Henry, a splendid soldier and sportsman, and a just ruler, although terrible in his wrath and a bigot in religion, was in his lifetime the most popular of the English kings, and after his death was venerated by the next generation as a saint.

(Life of Richard, Earl of Warwick; Cotton MS. Julius, E. iv)

All England was ready to join in the prayer of old Sir Thomas Erpingham:

The Lord in heaven bless thee, noble Harry!

Accession of Henry VI; Regency.-The glorious victories of Henry V silenced all questions as to the title of his family.

His infant son, a baby less than a year old,

Henry the Sixth, in infant bands crowned King
Of France and England, did this king succeed,

and was accepted without a murmur; the government of France being committed to John, Duke of Bedford, the elder surviving brother of the late king, and that of England to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, his younger brother, as Protector assisted by a Privy Council of fifteen nobles and bishops.

The Duke of Bedford, Regent of France.-Charles VI, the imbecile king of France, died in the same year as his conqueror. His son, the Dauphin, took the title of Charles VII, and exercised more or less authority to the south of the Loire, while the Duke of Bedford ruled Northern France as Regent on behalf of his infant nephew, the English king, and did his duty well. He inflicted a He inflicted a heavy defeat on the French and their Scotch allies at Verneuil in 1424. The one strong place, the city of Orleans, which held out was besieged by Bedford. He was on the point of succeeding, when he was driven off and the whole course of the war changed by an event which may be fairly described as a miracle, and has been a puzzle to all historians throughout the ages.

The Maid of Orleans.-Joan or Jeanne Darc,1 a peasant girl of seventeen living in a province of France far from the seat of war, saw visions which called on her to save her country. With much difficulty she obtained audience of the king and was allowed to raise a force of 6,000 men. Clad in white armour like a man, she rode to Orleans, made her way with her troops into the city, and inspired the garrison with such courage that in fifteen days the English were forced to raise the siege. The French then began to win victory after victory, and in 1429 Charles VII was crowned at Rheims. Joan, now known as the Maid of Orleans, was regarded by the English as a witch. In 1431 she fell into their hands and Darc,' not 'D'Arc' or 'Joan of Arc', as commonly and wrongly written. Her real name was Jeanneton Darc.

1 <

was cruelly burnt alive at Rouen, dying like a saint, as indeed she was.

Loss of the French Provinces. From that time onwards, with some slight interruption, the English cause in France steadily lost ground. The able Duke of Bedford died in 1435, the Duke of Burgundy joined the French, and in 1445 the English government made a truce and married King Henry to Margaret of Anjou, a cousin of the French king. War was renewed later, but always without success to the English, and by 1453 the whole of the English territory in France had been lost, except Calais. Thus ended the Hundred Years' War.

Factions of the Nobles in England. The king, always feeble in health, never much more than half-witted, and sometimes out of his mind altogether, was obliged to lean upon one or other of the great nobles, his relatives in different degrees, who struggled with one another for the control of his person and so of the kingdom, which was grievously misgoverned. As Shakespeare puts it :—

They lost France and made his England bleed.

Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, the king's uncle, a foolish, headstrong man, was in favour of continuing the hopeless French war. Cardinal Beaufort advised peace, and in 1445. succeeded in arranging the marriage of Henry to Margaret of Anjou. In 1447, the Duke of Gloucester and the cardinal having both died, the Earl, afterwards Duke, of Suffolk obtained power. Richard, Duke of York, cousin of the king and next in succession to the throne, was sent away to Ireland as lieutenant of that country.

In 1450 the public discontent caused the impeachment, or prosecution by parliament, of Suffolk, who was murdered. Power now passed into the hands of the Duke of Somerset, who became extremely unpopular, owing to the ill success of the French war and the failure of the government to keep order at home.

Rebellion of Jack Cade.-An insurrection broke out in Kent (1450), led by a low fellow named Jack Cade, who, like Wat Tyler, was admitted into London, where he committed murders and robberies, and, like his predecessor, was quickly defeated and killed. He is believed to have been an agent of the Yorkist party, rather than a genuine popular leader.

Beginning of the Wars of the Roses, 1455.—In the same year (1450) the Duke of York returned from Ireland, and prepared to oppose the government of Somerset by force, but the peace was not actually broken. In 1453 the queen bore to the king a son named Edward, who became the heir to the throne, excluding Richard, Duke of York, who was removed from the Privy Council by the queen. Next year the king went mad and the duke was made Protector, but when the king recovered for a time Somerset returned to power, and York determined to fight him and the queen. So far York had made no open claim to the crown-he was professedly fighting to overthrow Somerset's government and to protect himself against the queen, who championed her infant son. The armies met in the streets of St. Albans, where Somerset was defeated and slain. This fight is known as the first battle of St. Albans (1455). From this date the Wars of the Roses are held to have begun, so named because a white rose was the badge of the adherents of the Duke of York—the Yorkists, and a red rose was the badge of the adherents of the queen and her ministers-the Lancastrians. The king himself did not count, but each faction was eager to secure his person and use his name.

Accession of Henry VI

Battle of Verneuil

Siege of Orleans; Joan Darc

Insurrection of Jack Cade.

Loss of French provinces except Calais

First battle of St. Albans; beginning of the Wars of the
Roses

1455

CHAPTER XII

THE WARS OF THE ROSES, AND HOUSE OF YORK, TO THE BATTLE OF BOSWORTH, 1455-85

The War to the Coronation of Edward IV, 1461.-We need not linger long over the repulsive history of the thirty years between the first battle of St. Albans and the battle of Bosworth, a period filled with battles, murders, and shameless treacheries. The chief support of the Yorkist party was the able and intriguing Earl of Warwick, most of the nobles being inclined to side with the queen's party, the Lancastrians. The queen, a bloodthirsty, revengeful woman, was determined to do all possible to preserve the heritage of the throne of England for her boy Edward. Richard, Duke of York, after winning a battle at Northampton (1460), formally claimed the throne, and the lords decided to leave it to Henry for his life, while recognizing Richard as the heir, to the exclusion of Prince Edward of Lancaster. Queen Margaret, however, would hear of no compromise. At the close of the same year Duke Richard was killed at Wakefield, passing on his claim to the care of his son, Edward of York. In 1461 the Yorkists won the fight of Mortimer's Cross, and lost the second battle of St. Albans. If the queen had been able then to secure London she might have gained her cause, but Edward of York was too quick for her, seized the capital,

1 This Earl of Warwick was Richard Neville. The title was borne afterwards by several distinct families.