Edward Woodville | |
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Lord Scales (styled) | |
Predecessor | Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers |
Born | c. 1454-8 Grafton Regis, Northamptonshire, Kingdom of England |
Died | 28 July 1488 Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier |
Father | Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers |
Mother | Jacquetta of Luxembourg |
Sir Edward Woodville KG KB (died 1488) was a member of the Woodville family during the Wars of the Roses. He survived the reign of Richard III in which several of his relatives were executed in a power struggle after the death of his brother-in-law Edward IV. Exiled with Henry Tudor, he participated in Henry's capture of the throne. Henry subsequently married Woodville's niece, Elizabeth of York. Under Henry VII, Woodville was appointed Lord of the Isle of Wight, the last person to be given that title.
An enthusiastic soldier, he has been called "the last knight errant" because of his devotion to the chivalrous ideal.[1] Involved in many military adventures, he was finally killed in an ill-fated personal expedition to Brittany in support of Francis II, Duke of Brittany.
Woodville was referred to as Lord Scales after the death of his brother Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, who bequeathed the Scales lands to him. He is consistently referred to as Lord Scales in Spanish and Breton records, but he never officially held the baronial title.