Richard Plantagenet, _third_ duke of York, nephew of the second duke,
and son of Richard earl of Cambridge, who was executed for treason
against Henry V., was restored to his paternal honours by Henry VI., and
allowed to succeed to his uncle’s inheritance. As he was one of the most
illustrious by descent, so he became one of the most powerful subjects
through his dignities and alliances. After the death of the duke of
Bedford, the celebrated regent of France, he was appointed to succeed
him, and with the assistance of the valorous lord Talbot, afterwards
earl of Shrewsbury, maintained a footing in the French territories
upwards of five years. The incapacity of Henry VI. incited him to urge
his claim to the crown of England in right of his mother, through whom
he descended from Philippa, only daughter of the duke of Clarence,
_second_ son to Edward III.; whereas the king descended from the duke of
Lancaster, _third_ son of that monarch. The duke’s superiority of
descent, his valour and mildness in various high employments, and his
immense possessions, derived through numerous successions, gave him
influence with the nobility, and procured him formidable connections. He
levied war against the king, and without material loss slew about five
thousand of the royal forces at St. Alban’s, on the 22d of May, 1452.
This was the first blood spilt in the fierce and fatal quarrel between
the rival houses of York and Lancaster, which lasted thirty years, was
signalized by twelve pitched battles, cost the lives of eighty princes
of the blood, and almost annihilated the ancient nobility of England.
After this battle, the duke’s irresolution, and the heroism of Margaret,
queen of Henry VI., caused a suspension of hostilities. The leaders on
both sides assented to meet in London, and be solemnly reconciled. The
duke of York led the queen in solemn procession to St. Paul’s, and the
chiefs of one party marched hand in hand with the chiefs of the other.
It was a public demonstration of peace, with secret mutual distrust; and
an accident aroused the slumbering strife. One of the king’s retinue
insulted one of the earl of Warwick’s; their companions fought, and both
parties in every county flew to arms. The battle of Bloreheath, in
Staffordshire, 23d September, 1459, was won by the Lancastrians. At the
battle of Northampton, 10th July, 1560, the Yorkists had the victory,
and the king was taken prisoner. A parliament, summoned in the king’s
name, met at Westminster, which the duke of York attended; and, had he
then seated himself on the throne in the House of Lords, the deadly feud
might have been ended by his being proclaimed king; but his coolness and
moderation intimidated his friends, and encouraged his enemies. His
personal courage was undoubted, but he was deficient in political
courage. The parliament deliberated, and though they declared the duke’s
title indefeasible, yet they decided that Henry should retain the crown
during life. They provided, however, that till the king’s decease the
government should be administered by the duke, as the true and lawful
heir of the monarchy; and in this arrangement Richard acquiesced.
Meanwhile, queen Margaret, with her infant son, appealed to the barons
of the north against the settlement in the south, and collected an army
with astonishing celerity. The duke of York hastened with five thousand
troops to quell what he imagined to be the beginning of an insurrection,
and found, near Wakefield, a force of twenty thousand men. He threw
himself into Sandal castle, but with characteristic bravery, imagining
he should be disgraced by remaining between walls in fear of a female,
he descended onto the plain of Wakefield on the 24th of December, and
gave battle to the queen, who largely outnumbering his little army,
defeated and slew him; and his son, the earl of Rutland, an innocent
youth of seventeen, having been taken prisoner, was murdered in cold
blood by the lord de Clifford. Margaret caused the duke’s head to be cut
off, and fixed on the gates of the city of York, with a paper crown on
it in derision of his claim. He perished in the fiftieth year of his
age, worthy of a better fate.