Henry VII - Dealing with the Nobility Flashcards
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What were the main sources of royal income?
- Crown lands - Profits from feudal dues and royal prerogative - Customs revenue - Pensions from other powers - Profits of justice - Extraordinary revenue
How did Francis Bacon’s ‘History of the Reign of Henry VII’ present Henry and his finances?
- It presented Henry VII as a miserly king who begrudged throwing money away like many other contemporary rulers, transforming finances to leave a large amount of money to his son
What was the revenue from Crown Lands at the start of Henry’s reign, how did this change at the end of his reign?
- Start - £12,000 - End £42,000
How does Christine Carpenter regard Henry’s income from Crown lands?
- impressive - this is significant as Carpenter is very critical of many aspects of Henry’s Kingship
Why did Crown revenue drop at the start of Henry’s reign?
- they dropped because lands were collected and administered through the inefficient Court of Exchequer - perhaps shows that Henry was inexperienced in finance
What did Henry decide to do in 1492 regarding finances?
- reverted the Edward’s system of administration through the chamber
What was Edward’s system of administration that Henry reverted to?
- finances were dealt with through the royal household rather than through an administrative department - this allowed Henry to have effective treasurers of the Chamber, such as Sir Thomas Lovell and Sir John Heron
What 3 problems did Henry face when taking the throne?
- nobles had too much power - made them a threat - crown had an uneven distribution over the kingdom (limited control in the north) - the crown had poor finances after the wars of the roses
What role did the surveyor of the King’s wards have?
- investigate money owed to Henry VII from wardship
What was the Court of Order?
- this was a place to measure government spending
Why did the nobles prove a problem for Henry and what measure did he take overall against them?
- they had too much power and influence - instead of rewarding the nobles to ensure loyalty, Henry decided to force them to support him by showing them the unwelcome consequences of opposition
Why was nobles having money a problem?
- they had small private armies (mercenaries) - could generate their own income from rent and leases
What three factors did the nobility depend on for independence?
- land - wealth - support - Henry directly attacked all three of these through his financial policy
What were attainders?
- these were special laws passed by parliament that allowed someone to be declared guilty of treason without trial - these would take away finances and titles from the person in question, leaving them in no position of power or authority
Which men did Henry first give attainders to?
- those who opposed him at the Battle of Bosworth
Did Henry reverse attainders?
- yes, if he felt that it would benefit and increase loyalty of the person attained
How many attainders did Henry pass in his time as King?
- 138
How many attainders did Henry reverse in his time as King?
36
How man attainders were passed in the final years of Henry’s reign? What does this show?
- 51 were passed from 1504-09 - this shows how Henry became increasingly insecure and paranoid at the end of his reign
What else did Henry sometimes require when reversing an attainder, can you give an example of this?
- often required a sum of money to reverse an attainder - for example, Thomas Tyrell had to pay £1,738 for the reversal of his and his father’s attainders
What were Henry’s feelings towards the distribution of lands as a reward?
- He disliked this policy as he was concerned that he would make a new group of nobles that threatened his power.
By how much did the ‘noble’ population decrease by in Henry’s reign?
- fell by 1/4
What happened to vacant lands from attainders/death?
- Henry claimed them, making him the largest landowner in the country
How did Henry safely employ royal agents to look after local communities?
- he employed people who were lower down the social scale, as they were less dependent on him and did not have extensive lands in the area
What was retaining?
- the act of keeping personal staff for ‘household servants’ - in reality these were personal armies or gangs of enforcers
What law was passed in 1485 to reduce retaining?
- He passed a law in Parliament saying that one could not retain illegally
What did Henry do in 1504 to reduce retaining?
- passed an act requiring all nobles to obtain a special license before they could retain larger numbers of men - there were severe penalties if this was broken
What penalties did Henry introduce for illegal retainers?
- a fine of £5 per month per illegal retainer
How did nobles avoid the new laws against retaining?
- they found new ways to avoid getting a license - for example, they would cover up wages they had paid to servants so that no one knew exactly how many men were being retained
What were bonds and how did Henry use them?
- these were financial debts owed to the crown that would ensure loyalty - Henry forced nobles to agree to behave themselves or face a ruinous fine
What percentage of the nobility were held under bonds in Henry’s reign?
- two thirds
Give an example of someone who held a bond.
- Lord Burgavenny - He was convicted in 1507 of illegally retaining 471 men, giving him a fine of £70,000 - Henry placed this debt under a bond to repay £5000 over 10 years - He also gave him the instruction that he could not step foot in his family lands until the debt was settles - This meant that Henry both raised money from someone he did not trust, and also obliged him to keep in the King’s favour or risk ruin
How did Henry enforce these financial policies?
- through the creation of the Council Learned in Law
What was the Council Learned in Law?
- this was an offshoot from the main Royal Council which dealt initially with the King’s feudal rights, but later controlled all financial matters
What was special about members of the Council Learned in Law?
- they all had legal training and acted both as investigators and as judges in cases where there was suspicion of noble not paying their proper dues
Who was the first leader of the Council Learned in Law?
- Reginald Bray unitl 1503
Who led the Council Learned in Law in the final years of Henry’s reign?
- Edmund Dudley and Richard Empson - They were hated and feared
Which areas of the country were most difficult to control?
- Those most distant from London - these needed the presence of local nobility
How did Henry control areas that were more settled?
- through JPs, who were responsible for public order, the implementation of laws and dispensing justice to criminals brought before them - 4 times a year they met at the Quarter Sessions to try those accused of more serious crimes (apart from treason which was left to the crown)
Who ruled the North on Henry’s behalf?
- after the death of Northumberland in 1489, the Earl of Suffolk - Henry placed him here because he had no support, lands or a strong base to rival Henry from
