Perkin Warbeck

Contemporary representation of Warbeck

Perkin Warbeck (* around 1474 in Tournai ; † November 23, 1499 in Tyburn ) appeared from 1491 to 1497 as a pretender against the English King Henry VII . However, he was most likely an impostor posing as Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York , the younger son of Edward IV . In 1497 Warbeck had to surrender to the Tudor king, who had him executed in 1499 .

Life

Perkin Warbeck was born in Tournai around 1474 as the son of a wealthy customs officer. While in the city of Cork , Ireland , in 1491, supporters of the House of York persuaded Warbeck to appear as the alleged Richard of York who was once owned by King Richard III. put in the Tower of London and probably murdered in 1483. Since his exact fate remained unknown, however, Warbeck could claim to be in fact the imprisoned prince, who the intentions to kill Richard III. escaped and now claiming his claim to be King of England.

But the hope that Warbeck would receive the same support in Ireland as the pretender Lambert Simnel , who appeared four years earlier , was not fulfilled. So Warbeck returned to mainland Europe and was warmly received by the guardianship government around Charles VIII of France. The expelled supporters of the Yorks gathered around him in Paris . Due to the peace of Étaples, concluded by the French court with Henry VII of England on November 3, 1492, Charles VIII had to withdraw his support from Warbeck, who now traveled to the Netherlands to the court of Margaret of York . She was the sister of King Edward IV of England and widow of Charles the Bold , Duke of Burgundy. In 1493, she confirmed Warbeck's alleged identity with Richard of York, and the Roman-German King Maximilian also supported the young swindler in order to politically harass Henry VII. Warbeck even received an invitation to the funeral of Emperor Friedrich III. in Vienna , where he was recognized as King Richard IV of England. Henry VII had some high-ranking co-conspirators of Warbeck, including Sir William Stanley - after their plans were uncovered - executed as treasoners.

Margaret of York helped Warbeck equip an expedition to England. On July 3, 1495, he appeared on the Kent coast with a few ships , but 150 of his men were killed before landing. He now sailed to Ireland, where he was supported by the Earl of Desmond and besieged Waterford . But again he met resistance and fled to Scotland . His King James IV received him with honor and allowed him to marry his cousin, Lady Catherine Gordon, among other things. Because Henry VII had in the meantime concluded an agreement with Duke Philip the Fair of Burgundy not to tolerate any exiles or rebels from the other state in their country, Warbeck's support from Flanders was now lost.

In September 1496 the Scots attacked England but did not get beyond a border war. The only result of this act was an increase in English war taxes, which sparked the Cornwall rebellion the following year. King James IV wanted to get rid of Warbeck, who returned to Waterford, where he attempted a siege again. This time his siege lasted only 11 days before he was forced to flee Ireland. He was pursued by four English ships. According to some sources, Warbeck only had 120 men on two ships at that time.

On September 7, 1497, Warbeck landed in Cornwall, hoping to capitalize on residents' anger following the crushed rebellion that had taken place just three months earlier. He was warmly received in Cornwall and recognized as Richard IV. With a Cornish army of 6,000 men he marched via Exeter towards Taunton . But when he heard of the approach of Giles Daubeney , a general of Henry VII, he panicked, left his army and hid in Beaulieu Abbey in Hampshire , where he surrendered. The English king arrived in Taunton on October 4th, 1497, received news of the surrender of the Cornish armed forces and had the ringleaders executed.

In London Warbeck had to confess his true identity, but was initially allowed to live under the guard of a few guards in only loose detention at the royal court. After a failed attempt to escape, he came to the Tower, where he was interned with a real representative of the House of York, Edward von Warwick . Soon after, the two inmates and other inmates were charged with participating in a conspiracy. Warbeck was hanged as a traitor in Tyburn; Edward of Warwick also lost his life.

Warbeck supposedly resembled Edward IV in appearance. This has led to speculation as to whether he might have been Edward's illegitimate son, or at least related to the House of York.

literature

• Friedrich Wencker-Wildberg : Uncrowned kings. Attempt of a world history of the adventurer. Das Bergland-Buch, Graz 1934, pp. 218–244
• Karl-Friedrich Krieger: Heinrich VII. In: Peter Wende (Ed.), English kings and queens . Munich 1998, pp. 15-29, here p. 23ff.

Remarks

1. ↑ K.-F. Krieger, 1998, p. 23.