Henry VII Society

Question 1

What is a caste?

Answer 1

A class or group of people who inherit exclusive privileges or are perceived as socially distinct

Question 2

What is the peerage?

Answer 2

A group of people who held one of the 5 ranks of aristocracy (duke, marquis, earl, viscount, baron); they were considerable landowners, excised considerable power in their localities and were usually members of the house of lords

Question 3

What are sumptuary laws?

Answer 3

Laws that attempted to regulate how individuals should dress depending on social status

Question 4

Give some features of the gentlemen

Answer 4

• only about 50 - 60 men
• relied on being liked by the king
• they maintained order in the countryside
• Henry was reluctant to create new peerage titles titles
• He created the Earl of Oxford and Lord Daubeney
• Henry controlled the nobility through bonds and recognisances

Question 5

How many knights were there in 1490?

Answer 5

500

Question 6

How much of the land did the gentry own?

Answer 6

15%

Question 7

How can you become a member of the gentry?

Answer 7

• Have a knighthood
• A coat of arms authenticated by the college of arms
• Considerable income
• Courtly connections
• An imposing country resisdence

Question 8

What was the ranking of commoners?

Answer 8

• Lawyers
• Merchants
• Craftsmen
• Shopkeepers
• Tradesmen
• Farmers
• Labourers
• Peasants
• Vagrants

Question 9

What are grazing rights?

Answer 9

A legal term referring to the right of a user to allow their livestock to feed in a given area

Question 10

What is Bastard feudalism?

Answer 10

This system implied a reciprocal relationship between the magnate and his retainers. In return for service, which could be military service or rewards such as local office, money or land

Question 11

What Kenneth B McFarlane’s view on bastard feudalism?

Answer 11

That the system should be seen in a positive light as a natural response to changes in the period

Question 12

What is retaining?

Answer 12

Where nobles retained men for services and granted them liveries (uniform) or cash fees which helps to increase the noble’s wealth and power

Question 13

When was the first retaining act?

Answer 13

1487

Question 14

How did Henry manage retaining?

Answer 14

He passed the retaining act in 1504 which restricted the amount of retained men a noble could have. If they wanted more, they had to get a license from the crown. Henry did this to reduce the noble’s power as they could threaten his throne. Their power rose because of bastard feudalism under Edward I’s reign

Question 15

What happened to Lord Bergavenny?

Answer 15

He was found illegally retaining and he was fined £100,000

Question 16

What were real wages?

Answer 16

The value of income in relation to prices of goods on the market rather than actual money

Question 17

What is subsistence crises?

Answer 17

When harvest failure raises food prices to such an extent that a significant number of the poor died from starvation

Question 18

What is Derek Keene’s view on Medieval Englnad?

Answer 18

It was a country where ideas of language and nationhood conferred a stronger sense of single identity than ever before

Question 19

What was the population of England during Henry VII’s reign?

Answer 19

3 million

Question 20

What level was criminal justice maintained at?

Answer 20

County level

Question 21

What side of the country did 3/4 of the population live on?

Answer 21

The east

Question 22

What type of farming was done in the west

Answer 22

Pastoral farming

Question 23

What type of farming was done in the east?

Answer 23

Mixed farming

Question 24

What were Northerns jealous of Southerns for?

Answer 24

Wealth

Question 25

Why did Londoners look down on Northerners?

Answer 25

They believed Northerners to be savages

Question 26

How was regional identity enforced?

Answer 26

By the local government

Question 27

What were the consequences of uneven urban distribution?

Answer 27

Small towns gained importance as a centre of local government and as centres of trade

Question 28

Where were there no large towns?

Answer 28

Sussex and Lewes

Question 29

What were conditions like in London?

Answer 29

Crampt and overcrowded

Question 30

What was the population of London?

Answer 30

60,000

Question 31

What percentage of people lived in rural areas?

Answer 31

90%

Question 32

What happened during the Yorkshire Rebellion of 1489?

Answer 32

People were angry at Henry for increasing taxes as there was a poor harvest in 1488
- The rebellion began on the 20th of April
- On the 28th of April, Henry refused to refrain from taxing Yorkshire and the earl of Northumbria, Henry Percy was assassinated by a group of rebels led by Robert Chamber in Topcliffe
- On the 13th of May, 5000 rebels was led by sir sir John Egremont to Doncaster and two days later, they retreated to capture York
- On the 20th of May, the earl of Surrey sent down forces which put down the rebellion at ease
- Henry came to York four days later

Question 33

What happened during the Cornish rebellion of 1497?

Answer 33

• People in Cornwall were angry at Henry VII’s taxation to raise war in Scotland
• Thomas Flamank (lawyer) and Michael Joseph (blacksmith) went to London to state their claim against Henry
• On the 14th of May, 5000 people from Bodmin went to London
• In June, Henry recalled his army from Scotland
• 15000 rebels led by Lord Audley camped at Blackheath and a day later, the battle of Deptford bridge defeated the rebels
• On the 27th of June, Flamank and Joseph were executed and a day later, Audley was executed
• On the 7th of September, Warbeck arrived in Cornwall to support the rebels but he went into sanctuary at Beaulieu monastery, the new lord chamberlain, Giles Lord Daubeney, persuaded Warbeck to give himself in

Question 34

When was the battle of Deptford bridge?

Answer 34

17th June 1497