15th Century (1400s)

Question 1

Who was Henry V and what were his key accomplishments? (r.1413-1422)

Answer 1

• Who He Was:
  
  • Succeeded his father, Henry Bolingbroke (Henry IV), as king.
• Key Accomplishments:
  
  • Best known for his decisive military victories, such as the Battle of Agincourt (1415).

Question 2

What is the significance of the Battle of Agincourt in the Hundred Years’ War? (1415)

Answer 2

• A key English victory in the Hundred Years’ War.
• Significance:
  
  • Henry V’s outnumbered troops defeated a larger French army.
  • Famous for the decisive use of longbows by the English.

Question 3

What were the terms of the Treaty of Troyes? (1420)

Answer 3

• What It Was:
  
  • A treaty that recognized Henry V of Monmouth as the heir to the French throne upon the death of Charles VI.
• Key Terms:
  
  • Arranged Henry V’s marriage to Catherine of Valois.
  • Aimed to unify the English and French crowns under Henry V.

Question 4

How did Henry VI’s reign contribute to the decline of the English monarchy? (r.1422-1461 and 1470-1471)

Answer 4

• Who He Was:
  
  • Successor following Henry V’s death.
• Challenges:
  
  • A weak and mentally unstable king.
  • Under his reign, the dual monarchy of England and France crumbled, leading to the loss of French territories.

Question 5

What were the Wars of the Roses, and what were their outcomes? (1455-1487)

Answer 5

• What They Were:
  
  • A series of dynastic civil wars between the House of York, the white rose (Richard III) and the House of Lancaster, the red rose, (Henry VI) for control of the English throne.
• Outcomes:
  
  • Led to the rise of the Tudor dynasty when Henry Tudor (Henry VII) won at the Battle of Bosworth and married Elizabeth of York.

Question 6

What was the significance of the Battle of St. Albans in the Wars of the Roses? (1455)

Answer 6

• What It Was:
  
  • The first battle of the Wars of the Roses.
• Significance:
  
  • Yorkists defeated the Lancastrians, leading to further conflict.

Question 7

What role did Edward IV play in the Wars of the Roses? (r. 1461-1470 and 1471-1483)

Answer 7

• Who He Was:
  
  • A key figure in the Wars of the Roses.
• Role:
  
  • Led the Yorkist faction to victory over the Lancastrians.
  • Temporarily became king.

Question 8

Who were The Princes in the Tower? (1483)

Answer 8

• Who They Were:
  
  • King Edward V and his brother Richard, Duke of York.
• Significance:
  
  • Imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1483 by Richard III.
  • Their mysterious disappearance remains unsolved, probably killed.

Question 9

How did Richard III’s reign end, and what was its significance? (r.1483-1485)

Answer 9

• What Happened:
  
  • Richard III of York was defeated at the Battle of Bosworth.
• Significance:
  
  • The last major battle of the Wars of the Roses.
  • Henry VII of the Tudor dynasty ascends to the throne, marking the end of the Plantagenet era.

Question 10

Who was Henry Tudor (Henry VII)? (r. 1485-1509)

Answer 10

• Who He Was:
  
  • Established the Tudor dynasty after defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field (1485).
• Significance:
  
  • His reign marked the end of the Wars of the Roses and the beginning of the Tudor era, an era of relative peace.

Question 11

What was the Star Chamber, and why did it gain a notorious reputation? (circa. 1487-1641)

Answer 11

• What It Was:
  
  • A royal court designed to ensure fair enforcement of laws against powerful nobles who were above the reach of local courts.
• Reputation:
  
  • Gained notoriety for its secretive and arbitrary rulings.
  • Often used to suppress dissent and enforce the monarch’s will.

Question 12

When was the printing press first introduced in England, and then all of Europe?

Answer 12

• Introduction in England:
  
  • Attributed to William Caxton, a merchant, in 1476.
• Wider Use:
  
  • By the 1480s, it is assumed that “the printed book was in universal use in Europe.”