Lambert Simnel

1
Lambert Simnel

• Was he a
• real threat?

2
The situation in 1486-7

• Mystery surrounded death of the princes
• Henry still Green in his estates
• Some Yorkists still unsatisfies
• Rumours abounded that Earl of Warwick had escaped
  from Tower or been murdered

3
Who Was He?

• 10 years old
• Son of an Oxford Joiner possibly
• Bright lad educated by Richard Simons
• Advised to impersonate Richard, Duke of York but
  decides to be Earl of Warwick

4
Ireland

• Simnel is sent to Ireland with its Yorkist
  sympathies
• Earl of Kildare had been Lord Deputy under Edward
  IV and Richard III
• Kildare was open to a deal with Henry and
  likewise Henry was but both knew subjugation of
  Ireland was beyond Henrys means
• Kildare meets nobles and they unanimously support
  Simnel. He is crowned Edward VI.

5
Support from others

• Henry banishes Elizabeth Woodville to a nunnery
  and siezes her land (he had only returned it to
  her a year before)
• John De La Pole (Earl of Lincoln) flees to
  Flanders. He was Richard III intended heir and
  Margaret of Burgundys nephew.
• Viscount Lovell has already fled to Flanders
  after Bosworth (he was Richards Lord
  Chamberlain).

6
(No Transcript)
7
What Does Henry do?

• Earl of Warwick is paraded through London.
• Henry offers to pardon all those involved
• Jasper Tudor and Earl of Oxford take charge in
  south and Henry heads to Norfolk to head of
  invasion, rally support and pray at the shrine at
  Walsingham

8

• Henry orders arrest of Marquis of Dorset
  (Elizabeth Woodevilles son by first marriage).
• Henry rides to Coventry where Archbishop Morton
  reads out Papal Bull proclaiming Henrys right to
  the crown

9
The Battle

• Margaret of Burgundy funds 2,000 German
  mercenaries under Martin Schwartz. They go to
  Ireland along with Lovell and Lincoln.
• They soon land in Lancashire and start ravaging
  the land .They head toward York but only get
  support of one noble, Thomas Broughton

10

• Henry enforces strict discipline on his troops so
  as not to antagonise North
• The armies meet at Stoke and Simnels forces are
  routed
• Lovell, Schwartz and Lincoln are killed
• Simnel and Simons are captured. Simnel is put to
  work in the kings kitchens and dies in 1534.
• Henry tries to marry off Elizabeth Woodeville to
  James III, king of Scotland

11
Was the Rebellion a Genuine Threat? - YES

• Henry had been brought to battle
• Ireland rose as one against Henry
• Other conspirators involvement may have been
  covered up by Lincolns death
• Margaret of Burgundy involved
• Henry offered a pardon to all involved showing
  weakness
• Not all of Henrys army joined in until it was
  clear Henry would win

12
Was the Rebellion a Genuine Threat? - NO

• The mercenaries and Simnel were easily defeated
• Simnel was not martyred but treated with mercy
• People were sick of war after Wars of the Roses
• The rebellion had little support in North, even
  around York
• Earl of Warwick was clearly still alive