the brute northerners

[ke...@dimension.sh]

the southerners then regarded the northerners as uncouth, brutish and
undisciplined savages, a view purported by the appaling behaviour of margaret
of anjou's troops from the north. fifteenth century society was insular and
localised and the southerners regarded the northerners as a different race,
and a hostile one at that. richard, though, had good reasons to favour the
northerners for their loyalty and appointed them to prestigious posts, much to
the fury of the local magnates. on his accession, he promoted three of his
northern retainers to high office. for some time, the king retained the
services of edward the fourth's household, but then began replacing them with
northern loyalists, which gave rise to much resentment. he also preferred
several northerners to the council itself and most of them were bestowed with
order of the garter. richard identified himself as a northerner, with northern
interests, and this, as much as anything else, was at the root of his
unpopularity.