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Essay- Assess the value of the source for revealing the characters of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou and the reasons for the downfall of the duke of York£5.99
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Essay- Assess the value of the source for revealing the characters of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou and the reasons for the downfall of the duke of York
Level 4 Answer Full length essay from question in the textbook, find relevant sources in the textbook (pg 117). Marked by teachers, achieved 15/20.
Corrections and added content from marking are shown in red.
Assess the value of the source for revealing the characters of Henry VI and Margaret of
Anjou and the reasons for the downfall of the duke of York.
Explain your answer, using the source, the information given about its origin and your
own knowledge about the historical context.
Jean de Waurin was a famous late medieval chronicler and was noted for his strong bias
towards the Yorkists. This is shown in source 3 where he gives a highly positive opinion of
Richard, duke of York. In the source he goes some way into describing how the duke of York
fell from power and how the characters of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou may have
influenced this.
Although the mention of Margaret of Anjou is relatively brief in source 3 we easily
understand the impression that Waurin gives of her character. Margaret is portrayed as a
controlling character that is quite scheming, as Waurin states that she “worked on King
Henry”, indicating that she was trying to rule through her husband in order to get what she
intended. Waurin states that Margaret of Anjou was so influential over her husband “such
that the duke of York was recalled from France to England”, indicating that Margaret was
responsible for the downfall of the duke of York and was the reason why he was “stripped of
his authority”. This evidence can be partially supported as Margaret was opposed to the duke
of York and sought to control the King as later she wanted to be made regent and rule the
country in his name. This is evidenced by the letters she wrote to parliament, indicating her
desire to control the kingdom and be regent. However, we must be cautious when assessing
15th century sources as English chronicle accounts with misogynistic attitudes were
widespread. This is clearly evidenced through Wavrin’s account as this was not the
contemporary expectation for a queen at this time. In addition, many sources about Margaret
were written after 1461 and used to support Yorkist claims to the throne which we can see
through Wavrin’s praise of the duke of York. Nonetheless, Waurin is somewhat justified in
his opinion as Margaret cannot be acquitted of self-interest and factionalism: she actively
opposed York and sought to isolate him from politics. She actively supported the duke of
Somerset and the duke of Suffolk because, as a women, she would have to rule through men
in order to get her voice heard. Therefore, source 3 is valuable in revealing the character of
Margaret of Anjou and her involvement in the downfall of the duke of York, but must be
treated with caution.
In the last paragraph of the source, Waurin mentions King Henry VI and his role in the
situation. Henry VI is described as “simple-[minded]” who had neither “intelligence” or
“experience” to manage the kingdom of England. Henry VI is regarded by both contemporary
and modern commentators as a disastrous king who was easily influenced and both
physically and mentally feeble. Henry VI did not fulfil the medieval expectations of a king
during this period. He was weak and was easily manipulated showing no sign of wanting to
be involved in kingship and instead preferred religious activities and learning. This is best
evidenced through the Cade’s rebellion of 1450 which was in response to Henry’s poor
management of government and finance. Henry VI never grew into a functioning adult and
was never able to provide leadership in war nor impose justice. The fact that Waurin openly
criticises the King skills in managing the realm indicates that his governance of the country
must have been extremely poor as it could be considered treason to openly criticise the king,
most chroniclers criticise those in the king’s circle as their ‘evil councillors’ and avoid
blaming the king. As Waurin is so outspoken about the king’s ineptitude it gives weight to
the source and is valuable in revealing the character of Henry VI.
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