Henry VII Society

Question 1

What was the structure of society?

Answer 1

• King, Church, nobility, gentry, merchants, yeomen, labourers, vagrants
• Feudal arrangement
• Merchant level growing in major cities
• Some social mobility emerging

Question 2

Nobility

Answer 2

• dominated land ownership
• 50 to 60 nobles
• Sat in House of Lords
• as families died out, replaced by others with King’s favour
• distrusted by Henry
• controlled through B+R
• 1487 law limited their power through retaining

Question 3

Church

Answer 3

• spiritual role and large landholder
• held allegiance to both pope and king
• king appointed bishops, archbishops and abbots as they held such importance
• sat in house of lords and held political roles
• H made sure bishops and archbishops had administrative ability e.g. Morton and Fox
• at parish level dealt with ordinary people
• had its own courts (clergy tried in these)

Question 4

Gentry

Answer 4

• 500 knights, 800 esquires and 5000 gentlemen in 1500
• greater gentry held land and knighthoods
• mere gentry less social prestige but also held land
• nobility and gentry made up 1% of population

Question 5

Commoners

Answer 5

• 2 million
• in countryside labouring peasants with no land
• in cities unskilled urban workers and apprentices

Question 6

Democratic differences

Answer 6

• north sparsely populated
• contained quarter of population
• others lived in south
• also had agricultural differences (north: pastoral and mixed farming, south: grain, fruit, pastoral and mixed)

Question 7

Social attitudes

Answer 7

South thought of Northerners as less refined, North envied Southern wealth

Question 8

Government structure

Answer 8

• separate councils for North
• nobles had considerable influence across counties
• County palatines of Chester and Durham had lots of independence

Question 9

Limitations in travel

Answer 9

• caused regional loyalty
• officials sent to north from london seen as outsiders
• overall sense of english identity strong at time

Question 10

1489 rebellion

Answer 10

• Yorkshire rebellion
• sparked by resentment to taxation granted by parliament to fund Brittany campaign (unsuccessful)
• earl of northumberland murdered by tenants

Question 11

1497 rebellion

Answer 11

• Cornish rebellion
• finance campaign against scotland
• blamed king and ministers such as morton and bray for taxation
• 15,000 involved
• perkin warbeck attempted to be involved
• reached london, questioning henrys capability at maintaining order
• had to withdraw troops from scotland to supress revolt
• leaders executed, rebels treated leniently
• long term, made henry ensure anglo-scottish relations were eased and cautious about future foreign conflicts