tudors Breadth unit 1: Crown, church and parliament, Changes to governance at the centre Flashcards
how was parliament structurally organised
*Parliament had 2 chambers ( The House of Lords and the House of Commons)
*House of Lords- unelected, where hereditary peers and bishops sat
*House of commons- elected MP’s
how was voting organised in parliament
*To vote in a county you had to own property (voting restricted to the wealthy)
*In many cases MP’s were elected uncontested- there was no competition for the seat
*It was common for members of the nobility to exercise patronage to ensure their clients were elected
*The powerful dukes of Norfolk could usually influence return of MP’s in up to 8 boroughs
*Parliament tended to represent the interests of the nobility and gentry
how did parliament function
*To pass an act of parliament a bill had to be heard in both the house of lords and commons before giving royal assent by the monarch
what was the the monarchs relationship with parliament under Henry VII
*Henry was a CAUTIOUS monarch who preferred not to pursue an ambitious foreign policy, he needed to call parliament more infrequently as his reign progressed
*Henry used the first parliament that met after his victory to enhance his claim as king – Parliament acknowledged his claim to the throne and passed a series of ACTS OF ATTAINDER, convicting henry’s enemies(less conventional)
*However henry was generally careful to use parliament only to make his claim more secure, parliament didn’t have the power to GRANT his claim to the throne
*Henry VII was forced to call in parliament periodically because he needed grants of taxation to fund wars for the defence of the country against foreign invasion
*His infrequent callings upon parliament were entirely usual for the time. England was at peace (no need for taxation)
how many times did henry VII summon parliament and what were the dates of sessions
*He summoned parliament 7 times in his 24 year reign (Parliament sat for a total of 72 weeks in this period)
*Dates of parliamentary sessions- 1485, 1487, 1491, 1495, 1497, 1504)
what happened in Henry VII’s 1504 call on parliament
*When henry did call parliament it was for taxation. On each occasion parliament granted and requested money without argument, except in 1504.
*1504 was the last time he called upon parliament, Henry was forced to accept smaller sum in taxation than what he had asked for. This was due to OPPOSITION from the COMMONS.
*Opposition of the commons to the monarch was rare but had happened before in late medieval England- since the early 14th century the commons had the right to challenge the monarch
what was the relationship between Henry VIII and parliament from 1509-1523
*Its role in this period were to grant taxation to fun Henry Viii’s wars (as unlike his father who was a cautious monarch, henry viii wanted to prove himself with wars against England’s traditional rivals- Scotland and France)
*Apart from tensions in 1523 relations between the king and parliament remained harmonious and there was LITTLE ALTERATION in the pattern established by his father, Henry vii.
*When his wars were going well it wasn’t too difficult to persuade parliament to grant taxation for the defence of the realm (e.g 1513)
*By 1517- most initial gains made by henry had been lost and as the burden of taxation increased with little to show for it, parliament became less keen to grant increasing amounts of money. The 1517 opposition to the monarchs tax requests were because MP’s were landowners and feared rebellion brought about too much taxation
*This continued in 1523, in which Wolsey met strong opposition from the commons to the amount of taxation he wanted
*Opposition from the commons in 1523 was not surprising due to the burden of £288,814 being raised in taxation, and with loans that hadn’t been repaid totalling £260,000
why was there oppossittion to wolseys tax requests in 1523
MP’s were landowners and feared rebellion brought about too much taxation
what was the relationship between Henry VIII and parliament from 1523-40
*The generally harmonious relationship between henry and parliament changed drastically from 1529 due to Henry trying to use parliament to get an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon
what was the structure of the tudor church before 1529
*head of catholic church- pope (believed he was appointed by god)
*the pope had the power to appoint senior churchmen as cardinals archbishops and bishops- in practice these appointments often reflected the wishes of the English monarch
what was the role of the tudor church before 1529
*Before 1529 the roman catholic church in England was enormously powerful and had been since the middle ages
*Roman catholic beliefs permeated every aspect of ordinary peoples lives (also attended important festivals for most important catholic dates- documents were labelled to the closest festival)
*Churches preformed marriage and funerals- was also a key source of ALMS (charity for the poor), and care for the sick and elderly
*the wealthiest in society left money in their wills for priests to pray for their souls after death
*the church was the biggest landowner in England at the time, had vast landed estates
*Church retained its popularity and role in everyday life as ordinary people made contributions to their local church to buy jewels and vestments (priests clothing)
*Almost 2/3 of English parish churches were built/rebuilt in the 15th century
- Church services and the Bible were in Latin not English meaning most of the congregation wouldn’t have been able to understand what the priest was saying
what were the opportunities the tudor church offered pre 1529
*A career in church offered opportunities to rise to the top of society despite a lowly background (e.g Thomas Wolsey started off as a butcher, through church education and career he was able to become Henry viii’s chancellor and chief minister
how was the tudor church involved in eductation pre 1529
*Church was the main source of education and learning- The papacy guarded the churches right to monitor and censor ideas, and prosecute those who challenged its teachings. If found guilty you would be burnt at the stake.
*For clever young boys the church was a route to power and increased status in society- churches and monasteries offered boys the opportunity to learn to read and write and go to one of the two English universities (Oxford and Cambridge)
what were the beliefs of the church pre 1529
*The church taught that HEAVEN, HELL AND PURGATORY were real and the fate of peoples souls would depend on how they acted.
preached that people could help their souls by doing good works, confessing, praying to saints for help, attendance at regular services and by going on pilgrimages.
*Transubstantiation- mass most important part of the service) was a celebration of the last supper where bread and wine would be blessed and was believed that the bread and wine became the body and blood of Jesus.
who criticised the church pre 1529
*Antagonism to the church is often called ANTICLERICALISM
*Humanist thinkers were critical of the wealth and power of the church and the clergymen in this period. They criticised this on the grounds of the bible, the original church was supposed to not indulge in luxuries and be humble.
*Humanists also criticised the church for its corruption and exploitation of peoples fear of what would happen to their souls after death
*The practice of the sale of indulgences was a particular point of criticism- Churches were out of touch: services in Latin meant lack of understanding for most worshipers and worship of saints was seen as superstitious and unbiblical
*Many clergymen had multiple posts ( a practice known as pluralism) which meant they had little contact with who they were supposed to serve
