The Statute of Livery and Maintenance

Question 1

How did the king raise an army before the Statute of Livery and maintenance?

Answer 1

Medieval kings had to ask their nobles for their armies. Nobles armies were filled with knights, they controlled the area of land given by the king. If a noble refused the request, the king asked other nobles to fight him.

It was difficult to keep control of it all.

Question 2

What did the Wars of the Roses teach Henry VII about medieval armies?

Answer 2

• Kings couldn’t rely on nobles. Some supported the Yorkists and others the Lancastrians.
• Henry VII wanted the army to be controlled by the king only.
• Nobles behaved like gangsters, using their armies to threaten, kill and intimidate others.

Question 3

What did Henry VII do to change the control that nobles had?

Answer 3

He outlawed livery and the maintenance of private armies.
Feudal lords did not like this
It was beneficial because it meant that ordinary people did not need to worry about feudal lords and Henry VII was much more secure as localized armies could not fight against him