why the relationship between york and somerset deteriorated (mine)

Question 1

what are 4 theories as to why the relationship between york and somerset deteriorated?

Answer 1

• Loss of Normandy
• Dynastic Rivalry
• Financial Resentment
• York’s Political Opportunism

Question 2

why would the loss of normandy impact york and somerset’s relationship?

Answer 2

York and Somerset had a history of opposition to each other regarding Normandy (Somerset & Suffolk pro-peace, York & Gloucester pro-war)

Question 3

when was york replaced by somerset as lieutenant-governor of france?

Answer 3

1447

Question 4

in what ways did somerset do a bad job as lieutenant of france?

Answer 4

• by 1449 Somerset was being accused of failing to repair town walls and castles in Normandy, and failing to pay the wages of his officers and soldiers
• many English landowners who had lost out when Maine fell, believed that Somerset had pocketed compensation meant for them
• French attacks on Normandy began May 1449, following Fougeres attack, and Lancastrian strongholds captured
• Somerset refused to exchange Fougeres for these strongholds and the truce with France ended July 1449
• saw Somerset’s surrender of Rouen November 1449 as a cowardly betrayal

Question 5

by what time was Somerset was being accused of failing to repair town walls and castles in Normandy, and failing to pay the wages of his officers and soldiers?

Answer 5

1449

Question 6

why did york particularly hate somerset for the loss of normandy?

Answer 6

York had lost many personal lands and supporters in Normandy by 1450, and blamed Somerset for this

Question 7

what happened to the nobles in normandy, when the relationship between york and somerset deteriorated?

Answer 7

influential figures in Normandy had fallen into factions

Question 8

what factions did nobles fall into in normandy?

Answer 8

• one included John Talbot (Earl of Shrewsbury) and Lord Hoo supported Somerset, and were favoured when Somerset dominated government from 1450
• others including Oldhall, Sir Edmund Murso, and Sir Henry Retford, remained loyal to York and were excluded after 1450

Question 9

why did John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury and Lord support Somerset in Normandy?

Answer 9

• they had been involved in the fall of France, so were defensive
• they were favoured when Somerset dominated government from 1450

Question 10

how did York use the loss of normandy as propaganda during the 1450s?

Answer 10

he claimed he was the ‘lost leader’ that would have saved Normandy if he had not been excluded from the government of France and if Somerset had not been in a position to lose it

Question 11

where did York gain support, due to his appeal regarding Normandy?

Answer 11

York’s appeal regarding Normandy was particularly effective at gaining him support in Kent and South East England

Question 12

what is a limitation to the theory that the loss of normandy caused the relationship between york and somerset to deteriorate?

Answer 12

neither of York’s complaints made to the king Sep 1450 mentioned Somerset’s role in the loss of Normandy

Question 13

what evidence is there that the loss of normandy contributed to the deterioration of the relationship between york and somerset?

Answer 13

• York encouraged his supporters in the Commons when they (led by Oldhall) attempted to have Somerset charged with culpability for the loss of Normandy and dismissed from government for life
• York angered when Somerset instead was appointed Captain of Calais April 1451
• when York raised a new army Feb 1452 he made public and explicit his calls to have Somerset declared a traitor for his role in the loss of Normandy; he took this case to Henry VI at Dartford

Question 14

why was dynastic rivalry a ‘touchy-subject’ in the1450s?

Answer 14

the Lancastrian claim to the throne was widely accepted by the 1450s and yet the flaw within it remained; Henry VI and his followers were sensitive to it

Question 15

why did the household (which came to include somerset) have hostility towards york 1447-1454?

Answer 15

because during this time he was, in effect, the heir presumptive both through the Langley (father, York) and Mortimer (mother) lines

Question 16

who was heir presumptive to the throne pre-1447?

Answer 16

Duke Humphrey of Gloucester

Question 17

give an example of sensitivity in the household to the flaw in Henry VI’s claim to the throne

Answer 17

demonstrated by the sending of York’s councillor, Thomas Young, to the Tower in May 1451 when he proposed in parliament that York be formally recognised as heir

Question 18

is there any evidence to the allegations that York’s supporters were trying to make him king?

Answer 18

• Oldhall was accused of intriguing to achieve this in 1450
• Thomas Young’s petition in 1451
• Richard of York’s Shrewsbury Manifesto 1452
• returning with the army from Ireland 1450

Question 19

why was somerset so worried about york’s supporters trying to make him king?

Answer 19

it would have been a massive threat

Question 20

why is it important that Somerset was also descended from Edward III and, like the king, was descended from John of Gaunt (Henry IV’s father), duke of Lancaster?

Answer 20

although the Beauforts had been specifically barred from the succession, by Henry IV (due to illegitimacy of Catherine Swynford) the king could reverse this, and York clearly feared that this might happen

Question 21

who did somerset arrange for his niece, maragaret, to marry? and why?

Answer 21

• Suffolk’s son
• would have provided another ‘Lancastrian’ claimant to rival York, in the event that Henry VI (grandson of Henry IV) had no children - maragret was the only child of Somerset’s deceased elder brother, so she was technically the strongest heiress

Question 22

when was the marraige between margaret and suffolk’s son annulled?

Answer 22

1453

Question 23

who was henry vi’s half-brother, edmund tudor, engaged to? and when?

Answer 23

margaret beaufort, in 1453

Question 24

how did york react to the royal support for the engagement of Henry VI’s half-brother (same mother) Edmund Tudor to Margaret Beaufort in 1453?

Answer 24

May have confirmed to York the hostility of the various Lancastrian branches to his possible succession

Question 25

why was york sceptical of somerset’s motives regarding the succession?

Answer 25

York had good reason to believe that Edmund Beaufort, as senior male heir to his family, was also trying to succeed Henry VI

Question 26

why did York have reasons for longstanding grievance against the House of Lancaster?

Answer 26

his father had been executed for his attempt to overthrow Henry V in 1415 and replace him with a Mortimer candidate

Question 27

why was royal favour important to both york and somerset?

Answer 27

• there was never enough money at the Exchequer to pay all of the king’s debts, so royal favour determined the order in which they were paid, as well as those who went without
• royal favour was essential to Somerset’s financial survival and it was also the only means by which York could regain the large sum of money owed to him

Question 28

why was Richard of York was heavily in debt by 1450?

Answer 28

• some debt was from his political activities in early 1450s
• most debt was because he had lent large amounts of money to the crown for the defence of France in the 1440s; repayment of this was both slow and incomplete
• he was owed hereditary annuities of £1000 per annum (this was quite a large proportion of his income) from the Exchequer and was rarely paid
• although he held many lands, poor management and the Great Slump had led his income from these to decline

Question 29

how much were the hereditary annuities owed to york?

Answer 29

£1000

Question 30

why was Beaufort even more dependent on royal annuities than York?

Answer 30

• he had very few lands in comparison as the bulk of his family’s estates passed to his niece, Margaret Beaufort
• he received nearly £2000 per annum from the Exchequer due to his positions and offices, but only ~£300 from his lands

Question 31

how much did beaufort recieve per annum from the exhequer?

Answer 31

nealry £2000

Question 32

why did york believe that somerset’s claims to money were preferred over his own?

Answer 32

due to Somerset’s position in France and England

Question 33

when did Queen Margaret grant Somerset a 100 mark annuity?

Answer 33

noverfmber 1451

Question 34

how much was the annuity granted by queen margaret to somerset in november 1451?

Answer 34

100 mark

Question 35

was there a time when york’s payment was favoured over somerset’s?

Answer 35

• after York’s return from France in 1445, he recovered a large amount of the £40,000 still owed to him from his time as Lieutenant there
• meanwhile, apart from his pension to compensate for his lands lost in Maine, Somerset did not receive extra financial benefits until 1451

Question 36

why could it be argued that york’s opposition to Suffolk and Somerset was opportunistic ?

Answer 36

because he was not the hated outsider in the 1440s that he presented himself as

Question 37

how did York act against his previous views regarding Henry VI’s marriage to Margaret?

Answer 37

• There had been negotiations for his eldest son to marry a French princess, which Suffolk had led
• York had criticised when Henry VI married Margaret of Anjou, but was now arranging his own French marriage - opportunistic

Question 38

who led the negotiations for york’s eldest son to marry a french princess?

Answer 38

suffolk

Question 39

what evidence is there that york was not the ‘lost leader’ that could have saved Normandy?

Answer 39

York had been included in discussions as to how to deal with the surrender of Maine - opportunistic

Question 40

what evidence is there that york was not super attached to duke of gloucester?

Answer 40

he was present at the parliament where Gloucester was arrested for treason and he had territorially benefitted from his death - opportunistic

Question 41

what evidence is there that york was not as concerned with dynastic rivalry as he portrayed?

Answer 41

• in 1445, he had arranged his daughter, Anne’s, marriage to Henry Holland, the future duke of Exeter, one of his supposed dynastic rivals
• in June 1447 he was given the wardship of his underage son-in-law
• opportunistic

Question 42

what evidence is there that Henry VI sending york to ireland was not just to get him out of government?

Answer 42

• although he later complained that he had been sent to Ireland in the late 1440s, to get him out of the way, he was allowed to hold the office through a deputy for a long time
• his descent from Lionel of Clarence meant he held many lands in Ireland therefore he was the natural choice to represent the king there
• he was also granted extensive powers there, indicating a degree of trust - opportunistic

Question 43

what evidence is there that somerset and york’s falling out was not that deep?

Answer 43

• there is doubt about his poor relationship with Somerset before 1450
• in 1448 a piece pf land in Essex was placed in the joint trusteeship of York and Somerset

Question 44

what limitations are there to the theory that it was york’s political opportunism that caused the deterioration in his and somerset’s relationship?

Answer 44

York may have believed that it was his duty to intervene in the government of England and that it was necessary to remove Somerset as he had become too closely associated with the household, and too tainted by the loss of France to fully unite political society