The Origins of Conflict 1450–1459 (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes

The Uneasy Peace

📌 Uneasy Peace of 1455 – 1458

After the Battle of St Albans

• York's second protectorate begins
• Because his main concern was gov reform he did not prevent inheritance of titles after the deaths of Lord Clifford, Somerset, and Northumberland by Henry Beaufort (Somerset), John Clifford, and Henry Percy (Northumberland)
• York's protectorate ended in 1456 as Henry recovers from his mental illness

Battle of St Albans

The Loveday

• The 'Loveday' celebrations in 1458 were a public attempt to reconcile factional differences demonstrated at the Battle of St Albans.
• The demonstration of harmony was short-lived. By 1459, Henry VI, convinced by Margaret and her new ally, Humphrey Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, and the sons of those killed at the Battle of St Albans, believed that York was plotting to seize the throne.
• 24th March 1458 Henry VI tried to reconcile the two factions with negotiations after the first battle of St Albans
• Both parties turned up with large numbers of retainers
• York brought 400, Salisbury 500, and Warwick 600
• Somerset had 800 men
• Northumberland, his brother Lord Egremont, and Lord Clifford brought 1500 men
• York was to pay Somerset 5000 marks
• Warwick was to pay Clifford 1000 marks
• Lord Egremont had to provide a 4000-mark bond and promise to keep peace with the Neville family for 10 years

After the Loveday

• Autumn of 1458: Earl of Warwick involved in a brawl at court that was suspected to have been an assassination attempt
• In government, men closely associated with the queen were put in positions of authority
• By 1459, clear lines had been drawn
• After 1460 it had become a political game of removing the king himself, rather than just replacing his ministers
• 23rd September 1459: Battle of Blore Heath – Salisbury defeats Audley and Dudley
• 12th to the 13th of Oct 1459: The rout at Ludford – Yorkist leaders desert and flee to Ireland (York) and Calais (The Nevilles)
• 10th July 1460: the Battle of Northampton
• October 1460: York lays claim to the throne in Parliament; created Lord Protector and heir to Henry VI in the Accord
• 30th Dec 1460: Battle of Wakefield; deaths of York and Salisbury
• 2nd to the 3rd of Feb 1461: Battle of Mortimer's Cross; Edward, Duke of York, defeats Welsh Lancastrians
• 17th Feb 1461: Second Battle of St Albans; Margaret defeats the Earl of Warwick
• 4th March 1461: Edward IV's reign commences
• 29th March 1461: Battle of Towton ends in Lancastrian defeat