10 - English Society In The Reign Of Henry VIII Flashcards
How did Henry VIII treat the nobles?
- Viewed as treating nobles better, reducing their alienation
- Still vindictive against some nobles
How many peers (nobles) did Henry make?
9
What are some reasons Henry gave peerages?
- Rewarding loyalty
- Marking a difference from his father
- Show generosity
- Ensure control (nobles help control regions)
- Cement bond of loyalty for war
- Ensure hospitality on tour of country
Who is Edward Seymour?
Example of noble given peerage due to family loyalty
- King’s brother in law
- Became Earl of Hertford
Who is Charles Brandon?
Example of noble given peerage due to friend loyalty + to ensure control
- Promoted to Duke of Suffolk due to personal friendship with King
- Given property in Lincolnshire (after 1536 rebellion)
- Criticised by some for promoting based on friendship (e.g. by Erasmus)
Who is Thomas Howard?
Example of noble given peerage due to rewarding loyalty
- Restored as Duke of Norfolk after success at Battle of Flodden
- His family had lost the dukedom + he had been attainted when his father (old duke) was killed fighting for Richard at Bosworth
What is the name of the only Duke that Henry VIII inherited?
Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham
What are the names of the only people that Henry made Duke?
- Duke of Norfolk
- Duke of Suffolk
Who is Baron Russell?
Example of noble given peerage to ensure control
- Given land in Devon
- Replaced the executed Marquess of Exeter (Henry Courtenay) to ensure control was maintained in the region
What is the estimate of the minimum number of people Henry VIII had killed?
72,000
Compared to Bloody Mary’s 400
What cautious concepts surrounding the nobles did Henry VIII maintain from his father?
- Nobles could be a threat
- Nobody (including nobles) should be above the power of the monarch + his law
How was peerage lost?
- Natural wastage
- Forcibly removed by execution/attainder
What is a noble?
A member of the peerage - the highest social class
Who is Edward Stafford, Duke or Buckingham?
- Only Dukedom Henry inherited
- Threat: openly hostile to monarch + had great influence over his affinity
- Executed on vague charges of treason in 1521
Who is Henry Courtenay, Marquess of Exeter?
- Hated by Cromwell for role in Aragonese Faction during Great Matter
- Executed for treason in 1538
Who is Henry Pole Baron Montague?
- Member of De la Pole family (threat due to Yorkist claim to throne)
- Executed alongside Henry Courtenay for treason in 1538
Who is Margaret Pole Countess of Salisbury?
- Member of De la Pole family (threat due to Yorkist claim to throne)
- Held in Tower for over 2yrs, then executed in 1541
- Seen as one of Henry’s most vindictive punishments
Who are Lord Darcy + Lord Hussey?
- Nobles who rebelled during the Pilgrimage of Grace
- Executed in 1536
Who is Baron Dacre of the South?
- Noble who murdered his neighbour’s servant
- Tried like a common criminal + hanged
- Showed nobles weren’t above the law, as they had been during the turbulent War of the Roses
List some nobles who benefited from Henry VIII’s kindness?
- Edward Seymour
- Baron Russell
- Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey (new Duke of Norfolk)
- Charles Brandon (new Duke of Suffolk)
List some nobles who suffered from Henry’s vindictiveness?
- Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham
- Henry Courtenay, Marquess of Exeter
- De la Poles (Henry + Margaret)
- Lord Darcy + Lord Hussey
- Baron Dacre of the South
Who are the gentry?
Lower rungs of the elite aristocracy, made up of wealthy people who could live off land income, but aren’t distinguished by title (but many were knights)
How many knightly families were there in 1524?
Approx 200
Are the number of gentry rising or falling?
Rising
How many gentry were there in 1540?
Approx 5000
What are 2 unpaid roles that gentry often undertook?
- JPs
- Legal administrators
Who are the commoners?
Everyone else that wasn’t a member of the elite classes
What change was there socially for commoners?
- Little change (still poor, with few possessions)
- Continuing rise in people entering professional workforce (this gave them a chance to change, as could gain social mobility if their skills were recognised by Henry - e.g. Wolsey)
Why were there increasing small regional outbursts in the second half of Henry VIII’s reign?
Commoners unhappy economically
- Inflation
- Amicable Grant
- Drop in real wages
What was Henry VIII’s main aim, when making changes to the regional jurisdiction/control?
Wanted to work towards a more unified state
What are some of the regional changes Henry VIII made?
- Laws in Wales Act (1536)
- Reduction of the independent ‘palatinates’
- Council in the North
- Council of Wales and the Marches
- Splitting Scottish border into 3 marches
What was Wales like before 1536 + what did the Laws in Wales Act do to change this?
- Wales had been separate: marcher lordships (border) + Principality of Wales
- Henry wanted Wales to have more unity with England
Changes: - Divided into shire counties that operated same as English shires
- Brought into same legal framework as England
- First ever representation in House of Commons
What is a palatinate?
A county under its own separate jurisdiction
What were the original palatinates in England?
- Lancashire
- Cheshire
- Durham
How did Henry reduce the independence of the palatinates?
- Lancashire + Cheshire naturally returned to Crown
- Durham remained independent but independence reduced in ‘Act Resuming Liberties to the Crown’ (1536)
- This made England more unified
What was the Council in the North?
- Acted as a court + administrative centre
- Extended royal power into the North to keep submission + unity there
- Revamped after the Pilgrimage of Grace (1536) as North threatened country’s unity
- Seen to be effective (North kept quiet in 1549 summer rebellions)
What was the Council of Wales + the Marches?
- Started in reign of Ed IV
- Strengthened by Henry
- Maintained law at Anglo-Welsh border, where unity was threatened
How did Henry split the Scottish border into 3 marches?
- Anglo-Scottish border was unstable, lawless + threatened unity
- Split into 3 marches
- Each under control of a local warden
- Wardens chosen from gentry (e.g. Lord Wharton - appointed 1542)
- Gentry thought to be more loyal + less able to exploit role + rise up against King
- Remained an issue in region, as more loyalty to local magnates
