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Home Lancaster and York The Break-up of the Yorkist Power; Part 3 |
The Break-up of the Yorkist Power; Part 3So, as in the days of the Judges, the land had rest forty years, and more than forty years, from the trouble that had afflicted it. When we reach the end of the dreary record of violence, we are left to gather from the ruins some general lessons on the whole scene, and some indications of the future. And the first thing to remark is the shattering of the power of the great houses. They that took the sword perished by the sword; few barons lived to lose more than one battle, for the , butchery in pursuit fell first on the heavily armoured " nobles, and close behind the pursuer's spear marched the headman's axe. The fate of the Beauforts only differed in degree from the fate of many noble families. And just as in the press of battle once down meant down for ever, so too in the political struggle with the King. For a hundred years attempts had been made to make the throne the prize of family ambition; for thirty years this prize had been at the mercy of the best fighter. It had been a political tournament open to all competitors with royal blood in their veins, fought a outrance with the added liberty of striking below the belt. Henry VII, as the last competitor, emerged from the lists the ultimate victor. And he was victor: he never allowed the rivals he had overthrown to rise again. Their power had rested on the retainers; they and not the crown wielded the fighting force of the nation. By his statute of " Livery " Henry destroyed the retainer. It was made illegal to dispense "Livery", the uniform or badge "delivered" to those who had contracted to fight for their employer. No longer would the Bear and Ragged Staff (The badge of Warwick), the Knot (The badge of Buckingham), the Portcullis (The badge of Beaufort), or the White Lion (The badge of Mowbray) disturb their neighbours. A writer of a political squib in 1450 says: "The Rote (The badge of John Duke of Bedford) is dead, the Swanne (The badge of Humphrey of Gloucester) is gone, The Fiery Cresset (The badge of John Holland Duke of Exeter) hath lost his light, Therefore England may make great moan".He bewails the death of the men. Had he lived forty years later he would have seen the extinction of the badges, and England had no cause to moan over that. The " private soldier" in his plain sense disappeared, and with him the curse of private war. Even so stanch a friend of King Henry's as the Earl of Oxford was sentenced to a heavy fine for welcoming the King with a body of men wearing the " Radiant Star" of de Vere. Henry could not endure to see his laws broken in his sight. Just as the Statute of Livery disarmed the rebel, so the Statute of Maintenance crippled the bully. For fifty years the law courts had been of little use, because no jury dared to do its duty against a great lord. When a case in which he was concerned was tried his men-at-arms would crowd the court, ready to intimidate the jury by what is cynically called "moral" force, ready even to back this up by physical violence, should the other fail This "Maintenance" of an adherent's suit in court by pressure was now made illegal. Relieved from fear, the ordinary law courts could be trusted once more to give justice. |
Chronology |
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