Biography of John Mowbray 3rd Duke of Norfolk 1415-1461

On 17th February 1461 the Lancastrian army defeated the Yorkist army at Second Battle of St Albans and rescued King Henry VI of England and II of France [aged 39]. The Lancastrian army was commanded by Henry Holland 3rd Duke Exeter [aged 30] and included Henry Percy 3rd Earl of Northumberland [aged 39], John Mowbray 3rd Duke of Norfolk [aged 45], [his brother-in-law] Henry Grey 4th or 7th Baron Grey of Codnor [aged 26], Henry Roos and Richard Welles 7th Baron Welles, Baron Willoughby [aged 33].

Thomas Ros 9th Baron Ros Helmsley [aged 33], William Tailboys 7th Baron Kyme [aged 46], John Talbot 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury [aged 12] and Thomas Tresham [aged 41] were knighted.

The Yorkist army included Richard "Kingmaker" Neville Earl Warwick, 6th Earl Salisbury [aged 32], William Fitzalan 9th or 16th Earl of Arundel [aged 43], John Wenlock 1st Baron Wenlock [aged 61] and Henry Bourchier 2nd Count of Eu 1st Earl Essex [aged 57]. John Neville 1st Marquess Montagu [aged 30] was captured. Robert Poynings [aged 42] and James Luttrell [aged 34] were killed.

John Grey [aged 29] was killed fighting for Lancaster. A death that was to have far reaching consequences; his widow Elizabeth Woodville Queen Consort England [aged 24] subsequently married King Edward IV of England [aged 18].

During the battle William Bonville 1st Baron Bonville [aged 68] and Thomas Kyriell [aged 65] were assigned to the protection of the King Henry VI. After the battle both were beheaded against all decent laws of battle.

William Bonville 1st Baron Bonville was beheaded. His great granddaughter Cecily succeeded 2nd Baroness Bonville.

Thomas Kyriell was beheaded.

William Cotton [aged 21] was killed.

Chronicle of Gregory. Ande the xvij day nexte folowynge Kyng Harry [aged 39] roode to Synt Albonys [Map], and the Duke of Northefolke [aged 45] with hym, the Erle of Warwycke [aged 32], the Erle of Arundelle [aged 43], the Lord Bouser [aged 30], the Lord Bonvyle [aged 68], with many grete lordys, knyghtys, and squyers, and commyns of an C [Hundred] Ml men. And there they hadde a grete batayle whythe the Quene [aged 30], for she come ever on fro the jornaye of Wackefylde tylle sche come to Synt Albonys, with alle the lordys a fore said; and her mayny and every lord is men bare her lordys leverey, that every man mighte knowe his owne feleschippe by his lyverey. And be-syde alle that, every man and lord bare the Pryncys [aged 7] levery, that was a bende of crymesyn and blacke with esteryge is fetherys. The substance that gate that fylde were howseholde men and feyd men. I wene there were not v Mlmen that fought in the Quenys party, for [t]emoste parte of Northeryn men fledde a-way, and some were take and spoylyd out of her harnysse by the way as they fledde. And some of them robbyd evyr as they yede, a petyffulle thynge hit is to hyre hit. But the day before that batayle there was a jornay at Dunstapyl [Map]; but the kyngys mayny lackyd good gydyng, for some were but newe men of warre, for the chevyste captayne was a boucher of the same towne; and there were the kyngys mayny ovyr throughe only by the Northeryn men. And son aftyr the bocher, for schame of his sympylle gydynge and loste of the men, the nombyr of viij C, for very sorowe as it is said, hynge him selfe; and some men said that it was for loste of his goode, but dede he ys-God knowythe the trought.

And in the myddys of the batayle King Harry wente unto his Quene and for-soke alle his lordys, ande truste better to her party thenne unto his owne lordys. And then thoroughe grete labur the Duke of Northefolke and the Erle of Warwycke a schapyd a-waye; the Byschoppe of Exceter [aged 29], that tyme Chaunceler of Ingelond, and brother unto the Erle of Warwycke, the Lord Bouser, whythe many othyr knyghtys, squyers, and comyns fledde, and many men slayne in bothe partys. And the Lord Bonevyle was be-heddyd, the common sayynge that his longage causyd him to dye. The Prynce was jugge is owne sylfe. Ande ther was slayne that manly knyght Syr Thomas Keryel [aged 65]. The nomber of ded men was xxxv C an moo [t]at were slayne. The lordys in Kyng Harrys party pycchyd a fylde and fortefyd it full stronge, and lyke unwyse men brake her raye and fyld and toke a-nothyr, and or that they were alle sette a buskyd to batayle, the Quenys parte was at hond whythe them in towne of Synt Albonys [Map], and then alle [t]yng was to seke and out of ordyr, for her pryckyers come not home to bryng no tydyng howe ny that the Quene was, save one come and sayd that she was ix myle of. And ar the goners and borgeners couthe levylle her gonnys they were besely fyghtyng, and many a gynne of wer was ordaynyd that stode in lytylle a-vayle or nought; for the burgeners hadde suche instrumentys that wolde schute bothe pellettys of ledde and arowys of an elle of lenghthe with vj fetherys, iij in myddys and iij at the othyr ende, with a grete mighty hedde of yryn at the othyr ende, and wylde fyre with alle. Alle thes iij thyngys they might schute welle and esely at onys, but in tyme of nede they couthe not schut not one of thes, but the fyre turnyd backe a-pon them that wold schute this iij thyngys. Also they hadde nettys made of grete cordys of iiij fethem of lengthe and of iiij fote brode, lyke unto an haye, and at every ij knott there was an nayl stondyng uppe ryght, that there couthe no man passe ovyr it by lyckely hode but he shulde be hurte. Alle so they hadde pavysse bore as a dore i-made with a staffe foldynge uppe and downe to sette the pavys where the lykyd, and loupys with schyttyng wyndowys to schute out at, they stondyng by hynde [t]e pavys, and the pavys as full of iijdnayle aftyr ordyr as they might stonde. And whenn her schotte was spende and done they caste the pavysse by-fore hem, then there might noo man come unto them ovyr the pavysse for the naylys that stode up-ryghte, but yf he wolde myschyffe him sylfe. Alle so they hadde a thynge made lyke unto a latysse full of naylys as the net was, but hit wolde be mevyd as a man wolde; a man might bryse it to-gedyr that the lengythe wolde be more then ij yerdys long, and yf he wolde he might hale it a brode, then hit wolde be iiij square. And that servyd to lye at gappys there at horsemen wolde entyr yn, and many a caltrappe. And as the substaunce of men of worschyppe that wylle not glose nor cory favyl for no parcyallyte, they cowthe not undyrstond that alle this ordenaunce dyd any goode or harme but yf it were a mong us in owre parte with Kyng Harry. There fore it is moche lefte, and men take them to mallys of ledde, bowys, swyrdys, gleyvys, and axys. As for speremen they ben good to ryde be-fore the foote men and ete and drynke uppe her vetayle, and many moo suche prety thyngys they doo, holde me excusyd thoughe I say the beste, for in the fote men is alle the tryste.

On 29th March 1461 the Battle of Towton was a decisive victory for King Edward IV of England [aged 18] bringing to an end the first war of the Wars of the Roses. Said to be the bloodiest battle on English soil 28000 were killed mainly during the rout that followed the battle.

The Yorkist army was commanded by King Edward IV of England with John Mowbray 3rd Duke of Norfolk [aged 45], [his uncle] William Neville 1st Earl Kent [aged 56], William Hastings 1st Baron Hastings [aged 30] (knighted), Walter Blount 1st Baron Mountjoy [aged 45], [his brother-in-law] Henry Bourchier 2nd Count of Eu 1st Earl Essex [aged 57], John Scrope 5th Baron Scrope of Bolton [aged 23] and John Wenlock 1st Baron Wenlock [aged 61].

The Lancastrian army suffered significant casualties including Richard Percy [aged 35], Ralph Bigod Lord Morley [aged 50], John Bigod [aged 28], Robert Cromwell [aged 71], Ralph Eure [aged 49], John Neville 1st Baron Neville of Raby [aged 51], John Beaumont [aged 33], Thomas Dethick [aged 61], Everard Simon Digby, William Plumpton [aged 25] and William Welles [aged 51] who were killed.

Henry Percy 3rd Earl of Northumberland [aged 39] was killed. Earl of Northumberland, Baron Percy of Alnwick, Baron Percy of Topcliffe forfeit.

Ralph Dacre 1st Baron Dacre Gilsland [aged 49] was killed. He was buried at the nearby Saxton church where his chest tomb is extant. Baron Dacre Gilsland extinct.

Lionel Welles 6th Baron Welles [aged 55] was killed. His son Richard [aged 33] succeeded 7th Baron Welles.

The Lancastrian army was commanded by Henry Beaufort 2nd or 3rd Duke of Somerset [aged 25], Henry Holland 3rd Duke Exeter [aged 30], Henry Percy 3rd Earl of Northumberland and Andrew Trollope.

Henry Holland 3rd Duke Exeter was attainted after the battle; Duke Exeter, Earl Huntingdon forfeit.

Those who fought for the Lancaster included William Tailboys 7th Baron Kyme [aged 46], William Plumpton, John Sutton 1st Baron Dudley [aged 60], William Norreys [aged 20], Thomas Grey 1st Baron Grey of Richemont [aged 43], Robert Hungerford 3rd Baron Hungerford 1st Baron Moleyns [aged 30], John Talbot 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury [aged 12], Richard Welles 7th Baron Welles, Baron Willoughby, Richard Woodville 1st Earl Rivers [aged 56], James Butler 1st Earl Wiltshire 5th Earl Ormonde [aged 40], John Butler 6th Earl Ormonde [aged 39], [his half-brother] William Beaumont 2nd Viscount Beaumont [aged 22], Henry Roos and Thomas Tresham [aged 41]. Cardinal John Morton [aged 41] were captured.

John Heron of Ford Castle Northumberland [aged 45], Robert Dethick [aged 86], Andrew Trollope and his son David Trollope were killed.

Chronicle of St Albans by Abbot John Whethamstede [-1465]. [29th March 1461] Trusting thus in the Lord God and placing all the confidence of his expedition in the Lord Himself, he had the Lord aiding him no less than Theodosius the Great had once had, when he was about to engage in battle against Eugenius and Arbogast. For just as for them, due to the hope and faith they held in the Lord, the Lord Himself was present, and caused such a great wind to blow directly into the face of the enemy while they were fighting hand-to-hand, that it reverberated and reflected back, not only their entire volley of missiles or arrows, but also so confused and weakened the leaders, that one of them, namely Arbogast, fell in battle, while the other, namely Eugenius, fleeing from the field, brought about his own demise; similarly, and almost in all respects, because of the trust held in the Lord, the Lord Himself was also present, and gave him power against his enemies, and such grace, that the wind which previously blew in his face, as soon as he was about to fight against the enemy, turned in the opposite direction in such a way that it slowed down and blunted the entire enemy barrage, causing it to do no harm, or very little, to him or his, and inflict no injury. And thus, with his entire barrage nullified, annulled, and frustrated, later, when they reached axes and hatchets, knives and mallets, and other larger instruments, a very fierce battle ensued on both sides, especially on the Prince's side, indeed, a most atrocious one.

Trusting thus in the Lord God and placing all the confidence of his expedition in the Lord Himself, he had the Lord aiding him no less than Theodosius the Great had once had, when he was about to engage in battle against Eugenius and Arbogast. For just as for them, due to the hope and faith they held in the Lord, the Lord Himself was present, and caused such a great wind to blow directly into the face of the enemy while they were fighting hand-to-hand, that it reverberated and reflected back, not only their entire volley of missiles or arrows, but also so confused and weakened the leaders, that one of them, namely Arbogast, fell in battle, while the other, namely Eugenius, fleeing from the field, brought about his own demise; similarly, and almost in all respects, because of the trust held in the Lord, the Lord Himself was also present, and gave him power against his enemies, and such grace, that the wind which previously blew in his face, as soon as he was about to fight against the enemy, turned in the opposite direction in such a way that it slowed down and blunted the entire enemy barrage, causing it to do no harm, or very little, to him or his, and inflict no injury. And thus, with his entire barrage nullified, annulled, and frustrated, later, when they reached axes and hatchets, knives and mallets, and other larger instruments, a very fierce battle ensued on both sides, especially on the Prince's side, indeed, a most atrocious one.

For here you could see another Achilles, the Duke of Norfolk [aged 45], with his soldiers advancing, and there, the young Hector, the Earl of Warwick, engaging with his recruits. And just like that, a second Achilles, [his uncle] Lord de Fauconberg [aged 56], with his citizens, rushing upon the enemies and striking them down. Although, as the poet writes, they didn't depict the fall of Troy so swiftly, they did portray, and continued to paint, the entire royal road from the battlefield almost to the walls of the city of York, a distance of about six miles, with crimson blood. Even though the Lord sent down blood from the heavens, saturating it with an excessive and almost miraculous new colour. For they themselves were valiant military leaders, and not unjustly to be compared to the aforementioned leaders. For at the beginning of the war, when these roaring Northerners were bending and releasing their bows to shoot straight in the dark, the leaders themselves forced them first, because they did not want to keep the covenant of the Lord, nor walk in His law, which dictates that the elder son should always be preferred to the younger son in hereditary right, as the other sons of Ephraim, turning their back on their inheritance on the day of battle. Later, because it was a generation further corrupt and exasperating, a generation, namely, such that it did not direct its heart with the Lord, nor was its spirit believed with Him, they rushed upon them with such force and effort that they forced them, and pressed them so tightly, that they could not flee from their presence, except as young lambs usually flee from the jaws of wolves, or fly from the talons of hawks, their wings trembling, like doves. Their leaders and captains, as many as they had in the field, either fell to the ground with their standards and banners, or fled to hiding places where they could conceal themselves from the edge of the sword.

Sicque in Domino Deo confisus, in ipsoque Domino totam fiduciam suæ expeditionis ponens, non secus ipsum Dominum auxiliantem habuit, quam dudum habuerat Theodosius Magnus, dum contra Eugenium et Arbogasten bellum commissurus erat. Quemadmodum etenim illi, propter spem et fidem in Domino habitas, affuit ipse Dominus, et tam grandem ventum turbineum in facie hostium, dum pugnarent cominus, inflare fecit, ut reverberaret, et repercuteret, omnimodam nedum jaculationem, sive sagittationem, suam, ac destrueret; immo etiam, taliter ipsos confunderet duces, et infirmaret, ut unus illorum, scilicet, Arbogastes, in bello caderet, alter vero, scilicet, Eugenius, e campo fugiens, sibi ipsi interitum procuraret; sic similiter, et quasi per omnia, propter fiduciam in Domino habitam, affuit etiam ipse Dominus, deditque illi contra inimicos potentiam, ac itaque gratiam talem, ut ventum, quem prius in facie flantem habuit, statim ut pugnaturus esset contra hostem, suscepit versum taliter in contrarium, ut totam hostilem sagittationem retardaret, et retunderet, causaretque ut nullum, vel paucum, faceret sibi aut suis damnum, læsuramve inferret. Sicque cassata, annullata, et frustrata, tota sagittatione sua, posterius, cum perventum esset ad secures et ascias, ad sicas et malleolos, ad aliaque instrumenta grandiora, facta erat ex utraque parte, et præcipue ex parte Principis, pugna atrox valde, immo, atrocissima.

Nam hic videre poteras Aacidem alterum, Ducem, videlicet, Northfolchiæ, cum suis militibus tendere, illic novellum Hectorem, Comitem, scilicet, Warwyci, cum suis tironibus se ingerere, isthic vero Achillem secundum, Dominum, videlicet, de Facunbrigge, cum suis Quiritibus, irruere in hostes, ac eos prosternere; quod, licet, ut scribit Poeta, nequaquam fluido depingerent Pergama tota mero, pingebant tamen, et depingebant, non aliter, totam viam regiam a campo præliationis, usque pene ad mœnia urbis Eboracensis, per spatium quasi sex milliarium, cruore rubro, quametsi Dominus sanguinem de cœlo demitteret, intingeretque novo colore nimio, ac plusquam prodigiose rubricaret. Erant enim ipsi duces milites strenuissimi, nec immerito ducibus jam dictis comparandi. Nam in principio belli, dum isti bobinantes Boreales intendebant et immittebant suos arcus, ut sagittarent in obscuro rectos corde, coegerunt eos ipsi duces primo, quia noluerunt custodire testamentum Domini, nec ambulare in lege ejus, quæ dictat filium seniorem filio juniori in jure semper hæreditario anteferri, velut alteros filios Ephraim, suum convertere dorsum in die belli Posterius vero, quia erat ulterius generatio prava et exasperans, generatio, videlicet, talis, que nec direxit cor suum cum Domino, nec creditus erat cum ipso spiritus ejus, ideo cum tanto impetu et conatu irruerunt in eos, ut cogerent ipsos, et coangustarent, non aliter a facie eorum fugere, quam discurrere solent a lupi faucibus pavitantes oviculæ, aut evolare ab accipitris unguibus, alis trepidantibus, columbellæ. Duces eorum, et capitaneos, quotquot in campo habebant sibi obvios, vel in terram, una cum suis signis et vexillis, prostraverant, vel ad latibula fugere, quibus possent ab ore gladii se occulere, compellebant.

Nam hic videre poteras Aacidem alterum, Ducem, videlicet, Northfolchiæ, cum suis militibus tendere, illic novellum Hectorem, Comitem, scilicet, Warwyci, cum suis tironibus se ingerere, isthic vero Achillem secundum, Dominum, videlicet, de Facunbrigge, cum suis Quiritibus, irruere in hostes, ac eos prosternere; quod, licet, ut scribit Poeta, nequaquam fluido depingerent Pergama tota mero, pingebant tamen, et depingebant, non aliter, totam viam regiam a campo præliationis, usque pene ad mœnia urbis Eboracensis, per spatium quasi sex milliarium, cruore rubro, quametsi Dominus sanguinem de cœlo demitteret, intingeretque novo colore nimio, ac plusquam prodigiose rubricaret. Erant enim ipsi duces milites strenuissimi, nec immerito ducibus jam dictis comparandi. Nam in principio belli, dum isti bobinantes Boreales intendebant et immittebant suos arcus, ut sagittarent in obscuro rectos corde, coegerunt eos ipsi duces primo, quia noluerunt custodire testamentum Domini, nec ambulare in lege ejus, quæ dictat filium seniorem filio juniori in jure semper hæreditario anteferri, velut alteros filios Ephraim, suum convertere dorsum in die belli Posterius vero, quia erat ulterius generatio prava et exasperans, generatio, videlicet, talis, que nec direxit cor suum cum Domino, nec creditus erat cum ipso spiritus ejus, ideo cum tanto impetu et conatu irruerunt in eos, ut cogerent ipsos, et coangustarent, non aliter a facie eorum fugere, quam discurrere solent a lupi faucibus pavitantes oviculæ, aut evolare ab accipitris unguibus, alis trepidantibus, columbellæ. Duces eorum, et capitaneos, quotquot in campo habebant sibi obvios, vel in terram, una cum suis signis et vexillis, prostraverant, vel ad latibula fugere, quibus possent ab ore gladii se occulere, compellebant.