Unit 30 - Lancastrians, Yorkists and Henry VII, 1399-1509
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3.6 essay plans
How signi cant was the challenge posed by George, duke of Clarence to Edward IV in the
1470s?
Introduction
- signi cant = had potential to remove Edward from the throne
- Therefore - not very signi cant - it only destabilised Edward rather then posing a genuine threat
to remove him from power
P1
- the challenge posed by George, duke of Clarence to Edward IV in the 1470s was not signi cant
as it did not have the potential to seriously destabilise Edward IV’r rule
- This was as by 1471, when Edward IV returned to the throne after winning Battles of Barnet +
Tewksbury he was in a very secure position
- Henry VI , Prince Edward and Margaret of Anjou were all dead/defeated = no gureheads for
possible rebellion, and Richard earl of Warwick had been killed so there was no huge
opposition to Edward’s rule
- Clarence had switched back from Warwick’s side to his brothers and was given land in the
south, his old lands and was forgiven - he was not shunned / fallen from grace and therefore
did not have a steadfast reason to oppose his brother (eg like Bolingbroke opposed Richard II)
- Therefore, Clarence did not pose a signi cant threat as Edward was in the strongest position of
his kingship and his brother with no legitimate reason could not pose a big enough threat to
remove him from the throne
- However - it could be argued that the challenge was a signi cant one, as Clarence had shown
he could betray Edward once (by joining Warwick) and could easily join someone powerful
again
- Furthermore after dividing Warwick’s land after the battle there was immediate tension, as the
king required Clarence to give up some of his properties so as to return them to the Percy
family. This was only the start of the tension
- Therefore it could be argued that Clarence did pose a big threat to Edward as there was a huge
amount of tension between them + he had gained more land = he became more powerful and
had a motive to oppose his brother
- However due to Edward’s strong position as King, despite tension between the brothers,
George duke of Clarence did not pose a greatly signi cant threat to Edward IV
P2 /
- however - could be argued that Clarence did pose a hugely signi cant threat to Edward IV due
to his rumour spreading and destabilising of Edward’s position - this could potnetially be
dangerous
- After Isabel neville, his wife, died he went a bit loopy
- He began a rumour that Edward was illegitimate, which if true would severely damage any right
that Edward had claimed to throne (enhanced by the fact he was a usurper)
- He also embarrassed the king by refusing to drink / eat at his house - implying he was scared
of being poisoned
- Clarence also attempted to marry people that would bring him more power - eg sister of
Scottish king and the daughter of the duke of burgundy, both of which Edward understandably
blocked
- In a huge miscarriage of justice, he had an innocent woman hung because he suspected her of
poisoning Isabel , and also interrupted a council meeting at Westminster and ensured that
declarations of innocent pertaining to two members of his household who were accused of
treason
- The ght between Clarence and Gloucester was also embarrassing to the thing and damaged
his reputation - also meant Edward had to make concessions to Clarence to stop the ghting -
eg when Richard (gloucester) wanted to marry Anna neville, Clarence hid her (??), so Richard
took her and the king had to give Clarence a settlement including a townhouse in London,
estates on Essex and being made great chamberlain of England - shows that a) their
squabbling was very embarrassing and b) his discontent could be dangerous
- Shows that he had a large amount of power and was dangerous
- Therefore could be argued he was a signi cant challenge
P3
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, 3.6 essay plans
- Nevertheless - although these were challenges, they were not signi cant enough to remove
Edward from the throne as
- The rumours he made up had no factual basis - his actions embarrassed, rather then
seriously threatened his brother
- He had no strong allies - as shown by the fact that when he was tried, no-one spoke in his
defence
- He was also obviously su ering from some sort of mental instability after the death of his
wife - took huge care over her funeral arrangements and acted irrational and paranoid
- therefore he did not pose a signi cant threat `
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