The Prince of Wales (of whom I have spoken before) had landed in England before this battle, and had joined his forces with those of the Dukes of Exeter and Somerset, and several others of their family and party; so that in all (as I have been informed by those who were in that army) they amounted to above 40,000 men. If the Earl of Warwick had stayed till he had been joined by those forces, in all probability they had won the day. But the fear he had of the Duke of Somerset, whose father and brother he had put to death[336], and the hatred he bore to Queen Margaret, mother to the Prince of Wales, induced him to fight alone, without waiting for them. By this example we may observe how long old animosities last, how highly they are to be feared in themselves, and how destructive and dangerous they are in their consequences. As soon as King Edward had obtained this victory, he marched against the Prince of Wales, and there he had another great battle[337]; for though the Prince of Wales’s army was more numerous than the king’s, yet King Edward got the victory; and the Prince of Wales[338], several other great lords, and a great number of common soldiers, were killed upon the spot, and the Duke of Somerset, being taken, was beheaded the next day. In eleven days the Earl of Warwick had gained the whole kingdom of England, or at least reduced it to his obedience. In twenty-one days King Edward recovered it again, but it cost him two great and desperate battles to regain it. And thus you have an account of the revolutions of England. King Edward caused numbers of persons to be put to death in many places, especially those that were guilty of any confederacy against him. Of all nations in the world, the English are most inclined to such battles. After this fight, King Edward enjoyed continual peace till his death, yet not without some troubles and afflictions of mind; but I shall forbear saying any more about English affairs, till I can do it more conveniently in another place. CH. VIII.—How the War was renewed between King Louis and the Duke of Burgundy at the Solicitation of the Dukes of Guienne and Bretagne.—1471.