henry VI, 1422-1461 + 1470-1471

Question 1

Henry VI’s character

Answer 1

• contemporary chroniclers such as John Capgrave (1446) claimed that Henry neglected naval and coastal security, John Hardying claimed that he failed to establish peace and effective law + order
• he was indecisive, didn’t command a good army against foreign enemies (he only went to France once)
• left leadership to his advisers such as John, Duke of Bedford (his uncle who led France until his death) or Richard, Duke of York. Seen as manipulated by his ‘evil advisers’ like Somerset or Suffolk
• difficult legacy from his father, government debt that worsened under Henry IV (£370,000)
• only led men once in Cade’s rebellion (‘harvest of heads’ - execution of the rebels) but even then, he fled to Kenilworth during the actual rebellion. Evidence of action during the executions
• pious, saintly — interested in Eton College and King’s College, Cambridge and spent a lot of time building them. Little interest in normal noble pursuits
• in 1456, he had begun planning his tomb in Westminster Abbey and Pope Pius II claimed that he was ‘a man more timorous than a woman, utterly devoid of wit and spirit, who left everything in his wife’s hands’. Likely miserable due to a decade of criticism and disappointment
• prisoner of Edward IV 1465-70, king again due to Warwick 1470-71, killed in Tower 1471

Question 2

Margaret of Anjou’s character

Answer 2

• married Henry VI in 1445 by proxy after the 1444 Treaty of Tours (ceded Maine to France, no dowry)
• seen as divisive and supporting factionalism as she supported Suffolk and Somerset against the Duke of Gloucester for the Treaty of Tours. Sought support in the pro-peace faction which included Somerset
• there were rumours of her disloyalty and Edward being a bastard
• her being French and a woman meant that she was damned. Symbol of the English losses in French. Women expected to be subservient to men (esp. husband) in legislation
• strength emphasises due to Henry’s inaction —> she appears more aggressive in comparison
• filled Henry’s vacuum
• actively opposed York and Warwick by seeking to become regent in Henry’s illness from 1453. Her troops were known for looting, raping, etc. (therefore turned away from London in 1461)
• evidence of self interest and her vicious nature in 1459 Parliament of Devils where the Yorkists were attained)
• promoted noblemen like William de la Pole (Suffolk) and people like York resented her close relationship with him

Question 3

Downfall of the Duke of Suffolk in 1450

Answer 3

• one of Henry’s favourites
• made Duke even though he did not have royal blood
• climbed up ladder due to marriage to Alice Chaucer (dowager countess of Salisbury) and therefore became Henry VI’s adviser alongside Somerset
• unpopular:
  
  • he negotiated the unpopular Treaty of Tours in 1444
  • he was the key advocate for the attack on Fougeres in 1449 (loss of Normandy due to Charles VII’s retaliation, many nobles lost land)
  • blamed for country’s debt as he was the key adviser
  • seen as manipulating Henry’s weak character for his own benefit (he gained valuable land like lordship of Guines)
  • 1449-50, accused by parliament of trying to get his son married to Margaret Beaufort (Somerset’s niece, most senior member of Beaufort family. Claim to the throne, e.g. Henry Tudor claimed through her)
• Suffolk blamed for the defeats in France (loss of Normandy and Gascony), York complained. Henry tried to gain taxation 2x in 1449 and 50% was granted but Parliament then dissolved
• after the defeats, Henry tried to gain taxation again in 1450 but Parliament charged Suffolk with treason. Henry exiled him to France for 5 years but Suffolk was ambushed by pirates and killed (Nicholas of the Tower)
• public snub of Henry’s authority, leaves vacancy of chief adviser (heightened York/Somerset feud), parliament begin to demand Act of Resumption (crown to recover land he granted to favs)

Question 4

Reasons for Cade’s rebellion

Answer 4

• Lord Saye and Lord Crowmer threatened the locals in Kent as Suffolk’s body was discovered here (Crowmer was the local sheriff). Local grievances also, due to their violence
• unpopularity of Henry’s government which led to riots in Surrey, Sussex, Middlesex, Essex. 29 June, Bishop in Wiltshire hacked to death by a mob
• high taxation which funded the unsuccessful war in France
• corruption of evil advisers as they manipulated Henry to gain royal patronage
• Cade used the Mortimer name to link to Richard, Duke of York
• disruption to trade, prices of cloth and wool fell, affected textile workers + sheep farmers of South East

Question 5

Events of Cade’s rebellion

Answer 5

• 11 June: rebels marched to London and set up camp outside city. Henry sent delegation led by Archbishop Stafford + Cardinal Kemp. Rejected by Cade
• 13 June: King marched against rebels but the camp was deserted
• mid/late June: rebels ambush + kill Sir Humphrey Stafford + William Stafford. Mutiny in the royal army. Saye placed in the Tower by Henry
• 25 June: Henry flees to Kenilworth Castle, council take refuge in the Tower
• 29 June: rebels return to Blackheath, briefly take control of London. Execute Lord Saye
• 1 July: Henry orders a commission to investigate complaints of rebels
• 3 July: Cade occupies capital, crosses London Bridge
• 3-4 July: King’s commission condemns figures like Saye+Crowmer
• 5-6 July: Londoners fight rebels on London Bridge, rebel defeat. Cade flees
• 12 July: Cade captured, wounded, later dies. His corpse is beheaded + quartered
• Jul-Aug: small scale violence in Essex, Kent, Sussex, Suffolk, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Dorset, Somerset

Question 6

Grievances of the rebels

Answer 6

• Richard, Duke of York was excluded from government by Henry’s less-able/honourable favourites (‘evil councillors’). Also wanted dukes of Exeter, Buckingham, Norfolk, to be in the royal council to ensure Henry received good advice
• Henry surrounded by ‘evil councillors’ in particular Saye, Lord Dudley, Bishop Aiscough. Many were involved in the Treaty of Tours
• the country was bankrupt, government = financial corruption + mismanagement

Question 7

Aftermath of Cade’s rebellion

Answer 7

• Henry made promises of clemency to rebels (lenience)
• resistance continued so in 1451, Henry toured areas of unrest to enforce law and order. Oversaw executions personally (‘harvest of heads’)
• publicly displayed Cade’s skulls (boiled after beheading)

Question 8

Significance of Cade’s rebellion

Answer 8

• negatives:
  
  • Henry didn’t face rebels himself, contrasted Richard II (Peasant’s Revolt 1381, 14yo)
  • evidence of breakdown in law and order, even the king’s favour wasn’t protection
  • Henry obliged to agree to royal commission, loss of his authority e.g. executed own advisers on rebels’ demands
  • unusual widespread violence, widespread resentment of gov
  • Londoners not loyal to gov (but still defended London on their own interest)
  • references to Richard, Duke of York (Cade used Mortimer name)
  • Act of Resumption = humiliation for Henry.

positive:
- Richard was in Ireland, likely didn’t even know about the plot. Political danger reduced
- Cade’s low status, likely would not have seized power due to conservative values about rank
- Act of Resumption was already being petitioned before the rebellion

Question 9

Richard, Duke of York’s protectorate and its importance, 1454-60

Answer 9

• York became protector in March 1454 after Henry fell into a semi-comatose state in August 1453
• York lacked widespread support previously but he was Henry’s closest living male relative at the time (until Edward’s birth in Oct 1453)
• Cardinal Kemp had kept things going but he also died
• York put Somerset in the Tower = increasing mutual fears which led to 1455 St Albans
• he reduced royal expenditure and fixed the royal order, was quite a fair ruler, York believed he had a sense of duty to the ‘common people’. He granted things without bias e.g. to the queen or to the Duke of Buckingham, but people closer to him like Warwick (Salisbury’s son) received nothing
• York had power over the Great Council, stability was created through York’s protectorate
• Christmas 1454, Henry recovered —> protectorate ended Feb 1455. Somerset out of Tower, York + Nevilles excluded from the Great Council —> increase in mutual fear and paranoia of being accused of treason therefore St Albans occurred (this exclusion was the main trigger for St Albans)
  
  • hostility between York and Somerset. When Somerset took control of government, Oldhall (York’s chamberlain) was taken out of sanctuary by a delegation sent by Somerset, which in turn infuriated York further
• November: York’s 2nd protectorate as Henry falls ill again, but his protectorate ends again in Feb 1456 (constant shifts in power, instability). Henry was not completely incapacitated though, and York giving grants to a few families only (Nevilles, Bourchiers, a few others) so people viewed this as York creating a narrow group

Question 10

Richard, Duke of York’s growing ambitions 1454-60

Answer 10

• unlikely that York initially left Ireland in 1450 out of dynastic ambition as his blood claim was already recognised clearly, and there was no proper division between York and Somerset yet as they had been granted lands as late as 1448 in joint trusteeship
• York saw himself as a saviour of both crown and country. While he was in Ireland, the chaos of Suffolk’s death and Cade’s rebellion had occurred, and York saw it that his destiny was to rescue England
• York was stripped of his posts + authority once Henry recovered in 1454 as though he had been a usurper, and he concluded that he would always be denied his place in the realm as if he were a rebel. He began to raise an army with the Nevilles to remove Somerset and other ‘evil councillors’ (he did not see this as rebellion)
• attainder of York + sons + allies amounted to legal death as all their estates, honours and dignities were stripped from them. Meant that he was forced to oppose the king or die due to the attainder. After Northampton, York arrived dressed in livery of white and blue with a symbol of fetterlocks associated with the Plantagenets (he had come back to be king). But to oppose a king that was not actively tyrannical (like Richard II) was unthinkable
• York was likely motivated by the remaining threat of Margaret, as becoming the king or the heir would disinherit Prince Edward and neuter Margaret.
• motivated by self-importance, and a sense that Henry’s incompetence accompanied by Margaret’s tyranny could no longer be tolerated. Last resort to correct royal government
• 31 October 1460: Act of Accord, York = heir. Boosted by Yorkist propaganda that Prince Edward was illegitimate

Question 10

Why Edward, Earl of March could claim the throne in 1461

Answer 10

Edward himself and his character

 - Richard, Duke of York appeared as a liar due to his treason accusations and his sudden claim of the throne in 1460
 - fit the image of a king, unlike Henry = tall, well-built, handsome, could make decisions
 - military skill @ Towton

London’s support for Edward

 - they feared Margaret’s army as they were known for looting, raping, etc.
 - also were hostile to Margaret as she moved the royal court to the Midlands in 1456 which led to a loss of trade in London
 - links to pro-Warwick (captain of Calais) merchants 
 - therefore let Edward into London so he could be proclaimed king 

God’s verdict

 - claim through both the Mortimer line and the York line (strong claim)
 - God’s blessing shown through parhelion at Mortimer’s Cross (represented the 3 brothers of York)

Warwick’s support

 - by 1461 he was the most powerful and influential nobleman in England (owned as much land as any other four earls)
 - could summon a large army, and he could seek refuge in Calais (he was captain of Calais) 
 - more ruthless possibly as he was much younger than other earls. Piracy in mid-1450s, but this showed that he was capable of being a leader 
 - gave credibility to Edward’s claim to the throne. Warwick also needed Edward as he had been convicted of treason and therefore needed someone to fight for him

Richard, Duke of York’s persistent opposition

 - York created opposition, he initially only wanted to be an adviser but he almost certainly wanted to be the heir 
 - Margaret feared this and attained the Yorkists at the 1459 Parliament of Devils, York had no choice but to try and become king 

Decisions of Margaret

 - 1459 Parliament of Devils (forced the Yorkists to fight back to try and win the crown, led to more support of the Yorkists due to the unfair treatment, e.g. Duke of Norfolk began to support)
 - Margaret turning back from London due to shortage of food, London and Margaret hostility

Question 10

Battle of Towton

Answer 10

• March 1461
• Edward’s leadership, fought from the front and inspired his men
• poor weather disadvantaged the Lancastrians as their archers shoots fell short (shooting into the wind and snow)
• late arrival of Yorkist troops led by the Duke of Norfolk (the Yorkists were outnumbered, 19 Lancastrians against 8 Yorkists)
• directly led to Edward becoming king

Question 11

All the battles in his reign

Answer 11

• 22 May 1445: St Albans 1 (Somerset killed)
• Sep 1459: Blore Heath (Yorkist victory)
• Oct 1459: Ludford Bridge (Lancastrian victory)
• 10 July 1460: Northampton (Yorkist victory, led to Act of Accord)
• 30 Dec 1460: Wakefield (Lancastrian victory, Richard killed)
• 2 Feb 1461: Mortimer’s Cross (Yorkist victory, parhelion)
• 17 Feb 1461: St Albans 2 (Lancastrian victory, Warwick defeated but he fled)
• 29 March 1461: Towton (Edward defeated Lancastrians and became king)
• Seven Battles Now We Must Survive Towton

Question 12

Feuds

Answer 12

Neville Percy dispute in the North

• leading noble families in the North
• Percys lost estates after Hotspur’s rebellion, grandson recovered most estates 1416-1440. In contrast, Nevilles highly successful, Salisbury = important adviser to Henry, Warwick received title and estates in Midlands. Ascendancy of Nevilles increased Percy resentment
• main trigger of conflict = planned assassination @ marriage of Thomas Nevilles to Maud Stanhope (co-heiress to Lord Cromwell, heir to Percy land that Cromwell had). 24 Aug 1453, large force attempted to assassinate Nevilles @ wedding.
• Henry = weak, his commands for the conflict to stop weren’t met.
• early 1454, tensions on local and national level.

Bonville Courtenay dispute 1451-61

• in the South West
• Courtenay family were traditionally dominant in the area, Bonvilles were growing in wealth and prominence.
• 1437, Henry appointed a Bonville as Royal Steward in Cornwall for life (traditionally a Courtenay role), triggered violence by the earl of Devon (C) against Lord Harrington + affinity (B)
• 1430s + 1440s, Bonville had increasing influence @ court, supported Margaret + Suffolk. 1449, Bonville elevated to peerage. Angered Courtenay who allied with Yorkist faction.
• summer of 1451, battle between Bonvilles and Courtenay (stopped by York’s intervention)
• Bonvilles switched allegiance to the Yorkists when they began to ascend and gain more prominence, Bonville’s grandson married Salisbury’s daughter
• violent period began from 23 Oct 1455, Devon’s son murdered one of Bonville’s senior councillors (Radford) —> led to violent period 1455-56. 1458, Radford became new earl, so Courtenay allied with the queen.

Question 13

Paston family

Answer 13

• rose from peasant to gentry status in 14th and 15h centuries
• 1440, John Paston I made a highly advantageous marriage to Margaret Mauteby and became a confidant and legal adviser to a wealthy knight in Norfolk named Sir John Fastolf
• Fastolf died in 1459 and Paston claimed to be the main beneficiary due to a will that was delivered verbally and written down later (nuncupative), but this was contested by the other executors, and Fastolf’s 2 other heirs had legal disputes with Paston
• the dispute descended into violence after Edward IV usurped the throne
• Mowbrays (earls of Norfolk) and de la Poles (Suffolk) had territorial interests in estates claimed by the Pastons and used the crown’s weakness + political instability to further their own claims on these estates
• John Paston I allied with the Yorkist cause, but his brother in law (Anthony Woodville) claimed Paston’s property in Edward’s name in 1466