Henry VII Controlling Nobles Flashcards
Patronage - Henry rewarding supporters
(Carrot)
Patronage was one way Henry bought loyalty, by rewarding those for good & loyal service.
Jasper Tudor became Duke of Bedford, Chief Justice of Wales, and Lord lieutenant of Ireland
Sir Thomas Lovell made chancellor of exchequer in 1485, Treasurer of Household and Speaker for house of commons
Giles Daubeney - he was created Lord daubeney and Lieutenant of Calais in 1486.
Privy / Great council
(Carrot)
The privy council existed to advise the king over matters of state, to administer law and order and to act in judicial capacity. The council had over 240 people, but only 6 or 7 were in regular attendance in meetings, such as Lovell, Daubeney and Dudley, ensuring they all had legal backgrounds to insist on the Kings Rights.
Henrys council was divided into subcommittees, such as the ‘council learned in law’ of 1495 to defend the Kings position as feudal landlord.
The council operated without a jury, and Henry used it to supervise the collection of financial agreements known as bonds and recognisances.
There were five meetings of the Great council, including 1485, for the announcement of Henrys marriage, 1491 to go to war against France, and in 1496 to grant a loan of £120,000 for war in Scotland.
Acts of attainders - How did Henry deal with key threats?
(Stick)
Nobles who fought against the King were attainted by parliament, Henry attainted 138 men.
*Thomas Grey, Marquis of Dorset, had to renounce all grants that Edward IV had given him to have his attainders reversed, as well as rejecting all rights to wardship, marriage and custody of Edward, Earl of Warwick.
1487, Henry imprisoned Dorset in the tower because he was suspected of being involved in the simnels rebellion, and was freed after the Battle of Stoke, remaining loyal thereafter.
Henry sent Robert Willoughby to Yorkshire to arrest the Earl of Warwick, where he was kept in the Tower of London and executed in 1499 after he and Warbeck tried to escape.
Feudal dues
(Stick)
Feudal dues were paid by those who held land from the king in return for avoiding military service. As the greatest feudal lord, the king was owed certain obligations by his tenants in chief. These included wardship, marriage, livery and the fine known as ‘relief’.
Henry was determined to enforce these traditional rights to the fullest and extract the maximum income possible from them. Initially, the dues from wardship and marriage were small, accounting to only £350 in 1487, but in 1503, a special officer was appointed to supervise them, and in 1507, annual income rose to £6000.
Yorkshire rebellion, 1489
Rebellion sparked by parliamentary tax, as Yorkshire suffered from a bad harvest, and resented northern counties didn’t pay tax to defend against the Scots.
Earl of Northumberland told the king about case of northern counties, and was murdered when he returned to the North by John Egremont, Leader of the rebellion.
The rebels defeated outside York by Earl of Surrey, who was then appointed lieutenant of that area. However, Henry didn’t receive any more tax, receiving only £2700 of £100,000 voted by parliament.
Cornwall Rebellion, 1497
The Cornish refused to pay for a campaign to resist an invasion by James IV, as it should have little relevance to them in the South.
16th June, rebels marched to Blackheath London, where they were met by the Kings forces under Lord Daubeney - 1000 rebels killed and the three main leaders executed.
Cornish rebellion was more problematic than the Yorkshire rebellion due to the threat posed by James IV and Warbeck, and the threat to the centre of government.
