3.7 essay plans
How signi cant were the challenges posed by Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck to
Henry VII in the late 15th century?
Introduction
The challenges posed by pretenders such as Simnel and Warbeck against Henry VII were not
hugely signi cant
Signi cant = enough to seriously damage Henry vii’s power and threaten the throne
This is as although they had international support and threatened the stability of the realm, neither
pretender could gain the throne due to obviously not being of royal blood and their had limited
support. Simnel’s rebellion did not present an actual threat to the throne, rather challenged the
overall security and stability of the realm , however warlock’s rebellion was more signi cant as it
gained the support of high-ranking members in court and support from abroad.
P1
- the challenges posed by the Simnel rebellion were not hugely signi cant to Henry vii in the late
16th century
- This was as although the rebellion gathered momentum , the support across England as a
whole was limited and the battle easily won
- Nevertheless it still presented somewhat of as challenge as it gained foreign support and
involved a prominent group of opponents
- Lambert simnel was just a random kid, but gained support in ireland as he claimed to be
Edward earl of Warwick
- Although Henry paraded the real earl of Warwick through the streets, the threat was growing as
the earl of Lincoln, an opponent of henrys as he was named as Richard iii’s successor, and was
his nephew, declared simnel t be the real heir. Margaret of burgundy gave her support to the
conspiracy and declared him to the be real heir, and Lovell, another opponent of Henry;s who
had been defeated in a rebellion in 1486 joined the plot and sailed to ireland .they invaded, and
were defeated at the battle of stoke in 1487
- On the one hand, this rebellion posed a threat as it had international support and was the result
of a large group of opponents -
- eg Lincoln and Lovell, and some Yorkist support especially from the scrope family
- Margaret of burgundy gave her support and troops, as did the Irish (who crowned Simnel
king and gave 4,000 troops) , and 1500-2000 German mecenaries also supported the
invasion
- therefore it could be argued that the challenge posed by the pretender Lambert Simnel was
very signi cant, as it gathered International support and resulted in an invasion
P2
- however the challenge was not signi cant enough to pose a proper threat to Henry, as it never
gained enough support to actually challenge the throne, nor did the invasion hold any real
threat due to lack of support and poorly equipped troops
- The support across England was very limited, even places like the city of York which had string
ties to Richard iii did not support the invasion
- The battle of stoke was easily won by Henry due to strategic location, e ective archers and the
Irish being very poorly equipped
- Henry was able to kill Lincoln, who had an actual claim to the throne as Richard III’s named
successor and brother-in-law , which removed any actual threat and real claim to the throne
from this side
- Simnel himself was pardoned and served in the kitchen in the palace
- Therefore the challenge posed by the pretender Lambert simnel was not largely signi cant, as it
did not present an actual threat to the throne due to insu cient military backing, not enough
support across England for any serious insurrection , plus the fact that the earl of Warwick was
alive meant that any chances of simnel actually being king were small
P3
- the challenge posed by perkin warbeck was a larger threat then the simnel rebellion, but
nevertheless did not pose a hugely signi cant challenge to Henry vii
- It posed a threat as it received Scottish backing, and also had the support of members in Henry
court - however as the invasion gained no popular support in England, and Henry dealt swiftly
with opposition at court and made an alliance with the Scots, it did not spiral out of control
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- Perkin Warbeck pretended to be prince Richard , one of Edward iv’s sons
- He got support from Margaret of burgundy who con rmed he was her nephew, and also got
public support from Maximilian, king of romans
- Warbeck also gained support from James iv of Scotland , who arranged for warbeck to marry a
distant relative of his, and also gave military support and a base in Scotland
- On 21 September 1496, James and warbeck invaded England, but after 5 days, they were
forced to withdraw, and Henry eventually made peace with James in September 1497
- Henry’s spies revealed several senior gures at court were planning to support warbeck,
including sir William Stanley, who was chamberlain of England, brother of Henry’s stepfather
Thomas Stanley, and a former ally of Henry at the battle of Bosworth. Henry showed no mercy
and in 1495 , William Stanley was executed for treason
- In some ways this presented signi cant challenge - the treachery in his own court from such
high-ranking people such as William Stanley could have seriously threatened Henry vii’s rule,
however the fact that he was swiftly dealt with and the invasion in 1496 failed miserably meant
that the invasion did not pose a highly signi cant threat as it did not come near unseating
Henry vii ]
Conclusion
- Therefore although the challenges were signi cant in some ways as they gained foreign support
and in the case of warlock’s rebellion, support in court, they had no popular support in England
nor did the actual invasions seriously threaten Henry’s throne as they did not have the
necessary skill/numbers to actually destabilise Henry
- Therefore the challenges posed by the pretenders, although warbeck more so, were slightly but
not hugely signi cant challenges to Henry vii
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