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Challenging the succession:Battle of Bosworth
Henry VII was the nephew of the last Lancastrian King & defeated a Yorkist.
The pretenders = attempts to restore a Yorkist to the throne
1485 Henry challenged Richard III for the throne ad the Battle of Bosworth Richard died = Henry
King
Henry’s claim to the throne was very weak & there were rival claimants to the throne:
o He owed the throne to him winning the battle of Bosworth.
o CLAIM: through Beaufort family descendants of the third son of Edward III, John Gaunt,
the founder of the House of Lancaster. The Beaufort’s were illegitimate but had been made
legitimate on the promise they would never claim the English throne.
Impact of the battle:
1485: Henry Tudor had around 5,000 men Richard had twice that number
Richard’s better numbers should have won him the war, but he lost because he miscalculated and lost
leading nobles:
Thomas, Lord Stanley, his brother Sir William and Henry Percy (Earl of Northumberland) had been
expected to fight for Richard. The Stanley’s loyalties were split because Thomas Stanley married
Henry’s mother, Margaret Beaufort they watched battle from the side-lines, before William
committed fighting for Henry.
Richards errors
o tried to end fighting quickly by Killing Henry in close combat.
o he came close, but as he charged toward him, he was separated from his army & William
Stanley directed the army to Richard and he was killed.
Consequences of the Battle of Bosworth
Positive: Negative:
estimated only ¼ of nobility fought for Richard: Powerful nobles such as Stanley and
support for him was not good... Northumberland betrayed their interests to the
Although Richard III was a King anointed by God, King not fully trust the nobility.
his defeat was seen as God’s punishment for the Henry drew support from the Yorkists who had
way he seized the throne Henry could turned against Richard who had turned against
present his victory as God given. Richard when he usurped the throne from his
Richard III was dead removing a potential rival nephews including Woodville family who rose to
and Richard’s son and only heir to the throne fame when Elizabeth Woodville married Edward IV.
died. Tho they might support Henry to get rid of Richard,
Several powerful nobles had also been killed: their support was not guaranteed.
John Howard, Duke of Norfolk Some of Richard’s supporters had escaped the
battle & would join the rebellion against Henry in
1486: Francis Lovell
*Woodville family:
1
, Henry VII securing his throne between 1485 – 1487.
Formal coronation & - Henry had to reinforce that God wanted him to be King ensured he was crowned
use of parliament to in a formal ceremony.
legalise his reign - Coronation oath (monarch swears to uphold laws & protect the realm) was taken &
the coronation allowed henry to be seen as a king anointed by God.
Henry followed his coronation w/ his 1st parliament in 1485:
- Parliament declared Henry was King & then used parliament to punish opponents.
- Parliament stated Henry became King on 21st Aug day before battle of Bosworth,
making all of those who fought for Richard traitors be punished.
Henry cemented his dynasty by repealing the Titulus Regius:
Law passed by Richard III & declared the marriage between Edward IV & Elizabeth
Woodville as invalid & children illegitimate.
If Henry left the law, then his future wife would have been illegitimate & any kids not
able to inherit the throne.
Once repealed Henry cemented Yorkist support by marrying Elizabeth of York,
uniting the feuding families
Rewarding supporters Rewarded supporters BUT had to ensure none of the nobility gained too much
power, and so avoided giving too many titles / land.
Some of men that benefitted: Jasper Tudor (Henry’s uncle), Thomas + William
Stanley
Yorkist supporters were rewarded too:
Thomas Lovell: (rebelled against Richard III) was made treasurer of the House.
John Morton: resisted Richard III Made Archbishop of Canterbury
Both men served Henry loyally & were important since they had experience of
governing England that Henry did not
Punishing Richard III’s Dealt w/ active supporters of Richard III. His coronation & declaration by parliament
supporters = justification to seize land. NOT execute many survivors of Bosworth:
John de la Pole: swore loyalty to Henry & joined Royal Council
Henry Percy (Earl of Northumberland) watched Bosworth from side lines
imprisoned
Royal Progresses Progresses journeys made by the ruler and their Court to the regions of England
beyond ld.:
In the age before photographs may had never seen the monarch Allowed Tudor
monarch to sustain contact with the localities
Henry VII moved constantly in early years of his reign
Passage of new laws Henry aware of the power of the nobility
Passed Act of Resumption in 1486 to secure the Crowns finances. This law
allowed Henry to take back all Crown lands that had been given away since 1455.
When Henry granted land to nobles it was this forfeited land strengthen the
crown’s finances (not giving away own personal land)
2
, Threats to the throne:
There were other more legitimate claimants to the throne:
1. Edward, Earl of Warwick (Edward Plantagenet) nephew of Edward IV and Richard III (Richard was
his uncle). Only 10 in 1485 when he was placed in the Tower for the rest of his life.
2. Edward & Richard, sons of Edward IV (1st Yorkist King) Edward IV own children and were Yorkist
challenges. The princes in the Tower disappeared at start of Richard IIIs reign in 1483, possible they
were dead. But Henry’s enemies used prices to rally support against King.
3. John De la Pole, Earl of Lincoln leading Yorkist claimant. He was the nephew of Edward IV and
Richard III big threat to Henry as the figurehead of the Yorkist uprising.
Factions in Henry VII’s England
Yorkist supporters of Richard III in Lancastrian supporters of Henry VII Anti-Ricardian Yorkists who supported
1485 in 1485 Henry at Bosworth
John de la Pole Margaret Beaufort (H mum) Elizabeth Woodville (widow
Francis, Lord Lovell Jasper Tudor, Duke of Edward IV Richard’s bro)
Thomas Stafford Bedford Sir Thomas Lovell
Humphrey Stafford John de Vere, earl of. Sir Giles Daubeney (fought at
Margaret, Duchess of Edward Courtenay Bosworth w/ Henry & made a
Burgundy (sister of Richard Baron afterwards)
III)
Early problems for Henry:
Henry’s supporters Henry did not have much immediate family good since he didn’t have to give away
Royal land to support his relatives BUT also meant he had not many people he could
trust.
Relied heavily on Jasper Tudor (uncle) given power in Wales & Thomas Stanley
(stepfather) given custody of estates of Earl of Stafford
Anti-Richard Henry had to be cautious of anti-Ricardian Yorkists especially Woodville’s who could
supporters have easily switched allegiance once Richard was dead.
This did not happen as Henry kept his promise to marry Elizabeth of York
Hard-line Richard Hard-line supporters caused problems almost immediately in 1486 when rumours swirled
supporters about plots against Henry:
Rumour 1 Edward Plantagenet had escaped the tower and fled to the channel
islands.
Rumour 2 agents of the Earl of Lincoln were caught smuggling gold & silver out of
the country, intending to raise an army abroad?
Stafford / Lovell Stafford brothers & Lovell escaped after Bosworth and plotted to rebel against Henry, wanting a
Yorkist back on the throne.
April 1486: Stafford’s tried to raise a rebellion in the Midlands in the name of Earl of
Warwick
Henry was near York at the time and so advanced to the midlands.
Having failed to garner support the Stafford’s fled & attempted to take sanctuary.
Humphrey Stafford was executed younger bro. Thomas was pardoned.
Meanwhile Lovell tried to raise a rebellion in Yorkshire but failed to gain support and his
revolt was suppressed by Jasper Tudor Lovell fled to the refuge of Margaret of B
3
, The pretenders
LAMBERT SIMNEL IMPERSONATE EARL OF WARWICK
*Earl of Warwick was placed in the tower at 10 and so no one knew what he looked like and so people got
Simnel to pretend to be Warwick*
Francis Lovell was on the loose and Henry’s main rival for the throne, John De la Pole was aiding his
plots, despite swearing an oath of loyalty.
BUT De, la Pole was unwilling to risk everything in an open rebellion, so Yorkists focused on using
Simnel as main opposition to Henry since De la pole was unwilling:
o Simnel had NO royal blood
o He was 10 at the time of the rebellion & had been trained by a priest to act as if he were a
royal Prince.
o Plotters made an error, as Henry could produce the real Simnel from the tower.
o This did not stop the rebellion gathering momentum!
John de la Pole fled Burgundy where he joined Lovell & Margaret – sister to
Richard.
she used her money & power to help Lovell & de la pole raise troops.
hired support of 2,000 German mercenaries and the rebels sailed to Ireland
(traditional Yorkist base)
in Ireland de la pole & Lovell met with Irish nobility
Irish & Yorkists crowned Simnel as King of Dublin & launched invasion of England
arriving in June 1487
Henry Percy (did nada to stop the invasion) also not help at Bosworth. as local lord
he was 1st line of defence but seemed more interested staying neutral.
Henry’s response to the threat.......
1. Henry’s lack of experience = he trusts De La Pole invited him to council to discuss Simnel threat
2. But By April, Henry began to raise troops to meet the challenge.
3. Despite Bosworth being his only battle, Henry showed tactical awareness:
a. Henry ordered the coasts to be guarded (rebels still managed to land....)
b. H received intelligence that rebels wld invade from Ireland moved troops north
c. Henry arrived at Kenilworth castle waiting for rebels to land. When they did he marched
north to meet them at stoke
d. Rebel army had German mercenaries but also poorly equipped Irish troops = easy defeat!!
Significance of the threat posed by Simnel
SIGNIFICANT: INSIGNIFICANT:
Rebel alliance was a dangerous mix of rival claimants, The forced raised by de la pole & Lovell were not loyal
discontent Yorkists and foreign support & it was likely & Irish nobility preferred to wait in Ireland than fight.
if rebels had won at Stoke de la pole would have Rebels found it hard to gather support in England,
replaced Simnel (big threat.. the real contender) even Yorkist Earl of Surrey who was locked in tower –
not try and escape.
Support of Irish was serious: Ireland seen as a jumping
off point for those wanting to invade England. Henry’s own actions:
He was prepared to lead the army himself.
Henry’s position was threatened because he was slow Reacted swiftly to thr news of the invasion.
to realise threat of de la pole. His inexperience was His tactics in battle = easy win reinforcing his role as
made clear by not confronting him and instead king
fighting him in battle more uncertain method of
4
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