The most influential figures within the polity appreciated the value of good publicity. The political elite took every opportunity to tout their wealth, prestige, and immediacy with the sovereign. It was a tool for projecting legitimacy and unassailability to the public. It served as a means of increasing their legacy, potentially opening new avenues of influence. Popularity was its own form of power. It was deployed repeatedly with great success throughout the Wars of the Roses. Whereas the last chapter touched upon the advertisement of influence through participation in royal ceremonial events, the examination will now shift the view towards the observant spectator and their commentaries. Exploring the judgements the power-brokers evoked from domestic and foreign audiences will further illuminate the nature of their influence as viewed by those who followed the ongoing intrigues of the English court. Furthermore, the contemporary commentaries highlight the concern over public image as brokers guarded their reputation lest it be used against them by their rivals to undermine their standing. The measures of influence that form this chapter are disparate, yet they do share common themes pertaining to the perception of power vis-à-vis the broker’s privileged status.

The conclusions drawn by commentators had the potential to enhance or damage the power-broker’s status. In an honour-based society, reputation was cherished and it influenced the political (in)action of others. As a process for maintaining his popularity with the people, the earl of Warwick promoted an image of largesse. He kept an open household, supplying cooked meat to all who visited and allowing them to take away as much as could be carried away on a dagger. Anthony, Earl Rivers’s brief tenure as lieutenant of Calais in 1471 may have been in part a product of his damaged standing after he and his father were publicly upbraided by the Yorkist earls before the garrison in 1460. Such treatment was not likely to have been forgotten during Warwick’s subsequent term as captain of Calais in Edward’s first reign. His popularity with the soldiers arguably had a detrimental impact on the attitude towards Rivers as Warwick’s immediate successor. The subsequent private feud between Rivers and his replacement at Calais, William, Lord Hastings, over the valued office was waged in a manner meant to damage one another’s repute as they sought to undermine the royal favour of the other.