Duke of Suffolk's Fall (mine)

Question 1

who was the Duke of Suffolk?

Answer 1

William de la Pole

Question 2

when was the Duke of Suffolk’s military career?

Answer 2

began 1415 and lasted until 1430s

Question 3

how did the Duke of Suffolk gain the approval of Henry V?

Answer 3

continuous campaigning from 1417

Question 4

how did Henry V show his approval of the Duke of Suffolk?

Answer 4

made him admiral of Normandy 1419 and knight of the Garter 1421

Question 5

when did the Duke of Suffolk become a dominant power in government?

Answer 5

by 1440s was dominant force in english gvt and ‘hated favourite’ of HVI

Question 6

why was William de la Pole impeached in 1450?

Answer 6

for defeat in France and corrupt English gvt

Question 7

how did the Duke of Suffolk die?

Answer 7

murdered on his way into exile

Question 8

what are 4 possible theories for the Duke of Suffolk’s fall from power?

Answer 8

• Because of his unpopular control of the court
• Due to his failure to suitable substitute for HVI
• Due to the collapsing English position in France
• Because of the nobility’s desire for a scapegoat

Question 9

why was Suffolk’s control of the court a problem for him?

Answer 9

• suffolk had dominated the unpopular court so its failings were seen as his
• when he faced wide opposition in 1450 his inaction meant he was caught off guard and lacked active support from the rest of the nobility

Question 10

when did the Duke of Suffolk become Steward of the Royal Household?

Answer 10

1433

Question 11

who did the Duke of Suffolk inherit his control of the court from?

Answer 11

• Cardinal Beaufort (one of richest and most powerful men, but disliked), whose faction became the gvt in the 1440
• suffolk emerged as its leader as cardinal beaufort died in 1447

Question 12

how did the Duke of Suffolk dominate the court?

Answer 12

• he had purged his rivals from the court despite serving in no ministerial office after 1446
• dominated gvt through proximity to HVI, who he isolated from alternative sources of advice and counsel, and authority in king’s household
• only his supporters received patronage

Question 13

how did the Duke of Suffolk bypass the official council?

Answer 13

• he used his connections
• the official council was slowly purged of critics and became poorly attended

Question 14

what are some limitations to the theory that the Duke of Suffolk fell from power because of his unpopular control of the court?

Answer 14

• there were others that were important and hated, such as Lord Saye (James Fiennes) and Edmund Beaufort (Duke of Somerset)
• HVI’s personal involvement in the court is too easily dismissed; he is partly responsible for the failings of the court

Question 15

why did Suffolk have the opportunity to be a substitute for Henry VI?

Answer 15

it is arguable that, in reality, there was no king, as he was a poor and disinterested leader

Question 16

why could it be argued that Suffolk’s fall was inevitable? in light of his attempted substitution for Henry VI

Answer 16

he had taken on the impossible job of standing in for the king; he needed to be impartial, but as a noble he couldn’t be, and people would not listen to him as he had no authority

Question 17

why couldn’t the Duke of Suffolk be a substitute for Henry VI?

Answer 17

• his private interests as a noble fundamentally contradicted the need for impartiality
• for example, controlling the duchy of lancaster (for the crown) in east anglia (where he held private power), meaning other nobles grew resentful

Question 18

what is a limitation to the theory that the Duke of Suffolk fell from power due to his failure to be a suitable substitute for HVI?

Answer 18

this is based on the McFarlane argument about kingship, but nobody could be a substitute anyway so this can’t be why he fell from power

Question 19

give an example of evidence that supports the theory that Suffolk fell from power due to the collapsing English position in France

Answer 19

the formal charges made against suffolk in 1450 specifically accused him and his followers of using their influence to undermine the english position in france

Question 20

why did the collapsing English position in France matter to the people so much?

Answer 20

• the british people were very invested in the war and the conquest of normandy
• it benefitted not just the nobility but a lower class of ordinary soldiers, who had formed a colonial class, who lived in normandy and had made their lives there
• the victories in france were a source of wider national pride and not just for the aristocracy, so losses led to widespread anger, and suffolk was the natural individual to blame

Question 21

why was Suffolk a natural individual to blame for the collapsing English position in France?

Answer 21

• he had long supported peace (since 1433) and his mentor Cardinal Beaufort also came to support it, so could be seen as sabotaging the war effort
• his faction had been dominant when the Truce of Tours 1444 was agreed with Charles VII of France
• he had negotiated the marriage between Margaret of Anjou and HVI and was widely (but inaccurately) seen as responsible for the loss of Maine (secret clause) in 1448
• he was responsible for the attack on the Breton town of Fougeres on 29 March 1449, led by Francois de Surienne (commander in the pay of Suffolk)

Question 22

why was the Breton town of Fougeres attacked on 29th March 1449, and what happened?

Answer 22

• intention had been to free Giles, english supporting younger brother of Francis I, Duke of Brittany; thought this would allow him to regain influence in Brittany and prevent Duke’s continued support of Charles VII
• actually drove Francis I into alliance with Charles VII and enabled war to resume as France could claim England had violated the tuth, thereby allowing Normandy to fall
• suffolk had also allowed norman defences to be run down making french victory easier

Question 23

what are some limitations to the theory that the loss of normandy was the cause of Suffolk’s fall?

Answer 23

• it assumes HVI himself was not more prominent i.e. his own marriage
• Suffolk was meant to deal with domestic issues (wasn’t even in France); e.g. could’ve blamed Edmund Beaufort who had been in control of Normandy when it fell

Question 24

why did the nobility need a scapegoat?

Answer 24

needed someone to blame to appease the masses as there had been lots of violence recently

Question 25

what is an example of violence that may have pushed the nobility to hold suffolk as a scapegoat?

Answer 25

• Jan 1450 the murder of Bishop Adam Moleyns (was also part of the government associated with the unpopular suffolk) by soldiers in portsmouth
• disturbances throughout spring leading to cade’s rebellion in kent and the south-east

Question 26

why was suffolk a good scapegoat for the nobility?

Answer 26

was already widely hated so was perfect to appease the mob and was sent into protected exile, whilst the nobility were happy to re-write history to blame suffolk

Question 27

when did the nobility start to blame Suffolk?

Answer 27

as early as the parliament of november 1449 he was being blamed by the Yorkist speaker, Sir John Popham

Question 28

when did suffolk’s dominance over government end?

Answer 28

Autumn 1449 as the nobility, via the council, reasserted themselves in response to fall of normandy

Question 29

why did Suffolk’s banishment seem acceptable to most members of the nobility?

Answer 29

it avoided awkward discussion as the government’s pro-peace french policy had never been suffolk’s exclusively and was widely seen as an inevitability

Question 30

what are some limitations to the theory that the duke of suffolk fell from power due to the nobility’s desire for a scapegoat?

Answer 30

there were others that could have been sacrificed early in 1450, like those later targeted by rebels (Lord Saye and William Crowmer)