Rebellion and disorders under the Tudors, 1485-1603 chp 1 & 2

Question 1

How was Tudor society organised?

Answer 1

Tudor society was hierarchical, with God at the top, followed by the monarch, Nobility, gentry, yeomen and artisans, then peasant and finally vagrants and beggars.

Question 2

Could a Tudor monarch rule as they wished?

Answer 2

Seemed as if they could (divine right of kings), however they had to listen to people

Question 3

What general trend was there in terms of the monarch’s ability to control the nobility?

Answer 3

The Tudors managed to increase their control, partly due to changes to the role of nobility in local and central government.

Question 4

How many nobility were there?

Answer 4

Between 1485 to 1603, there were 40 to 60 men, fluctuating according to royal policy and death.

Question 5

Roughly how many gentry families were there during the Tudor period?

Answer 5

About 5,000 - knights and esquires.

Question 6

What were Yeomen and how many were there?

Answer 6

Prosperous farmers who often owned their land. There may have been about 60,000 of them by 1600.

Question 7

How many people were subsisting in Tudor England?

Answer 7

Approximately two fifths of the population.

Question 8

Why were vagrants and beggars feared in Tudor society?

Answer 8

Because they had no master and their movement around the country could spread rumours and dangerous ideas.

Question 9

How were the powers of Tudor monarchs curbed?

Answer 9

The Magna Carta (written in 1215) and by the development of the government such as government and the Royal Council.

Question 10

What was the Royal Court?

Answer 10

Essentially an entourage of people close to the monarch. People in search of power and influence or royal patronage would come to Court. The Royal Court was important for display and to emphasise the power and wealth of the monarch.

Question 11

What was the role of the Royal Household?

Answer 11

To take care of the monarch’s domestic needs - hundreds of menial servants who did cooking, cleaning and gardening, controlled by high-ranking officials called the Board of the Green Cloth.

Question 12

What were the Eltham Ordinances?

Answer 12

Wolsey’s (failed) attempt in 1526 to restrict the size and cost of the Household to 20 men. In reality, Wolsey was attempting to isolate Henry from ‘bad influences’ such as Sir Nicholas Carew and the Boleyns (Thomas and George).

Question 13

What was the role of the Privy Chamber?

Answer 13

The word ‘Privy’ comes from the French for private and it was really an area of privacy for the monarch and their family. Access to the Privy Chamber meant power and influence.

Question 14

What was the Privy Chamber used for?

Answer 14

To collect and store income.

Question 15

What was Privy Chamber also referred to as?

Answer 15

‘Political hub’

Question 16

What role did Henry VII create to restrict access to the Monarch?

Answer 16

Yeoman of the Guard, which acted as a personal body guard.

Question 17

What was the role of the Groom of the Stool?

Answer 17

The Groom of the stool was incharge of the Royal toilet. Duties involved checking the King or Queen’s poop to ensure they were in good health.

Question 18

Who took up the role of the Groom of the stool?

Answer 18

Under Henry VIII, these positions were filled by his most trusted friends, usually men from the nobility or gentry

Question 19

What formal roles did the Groom of the Stool have?

Answer 19

Due to their intimate and daily physical contact with the monarch, they were also his advisers, were also sent on diplomatic missions to France & military expedition against the Scots

Question 20

What is a dry stamp?

Answer 20

An embossed stamp was made of the King’s signature. This could be stamped onto documents, the signature could then be inked in

Question 21

What was the political importance of the dry stamp?

Answer 21

Control of the dry stamp could give its owner enormous power. E.g. a faction led by Edmund Seymour (Earl of Hertford) and John Dudley (Viscount Lisle) gained control to the stamp and were enabled to make alterations to king’s will in their favour - bringing them increased power and influence in government.

Question 22

How did the role of the groom of the stool change under Mary and Elizabeth?

Answer 22

Due to the levels of intimacy, the role was occupied by women. Although they were not the closest advisers, they were the wives to members of the Household.

Question 23

Did the role of the Groom of the stool still have political influence under Mary and and Elizabeth?

Answer 23

Did not lose its political role entirely, had undoubted influence over the Queen. Evidenced by Charles V writing to ambassador Simon Renard arguing that these ladies were taking advantage of their roles to gain patronage and favours.

Question 24

How did Mary keep greater control over the privy chamber?

Answer 24

Kept her dry stamp under lock and key.

Question 25

How did Elizabeth’s privy chamber change?

Answer 25

The Chamber continued to decline in political importance - reforms carried out in 1559 meant that members of her Household were also members of her Council. Politics were carried out through more formal channels rather than the Chamber.

Question 26

What was the role of the Royal Council?

Answer 26

A formal body to advise the monarch. The monarch could choose who was a member and also whether or not to listen too advice given.

Question 27

What were other roles adopted by the Royal Council?

Answer 27

The Council could act as a judicial court where high profile cases to do predominately with the nobility could be dealt with, in the case that normal courts couldnt solve it

Question 28

Between the period of 1485 - 1909, how many men attended Henry VII’s council meeting?

Answer 28

200

Question 29

What type of people did Henry VII’s council consist of?

Answer 29

Consisted of a mixture of members of the nobility, churchmen,royal officials, and lawyers.

Question 30

What was Henry VII cautious about?

Answer 30

He was careful about including men who had served under his Yorkist predecessors, Edward VI and Richard III.

Question 31

What was ‘The Great Council’?

Answer 31

Special gatherings of all members of the nobility and his councillors.

Question 32

How many ‘Great Councils’ were held between 1487 and 1502?

Answer 32

5

Question 33

Which people did Henry VIII’s council consist of?

Answer 33

His council consisted of experienced administrators like the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Warham, and the Bishop of Winchester, Richard Fox.

Question 34

Who were Fox and Warham replaced by?

Answer 34

Replaced by Thomas Wolsey, who was able to rise to power because he gave him what he wanted - war.

Question 35

When did Wolsey fall from power?

Answer 35

1529. As a result of Wolsey’s dominance, they Council still retained its traditional functions.

Question 36

What was Wolsey planning in 1526?

Answer 36

The Eltham Ordinances - wanted to reduce the no. of Council members from 40 to 20 men who would meet daily. His plans did not conjure anything but by 1540, a Council such as the one he had planned had emerged, became known as the ‘Privy Council’

Question 37

What was the role of the Privy Council?

Answer 37

Was responsible for much of the daily running of the country, especially administration and legal matters.

Question 38

How did the Privy Council’s role change after the fall of Thomas Cromwell?

Answer 38

The changes after Cromwell’s fall were permanent ones - lasted the rest of the period. After Wolsey’s fall, there was a need to restructure Henry VIII’s gov so that it could work without Cromwell. He had manipulated his position as the king’s Secretary in order to wield power and influence the king.

Question 39

What did the change in role to ‘Chief Minister’ mean?

Answer 39

The newly formed Council were collectively responsible for much of the work which had been previously performed by Wolsey & Cromwell. E.g. Duke of Norfolk, a member of the new Council, insisted that anyone wishing to conduct business with the Council should write to them as a group, not to an individual.

Question 40

How did membership of the Council change since 1540?

Answer 40

From 1540, its membership was considerably reduced and was fixed to include just the most trusted advisers of the monarch.

Question 41

What was membership figures of the Council under Henry VII?

Answer 41

227

Question 42

What was membership figures of the Council under Wolsey?

Answer 42

120

Question 43

What was membership figures of the Council in 1603?

Answer 43

13

Question 44

Why was there an increase in membership under Edward VI?

Answer 44

Edward was a child and needed a larger Council in order to govern the country while the king was too young to do so himself.

Question 45

When did the role of the Secretary first become important?

Answer 45

In the 1530s

Question 46

What did the role of the secretary mean originally?

Answer 46

Personal secretary to the monarch, and part of the Royal Household. This position meant close, personal access to the monarch, as well as control of the monarch’s personal (privy) seal, which made royal docs official. This meant that the Secretary could be very influential.

Question 47

When did Thomas become secretary and what did he do?

Answer 47

Became Secretary by 1534, used his position to control Council meetings and his access to the king’s private correspondence meant that he had detailed knowledge of Henry’s day-to-day business.

Question 48

After the fall of Thomas Cromwell, when did the role of Secretary gain political importance again?

Answer 48

Following the fall of Cromwell, the role decline in political importance - post was split evenly between two men for the 1st time: Thomas Wriothesely and Ralph Sadler. The role of the Secretary only became more important again when Elizabeth’s most trusted adviser, William Cecil, was appointed in 1558. He continued as Secretary till 1572.

Question 49

Why was the role of Secretary dangerous under Elizabeth?

Answer 49

Evidence : William Davison, became Secretary in 1586, had the responsibility of keeping the death warrant which had been issued for the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, Elizabeth’s Catholic rival for the throne. He had to get Elizabeth’s signature, which she gave but told him not to send it, instead keep it safe. The Council decided that the warrant should be sent and Mary was executed. E was furious, blamed Davison. He was tried, imprisoned, forced to pay 10,000 marks.

Question 50

What did Robert Cecil do from 1596, after appointed as Secretary?

Answer 50

He used his position to build up a network of supporters. Had access to the Queen’s correspondence, which included both info about offices and positions available, as well as requests for these offices. Cecil was able to ensure that patronage was distributed to his own clients, not to his rivals (Earl of Essex).