For a fuller picture of the life and reign of Margaret’s son Henry VII, there is the standard biography by Stanley Chrimes, Henry VII, London, 1977, but far more accessible – and particularly good on Henry Tudor’s early life – is Griffiths, Ralph, and Thomas, Roger The Making of the Tudor Dynasty, Gloucester, 1985. And for a valuable recent survey of the king’s rule I highly recommend Cunningham, Sean Henry VII, London, 2007. The best introduction to the wider Beaufort family is the excellent biography of Margaret’s great-uncle: Harriss, Gerald Cardinal Beaufort, Oxford, 1988; and see also my entries on Margaret’s cousins, Henry and Edmund Beaufort, in the New Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
On the politics of the fifteenth century that Margaret charted her course through there is a mass of material. For the troubled reign of Henry VI there are two major biographies: Wolffe, Bertram Henry VI, London, 1981; which is an easier read than the nevertheless valuable Griffiths, Ralph The Reign of Henry VI, London, 1981. Since much of the material that follows has already been discussed I will simply list the main secondary sources I have used.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Baldwin, David Elizabeth Woodville: Mother of the Princes in the Tower, Stroud, 2002
Bennett, Michael The Battle of Bosworth, Gloucester, 1985
Coward, Barry The Stanleys, Lords Stanley and Earls of Derby, 1385–1672: the Origins, Wealth and Power of a Landowning Family, Manchester, 1983
Crawford, Anne (ed.) Letters of the Queens of England, 1100–1547, Stroud, 2002
Goodman, Anthony The Wars of the Roses, London, 1981
Hicks, Michael False, Fleeting, Perjur’d Clarence, Gloucester, 1980
Hicks, Michael Richard III, Stroud, 2000
Horrox, Rosemary Richard III: A Study in Service, Cambridge, 1989
Jones, Michael Bosworth 1485: Psychology of a Battle, Stroud, 2002
Kleineke, Hannes Edward IV, London, 2008
Lander, Jack Crown and Nobility, 1450–1509, London, 1976
Maurer, Helen Margaret of Anjou: Queenship and Power in Late Medieval England, Woodbridge, 2005
Pollard, Anthony Richard III and the Princes in the Tower, Stroud, 1991
Rawcliffe, Carole The Staffords, Earls of Stafford and Dukes of Buckingham, Cambridge, 1978
Rosenthal, Joel Nobles and the Noble Life, London, 1976
Ross, Charles Edward IV, London, 1975
Ross, Charles Richard III, London, 1981
Santiuste, David Edward IV and the Wars of the Roses, Barnsley, 2010
Storey, Robin The End of the House of Lancaster, London, 1966
Tyerman, Christopher England and the Crusades, 1095–1588, Chicago, 1988
Finally, quotes from primary sources and references to source material have been drawn from the following:
André, Bernard ‘Vita Henrici Septimi’ in Memorials of King Henry VII, ed. J. Gairdner, Rolls Series, London, 1858
Basin, Thomas Histoire des règnes de Charles VII et Louis XII, ed. J. Quicherat, 4 vols, Paris, 1933–44
Buck, Sir George The History of King Richard III, ed. A.N. Kincaid, Gloucester, 1979
Chronicles of London, ed. C. Kingsford, Oxford, 1905
An English Chronicle of the Reigns of Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V and Henry VI, ed. J.S. Davies, Camden Society, o/s, 64, 1856
English Historical Literature in the Fifteenth Century, ed. C.L. Kingsford, Oxford, 1913
Excerpta Historica, ed. S. Bentley, London, 1831
Historical Collections of a Citizen of London, ed. J. Gairdner, Camden Society, n.s., 17, 1876
Ingulph’s Chronicle of the History of Croyland, ed. H.T. Riley, London, 1854
Letters and Papers Illustrative of the Reigns of Richard III and Henry VII, ed. J. Gairdner, 2 vols, Rolls Series, London, 1861–3
Materials for a History of the Reign of Henry VII, ed. W. Campbell, 2 vols, Rolls Series, London, 1873–7
‘Mornynge Remembraunce had at the moneth mynde of the Noble Prynces Margarete Countesse of Rychemonde and Darbye’ in The English Works of John Fisher, Part One, ed. J.E.B. Mayor, EETS, 27, 1876
Original Letters Illustrative of English History, ed. H. Ellis, 11 vols, London, 1824–46
The Paston Letters, 1422–1509, ed. J. Gairdner, 6 vols, London, 1904
Rotuli Parliamentorum, ed. J. Strachey, 6 vols, London, 1767–77
Stow, John The Annals or General Chronicle of England, London, 1615
Vergil, Polydore Three Books of English History, ed. H. Ellis, Camden Society, o/s, 39, 1844
Warkworth, J. A Chronicle of the First Thirteen Years of the Reign of Edward IV, ed. J.O. Halliwell, Camden Society, o/s, 83, 1863
ILLUSTRATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ENDPAPERS
The Lady and the Unicorn: ‘Sight’ (tapestry) by French School (fifteenth century), Musée National du Moyen Age et des Thermes de Cluny, Paris/Giraudon/The Bridgeman Art Library
1. Medieval Luxembourg, as imagined in the nineteenth century, published in Arendt, Charles Hypothetischer Plan der ehemagligen Schlossburg Lützelburg auf dem Bockfelsen zu Lützelburg, Luxembourg, 1895
2. Parhelion © Erik Axdahl
3. Sun in Splendour in eastern window, Great Tattershall Church © Revd Gordon Plumb
4. Stained-glass window in the Large Hall of the Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers in London showing printer William Caxton (c. 1422–91) presenting his first printed page to King Edward IV and his queen c. 1475 © Getty Images
5. Jacquetta’s signature, provided by Geoffrey Wheeler
6. Garter Stall Plate of Richard Woodville from St George’s Chapel, Windsor, provided by Geoffrey Wheeler
7. Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, the ‘Kingmaker’, and his wife Anne Beauchamp, from The Rous Roll, provided by Geoffrey Wheeler
8. Elizabeth Woodville portrayed in her coronation robes as a member of the London Skinners’ Company’s Fraternity of Our Lady’s Assumption, probably c. 1472, provided by Geoffrey Wheeler
9. Elizabeth Woodville (lower right foreground), Edward IV, Bishop Thomas Rotherham and Cecily Neville, kneeling with other members of the confraternity before the Trinity c. 1475, from The Luton Guild Book (now in the Luton Museum), provided by Geoffrey Wheeler
10. Elizabeth of York. Bronze effigy by Torrigiani, Henry VII Chapel, Westminster Abbey © Warburg Institute, University of London
11. Elizabeth Woodville’s signature, provided by Geoffrey Wheeler
12. The tomb effigy of Margaret’s father, John Beaufort Duke of Somerset, at Wimborne Minster (Dorset) © Peter Booton Photography
13. Calendar of the Beaufort Hours, showing the date of Lady Margaret’s birth, 31 May 1443 © The British Library Board, BL Royal MS 2A XVIII, fol. 30
14. top, Ruins of Woking Palace, by Giles Pattison and Surrey County Archaeological Unit. Reproduced by permission of Surrey History Centre © Copyright of Surrey History Centre; bottom, Reconstruction of Woking Palace’s appearance in the fifteenth century © Kevin Wilson
15. Margaret’s badges and coat of arms and the badge of her husband Thomas Lord Stanley from their book of prayers, Westminster Abbey, MS 39, fol 1
16. Half-length portraits of Margaret Beaufort and Henry VII, artist unknown © National Portrait Gallery, London
17. Letter by Margaret Beaufort to the Earl of Ormonde, 1497, The National Archives UK
18. Margaret Beaufort’s signature (from 1499), provided by Geoffrey Wheeler
COLOUR INSERT
1 A 1410 painting of Melusina, one of sixteen paintings by Guillebert de Mets, c. 1410, original held by the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris
2 John Duke of Bedford receiving a book from Jean Galoys in a contemporary painting, Ms 326 f.1 from Pelerinage de l’Ame by Guillaume de Digulleville (vellum) by French School (fifteenth century) © Lambeth Palace Library, London, UK/The Bridgeman Art Library
3 Melusina’s crest on the heraldry of the Counts of St Pol. Original is in the Pavillon de l’Arsenale, Paris
4 Elizabet
h Woodville, panel portrait, provided by Geoffrey Wheeler. Queens’ College, Cambridge
5, 6 Elizabeth Woodville (detail) and Edward IV (detail), stained glass, Martyrdom Chapel, Canterbury Cathedral c. 1482, both provided by Geoffrey Wheeler
7 Edward, Prince of Wales, afterwards Edward V (contemporary stained glass at Little Malvern Priory, Worcestershire), provided by Geoffrey Wheeler
8 Richard III (oil on panel) by English School (sixteenth century) © Society of Antiquaries of London, UK/The Bridgeman Art Library
9 Calendar of the Beaufort Hours, showing the date of Henry VIII’s birth and victory over Yorkist rebels at Stoke© The British Library Board, BL Royal MS 2A XVIII, fol. 30v
10 Full-length portrait of Margaret Beaufort by Rowland Lockey. Original is at St John’s College, Cambridge
11 Tomb effigy of Margaret Beaufort at Westminster Abbey © Werner Forman Archive
12 Portrait bust of Henry VII, Pietro Torrigiano © Getty Images
INDEX
(EW = Elizabeth Woodville; JL = Jacquetta of Luxembourg; MB = Margaret Beaufort)
Abbey of Croyland, ref 1
Agincourt, battle of, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Albert, Prince Consort, ref 1
alchemy, ref 1
Alyngton, William, ref 1, ref 2
André, Bernard, ref 1, ref 2
Anjou, Margaret of, see Margaret of Anjou
Anne of Burgundy, ref 1
Anne of Cleves, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Aragon, Katherine of, see Katherine of Aragon
Argentine, John, ref 1
Arras, Treaty of, ref 1
Arthur of England, ref 1, ref 2
Arthur, Prince, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Ashton, Thomas, ref 1
Bacon, Francis, ref 1, ref 2
Barnet, battle of, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
Basin, Thomas, ref 1, ref 2
Baugé, battle of, ref 1, ref 2
Beauchamp, Anne, ref 1
Beauchamp, Margaret, of Bletsoe, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
Beaufort, Edmund, 2nd Duke of Somerset, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7
councils dominated by, ref 1
death of, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
formal treason charge against, ref 1
Fougères attacked by, ref 1
godfather to Lancastrian Prince Edward, ref 1
jostling for influence, ref 1
keys to Calais presented to, ref 1
king’s lieutenant in France, ref 1
principal counsellor to king, ref 1
punishment tours organised by, ref 1
Richard of York demands arrest of, ref 1
Tower imprisonment of, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Tower release of, ref 1, ref 2
Beaufort, Edmund, 4th Duke of Somerset, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6
execution of, ref 1, ref 2
Beaufort family, ref 1
Edward IV’s irreconcilable breach with, ref 1, ref 2
Edward IV’s vendetta against, ref 1
potential power of, ref 1
throne barred to, ref 1, ref 2
Beaufort, Cardinal Henry, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6
Beaufort, Henry, 3rd Duke of Somerset, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7
Edward IV’s renewed trust in, ref 1
execution of, ref 1, ref 2
Beaufort, John, 1st Duke of Somerset, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
outrage caused by conduct of, ref 1
prisoner of war, ref 1
suicide of, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
tomb of, ref 1
Beaufort, John, Marquess of Dorset, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
Beaufort, Margaret (Countess of Richmond; Derby):
abandons allegiance to Richard III, ref 1
Abbey of Croyland and, ref 1
acquisitive nature of, ref 1
active political role maintained by, ref 1
annulment of first marriage of, ref 1
bastard ancestry of, ref 1
Beaufort’s stay with, ref 1, ref 2
belief of, in son’s destiny, ref 1
bibliography for discussion of, ref 1
birth and early life of, ref 1, ref 2
bland official story of, ref 1
at Bourne, ref 1
colleges founded by, ref 1
courage and determination of, ref 1
de la Pole, John’s marriage to, ref 1
de la Pole, William’s alleged plot concerning, ref 1
death of, ref 1, ref 2
early pregnancy of, ref 1
Edmund Tudor chosen as husband by, ref 1
Edmund Tudor’s marriage to, ref 1
Edward IV entertained by, ref 1, ref 2
family issues shape identity of, ref 1
father perceived as victim by, ref 1
first marriage arranged for, ref 1
first will of, ref 1
formidable plotter, ref 1
funeral of, ref 1
Henry VI revered by, ref 1
Henry VII born to, ref 1
Henry VII’s reunion with, ref 1
instigator of Buckingham uprising, ref 1
lady-in-waiting to EW, ref 1
leaves Woking after Stafford’s death, ref 1
life of, ref 1 passim
manor of Woking granted to, ref 1
marriage contract renegotiated by, ref 1
news of Edmund’s death reaches, ref 1
notes and sources for discussion of, ref 1
Order of the Holy Trinity and, ref 1
overbearing nature of, ref 1, ref 2
palace built by, ref 1, ref 2
powerful ambition of, ref 1
in The Red Queen, ref 1
religious devotion of, ref 1
at Richard Duke of York reburial, ref 1
at Richard III’s coronation, ref 1
Richard III spares, ref 1
Richmond acquires wardship of, ref 1
St Nicholas vision of, ref 1, ref 2
scattered holdings of, ref 1
self-control and ruthlessness of, ref 1
separation of, from son, ref 1
son’s audience with Henry VI arranged by, ref 1
Stafford marries, ref 1
standing of, in son’s court, ref 1
Stanley’s marriage to, ref 1
Stanley ordered to confine, ref 1
stereotype of virtue, ref 1, ref 2
Suffolk acquires wardship of, ref 1
summoned to court, ref 1, ref 2
tomb of, ref 1
Tower princes and, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
in uprising against Richard III, ref 1, ref 2
works sponsored by, ref 1
Beaufort, Margaret (Countess of Stafford), ref 1
Beaumont, Viscount, ref 1
Bedford, dowager Duchess of, see Woodville, Jacquetta
Berwick-upon-Tweed, ref 1
bibliographies:
Introduction, ref 1
‘Jacquetta of Luxembourg’, ref 1
‘Margaret Beaufort’, ref 1
Black Death, ref 1
Bliaunt, Simon, ref 1
Blore Heath, battle of, ref 1
Boleyn, Anne, ref 1, ref 2
Boleyn, Jane, ref 1
Boleyn, Mary, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Bolingbroke, Roger, ref 1, ref 2
Bona of Savoy, Princess, ref 1
Bonville, Cecily, ref 1, ref 2
Bonville, Lord, ref 1
Book of the Knight of the Tower, The (tr. Caxton), ref 1
Bordeaux, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Bosworth, battle of, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6
Boulers, Reginald, ref 1
Bourbon, Cardinal of, ref 1
Bourchier, Sir John, ref 1
Bourchier, Viscount, ref 1
Brandon, William, ref 1
Bray, Reginald, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, r
ef 4
Bridget of York, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Brown, John, ref 1
Buck, Sir George, ref 1, ref 2
Buckingham/Beaufort rebellion, ref 1
Buckingham, 1st Duke of, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
death of, ref 1
Buckingham, 2nd Duke of, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7, ref 8
Buckley, Reginald, ref 1
Burdet, Thomas, ref 1
Burgundy, ref 1
England’s widening breach with, ref 1
see also Charles Duke of Burgundy; Philip III Duke of Burgundy
Butler, John, Earl of Ormonde, ref 1
Butler, Lady Eleanor, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Cade, Jack, ref 1, ref 2
Caerleon, Lewis, ref 1, ref 2
Calais, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7, ref 8, ref 9, ref 10, ref 11
Canterbury Tales (Chaucer), ref 1, ref 2
Carr, E.H., ref 1, ref 2
Catesby, William, ref 1
Catherine of Valois, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Caxton, William, ref 1
Cecily, Princess, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Chandée, Philibert de, ref 1
Charles Count of Eu, ref 1, ref 2
Charles the Dauphin see Charles VII of France
Charles Duke of Berry, ref 1
Charles Duke of Burgundy (formerly Count of Charolais), ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7, ref 8, ref 9
Charles Duke of Orléans, ref 1, ref 2
Charles VI of France, ref 1
Charles VII of France, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7, ref 8
Chaucer, Geoffrey, ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Cleves, Anne of, see Anne of Cleves
Clifford, Lord, ref 1
Clinton, Hillary, ref 1
Clovis I, ref 1
Cobham, Eleanor, see Eleanor Duchess of Gloucester
Commynes, Philippe, ref 1
Constance of Castile, ref 1
Conversano and Brienne, Count of, see Peter I of Luxembourg and St Pol, Count
Conway, Hugh, ref 1
Conyers, Sir William, ref 1
The Women of the Cousins’ War Page 28