challenging the succession (simnel and warbeck) Flashcards
(27 cards)
how strong was henry vii’s claim to the throne
-Weak claim, owed his kingship to usurpation
-put him in danger as could encourage others to usurp
-claim came through the Beaufort family who were descendents of the third son of edward iii, John of Gaunt
-beaforts were illegitimate, and henrys claim would be through a woman not a man
-Enry’s mother margeret beaufort married edmund tudor who had no claim to the throne
-raised legitimacy through divine right to rule by winning battle of Bosworth, promising to marry edwards oldest daughter elixzabeth of York
how was henry’s claim coming through the beaufort family weak
-claim came through the Beaufort family who were descendents of the third son of edward iii, John of Gaunt
-beaforts were illegitimate, and henrys claim would be through a woman not a man
-Enry’s mother margeret beaufort married edmund tudor who had no claim to the throne
who were henry vii’s rivals with a stronger claim to the throne than him
-John De La Pole:
earl of Lincoln and leading yorkist claimant. Nephew of Edward iV AND Richard III. during richards reign he was the heir presumptive.
Was a real threat to Henry as he became the main force of opposition in the first 2 years of his reign
-Edward Plantagenet:
-earl of Warwick, only 10 years old but a nephew of Richard III
-HIS AGE MADE IT EASIER TO CONTROL HIM AND WAS PLACED IN THE TOWER WHERE HE WOULD SPEND THE REST OF HIS LIFE
-this didnt stop him from being the focus of a plot against Henry
-Edward iV children:
-Edward and Richard (the princes in the tower)
-assumed to have died in the tower but were also the centre of plots against Henry
-edwards daughters also had claims but they were women, but could pass the claim to their own children
number of troops in bosworth
-henry had a troop size of 5000, richard had twice the amount
-richards numbers should have been decisive but he lost due to intervention of nobility
when was battle of bosworth and where was it fought
1485
fought on ambien hill
WHO WERE THE NOBILITY INVOLVED IN THE BATTLE OF BOSWORTH AND HOW WERE LOYALTIES DIVIDED
-Nobility: Sir Thomas stanley, Sir William, henry Percey (earl of northumerland
all expected to fight on richard’s behalf
split loyalties: sir thomas stanley had married henry’s mother, margret beaufort
what were the actions of the nobility at bosworth
-stanley’s waited on sidelines until Sir william decided to intervene and support henry when richard broke away from his troops
-sir william directed his troops to attack Richard, saved henry’s life and killed Richard
how was richard’s death a result of his own actions
-broke from his forces and went charging to target Henry
-sir william saw this and intervened, killing richard who was vunerable away from his troops
what were the concerns of henry surrounding the nobility after the battle of bosworth- what did he need to do to consolidate his rule?
-Although henry had won, powerful nobles like the stanley’s had betrayed Richard (their loyalty to henry was hence not guaranteed)
-Henry couldn’t trust nobility when he had such a weak claim
-hence he consolidated his rule by a series of actions: also sought support from anti-ricardian yorkists who believed richard’s usurption of the throne from his nephews was wrong- like the woodvilles (However risky as they could have turned their support to another claimant after richard’s death)
How did henry consolidate his claim to the throne (6 points)
1.) ENSURED HE WAS CROWNED IN AN OFFICIAL CEREMONY- was viewed as a moment when they were chosen for divine right to rule by god, they swore an oath to protect the country. enhanced divine right to rule claim alongside victory of bosworth.
2.) PARLIAMENT BILLS
passed parliamentary billin 1485 predating his reign to 21st of august. this meant that richard iii was a usurper, and anyone who supported him committed treason, this meant henry vii could punish them.
3.)MARRIED ELIZABETH OF YORK
united the two factions of york and lancaster. Elizabeth gave irth to a male heir- their children had both yorkist and lancastrian blood heightening their claims to the throne
4.) REWARDED SUPPORTERS
gave them titles and estates.
-Only rewarded landed per the jusper tudor, his uncle and lifelong supporter
-Thomas Stanley made earl of bedford
-Sir william made chamberlain of the royal household
-Lovell was made treasurer of the royal household
5.) PUNISHMENT
-punished supporters of richard in battle, however didn’t actually end up killing many survivors of bosworth.
-punished nobles his coronation and declaration of kingship by parliament meant he could seize the land of these men)
-henry percey briefly imprisoned
-Out of fear, de la pole decalared loyalty to him
6.) ROYAL PROGRESSES
went on royal progresses to enhance credibility- prioritised northern areas that were traditional yorkist strongholds
how did the anti-Ricardian yorkists pose a threat on Henry vii
e.g The woodvilles
could have easily switched their support to a rival claimant after richards death
BUT this didn’t happen as henry married elizabeth of york, gave yorkist a yorkist faction to support
who did Henry vii rely on most
-JASPER TUDOR: given extensive power in the troublesome region of Wales where he became chief justice
-JOHN DE VERE: prominent of henrys council (but these men couldnt become more powerful than trhe king)
-STANLEY FAMILY: trusted in early years as Thomas Stanley was married to Margeret Beaufort, henrys mother.
who created immediate problems for Henry VII
-thomas and humphrey Stanford and Francis Lovell (had fought for richard in bosworth and wanted to restore the monarchy- They had all escaped after bosworth)
-by 1486 rumours of plots began to spread (e.g earl of warwick had escaped from towers)
-in 1486 staffords tried to raise a rebellion in the name of the earl of warwick
-sir humphrey was executed, sir thomas was pardoned
who was simnel and what was his claim to the throne
-young boy named Lambert Simnel was found by yorkists
-was only 10, son of a joiner from oxford (had no royal blood)
-trained by a priest called Richard simmons to act as if he were a prince
-posed as earl of warwick (WEAK- was imprisoned at the time and could easily be disproven- however this did not stop rebelliuon)
HOW WAS SIMNEL’S CLAIM ENHANCED BY DE LA POLE
-simnel was a puppet for de la pole- de la pole had a much stronger claim to throne than henry, MADE THIS VERY THREATENING.
KEY EVENTS OF SIMNEL REBELLION
1.) John De la Pole fled to Burgundy where he joined Francis Lovel and Margeret Burgundy
2.)Margret used her money and power to raise the support of 2,000 german mercenaries led by Martin Schwartz
3.)the rebells and their troops sailed to ireland (the traditional yorkist power base)
4.) In ireland John de la pole and Lovell met with irish nobility who were sympathetic to their aim (Gerald Fitzgerald Earl of Kildare)
5.)Irish and English yorkists crowned simnel as king in Dublin
6.)launched invasion of England
7.)rebel army arrived in the north in early June of 1487 and marched southwards
(Henry Percey earl of northumberland did nothing to stop the rebel army)
rebels failed to gain domestic support despite north being yorkist stronghold- people happy with henry’s consolidated rule
8.) Henry raised army of 12,000- fought simnels troops of 8,000 on pitched battle of stoke (henry deciseively won- de la pole killed)
9.) simnel shown mercy due to age and was given a job in kings kitchens
10.) Hery tightened control on nobility as a result
how many german mercenaries did margret burgundy provide, and who were they led by
2,000 german mercenaries led by Martin Schwartz
Why did kildare support simnel
-under Edward iv the fitzgerald of kildare were appointed by the lord deputy but when henry gained control of englain they were vunerable as yorkist supporters
-if simnel were successful, kildare would be able to retain control of ireland
-kildare was out of reach from henry and henry was a new weaker king
-Kildare provided simnel with troops and a base in which to launch invasion
SIGNIFICANCE OF IRISH SUPPORT
-kildare gave troops and provided ireland as a strategic place to launch invasion
DID SIMNEL GAIN DOMESTIC SUPPORT
rebels failed to gain domestic support despite north being yorkist stronghold- people happy with henry’s consolidated rule
shows element of strength to henry’s rule at this point
TROOP SIZES IN BATTLE OF STOKE
Henry raised army of 12,000- fought simnels troops of 8,000 on pitched battle of stoke (henry deciseively won- de la pole killed)
EXTENT OF THREAT THAT SIMNEL POSED (detail)
CLAIM
-theoretically weak claim as earl of warwick was imprisoned- however this didn’t’t stop rebellion
-used as a puppeteer for de la pole, who had a much stronger claim than Henry (threat)
FOREIGN SUPPORT- IRELAND
-Irish support was crucial in providing a strtegic position to launch invasion
-provided troops
FOREIGN SUPPORT- BURGUNDY
-margeret burgundy was desperate to restore yorkist monarchy in england- provided 2000 German mercenaries
-significat as burgundy was richer and more powerful than england
DOMESTIC SUPPORT
-failed to gain domestic support even in northern yorkist strongholds
-nobles did not support as they liked the security henry offered, henry had power to take away land and punish nobles (showed extent to which he consolidated his power)
HENRY’S FAULTS
-Took him a while to recognise the betrayal of de la pole, had continued to employ him
PITCHED BATTLE OF STOKE
-warbeck did not have a pitched battle, even though henry won decisively, the fact simnel managed to bring it to a pitched attle showed stronger threat than warbeck
Summary of threat simnel posed (yes and no)
OVERALL NO
-weak claim as edward in tower and thsat could easily be proven
-Henry acted decisively, raised strong loyal troops
-reel’s couldn’t gather domestic support
OVERALL YES
-Early on in Henry’s reign
-henry’s claim was weaker than John de la pole’s
-there was an actual pitched battle unlike Warbeck
what was Henry vii’s response to simnel
-Realised the simnel challenge was serious when alerted of John De la Poles involvement by april and started to raise troops and showed tactical awareness despite his lack of experience.
1.) ordered the coasts to be guarded, although rebels still managed to land
2.)recieved intelligence that they would invade from ireland so he gradually moved northwards and westwards , gathering troops as he went
3.)8th may Henry arrived at Kenilworth castle (which he adopted as his base) when he recieved news of the rebels arriving he marched north meeting them at stoke (sparking battle of stoke)
BATTLE OF STOKE
-German mercenaries were quite well trained and equipped but irish forces lacked body armour and suffered many loses as a result
-results went deciscively in favour of Henry
-John de la Pole and Martin Schwarz (leader of german mercenaries) were killed and Lovell disappeared and was never seen again
-Simnel captured and put to work in kings kitchens and eventually became the kings falconer
-simnel rebellion over almost as quickly as it started
