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258 YORK.
Lord Shrewsbuiy had advanced as far as Doncaster,
but his force was insufficient to admit of his
going further northward without reinforcements. The
Duke of Norfolk was sent down to his assistance.
He joined him on the 25th October, but was charged
by the king to avoid an engagement unless he were
absolutely certain of success.
Aske was now joined by representatives of the
best blood of Yorkshire,—Lord Scrope of Bolton,
Lord Latimer, Lord Lumley, Lord Conyers, Sir
Thomas Percy, and many other well-known names,
such as Fairfax, Constable, Evers, Bulmer, Tempest,
Monckton, Mallory, Norton, &c., &c. The Cliffords,
the Dacres, and the Musgraves were the only great
houses who stood aloof and heldto the king.
It
was determined to march to Doncaster and confront
Lord Shrewsbury and the Duke of Norfolk.
The insurgents' army presented an imposing array.
Sir Thomas Percy, a younger brother of Henrj-,
Earl of Northumberland, led the advanced guard
of 5,000 men with the holy banner of St. Cuthbert
upreared in their midst. The men of Holderness
and the West Riding followed, with Aske and Lord
Darcy at their head. The rearguard consisted of
a body of horse, 12,000 strong, from the dales of
Richmondshire and* the bishopric of Durham. Sir
Marmaduke Constable stated afterwards :
" We were
30,000 men, as tall men, well horsed, and well
appointed as any men could be."
The insurgents far outnumbered the force which
v, as in front of them, and their leaders appear to have
thought that Shrewsbury and Norfolk would yield