Richard and The Queen’s Brother (Part one.)

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Sep 30, 2003

Philosopher, poet, soldier, dreamer, and Renaissance man ahead of his time, Anthony Woodville, Lord Scales and later Earl Rivers, was no stranger to the vagaries of Fortune. Violent turns of her capricious Wheel spun his world often during his life, delivering fame and riches, blows and perils-and, finally, a bloody end by the headsman's axe. Alone in his cell on the eve of execution, he spent his last hours on earth penning a lament to the fragility of good fortune and the vicissitudes of life.

The eldest male in a brood of thirteen offspring, Anthony Woodville was born to Sir Richard Woodville of Grafton, Northamptonshire, and Jacquetta, daughter of Pierre Count of St Pol of Luxemburg. They met in France when Jacquetta's husband, the Duke of Bedford, brother to Henry V, presided over the trial of Joan of Arc. After her husband's death, Jacquetta was escorted to England by a guard of English knights under the command of Sir Richard Woodville. The stage was set for romance, but a simple knight was no match for a royal widow, and instead of seeking the king's permission, the lovers wed secretly in 1436. The first child born to them was a daughter, Elizabeth, who would grow up to ensnare a king and propel the family fortunes to blazing heights. Then came Anthony. The place of his birth is unknown, but the date is thought to be 1442.

Alongside his father, Anthony Woodville fought for Henry VI at Towton but later transferred his allegiance to York. Edward IV showed him preferment in allowing him to marry Elizabeth, the heiress of Lord Scales in 1462, and one can guess the reason: the King had become enamored of Elizabeth Woodville and was actively pursuing her during this period. After Elizabeth's marriage to Edward, Anthony advanced rapidly. Of Anthony's family, the great biographer, Paul Murray Kendall, paints a vivid portrait:

"Anthony Woodville's father was a rapacious adventurer; his mother, so formidable and devious a woman that she was held to be a witch. His brother Lionel was a type of their father in the gown of a bishop. His sister the Queen -beautiful, suffering, brought from nowhere to the highest place and cast down again to misery and friendless death- owned a destiny presenting the grand outlines of 'tragedie" which disintegrates upon inspection because it was developed by a mean, stupid and cruel character."

Much is known about Anthony Woodville's own character, yet he remains something of an enigma in history. A complex man notably different from his family, he eludes us by his contradictions. As always, Kendall puts it best:

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