Councils and the court Flashcards
How many men attended the Council during Henry’s reign?
227
How many members of the Council did Henry actually conspire with?
6/7
What were the 3 main functions of the Council under Henry?
- to advise the king
- to administer the realm on the kings behalf
- to make legal judgements
What were the 3 types of councillor?
- members of the nobility
- Churchmen
- Laymen, either gentry or lawyers
Who are 2 examples of councillors who were members of the nobility?
- Lord Daubeney
- Lord Dynham
Who are 2 examples of councillors who were churchmen?
- Richard Fox
- John Morton
What expertise did councillor and Churchmen Richard Fox and John Morton have?
- they had legal training
- excellent administrators
Who are 2 examples of councillors who were laymen wither of the gentry or lawyers?
- Sir Reginald Bray
- Edmund Dudley
Which had the monarchs dependance on lawyers begin?
in the ‘second reign’ of Edward 1V from 1471
When was John Morton promoted by his services to Henry as Archbishop of Canterbury?
1486
When did John Morton become a cardinal?
1493
What 2 roles did Sir Reginald Bray have?
- Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
- led the council learned in law
What were 2 problems with the Council?
- no established rules and procedures
- members met separately
What did the ‘professional’ councillors Bray and Dudley often meet in London to discuss while other councillors were with the king elsewhere?
legal and administrative matters
How many times did the Great Council meet throughout Henry’s reign?
5 times
What issues were the Great Council concerned about?
issues relating to war or rebellion and a means of binding the nobility to decisions relating to national security
When was the Council learned in law developed?
during the second half of Henrys reign
Who at first developed Council learned in law during the second half of Henrys reign?
Sir Reginald Bray
Where would the Council learned in law meet where it formed what the modern historian John guy describes as a ‘specialist board’?
in the office of the Duchy of Lancaster
What was the function of the Council learned in law?
to maintain the kings revenue and to exploit his prerogative rights
What did the Council Learned make work so effectively in doing?
the system of bonds and recognisances
How as the Council Learned ‘shady’?
because it was not a recognised court of law and those summoned before it had no chance to appeal
Why did modern historian Thomas Penn agree that the Council Learned caused fear, frustration an anger?
as it bypassed the normal legal system
Who were Sir Reginald Bray’s (Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster) associates in the Council Learned?
- lawyers Empson and Dudley
When did Sir Reginald Bray die?
1503
Together what did Empson and Dudley form?
a feared combination of able and conscientious bureaucrats who raised the extraction of money from the king’s subjects to a fine art
Who were 2 of Empson and Dudley’s enemies amongst some of the kings key advisers?
- Bishop Fox
- Sir Thomas Lovell
From what year was Empson a member of the kings Council?
1494
What was the centre of government?
the royal court
Who were the most influential courtiers?
the Lord Chamberlain and other senior household officials
Why was it significant that Sir William Stanley had been involved in a treasonable plot with the pretender Perkin Warbeck in 1495?
As he had been given the trusted role as Lord Chamberlain
Why was the creation of the Privy Chamber important?
as this meant Henry cut himself off from much of the traditional contacts at court
