Challenging the Succession, 1485-99 Flashcards
What was Henry VII’s claim to the throne?
- Tenuous claim.
- Based on descent from Edward III via illegitimate line.
- Mother: Margaret, last of the Beauforts
- Beaufort family: descendants of the third son of Edward III, John of Gaunt.
What else was contentious about Henry VII’s claim to the throne?
- Transmitted to him through a woman.
- Medieval period: women could not rule but could pass on a claim to their sons
- This claim would not be as strong as one that had come through a man.
Names of Henry’s rival claimants?
John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln
Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick
Edward IV’s children = Edward + Richard (Princes in the Tower)
What was John de la Pole’s claim to the throne?
- Earl of Lincoln.
- Leading Yorkist claimant.
- Nephew of Edward IV + Richard III
- During Richard’s reign was heir presumptive.
- Potential figurehead of Yorkist rising
- Rapidly became focus of opposition to Henry in first 2 years of reign.
What was a heir presumptive?
- Most likely to be next monarch
- Can be displaced in line of succession by the birth of a child to current ruler.
- John de la Pole was heir presumptive because Richard III had no surviving children.
What was Edward Plantagenet’s claim to the throne?
- Earl of Warwick.
- Nephew of Edward IV + Richard III.
What happened to Edward Plantagenet?
1485: only 10 years old - youth made it easy for Henry VII to control him.
- Placed in the Tower, where he spent the rest of his life.
What happened to Edward IV’s children: Edward + Richard?
- Known as the Princes in the Tower.
- 1483: They disappeared at the start of Richard IIIs reign
- Probable that they were dead.
What happened at the Battle of Bosworth?
August 1485: Henry Tudor defeated Richard III and won the throne
- Now Henry VII
Why did Henry VII win the Battle of Bosworth?
- Had smaller force of about 5000 men
- Richard had twice this
- Henry won due to miscalculation + actions of some of Richard’s leading nobility.
Which leading nobility aided Henry’s win of the Battle of Bosworth?
- The Stanley’s = loyalties were split as Thomas Stanley (Lord Stanley) married Henry’s widowed mother.
- Chose to watch the battle before from the sidelines
- Sir William (Thomas Stanley’s brother) later committed his troops in support of Henry.
- Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland = brought troops to the battle but didn’t fight at all.
How did Richard’s actions help Henry win the Battle of Bosworth?
- Richard saw the opportunity to finish the battle by killing Henry
- However became separated from majority of his troops.
- Then Sir William Stanley chose to intervene
- He directed his troops to attack Richard and possibly saved Henry’s life.
What was the significance of the nobility betraying Richard?
- Powerful nobility (Stanleys + Northumberland) betrayed their king and acted in own best interests.
- Previously had King’s trust
- Could easily do the same to Henry, a ruler with a very weak claim to throne.
Example of other Yorkists who had turned against Richard?
- The Woodville family: turned against Richard when he usurped the throne from nephews.
- Supported Henry as a method to get rid of Richard, no guarantee that they would keep supporting him.
What idea did Henry need to reinforce after Bosworth?
That God wanted him to be King
What measures did Henry use to secure his claim to the throne?
- He was crowned
- Summoned his first parliament
- Used parliament to date his reign the day before Bosworth
- Cancelled the Titulus Regius
- Married Elizabeth of York
- Rewarded his supporters
- Dealt with the men who actively supported Richard III
- Went on a progress
- Attempted to make the Crown’s finances more secure through an Act of Resumption
What was the significance of crowning Henry VII?
- Process of crowning a monarch involved coronation oath where monarch swore to protect his realm + uphold its laws.
- Coronation: the moment at which they were considered to have been chosen + anointed by God.
- Important step for Henry in reasserting his God-given right to be King.
What was the significance of Henry’s first parliament?
- Part of the royal prerogative to summon parliament, but parliament did not have the right to appoint the monarch.
- Declared that Henry was king = confirmed previous events.
- Henry was careful to avoid any suggestion that parliament had given him the throne.
What was the significance of using parliament to date his reign the day before Bosworth?
- Turned Richard III into a usurper + Henry into the rightful king on the day the battle was fought.
- All those who had fought for Richard could be punished for treason.
What was the significance of cancelled Titulus Regius?
- Used parliament to cancel it.
- Titulus Regius declared Edward IV’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville invalid + their children illegitimate.
- Daughter = Elizabeth of York = Henry’s wife
- Henry needed to ensure that any of his children would be undeniably legitimate so they could inherit the throne.
What was the significance of Henry’s marriage to Elizabeth of York?
- 1486
- Able to cement support from the Yorkists.
- United the two feuding factions
- 1487: Birth to son Arthur reinforced this
Which supporters did Henry reward?
- Jasper Tudor = Duke of Bedford = due to lifelong support = 1485
- Thomas Stanley = Earl of Derby = 1485
- Sir William Stanley = Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Household = 1485
- Sir Thomas Lovell = rebelled against Richard in 1483 and joined Henry in exile = Treasurer of the Household
- John Morton = resisted Richard = Chancellor + Archbishop of Canterbury
- Both Lovell + Morton spent the rest of their careers serving Henry loyally.
- Importance: both men had experience governing England
- Henry had been in exile most his life, no experience
How did Henry deal with men who had actively supported Richard III?
- Significantly, didn’t execute many Bosworth survivors.
- Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey = kept in the Tower until 1487
What happened to John de la Pole?
- Earl of Lincoln.
- Swore loyalty to Henry
- Allowed to join Royal Council.
What happened to Henry Percy?
- Briefly imprisoned before allowed to return to his estates.
What was the significance of Henry going on a progress?
1486: Embarked on a progress to Midlands + North
- Ricardian support was particularly strong.
What was the significance of securing the Crown’s finances?
1486: Act of Resumption
- Allowed Henry to take back all Crown lands which had been granted away since 1455.
- Increased wealth of Crown + gave Henry more spending power compared to nobility.
What did Henry do when rewarding land to his supporters?
- Used land that had been forfeited by opponents rather than Crown lands
- Loss of Crown Lands would have impoverished him while making nobility more powerful.
Who were Yorkist supporters of Richard III in 1485?
- Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey
- John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln
- Francis, Lord Lovell,
- Thomas + Henry Stafford
- Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy
Who were Lancastrian supporters of Henry VII in 1485?
- Margaret Beaufort (Henry’s mother)
- Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford
- John de Vere, Earl of Oxford
- Edward Courtenay, Earl of Devon
Who were the anti-Ricardian Yorkists who supported Henry at Bosworth?
- Elizabeth Woodville
- John Morton
- Thomas Grey
- Sir Thomas Lovell
- Sir Giles Daubeney
Who had mixed/uncertain loyalties in 1485?
- Lord Thomas Stanley
- Sir William Stanley
- Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland
What was the main role of Henry’s Lancastrian supporters in the years 1485-87?
- Enhance control of England.
- No immediate family members - other than mother + uncle.
- Could be seen as an advantage as no need to spend money or give away royal estates to support relatives (this had been a problem for Edward IV)
Which of his Lancastrian supporters did Henry rely on the most?
- Those who had been in exile with him
- Jasper Tudor + John de Vere.
What power was Jasper Tudor given?
Chief Justice: Extensive power in the troublesome region of Wales
What power was John de Vere given?
Prominent on Henry’s Council + in East Anglia.
Which other family was trusted in the early years and why?
- The Stanley Family
- Thomas Stanley was married to Henry’s mother, Margaret Beaufort
How was Thomas Stanley rewarded?
Custody of the Cheshire estates of the Earl of Stafford while the Stafford heir was a minor.
What did Margaret Beaufort get?
Additional estates in the Midlands + the West.
Why were the anti-Ricardian Yorkists a greater potential problem?
e.g. the Woodvilles
They could easily switch their allegiance to a rival claimant once Richard III was defeated.
Did the anti-Ricardian Yorkists switch their allegiance and why?
- No
- As Henry kept his promise to marry Elizabeth of York.
- Meant Yorkists were able to transfer their allegiance to the new Tudor dynasty.
- Didn’t support plots against Henry.
Who was the exception to this?
- Thomas Grey
- Elizabeth of York’s half-brother
- 1484: Grey joined Henry in exile but later returned to support Richard III.
Why were the hard-line supporters of Richard III a problem?
e.g. Thomas + Henry Stafford, Francis, Lord Lovell
They had fought for Richard at Bosworth and still hoped to restore a Yorkist monarchy.
When did rumours begin to spread about plots against Henry?
1486
