Depth Study 1 - Challenging the succession, 1485–1499 Flashcards
Who were some notable lancastrians (1485-87) (6)
-John of Gaunt was Edward III’s third son, and founded the house of Lancaster
-Henry IV, V, VI were all Lancastrian monarchs
-John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset, was born prior to JoG’s marriage, and thus was illegitimate
-Margaret Beaufort was JB’s granddaughter, and was made legitimate under the condition none of her descendants could claim the throne
-Henry V’s wife remarried to Owen Tudor, and they then had Edmund Tudor
-Edmund and Margaret had Henry VII
Who were some notable yorkists (1485-87) (7)
-Edmund Duke of York, Edward III’s 4th kid, founded the house of york
-Edmunds grandkid had 4 notable children, Edward IV, George Duke of Clarence, Richard III and Elizabeth of Suffolk
-Edward IV was king and had 3 kids, Edward V, Richard duke of york and Elizabeth of suffolk
-Richard III put the first 2 kids in jail and ruled with no heir
-Elizabeth of York was Edward IV’s only surviving kid
-George’s Kid was Edward, Earl of Warwick, who Henry VII put in the tower
-Elizabeth Suffolk’s kid was John de la pole, Earl of Lincoln, the leading yorkist claimant and heir presumptive
Who had the best claim to the english throne (1485-87) (5)
-John De la Pole: was a man, not a child/woman, and had direct relations to Edward IV
-Edward, Duke of York: direct relations to Edward IV, but was a child
-Edward and Richard: had the strongest claim through being Edward IV’s kids, but locked in a tower and potentially didn’t exist
-Elizabeth of York: Direct relations to Edward IV, but was a woman
-Henry VII: Had relations through Edward III, but was a Lancastrian and illegitimate
What happpened at the battle of bosworth (1485-87) (2,2)
-The battle of Bosworth was between Richard III and around 10,000 men vs Henry VII and his 5,000 men
-Other notable people included Henry Percy (Earl of Northumberland) who didn’t fight, Thomas Stanley (Henry’s step-father) and William Stanley
-Richard came close to killing Henry, and charged, seeing the opportunity to do so, but in the charge became separated from his troops
-William Stanley then intervened, ordering his troops to attack Richard and eventually Richard was killed and Henry won
What were some impacts of the battle of bosworth (1485-87) (3,4,1)
+Richard III was killed in battle
+Richard’s only legitimate son/heir, Edward prince of wales, died in 1484
+Many key yorkists either died in battle (John Hward, Duke of Norfolk) or were captured
-The 15th century was a time in which it was believed that God’s will dictated events
-Estimates suggest only 1/4 of nobility fought for Richard
-Powerful nobility (STanleys & Northumberland) betrayed the king and acted in their own self itnerests
-Henry was able to draw upon some anti-ricardian support (woodville family)
–Some key yorkists escaped in battle (Francis Lovell, Humphrey and Thomas Stafford)
What did Henry VII do in 1485 to secure his hold on the throne (1485-87) (3,4,4)
-His first move was to be coronated on October 30th, 1485, in a formal ceremony
-Coronation was the moment when they were considered chosen/annointed by God
-Done before marriage to show he didn’t claim the throne through Elizabeth
-Calling parliament in November 1485 was a demonstration of his Kingship
-He declared his reign began a day before Bosworth, making Richard a usurper
-He cancelled Richard’s Titulus Regius, which declared Edward and Elizabeth Woodwards marriage illegitimate, and thus Elizabeth of York
-He made parliament swear an oath to not retain (recruit) men illegally
-He treated his supporters well, and aimed to use loyalty to enhance his security
-Beneficiaries included uncle Jasper Tudor, Thomas Stanley (earl of derby), although he didn’t grant too many titles
-Yorkists whor esisted Richard were supported (Thomas Lovell = household treasurer, John Morton = ABoC)
-Seized enemy lands, but didn;t execute many, such as John de la pole, who swore loyalty
What did Henry VII do to secure his throne from 1486-87 (1485-87) (2,2,2,3)
-Henry married Elizabeth of York in 1486
-She gave birth to Arthur later that year, a representative of the tudor dynasty
-Henry embarked on a royal progress to the north/midlands in 1486
-Aimed to increase his support in typically ricardian areas
-1486 Act of Resumption allowed Henry to take back all crown lands granted since 1455, giving this land to his supporters
-This increased the crown’s wealth in comparison to nobility, and granted Hnery spending power
-1486 Stafford brothers rebellion -> Humphrey Stafford executed, Thomas Stafford pardoned
-Jasper Tudor intervened in Francis Lord Lovell’s Yorkshire rebellion
-However, key yorkists such as Warwick and Lincoln still didn’t accept his rule
How did Henry VII deal with key yorkists post bosworth (1485-87) (4,3)
-Earl of Warwick was imprisoned in the tower of London, but lived in relative comfort
-John de la Pole swore loyalty to the monarch, and was allowed to join the great council
-Henry Percy, earl of Northumberland, was released from prison in 1485 and given the opportunity to control the north to prove his loyalty
-Henry was quite naive in giving power to opponents, although it did help restore relations
-Francis Lord Lovell failed to rebel and fleed to Flanders
-Humphrey Stafford executed, Thomas Stafford pardoned for their rebellion
-Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy and Richard III’s sister, was willing to help anyone rebel against Henry VII
How did Henry VII deal with key lancastrians post bosworth (1485-87) (4)
(Any titles given were a form of patronage)
-Jasper Tudor became Duke of Bedford in 1485, Chief justice of Wales, although this was due to him having a little chance of an heir (was 55)
-William Stanley made Lord Chamberlain
-Giles Daubeney (rebelled vs Richard in 1483) created Lord Daubeney and Lieutenant of Calais in 1486, became LC in 1495 after Stanley’s execution
-John Morton (resisted RIII in 1483) became chancellor and Archbishop of Canterbury in 1486
What was the Lovell/Stafford rebellion (1485-87) (2,2,2)
-In 1486, rumours began to spread of plots against Henry, and John de la Pole was caught smuggling gold/silver out of the country
-Stafford brothers and Lovell entered sanctuary in Colchester, and plotted against Henry
-Staffords tried to raise a rebellion in the midlands, but Henry (near york on his progress) advanced, and the Staffords fled, failing to raise support for the Earl of Warwick
-Stafford brothers forcibly removed from sanctuary, Humphrey Stafford executed, Thomas Stafford pardoned
-Lovell tried to raise a rebellion in yorkshire, exploiting local loyalties to Richard III, but little support was gained and Jasper Tudor suppressed the revolt
-Lovell fled to Burgundy and found refuge with Margaret of Burgundy
How dangerous was the Lovell/Stafford rebellion (1485-87) (6)
-Leadership of rebellion not very dangerous, as there was little organisation/power/effectiveness
-Aims of rebellion very dangerous, they wanted to overthrow the king
-English support not very dangerous, Henry’s progress meant they had little support in yorkshire/midlands
-Chances of succeeding not very dangerous, little support/organisation made it unlikely the king would be overthrown
-Foreign support somewhat dangerous, if it had gone on longer Margaret of Burgundy could’ve intervened
-Henry’s response not very dangerous, Henry was quick to shut down the rebellion
Who were the key players in the Simnel rebellion (Simnel) (8)
-Lambert Simnel - Random child impersonating the earl of Warwick
-John de la pole - leading yorkist claimant
-Richard Simons - priest who trained simnel
-Francis Lovell - previously rebelled and fleed to Burgundy
-Martin Schwarz - led a 2,000 german mercenary army
-Margaret of Burgundy - funded an army
-Henry Percy, earl of Northumberland - did nothing to stop the rebel army
-Gerald Fitzgerald, earl of Kildare - crowned Simnel king of Dublin
What occurred in the Simnel rebellion (Simnel) (11)
-Simnel was a 10yr old son of an oxford joiner, who impersonated the earl of Warwick
-Henry VII disproved this by parading the real earl of Warwick through London
-Margaret of Burgundy used her power/money to raise Lovell/John de la pole an army
-MoB provided 2,000 german mercenaries, lead by Martin Schwarz
-Rebels then travelled to yorkist base Ireland, and met up with nobility such as the earl of Kildare
-Simnel was then crowned as king of Dublin by Irish/English nobility
-They invaded in June 1487, arriving in the north and marching south
-Henry Percy did nothing, more interested in protecting his interests/neutrality
-Henry VII defeated the rebels at the battle of Stoke, Schwartz and JDLP killed and Lovell disappeared
-Simnel was captured, but put into work in the kitchens, eventually rising up to be the kings falconier
-In 1487, Henry passed 28 acts of attainder (confiscating estates, and finding rebels guilty without trial), and the Kings council was given authority to deal with disorder/overpowerful nobility/gentry
What reasons did the simnel rebellion fail (Simnel) (4,4)
Henry’s strengths:
-Henry gathered support to defeat rebels in a pitched battle
-Henry removed 2 serious threats, John De la Pole and Lovell
-Many nobility chose Henry’s stability over a rebellion
-Henry strengthened his position in the aftermath, passing 28 acts of attainder against rebels, and setting up a special groups of justices in the star chamber to deal with nobility/gentry
Rebel’s weaknesses:
-Irish nobility didn’t accompany the rebels, waiting in Ireland to see what happened
-Claiming Simnel as the earl of Warwick was a poor decision, as Henry could produce the real one
-Yorkist earl of Surrey didn’t escape the tower and join the rebels
-People from the Ricardian stronghold of the north didn’t rise up in support, so it was unlikely others would
How dangerous was the simnel rebellion (Simnel) (6)
-Power/effectiveness of rebel leadership somewhat dangerous, they had an army/many leaders, but Simnel was just a random child
-Aims very dangerous, they wanted to overthrow the king with a stronger claimant
-Extent of English support somewhat dangerous, most nobility/gentry didn’t support them but a fair few people did
-Chances of succeeding somewhat dangerous, had an army, leaders and a pitched battle, but the lack of widespread support cost them
-Foreign support very dangerous, Margaret of Burgundy provided funds/an army, and the Irish provided a base to land from
-Reaction of Henry somewhat dangerous, was quick to defeat the rebels at stoke with good tactical knowledge, but was initially naive to let John de la Pole be in the kings council
