key profiles

Question 1

Thomas, Lord Stanley
1435-1509

Answer 1

• Henry VII’s stepfather
• Initially stood aside during the Battle of Bosworth but intervened to help Henry
• Played a crucial role in Henry’s victory and was rewarded title ‘Earl of Derby’
• Was key to the exercise of royal power in the Northwest of England and Wales

Question 2

Edward, Earl of Warwick
1475-1499

Answer 2

• Son of Edward IV’s brother
• Was placed in the Tower of London in 1485
• He remained there but made occasional public appearances
• Allegedly plotted with Perkin Warbeck and so Henry executed him in 1499

Question 3

Sir William Stanley
1435-1495

Answer 3

• Brother of Thomas Stanley, Henry VII’s step uncle
• Rewarded role of Lord Chamberlain, which gave him considerable political influence and enabled him to develop his landed estate in Cheshire and North Wales
• Was a shock when he was accused of treason

Question 4

Lambert Simnel

Answer 4

• A boy from Oxford who was tutored in courtly manners by a priest
• Had the intention of initially impersonating Richard, Duke of York
• Captured at the Battle of Stoke but spared by Henry and sent to work in the royal kitchens

Question 5

John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln
1460-1487

Answer 5

• Nephew of Edward IV and Richard III
• He was Richard’s designated successor
• Regarded as the Yorkist leader after the Battle of Bosworth

Question 6

Perkin Warbeck
1474-1499

Answer 6

• Belgian cloth trader
• Claimed to be Richard, Duke of York (one of the boys in the tower)

Question 7

John Morton

Answer 7

• A highly able churchman and lawyer.
• Began his career as a passionate Lancastrian but made his peace with the Yorkists to serve Edward IV where he became Bishop of Ely.
• Worked against Richard III and was promoted for his services by Henry VII to Archbishop of Canterbury in 1486.
• Became cardinal in 1493

Question 8

Margaret Beaufort
1443-1509

Answer 8

• Married Edmund Tudor in 1455 and gave birth to the future Henry VII when only 14
• Her 3rd husband was Thomas, Lord Stanley
• She remained an important but unofficial adviser to the king
• Was granted a large estate by Henry in Northamptonshire
• Her ability to intervene directly in political affairs was limited due to her spending much of her time keeping her house clean

Question 9

Sir Reginald Bray
d. 1503

Answer 9

• Had been a faithful servant of Henry Tudor
• He helped Henry raise funds for the Battle of Bosworth
• Under Henry’s reign his influence exercised through his role as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• Led the Council Learned in Law
• Was described as the ‘King’s chief executive’ and was more powerful than most nobles

Question 10

Sir Richard Empson
1540-1510

Answer 10

• Empson was a member of the King’s council from 1494
• He eventually chaired the Council Learned
• Closely identified with the increasing ruthlessness of Henry VII’s regime
• Was arrested shortly after the death of Henry, charged with treason and executed in the following year

Question 11

Edmund Dudley
1462-1510

Answer 11

• Came to prominence following the death of Bray
• Arguments that his role was to exploit financial opportunities which had made him a lot of enemies
• Became vulnerable to counter attack as soon as he lost the king’s protection
• After Henry’s death he became accountable for what had been the king’s demands

Question 12

Maximilian I
1459-1519

Answer 12

• Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 to 1519
• Married Mary of Burgundy in 1477, and through her he gained control of the Netherlands, England’s main trading partner

Question 13

Charles VIII
1470-98

Answer 13

• King of France from 1483-98
• He ruled in his own right from 1491
• Main concern was to assert his claim to the throne of the kingdom of Naples in Italy
• This reduced any potential threat from Charles to Henry VII

Question 14

James IV
1473-1513

Answer 14

• Succeeded to the Scottish throne at age 15 in 1488
• Was responsible for the invasion of England in 1496, but did not pursue the policy and instead making peace in 1497
• Married Henry VII’s daughter Margaret
• Killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513

Question 15

Gerald Fitzgerald, 8th Earl of Kildare
c1456-1513

Answer 15

• Known as the ‘uncrowned king of Ireland’
• Was the leading member of the Irish nobility
• Henry became dependent upon him for the maintenance of law and order in Ireland

Question 16

John de Vere, Earl of Oxford
1442-1513

Answer 16

• Henry’s most trusted military commander
• Led his troops at the battles of Bosworth and Stoke

Question 17

Giles, Baron Daubeney
c1451-1508

Answer 17

• Originally a Yorkist but rebelled against Richard III in 1483
• Fled to Brittany and transferred his loyalty to Henry who he fought for in the Battle of Bosworth
• Led the Crown’s forces against the Cornish rebels in 1497
• Succeeded Sir William Stanley as Lord Chamberlain in 1495

Question 18

Richard Fox
c1447-1528

Answer 18

• Began serving Henry VII when he was still in exile
• Became Bishop of Exeter and Lord Keeper of the Great Seal in 1487
• Became successively Bishop of Bath and Wells, Durham and Winchester
• Managed the Crown’s transition to Henry VIII

Question 19

Polydore Virgil
c1470-1555

Answer 19

• Was an Italian humanist
• Came to England in 1502 in the employ of the Church
• Was welcomed at the court of Henry VII and began writing his History of England in 1505

Question 20

John Cabot
c1451-1498

Answer 20

• Native of Genoa
• Merchant in the Venetian spice trade
• Moved to Spain where his services were in demand as a harbour designer
• He may have met Christopher Columbus in 1493, and his navigational intuition led him to believe that a more northerly course across the Atlantic would reach land more quickly.