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Y104: England 1377–1455

The minority of Henry VI and the origins of the Wars of the Roses: the minority government and the rivalry of Gloucester and Beaufort

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  • Unit group 1

Overview

Recall questions on Henry V’s plans for his son’s minority, how the lords altered them, the quarrel between Gloucester and Cardinal Beaufort, the Parliament of Bats and the preservation of royal authority.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Which faults in Henry VI's personal rule allowed one man to dominate the court?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    How old was Henry VI when he became king, and what did that mean for the government of England?

    Model answer

    He was nine months old, so the kingdom had to be run by a council for the longest royal minority in English history, which was not formally ended until 1437.

  2. 2

    What did Henry V's dying wishes propose for the government of his son's realms?

    Model answer

    That his brother the Duke of Bedford should govern France, and that his brother the Duke of Gloucester should have the care of the infant king and the rule of England in Bedford's absence.

  3. 3

    How and why did the lords alter that plan in 1422?

    Model answer

    Fearing to place near-royal power in the hands of one ambitious prince, they refused Gloucester the title of regent, made him Protector and Defender only and subordinate to Bedford in England, and vested real authority in a council of lords.

  4. 4

    Explain the quarrel between Gloucester and Cardinal Beaufort.

    Model answer

    Beaufort, the king's enormously wealthy great-uncle, dominated the council and its finances while Gloucester claimed a greater share of power, and their rivalry twice brought armed retainers onto the streets of London.

  5. 5

    What was the 'Parliament of Bats', and why was it so called?

    Model answer

    It was the Leicester parliament of 1426, at which Bedford came over from France to arbitrate between Gloucester and Beaufort, and men forbidden to carry swords armed themselves with clubs instead.

  6. 6

    Explain how Gloucester's marriage to Jacqueline of Hainault damaged English interests.

    Model answer

    His attempt to make good her claims in the Low Countries cut directly across Burgundian ambitions and strained the alliance with Philip the Good on which the whole French war depended.

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