Ertach Kernow - Cornish involvement in the Wars of the Roses
Cornwall’s involvement the Wars of the Roses during the late medieval period was not looking back on my own school days something that was readily taught in Cornish schools. Tudor history was and still is a part of the school curriculum but whether that includes the repercussions of Tudor rule on Cornwall in later centuries and the current state of affairs is unlikely.
The establishment of the house of Tudor as monarchs, then Margaret Tudor’s marriage to James IV of Scotland led to the families of Stuarts, Hanoverian’s and todays Windsor or Mountbatten-Windsor dynasties. On winning the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 Henry Tudor became king of England, Wales, Ireland and Cornwall, which was still considered a separate nation although controlled by the king. The civil war which later became known as the Wars of the Roses had its beginnings back in 1337 some 118 years before the actual start of the fighting. This was the year that King Edward III made his eldest son Edward of Woodstock, better known as the Black Prince, Duke of Cornwall. The creation of the Duchy of Cornwall saw its accrued wealth coming from much further back in time to the earldom of Cornwall, especially Richard Earl of Cornwall who amassed great wealth of land, much of which still forms a substantial part of today’s Duchy.
As always click the images for larger view
The issues which led to the Wars of the Roses was in part due to the endowments Edward III made to his other sons. Edward’s second surviving son Lionel was named as Duke of Clarence, his John his fourth child best known to history as John of Gaunt made Duke of Lancaster, Edmund the fifth son Duke of York and the youngest son William Duke of Gloucester. The descendants of these men would some three generations later merge into the houses of Lancaster and York resulting in the two houses both having kings and warring for thirty years with interspersed short periods of peace as one temporarily gained the upper hand. Cornwall was not involved as a duchy during the wars as the Duke’s of Cornwall were not persons of influence or power usually dying young. These were from 1454 Edward son of Henry VI killed in 1471 at the Battle of Tewksbury aged seventeen, Edward son of Edward IV duke between 1471 and 1483 who then became King Edward V being allegedly murdered and better known as one of the Princes in the Tower**. Finally Edward son of Richard III between 1483 and 1484 who died aged seven. There would not be another duke of Cornwall until Arthur eldest son of Henry VII in 1486, dying in 1502 aged fifteen and was succeeded by his brother who later became Henry VIII.
As with the earlier English civil war known as the Anarchy, Cornwall was involved through landowners using their Cornish assets as part of the wider conflict supporting one or other of the two warring factions. This extended conflict saw the fall and rise of some long-standing established Cornish families as they backed one side or another in this Lancastrian and Yorkist dispute. Ultimately it was those who backed the final Lancastrian winner, Henry Tudor, who saw the benefit of their support bear fruit.
A winner was the canny Richard Edgcumbe of Cotehele whose family would later acquire Mount Edgcumbe. Richard supported the Lancastrian cause and in 1471 had his land’s confiscated albeit returned to him the following year. He was incensed by the usurpation of the throne by Richard Duke of Gloucester following the death of the young Edward V and the rumours of his murder in the Tower of London, along with his younger brother. Richard joined the 1483 rebellion led by Henry Stafford, the Duke of Buckingham, against Richard III. Stafford had supported Richard as Duke of Gloucester in gaining the throne and is often considered a culprit for the death of the ‘Princes in the Tower’. The rebellion was a failure and Stafford was caught and executed. Richard Edgcumbe made a dramatic escape following the attempt to arrest him by Sir Henry Bodrugan. Chased through the woods at Cotehele he threw his hat into the river and hid in a tree, and on seeing the hat Bodrugan’s men assumed Richard had drowned. Escaping to Brittany Richard then joined the cause of Henry Tudor and was knighted on Bosworth Field following the battle. His lands were returned to him, later gaining more from the Bodrugan estates. Sir Richard died whilst on campaign on 8th September 1489 in Morlaix, Brittany where he was buried. His tomb an extravagant affair was destroyed during the French Revolution, but a painting made prior to that hangs at Cotehele. The Chapel in the Woods at Cotehele was built by him as thanks for his escape.
One of the losers was Sir Henry Bodrugan a descendent from a long Cornish family line who over the years accumulated a sizeable landholding throughout mid and south Cornwall. At its peak, the estate amounted to sixteen manors, achieved primarily through advantageous marriages and occasional purchase. Despite being prolific during the 13th century the male line eventually died out through lack of legitimate heirs but continuing through the female line together with a change of name from Trenoweth to Bodrugan. Now to Henry, often described as a law breaker, and as Dr James Whetter stated, ‘been represented as the scourge of late 15th century Cornwall’. Henry backed the Yorkist cause and was knighted by Edward IV continuing to support Richard III through to Richard’s death at Bosworth Field in 1485. Following the accession of the Lancastrian Henry Tudor as king there was an opportunity for his Cornish rival Sir Richard Edgcumbe to take revenge on Henry for Bodrugan’s pursuit of him in 1483. As he aged Henry had for some years maintained a far more respectable life, but in 1487 on charges of treason an arrest warrant was issued by Henry VII and Edgcumbe with an armed troop moved in to carry it out. Henry together with his illegitimate son John Beaumont made a dash and leapt over the nearby cliff escaping on a boat to Ireland. His land’s were forfeit and absorbed into the Edgcumbe holdings. Henry died around 1490 and that was the end of the Cornish Bodrugan family. No doubt there are still many descendants through female lines throughout the world. Henry’s lasting memorial is the name of the cliff from which he jumped, now still known as Bodrugan’s Leap.
The Arundell family one of Cornwall’s oldest recognised families having obtained Cornish lands during the 12th century after those recognised in Domesday from Dorsetshire and Somersetshire and later Devonshire. Their Cornish powerbase was in St Mawgan in Pydar, and this Arundell line is known as that of Lanherne. Sir John Arundell who died in 1473 had become the richest free tenant in Cornwall and the family had attained a great deal of power besides wealth. Having been knighted by the Yorkist King, Edward IV in 1465 he raised an army in Cornwall and fought at the battle of Tewksbury in 1471 for the Lancastrians, who were defeated. Although his lands were not forfeited there was a large fine of 6000 marks (£4,000). John’s son Thomas was accepted back into the Yorkist fold and was knighted by Richard III in July 1483. However once again he moved back to the Lancastrian cause taking part in the rebellion of October 1483 and was attainted in January 1484 fleeing to join Henry Tudor in Brittany. Thomas must have been confused due to having, like many Cornish families, close relatives with a foot in both Yorkist and Lancastrian camps. After fighting for Henry Tudor at Bosworth Field, Sir Thomas died shortly afterwards in October 1485 not seeing the attainder of his lands reversed the following November. Apart from the fine on Sir John Arundell the equivalent of some £3 million today the Arundell’s retained their landholdings and authority. This would come crashing down with the Reformation during Henry VIII’s reign.
Cornwall has often been described as a quasi-palatinate from its inception in 1337. Although the Duke of Cornwall does not rule the region as in the medieval dukedom palatinates of Chester, Lancaster and the bishopric of Durham many of the rights associated with a palatinate were and still are held by the duchy. Stewardship of the duchy lies with the Duke of Cornwall, currently Duke William. However, During a period when there is no male heir, the rights and responsibilities of the Duchy of Cornwall revert to the Crown. Also, if the Duke of Cornwall has not come of age an alternative steward would be required. During the period of the Wars of the Roses this stewardship came into contention between two powerful families from Devon and it has been suggested that this dispute had a sizable influence on the wider conflict. Stewardship of the Duchy of Cornwall was both profitable and asserted much influence thus very desirable and the source of the conflict between the Bonville and Courtnay families for control. With the swinging power struggle between the rival Yorkist and Lancastrian families this localised dispute exemplified the lawless nature of Cornwall and wider southwest England where a power vacuum and strong government at the top was lacking. Following a battle and skirmishes the whole affair ended with the deaths of the main protagonists. This was a Devonshire affair, but with a struggle for power in Cornwall at its core.
**Ertach Kernow received an interesting email from a Bude & Stratton Post reader from Bude relating to this article. She pointed out the controversy regarding the alleged murder of the 'Princes in the Tower' which may not have taken place as discussed in the recent book by by Philippa Langley ('The Princes in the Tower') and featured on television with ITV. Certainly Richard III has had bad press through the Tudor dynasty propaganda machine and more recently new and reappraised evidence has shown him to have been an able and efficient ruler and not necessarily the murderous evil man portrayed by the Tudors and as still taught in schools today. The Tudors were certainly no friends to the Cornish people and it's about time people understood the damage this upstart dynasty did to Cornwall and its culture
Our ongoing Cornish Place Names project promoting knowledge about the Cornish language names of Kernow's towns, villages and places. Downloadable poster and audio pronunciation is available via this link to 'Stone Castles'. Click image to access.
![CPN - Week [008] Stone Castles](https://www.cornwallheritage.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CPN-Week-008-StoneCastles1-Instagram-300x300.jpg "CPN - Week [008] Stone Castles")
