The Wars of the Roses; or, Stories of the Struggle of York and LancasterEdgar, John G. (John George)
History
The Wars of the Roses; or, Stories of the Struggle of York and Lancaster
Edgar, John G. (John George)
Great Britain -- History -- Wars of the Roses, 1455-1485
A resting-place beside his hero-sire, in the Chapel of St. Edward,
might have been allowed to the only king since the Conquest who had
emulated the Confessor's sanctity. But another edifice than the Abbey
of Westminster was selected as the place of sepulture; and, on the
evening of Ascension Day, the corpse, having been placed in a barge
guarded by soldiers from Calais, was conveyed up the Thames, and,
during the silence of midnight, committed to the dust in the Monastery
of Chertsey. It was not at Chertsey, however, that the saintly king
was to rest. When years had passed over, and Richard had ascended the
throne, the mortal remains of Henry were removed from Chertsey to
Windsor, and interred with much pomp in the south side of the choir in
St. George's Chapel, there to rest, it was hoped, till that great day,
for the coming of which he had religiously prepared by the devotion of
a life.
After consigning Margaret to the Tower and Henry to the tomb, Edward
led his army from London, marched to Canterbury, and prepared to
inflict severe punishment on Falconbridge. Meanwhile, as vice-admiral,
Falconbridge had taken possession of Sandwich, where forty-seven
ships obeyed his command. With this naval force, and the town
fortified in such a way as to withstand a siege, the Bastard prepared
for resistance; but, on learning that the royal army had reached
Canterbury, his heart began to fail, and he determined, if possible, to
obtain a pardon. With this object, Falconbridge dispatched a messenger
to Edward; and the king was, doubtless, glad enough to get so bold a
rebel quietly into his power. At all events, he determined on deluding
the turbulent vice-admiral with assurances of safety and promises of
favor; and Gloucester was empowered to negotiate a treaty.
Matters at first went smoothly. The duke rode to Sandwich to assure his
illegitimate cousin of the king's full forgiveness, and about the 26th
of May Falconbridge made his submission, and promised to be a faithful
subject. Edward then honored him with knighthood, and confirmed him in
the post of vice-admiral. At the same time, the king granted a full
pardon to the Bastard's adherents; and they, relying on the royal word,
surrendered the town of Sandwich, with the castle, and the ships that
lay in the port. "But how this composition was observed," says Baker,
"may be imagined, when Falconbridge, who was comprised in the pardon,
was afterward taken and executed at Southampton. Spicing and Quintine,
the captains that assailed Aldgate and Bishopgate, and were in Sandwich
Castle at the surrender thereof, were presently beheaded at Canterbury,
and their heads placed on poles in the gates; and, by a commission of
Oyer and Terminer, many, both in Essex and Kent, were arraigned and
condemned for this rebellion."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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