I 8 INTRODUCTORY'. 



it is not easy to believe that he contemplated the supcrcession 

 of Henry, till the course of events left him no choice. The 

 acts of the Coventry Parliament made the civil war inevitable, 

 the march of Margaret to the second battle of St. Alban's left 

 the English no other alternative than the deposition of the 

 House of Lancaster and the elevation of the House of York. 



No enemy of the administration, and the enemies of the 

 administration were overwhelmingly strong in the most opulent 

 districts of England, believed that Edward was the son of 

 Henry. France had revenged herself on England by giving her 

 a king who was always a child, and who became at last almost 

 an idiot. Henry had never grown up. That he was sincerely 

 pious, tender-hearted and kindly, his worst enemies admitted. 

 But his virtues were those of a good child. He was never 

 capable of public business. He was probably the only man in 

 the kingdom who was not a partisan, but this was only because 

 he was incompetent to form an opinion on any subject what- 

 ever. He was disgusted at the cruelties inflicted on offenders, 

 he was shocked at the indecent costume of the women at his 

 court, but he counted through all his life for nothing in the 

 councils of his reign. Perhaps what little wits he had were 

 flogged out of him by the savage martinet, Warwick, who was 

 his governor during childhood. It is possible that after the 

 birth of Edward, the Duke of York might have contemplated 

 so:ne such ultimate settlement as was made in the Parliament 

 of 1460, but at so early a date he would have had to reckon 

 not only with Margaret, but with the House of Beaufort. 



Speaking generally, the East of England, from Kent to the 

 Wash, and on to Yorkshire, was more hostile to the govern- 

 ment than the rest of the country. This was the wealthiest 

 part of England. It comprised London, which had grown 

 greatly in opulence during the last century, and the manufactures 

 of Norfolk. The city of Norwich was the second city in the 

 kingdom, though far behind London. Though slightly less 

 wealthy than Oxfordshire in 1453, tnc count y f Norfolk was 

 assessed at a higher rate than any other great county, Lincoln 



