Warwick the Kingmaker

This book illuminates Warwick's character and motivation, showing that he was an emotional, charming, and popular man with a strong sense of family loyalty. It is the first full study of this compelling figure within the context of political life in late medieval England.

Auteur


Michael Hicks is Professor of Medieval History at King Alfred's College, Winchester, and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He has published extensively on late medieval England and local history. His recent books include Bastard Feudalism (1995); Richard III (2000) and English Political Culture in the Fifteenth Century (2002).

Texte du rabat
Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, remains one of the most controversial personalities of fifteenth-century England. The archetypal over-mighty subject, he was the dominant figure in the dynastic revolutions at the heart of the fifteenth-century Wars of the Roses. Warwick played a pivotal role first in advancing the Yorkist cause, leading Edward IV to replace the Lancastrian Henry VI in 1461. Then, having lost influence at court, he changed sides and was reversed the process in 1470. Warwick "the Kingmaker" dominated national politics in his various roles as general, admiral, pirate, subaltern, administrator, politician, propagandist, statesman, and diplomat.

This book illuminates Warwick's character and motivation, showing that he was an emotional, charming, and popular man with a strong sense of family loyalty. It is the first full study of this compelling figure within the context of political life in late medieval England.

Contenu

Plates vii

Genealogical Tables ix

Preface x

Abbreviations xiii

1 The Legend of Warwick the Kingmaker 1

2 The Formative Years 7

2.1 Pedigree and Patrimony 7

2.2 Northern Roots 17

2.3 Shaping the Future 22

3 Earl of Warwick 31

3.1 Warwick Inheritance Update 31

3.2 Gathering the Spoils 36

3.3 Effectively Earl 48

3.4 The Warwick Traditions 53

4 The Polarization of Politics 144954 64

4.1 The Ascendancy of the Opposition 64

4.2 The Royalist Reaction 14513 75

4.3 Time for Decision 85

5 Partisan Politics 14546 94

5.1 York's First Protectorate 14545 94

5.2 The First Battle of St Albans 1455 112

5.3 York's Second Protectorate 14556 119

6 Countdown to Civil War 14569 126

6.1 Towards Reconciliation 126

6.2 Captain of Calais and Keeper of the Seas 138

6.3 The Opportunity Missed 148

6.4 Rout 159

7 Fortune's First Wheel 145961 168

7.1 Reculer pour mieux sauter 168

7.2 Warwick's Triumph 177

7.3 The Ideology of Reform 191

7.4 From Abyss to Victory 210

8 The Rule of the Nevilles 14617 220

8.1 The First Family 220

8.2 The Pacification of the North 234

8.3 Changing Priorities 248

9 Dropping the Pilot 14679 255

9.1 Growing Apart 255

9.2 Rising Tensions 14679 263

9.3 Warwick's First Coup 1469 271

10 Fortune's Second Wheel 14701 279

10.1 Warwick's Second Coup 1470 279

10.2 Warwick as Kingmaker 286

10.3 From Triumph to Disaster 14701 296

11 Terminus 311

Select Bibliography 314

Index 326