MEDIEVAL BREADTH Study 2: Finances Flashcards
What were the two types of expenditure and what did they involve?
Routine expenditure- Maintenance of the king, his family, and the household (retainers, servants and advisers). Also spent on lavish clothes and food as it was important to live opulent lifestyle in order to gain respect from foreign countries and maintain authority at home.
Exceptional expenditure- Ceremonies, and exceptional defence costs such as repelling attacks on English territories in France, Henry VI did this a lot during the Hundred Years War,and had financial problems as a result.
What was the background to land as a source of income?
All land was owned by the king, however he could give this to whoever he wanted to reward/ wanted to be loyal to him. King’s did not always have land to give out, and this was one of the key attractions of king’s such as Henry V and successes in the Hundreds Year War, because the lands he gained he could reward his followers with.
How did forfeiture allow the king to gain land? Give an example.
What was a slight downside to this?
When a lord was guilty of treason, not only were they executed but their lands were also taken away, and could be given to different recipients.
(i.e.) the death of Warwick in 1471 provided Edward IV’s brothers with lots of land, as did Clarence’s death for Gloucester in 1478.
During the Wars of the Roses, the crown was gaining many estates through forfeiture when leading nobles were killed/ fought for the losing side.
However these lands were often given to supporters and so did not help the crown in the long run.
Why was royal demesne given out and how could his be seen as a problem?
Was given to supporters as a reward when forfeited land was not available. Since part of the king’s income came from these crown lands, giving them away was controversial, and the unstable Henry VI exploited by greedy opportunists as he couldn’t make wise decisions.
What was royal demesne?
Crown lands held by monarch directly rather than from another noble.
How did Act of Attainders gain the king land, but what was the also draw back of this?
Passed in extreme circumstances. Henry VII backdated his reign to the day before the battle of Bosworth, and used acts of Attainder on Richard III’s troops. However, acts of attainders were not always positive as it meant the disinherited heirs had nothing left to lose and this could lead to rebellion.
Why did Henry VI keep his duchy of Lancaster.
Maybe he felt vulnerable and insecure on the throne after his usurpation, and so kept it as something to fall back on. It gave him a source of private income, and retinues who he came to rely on.
How much does an historian estimate the duchy of Lancaster gave Henry IV?
Helen Castor states that the Duchy contributed £1,120 per annum to government finances.
How did the duchy of Lancaster change in Henry V’s reign, but how did it also remain the same?
In Henry V’s reign, he also kept these lands seperate to crown lands, but made them much more closely linked to royal finances by placing the Duchy’s administrative council under the supervision of crown officials and subsequently, average of £4,400 being contributed to government finances per annum.
How did the duchy of Lancaster change in Henry VI’s reign?
Henry VI’s reign saw the downfall of the estate, just over £2,000 contributing to government finances. This was due to Henry’s pet projects and the £20,000 crowns to be given to Catherine of Valois per annum as a part of the Treaty of Troyes.
What was the Act of Resumption and when was it normally used?
Removed land from a lord and took it back into crown ownership.
Often been done when the king had unwisely given away land and therefore lost a source of royal income.
Give me an example of when the Act of Resumption was used.
When Edward IV came to the throne he passed an Act of Resumption which gained him many lands Henry VI had lost.
ANOTHER ONE??
Custom duties became the most lucrative source of income in the 15th and 16th century. What decision in parliament shows this?
1360, they decided the wool subsidy would automatically be given to the king rather than just granted in emergencies.
Why did the wool trade (custom duties) go downhill and what is evidence for this?
Wool centres increased the less heavily taxed woollen cloth as opposed to raw product.
During the Hundreds Year War, increased piracy disrupted the wool trade.
Total annual revenue of the crown fell from £90,000 (Henry IV) to £24,000 (Henry VI) proves the financial crisis of his reign.
What was the background for feudal rights?
Lord owned land, and had vassals to perform agricultural work on their lord’s land.
Income came from the king’s feudal rights over his tenants living on crown lands (i.e.) the king gained a fee when his tenants children got married. King could request feudal aid for knighting of king’s eldest son or marriage of eldest daughter.