War of Roses

• Overmighty subjects 


  members of the nobility whose power and wealth had grown so great they could challenge the position of the king
• Bastard feudalism has been seen as the root cause of the wars of the roses since it created overmighty subjects.
• annuities 


  annual payments
• affinity 


  a following of men
• bastard feudalism 


  This was a conract system in which annuities were given instead of land grants . This was a threat to the king as the nobility could easily raise their own armies
• Henry VI's failure to provide leadership at the centre of government left a power vacuum that members of the nobility filled
• The princes in the tower

  • Richard, Duke of York
  • Edward V
• The usurpation of Richard III and the widely held belief that he had murdered the princes lost his crucial allies and sparked plans for rebellion
• Margaret Beaufort would go on to play a central role in in her son's governemntn
• Margret Beaufort's marriage to lord Stanley was crucial in gaining the support of the Stanley family in 1485, which proved decisive in Henry's victory at Bosworth.
• Margret Beaufort played a key role in generating conspiracies against Richard III
• Henry's claim to the throne

  He had an incredibly weak claim through his mother's Beaufort line given that they were barred from succession by Henry IV due to Katherine Swynford being the mistress of John of Gaunt.
• When was Henry's victory as Bosworth

  22 August 1485
• Richards army

  10,000 - 15,000
• Henry's army

  5,000
• The Stanley's dominated the north west and could provide substantial military support
• Being heiress of York, Elizabeth’s marriage gave Henry a stronger title.
• It was Tudor propaganda to say that the Battle of Bosworth had ended the Wars of the Roses; conflict continued all throughout Henry VII’s reign, Lambert Simnel almost won the battle of Stoke and Perkin Warbeck launched invasions on the English Mainland.
• • The nobility ceased to engage in rebellion after 1489
• Henry VII claim to the throne

  • Beaufort Lineage
  • Battle of Bosworth
  • Wars of The Roses
  • Richard III tryanny
• Margret Beaufort was England’s most Important Heiress
• Yorkists with a stronger claim to the throne

  • John De La Pole
  • Edward, Earl of Warrick
• Opposition to Henry

  • Perkin Warbeck
  • Lovel
  • Stafford and Suffolk
  • Simnel
• The strength of Henry's position in 1485

  • although he was a usurper, he had killed a tyrant
  • Richards only son died in 1484