The House of Neville Story -- Primary Text -- Richard III -- Skidmore -- November 30, 2023

My notes. See this post for the genealogy of Sir Henry Neville (Shakespeare).

The "real" Shakespeare and Sir Henry Neville -- incredibly fascinating.

When one learns it is / was Sir Henry Neville who wrote the plays, the search for his family during the Wars of the Roses becomes fascinating.

It would be great to see a book written with the focus on the Neville family and the Woodville family - technically it's all there -- particularly in Chris Skidmore's biography of Richard III (2017) and wikipedia -- but somehow not clearly printed out.

So, for awhile, I'm going to go through the Neville and Woodville family trees. 

Wikipedia: so much of the Wars of the Wars can be traced back to huge "fight between the Percy family and the Woodville family." In fact, I think it was the feud between the Nevilles and the Woodvilles. Maybe early on some animosity between the Percys and the Nevilles but in the big scheme of things it was between the Nevilles and the Woodvilles.

There is a feud between the Percy family early on and the Neville family, but the Percy family seems to disappear and the Nevilles take center stage. So, we'll see. 

******

The Nevilles -- wiki now has a page called "House Of Neville." Referencing the "Wars of Roses," wiki says the "Nevilles played a central role in the Wars of Rose along with their rival, the House of Percy."

In Skidmore's index -- Percy has several entries -- index -->

Northumberland, Henry Percy, earl of --

In wiki -- Northumberland -- a ceremonial county -- NE England --

ceremonial counties: lord-lieutenants
shrieval counties: high-sheriffs

Northumberland -- farthest north (on east of the island) of the English counties -- borders Scotland to the north. North and west: Cumbria.

Northumberland --> Tyne and Wear / Durham --> North Yorkshire (north to south)

Just west of North Yorkshire: Lancashire.

One can already see Yorkists vs Lancasters.

Four Yorkshire counties:

• North Yorkshire: 80%
• West Yorkshire: 8%
• East Riding of Yorkshire: 8%
• South Yorkshire: 4%

Northumberland -- least densely populated county in England.

Most of county is north of Hadrian's Wall.

Celtic Christianity -- particularly the tidal island of LINDISFARNE.

North of the Humber Estuary.

HENRY PERCY -- 6th Earl of Northumberland (1502 - 1537)

• military officer of the north
• betrothed to Anne Boleyn -- had to give her up to King Henry VIII
• served as a page in Thomas Wolsey's household -- bishop --> almoner --> Archbishop of York
• pretty much ran the state's affairs alongside Henry VII
  
• knighted in 1519
• 1537 -- well after Wars of the Roses -- Henry VIII's era

So, we go back to the 5th Earl

• still too recent -- was in the courts of Henry VII and VIII
• family survived the Wars of the Roses and ended up in courts of Henry VII and VIII

1489: 5th earl succeeded the 4th Earl

• Here we go. The 4th Earl -- Wars of the Roses
• 1449 - 1489 (contemporary of Richard Plantagenet, b. 1460)
• and married Cecily Neville
• so, this would have been of interest to Shakespeare -- a family member, a Neville, marrying into future royalty
  

So, who was the 4th Earl? During the Wars of the Roses?

The Father of the 4th Earl of Northumberland:

• 1st cousin to Edward IV, Richard III and many others
• 2nd cousin to Earl of Warwick (the Kingmaker)
• loyal to House of Lancaster
• see wiki -->
• his wife: Maud Herbert -- first betrothed to Henry of Richmond who would usurp the throne in 1485 and become King Henry VII -- WOW!
  

The Northumberland Earldom was "re-created" numerous times.

• 4th Earl -- killed in Battle of Towton, 1461 -->
• see wiki Battle of Towton
• Henry VI weak, mentally unstable; opportunity for nobles to scheme for control
• Beaufort relatives and Queen Margaret of Anjou (Lancaster) vs Henry's cousin, Richard, Duke of York 
  
• Earldom of Northumberland --> forfeited to the victorious Yorkists
• to keep the peace, parliament named York as Henry's successor (when he died), but the Queen (and Lancaster allies) would not accept the "disinheritance" of her son
• Queen (and Lancaster) raised an army to defeat and kill Richard and his son Edmund at Wakefield, December, 1460
• but York's son and heir Edward (one of three brothers) denounced Henry, declared himself king, took the throne after decisive win at Battle of Towton ("might makes right")
  
• adolescent Percy (5th Earl) --> to the Tower, 1464
  

1465: John Nevill was named Earl of Northumberland in his place.

• leading partisan in the English Wars of the Roses
• son of Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury and the brother of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, the "Kingmaker."
  

Battle of Tewkesbury, 1471:

King Edward IV and his forces loyal to the House of York completely defeated those of the rival House of Lancaster. The Lancastrian heir to the throne, Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, and many prominent Lancastrian nobles were killed during the battle or executed. The Lancastrian king, Henry VI, who was a prisoner in the Tower of London, died shortly after the battle, perhaps murdered. Tewkesbury restored political stability to England until the death of Edward IV in 1483.

5th Earl of Northunberland / Percy -- got his lands and title back -- with the help of Edward IV -- 1473
he was an adolescent during the Battle of Towton where his Yorkist father fell

Battle of Bosworth: where Richard III was killed

• 5th Earl / Percy -- on side of Richard III but never committed his troops to battle --> led to Richard III's defeat
• Percy and Ralph Neville: arrested for treason -- Ralph's father a Lancasterian -- killed at Battle of Towton
• ultimately the Percys become part of the court of Edward IV
• King Richard II -- granted him Somerset and Berkshire

So, Percy and Neville families adversaries though both were Lancasterians (?) -- earls of Northumberland.

So, the Neville family very much involved in the Wars of the Roses -- obviously just one of many knights -- but still close to Edward IV, Henry VII, and Henry VIII -- remember -- 6th Earl betrothed to Anne Boleyn1!!

So wiki says Percy family along with Nevilles -- adversaries during the Wars of the Roses -- in fact, Nevilles and Woodvilles a biggers tory -- we will see how Skidmore deals with it

So, for Shakespeare (Sir Henry Neville) family stories all the way back to Percy and Neville -- Battle of Bosworth where Richard III was killed -- and thus the two also involved with Henry VI.

So, Sir Henry Neville -- looking at family history -- Ralph Neville -- Battle of Bosworth.

SHN would ask -- how was Neville family related to Royalty?

Starts with Edward III r. 1327 - 1377

Edward III; after Edward III the lineage for the throne --

• son Edward, the Black Prince, d. 1376 (note, his father, the king, outlived him by a year)
  
• son of the Black Prince, Richard II, reigned 1377 - 99 when his grandfather the king died
• Edward III's second son, Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, 1338 - 1368 -- again, died before his father died
• third son was John of Gaunt (Ghent) but by this time, Edward III's grandson still alive and next in line, so grandson of Edward III becomes King Richard II, and John of Gaunt (1340 - 1399) doesn't become king, but heirs still in line and major player in Wars of the Roses and oldest son of Gaunt does become King (Richard II)
• King Richard III did not take his name "Richard III" from Richard II; rather, his given name was Richard which he kept and thus became Richard III.
  

But this explains how Richard III became the third -- Richard II was King Edward's grandson

Richard II r. 1377 - 1399 and most remarkably John of Gaunt also died 1399, and next in line was his son Henry IV r. 1399 - 1413 took the throne ...  

... but before we move on .... 
prior to Edward III: very convoluted history, English and French kings ruling England
then things start to settle down with Edward III
Edward III lives long and his grandson Richard II becomes king after grandfather Edward III dies
Richard II dies (natural / poison) and next in line was another grandson of Edward, this time the son of Edward III's son John of Gaunt
John of Gaunt's son was a Henry, so Henry IV -- why Henry 4th -- have to go through that convoluted history before Edward III
then Henry IV --> Henry V --> Henry VI --> and the the Wars of the Roses between Henry VI (Lancaster) and the Yorkists -- particularly Edward IV.

The question, of course, what made the Yorkists think they had priority to throne over Henry VI?
Henry VI frail, mentally unsound; gave opportunity for any noble to scheme for throne and come up with excuse he was entitled to it.

So, although John of Gaunt did not become king, his son did become king (King Henry IV)  and that kept the line going -- Henry IV -- Henry V -- and then Henry VI. 

Now that we have that background, we can begin notes on Skidmore's bio of Richard III.

Gaunt died in 1399 -- his widow Katherine Swynford marries a Beaufort and that brings the Beauforts into the Lancasterian circle ... but a granddaughter Beaufort, Lady Margaret Beaufort marries Edmund Tudor whose son become Henry VII (House of Tudor)
Edmund Tudor is son of Owen Tudor and Catherine (French nobility) whose first husband was Henry V, d. 1422 and his sickly, frail, mentally unstable son Henry VI becomes king
bloodline
John of Gaunt --> no blood line to the Beauforts; only related through marriage
John of Gaunt --> bloodline to first son of first wife --> Henry IV --> Henry V --> Henry VI
wife (French) of Henry V remarries when Henry V dies and with Owen Tudor begets two sons, Jasper and Edmund
back to the Beauforts -- married into the royal family, but no bloodline
Lady Margaret Beaufort marries Edmund Tudor, and son is Henry VII (House of Tudor)

The Kingmaker -- Earl of Warwick -- A Neville -- this alone may be the reason Shakespeare started with history of Henry VI! What a fascinating story. An ancestor was known as the "Kingmaker" -- the Kingmaker, a Neville. One assumes Brenda James knows that history very, very well, and knew how big a deal Sir Henry Neville really was ...

The Kingmaker -- Earl of Warwick -- no bloodline to Edward III (or later) but starts with Ralph Neville, whose second wife was a Beaufort. He and Joan Beaufort beget Richard and Robert Neville and Cecily
Cecily, of course, marries Richard, Duke of York, parents of Edward IV (three brothers) and another sister Eleanor marries a Despenser, and then the Earl of Northumberland
the Kingmaker, Richard, Earl of Warwick and wife beget Isabel (m. Clarence) and Anne (m. Richard III)

So, to recap:
we have the Edward III family (royalty bloodline)
Beaufort women marry into Edward's bloodline (Lancaster)
Neville women marry into Edward's bloodline (York) -- two Neville women -- daughters of the Kingmaker
Woodville (lucky; Elizabeth Woodville, second marriage, to Edward IV -- beget Elizabeth who marries Henry VII -- but this Elizabeth is well after the three brothers (Edward, Clarence, Richard)

 *****

Edward III

• first son --> king
• that first grandson has no male heirs, nor does the second son of Edward III
• so, we go all the way to the right (Gaunt, son of Edward III) but he dies, so it's his son who becomes king, Henry IV
• so in succession, two grandsons of Edward III become king

• Henry IV (son of John of Gaunt, grandson of Edward III)
  
• Henry V
• Henry VI

Non-royalty:
    Percy / Nevilles: side story
    inside the court during the Wars of the Roses:
        Neville girls marry into Lancaster side of family
        Beaufort girls marry into Lancaster side of family
        Woodville girl -- a granddaughter -- marries into House of Tudor (Henry VII)

*******************************
Wars of the Roses
1455 - 1487

Began during reign of Henry VI who had been on throne for 33 years
pretty much ended with death of Richard III -- 1485 -- killed at Battle of Bosworth
officially ended 1487 during reign of Henry VII -- a Tudor

As we go forward with the notes, need to keep track of all the Nevilles that were involved one way or the other in Wars of the Roses -- 1455 - 1487.

1455: began during the reign of Henry VI who had bee on the throne for 33 years.

Henry VI: r. 1422 - 1461 (almost 40 years), then a gap (Edward IV -- 1461 - 1470)
                r. 1470 - 1471 (then Edward IV again, 1471 - 1483.

Richard III: 1483 - 1485
Henry VII: 1485 -- 1506 (so Henry VII ended the Wars of the Roses at Battle of Bosworth where Richard III killed)

Now, back to Skidmore's book again

Part I: Brothers
Chapter 1: Sons of York

Title suggests we will learn about the three brothers (Edward, Clarence/George, and Richard), sons of Richard Plantaganet and Cecily Neville (duchy of York)

Reminder:

• Henry VI: 1422 - 1461 -- Lancaster
• Edward IV: 1461 - 1470 -- Yorkist
• Henry VI (again): 1470 - 1471; his son Edward killed in 1471 (Battle of Tewkesbury, age 17) -- Lancaster; Henry VI died right after the battle, perhaps poisoned.
• Edward IV: 1471 - 1483 -- Yorkist
• Richard III: 1483 - 1485 -- Edward IV's brother -- Yorkist
• Henry VII: House of Tudor
• Henry VIII: House of Tudor

a