Richard III Flashcards
(10 cards)
How did Richard III win and lose the crown within 2 years?
. Richard attacked the legitimacy of his brother Edward, his brother’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville and of Edward and Elizabeth’s children Edward and Richard.
. People were willing to tolerate Richard as a ‘legitimate’ king to avoid the uncertainity of a child monarch and attempt to maintain the stability that had been enjoyed during Edward’s second reign.
. However, Richard’s legitimacy was increasingly undermined by the taint of murder, rebellion from his once-close allies, divisive policies, foreign interventio n and the increasing popularity of Henry Tudor as a credible alternative.
What were Richard’s motives for seizing power?
1) Ambition for power as King (developed immediately after Edward IV died in April)
2) Fear of attack by the Woodvilles
3) Fear of losing his northern lands
4) Belief that England needed him.
5) Ambition for power as king (developed late May or early June - after he was made Lord Protector)
6) Belief that he was the rightful king by inheritance- and more legitimate than his nephew.
A power struggle of two uncles- April
. 9th April- Edward IV died in 1483 aged 40. His son, the new Edward V was just 12. Richard, Duke of Gloucester was on his lands in Yorkshire. The Woodvilles did not inform him of Edward’s death straight away.
. As Edward V was a minor, two rivals emerged to be the boy’s protector, Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers (Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother), and Richard, Duke of Gloucester (King Edward IV’s brother).
. Mid-April- Coronation is set for 4th May. Councillors headed by Lord Hastings told Rivers to limit King Edward’s escort to 2000 men. Hastings and Buckingham were in communication with Gloucester.
. 29th April- Rivers met Gloucester and Buckingham at Northampton over dinner.
. 30th April- Gloucester arrests Rivers and took control of Edward V.
. Rivers and Richard Grey, the new Kings’s half-brother, were sent North as prisoners. . When the news reached London, the King’s mother, Elizabeth Woodville, and other children fled to sanctuary in Wetminster Abbey.
A power struggle of two uncles- May
. 4th May- Edward V and Richard reach the Tower of London accompanied by the Duke of Buckingham.
. Early May- The council appointed Gloucester as Protector until Edward V was old enough to rule. Edward V was lodged in the royal apartments in the Tower of London to prepare for his coronation, now set for 25th June.
A power struggle of two uncles- June
13th June- Richard executes William, Baron Hastings, without trial, on the belief that Hastings had been plotting against him. Hastings had been a loyal supporter of Edward IV. Upon Edward’s death, Hastings had initially supported Richard’s claims as protector of Edward V.
16th June- Queen Elizabeth Woodville is persuaded to let Edward V’s younger brother, Richard, Duke of York, join him in the Tower. Elizabeth stays in sanctuary for nearly a year. The coronation was postponed again.
22nd June- Friar Ralph Shaw delivers a Sermon at St Paul’s Cross in London, praising Richard and sugesting that he had the right to rule. Other churchmen preached the same message. This acts as a catalyst in the campaign to add legitimacy to Richard’s claim to the crown.
A power struggle of two uncles- June continued
25th June- Buckingham reads a petition to both houses on Parliment, claiming that Edward IV was contracted to anotherwoman before he secretly wed Elizabeth Woodville.
. This made Edward V and his brother illegitimate , and made Richard the rightful King. The petition begged Richard to take the crown.
. A further claim stated that Edward IV himself was illegitimate, a claim based on his father allegdly being several days marching away from his mother at the timeof conception.
. Earl Rivers in executed.
Titulus Regius
. The petition previously presented to Richard in June 1483 was subsequently ratified as the Titulus Regius (Royal Title) in the parliment of January to February 1484. The Titulus Regius is, therefore, the single most important contemporary document establishing Richard III’s title to the crown of England. The grounds upon which Richard became king are clearly explained and legally enshrined as an act of parliment.
How far was this legitimacy accepted?
. Titulus Regulus said that he was the rightful heir because everyone more closely related to Edward was barred from the throne, either by illegitimacy (Edward’s children) or Act of Attainder for treason (Clarence’s son).
. There is strong evidence that people at the time knew this was ‘fake news’ intended to provide a legal justification for a political coup and potentially murder. Its appearance out of the blue at an extraordinarily convenient moment raises suspicion.
. More importantly, bastardy need not have stopped Edward V from becoming king because the coronation would have wiped out illegitimacy (as it did later with Queen Elizabeth I)
. Richard ignored this possibility, which suggests his priority as his own power and position.
. Finally, people’s recations at the time suggest widespread doubt about the story.
How far was this legitimacy accepted?- Crowland Chronicle
. The Crowland Chronicle did not believe a word: Richard, the Protector, claimed the Kingdom for himself. The pretext for this was put forward in certain parchment roll that king Edward’s son were bastards because he had been pre-contacted to a certain Lady Eleanor Butler before he married Queen Elizabeth. it was put about then that this roll originated in the north whence so many people came to London although there was no one who did not know the identity of the author (who was in London all the time) of such desition and infamy.
. ‘Pretext’ meaning pretence or alleged reason and ‘sedition and infamy’ meaning treason and evil. The author often shows hostility to Richard but that’s because he believed Richard had no justification for taking the crown.
. Later in 1483 many gentry rebelled against Richard because they did not believe in his right to be King.
