Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck

Question 1

Who was Lambet Simnel?

Answer 1

A 10 year old son of a joiner from Oxford who was made to impersonate the Earl of Warick.

Question 2

Why was it a mistake for Simnel to impersonate the Earl of Warick?

Answer 2

Henry produced the real Earl of Warick from the tower of London and paraded him through the streets.

Question 3

How many mercenaries was Simnel able to raise?

Answer 3

2000 German mercenaries led by the experienced Martin Schwartz.

Question 4

How did the Earl of Northumberland respond to Simnel?

Answer 4

He did nothing to stop the revel army.

Question 5

How did Henry the 7th respond to the threat from Simnel?

Answer 5

1. He ordered the coasts to be guarded. 2. After getting intelligence the rebells would invade from Ireland, he moved north wards and westwards gathering troops as he went. 3. He marched to meet them at the battle of Stoke.

Question 6

How did Lovell and John de la Pole support Simnel?

Answer 6

They fled to Burgandy and helped raise troops.

Question 7

What happened at the Battle of Stoke?

Answer 7

It’s considered to be the last battle of the war of the roses. Although the German mercenaries were well equipped and trained, the Irish lacked body armour and suffered many loses. John de la Pole and Martin Schwartz were killed. Lovell disappeared in the Battle and was never seen again. Simnel was captured but put to work in the King’s kitchens, eventually becoming the King’s falconer.

Question 8

Why was the lack of support for Simnel in the North significant?

Answer 8

It was an area where Richard had been greatly popular. If they were not going to support a Yorkist claim it was very unlikely that anywhere else in England would.

Question 9

Why was John de la Poles support for Simnel such a threat?

Answer 9

Although Simnel was a pretender de la Pole wasn’t. He had a much better claim to the throne then Henry and he probably would have replaced Simnel afterwards. It also showed Henry to be weak as de la Poles name was mentioned to do with Yorkist plots as early as 1486 but Henry did not react showing his inexperience. He continued to trust de la Pole and included him in council meetings. Him allowing de la Pole to go free allowed him to flee to Burgandy forcing him to fight Henry which could have gone either way.

Question 10

What did Henry 7th do in the Second parliment of his reign?

Answer 10

After Simnels Rebellion, he passed the act of attainder against the rebels. An Act of parliment also gave members of the Kings Council additional authority by act of parliment to deal with local disorder and the problem of over powerful members through the use of the court of the star chamber

Question 12

What was the court of the star chamber?

Answer 12

It was a tool used since the 14th century for dealing with the nobility and gentry when they used the power to undermine local judicial systems.Henrys act of parliment set up a special group of justices drawn from the council who were responsible fot hearing cases

Question 13

Who was Perkin Warbeck?

Answer 13

A pretender who arose in 1491. There is considerable uncertainty around Warbecks background but he was probably brought up in the Netherlands and was well educated. By 17 he travelled to Ireland where he first made his claim.

Question 14

Who did Warbeck claim to be?

Answer 14

Richard, the Duke of York the younger of the two Princess in the tower.

Question 15

Why could Henry not disprove Warbecks identity?

Answer 15

He had completely disappeared in 1483 and noone knew his fate.

Question 16

Where did Warbeck first appear and what was the reaction?

Answer 16

Cork in 1491. The people supported him including the Earl of Desmond but Kildare was reluctant to get involved this lead Warbeck to begin to write to other countries in search of helpm

Question 17

Why did Henry become increasingly worried about the threat from Warbeck between 1493-94?

Answer 17

Agents from Burgandy had started to infiltrate England, attempting to recruit supporters. These men were generally rounded up and put on trial.

Question 18

How was Sir William Stanley implicated in the plot against Henry?

Answer 18

Stanley agreed with Robert Clifford to send Clifford to speak with Warbeck. Clifford then informed Henry and in 1495 had him trialed and executed.

Question 19

Why was Sir William Stanley’s implication in the Warbeck plot such an issue for Henry?

Answer 19

He was one of his key supporters and had helped him win Bosworth. He was the Chamberlain of the Kings household and therefore had daily personal access to the King.

Question 20

What happened in July 1495?

Answer 20

Warbeck attempted a landing at deal in Kent with 300 soilders. He failed to get any local support and fled leaving the few men who had waited for him to be captured, tried and executed.

Question 21

What happened in September 1496?

Answer 21

Warbeck invaded from Scotland with a force of 1,400 men. Warbeck was unable to get much support from the North and retreated back to Scotland.

Question 22

Why did the threat in the North cause more problems for Henry?

Answer 22

In 1497 he was forced to raise taxation for the army. This provoked Rebellion in Cornwall in June 1497 as they thought it was unfair to be taxed so much for something at the other end of the countries.

Question 23

How many revolted in Cornwall?

Answer 23

15,000

Question 24

How did Henry respond to the Cornish rebels?

Answer 24

He met them in battle at Blackheath in Kent where Henry won a desive battle against the poorly equipped rebels, around 1000 were killed

Question 25

What happened in July 1497?

Answer 25

The King of Scotland was tiring of supporting Warbeck so Warbeck left for Ireland.

Question 26

What happened in September 1497?

Answer 26

After failing to gain support in Ireland Warbeck attempted to get some from Cornwall. He landed near lands end aiming to take advantage of the recent unrest in the region. By now the army of 1,400 men he had in Scotland had shrunk to 300.

Question 27

Who did Warbeck attract and not attract support from in his attempted invasion of Cornwall?

Answer 27

He did get the support of between 3000 to 8000 men but was not able to gain the support of the gentry or the nobility of the South West.

Question 28

What happened when Warbeck attempted to take Exeter?

Answer 28

The Earl of Devon had been given his title for his support of Henry at Bosworth and it was his job to defend Exeter. The city came close to falling but the rebels were driven out by its soldiers and citizens.

Question 29

What happened after Warbecks attempt at taking Exeter?

Answer 29

They then moved onto Tauton where they were surrounded by royal forces, Warbecks support melted away, he tried to escape and was captured.

Question 30

How did Henry at first treat Warbeck after capturing him?

Answer 30

He was accepted at Henry's Court and not formally imprisoned as Henry saw him not as a threat but as a puppet of more powerful men and women.

Question 31

What happened in June 1498?

Answer 31

Warbeck was caught attempting to escape and was imprisoned in the tower of London.

Question 32

What happened in 1499?

Answer 32

Both Warbeck and Warick were executed. This was because Warbeck was either caught or framed plotting against the King with Warick. Warbeck was hung and Warick was beheaded.

Question 33

Who did the deaths of Warbeck and Warick serve to reassure?

Answer 33

Spain, this meant that they felt more stable in forming an alliance with Henry which eventually lead to the marriage of Prince Arthur and Princess Catherine.

Question 34

How did the birth of his children strengthen Henry's rule?

Answer 34

He had four children Arthur, Margaret, Henry and Mary which gave him heirs to both the York and Lancastrian claim which also gave him the opportunity to form alliances with other countries.

Question 35

What was the Treaty of Medina del Campo?

Answer 35

In 1489, Henry achieved an alliance with Spain, this was the first time a major European acknowledged his claim to the throne by signing a treaty with him.

Question 36

What had Henry established by the early 1480s?

Answer 36

A network of spies who were able to keep him informed of Warbecks movements. This meant that when Warbeck tried to land in Kent in 1495 Henry had troops waiting for him.

Question 37

What showed that Henry had an effective chain of command when it came to Warbeck?

Answer 37

When he challenged the town of Exeter Henry was able to coordinate a military response by sending reinforcements to the Earl of Devon and drive Warbeck towards Taunton to be trapped

Question 38

Who was Courtney?

Answer 38

The Earl of Devon

Question 39

How does Courtenay show Henry's successful use of rewards?

Answer 39

Courtenay had helped Henry during exile and fought with him at Bosworth. He was one of the few men to be enobled for their support of Henry and therefore helped him at Exeter and stopped him gaining momentum in the South West.

Question 40

How did Henry use bonds and recognises to ensure Thomas Greys support?

Answer 40

His loyalty to Henry had never been certain so Henry forced him to take out a series of recognises. He had to take out one for £1000 and find friends who were willing to give recognises for £10,000. This meant that he remained loyal in the 1490s and helped Henry put down the Cornish Rebellion in 1497. His recognises were cancelled in 1499

Question 41

How many Nobel families out of 62 did Henry put under some sort of financial control?

Answer 41

36. This allowed him to exert his control over the throne whilst creating a atmosphere of paronia and distrust.