2A- The parliament of 1406 Flashcards
Henry IV Relationship with Parliament
The traditional view among
historians has been that he had a very fraught relationship with the
Commons, largely owing to his position as a usurper and the fact
he was unable to make good his promise to live of his own’ and
so had to ask parliament for taxation on a number of occasions
There is certainly some evidence to support this. According to
one chronicle, Henry IV was sent a letter by Philip Repyndon,
the Bishop of Lincoln, unfavourably comparing the enthusiasm
that had greeted Henry as he took the throne in 1400 with the-
growing unease regarding the king’s financial management by 1401
Background causes of friction between the Commons and
Henry IV- A key reason for the king’s early financial distress was the fact
that
the French king refused to recognise Henry IV as the rightful
monarch of England, causing a crisis in Anglo-French relations.
This was unsurprising as Richard Il’s widow was a French princess,
but it led to various serious problems that were long-term causes of
the tensions that arose in the ‘Long Parliament’ of 1406
Causes of Long Parliament- piracy and trade
• Piracy in the Channel caused problems for trade. From 1402.
the situation deteriorated as the French and Scottish formed
an alliance against the English, increasing hostilities at sea.
England was penalised for its involvement in piracy by the
Hanseatic League, who placed considerable restrictions on
English merchants doing business in the Baltic.
Causes of Long Parliament- naval attacks
In 1404. there were two French naval attacks on the south coast
of England, which increased criticism of the king, The need for
repairs also reduced the taxes these areas could pay
Causes of the Long Parliament- 100 Years War with France
The French began to use the domestic upheaval in England
as an opportunity to threaten English territonal holdings in
Prance, most notably Calais, Aquitane (where Richard I1 had
been very popular, having grown up in Bordeaux) and Gascony
The defence of Acuraine alone is estimated to heve cost the
English government the substantia. sum of £1300 per annum
between 1400 and 1403
As a result of the costs of war, in October 1404
in October 1404 parliament
granted substantial taxation to the kong, including two
colections of the tenths and fifteenths as well as a new form
of tax on land. This was the most tax grantod at any time in Henry IV’s reign and it was granted by the Commons on the condition that two named ‘treasurers of wars’ received the money and accounted for it to the next psrliament
Problems facing Henry IV in 1405
The year 1405 was a critical one for Henry IV, who faced two
serious threats, First, a number of leading nobles, including the
earl of Northumberland, Earl Marshal Thomas Mowbray and
Lord Bardolf, openly rebelled against Lancastrian rule in late May
and June. Particularly concerning was the involvement in the
revolt of Archbishop Richard Scrope of York, Although Scrope’s
motivations for rebellion are somewhat unclear, it is evident that
he was heavily critical of the government’s financial management,
preaching publicly in York Minster against taxation. Archbishop
Scope and Thomas Mowbray raised an army of several thousand
men, but disbanded this force when they were met by the earl of
Westmorland, who promised them that their grievances would be
heard. In reality, however the king was furious with Scrope and he
was tried, found guilty and beheaded on the same day, 8 June. just
outside the city of York
The strain of dealing with this insurrection seems to have taken its
toll on Henry IV’s health,
he became incapacitated for a week
immediately after Archbishop Scope’s execution. He apparently
recovered, however, and by mid-August was heading to Wales to
subdue the second key threat to him in 1405 - a rebellion there
led by Owain Glyndwr. It was being supported by the French
king, who had sent 2,500 troops to assist the rebels. Henry
was unable to eradicate the Welsh and French threat and this
provided an uneasy backdrop to the parliament of 1406, which
was summoned to deal yet again with the king’s strained financial
situation in March of that year
1406 parliament- the deliberations were so prolonged because
There seemed to be considerable heated debate regarding taxation and Henry’s health suddenly deteriorated rapidly, making him incapacitated for significant periods of time
Unclear whether or not this parliament was particularly hostile
to the king, but there does seer to be evidence to suggest that
Henry made some attempts to
pack parliament and ensure
Lancastrian supporters were chosen as representatives of the
shires in the Commons, Certainly the Speaker of the Commons,
Sir John Tiptoft, was a long-standing Lancastrian supporter
who had served Henry prior to his seizure of the crown and it is
evident that he used this role in part to curb some criticism of
Henry IV’s regime.
The exact nature of Henry IV’s illness remains unknown, but it
is clear that the illness was extremely debilitating, preventing the
king from attending parliament or indeed ruling effectively at
times. In 1406, arrangements were made for
1406, arrangements were made for the succession to the
throne by the monarch’s son, Henry Prince of Wales, indicating
that there was an expectation in this year that the king would die
When Henry realised he wouldn’t recover, what did he do
Asked parliament to appoint a council to assist him. 17 councillors were chosen but there was considerable concern about the ability of the king and this group to manage govt finances
Concerns about financial management- the debate was very heated and it was only in mid-November that an
agreement was reached. The key aspects of this settlement were
as follows:
A new, smaller council was set up to govern in the king’s name,
which was headed by Henry, Prince of Wales and included the
three key officers of state, who were the chancellor, treasurer
and Keeper of the Privy Seal. In addition, Archbishop Arundel,
the bishops of Winchester and London, Edward, duke of York
and John Beaufort, earl of Somerset were to be members.
A document containing 31 articles was drawn up, detailing
rules for controlling the crown’s financial expenditure.
What was the significance of the 1406 parliament? Successes in managing finances
The new council seems to have been much more successful at
managing finances and mainly used the Exchequer to ensure that
taxes were spent on defence rather than the costs of the royal
household. Additionally, they took measures to reduce the cost of
the roval household and, as a result, were able to obtain a grant
of taxation from parliament the following year with ease
Significance of 1406 parliament- There
were also a number of achievements in foreign policy
There
were also a number of achievements in foreign policy that, in turn
reduced pressure on finances notably the capture by the English
in 1406 of Prince James heir to the Scottish throne, which gave the government a very valuable bargaining chip when dealing with
Scotland.
What helped reduce pressure on the English holdings of
Gascony and Calais.
Another of Englands enemies, the duke of Orléans was
murdered in November 1407. which helped to trigger civil war
In terms of domestic politics, the most significant result of the
1406 parliament was
the tension it caused between Henry IV and
his eldest son and heir, Henry, Prince of Wales. The prince had a
strong following in Wales, where he had spent much of his time
once his father came to the throne, fighting against Glyndwr’s
rebels. His retinue included the earls of Arundel and Warwick as
well as members of the Beaufort family, a powerful group who
had previously been allied to the king himself Henry IV was
disillusioned by the fact that these men increasingly supported
the prince, who they saw as the monarch of the future. He also
resented the fact that the prince was taking such a prominent role
in running the country, while his own health severely limited his
practical involvement. Archbishop Arundel biggest supporter of King
Henry V’s relationship with parliament
In general, Henry V had a considerably less tense relationship
with parliament than his father had. This is evidenced by the fact
that parliament met frequently to discuss finance for the Hundred
Years War, assembling twice in the years 1414, 1416 and 1421,
for example. Nonetheless, the meetings were often brief, lasting
between three and four weeks.
Henry certainly showed some tact
in handling parliament early in his reign
It is notable, for example.
that in 1413, the first parliament of the reign, the Commons had
made complaints regarding the maintenance of law and order
and the king responded in the parliament of the following year by
taking various strong measures against lawlessness. In addition, in
1414, clearly under royal instruction, Bishop Henry Beaufort gave
the opening sermon and in this speech emphasised the need for
restoring justice both at sea
and on land, but reassuring parlament
that the king would make no request for a tenth and fifteenth in the
hope that they would help him financially on furure occasions
Key reason for Henry V’s easier relationship with parliament
His popularity, mainly created by his military victories in France. Joining in the spirit of the occasion, the opening sermon of the March 1416 parliament praised Henry’s victory and granted him tonnage and poundage for life.
After Agincourt
It is notable, however, that the king
did not immediately use this as an opportunity to press a tenth and fifteenth taxation to consolidate
his victories, probably a wise decision given that the taxes granted by the previous parliament were
still being collected. Consequently, he was in a much stronger position to ask for a larger grant when
parliament met again in October.
Henry V’s worsening relationship with parliament
Despite Henry’s judicious dealings with parliarent, it is evident that by the end of the reign, costs of
war with France were taking a heavy toll, as shown by the high levels of royal debt in the early 1420s
In addition, the king was frequently abroad and his lengthy absences caused some public concern.
He did not, for example, personally attend any parliament in the years 1417 to 1420, although three
took place.
In May 1421, there was clearly considerable unease about how Henry’s conquest of
France the previous year should be financed
it is notable that there is some suggestion in the
records that Henry may have requested a tenth and fifteenth which was either declined or deferred
to the following parliament. The extent to which Henry V would have been able to maintain his
own French victories had he lived longer is a point of considerable historical speculation, but it is
clear that when he died in 1422 and his baby son became Henry VI, the golden years’ of an entirely
amicable relationship between a popular king and his parliament were already on the wane.
Comparing Henry VI and Edward IV’s relationships with
parliament- Henry VI
Henry VI’s relationship with parliament was
a fraught one. From 1422 until his deposition in 1461. 22 parliaments were held in Henry’s name.
and one was held in November 1470 during the readeption- The parliaments of the 1440s and early
1450s focused mainly on the key issues of defence, especially in relation to France, associated
questioning and criticism ol the king’s advisers and on the parlous state of the royal finances In the
instance of the tnal of Henrys favourite, Suffolk, in 1450 for example, il is evident that parliament
was nol acing in accordance with the king’s wishes, although given the level of rebellion in the country at this time, it could be argued that such measures were necessary to maintain some
semblance of royal control.
