4 - English Society Flashcards

1
Q

What was the feudal system?

A

Medieval hierarchical structure of society, built upon bastard feudalism relationships in which land was held in return for service

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2
Q

Was the feudal system still present during reign of Henry VII?

A

Partially

  • Still a hierarchy with monarch at top
  • Hierarchy was becoming less restrictive (more social mobility)
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3
Q

What is social mobility?

A

Movement of individuals between levels of the societal hierarchy

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4
Q

Why was social mobility increasing under Henry VII?

A
  • Triggered by economic issues caused by Black Death (English population almost halved - people had to increase social mobility to fill employment + save economy)
  • After this point social mobility began + was growing under Henry VII
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5
Q

What class was particularly growing under Henry VII?

A

Gentry/professional class

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6
Q

What was the opinion of the public regarding social mobility?

A
  • Lower ranking public: liked, less trapped at bottom of hierarchy
  • Higher ranking public: disliked, liked being at top
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7
Q

How did higher ranking individuals try to reduce social mobility?

A

Tried to implement (but failed to strictly enforce) SUMPTUARY LAWS (social status displayed via outfit to reduce social mobility)

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8
Q

What was bastard feudalism?

A

Reciprocal relationship between magnate + retainers

  • Magnates gain: military service
  • Retainers gain: land/payment/office
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9
Q

Who coined the term ‘bastard feudalism’? Why?

A

Victorians - thought it was an abusive system

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10
Q

Outline the social hierarchy under Henry VII

A

KING AT TOP

CHURCH

  • Pope (not in England)
  • Cardinals (not in England)
  • Archbishops (Canterbury + York)
  • Bishops
  • Parish priests/lower clergy

REST OF SOCIETY

  • Nobility
  • Gentry
  • Higher commoners (yeomen, rural, + merchants/craftsmen/professionals, urban)
  • Lower commoners (labourers/shopkeepers that work for others)
  • Lowest commoners (vagrants/beggars)
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11
Q

Who were the nobility?

A

Societal group made up of people who held one of the five ranks of aristocracy: Duke, Earl, Viscount, Baron, Marquis. They were highest on the social hierarchy, holding considerable land, power (in House of Lords) + influence (over actions of retainers)

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12
Q

How many nobles were there under Henry VII?

A

50-60 noble families

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13
Q

Who were the peerage?

A

Another term for the nobility

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14
Q

Was the nobility closed caste (were they stuck at that level)?

A

No

- Could change as favour of King was gained/lost

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15
Q

Did Henry VII create a lot of new nobles? Why?

A

No - mistrusting towards individuals with that much power

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16
Q

How did Henry curb the power of the nobility?

A
  • Didn’t create many new nobles
  • Carrot methods: Patronage (e.g. members of King’s Council + Privy Chamber), Prestige (e.g. Order of the Garter), Reversed Acts of Attainder (returning seized land)
  • Stick methods: Bonds + recognisances (limiting finances), Acts of Retainer (limiting men), Acts of Attainder (limiting land)
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17
Q

Give an example of Henry VII’s reluctance to grant new noble titles

A

No. Of Earls Made:

  • Ed IV: 9
  • Henry VII: 1
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18
Q

Give some examples of nobles under Henry VII

A
  • Earl of Northumberland (Yorkist - Loyal to Henry)
  • Earl of Oxford (Lancastrian - Loyal to Henry)
  • Sir William Stanley (Not loyal to Henry)
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19
Q

Who were the gentry?

A

Societal group just below nobles, who played different roles depending on prestige but were increasingly depended upon by Henry VII

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20
Q

What were the two general categories of gentry?

A
  • ‘Greater gentry’

- Esquires + ‘mere gentry’

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21
Q

Who were the greater gentry?

A
  • Part of the elite part of society, alongside nobles (big income + land)
  • Often had coat of arms
  • Often sought knighthoods to confirm high status
  • Role was serving the King, often through administration (e.g. JPs) + fighting for King
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22
Q

Who authenticated a coat of arms?

A

College of Arms

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23
Q

Who were the esquires + mere gentry?

A
  • Lower ranking gentry, more similar to the higher commoners (yeomen, merchants, craftsmen, professionals) than nobles, (live modestly)
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24
Q

What percentage of the population was made up of nobles + gentry?

A

Approx 1%

25
Q

Who were the commoners?

A

Lowest rung of society, varying in role (depending on status + where they are from- rural or urban)

26
Q

What was the hierarchy of commoners in towns?

A
  • Rich merchants, craftsmen, professionals (e.g. lawyers)
  • Shopkeepers + tradesmen
  • Vagrants + beggars
27
Q

What was the hierarchy of commoners in rural areas?

A
  • Yeomen (rich farmers owning land)
  • Husbandmen (richer peasantry who had bought/rented land)
  • Labouring peasants/vagrants/beggars (worked on land that wasn’t theirs, with insecure income)
28
Q

What did historian Youings say about how the Black Death impacted society?

A

Caused the rise of the ‘peasant aristocracy’ as more country commoners were able to hold land + status

29
Q

What did tradesmen often join together to form?

A

Guilds + lay confraternities

30
Q

What was the term for town council?

A

Borough corporations

31
Q

Which figure in England had the greatest power over the Church?

A

Henry VII

Had been declared by Pope Martin V that the monarch was the head of the church in England

32
Q

Who had the greatest power over the Church?

A

The Pope

33
Q

What was the most important quality of a clergyman under Henry VII?

A

Administrative abilities

34
Q

Who were the two most important clergymen under Henry VII?

A
  • John Morton
  • Richard Fox
    (Because they were great administrators - members of Privy Chamber)
35
Q

Would England generally be classified as unified or divided under Henry VII? Give a quote from a historian to exemplify

A

Unified

“Stronger sense of single identity than ever before”-Keene

36
Q

What types of regional differences were there?

A
  • Differences between North + South
  • Differences between rural + urban areas
  • Some areas of different gov structure: e.g. Wales (Council of Wales + the Marshes) + palatinates Chester + Durham (counties under separate jurisdiction)
37
Q

What was the regional division between the North + the South?

A

North (West):

  • Less money
  • Seen as savages
  • Mainly pastoral farming

South (East):

  • More money
  • Seen as selfishly rich
  • Mainly mixed farming (exceptions: the Fens + High Weald)
38
Q

Where can a ‘line’ be drawn to split the ‘North’ and the ‘South’?

A

Teesmouth (in the NE) to Weymouth (in the SW)

LINE ACTUALLY ALMOST VERTICAL

39
Q

Did most people live in urban or rural areas?

A

Rural

40
Q

What was the most populated city?

A

London

41
Q

What was the level of social discontent under Henry VII?

A

Generally fairly low

42
Q

What were some positive social factors under Henry VII?

A
  • Conditions for poor appeared to improve slightly
  • Increase in real wages
  • Avoided subsistence crises
43
Q

What are real wages?

A

Value of income based on relation to prices of goods on the market, rather than actual money received

44
Q

What are subsistence crises?

A

Harvest failure causes raise in food prices so high many starve

45
Q

Where suffered subsistence crises during the Tudor period?

A
  • Not England

- Many neighbouring countries

46
Q

What were the two exceptions to the general level of social contentment?

A
  • Yorkshire Uprising (1489)

- Cornish Rebellion (1497)

47
Q

What caused the two exceptions to the generally high social contentment?

A

Extraordinary taxation

48
Q

When was the Yorkshire Rising?

A

1489

49
Q

What was the main cause of the Yorkshire Rising?

A

£100,000 subsidy aimed to be raised through tax for Brittany

50
Q

How much of the £100,000 subsidy for Brittany was raised?

A

£27,000

51
Q

Was the Yorkshire Rising or Cornish Rebellion more serious? Why?

A

Cornish Rebellion

Lots (15,000 men) + made it to Blackheath, with potential to be also exploited by Perkin Warbeck

52
Q

Who shut down the Yorkshire Rising?

A

Earl of Surrey + his 8000 men

53
Q

Who was killed by his own people in the Yorkshire Rising?

A

Earl of Northumberland (when he tried to collect the tax)

54
Q

When was the Cornish Rebellion?

A

1497

55
Q

What was the main cause of the Cornish Rebellion?

A

Tax raised against Scotland (James IV + Perkin Warbeck)

56
Q

Who shut down the Cornish Rebellion?

A

Lord Daubeney + his 8000 men (recalled from Scottish border)

57
Q

Who led the Yorkshire rebels?

A

Sir John Egremont

58
Q

Who led the Cornish rebels?

A

Initial leaders: blacksmiths Joseph + Flammock

Figurehead: Lord Audley