30 Marker Q

• Crucial to running the country

  Often close family relative to the king
• Henry VI's mother


  • Widowed
  • Went on to have at least six children with Owen Tudor
• Henry VI made his elder half-brothers

  1. Edmund

  2. Jasper

  3. Earls of Richmond

  4. Pembroke
• Richard, Duke of York

  • Replaced Gloucester after his death in 1447
  • Descended from Edward III through two of his children giving York a claim
• Beaufort family


  • Illegitimate Lancastrian line
  • Descended from John of Gaunt, son of Edward III
• Henry VI was descended from Gaunt's first wife


  Beaufort's were descended from Gaunt's third wife (Katherine Swynford)
• Wanted to gain land in France during the hundred years war
• Cardinal Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester


  • Main source of finance for the campaign
  • Lending the crown over £200,000
• Other powerful Nobles

  • Buckingham
  • Warwick
  • York
• William de la Pole

  • Duke of Suffolk
  • Not particularly high on the social pecking order
  • Became Lord Chamberlain in 1447
• The Duke of Gloucester


  Appalled at the 'truce of tours', Constant critic of the peace policy with France, and pushed for a major campaign in France
• The king was inclined to peace

  As was Suffolk and other nobles
• Gloucester was accused of treason


  In order to silence him of fear of what he was going to say in parliament
• Gloucester died within days and some rumours that Suffolk had killed him
• Problems of law and order

  • Certain abuses of power, particularly seen in the land ownership
  • This increased when the economy was not doing well and incomes were down
• Henry was not fulfilling the role of judge during these disputes
• Nobles resulted in violence


  In order to attain land, they felt they had some sort of claim to
• The king was letting his powerful friends take advantage of the situation, causing more disputes over land
• The role of the king

  Some thought, the war of the Roses was the outcome of an escalation of private feud, some think that if there was a king, keeping the nobility in line and adjudicating, when necessary, the civil war may have been prevented
• Henry VI allowed fuse to get out of control and actively contributed to some
• The Nobility were connected to the problems caused by Henry's advisers because they were also members
• Contrasting views on Suffolk

  • Seen as taking advantage of the King's weakness
  • Trying to keep the government running, and having the country's best interests at heart
• Criticisms of Suffolk


  • Wasted money on land, titles and gifts for himself and his supporters
  • Lost in France and loss of land caused much criticism at the time
  • The poverty of the crowd was clear, and the king struggled to cover the costs of his and the Queen's household
  • Commons were particularly angered due to their taxes being used to pay the debts of the crown rather than war
  • When the truce with France ended, the money should've been in the war chest, and it was not
  • Suffolk knew about the agreement to hand over Maine to the French, yet kept it secret, but also denied any secret deals
  • Suffolk had taken the law into his own hands, such as protecting William Tailboy from prosecution for murder
• Suffolk's wrongdoings

  Affected the king badly
• Suffolk was charged with treason and committed to the Tower of London


  January 1450
• Reasons for Suffolk's downfall

  • Loss in France
  • Financial corruption
  • Corruption in the legal system
  • Misgovernment
  • Encouraging the King of France, Charles VII, to wage war on England
• The King gave Suffolk a 5-year exile but his ship was raided by pirates and Suffolk was killed by pirates
• Duke of Gloucester


  Uncle to Henry VI, wanted to carry on his brother's legacy (Henry V) in the hundred years war
• Duke of York


  Cousin to Henry VI, later rebelled
• Both the Duke of Gloucester and Duke of York were the senior male members of the family and closest in relation to the King himself
• Edmund Tudor

  Half-brother to Henry VI, via Henry V's third wife, became Earl of Pembroke
• Jasper Tudor

  Half-brother to Henry VI, via Henry V's third wife, became Earl of Richmond
• Edmund and Jasper Tudor became earls because of support and loyalty shown
• Beaufort's


  Rising noble family, illegitimate Lancastrian line
• Buckingham

  Obsessed with status, huge landowner
• Warwick

  Obsessed with status, huge landowner
• Duke of Suffolk

  Emergency rule, blamed for losing territory in France, introduced the 'truce of tours' in 1420
• Cade's Rebellion


  A rebellion that occurred in England
• Causes of Cade's Rebellion

  • Murder of the Duke of Suffolk was recognised as a key trigger
  • Taxes were unfairly levied
  • Taxes had been increased because of the King had given so much crown land away to his favourites
  • Justice was not impartially administered
  • The Lords who were favourites of the court were allowed to continue to hold office despite being responsible for misgovernment at home and loss territories in France
• Political reform


  What the rebels wanted