Which 1459 parliament attainted leading Yorkists after Ludford Bridge?

The 1459 parliament that attainted leading Yorkists after Ludford Bridge was the Parliament of Devils. It met at Coventry from 20 November to 20 December 1459, after the Yorkist army withdrew from Ludford Bridge and the Lancastrian government regained the initiative.

The parliament passed bills of attainder for high treason against major Yorkist leaders, including Richard, Duke of York, his sons Edward, Earl of March, and Edmund, Earl of Rutland, and the Nevilles Richard, Earl of Salisbury, and Richard, Earl of Warwick.

The proceedings were exceptionally harsh because attainder could strip a condemned person of lands, rights, and inheritance. The Yorkist leaders were absent, having fled or remained outside the government’s control, so the charges were made in a strongly partisan political setting.

The nickname Parliament of Devils reflects later hostility to the assembly and its punitive measures. The attainders did not end the conflict: Yorkist forces soon returned, and Edward, Earl of March, eventually became King Edward IV in 1461.