Henry VII's Government Flashcards
What were the three main roles of the council?
To advise
To administer the realm
To make legal judgements
How many men were in the working council at one time?
6-7
What were the three types of councillors?
Nobility
Churchment with legal training
Laymen (gentry and lawyers)
Who was John Morton?
A lawyer in the council
Henry’s Archbishop of Canterbury
Who was Sir Reginald Bray?
A loyal servant to Henry
Chancellor of Duchy of Lancaster
Led the Council Learned
What did historian Thomas Penn say about Reginald Bray?
“The King’s chief executive”
“More powerful than most nobles”
What was the Great Council?
A gathering of the House of Lords without the House of Commons
What did the Great Council discuss?
War and rebellion issues
What was the effect of the Great Council on the nobility?
It bound them to decisions over national security
What was the Council Learned?
An offshoot of the council concerned with financial control over the nobility
What did the Council Learned do?
Exploit the King’s Prerogative
Entrap subjects
Summon people without chance of appeal
Who was in charge of the Council Learned?
Sir Reginald Bray
Sir Richard Empson
Edmund Dudley after Bray’s death in 1503
How did people perceive the Council Learned?
It was hated - Empson and Dudley’s deaths brought widespread rejoice
Thomas Penn: “it caused fear, frustration and anger”
Who was Sir Richard Empson?
Councillor from 1494
Bray’s associate in Council Learned
Who was Edmund Dudley?
Chairman of the Council Learned after Bray’s death
The man held accountable for the King’s demands upon his death
What happened to Empson and Dudley?
Henry VIII had them executed
What was the Royal Court?
The group of people found wherever the King was
A place for royal ceremony
Why was the Court an attractive place to be in society?
Advancement could be attained
Support from the King or influential subjects could be obtained
What was personal monarchy?
The idea that your status depends on your relation to the King
What was the role of the Household Proper?
Look after the King, courtiers and guests
Supervised by Lord Steward
Why did Henry VII form a Privy Chamber?
Lord Chamberlain William Stanley betrayed him by plotting with Perkin Warbeck
What was the role of Parliament under Henry VII?
Passed laws
Granted taxation
Not central to the government - only called 7 times
Who could vote under Henry VII?
Men of property
What are Lords spiritual and temporal?
Spiritual - Bishops of the Church
Temporal - Earls and Barons
What were the three main actions of the parliaments Henry VII called?
First parliament granted tonnage and poundage for life
First two passed many Acts of Attainder
Many granted extraordinary revenue
What was Henry VII’s relationship like with parliament?
Parliament worked effectively
He respected its decisions
Acts were passed in response to local issues
What are Acts of Attainder?
Sentence without trial
Often posthumous
What is tonnage and poundage?
Customs duties granted to the Crown
What is extraordinary revenue?
Money raised as a one-off
Often for war
Usually fifteenths and tenths
What were fifteenths and tenths?
Taxes based on the value of the taxpayer’s goods
