Henry VII's government Flashcards
(15 cards)
What was the council?
Three main functions — advise the king, administer the realm on the king’s behalf, make legal judgements
Had no established rules and procedures during Henry VII’s reign, however it was a permanent body with a core membership
Members sometimes met separately to deal with key administrative concerns in the king’s absence
It was possible for different members of the Council to meet in 2 places simultaneously. eg. “Professional” councillors like Bray and Dudley (who didn’t consider themselves courtiers) often met to deal with legal and administrative matters in London whilst other members were with the king elsewhere
Importance of the Council depended on its key members and the Council Learned (its offshoot)
Historian David Loades has argued that Henry VII’s most influential adviser was not a councillor but rather his mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort
What were the different types of councillor?
2) Members of the nobility (eg. Lords Daubeney and Dynham), but the working council only rarely included the great magnates of the realm
2) Churchmen (eg. John Morton, Richard Fox) who often had legal training and made excellent administrators
3) Laymen (either gentry or lawyers) who were skilled administrators (eg. Sir Reginald Bray, Edmund Dudley). Dependence on lawyers was a continuing trend from Edward IV’s “second reign” 1471 onwards
What was the Council Learned?
Main offshoot of the Council, also known as the Council Learned in Law
Developed in the second half of Henry VII’s reign, initially under the leadership of Bray
Met in the office of the Duchy of Lancaster, where it formed a “modern board” (as described by historian John Guy)
Functions — maintain the king’s revenue, exploit his prerogative rights
Was an expression of the king’s will and thus was as important for the maintenance of his authority as it was for the raising of finances
Made the bonds and recognisances system effective, entrapping many of the king’s subjects
Not recognised as a court of law and those summoned before it had no chance to appeal; caused frustration, fear and anger as it bypassed the normal legal system
Bray’s associate Richard Empson (ambitious lawyer and bureaucrat) — his ruthless approach increasingly defined the Council Learned’s behaviour
After Bray’s death in 1503, Empson and Edmund Dudley formed a combination of able bureaucrats who raised the extraction of money from the king’s subjects to a fine art. They were removed by Bishop Fox and Sir Thomas Lovell after Henry VII’s death; their downfall brought public rejoicement, indicating how feared and unpopular their financial control became
What was the structure of Henry VII’s court?
Henry VII’s court after the creation of the Privy Chamber in 1495:
1) Service departments — kitchen, buttery, etc, supervised by the Lord Steward
2) Hall, dais
3) Guard Chamber — guarded access to the royal quarters
4) The Chamber — used for holding audiences and public dining. Centre of court (throne) communications and court patronage, overseen by the Lord Chamberlain.
5) Privy Chamber — king’s private quarters, used for work and leisure. Met personal friends and servants in these rooms. Led to royal bedchamber
Why was the court important?
Tudors (like predecessors) relied heavily on the royal court, it was the centre of government
Royal court was magnificent and generous (wealth as a display of power). Henry VII took inspiration from continental examples of royal courts, especially France and Burgundy
The court was the focus of a personal monarchy, place for royal ceremony and where the monarch’s power was demonstrated to all courtiers in attendance
Personal monarchy: in which the political power and influence of an individual depended more on the relationship that person had with the monarch than on any specific office which they might have held
Rewards and status distributed to the deserving/well-connected through the court
Courtiers enjoyed paid positions or the right to free food
Advancement in position could be attained, support of the king or other influential persons could be obtained in the court
What were the different levels to the court?
1) Household proper — responsible for looking after the king, courtiers, guests and entertained “hangers-on”. Personal and catering requirements overseen by the Lord Steward
2) Chamber — politically important part of the system, presided over by the Lord Chamberlain, an influential courtier. LC’s position was powerful and a matter of considerable trust
3) Privy Chamber — created in 1495 after Sir William Stanley’s treason as Lord Chamberlain. A place to which the king could retreat, protected by his most intimate servants.
Creation of the Privy Chamber changed the character of the court; this made it more difficult for those who were out of the king’s favour to regain his support, as Henry VII cut himself off from much of the king’s traditional contacts at court
What was parliament like and how did it serve Henry VII?
Comprised of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, existing since the 13th century but only meeting occasionally — not central to the system of government
At this time House of Lords was more important, comprising of the Lords Spiritual (bishops and abbots of major religious houses) and Lords Temporal (nobility)
House of Commons comprised of two MPs for each county, two MPs for each borough and representatives of the universities of Cambridge and Oxford
Right to vote largely restricted to men of property (“forty shilling freeholders” in the counties), though precise voting qualification varied by the borough
Main functions were to pass laws and grant taxation to the Crown. Further subsidiary function as a means by which local issues and grievances could be passed on to the king’s officials by local MPs
Only the king could call parliament, Henry VII called 7 during his reign. 5 met in the first 10 years and 2 in the remaining 14
Henry VII’s early parliaments were largely preoccupied with issues of national security and raising revenue, eg. his first 2 parliaments passed multiple Acts of Attainder, first parliament granted tonnage and poundage for life
Other parliaments granted extraordinary revenue (money raised by the king from additional sources in one-off payments when faced with an emergency or unforeseeable governmental expense — made up of parliamentary grants, loans, clerical taxes, etc). Most usual form of extraordinary revenue was fifteenths and tenths — standard form of taxation
Fractional taxes of fifteenths and tenths made in different periods between 1487 and 1497 yielded £203,000
Final parliament limited the demand for extraordinary revenue and received undertaking that the king would no longer seek to increase revenue by this means
Parliament operated effectively, the king respected its decisions and there were a number of private acts passed in response to local demands for improvements
When Henry VII called parliament throughout his reign: Nov 1485, Nov 1487, Jan 1489, Oct 1491, Oct 1495, Jan 1497, Jan 1504
What was the Great Council?
A gathering of the House of Lords, meeting without the House of Commons
No clear defined functions, acted as an occasional rather than permanent body; it was a means of binding the nobility to key decisions relating to national security
Met only 5 times throughout Henry VII’s reign, usually concerning itself with issues related to war or rebellion
What was the background information to Henry VII’s control of justice and maintenance of order?
Prime responsibility for the king was the maintenance of law and order, as problems could lead to uprisings or rebellions. Henry VII was always concerned that potential enemies would exploit trouble to challenge his authority
Relied upon well-placed members of the nobility to exercise power on his behalf; delicate balance to ensure that the more influential nobles didn’t become powerful enough to challenge the king’s authority
Edward IV had divided the country into spheres of influence, each controlled by a great noble/magnate
Number of magnates had reduced in the last years of the Wars of the Roses and their lands had fallen under the Crown’s control
Magnate control largely confined to N England — Stanleys in NW and Earl of Northumberland in NE and Yorkshire, however his murder in 1489 left Henry VII without a great magnate in this strategically important area
Henry VII released the Yorkist Earl of Surrey (who had been imprisoned in the Tower since the Battle of Bosworth) to rule the North on his behalf. He proved his loyalty through effective service for ten years
Trustworthy figures like Earl of Oxford and Lord Daubeney also helped Henry VII but lacked the resources of the great magnates. Elsewhere Henry VII was forced to rely on those in whom he had little faith, eg. Marquis of Dorset
Lack of trust evident in Henry VII’s employment of a spying network to report on magnate performance, also the imposition of bonds and recognisances
What were JPs?
Justice of Peace
Increasingly relied on JPs at a local level to maintain law and order in the countryside
JPs appointed on a county-by-county basis and met 4 times a year to administer justice through the quarter sessions. JP role superseded that of the traditional authority of the county sheriff
Common for royal officials to be appointed as JPs in counties in which they had vested interests, most were local gentry who fulfilled the unpaid tasks out of a sense of duty or the perception that this might open the path to greater advancement or local prestige
Various acts of parliament passed to increase powers and responsibilities of JPs; eg. routine administration including tax assessments, alehouse regulation, investigation of complaints against local officials, maintenance of law and order
What were bonds and recognisances?
Bond: a legal document which bound an individual to another to perform an action, or else forfeit a specified sum if they failed to do so
Recognisance: a formal acknowledgement of a debt or other obligation which could be enforced by means of financial penalty
Henry VII restored law and order through forcing many of his subjects to take out bonds and recognisances; some were the result of genuine debts owed to the Crown, however many were purely political
During Henry VII’s reign, 36 out of 62 noble families gave bonds and/or recognisances to Henry VII, indicating the significant extent to which Henry used this method to control the nobility
Historian Edmund Dudley — Henry VII wished “to have many persons in danger at his pleasure”, ie. used bonds to enforce order and obedience, defeat the law (morally dubious system)
What was the judicial system and what jurisdiction did different courts have?
Church courts:
Church administration, offences committed by the clergy, proving of wills, issues relating to marriage, “moral” offences
Local courts (manor courts):
Landholding, rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants, use of common land, responsibilities for drainage and land issues
Local courts (borough courts):
Medieval trading standards, specific judicial rights granted by royal charter
King’s courts at a county level:
Assizes — held twice a year to deal with major criminal and civil cases, presided over by senior Westminster judges
Quarter sessions — held 4 times a year, presided over by JPs, dealt with less important criminal cases, civil and administrative affairs
Special commissions — set up on an ad hoc basis to deal with major issues such as rebellion
King’s common law courts:
King’s Bench — had superior criminal jurisdiction
Common Pleas — dealt with major civil cases
Exchequer — dealt with issues relating to royal revenues
Chancery and other equity courts:
Exercised jurisdiction of the basis of equity rather than on a strict reading of the common law
How did Henry VII improve royal finances through Crown lands?
Henry VII was the country’s largest landowner and the rental income from his properties was very important to the Crown’s ordinary revenue
Significant increase in income from Crown lands since during Edward IV’s reign
At the start of Henry VII’s reign income had fallen to approximately £12,000 a year because income from lands was collected and administered through the inefficient Court of Exchequer
1492 — Henry VII decided to revert to Edward IV’s system of administration through the Chamber (ie. through the royal household instead of an administrative department); finances improved remarkably
By the end of Henry VII’s reign, income from land had increased to about £42,000 a year
Effective treasurers of the chamber (eg. Sir Thomas Lovell, Sir John Heron) played a role in achieving such a significant increase in income from Crown lands
How did Henry VII improve royal finances through feudal dues and exercising the royal prerogative?
Pursuit of king’s feudal rights was tightened
Increased profits from wardship — an aspect of the feudal system which enabled the Crown to gain the profits from property held by a minor
In 1504 Parliament granted a feudal aid — a right by which the Crown could impose a tax on their tenants for the knighting of the eldest son, the marriage of the eldest daughter or to ransom a lord
13th century text Prerogativa Rexis was examined by court lawyers to find precedents for the levying of fees deriving from the king’s prerogative and from feudal powers
Obligations payable on the death of a feudal tenant-in-chief became an additional source of revenue. In 1489, the Statue of Uses removed a potential loophole for avoiding the charge; law passed to prevent property from being turned into trusts, which were mechanisms to avoid paying tax on a deceased person’s estate
What sources of revenue did Henry VII have?
Tonnage and poundage meant that annual customs revenue increased from £34,000 to £38,000 over the course of Henry VII’s reign
Pensions from other powers, eg. under the Treaty of Etaples 1492, France agreed to pay Henry VII a pension of £5000 per annum
Profits from justice, including fines and income from bonds. Between 1504 and 1507, a total of £200,000 was promised to the king through bonds, though not all of it was collected
Received over £400,000 from extraordinary taxation, however this provoked rebellions in 1489 and 1497. In 1504 Henry VII had to promise Parliament not to raise any more money through this method
1489 — Parliament granted Henry VII a subsidy of £75,000, and the Convocation of Canterbury offered an additional £25,000 on behalf of the clergy
Plate and jewels worth around £300,000 and £10,000 in cash
Main victims of Henry VII’s financial policies were landowners, whose support Henry VII would need to call upon if his throne was ever threatened. Despite this he treated them in a way which might have made them threaten the Crown
