Lambert Simnel
Encyclopedia
Lambert Simnel was a pretender
to the throne of England
. His claim to be the Earl of Warwick
in 1487 threatened the newly established reign of King Henry VII (reigned 1485–1509).
and tradesman
to organ builder. Most definitely, he was of humble origin. At the age of about ten, he was taken as a pupil by an Oxford
-trained priest named Roger Simon (or Richard Symonds) who apparently decided to become a kingmaker
. He tutored the boy in courtly manners and contemporaries described the boy as handsome. He was taught the necessary etiquettes and was educated well by Symonds. One contemporary described him as "a boy so learned, that, had he ruled, he would have as a learned man."
, son of King Edward IV
, the younger of the vanished Princes in the Tower
. However, when he heard rumours that the Earl of Warwick
had died during his imprisonment in the Tower of London
, he changed his mind. The real Warwick was a boy of about the same age and had a claim to the throne as the son of the Duke of Clarence
, King Edward IV's brother.
Simon spread a rumour that Warwick had actually escaped from the Tower and was under his guardianship. He gained some support from Yorkists. He took Simnel to Ireland
where there was still support for the Yorkist cause, and presented him to the head of the Irish government
, the Earl of Kildare
. Kildare was willing to support the story and invade England to overthrow King Henry. On 24 May 1487, Simnel was crowned in Christ Church Cathedral
in Dublin as "King Edward VI". He was about ten years old. Lord Kildare collected an army of Irish soldiers under the command of Thomas Geraldine.
The Earl of Lincoln
, formerly the designated successor of the late King Richard III
, joined the conspiracy against Henry VII. He fled to Burgundy
, where Warwick's aunt Margaret of York
, the Dowager Duchess of Burgundy
, kept her court. Lincoln claimed that he had taken part in young Warwick's supposed escape. He also met Viscount Lovell
, who had supported a failed Yorkist uprising in 1486
. Margaret collected 2,000 Flemish mercenaries and shipped them to Ireland under the command of Martin Schwartz
, a noted military leader of the time. They arrived in Ireland on 5 May. King Henry was informed of this and began to gather troops.
Simnel's army — mainly Flemish
and Irish
troops — landed on Piel Island
in the Furness
area of Lancashire
on 5 June 1487 and were joined by some English supporters. However, most local nobles, with the exception of Sir Thomas Broughton
, did not join them. They clashed with the King's army on 16 June at the Battle of Stoke Field
and were defeated. Kildare was captured, and Lincoln and Sir Thomas Broughton were killed. Lovell went missing; there were rumours that he had escaped and hidden to avoid retribution. Simons avoided execution due to his priestly status, but was imprisoned for life.
King Henry pardoned young Simnel (probably because he had mostly been a puppet in the hands of adults) and gave him a job in the royal kitchen as a spit-turner. When he grew older, he became a falconer
. He died around 1525.
Pretender
A pretender is one who claims entitlement to an unavailable position of honour or rank. Most often it refers to a former monarch, or descendant thereof, whose throne is occupied or claimed by a rival, or has been abolished....
to the throne of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. His claim to be the Earl of Warwick
Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick
Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick was the son of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence and a potential claimant to the English throne during the reigns of both Richard III and his successor, Henry VII...
in 1487 threatened the newly established reign of King Henry VII (reigned 1485–1509).
Early life
Simnel was born around 1477. His real name is not known - contemporary records call him John, not Lambert, and even his surname is suspect. Different sources have different claims of his parentage, from a bakerBaker
A baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, Cakes and similar foods may also be produced, as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a baker as opposed to a pastry chef have blurred in recent decades...
and tradesman
Tradesman
This article is about the skilled manual worker meaning of the term; for other uses see Tradesperson .A tradesman is a skilled manual worker in a particular trade or craft. Economically and socially, a tradesman's status is considered between a laborer and a professional, with a high degree of both...
to organ builder. Most definitely, he was of humble origin. At the age of about ten, he was taken as a pupil by an Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
-trained priest named Roger Simon (or Richard Symonds) who apparently decided to become a kingmaker
Kingmaker
Kingmaker is a term originally applied to the activities of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick — "Warwick the Kingmaker" — during the Wars of the Roses in England. The term has come to be applied more generally to a person or group that has great influence in a royal or political succession,...
. He tutored the boy in courtly manners and contemporaries described the boy as handsome. He was taught the necessary etiquettes and was educated well by Symonds. One contemporary described him as "a boy so learned, that, had he ruled, he would have as a learned man."
Pretender
Simon noticed a striking resemblance between Lambert and the supposedly murdered sons of Edward IV, so he initially intended to present Simnel as Richard, Duke of YorkRichard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York
Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York, 1st Duke of Norfolk, 1st Earl of Norfolk, Earl Marshal was the sixth child and second son of King Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville. He was born in Shrewsbury....
, son of King Edward IV
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
, the younger of the vanished Princes in the Tower
Princes in the Tower
The Princes in the Tower is a term which refers to Edward V of England and Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York. The two brothers were the only sons of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville alive at the time of their father's death...
. However, when he heard rumours that the Earl of Warwick
Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick
Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick was the son of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence and a potential claimant to the English throne during the reigns of both Richard III and his successor, Henry VII...
had died during his imprisonment in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
, he changed his mind. The real Warwick was a boy of about the same age and had a claim to the throne as the son of the Duke of Clarence
George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence
George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, 1st Earl of Salisbury, 1st Earl of Warwick, KG was the third son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, and the brother of kings Edward IV and Richard III. He played an important role in the dynastic struggle known as the Wars of the...
, King Edward IV's brother.
Simon spread a rumour that Warwick had actually escaped from the Tower and was under his guardianship. He gained some support from Yorkists. He took Simnel to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
where there was still support for the Yorkist cause, and presented him to the head of the Irish government
Lord Deputy of Ireland
The Lord Deputy was the King's representative and head of the Irish executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and later the Kingdom of Ireland...
, the Earl of Kildare
Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare
Gerald Mór FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, KG , known variously as "Garret the Great" or "The Great Earl" , was Ireland's premier peer...
. Kildare was willing to support the story and invade England to overthrow King Henry. On 24 May 1487, Simnel was crowned in Christ Church Cathedral
Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin
Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the Ecclesiastical province of the United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel in the Church of Ireland...
in Dublin as "King Edward VI". He was about ten years old. Lord Kildare collected an army of Irish soldiers under the command of Thomas Geraldine.
The Earl of Lincoln
John de la Pole, 1st Earl of Lincoln
John de la Pole, 1st Earl of Lincoln was the eldest son of John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk and Elizabeth of York, Duchess of Suffolk. His mother was the sixth child and third daughter born to Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville...
, formerly the designated successor of the late King Richard III
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
, joined the conspiracy against Henry VII. He fled to Burgundy
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...
, where Warwick's aunt Margaret of York
Margaret of York
Margaret of York – also by marriage known as Margaret of Burgundy – was Duchess of Burgundy as the third wife of Charles the Bold and acted as a protector of the Duchy after his death. She was a daughter of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, and the sister of...
, the Dowager Duchess of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy was a title borne by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, a small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Saône which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Bald's kingdom of West Franks...
, kept her court. Lincoln claimed that he had taken part in young Warwick's supposed escape. He also met Viscount Lovell
Francis Lovell, 1st Viscount Lovell
Francis Lovell, 9th Baron Lovell, 6th Baron Holand, later 1st Viscount Lovell was an English nobleman. He probably knew the later King Richard III of England from a young age, and was to become his lifelong friend and staunch ally....
, who had supported a failed Yorkist uprising in 1486
Stafford and Lovell Rebellion
The Stafford and Lovell rebellion was the first armed uprising against Henry VII after he won the crown at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. The uprising was led by Viscount Lovell and the Stafford brothers, Humphrey and Thomas, and occurred during Eastertime 1486.-Rebellion:The conspirators against...
. Margaret collected 2,000 Flemish mercenaries and shipped them to Ireland under the command of Martin Schwartz
Martin Schwartz (mercenary)
Martin Schwartz was a German mercenary who died at the Battle of Stoke Field while fighting for Lambert Simnel, a Yorkist pretender to the English throne....
, a noted military leader of the time. They arrived in Ireland on 5 May. King Henry was informed of this and began to gather troops.
Simnel's army — mainly Flemish
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
and Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
troops — landed on Piel Island
Piel Island
Piel Island lies half a mile off the southern tip of the Furness Peninsula in the administrative county of Cumbria, though historically within Lancashire north of the sands. It is located at . It is one of the Islands of Furness in Northern England...
in the Furness
Furness
Furness is a peninsula in south Cumbria, England. At its widest extent, it is considered to cover the whole of North Lonsdale, that part of the Lonsdale hundred that is an exclave of the historic county of Lancashire, lying to the north of Morecambe Bay....
area of Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
on 5 June 1487 and were joined by some English supporters. However, most local nobles, with the exception of Sir Thomas Broughton
Thomas Broughton
Thomas Broughton may refer to:*Thomas Broughton , English divine, biographer, and miscellaneous writer*Thomas Broughton *Thomas Duer Broughton , writer on India...
, did not join them. They clashed with the King's army on 16 June at the Battle of Stoke Field
Battle of Stoke Field
The Battle of Stoke Field may be considered the last battle of the Wars of the Roses, since it was to be the last engagement in which a Lancastrian king faced an army of Yorkist supporters, under the pretender Lambert Simnel...
and were defeated. Kildare was captured, and Lincoln and Sir Thomas Broughton were killed. Lovell went missing; there were rumours that he had escaped and hidden to avoid retribution. Simons avoided execution due to his priestly status, but was imprisoned for life.
King Henry pardoned young Simnel (probably because he had mostly been a puppet in the hands of adults) and gave him a job in the royal kitchen as a spit-turner. When he grew older, he became a falconer
Falconry
Falconry is "the taking of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained raptor". There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry: a falconer flies a falcon; an austringer flies a hawk or an eagle...
. He died around 1525.