Henry 7th Flashcards
(63 cards)
1
Q
How did Henry ascend to the throne?
A
By winning the battle of Bosworth - August 22nd 1485 by usurping the throne from Richard
2
Q
What was his claim?
A
Through mum Margaret Beaufort - John of Gaunt illegitimate son = a weak claim
3
Q
What were Henry’s initial aims?
A
- unite the house of York and Lancaster
- ensure he kept the throne
- effectively establish govt + maintain laws
4
Q
What is the wars of the roses context?
A
Became the last Lancastrian claimant after others died - lived in exile in Brittany for 14 years
5
Q
How did he secure the throne?
A
- 30th ocotober had coronotaion before parl met as didn’t want to rule via parliamentary sanction
- Jan 1486 married Elizabeth of York - united houses
- sep 1486 Elizabeth gave birth to Arthur = an heir
- pre dated his reign to day before Bosworth so Yorkist appeared as traitors
- seized yorkist land through parl acts of attainder - also custom duties of tonnage and poundage mandatory for life at Henry’s first parl
- detained the earl of Warwick
- rewarded key supporters such as Stanley became earl of Derby
6
Q
Lovells rebellion
A
- 1486
- minor rising led by Lovell and Stafford’s
- little support and easily suppressed
- Humphrey Stafford executed whilst Thomas was pardoned
- Lovell escape to Burgundy
7
Q
Lambert Simnell
A
- 1486
- Simnel impersonated earl of Warwick
- Henry had real EOW in London
- crowned in Ireland
- persuaded Margaret of Burgundy to help with mercenaries against Henry at battle of stoke (Jun 1486)
- Henry won = safer position BUT not secure
8
Q
Perkin warbeck
A
- Claimed to be Richard Duke of York
- 1491; began impersonation in Ireland
- 1492; fled to court of Margaret of Burgundy
- 1495; fled to Scotland
- 1496; tried to invade England with a small Scottish force but soon retreated
- 1497/9; captured and executed (Cornish rebellion)
9
Q
What was Henry’s council?
A
- Advisors who gave advice and supported in decision making - 6/7 men
- role; advise king, administer realm on kings behalf and make legal judgements
- nobles such as lord daubney
- churchmen such as John Morton and Richard fox (legal training)
- Laymen either gentry or lawyers such as Bray and Edmund Dudley
- permanent body, members could meet separately
- non members also gave advice such as Margaret Beaufort
10
Q
What was the council learned in law?
A
- maintain kings revenue and exploit his prerogative rights
- made B+R work effectively ensuring loyalty
- not recognised court of law - so can’t appeal
- important for maintaining h7 authority
- bray and empson, later joined by Dudley
- sp controlled by lawyers and bureaucrats- became feared and unpopular
11
Q
What was the court and household?
A
- court = centre of govt - personal monarchy = persons power depended on relationship with king
- rewards and status distributed through court - paid positions/free food - could gain relations with king
- household proper = responsible for looking after king/courtiers/guests supervised by the lord steward
- The chamber = presided over by the lord chamberlain who often spoke for the monarch - important part of system politically
12
Q
What was the Privy chamber?
A
- Henry remodelled chamber after Stanley’s betrayal
- resulted in PC = king could retreat and was protected by most intimate servants
- more difficult to gain the kings favour
13
Q
Parliament
A
- infrequent so not central to government
- HOL more important
- only king call parl - 7 called in reign
- concerned with national security and raising revenue (tonnage and poundage)
- overall effective
14
Q
Regional government
A
- Magnates (wealthiest nobles) were only powerful in the north of Eng
- Stanley = NW
- earl of Northumberland = NE until 1489
- Surrey = north through council of the north - loyal
- other regional councils in wales & Ireland
- spy network to ensure loyalty
15
Q
Local government
A
- increased JP powers, appointed to each county with a sheriff
- unpaid and mostly local gentry
- deliver judgements
- routine administration eg complaints against local officials and maintaining law and order
- more serious = court of assize - could overturn rulings as appointed by crown
- other courts such as church and kings court
16
Q
What were the methods of royal income?
A
- crown lands
- profits from feudal dues
- other sources
17
Q
Crown lands
A
- large proportion of ordinary revenue
- around 12k per year at start of reign
- administered through chamber from 1492
- 42k per year by end of reign
18
Q
Profits from feudal dues
A
- profits from wardship (property of a minor)
- dues paid by landowners on death of a feudal tenant in chief
- Feudal aid (crowns right to imposes taxes for certain services) granted in 1504
19
Q
Other sources of income
A
- custom revenue (t&p)
- legal system and profits of justice (fines etc)
- b&r
- clerical taxes
- loans and benevolences
- parl grants
- pensions from other powers eg French
20
Q
What is ordinary and extraordinary revenue?
A
Ordinary = regular income
Extraordinary = irregular income
21
Q
What were Henry’s FP aims?
A
- maintain good relations with European powers (consolidation at home)
- gain international recognition for Tudor dynasty
- maintain National security
- defend English trading interests
22
Q
Relations with Brittany/France summary
A
1487 - French invade Brittany
1489 - treaty of Redon (Henry support claim of duchess Anne)
1491 - H7 sent 6k men to Brittany but Anne gets scared and surrenders - Brittany loosing independence
1492 - h7 raised 2 parl subsidies & invade fr with 26,000 - Fr sought peace rapidly
AS A RESULT TREATY OF ETAPLES 1492 - fr can’t assist pretenders to throne & Henry receive £745k in instalments (fr pension)
23
Q
Burgundy, Netherlands and HRE summary
A
- Ports in Netherlands important for English trade - cloth
- under control of HRE
- had supported pretenders to H7 throne - Simmel and warbeck
- 1493: H7 break trade relations after support of warbeck from Burgundy
- 1496: intercursus Magnus- ended trade embargo
- 1506: treaty of Windsor- h7 recognised Philip’s claim to Castile and promised to support eachother against rebels
- Intercursus malas 1506: over generous to English
- 1508: H7 isolated by not joining the league of cambrai (HRE, Spain, France and papacy)
24
Q
Spain summary
A
- Spain = powerful
- 1489 treaty of Medina Del campo: marriage alliance between COA & Arthur marriage in 1501
- 1502 = Arthur death - a new marriage treaty for H8 signed in 1503
25
Scotland summary
- shared a border
- 1485-95: relations were tense
- 1495-6: James of Scotland supported warbeck and provided a small army to invade England with - war threatens
- 1497: truce of ayton (peace treaty in 1503)
- 1503; Henry married his daughter Margaret to seal the treaty
26
Securing the succession and marriage alliances
- insecurity of dynasty
- new heir was a child
- Yorkists had a powerful claimant in earl of Suffolk
- H7 health deteriorating
- one faction led by bishop Fox declared for Henry 8th = new king
27
how was society structured?
- in some ways feudal, with the king at the top
- noble landowners and churchmen next
- all the way down to peasants
BUT was growing social mobility also
28
function of the nobility?
- dominated landownership
- 50-60 peers who were entitled to sit in HOL
- as died out replaced by those in the kings favour
- H7 did distrust nobility
29
how did henry control the nobility?
- B&R = agreements that if the nobility breached certain conditions, they would have to pay him money
- limited their power through law in 1487= couldn't retain men as they could form an army and rise against H7
30
churchmen hierarchy
- church - owned land
- archbishops - senior, very powerful and part of govt
- bishops/abbots - important as bishops were regional leaders and some held govt office
- parish priests
31
importance of church
- spiritual role and as a great landowner
- dual alliance to the pope and king
- H7 ensured that men who had admin abilities were archbishops - pref legal training such as Morton and Fox
- priests dealt with the spiritual needs
- church had own courts - tried with religious crimes such as adultery
32
role of the gentry
- 500 knights, 800 esquires and 5000 gentleman in 1500
- separated into
greater gentry = great landowners in their own right
esquires and mere gentry = less social prestige
- 1% of total population
33
commoners
- beneath the nobility and gentry were 2m+ commoners
34
who was in the countryside?
- yeoman farmers
- husbandmen/rich peasantry (bought or rented farms)
- labouring peasants without farms
- vagrants and beggars
35
who was in towns and cities?
- Educated professionals and merchants
- shopkeepers/skilled tradesmen
- unskilled urban workers
- beggars and prostitutes
36
what were the regional divisions?
- social attitudes
- agricultural differences
- Govt structures (E.g. council of the north)
- church influence
- linguistic and cultural (Wales, Cornwall etc)
37
social discontent and rebellions
- living conditions were improving
- little discontent except 2 rebellions
38
Yorkshire rebellion
- 1489
- sparked over resentment taxation granted by parl (Brittany campaign finance)
- earl of Northumberland was murdered
39
Cornish rebellion
- 1497
- again taxation for campaign in Scotland
- blamed ministers such as Morton and bray
- more serious as
15k people involved
Warbeck attempted to exploit rebellion
march on London reached quite far - effectiveness of maintaining order?
40
how did henry quash later rebellions?
- had to withdraw lord daubney from scot campaign
- easily done
- executed leaders
- made H7 more cautious about foreign conflicts
41
summary of England's population
- 2.2m
- 10% lived in towns or cities
- 50k in London
42
the agrarian economy
- move towards sheep farming as increasing demands for wool trade
- growth of sheep farming = loss of common land and changes to enclosure
- changed little during H7 reign
43
industry
- cloth amounted to 90% of English exports
- farmers had to develop to spin and weave cloth
- other industries included
mining - tin, lead, coal
metal working
leatherwork
shipbuilding
44
trade
- H7 keen to boost trade = boost wealth - also enhance his position on an international scale
- navigation acts of 1485/9: English ships could only carry certain products to and from Eng. ports - challenge hanseatic league + boost shipbuilding
- support for merchant adventurer - company that controlled cloth trade
- intercursus magnus 1496 - ended trade embargo w netherlands
45
early English exploration
- English sailors slower at making new discoveries
- bristol merchants were interested in transatlantic exploration
- William Weston led an exploration to the new world - may have landed 1499 or 1500
46
prosperity and depression
- relative economic stability
- population growing and trade expanding
- still bad harvests
- trade embargo
- but depression was usually localised
- cloth trade depression wide spread
47
48
What church did the English people belong to?
The Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome
49
Role of Catholic Church
- political role
- maintained social control
- catered for populations spiritual needs
- employment and social enhancement opportunities
50
How was the church administered in England?
- Through archbishops of Canterbury and York
- pope not expected to intervene
51
Religious community, belief and services overview
- lives governed by religious festivals, baptism, marriage and death - threat of purgatory prevalent
- church = framework for controlled thinking - held up alliance to Henry
- how to acquire grace (through 7 sacraments) or pilgrimage
- mass; bread and wine transformed into literal body and blood or Christ = TRANSUBSTANTIATION
52
Social role of the church
- important for community
- people donate to church projects
- leave money to parish church in will
- leave money on foundation of chantries (chapel where mass for souls of dead said)
- gather in confraternity (brotherhood) - socialise - provide for mass/funerals - make charitable donations
53
Religious orders
- monastic orders
- friars
- nunneries
54
Monastic orders
- 1% of adult males were monks = 900 monasteries
- Benedictine order
55
Friars
- worked among lay people and were largely supported by charitable donations
- declining in importance by late 15th century
56
Nunneries
- usually lest prestige than monasteries as populated by women
- relatively poor
57
Lollards, heresy and anticlericalism
- Lollards emphasis on bible = wanted it in English - skeptical about transub. = Catholic Church corrupt
- anti clericalism and heresy was rare and not widespread
58
Humanism and humanist overview
- developed due to renaissance - intellectual movement which affected religious teachings, politics etc
- largely restricted to those who were educated
- English humanism = erasmus visit to England 1499
- critical of church abuse wanted more emphasis on education
59
Key humanists
- more; lawyers, important under H8, influenced by Erasmus
- Colet; saw humanist approaches as a way to reform Christianity from within - refounded St Paul’s school in 1512
60
What did Humanism patronise?
Education
- led to more schools and universities such as Cambridge
61
Impact of printing press
- Brought to England by Caxton in 1476
- more texts available - allowed new ideas to be circulated
- by 1509 works of humanist scholars became more fashionable
62
Other arts
- drama popular with church ale festivals
- plays at events such as feasts of Corpus Christi (moral and religious messages)
- Music; local wind groups, choirs in cathedral - composers benefitted from patronage
- building/re parish churches became popular - such as easy anglia - Gothic style
63
