Henry VII. and his heirs,'
without giving any reasons why it was to be so.[36] As far as the
House of Lords was concerned the attendance when this declaration was
made was scanty. Only twenty-nine lay peers were present, not because
many of the great houses had become extinct, but because some of the
principal Yorkist peers had been attainted, and others had been left
without a summons. In the quieter times which followed this slur upon
them was removed, and the House of Lords was again filled. On January
18, =1486=, Henry married Elizabeth. This marriage and the blending of
the white and red rose in the Tudor badge was Henry's way of
announcing that he intended to be the king of both parties.

[Footnote 36: Abbreviated genealogy of Henry VII. and his
competitors:--

EDWARD III.
|
+----------------+----------------+
| |
Lionel, Duke of Clarence John of Gaunt,
: Duke of Lancaster
: :
+-----+-----------+ :
| | :
| George :
| Duke of Clarence :
| | :
EDWARD IV. Edward, :
| Earl of Warwick :
Elizabeth HENRY VII.]

[Illustration: Elizabeth of York, queen of Henry VII.: from an
original picture in the National Portrait Gallery.]

2. =Maintenance and Livery.=--Henry could not maintain himself on the
throne merely by the support of the nobility. The middle classes, as
in the days of Edward IV., called out for a strong king, and were
ready to overlook violence and cruelty if only order could be secured.
Henry was shrewd enough to know that their aid was indispensable, and,
Lancastrian as he was, he adopted the policy of the Yorkist kings.
Economical and patient, he might succeed where Edward IV. had
partially failed. He had no injuries to avenge, no cruelties to repay.
He clearly saw that both the throne and the lives and properties of
the middle classes were rendered insecure by maintenance and
livery--the support given by the great landowners to their retainers,
and the granting of badges by which the retainer