Silver Boar - Vol. VII No. 8 - December 2001
Editor Jane Wilkinson. BA
MORE ABOUT THE BONES by Susan Lacey
RICHARD'S FRIENDS by Dorothy Mitchell
THE BALLAD OF BOSWORTH FIELD from Bishop Percy's Folio Manuscript
SECRETARY'S LETTER
As well as The FRIENDS, there are two other Societies which do sterling work for Richard. One is based in England, the other, a branch, is in America. However, another Society has been formed, which in a way is good, but the organisation annually visits Ricardian sites, so I have been told, "claiming" that their Society has been responsible. Which is misleading to say the least. A lot of members have donated good money to Our Society and the other two, in order that plaques, etc., could be erected in Richard's memory. But to have a maverick organisation come along and claim credit is not to be tolerated. Furthermore, where ever they go they seem to upset people. I have it on good authority that the annual service to Anne Neville in Westminster Abbey will probably now no longer take place. This, so I have been informed, was after a visit by the aforementioned. They had a small service beneath Richard's Window, which we installed in York Minster and the comments 1 received later, were not very favourable What ever the Three Societies have done for Richard has been done in English, good taste. We do not tread on each other's toes, we all respect each other. We do not claim another Society's achievements as our own.
NEWS FROM YORK.
Good News. The role of Recorder is to he revived. He will he the next important civil servant to the Sheriff In Medieval times, the Recorder was a very important person. He was well educated, a lawyer who represented the City on numerous occasions and saw to the legal side of things. It was the Recorder who, along with the Lord Mayor and sheriffs welcomed royalty into the City at Micklegate Bar. It was the Recorder who saw that the City House Books were kept in order. Miles Metcalfe, Guy Fairfaxe, James Harrington, all friends of Richard's, were Recorders of York in his day. And it was John Vavasour, Richard's half cousin, Recorder' who brought the news hack to the city regarding the Battle of Stoke. From him we learned that Frances Lovell had "wounded, swum his horse across the Trent"
A very important office is that of City Recorder.Another ancient tradition has been revived, that of The Jury of The Manor Court, in Clifton, York. Once a Lord of the Manor ruled the township of Clifton. Now, a group of local enthusiasts, with an interest in history, see to it that waterways are kept clear and clean. I have known the foreman of the jury, Jack Ruddock, for many years, and I am delighted that another old custom is being kept alive.
If you have ever wondered what happened to John Howard, the Duke of Norfolk's body after the Battle of Bosworth, wonder no longer. Tudor allowed it to be taken with dignity from the battlefield to be buried at Thetford Clunic Monastery, founded by Roger Bigod, an ancestor, alongside the Mowbray Dukes of Norfolk.
Patricia, one of our members had an e-mail regarding this. She asked me, I didn't know. That day we were in Helmsley looking at books and lo and behold we found the information in a history book. We just happened to come across it. Strange how things happen.
CHRISTMAS AT MIDDLEHAM.
Research shows that the Seasons in Richard's day were more clearly defined than they are today. Each season bringing its own particular brand of beauty. Global warming means that now the seasons are more or less the same, more often than not, wet. July can be as miserable as the month of November. Now, only the length of days, the appearance and disappearance of greenery and bird life indicates the time of the year. In recent years Christmases have been wet and mild with no sign of frost or snow to establish its identity.
Therefore, let us try and imagine what Christmas would be like in Richard's Household at Middleham. For a start, the castle would be cold despite the blazing log fires and burning hot ovens. Smoke would wreathe around the rafters like watchful ghosts, created by the wind whistling round the castle keep, forcing its way down chimneys and smoke holes (Middleham's banqueting hall had an open, central fireplace) Lighted, pitch-tipped torches nestled in niches, creating a golden glow of stuttering colour.
The castle occupants would wrap themselves up warmly, insulating themselves against the wicked, Wensleydale weather, The banqueting hall would be carpeted with fresh, herb scented rushes. Holly, ivy and mistletoe displays decorated the tapestried walls.
Richard, family, guests, castle offices and other employees would create a kaleidoscope of moving colour as they circulated the hall. There, the high table resident on the raised dais. dressed with a snowy white cloth, reserved for the family and special guests. A three foot divide, then, trestles for the rest for those "below the salt". The trestles could be later be dismantled and stacked against the walls to make space for dancing. Galleried musicians would "music away" whilst the lord and his guests drank, laughed and made merry. The food would be varied and plentiful. Twenty courses, perhaps more, the servants threading their way through the joviality bearing huge platters of steaming peacock, hunks of venison, beet pork, a variant of rabbits and fowls and dishes of fish. The meat would have been "put down" (preserved in barrels of salt in late November there would also coffin-shaped mince meat pastries, pottages, jellies, jams, and as a centre piece ,probably Richard's White Boar sculptured from cones of sugar.
Throughout the day there would be church services to attend, gifts to exchange, favourites being gloves and pouches of money. For the ladies, perfume, toiletries and cosmetics Probably Richard gave Anne an expensive piece of jewellery, maybe she gave him a Silver Boar Banner which she had embroidered. Or it could have been a fine, lawn shirt, or a cross-stitched kneeler for his private chapel. Or maybe a pair of gold-worked slippers for when he relaxed in front of the fire. One thing for certain, the castle, indeed the town of Middleham itself would be cut off from the rest of Yorkshire. This happens even today when we have snowploughs, etc., to relieve the situation. So, to an extent, they would have to make their own entertainment. Apart from his troupe of musicians, I don't think Richard employed any other entertainers, apart from a jester. Actors, acrobats Esc, were usually itinerant, travelling from castle inn to inn. But the twelve days of Christmas, needed more than a jester and a jostle of musicians to keep people entertained. I would say that it was very much like a Victorian Christmas where people relied on entertaining themselves. Perhaps Anne sang, accompanying herself on the lute. Or maybe she did a duet with Richard. Perhaps they played Charades, even general knowledge. And maybe Richard and his male colleagues would withdraw from the ladies to his private chamber, there to plan battle strategy in case of likely hostility.
Yes, Christmas with Richard at Middleham would without doubt have been noisy, overwhelming, even exhausting. But we would have loved to have been there, wouldn't we?
THE CHILDREN OF RICHARD III
Did Richard, apart from Edward ,have another legitimate son that died in infancy? We know that he had one called George, according to the Tewkesbury Chronicles, and also that he had illegitimate sons, John of Gloucester or Pomfret, as he was sometimes listed, and Richard, the stonemason of Eastwell in Kent. Then there was Katheryne, who married William Herbert, Earl of Huntingdon, secretary to Richard's son, Edward Prince of Wales.
On the creation of Edward as Earl of Salisbury, the Letters Patent (Cal Rot, Pat. p, 322, which still exist, distinctly term him "the eldest son of Richard Duke of Gloucester" And in the HARL MSS, 433, fol 242, a very curious document is preserved in which Richard styles the young prince , "Edward, his first begotten son" in a collection of ordinances, which at a later period of his life he issued for the regulation of his Household in the North, at Sheriff Hutton Castle, one of the leading items states, "that my Lord Lincoln, (his favourite nephew) and my Lord Morley, be at one breakfast, and 'The children together" at one breakfast. The children being, those of Edward 1V including the young princes ,and Richard's children. Was Richard hoping that Anne would give him further children? Or had Richard other legitimate children that have never been chronicled? If so, they would join the ghostly ranks of the "royal forgottens".
MORE ABOUT THE BONES. By Susan Lacy.
The Complete Peerage contains a succinct review of the controversy surrounding the discovery of the bones found in the Tower of London. The editor, in a summary entitled The Princes in the Tower, says that Sandford, writing in 1677, bases his story on the account of John Knight. King Charles 2nd's principal surgeon.
Sandford states, "that on a Friday in July 1674, workmen at the Tower of London, digging deep under the stairs which led from the king's lodgings to the Chapel, about ten feet in the ground, found the bones of two young striplings. The workmen threw away the bones and the rubbish, but were later made to sift the rubbish and recover some of the bones, which were "presumed to be" those of the two Princes. "Knight could not have been present when the bones were first dug up, as he would have prevented the discarding of them, but he may have witnessed the sifting later.
Although the bones were found in 1674, they were not enclosed in a marble urn until 1678, four years later.
The urn was opened for examination in 1933, in the presence of the Dean of Westminster and others, including Lawrence, E Tanner, Archivist and Librarian of Westminster Abbey. The bones were submitted to Prof., W. Wright for anatomical examination, resulting in a surprising discovery.
The urn contained not only human bones, but a large variety of other bones, such as fish, duck, chicken, rabbit, sheep, pig and ox.
In their final report, Tanner and Wright concluded that the bones were indeed those of the two Princes, between 12-13 for the elder and about 10 for the younger. They attributed a red stain on the skull of the elder to the possibility of congestion caused by suffocation, and admitted the impossibility of determining sex from the bones.
Twenty years later, Kendall's experts (1) confirmed the impossibility of ascertaining sex, (2) rejected the theory that suffocation caused the reddish stain on the larger skull and (3) differed among themselves and with Prof., Wright on the possible ages of the children.
The editor of the Complete Peerage notes," it is incredible that all the authorities who examined the bones in 1674, including the Royal Surgeon, were so ignorant of anatomy that they supposed all these bones of animals and birds to be human bones." The only possible solution seems to be that a number of the original bones were given away, or sold as relics, and that when the bones were called for to be interred in the Abbey, the person m whose charge they were collected any bones they could lay their hands on in order to make the quantity pass muster with the undertakers To recap. Prof. Wright could not say whether the bones were those of boys or girls. Even today we would not be able to do so. Until children reach puberty bones are very similar in both sexes.
As for carbon dating, this technique is accurate only to within 100 years. So, that's not very helpful. And the process would destroy most of the bones. A petition for the urn to be opened has been rejected by authorities at Westminster Abbey, which is a pity. Maybe one day may endeavour to cut sections across a bone and examine it under the microscope to see whether it shows growth rings like trees do.
RICHARD'S FRIENDS by Dorothy Mitchell.
Richard had not come to the throne of England at the head of a party. He had, for many years, been associated with one particular region of the country, Yorkshire, where he was respected, and where he had won a great following. So, it was almost inevitable that he should often turn, in his exigencies, to the men of that region for trusty service, and feel moved to reward their loyalty. The pronounced northern influence upon the heart of his government was undoubtedly a greater source of dissatisfaction than the moderate infiltration of Northerners into positions of authority in the southern counties. On the whole, this animus does not appear to have been sufficiently widespread to undermine Richard's hold upon the obedience of his subjects.
When his brother, Edward, had been alive, Richard had deliberately alienated himself from the Woodville Court. We know that Richard loved his brother, but whether he extended that emotion to his wife, or merely "put up with her" as she was part of the family, we don't know. What we do know is, after Clarence's execution on February l8~ 1478, he withdrew into his "own country", The North was the touchstone of happiness and fulfilment, the South meant trouble, unease, division of spirit. It is interesting to know that the Duke of Buckingham, appointed by Edward High Steward for the occasion, passed the sentence of death upon Clarence.
During his twelve years as Governor of the North, Richard made many friends in the city of York. Men of learning, like Dr. Lancastre, Fairefax, Miles Metcalfe. Men of wealth and position such as Wrangwyshe and Yorke. Men of the church as was Dr. William Poteman.
Alderman Thomas Wrangwyshe seems to have been one of Richard's closest York associates and one of the richest and most influential men in the city. That Richard put his trust in this colourful councillor can be verified by the York city records of the fifteenth century. The first we hear of him is in 1457 when he became "free", so by that time he must have been about twenty. In 1463 he was a chamberlain, 1466 a sheriff and in 1471 he was a Master of the Merchant Guild. In 1473 he held the important position of MP for York; 1476 and 1484 he was the city's Lord Mayor. In 1481 he captained the six score of archers the city had sent to help Richard scatter the Scots, and in 1483 he led 300 men to aid Richard against the Buckingham Rebellion. He seems to have won Richard's friendship, a man not easily impressed, and was a fighter of some repute in, and out of, council chamber. During his second term of Mayor, in January 1485, Wrangwyshe commanded Sheriff Fynch to deliver from jail one William Friston, upon sufficient surety. Raby, Fynch's servant, not only chose to disobey this order, but treated the prisoner most cruelly. Upon hearing this, Wrangwyshe committed Raby to jail and, because Friston lay in the stocks without food or water, commanded that Raby should be treated likewise. But another servant of the sheriffs "... came by water ..." and provided the imprisoned Raby with meat and drink from Fynch's house. Upon discovering their little game, Wrangwyshe, after a Council investigation, demanded that Fynch be jailed in his own prison. Declaring that he would be his own jailer, Fynch stormed off escorted by six sergeants of the Mace. But on the way a force of Fynch's friends, heavily armed, "... took him with a strong hand from the serjeants ..." Tempers heated as citizens immediately became partisans, and, "... ther arrose among the Comons ther being presnt a grete and juperduse scrymisse and affray into so much diverse men were hurt ..." Hearing the riot. Wrangwyshe strode into the street at the head of his Councillors. settled the fight with his lists and hauled Fynch back to the Council Chamber, and "... then and there humbled himself to the Mayres commaundement ..." As men were still loitering in the streets voicing discontent. Wrangwyshe himself escorted him to jail. Only when Friston was freed was Fynch allowed out.
At the end of the same year, York, still loyal to Richard, was resisting attempts by Tudor and Northumberland to force upon them a man named Green, whom, they proposed, was to take the place of Miles Metcalfe. the city's Recorder, now deceased. Twice had the King and the Earl urged Green's appointment. Twice had the city ignored these high-handed demands. On November 12th came a third letter from the King, harshly commanding that the city dignitaries give Green the Recordership. At the next Council meeting, at which Green was present, the clerk read out the King's writ. Wrangwyshe was "sitting in", his term of Mayor 16 completed. Again the Council decided against the appointment Green flew into a rage, snatched the King's letter from the clerk and rushed from the chamber The Council had just the man to handle such a situation. Three days later Wrangwyshe returned the document to the clerk.
He continued to serve his city for many years. I know that he lived in the Pavement as there is an entry in the city's accounts for lOs - Od paid to them from Alderman Wrangwyshe to have the Judgement Day Play performed before his house. Of Dame Wrangwyshe nothing is known except that her name was Alison. Both were buried in St. Crux's Church in the Pavement.Miles Metcalfe was the third Son of James Metcalfe of Nappa Hall, Wensleydale a captain at Agincourt who was knighted upon the battlefield by Henry V. Miles, a brilliant lawyer and Recorder of York, was born about 1428. He married Elizabeth, daughter and coheiress of Bryal de Rivers. His second wife, Matilda, bore him three children: James, Richard and Katheryne In 1470 Miles and Matilda became members of the Corpus Christi Guild. He, too, had a colourful career.
The Middleham Roll of Grants, Edward IV, contains an entry of the appointment of Miles Metcalfe by letters Patent of the Lord Warwick, to the office of attorney genera] to the lordship at a salary of £6 - l2s - 4d, payable out of the terms of St. Martin and Pentecost out of the Issues of Naydale Park, 1468 ..."In 1472, he was returned as Member of Parliament for Dartmouth Devon, and represented that city until a vacancy in York occurred. That happened when Sir Guy Fairefax was promoted from Recorder to that of Justice of the King's Bench. The Minister's Accounts of the Duchy of Lancaster, 1478, show that, besides holding the office of Deputy to Richard, Chief Steward of the Duchy lands north of the Trent. he was also the King's Deputy of the Duchy, which sat every year for a period of eighty days, for which he received 55 - Od a day or £20 - Os - Od a year. In 1477, 1478, 1482 and 1484 he was a Member of Parliament for York. In 1476 and 1480 he. with his brother Thomas and others, were placed on the Commission of Gaol Delivery for Durham and Sedgeberge He was also a member of Richard's Ducal Council and the King's Council of the North (York City Records).
His brother Thomas was made Chancellor of Lancaster when Richard became King. The Metcalfes were numerous in the city. We find that Otto had a magnificent mansion in Conynge Street, and that Sir Thomas Metcalfe, a priest, was imprisoned by Henry VII for "... certain misbehavings against us ..." being released on payment of £300.
Miles advanced to be a person of great wealth and greatly admired socially and Politically Richard's death deprived him of the whole of his public employments and he ended his days living in a room above the Monk Bar. After Bosworth, both Miles and Thomas were exempted from the pardon which Henry VII granted to the northern counties Miles died on 25-2-1486 and is buried in York MinsterSir Guy Fairefaxe is another prominent personality of that period. An ardent Yorkist who had fought at the Battle of Towton and bore a White Rose on the shoulder of his lion on his coat of arms. He married Isabel, daughter of Sir William Ryther, High Sheriff of Yorkshire; their children were William, Thomas, Guy, Nicholas, Cecily and Maude. He was another brilliant lawyer, educated at Gray's Inn, holding many important positions.
In 1445, he became a member of the Corpus Christi guild In 1463 Serjeant at Law, 1468 a King's Sergeant, and in 1477 he was elevated to Judge of the King's Bench. He was also a Member of Parliament for York. In 1483, Richard rewarded Sir Guy for his loyalty by making him his Chief Justice of Lancaster. Fairefax's second son, Thomas, Recorder of Doncaster, married Cecily, sister of the Earl of Rutland and daughter of Lord Roos and Anne, Duchess of Exeter, Richard's sister. Legend has it that Richard rode a destrier named White Surrey at the Battle of Bosworth. Legend also has it that there was always a White Surrey in the Steeton Hall stables for centuries afterwards; Sir Thomas Fairefaxe's horse at the Battle of Marston Moor, July 2nd, 1644 was so named. Both the churches of Bolton Percy and Bilborough hold tombs of this honourable Yorkshire family. Sir Guy could easily be buried in either one of those.
John Vavasour of Hazlewood Castle, which overlooked Towton battlefield, was one of Richard's half cousins. Their family gave the Stone with which York Minster is built. Vavasour succeeded Metcalfe as York's Recorder. Though not such an interesting personality as the others, nevertheless, he made his mark in the pages of history. It was he who read out the welcome recitation to Henry VII when he finally dared to visit York in 1486; he who delivered the reply to the Lancastrian Lord Clifford of Skipton Castle. Clifford was arrogantly trying to exercise some authority over the city and wrote to Vavasour instructing him how to "... receive His Gracious Majesty, King Henry VII ...'~ Vavasour didn't bother with a written reply, instead he told the messenger to inform his master that the citizens of York were well aware how to receive royalty and the Mayor ruled the city, not Clifford, and that his lordship was labouring under a misapprehension of his ancestor's importance as there was no record of their association with the city ... There was, for the Cliffords had once been custodians of the castle. In the late 14th century, one of them had been hung in chains from its keep. Ever since, it has been known as Clifford's Tower.
Baron Greystoke of Hinderskelf Castle (now Castle Howard), was another half-cousin of Richard's. His ancestors were the founders of Kirkham Abbey. He was a member of Richard's Ducal Council and fought with hint at the Battle of Bosworth. His son, John, married Cecily, the daughter of the Earl of Pembroke. The Greystoke coat of arms decorates York Minster and many of the city churches.
Richard Yorke was another important member of the City Council during Richard's time. Though whether he can be classed as a friend is debatable, for he was knighted by Tudor in 1486. Known as the "uncrowned King of York", he was an "immigrant" from Hull who made a fortune out of commerce. Yorke enjoyed a spectacular public career. He was a guest at George Neville's Installation Feast at Cawood Castle in 1465 and became Master of the Merchant Adventurers' Guild in 1475. In 1456 he became a Freeman of the City; by purchase. 1466/7 a sheriff; and 1469 saw him as the Mayor of York. In 1473 and 1482 he was an MP Also during that year he was Mayor of the Staple at Calais. His third wife, Joan Whitfield, was the widow of a Mayor of Hull. He had six sons and four daughters; also two known illegitimate Sons, John and George. One of them became an ecclesiastic in the Cathedral. Yorke is buried in St. John's Church, Micklegate, to which he donated a magnificent stained glass window. This window, was removed for safety's sake at the outbreak of war. Now it can be seen in all its glory, brilliancing the western wail of St. John's Chapel in the Minster. Yorke is depicted as a knight, kneeling, holding a shield emblazoned with the city's arms.
Robert Percy of Scotton, near Knaresborough, had the honour, along with Frances Lovell, of being Richard's closest friend; both training with Richard at Middleham. Both personally served Richard and Anne at their Coronation Feast. He was descended from a cadet branch of the powerful Percy family of Leaconfield. When Richard became King he heaped many honours upon his faithful friend. He knighted him and made him the Captain of the Knights of his Body. Controller of his Household and granted him a coat of arms. He was also a Commissioner of Array. Percy was killed fighting alongside Richard at Bosworth. His wife, Eleanor, was the daughter of Sir Ralph Bewly. They had a son, Robert, who was attainted by Henry VII after the Battle of Stoke, 1487. Joyce. his second wife, was the daughter of Norman Washbourne of Wichenford. Worcestershire, and Elizabeth Kynaston.
Sir Richard Ratcliffe of Sudbury. Gilling, near Richmond in Yorkshire, was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Ratcliffe of Derwentwater. He was another close friend of Richard's and was knighted by him on Hutton Field, Berwick-upon-Tweed, August 1482. for outstanding bravery in battle. A member of Richard's Ducal Council, and later the King's Advisory Council, he was also a Commissioner of Array and a Knight of the Garter. Ratcliffe died with his King at Bosworth. In the Eboracum Testamenta, dated September 20th. 1485, is entered. "... license to the Bishop of Dromm to veil Alice. widow of Richard Ratcliffe ..." In the Latin version of "The Death Entry" in the York civic records, his name is included in the list of those slain at Sandeford, Leicester. Yet. on August 27th, 1485, Tudor sent a writ to York, "... to attaché Robert Stillington. Bishop of Bath. and Sir Richard Ratcliffe, knight, and to bring them personally unto his Highness and to sease into his (the Mayor's) hands all their goods movable and immovable ..." Then on October 8th, 1845, Ratcliffe is exempted from the King's general pardon to the men of the north, along with the Metcalfes, Harryngtons and three other of Richard's adherents. Had Ratcliffe, like Lovell, escaped from Bosworth Field and lived to fight another day for the Yorkist cause? Some of the men mentioned died with Richard on Bosworth Field. Some were executed. even when Richard lay dying it must have been some sort of comfort to him, that his Northern friends had not abandoned him in his hour of need
THE BALLAD OF BOSWORTH FIELD from Bishop Percy's Folio Manuscript.
King Richard did in his army stand,
he was n[u]mbred to 40000 and 3
of hardy men of hart and hand,
that vnder his banner there did bee.Sir William Stanley wise & worthie
remembred the brea[k]ffast he hett to him;
downe att a backe then cometh hee,
& shortlye sett vpon the Kinge.then they countred together sad & sore;
archers they lett sharpe arrowes fflee,
they shott guns both ffell & ffarr,
bowes of yewe bended did bee,springalls spedd them speedylye,
harquebusiers pelletts throughly did thringe;
soe many a banner began to swee
that was on Richards partye, their King.then our archers lett their shooting bee,
with ioyned weapons were growden ffull right,
brands rang on basenetts hye,
battell-axes ffast on helmes did light.there dyed many a doughtye Knight,
there vnder ffoot can the thringe;
thus they ffought with maine & might
that was on Heneryes part, our King.then to King Richard there came a Knight,
& said, "I hold itt time ffor to fflee;
ffor yonder Stanleys dints they be soe wight,
against them no man may dree."heere is thy horsse att thy hand readye'
another day thou may thy worshipp win,
& ffor to raigne with royaltye,
to weare the crowne, and be our King." he said, "giue me my battell axe in my hand,
sett the crowne of England on my head soe hye!
ffor by him that shope both sea and Land,
King of England this day I will dye!"one ffoote will I neuer fflee
whilest the breath is my brest within!"
as he said, soe did itt bee;
if hee lost his life, if he were King.about his standard can the light,
the crowne of gold the hewd him ffroe,
with dilffull dints his death the dight,
the Duke of Norffolke that day the slowe.the Lord Ferrers & many other moe,
boldlye on bere they can them bringe;
many a noble Knight in his hart was throwe,
that lost his life with Richard the King.