Clifford’s Tower

Clifford’s Tower is presented as the place where Robert Aske was hanged in full view of York. In Margaret Pole’s account, its height and position above the city turn it into the final stage of a public punishment: Aske is taken there to die before people who had once heard him promise their pardon.

Setting and Role

The passage places Clifford’s Tower at the very top of the walls of York. It supplies no broader description of the structure; instead, the tower is defined by its role in the execution. After Aske is taken from London to York, he is paraded through a city described as stunned and silent, then brought up to the tower for his death.

Aske’s Execution

At the tower, Aske reads a confession. A rope is put around his neck where the king had placed a chain of gold, and iron chains are wrapped around him before he is hanged. The contrast between gold and iron compresses the reversal in his fortunes: the man once welcomed at court is now displayed in chains and executed.

Public Meaning

The execution is arranged to be seen by the northern men who had heard Aske promise their pardon. Clifford’s Tower therefore marks not only the end of Aske’s life but the visible repudiation of that promise. The city’s silence and the elevated site make the punishment a public warning, while the remembered royal embrace sharpens the contrast between former favor and final condemnation.