Lambert Simnel 1486–87

Question 1

Why did the Yorkists need to find a suitable figure head?

Answer 1

John de la Pole didn’t want to risk everything in an open rebellion so they needed someone who could be easily manipulated and used to focus opposition against Henry

Question 2

Who was Lambert Simnel?

Answer 2

a young boy who could be manipulated used to focus opposition against Henry

no royal blood and was imposter trained by Richard Simons to act of he were a royal prince - Earl of Warwick

Question 3

Who was the Earl of Warwick?

Answer 3

Nephew of Edward IV and Richard III

only 10 years old so his youth made it easier for Henry to control him; Warwick was placed in the Tower

Question 4

Why did they make an error by making Simnel impersonate the Earl of Warwick?

Answer 4

Because Henry was able to produce the real earl from the Tower of London and parade him through the streets

Question 5

What happened after Henry produced the real Earl of Warwick?

Answer 5

It did not stop the rebellion from gathering momentum, John de la Pole fled to Burgundy where he joined Francis Lovell

Question 6

Role of Margaret of Burgundy (Richard III’s sister)

Answer 6

used her money and power to help Francis Lovell and de la Pole to raise troops - rebels were able to raise the support of 2000 German mercenaries led by Martin Schwartz

Question 7

Why did the rebels sail to Ireland?

Answer 7

Tradional Yorkist power base.

In Ireland, de la Pole and Lovell met Earl of Kildare who crowned Simnel as king in Dublin and launched a combined invasion of England

Question 8

Henry’s response to the threat from Simnel - John de la Pole

Answer 8

lack of experience had led him to trust de la Pole who was present at a Council in February 1487 met to discuss the threat of LS

alerted to Pole’s involvement and was starting to raise troops to meet the potential challenge

Question 9

Henry’s tactical awareness at stoke

Answer 9

Henry ordered the coasts to be guarded (although the rebels still managed to land)

As Henry began to receive intelligence that the rebels would invade from Ireland, he gradually moved northwards and westwards, gathering men and supplies as he went

Question 10

Weakness of opposition at stoke

Answer 10

German mercenaries used by the rebels were well-trained and equipped but Irish forces lacked body-armour and suffered many losses as a result

Question 11

What happened when rebels during LS advanced to the North of England in 1487?

Answer 11

Henry Percy - Earl of Northumberland did nothing to stop the army and he had watched Bosworth from the sidelines when he was meant to be defending

Question 12

What happened to Henry’s rivals?

Answer 12

John de la Pole and Martin Schwartz were killed

Francis Lovell disappeared

Simnel was captured = lenient bc he was a child - put to work in the kitchens

Question 13

How did the foreign support make it more risky?

Answer 13

They accelerated the rebellion and gave it more power as they were actually able to raise an army

Question 14

Why is it significant that the rebels raised little support in the North?

Answer 14

Because the North was traditionally Yorkist, it shows how other regions wouldn’t have supported

Question 15

Why didn’t the Yorkist Earl of Surrey give the rebels support?

Answer 15

After years of political instability, he didn’t want to risk his property and life against the rebellion

Question 16

Why did the fact that it led to a pitched battle make it more threatening?

Answer 16

Because if Henry lost, John de la Pole may have usurped him

Question 17

What were the advantages of Henry’s victory?

Answer 17

It reinforced his status as being chosen by God and he removed 2 serious Yorkist threats - JDLP and Lovell

Question 18

Level of threat - rebels mistakes

Answer 18

rebels made mistakes and lacked support e.g claiming simnel was in fact the Earl of Warwick

Question 19

Level of threat - nobility

Answer 19

irish nobility such as Kildare did not accompany the army, preffering to remain in Ireland to wait and see what happened

The landed elite’s preference of self-preservation: unwilling to risk their property and lives

Question 20

Level of threat - gaining support from the north

Answer 20

rebels did not gain the support they expected from the north - significant because the North was a traditional stronghold of Richard III and the Yorkists; if these region was not prepared to rise up and support the rebels, unlikely the rest of England would

Question 21

Level of threat - Henry’s response

Answer 21

prepared to lead an army himself

reacted swiftly to news of the rebel army and made sure that he was well-placed in the middle of England to make a military strike at the rebels when they appeared

Question 22

How did Henry strengthen his position further after the rebellion?

Answer 22

passed 28 Acts of Attainder against the rebels - declare someone guilty without having to put on trial