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THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND
FROM THE INVASION OF JULIUS CÆSAR
TO THE END OF THE REIGN OF JAMES THE SECOND,
BY DAVID HUME, ESQ.
1688
London: James S. Virtue, City Road and Ivy Lane
New York: 26 John Street
1860
And
Philadelphia:
J. B. Lippincott & Co.
March 17, 1901
In Three Volumes:
VOLUME ONE: The History Of England From The Invasion Of Julius Cæsar To
The End Of The Reign Of James The Second............ By David Hume, Esq.
VOLUME TWO: Continued from the Reign of William and Mary to the Death of
George II........................................... by Tobias Smollett.
VOLUME THREE: From the Accession of George III. to the Twenty-Third Year
of the Reign of Queen Victoria............... by E. Farr and E.H. Nolan.
VOLUME ONE
Part C.
HENRY VII. TO MARY
CHAPTER XXIV.
[Illustration: 1-309-henry7.jpg HENRY VII.]
HENRY VII.
{1485.} THE victory which the earl of Richmond gained at Bosworth was
entirely decisive; being attended, as well with the total rout and
dispersion of the royal army, as with the death of the king himself. Joy
for this great success suddenly prompted the soldiers, in the field of
battle, to bestow on their victorious general the appellation of king,
which he had not hitherto assumed; and the acclamations of “Long live
Henry VII.,” by a natural and unpremeditated movement, resounded from
all quarters. To bestow some appearance of formality on this species
of military election, Sir William Stanley brought a crown of ornament,
which Richard wore in battle, and which had been found among the spoils;
and he put it on the head of the victor. Henry himself remained not
in suspense; but immediately, without hesitation, accepted of the
magnificent present which was tendered him. He was come to the crisis
of his fortune; and being obliged suddenly to determine himself, amidst
great difficulties which he must have frequently revolved in his mind,
he chose that part which his ambition suggested to him, and to which he
seemed to be invited by his present success.
There were many titles on which Henry could found his right to the
crown; but no one of them free from great objections, if considered with
respect either to justice or to policy.
During some years, Henry had been regarded as heir to the house of
Lancaster by the party attached to that family; but the title of the
house of Lancaster itself was generally thought to be very ill founded.
Henry IV., who had first raised it to royal dignity, had never clearly
defined the foundation of his claim; and while he plainly invaded the
order of succession, he had not acknowledged the election of the people.
The parliament, it is true, had often recognized the title of the
Lancastrian princes; but these votes had little authority, being
considered as instances of complaisance towards a family in possession
of present power; and they had accordingly been often reversed during
the late prevalence of the house of York. Prudent men also, who had been
willing for the sake of peace to submit to any established authority,
desired not to see the claims of that family revived; claims which must
produce many convulsions at present, and which disjointed for the future
the whole system of hereditary right. Besides, allowing the title of the
house of Lancaster to be legal, Henry himself was not the true heir of
that family; and nothing but the obstinacy natural to faction, which
never without reluctance will submit to an antagonist, could have
engaged the Lancastrians to adopt the earl of Richmond as their head.
His mother indeed, Margaret, countess of Richmond, was sole daughter
and heir of the duke of Somerset, sprung from John of Gaunt, duke of
Lancaster: but the descent of the Somerset line was itself illegitimate,
and even adulterous. And though the duke of Lancaster had obtained
the legitimation of his natural children by a patent from Richard II.,
confirmed in parliament, it might justly be doubted whether this deed
could bestow any title to the crown: since in the patent itself all the
privileges conferred by it are fully enumerated, and the succession to
the kingdom is expressly excluded.[*] In all settlements of the crown
made during the reigns of the Lancastrian princes, the line of Somerset
had been entirely overlooked; and it was not till the failure of the
legitimate branch, that men had paid any attention to their claim. And
to add to the general dissatisfaction against Henry’s title, his mother,
from whom he derived all his right was still alive; and evidently
preceded him in the order of succession.
* Rymer, tom. vii. p. 849. Coke’s Inst. iv. Inst. part i. p.
37.
His title of the house of York, both from the plain reason of the case,
and from the late popular government of Edward IV., had universally
obtained the preference in the sentiments of the people; and Henry might
ingraft his claim on the rights of that family, by his intended marriage
with the princess Elizabeth, the heir of it; a marriage which he had
solemnly promised to celebrate, and to the expectation of which he had
chiefly owed all his past successes. But many reasons dissuaded Henry
from adopting this expedient. Were he to receive the crown only in right
of his consort, his power, he knew, would be very limited; and he must
expect rather to enjoy the bare title of king by a sort of courtesy,
than possess the real authority which belongs to it. Should the princess
die before him without issue, he must descend from the throne, and give
place to the next in succession; and even if his bed should be blest
with offspring, it seemed dangerous to expect that filial piety in his
children would prevail over the ambition of obtaining present possession
of regal power. An act of parliament, indeed, might easily be procured
to settle the crown on him during life; but Henry knew how much superior
the claim of succession by blood was to the authority of an assembly,[*]
which had always been overborne by violence in the shock of contending
titles, and which had ever been more governed by the conjunctures of the
times, than by any consideration derived from reason or public interest.
There was yet a third foundation on which Henry might rest his claim,
the right of conquest, by his victory over Richard, the present
possessor of the crown. But besides that Richard himself was deemed
no better than a usurper, the army which fought against him consisted
chiefly of Englishmen; and a right of conquest over England could
never be established by such a victory. Nothing also would give greater
umbrage to the nation than a claim of this nature; which might be
construed as an abolition of all their rights and privileges, and the
establishment of absolute authority in the sovereign.[**]
*Bacon in Kennet’s Complete History, p. 579.
**Bacon, p. 579.
William himself, the Norman, though at the head of a powerful and
victorious army of foreigners, had at first declined the invidious
title of Conqueror; and it was not till the full establishment of his
authority, that he had ventured to advance so violent and destructive a
pretension.
But Henry was sensible that there remained another foundation of power,
somewhat resembling the right of conquest, namely, present possession;
and that this title, guarded by vigor and abilities, would be sufficient
to secure perpetual possession of the throne. He had before him the
example of Henry IV., who, supported by no better pretension, had
subdued many insurrections, and had been able to transmit the crown
peaceably to his posterity. He could perceive that this claim, which had
been perpetuated through three generations of the family of Lancaster,
might still have subsisted, notwithstanding the preferable title of the
house of York, had not the sceptre devolved into the hands of Henry
VI., which were too feeble to sustain it. Instructed by this recent
experience, Henry was determined to put himself in possession of regal
authority, and to show all opponents, that nothing but force of arms and
a successful war should be able to expel him. His claim as heir to the
house of Lancaster he was resolved to advance, and never allow it to
be discussed; and he hoped that this right, favored by the partisans of
that family, and seconded by present power, would secure him a perpetual
and an independent authority.
These views of Henry are not exposed to much blame; because founded on
good policy, and even on a species of necessity; but there entered into
all his measures and counsels another motive, which admits not of the
same apology. The violent contentions which, during so long a period,
had been maintained between the rival families, and the many sanguinary
revenges which they had alternately taken on each other, had inflamed
the opposite factions to a high pitch of animosity, Henry himself, who
had seen most of his near friends and relations perish in battle or
by the executioner, and who had been exposed in his own person to many
hardships and dangers, had imbibed a violent antipathy to the York
party, which no time or experience were ever able to efface. Instead
of embracing the present happy opportunity of abolishing these fatal
distinctions, of uniting his title with that of his consort, and of
bestowing favor indiscriminately on the friends of both families, he
carried to the throne all the partialities which belong to the head of
a faction, and even the passions which are carefully guarded against by
every true politician in that situation. To exalt the Lancastrian party,
to depress the adherents of the house of York, were still the favorite
objects of his pursuit; and through the whole course of his reign, he
never forgot these early prepossessions. Incapable from his natural
temper of a more enlarged and more benevolent system of policy, he
exposed himself to many present inconveniences, by too anxiously
guarding against that future possible event, which might disjoin his
title from that of the princess whom he espoused. And while he treated
the Yorkists as enemies, he soon rendered them such, and taught them to
discuss that right to the crown, which he so carefully kept separate,
and to perceive its weakness and invalidity.
To these passions of Henry, as well as to his suspicious politics, we
are to ascribe the measures which he embraced two days after the battle
of Bosworth. Edward Plantagenet, earl of Warwick, son of the duke of
Clarence, was detained in a kind of confinement at Sherif-Hutton, in
Yorkshire, by the jealousy of his uncle Richard, whose title to the
throne was inferior to that of the young prince. Warwick had now reason
to expect better treatment, as he was no obstacle to the succession
either of Henry or Elizabeth; and from a youth of such tender years no
danger could reasonably be apprehended. But Sir Robert Willoughby was
despatched by Henry with orders to take him from Sherif-Hutton, to
convey him to the Tower, and to detain him in close custody.[*] The same
messenger carried directions, that the princess Elizabeth, who had been
confined to the same place, should be conducted to London, in order to
meet Henry, and there celebrate her nuptials.
Henry himself set out for the capital, and advanced by slow journeys.
Not to rouse the jealousy of the people, he took care to avoid all
appearance of military triumph; and so to restrain the insolence
of victory, that every thing about him bore the appearance of an
established monarch, making a peaceable progress through his dominions,
rather than of a prince who had opened his way to the throne by force of
arms. The acclamations of the people were every where loud, and no less
sincere and hearty. Besides that a young and victorious prince, on his
accession, was naturally the object of popularity, the nation promised
themselves great felicity from the new scene which opened before them.
* Bacon, p. 579. Polyd. Virg. p. 565.
During the course of near a whole century, the kingdom had been laid
waste by domestic wars and convulsions; and if at any time the noise of
arms had ceased, the sound of faction and discontent still threatened
new disorders. Henry, by his marriage with Elizabeth, seemed to insure a
union of the contending titles of the two families; and having prevailed
over a hated tyrant, who had anew disjointed the succession even of the
house of York, and had filled his own family with blood and murder,
he was every where attended with the unfeigned favor of the people.
Numerous and splendid troops of gentry and nobility accompanied
his progress. The mayor and companies of London received him as he
approached the city; the crowds of people and citizens were zealous
in their expressions of satisfaction. But Henry, amidst this general
effusion of joy, discovered still the stateliness and reserve of his
temper, which made him scorn to court popularity: he entered London in
a close chariot, and would not gratify the people with a sight of their
new sovereign.
But the king did not so much neglect the favor of the people, as
to delay giving them assurances of his marriage with the princess
Elizabeth, which he knew to be so passionately desired by the nation.
On his leaving Brittany, he had artfully dropped some hints that, if he
should succeed in his enterprise, and obtain the crown of England,
he would espouse Anne, the heir of that duchy; and the report of this
engagement had already reached England, and had begotten anxiety in
the people, and even in Elizabeth herself. Henry took care to dissipate
these apprehensions, by solemnly renewing, before the council and
principal nobility, the promise which he had already given to celebrate
his nuptials with the English princess. But though bound by honor,
as well as by interest, to complete this alliance, he was resolved to
postpone it till the ceremony of his own coronation should be finished,
and till his title should be recognized by parliament. Still anxious to
support his personal and hereditary right to the throne, he dreaded lest
a preceding marriage with the princess should imply a participation of
sovereignty in her, and raise doubts of his own title by the house of
Lancaster.
There raged at that time in London, and other parts of the kingdom,
a species of malady unknown to any other age or nation, the sweating
sickness, which occasioned the sudden death of great multitudes; though
it seemed not to be propagated by any contagious infection, but arose
from the general disposition of the air and of the human body. In less
than twenty-four hours the patient commonly died or recovered, but when
the pestilence had exerted its fury for a few weeks, it was observed,
either from alterations in the air, or from a more proper regimen which
had been discovered, to be considerably abated.[*] Preparations were
then made for the ceremony of Henry’s coronation. In order to heighten
the splendor of that spectacle, he bestowed the rank of knight banneret
on twelve persons; and he conferred peerages on three. Jasper, earl of
Pembroke, his uncle, was created duke of Bedford; Thomas Lord Stanley,
his father-in-law, earl of Derby; and Edward Courtney, earl of
Devonshire. At the coronation, likewise, there appeared a new
institution, which the king had established for security as well as
pomp, a band of fifty archers, who were termed yeomen of the guard. But
lest the people should take umbrage at this unusual symptom of jealousy
in the prince, as if it implied a personal diffidence of his subjects,
he declared the institution to be perpetual. The ceremony of coronation
was performed by Cardinal Bourchier, archbishop of Canterbury.
The parliament being assembled at Westminster, the majority immediately
appeared to be devoted partisans of Henry; all persons of another
disposition either declining to stand in those dangerous times, or being
obliged to dissemble their principles and inclinations. The Lancastrian
party had every where been successful in the elections; and even many
had been returned who, during the prevalence of the house of York, had
been exposed to the rigor of law, and had been condemned by sentence
of attainder and outlawry. Their right to take seats in the house being
questioned, the case was referred to all the judges, who assembled in
the exchequer chamber, in order to deliberate on so delicate a subject.
The opinion delivered was prudent, and contained a just temperament
between law and expediency.[**] The judges determined, that the members
attainted should forbear taking their seat till an act were passed for
the reversal of their attainder. There was no difficulty in obtaining
this act; and in it were comprehended a hundred and seven persons of the
king’s party.[***]
* Polyd. Virg. p. 567.
** Bacon, p. 661.
*** Rot. Parl. 1 Henry VII. n. 2, 3, 4-15, 17, 26-65.
But a scruple was started of a nature still more important. The king
himself had been attainted; and his right of succession to the crown
might thence be exposed to some doubt The judges extricated themselves
from this dangerous question by asserting it as a maxim, “That the crown
takes away all defects and stops in blood; and that from the time
the king assumed royal authority, the fountain was cleared, and all
attainders and corruptions of blood discharged.” [*] Besides that the
case, from its urgent necessity, admitted of no deliberation, the judges
probably thought that no sentence of a court of judicature had authority
sufficient to bar the right of succession; that the heir of the crown
was commonly exposed to such jealousy as might often occasion stretches
of law and justice against him; and that a prince might even be engaged
in unjustifiable measures during his predecessor’s reign, without
meriting on that account to be excluded from the throne, which was his
birthright.
With a parliament so obsequious, the king could not fail of obtaining
whatever act of settlement he was pleased to require. He seems only to
have entertained some doubt within himself on what claim he should found
his pretensions. In his speech to the parliament, he mentioned his just
title by hereditary right: but lest that title should not be esteemed
sufficient, he subjoined his claim by the judgment of God, who had given
him victory over his enemies. And again, lest this pretension should be
interpreted as assuming a right of conquest, he insured to his subjects
the full enjoyment of their former properties and possessions.
The entail of the crown was drawn according to the sense of the king,
and probably in words dictated by him. He made no mention in it of
the princess Elizabeth, nor of any branch of her family: but in other
respects the act was compiled with sufficient reserve and moderation.
He did not insist that it should contain a declaration or recognition of
his preceding right; as, on the other hand, he avoided the appearance of
a new law or ordinance. He chose a middle course which, as is generally
unavoidable in such cases, was not entirely free from uncertainty and
obscurity. It was voted, “That the inheritance of the crown should rest,
remain, and abide in the king:” [**] but whether as rightful heir, or
only as present possessor, was not determined.
* Bacon, p. 581.
** Bacon, p. 581.
In like manner, Henry was contented that the succession should be
secured to the heirs of his body; but he pretended not, in case of their
failure, to exclude the house of York or to give the preference to that
of Lancaster: he left that great point ambiguous for the present, and
trusted that, if it should ever become requisite to determine it, future
incidents would open the way for the decision.
But even after all these precautions, the king was so little satisfied
with his own title, that in the following year, he applied to papal
authority for a confirmation of it; and as the court of Rome gladly laid
hold of all opportunities which the imprudence, weakness, or necessities
of princes afforded it to extend its influence, Innocent VIII., the
reigning pope, readily granted a bull, in whatever terms the king
was pleased to desire. All Henry’s titles, by succession, marriage,
parliamentary choice, even conquest, are there enumerated; and to the
whole the sanction of religion is added; excommunication is denounced
against every one who should either disturb him in the present
possession, or the heirs of his body in the future succession of the
crown; and from this penalty no criminal, except in the article of
death, could be absolved but by the pope himself, or his special
commissioners. It is difficult to imagine that the security derived from
this bull could be a compensation for the defect which it betrayed in
Henry’s title, and for the danger of thus inviting the pope to interpose
in these concerns.
It was natural, and even laudable in Henry to reverse the attainders
which had passed against the partisans of the house of Lancaster:
but the revenges which he exercised against the adherents of the York
family, to which he was so soon to be allied, cannot be considered in
the same light. Yet the parliament, at his instigation, passed an act
of attainder against the late king himself, against the duke of Norfolk,
the earl of Surrey, Viscount Lovel, the lords Zouche and Ferrars of
Chartley, Sir Walter and Sir James Harrington, Sir William Berkeley,
Sir Humphrey Stafford, Catesby, and about twenty other gentlemen who
had fought on Richard’s side in the battle of Bosworth. How men could be
guilty of treason by supporting the king in possession against the
earl of Richmond, who assumed not the title of king, it is not easy to
conceive; and nothing but a servile complaisance in the parliament could
have engaged them to make this stretch of justice. Nor was it a small
mortification to the people in general, to find that the king, prompted
either by avarice or resentment could, in the very beginning of his
reign, so far violate the cordial union which had previously been
concerted between the parties, and to the expectation of which he had
plainly owed his succession to the throne.
The king, having gained so many points of consequence from the
parliament, thought it not expedient to demand any supply from them,
which the profound peace enjoyed by the nation, and the late forfeiture
of Richard’s adherents, seemed to render somewhat superfluous. The
parliament, however, conferred on him during life the duty of tonnage
and poundage, which had been enjoyed in the same manner by some of his
immediate predecessors; and they added, before they broke up, other
money bills of no great moment. The king, on his part, made returns
of grace and favor to his people. He published his royal proclamation,
offering pardon to all such as had taken arms, or formed any attempts
against him, provided they submitted themselves to mercy by a certain
day, and took the usual oath of fealty and allegiance. Upon this
proclamation many came out of their sanctuaries; and the minds of men
were every where much quieted. Henry chose to take wholly to himself
the merit of an act of grace so agreeable to the nation, rather than
communicate it with the parliament, (as was his first intention,) by
passing a bill to that purpose. The earl of Surrey, however, though he
had submitted, and delivered himself into the king’s hands, was sent
prisoner to the Tower.
During this parliament, the king also bestowed favors and honors on some
particular persons who were attached to him. Edward Stafford, eldest son
of the duke of Buckingham attainted in the late reign, was restored
to the honors of his family, as well as to his fortune, which was very
ample. This generosity, so unusual in Henry, was the effect of his
gratitude to the memory of Buckingham, who had first concerted the plan
of his elevation, and who by his own ruin had made way for that great
event. Chandos of Brittany was created earl of Bath, Sir Giles Daubeny,
Lord Daubeny, and Sir Robert Willoughby, Lord Broke. These were all
the titles of nobility conferred by the king during this session of
parliament.[*]
* Polyd. Virg. p. 566
But the ministers whom Henry most trusted and favored were not chosen
from among the nobility, or even from among the laity. John Morton and
Richard Fox, two clergymen persons of industry, vigilance, and capacity,
were the men to whom he chiefly confided his affairs and secret
counsels. They had shared with him all his former dangers and
distresses; and he now took care to make them participate in his good
fortune. They were both called to the privy council; Morton was restored
to the bishopric of Ely, Fox was created bishop of Exeter. The former,
soon after, upon the death of Bourchier, was raised to the see of
Canterbury. The latter was made privy seal; and successively bishop
of Bath and Wells, Durham, and Winchester. For Henry, as Lord Bacon
observes, loved to employ and advance prelates; because, having rich
bishoprics to bestow, it was easy for him to reward their services: and
it was his maxim to raise them by slow steps, and make them first pass
through the interior sees.[*] He probably expected that, as they were
naturally more dependent on him than the nobility, who during that age
enjoyed possessions and jurisdictions dangerous to royal authority, so
the prospect of further elevation would render them still more active in
his service, and more obsequious to his commands.
* Bacon, p. 582.
{1486.} In presenting the bill of tonnage and poundage, the parliament,
anxious to preserve the legal, undisputed succession to the crown, had
petitioned Henry, with demonstrations of the greatest zeal, to espouse
the princess Elizabeth; but they covered their true reason under the
dutiful pretence of their desire to have heirs of his body. He now
thought in earnest of satisfying the minds of his people in that
particular. His marriage was celebrated at London; and that with
greater appearance of universal joy than either his first entry or his
coronation. Henry remarked with much displeasure this general favor
borne to the house of York. The suspicions which arose from it not only
disturbed his tranquillity during his whole reign, but bred disgust
towards his consort herself, and poisoned all his domestic enjoyments.
Though virtuous, amiable, and obsequious to the last degree, she never
met with a proper return of affection, or even of complaisance, from her
husband; and the malignant ideas of faction still, in his sullen mind,
prevailed over all the sentiments of conjugal tenderness.
The king had been carried along with such a tide of success ever since
his arrival in England, that he thought nothing could withstand the
fortune and authority which attended him.
He now resolved to make a progress into the north, where the friends of
the house of York, and even the partisans of Richard, were numerous, in
hopes of curing, by his presence and conversation, the prejudices of
the malecontents. When he arrived at Nottingham, he heard that Viscount
Lovel, with Sir Humphrey Stafford, and Thomas his brother, had secretly
withdrawn themselves from their sanctuary at Colchester: but this news
appeared not to him of such importance as to stop his journey; and he
proceeded forward to York. He there heard that the Staffords had levied
an army, and were marching to besiege the city of Worcester; and that
Lovel, at the head of three or four thousand men, was approaching to
attack him in York. Henry was not dismayed with this intelligence. His
active courage, full of resources, immediately prompted him to find
the proper remedy. Though surrounded with enemies in these disaffected
counties, he assembled a small body of troops, in whom he could confide;
and he put them under the command of the duke of Bedford. He joined to
them all his own attendants; but he found that this hasty armament was
more formidable by their spirit and their zealous attachment to him,
than by the arms or military stores with which they were provided. He
therefore gave Bedford orders not to approach the enemy; but previously
to try every proper expedient to disperse them. Bedford published a
general promise of pardon to the rebels, which had a greater effect
on their leader than on his followers. Lovel, who had undertaken an
enterprise that exceeded his courage and capacity, was so terrified
with the fear of desertion among his troops, that he suddenly withdrew
himself; and after lurking some time in Lancashire, he made his escape
into Flanders, where he was protected by the duchess of Burgundy. His
army submitted to the king’s clemency; and the other rebels, hearing of
this success, raised the siege of Worcester, and dispersed themselves.
The Staffords took sanctuary in the church of Colnham, a village near
Abingdon; but as it was found that this church had not the privilege
of giving protection to rebels, they were taken thence; the elder was
executed at Tyburn; the younger, pleading that he had been misled by his
brother, obtained a pardon.[*]
* Polyd. Virg. p. 569.
Henry’s joy for this success was followed, some time after, by the birth
of a prince, to whom he gave the name of Arthur in memory of the famous
British king of that name, from whom it was pretended the family of
Tudor derived its descent.
Though Henry had been able to defeat this hasty rebellion raised by
the relics of Richard’s partisans, his government was become in general
unpopular: the source of public discontent arose chiefly from his
prejudices against the house of York which was generally beloved by
the nation, and which, for that very reason, became every day more
the object of his hatred and jealousy. Not only a preference on all
occasions, it was observed, was given to the Lancastrians, but many
of the opposite party had been exposed to great severity, and had been
bereaved of their fortunes by acts of attainder. A general resumption
likewise had passed of all grants made by the princes of the house of
York; and though this rigor had been covered under the pretence that the
revenue was become insufficient to support the dignity of the crown, and
though the grants during the later years of Henry VI. were resumed by
the same law, yet the York party, as they were the principal sufferers
by the resumption, thought it chiefly levelled against them. The
severity exercised against the earl of Warwick begat compassion for
youth and innocence exposed to such oppression; and his confinement in
the Tower, the very place where Edward’s children had been murdered by
their uncle, made the public expect a like catastrophe for him, and led
them to make a comparison between Henry and that detested tyrant. And
when it was remarked that the queen herself met with harsh treatment,
and even after the birth of a son, was not admitted to the honor of
a public coronation, Henry’s prepossessions were then concluded to be
inveterate, and men became equally obstinate in their disgust to his
government. Nor was the manner and address of the king calculated to
cure these prejudices contracted against his administration; but had
in every thing a tendency to promote fear, or at best reverence, rather
than good will and affection.[*] While the high idea entertained of
his policy and vigor retained the nobility and men of character in
obedience, the effects of his unpopular government soon appeared, by
incidents of an extraordinary nature.
* Bacon, p. 583.
There lived in Oxford one Richard Simon, a priest, who possessed
some subtlety, and still more enterprise and temerity. This man had
entertained the design of disturbing Henry’s government, by raising a
pretender to his crown, and for that purpose he cast his eyes on Lambert
Simnel, a youth of fifteen years of age, who was son of a baker, and
who, being endowed with understanding above his years, and address
above his condition, seemed well fitted to personate a prince of royal
extraction. A report had been spread among the people, and received,
with great avidity, that Richard, duke of York, second son of Edward
IV., had, by a secret escape, saved himself from the cruelty of his
uncle, and lay somewhere concealed in England. Simon, taking advantage
of this rumor, had at first instructed his pupil to assume that name,
which he found to be so fondly cherished by the public: but hearing
afterwards a new report, that Warwick had made his escape from the
Tower, and observing that this news was attended with no less general
satisfaction, he changed the plan of his imposture, and made Simnel
personate that unfortunate prince.[*] Though the youth was qualified by
nature for the part which he was instructed to act, yet was it remarked,
that he was better informed in circumstances relating to the royal
family, particularly in the adventures of the earl of Warwick, than he
could be supposed to have learned from one of Simon’s condition: and it
was thence conjectured, that persons of higher rank, partisans of the
house of York, had laid the plan of this conspiracy, and had conveyed
proper instructions to the actors. The queen dowager herself was exposed
to suspicion; and it was indeed the general opinion, however unlikely
it might seem, that she had secretly given her consent to the imposture.
This woman was of a very restless disposition. Finding that, instead
of receiving the reward of her services in contributing to Henry’s
elevation, she herself was fallen into absolute insignificance, her
daughter treated with severity, and all her friends brought under
subjection, she had conceived the most violent animosity against him,
and had resolved to make him feel the effects of her resentment. She
knew that the impostor, however successful, might easily at last be
set aside; and if a way could be found at his risk to subvert the
government, she hoped that a scene might be opened, which, though
difficult at present exactly to foresee, would gratify her revenge, and
be on the whole less irksome to her than that slavery and contempt to
which she was now reduced.[**]
* Polyd. Virg. p. 569. 570.
** Polyd. Virg. p. 570.
But whatever care Simon might take to convey instruction to his pupil
Simnel, he was sensible that the imposture would not bear a close
inspection; and he was therefore determined to open the first public
scene of it in Ireland. That island, which was zealously attached to
the house of York, and bore an affectionate regard to the memory
of Clarence, Warwick’s father, who had been their lieutenant, was
improvidently allowed by Henry to remain in the same condition in
which he found it; and all the counsellors and officers, who had been
appointed by his predecessor, still retained their authority. No sooner
did Simnel present himself to Thomas Fitzgerald, earl of Kildare, the
deputy, and claim his protection as the unfortunate Warwick, than that
credulous nobleman, not suspecting so bold an imposture, gave attention
to him, and began to consult some persons of rank with regard to this
extraordinary incident. These he found even more sanguine in their zeal
and belief than himself: and in proportion as the story diffused itself
among those of lower condition, it became the object of still greater
passion and credulity, till the people in Dublin with one consent
tendered their allegiance to Simnel, as to the true Plantagenet. Fond of
a novelty which flattered their natural propension, they overlooked
the daughters of Edward IV., who stood before Warwick in the order
of succession; they paid the pretended prince attendance as their
sovereign, lodged him in the Castle of Dublin, crowned him with a diadem
taken from a statue of the Virgin, and publicly proclaimed him king, by
the appellation of Edward VI. The whole island followed the example of
the capital; and not a sword was any where drawn in Henry’s quarrel.
When this intelligence was conveyed to the king, it reduced him to some
perplexity. Determined always to face his enemies in person, he yet
scrupled at present to leave England, where he suspected the conspiracy
was first framed, and where he knew many persons of condition, and the
people in general, were much disposed to give it countenance. In order
to dis cover the secret source of the contrivance, and take measures
against this open revolt, he held frequent consultations with his
ministers and counsellors, and laid plans for a vigorous defence of his
authority, and the suppression of his enemies.
The first event which followed these deliberations gave surprise to the
public; it was the seizure of the queen dowager the forfeiture of all
her lands and revenue, and the close confinement of her person in the
nunnery of Bermondsey. The act of authority was covered with a very thin
pretence. It was alleged that, notwithstanding the secret agreement to
marry her daughter to Henry, she had yet yielded to the solicitations
and menaces of Richard, and had delivered that princess and her sisters
into the hands of the tyrant. This crime, which was now become obsolete,
and might admit of alleviations, was therefore suspected not to be the
real cause of the severity with which she was treated; and men believed
that the king, unwilling to accuse so near a relation of a conspiracy
against him, had cloaked his vengeance or precaution under color of
an offence known to the whole world.[*] They were afterwards the more
confirmed in this suspicion, when they found that the unfortunate queen,
though she survived this disgrace several years, was never treated with
any more lenity, but was allowed to end her life in poverty, solitude,
and confinement.
* Bacon, p. 583, Polyd. Virg. p. 571.
The next measure of the king’s was of a less exceptionable nature.
He ordered that Warwick should be taken from the Tower, be led in
procession through the streets of London, be conducted to St. Paul’s,
and there exposed to the view of the whole people. He even gave
directions, that some men of rank, attached to the house of York, and
best acquainted with the person of this prince, should approach him and
converse with him: and he trusted that these, being convinced of the
absurd imposture of Simnel, would put a stop to the credulity of the
populace. The expedient had its effect in England: but in Ireland the
people still persisted in their revolt, and zealously retorted on the
king the reproach of propagating an imposture, and of having shown a
counterfeit Warwick to the public.
Henry had soon reason to apprehend, that the design against him was
not laid on such slight foundations as the absurdity of the contrivance
seemed to indicate. John, earl of Lincoln, son of John de la Pole, duke
of Suffolk, and of Elizabeth, eldest sister to Edward IV., was engaged
to take part in the conspiracy. This nobleman, who possessed capacity
and courage, had entertained very aspiring views; and his ambition was
encouraged by the known intentions of his uncle Richard, who had formed
a design, in case he himself should die without issue, of declaring
Lincoln successor to the crown. The king’s jealousy against all eminent
persons of the York party, and his rigor towards Warwick, had further
struck Lincoln with apprehensions, and made him resolve to seek
for safety in the most dangerous counsels. Having fixed a secret
correspondence with Sir Thomas Broughton, a man of great interest in
Lancashire, he retired to Flanders, where Lovel had arrived a little
before him; and he lived during some time in the court of his aunt the
duchess of Burgundy, by whom he had been invited over.
Margaret, widow of Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, not having any
children of her own, attached herself with an entire friendship to her
daughter-in-law, married to Maximilian, archduke of Austria; and after
the death of that princess, she persevered in her affection to Philip
and Margaret, her children, and occupied herself in the care of their
education and of their persons. By her virtuous conduct and demeanor
she had acquired great authority among the Flemings and lived with much
dignity, as well as economy, upon that ample dowry which she inherited
from her husband. The resentments of this princess were no less warm
than her friendships; and that spirit of faction, which it is so
difficult for a social and sanguine temper to guard against, had taken
strong possession of her heart, and intrenched somewhat on the probity
which shone forth in the other parts of her character. Hearing of the
malignant jealousy entertained by Henry against her family, and
his oppression of all its partisans, she was moved with the highest
indignation; and she determined to make him repent of that enmity to
which so many of her friends, without any reason or necessity, had
fallen victims.
{1487.} After consulting with Lincoln and Lovel she hired a body of two
thousand veteran Germans, under the command of Martin Swart, a brave
and experienced officer; [*] and sent them over, together with these two
noblemen, to join Simnel in Ireland. The countenance given by persons
of such high rank, and the accession of this military force, much raised
the courage of the Irish, and made them entertain the resolution of
invading England, where they believed the spirit of disaffection as
prevalent as it appeared to be in Ireland. The poverty also under which
they labored, made it impossible for them to support any longer their
new court and army, and inspired them with a strong desire of enriching
themselves by plunder and preferment in England.
* Polyd. Virg. p. 572, 573.
Henry was not ignorant of these intentions of his enemies, and he
prepared himself for defence. He ordered troops to be levied in
different parts of the kingdom, and put them under the command of the
duke of Bedford and earl of Oxford. He confined the marquis of Dorset,
who, he suspected, would resent the injuries suffered by his mother, the
queen dowager; and, to gratify the people by an appearance of devotion,
he made a pilgrimage to our lady of Walsingham, famous for miracles;
and there offered up prayers for success, and for deliverance from his
enemies.
Being informed that Simnel was landed at Foudrey in Lancashire, he drew
together his forces, and advanced towards the enemy as far as Coventry.
The rebels had entertained hopes that the disaffected counties in the
north would rise in their favor; but the people in general, averse to
join Irish and German invaders, convinced of Lambert’s imposture, and
kept in awe by the king’s reputation for success and conduct, either
remained in tranquillity, or gave assistance to the royal army. The earl
of Lincoln, therefore, who commanded the rebels, finding no hopes but
in victory, was determined to bring the matter to a speedy decision; and
the king, supported by the native courage of his temper, and emboldened
by a great accession of volunteers, who had joined him under the earl of
Shrewsbury and Lord Strange, declined not the combat. The hostile armies
met at Stoke, in the county of Nottingham, and fought a battle, which
was bloody, and more obstinately disputed than could have been expected
from the inequality of their force. All the leaders of the rebels were
resolved to conquer or to perish; and they inspired their troops
with like resolution. The Germans also, being veteran and experienced
soldiers, kept the event long doubtful; and even the Irish, though
ill-armed and almost defenceless, showed themselves not defective in
spirit and bravery. The king’s victory was purchased with loss, but was
entirely decisive. Lincoln, Broughton, and Swart perished in the field
of battle, with four thousand of their followers. As Lovel was never
more heard of, he was believed to have undergone the same fate; Simnel,
with his tutor, Simon, was taken prisoner. Simon, being a priest, was
not tried at law, and was only committed to close custody: Simnel was
too contemptible to be an object either of apprehension or resentment to
Henry. He was pardoned, and made a scullion in the king’s kitchen whence
he was afterwards advanced to the rank of a falconer.[*]
* Bacon, p. 586. Polyd. Virg. p; 574.
Henry had now leisure to revenge himself on his enemies. He made a
progress into the northern parts, where he gave many proofs of his
rigorous disposition. A strict inquiry was made after those who had
assisted or favored the rebels. The punishments were not all sanguinary:
the king made his revenge subservient to his avarice. Heavy fines were
levied upon the delinquents. The proceedings of the courts, and even the
courts themselves, were arbitrary. Either the criminals were tried by
commissioners appointed for the purpose, or they suffered punishment
by sentence of a court-martial. And as a rumor had prevailed before the
battle of Stoke, that the rebels had gained the victory, that the royal
army was cut in pieces, and that the king himself had escaped by flight,
Henry was resolved to interpret the belief or propagation of this report
as a mark of disaffection; and he punished many for that pretended
crime. But such in this age was the situation of the English government,
that the royal prerogative, which was but imperfectly restrained during
the most peaceable periods, was sure, in tumultuous or even suspicious
times, which frequently recurred, to break all bounds of law, and to
violate public liberty.
After the king had gratified his rigor by the punishment of his enemies,
he determined to give contentment to the people in a point which, though
a mere ceremony, was passionately desired by them. The queen had
been married near two years, but had not yet been crowned; and this
affectation of delay had given great discontent to the public, and had
been one principal source of the disaffection which prevailed. The king,
instructed by experience, now finished the ceremony of her coronation;
and to show a disposition still more gracious, he restored to liberty
the marquis of Dorset, who had been able to clear himself of all the
suspicions entertained against him.
* Bacon, p. 586. Polyd. Virg. p; 574.