POLITICAL HISTORY 



his patrimony and found a crown. ' In consideration of his services at the 

 king's advent ' he was rehabilitated in the dignity of the earldom of Suffolk, 1 

 with the lands which had belonged to the UfFords. He was now definitely 

 Lancastrian, and round him collected the adherents of that party, as did the 

 Yorkists round March and Norfolk. The Lancastrians were fairly numerous : 2 

 Sir Edward Hastings, Sir William Clopton of Kentwell Hall, Sir William de 

 Elmham, Sir John Heveningham, Sir William Argentein, Sir Roger Drury, 

 John Burgh, Robert de Peyton, Thomas Hethe, and others. Sir Thomas 

 Erpyngham was given the custody of the castle and manor of Framlingham 

 during the minority of the earl of Nottingham, Norfolk's heir, while the 

 earl of Suffolk received the lordship of the honour of Eye. The death of 

 the young earl of Nottingham in 1405 for conspiracy against Henry IV 

 confirmed the de la Pole influence. The earl of Suffolk died at the siege of 

 Harfleur in September, 141 5/ and the following month his heir, who had 

 tried to unite both county factions by his marriage with Elizabeth Mowbray, 

 was killed at Agincourt. 4 The earldom devolved on William the brother of 

 the last earl. For seventeen years he served his country abroad, and saw the 

 gradual shrinkage of the Anglo-French possessions. His long absence and his 

 unfortunate reputation damaged his county influence, which was almost 

 swamped by those of March and Norfolk combined. They were constantly 

 clashing : where one oppressed the other championed. 



Here is an example in point. A certain esquire of Suffolk called 

 John Lyston 5 recovered 700 marks in the assize of novel disseisin against 

 Sir Robert Wingfield of Letheringham. Sir Robert, to evade payment, had 

 Lyston outlawed for some offence in Nottinghamshire, so that all his goods 

 and chattels became forfeit to the crown. Then the duke of Norfolk was 

 granted that 700 marks as part of his arrears of pay for service on the 

 Scots marches. This the duke released to Sir Robert Wingfield, who went 

 quit of his debt. The duke of Suffolk took the matter up warmly. But 

 while he championed Lyston old Sir John Fastolf in Lothingland complained 

 bitterly of his exactions. 6 Suffolk had been governor of Normandy, and the 

 responsibility of its loss was thrown on his shoulders. Now Fastolf had held 

 lordships in Maine, and regarded the duke as his debtor for the amount of 

 his loss. This lay lightly on the duke, who wanted to get hold of the 

 propertv of the childless old man, and by 1450 had already managed to oust 

 him from four manors valued at a rental of 200 marks, besides other 

 extortions put at 6,000 marks. 



In 1447 Suffolk was at the zenith 7 of his career, and in February his rival 

 the duke of Gloucester was arrested at the Parliament held at Bury and died 

 immediately. Preparations had been made for the stroke and soldiers had 

 been sent into the county by sea to ensure its success. Three years later, 

 Suffolk, ' the abhorred tode,' was a fugitive by Ipswich to the Continent, but 

 was intercepted at sea and beheaded on the gunwale of a boat on the Dover 

 sands. The duke of Norfolk and his uncle the duke of York now used all 

 their influence to swamp the Suffolk party. They met at Bury 16 October, 

 1450, 8 to agree upon and appoint knights of the shire of their own party. 



1 Cal. of Pat. 1 399-1401, p. 160. ' Ibid, passim. 



'Thomas of Walsingham, Hist. Angl. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 309. ' Ibid. 313. 



5 Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), 1,4.1. ' Ibid, i, 148, 358. 



7 1448 he was made duke of Suffolk. s Paston Letters (ed. Gairdner), i, 1 60-1. 



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