John Clifford, 9th Baron de Clifford
Encyclopedia
House of Lancaster
The House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century...
military leader during the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
. For a period, he was the right-hand man of Margaret of Anjou
Margaret of Anjou
Margaret of Anjou was the wife of King Henry VI of England. As such, she was Queen consort of England from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471; and Queen consort of France from 1445 to 1453...
.
Early life
The son of Thomas Clifford, 8th Baron de Clifford and Joanna or Joan de Dacre, He inherited the baronyBaron de Clifford
Baron de Clifford is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1299 for Robert de Clifford. The title was created by writ, which means that it can descend through both male and female lines. The de Clifford family settled in England after the Norman conquest and were a notable family in...
and the family seat at Skipton Castle
Skipton Castle
Skipton Castle is situated within the town of Skipton, North Yorkshire, England. The castle has been preserved for over 900 years, built in 1090 by Robert de Romille, a Norman baron.- History :...
on his father's death at the First Battle of St Albans
First Battle of St Albans
The First Battle of St Albans, fought on 22 May 1455 at St Albans, 22 miles north of London, traditionally marks the beginning of the Wars of the Roses. Richard, Duke of York and his ally, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, defeated the Lancastrians under Edmund, Duke of Somerset, who was killed...
in 1455. Possibly motivated by a desire to avenge Thomas, John Clifford came to the forefront of the Lancastrian cause. He was hereditary High Sheriff of Westmorland
High Sheriff of Westmorland
Westmorland in North West England no longer exists as a county, the original core of it having merged into the modern district of Eden within the county of Cumbria....
from 1455 until his own death.
Military career
Clifford led the Lancastrian right wing at the Battle of WakefieldBattle of Wakefield
The Battle of Wakefield took place at Sandal Magna near Wakefield, in West Yorkshire in Northern England, on 30 December 1460. It was a major battle of the Wars of the Roses...
in December 1460, a surprise attack on the Yorkist stronghold of Sandal Castle. The battle was a complete Lancastrian victory in which the Yorkist army was destroyed, their leader the Duke of York
Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York
Richard Plantagenêt, 3rd Duke of York, 6th Earl of March, 4th Earl of Cambridge, and 7th Earl of Ulster, conventionally called Richard of York was a leading English magnate, great-grandson of King Edward III...
killed and his son Edmund
Edmund, Earl of Rutland
Edmund, Earl of Rutland was the fifth child and second surviving son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville...
and brother-in-law the Earl of Salisbury
Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury
Richard Neville, jure uxoris 5th Earl of Salisbury and 7th and 4th Baron Montacute, KG, PC was a Yorkist leader during the early parts of the Wars of the Roses.-Background:...
were captured.
Clifford is perhaps most famous for the killing of Edmund following the battle, an act contemporary chroniclers agreed he committed himself rather than ordering done. The killing went against tradition as captured sons of nobles were usually ransomed. Because Edmund was 17, the second (of four) sons rather than a leader or heir apparent, militarily inexperienced (Wakefield is his only known battle he fought in), and was wounded and defenceless when he was killed, his death was viewed as murder by the Yorkist faction and looked upon with disfavour by his fellow Lancastrian leaders, though Clifford defended the killing as a just execution no different than the beheading of Edmund's uncle the Earl of Salisbury following the battle (though Salisbury was elderly and had participated in numerous battles against the Lancastrians). The act earned no formal disapproval from Queen Margaret
Margaret of Anjou
Margaret of Anjou was the wife of King Henry VI of England. As such, she was Queen consort of England from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471; and Queen consort of France from 1445 to 1453...
, regent for her son Prince Edward
Edward of Westminster
Edward of Westminster , also known as Edward of Lancaster, was the only son of King Henry VI of England and Margaret of Anjou...
during the mental illness of her husband King Henry VI
Henry VI of England
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
, thus Clifford suffered no repercussion, though it infuriated Edmund's older brother Edward (who was in Wales at the time of the battle) who vowed vengeance and may have given Clifford his nickname "the Butcher". (In much later histories Clifford was also referred to as "Black-faced Clifford".)
Clifford was killed at the Battle of Ferrybridge
Battle of Ferrybridge
The Battle of Ferrybridge, 28 March 1461, was a small engagement between the houses of York and Lancaster before the larger battle of Towton, during the period known as the Wars of the Roses....
in the following year, struck by an arrow in the throat after having carelessly removed his gorget
Gorget
A gorget originally was a steel or leather collar designed to protect the throat. It was a feature of older types of armour and intended to protect against swords and other non-projectile weapons...
. When Edward Duke of York became King Edward IV the widowed Lady Clifford, fearing her son Henry would be killed as retaliation for the new king's brother, sent him into hiding. The youth was placed under attainder
Attainder
In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura is the metaphorical 'stain' or 'corruption of blood' which arises from being condemned for a serious capital crime . It entails losing not only one's property and hereditary titles, but typically also the right to pass them on to one's heirs...
and the family estates were confiscated. The attainder was lifted and Skipton Castle was restored to him following the accession to the throne of Lancastrian claimant Henry Tudor
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
in 1485 whose victory over Richard III
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
and marriage to Elizabeth of York
Elizabeth of York
Elizabeth of York was Queen consort of England as spouse of King Henry VII from 1486 until 1503, and mother of King Henry VIII of England....
effectively ended the Wars of the Roses.
Legacy
Clifford is a major character in William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's play, Henry VI, Part 3
Henry VI, part 3
Henry VI, Part 3 or The Third Part of Henry the Sixt is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1591, and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England...
, in which he is portrayed as thirsty for revenge following the death of his father, and personally responsible for the death of Edmund, Earl of Rutland
Edmund, Earl of Rutland
Edmund, Earl of Rutland was the fifth child and second surviving son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville...
. Modern works in which he is depicted include Sharon Kay Penman's
Sharon Kay Penman
Sharon Kay Penman is an American historical novelist, published in the UK as Sharon Penman. She is best known for the Welsh Princes trilogy and the Plantagenet series. In addition, she has written four medieval mysteries, the first of which, The Queen's Man, was a finalist in 1996 for the Best...
novel The Sunne in Splendour
The Sunne in Splendour
The Sunne in Splendour is historical novel written by Sharon Kay Penman. Penman became interested in the subject while a student and wrote a manuscript that was stolen from her car. She rewrote the manuscript which was published in 1982.- Background :...
.
Family life
He married Margaret Bromflete (1436–1493), who died on 12 April 1493, and had:- Henry Clifford, 10th Baron de Clifford
- Richard Clifford
- Sir Thomas Clifford, married to Ellen Swarby
- Elizabeth Clifford, married to Sir Robert Aske, of AughtonAughton, East Riding of YorkshireAughton is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north west of the market town of Howden and south west of the market town of Pocklington.It lies west of the B1228 road and east of the River Derwent....
near SelbySelbySelby is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Situated south of the city of York, along the course of the River Ouse, Selby is the largest and, with a population of 13,012, most populous settlement of the wider Selby local government district.Historically a part of the West Riding...
, a scionKinshipKinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....
of an old YorkshireYorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
family, the parents of Robert AskeRobert Aske (political leader)Robert Aske was an English lawyer who became the leader of rebellion in York. He led the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536 and was executed by Henry VIII for treason in 1537.-Biography:...