Government Flashcards
Royal Council
227 attended Parl in 1485-1509, although there were only 6/7 men on the working council, with the role of: advising the king, administering the realm on the king’s behalf, and making legal judgements. Types of councillors: nobles (e.g. Lord Daubeney), although working council only rarely inc the great magnates; Churchmen (e.g. John Morton, Richard Fox), who often had legal training and were excellent administrators; laymen, either gentry or lawyers, (e.g. Sir Reg Bray, Edmund Dudley) who were skilled administrators. 1497 = Lord President of the Council created to oversee the council when H was busy. Under H the Council was a permanent body with a core membership, though there were no est procedures or rules, was a dependence on its key members and the Council Learned
Council Learned
Replaced use of the Star Chamber (1487) to cont the nobility as a ‘specialist board’ with the function to maintain the king’s revenue and exploit his prerogative rights. Led by Bray until his death in 1503, then led by Empson and Dudley. It made the system of bonds and recognises work effectively, thus helping to ensure the loyalty and raise finances – a bond recognised that a person owed a lump sum which was not payable if the cond (good behave) was met, therefore maintaining loyalty, specifically at the nobles and gentry, a recognisance was when a person formally acknowledged a debt or obligation (e.g. Marquis of Dorset had to give a bond after his suspected inv in the Simnel plot – it guaranteed future loyal conduct or a financial penalty). Lump sums payable from bonds: 1493-4 = £3k, 1504-5 = £75k. It was not a recognised court of law and there was no right of appeal against it, this Council was important in maintaining H authority and raising finance
Royal Court
The centre of government, which was central to H personal monarchy – a system in which a person’s power was determined by his relationship with H, not the political office held. Rewards and status were distributed throughout the court along with paid positions, and where they could become and inf person on the king. Levels of court: the household proper (resp for looking after the king, courtiers, guests supervised by the Lord Stewards); the chamber (politically important, presided over by Lord Chamberlain – a powerful and inf courtier, member of the king’s council, often spoke for the monarch, inv of Sir W Stanley in Warbeck plot = H remodelled Chamber as Privy Chamber). Privy Chamber: protected by his most intimate servants, making it more diff for those to (re)gain the king’s favour, cut H off from many of the king’s traditional contacts at court
Court of the King’s Bench
Highest and most important court, dealt with appeals form the Quarter sessions and court of assize (however evidence sugg this form of appeal rarely happened) and could overturn the decisions of the lesser courts, heard a variety of civil cases mainly to do with land, presided over by the Chief Justice. Sat for no more than 3 months a year and judge would only sit for 3 hours a day maximum = limiting effectiveness
Court of Chancery
Expanded under H, under the resp of John Morton (Archbishop of Canterbury) and Warham, where cases were brought as tried by one of the king’s ministers so gave an aura of authority with expert judges used. It made decisions based on evidence rather than precedence and dealt with contracts, land holdings, interpreting wills and was us quick in decisions making
Court of Star Chamber
Introduced in 1487, aim of reestablishing law and order in the localities of Eng after the lawlessness of the WofR, resp for appointing Sheriffs and JPs in the counties and acted as a court of appeal for the victims of crime – known as ‘requests’, role of group to preside over the hearings of poor men’s legal suits. The role of the Court of Star Chamber was inc in H reign to inc 2 tribunals: 1487 = dealt with laws ag rioters and the likes; 1495 = deal with offences of perjury, however neither of tribunals survived H death
Assizes
Cases considered too diff for JPs to deal with went to the Assize Court and was held in each county every 6 months. Controlled by judges under special commission from the Crown, from London and the Justices of the Assizes were organised into 6 circuits and were a travelling court. However, cases could take between 18 months and several years to try = very inefficient
Parliament
Only the king could call Parl, which H called 7 times during his reign (5 of which in the first 10 years, and 2 in the last 14 years) – showing that power centred on the Crown, and when H felt more secure, Parl could be dispensed with. Main function = pass laws, grant taxation, also passed on local issues and grievances to king’s officials. H Parl usually concerned with national issues of security and raising f revenue along with multiple Acts of Attainder – Parl passed to declare a nobleman guilty of crime ag Crown, us treason; the noble may be imprisoned, and attained family may lose right to inherit lands, titles; are reversable, e.g. D of Norfolk att after Bos, 1948 = released and restored to the earldom of Surrey to supress uprising Yorkists (L, S); 1485-6 = 28 people; 1487 = 28 people; 1495 = 24 people. 1485-6 = to confirm kingship, pass A of Attain and vote revenues; 1487 = to deal with lawlessness and financial matters after the B of Stoke; 1489-90 = to fund the royal army for the expedition ag Fr; 1491-2 = to fund the expedition ag Fr; 1495 = to manage the threat from Warbeck; 1497 = to fund the poss war ag Scot; 1504 = to raise two feudal levies for Princess Marg’s marriage and Pr Art’s posthumous knighthood. H early Parl = national security (e.g. A of Att = first 2 Parl passed numerous); raising revenue (e.g. 1 Parl = granted tonnage and poundage, custom revs, for life and raising extraord rev)
Royal finance - ordinary revenue
Crown Lands – 1486 Act of Resumption returned land to Crown passed since 1455, other confiscated from A of Att, 1486 = £12k pa, 1508 = £42k pa; Profits of justice – fines paid directly to Crown, however more owed than collected, e.g. Burgavenny fined £100k for illegally retaining although he probably paid no more than £1k and was pardoned; Custom Dues – granted poundage and tonnage income by Parl in 1486 and was twice updated by Book of Rates, rose from £33k to £40k pa; Feudal Dues – if heir = minor king receives income from land, had to pay livery to get it back, all tenants-in-chief were obliged to pay an aid to the king on the knighting of his eldest son and marriage of his eldest daughter, Wardship rose: 1487 = under £350, 1507 = £6k, e.g. Robert Willoughby be Broke paid £400 for livery on his lands; £30k collected on the posthumous knighting of Pr Art
Royal finance - extraordinary revenue
Parliament granted subsidies – 1/15 rate of tax on moveable goods of laymen, 1/10 on income of clergy, each sub yielded £29k, H achieved efficient tax collection and raised £400k in total; French pension – granted in 1475 to Ed IV, under T of Etaples, C VIII agreed to pay arrears = £159k; Clerical taxes – earned income from vacant bishoprics, each subsidy raised £9k, £6k pa at end of reign; Benevolences – forced loans that weren’t repaid, e.g. in 1491, the king raised £48k to fund the invasion of Fr; Loans – granted by richer subjects or groups, e.g. merchants of London, 1485 = £48k, H repaid loan, >£200k borrowed to 1509
Administration of finance
Exchequer – kept accurate accounts but considered slow and inefficient, employed own officials, therefore H sub-contracted financial management, from 1493 the exchequer lost its role in accounting for revenue from crown lands. H moved to chamber system, Treasurer of Chamber = most important financial figure (Lovell, 1485-1492, Heron 1492-1509), H worked alongside, checked accounts already gone over, H personally signed each page of accounts, both men owed elevated position to H so unlikely to betray trust/corrupt
Reginal government
The king relied on well-placed members of the nobility to exercise power on his behalf, H had fewer magnates than Ed IV and trusted only a few so employed a spying network to ensure all the nobility remained loyal. In some areas he gave control to the Stanley’s and the E of NL, although after his death in the Yorkshire rebellion, the E of Surrey gained the power of the North
Local government
Justices of the Peace (JPs) – H relied on these at a local level to maintain law and order in the countryside, appointed on a county-by-county basis and met 4 times a year to administer justice and deliver judgements on disputes at the Quarter sessions. JPs were unpaid and mostly local gentry (of lower soc status than the nobles), resp for routine administration, e.g. tax assessments, complaints against local officials and maintenance of law and order. 1489 = set out procedures for making complaints against JPs; 1495 = Parl extents role of JPs, enabling them to decide on all offenses except murder, and replace jury members thought to have been bribed. Most serious cases were heard at the Courts of Assize by judges appointed by the Crown
Shire courts
Quarter sessions, whereby cases were heard relating to land, debts and contracts and jurisdiction was exercised for keeping peace and could arrest on suspicion. Became the main criminal courts under H and heard all cases from trespass to murder, exc treason, however the King’s Bench could override a verdict
Manorial Court
Local court, whereby agricultural agreements for the year were organised, settled Civil matters less than 40 shillings, criminal matters e.g. cattle wounding, damage to drops, assault not leading to bloodshed. Leading townsmen often took control of the proceedings or arbitrated disputed. Manorial Courts also able to produce by-law that gave them almost the status of local Parl in that area
