The sunne in Splendour

Chapter 21. The precarious end of the Scottish matter

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James IV of Scotland

After the defeat at Brainston Moor, in spite of all the time that Richard of Gloucester spent in London taking care of the succession, there was any coherent opposition to face the English. However, Richard was not willing to spent too much time away from the young king.

Anyway, the surviving Scottish Lords gathered again around his king to face Richard. However, just a few days after the English army crosed into Scotland again, Alexander, Richard's Scottish puppet, died in a hunting accident. For his brother James III was a blessing in disguise. For Richard, a disaster, has he had lost his main weapon against James.

Richard, however, reacted as if nothing had happened and kept advancing and destroying everything that had survived the previous invasion. Thus, the surviving Scottish lords, led by Alexander Home, 1st Lord Home, rebelled against James and proclaimed his 15-year-old son, Prince James, Duke of Rothesay, as the rightful king of Scotland.

Caught between the rebels and the English army, James III had no option to fled. With a small retinue, the Scottish king fled the country to France, leaving the empty throne to his son, who ascended to the throne, and reigned as James IV. The new king had then to settle a peace treaty to the almost almighty duke of Gloucester. As someone would say later, it was not a peace treaty, but an armistice, as the peacer that was imposed over the defeated kingdom was hardly bearable, beginning by the forced marriage of James IV with princess Cecily of York, daughter of Edward IV.

Having settled accounts with Scotland, which was thus turn into an de facto English vassal, Richard returned to London.
 
Chapter 22. The King and Gloucester.


Edward V of England
Richard became a key element in the kingship of Edward V, and he took himself the task of educating him until he became old enough to rule on his own. Nothing happened in England without Richard's approval, as he was the center of the political scene in those days.

A shown of his power took place in the summer of 1484. With the Scottish issue finished and back at London, the Parliament was summoned and there he explained how he had purged the royal administration of a great number of ministers and judges and, after that, he was the final voince that was heard in each discussion of all the topics issued in that Parliament, that raged from taxation to a reform of the local councils, measures to protect the commerce with Flanders, new laws and punishments to those who altered the king's peace and there was an attempt to issue laws and to create councils to keep under control the raise of prices in the kingdom, with some degree of success.

He was also a key element in the bethrotal of Edward V with the duke of Brittany's six-year-old heir, Anne, their marriage took place in 1486, when the sixteen years old Edward became of age to rule.

Then troubles started again.
 
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