Ranking History: The Wars of the Roses Historical Figures: Edward IV

Today is the second of my eight day series where I rank a group of eight historical figures on a scale of S to D (superb to terrible) based on how well they succeeded in their duties and/or goals, their skill in battle, and by what we know (if anything) about their general personalities as normal people.

Yesterday, I ranked King Henry VI. Today, I’m going to be ranking his rival, the Yorkist King Edward VI. As always, these are just my opinions. You may have an entirely different perspective–and if you do, feel free to share it in the comments!

Edward VI

Ah yes. Edward IV, the first Yorkist king. A tall, handsome chap who had so many vices, I don’t even know where to start with this guy. This guy is one reason I sometimes wouldn’t have minded if Henry VI actually managed to return and hold onto the throne. But of course, I’ll focus first on his successes.

Edward IV was the son of Richard of York, who first laid claim to the British throne. Upon his father’s death, Edward received the claim and secured it. But was he a successful king? He held the throne until his death (although he was captured once by his cousin, Warwick, and Warwick also disposed of him briefly in 1470 during the period known as the Readeption) but his rule was rife with conflict. He was also, ultimately, unable to secure the succession of his own son (known as Edward V, the eldest of the Princes in the Tower). Edward IV was, however, able to suppress most of the conflict, and there were some moments of peace. He also helped improve the financial situation England found itself in and rebuilt some of St. George’s Chapel.

So as a successful king, Edward’s certainly several grades above Henry VI, but he’s definitely not worthy to join the ranks of Henry V and Edward III as one of England’s greatest kings. The fact that he was unable to secure the succession of his own son especially is, to me, a huge failure which takes away some of his points. So I’ll give him a six on the success ranking.

As for Edward’s warrior skills? Well, this guy had skills and luck on his side. Notably, the weather. Edward always seemed to do battle during some type of weather which gave him an advantage. Before the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross, for example, a parhelion occurred. During the Battle of Towton, there was strong winds favoring the Yorkists as well as heavy snowfall. And at the Battle of Barnet, a thick fog settled, giving Edward’s forces once more an advantage.

Edward also had skills, though. He learned from his father and his cousin Warwick, who was a superb military leader and pirate himself, so the outcomes of his battles weren’t solely based on luck and the weather. Because of this, I will give his warrior skills a ranking of nine. He got himself captured as king once, so he wasn’t always victorious, but he had skills where it counted and ultimately at the end of his life, he was on the winning side of the war.

Personality though. Edward IV’s personality was terrible. He was a known womanizer, a drunk, and vain and extravagant above other things. He also did Warwick dirty, in my opinion. Warwick may have been somewhat controlling, but he did help Edward not only obtain but also secure his throne during the early parts of Edward’s reign, doing most of the heavy labor and suppressing rebellions. Edward should have treated him with more respect and been candid with him instead of constantly undermining him behind his back. I think maybe Edward was a little nervous about confronting his mentor to his face, so he preferred to sneak behind his back and pull the carpet from beneath him with no explanation.

However, Edward also was a surprisingly forgiving person who did want to foster unity among people. For example, he forgave Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset (the son of the Somerset I’ll be ranking later) when he surrendered to him, and treated him with marked favor, allowing him to retain his lands and titles. There is also reason to believe that Warwick was killed at the Battle of Barnet because Edward’s men were afraid he’d forgive Warwick, just for Warwick to turn and betray him again (although I’m of the opinion Edward betrayed Warwick first, just saying). He was also charismatic and knew how to lead his men. And one of his contemporaries wrote that he was “of a gentle nature and cheerful aspect”.

So Edward’s like a mixed bag here. He is described as a charismatic and kind leader who wanted to promote unity but also a womanizing drunk who alienated his greatest ally and mentor because either of his lack of courage to face him or just because he wanted to prove to everyone that he was his own person in the stupidest way possible. I’m going to have to give him a solid five for personality in light of all this.

Success: 6

Warrior Skills: 9

Personality: 5

Edward was a great warrior and a semi-successful king with a controversial personality. If I focused solely on the first two, I’d say he’d be solid A grade, but because of his personality, I’ve got to put him in B. Upper B, but still B.

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What do you think of my ranking? Do you think it’s accurate, or would you have placed him somewhere else? What fact do you find the most interesting? How do you think I’ll rank the next historical figures? Let me know in the comments below! ~ Kay Adelin