Henry VI Flashcards
How many men did Henry have compared to Richard when he invaded?
-Henry had 5,000 men in comparison to Richard’s 10,000.
He was not expected to win and few people knew who he was.
Who last minute supported Henry at the Battle of Bosworth? with how many men?
-Lord Thomas Stanley and his Brother Sir William Stanley supported Henry with 3,000 additional men.
Where did Henry’s claim lie?
-Claim was through his mother, could be traced back to the third son of Edward III, who reigned between 1327 and 1377.
Who did Henry marry?
-Henry agreed to marry Edward IV’s daughter, Elizabeth of York, uniting the warring houses of York and Lancaster in return for their support.
Early acts.
Why did Henry date his reign from the day before Bosworth?
Why did he arrange for his coronation on the 30th October?
How did Henry increase the legitimacy of his marriage to Elizabeth of York?
- He dated his reign the day before so that he could class his opponents as traitors and seize their assets.
- He arranged his coronation as the 30th October so that he was crowned before parliament met.
- He got papal dispensation for his marriage. He also married Elizabeth after his coronation to increase the legitimacy of his rule.
Who were initial Yorkist claimants?
What are some examples of Henry dealing with claimants?
- Richard III’s nephews
- Edward Earl of Warwick
- John de la Pole
- Earl of Lincoln
- Warwick was placed in the tower and LIncoln professed his loyalty and was placed on the King’s Council.
What happened with the Lovell rebellion?
When was it?
- Occuring in 1486.
- Happened after Henry embarked on a Royal progress to the North- lots of Yorkist support. Involved Lord Lovell and the Stafford Brothers and consisted of three rebellions- In Midlands, the north and Wales.
- Rebellion failed as Henry was made aware of the rebellion and sent an army to offer rebels a choice of pardon and reconciliation or excommunication and death.
- Resulted in the arrest of Humphrey Stafford and Thomas Stafford pledged his loyalty to Henry.
- The royal progress continued where Henry was able to gain much support.
What happened with the Yorkshire rebellion?
When was it?
- Occurred in 1489 in Yorkshire.
- Happened as a result of Henry’s attempts to raise money to aid Brittany in its struggle against France. Began when a royal official (Earl of Northumberland) was murdered after trying to collect the tax.
- Rebellion was led by Sir John Egremont (Yorkist supporter) however was easily crushed by royal forces.
- Henry then appointed the Earl of Surrey as representative of the North where he was able to successfully run the Council of the North, proving his loyalty to Henry.
What happened at the Cornish rebellion?
When was it?
- Occurred in 1497 started as a result of of raising taxes to fund a war with Scotland. Rebels assembled at Bodmin and grew in size as the marched through Devon into Somerset- reduced in numbers as they reached London.
- Only attracted the support of one noble with Lord Audley.
- Seemed the reason for unrest was not to do with Henry but more to do with complaints about ‘evil counsellors’ Morton and Bray.
- Attracted 15,000 which is a very significant unrest; however were easily crushed at Blackheath in June 1497 by a royal army of 25,000.
Who was Lambert Simnel and how did he pose a problem to Henry?
- Under influence of his teacher Richard Symonds, in 1486 he posed as Edward Earl of Warwick to try and claim the throne from Henry.
- Helped by Yorkist lords in Ireland like the Earl of Kildare; where he was proclaimed King Edward VI.
- However as Henry had Warwick in the tower it was easy to prove Simnel as a fake; however Simnel did gain support from Margaret of Burgundy who gave him 2,000 German mercenaries. Also gained support from Lord Lovell, John de la Pole and Earl of Lincoln.
- May 1487 Landed at Furness and started their march towards Henry. They gained support for their army but many were weary of war. The rebels met Henry at East Stoke where they were defeated by Henry’s 12,000 men compared to their 8,000.
- Simnel lost in the Battle of Stoke which is thought to be the last battle in the War of the Roses. Lincoln and several other leaders incl Lord Lovell were killed. Simnel was spared and was given a job in the royal kitchen.
What happened with Perkin Warbeck?
- Young Flemish boy with Yorkist backing impersonating Richard, younger son of Edward IV.
- Was supported by Charles VIII of France who welcomed him at court in Paris in hopes of destabilising Henry’s England. However in 1492 Henry makes peace with Charles so Warbeck is forced to move to Burgundy.
- Welcomed in Burgundy by Margaret and son-in-law Maximilian. Sir William Stanley was accused of supporting Warbeck and was executed in 1494.
- Following a failed attempt in 1495 to gain support he went to Scotland where he married James IV’s cousin Lady Catherine Gordon and was granted an annual income of £1200. James failed at invading England on W’s behalf and Treaty of Ayto was signed and Warbeck had to move onto Ireland- rejected again.
- Warbeck landed in Cornwall (tried to get support from Cornish Rebellion 1497 little support) but was soon arrested. was taken to tower in 1498 and executed alongside Warwick following a joint escape attempt.
How did Henry try to deal with threats to his rule from Edmund De la Pole (Earl of Suffolk)?
However, how did EDP later cause problems? How did Henry try to deal with this threat?
- Stripped of his title and forced to pay £5,000
- Suffolk later fled to Burgundy with support from Maximillian, he declared himself the ‘White Rose’. Henry initially gave Maximilian £10,000 but even following a total of £250,000 he was still unsuccessful in seizing Suffolk. Henry even suspended trade with the Holy Roman Empire in 1505.
- It was only when Maximillian’s son Philip was blown onto English coast following a storm that Henry was successful in gaining Suffolk. Following a further £136,000 a trade was made, Suffolk was kept in the tower until his death.
What did one visitor conclude about the nature of Henry’s government?
-Henry’s strengthening of royal government made him ‘more feared than loved’
Which nobles in Henry’s reign had significant land?
- Earl of Northumberland in the north-east
- Stanley Brothers in the north-west
By what did peerage reduce under Henry?
How many Earls did Henry create in comparison to Edward IV? What is one example of this?
- England had 50 peers and 16 major peers when Henry took over as King. Reduced this to 35 and 10 by the end of his reign.
- Henry created only 3 new Earls as compared to 9 under Edward IV. For example making John De Vere the Earl of Oxford after supporting Henry as Bosworth.
