AS FP1 : Society and Religion

Question 1

Conceptual awareness

How did Henry VII gain his throne?

Answer 1

Through ‘usurpation’, therefore through the ‘Divine Right of Conquest’ still part of the ‘Divine Right of Kings’ but did not inheret it.

Question 2

What was the structure of society in the tudor period?

Answer 2

King
Churchmen + Nobles
Gentry
Middling sort : yeomen, citizens
Labourers
Vagrants + Beggars

• Reminiscent of the feudal system

Question 3

Who were the middling sort?

Answer 3

They were a growing social group/ class of merchants and skilled professionals.

Indicates that there was some social mobility.

Question 4

Who was the largest landowner in England?

Answer 4

Henry VII - due to the Act of Resumption in 1486

Question 5

Describe the position of the nobility in society.

Answer 5

• The nobility dominated land ownership, even controlling diocese such as Durham and Chester
• Comprimised of 50-60 peers who were entitled to sit in the House of Lords (Dukes, Marquis, Viscounts, Barons, Earls)
• Henry distrusted them ; only 1 new Earl and 5 Barons were made in his reign - controlled them through Bonds and Recognisances.

Question 6

What was the composition of the gentry?

Answer 6

500 knights
800 esquires
1000 Gentlemen

Question 7

What percentage of the population were nobility and gentry?

Answer 7

1%

Question 8

Who was at the top of the ‘chain-of-being’ in both the countryside and the towns?

Answer 8

Towns : Educated professionals and merchants
Countryside : Yeomen farmers

Question 9

What were the agricultural divides in Tudor England?

Answer 9

East : Mixed farming
West : Pastoral farming

Question 10

What was the main problem caused by regional divides in Tudor England?

Answer 10

There were strong regional loyalties, therefore if a government official came to town they were treated like an outside or a threat to the order in the area.

Question 11

What were the demographic differences like in Tudor England?

Answer 11

North & West were sparsley populated, the north was harder to control and northerners were often seen as unruly due to their proximity to the Scottish border.
The south : Densley populated, known for its wealth.

Question 12

What was the structure of the Church in Tudor England?

Answer 12

Church
Archbishops - Part of Government very powerful
Bishops of large monastic houses - Regional leaders of the church
Parish priests and curates.

Question 13

Who were the important churchmen in Henry VII’s reign?

Answer 13

John Morton : Lord Chancellor, Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal * Henry’s most trusted advisor and appeared at every meeting of the King’s Council.

Richard Foxe : Lord of the Privy Seal

Question 14

How did Henry VII use the church to increase his finance?

Answer 14

He moved bishops around, while bishoprics remained empty Henry could collect the revenue for himself. He also fined churchmen with the same enthusiasm as laymen e.g Bishop Foxe was fined £2000 for a royal pardon.

Question 15

How did Henry VII use the church to engender loyalty?

Answer 15

• Pope Innocent VIII proclaimed that rebels against Henry VII would be excommunicated, he recognised Henry as the true king of England and issued a papal dispensation for his marriage to Elizabeth of York.
• Henry gave the Pope Alexander VI £4000 in 1501 for a crusade.
• Appointed loyal, well-educated churchmen to important state positions.

Question 16

Give an example of Henry ensuring loyalty within the church.

Answer 16

Thomas Langton, Yorkist churchman favoured under Richard III. Henry initially stripped him of his lands and title, however he was promoted to Bishop of Wincester in 1493 only after he proved his loyalty.

Question 17

Why was it important that the church was loyal to Henry?

Answer 17

Church influence was all pervasive, it had its own courts, it was important in the daily life of nearly all English Citizens ; parish life revolved around the village church.

Question 18

How did the Church establish Royal Authority?

Answer 18

• Church under Henry appreciated the powers of the king, it preached that obediance to God and the King were one in the same.
• Great Churchmen held high offices of state, the Lord Chancellor was always a cleric, the church was always loyal to the reigning monarch and upheald law and order and the sanctity of life.
• Little religious violence in Henry’s reign, 73 people put on trial for heresy but only 3 burnt.
• Bishops were often civil lawyers rather than theologians because Henry didn’t want theology to get in the way of loyalty.

Question 19

What was humanism what did it forebare in England?

Answer 19

Humanism stressed the power and potential of humankind, preached the importance of education ; logic, rhetoric and grammar - it went against the abuses of the church (such as indulgences) and had made its way into England through scholars such as Erasmus and Colet.