this motion. Moreover, the excuse of the expense of putting down the rising of John Sharp was merely a formal plea, as a payment of five hundred marks had already been made in this respect on July 17.[785] It was not to be expected that Hungerford should propose any measure of great advantage to the Regent, for he had sided throughout with the Chancellor in opposing Gloucester, even as he had been intended to do when appointed to office by the influence of the Beaufort faction. Now he evidently wished to conciliate Humphrey at small expense. Lord Scrope, however, who was a steady supporter of the Regent, proposed an amendment to the effect that Gloucester should have five thousand marks a year in his capacity of First Councillor after the King's return, as well as the six thousand marks of his proposed salary as Regent. After considerable discussion this last suggestion was agreed to, though it was strongly opposed by Chancellor Kemp, the Bishop of Carlisle, and Lords Harrington, De la Warr, Lovell, and Botreaux. The Treasurer accepted the amendment, probably in the hope of conciliating one who proved to have such strong supporters. One qualification, however, was secured by Gloucester's opponents, when it was arranged that the salary now voted should cover all expenses he might incur in the King's service.[786]

The result of all this was a decided victory for the Regent, and he was made secure of an exceedingly handsome allowance, which he felt to be necessary owing to his expensive and luxurious habits, and the charges which he incurred as a patron of letters. The sum was not excessive, for in the past both Bedford and himself had received annual salaries of four to eight thousand marks as First Councillors.[787] Nevertheless this was not a time to wring money from an already depleted exchequer. The Lancastrians had always been poor, and now especially the constant sinking of money into the bottomless morass of the French wars had reduced the dynasty and kingdom to a very low financial state. Once more Gloucester showed that personal gratification was more to him than patriotic considerations. Throughout his regency he had shown the same traits of character we have found in other parts of his career. Administrative power, good government, a determination to punish sedition and violence speedily and efficiently, all may be seen in this brief tenure of office. Criminals were brought to justice; in the face of seething discontent and the growing violence of the barons, peace reigned. Yet, despite all this, the government was subordinate in Humphrey's eyes to his own personal aggrandisement. He had used his spell of power to strengthen his position in the kingdom irrespective of his executive duties, which were treated more as isolated incidents than as part of a constructive policy. He had taken advantage of the Cardinal's absence to direct an attack on his position in the kingdom; he had struck at the very foundation of Beaufort's power when he had tried to deprive him of some of his possessions; he had levelled against him a charge which, if successful, would entail his banishment from the kingdom. At the same time he had taken steps to strengthen his own position by increasing his income, and these monetary considerations remind us of the new era that was dawning, the approach of that time when no longer birth or hereditary position were to define a man's power, but the length of his purse and his capacity to command the services of others by purchase. Humphrey's Regency, therefore, is important partly for the added indications of his power of administration, but more so for the stage it marks in his attempt to undermine the power of his great enemy.

1432] RETURN OF HENRY VI.

The increase of his income was the last important event for Gloucester before the return of the King, who landed at Dover on February 9,[788] and on Thursday 21 entered London in triumph. The Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, and Aldermen, clad in their fur-lined scarlet cloaks, were there to receive him, and amid song and pageant, in which champions with drawn swords and 'maidens very celestialle' took part, Gloucester escorted his nephew to St. Paul's and thence to Westminster.[789] A bright interlude this in the struggles for ascendency which surrounded the boy-king's throne, struggles which, dating from Henry V.'s untimely death, were to continue with varied success, now to this side, now to that, for so long a period. The rivalry of Gloucester and Beaufort had been the central thread of the tangled web of the King's minority, and now that Henry was a crowned King and claimed personal obedience in two countries, this rivalry did not lose its importance. The internal history of England is still the history of the faction fight which had marred the peace of the first nine years of the reign.

The struggle between, the two uncles enters at this period on a new phase. Hitherto it had been chiefly confined to the sphere of Parliament and the Council Chamber, now the interest centres more in the King's person. Henry VI., though only ten years old, was beginning to assert his position, for he was 'growen in yeares, in stature ... and also in conceyte of his hiegh and royale auctoritee,' as his tutor, Warwick, complained to the Council,[790] and under these circumstances it became every year more necessary for each party to gain the King's ear. Beaufort had not come back with the royal escort, so Gloucester had an opportunity to use the King's return for his own ends. He was not at all satisfied with the officers of state whom his opponents had placed in office. Chancellor Kemp had opposed the increase of his salary, and Hungerford, the Treasurer, had only assented to the measure at the last moment; the first step, therefore, was to secure their dismissal, which he had been unable to procure before under the terms of his regency patent. No time was lost; on February 28, only four days after Henry's arrival in London, Archbishop Kemp resigned the Seals to Gloucester, who for the moment became Lord Keeper. On March 1 they were delivered to the King, who handed them forthwith to the Bishop of Bath and Wells.[791] Lord Scrope, the ardent supporter of Gloucester, succeeded Lord Hungerford as Treasurer, while care was taken to displace men of Beaufort sympathies from positions which entailed personal attendance on the King. Accordingly Lord Cromwell was dismissed from the post of Chamberlain in favour of Sir William Philip, and Lord Tiptoft, the Steward of the Household, made way for Sir Robert Babthorp, who had instructions to make all haste to take up his office at once.[792] Thus with the greatest expedition possible the _personnel_ around the King was changed, and the new officers were chosen, as far as possible, from amongst those who would support Gloucester's claim to a preponderance in the politics of the kingdom.

These changes in the crown officials were safely effected before Parliament met on May 12, by which date Beaufort had arrived in England. The turbulence of the great nobles is illustrated by the fact that writs were issued to the Duke of Norfolk, the Earls of Suffolk, Huntingdon, Stafford, Northumberland, and Salisbury, together with Lord Cromwell, enjoining them not to come to Parliament with more than their usual number of retainers.[793] To say that this 'intimation under the circumstances must have sounded very like a declaration of war' on the part of Gloucester[794] is a total misreading of the matter. Precautions of much the same nature had been taken by Bedford at the Parliament of Leicester without provoking comment, and it was well known that at least two of those to whom the writs were addressed were at enmity with one another, and that Lord Cromwell was enraged at his loss of office. Added to all this, Huntingdon was certainly not of the Beaufort faction, as he subsequently appears as the supporter of Duke Humphrey.[795] It was merely a precautionary measure, and serves to prove the unreliability of those by whom the government of the kingdom was supposed to be dominated, for these lords, with the exception of Salisbury, were all Councillors.

1432] DISCUSSIONS IN PARLIAMENT

When Parliament did meet, Beaufort was there to look after his own interests. On the second day Gloucester addressed the Lords, saying that it was desirable that the Commons should know that the Lords spiritual and temporal were in agreement, and that, therefore, a declaration to this effect should be made. So far as he himself was concerned, though by right of birth and by Act of Parliament he was First Councillor to the King whilst Bedford was absent yet he would never do any state business except with the consent of the Lords, or of a majority of them. He therefore called upon his hearers to give their best advice, and he would abide by it. To this suggested declaration the Lords assented, promising their advice, and praying Gloucester 'for the reverence of God and the good of the King and the realm to observe his part of the agreement to the best of his ability.' The Commons were accordingly solemnly informed of the state of absolute concord existing amongst those whom they knew to be turbulent and divided.[796] The object that Humphrey had in view was to secure an acknowledgment of his position, and an acceptance of the state of things as they then stood. His position was one of greater importance than he had enjoyed for some years, and he wished it to be clearly understood that he would not abandon that position without a determined struggle. At the same time, if his power was not assailed, he would not ignore the opinions of others. He could point to his recent successful regency as evidence of the good results of his rule, yet he definitely promised not to go outside his powers so long as his preponderance in the councils of the nation was accepted. He had warned the turbulent nobles in the writ addressed to them with respect to their retinues, and he now wished to impress upon them collectively, that he stood for good government against the divided rule of the Council. Whether this declaration was entirely disinterested may well be doubted, and that his government would be good in our sense of the word was hardly probable, but he was choosing the least turbulent way of asserting himself, and his administration could not well be worse than that of the faction that opposed him.

1432] BEAUFORT'S COMPLAINTS

This warning Beaufort took as a challenge, and retorted in Parliament by an assumption of injured innocence. He rose in his place and explained that whilst on his way to Rome, a journey undertaken by the permission of the King, he had been told that he had been accused of treachery to his royal nephew. He now demanded that he should be confronted with his accuser, and declared himself ready to meet him, however exalted his rank might be--a broad hint at his rival, for no one but Gloucester in England at that time was of superior rank to the Cardinal. The matter was discussed in the King's presence, and finally Gloucester, as representing the Councillors there present, declared the King's entire belief in Beaufort's loyalty, and emphatically announced that no one had accused him of anything, nor to the best of their knowledge did any one desire to do so.[797] Whether there was any truth in the Cardinal's statement, or whether he was referring to the writ of Præmunire issued against him, must remain uncertain. At all events his attempt to make a scene failed, and with it his first attack on Gloucester's new position.

But the Cardinal had another cause of complaint, and he proceeded to ventilate this second grievance. Certain of the King's jewels pledged to him for a loan had been seized by the royal officials when he landed at Sandwich, and he now demanded their restoration.[798] On what plea these jewels were confiscated we cannot discover, but that the Regent had some just cause for his action may be argued from the fact that Parliament only agreed to this restoration on condition that £6000 more were deposited for them, and a promise made by the Cardinal to lend the King thirteen thousand marks in addition.[799] Beaufort had undoubtedly not suffered any loss from the sums he had lent to the King in the past, and it is possible that he had overreached himself in his desire for increased profit; moreover, Gloucester himself seems to have had some personal claim on the jewels,[800] which had probably been pledged to him at some former time, but not fully redeemed, as had been the case when four years earlier he had received a belated payment for the campaign of 1415. If there was any insinuation that the Regent had been robbing under the shadow of the law, it failed to reach the mark, and the jewels were only secured by a heavy payment, though ultimately the Cardinal managed to creep out of the engagements he had made.[801] Taking all this into consideration, it is hard to deduce from these proceedings in Parliament that Beaufort gained a victory over his rival,[802] though he did secure an exemption from all liabilities incurred by him under the Acts of Provisors and Præmunire.[803]

Yet another attack on Gloucester was made in this Parliament by his opponents, when on June 10 Lord Cromwell complained before the Lords that he had been dismissed from his office of Chamberlain contrary to the Ordinances of 1429. He declared that it was a slight on his honour, as no reason had been assigned for this action,[804] and he demanded to be told for what fault he had been dismissed. It was not likely that, where the Cardinal had failed, his follower would succeed, and Cromwell was politely told by Gloucester that he had done no wrong, but was removed merely because he himself and the Council wished it.[805] Thus Gloucester had been successful all along the line. The various, scarcely veiled, attacks made upon him in this Parliament had been repulsed, and his power had been in no way lessened by the return of the King. His position was recognised, and in October of the same year we even find him described as 'Custode Angliæ' in an official document,[806] a title of considerably greater importance than that of 'First Councillor.'

* * * * *

1433] NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE

Gloucester had so far asserted his strength that no open attempt to challenge his authority was made for some time, and in this interval of security he spent what time he could spare from public affairs in rebuilding his house at Greenwich in magnificent style, and making a park around it of some two hundred acres.[807] From this pursuit he was called away at the beginning of 1433 by the negotiations for peace which were going on between England and France under the care of the Pope's representative, the Cardinal of St. Croix. The French had requested that the prisoners in England might be sent over to confer with their fellow-countrymen on the question of peace, and the Council at length agreed to send them as far as Dover, where every facility of communication with their friends across the Channel would be given them.[808] At the same time it was arranged that several important councillors should proceed to Calais, there to discuss the matter with accredited representatives of Charles of France. At their head went Gloucester accompanied by the Chancellor, who deposited the Great Seal with the Clerk of the Rolls on April 15th preparatory to his departure.[809] Humphrey had been making his preparations to cross the Channel ever since February,[810] and on the 22nd of April he started out for Calais.[811] There he was met by Beaufort and Bedford, the latter having brought with him his newly married wife. Anne of Burgundy had died in November,[812] and her husband had delayed but these few months before marrying Jacquetta of Luxemburg, sister of the Count of St. Pol and niece of John of Luxemburg, the Duke of Burgundy's chief captain. The Duke was much displeased at the action of the Regent of France, not merely for the slight that it cast on his sister's memory, but also because the marriage with his vassal's daughter had been contracted without his leave.[813] Among the many influences that tended to alienate Burgundy from England it must be remembered that the marriage of John of Bedford played its part, though it was inferior in importance to the earlier marriage of his brother Humphrey.

At Calais Gloucester remained for a month, though no envoys came from the French King, and consequently the business he had gone there to perform could not be undertaken. Together with his brother he induced Beaufort to lend another five thousand marks to the King,[814] and at this time he seems to have been at peace with his uncle, a curious interlude in the bitter rivalry. So far did this good feeling extend at this time, that Humphrey issued a manifesto declaring his readiness to submit his still outstanding differences with the Duke of Burgundy to the arbitrament of Beaufort and Bedford.[815] This declaration is of interest in itself, since it is possible that it was meant as an act of conciliation towards Burgundy, who was obviously wavering in his English alliance. If this interpretation be correct, it shows a strange turning of the tables. Humphrey was now to try to undo the mischief caused by John of Bedford's rash marriage. On May 23 Gloucester returned to England,[816] to be followed in June by the Duke and Duchess of Bedford, who crossed on Midsummer's Eve.[817]

1433] BEDFORD IN ENGLAND

The meeting of Parliament had been postponed owing to the absence of Gloucester and the Chancellor in France, but on their return it was summoned to meet in July. The session opened on the 8th of that month, and on the same day Gloucester, who had surrendered his existing life-peerage to the King, received it back entailed to the heirs male of his body.[818] Bedford and the Cardinal both took their places in Parliament, and on the 13th the former addressed the House, saying that he had learnt that he had been falsely accused of treachery, and that the English reverses in France were attributed to his neglect. As Beaufort had done before him, he asked that he might be confronted with his accusers.[819] On what authority Bedford made this statement we cannot tell, whether he really had reason to suspect treachery on the part of his brother, or whether it was merely the machinations of the Cardinal, who had poured into his nephew's ear some invention of his own, that induced him to make this protest, it is impossible to say. The striking similarity of the method to that which Beaufort had adopted would support the second supposition. It was not the first time that the Bishop of Winchester had implanted distrust of Humphrey in Bedford's mind to serve his own purposes.

Whatever prompted the protest, it had no further effect than to satisfy Bedford's honour, for he was assured by the Chancellor that no report such as he spoke of had reached the ears of the Duke of Gloucester, the Council, or even the King himself, who regarded his uncle as his faithful and true liege.[820] Bedford was not satisfied, and, prompted by Beaufort, he brought his influence to bear on the officials of the Crown. Lord Scrope was compelled to yield his place to Lord Cromwell, whilst the Earl of Suffolk supplanted Sir Robert Babthorp as Steward of the Household;[821] changes which implied the substitution of men of the Beaufort faction, who had been warned against turbulence only a year ago, for men who were known supporters of Gloucester and his policy. Under Bedford's guidance, however, Cromwell threw himself with energy into the work of his new office, and proceeded to collect statistics concerning the finances of the kingdom, which were in a very bad condition. Meanwhile Parliament was prorogued through fear of an attack of the plague till October 13.[822]

Once again Bedford had come over to England to check his brother's power, and it is more than probable that he had been instigated to take this course by Beaufort, who however was this time too cunning to commit to paper his appeal for help to the Regent of France. There was no obvious excuse for this interference. The country was not suffering from the rule of Gloucester, and therefore it is the more likely that it was only the Bishop of Winchester's diminished power that caused this intervention. Beaufort had been much abroad of late, and had had ample opportunity to poison Bedford's mind against his brother, and the latter's complaint in Parliament, coupled with the removal of all Gloucester's friends from office, seems to show that some underhand influence was at work. Strong man though he was, Bedford was unable to grasp all the varied aspects of English politics. He knew his brother to be ambitious and unsteady, but he did not realise that to curb his power was to make him far more dangerous than when in a position of trust. Beaufort was his banker and the source of the money with which he conducted the French war; Beaufort had the gilded tongue of the wily ecclesiastic, and so his suggestion that Gloucester in power spelt anarchy at home and disaster abroad found a ready listener. Defeated in his aims, the Bishop of Winchester reverted to his old policy of sowing discord between the two Lancastrian brothers so as to advance himself, and he continued this policy as long as Bedford was in England.

When Parliament met again, the Commons insisted that the Lords should sign a declaration against the maintenance of criminals. Bedford and Gloucester both appended their signatures to this declaration,[823] but there was a prevalent opinion that there was a still better method of ensuring peace and quietness in the kingdom. The presence of Bedford in England was felt as a quieting influence, and the turbulence of the nobles was kept in check by the one strong man of his age.[824] He alone of the great men of the time stood aloof from the party strife which surrounded the throne of Henry VI. In all her troubles England looked to the one man who would not play for his own hand, and who put the safety, honour, and welfare of the country before any personal advantage.

1433] BEDFORD'S ATTITUDE

It was because they realised this fact that the Commons declared in a petition presented to the King on November 24, that the Duke of Bedford was too precious to the kingdom to be allowed to return to France. The country had been so well governed and so quiet since his return, that in the hope of continued peace they desired above all things that he should remain at the head of affairs. To this petition the King replied by ordering the Chancellor to summon Gloucester, Beaufort, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and certain other Lords to discuss the matter, and their report induced the King to request Bedford to remain in England.[825] This request and the action of the Commons must have been gratifying to Bedford, and he was too great a statesman not to realise the significance of the position thus offered to him. He saw that England was divided into two camps, that on one side stood the Beaufort interest, and on the other those who supported Gloucester; he saw that it was impossible for either of these two parties to govern the kingdom quietly and well, for the most honest intentions would be thwarted by the factious opposition of the party not in power, and hampered by the necessity of guarding against attack. Looking back over the eleven years of the reign, short periods of comparative peace might certainly be found, but they were times when the preponderance of Gloucester in the affairs of the kingdom was undisputed, and when the Cardinal was posing as a soldier-priest in the Hussite crusade, or devoting his energies to one of his many other interests. No prolonged quiet was possible whilst all political England was divided into two distinct and militant parties, and it was evident to a man of Bedford's clear understanding, that some one uninfluenced by these storms must guide the ship of state through the troubled waters in which she found herself. So to the petition of the Commons and the request of the King Bedford gave answer, that he was the King's servant in all things, and entirely at his disposal.[826]

On the following day Bedford, in view of the low state of the finances of the kingdom, agreed to accept an income of £l000 a year as Chief Councillor, with a provision of £500 for every journey to and from France,[827] and Gloucester hastened to follow suit, accepting £1000 in lieu of the five thousand marks (£3333, 6s. 8d.) which he was then receiving.[828] The lead thus given was followed by others who voluntarily resigned their incomes, for the detailed report that Lord Cromwell had presented to Parliament had shown a heavy deficit.[829] These financial straits cannot be ascribed to maladministration, but rather to the parsimony of Parliament, which by an annual grant of a fifteenth could have placed the finances of the kingdom on a sure footing.[830] Some attempt at organisation was made by appointing a commission of revenue, whereby Bedford, Gloucester, and certain other lords, including Beaufort and others named, were to examine the books of the King's revenue, and to arrange how the yearly charges were to be borne and the debts paid, and to whom preference in payment was to be given.[831]

1434] BEDFORD AND THE COUNCIL

Having arranged his salary as Chief Councillor, Bedford proceeded to lay down the conditions under which he would consent to carry on the government of the kingdom. They were agreed to by Parliament, and it is interesting to note the degree of power which he thought necessary for himself, if he were to be able to govern the kingdom successfully. He desired to know the names of those who would be chosen to serve on the standing council, and stipulated that without his consent and that of the Council none of them should be removed, thereby demonstrating that he would not be content to be merely one of the Councillors with prior rank, a position which when taken up by Humphrey was regarded with suspicion by his contemporaries, and decried as self-seeking by later historians. By insisting that he should be consulted, wherever he might chance to be, on such matters as the calling of Parliament and the appointment of bishoprics,[832] he showed that he desired a hold on the government, which in Humphrey's case would have been dismissed as an attempt to influence the elections, and to pack the episcopal Bench with his supporters. Bedford saw that conciliar government was not what the country needed, and while respecting the feelings of Councillors, he insisted on a preponderance for himself in the councils of the nation. We have no evidence beyond the well-known ambition of his character that Gloucester desired more than this, though owing to the opposition he encountered he had to invoke more questionable means of gaining his ends than a mere demand laid before Parliament.

* * * * *

When Parliament was dissolved, the King went to spend Christmas at the Abbey of St. Edmund at Bury, and probably Gloucester accompanied him. At all events, when Henry returned thither for the Feast of the Purification, and spent the whole of the Lenten season at the Abbey, we find that Humphrey was there during the Easter celebrations, and that when the time came to return to London, he and other nobles asked to be admitted into the Fraternity. The request was gladly granted, and before he left the monastery the King was induced by his uncle to repay the Abbot for the expenses incurred in entertaining him and his suite.[833]

1434] BEDFORD AND GLOUCESTER QUARREL

Through all this time Gloucester had had no outlet for his energies, for with his brother in possession of the government he had neither the cares of office nor the excitement of opposition, so he turned his attention to matters outside England, and began to evolve theories on the conduct of the war in France. In a great Council held in the Parliament Chamber at Westminster on a Saturday in April[834] he made some observations on this subject, and Bedford, taking offence at what his brother had said, demanded that it should be put into writing. This accordingly was done, and on the following Monday it was read in full Council, and provoked Bedford to demand a copy for himself, as he considered that certain statements therein affected his honour; he added that at a fit time he would declare his sentiments before the King and the whole Council.[835] Gloucester's remarks seem to have contained an offer, which he had also committed to writing, to serve the King in France under certain unrecorded conditions, and the Council considered the proposition. On May 5, however, they decided on the impracticability of the suggestion, adding, however, that had it been possible, it would have been most desirable. After great discussion the lords, knights, and squires of the great Council had decided that the forty-eight or fifty thousand pounds necessary for the undertaking could not be raised in so short a time, especially as the commissioners lately appointed to raise a loan in the shires had reported that no one was ready to lend, and as the Treasurer, who of course would favour no scheme of Humphrey's, declared the finances to be in a very bad state. They went on to say that a rumour was abroad that Bedford and Gloucester had offered to carry out the proposed expedition in such a way that neither 'taille nor talliage' would have to be raised for many years, and that the great Council had ignored this offer. If such a procedure were possible, they would be only too pleased to consider it, if Gloucester would lay it before them, and they concluded with a request that the King should order the Chancellor to consult with Gloucester as to whether the people of the land should be called 'in form accustomed to discuss the matter.'[836]

It would seem from this that Humphrey, with his large ideas and his imperfect grasp of the details that alone make a scheme possible, had propounded a plan which it was impossible to carry out, though we must not therefore suppose that he had not an honest intention of serving the King in France whilst his brother governed at home. The impracticability of the idea does not, in Humphrey's case, prove a lack of genuine intention, for he was a man who lived with great ideas, the essentials of which he was incapable of understanding or of carrying out. Quite unwittingly, in all probability, he had offended his brother by his suggestion, and it is not unlikely that in view of the disastrous course of the war Bedford was rather sore on the question of its conduct, and looked on every suggestion of the new procedure as a slight on himself. It is, of course, also possible that Humphrey was deliberately trying to annoy his brother, and to discredit his policy. There is, however, nothing to support this theory, save the Duke's known factiousness. It is quite likely that he desired some new outlet for his energies, now that the government was in the hands of a man whose prior claims he had never denied, and there is nothing in the past relations of the two to suggest that bad blood had ever before risen between them.

The quarrel which originated in the scheme was not laid to rest by the latter's rejection by the Council, and Humphrey probably considered the refusal to accept it as instigated by his brother. On May 7, therefore, he appeared in Council at a meeting held in the palace of the Bishop of Durham, and desired that the observations that he had committed to writing might be returned to him, a request which was granted, and the next day Bedford sent in a written reply to Gloucester's remarks. These were read in full Council by the Chancellor, and provoked a reply from Gloucester, who in his turn asked for a copy of Bedford's answer, and for a day to be appointed for his retort. On the advice of the Council, however, the King declared that the matter must not proceed further, and taking the statements of both parties in his hands, he declared them null and void, saying, that in neither was there anything prejudicial to the honour of either Duke, and that he considered them both to be his affectionate uncles. The incident was thus closed, both Bedford and Gloucester agreeing to sign the decision.[837]

1435] DEATH OF BEDFORD

This unfortunate misunderstanding came almost at the end of Bedford's stay in England. He had already made up his mind to return to the scenes of his former labours, for he could not stand by and see the kingdom that Henry V. had won pass out of English hands, without doing his utmost to prevent it. On June 20 he took leave of the Council,[838] and shortly after left England for the last time.[839] His life's work was done. Burgundy, who had been an unsatisfactory ally for many years past, was drawing closer and closer to the French King, and the Pope, having brought his influence to bear on the contending parties, induced them to hold a European Congress at Arras in August 1435.[840] In spite of the conciliatory offers of the French, Beaufort and the other English delegates based their demands on the Treaty of Troyes--at this stage of the war an absurdly impossible attitude--and, perceiving that a Burgundian alliance with France was inevitable, they left the Congress on September 5.[841] This alliance was completed by the end of the month,[842] but not before Bedford's death on September 14.[843]

With the death of Bedford and the defection of Burgundy, even the most shadowy hope of retaining his hold on France passed from the King of England, and the claims, first raised by Edward III., and resuscitated by Henry V., were to end in the disaster which had been inevitable from the first. Of all the men to whom Henry of Monmouth had confided the care of his son and of his kingdom, Bedford alone was worthy of his implicit trust. He had fought an uphill and impossible fight in France, and on two occasions he had turned his attention to the internal affairs of England. He had played a difficult rôle with as much success as was to be expected, and we can only guess at what might have been the destiny of England had it secured his undivided attention. Had he been settled in England as Protector, his power would doubtless have been less than on the occasions when he came to readjust the balance of parties in 1426 and 1433, for he would not then have received the support of the Beaufort faction, which only looked on him as a useful tool to use when Gloucester's ascendency became too secure. At his death the one steadying and exterior influence in English politics was gone, and the party strife, which had been the curse of England for the last thirteen years, pursued its course unhindered.

From the time of the death of Bedford and the Treaty of Arras onwards a change comes over the internal politics of England. Hitherto the war in France had been carried on by the French Regent almost without reference to the authorities at home, and questions of foreign policy had not made their way into the bickerings of Beaufort and Gloucester. But now that the strong hand in France was removed, and the defection of the Duke of Burgundy had at last become definite, it was impossible for the Council, in the face of both occurrences, to ignore any longer the fact that the country was at war. This was emphasised by the appearance of Burgundian envoys in London, who came to announce the peace made between the Duke of Burgundy and Charles of France, and to seek to procure peace with England also.[844] The country in general was too angry with the Duke to realise the advantages of his neutrality. His envoys therefore were denied the privileges of their position, their peace propositions were scouted by the Council, and they were not even vouchsafed a definite answer.[845] Both Beaufort and Gloucester emphasised their objections to peace with Burgundy, and the Treasurer pointed out what he considered to be the insulting omission of the title 'souverain seigneur' in addressing the King.[846] In Parliament, which met on October 10, the Chancellor, John Stafford, delivered a virulent attack on Burgundian policy, and the assembly was induced to agree readily enough to the continued prosecution of the war, and to the inclusion of the Duke of Burgundy among the King's enemies.[847] Council and Parliament therefore, led by both Beaufort and Gloucester as well as by the rest of the royal officers, threw down the gauntlet to Burgundy, and it is well to remember this when in the light of subsequent events we find Gloucester attacked for leading the nation to war at this time.[848]

1435] GLOUCESTER LIEUTENANT OF CALAIS

The death of Bedford naturally increased Humphrey's strength in the kingdom. He now stood next in succession to the throne as heir-presumptive to his young nephew, and he was freed from the domination of a superior authority, to which in time of need his enemies could appeal. His influence may be traced in the appointment of the Duke of York to the command in France. Hitherto this Duke had not been seen in English politics, being at this time only twenty-four years old, but he had been brought into close contact with Humphrey, who had been granted the administration of his land during his minority, and whose good name he championed later in life. At this time men looked to the Duke of Gloucester as the chief man in England, and it was to him that the Bishop of Bayeux addressed himself when begging for help for the distressed Duchy of Normandy.[849]

Such being Gloucester's position, it was natural that he should receive some of the offices and responsibilities vacated by his brother. His former idea of taking the command in France was not resuscitated, as he doubtless wished to guard his interests at home, but on November 1 he succeeded Bedford as Lieutenant of the King in the town, marches, and castle of Calais, to which were added the regions of Picardy, Flanders, and Artois. The appointment bore civil as well as military obligations, and was a challenge to the Duke of Burgundy in that certain of his territories were included in the grant.[850] Calais itself was an important command quite apart from strategic reasons. It was the town where the wool staple was established, though this was a fact of declining importance; more than this, it was regarded as the safeguard of English trade, for so long as England kept the command of the narrow seas between Dover and Calais, she might rule the world's commerce, as all trade from north to south had to pass that way.[851] Besides the government of Calais, Gloucester received another of Bedford's possessions when on November 23 the Council presented him with the islands of Jersey and Guernsey, in exchange for which Humphrey resigned the annuity of five hundred marks, given to him by Henry V. for himself and his heirs until lands of an equal value should be given him.[852]

1436] RELIEF OF CALAIS

For a time the political quarrels of the two factions were silenced by their common anger at the desertion of Burgundy and by the pre-eminence of Gloucester in the kingdom. Two instances of his preponderance appeared in the following year, when his wife Eleanor received her first public recognition as Duchess of Gloucester by being provided with robes of the Order of the Garter wherewith to keep the Feast of St. George at Windsor,[853] and when in the May following the Duke of Orleans was transferred from the custody of the Earl of Suffolk, who had been ordered to France, to that of Sir Reginald de Cobham, Gloucester's father-in-law.[854] Matters other than those of home politics, however, were to occupy Gloucester in the near future. Early in June it was known in London that Burgundy had begun hostilities, and was advancing against Calais, and preparations were hurriedly made to save the city which Englishmen cherished above all their other possessions in France. Orders were given for the preparation of supplies and munitions of war for the garrison, and provisions for an army which was being mustered to serve under Gloucester.[855] The Earl of Huntingdon was commissioned to raise men to accompany the expedition,[856] the Cardinal was induced to lend nine thousand marks to defray the costs, armourers and victuallers were forbidden to raise their prices in view of the demand on their wares, and all men who wished to serve under Gloucester were ordered to be at Sandwich by the 22nd of July.[857] Delays, however, were inevitable, and it was not till the 27th that Gloucester received his special commission as Lieutenant-General of the army going to the defence of Calais, followed three days later by a writ conferring on him the County of Flanders.[858] By the 2nd of August all things were ready, and on that day he transported his army in five hundred ships from Winchester to Calais.[859]

Humphrey had been retained to serve the King, with one Duke besides himself, two Earls, eleven Barons, twenty-three Knights, four hundred and fifteen men-at-arms, and four thousand and forty-five archers,[860] but the full number of his army when joined by the retinue of the Duke of Norfolk and the Earls of Huntingdon, Devon, Stafford, and Warwick[861] who accompanied him, is uncertain. The chroniclers estimate the strength of the army variously between ten thousand and sixty thousand men,[862] of which the lowest figure is probably nearer the truth, since it was given by one who himself saw the army,[863] and at such short notice it would have been impossible to raise a force in any way approaching the larger estimate.

When Gloucester reached Calais he found the siege already raised. Burgundy with thirty thousand men[864] had invested the place on July 9,[865] but from the first the valiant defenders, under their captain, Sir John Radcliffe,[866] had had the best of the encounter. An attempt to obstruct the harbour failed, and a blockade was out of the question,[867] so the besieged were able to supply themselves with every necessity from the sea,[868] a state of affairs which encouraged them to make several sorties, and to capture a bastion raised against them and held by the men of Ghent.[869] The majority of Burgundy's army consisted of raw Flemish levies, who were constantly in a state of insubordination,[870] and their discontent increased when the Earl of Huntingdon and Lord Camoys relieved the garrison with troops levied for the French war.[871] Moreover, the further reinforcements with Gloucester were expected, for the Duke had sent a challenge to his old enemy, calling on him to do battle before Calais, though excusing himself from fixing a date as wind and weather could not be reckoned on.[872] However, when news came that their approach was imminent, the Flemings incontinently broke up their camp and fled leaving stores and guns as prizes for the enemy.[873]

'For they had very knowyng Off the duk off Gloceters cumyng, Caleys to rescue.'[874]

And another rhymer tells how

'Ffor fere they turned backe and hyede feste; Mi lorde of Gloucestre made hem so agaste Wyth his commynge.'[875]

It was a bitter pill for Duke Philip to be compelled to follow his disorderly troops, fleeing as he did before the man whom above all others he had learned to hate, and whom he had boldly promised to meet in arms before the city.[876]

1436] RAID ON FLANDERS

Gloucester had declared through his herald that, if Burgundy were not before Calais to meet him, he would pursue him,[877] and on hearing that the Duke had retired to Lille, and had fortified the border fortresses,[878] he prepared to fulfil his word. Leaving Calais on August 3,[879] he advanced to Merck in the neighbourhood of Oge, and there spent the night in the fields, passing on the next day to the neighbourhood of Gravelines.[880] On August 6 he crossed over into Flanders, even as he had done nearly twenty years before to meet John the Fearless in midstream, and led his army to Mardyke, which was pillaged and burned. The reason for thus making for the coast may have been to open communications with the fleet, which had been ordered to cruise off the coast of Flanders and to co-operate with the invading army, but the sailors, unsupported by men-at-arms on board, feared to encounter a hostile fleet, and put back into the harbour of Calais.[881] Unable, therefore, to draw supplies from the fleet, Gloucester turned due south, and marched inland, meeting with no resistance,[882] but followed by a detachment from Gravelines, which sought to pick off stragglers and to take the invaders unawares. The excellent order kept by the invaders thwarted their plans, and the detachment returned to Gravelines.

Meanwhile Gloucester pursued his way to Bailleul, burning everything as he went,[883] and throwing out a part of his troops under the Earl of Huntingdon to take and sack Poperinghes on his left.[884] Arrived at Bailleul, he lodged outside the walls, at the Abbey of St. Anthony, which was spared, though the town where his men lay and the surrounding country were utterly devastated. Retracing his steps from this point, he picked up the detachment under Huntingdon at Poperinghes, where much booty had been secured, and passing by Neu-Châtel, he burnt Rimesture and Valon-Chapelle, then entering Artois he met with some slight resistance. Skirmishes were fought round Arques and Blandesques, till the army reached St. Omer, burning and harrying all that came in its way, so that Duke Philip from his refuge at Lille could see the light of the fires on the horizon, though he was quite powerless to help those who cried to him for aid, as the soldiers he had summoned had not yet arrived.[885]

The English did not penetrate into the town of St. Omer, as it was securely held, but Gloucester lodged at the Abbey of Blandesques outside the walls, whilst his men were encamped along the banks of the river Aa, where Waurin himself saw them, when he stole out from Gravelines on the night of August 15.[886] Some attempt was made to harass the invaders as they lay here, and the captains both of St. Omer and Arques tried to pick off the stragglers, but with little success, for Gloucester was so careful that he could not be taken by surprise. On the morning of August 15 the English moved on with care for fear of ambushes,[887] and having met with somewhat more determined resistance than they had hitherto experienced from the captains of Tournehem, Espreleques, and Bredenaide, they found their way to Guisnes somewhat distressed by a sickness caused by a lack of bread.[888] Everywhere the supporters of Burgundy had been pillaged, and large herds of cattle and other booty had fallen into the hands of the soldiers, but so distressed were the latter for the lack of bread, that to some women, who presented them with a little, they gave large herds of cattle, which, by reason of the bands of the enemy that followed behind them, were more an encumbrance than an advantage.[889] At Calais Gloucester was received with joy, and, having rested his men a while, about August 24 he recrossed the Channel with much booty, leaving his prisoners behind in safe keeping.

On landing the troops were dismissed, and Humphrey proceeded to London, where he was given a great reception,[890] for he had struck a heavy blow at the prosperity of the Burgundian territories, and the anger felt by the English against their recent ally was appeased when they thought of Gloucester's expedition, and how

'In Flanders he soght hem fer and ner, That ever they may yt rew.'[891]

Though, we cannot look on this devastating campaign of Gloucester's as a great military achievement, yet it is not necessary to dismiss it with the contempt it has received on the authority of the rhyming chronicler:

'The protectour with his flete at Calys then Did lande, and rode in Flaunders a little waye, And little did to counte a manly man.'[892]

We have the evidence of an eye-witness to prove the skill with which he protected his men from falling victims to the enemy's bands, and the strict discipline which he kept in his ranks. Even if it was but for a short time that he defied the Duke of Burgundy, we must not forget that his men were only enlisted for a month's service,[893] and that they were probably raw recruits, since the experienced soldiers had all gone to make up the contingents of York and Mortain. Nay more, as it is unfair to blame Gloucester for the nature of this campaign, so it is equally unfair to blame him for allowing the Earl of Mortain to relieve Calais before him.[894] His preparations had only been begun after the news of the investment of Calais had reached England. His commission was signed on July 27, and he was in Calais on August 3. On the other hand, the Earl had been preparing his troops as far back as the previous October, and was naturally quite ready to take the offensive after so long a period of preparation. Humphrey was not a great general, but, within the restricted limits of such a commission as this, there was no other captain in England who could have excelled him.

FOOTNOTES:

[749] _Rot. Parl._, iv. 337; Rymer, IV. iv. 151.

[750] _Rot. Parl._, iv. 338.

[751] _Ibid._, iv. 350.

[752] 8 _Henry VI._, c. 7; _Statutes_, ii. 243.

[753] _Rot. Parl._, iv. 343, 344.

[754] _Ordinances_, iv. 35-38; _Rot. Parl._, v. 416-418.

[755] _Rot. Parl._, v. 415.

[756] _Ordinances_, iv. 12; Devon, _Issue Roll_, p. 44.

[757] _St. Albans Chron._, i. 48-50; _Rot. Parl._, v. 415.

[758] Rymer, IV. iv. 159.

[759] _Ibid._, IV. iv. 160. The commission was approved in Council on April 21. Ordinances, iv. 40, 41.

[760] _Eng. Chron._, 54; _Cal. of French Rolls_, Rep. 48, App. 273.

[761] _Ordinances_, iv. 16.

[762] _Ibid._, iv. 53, 73-75.

[763] _Ibid._, iv. 68; see also Polydore Vergil, 46.

[764] _Rot. Parl._, iv. 367.

[765] _Ordinances_, iv. 79.

[766] _Rot. Parl._, iv. 371.

[767] Polydore Vergil, 45.

[768] Devon, _Issue Roll_, 413.

[769] _St. Albans Chron._, i. 63. The petition is printed in the Appendix to _St. Albans Chron._, i. 453-457.

[770] Cotton MS., Julius, B. ii. ff. 61-63vo; Walsingham, _Hist. Angl._, ii. 282, 283; Redmayne, 24, 25.

[771] Capgrave, _De Illustribus Henricis_, 121.

[772] _Eng. Chron._, 54.

[773] May 17.

[774] Cotton MS., Cleopatra, C. iv. f. 37; _St. Albans Chron._, i. 63, 64; _Ordinances_, iv. 107; Devon, _Issue Roll_, 415; Ellis, _Original Letters_, 2nd Series, i. 104, 105; William of Worcester, 455, 456; Cotton MS., Vitellius, A. xvi. f. 93vo.

[775] _St. Albans Chron._, i. 61.

[776] Devon, _Issue Roll_, 412; _Ordinances_, iv. 91. Gloucester also sent one of the judges to put an end to the rebels round Kenilworth and Coventry; _ibid._, iv. 89.

[777] Cotton MS., Cleopatra, C. iv. ff. 36vo, 37vo.

[778] Henry was crowned at Paris on December 11, 1431; _Chron. Henry VI._, 13.

[779] _Ordinances_, iv. 100, 101; Rymer, IV. iv. 174, 175.

[780] Cotton MS., Cleopatra, C. iv. f. 35.

[781] _Ordinances_, iv. 101; Rymer, IV. iv. 175.

[782] _Ordinances_, iv. 8.

[783] _Ibid._, iv. 105.

[784] _Ibid._, iv. 104; Devon, _Issue Roll_, 414, 415.

[785] Devon, _Issue Roll_, 412.

[786] _Ordinances_, iv. 104-106; Devon, _Issue Roll_, 414, 415.

[787] _Rot. Parl._ iv. 424.

[788] _Chron. Henry VI._, 13.

[789] _Chron. Henry VI._, 13. The entry into London is described in a poem by Lydgate printed at the end of the _London Chronicle_, 235-248. A prose account is to be found in Delpit, _Doc. Fr._, pp. 244-248, No. CCCLXXXII., giving the date as February 20. Cf. Fabyan, 603-607.

[790] _Rot. Parl._, v. 433.

[791] Rymer, IV. iv. 176.

[792] _Ibid._, IV. iv. 177.

[793] _Ordinances_, iv. 112.

[794] Ramsay, i. 439.

[795] See Gloucester's indictment of Cardinal Beaufort below, p. 262.

[796] _Rot. Parl._, iv. 389.

[797] _Rot. Parl._, iv. 390, 391.

[798] _Ibid._, iv. 391.

[799] _Ibid._, iv. 391.

[800] _Ibid._, iv. 392.

[801] See _Ordinances_, iv. 238.

[802] So Stubbs, iii. 115, copied by Ramsay, i. 441.

[803] _Rot. Parl._, iv. 392.

[804] He had been dismissed for 'certain reasons' not specified. See Rymer, IV. iv. 177.

[805] _Rot. Parl._, iv. 392. See also _Miscellaneous Rolls_, Bundle xix. No. 3.

[806] _Rot. Parl._, iv. 396.

[807] _Ordinances_, iv. 136-138.

[808] De Beaucourt, ii. 462.

[809] _Ordinances_, iv. 158.

[810] _Cal. of French Rolls_, Rep. 48, App. 290.

[811] Rymer, IV. iv. 194; Gregory, 176.

[812] Monstrelet, 666.

[813] _Ibid._, 673; _Lond. Chron._, 120; Leland, _Collectanea_, i. 491; Polydore Vergil, 47.

[814] Devon, _Issue Roll_, 425.

[815] Stevenson, _Letters and Papers_, ii. 417, 418. This document, which is undated, is put under the year 1428 by the editor, though no reason is assigned for so doing. The fact that Beaufort is alluded to as a cardinal, and the mention of Bedford, confines the possible date of the manifesto within 1427 and 1435. This was the only occasion between these two dates that Gloucester set foot in Calais, where this document was signed.

[816] Rymer, IV. iv. 194.

[817] _Lond. Chron._, 120.

[818] _Cal. Rot. Pat._, 277; G. E. C., _Peerage_, iv. 44.

[819] _Rot. Parl._, iv. 420.

[820] _Ibid._, iv. 420.

[821] _Ordinances_, iv. 175.

[822] _Rot. Parl._, iv. 420.

[823] _Rot. Parl._, vi. 422.

[824] See the evidence of a contemporary; _Chron. Henry VI._, 14.

[825] _Rot. Parl._, iv. 423.

[826] _Rot. Parl._, iv. 423.

[827] _Ibid._, iv. 424.

[828] _Ordinances_, iv. 186.

[829] _Rot. Parl._, iv. 132-139.

[830] See Stubbs, iii. 117, 118.

[831] _Rot. Parl._, iv. 439.

[832] _Rot. Parl._, iv. 424.

[833] _Register of Abbot Curteys_, part of which is printed in _Archæologia_ for the year 1806, vol. xv. pp. 66-71.

[834] Probably April 24, the last Saturday in the month.

[835] _Ordinances_, iv. 210, 211.

[836] _Ordinances_, iv. 213-215.

[837] _Ordinances_, iv. 211-213.

[838] _Ibid._, iv. 243-247.

[839] His quarrel with Gloucester never seems to have been made up, for in his will, made in 1435, the name of his brother does not once appear, and the chief executors were the Archbishop of York and Beaufort--two of Gloucester's most determined opponents. _Testamenta Vetusta_, i. 242.

[840] English envoys were appointed July 20, 1435; _Cal. of French Rolls_, Rep. 43, App. 306.

[841] Waurin, iv. 69-84.

[842] _Ibid._, iv. 84, 85.

[843] _Chron. Henry VI._, 15.

[844] Waurin, iv. 94, 95.

[845] _Ibid._, iv. 96-101.

[846] _Ibid._, iv. 97, 98.

[847] _Rot. Parl._, iv. 481.

[848] Ramsay, i. 475.

[849] _Beckington Correspondence_, i. 209-294.

[850] Rymer, IV. i. 23; Carte, ii. 285; _Cal. of French Rolls_, Rep. 48, App. 306, 307. Parliament agreed to Gloucester's indentures for the command on October 29; _Rot. Parl._, iv. 483, 484.

[851] 'Libel of English Policy,' _Political Songs_, ii. 157-205.

[852] _Ordinances_, v. 5.

[853] Beltz, p. ccxxiii.

[854] Rymer, V. i. 36.

[855] _Cal. of French Rolls_, Rep. 48, App. 313.

[856] Rymer, V. i. 31. _Cal. of French Rolls_, Rep. 48, App. 322, calls it 1438.

[857] Rymer, V. i. 32.

[858] _Cal. of French Rolls_, Rep. 48, App. 134; Carte, ii. 289; Rymer, V. i. 34; _Lords' Reports_, v. 234.

[859] _London Chron._, 122, 172; _Short English Chron._, 62; Fabyan, 610. Gregory, 179, gives July 26, and is followed by Holkham MS., p. 37--obviously the mistake of a week. Cotton MS., Cleopatra, C. iv. f. 53vo, gives July 27.

[860] Stevenson, _Letters and Papers_, ii. xlix.

[861] _Brief English Chron._, 63; _Chron. Henry VI._, 16. The Earl of Devonshire is included only in _Lond. Chron._, 122, but his indenture survives.

[862] Ten thousand, Waurin, iv. 200; Monstrelet, 473: fifteen thousand, Basin, i. 130: forty thousand, Gregory, 179: sixty thousand, Rede's _Chron._, Rawlinson MS., C. 398; _Brief Latin Chron._, 165: fifty thousand, William of Worcester, 458. The payments in the Issue Roll printed in Stevenson, _Letters and Papers_, ii. pp. xlix _seq._, give Gloucester's retinue as 4497 men, and those of the lords who accompanied him as 4132, in all 8629 men. This approximates to the 10,000 estimate.

[863] Waurin. See his _Chronicle_, iv. 185, 201.

[864] Waurin, iv. 160. Fourteen thousand exclusive of camp-followers and two or three thousand Picards, etc., Basin, i. 126, 127. Fifty thousand men, _Chron. Henry VI._, 15.

[865] _Lond. Chron._, 121.

[866] _Engl. Chron._, 55.

[867] Waurin, iv. 176-178.

[868] _Ibid._, iv. 171.

[869] _Ibid._, iv. 175-180; Basin, i. 128.

[870] Waurin, iv. 172, 173; Monstrelet, 740.

[871] Rede's _Chron._, Rawlinson MS., C. 398; _Brief Latin Chron._, 165; _Chron. Henry VI._, 16; _Engl. Chron._, 55; Hardyng, 396.

[872] Waurin, iv. 173, 174.

[873] _Ibid._, iv. 186-188; Basin, i. 128, 129; Gregory, 179; Fabyan, 610, 611.

[874] Contemporary ballad on Siege of Calais; _Political Songs_, ii. 156.

[875] 'The Libel of English Policy,' written before 1437; _Political Songs_, ii. 170.

[876] Waurin, iv. 174; Monstrelet, 738. A good account of the siege by an eye-witness is found in a poem entitled 'The Siege of Calais,' _Political Songs_, ii. 151-156.

[877] Monstrelet, 738; Waurin, iv. 173.

[878] Basin, i. 130; Waurin, iv. 192.

[879] Monstrelet, 743, says next day to landing, _i.e._ August 3. Gregory, 179, and Cotton MS., Cleopatra, C. iv. f. 53vo, say he rested Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at Calais, and started on the Monday, _i.e._ the fourth day after landing. _London Chron._, 122, however, says that Gloucester crossed the river at Gravelines on the fourth day after coming over, which would not prevent his having left Calais on August 3, and that he only entered Flanders on August 6. William of Worcester, 458, also gives August 6 as the day of entry into Flanders. The confusion arises from the divergence of the chroniclers as to where the campaign started, and this is obvious as William of Worcester gives the campaign as lasting nine days (Gloucester was back at Guisnes on August 15), whereas others compute it at eleven or twelve days, counting in the time spent between Calais and Gravelines. _Brief Latin Chron._, 165; _Chron. Henry VI._, 16; _London Chron._, 122. _Short Engl. Chron._, 62, gives August 13 as the day of leaving Calais.

[880] _Short English Chron._, 62.

[881] Waurin, iv. 201; _Short Engl. Chron._, 62.

[882] Monstrelet, 743.

[883] Waurin, iv. 201, 202. Waurin himself marched out from Gravelines.

[884] _Brief Latin Chron._, 165.

[885] Waurin, iv. 203; Monstrelet, 743.

[886] Waurin, iv. 204. He gives the day as 'Nostre Dame de Septembre,' _i.e._ the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, September 8. It is obviously a mistake for the Assumption in August. Gloucester was back in England in September; _Brief Latin Chron._, 165.

[887] Waurin, iv. 204, 205.

[888] Monstrelet, 743.

[889] _Ibid._

[890] Waurin, iv. 205, 206; _Brief Latin Chron._, 165.

[891] Contemporary ballad; _Political Songs_, ii. 156.

[892] Hardyng, 396. Cf. Ramsay, i. 488.

[893] See Issue Roll printed in Stevenson's _Letters and Papers_, ii. p. xlix.

[894] Cf. Stubbs, iii. 123.