In depth, detailed summary of all you need to know for Edexcel History A level —> Unit 30 - Lancastrians, Yorkists, Henry VII : on Henry VII.
Includes: personality, claim, use of spies, bonds/recognisances, relationship with nobility, regional magnates, line of succession, Simnel conspiracy...
Henry VII – Holding the Throne
Henry’s Personality:
• Unknown – life in exile (1471-85: aged 14-28)
• Death of Father (Tewkesbury) & absence of mother (England: married Thomas Lord Stanley)
toughened him up
• Outsiders = no enemies made
• Exile: wary, not take things for granted, unpampered upbringing, observed political
machinations of French court, know who to trust (joined when limited prospects)
• 500 supporters in France incl earl of Oxford & Jasper Tudor who continued steadfast loyalty
• Compensated for English politics ignorance seeing advice of mother Margaret Beaufort
• Cool, inscrutable calculating personality – lacked charm ability but unlikely to make rash
decisions & no one could pull wool over his eyes
• His consistencies & impartiality encourage stability – avoided trap of favouritism
Henry VII Weak Claim:
• Usurper = weak claim to throne
• Claimed throne by right of conquest – God shown his favour at Battle of Bosworth 1485
• Reign dated from 21st August (day before Bosworth) – legal ability to threaten those who
fought against him with treason
• Married Elizabeth of York – reconciled former Yorkists (Thomas Howard earl of Surrey (son of
Duke of Norfolk, R III commander of vanguard at Bosworth) to new regime
• Marriage symbolised by Tudor Rose (York = white rose & Lancastrian = red rose)
• Obtained papal dispensation to overcome fact H VII & Elizabeth common ancestor E III
• Parliamentary Act 1485 reversed bastardisation of E IV children 1484 (previous act records
destroyed)
• Elizabeth produced Prince Arthur 8 months after marriage (heir) & Prince Henry (spare) + 2
daughters for marriage partners for alliances
• H VII lived long enough to see Prince Henry become heir after Arthur death 1502 & reach
majority 1509 – uncontested succession
• Few male relatives to reward or who’d cause trouble (Jasper Tudor – old, no royal blood:
unlikely to challenge H VII)
• Elizabeth: loyal, emotional support, out of politics, reject toxic roles of M of A & E Woodville
Use of Spies:
• Gathering intelligence well established prior H VII – encouraged by Hundred Years War
• Common practise place ambassadors in foreign courts & use paid informants
• 1465: E IV employed agents to discover H VI location leading to his capture
• 1469: Clarence & Warwick deceived E IV with false reports enabling them to capture him
undefended
• H VII infiltrated Burgundian court to obtain information about Warbeck ploys
• H VII intelligence networks informed him about Sir Willian Stanley disloyalty 1495
• Sophistication of H VII spies exaggerated
• Introduced 2 innovations: Ciphers (encrypted messages) & Bonds (promises of loyalty with
financial penalty) encouraging nobles to inform on each other
Bonds & Recognisances:
• More extensive – more than half nobility subjected to them
• 1497 Council for the Learned in the Law – make nobleman responsible for each others good
behaviour creating web of royal control
• Bonds only ruthless imposed in last several years of reign – ill and increasingly paranoid
(following deaths of son and wife 1502-03)
, Henry VII – Holding the Throne
• Lord Abergavenny – suspended fine £70,000, annual income £3,000, paid £500 every year
• H VII concerns: maintain monarchical control rather than make financial gains & show lack of
favouritism (punished most loyal subjects – earl of Oxford fined £5 for each illegal retainer)
• H VII emphasised dependence on kings favour – he offered patronage to trusted advisor Sir
Richard Empson by crossing out the term ‘for life’ with ‘during the kings pleasure’
Relationship with the Nobility (i):
• H VII managed to avoid creation of over mighty nobles
• Reduce peerage numbers (exceptions: Jasper Tudor -> Duke of Bedford & Thomas Stanley ->
earl of Derby)
• Prevented Thomas Howard earl of Surrey from inheriting fathers dukedom of Norfolk as
carrot dangling in front of his face
• Wouldn’t let young earls of Northumberland & Buckingham reach majority until 20 to extend
benefits of wardship & demonstrate authority
• H VII parsimony with patronage added advantage of upping rental income from crown lands
• Used Acts of Attainders often suspended rather than reversed as his ‘sword of Damocles’
• H VII not anti noble – relations with leading nobles Bedford & Oxford were close
• Used ‘new men’ from gentry whose loyalty unquestioned as no independent power base
• John Morton Lord Chancellor served both E IV & H VII as senior administrator
• Saw strong finances as political tool to spend on defence and propaganda
• Enhanced role of Justices of Peace who were mostly drawn from gentry
Regional Magnates:
• Continued use of E IV regional magnates
• Uncle Jasper Tudor Duke of Bedford put in charge of Wales and the Marches
• Earl of Northumberland led Council of North until death 1489 (replaced by earl of Surrey)
• Stanley’s: Thomas Stanley made earl of Derby & William Stanley made Chamberlain
• Earl of Oxford trusted to manage midlands and East Anglia
• Edward Courtenay earl of Devon controlled South West
• Rarely went on progresses around country (unlike Yorkist kings) – preferred to stay in London
unwilling to loosen grip on central government in case of usurpation
• Unable to mount charm offensive to win over people in localities – suited introverted
personality (compared to E IV who enjoyed entertaining)
• H VII skilled propagandist – symbolism of Tudor Rose & linking himself to apparent
saintliness of H VI
• Veneration of H VII helped distract any lingering sympathy for Yorkists whilst providing some
mystical support to his own claims for legitimacy
Relationship with the Nobility (II):
• H VII created climate of fear & was accused of tyranny
• Hostility towards H VII henchmen Empson and Dudley who were in charge of ‘Council of the
Learned in Law’ – executed as soon as patron did 1509 (widespread resentment)
• Resentment never threatened to spill over into civil war conditions
• Not one noble came out in support of Edmund de la Pole earl of Suffolk who challenged H VI
right to the throne
• H VII passed acts of attainders against 50 of Suffolks associates and enforced a statue against
retaining which required nobles to have a license
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