Chapter 4: English society at the end of the 15th Century Flashcards
Who were the nobility?
- Owned most of the land
- 50 - 60 nobles - reduced slightly as Henry was distrustful of them
- Part of government - house of lords
- 1487 - retainers restricting private forces nobles could have
What role did the church have?
- Pope elected by cardinals
- Owned land
- 2 Archbishops - York & Canterbury
- Archbishops, bishops, important abbots - positions in politics
- Curates & priests - religion in small communities
What was the gentry?
- 500 knights, 800 esquires, 5000 gentlemen
- Greater gentry - landowners, some sought knighthoods
- Esquires & mere gentry - less prestige, owned land
- 1% population
Who were commoners in towns and cities?
- Educated professionals & merchants
- Shopkeepers & skilled tradesmen
- Unskilled urban workers, apprentices, beggars
What were commoners in the countryside?
- Yeomen - had substantial farming land
- Husbandmen & richer peasantry bought / rented farm lend
- Labouring peasants without land, vagrants, beggars
How was England divided by demographic?
- North-West - 1/4 population
- South-East - 3/4 population
How was agriculture divided?
- East - mixed farming
- West - pastoral farming
What were attitudes to different regions?
- North seen as savages
- South envied for wealth
How was government different in different areas?
- Separate councils for North, Wales, Ireland
- Nobles had more control in some areas - Chester & Durham had a lot of independence
What influence did the church have in different areas?
- Varied by area
- Local saints’ cults and pilgrimage places meant some areas were favoured - St Cuthbert in Durham, St Thomas Becket in Canterbury
Where was linguistic and cultural division more present?
- Wales, Cornwall, Ireland
When was the Yorkshire rebellion?
- 1489
What caused the Yorkshire rebellion?
- Response to increased tax for campaign in Brittany
- After a bad harvest so couldn’t pay - £27,000 of £100,000 paid - Showed a lack of control by Henry
What was the consequence of the Yorkshire rebellion?
- Lost control of north where yorkist base was
When was the Cornish rebellion?
1497
What caused the Cornish rebellion?
- Increased taxes for Scottish campaign
- Reduced tin industry meant they couldn’t pay
What happened in Cornish rebellion?
- 15000 men marched towards London - made it to Blackheath - Kent
What did the Cornish events show?
- Lack of control and threat to Henry and regime
What we’re the consequences of the Cornish rebellion?
- Had to withdraw Daubeney from Scotland to crush rebellion
- Executed leaders but pardoned others - didn’t discourage rebellion
- Eased Anglo-Scottish tensions - forced them to be peaceful
- Cautious about other foreign conflicts