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MAKERS OF HISTORY
MARGARET OF ANJOU
by
JACOB ABBOTT
WITH ENGRAVINGS
NEW YORK AND LONDON
HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
1902
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight
hundred and sixty-one, by
HARPER & BROTHERS,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District
of New York.
[Illustration: The Bridal Procession.]
PREFACE.
The story of Margaret of Anjou forms a part of the history of England,
for the lady, though of Continental origin, was the queen of one of
the English kings, and England was the scene of her most remarkable
adventures and exploits. She lived in very stormy times, and led a
very stormy life; and her history, besides the interest which it
excites from the extraordinary personal and political vicissitudes
which it records, is also useful in throwing a great deal of light
upon the ideas of right and wrong, and of good and evil, and upon the
manners and customs, both of peace and war, which prevailed in England
during the age of chivalry.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE HOUSES OF YORK AND LANCASTER 15
II. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE TIME 30
III. KING HENRY VI 46
IV. MARGARET'S FATHER AND MOTHER 59
V. ROYAL COURTSHIP 75
VI. THE WEDDING 93
VII. RECEPTION IN ENGLAND 115
VIII. THE STORY OF LADY NEVILLE 125
IX. PLOTTINGS 143
X. THE FALL OF GLOUCESTER 157
XI. THE FALL OF SUFFOLK 171
XII. BIRTH OF A PRINCE 188
XIII. ILLNESS OF THE KING 199
XIV. ANXIETY AND TROUBLE 207
XV. MARGARET A FUGITIVE 222
XVI. MARGARET TRIUMPHANT 231
XVII. MARGARET AN EXILE 237
XVIII. A ROYAL COUSIN 244
XIX. RETURN TO ENGLAND 254
XX. YEARS OF EXILE 269
XXI. THE RECONCILIATION WITH WARWICK 278
XXII. BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT 285
XXIII. CHILDLESS, AND A WIDOW 292
XXIV. CONCLUSION 306
ENGRAVINGS.
PAGE
THE BRIDAL PROCESSION _Frontispiece._
GENERAL MAP 14
SELECTING THE ROSES 22
ORDEAL COMBAT 35
HENRY VI. IN HIS YOUTH 54
THE PENANCE 56
DISTRESS OF MARGARET'S MOTHER 65
SUFFOLK PRESENTING MARGARET TO THE KING 107
ANCIENT PORTRAIT OF QUEEN MARGARET 117
FEMALE COSTUME IN THE TIME OF HENRY VI 138
THE CHARGES AGAINST GLOUCESTER 160
ROUEN 176
VIEW OF BORDEAUX 180
THE TEMPLE GARDEN 192
THE LITTLE PRINCE AND HIS SWANS 220
MURDER OF RICHARD'S CHILD 235
LOUIS XI., MARGARET'S COUSIN 251
MAP OF THE BORDER 255
MARGARET AT THE CAVE 263
DEATH OF WARWICK 289
TEWKESBURY 297
THE MURDER OF PRINCE HENRY 302
VIEW OF CHERTSEY 308
[Illustration: Map, Illustrating the History of Margaret of Anjou.]
MARGARET OF ANJOU.
CHAPTER I.
THE HOUSES OF YORK AND LANCASTER.
[Sidenote: A real heroine.]
Margaret of Anjou was a heroine; not a heroine of romance and fiction,
but of stern and terrible reality. Her life was a series of military
exploits, attended with dangers, privations, sufferings, and wonderful
vicissitudes of fortune, scarcely to be paralleled in the whole
history of mankind.
[Sidenote: Two great quarrels.]
She was born and lived in a period during which there prevailed in the
western part of Europe two great and dreadful quarrels, which lasted
for more than a hundred years, and which kept France and England, and
all the countries contiguous to them, in a state of continual
commotion during all that time.
[Sidenote: Contest between the houses of York and Lancaster.]
The first of these quarrels grew out of a dispute which arose among
the various branches of the royal family of England in respect to the
succession to the crown. The two principal branches of the family
were the descendants respectively of the Dukes of York and Lancaster,
and the wars which they waged against each other are called in history
the wars of the houses of York and Lancaster. These wars continued for
several successive generations, and Margaret of Anjou was the queen of
one of the most prominent representatives of the Lancaster line. Thus
she became most intimately involved in the quarrel.
[Sidenote: Wars in France.]
The second great contention which prevailed during this period
consisted of the wars waged between France and England for the
possession of the territory which now forms the northern portion of
France. A large portion of that territory, during the reigns that
immediately preceded the time of Margaret of Anjou, had belonged to
England. But the kings of France were continually attempting to regain
possession of it--the English, of course, all the time making
desperate resistance. Thus, for a hundred years, including the time
while Margaret lived, England was involved in a double set of
wars--the one internal, being waged by one branch of the royal family
against the other for the possession of the throne, and the other
external, being waged against France and other Continental powers for
the possession of the towns and castles, and the country dependent
upon them, which lay along the southern shore of the English Channel.
[Sidenote: Origin of Difficulty.]
In order that the story of Margaret of Anjou may be properly
understood, it will be necessary first to give some explanations in
respect to the nature of these two quarrels, and to the progress which
had been made in them up to the time when Margaret came upon the
stage. We shall begin with the internal or civil wars which were waged
between the families of York and Lancaster. Some account of the origin
and nature of this difficulty is given in our history of Richard III.,
but it is necessary to allude to it again here, and to state some
additional particulars in respect to it, on account of the very
important part which Margaret of Anjou performed in the quarrel.
The difficulty originated among the children and descendants of King
Edward III. He reigned in the early part of the fourteenth century. He
occupied the throne a long time, and his reign was considered very
prosperous and glorious. The prosperity and glory of it consisted, in
a great measure, in the success of the wars which he waged in France,
and in the towns, and castles, and districts of country which he
conquered there, and annexed to the English domain.
[Sidenote: The sons of Edward III.]
In these wars old King Edward was assisted very much by the princes
his sons, who were very warlike young men, and who were engaged from
time to time in many victorious campaigns on the Continent. They began
this career when they were very young, and they continued it through
all the years of their manhood and middle life, for their father lived
to an advanced age.
[Sidenote: The Black Prince.]
The most remarkable of these warlike princes were Edward and John.
Edward was the oldest son, and John the third in order of age of those
who arrived at maturity. The name of the second was Lionel. Edward,
the oldest son, was of course the Prince of Wales; but, to distinguish
him from other Princes of Wales that preceded and followed him, he is
known commonly in history by the name of the Black Prince. He received
this name originally on account of something about his armor which was
black, and which marked his appearance among the other knights on the
field of battle.
[Sidenote: Richard II.]
The Black Prince did not live to succeed his father and inherit the
throne, for he lost his health in his campaigns on the Continent, and
came home to England, and died a few years before his father died.
His son, whose name was Richard, was his heir, and when at length old
King Edward died, this young Richard succeeded to the crown, under the
title of King Richard II. In the history of Richard II., in this
series, a full account of the life of his father, the Black Prince, is
given, and of the various remarkable adventures that he met with in
his Continental campaigns.
[Sidenote: John of Gaunt.]
Prince John, the third of the sons of old King Edward, is commonly
known in history as John of Gaunt. This word Gaunt was the nearest
approach that the English people could make in those days to the
pronunciation of the word Ghent, the name of the town where John was
born. For King Edward, in the early part of his life, was accustomed
to take all his family with him in his Continental campaigns, and so
his several children were born in different places, one in one city
and another in another, and many of them received names from the
places where they happened to be born.
[Illustration: Selecting the Roses.]
On the following page we have a genealogical table of the family of
Edward III. At the head of it we have the names of Edward III. and
Philippa his wife. In a line below are the names of those four of his
sons whose descendants figure in English history. It was among
the descendants of these sons that the celebrated wars between the
houses of York and Lancaster, called the wars of the roses, arose.
Genealogical Table of the Family of Edward III., Showing the
Connection of the Houses of York and Lancaster.
Genealogical table of the descendants of Edward III.
EDWARD III.==Philippa.
|
______________________________|_______________________________
| | | |
EDWARD LIONEL JOHN EDMUND
(The Black (Duke of (of Gaunt, Duke of (Duke of
Prince). Clarence). of Lancaster). York).
| | | |
| | | |
RICHARD II. PHILIPPA==Edward Mortimer. HENRY RICHARD==Anne.
| | (_See second Column._)
| | |
ROGER MORTIMER HENRY V RICHARD PLANTAGENET
(Earl of Marche). | (Duke of York).
| HENRY VI. |
| | |
ANNE==Richard of York. | |
(_See fourth column._) EDWARD _________|__________
(Prince of | | |
Wales). EDWARD IV. GEORGE RICHARD III.
(Duke of
Clarence).
The character == denotes marriage; the short perpendicular line | a
descent. There were many other children and descendants in the
different branches of the family besides those whose names are
inserted in the table. The table includes only those essential to an
understanding of the history.
[Sidenote: The roses.]
These wars were called the wars of the roses from the circumstance
that the white and the red rose happened in some way to be chosen as
the badges of the two parties--the white rose being that of the house
of York, and the red that of the house of Lancaster.
[Sidenote: The four brothers.]
The reader will observe that the dukes of Lancaster and York are the
third and fourth of the brothers enumerated in the table, whereas it
might have been supposed that any contest which should have arisen in
respect to the crown would have taken place between families of the
first and second. But the first and second sons and their descendants
were soon set aside, as it were, from the competition, in the
following manner.
[Sidenote: Ambition of Richard's uncles.]
[Sidenote: Richard's character.]
The line of the first brother soon became extinct. Edward himself, the
Prince of Wales, died during his father's lifetime, leaving his son
Richard as his heir. Then, when the old king died, Richard succeeded
him. As he was the oldest living son of the oldest son, his claim
could not be disputed, and so his uncles acquiesced in it. They wished
very much, it is true, to govern the realm, but they contented
themselves with ruling in Richard's name until he became of age, and
then Richard took the government into his own hands. The country was
tolerably well satisfied under his dominion for some years, but at
length Richard became dissipated and vicious, and he domineered over
the people of England in so haughty a manner, and oppressed them so
severely by the taxes and other exactions which he laid upon them,
that a very general discontent prevailed at last against him and
against his government. This discontent would have given either of his
uncles a great advantage in any design which they might have formed to
take away the crown from him. As it was, it greatly increased their
power and influence in the land, and diminished, in a corresponding
degree, that of the king. The uncles appear to have been contented
with this share of power and influence, which seemed naturally to fall
into their hands, and did not attempt any open rebellion.
[Sidenote: His cousin Henry.]
Richard had a cousin, however, a young man of just about his own age,
who was driven at last, by a peculiar train of circumstances, to rise
against him. This cousin was the son of his uncle John. His name was
Henry Bolingbroke. He appears in the genealogical table as Henry IV.,
that having been his title subsequently as King of England.
[Sidenote: Quarrel between Henry and Norfolk.]
[Sidenote: The trial.]
This cousin Henry became involved in a quarrel with a certain nobleman
named Norfolk. Indeed, the nobles of those days were continually
getting engaged in feuds and quarrels, which they fought out with the
greatest recklessness, sometimes by regular battles between armies of
retainers, and sometimes by single combat, in which the parties to the
dispute were supposed to appeal to Almighty God, who they believed, or
professed to believe, would give the victory to the just side in the
quarrel. These single combats were arranged with great ceremony and
parade, and were performed in a very public and solemn manner; being,
in fact, a recognized and established part of the system of public law
as administered in those days. In the next chapter, when speaking more
particularly of the manners and customs of the times, I shall give an
account in full of one of these duels. I have only to say here that
Richard, on hearing of the quarrel between his cousin Henry and
Norfolk, decreed that they should settle it by single combat, and
preparations were accordingly made for the trial, and the parties
appeared, armed and equipped for the fight, in the presence of an
immense concourse of people assembled to witness the spectacle. The
king himself was to preside on the occasion.
[Sidenote: Henry is sent into banishment.]
But just before the signal was to be given for the combat to begin,
the king interrupted the proceedings, and declared that he would
decide the question himself. He pronounced both the combatants guilty,
and issued a decree of banishment against both. Henry submitted, and
both prepared to leave the country. These transactions, of course,
attracted great attention throughout England, and they operated to
bring Henry forward in a very conspicuous manner before the people of
the realm. He was in the direct line of succession to the crown, and
he was, moreover, a prince of great wealth, and of immense personal
influence, and so, just in proportion as Richard himself was disliked,
Henry would naturally become an object of popular sympathy and regard.
When he set out on his journey toward the southern coast, in order to
leave the country in pursuance of his sentence, the people flocked
along the waysides, and assembled in the towns where he passed, as if
he were a conqueror returning from his victories instead of a
condemned criminal going into banishment.
[Sidenote: 1400.]
[Sidenote: His estates confiscated.]
Soon after this, the Duke of Lancaster, Henry's father, died, and then
Richard, instead of allowing his cousin to succeed to the immense
estates which his father left, confiscated all the property, under the
pretext that Henry had forfeited it, and so converted it to his own
use. This last outrage aroused Henry to such a pitch of indignation
that he resolved to invade England, depose Richard, and claim the
crown for himself.
[Sidenote: A revolution.]
This plan was carried into effect. Henry raised an armament, crossed
the Channel, and landed in England. The people took sides. A great
majority sided with Henry. A full account of this insurrection and
invasion is given in our history of Richard II. All that it is
necessary to say here is that the revolution was effected. Richard was
deposed, and Henry obtained possession of the kingdom. It was thus
that the house of Lancaster first became established on the throne.
[Sidenote: The elder branches of the family.]
But you will very naturally wonder where the representatives of the
second brother in Edward the Third's family were all this time, and
why, when Richard was deposed, who was the son of the first brother,
they did not appear, and advance their claims in competition with
Henry. The reason was because there was no male heir of that branch
living in that line. You will see by referring again to the table that
the only child of Lionel, the second brother, was Philippa, a girl.
She had a son, it is true, Roger Mortimer, as appears by the table;
but he was yet very young, and could do nothing to assert the claims
of his line. Besides, Henry pretended that, together with his claims
to the throne through his father, he had others more ancient and
better founded still through his mother, who, as he attempted to
prove, was descended from an English king who reigned _before Edward
III._ The people of England, as they wished to have Henry for king,
were very easily satisfied with his arguments, and so it was settled
that he should reign. The line of this second brother, however, did
not give up their claims, but reserved them, intending to rise and
assert them on the very first favorable opportunity.
Henry reigned about thirteen years, and then was succeeded by his son,
Henry V., as appears by the table. There was no attempt to disturb the
Lancastrian line in their possession of the throne during these two
reigns. The attention, both of the kings and of the people, during all
this period, was almost wholly engrossed in the wars which they were
waging in France. These wars were very successful. The English
conquered province after province and castle after castle, until at
length almost the whole country was brought under their sway.
[Sidenote: 1422.]
[Sidenote: Birth and accession of Henry VI.]
This state of things continued until the death of Henry V., which took
place in 1422. He left for his heir a little son, named also Henry,
then only about nine months old. This infant was at once invested with
the royal authority as King of England and France, under the title of
Henry VI., as seen by the table. It was this Henry who, when he
arrived at maturity, became the husband of Margaret of Anjou, the
subject of this volume. It was during his reign, too, that the first
effective attempt was made to dispute the right of the house of
Lancaster to the throne, and it was in the terrible contests which
this attempt brought on that Margaret displayed the extraordinary
military heroism for which she became so renowned. I shall relate the
early history of this king, and explain the nature of the combination
which was formed during his reign against the Lancastrian line, in a
subsequent chapter, after first giving a brief account of such of the
manners and customs of those times as are necessary to a proper
understanding of the story.