In the snobbish world of 15th century England Elizabeth Woodville was considered by some of rather inferior stock. The reaction of the king's council after hearing the news of the secret marriage from Edward in October 1464 was reported by the Burgundian chronicler, Jean de Waurin.
they answered that she was not his match, however good and however fair she might be, and he must know well that she was no wife for a prince such as himself; for she was not the daughter of a duke or earl, but her mother, the Duchess of Bedford, had married a simple knight, so that though she was the child of a duchess and the niece of the count of St. pol, still she was no wife for him. (Waurin, ed. Dupont, II, 327-8)
This seems like a fine distinction to us but this was an age when the male bloodline mattered more than the female bloodline, although that mattered too. The descendants of Katherine Swynford, for example, were barred by law from acceding to the throne.
The Wydevills (or Woodvilles as they were known hereafter) emerge in Grafton with one Walter de Wydevill,in the 13th century. By the 14th century it is possible to begin a genealogy with Richard Wydevill, probably born about 1310. His heir was a son John who was known as John Wydevill of Grafton so it is fair to assume that they were in living on the manor in the 14th century, if not earlier. However, it was a long time before they came into right of ownership.
After the Conquest the manor was one of many granted to the mighty Count Robert of Mortain and it continued to his son William, but at some time between the years 1086 and 1106 it was granted to the Abbot of Notre Dame de Grestain, a Benedictine house near the mouth of the Seine, in the diocese of Lisieux. The abbey was given "all that he possessed in Grafton, together with the church there." The abbot was thus reported as tenant-in-chief and it was either leased to a sub-tenant or more than one on behalf of the alien religious house.
When King John seized the assets of alien religious houses in 1204 one William de Humet was recorded as the tenant of Grafton. In 1235 we discover the first mention of a Woodville. Walter de Woodville had made a claim in the hundred court against the abbot.
membrane 11d 1235 Northampton: Abbass de Grestain attornavit Robertum de Avalun, monachum suum, et Johannem de Merse versus Walterum de Wiville de secta quam idem Walterus exigit ab eodem abbate ad hundredum suum de Clayly.
Translation: The Abott of Grestain was represented by Robert of Avalon, his monk and John de Merse against Walter de Widville of the other party, which the same Walter made claim against the same abbot at the Hundred (Court) of Cleley.
It is not altogether clear what this dispute was about nor its resolution, which was probably in the abbot's favour, but it does show that in 1235 the Woodville family was already a local family of some importance. It is not possible to establish a clear genealogical line between the Woodvilles of later centuries and Walter but it would be right to infer a connection.
In 1348, needing funds, the Abbot of Grestain granted the property, together with seven other manors, to a merchant by the name of Tidemann de Lymbergh for a term of 1000 years. Tidemann then sold it four years later, with a term of 996 years to Michael de la Pole, a wealthy Hull merchant. The de la Poles became Earls of Suffolk and a prominent family. The Grafton manor was passed down through various generations of the family until in 1440 it was granted by licence to Richard Woodville and his wife Jacquetta. The manor was valued at £24 a year.
We might contrue that the Woodvilles had been a prominent local family since the 13th century and that their fortunes had been steadily rising during this period. The income of £24 a year was not inconsiderable although it would pale into insignificance against the annual income of one of the great earls, such as the Earl of Warwick, who garnered £3000 a year from his estates. But there was more to the Woodvilles than this. Over the centuries they had been steadily acquiring land in the neighbouring parishes. The Grafton manor might have been the jewel in thier crown but at this date they were not without resources. For example, they borrowed 900 marks from two London merchants, presumably to finance the purchase of Grafton, so they plainly had assets.
Even so they would count as no better than south Northamptonshire gentry on the social ladder. However, the old social order was changing and many of the families who were to become great families in the 16th century, such as the Cecils, the Wriothesleys, the Paulets and the Thynnes were improving their social position in the 15th century.
Richard Woodville (d. 1441) was a chamberlain to John, Duke of Bedford, the second son of Henry IV and brother to Henry V. The Woodvilles were not without connections. His son, also Richard, (1408 - 1469) was the one who propelled the family to the forefront of English politics. He secretly married Jacquetta, the widow of the Duke Of Bedford. One has to assume that it was a love match. The secrecy was essential because an open marriage would not have been permitted because of the disparity of their social standing. They did come clean after the event and both were fined as punishment.
He was already earning some respect as a soldier. At the age of 21 he was a captain and he served in France in 1433. The Duke of Bedford, when he was regent, made him a knight in 1435. He fought at Gerberoi in 1435 and served under William de la Pole, duke of Suffolk, in 1435–6. After his marriage to Jacquetta he continued to serve in the field with distinction. During the wars in France he served under the hapless Duke of Somerset and later under the more competent the Duke of York in 1441–2. He was then made captain of Alençon and knight-banneret. He was appointed seneschal of Gascony in 1450, and lieutenant of Calais in 1454–5.
He was created Baron Rivers by Henry VI on 9 May 1448. Two years later, as Sir Richard, he was invested as a Knight of the Garter in 1450. He was appointed Warden of the Cinque Ports in 1459.
When civil war broke out he fought naturally enough for King Henry against invasion by the Yorkist earls in 1459–60. As Warden it was his duty to defend Kent but was captured at Sandwich.
Overall, the star of Richard Woodville was rising during his lifetime. We can judge from his appointments to be a man of ability and there is no evidence that he mismanaged or failed in any of the appointments he was given. The marriage with jacquetta did bring Richard Woodville closer to the centre of political life but he was clearly valued for his military leadership and was rewarded accordingly. He sensibly shifted his allegiance to the Yorkist side after 1460 and as Baron Rivers was established in the lower ranks of the english nobility. Nobody, least of all he and his wife, could have predicted that the chance encounter between their eldest daughter and the young Yorkist king would project them rapidly to the highest echelons of society.
He was created Earl Rivers in 1466 and appointed to high office as Lord Treasurer in that year and Constable of England the following year. The title appears to derive from the Redvers family, sometime Earls of Devon, who at one time may have intermarried with the Woodvilles. No doubt the title was taken to embellish their aristocratic pretensions. In 1469 he was taken prisoner after a losing battle against the Earl of Warwick at Edgecote Moor, 21st July 1469. He and his son John were quickly executed.
Warwick and some members of the old nobility resented this parvenu family. They believed that the rights and perquisites of government should be theirs alone. Nonetheless the world did change. The Tudors made a practice of employing clever and able men from outside the old aristocracy. These were men they could trust and were also men who were dispensable without too much difficulty if the occasion arose. It is somewhat ironic that the descendants of these new families became the new aristocracy whose influence persisted until well into the 20th century.
The Woodvilles were now permanently, if somewhat precariously at the top of English society. Rivers' daughter was to become queen again and his grand daughter also Queen of England. His great grandson became Henry VIII.