Henry VII - Government

Question 1

Functions of the council?

Answer 1

Advise the king
Administer realm on kings behalf
Make legal judgements

Question 2

How many men attended the council during Henry VII’s reign?

What was the number of the working council?

Answer 2

227

6-7

Question 3

The royal council characteristics

Answer 3

Noblemen, laymen, churchmen

No established rules or procedures
Permanent body with core membership
Members could meet separately/simultaneously

Question 4

What was the Great Council?

Answer 4

House of Lords meeting without House of Commons

Met 5 times

Concerned with national security, rebellion and means of binding nobility to key decisions relating to security

Question 5

What was the council learned in law?

Answer 5

Formed in 1495

Maintain the kings revenue and exploit his prerogative rights

Acted with impunity and by-passed normal law courts

Question 6

Who joined Richard empson in the council learned after bray’s death in 1503

Answer 6

Edmund Dudley

Together they raised the extraction of money from the kings subjects to a fine art

Question 7

Levels of the royal court

Answer 7

Household proper 
The chamber (politically important)

Privy chamber (1495) remodel of chamber

Question 8

Why was the privy chamber made in 1495?

Answer 8

Sir William Stanley, the lord chamberlain had been conspiring with perking warbeck

Question 9

How many times did parliament meet during Henry VII’s reign?

Answer 9

7

5 within first decade, 2 in remaining fourteen years

Question 10

Functions of parliament?

Answer 10

Pass laws and grant taxation (extraordinary revenue) to the crown

Further subsidiary function - local grieviances voiced by MP’s

Question 11

House of Lords

Answer 11

Lords temporal and lords spiritual

Question 12

House of Commons

Answer 12

2 MP’s for each borough and representatives of each uni (oxbridge)

Voting rights largely restricted to property owners - though precise voting regulations varied

Question 13

Standard form of extraordinary revenue

Answer 13

Fifteenths and tenths - imposed on alleged value of taxpayers goods.

Yielded Henry £203,000

Question 14

What did the 1504 parliament limit?

Answer 14

King wouldn’t seek any more extraordinary revenue

Question 15

How many acts of attainder did parliament pass?

And how many of these did Henry reverse to secure gratitude and loyalty?

Answer 15

138 (51 between 1504-1509)

Reversed 46

Question 16

How did the number of peers change?

Answer 16

Dropped from 57 to 44

Question 17

How many noble families have Henry bonds and/or recognisances?

Answer 17

36 out of 62

Question 18

When were laws passed to restrict retaining?

Answer 18

1487, reinforced by 1504 act that stated only the king could grant licenses for retaining

Question 19

Significance of star chamber, 1487?

Answer 19

Had parliamentary authority to act as a supreme law court - little evidence of its importance Under Henry VII