View the Manuscript: Part 6

Here the full arsenal of Yorkist text and imagery is brought to bear in support of Edward's claim to the throne. Showing portions of the previous section again for the sake of continuity, this illustration shows the line of descent from Edward III (blue and yellow box, upper left), including his many sons, through Edward IV.

The interlaced rectangles representing Edward IV are surrounded by images of kingship: crowns and scepters for the three realms of England, France, and Spain; ostrich feathers, a badge of the Princes of Wales; and garters, representing the Order of the Garter. The swords represent the two swords of justice to the spirituality and the temporality and the blunted sword of mercy, Curtana. The text within the three left garters reads "A Domino factum est istud," This was the Lord's doing (Mark 12, 11), while that within the three garters on the right reads "Firmum con[s]ilium [meum] faciat dominus," May the Lord help [me] to persevere (Judith 8, 31).

These images of royalty are combined with the three Yorkist images seen throughout the manuscript -- the rose-en-soleil, the sun, and the fetterlock.

Small boxes below Edward list his siblings, and give details on their titles. For some years it was thought that this manuscript was produced some time after 1468, the year that Edward's sister Margaret became Duchess of Burgundy. However, recent examinations of the manuscript suggest that her title, as well as those of other siblings, were written in at a later date and in a different hand.

The manuscript ends with a shaded scroll containing text once again celebrating the accession of Edward IV and making the case for descent through the female line. To make the final visual statement, the white lion of March (left ) supports a standard holding a banner with the same bearings as the horse at the beginning of the scroll -- the quartered arms of England, France and Castile/Leon, with the arms of Brutus/King Arthur on an escutcheon at the center -- while, to the right, Richard II's white hart supports the arms of the Kings of England.

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