Henry VII and the Breton Wars - Free Essay Sample

Cooper, J. (1959). Henry VII's Last Years Reconsidered. The Historical Journal, 2(2), 103-129.

Here, Cooper highlights the progression of Henry VII’s rule amidst the many policies and practices that had come into existence during his reign. His treatment of the nobility had obviously strained relationships between him and his peerage and some of them had instigated legal attacks against some of the men Henry VII had installed into various offices. Men such as Edmund Dudley and Richard Empson take centerstage as a case is tabled against them for failure to institute a new law by the King. The work also highlights various testimonies against these men by members of the nobility such as Lord Herbert who alludes to the sanctioning of unlawful activities by King Henry VII as well as Miss Brodie who directly states that extortion was conducted at the King’s orders. Cooper highlights the culmination of Henry VII’s character in the context of his own policies. While he remained intent on stabilizing the realm as best as he could, he kept smothering any form of dissent, especially from the nobility which had greater ramifications to the subsequent politics in England. This battle between the nobility and the King’s ‘new men’ also involved the Earl of Kent who had extensive grievances against Dudley and Empson. The two were additionally accused of packing juries and while these and all other accusations were thrown out of court, it remained evident that the nobility was not pleased with King Henry VII’s effort to tame them.

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Cooper highlights a very essential ramification of the reign of King Henry VII of England. The King had managed to switch the battlefronts in England in various significant ways. First, he had managed to pluck the lords and ladies from the countryside and bring them closer to court where he could easily gauge and manage the sentiment surrounding him. additionally, the lords and ladies had to align themselves with the King lest they risk heavy penalties and fines which the nobility went as far as terming extortion. Prior to Henry’s rule, scores between the nobility would be settled on the battlefield. This is what had instigated the War of the Roses, the conflict that had put Henry VII on the throne. However, it is clear in Cooper’s work that this battlefield had changed to the courts in London. Where noblemen could go to war over a personal squabble between them, now they had to settle the matter in court, under the King’s law. This is a fundamental change that prompted a fairly peaceful reign for King Henry VII of England.

Currin, J. (2000). 'The King's Army into the Partes of Bretaigne': Henry VII and the Breton Wars, 1489–1491. War in History, 7(4), 379-412.

While it is clear that Henry VII was determined to attain peace and stability for England, he did engage in various wars during his reign. Currin argues that many of the wars King Henry VII was embroiled in were political in nature and worked to further a political end. At the Breton wars, King Henry VII wage war with the intention of directing French ambitions elsewhere as oppose to conquering new territory. Occurring in two phases, the wars initially did not involve Henry VII in any way and the first phase culminated with a treaty that ended in the death of the King of France and the ascension of his twelve-year daughter, Anne, as duchess. Henry VII managed to tread a narrow line between diplomacy and outright battle through a series of treaties and alliances that aimed at isolating France as they drew closer to open war. An alliance with Maximillian I of the Romans and Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain worked to ensure a triple alliance that prompted France to strike first at the colony of Brittany. Currin stipulates that Henry VII aimed at exerting influence upon the duchy of Brittany in addition to securing his realm as part of a political play.

This work shows Henry VII’s mindset as he ruled over England. He remained a strong King that sought to stabilize and unify his kingdom from within by reducing conflict while he would occasionally venture into battle but with the aim of securing his kingdom as opposed to conquest. Currin’s work paints a clear picture of Henry VII’s wartime tactics and abilities, portraying him as an able, wise and strong King who was as scrupulous as he was cunning. By showing the nature of warfare that King Henry VII waged against France, Currin also manages to illustrate the mentality of the English nobility going into war in addition to highlighting the various alliances made not only between Henry VII and other nobles from the European continent but also the alliances that held together the Kingdom of England. These alliances come into play to either bolster Henry VII’s position in the war or diminish his war efforts. A good example is the way he manages to keep diplomatic ties initially with Charles VIII shortly before the war. As much as hostilities continued to pervade the countryside in Brittany, King Henry VII upheld diplomatic ties with France not as the means to the end of the war but instead as a tactic to ensure the complete isolation of France before open battle began. This worked as expected and France was surrounded by an alliance between England, Spain and the Romans. However, it is the same isolation that prompted France to attack preemptively and setting off the war on their terms.

Lander, J. (1976). Bonds, coercion and fear: Henry VII and the peerage. In Crown and Nobility, 1450-1509: 1450-1509 (pp. 267-300). Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press.

Lander describes English society during the reign of King Henry VII, particularly with regard to the multitude of ways he used to exercise control upon his Kingdom after the War of the Roses. He highlights the relationship between the monarch and the nobility in England at the time which had become a nigh unruly faction during his reign. Lander also highlights King Henry VII’s shift to dependence upon the middle class of lawyers and other people from humble backgrounds who posed much less of a threat to his reign than a nobility composed of peers to the King with their own power inherent from the many marriages and allegiances forged between noble families. He takes these and other measures because of his own strained history with the nobility who had plotted in the early years of his reign to depose him. For example, Perkin Warbeck had the support of Margaret of Burgundy, Charles VIII of France and the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Maximillian I. others like Lambert Simmel and Edmund de la Pole similarly had help and support from within the nobility and it is these factors, Lander notes, that determine the relationship between King Henry VII and his peerage. The author also notes the use of bonds and attainders which he terms as damaging to the nobility by significantly diminishing their power in a move by Henry VII to consolidate power in his Kingdom.

Lander helps to create a vivid image of the relationships within King Henry’s court, not only between the King and his nobility but also between the loyalist Lancastrian nobles and the remaining factions which had their own loyalties consigned elsewhere. This is particularly evidenced in the issuance of grants to members of his patronage. Learning from the mistakes of his uncle Henry VI, King Henry VII kept a small patronage of seventy-three English and sixteen Irish peers. Additionally, he only ever issued four hundred and thirty-five grants in comparison to his predecessors who each exceeded the one thousand mark. This not only shows his level of distrust towards the general nobility in England but also highlights the few noblemen he still trusted as well as their respective characteristics that earned his trust towards them; for example, the Earl of Oxford, John’s loyalty earned him fifty-five grants as well as several titles. It is clear that Henry VII was not interested in the appeasement of disloyal nobles.

Meyer, A. (2014). The Politics of Queenship in Francis Bacon's "The History of the Reign of King Henry VII" and John Ford's "Perkin Warbeck". Studies in Philology, 111(2), 312-345.

Meyer tackles the nature of queenship during Henry VII’s reign particularly by analyzing the relationship between the King and his queen, Elizabeth of York. It is worth noting, as Meyer states, that Henry VII’s coronation took place prior to his marriage to Elizabeth of York in a move that ensured that he did not share power with his bride. This was only a first in a series of moves that ensured this fact as Henry VII needed to reign unopposed in order to exact his vision of unity and stability after the War of the Roses. However, it is clear that Elizabeth’s own lineage as the daughter of Edward IV not only legitimized her as queen but also worked to bolster Henry VII’s own legitimacy as King of England over Richard III who was his adversary. This is in addition to her support for Henry of Tudor during the Buckingham rebellion which lent much legitimacy to his subsequent rule. Meyer paints the image of a paranoid Henry VII in the wake of his queen’s overshadowing claim to the throne that prompts him to view Elizabeth as subservient to his rule rather than an ally, much less a partner, which pushes him to even support rumors of a living son to Edward IV which would diminish his wife’s claim. Meyer additionally argues that Henry VII’s attempts to suppress the legitimacy of Elizabeth’s claim worked to diminish his own legitimacy instead of bolstering the same as would be expected by their marriage. The author leans towards the direction of Henry VII’s political failings, treating his decisions in marriage as political moves towards enhancing his legitimacy while simultaneously counterproductively undermining the same.

This work by Meyer allows the creation of the political landscape shortly before and after the King’s marriage to Elizabeth of York while further shedding light upon the psychology of Henry’s decision-making with regard to rulership of the English throne. While it is clear that Henry VII was intent on stabilizing England after the war, his paranoid disposition worked to undermine this factor on several occasions. For example, Henry is busy quelling a rebellion while Elizabeth gave birth to Arthur, their first-born son, who died shortly after birth. All this happened before Elizabeth herself had been crowned queen and Henry was actively attempting to diminish his wife’s legitimacy to the throne.

References

Cooper, J. (1959). Henry VII's Last Years Reconsidered. The Historical Journal, 2(2), 103-129.

Currin, J. (2000). 'The King's Army into the Partes of Bretaigne': Henry VII and the Breton Wars, 1489–1491. War in History, 7(4), 379-412.

Lander, J. (1976). Bonds, coercion and fear: Henry VII and the peerage. In Crown and Nobility, 1450-1509: 1450-1509 (pp. 267-300). Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press.

Meyer, A. (2014). The Politics of Queenship in Francis Bacon's "The History of the Reign of King Henry VII" and John Ford's "Perkin Warbeck". Studies in Philology, 111(2), 312-345.