Scotland: August 1453 to December 1454

The news of Henry VI’s sudden death arrived in Edinburgh not more than a week after it occurred; the news that two men were claiming the English throne came a few days after that.  James II, who at the age of 22 had already ruled Scotland for 16 years, could see the potential that the quickly developing succession crisis had for Scottish interests along the border with England.  However, James also had to contend with the fact that he himself was dealing with an intense family feud between the so called “black line” of Clan Douglas and the royal house of Stewart.  The feud had been escalating in intensity since the 1440s during the minority of James and evolved into an intermittent civil war in 1452 when James personally stabbed William Douglas, the 8^th Earl of Douglas, in Stirling Castle.  But as of last August 1453, only clans allied to the Black Douglas, as they were called, or loyal to the Stewarts had clashed with James Douglas, the 9^th Earl of Douglas, and his brothers not openly challenging James nor he openly challenging his enemies.

Throughout the fall of 1453, James and the Scottish nobles looked on as the English nobility divided between York and Beaufort or stayed neutral.  Then in early November reports came to Edinburgh that Fauconberg had left Roxburgh Castle with at least half the castle’s garrison headed for Berwick.  Instantly the King thought of taking one of the last English possessions on Scottish soil and started to gather troops from those loyal to him.  As it turned out so where the Black Douglas and for a while James though he might face open combat with his rivals until George Douglas, the 4^th Earl of Angus, of the “red-line” of Clan Douglas acted as an intermediary between his cousins the King and the Black Douglas along with their allies to temporarily set aside their issues for the good of the kingdom.

This temporary accord came just after news of the Battle of Durham drifted up from the English border along with reports that Fauconberg had taken half of the garrison of Berwick on his way to the battle.  On the heel of this news came the survivors from the Percy force including Henry Percy, the eldest son and heir of the 2^nd Earl of Northumberland, plus his brothers seeking a haven now that the North had all but fallen to the Nevilles in support of York.  The Percys were hereditary foes of the Douglases, however James allowed them to stay in Scotland but sequestered them away from the border for the time being.  In the meantime, James and the Douglases started to organize a force for the vulnerable English possessions giving the command to the Angus as he was at that time a neutral party in the bitter family feud.

In late January 1454, after following the flow of events in England, a small Scottish army led by Angus quickly took the lightly defended Berwick.  Angus left a garrison to defend the newly conquered city and lead the army to besiege Roxburgh Castle.  However, Fauconberg before he had left provisioned the strategic stronghold so well that the light garrison that he had left would be able to withstand a siege for a long time.  It did not take Angus long to realize that even before he had campaigned that Fauconberg had practicably gotten the best of him.  As news came of Richard’s victory at Bosworth, Angus knew that a now unified England would send a relief force soon and started to double his effects in taking Roxburgh.  However, the fragile coalition between forces loyal to James and those to the Black Douglas was breaking apart and with it the cohesion of the Scottish army.  When news arrived that Fauconberg was leading a relief force into northern England, Angus attempted to pressure the Roxburgh garrison even more, however Black Douglas’ allies refused and marched to meet the English.  Fauconberg crushed the splinter force before maneuvering between Roxburgh and Berwick making Angus choose between facing the oncoming English with a garrison behind him without support from Berwick or retreat leaving Berwick to a siege itself.  When Fauconberg arrived at Roxburgh in late April, Angus had long since left.

After reinforcing the Roxburgh garrison, Fauconberg went to besiege Berwick.  James along with many of the nobles and clans were angry of the betrayal of the Black Douglas’ allies at Roxburgh forcing Angus to retreat.  In fact during the siege of Berwick, the Stewart loyalists and the Black Douglas’ allies were at each other’s throats on the verge of fighting a civil war inside while enemy troops waited outside.  Then as Fauconberg got reinforcements, the Black Douglas’ allies let the English into the city but in doing so the Stewart loyalists forced their way through their countrymen to a ship that had arrived at the town and sailed away.  The ship arrived in Edinburgh a few days later and the Stewart loyalists talked about what happened at Berwick.  Although some of the Black Douglas’ allies tried to refute the accusations, the events around Roxburgh had already set the stage for more nobles and clans once allied to the Black Douglas started to turn to James.  It didn’t hurt the King that he was also using patronage, titles, and offices to pick off other Black Douglas allies as well.

As Richard settled into his reign in England, James had to considering the English exiles in his country.  Besides the Percy brothers and other nobles that had fled after Durham, James had allowed Oxford and Edmund Beaufort to stay in Scotland upon their arrival after fleeing from Bosworth.  The news of attainders, fines, and death warrants from England worried the exiles however James thought they could be of use against the Black Douglas.  He allowed the Percys to travel freely within the country though they and the other English exiles preferred to stay around Edinburgh with Edmund Beaufort acting as head of a court-in-exile.  The welcoming and harboring of the English exiles did nothing to improve relations with the new King of England; however James knew his rival Douglas would not find a friend in Richard due to the Douglases being hereditary foes with Nevilles just like they were with the Percys.

As 1454 ended in Scotland, James II found his nemesis, Douglas, losing support throughout the country from nobles and clans.  Even though the Scots lost the opportunity to gain permanent control of Roxburgh Castle and Berwick, the failures were blamed on Douglas’ allies while his decision to oppose the English and foment a potential Beaufort resurgence was highly thought of.  The only thing that concerned James was that Richard and France were cooperating on a potential marriage between Henry IV of Castile and Margaret of Anjou along with some disturbing reports from Ireland that he hoped would not force Richard’s hand.

Attainders, Fines, Reforms, and Debates

On 2 April 1454, Richard III introduced acts of attainder against Edmund Beaufort’s major supporters: the first was of the late Henry Percy, 2^nd Earl of Northumberland, and all his sons who participated in the Battle of Durham; the second against James Butler, 5^th Earl of Ormond and also Earl of Wiltshire who participated in the Battles of Bradfort and Swindon; and third against John de Vere, 12^th Earl of Oxford, who had participated in various battles around London and finally at Bosworth.  Parliament was quick to pass the acts and the King then declared those still living outlaws with bounties for their capture.  Next Richard III brought up a list of those knights and lesser nobility that had been taken captive after Bosworth and suggested punishments of either forfeiture of land and/or fines if they submitted to the King’s authority.  Starting with the nobles, each man was brought into the presence of the King in front of Parliament was given the choice to swear allegiance and live, no one refused the offer.  By the time Parliament adjourned for the day, the captive roll had been exhausted and large swaths of land had been added to the Crown.

Beginning on 3 April 1454, Richard III and Parliament turned their attention to reforming the government that had been corrupted by the advisors of the late Henry VI, most notably the now headless Edmund Beaufort.  The King reclaimed nearly all the lands and allowances granted by his predecessor to Beaufort’s old favorites, the few exceptions being those that had actively supported Richard III and were rewarded for loyalty towards their sovereign with extra land.  During the reign of Henry VI, Richard III had been owed vast amounts of money by the Crown for his services in France and Ireland, now he meant to not only repay himself but also others that had been owed sums because of the corruption of Beaufort.  The King also would not be neglectful to those that spent vast sums on his behalf in the recent conflict either and meant to see they were repaid their service.  Richard III requested that Parliament select from amongst their number of both the Lords and the Commons to join with the Lord High Treasure Viscount Bourchier to gather accounts from his loyal subjects as well assess the newly acquired and reacquired land so as to produce a plan of payment with the King receiving 50% of all revenue, 10% going to all debt to foreign lenders that the Crown owed, and the rest divided up to repay domestic debts with those with the smallest amounts owed being repaid first.  Both the Lords and Commons selected men amongst their number for the prestigious duty.

With the finances of the realm being worked on, the reform-minded King turned his attention to the corruption of numerous sheriffs and judges that had begun to create a sense of lawlessness within England.  Though some of the “corruption” was because magnates like Salisbury, Warwick, Norfolk, and even Richard III himself when he was Duke of York would influence the outcomes if they were involved, the King knew that something need to be done because the middle class was growing prosperous and influential through its mercantile interests abroad.  Richard III proposed that sheriffs be restricted to a term of service of five years with a period of the same time before being allowed to serve again and that judges be moved around the country every three to five years so as to prevent corruption.  While the proposal did have some support, many of those in Parliament wanted tougher enforcement of laws and enforcement of those laws to protect property rights especially amongst those below the nobility.  Another concern that was raised regarding law and order were the returned soldiers from France, who many times went into lawlessness or entered the service of a nobleman to intimidate, assault, or even murder their employer’s enemies.  The King had quickly employed those soldiers returning after the defeat of Castillon, promising to lead them to victory over those that had betrayed their efforts and even now patrolled London leading up to his coronation.  One proposal was that soldiers would be given land at low rent in the newly confiscated property for a period of some years and another was that they should be retained for the present in case of conflict with Scotland.

The debates in Parliament and in Richard III’s own Council continued throughout most of the month until 24 April when the opening session of the 1^st Parliament of the King’s reign was adjourned.  Preparations for the coronation had been going on throughout London even as Edmund Beaufort had been beheaded and Parliament debated, but with Westminster Hall needed for the coronation banquet it was time for the debate to be suspended so it could be converted.  With the date of the coronation growing nearer things were more frantic in London as the final preparations for robes, dresses, and clothing were completed.  Even though no common citizen of London would be in Westminster Abbey for the ceremony, that fact didn’t stop their excitement or preparations for their own celebration for the coronation of Richard III making the city even more chaotic.  Finally when night fell on the evening of 30 April, the buzz in London suddenly died and an eerie, yet excited silence fell over the city including in the Tower as the King found it hard to sleep even though he knew it was his God given right to wear the crown.

The King of Fools

On 1 April 1454, Richard III presided over the opening of Parliament with those assembled declaring their loyalty to the new monarch with the Commons spontaneously shouting “Long Live the King!” to the annoyance of some of the Lords.  The King formally declared Edward of Rouen his true son and heir then granting him the titles of Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, and Earl of Chester. Parliament, with the Commons particularly enthusiastic, proclaimed their support and loyalty to Prince Edward.  The King then announced that his coronation take place 1 May before turning the session to more serious matters.  Richard III announced that Edmund Beaufort, the Duke of Somerset, had been brought from the Tower and summoned him to the presence of Parliament.  The King motioned to the Speaker who readout the accusations against Somerset that included treason against his lawful sovereign, attempted to cause rebellion amongst the King’s loyal commons, and attempting to usurp the throne for himself.  Parliament the trial commenced immediately with the introduction of the proclamations in which Somerset styled himself as Edmund I.  Somerset was allowed to make a speech in his defense; however his one chance to be remembered in history for a memorable last speech was by all accounts a disaster.  As excepted Parliament unanimously proclaimed Somerset guilty.  Richard III introduced an act of attainder depriving Somerset and his posterity of land and titles that was unanimously passed by Parliament.  The King pronounced a traitor’s death for Edmund Beaufort, no longer Somerset, to be carried out immediately and recessed Parliament for the day.

Since the time of his confinement in the Tower, Edmund Beaufort had been a dead man walking and from his cell watched the construction of the scaffold built especially for his execution on Tower Hill.  Edmund after being led away from the presence of the King and Parliament was forced to dress in a suit of motley then to walk to his place of execution through the streets of London to the jeers of the populace.  The King with all of Parliament following him in procession had preceded Beaufort to Tower Hill crowded behind the scaffold with only Richard III on his horse.  As Edmund was forced up the scaffold, the crowd was held back by numerous guards.  The order of execution was read aloud then on cue from the King, the head executioner produced a “crown”, a jester’s three-pointed hat, which was strapped to Edmund’s head.  The execution then proceeded as Edmund had a noose placed around his neck before being prodded up a stool before it was kicked out from under him resulting in his strangling to near death until the rope was cut.  Edmund was then hoisted onto a table, his cloths torn open before his stomach was cut open, and then groaned has his bowels were taken out before being burnt.  Instead of his heart being taken out as well, Edmund was taken off the table and thrown down onto the chopping block barely coherent as blood gushed from his open bowel, the executioner then swung his axe and separated head from body thus ending the life of Edmund Beaufort as the crowd cheered.  The executioner then grabbed the jester’s hat and held up the severed head to the cheering crowd then to Richard III who sat upon his stead without emotion.  He nodded and motioned to which spike he wanted the traitor’s head placed then spurred his horse back towards Westminster Palace followed by the members of Parliament as the body was being dismembered.  By nightfall, the still jester hat adorned head of Edmund Beaufort was overlooking the city from a spike on the Tower while his body parts were being sent to various locations throughout England.