The Bull and the Roses: TL of a Lancastrian victory at Barnet

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The Bull and the Roses
Timeline of a Lancastrian victory at Barnet

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On 14 April 1471, the Battle of Barnet took place between the Lancastrians, led by the Earl of Warwick against the Yorkists, led by King Edward IV. Resulting in the defeat of the supporters of Henry VI, and the death of Richard and John Neville, followed on 4 May by the defeat of Queen Margaret of Anjou and the death of Edward of Westminster. Barnet is an important episode in the Wars of the Roses, as it marks the failure of Henry VI's restoration to the throne based on the alliance between Warwick and Anjou and the second reign of Edward IV of England.

Still, Warwick and his Lancastrian allies were numerically superior to the Yorkists, and the fighting initially gave them victory in battle. However, a random but important element tipped the scales in favor of the Yorks: the weather. The confrontation began early in the morning, and quickly a thick fog invaded the battlefield, making the maneuvers of the armies complicated and the observations impossible. The Lancastrian right flank led by the Earl of Oxford defeated the Yorkist left wing led by Baron Hastings, and pursued the fugitives but because of the fog, the center of both armies were completely unaware of what was happening. Although Oxford manages to return to the battlefield and reaches the rear of his ally the Marquess of Montaigu but the latter believed to be bypassed by the Yorkists and fired a volley of arrows. Cries of betrayal echoed through the lines, and morale plummeted marking the Lancastrian rout and the Yorkist victory.

But what if the Lancastrians had won the Battle of Barnet? If the Earl of Oxford had appeared behind Edward IV's back and thus taken the Yorkists into a vice? What path would England and Europe have taken with such an important turning point in the Wars of the Roses?
 
1. Barnet and its aftermath
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    1. Barnet and its aftermath

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    Battle of Barnet​
    On the morning of 14 April 1471, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, his brother John, Marquess of Montaigu and John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford met as master of the Yorkist camp. After two hours of intense battle, the Lancastrians put the opposing forces to flight as the fog lifted over the Great North Roads, which served as the battlefield. This drizzle gave victory to the supporters of Henry VI: without realizing it the Yorkists had lost one of their wing, the left commanded by Baron William Hastings beaten in breach by Oxford, who after having pursued the fugitives for a time had turned, by chance, into the rear of the York army reserves. Caught between the Lancastrian center commanded by the Nevilles and the "battle" of Oxford, it was impossible for King Edward IV, who commanded his troops on foot, to achieve victory.

    With about 1,000 losses on the Lancastrian side, those of the Yorkists are around 10,000 - mainly during the fighting in the center and the flight from the wings. In addition to Hastings, the Yorkist right wing led by the young Richard of York, Duke of Gloucester and brother of the king, gave way after valiantly battling the troops led by Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter - the two commanders will emerge wounded from combat. But the most important loss is that of Edward IV, found dead in the middle of the soldiers, his body and his crown transported to Warwick and the Lancastrian captains. In Edward's royal aunt, waiting for Henry VI who was brought in by his usurper as he feared the mad king would be captured if kept in London.

    Richard presenting the royal crown to Henry, always immersed in his apathetic madness which does not react, neither to the events taking place around, nor to the object which holds between the hands, nor to the people present in front of him.

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    Entry of Henry VI, accompanied by Warwick, into London​

    On 18 April, Henry VI, under the leadership of Warwick, entered London to the cheers of the townspeople. Cheers obtained after Richard assured that no punishment will be made to the city, which had rallied to Edward of York after his landing. But especially after Baron Hastings, who had retreated to Barnet for the capital, fled the city while carrying off the now widowed Queen Elizabeth Woodville and her children - among them was the young Yorkist pretender to the throne, Edward of the Sanctuary. Parallel to the return of Henry VI, Warwick proceeded to the public display of the body of Edward IV at St. Paul's Cathedral in London to stifle any rumors of the king's survival, very popular with Londoners. After four days, Edward's corpse was quickly shipped to Fotheringhay to be interred in the York crypt.

    Margaret of Anjou, wife of Henry VI, landed in Dorsetshire on the same day as the Battle of Barnet. She got news of Warwick's victory, from Edmund Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset - the latter was absent from the battle and went to meet the Queen on his own - and set out for the capital. Accompanied by Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales and Anne Neville, wife of the prince and youngest daughter of Warwick, the queen took a rather winding route - going up north towards Bristol to Gloucester, she stopped there for a few days and then resumed the road after being joined by Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke and reached London on 30 April, after a detour by Oxford. The queen wanted to ensure the loyalty of these strategic places, against possible Yorkist resurgences but also in insurance against Warwick, who remains for her a recent and suspicious ally.

    These two weeks of waiting were put to use by Warwick to bring together a semblance of parliament - the assembly gathered in the winter of 1470, had planned to reform after Easter. He decides to take his rival Anjou in advance by replacing the law of succession which placed Georges of York, Duke of Clarence as second heir by another which names Henry Holland - the half-dead Duke was the father of a daughter still a child and widow. Above all, the Parliament decided to ignore the agreement concluded between Neville and Anjou, the previous year, by appointing Prince Edward, Lord protector of the Kingdom. This particular audacity of Warwick's was intended to pull the rug out from under the queen's feet, was confirmed by Edward, who accepted the charge to the surprise of his mother and the Lancastrian entourage.

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    Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick / Margaret of Anjou, Queen of England​
     
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    • 2. The Protectorate
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    2. The Protectorate

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    King Henry VI of England​
    On 31 April, the first regency council bringing together the new allies opens in London in the presence of the Lord Protector - there are gathered the great names of the Lancastrian cause, old and new alike. As the initiator of this appointment, Warwick put forward as a practical reason the presence of remnants of the Yorkist army in the kingdom, still constituting a threat to the crown of Henry VI. Richard Neville had had to demobilize the soldiers who had fought at Barnet and therefore wait for the arrival of the army of Margaret of Anjou. Although Hastings fled to Flanders after leaving Dover on 20 April, in East Anglia remained George and Richard of York, leading about 1,000 men.

    At the beginning of May, Edward of Westminster, accompanied by Warwick, Montagu, Somerset and Pembroke, led the army which had to repress the semblance of trouble which was being created in the northeast of London. However, no combat will be recorded during this ride because the news of the death of Edward IV spreading in the country, the semblance of recruitment undertaken by the York collapses in a few days. In addition, tensions between the Duke of Clarence and the Duke of Gloucester flare up, and suspicions of further betrayals are leveled at George - by this time neither Richard nor his brother are aware that their nephew is free and refugee on the continent. On 15 May, Gloucester would then have left England by embarking at Great Yarmouth with Clarence chained in the boat which takes him to Flanders.

    The evaporation of the direct Yorkist threat naturally reinforces the Lancastrians on the English throne, but there is always the risk of a landing supported by the Duke of Burgundy, uncle by marriage of the pretender. England was also officially at war with the Duchy of Burgundy, since the restoration of Henry VI - which had prompted Charles of Burgundy to materially support the reconquest of Edward IV. This declaration of war was a condition for Louis XI of France to support the Lancastrian cause, and moreover he had in turn declared war on the duchy. However, this war represents a serious economic threat for England, because trade with Flanders is in fact interrupted and risks ruining the powerful London merchant class.

    Thus, from the summer the Lord-protector sends messengers on the continent in order to conclude a peace with Burgundy and an embassy is constituted to go and negotiate. Queen Margaret appoints herself to lead the delegation, having full confidence in her son and his supporters to contain the Earl of Warwick. Concluding a truce at the beginning of September, she extended her mission by negotiating with Louis XI who did not appreciate this diplomatic movement but who finally followed the Queen's action and even went beyond it by signing on 3 October, the Treaty of Crotoy which signed peace between France and Burgundy with the ratification of England.

    Returning triumphantly to England, with peace in hand, Margaret of Anjou believes she has tipped the scales of authority on her side, or at least balanced. But it was with surprise and bewilderment that she learned that her husband, Henry VI, was stricken with an illness that physically diminished him. Kept in the Tower of London, half-paralyzed and bedridden, the king seemed to survive through the end of 1471, showing no sign of physical or even mental improvement. The origins of this sudden deterioration in his health are mysterious, and the queen was quick to suspect her rival Warwick as responsible, going as far as the accused during a meeting of the regency council. At the beginning of February 1472, the accusations were nevertheless brought into question when the king suffered a stroke, which suggests that it was a second crisis. On 15 February 1472, Henry VI died at the age of 50 in Westminster Abbey.

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    Death of the King​
     
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    • 3. Eduardus IV Lancastriae
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    3. Eduardus IV Lancastriae


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    King Edward IV of England and Queen Anne Neville​
    On 22 April 1472, the coronation of Edward IV of England took place at the Royal Abbey of Westminster. The royal procession which marched from the Tower of London to the Abbey, led by the Earl of Oxford in his capacity as Constable of England, was made to the cheers of Londoners happy to see a young and vigorous king of the Lancaster house. The ceremony itself is no different from those conducted for Henry VI or Edward of York, but the surprise is that Anne Neville is also crowned Queen of England, thus putting an end to the question of the marriage of the king. Margaret of Anjou and Richard Neville appear as the great winners of the coronation, although symbolically their places in the ceremony foreshadow their weight in royal politics in the years to come - the Queen Mother is in the front row of the audience while the earl of Warwick is at the side of the king, by his quality of Lord Great Chamberlain. Finally, the religious ceremony is led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Bourchier and the Bishop of London, Thomas Kempe.

    By this coronation, as well as the 10 months of exercised protectorate, the traits of Edward IV's own personalities which had begun to hatch during his exile have now been confirmed and developed. Due to the importance of the event, several descriptions have been made of the king: Edward IV was a young adult in good physical health, he is described as slender, handsome with an above-average height, a radical break with the image of his father, but not having to be ashamed of the comparisons made with the tall and strong Edward of York. Sportsman, he jousts, distinguishing himself by his great mastery of combat on foot while being an outstanding horseman although hunting is not an activity he particularly likes.

    Edward's character is more complex to describe and assess: his moral rectitude is unanimously emphasized from a young age - pious, consuming no alcohol and eating moderately - he seeks to apply it at court, with harshness and often with ruthless manner. Serious in his princely role and marked by his father's reign, Edward IV took respect for royal authority to heart and did not support opposition, especially when the latter openly questioned his decisions and could react cruelly against it. Conversely, the king is very loyal to his people, generous with his allies and servants. From his years of exile where he lacked everything and where his legitimacy was questioned, Edward retains a certain coldness and bitterness, while having developed oratorical talents and the ability to create devotion on his person. He retained and developed the habit of being constantly on the move and traveling throughout his realm.

    The nature of the relationship with Queen Anne Neville is also subject to debate. This wife, imposed for political reasons, was confirmed by Edward IV for the same reason, namely to maintain the alliance with the Nevilles. The result is a certain affective indifference from the king to the queen, who is distant from politics and suffers the taunts of the queen-mother Margeret. However, Edward is faithful, because no extra-marital relations were reported during their life together, but above all the union was fruitful when on 4 December 1473, Henry of Lancaster was born in Ludlow, designated at the beginning of 1474 as Prince of Wales.

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    Henry of Ludlow, Prince of Walles​

    The first years of the reign of Edward IV saw the ancestry of Queen Margaret of Anjou maintained in the internal affairs of the kingdom, although she acted with a withdrawal from the royal council, becoming above all a force within the royal court. Leader of a powerful party, this set represents the main and traditional Lancastrian houses of England (Beaufort, de Vere, Tudor, Talbot, Courtenay, Holland, etc.), she also enjoys the graces of her son by ensuring him the revenues of the Duchy of York. The queen mother's allies also obtain important positions; the Duke of Exeter was made Captain of Calais, the Duke of Somerset became Earl Marshal after the office was confiscated in Norfolk while his brother John Beaufort was made Lord High Stewards and Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, was made Lord Chamberlain. After the birth of Henry of Ludlow, the Earl of Pembroke was appointed President of the Council of Wales and the Marches, an administration which had disappeared under the reign of Edward of York.

    The Earl of Warwick and the Nevilles served as an opposition to the Queen Mother's party while seeking to gain general confidence in their adherence to the Lancastrian cause. Richard Neville annulled the marriage of his eldest daughter, Isabel, to George of York for consanguinity and remarried her to Edmund Beaufort in October 1472. He also manages to reinstate his brother John, who had become Earl of Northumberland, in his office as Lord Warden of the Marches and maintain his other brother George, Archbishop of York, as Lord Chancellor. Above all, Warwick was in constant company with Edward IV, following him on his many travels while Queen Margaret remained in London, becoming the de facto tenant of the Palace of Westminster.

    In the turn of 1476, Margaret's influence diminished notably when, after the death of Henry Holland in September 1475, the management of Calais was entrusted to Thomas Neville, Earl of Kent. Edward IV's desire for independence largely took precedence over the filial relationship, the king began to demand the political withdrawal of the Queen Mother. Additionally, family rivalries were beginning to spill over into politics and strained relations within the court.

    The Woodvilles, home of the Yorkist Queen, had mostly remained in England - with the exception of Elizabeth and Anthony, Earl Rivers - but were mostly ostracized. Only Catherine Woodville, wife of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, still enjoyed a good situation and made her husband's court a refuge for her many brothers and sisters. The Nevilles suffered from the rise of the Woodvilles, which sparked the revolt that overthrew the Yorks, and so keeping a member of that house in such high rank is unbearable for Warwick. This hatred this couple resents the king against Stafford, blaming him for his Yorkist past and suspecting the maintenance of relations with them. Thus, the ostracization exercised on the Woodvilles applies to the Duke of Buckimgham.

    The king's suspicions were confirmed when a plot led by the Duke of Buckingham was uncovered in late September 1477 - initially Stafford sought the support of the Queen Mother Margaret, and eventually that of her party but she refused outright. In August, he made his brother-in-law Edward Woodville escape, and on 24 September, Buckingham, retired to his lands in Wales, wrote a letter to the Duke of Gloucester to inform him of his rallying to the Yorkist cause. Buckingham, retired to his lands in Wales, wrote a letter to the Duke of Gloucester to inform him of his rallying to the Yorkist cause. The conspiracy plans to stage revolts in southern and western England to overwhelm Edward's forces. Buckingham is supposed to support the rebels by launching an invasion from Yorkshire, while Richard is to come by sea with support from Burgundy.

    A lack of coordination and bad weather bring these projects to naught. A revolt broke out in Kent on 10 October, urging Edward to assemble the royal army to reduce it. His spies inform him of Buckingham's activities the next day, and the King's men destroy the bridges over the Severn; when Buckingham, at the head of his troops, arrived in front of the flooded river, he was unable to cross it because of a violent storm which broke out on 15 October. Buckingham is trapped: his Welsh enemies have taken over his castle after he left, and he has nowhere to go. In a desperate attempt he seeks to take Ludlow and capture the Prince of Wales, but Pembroke escapes in time with the heir. A storm in the North Sea prevented Richard from embarking, and quickly a fleet led by the Earl of Kent blocked Flanders.

    He abandoned the plot and fled to Wem, where he was betrayed by a servant and arrested by Edward IV's men on 31 October. He was executed on 2 November in Salisbury, after the king refused to meet him to plead for mercy. Buckingham's Revolt was the only major revolt in England throughout the 1470s, but the consequences were enormous. Edward IV totally loses confidence in his mother, who despite total integrity in the face of the conspiracy is assigned to the small abbey of Rievaulx in Yorkshire. The Woodvilles are decimated; Edward and Lionel are executed a few months after Stafford, Catherine, Mary and Anne are forced to become nuns while the rest of the family flees the kingdom. Warwick emerges triumphant from this event with the full support of the king.

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    Execution of the Duke of Buckingham​
     
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    • Emperor Lucas I

    How far are you planning to go with this timeline? Because while so far I really like where this is going, the most interesting part for me is how Edward IV's descendants will lead England during Age of Discovery and reformation. Also, England adapting full agnatic primogeniture could have interesting consequences in the long run.
     
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    Emperor Lucas I said:
    How far are you planning to go with this timeline? Because while so far I really like where this is going, the most interesting part for me is how Edward IV's descendants will lead England during Age of Discovery and reformation. Also, England adapting full agnatic primogeniture could have interesting consequences in the long run.
    Click to expand...
    I haven't thought about this in detail yet but for the moment I will deal with the reign of Edward IV until his death, then I will see if I continue. Although at most I would stretch for about 100 years.

    Anyway, I thank you for these compliments.
     
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