This document contains a total course summary of the Lancastrians, Yorkists and Henry VII of the Edexcel History A-level course. They were written by an A* (achieved) student.
Order of kings
1. Richard II
2. Henry IV
3. Henry V
4. Henry VI
5. Edward IV
6. Henry VI
7. Edward IV
8. Richard III
9. Henry VII
Timeline of usurpations
1. 1399 – RII usurped by HIV
2. 1461 – HVI usurped by EIV
3. 1470 – EdIV usurped by HVI w/ Warwick the Kingmaker (The Readeption)
4. 1470 (6 months later) – HVI usurped by EdIV
5. 1483 – EdV usurped by RIII
6. 1485 – RIII usurped by HVII
Introduction to late Medieval England
Society
Population 1400 = 2 1/4 million
Less than 1/2 from 1300 - effect of the Black death- over 300 years to recover
80% = 80% peasants
95% of wealth = nobility = 3% of population
o Made up of 60 families (most senior = magnates)
o Gentry = 3,000
Smaller popul = more food = more prosperous
England = wealthy (mostly due to wool trade)
50% = under 20
Life expectancy
o 40s (peasants)
o 50s (rich)
1
,Economy
90% popul = agriculture
7% lived in towns
London = 40,000
o Oxford = 3,000
Wealth and power = measured in land ownership
Merchant class = inferior to nobility but equal to gentry
Avrg peasant income = £2 /year
Royal income = btw 30,000 and 100,000
Nature of Power
Hereditary monarchy
o Role to defend the realm from outside and maintain law and order within
Parliament = Lords and Commons - provide legitimacy to laws and approve taxation
King = ruled by divine right
o Fixed social hierarchy by God
Loyalties revolved around dynastic (family) relationships
o Get power through marriage, battle (Patronage), take land through force, etc
Religion
Fundamental to medieval life- Black death made some people question it
o Much of the clergy = died
Rebellion against authority = mortal sin
o Church perpetuated 'The Great Chain of Being'
o Determined social status by god
Church was hierarchical - Church and Crown (supposed to) support each other
Victory in battle = seen as God's sign of approval
o Agincourt - banished questions over claims to the throne
Owns 1/5 of land
Monopoly over education - write the history books
Feudalism and 'Bastard Feudalism (BF)'
King owned all the land - King could give it for loyalty
o Only be taken back of noble committed treason
BF = giving money in exchange of loyalty instead of land
o Not a one off payment
o King won’t be paying while they aren't needed in battle
o Can gather more men for private armies - some noble if they band together - now
can challenge the King
King could offer jobs and titles as patronage - needs to be fair otherwise resentment and
rebellion could increase
Nobles don't get money from tax- they get it from rent
Scotland, Wales, the North, France & Burgundy
Scotland = separate country - has its own kings
o Never fully conquered - Geography
Wales = conquered
o Hate the English
o Borders England - captured by the Normans
Ireland = technically conquered
2
, o Basically not past the Pale (area around Dublin)
o Sea proved a challenge
o But divided into tribes- not a threat
The North - hard to govern
o Far from London
o Highly militarised - consistently fighting the Vikings
o English Kings had to give the northern nobles much more power and
independence - threat of rebellion
o 15% of the population
France
o Eng Kings = possessions in France (cause of the Normans)
o Had many close links
o Struggled to unite and make the kingdom completely independent - too big
o Eng could never fully subdue/ take over - too big w/ too large a population
Burgundy
o Seen as an ally- counterweight to France
French won't threaten Eng in case they risk Burgundy trade
o England's main trading partner - wool trade
Richard II and Henry IV
3.1 Deposition of Richard II (1399)
Long term causes of 1399 crisis –
Child King
Son of the Black Prince became King at 10
A child king allowed rivalries to develop
Unsuccessful military campaigns in France = increased tensions btw nobles (taxes)
Many nobles were in charge until he came of age = tension
Early claim to the throne arrogance developed
The Peasants’ Revolt 1381
Parliament’s attempts to control wages = resentment to the ruling classes
1381 – initially improved the King’s reputation showed bravery when he faced the
crowd of peasants
Convinced him that God was on his side and that he had his protection
Made him desire absolute obedience and power = unwillingness to compromise, ill
tempered, and violent
Relationship w/ France + marriage to Isabelle
Considered a betrayal of Eng interests
Too young to produce a heir quickly
But her dowery was £80,000 (eased financial pressures) + included a 28 year truce
Childless King
Wife died in 1394 had not produced an heir
3
, Richard = not in a rush to remarry
Married a 7 year old girl can’t produce an heir unsure who to claim the throne upon
his deposition
Favouritism
Uncles were side-lined in order to promote la Pole (Chancellor and earl of Suffolk) and
de Vere (Marquis of Oxford and duke of Ireland) rewarded with titles and lands
Patronage given also increased royal debt
The Wonderful Parliament 1386
Duke of Gloucester created the ‘Wonderful Parliament’ (1386) demanded the
impeachment of de la Pole in exchange for the approval of taxation
King refused- threatened to call the French
Gloucester threatened him by reminding him of the fate of his grandfather
Parliament demanded that a commission would control the Exchequer and the Grand
Seal for 1 year
The Lords Appellant
King raised troops to re-assert authority = resistance (Lord Appellants)
Led by Gloucester and Bolingbroke – for de Vere and de la Pole to be put on trial for
treason
Post battle of Radcot Bridge - decided not to usurp Richard but he was humiliated
(forced to bide time before seeking revenge)
The Merciless Parliament – 1388
1388 King’s forces were defeated (Battle of Radcot Bridge)
The ‘Merciless Parliament sentenced de Vere and de la Pole to death (they both ran
away from England)
The tyranny of RII 1397-99 –
1397 – RII struck vs 3/5 of the lord appellants (Gloucester, Warwick, Arundel)
o All accused of treason
Bolingbroke and Mowbray = rewarded w/ dukedoms of Hereford and Norfolk (thus
remained loyal to the king)
RII started raising a private retinue of Cheshire arches (surrounded parliament ensure
support for the conviction of the 3/5 of the lord appellants)
Bolingbroke accused Mowbray of attempting to plot vs RII (M denied)
o RII decided to settle w/ a trial by combat
Bolingbroke’s exile and return 1399
RII changed his mind – 1398 both were exiled
o Bolingbroke = 10 years (promised to protect any inheritance which was owed to
him)
o Mowbray = indefinite
4
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