HVII GOVERNING Flashcards
WHAT did the Royal Council do during the reign of Henry VII?
Advise him and helped with day-to-day government
HOW MANY men were listed on the Royal Council?
227 - but it was a much smaller group that met
NAME two examples of people on the Royal Council during the reign of Henry VII.
John Morton and Reginald Bray
WHAT did the Council Learned in the Law do?
1) Pursue Henry’s feudal rights (what everyone in the country owed to the king - payments and soldiers - in return for the land he owned and distributed)
2) Enforce bonds and recognisances
WHAT did Henry VII do about regional differences during his reign?
He allowed different systems of government for different regions (e.g. Wales was governed by the Council of Wales)
WHAT was the Privy Chamber during Henry VII’s reign?
The most intimate of Henry VII’s private rooms
WHAT was the importance of the Privy Chamber?
In personal monarchy, having access to the monarch increased one’s power/influence. The Privy Chamber had the greatest access to the king and changed the character of the court as it reduced overall access to the monarch.
WHAT influenced the creation of the Privy Chamber?
The betrayal that was the treason of Lord Chamberlain Sir William Stanley in 1495
WHAT did historian Steven Gunn say about Henry VII’s government?
The strengths of Henry VII’s regime ‘enabled his son’s yet more ambitious undertakings and in some ways shaped their direction’ (Gunn, 2016)
HOW did Henry VII change the Council?
1) Introduced the Council Learned
2) Increased the role of the gentry/lawyers, who were skilled administrators, in the council
3) Introduced ‘professional’ councillors (e.g. Empson and Dudley)
WHAT were ‘professional’ councillors during Henry VII’s reign?
Councillors who did not see themselves as courtiers and often met up to deal with legal/administrative matters while the rest of the council and the king were elsewhere.
HOW did the changes Henry VII made to the COUNCIL upset the nobility?
When Henry brought in more of the gentry (e.g. lawyers like Empson and Dudley) into the Council, it reduced the power of the nobility and they were upset about this as they saw themselves as the natural advisors to the king.
HOW did Henry VII’s changes to the COURT affect the nobility?
Reducing who had access to him through the Privy Chamber had the effect of reducing the power of the nobility as the Privy Chamber was staffed with those of lower ranking than nobility
HOW important was the court during Henry VII’s reign (compared to the council)?
Less important than the council and less political (also many in the Chamber were already councillors so it did not make much of a difference). It was, however, more important in terms of patronage (rewarding subjects)
HOW MANY times did Henry VII call parliament during his reign?
Seven (5 in the first 10 years of his reign)
WHICH two Acts were prominent during Henry VII’s first parliament?
1) Acts of Attainder (laws that declared someone guilty of treason without a trial) - used against those who opposed him at Bosworth
2) 1486 Act of Resumption - returned all land that the Crown had granted away since 1455
WHEN did parliament grant extra taxation to Henry VII?
1489 (Brittany) and 1491-2 (France)
WHAT were the two main functions of parliament during Henry VII’s reign?
To pass laws and to grant taxation to the Crown
WHAT was the relationship between Henry VII and parliament like?
Henry respected parliament’s decisions and there is little evidence that the king tried to ‘manage’ parliament through his ministers. In fact, in Henry’s final parliament, they did manage to limit the demand for extraordinary revenue and received a promise from Henry that he would no longer use these means.
HOW powerful was Parliament during Henry VII’s reign?
Parliament was quite powerful, but only when Henry allowed them to be (as he was the only one who could call parliament). In this respect is was less powerful than the council and the court as they were both constant structures.
