Society - Control of Nobility Flashcards
who were the nobilty
The nobility was part of the government and would advise the king. Some would sit on the king’s council. They governed their areas in the same of the king and kept the king’s peace in their localities, they were mostly landowners who would sit in judgments on issues that concerned their tenants in manorial courts
what was Henry’s biggest challenge with the nobility and how could he achieve this
His biggest challenge was to win the support of the nobles while making sure their powers were controlled. He could either buy their support by rewarding them with land with lands and titles or force them to support him by being strict with opposition. His relationship with leading nobles was critical to his survival as king
what did Henry depend on the nobility for and how did they come into conflict
He depended on them to maintain law and order in areas where they were landowners. But the nobility had grown more powerful during the 15th century they gained more land at the expense of the crown and used them to build strongholds and retain and recruit private armies, though Henry VII was fortunate that some of the oppositional noble houses were now lead by children due to deaths in the 1480s.
what did Henry use to reduce reliance on the nobility
Henry used several different policies to reduce the reliance on the nobility and to limit their powers. The nobility depended on three factors - land, wealth and support to maintain their independence from the king. Henry reduced all 3 during his reign while being careful not to push them into open rebellions
policies used by Henry to control the nobility
Acts of Attainder
Patronage
Order of the Garter
Retaining
Financial Control
Council Learned
Prerogative Powers
Act of Attainder
Described by CSL Davis as cat and mouse policy. Henry used them to seize titles and possessions of nobles that he suspected of disloyalty. Attainders were special laws passed by parliament which were issued against men who were guilty of treason and he issued attainders against men who opposed him at the Battle of Bosworth. To be attained meant that the family of the attained would lose the right to inherit its land and would face social and economic ruin
how many attainders were passed by Henry and how many were reversed
Henry passed 138 attainders and reversed 46, as he thought reversing it would ensure loyalty from the victim
patronage
This granted special favours such as land and possessions to those who were loyal and supported Henry VII. Henry was concerned with not wanting to create a new group of nobles who would become a potential threat patronage had to be earned and was not an automatic privilege for the upper class. He was careful not to over-distribute titles. The result of his caution was that the number of nobles fell by 1/4th during his reign due to death and attainders, vacant land was then absorbed by the crown making him the largest landowner in the country. He made men depend on him for position and status by making those lower down the social scale royal agents
order of the Garter
An honour that was bestowed on the most important knights who became the most senior rank of knighthood, a form of patronage which Henry VII gave 37 out. William Stanley received this but felt it was a poor reward for his good service as there was no financial reward.
Retaining
Retaining was the practice by which a nobleman kept a large number of men as his staff, in theory, to be used as household servants but in practice they were used to maintain control of the nobility and enforce the law. Henry VII like Edward IV before him, regarded them as a lawless element and he passed laws against it in 1487 and 1504. 1485 parliament had to swear that they would not retain illegally. The 1504 act required nobles to obtain a special license from the king before they would retain large numbers of men and imposed several fines if they did not. The penalty was £5/month per illegal retainer. Nobles found ways to avoid getting a license, for example by covering up records of the wages they paid to servants so that no one knew exactly how many men were retained. Recent historians argue that retaining was not abolished under Henry VII were not eliminated because Henry VII needed it to support him - men could employ retainers for the king’s service alone
financial controls
Henry demanded Financial bonds from individual nobles or their families as a way of ensuring loyalty. Henry created written agreements whereby if a person offended the king they were forced to pay upfront, to pay bail or promised to pay a certain amount as security for their future good behaviour. It would place the nobility in debt to ensure their loyalty as sums were from £400 to £10,000 for a peer. It was widely used and in his last decade as king about 2/3rds of the nobility were held under bonds
examples of financial bonds
The most extreme example was Lord Burgavenny, he was convicted in 1507 of illegally retaining 471 men and fined £100,000. Henry knew that paying that amount would bankrupt the Lord so he generously agreed to place him under a bond to repay £5,000 over ten years and the Lord could not set foot in his family lands till the debt was paid. This way Henry raised money from an untrustworthy person and obliged him to keep in the kings favour - he paid no more than £1000 - fines rarely lasted no more than the kings lifetime - pardoned by h8
Lord Dacre had to make a bond of £2,00 to ensure his loyalty
The Marques of Dorset’s friends had to sign a bond of £10,000 to promise his good behaviour
council learned
Assumed control over financial matters relating to the crown. Members of the council acted as investigators and judges in cases where there was suspicion that a nobleman was not paying his proper dues to the king. Leading figures were Sir Reginald Bray, Edmund Dudley and Richard Empson they were universally hated because they collected bonds. It was the most important of all of Henry’s institutions of government because it involved the maintenance of law and order. Dudley later admitted that he had lied in 80 cases and was executed under Henry VIII
nobility being controlled - examples
John De La Pole - made peace with Henry, supported the simnel rebellion, died at the battle of Stoke
Francis Lovell - Attained by Henry VII in 1485, attempted an uprising that failed in April 1486 and fled to Flanders. Joined Simnel in1487
Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey - Fought for Richard III in the BOB - attained by Henry and imprisoned. Released in 1489 after an oath of allegiance
William Catesby - Served under Richard III, fought on his side - executed 3 days after the BOB
Edward Stafford - Henry reversed the Act of Attainder that was passed against his father but kept all land under the control of the crown while he was a minor
