The Princes in the Tower, page 53
139 Chapter 12.
15. The Journey of the White Rose to the Island of Texel, April–July 1495
1 Analysis of new archival sources discovered in the Low Countries by the Dutch Research Group in 2017.
2 For the will signed in Malines, 24 January 1495, see HHSA AUR 1495 I 24. He styles himself ‘We, Richard, by the grace of God, King of England and France’. Full text in D.M. Kleyn, Richard of England, Appendix III, p. 236. A royal seal was originally attached, which is now lost. It is described in Codex Diplomaticus, Vol. IV (Frankfurt & Leipzig 1758), p. 505: inscriptio: SECRETVM SIGILLVM RICARDI QVARTI [Richard IV] REGIS ANGLIE et Francie et Domini Hibernie …
3 Among others: Kingsford, Chronicles of London/Vitellius, pp. 205–07; Vergil-2, pp. 81–83; Molinet, Vol. 5, pp. 50–52; Bacon, Henry the Seventh (Lockyer, ed.), pp. 152–53; Gairdner, Richard III, pp. 359, 360.
4 Three modern authors who undertook detailed/extensive research into Richard/Perkin mention Vlissingen or Zeeland as the fleet’s port of departure: Arthurson, The Perkin Warbeck Conspiracy, p. 110; Nathen Amin, Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders (2020), p. 204; Ann Wroe, p. 236.
5 Regesta (RI OPAC), 1 April 1495, RI XIV, 1, nr 1482. Correspondence between Maximilian and Albert of Saxony shows the latter in Zeeland around 26 March 1495 (phintztag nach dem Sonntag ‘Oculi’), probably overseeing the fleet’s imminent departure: SHA, 10024 Geheimer Rat (Geheimes Archiv) Loc. 08497/02, König Maximilians I schreiben an Herzog Albrecht zu Sachsen, kaiserlichen Majestät statthalter (in den Niederlanden), letter nr 73. Two other contemporary sources show York’s servants and soldiers present in Zeeland, April/May 1495: Bronnen voor de geschiedenis der dagvaarten van de Staten van Zeeland 1318–1572, nr 1287b: resources.huygens.knaw.nl/retroboeken/dagvaarten_zeeland/#page=210&accessor=toc&accessor_href=http%3A%2F%2Fresources.huygens.knaw.nl%2Fretroboeken%2Fdagvaarten_zeeland%2Ftoc%2Findex_html%3Fpage%3D0%26source%3D1%26id%3Dtoc&source=2. See also J.H. de Stopelaar, Inventaris van het Oud Archief der stad Middelburg 1217–1581, (1883), p. 185, nr 697: letter of 25 May 1495 from Philip the Handsome to Mayor/Aldermen of Middelburg (Zeeland) requesting ‘no excise duty be levied on beer consumed by the Duke of York’s servants, and that they should be treated as if they were his own servants’: books.google.nl/books/about/Inventaris_van_het_Oud_Archief_der_Stad.html?id=PvmlzzGaTh8C&redir_esc=y.
6 Edward IV departed from Vlissingen to recapture England from Henry VI (1471), and a fleet in favour of ‘King Edward’ departed from Middelburg (Arnemuiden) to challenge Henry VII (1487). See Chapter 12.
7 Except for Flemish historian Steven Thiry, whose article mentions this specific passage from Aurelius: ‘Counterfeited Jewels Make the True Mistrusted’.
8 Aka ‘Cornelis Geritsz of Gouda’, Aurelius was born in Gouda around 1460, and died in August 1531. He studied at the universities of Cologne, Leuven and Paris, returned to Holland and became an Augustinian canon. As a friar, he stayed in various monasteries. In 1495 he was prior of the monastery of St Martin on the Donk, near Schoonhoven. He was also a humanist scholar, and friend of Erasmus from 1489: K. Tilmans, De Divisiekroniek van 1517, Bourgondische-Habsburgse deel (div. 29–32), (2003) pp. 10, 11: karintilmans.nl/pdf/dk29-32.pdf.
9 Divisie Chronicle, div. 32, f.316r: resources.huygens.knaw.nl/retroboeken/divisiekroniek/#page=0&accessor=thumbnails&view=homePane Div. 29–32 – this is a contemporaneous Holland part of the chronicle, largely an original account of events, apparently without referring to any previous writings. Descriptions in div. 32 encompass the White Rose’s journey through Holland, and must reflect Aurelius’ own experiences from observation, from witnesses and/or from hearsay.
10 Chronicle of Zeeland (trans.): ‘In the year MCCCC XCV [1495] in July Richard who was called the white Rose/king Edwards son of England crossed Holland and went to England to receive his father’s inheritance’: objects.library.uu.nl/reader/index.php?obj=1874-214708&lan=en#page//72/28/77/72287723489789738329870933694636913619.jpg/mode/1up, p. 130 (RH page).
11 Sir Robert Clifford (1448–1508), a Yorkshire knight, staunch Yorkist under Richard III and leading supporter of the Duke of York from early 1493. In late 1494, he betrayed all the names of his co-conspirators to Henry VII, receiving a pardon and considerable reward. He served Henry VII from 1495 as Master of the King’s Ordnance: Wroe, pp. 181–82, 184, 222–23, 369 and Chapter 17.
12 On 12 January 1495, ‘the Duke of York’ and ‘the Duke of Saxony’ received a gift from the City Council of Bergen op Zoom: West-Brabants Archief, City Accounts Bergen op Zoom 1495: westbrabantsarchief.nl/collectie/archieven/scans/NL-BozWBA-boz%20-%200005/2.6.2.1.1.20/start/0/limit/50/highlight/44, p. 44 (LH page).
13 For nobles who supported York in 1495 and were subsequently arrested/executed, see Chapter 14, note 138.
14 Regesta, 11 February 1495, RI XIV, 1, nr 1329.
15 Ibid., 24 February 1495, RI XIV, 1, nr 1346; 28 February 1495, RI XIV, 1, nr 1360; 1 March 1495, RI XIV, 1, nr 1362.
16 Ibid., 18 March 1495, RI XIV, 1, nr 3311.
17 Ibid., 1 April 1495, RI XIV, 1, nr 1482.
18 For Albert of Saxony (1443–1500), see Chapter 17, pp. 271–73. Rodrigue de Lalaing was the bastard son of Antoine de Lalaing (d. 8.1.1470), a descendant of the Hainaut noble family De Lalaing. Antoine was the younger brother of the famous Burgundian knight, Jacques de Lalaing, le bon chevalier (1420–53). Rodrigue was an experienced military commander under Maximilian I and later Archduke Philip the Handsome (Philip legitimated him 1505). For army captain Quitinck, see Kroniek van Holland (anonymous), Dit is die historie van Hollant (1477–1534), written around 1540, Royal Library, The Hague: 76 H 42, p. 119 – ‘and among the other captains was also Quitinck, who had served this country for a long time’. In Kingsford, p. 207, Quitinck is ‘a Spaniard called Quyntyne’, one of York’s captains arrested at Deal, Kent. He was beheaded at Tower Hill on 7 September 1495.
19 Molinet, Vol. 5, p. 50.
20 See note 5.
21 HSA, 10024, Geheime Rat, loc. Cit., letter nr 71.
22 Ibid., letter nr 67.
23 Arthurson, op. cit., p. 110.
24 In 1491, peasants in the north of Holland revolted against Jan III of Egmond, Stadtholder of Holland, rejecting tax increases put in place regardless of pre-existing food shortages and economic malaise in Kennemerland and West-Friesland. Protests received support from cities in other regions: Haarlem, Beverwijk and Alkmaar, they were known as the ‘Cheese and Bread People’. Habsburg-leaning Jan III requested Maximilian to send an army to the north of Holland under the command of Duke Albert of Saxony, who finally defeated the rebels on 15 May 1492.
25 Albert, Duke of Saxony, currently Stadtholder General of the Habsburg-Netherlands, was a loyal companion of Richard, Duke of York, and regularly seen in his company. E.g. Regesta, RI XIV, 1, nrs 185, 478, 485, 1482, 2761, 2820; City Accounts of Bergen op Zoom 1494–95, boz-0005, inv nr 765, p. 44 (LH page); also Chapter 14, notes 30 and 31.
26 See note 22. Thanks to Paul Baks, whose works include ‘Saksische heerschappij in Friesland, 1498–1515, dynastieke doelstellingen en politieke realiteit’ (1999). Baks kindly explained some of the Ebenstein letter: Ebenstein, one of Maximilian’s military commanders with his own army of mercenaries, was apparently told by one of York’s servants that the mercenaries were saying Albert preferred to march against England. Ebenstein, fearing for a campaign planned against Friesland, alerted Duke Albert. However, on 15 June 1495, Maximilian ordered Ebenstein and his mercenaries to Italy to support the Duke of Milan (ruling out engagement in an invasion of Friesland or England). The Duke of York left for England from Texel on 1 July 1495, possibly with a smaller army than expected.
27 NAH, Grafelijkheidsrekenkamer, Reg. nr: 3.01.27.02, inv. nr 191, ‘Accounts of the Steward General of Holland, Thomas Beukelaar, 1 January 1495– 31 December 1495’ (hereafter NAH GRR), f.102r, translations: (1) ‘The aforementioned Joris rynouts son who on Easter eve 18 April anno XCV travelled from The Hague to the city of Leiden with certain private letters from the Stadtholder General of Holland, containing the request to receive the Duke of York kindly and to show him their friendship, which he will repay, when he has arrived in his realm.’ (2) ‘The aforementioned Jan Pieters son, who on 21st day of April anno XCV travelled with similar private letters to the cities of Rotterdam, Delft and Dordrecht containing and telling similar recommendations as stated above.’
28 See note 27. The welcoming of the Duke of York in Dordrecht, Rotterdam, Delft and Leiden around mid-April indicates he was proceeding to the city of Haarlem and, according to Aurelius, arrived after the octave of Easter (27 April).
29 Jacob van Barry (d. 31.1.1500) was an official at the Court of Holland, a servant and representative of the Duke of Saxony in Holland from 1486 to at least 1499. In 1493, on the duke’s intercession, he received the Clerkship of Haarlem as well as Texel for life: S. ter Braake. Met recht en rekenschap: de ambtenaren bij het Hof van Holland en de Haagse Rekenkamer in de Habsburgse Tijd (1483–1558), (2007): hdl.handle.net/1887/12449, p. 365.
30 W. Cerutti, Van Commanderij van Sint-Jan tot Noord-Hollands Archief, Geschiedenis van het klooster en de kerk van de Ridderlijke Orde van het Hospitaal van Sint-Jan van Jeruzalem in Haarlem (2007), p. 156.
31 NAH GRR, 191, f.104v: Trans.: ‘The aforementioned Willem Wouters son, who on the 28th day in May anno XCV, travelled from The Hague with certain private letters from the Stadtholder General and council of Holland to the city of Amsterdam, containing and telling how the official from Brussels had come, in the name of my gracious lord, to the aforementioned lords to ensure that the ships which the Duke of York had purchased and lying before the aforementioned city [Amsterdam] would be delivered to him.’
32 Ibid., 191, f.105r: Trans.: ‘The aforementioned Willem Jans son, who on the 5th of June in the above-mentioned year, travelled to the city of Amsterdam with certain private letters from my gracious lord, containing that they should deliver the ships which the aforementioned duke had bought.’
33 Regesta, 1 April 1495, RI XIV, 1482: ‘KM [King Maximilian] hopes that the old woman of Burgundy [Margaret of York] will provide the provisions and everything else, as promised.’
34 NAH GRR, 3346, Domain Account Grafelijk Huis Margaret of York, Voorne, f.44v, Accounts of Boudijn Willemszoon, 1 January 1495–31 December 1495: ‘… uut laste en bevele van mijner gnadige vrouwe [Margaret of York] aldair hadde doen brouwen voor mijne her den hertoge van Yorck hare Neve ende ome t selve bier te doen scepenen’. Thanks to Zoë Maula for the source.
35 Ibid., 191, f.105r: Trans.: ‘The aforementioned Hemrick Faes, who on the 7th of June in the aforementioned year, travelled from the Hague to the town of Beverwijk and to the Duke of York – who was there – with certain private letters from the Stadtholder and the council of Holland, requesting that he should embark his men and order them not to harm these lands.’
36 In 1276, the Count of Holland, Floris V (1254–96) had granted Beverwijk market rights. Thereafter, its port was mainly used for the export of local products. Ships were moored directly alongside the ‘Platinckdijck’ (dike) or on wooden jetties. Significant losses of archives make the reliable reconstruction of the town’s local history challenging. Thanks to Alfred Schweitzer, a local historical expert of the region of Kennemerland in North Holland (including Haarlem and Beverwijk), for generously providing information about Beverwijk in the (late) Middle Ages.
37 See note 35.
38 E.H.P. Cordfunke, E. Den Hartog, G.J.R. Maat & J. Roefstra, De Abdij van Egmond, Archeologie en duizend jaar geschiedeni (Zutphen, 2010), pp. 11, 12, 63.
39 G.N.M. Vis, Marco Mostert & Peter Jan Margry, Heiligenlevens, Annalen en Kronieken: geschiedschrijving in middeleeuws Egmond (Hilversum, 1990), p. 48.
40 Divisie Chronicle, div. 30, f.328r. For Edward IV’s journey from Texel through Holland to Flanders in 1470, see J. Huizinga, ‘Koning Edward IV van Engeland in Ballingschap’, Verzamelde Werken. Deel 4. Cultuurgeschiedenis II (1949), www.dbnl.org/tekst/huiz003verz05_01/huiz003verz05_01_0026.php. Also, Antoon P.R. Obermann & H. Schoorl, ‘Koning Edward IV van Engeland op Texel’, Regionaalhistorisch tijdschrift ‘Holland’, 13e jaargang, No. 1, February 1981.
41 Regesta, 5 May 1495, RI XIV, 1, nr 3406.
42 HHSA, AT-Oesta/HHstA RK Maximiliana 4-3-20: Maximilian’s letter of instruction to Jacques of Gondebault for his son, Archduke Philip, 17 June 1495: ‘to deliver my lord York 4 pieces of artillery for his intended journey’. Thanks to Zoë Maula for the source.
43 NAH GRR, 191, f.94v. Trans.: ‘The aforementioned Walraven Potter, who travelled from The Hague to the island of Texel with certain private letters from KM [King Maximilian] to the person of the Duke of York lying there in order to travel to England, has presented the aforementioned letters concerning certain secret matters, of which there is no need to make any further mention here, in his [York’s] hands and then waited for his answers.’ This is the last entry for December 1495 but unfortunately does not indicate the date the bailiff was sent to Texel. It is impossible for York to be on Texel in December 1495 as his presence in Scotland on 20 November 1495 seems confirmed: Thomas Dickson et al. (eds), ‘Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland’, Scottish Records Series, 1877 (Edinburgh, 1877–1978), Vol. 1, 1473–98. E.g. see p. 256 of f.71a–79a: ‘Expens made apone the Kingis Persoun sen the last compt in Striueling, guhilk wes the xviij day of Nouember, in the jere of God j””iiijlxxxxv jeria’; also p. 263, f.82 a.b.: ‘Expens maid apone Prince Richard of England and his seruitos, fra his cumin in Scotland, quhilk wes the xxviij day of Nouember, in the jere of God j””iiijlxxxxv jeris; apud Striueling.’ This may possibly be a clerical mistake, i.e., a ‘forgotten’ entry, for which there was no place on the proper page (the 2nd half of June 1495), which the clerk added afterwards to a page that had enough blank space (thus ensuring his account book could be closed correctly).
44 See part of map of Texel made by Jan Scorel in 1551, giving a unique general view of the site shortly before 1500. On the left side above can be seen the exact sheltered place where York’s fleet was waiting.
45 For Jacob van Barry, see note 29.
46 Obermann & Schoorl, ‘Edward IV op Texel’, pp. 11 and 12. In September 1539, King Henry VIII sent two shipmasters, Richard Couche and John Aborough, to explore the route via Marsdiep, along Texel to Zuiderzee, for the conveyance of his bride-to-be, Anna van Cleef (Cleves) from Harderwijk. The notes and chart made are preserved, see Alwyn Ruddock, The Earliest Original English Seaman’s Rutter and Pilot’s Chart (Cambridge University Press, 2010), online at The Journal of Navigation: www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-navigation/article/abs/earliest-original-english-seamans-rutter-and-pilots-chart/0222E55BDE7070B2DD9ABF39D48E9AFA.
47 See the map on p. 14 for map of Holland.
48 Thanks to Alfred Schweitzer (note 36) and Jean Roefstra, historical archaeologist at Stichting Historische Archeologie, for help in finding information about York’s stay in Haarlem and Beverwijk, May–June 1495.
49 Aside from Thiry, see note 7.
16. The Family of Edward V and Richard, Duke of York
1 Mancini, pp. 49, 51, 55.
2 Maligned King, pp. 40–41.
3 David, ‘Ludlow and the Woodvilles’, op. cit, pp. 6–10.
4 David, op. cit., p. 9; Orme, p. 124. For the Prince of Wales’ Household Ordinances, revised in 1483, see Protector & Constable, pp. 95–100.
5 Protector & Constable, pp. 48–49.
6 Heralds’ Memoir, pp. 120–21.
7 Mancini, p. 53.
8 David, op. cit., p. 10.
9 See Mancini, p. 55, for Grey ‘come out to the king from the city’; p. 59 for ‘wagons loaded with arms bearing the devices of the queen’s brothers and sons’.
10 Early Historians, p. 119: Rous, Historia (c. 1490).
11 Mancini, p. 65. The Crowland author (p. 161), who is resolutely anti-northern, remarks ‘without any form of trial’. Surprisingly for an English chronicler (perhaps typically for his prejudices), he fails to mention Gloucester’s judicial powers as Constable of England or his right to deputise Northumberland.
12 The Memorandum Book of Roger Machado (College of Arms, MS Arundel 51, f.19–28), compiled 1484, 1485. Trans.: ‘Memorandum that I left the city of Bruges to go to My Lord Jacques de Luxembourg and My Lady of Mans in the service of my aforementioned Lord, My Lord the Marquis the second day of February 1484 [1485 New Style].’ Also: ‘Item, My Lord the Marquis instructed me to travel for x [10] days on horseback with his messages from the city of Bruges to the city of Lan in Lanoy and to the castle of Porsnay -j lb. xiij s iiij d.’ Jacques de Luxembourg, Lord of Richebourg, Viscount of Lannoy (1426–87) was great-uncle of the princes and uncle to Elizabeth Woodville (her mother’s brother). She was seemingly on good terms with him; he had led an embassy from the Burgundian Netherlands to England in 1465 for her coronation. Nathalie Nijman-Bliekendaal, TMPP Research Report, 6.12.20. See note 58.
13 C.L. Kingsford, DNB.
14 DNB: Dorset was apprehended for Tudor by Humphrey Cheney.
15 PROME, Rosemary Horrox (item 44 [49]). Dorset, though not summoned to the Parliament, had his attainder reversed, with the petition probably in the second session, 23 January–March 1486: Rot. Parl., vi, pp. 315–16. However, a punitive proviso denied exemption from the Act of Resumption and he was restored only to lands acquired through inheritance or marriage.
