History of the English People, Volume III: The Parliament, 1399-1461; The Monarchy 1461-1540Green, John Richard
History
History of the English People, Volume III: The Parliament, 1399-1461; The Monarchy 1461-1540
Green, John Richard
Great Britain -- History
the struggle, no such battle had been seen in England since the fight of
Senlac. The two armies together numbered nearly 120,000 men. The day had
just broken when the Yorkists advanced through a thick snowfall, and for
six hours the battle raged with desperate bravery on either side. At one
critical moment Warwick saw his men falter, and stabbing his horse before
them, swore on the cross of his sword to win or die on the field. The
battle was turned at last by the arrival of the Duke of Norfolk with a
fresh force from the Eastern Counties, and at noon the Lancastrians gave
way. A river in their rear turned the retreat into a rout, and the flight
and carnage, for no quarter was given on either side, went on through the
night and the morrow. Edward's herald counted more than 20,000 Lancastrian
corpses on the field. The losses of the conquerors were hardly less heavy
than those of the conquered. But their triumph was complete. The Earl of
Northumberland was slain; the Earls of Devonshire and Wiltshire were taken
and beheaded; the Duke of Somerset fled into exile. Henry himself with his
queen was forced to fly over the border and to find a refuge in Scotland.
The cause of the House of Lancaster was lost; and with the victory of
Towton the crown of England passed to Edward of York.
BOOK V
THE MONARCHY
1461-1540
AUTHORITIES FOR BOOK V
1461-1540
Edward the Fifth is the subject of a work attributed to Sir Thomas More,
and which almost certainly derives much of its information from Archbishop
Morton. Whatever its historical worth may be, it is remarkable in its
English form as the first historical work of any literary value which we
possess written in our modern prose. The "Letters and Papers of Richard
the Third and Henry the Seventh," some "Memorials of Henry the Seventh,"
including his life by Bernard Andre of Toulouse, and a volume of
"Materials" for a history of his reign have been edited for the Rolls
Series. A biography of Henry is among the works of Lord Bacon. The history
of Erasmus in England must be followed in his own interesting letters; the
most accessible edition of the typical book of the revival, the "Utopia,"
is the Elizabethan translation, published by Mr. Arber. Mr. Lupton has
done much to increase our scanty knowledge of Colet by his recent editions
of several of his works. Halle's Chronicle extends from the reign of
Edward the Fourth to that of Henry the Eighth; for the latter he is copied
by Grafton and followed by Holinshed. Cavendish has given a faithful and
touching account of Wolsey in his later days, but for any real knowledge
of his administration or the foreign policy of Henry the Eighth we must
turn from these to the invaluable Calendars of State Papers for this
period from the English, Spanish, and Austrian archives, with the prefaces
of Professor Brewer and Mr. Bergenroth. Cromwell's early life as told by
Foxe is a mass of fable, and the State Papers afford the only real
information as to his ministry.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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