The Brothers York by Thomas Penn

Author:Thomas Penn [Penn, Thomas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2019-10-02T16:00:00+00:00

14

War Outward

In November 1474, in a tent outside the Rhine city of Neuss, the Burgundian chamberlain Olivier de la Marche was putting the finishing touches to a document written at the special request of Edward IV. Winter was coming on and de la Marche, intimately involved with English affairs over the years, was probably grateful for something to do. That summer Charles the Bold, spotting an opportunity to further his glorious vision of a greater Burgundy, had marched his army east into the Rhineland. He headed towards Cologne, whose ruler had appealed to him for military aid against rebels who had taken control of the city. The nearby city of Neuss was also in rebel hands, and Charles decided to target it first; a less daunting proposition, it would provide an easy and morale-boosting win, a statement of intent – or so Charles thought. Having laid siege to Neuss at the end of July, he was still there four months later, having failed to make a dent in the city’s defences. Louis XI, who was doing everything he could to distract Charles from joining forces with the English, was delighted. Edward, deep into the preparations for his French campaign, was not. Charles needed a nudge. That autumn, the victualler of Calais, William Ross – the man responsible for stockpiling and maintaining weaponry as well as supplies – had written to de la Marche on the orders of his superior Lord Hastings, with a special request from the English king.1

De la Marche was a master of organization. Having overseen the elaborate ceremonial of Charles’s marriage to Edward’s sister Margaret back in 1468, he had since supervised a complete overhaul of the Burgundian ducal household. Now, its shimmering glamour was underlaid by iron discipline: it was a well-oiled fighting machine. As Edward prepared his French campaign, he wanted a blueprint to follow. Edward had, of course, fought many battles in England, but these had been brief, often hasty mobilizations. Invading France was of a different order of magnitude: barely anybody now remembered the last time it had been done, by Henry V more than half a century ago. Edward’s request had another purpose: a reminder to Charles that he, at least, was getting on with the invasion plans, it carried the implicit suggestion that the Burgundian duke might like to start doing the same.

That November, de la Marche sent Ross his Estat de la maison du duc Charles de Bourgogne, an ordinance detailing the Burgundian household in all its spectacular military precision, and the expense involved. It was, perhaps, a reassuring indication that Edward remained in Charles’s mind. That winter, though, as the Burgundian army slowly froze at Neuss, Edward might have been forgiven for wondering how long Charles was going to stay there.2

Meanwhile, Edward was busy. Through the summer and autumn of 1474, he recruited the bulk of the thirteen thousand archers Parliament had promised to fund, their captains signing detailed indentures covering everything from muster details to the division of spoils.

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