The Island of Lundy and the Treaties of York (1464) and Nottingham (1484): Lordship, Sovereignty, and Politics in Fifteenth-Century International Relations

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Anglo-Scottish treaties of York (1464) and Nottingham (1484) include exceptions for Lorn (Scotland) and Lundy island (Bristol Channel) in the provisions they made for peace between the parties. The exception for Lundy allows for explorations of lordship and local privilege across the territories of the crown in the fifteenth century. In 1464, Lundy had recently passed from the control of the Lancastrian Butler family, and the exception reflects contests in the Irish Sea similar to those that led to the exemption for Lorn. In 1484, one of those negotiating was Henry, earl of Northumberland, and his contested claim to the lordship of the island explains his response to claims from other interests, interacting with the politics of Richard III’s reign and relationships with France and Brittany. Local and regional lordship could still manifest on the diplomatic stage, which was not yet the preserve of specialist servants of centralised states.