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Hall's Chronicle 1460 is in Hall's Chronicle.
30th December 1460. Therle of Salisbury and other his frendes, seing his corage, resolued theselfes to his opinion, & ordered their men, and set them furth in Warlike fashion, for their moste aduauntage. The Duke of Somerset and other of the queues part, knowyng perfidy, that if the Duke gat the victory, their daies wer rninished, and their liuynges left bare, like men quickened and exasperate, for the safegard of their lifes, and defence of their goodes, determined to abide the chaunce, and to espie their mo=te aduauntage, and so appointed the lorde Clifford (age 25), to lye in the one stale, and the Erie of Wilshire in the other, and thei theimselfes kept the mayne battaill. The duke of Yorke with his people, discended doune the hill in good ordre and array, & was suffered to passe foreward, toward the mayne battaill: but when he was in the plain ground betwene his Castle and the toune of Wakefelde, he was enuironed on euery side, like a fish in a net, or a deere in a buckestall: so that he manfully fightyng, was within halfe an houre slain and ded, and his whole army discomfited, & with hym died of his trusty frendes, his two bastard vncles, sir Ihon, & sir Hugh Mortimers, sir Dauy Halle his chief counsailor, sir Hugh Hastynges, sir Thomas Neuel, William and Thomas Aparre, bothe brethren, and twoo thousande and eight hundred other, wherof many wer young gentlemen, and heires of greate parentage in the Southe parte, whose linages revenged their dealhes, within foure Monethes, next and immediatly insuyng. In this conflicte was wounded and taken prisoner, Richarde Erie of Salisbury, sir Richard Lymbrike, Raufe Stanley, Ihon Harow, Capitain Hauson, and diverse other. While this battaill was in fightyng, a prieste called sir Robert Aspall, chappelain and schole master to the yong erle of Rutland ii. sonne to the aboue named duke of Yorke, scace of ye age of. xii. yeres, a faire gentletman, and a maydenlike person, perceiuyng yt flight was more sauegard, then tariyng, bothc for him and his master, secretly conueyed therle out of ye felde, by the lord Cliffordes bande, toward the towne, but or he coulde enter into a house, he was by the sayd lord Clifford espied, folowed, and taken, and by reson of his apparell, demaunded what he was. The yong gentelman dismaied, had not a word to speake, but kneled on his knees imploryng mercy, and desiryng grace, both with holding vp his handes and making dolorous countinance, for his speache was gone for feare. Saue him sayde his Chappelein, for he is a princes sonne, and peraduenture may do you good hereafter. With that word, the lord Clifford marked him and sayde: by Gods blode, thy father slew myne, and so wil I do the and all thy kyn, and with that woord, stacke the erle to ye hart with his dagger, and bad his Chappeleyn here the erles mother & brother worde what he had done, and sayde. In this acte the lord Clyffbrd was accompted a tyraunt, and no gentelman, for the propertie of the Lyon, which is a furious and an vnreasonable beaste, is to be cruell to them that withstaride hym, and gentle to such as prostrate or humiliate them selfes before him. Yet this cruell Clifforde, & deadly bloudsupper not content with this homicyde, or chyldkillyng, came to ye place wher the dead corps of the duke of Yorke lay, and caused his head to be stryken of, and set on it a croune of paper, & so fixed it on a pole, & presented it to the Quene, not lyeng farre from the felde, in great despite, and much derision, saiyng: Madame, your warre is done, here is your kinges raunsome, at which present, was much ioy, and great reioysing, but many laughed then, that sore lamented after, as the Quene her self, and her sonne: And many were glad then of other mens deaths, not knowing that their awne were nere at hande, as the lord Clifford, and other.
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31st December 1460. But surely, mans nature is so frayle, that thinges passed be sone forgotten, and mischiefes to come, be not forsene. After this victory by ye Quene and her parte obteyned, she caused the erle of Salisbury, with all the other prisoners, to bee sente to Pomfret, and there to bee behedded, and sent all their heddes, and the dukes head of Yorke, to be set vpon poles, oner the gate of the citie of Yorke, in despite of them, and their lignage: whose chyldren shortly revenged their fathers querell, both to the Quenes extreme perdicion, and the vtter vndoynge of her husband and sonne. This ende had the valeant lord, Rychard Plantagenet, duke of Yorke, & this fyne ensued of his to much hardines.
The erle of Marche, so commonly called, but after the death of his father, in dede and in right very duke of Yorke, lyeng at Glocester, heryng of the death of his noble father, and louyng brother, and trusty frendes was wonderfully amased, but after comfort given to him, by his faithful lovers and assured alyes, he remoued to Shrewsbury, and other townes vpon the riuer of Seuerne, declaryng to them the murder of his father, the ieopardye of hym selfe, and the vnstable state and ruyne of Realme. The people on the Marches of Wales, which aboue measure fauored ye lynage of the lord Mortimer, more gladly offered him their ayd & assistence, then he it either instantly requyred, or hartely desired, soo that he had a puyssant army, to the number of. xxiii. M. redy to go agaynst the quene, and the murderers of his father. But when he was settyng forward, newes were brought to him, that laspar erle of Penbroke, halfe brother to kyng Henry, and lames butler, erle of Ormond & Wylshyre had assembled together a great number, both of Welshe and Irysh people, sodainly to surprise and take him and his frendes, and as a captiue to conuey him to the quene.
The duke of Yorke, called erle of Marche, somwhat spurred and quickened with these noueltyes, retired backe, & mett with his enemies in a faire playne, nere to Mortimers crosse, not farre from Herford east, on Candelmas day [2nd February 1461] in the mornyng, at whiche tyme the sunne (as some write) appered to the erle of March, like. iii. sunnes [See Parhelion], and sodainly ioined all together in one, and that upon the sight therof, he toke suche courage, that he fiercely set on his enemies, & then shortly discomfited: for which cause, men imagined, that he gaue the sunne in his full brightnes for his cognisaunce or badge. Of his enemies were lefte dead on the ground, iii. M. &. viii. C [3,800]: The erles of Penbroke (age 29) and Wilshyre fled, and syr Owen Tewtber (age 61), father to the sayd erle of Penbroke, which Owen had marled kyng Henries mother (as you haue heard before) with Dauid floyde, Morgan ap reuther, & divers other were taken and behedded at the citie of Herford.
During this season, ye quene was greatly encouraged with the victory, obteined late at Wakefeld, partly because the duke of Yorke, her utter enemy was ryd out of the worlde, & partly, because she perceyued, the lordes of the North country to adhere and cleve to her parte and faccion wherfore with a great multitude of Northre people, she marched toward London, of whose approche the Londoners were nothing glad: for some affirmed, that she brought that rusty company, to spoile and robbe the citie: other saide, that she would be revenged, of suche as tailored the duke of Yorke. So the pore citezens hangyng betwene the water and the fyre, were much amased, but ye magistrates and governors caused great watches to be kept, and good order to be observed. The Quene, still came forwarde with her Northren people, entendyng to subverte and defaict all conclusions and agremetes, enacted and assented to, in the last Parliamet.
17th February 1461. And so after her long jorney, she came to the town of sainct Albons: wherof ye duke of Northfolke, ye erle of Warwvcke, and other, whom ye duke of Yorke had lefte to governe the kyng in his absence, beyng advertised, by the assent of ye kyng, gathered together a great hoste, and set forward towarde saincte Albons, havyng the kyng in their company, as the head and chefetayn of the warre, and so not mynding to differre the time any farther, upon shrovetuesday early in the morning, set upon their enemies. Fortune ye day so fauored the Quene, that her parte prevayled, and the duke and the erle were discomfited, and fled: leaving the king accompanied with the lord Bonvile, and syr Thomas Kyriell of Kent, whiche vpon assuraunce of his promise, taried still and fled not, but their trust, them deceived. For after the victorie obteyned, and the kynge broughte to the Quene, they two were deteyned as prisoners, and so continued till the kynges departyng from that towne. In this battayl were slayn. xxiii. C. [2300] men, and not above, of whome no noble man is remebred, saue syr Ihon Gray (age 29), which thesame day was made knight, with xii. other, at ye village of Colney.
Happy was the quene in her two battayls, but unfortunate was the kyng in all his enterprises, for where his person was presente, ther victory fled ever from him to the other parte, & he comoly was subdued & vanqueshed. When quene Margaret had thus wel sped, first she caused the kyng, to dubbe prince Edward his sonne, knyght, with. xxx. other persons, which in the morning fought on the quenes side, against his parte. After she sent to the Mayre of London, commaundinge him without delay, to sende certain Cartes, laded with lenten victayle, for ye refreashing of her and her army. The Mayre, incontinent made prouision, laded cartes, and sent them toward the quene. But the moveablc commons, which favored not the queues parte, stopped ye cartes at Crepulgate and boldely sayde, that their enemies, which came to spoyle and robbe ye cilizens, should neither be relcued, nor victayled by them. And notwithstanding gentell advertisement to them gyven, of the mischefes, whiche might ensue of their doynges: yet they remayned still in one obstinate mynd and wilfull will, not permittinge the cariages, to passe or go forward. During which cotroversie, divers of the Northen horseme, came and robbed in the suburbes of the citie, and would haue entered at Crepulgate, but thei by the commoners were repulsed, and beten backe, and iii. of them slayn: whervpon the Mayre sent the recorder to the kynges counsaill to Barne, to excuse the matter, and the duches of Bedford, & the lady Scales, with divers sad fathers of the spiritualtie, went to the quene to mollifie her rancore, and asswage her rnelancolie, which she had conceived against the citie. At this humble request, the quene and her counsail appointed certayn lordes and knightes, with. iiii. C. talle persons, to ryde to the citie, and ther to vewe, & se the demeanoure and disposicion of the people: & divers Aldermen were appointed to mete them at Barnet, and to convey them to London. But what soeuer man purposeth, God disposed: for all these devises were shortly transmuted into another forme, because trew report was brought, not onely to the citie but also to the quene, that the erle of Marche had vanqueshed the erles of Penbroke and Wilshyre [at the Battle of Mortimer's Cross], and that the erle of Warwycke, in whome rested the chefe trust of that faction, after the last conflict, had at saincte Albons, had mete with the sayd erle of Marche at Chippyng Norton, by Cottesold, and that they with both their powers were cominge toward London. These trew tales turned the queues purpose, and altered all her long devised ententes, in so muche that she litle trustinge Essex, and lesse Kent, but London least of all, with her husband and sonne, departed from sainct Albons, into tho Northcountrey, where the roote, & foundacion of her ayde and refuge, onely consisted. But at the daye of her departyng, she caused the heddes of the lord Bonvile, and syr Thomas Kyriel, to be cut of, in the presence of her sonne, cotrary to ye mynd and promise of her husbad, but emogest men of warre, faith or othe, syldome is perfourmed.
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