THE TUDOR PERIOD. IIENRY VII., A.D. 1485-1509. HENRY VII. was the son of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, and Margaret, daughter of John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. He was grandson of Owen Tudor, a Welsh gentleman, said to be a descendant of the ancient princes of that country, and Catherine of France, the widow of Henry V. His mother was descended from John Beaufort, son of John of Gaunt, by Catherine Swynford. HENRY VII. had no legal right to the crown of England, but claimed it upon the following grounds: 1. His descent from the House of Lancaster. 2. His contracted marriage with Elizabeth of York. 3. The right of conquest. In consideration of Henry's projected marriage with Elizabeth, heiress of the House of York, Parliament passed an Act settling the crown on him and his heirs, 1485. His other claims were not acknowledged. The Sweating Sickness broke out in London 1485, and carried off numbers of the inhabitants, among whom were the lord mayor and six aldermen. In consequence of this calamity the king's coronation was postponed. The Princess Elizabeth, who had been confined in the castle of Sheriff Hutton, in Yorkshire, was conducted, by order of Henry, to the house of her mother, in London. CORONATION OF HENRY VII.-Henry was crowned at Westminster by Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury, October 30, 1485. Henry appointed, at his coronation, a select body of archers, amounting to fifty men, to attend on him, which were designated Yeomen of the Guard. As a reward for their fidelity he created his uncle, Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke, Duke of Bedford, and Lord Stanley, Earl of Derby. MARRIAGE OF HENRY.-The Houses of York and Lancaster were united by the marriage of Henry VII. with Elizabeth of York, January 18, 1486. Immediately after his marriage he issued a general pardon to all the adherents of the House of York who had opposed his accession, but several of the most powerful refused to accept it. INSURRECTION OF LORD LOVELL.-This broke out while Henry was making a progress into the north. Lord Lovell, at the head of about 3,000 men, was approaching to attack him in the city of York, while Sir Humphrey and Thomas Stafford were marching with an army to besiege Worcester. The Duke of Bedford quickly suppressed the rebellion. Lovell escaped into Flanders, where he was protected by the Duchess of Burgundy. The Staffords took sanctuary in the church of Culham, a village near Abingdon, but they were taken. Humphrey was executed at Tyburn; and Thomas, the younger, obtained a pardon, 1486. INSURRECTION OF SIMNEL.-There was still a powerful faction of the House of York, desirous of placing on the throne some member of that family; for this purpose they chose the young Earl of Warwick, son of the Duke of Clarence, brother of Edward IV. The earl had been kept a close prisoner in the Tower from his earliest years, and they were therefore unable to bring him forward, but it was easy to find some one to personate him. The Duchess of Burgundy, sister of Edward IV., employed a priest of Oxford, named Richard Simon, to train a youth, Lambert Simnel, the son of a baker, or according to some authorities, a joiner, to personate the young earl. The rebellion commenced in Ireland; Simon and his pupil landed in Dublin, where they were favourably received by Thomas Fitzgerald, Earl of Kildare, the lord-deputy. The young adventurer was proclaimed king, under the title of Edward VI., and allegiance was offered to him as the true Plantagenet. Henry, hearing of the revolt, seized the queendowager, whom he suspected of countenancing the imposture, and confined her in the nunnery of Bermondsey, where she ended her life in poverty and solitude. He also caused the Earl of Warwick to be led publicly through the streets of London in order to expose the imposture. But the conspiracy extended; it was entered into by John de la Pole, son of the Duke of Suffolk, and of Elizabeth, eldest sister of Edward IV., and Lord Lovell. The Duchess of Burgundy hired a body of 2,000 Germans, under the |
