1B Duchy Lancaster Flashcards
What showed that The Duchy estate was so valuable
it required its own administrative council, which was staffed by its own
chancellor, chamberlain, two chief stewards, a receiver general,
an attorney general, two auditors and a clerk of the council.
What was Henry IV keen to do and what showed this?
make a clear division
between his position as king and his private position as duke of
Lancaster, and a charter from 1399 states that the Duchy would
continue to be treated in exactly the same way as if he had never
become king.
How does this indicate Henry’s insecurity on the throne
following his usurpation
measure was designed to ensure that should he lose the throne, his descendants would retain their Lancastrian inheritance.
Why was the Duchy a benefit for the King
gave him a substantial source
of private income, as well as retinues on whose loyalty he could
rely.
How was Henry able to gain popularity at parliament by being different to Richard
telling parliament that, owing to his
extensive private properties, he would be able to finance his own
requirements and would only seek money from taxation in times
of war.
purveyance
where the king could
seize his subjects’ goods for his own use.
Why was parliament less happy to grant taxation for Henry’s use
the personal wealth of
the Lancastrian kings, as well as the rather weak political position
of Henry IV as a usurper,
How did parliament meet the monarch’s later requests for financial support
with the argument that the king should farm his own land to greater profit and live from this income.
What did the Black Death mean for the king gaining income on Duchy
Reduced income- major shortages in agricultural workers. This meant that experienced labourers were hard to
find and agricultural workers were often able to demand higher wages. Consequently, most landlords experienced a reduction in income in this period.
According to research undertaken by Helen Castor, under
Henry IV the average annual income of the Duchy for the king
was
£11,000
What was the Duchy income used for under Henry IV
to support the
king and members of the royal family. Henry IV’s
younger sons did not have children, meant that this family was
smaller and so there was now surplus property. Some of this land
was used as a form of patronage to provide income for favoured
members of the royal household, but the remainder increasingly
came to be used to contribute to government finances
How much of Duchy contributed to government finances under Henry Iv
£1,120 per annum avg
While Henry V confirmed his father’s charter that the Duchy should be
regarded as the personal property of him as duke of Lancaster,
rather than a crown estate, he made various practical changes which made the Duchy much more closely linked to royal finances. What were they
In particular, placed the Duchy’s private administrative
council under the close supervision of crown officials and sought
to increase further the profitability of the farming of the estate.
average annual revenue from the
Duchy increased under Henry V to
£13,000.
How much, on average, supported government finances under Henry V
£4,400 each year
What did the treasurer highlight In a public statement to parliament in 1433 that showed Henry VI’s reign saw a reduction in the annual government income for the Duchy
the lands provided an annual income of only £4,953 to the crown
and that of this £2,544 was consumed in costs of the estate,
leaving only £2,409 as profit.
Why was Duchy’s profitability worsened due to Henry VI
the Duchy
revenues suffered from the lack of the strong personal leadership
of the king throughout the reign, firstly because of Henry VI’s
minority and later because of his mental instability. This meant
that there was little close supervision of Duchy finances, so the
land was utilised less productively and some money was lost
through corruption.
How did marriage agreement between Henry V and Catherine of Valois contribute to less Duchy revenues
In 1420, it had been agreed that Catherine would receive an annual income of 20,000 crowns as part of the marriage settlement and, from 1422 onwards, it was arranged that
this would partly be funded by the Duchy lands, a situation which
continued until her death in 1437. Later, substantial revenues
from Duchy lands were diverted to fund Henry’s pet projects -
his educational foundations of Eton College and King’s College,
Cambridge.
Also 100wR
How did the Duchy of Lancaster created a problem
for Henry IV, which was significant in the context of the political
instability of the period
the king was the head of the judicial
system and was supposed to arbitrate in cases of disputes
between leading nobles over land or tenants. Obviously, however, it
was very difficult for a monarch to seem obiective in such matters
if he himself had a vested interest in particular areas of the
country, as he was also that region’s ‘special good lord’.
What did Henry IV, with the understandable uneasiness of a recent usurper, sought to
maintain
the very personal loyalty of his Lancastrian retinues
Henry
V was more confident in his position as king, and so ensured he
not only maintained the loyalty of his father’s retinue, but also
widened his scope for patronage by including new men into his
service as part of the Duchy affinity. This allowed him to broaden
his influence and gain new loyal followers who did not distinguish
his role as duke from that of king.
How did much of this good work come undone during the
reign of Henry VI.
During the royal power vacuum created by the king’s personal inadequacies, regional lords were required to not only manage their own lands and retinues, but also to enforce roval authority in the area. Clearly, such an arrangement was untenable in the long term, as it essentially required nobles accustomed to functioning in the essentially competitive world of 15th-century territorial politics to self-regulate and to seek the common good, not their own personal advancement.
Example of areas where Duchy lands were substantial seeing conflict
East Anglia- law and order broke down 1440s when d Norfolk challenged Suffolk’s power in region
What did territorial conflicts require
An active king to adjudicate and manage rivals, and under Henry VI, moderating and disciplining influence did not exist
