The he was committed to prison: and in this reign an act was passed, fixing the highest wages that he could receive. Thus, with meat and drink, a carter could not have more than 248. a year; a master mason or carpenter, 4d. a day; a common labourer, 2d. a day in summer, and 1 a day in winter and all who deserved less were to take less. In some of our older towns, you may still see specimens of the kind of houses that were built at this period; the upper stories projecting over the under ones, till they almost met those on the opposite side of the street. Á great rambling sort of mansion in the construction of which timber was chiefly used, now formed the favourite residence of the nobles. principal apartment was called the Hall; at one end of which was a platform occupied by the family, the gentlemen sitting on benches, and the ladies on stools. The attendants occupied the main body of the Hall. The walls were covered with tapestry, and the floor with rushes. During meals, the company were entertained by minstrels and dancers; while crowds of poor waited at the door to be fed on the fragments. At night hawks perched in the hall, and dogs lay among the rushes. Straw pallets were used as beds by the family, and those who cared for a bolster had a log of wood. It was not the custom to undress at night, and the men sometimes slept in armour. In the history of the next reign, Henry VI. will again be mentioned. Meantime, it may be stated, that though he sat again for a short time on his uneasy throne, his actual reign may be said to have ended on the day that Edward 1461 was proclaimed king. Whether his death was the result of natural causes, or of violence is uncertain. He was found dead in the 1471 Tower, in 1471; and was buried at Chertsey Abbey, (in Surrey), whence the body was afterwards removed to St. George's, Windsor. 1429 1429 THE WARS OF THE ROSES-1st BATTLE AT ST. ALBANS 1455 The terrible War of the Roses had given rise to great disorder in England. Murder was now so common, that men ceased to regard it as a crime: commerce was almost at an end: and vast multitudes died of hunger. Nor was the character of the new king by any means favorable to reform. For though 1461 clever and accomplished, he was also revengeful and cruel; and gave way to lust to such an extent that though handsome while young, he afterwards became bloated and ugly. body became quite unwieldy, and the dandies of that day thinking it fashionable to be like him in shape, padded their garments with bran and sawdust. Edward IV. (like Henry II.), was pos sessed of an extraordinary memory. "Such was the fidelity of his memory," says au eminent historian, "that it was difficult ❤ Lingard. His to mention any individual of any consequence, even in the most distant counties, with whose character, history, and influence he was not accurately acquainted. Hence every project of opposition to his government, was suppressed almost as soon as it was formed." On Edward's accession to the throne, the Lancastrians became bent on his overthrow.__ They were however repeatedly defeated: first of all, in 1461, at Towton, (in Yorkshire), where a terrific battle was fought amid falling snow; and again, in 1464, at Hedgley Moor, near Wooler, and at Hexham, (both in Northumberland). Henry fled from Hexham into Lancashire, where he remained hid for more than a year; but was at last betrayed and sent to the Tower. So great were these defeats that the Lancastrians would probably have troubled Edward no further, had it not been for his marriage which had taken place secretly with Elizabeth Gray, the youthful widow of one of their party. This, as soon as it became known, and the promotion of her relatives to posts of honour in the state, gave great offence to Warwick, who resolved to make good his title of King-maker by restoring Henry to the throne. He and the duke of Clarence, one of the king's brothers, countenanced though they did not personally join, an insurrection which at this time broke out at York. There the rebels suffered defeat but were not discouraged, for they marched southward as far as Edgecote, near Banbury, (in Oxfordshire), where they gained an easy victory over the king's forces (1469). In the following year a similar insurrection broke out in Lincolnshire, and the rebels moving to Erpingham (in Rutlandshire), were defeated by the king (1470). Clarence and Warwick fled to France. Here they joined the heroic Margaret, Henry's queen; entered into a convention known as the "Treaty of Amboise," the object of which was to restore the House of Lancaster to the throne of England; and as a pledge of sincerity, as well as forming part of the treaty, Warwick gave his daughter in marriage to Margaret's son. So great was the influence of the King-maker, and such the fickleness of the multitude, that on his return to England, after only a few months' absence, he caused Henry VI. to be proclaimed king; and thousands at his bidding, who had before worn the white rose, now wore the red, and shouted "God bless King Harry!" Edward fled to Flanders; Henry was liberated from the Tower; and Parliament confirmed the Treaty of Amboise. In the following year Edward landed at Ravenspur (in Yorkshire), declaring, like Henry IV., that to reclaim the crown was not his object, but to recover his personal property. On his way F south large numbers joined him, and he was soon welcomed once more within the capital. Meanwhile Warwick reached Barnet (in Herts), where a battle was fought on Easter Sunday, 1471. Here Warwick was slain, and Edward triumphed. On that same day Margaret and her son landed in England, to support the cause of Henry. But a few weeks after, her army was defeated at Tewkesbury (in Gloucestershire); her son barbarously murdered in presence of the king; herself committed to the Tower; and the dead body of Henry VI. exhibited at St. Paul's. Following the example of his predecessors, Edward IV. laid claim to the crown of France; and in 1475 invaded that country with an army. But the French king, unwilling to risk a battle, agreed to certain terms of peace known as the "Treaty of Pecquigny." Among these were :-1.-That 75,000 crowns should at once be paid to Edward, and 50,000 more every 1475 year as long as he lived: 2.-That a seven years' truce should exist between the two countries: 3.-That the French king's son should marry Edward's eldest daughter and 4.-That Margaret should be liberated on payment of 59,000 crowns. bridge having been thrown across the Somme, the two kings met in the middle, and ratified the treaty by shaking hands through a wooden grating. Margaret, who was accordingly set free, outlived her disasters eleven years. A In preparing for this invasion of France, Edward cleverly contrived to evade the law which forbade him to tax his subjects. Not content with the money granted him by parliament for this purpose, he demanded presents of money from the rich, which of course they dared not refuse. Sums raised in this way got the name of "benevolences." Petitions, which hitherto it had been the custom of parliament to present to the king, assumed in this reign the name and form of "Acts of Parliament." Posts were now established, by means of horsemen placed along the road from London to Scotland at intervals of 20 miles, so as to pass despatches at the rate of 100 miles a day. It was in this reign that printing was first practised in England. In 1477, William Caxton, a London merchant, who had learned this noble art in Holland, set up a press at the Almonry, near Westminster Abbey, and issued "The Game and Playe of Chesse" as the first book ever printed in England. In those days astrology and "the black art" were believed and practised; and two persons in this reign were executed for calculating the nativities of the king and prince. Clarence asserted their innocence. Edward, who had long had a grudge against his brother, summoned him before the House of Lords for high treason, (1478), conducted the prosecution himself, It is said that Edward and Clarence was condemned to death. allowed him to choose in what manner he should die; that Clarence being fond of Malmsey wine expressed a wish to be drowned in it; and that he actually underwent this singular mode of execution, ten days after, within the Tower. In 1480, war broke out with Scotland without any important result. In 1483, Edward IV., whose constitution was worn out by debauchery, was seized with a slight ailment 1483 and died in the 41st year of his age and 22nd of his reign. He was buried at Windsor. THE EARL SALISBURY, WHO WAS KILLED AT THE 1469 1471 1475 1477 1483 |