Izmail State Liberal Arts University
Ukrainian ministry of Higher education
The chair of English Philology
Report
The House of York
Written by
2nd year student
English-German department
Of Faculty of Foreighn
Languahes
Elena Blindirova
Izmail, 2004
House of York royal house of England, deriving its name from the creation
of Edmund of Langley, fifth son of Edward III, as duke of York in 1385. The
claims to the throne of Edmund's grandson, Richard, duke of York, in
opposition to Henry VI of the house of Lancaster (see Lancaster, house of),
resulted in the Wars of the Roses (see Roses, Wars of the), so called
because the badge of the house of York was a white rose, and a red rose was
later attributed to the house of Lancaster. Richard's claim to the throne
came not only from direct male descent from Edmund, but also through his
mother Anne Mortimer, great-granddaughter of Lionel, duke of Clarence, who
was the third son of Edward III. The royal members of the house of York
were Edward IV, Edward V, and Richard III. The marriage of the Lancastrian
Henry VII to Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Edward IV, united the houses of
York and Lancaster. Henry was the first of the Tudor kings.
The representatives of the House of York
Edmund, 1st Duke of York, 1341–1402
Named Edmund of Langley after the manor where he was born, he was the
fifth son of Edward III and Queen Philippa. Created Earl of Cambridge in
1362, he joined his brother John, Duke of Lancaster (John of Gaunt) in his
wars against Castile. In 1372, he married his first wife, Isobel, younger
daughter of Peter, King of Castile and Lйon, while her elder sister married
John. They had three children: Edward Plantagenet, 2nd Duke of York;
Constance of York, Countess of Gloucester, and Richard, Earl of Cambridge.
Created Duke of York by Richard II in 1385, he retired from public life
after Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster, seized the crown from Richard
II. After the death of Isobel in 1394, he married Joan, daughter of Thomas
Holland, Earl of Kent.
His arms were: Quarterly, France ancient and England, over all a label of
three points argent each point charged with three torteaux; and his crest
on a cap of maintenance gules turned up ermine, a lion statant guardant
crowned or, gorged with a label as in the arms; on his seal, the arms are
supported by two falcons, each holding with beak and claw a long scroll,
which extends backward over body, inscribed with the motto "None other".
Edward Plantagenet, 2nd Duke of York, 1373–1415
The elder son of Edmund of Langley, he was created Earl of Rutland in
1391. Richard II made him Lord High Admiral and Warden of the Cinque Ports
and in 1397, Duke of Albemarle. In the first year of the reign of Henry IV
he became involved in a plot to assassinate the king at a tournament at
Oxford. His father went to warn the king, but Edward forestalled him by
confessing to the king himself. He lost the dukedom but was pardoned,
becoming Duke of York on his father’s death. He was killed at the battle of
Agincourt, where he led the vanguard. He died without issue and was
succeeded by his nephew Richard.
His arms were: as Lord High Admiral, Per pale, dexter, the attributed
arms of Edward the Confessor, charged overall with a label of three points;
sinister, Quarterly, France ancient and England, over all a label of five
points argent, each charged with three torteaux. After he became Duke of
Albemarle, his arms were: Quarterly, France ancient and England, over all a
label of three points gules each charged with three castles gold. As Duke
of York, they were: Quarterly France modern and England, over all a label
of York.
Constance of York, Countess of Gloucester, 1374–1416
The only daughter of Edmund of Langley, Constance was the mistress of
Edmund Holland, Earl of Kent, by whom she had a daughter named Eleanor. She
later married Thomas le Despencer, Earl of Gloucester. Two children,
Richard, Lord le Despencer, and Elizabeth le Despencer, died without issue,
but their daughter Isabel le Despencer married twice, her second husband
being Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. Their daughter, Anne Beauchamp,
married Richard Neville (The Kingmaker), who thus became Earl of Warwick.
Constance bore the arms of her father, Edmund of Langley, impaled by
those of her husband, which were: Quarterly, first and fourth, or, three
chevronels gules; second and third, Quarterly, argent and gules, a fret or,
overall a bendlet sable.
Richard, Earl of Cambridge, 1376–1415
Named Richard of Coningsburgh, after the place in Yorkshire where he was
born, the younger son of Edmund of Langley was created Earl of Cambridge in
1414. In the following year, however, he conspired with Henry, Lord Scrope,
and Sir Thomas Gray to assassinate the king, Henry V. He may have been
bribed by the French king, Charles VI, or it may have been because, in the
event of his brother-in-law Edmund, Earl of March, dying without issue, his
own son would have been next in line for the throne. The Earl of March
revealed the plot to the king, and Richard was executed.
Richard’s first wife, Anne Mortimer, was sister and afterwards heiress to
the Earl of March and to the claims of her great-grandfather, Lionel, Duke
of Clarence, second son of Edward I, thus giving her Yorkist successors a
superior claim to the throne over the House of Lancaster. Richard of
Coningsburgh’s second wife was Matilda, daughter of Thomas, Lord Clifford.
His arms were: Quarterly, France first ancient, later modern, and
England, over all a label of three points argent each charged with as many
torteaux, within a bordure argent charged with lions rampant.
Anne’s arms were: Quarterly, first and fourth, barry of six, or and
azure, on a chief of the first two pallets between two base esquires of the
second, over all an escutcheon argent; second and third, or a cross gules,
impaled with those of her husband.
Isabel, Countess of Essex, 1409–1484
Isabel was the oldest child of Richard of Coningsburgh and Anne Mortimer.
Her husband Henry Bourchier, second Earl of Eu in Normandy was created
Viscount Bourchier by Henry VI and Lord Treasurer of England. William, the
eldest of their ten children, married Anne, sister of Elizabeth Woodville.
The Bourchier arms: Quarterly, first and fourth, argent, a cross
engrailed gules, between four water bougets sable; second and third, gules,
billety and a fess or, and their crest A man’s head in profile with sable
hair and beard, ducally crowned or, with a pointed cap gules.
Richard, 3rd Duke of York, 1411–1460
Richard was the only son of Richard of Coningsburgh, and the only male,
apart from Henry IV, with an unbroken male descent from Henry III. Although
his father had been executed for treason, Henry VI restored to him the
titles Duke of York, Earl of Cambridge and Rutland. An honorable man, his
superior claim to the throne and obvious capability compared with the weak
and mentally afflicted Henry VI earned him the hatred of the Queen,
Margaret of Anjou. His wise and just rule in Ireland during 1449–1450 laid
the foundation for an Irish–Yorkist alliance which survived until after the
defeat of Richard III at Bosworth.
Made Protector of England in 1454 during Henry’s temporary insanity, he
defeated an attempt by the Queen and the Earl of Somerset to regain control
when, in 1455, along with the earls of Warwick and Salisbury, he defeated
the king’s forces at St Albans. He was made Constable of England, but the
Queen’s party regained power the following year. In 1459 the Queen felt
strong enough to to crush the Yorkist party and in October the Yorkist
forces, surrounded at Ludlow, were forced to flee. The Duke and his second
son Edmund, Earl of Rutland, fled to Ireland while Warwick and his party
went to Calais. Within a year, Warwick was back in England and in control
of London. The Duke of York returned and on October 10 laid his hand on the
empty throne in the chamber of the Lords in parliament, claiming the crown.
His bid for the throne was premature, but the Duke was eventually
recognized as heir to the throne, Prince of Wales and Protector of England.
The Queen’s party rallied once again, however, and on 30 December 1460
the Duke’s forces, issuing from Sandal Castle clashed with the Lancastrians
at Wakefield. The Duke was killed, along with his son Edmund, and their
heads were exposed on the walls of York. They were later buried at
Pontefract and then at Fotheringhay.
His arms were: Quarterly, France modern and England, over all a label of
three points each charged with three torteaux, and upon his helmet his
crest was On a chapeau gules doubled ermine, a lion statant guardant
crowned or, gorged with a label as in the arms.; the badge with which he is
particularly associated is the silver falcon and gold fetterlock, the
fetterlock open to symbolise the release of the falcon and the aspiring
hopes of gaining the crown.
Cicely Neville, Duchess of York, 1415–1495
The wife of Richard, 3rd Duke of York, Cicely Neville was the daughter of
Joan Beaufort, the youngest child of John of Gaunt and Catherine Swynford.
Her father was Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmorland. Known in her youth as
the Rose of Raby, after her birthplace, Raby Castle, she was a staunch
supporter of her husband, spending as much time with him as was possible in
that troubled age. They had eight sons and four daughters, of whom four
sons and one daughter died young.
After the tragic death of her husband and second son, Edmund, in 1460,
Cicely shortly witnessed the triumph of her eldest son Edward. She is
reported to have been outraged by his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville.
Further tragedy followed when, in 1478, Edward tired of the treacherous
behaviour of his brother Clarence and the latter died, or was killed, in
the Tower. In 1483, Edward died, and then, in 1485 her last surviving son
Richard III was killed at Bosworth. Outliving all her sons, the unfortunate
duchess lived to see many of their progeny murdered by Henry VII and the
House of York destroyed. In 1480, she became a Benedictine nun at
Berkhamsted, where she lived until her death.
Her arms were: a falcon rising, ducally gorged, bearing on its breast a
shield of arms, Per pale, dexter, Quarterly, France modern and England;
sinister, gules, a saltire argent, supported by Dexter, an antelope gorged
with a coronet; sinister a lion.
Children of Richard, Duke of York and Cicely Neville
Anne of York, Duchess of Exeter, 1439–1476
Eldest daughter of Richard, Duke of York, she was first married to the
Lancastrian Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter and Lord High Admiral. She
divorced her Lancastrian husband in 1472 and married Sir Thomas St Leger,
K.G., by whom she had a daughter, Anne, whose descendants became the earls
and later dukes of Rutland.
Her arms were: Per pale, dexter, Quarterly, France modern and England;
sinister, per fess, de Burgh and Mortimer.
Edmund of York, Earl of Rutland, 1443–1460
Edmund was born in Rouen, France, while his father was serving as
Lieutenant of France. At the age of seven, Edmund received his education at
Ludlow Castle, along with his brother Edward. When his father’s Yorkist
party fell out of favor in 1459, Edmund accompanied his father to Ireland,
where he was created Earl of Cork.
After the Yorkist victory at Northampton September 1460, he returned to
England and headed north to Sandal Castle with his father to help quell
disturbances there. Edmund was killed at the battle of Wakefield on 30
December 1460, by Lord Clifford, whose father had been killed at the battle
of St Albans. As he struck the fatal blow, Clifford allegedly cried ‘By
God’s blood, thy father slew mine and so will I do thee and all thy kin.
His arms were: Quarterly, first, Quarterly France modern and England, a
label of five points argent the two dexter points charged with lions
rampant purpure and the three sinister points each with three torteaux;
second and third, Burgh; fourth, Mortimer.
Elizabeth, Duchess of Suffolk, 1444–1503
The second daughter of Richard, Duke of York, and Cicely Neville married
John de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, whose father, William, had arranged the
marriage between Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou. John de la Pole, whose
mother, Alice, was the grand-daughter of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, took
little part in politics. The couple had seven sons, of whom the eldest was
also named John (see below). Edmund de la Pole was beheaded by Henry VIII
and the last de la Pole heir, Richard, was killed at the battle of Pavia in
1524, fighting for the French.
The arms of John de la Pole were: Quarterly, first and fourth, azure a
fess between three leopards’ faces or; second and third, argent, a chief
gules, over all a lion rampant double queued or; and his crest was An old
man’s head gules, beard and hair gold, with a jewelled fillet about the
brows.
John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln 1464?-1487
The eldest son of Elizabeth and John, Duke and Duchess of Suffolk, was
created Earl of Lincoln in 1468. He was also made a Knight of the Bath in
1475 and attended his uncle Edward IV’s funeral in April 1483. He bore the
orb at the coronation of another uncle, Richard III, in July 1483 and
became the president of the Council of the North. He was declared heir to
the throne by Richard III in the event of the death of his own son, Prince
Edward. At this time, he was also created Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and
was given the reversion to the estates of Lady Margaret Beaufort, subject
to the life interest of her third husband, Lord Stanley.
A staunch supporter of Richard III, he fought at Bosworth and survived.
The new king, Henry VII, had no wish to alienate the de la Pole family and
appointed John a justice of oyer and terminer the following year. In 1487,
he fled to Brabant and then to Ireland, where he joined the army of the
pretender Lambert Simnel. He was killed at the Battle of Stoke in June
1487. Shortly afterward, he was attainted.
He was married twice: (1) Margaret Fitzalan, daughter of Thomas, twelfth
Earl of Arundel; and (2) the daugher and heiress of Sir John Golafre. He
left no children from either marriage.
Arms of John de la Pole: Same as above during his father’s lifetime,
differenced with a label argent – or his father’s and mother’s impaled.
Edmund de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, 1472?-1513
Edmund de la Pole was born about 1472, the second son of John de la Pole,
2nd Duke of Suffolk, and Elizabeth, sister of Edward IV. In 1481 Edward IV
sent Edmund to Oxford. He was created a Knight Baronet at Richard III's
coronation. He was also present, with his father, at the coronation of
Elizabeth of York on 25 November 1487 and was frequently seen at Henry
VII's court.
His father died in 1491, and as eldest surviving son, should have
inherited the dukedom but did not, due to an Act of Attainder against his
brother John, Earl of Lincoln. By an indenture date 26 February 1493,
Edmund agreed to forego the title of duke and was created an earl. He also
had to pay Ј5,000 for the restoration of some of his lands.
In October 1492 Edmund was at the siege of Boulogne. On 9 November 1494
he was leading challenger at Westminster in a tournament which created
Henry (later Henry VIII) Duke of York.
In 1495 Edmund was appointed trier of petitions from Gascony and other
parts. He was created a Knight of the Garter in 1496. In February 1496 he
was one of the English noblemen who stood surety to Archduke Philip for the
observance of new treaties with Burgundy.
On 22 June 1496 he led a company against Cornish rebels at Blackheath.
Two years later, he was indicted at the King's Bench for murder and
received a pardon. Although he resented being arraigned (as one of royal
blood) he attended a Chapter of the Garter at Windsor in April 1499.
In July or August 1499 Edmund fled to Guisnes and then to St. Omer. Henry
VII instructed Sir Richard Guldford and Richard Hatton to return him by any
means. However, he returned to England voluntarily and was restored to
favor.
Edmund was a witness at the marriage of Arthur to Catherine of Aragon in
May 1500 and then went with Henry VII to Calis where he stayed until August
1501. He fled to Emperor Maximilian in the Tryol. Maximilian had promised
support to anyone of Edward IV's blood.
On 7 November 1501 Edmund and his supporters were proclamimed traiors at
St. Pauls Cross and was outlawed at Ipswich on 26 December 1502. He
reclaimed his dukedom. Maximilian then promised not to aid any traitors to
England (he was paid 10,000) and Edmund remained at Aix le Chappelle until
Easter 1504. In January 1504 Edmund and his brother, William and Richard,
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