entered London. The men of the neighbouring counties
flocked in to his support. On March 2 the crown was offered to him at
Clerkenwell by such lords as happened to be in London. On his
presenting himself to the multitude in Westminster Hall, he was
greeted with shouts of "Long live the king!" Edward IV. represented to
peace-loving England the order which had to be upheld against the
barbarous host which Margaret and the Lancastrian lords had called to
their aid. He had yet to justify the choice. The northern host had
retreated to its own country, and Edward swiftly followed it up. His
advanced guard was surprised and driven back at Ferry Bridge; but his
main army pressed on, and on March 29 gained a decisive victory at
Towton. The slaughter of the defeated side was enormous. Margaret
escaped with Henry to Scotland, and Edward, returning southwards, was
crowned at Westminster on June 29.

CHAPTER XXII.

THE YORKIST KINGS.

EDWARD IV., =1461--1483=. EDWARD V., =1483=. RICHARD III.,
=1483--1485=.

LEADING DATES

Coronation of Edward IV. 1461
Restoration of Henry VI. 1470
Edward IV. recovers the crown--Battles of Barnet and
Tewkesbury 1471
Edward V. 1483
Richard III. deposes Edward V. 1483
Richard III. killed at Bosworth 1485

1. =Edward IV. and the House of Commons. 1461.=--On June 29, =1461=,
Edward IV. was crowned, and created his two brothers, George and
Richard, Dukes of Clarence and Gloucester. His first Parliament
declared the three Lancastrian kings to have been usurpers, and Henry
VI., his wife, his son, and his chief supporters, to be traitors. At
the end of the session Edward thanked the Commons for their support,
and assured them of his resolution to protect them at the hazard of
his own life. It was the first time that a king had addressed the
Commons, and his doing so was a sign that a new era had begun, in
which the wishes of the middle class in town and country were to
prevail over those of the great nobles. It did not follow that the
House of Commons would take the control of the government into its own
hands, as it does at the present day. For a long time the election of
the members had been carried out under pressure from the lo