key terms Flashcards
Parliamentary Sanction
An official confirmation of a law given by Parliament as the acclaimed body of the State
Acts of Attainder
This declared a landowner guilty of rebelling against a monarch.
The attained noble lost his title, lands and sometimes his head.
Heirs were disinherited.
Tonnage and Poundage
The right to raise revenue for the whole reign from imports and exports
Mercenaries
Hired soldiers who work simply for pay and have no specific commitment to the cause for which they are fighting
Household Government
Medieval system of governance where the head of a household had authority over the property, labour, and mobility of everyone living on his land
Elites
Select groups that are considered to be superior in terms of ability, birth or qualities to the rest of a group or society
Magnate
In this context, a member of the higher ranks of the nobility.
Duchy of Lancaster
A significant body of property, mostly but not exclusively situated in Lancashire, which personally belonged to the king but was formally the territory of the duke; Henry VII’s habit was to grant positions of authority within the duchy to his most trusted servants.
Prerogative rights
Describes those rights or powers which the monarch could exercise without requiring the consent of Parliament.
Bureaucrat
An official in a government department, in particular one perceived as being concerned with procedural correctness at the expense of people’s needs.
Courtier
A person who attends a royal court as a companion or adviser to the monarch.
Chamber
The private areas of the court; also a key department for the efficient collection of royal revenues.
The Lord Chamberlain
Also known as the Chamberlain, an experienced nobleman and member of the king’s council, and a personal friend of the king; he had administrative and political power, often speaking for the monarch in an official capacity, and was also responsible for organising court ceremonies.
Privy Chamber
Compromising the close personal servants of the monarch; its members had direct access to the monarch and therefore could influence him or her more directly.
Chivalrous
To be gallant, or courteous; the chivalrous culture of the early Tudor court was a code of conduct associated historically with the dutiful behaviour of medieval knights.
Extraordinary Revenue
Money raised by the king from additional sources as one-off payments when he faced an emergency or an unforeseeable expense of government; this could be made up of parliamentary grants, loans, clerical taxes, for example.
Fifteenths and Tenths
Standard form of taxation, calculated in the fourteenth century, paid by towns and boroughs to the Crown.
Bond
A legal document which bound an individual to another to perform an action or forfeit a specified sum of money if they failed to do so.
Recognisance
A formal acknowledgement of a debt or other obligation which could be enforce by means of financial penalty.
Wardship
An aspect of the feudal system which enabled the Crown to gain the profits from property held by a minor.
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; this was typical of the skilful way in which Henry revived old forms of raising revenue, much to the irritation of landowners.
Statute of Uses
A law passed to prevent landed property from being turned into trusts which in modern terms were mechanisms for avoiding paying tax on a deceased person’s estate.
