chapter 8- Henry 8th government and parliament Flashcards
how did Henry 8th view parliament?
he viewed them with a distaste and was happy for them to do the work, the view of the role that parliament should play would remain the same as his father who would suggest that the role of parliament was to grant extraordinary revenue to the crown and pass laws. before, 1529 Henry would only consult parliaments on 4 occasions in 1510,12,15 and 23, the primary reason to consult parliament was to secure revenue for example, on the second occasion that Henry would consult parliament would be in in 1512-1514 when he wanted to be provided extraordinary revenue for invasions of France and Scotland.
the significance of Wolsey and the end of councilliar government?
conciliar method of government would come to an end due to Henry becoming disenchanted with the reluctance of his fathers key councillors.
Henry would be able to gain his own control in terms of decision making
Henry would surround himself with like-minded young courtiers.
would come impressed with the efforts of Wolsey who would be able to earn royal gratitude due to his effective management of the campaign against the French.
Wolsey would be able to benefit Henry and his hands-off approach.
what was the privy chamber?
the kings young courtiers who were called “minions” would become gentlemen of the privy chamber, which would make their status more pronounced.
thus would be outside of the control of Wolsey and in 1519 he would attempt to swap the minions with supporters of his own kind, though they would be able to re-gain their status.
what was the court of chancery?
Wolsey was lord chancellor and would oversee this department, he would use this department to deal with problems such as enclosure, though this department could become clogged up.
what was the court of the star chamber?
this would become the centre of both the legal system and government for Wolsey, in 1516 he would want to extend to star chamber in order to allow more cheap justice, in 1519 there would be committee whose job it would be to deal with cases involving the poor.
what was the Tudor subsidy? what was the resistance of this?
this refers to a grant issued by parliament to the sovereign for state needs, this was needed so that tax payers could raise extraordinary revenue. Wolsey would become the head of the committee in order to raise taxation, though when this was insufficient it would lead to the amincale grant.
the tensions with the subsidy for the war in France was evident in the 1523 parliament when Thomas More would have to apologise for the boisterousness of the parliament.
what were the Eltham ordiances?
these were introduced in 1526 and were designed to reform the finances of the finances of the privy council, this was designed to change the finances of the royal household.
Wolsey would be able to remove Henry’s Groom of the Stool Sir William Compton replacing him with the more compliant Henry Norris, some have said that this is a way for Henry to assume political power.
what was the significance of the king’s great matter?
due to his failing marriage with Catherine of Aragon due to her not being able to produce children and she had produced a daughter of Mary but she was not the son that Henry needed, Henry feared that the kingdom would die if he were to die without a son heir.
the great matter was the fact that Henry needed a papal dispensation for for annulment of his marriage to Catherine.
The book of Leviticus would back up the claim that henry’s marriage to Catherine was invalid due to her previous relationship with Arthur. Despite this, Catherine would claim that the marriage was never consummated and was therefore to be allowed.
the pope might have allowed this to take place but Rome would be sacked to the troops on 6 May 1527, so the pope was the emporer’s prisoner and the prisoner was Charles 5th and he was not prepared to go against his aunt.
in May 1527 Wolsey would use his power and would make Henry go before a fake court and accuse him of living with sin with his wife, but Catherine would not accept the result of the verdict and would appeal to the pope.
why did Wolsey fall?
Wolsey would fail to secure the annulment, Cardinal Campeggio would be sent to hear the case this would be heard along with Wolsey and the hearing would open on 15 June 1529 but it would be adjourned.
the fall of Wolsey was not unexpected as he has already become an unpopular king this was due to the amicable grant that would take place in 1523. in October 1529 he would be charged with a praemunire, this is to prevent papal interference in rights of the crown to make appointments to the church’s office, all of his possessions would be taken away from him including Hampton court. the opinions of Wolsey vary, though John Guy does consider him to be England’s most gifted administrator.
what were the domestic policies under Cromwell?
the introduction of Wolsey would be to the annoyance of the Duke of Norfolk as he would be against the religious reforms of Wolsey.
“tudor revolution in government”
the role of the royal household would be diminished under Cromwell, Cromwell would place himself at the head of the developing state of bureaucracy, the privy council would also grow in importance as it would help to manage the government. Parliament would play a key role, especially during the reformation in 1529-36. Parliament would mainly deal with the divorce and the church.
what was the significance of a weaker church?
the Catholic Church would be weakened by the humanist compliants of Colet and Erasmus.
there would be criticism of the legal supremacy of the church which had been challenged in 1528 by the lawyer Christopher St German, who would state that English law would have more power over the canon law of the church.
Henry had been given documentation which had proven that he could divorce on a basis of legal and historical principles.
Henry had received expert opinions around his divorce and Sir Thomas More would be forced to deliver these findings to parliament, this would put further pressure on the papacy.
in what ways did Henry and Cromwell try to pressurise the pope?
1531- clergy would be collectively accused of praemunire and fined- this would force the clergy to prove that the king was the true protector of the church.
1532- act in conditional restraint of annates- this would put pressure on the papacy by withholding first year income of the bishop which the papacy usually had.
1532- House of Commons supplication against the ordinaires- this was designed increase the anticlerical pressure within the House of Commons.
1532- formal submission of the clergy to Henry 8th- this would force Thomas More to resign as Chancellor.
the significance of the marriage to Anne Boleyn?
she would take the use of annulment into her own hands and she would hope that if she became pregnant she would take matters into her own hands. Warham would be replaced by Cranmer, in late 1532 Anne Boleyn was known to be pregnant and in January there would be a small ceremony, the Catholic Church would claim that the marriage was invalid.
the marriage of Henry and Catherine would be annulled by 1533, on 7 September Boleyn’s child would be born and it would be legitimate by English law- but it would be princess Elizebeth the issue of succession would not be solved.
What were the acts of parliament, 1533-34?
the act in restraint of appeals- this was crafted in April of 1533 and would be based on the evidence of Collectanea, this would declare that the monarch would possess an imperial jurisdiction which was not subject to any foreign power. the act would declare that appeals could not be sent to Rome in cases matrimonial.
the act of succession, 1534 marriage to Catherine was void. the succession should be vested in his marriage to Anne, this was not treasonable and an oath should be taken to affirm an individuals acceptance of the new marriage.
the act of supremacy, 1534 gave legislation force to the royal supremacy, would claim that the king is the head of the Church of England.
The treason act, 1534, treason could be committed by spoken word as well as deed, Steven Gunn would suggest that it was used fairly and was not selcetive. Sir Thomas More would be convicted and executed for denying royal supremacy in 1535.
the act of annexing first fruits and tenths to the crown, 1534- the anted would be paid to the king, this would increase the financial burden on the clergy.
this would mean that religious decisions would be made the king which would weaken the clergy,
this would be made even more important when the dissolution of the monasteries would begin which would give Henry more money.
the significance of the fall of Anne Boleyn?
her downfall would be made a catalyst by the feud between her and Cromwell, who would be insecure about his position with the king and he would claim that the marriage to Anne had led to adultery. she would be made more vulnerable when Catherine of Aragon would die in 1536, Boleyn would be accused of adultery and incest which would mean that as wife to the monarch she had committed treason which would mean that she was executed on 19 May 1536- Henry was free to marry.
