Edward Woodville, Lord Scales

thumb| Sir Edward Woodville KG KB (died 1488) was a member of the Woodville family during the Wars of the Roses. He survived the reign of Richard III in which several of his relatives were executed in a power struggle after the death of his brother-in-law Edward IV. Exiled with Henry Tudor, he participated in Henry's capture of the throne. Henry subsequently married Woodville's niece, Elizabeth of York. Under Henry VII, Woodville was appointed Lord of the Isle of Wight, the last person to be given that title. Quotes It is little to lose a few teeth in the service of him, who has given me all. Our Lord, who reared this fabric, has only opened a window, in order to discern the more readily what passes within. Peter Martyr, Opus Epistolarum, b. 1, ep. 62; and Andrés Bernáldez, Reyes Católicos, MS, ch. 78. In 1486 Edward went to Spain to aid Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castille in the Reconquista of Granada. "There came from Britain," says Peter Martyr, "a cavalier, young, wealthy, and high-born. He was allied to the blood royal of England. He was attended by a beautiful train of household troops three hundred in number, armed after the fashion of their land with long-bow and battle-axe." He fought at the second siege of Loja, where he helped to defeat the Moors by leading an attack to scale the city walls. In the fight, he was hit in the face by a stone thrown by a defender. He was knocked unconscious and two of his teeth were smashed. He was visited while recuperating by Ferdinand and Isabella, who sympathised with him over the loss of his teeth. His witty response, says Peter Martyr, pleased the sovereigns. Reported in W. H. Prescott, History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic, of Spain, 3rd ed. (1841) vol. i, ch. 11 See ye not what glory ye will win for yourselves; how great gratification ye will give the king, your gracious Lord; how ye will show the loyal spirit of the men of the Wight so bravely, and your affection for myself so strongly, that needs must I ever treasure it in my memory, and seek to requite your love with all my wealth, with all the favour in which I am held by the King? And know ye not that it is in a just and politic cause we draw our swords? This wily king of France, this man who consorteth with buffoons and barbers, who heedeth no principle of law or right, and is dead to all chivalrous influences, seeketh to possess himself of the Good Duke's lands, and of his daughter, the fair Anne, lawfully espoused to Maximilian, the ruler of the Low Countries, our trustworthy ally. And if his crafty designs ripen into success, see ye not what a dangerous foe would hold the seaboard of the Channel, and threaten the peace and safety of our shores? Wherefore, Knights and Gentlemen, gather ye round my standard, and let us show the men of France that we are the sons of those who conquered at Poictiers, Creçy and Agincourt! Speech to the knights and gentlemen of the Isle of Wight, beseeching them to join his personal expedition in support of the Duke of Brittany. Woodville, along with many of his islanders and Breton allies, went on to die at the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier, 28 July 1488. Note: The French king's chief councillor was a barber, Oliver le Dain. Reported in W. H. Davenport Adams, The History, Topography, and Antiquities of the Isle of Wight (London: Smith, Elder, and Co, 1856) p. 32 See also Fernando del Pulgar External links Category:People of the Reconquista Category:Military leaders from England Category:Mercenaries Category:1488 deaths