Our navigation bar is loading . . . . . .


Advertise on JCSM - Hear JCSM's Weekly Devotions via Podcast/RSS Feed! - Skip These Ads

You can advertise your site right here!Click here to learn more!

 10,000 Wise Quotes and Spiritual Sayings by Jason Gastrich, Ph.D.

 JCSM's Top 1000 Christian Sites - Free Traffic Sharing Service! Join the Online Christ-Centered Ministries!

-
Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

Click here and add this page to your favorites!

Return to the JCSM Study Center!

Encyclopedia Britannica



SUFFOLK, WILLIAM DE LA POLE

This article appears in Volume V26, Page 28 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: STE-SUS
SUFFOLK, WILLIAM DE LA POLE , DuiE or (13961450), second son of Michael de la Pole, second
earl
  of Suffolk, was born on the 16th of October 1396. His father died at the siege of Harfleur, and his elder brother was killed at Agincourt on the 25th of October 1415. Suffolk served in all the later French campaigns of the reign of Henry V., and in spite of his youth held high command on the marches of Normandy in 142122. In 1423 he joined the
earl
  of Salisbury in Champagne, and shared his victory at Crevant. He fought under John, duke of Bedford, at Verneuil on the 17th of August 1424, and throughout the next four years was Salisbury's
chief
  lieutenant in the direction of the war. When Salisbury was killed before Orleans on the 3rd of November 1428, Suffolk succeeded to the command. After the siege was raised, Suffolk was defeated and taken prisoner by Jeanne d'Arc at Jargeau on the 12th of June 1429. He was soon ransomed, and during the next two years was again in command on the Norman frontier. He returned to England in November 1431, after over fourteen Years' continuous service in the field.
Suffolk had already been employed on diplomatic missions by John of Bedford, and from this time forward he had an important share in the work of administration. He attached himself naturally to Cardinal Beaufort, and even thus early seems to have been striving for a general peace. But public
opinion
  in England was not yet ripe, and the unsuccessful conference at Arras, with the consequent defection of Burgundy, strengthened the war party. Nevertheless the cardinal's authority remained supreme in the council, and. Suffolk, as his
chief
  supporter, gained increasing influence. The question of Henry VI.'s marriage brought him to the front. Humphrey of Gloucester favoured an Armagnac alliance. Suffolk brought about the match with Margaret of Anjou. Report already represented Suffolk as too friendly with French leaders like
Charles of Orleans, and it was with reluctance that he undertook the responsibility of an embassy to France. However, when he. returned to England in June 1444, after negotiating the marriage and a two years' truce, he received a triumphant reception. He was made a marquess; and in the autumn sent again to France to bring Margaret home. The French contrived to find occasion for extorting a promise to surrender all the English possessions in Anjou and Maine, a concession that was to prove fatal to Suffolk and his policy. Still for the time his success was complete, and his position as the personal friend of the young king and queen seemed secure. Humphrey of Gloucester died. in February 1447, within a few days of his arrest, and six weeks later Cardinal Beaufort died also. Suffolk was left without an obvious rival, but his difficulties were great. Rumour, though without sufficient reason, made him responsible for Humphrey's death, while the peace and its consequent concessions rendered him unpopular. So also did the supersession of Richard of
York
  by Edmund Beaufort, duke of Somerset, in the French command. Suffolk's promotion to a dukedom in July 1448, marked the height of his power. The difficulties of his position may have led him to give some countenance to a treacherous attack on Fougeres during the time of truce (March 1449). The renewal of the war and the loss of all Normandy were its direct consequences. When parliament met in November 1449, the opposition showed its strength by forcing the treasurer, Adam Molyneux, to resign. Molyneux was murdered by the sailors at Portsmouth on the 9th of January 1450. Suffolk, realizing that an attack on himself was inevitable, boldly challenged his enemies in parliament, appealing to the long and honourable record of his public services. On the 7th of February and again on the 9th of March the Commons presented articles of accusation dealing chiefly with alleged maladministration and the ill success of the French policy; there was a charge of aiming at the throne by the betrothal of his son to the little Margaret Beaufort, but no suggestion of guilt concerning the death of Gloucester. The articles were in great part baseless, if not absurd. Suffolk, in his defence on the 13th of March, denied them as false, untrue and too horrible to speak more of. Ultimately, as a sort of compromise, the king sentenced him to banishment for five years. Suffolk left England on the 1st of May, He was intercepted in the Channel by the ship " Nicholas of the Tower,
and next morning was beheaded in a little boat alongside. The " Nicholas " was a royal ship, and Suffolk's murder was probably instigated by his political opponents.
Popular
opinion
  at the time judged Suffolk as a traitor. This view was accepted by Yorkist chroniclers and Tudor historians, who had no reason to speak well of a Pole. Later legend made him the paramour of Margaret of Anjou. Though utterly baseless, the story gained currency in the Mirrour for ifagistraces, and was adopted in Shakespeare's 2 Henry VI. (act III. sc. ii.). Suffolk's best defence is contained in the touching
letter
  of farewell to his son, written on the eve of his departure (Easton Letters, i. 142), and in his noble speeches before parliament (Rolls of Parliament, v. 176, 182). Of the former Lingard said well that it is " difficult to believe. that the writer could have been either a false subject or a bad man. " The policy of peace which Suffolk pursued was just and wise; he foresaw from the first the personal
risk
  to which its advocacy exposed him. This alone should acquit him of any base motive; his conduct was " throughout open and straightforward " (Stubbs). What-ever his defects as a statesman, he was a gallant soldier, a man of culture and a loyal servant.
Suffolk's wife, Alice, was widow of Thomas, earl of Salisbury, and granddaughter of Geoffrey Chaucer. By her he had an only son John, second duke of Suffolk.
France). For modern accounts see especially W. Stubbs, Constitutional History (favourable), The Political History of England (1906), vol. iv., by C. Oman (unfavourable), and G. du Fresne de Beau-court's Histoire de Charles VII. See also H. A. Napier's Historical Notices of Swincombe and Ewelme (1858). (C. L. K.)


End of Article: SUFFOLK, WILLIAM DE LA POLE


If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/STE_SUS/SUFFOLK_WILLIAM_DE_LA_POLE.html">
SUFFOLK, WILLIAM DE LA POLE
</a>
(Previous)
SUFFOLK, THOMAS HOWARD, 1ST EARL OF (1561-1626) 		(Next)
SUFFRAGAN (Med. Lat. suffraganeus suffragator, ...

 


 

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

The JCSM Study CenterAmerica's Christian FoundationSkeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and ExplainedNKJV Web Hosting and Services
JCSM's Sermons, Debates and the Bible on MP3The Online Christ-Centered MinistriesDo You Have A Web Site?  Your Ad Could Be Here!Seminary Notes and PapersThe Picturesque Photo Albums


Jesus Christ Saves Ministries, P.O. Box 70696, Pasadena, CA 91117

JCSM is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. Copyright © 1997-present.


Kingdom Debt Solutions - Be Debt Free! Sport Logos - Quality Athletic Equipment The JCSM Study Center Your Ad Could Be Here! Launch A Successful Internet Organization or Business! Learn Guitar, Bass, or Piano in San Diego county!

You can advertise your site right here!

Free & Cheap Cell Phones  |  Cheap Long Distance Phone Service Carriers  |  Talk America Local Phone Service  |  Ztel & MCI - Unlimited Long Distance
Compare Cell Phone Plans & Companies  |  International Calling Cards & Prepaid Phone Cards  |  Voice Over IP Broadband Internet Phone Service  |  Wireless Phone Plans & Cheap Cell Phones

Dr. Jason Gastrich

Jason Gastrich, Ph.D.

 

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries is directed by Dr. Jason Gastrich.  It was founded in 1997 and it exists to bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ.  JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, discussion boards, weekly html and mp3 devotionals, free email accounts, and much more.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA  92169
1-877-850-3878 or Email

JCSM is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. Copyright © 1997-2008.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Online First Aid and CPR Certification  .  The Online Christ Centered Ministries  .  The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained  .  The Inerrancy Discussion Board  .  Free Email Accounts  .  Home Equity Loans  .  JasonGastrich.com  .  The Missions, Apologetics, and Creation Bible Conference  .  Young Earth Creation Science  .  San Diego Music Lessons  .  10,000 Wise Quotes and Spiritual Sayings  .  Gastrich.net  .  Maximizing the Internet: 12 Keys to Success  .  Louisiana Baptist University  .  NKJV Web Hosting and Services  .  Michael Newdow  .  San Diego Soccer Training  . Christian Guitar Lessons  .  Jesus Christ Saves Ministries  .  Eternal Security