Chapter 8: Henry VIII, government and Parliament Flashcards
1
Q
What was government like during start/middle of Henry’s reign?
A
- Henry liked to have an overview of his govt but was happy to let others do the mundane work for him - either his Royal council or his chosen ministers
- therefore they style of government varied over his reign
- a further complicating factor was the existence of parliament, a major overhaul of relations between the crown and parliament took place during his reign (due to very personal matter of concern for a son to succeed him)
- 🔔before 1930s there was little to suggest that HVIII’s view of the role of parliament differed from his fathers
2
Q
What was the role of parliament in Henrys early/middle years as king ?
A
- two main functions remained the same (as it was during his fathers reign): to grant extra ordinary revenue to the crown and to pass laws
- parliament could also advise the monarch though neither HVII nor HVIII in his earlier years, saw the need to seek parliaments advice
- Wolsey seems to have regarded parliament with some distaste and ❗️only one parliament (that of 1523) was called during his period of dominance (1514-29)
- 🔔in the first art of H’s reign it is evident that the use of parliament by followed the pattern associated with his father- the primary reason for calling parliament was to secure revenue
- Wolsey was reluctant to use parliament, on the other hand Cromwell exploited its legislative possibilities much more thoroughly and therefore parliament met much more frequently in the 2nd half of HVIII’s reign
3
Q
Henry and the conciliar government ?
A
- during his reign governance via councils broke down for the first time bcs of conflict between H’s impulsive personality and that of his more conservative councillors
- it was Wolsey who came to H’s rescue and provided the effective management of govt which was required
4
Q
What approach did Henry have to govt (1509-1514) and what brought it to an end?
A
- had a conciliar approach
brought to an end because: - H became disentrenched with the reluctance of some of his fathers senior councillors to support war with france
- as H became more attuned to governing he became increasingly his own man by asserting his undoubted right to control decision making
- H surrounded himself with like minded young courtiers who reinforced his suspicions of the ‘old guard’
- he became particularly impressed by the organisational skills of Thomas Wolsey, whose contribution to the effective management of the french campaign earned him royal gratitude
-🔔 in the end Wolsey emerged as the dominant political figure due to his energy and organisational skills
5
Q
How did Wolsey actually have such an impact on the Kings decision making ?
A
- he had the uncanny ability (at least in his early years) to give the king exactly what he wanted, or to convince him of what he assumed he wanted
- Wolseys influence was derived more from the closeness of his relationship with H than from the formal positions he held
- he complimented the king’s customary ‘hands off’ approach to the details of policy marking
- he managed the church as well as the conduct of foreign relations
- main concerns were the legal system, the formulation of domestic polity and political decision-making
6
Q
What was the Privy Chamber ?
A
-🔔 it was the one area of govt which before 1919 lay outside of Wolsey’s immediate control
- it was established during HVII’s reign when the king’s minions (group of young courtiers who enjoyed Henry’s personal favour) became Gentlemen of the privy chamber, this both transformed their status and that of the privy chamber
7
Q
What was the relationship like between Wolsey and the Privy Chamber ?
A
- it was clear that the minions distrusted Wolsey, who set himself the task of neutralising their influence
- in 1519 he secured the removal of the minions and replaced them with his own supporters, however the minions managed to recover their positions
- the privy chamber therefore retained some of its prestige and influence and 🔔was the one part of government which was outside of Wolsey’s immediate control
8
Q
What was the Court of Chancery ?
A
- the main court of equity in the Kingdom
- although Wolsey was not a trained lawyer he was responsible for overseeing the legal system as Lord Chancellor
- he had the right to preside over the court of chancery and tried to use the court to uphold ‘fair justice’
- ❗️eg. he used the courts to deal with problems relating to enclosure, contract and land left to others in wills
- but it became too popular and justice was slow since it became clogged up with too many cases
9
Q
What was the Court of Star Chamber ?
A
- Wolsey’s most distinctive legal contributions came through this
- ❗️was established by Act of Parliament in 1487, as an offshoot of the king’s council and became the centre of both government and justice under Wolsey
- heard of cases of alleged misconduct by people who were dominant in their localities
- increase in use from 1516 increase cheap and fair justice
- Wolsey also encouraged the use of it for private lawsuits, in which he proved too successful and was forced to set up a series of ‘overflow tribunals’ to deal with the pressure of business
- a permanent committee which Wolsey set up in 1529 became the ancestor of the later court of requests (whose job was to deal with cases involving the poor)
10
Q
What was the Tudor subsidy ?
A
- it was expected that taxpayers, including the nobility, would provide extraordinary revenue (parliamentary taxation) when required
- this was most effectively achieved by raising subsidies
- Wolsey changed the way subsidies were collected, instead of using local commissioners to asses tax payers wealth (who may be too generous to the local nobility), he set up a national committee which Wolsey himself headed, with direct and realistic assessments of the wealth of the taxpayers the nation’s revenue base consequently became much more realistic
✅most successfully by raising subsidies, made substantial change in how they were collected
❌Wolsey was able to raise extraordinary revenue for Henry’s war with france, but the amount was insufficient
❌consequently Wolsey attempted to raise unparliamentary taxation, through the ❗️’Amicable Grant’ of 1525 but this lead to widespread resistance, resulting almost in a rebellion
11
Q
What was the significance of the 1523 subsidy ?
A
- it is believed that Wolsey did not manage parliament well eg. John Guys described him as ‘arrogant and insensitive’
- clear with his relationship with the 1523 parliament, which had been called to grant the subsidy needed to finance the renewal of war against france
- parliament seemed to have spent its time grumbling about Wolseys financial demands and therefore he was unable to secure all the money 🔔(unlike HVII’s parliament which was broadly supportive)
- Thomas More (speaker of the house of commons)- felt obliged to ask the king’s forgiveness for the boisterousness of some of the members, while at the same time More defended their right to express critical opinion
12
Q
What were the Eltham Ordinances ?
A
- introduced by Wolsey in 1526 in order to reform the finances of the privy council (and therefore wanted to reduce royal household expenditure)
- Wolsey secured a reduction in the number of Gentlemen of the privy chamber, the on area of govt he did not have control over
- 🔔❗️ he secured the removal of Henry’s Groom of the Stool, Sir William Compton, and replaced him with the more compliant Henry Norris
- 🔔 the issuing of the EO reflected Wolseys fear that the Amicable Grant might make him so unpopular that he would be in danger of losing his political influence over HVIII
13
Q
What was the King’s Great Matter ?
A
- by mid 1520’s Henry was becoming dissatisfied of his marriage and the lack of a male heir (fearful for the country)
- Catherine, over 5years older than H, was past childbearing age, and only princess Mary had survived infancy
- he even considered legitimating his son Henry Fitzroy (his son from his mistress Bessie Blount) = desperation
- Henry had fallen madly in love with Anne Boleyn, niece of the Duke of Norfolk, who was unwilling to become the kings mistress so H required Wolsey to secure a papal dispensation for the annulment of his marriage to Catherine
- Wolsey was faced with the task of securing the annulment which posed a major problem for him
14
Q
How was the Great Matter solved ?
A
- Henry found the biblical justification which could form the basis of an annulment, ❗️the book of Leviticus contained a prohibition on a man marrying his brother’s widow
- as Catherine had been briefly married to Arthur, H argued that the papal dispensation issued by Julius II to permit his own marriage to Catherine was invalid, claimed that in Gods eyes his marriage was still illegal
- the fundamental problem with his argument was that Catherine claimed that her marriage to Prince Arthur had never been consummated and therefore the biblical ban did not apply
- however, Henry insisted that Wolsey seek a dispensation for annulment based on the Levitican argument anyway
15
Q
How did Emperor Charles V make the annulment more difficult for Henry ?
A
- in normal circumstances the Pope may have been prepared to issue dispensation for annulment
- however, Pope Clement VII was not in a position to do so: on 6th May 1527 Rome had been sacked by Charles V meaning the Pope was in effect the emperors virtual prisoner
- the emperor (Catherine’s nephew) was not prepared to see his family insulted
