Lambert Simnel rebels

Historical Context Note

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.03: English Writing and Culture: Renaissance (Elizabethan and Jacobean periods) , 1485-1625.
Vol. editors: William M. Hamlin (Washington State University), J A Roe (University of York), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University), Ema Vyroubalova (Trinity College Dublin)

Domains

Politics

Dates

Date of occurrence 1487

Places

United Kingdom (Location)

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Henry VII had only held the English crown for two years when he faced the first potential threat to his position. Lambert Simnel was a young boy of humble origin, but he was used by an Oxford priest, Richard Symonds, as a claimant to the throne. Symonds decided to claim that the little boy's true identity was that of the Earl of Warwick, who had been imprisoned in the Tower of London along with the more famous Princes in the Tower. He spread rumours that Warwick had actually escaped, and took Simnel to Ireland, a stronghold of the Yorkist cause. Here Simnel was crowned 'King Edward VI', and supported by Irish troops, Simnel landed in Lancashire on 5th June 1487. The rebellious forces marched across the Pennines, but did not gather as much local support as they had expected, perhaps…

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