: Stephen David
: Last Champion of York Francis Lovell, Richard III's Truest Friend
: Robert Hale Non Fiction
: 9780719828256
: 1
: CHF 25.60
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: Mittelalter
: English
: 240
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Between 1483 and 1485 Viscount Francis Lovell was one of the most important and influential men in the government of his childhood friend Richard III, becoming the King's Chamberlain and a Knight of the Garter. Lovell continued to support a Ricardian claim to the throne long after Richard III's death at Bosworth, and his elusive presence cast a dark shadow over the early years of Henry VII's reign. He became Henry VII's most persistent and dangerous enemy, orchestrating an assassination attempt on the new king. He was also architect of an international conspiracy that sought to replace Henry with a Ricardian pretender known as 'Lambert Simnel', which culminated in the battle of Stoke in 1487, the last true battle in the Wars of the Roses. Following Stoke, Lovell disappears from historical record and his fate is a mystery to this day. The eighteenth-century discovery at Minster Lovell of the skeletal remains of a medieval man in a sealed vault possibly reveals the final resting place of Francis Lovell - the last champion of York.An historical account of the mystery surrounding Francis Lovell, the childhood friend of Richard III.Francis Lovell was one of the most influential men in the Government of Richard III.Of great interest to all historians and students of medieval history, Middle Ages and the Wars of the Roses.Illustrated with a 4 page colour section of 10 photographs.Stephen Davis has a degree in History and an MA in Medieval History - and has lectured widely on the Wars of the Roses.

Stephen David is a senior lecturer in adult education; he has a degree in History and an MA in Medieval History. He has lectured widely on the Wars of the Roses, often focusing on those figures upon whom the spotlight of history has yet to shine. He has published articles in journals such as The Ricardian and for the Towton Battlefield Society.

3 THE BOSOM OF YORK:
THE DE LA POLE CONNECTION

A commodity to be bargained

THE YEAR 1471 WAS a precarious one for Francis Lovell. Now sixteen, he would have been deemed old enough to take his place on the field of arms and, although still very young, he would have been viewed with some suspicion by the returning regime and his loyalty severely questioned. Francis, from Edward IV’s perspective, was doubly guilty by association: firstly, as a member of Warwick’s household, under his influence and tutelage; secondly, by virtue of his marriage to Anne Fitzhugh, whose father, Lord Fitzhugh, had acted as Warwick’s deputy in the north of England since 1464. Lord Fitzhugh had been clearly implicated in treasonous activities in 1469 and had been a dependable supporter of Warwick throughout the Readeption of Henry VI. Francis was to learn early in life the words of Lord Blount: ‘be not great about kings for it is dangerous’. Having basked in the companionship of the great of the land, Francis Lovell would soon discover that the wheel of fortune could bring one down as well as raise one up. 

It was probably the activities of Francis’ father-in-law, Henry, Lord Fitzhugh (whose need was, after all, far greater than that of the youthful Francis), that required a general pardon for his family on 10 September 1471, issued at Westminster:

General pardon … to Henry Fitzhugh, knight of Fitzhugh and his wife Alice, Francis Lovell, son and heir of John Lovell knight and Anne Lovell, his wife, Richard Nevill, son of George Nevill, knight, Richard Fitzhugh, George Fitzhugh, Edward Fitzhugh, Thomas Fitzhugh, and John Fitzhugh, sons of the same Henry, Elizabeth Fitzhugh daughter of the same Henry, Joan Lovell and Frideswide, sisters of the same Frideswide.1

It is interesting to note that even at this early age Francis is given such prominence behind his father-in-law, an already existing peer, and is accorded a higher precedence than Fitzhugh’s sons. The government of Edward IV clearly recognized Francis’ potential status at an early stage. It is also interesting that the pardon is extended to Francis’ two sisters who, like him, were orphaned and now residing with him in the north. It does not need to be said that there is no suggestion whatsoever that the Lovell sisters were in any way implicated in Warwick’s activities, but it was as well in the circumstances to look to the future and ensure no further repercussions occurred that could blight their future marriage prospects.

After the crushing of both the Nevills and the Lancastrians and weathering the storm of the previous two years, the government of Edward IV began to impose a new political settlement on the realm. This meant a redistribution of the offices, lands and prerequisites that had been held by the Nevills and a new round of rewards for the supporters of the king. This process began in the spring of 1471 in a way that had direct implications on Francis’ patrimony. On 20 April 1471, Humphrey Blount, who had not come out in rebellion with Warwick in 1470, was rewarded with the office of receiver of Lovell’s lordship of Acton Burnell in Shropshire and all other substantial Lovell lands in the county. A month later, on 23 May, John Lythyngton was appointed as a receiver for the whole of John, Lord Lovell’s estates, the grant stipulating that the estates were now ‘in the king’s hands by the minority of Francis his son and heir’. An appraisal of the value of the Lovell inheritance was undertaken by an experienced treasury official and a major redi