Harley MS 7353 - Every picture tells a story
The battle of Towton resurrected in a political 'bill poster' of the 1460's
It is somewhat embarrassing to admit that for years now, I have been searching for a contemporary illustration of the battle of Towton (fought on Palm Sunday 1461) and all that time, it has been staring me in the face. Indeed, the faded and cartoon-like depiction of Edward IV leading his troops into battle (above) actually represents Britain’s bloodiest day, when 28,000 men died, according to the heralds. But the picture tells us much more than that…
Along with other events recording Edward IV’s rise to power in Harley MS 7353 (see below), the battle of Towton was undoubtedly the most important. It was the culmination of the Yorkist achievement on the battlefield, and therefore, it may have been more widely publicised in medieval graphic newsletters and bill posters than first thought. However, other than the above MS, no other illustrations of Towton have survived the passage of time. From Edward’s first proper confrontation with Lancastrian forces at Ludford Bridge in 1459 to his crowning achievement and usurpation of the throne in 1461, the British Library’s Harley MS 7353 records a unique story. Its crude graphics portray much more than historical facts. Indeed, the MS is an intriguing example of late fifteenth-century propaganda. Its political persuasion to establish ‘rightful’ legitimacy through religious symbolism is clearly defined. And above all, the document discloses the mindset of medieval man in an age of devout religious belief, aristocratic rivalry, dynastic uncertainty and bloody civil war.
Beginning with the genealogy of Edward IV and the severing of the symbolic family tree of the Plantagenets by the Lancastrian king Henry IV (see below), the 5ft 9in x 1ft 9in poster portrays a chronology of Edward’s rise to power from bottom to top. The dorse of the MS is blank, and several holes puncturing the edges are meant for ties or pins. Apart from the pigments of white, grey, red, pink, blue, brown and green, gold leaf is used throughout, and a compound that may once have shone silver is evident on some of the panels. On the left, above the Jesse Tree (depicting the ancestors of Jesus Christ), are five religious juxtapositions - or symbolic events - which explain the more factual historical record on the right. And this is where the true value of the Edward Poster is unique.
Following the Latin speech bubbles and captions, the message is clear, and all those who saw the MS in the 1460s would have understood its meaning. God chose Edward to rule England in place of Henry VI - and the MS records how he did it. In the last picture (top right), Edward is sitting crowned with a sceptre and a ceremonial sword on Fortune’s Wheel, and the wheel has been halted by a wedge denoting the end of Henry’s rule in 1461, even though historically, we know this was not the case. However, apart from the medieval propaganda message, the date of Edward’s coronation in June 1461 places a fairly accurate date on the MS. Therefore, we can establish that the last battle in the series of panels is definitely Towton (or Palm Sunday Field in official documents) - the battle that won Edward the crown and changed a dynasty.
But there is more to the Edward Poster than meets the eye…
For example, the picture to the left of the Towton panel is a biblical depiction of Joshua destroying the walls of Jericho. Edward is doing the same on the right, where Jericho (top right), or maybe York (note the Minster), symbolises the Lancastrian powerbase, and many of its defenders are lying hacked to bits in bloody heaps at Edward’s feet. Some on the right are on the run, and Edward, obviously at the centre of the panel, is depicted in black and gilt armour with his sword, now at ease, rested on his shoulder. The golden trumpets being blown above him symbolise the Jericho story heralding the destruction of Lancastrian rule and victory over Henry VI, and all the weapons and armour in the illustration are contemporary with the Wars of the Roses.
Many of the weapons range from a poleaxe, held by the man to the left of Edward, to polearms and bills carried by the common soldier in the background. Men in full armour with visored ‘sallets’ and quilted ‘jacks’ are apparent, and even military basin-cut hairstyles have been included in the piece. Apart from the banners bearing the arms of England, the Black Bull of Clarence, one of Edward’s heraldic standards, is carried aloft by his troops marching off to capture the walled city. And Edward is being given an object by one of his men, perhaps a symbol denoting his victory.
The Latin wording accompanying the Towton panel is as follows:
Caption: (in the margin)
Tiptum iosue implens: edwardus emulos sternens.
Fulfilling the model of Joshua: Edward scattering his rivals.
Top Left Scroll:Â
Reges eos in virga ferrea: et tamquam vas figuli confringes eos.
Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron, and shalt break them in pieces like a potter's vessel. (Psalm 2:9)
Middle Scroll:
Qui tribulant me inimici mei: ipsi infirmati sunt et ceciderunt.
My enemies that troubled me, have themselves been weakened, and have fallen. (Psalm 26:2)
The message speaks volumes of how important the battle of Towton was to Edward and the house of York. The pictures depict the fulfilment of an Old Testament story with Edward emulating Joshua at Towton by scattering his rivals after crossing the River Jordan. For Joshua (read Edward IV), this was his first victory as the new official leader of God’s chosen people; for Jericho (read the Lancastrians) and how they suffered the judgement of God for their wickedness and idolatry. Above all the MS was a clear reminder to all who saw the poster that Edward was king by divine right through genealogy, religious symbolism and, more importantly, for the new Yorkist regime, God’s will and judgement over Henry IV’s usurpation of the throne in 1399.
As for circulation and location of the MS in history, the poster appears to have been restricted, and not intended for general consumption (i.e. it was not to be nailed to church doors and in public places as many newsletters and bills were in the fifteenth century). It may have been hung in royal apartments or placed on permanent display at Westminster Hall or Ludlow, the latter town being near two of the events depicted in the poster. The alternative is that the artwork was a portable document, designed like an ‘accordion’ leaflet and meant to be unravelled and viewed by the nobility, visiting dignitaries and the like in private, although this cannot be proven. More certain, however, is the chronology of Edward’s claim to the throne (shown in the family tree), his adventures and battles to secure the crown in 1461, and the biased Yorkist propaganda juxtaposed and supported by biblical precedents.
Above the family tree and to the right, we can see the results of the non-battle of Ludford Bridge (1459) and the flight of Edward (then Earl of March) Warwick and Fauconberg from England to Calais. Next up is Edward’s return from exile and the battle of Northampton (1460), where Edward is shown kneeling before Henry VI after his capture. Above that is a classic depiction of the battle of Mortimers Cross (1460) and the vision of the three suns (the Yorkist Sun in Splendour). Edward’s right to the throne and its religious symbolism becomes one and the same in the Trinity of father, son and Holy Spirit, favouring Edward’s right to the triple crown. While the battle of Towton (1461) (second from the top) heralds the end of Lancastrian aggression by the Yorkists under Edward. Jericho (York) is captured, and the Lancastrians are scattered or lay mutilated at Edward’s feet. Finally, at the top of the poster, Edward reigns supreme, and Fortune’s Wheel is prevented from turning. Time has been stopped, heralding a lasting peace in England; although we know, in reality, the Wars of the Roses go on.
However, apart from the chronology and propaganda, the Edward Poster is, without doubt, the best record of the battle of Towton and Edward’s life I have seen, ranking alongside the illustrations in the Historie of the Arrivall of Edward IV. Its underlying religious message tells us so much about those who utilised symbolism in the Wars of the Roses and what they believed to be true. Religion and graphic representation were central to how the nobility and gentry viewed the world, and we may be surprised at how brutal they were in carrying out God’s will on the battlefield.
Towton was a terrible event and a turning point in the Wars of the Roses. Still, in Edward’s eyes, God’s instruction and illustrations like the Harley 7353 sanctified the bloodletting and horror of the battle, and no one, not even kings, questioned this almighty direction in the fifteenth century.
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