History Coursework
Q) What were the short-term consequences of the disappearance of Edward V and his younger brother, Richard Duke of York in the summer of 1483?
‘So wise so young, do never live long1’

On the 10th of April 1483, Edward V began the briefest reign of any English King at the age of 12 years old. He was on the throne for a mere 77 days until the 25th of June that same year. His coronation was twice postponed leading to him never being crowned at all. He succeeded automatically but was to young to rule outright, a body of councillors and a ‘Lord Protector’ ( Edward V’s ‘experienced’ brother, Richard Duke of Gloucester) ruled on his behalf. As a result, Edward was declared illegitimate, disqualified from the throne and potentially murdered. Due to the Princes disappearing Richard Duke of Gloucester was the most obvious choices as successor to the throne, as he was the leading male of the house of York. However the mysterious disappearance of the two princes had a lasting impact on Richard III’s reign and as century’s have passed it has been presumed he had his two nephews murdered. In the long run this led to Henry Tudor gaining support from nobles and foreign powers. This ultimately lead to York dynasty ending prematurely, even though Henry actually had to defend his throne against Yorkist malcontents at Stoke in 1487, and the Yorkists did remain a long term issue up until the death of Cardinal Pole in 15582.

Polydore Vergils ‘Anglica Historia’ was commissioned during the reign of Henry Tudor, possibly as early as 15053. Vergil was an Italian clerical diplomat he was sent to England in 1501 by Pope Alexander VI and spent the majority of his life in England. Henry Tudor often welcomed him to court and he grew close to the royal family. Vergil was a historian to Henry, so it is speculated that he was bias against Richard III, but he was well regarded as a historian unlikely to distort events that had taken place. Dominic Mancini’s close acquaintance Dr Argentine, was one of the last men to see Edward V and his brother alive, meaning that he knew exactly what was taking place in the tower with rumours spreading around London. Mancini wrote his account outside of England which meant he didn’t have to leave information out because he doesn’t have to satisfy Richard with his writing.
Sir Thomas More’s biography of Richard III was written between 1514-18. However he was only 5 in 1483 which questions the reliability of his account, he used a majority of his father’s sources, and he was a judge under Henry VIII, and bishop Morton, whom was openly against Richard III. Morton was a constant thorn in the side of the Yorkist regieme but he happened to have inside knowledge of the court5. In his later life he opposed Henry VII and criticised Henry VIII increasing reliability of his accounts6. Historians believe that the author of the ‘Crowland Chronicle’ was John Russel Bishop of Lincold, who was infact Richard’s chancellor for the majority of his reign until he was dismissed in July 1485. This meant that like More it was partially based on knowledge of the official regime. William Shakespeare used sources including More and Vergil for the play Richard III.