Henry VI and the Nobility
The power of the Nobility was the most important cause of unrest in the period of 1450 to 1470. ‘How far do you agree?’
During 1450- 1470, there were two main kingships; Henry VI and Edward IV. The first kingship was an extremely weak one with Henry VI who seemed to show a clear lack of interest in ruling the country, and then came Edward IV who was a strong king that sorted out the mess that Henry VI had left behind.
However, throughout both reigns, the nobility seemed to stay the same; the majority of them were over mighty and caused unrest. My essay is going to discuss the impact of these over mighty nobles and the impact of king Henry VI and Edward IV.
Firstly, Henry VI’s noble, Somerset contributed greatly to unrest during this period; Somerset was sent by the king to protect France. Despite the Duke of York appearing to be a much better alternative to
Somerset, the king still chose him. Somerset made a mess of things in France and proceeded to loose most of the territories; this contributed to England loosing power and caused a lot of unrest in the government and also in the public. Unrest was evoked and the Duke of York’s anger at Somerset encouraged him to march on Black Heath demanding he be imprisoned. It also caused unrest with the entire country who were angry that Somerset had thrown away land which was hard won by Henry V. On the other hand, some people may review this situation as not the fault of Somerset, but the fault of an under-mighty king Henry who did not make the right decision between York and Somerset. The king is also supposed to over view all the nobles and make sure they were doing their duty correctly; Henry should have intervened before the loss of territory and stopped it from happening. After all, he is the one in control of the country. Henry’s mental illness could of been the cause for his bad decision making and a contribution to the reasons why he was a weak ruler.
Another noble to cause unrest in the country
During 1450- 1470, there were two main kingships; Henry VI and Edward IV. The first kingship was an extremely weak one with Henry VI who seemed to show a clear lack of interest in ruling the country, and then came Edward IV who was a strong king that sorted out the mess that Henry VI had left behind.
However, throughout both reigns, the nobility seemed to stay the same; the majority of them were over mighty and caused unrest. My essay is going to discuss the impact of these over mighty nobles and the impact of king Henry VI and Edward IV.
Firstly, Henry VI’s noble, Somerset contributed greatly to unrest during this period; Somerset was sent by the king to protect France. Despite the Duke of York appearing to be a much better alternative to
Somerset, the king still chose him. Somerset made a mess of things in France and proceeded to loose most of the territories; this contributed to England loosing power and caused a lot of unrest in the government and also in the public. Unrest was evoked and the Duke of York’s anger at Somerset encouraged him to march on Black Heath demanding he be imprisoned. It also caused unrest with the entire country who were angry that Somerset had thrown away land which was hard won by Henry V. On the other hand, some people may review this situation as not the fault of Somerset, but the fault of an under-mighty king Henry who did not make the right decision between York and Somerset. The king is also supposed to over view all the nobles and make sure they were doing their duty correctly; Henry should have intervened before the loss of territory and stopped it from happening. After all, he is the one in control of the country. Henry’s mental illness could of been the cause for his bad decision making and a contribution to the reasons why he was a weak ruler.
Another noble to cause unrest in the country