Henry VII Government

Question 1

Council and Court

Answer 1

• 227 men recorded of having attended council
• Working council was only made up of 6/7

Question 2

Functions of Council

Answer 2

• Advise the King
• Administer the realm on the King’s behalf
• Make legal judgements

Question 3

Types of Councillor

Answer 3

• Nobility
• Churchmen
• Laymen, gentry or lawyers

Question 4

The Great Council

Answer 4

• Gathering of the House of Lords
• Only met 5 times
• It was to do with binding of national security and binding the nobility

Question 5

Council Learned

Answer 5

• Developed under Reginald Bray’s leadership
• Function was to maintain King’s revenue and exploit his prerogative rights
• Bray was with Richard Empson who had a ruthless approach
• Bray died 1530 and replaced with Edmund Dudley and created enemies among King’s key advisers

Question 6

Layout of Court

Answer 6

• Service departments (supervised by Lord Steward)
• Guard Chamber
• The Chamber (overseen by Lord Chamberlain)
• Privy Chamber (King’s private quarters)

Question 7

Personal Monarchy

Answer 7

• Political power and influence of an individual depended more on the relationship with a person
• Access to the King was main determinant of power as he controlled the Royal court

Question 8

Levels to Court

Answer 8

• Household proper (responsible for looking after the King supervised by Lord Steward)
• The Chamber overseen by Lord Chamberlain
  
  • 1495 Lord Chamberlain Sir William Stanley
    had been involved with Warbeck

Question 9

Parliament

Answer 9

• Main use was for local issues and grievances could be passed to MPs
• It was called 7 times 5 in first ten years
• First two passed Acts of Attainder
• First granted custom revenue to enable King t o go to war
• Others granted extraordinary revenue and most usual form was fifteenths and tenths yielding £200,000

Question 10

Justices of the Peace

Answer 10

• Maintain law and order in the countryside
• Mostly local gentry who not paid and carried out for the greater good

Question 11

Bonds and Recognisance

Answer 11

• Some were the result of genuine debt
• Some were purely political
• King used them to enforce order and obedience and defeat the law

Question 12

Types of Court

Answer 12

• Church Courts
• Local Courts
• King’s Courts at county level
• King’s common law courts
• Chancery and other equity courts

Question 13

Church Courts Areas of Jurisdiction

Answer 13

• Church administration
• Offences committed by the clergy
• Proving of wills
• Issues with marriage
• Moral offences

Question 14

Local Court’s Areas of Jurisdiction

Answer 14

• Manor Courts
  
  • Landholding
  • Rights and responsibilities of landlords and
    tenants
  • Use of common land
  • Responsibility for land issues

-Borough Courts
- Medieval trading standards
- Specific judicial rights granted by royal
charter

Question 15

King’s Courts at county level Area of Jurisdiction

Answer 15

• Assizes - Held twice a year to deal with major
  criminal and civil cases
• Quarter sessions - Held four rimes a year to deal with less important criminal cases
• Special commissions - Set up on ad hoc basis to deal with major issues like rebellion

Question 16

King’s common law courts

Answer 16

• King’s Bench - Superior criminal jurisdiction
• Common Pleas - Dealt with major civil cases
• Exchequer - Dealt with issues relating to royal revenues

Question 17

Chancery and other equity courts Areas of Jurisdiction

Answer 17

• Exercised jurisdiction on the basis of fairness rather than on a strict reading of common law

Question 18

Sources of Royal Income

Answer 18

• Crown lands
• Profits from feudal dues
• Customs revenues
• Pensions from other powers
• Profits of justice
• Extraordinary revenue
• In total roughly 1.8 million

Question 19

Crown Lands

Answer 19

• Henry VII largest landowner and rental income important in Royal finances
• Start of reign roughly 12,000 a year
• End of reign 42,000 a year

Question 20

Profits from Feudal dues

Answer 20

• Increased profits from wardship and Parliament granted feudal aid in 1504
• Obligations payable on death new addition to revenue and destroyed a loophole

Question 21

Custom Revenue

Answer 21

• Tonnage and Poundage granted for life increased annual revenue from 34,000 to 38,000

Question 22

Pensions from other Powers

Answer 22

• Treaty of Etaples French agreed to pay 5000 per annum

Question 23

Profits of Justice

Answer 23

• Included fines and incomes
• Between 1504 and 1507 a total of 200,000 promised to King but not collected

Question 24

Extraordinary Revenue

Answer 24

• Received over 400,000 from this
• 1489 raised subsidy of 75,000
• Convocation of Canterbury offered 25,000