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John Morton: Adversary of Richard III, Power Behind the Tudors
John Morton (c. 1420 - 1500) was one of the most important men in the land from the Wars of the Roses to the start of the Tudor dynasty. He served three kings as a councillor, Master of the Rolls, Lord Chancellor, bishop, Archbishop of Canterbury and Cardinal. His skill was a key factor in the establishment of the early Tudor state. No detailed biography on Morton has been produced since Victorian times. This book follows John Morton's career through the reigns of Henry VI and Edward IV, and his central role in opposition to Richard III, before his 15 years as Lord Chancellor to Henry VII, which were crucial to the establishment of the Tudor dynasty.
- GenresHistoryTudor Period
288 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2019
3 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Stuart Bradley
7 books1 followerStuart Bradley is the author of The 2016 Presidential Election. He was motivated to write this book as he struggled to find simple, concise and neutral information about the 2016 US Presidential Election. He has a passion for US politics and a strong desire to bring knowledge to people all over the world.
Stuart Bradley is also the author of bestselling Self-Help short read Lifehackers in History and has several more books underway. He has lived in the UK, Ireland, Germany and the US and has settled in Canada.
Stuart has many passions in life including psychology, politics and history. He is also strongly driven to help others in every way he can. It was these passions combined that inspired his debut book Lifehackers in History. In this book he used teachings from great minds in history along with his own invaluable insights to create a wonderfully perceptive, thought-provoking and motivational read.
Please feel free to check out his Facebook page: SBradleyAuthor Facebook
And you can follow him on Twitter here: SBradleyAuthor Twitter
Stuart Bradley is also the author of bestselling Self-Help short read Lifehackers in History and has several more books underway. He has lived in the UK, Ireland, Germany and the US and has settled in Canada.
Stuart has many passions in life including psychology, politics and history. He is also strongly driven to help others in every way he can. It was these passions combined that inspired his debut book Lifehackers in History. In this book he used teachings from great minds in history along with his own invaluable insights to create a wonderfully perceptive, thought-provoking and motivational read.
Please feel free to check out his Facebook page: SBradleyAuthor Facebook
And you can follow him on Twitter here: SBradleyAuthor Twitter
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 24, 2021
Most of us know John Morton, if at all, as the chief minister of Henry VII. (He was Lord Chancellor, Archbishop of Canterbury and Cardinal: Prime Minister in all but name.) But he was already over sixty by then. What was he doing before that? Quite a lot, as it happens.
He was Bishop of Ely, chief adviser to Margaret of Anjou, an exile, chief adviser to Edward IV, ambassador to France, plotter against Richard III, an exile again. He is one of very few who escaped from the Tower of London. And he lived through the whole of the Wars of the Roses. A full life. And yet...
What did he do as Bishop of Ely? What advice did he give to Margaret and Edward? What was his involvement in the revolts against Richard? How did escape from the Tower? Was he present at any of the battles of the Wars of the Roses, and what was his role? We just don't know.
What little we have of his diplomatic career is not always to his credit. Under Edward IV, he bullied the French ambassador into signing a treaty, but naturally the King of France refused to honour it. Net result: a diplomatic scandal that achieved nothing.
We know he was in Rome when the future Henry VII needed favours from the Pope: Elizabeth of York must marry Henry, not Richard. Yet there is no record of what Morton did there. He is not mentioned in any of the documents. I guess that just goes show what a clever plotter he was!
However, once we come to the reign of Henry VII, the record becomes much richer. Time and again, Morton stays behind in London to keep the government going while Henry leads his army against various rebels and pretenders. As the author remarks, one reason that Richard III lost his throne was that he had no one he could trust to watch his back. With Morton on his team, Henry could effectively be in two places at once.
John Morton was a "still point" in a very turning world. Not just a good administrator and trusted adviser, he was a political asset.
He was Bishop of Ely, chief adviser to Margaret of Anjou, an exile, chief adviser to Edward IV, ambassador to France, plotter against Richard III, an exile again. He is one of very few who escaped from the Tower of London. And he lived through the whole of the Wars of the Roses. A full life. And yet...
What did he do as Bishop of Ely? What advice did he give to Margaret and Edward? What was his involvement in the revolts against Richard? How did escape from the Tower? Was he present at any of the battles of the Wars of the Roses, and what was his role? We just don't know.
What little we have of his diplomatic career is not always to his credit. Under Edward IV, he bullied the French ambassador into signing a treaty, but naturally the King of France refused to honour it. Net result: a diplomatic scandal that achieved nothing.
We know he was in Rome when the future Henry VII needed favours from the Pope: Elizabeth of York must marry Henry, not Richard. Yet there is no record of what Morton did there. He is not mentioned in any of the documents. I guess that just goes show what a clever plotter he was!
However, once we come to the reign of Henry VII, the record becomes much richer. Time and again, Morton stays behind in London to keep the government going while Henry leads his army against various rebels and pretenders. As the author remarks, one reason that Richard III lost his throne was that he had no one he could trust to watch his back. With Morton on his team, Henry could effectively be in two places at once.
John Morton was a "still point" in a very turning world. Not just a good administrator and trusted adviser, he was a political asset.
August 3, 2019
In history, many people tend to focus on the big names. The kings and queens, the rebels, and those who really made an impact. The political advisors and men of the church tend to get left behind in the dust since they are not seen as “important”. However, it is these men who were the backbone of the monarchy, who helped make the king’s vision come to fruition. They tend to come and go, so that is why John Morton’s story is so extraordinary. John Morton helped three separate kings of England, was the enemy to a fourth king, tried to reform the church, and had numerous building projects. His life tends to be overshadowed by the kings that he served, but his life is brought into the light in this biography by Stuart Bradley, “John Morton: Adversary to Richard III, Power Behind the Tudors”.
I would like to thank Amberley Publishing for sending me a copy of this book. Morton’s life and his service to the kings he served was rather fascinating to read about and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Like any good biography, Bradley begins by exploring John Morton’s life before he moved up the ranks to work with kings through his collegiate career, which was rather impressive. It is imperative to understand Morton’s education and background to show what type of skills he brought to the political and ecclesiastical positions that he would have later on in his life. Morton caught the eye of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Bourgchier, who helped Morton get into his position as Chancellor of the Duchy of Cornwall, which put him in direct contact with Prince Edward of Westminster, Queen Margaret of Anjou, and King Henry VI. He served King Henry VI until his death in 1471.
Morton could have decided to live as an exile during the reign of Edward IV, but instead, he accepted a royal pardon and decided to work with the Yorkist king. This may seem like an unusual step for a man who was once loyal to the Lancasterian cause, but Morton was loyal to his country first and foremost. During this time, he helped establish peace with France and became the Bishop of Ely. When Edward IV died and his sons disappeared from records, Morton could have retired, since he was in his mid-sixties at this point, but instead, he leads a rebellion against King Richard III, with young Henry Tudor as his choice for the next king. Morton helped arrange for Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of York to be married, as well as help Henry VII stop the pretenders from taking the English throne. Under King Henry VII, Morton worked non-stop as both Lord Chancellor and Archbishop of Canterbury, to guide the king and to ensure the survival of the dynasty, until his death in 1500.
It is remarkable to see how much Morton did during his lifetime in politics, for the church, and the building projects. Morton was one of those figures that I honestly did not know a lot about before I read this book, but now I want to know more about him. Bradley obviously thoroughly researched Morton’s life and times and is able to articulate this research in this engaging biography. If you want a fantastic biography about a rather remarkable man who helped England navigate through the Wars of the Roses and the beginning of the Tudor dynasty, I highly recommend you read, “John Morton: Adversary to Richard III, Power Behind the Tudors” by Stuart Bradley.
I would like to thank Amberley Publishing for sending me a copy of this book. Morton’s life and his service to the kings he served was rather fascinating to read about and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Like any good biography, Bradley begins by exploring John Morton’s life before he moved up the ranks to work with kings through his collegiate career, which was rather impressive. It is imperative to understand Morton’s education and background to show what type of skills he brought to the political and ecclesiastical positions that he would have later on in his life. Morton caught the eye of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Bourgchier, who helped Morton get into his position as Chancellor of the Duchy of Cornwall, which put him in direct contact with Prince Edward of Westminster, Queen Margaret of Anjou, and King Henry VI. He served King Henry VI until his death in 1471.
Morton could have decided to live as an exile during the reign of Edward IV, but instead, he accepted a royal pardon and decided to work with the Yorkist king. This may seem like an unusual step for a man who was once loyal to the Lancasterian cause, but Morton was loyal to his country first and foremost. During this time, he helped establish peace with France and became the Bishop of Ely. When Edward IV died and his sons disappeared from records, Morton could have retired, since he was in his mid-sixties at this point, but instead, he leads a rebellion against King Richard III, with young Henry Tudor as his choice for the next king. Morton helped arrange for Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of York to be married, as well as help Henry VII stop the pretenders from taking the English throne. Under King Henry VII, Morton worked non-stop as both Lord Chancellor and Archbishop of Canterbury, to guide the king and to ensure the survival of the dynasty, until his death in 1500.
It is remarkable to see how much Morton did during his lifetime in politics, for the church, and the building projects. Morton was one of those figures that I honestly did not know a lot about before I read this book, but now I want to know more about him. Bradley obviously thoroughly researched Morton’s life and times and is able to articulate this research in this engaging biography. If you want a fantastic biography about a rather remarkable man who helped England navigate through the Wars of the Roses and the beginning of the Tudor dynasty, I highly recommend you read, “John Morton: Adversary to Richard III, Power Behind the Tudors” by Stuart Bradley.
December 28, 2025
Thanks to Amberley Publishing for gifting me a copy of this for review.
This is a very scholarly study, obviously well-researched, but almost too dense at points and difficult to read. There is a lot of information, and John Morton was involved in so much more of Henry VII’s reign than I had realised so that was interesting to find out more about. There was one mistake that I spotted though – the Earl of Rutland was described as the Duke of York’s youngest son, but he was actually the second son of four when he died in 1460.
I was also surprised when I received the book that half of the book is actually appendices – the full itineraries of both John Morton and Henry VIII between 1485 and 1500, day by day. It’s a brilliant piece of research and could be a great reference guide, but I was surprised that it comprised so much of the book. The actual narrative finishes before the central plate section in the book.
The book is very detailed in terms of what John Morton does and where he is at certain points, in comparison to the king, as well as his involvement in the earlier period of the Wars of the Roses. But dates aren’t always clear – sometimes a month and a day are given but you have to flick back a few pages and re-read sections to check whether you’re in the same year as a previous section or whether you’re now in a different year. That could do with more clarification throughout, particularly for those who are less familiar with the period.
Morton is a figure who played quite a large role in the early years of the Tudor period, but who doesn’t seem to have been written about much. So, this is an important study to highlight his role and the influence he had on the creation of the Tudor dynasty and the Tudor power. Books so often focus on the big players of the period like the monarchs, consorts, and largely the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, that it is refreshing to get books about lesser-known players. It is dense and very detailed, but an important addition to books on people associated with the Tudor reigns.
This is a very scholarly study, obviously well-researched, but almost too dense at points and difficult to read. There is a lot of information, and John Morton was involved in so much more of Henry VII’s reign than I had realised so that was interesting to find out more about. There was one mistake that I spotted though – the Earl of Rutland was described as the Duke of York’s youngest son, but he was actually the second son of four when he died in 1460.
I was also surprised when I received the book that half of the book is actually appendices – the full itineraries of both John Morton and Henry VIII between 1485 and 1500, day by day. It’s a brilliant piece of research and could be a great reference guide, but I was surprised that it comprised so much of the book. The actual narrative finishes before the central plate section in the book.
The book is very detailed in terms of what John Morton does and where he is at certain points, in comparison to the king, as well as his involvement in the earlier period of the Wars of the Roses. But dates aren’t always clear – sometimes a month and a day are given but you have to flick back a few pages and re-read sections to check whether you’re in the same year as a previous section or whether you’re now in a different year. That could do with more clarification throughout, particularly for those who are less familiar with the period.
Morton is a figure who played quite a large role in the early years of the Tudor period, but who doesn’t seem to have been written about much. So, this is an important study to highlight his role and the influence he had on the creation of the Tudor dynasty and the Tudor power. Books so often focus on the big players of the period like the monarchs, consorts, and largely the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, that it is refreshing to get books about lesser-known players. It is dense and very detailed, but an important addition to books on people associated with the Tudor reigns.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews