Introduction
Ever since 1455, the Royal dynasties of Lancaster and York had been vying for the crown in the ‘Wars of the Roses’. Then in 1485, Welsh outsider Henry Tudor (Lancaster) defeated King Richard III (York) at Bosworth near Leicester, and set himself to draw a line under thirty years of strife.
AFTER plucking the English crown from that famous hawthorn at Bosworth in 1485, Henry VII could afford to feel secure. He was not particularly liked, but the country was weary of civil war, and his best-qualified rival, Richard III’s nephew Edward, Earl of Warwick, was a mere boy, locked up in the Tower.
Henry was therefore surprised to hear that Edward had been crowned King in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, and had even dared to land in England with an army. But that was mainly a rabble of Irishmen and Flemish mercenaries hired by Edward’s aunt Margaret, Richard III’s sister,* and easily overcome near Newark on 16th June, 1487.*
On being questioned, the captured ‘King’ proved to be Lambert Simnel,* a ten-year-old lookalike groomed for the role by Yorkists and his ambitious tutor, Fr Richard Simon. Fortunately, it pleased Henry’s humour to put him to work in the kitchens at Windsor, and subsequently in the mews. He married, and his son Richard became a clergyman.
Margaret of York was dowager Duchess of Burgundy, and the sister of both Edward IV and Richard III. Their brother George, 1st Duke of Clarence, was the real Edward’s father.
The battle took place at the Nottinghamshire village of Stoke, not to be confused with the major industrial city in Staffordshire.
The convention is to call him Lambert Simnel but contemporary accounts called him John.
Précis
Lambert Simnel was a ten-year-old boy who was selected by the Yorkists to impersonate Edward, Earl of Warwick, and claim the crown from King Henry VII. The revolt was brought to nothing near Newark in 1487, and the supposed King’s true identity revealed. Happily, he was not punished, but set to work in the royal household. (56 / 60 words)
Lambert Simnel was a ten-year-old boy who was selected by the Yorkists to impersonate Edward, Earl of Warwick, and claim the crown from King Henry VII. The revolt was brought to nothing near Newark in 1487, and the supposed King’s true identity revealed. Happily, he was not punished, but set to work in the royal household.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: despite, if, may, must, otherwise, until, whereas, whether.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 But. Crown. Even.
2 Mercenary. Mews. Question.
3 Particular. Secure. Surprise.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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