Bale's Chronicle

Item the same parliament was removed to Westminster and þe king being at Clarendon indispost sodenly was take and smyten w^t a ffransy and his wit and reson w^t drawen and þan the parliament was proroged and began a gein at Reding atte Eve of seint michell [28th September 1453].

Item upon seint Bartholmewe day [24th August 1453] the mair being atte Wresteling at the Clerkenwerk¹ the priors men of seint Johanes and oon Cayles a mysruly persone toke upon theym to have fered and distressed the mair but howe be hit the mair manfully beet slewe and toke of þeym divers and put them to shamefull rebuke.

Note 1. I. e. Clerkenwell; cf Rawlinson B.355 above, p. 107; Stow, Summary, 373, Survey, i. 95, 104.

Shirrefs Thomas Cook, [John] Walden, John Norman maior a^o 32.

Md. that this yere the comones counceill be the desir and assent of the aldermen left the riding of the mair at his eleccion accustumed and used to Westminster, and yede be barge in water. Cf Rawlinson B. 355, above, p. 103, note 2.

Item the moneth of Octob^r [1453] the day of seint Edwarde which is the xiij day þerof of the quene beyng at Westminster had a prince. Wherefor the belles rang in every chirch and Te Deum prince solempny song. And he was cristened at Westminster and his godfadres been the Cardinall Erchebisshop of Cauntbury Chanceller called Kemp and the Duk of Somerset and his Godmoder Duches of Buk. Of whoos birth the peple spake stranngely. And a geinst his birth was begonne a newerk at Westminster a place for a worys.¹

Note 1. "And about the time of his birth, a new building was begun at Westminster — a place for the nuns." 'worys' the plural of 'wore' i.e. a woman under religious vows.

Item the next Wednesday folowyng which was the IJ day of July [1460] the same lordes cam into london with Vc [500] horsemen and ledde an ost of foot men of comones of Kent Sussex and Surrey nombred at LX M.¹ which hadde pight their ffeld be side seint George Barre the day afore. And thedir was sent oute of the citee be advise of the mair and vuds³ the Recordor and certen aldermen and endrs ^ to entreat the seid lordes that they shuld

Note 1. Whethamstede, i. 370, says they had more than 40,000² soldiers; Worcester, 772, estimates their force at 20,000 men.

Note 2. Despite the original note saying 40,000 Whethamstede appears to say 160,000 i.e. 'centum sexaginta millibus'?

Note 3. This account differs slightly from that given by Whethamstede (i. 370-1) and Worcester (772), who say — apparently more correctly — that Sandwich was captured by an expedition from Calais, and Mundeford sent to execution in this latter place, some days before the rebel lords crossed over. Whethamstede adds that they took the step on Lord Fauconbridge's representation of the friendliness of Kent and Sussex towards them; the English Chronicle (86, 91) corroborates this.

Item the same day after that the seid lordes hadde take them lodgeing atte Grey ffreres within newgate which wer suffred so to doo upon certein pointments that they gave unto seid messangers aforseid sent to them be the seid citee than the seid Ost and feeld brake and they cam thurgh the citee and rested them in the ffeld next unto seint Johanes beyond Smythfeld. And on the friday and Saterday suyng they brake agein and departed in twoo weyes that is to wite oon wey toward Seint Albons and that other wey toward Ware because that the seid lordes wold mete with the king and countre with his ost and lett and stopp them their entre into the Isle of Ely, wher then the kings counceill hadde proposed as was seid to have left the king and for their strength and saufgard ther to have hiden.

But in as moche as the kings counseill might not opteyn that purpose they set a feld beside Northampton and thedir cam the seid lordes and their peple departed in iiij Batailles and ther was nombred than of them C Ix M. and of the kings Ost xx M. And on the thursday [10th July 1460] was Bataill in which wer slain in the kings Ost the Duk of Buk, the Erie Shrovesbury the lord Beaumond the lorde Egremond and many other gentiles and of other to the nombre of L. persones and on the other partie not over VIIJ persones and the king preserved and kept than in his magestie Roiall atte plaisur of the lordes.¹

Note 1. The battle took place July 10; Whethamstede, i. 372, gives the numbers of the Yorkists as over 60,000, and adds that the King had a smaller force; the English Chronicle, ed. Davies, 96, also states the lords had 60,000 men 'as it was said'. Bale's estimate of those killed is singularly small; while it is true that Stow, Annals, 669, relates how Warwick had before the conflict 'let cry' that 'no man should lay hand upon the king nor on the common people, but on the lords, knights, and esquires', the estimate of Worcester, 773, that over 300 were killed, seems more reasonable.

It seems incredible that after having followed so closely the events in London for the preceding years, and not least the meetings of Parliament, Bale should have omitted all mention of the advent of the Duke of York to the capital in October, the session of Parliament beginning in the same month wherein Richard laid formal claim to the throne, and the settlement arrived on the 31st of October [Rot. Pari., v. 377-80]. The disorder of arrangement in the earlier part of the chronicle, coupled with the fact that the end of the work is missing, points to the conclusion that before the MS. was bound, several leaves were lost; John Bale says the work reached to the beginning of the reign of Edward IV, which at present it does not quite do; it will be noticed that the directions in the latter part of the chronicle as to where to turn for the continuation do not agree with the present arrangement of the leaves.

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Item the ix day of decembre [1460] the King lieing atte Bisshops paleys at powles the seid duke of york which that be auctorite and graunte of the king and his parliament was assigned and chosen for the weell and rule of this lond, rode toward York and other places of this lond with strength of peple having the kings full power¹ to arrer the enemies and to set Oyes Determyners and punysh and redresse rebellious malefactors oppressours extorcioners and theeves in eny cost haunting and to arreste the malice and surrecion entended be the Quene, the prince, the Dukes of Excestre and of Somerset and of the Erles of northumberlande, pembroke and Kyme called Tailboys, also (the) Erle of Devenshire the lord Clifferd and the lord Roos and also of the Erle Wilton which was fled into fflaunders and of their power. Which wer sett of affinite and purposed as was reported and seid to have doon greet myschief and hurtes as they afore had used undre counciles and colour of supporting the kings right which proved evermore contrary as shewed be their werke.

Item² the same day the Erie of Salesbury rode thurgh Chepe not having with him over a C. persones nor the seid Duc over iij [?c] persones for hit was seid hit shuld not need them to have more multitude be cause the contryes wer advised to resort and strength them in their journey. And oon called lovelac a Gentilman of Kent folowed them with greet ordenannce of Gounes and other stuffs of werre.

Note 1. He had authority from Parliament to raise forces with which to repress riots (Rot. Pari., v. 382).

Note 2. There is again a slight change in the colour of the ink here, probably representing entry at not quite the same time as the portion immediately preceding.

Item upon Cristemas day and newyeres day the king yede crouned a procession at powles and on cristemas day the king fested atte Bisshops paleys at london the maior aldremen of this citee and ther was greet rialte.

And on the morn after newe yeresday cam hevy word and tidings to the king and my lord of Warrewik that the duke of york, the Erie Rutland his sone and the Erie Salesbury wer trayterously and ageinst lawe of armes be taking of Tretys graunted, mordred and slain in the north beside pountfreite in a feld called wakefield¹ by the fals meanes and power arrered by the duk of Somerset the Erie Northumberland the lorde Roos and the lord Clifford and the lorde Nevyll and andrewe trollop and ojiers. And they made their quarell in colour of that myschevous dede doing and they entended therby to have the king at large surmetting by lettres of deffiance that they sent to the mair and comones of london that the king was enprisoned at london which was fals and be that meanes they dispoilled divers places and robbed and slewe peple be yond the trent shamefull to rite.

Note 1. Two days before, December 30, 1460. The Epitaph for the Duke of York (Pol. Poems., ii. 256) expresses a view akin to that of Bale:

Ce noble Due a Wacquefelde mourut [This noble Duke died at Wakefield]

Doux paix traitant force sur luy courut. [While he was negotiating sweet peace, force rushed upon him.]

Item the xxviij day of Janyver began the parliament agein and was hold at powles and all the countrees and shyres made greet peple to goo and be avenged upon the seid lordes in the north for their seid cruell dede.¹

Note 1. The chronicle ends imperfectly here with a reference, not to be verified in the volume in its present state, 'penultima scripti folia xxx" sequentia finitur ... cronicula regis.'