Edward declared King of England
Wherefore, the Lord of Mercy, who, our sins so requiring it,
hath oftentimes permitted the wickedness of the unrighteous
to prevail, to minister to our punishment, being desirous to put
an end to evils of so disastrous a nature, raised up for us a de-
fender in Edward, the illustrious earl of March, eldest son of the
before-named noble duke of York, lately deceased. He, being
DOW in his one-and-twentieth year, had remained in Wales
*7 Alluding to Gen. xix. 2 ).
424 COimNXyATIOBr OP fHB HI8T0EY OF CEOTLAITD. A.D. 1461.
ever since the time when his father had met his death. He
was now in the flower of his age, tall of stature, elegant in
person, of unblemished character,^^ valiant in arms, and a lineal
descendant of the illustrious line of king Edward the Third.
For his father was great-great-grandson of the most illustrious
Lionel, duke of Clarence, third son of the before-named king
Edward, and cousin in the fourth degree to the most illustrious
prince, Eichard the Second, the late king of England ; who,
on the accession of king Henry the Fourth, had been forced to
resign the crown of this kingdom. Accordingly, the nobles
of the realm, and all the people who inhabited the midland
counties of England, as well as those who were situate in the
eastern and western parts thereof, or in any way bordered
upon the midland districts, seeing that they were despised and
abandoned by king Henry, who, at the instigation of the queen,
had betaken himself to the north, utterly forsook him, after
he had completed a reign o£ thirty-nine years; and their
hearts were now no longer with him, nor would they any
longer admit of his being king. Besides, in consequence of a
malady that had been for many years increasing upon him, he
had fallen into a weak state of mind, and had for a length of
time remained in a state of imbecility and held the govern-
ment of the realm in name only. Upon this, the nobles and
people immediately sent special messengers into Wales to the
before-named earl of March, in whom they could place entire
confldence, to disclose to him the wishes . of the people, and
request him, with earnest entreaties, to hasten into England to.
their speedy succour, as further delay only seemed to increase
their perils.
Accordingly, in the year of our Lord, 1461, at the begin-
ning of March, the before-named earl of March arrived in Eng-
land, having enjoyed a prosperous voyage, the west wind
favouring his passage. Here he was immediately received with
unbounded joy by the clergj- and all the people, and especiaDy
by the citizens of London ; and, after a short time. Parlia-
ment being assembled, amid the acclamations of all he was
made king of England. However, he would not at present
allow himself to be crowned, but immediately, like unto
*B This would appear (o be rather too favourable a character for Ed-
ward the Fourth at any time of his life. The chronicler’s partiality proba*
bly limited his powers of discernment.
A.D. 1461. DEFEAT 01 THE NOBTHMEN. 425
Gideon or another of the judges,”* acting faithfully in the
Lord, girded himself with t5ie sword of battle ; and prosper-
ously hastened his steps, being met by bands of warriors innu-
merable, to avenge the injuries of the Church and the realm.
Por, as we ha^ce already stated, he was then of vigorous age,
and well fitted to endure the conflict of battle, while, at Sie
same time, he was fully equal to the management of the affairs
of the state.
From the Croyland (Crowland) Chronicle