March 11th 1471: At sea at last!

The route to England

King Edward and his troops had embarked onto their ships on March 2nd, but were unable to sail because the wind was against him. They remained on their ships, which must have been uncomfortable, until all was set well for England. Warkworth’s Chronicle says:

And in the secunde weke of Marche, the xlix. yere of the regne of Kynge Herry the vj, and in the x. yere of the regne of Kynge Edwarde the iiij, the same Kynge Edwarde toke his schippynge in Flaunders, and hade withe hym the Lorde Hastynges and the Lorde Say, and ix. c. of Englismenne and three hundred of Flemmynges with hande-gonnes, and sailed toward Englonde,

Philippe de Commynes says that the Duke of Burgundy had hired three or four great ships and secretly paid for fourteen well-armed Easterling (Hanseatic) boats which promised to serve him until he had crossed over to England and been there a fortnight. These would have been the hand-gunners. With Edward’s own ships there were estimated to be thirty-six in the fleet.

The numbers of men who sailed with Edward is not entirely certain. The Croyland Chronicle says that he escaped to Flanders with 2,000 men, but the same chronicle says that he returned to England with 1,500 English troops, and troops and ships provided by Charles, Duke of Burgundy. This might add up to the 2,000 men who the Arrivall says returned with him. Whatever the number, it was a small band to fight for the throne.

Among them, as well as Lord Hastings and Lord Saye, were Edward’s brother, Richard Duke of Gloucester, and his brother-in-law, Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers.

With thirty-six ships, there would be between fifty and sixty men on each ship, besides the crew and the Flemish horses which they brought with them. In a rough North Sea in March, it must have been a difficult journey.  There was much sea-sickness, including King Edward.

Expectation was not high among neutrals. The Milanese Ambassador remarked to the Duke of Milan that “It is a difficult matter to go out by the door and then try to enter by the windows. They think he will leave his skin there”.