How far was Henry VII threatened by the rising of Stafford and Lovel?

Transcription

1 Teaching notes How far was Henry VII threatened by the rising of Stafford and Lovel? The following activity is designed to cover the minor rebellion of the Staffords and Lovel against Henry VII. It is in three parts. Activity one Quiz, quiz, trade! You will need to print the four key questions on p.2. Give each student in the group one slip of paper. It doesn t matter if there is more than one of each in fact the more the better. Students move around the room, find a partner and ask each other their key question. Each partner should attempt to answer the other s question. They then use the information on the slip to explain a full, correct answer. Students then swap the pieces of paper and continue to find a new partner. They continue for 5 minutes, meeting with as many others in the class as possible. Through the repetition and discussion they learn the definitions. Depending on your group, you might then ask students to write definitions for attainder and sanctuary, perhaps in an ongoing glossary. Activity two details of the rebellion Students have two accounts of the rebellion to study, one a modern account, the other taken from Francis Bacon written around the time. Students should be given one of the two accounts and answer the four key questions in the table on p.5. Once they have analysed their source they should work with a student who studied the other source and share ideas, completing the table as a summary. There is an extension question based on the provenance of Source B. It is written by Francis Bacon, a prominent writer and Member of Parliament who served under Elizabeth I. N.B. The Works of Francis Bacon is available as a free ebook, here: play.google.com/store/books/details?id=9ekh17f_x5wc&rdid=book- 9Ekh17F_X5wC&rdot=1 (the link was correct at time of publication). Activity three summary/homework Students should now be able to complete the rebellion card on p.6 to summarise the rebellion. This can be kept and used to compare with others in the period Page 1 of 6

2 How far was Henry VII threatened by the rising of Stafford and Lovel? Quiz, quiz, trade! What is sanctuary? Sanctuary was the right to be safe from arrest inside a church, recognized by English law. You had up to 40 days to sort out your problems and either leave the country or turn yourself over to the authorities. What is attainder? An act of attainder is a punishment where a person loses their possessions most often land or property. It was an effective punishment for the nobility. Who was Humphrey Stafford? Humphrey Stafford of Grafton, Worcestershire, was a favourite of Richard III. He helped to defeat his cousin Henry, Duke of Buckingham in He continued to support the Yorkist cause. Who was Francis Lovel? With the accession of Richard III to the throne, Lovel rose into a position of power. He was promoted to the office of Lord Chamberlain and was made a Knight of the Garter in Lovel fought for Richard at the Battle of Bosworth Field (22 August 1485). After the battle, Lovel fled to sanctuary at Colchester Page 2 of 6

3 How far was Henry VII threatened by the rising of Stafford and Lovel? Details of the rebellion Source A Humphrey Stafford, together with his younger brother Thomas, and Richard III s great friend, Francis Lovel, following their master s defeat at Bosworth, left their sanctuary in Colchester. During this time Henry was in York on a nationwide tour of the country. Lovel headed north whilst the brothers went to the West Country where they planned to seize Worcester. Stafford established personal contact in the vicinity and sent messages to others. As an attainted man he was unlikely to attract support so he spread the story that Henry had pardoned him and produced forged documents to support his claim. Rumours spread that Edward, Earl of Warwick, had been set free in Guernsey and transported to Yorkshire and united with Lovel. Others were that Lovel had been successful in Yorkshire and that the king was captured. The Staffords successfully entered Worcester, due to the negligence of the authorities to provide an adequate guard. They urged their men to ride north with all speed to assist Lovel in the destruction of Henry VII. All came to nothing. The king, on reaching Pontefract on 20 April, sent a force westwards. Richard Burdett warned Stafford of the approaching royalist force and he fled to Bewdley, just missing capture by Thomas Cokesey, and from there to Culham in Oxfordshire. On the 22 April 1486 Lord Lovel decided not to risk open rebellion and escaped to Burgundy. The brothers sanctuary, however, was violated on 13 May by John Savage heading a force of sixty men. Humprhey Stafford s defence was based on the sanctuary violation and he was brought to court on 20 June though the case was adjourned until 28 June. The judges did not come to their conclusion easily but after indications of the king s desires, the judges came to a decision. Sanctuary could not be pleaded in cases of treason. A precedent had been set. Stafford was condemned on 5 July to a traitor s death. His younger brother was pardoned. Based on CH Williams article in English Historical Review, vol. 43, Page 3 of 6

4 Source B How far was Henry VII threatened by the rising of Stafford and Lovel? But the King, in his account of peace and calms, did much over-cast his fortunes: which proved for many years together full of broken seas, tides, and tempests. For he was no sooner come to Lincoln, where he kept his Easter, but he received news that the Lord Lovel, Humphrey Stafford, and Thomas Stafford, who had formerly taken sanctuary at Colchester, were departed out of sanctuary, but to what place no man could tell: which advertisement the King despised, and continued his journey to York. At York there came fresh and more certain advertisement that the Lord Lovel was at hand with a great power of men, and that the Staffords were in arms in Worcestershire, and had made their approaches to the city of Worcester to assail it. The King, as a prince of great and profound judgment, was not much moved with it; for that he thought it was but a rag of remnant of Bosworth Field, and had nothing in it of the main party of the house of York. But he was more doubtful of the raising of forces to resist the rebels, then of the resistance itself; for that he was in a core of people whose affections he suspected. But the action enduring no delay, he did speedily levy and send against the Lord Lovel to the number of three thousand men, ill armed but well assured (being taken some few out of his own train, and the rest out of the tenants and followers of such as were safe to be trusted), under the conduct of the Duke of Bedford. And as his manner was to send his pardons rather before the sword than after, he gave commission to the Duke to proclaim pardon to all that would come in: which the Duke, upon his approach to the Lord Lovel s camp, did perform. And it fell out as the King expected; the heralds were the great ordnance. For the Lord Lovel, upon proclamation of pardon, mistrusting his men, fled into Lancashire, and lurking for a time with Sir Thomas Broughton, after sailed over into Flanders to the Lady Margaret. And his men, forsaken of their captain, did presently submit themselves to the Duke. The Staffords likewise, and their forces, hearing what had happened to the Lord Lovel (in whose success their chief trust was), despaired and dispersed; the two brothers taking sanctuary at Colnham, a village near Abingdon; which place, upon view of their privilege in the King s bench, being judged no sufficient sanctuary for traitors, Humphrey was executed at Tyburn; and Thomas, as being led by his elder brother, was pardoned. So this rebellion proved but a blast, and the King having by this journey purged a little the dregs and leaven of the northern people, that were before in no good affection towards him, returned to London. Taken from a contemporary account, The Works of Francis Bacon, p Page 4 of 6

5 The revolt of Stafford and Lovel: source comparison How far was Henry VII threatened by the rising of Stafford and Lovel? Task: Read one of the sources carefully, and then answer the questions below. You may find it useful to highlight key information in the source first. Share your findings with a partner who has studied the other source. Question Source A Based on CH Williams article in English Historical Review, 1928 Source B From The Works of Francis Bacon Who was involved? What were the aims of the rebels? Summarise what happened. How serious was the rebellion? (How can you tell?) Challenge question: Was Source B written by someone who supported Henry VII or supported the rebels? How can you tell? Page 5 of 6

6 How far was Henry VII threatened by the rising of Stafford and Lovel? Rebellion card Monarch... Rebellion... Date... Causes of the rebellion: Short term Long term Objectives:... Leaders:... Size:... Main events:... Government response:... Results: Any success (long/short term)? Reasons why? Give evidence. Any failure (long/short term)? Reasons why? Give evidence. Extent to which it presented a threat to the government: Page 6 of 6