, proud of his connexion with the House of
Lancaster through his Portuguese mother, a descendant of John of Gaunt,
was known to be hostile to the Yorkist throne. The foremost of his
colleagues, John of Calabria, was a son of Rene of Anjou and a brother of
Margaret. Another of the conspirators, the Count of Maine, was Margaret's
uncle. It was significant that the Duke of Somerset had found a place in
the train of Charles of Charolais. On the other hand the warmest advocates
of the French alliance could hardly press for closer relations with a king
whose ruin seemed certain, and even Warwick must have been held back by
the utter collapse of the royal power when the League attacked Lewis in
1465. Deserted by every great noble, and cooped up within the walls of
Paris, the French king could only save himself by a humiliating submission
to the demands of the Leaguers.

[Sidenote: The Woodvilles]

The close of the struggle justified Edward's policy of inaction, for the
terms of the peace told strongly for English interests. The restoration of
the towns on the Somme to Burgundy, the cession of Normandy to the king's
brother, Francis, the hostility of Britanny, not only detached the whole
western coast from the hold of Lewis, but forced its possessors to look
for aid to the English king who lay in their rear. Edward himself seemed
at this moment freed from the last danger of revolt at home, for after
some helpless wanderings Henry the Sixth was betrayed into the hands of
his enemies and brought in triumph to London. His feet were tied to the
stirrups, he was led thrice round the pillory, and then sent as a prisoner
to the Tower. But Edward had little time to enjoy his good luck at home
and abroad. No sooner had the army of the League broken up than its work
was undone. The restless genius of Lewis detached prince from prince, won
over the houses of Britanny and Anjou to friendship, snatched back
Normandy in January 1466, and gathered an army in Picardy to meet attack
either from England or Count Charles. From neither however was any serious
danger to be feared. Charles was held at home till the close of the year
by revolts at Liege and Dinant, while a war of factions within Edward's
court distracted the energies of England. The young king had rapidly
followed up the blow of his marriage by raising his wife's family to a
greatness which was meant to balance that of the Nevilles. The queen's
father, Lord Rivers, was made treasur