"Jockey of Norfolk"

I was doing some research on the Great Road North and found this bit mentioned in a discussion about The Jockey House in Retford. Since it differs from the usual quotation about the incident, I thought it might be of interest.

Source here (near the bottom of the page):
http://www.biffvernon.freeserve.co.uk/jockey_house.htm

...from medieval times 'to jockey' meant to deceive, to cheat.

There is the mysterious and somewhat sinister incident of the title, Jockey of Norfolk, being used of Sir John Howard, the first of that name to become Duke of Norfolk. He was a loyal supporter of King Richard III, fighting with him at the Battle of Bosworth where both he and the King were killed. The night before the battle Sir John returned to his tent to find this strange warning:

Jockey of Norfolk be not too bold
For Dickon, thy Master, is bought and sold.

Retrospectively that smacks more of dirty tricks than prophecy. Jockey seems to have been a Northern diminutive for John. So jockey of Norfolk was simply about as disrespectful an address as the writer of the note could use and still clearly identify the Duke.

wednesday wrote:
>
> I was doing some research on the Great Road North and found this bit mentioned in a discussion about The Jockey House in Retford. Since it differs from the usual quotation about the incident, I thought it might be of interest.
>
> Source here (near the bottom of the page):
> http://www.biffvernon.freeserve.co.uk/jockey_house.htm

[snip quoted material]

Carol responds:

The problem with this article, which is actually rather interesting, at least to me, with regard to "Jockey," is that it appears to be taking the note at face value as having really been written by a Tudor supporter (who somehow sneaked into the enemy camp and pinned to Norfolk's tent without being shot or captured). Unfortunately for the writer of the article, the note was almost certainly invented by Edward Hall, the first person to mention it (in his "Union of the Two Noble and Illustrate Families of Lancastre and Yorke," usually called Hall's Chronicle, which was first published in 1542). Surprisingly (or perhaps not surprisingly since the Howard dukes of Norfolk were still powerful), Hall is anything but disparaging toward the Duke of Norfolk. Here is the story on its first-ever appearance:

"In this battaill died fewe aboue the nomber of a 'thousande persones And of the nobilitie were slayne Ihon Duke of Norfolke, whiche was warned by dy tiers [diurse = diverse] to refrayne from the felde, in so much that the nyghte before he shoulde set forwarde towarde the kynge, one
wrote on his gate [note "gate," not "tent"].

"lack [Iack] of Norffolke be not to bolde
"For Dykon thy master is bought and solde.

"Yet all this notwithstandynge he regarded more his othe his honour and promyse made to king Richard, lyke a gentleman and a faythefull subiecte to his prince absented not him selfe from hys mayster, but as he faythefully lyued vnder hym, so he manfully dyed with
hym to hys greate fame and lawde."

http://archive.org/stream/hallschronicleco00halluoft/hallschronicleco00halluoft_djvu.txt

Note that the (imaginary) note addresses Norfolk as "Jack," a common nickname for John (though I have no idea whether his friends actually used it).

The story was copied (with only a few differences in spelling) by Raphael Holinshed in his "Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland" (revised edition 1587), Shakespeare's source for much of the material in his "Richard III." Here is Holinshed's version of the couplet:

"Iacke of Norffolke be not too bold,
For Dikon thy maister is bought and sold."

http://www.r3.org/bookcase/holinshed/h-444.htm

He, too, has the note posted on Norfolk's gate, not pinned to his tent, and calls him "Iacke" (Jack). His wording is virtually identical to Hall's

It's only when we reach Shakespeare that we have the familiar story recounted as "history" by everyone from Wikipedia to the source you quoted:

"NORFOLK
"A good direction, warlike sovereign.

"[He sheweth him a paper]

"This found I on my tent this morning.

"RICHARD
"(reads)
"Jockey of Norfolk, be not so bold.
"For Dickon thy master is bought and sold."

So we can see the tale grow in the telling. It's our dear friend Will Shakespeare who originates both the (improbable) tent story and the (supposedly offensive or insulting) nickname "Jockey." However, it's Hall who invents the original story (note on the gate, also not particularly probable--how long had Norfolk been away from home before Bosworth?) and, as far as I can determine, the nickname Dykon (Holinshed's Dikon, rendered by Shakespeare as Dickon) for Richard. (I think that Dickon's Well and similar landmarks date from about the same period. Obviously, Dickon's Well was so-named after his death, and it appears to be in the wrong place.)

I didn't mean to be so long-winded, but it's important to see how the myth developed and became "history" subject to further analysis by people who take it to be real--like the author of the website you quoted, whose apparently insightful analysis turns out to be balderdash (sp?).

BTW, the Duke of Norfolk, like Francis Lovell, has been the target of character assassination simply because of his loyalty to the supposedly evil Richard. He has even been accused of murdering the "Princes" because he wanted the younger one's title.

Carol




Carol