Histoire de la rentrée victorieuse du roi Edouard IV

The dukes of Burgundy Philip the Good and his successor Charles the Bold made clever use of the conflicts between France and England during the Hundred Years’ War to accentuate their power and independence from the French throne. For example, when King Edward IV of York embarked at Bruges for his second invasion of England in 1471, it was with the support of Charles the Bold. Edward had been forced onto the continent by the house of Lancaster in a conflict known as the Wars of the Roses. Charles’ wife was Margaret of York, Edward IV’s sister. So Charles and Edward were brothers-in-law.

The miniatures in the manuscript depict the Battle of Tewkesbury on 4th May. Edward and the House of York gained a resounding victory, which heralded the end of the Wars of the Roses.