Edward Woodville was the last Woodville with a significant reputation and he died as he had lived as a fighting man. Soldiering was very much in the Woodville tradition. His grandfather and father had been soldiers, as had two of his older brothers and they all had good reputations. Edward revelled in it. While his elder brothers Antony and John had been recognised as skilled jousters they appeared to have broader interests. Antony held a high reputation on the jousting field but was a complex man who tended to avoid the uncertainties of battle where he could. Edward actually sought out battles.
He was the youngest of the Woodville brothers. As with all of them his birth date is uncertain but it was probably c 1458. He followed in the footsteps of his father and older brothers and became a military man.
The first record that we have of him is in April 1472, when he accompanied Anthony to Brittany with 1,000 archers. There may have been little action but at the apprentice age of 16 this was his first exposure to a military campaign.
Presumably he was on hand in the following years but there was not much military engagement during Edward’s second reign. In 1478, he appeared at a tournament held to celebrate the marriage of young Richard, Duke of York, to Anne Mowbray; his horses were resplendent in cloth of gold. Later that year, and he was then 20, he was sent to Scotland to negotiate a marriage contract between the widowed Anthony Woodville and Margaret of Scotland. He was accompanied by the much more experienced John Russell, Bishop of Rochester, who was presumably the lead negotiator, while Edward was there to represent his brother’s interest. Nevertheless it was a significant posting and may signify that he could be trusted with such roles. The parties agreed a treaty with a dowry of 4000 marks to be paid by the Scottish King James and a wedding was planned for October. In the end the marriage did not come to pass as the Scots continued to raid the northern border of England and King James began to prevaricate.
Two years later in 1480, Edward Woodville was assigned the governorship of Porchester Castle. This had been under the control of Antony and it is perhaps a recognition of Edward’s growing maturity and competence that he was given this responsibility. Porchester had been an important fort since Roman times and it had been refurbished and rebuilt during the reigns of Richard II and Henry V and was gradually taking over in importance from Southampton. Portsmouth was also becoming a naval centre as activity shifted away from Southampton. Together with Carisbroke Castle, also under the command of Antony Woodville, Porchester formed a key defence for the south coast. As commander of Porchester and governor of Portsmouth Edward was now able to learn about maritime matters.
That year he was sent to Burgundy to escort Edward IV’s sister Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy, to England for a visit. He took with him twelve servants dressed in the York livery of ‘merry and blue’ (maroon and blue) and he was granted a yard of purple velvet and a yard of blue velvet so that his tail could make suitably resplendent clothing.
And so it was not until 1482, when Richard, Duke of Gloucester, led an army against the Scots, that Edward Woodville participated in military action. In this campaign he served as one of Richard’s lieutenants, with five hundred men in his force. This would suggest that he was experienced enough in arms to undertake this kind of leadership. As he moved north he was commissioned to recruit men and there was the option to make payment in lieu of service. The town of Coventry, we learn, contributed twenty pounds in lieu of men.
Since the embassy of 1480 the Scots had continued to make border incursions and the northern lords, and indeed Edward himself, were determined to bring this to an end. Richard, duke of Gloucester, as warden of the north was placed in charge. The expedition was successful and the town of Berwick was restored to English control and has remained a part of England ever since. The campaign overall was successful and Richard of Gloucester emerged with great credit, not only for the military success but the diplomatic solution afterwards. Edward must have distinguished himself as Richard made him a knight banneret on July 24, 1482. The two men, brothers in arms in the summer of 1482 found themselves enemies in 1483.
The following year was of course momentous. In April 1483, Edward IV died. Edward Woodville took part in his funeral procession, and it was while he was at sea on a campaign against Philippe de Crèvecoeur, known as Lord Cortes, that word reached him of Richard’s coup at Stony Stratford. Edward V’s council had appointed Edward Woodville to deal with this French threat and had a fleet of ships at his disposal. At the time it was a straightforward appointment; he was the leading naval figure. However, that authority was put into question after Richard gained control and ordered that Edward Woodville be seized at Southampton.
Sir Edward may not have been aware of these orders. On May 14 he sailed into Southampton Water and captured a French ship which was carrying a huge amount of gold amounting to £10,201. He appropriated this in the name of the king and prepared and signed an indenture to establish that this was not an act of piracy. He wrote that in the event ‘that it can be proved not forfeited unto the King . . . He (Sir Edward) shall repay the value of the said money in English merchandise within three months . . . If the said money is to be forfeited the Sir Edward be answering the King.1’ He also styled himself in this document ’Sir Edward Wydeville, knight, uncle to our said sovereign Lord and great captain of his navy.” None of this reads like a man intending to raid the English treasury and defect to Brittany and the indenture was sent to the king’s council.
In London, policy was turning 180 degrees. Cortes was no longer a French invader but a victim of Sir Edward. Richard was prepared to do a deal with Cortes and restore his ships and goods.
Mancini reported that two of the ships, under the command of Genoese captains, encouraged the English soldiers on board to drink heavily, then overcame the drunken men and tied them up with ropes and chains. With the Englishmen immobilised, the Genoese announced their intent to return to England, and all but two of the ships set out for Southampton. Sir Edward Woodville was left with two loyal ships, The Trinity and The Falcon and having grasped the new reality, sailed on to Brittany, where he joined Henry Tudor, with, presumably, since it was never heard of again, the £10201 in gold coins.
When Henry sailed to England in the autumn of 1483 to join the abortive rebellion against Richard III, it seems likely that Edward would have been with him, since his brothers Richard and Lionel were involved in the rebellion and his brother-in-law the Duke of Buckingham was the highest-ranking rebel. In the event, Henry sailed into Poole harbour but, suspecting that the friendly soldiers who urged him to disembark were supporters of Richard III, sailed back to Brittany.
The Crowland chronicler described Edward as one of his leaders at the battle of Bosworth: a “brother of Queen Elizabeth and a most courageous knight.” He was rewarded for his support and was granted Porchester (previously held by him) and the Captaincy of the Isle of Wight, which included the lordship of Carisbrooke Castle. The Captaincy of the Isle of Wight was an important post, formerly held by his eldest brother Antony and historically held by the Redvers barons of Devon.
Sir Edward Woodville remained single and led the life of a libertine. We will never know if he would have grown out of that. It is not an unfamiliar pattern for young men to ‘sow their wild oats’, especially, as a younger brother, there was no dynastic pressure on him. His contemporary John Paston followed this path, chasing women constantly until at about the age of 30 he decided to settle down. Mancini, when reporting Edward’s licentious activities included Edward Woodville as one of the king’s dissolute companions.
He seems also to have inherited some of Antony’s other titles because it was as “Lord Scales” that he went to fight the Moors in Granada, serving in the armies of Ferdinand and Isabella. Here he earned some European fame as the Conde de Scala (count of Scales.) Spain was undergoing political transformation. The kingdoms of Aragon and Castille had become united through the marriage of the two monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, and a concerted effort was being made to drive the Moors out of Southern Spain. The struggles attracted mercenaries.
Edward must have been leading one of these groups when he arrived at Seville in 1 March 1486. Although settled in high office at home in England he must have fond life too dull and leapt at the opportunity for some real action. He had 300 men under his command, 100 were described as archers and 200 as yeomen.This phase of the Spanish campaign was fighting against a divided Moorish kingdom, but nevertheless it was still strong. As edward arrived at Loja the Spanish troops were trying to establish camp when they were ambushed by the Moors. Edward spied an opportunity to attack a Moorish weak point and asked permission of King Frednand to attack This was given and he led a foot charge against the Moors with his men fighting in a wedge formation.
A full account is given by the Spanish chronicler Bernà ldez::
Dismounting from his horse and armed with sword and battle axe, he charged forward at the Moorish host before them all, with a small company of his men, armed like himself, slashing and hacking with brave manly hearts, killing and dismounting the enemy left and right.
This inspired the Spanish.
The Castilians, seeing his charge, rushed on to support it, following on the heels of the Englishman with such valour that the Moors turned tail and fled.2
The next stage in the fight was to scale the walls and Sir Edward was not above leading his men in this dangerous mission.
Unfortunately just as the suburbs were carried, the knight, as he was mounting a scaling ladder, received a blow from a stone which dashed out to of his front teeth and stretched him senseless on the ground.
There seems to be no doubt that his charge against the Moors was pivotal to the outcome of the battle and although he played no part in its conclusion he was acknowledge and richly rewarded by the king and queen. Isabella sympathised with the loss of his teeth and he is said to have wittily replied: “Christ, who reared this whole fabric, has merely opened a window, in order more easily to discern what goes on within.” In an age before the invention of false teeth it did nothing for his appearance, or perhaps even for his speech. Edward was sent home to England with a rich array of gifts, including twelve horses, two couches, and fine linen.
Those who know about the development of medieval tactics in warfare will not that by marching with his men in a tight disciplined group Sir Edward was at the forefront of military thinking. This technique of mixing trained knights with ordinary soldiers had been pioneered successfully by the Swiss and more forward thinkers adopted this approach, hitherto lights and ordinary foot soldiers fought in separate groups on either side, but by mingling lights and men at arms with ordinary infantry proved to be a much better fighting unit.
He was back in England in 1487 fighting for Henry VII against forces led by John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln, in support of Lambert Simnel, a young pretender to the throne. After three days of skirmishing near Doncaster, Edward’s troops were forced to retreat through Sherwood Forest to Nottingham. At the Battle of Stoke, however, where Edward Woodville commanded the right wing, victory went to Henry VII.
In May 1488, possibly by this time in his thirtieth year, and in his prime as a soldier Edward asked Henry VII to allow him to assist the duke in fighting the French. Henry VII, who was seeking peace with France, refused the request, but Edward ignored this and returned to the Isle of Wight, where he raised four hundred and forty “tall and hardy personages” and sailed to Brittany. Edmund Hall, writing in his chronicle in the next century suggests his motive as “either abhorring ease and idleness or inflamed with ardent love and affection toward the Duke of Brittany.”
When he arrived in Rennes he was greeted with enthusiasm. Two barrels of claret were rolled out and consumed in their honour and as they were paraded in the Boute de Cohue square a further two barrels of white wine were opened. Musicians played and there was great celebration. Sir Edward himself snd his close entourage are treated to a great banquet. When news got back to the French they were incensed and made representations to King Henry who denied supporting the expedition and assured them he would not break the truce that existed between them. The truce however masked French preparations. The Bretons became alarmed and began to assemble an army over the summer , but the English force of Edward Woodville was probably the only professional force there. Somewhat late in the day his expedition did get official sanction in the end and Henry sent reinforcements, but the French arrived in Brittany before this could be done.
The French forces were overwhelming. Edward was in the vanguard leading 2000 men and as they charged they were overcome by the superior French forces. Edward was killed together with many of his men. The Breton forces broke and the battle ended in a rout. It was the end of an independent Brittany.
A grey stone monument marks the battle at St. Aubin-du-Cormier on July 22, 1488. Amongst those recognised fighting for the Breton cause on that day are: “Lord Scales and 500 English archers.” Edward Woodville had fought his last battle.
It is intriguing to ask what drove a man like Edward Woodville. He was as talented an athlete as his father and older brothers Antony and John but he was distinctive in that he deliberately sought glory on the field of battle. The other Woodvilles fought when need be and used their talent to grace tournaments in peace time. Edward clearly relished the risk and thrill of battle. Antony had at least two opportunities to fight on foreign fields but declined on both occasions. Edward was only too eager to get into a fight and travelled great distances at some expense to find glory on the battlefield.
According to Mancini, and this is the only reference, Edward was something of a libertine. He wrote that “although [Edward IV] had many promoters and companions of his vices, the more important and especial were three of the . . . relatives of the queen, her two sons and one of her brothers.” Her two sons in this instance were the older Greys, both of whom had a reputation that is reported elsewhere and it must be assumed that the Woodville brothers the high profile Edward. Antony had a respectable, even pious, reputation; Lionel was a bishop; and Richard seems to have led a quiet life. So one concludes that Edward is the Woodville mentioned here.
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