Society under Henry VIII Flashcards
1
Q
What social change was there to the gentry?
A
- “Gentility” was often acquired as a result of the proceeds of office, profession or business - Knighthood = a sign of royal favour, assumed a knight would possess an outcome reflecting his status - about 5000 families - Decreased from 375 knights in Henry VII’s reign to 200 in Henry VIII’s - JPs increased - Laymen roles generated income, bringing about landownership and gentry status
2
Q
What was the structure of the gentry?
A
- More JPs participated in local administration - Members of the gentry drawn into unpaid administration on behalf of the crown - Increasingly keen on sons acquiring legal training, allowing them to be better able to take on roles on the basis of local advancement - Crown’s local administrators more likely to be laymen than clergymen
3
Q
What was the nobility like under Henry VIII?
A
- Peerage increased under him, but by 1547, there were only 9 more peers of the realm - this was due to titles dying out and Acts of Attainder - New peerages created through family relationships to the king, like Thomas Seymour, or through service at court/military - Henry created two new non-royal dukedoms, Norfolk and Suffolk - Suffolk’s promotion was due to his close relationship with Henry, which was criticised by Erasmus - Henry used the peerage and granting of lands to secure his throne, for example, John (Baron Russell) was given land in Devon after the execution of the Marquis of Exeter
4
Q
What were commoners like under Henry VIII?
A
- Little change in the first half of the reign - However, with the rise of inflation and the imposition of the Amicable Grant 1525, there was opposition from common folk - The social structure stayed the same - Commoners owned little and ran the risk of employment instability - There were few rebellions but social order could break down in certain areas
5
Q
What was social order like on the Anglo-Welsh border?
A
- Lands were governed as part of the Principality of Wales along with the 4 bordering English counties, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, which came under the jurisdiction of the Council of Wales and the Marches, which was based at Ludlow, Shropshire - This offered relatively cheap and local access to the law and could therefore be seen as a benefit to the area under its jurisdiction
6
Q
What was social order like on the Anglo-Scottish border?
A
- Remained a problematic area - border was hard to police as much of it was remote and inhospitable in the winter months - Both sides of border had a reputation for lawlessness - cattle and sheep rustling were rife and violence common - To deal with such problems, the border with Scotland was split into 3 marches, each under the jurisdiction of a warden - filling these posts could be difficult as use of a local noble family would run the risk of them exploiting their office to enhance their own power at the King’s expense - Henry had little time for such border magnate families as the Percies and the Dacres - The other option was to appoint local officers from the gentry class (e.g. Thomas, Lord Wharton, recently raised to the peerage from humble origins in 1542) or those who were complete outsiders - These two groups were more likely to have complete loyalty to the king, but they had limited ability to influence the conduct of a local people who often saw themselves as owing a primary loyalty to a local magnate
7
Q
What regional issues were there in Wales?
A
- Before 1536, Wales was a separate territory but under English control - The Tudors were a Welsh family - It comprised of marcher (border) lordships and the principality of Wales - It had neither a single unified administrator or formal political link with England - Henry VIII wanted to change this
8
Q
When was the Laws in Wales Act?
A
1536
9
Q
What did the Laws in Wales Act do?
A
- Divided Wales into shire counties which operated on the same basis as the English counterparts - Gave the Welsh shires direct representation in the House of Commons at Westminster for the first time - Brought Wales into the same legal framework as England - Wales became incorporated into England with little of a separate identity apart from the survival of the Welsh language in some parts of the country - Control over Wales exercised on the Crown’s behalf by members of the aristocracy, and members of an anglicised Welsh gentry controlling county politics were elected to Parliament, becoming increasingly prominent within the legal profession
10
Q
Which three English counties were palatinates?
A
Lancashire, Cheshire and Durham
11
Q
What is a palatinate?
A
Where a county had its own jurisdiction from the rest of the kingdom
12
Q
What were the realities of the palatinateships of Lancashire, Cheshire and Durham?
A
- In reality, Lancashire and Cheshire were dominated by the Crown - Durham was still technically under the Bishop of Durham
13
Q
When was the Act of Resuming Liberties to the Crown?
A
1536
14
Q
What did the Act of Resuming Liberties to the Crown do?
A
Stripped the Bishop of most of his powers, although he was still able to operate some courts This change can be seen as evolutionary rather than revolutionary
15
Q
What was the Council in the North?
A
- Controlling the North created problems for Henry, particularly after his religious changes - In 1536, the Council of the North was re-established as a permanent body in York with a professional staff - useful in 1549
