5. henry vii- english society at the end of the 15th cent

Question 1

describe the structure of 15th cent society?

Answer 1

1.king -
2.church (who owned land)
2.nobility (owned land eg, dukes, barons, nd earls)
3. gentry (gentlemen who lives in large house in the country and provided armies for wars
4. yeomen- farmers who owned or rented land in the country
4. citizens- rich merchants and craftsmen in towns
5- labourers- worked for citizens or yeomen
6- vagrants/ beggars
(feudal society, with the king at the top)
look at flashcards

Question 2

explain the structure of the church?

Answer 2

1. church (owned land)
2. archbishops (senior churchmen, very powerful and part of the government
3. bishops (they were regional leaders of the church, some held offices)
4. paris priests and curates
   (church had an important spiritual role and great landowner, churchmen had dual allegiance to both the king and the pope

Question 3

explain the nobility?

Answer 3

• dominated land ownership
• as noble families died out they were replaced with others who had acquired the kings favour
• henry vii however, distrusted the nobility and was reluctant to create new peers
• he controlled them through bonds and recognisances to limit their power

Question 4

explain the gentry?

Answer 4

• aprox: 500 knights, 800 esquires, 5000 gentlemen
• the greater gentry eg. landowners, often sought knighthoods to confirm their social status
• nobility and gentry made up 1% of the population

Question 5

explain the Yorkshire rebellion?

Answer 5

-sparked by resentment to taxation granted by parliament in 1489 in order to finance an army for the Brittany campaign -the earl of northumberland was murdered by his tennants when his retainers deserted him

Question 6

explain the Cornish rebellion?

Answer 6

• 1497
• arose due to finance needed for the campaign against scotland
• a mob protested against the taxation blaming the king and his ministers
• more serious threat to henry than the Yorkshire rebellion because:
  
  1. 15,000 people were involved
  2. Perkin Warbeck attempted to exploit the rebellion
  3. the march on London reached blackheath, raising questions about the effectiveness of henry’s system of maintaining order in the countryside
• had to withdraw his troops from the Scottish boarder to crush the rebellion, leaders were executed and Anglo-Scottish tensions were eased

Question 7

explain regional differences?

Answer 7

• sparsely populated rural areas in NW vs the densely populated countries to the SE
• differences in agriculture
• social attitudes eg. londoners may see northerners as less refined
• government structures were different as there were separate councils for the north of England
• church influence varied in different areas
• linguistic and cultural differences
• officials sent from London were viewed as ‘outsiders’