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Early Modern England > Week 1: The Material and Mental World of English People, c. 1500 > Flashcards

Week 1: The Material and Mental World of English People, c. 1500 Flashcards

1
Q

What are the 3 main advantages of being an island nation?

A
  • Separation from continental opponents
  • Increased seamanship
  • Trade benefits
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2
Q

What was the population of England and Wales in 1500?

A

2.2 million

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3
Q

Why was England’s population so low in 1500?

A
  • The Bubonic Plague cut the population of England in half
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4
Q

Why was London the most important city?

A
  • It’s protected port status because of the Thames River
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5
Q

What percentage of England lived in cities in 1500?

A

10%

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6
Q

What was the richest economic asset of 16th century England?

A

Sheep

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7
Q

What role did sheep play in 16th century English international trade?

A
  • Wool from English sheep was exported to the continent
  • Continental European goods came back in exchange
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8
Q

What are the 2 types of settlements in 16th century England?

A
  1. Fielden
  2. Forest
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9
Q

What was a Fielden?

A
  • An Agriculturally based settlement
  • Grew crops and raised animals
  • Centred around a manorial estate
  • Very tight-knit community
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10
Q

Where was the best farmland in England?

A

South-East

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11
Q

What did the word “Forest” mean in the 16th century?

A
  • A large area of land, NOT necessarily wooded
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12
Q

What was a Forest settlement?

A
  • Poorer soil (could be rocky, forested, or hilly)
  • But good for dairy farms and livestock
  • These settlements were more scattered
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13
Q

Generally, the further away you are from South-Eastern fielden settlements you are……….

A

The less tied to the King and Government, the county is.

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14
Q

What does owning an estate show?

A

That you have made it in society (particularly in higher society)

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15
Q

_____= Power

A

Land

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16
Q

Why was stripping a person of their land seen as worse than execution?

A
  • If you are stripped of your land, your future generations will be stripped of your titles, land and merits
  • If you get executed, your future heirs still get to keep your titles and estates
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17
Q

True or False: In legal theory, the King owns all the land in England.

A

TRUE

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18
Q

What must the King do in order to legally strip somebody of their lands?

A
  • Obtain a legal proceeding ONLY if the individual in question has committed treason, rebellion, or homicide.
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19
Q

Which 3 offences are the only ones with which the King can confiscate your land for?

A
  • Treason
  • Rebellion
  • Homicide
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20
Q

What type of establishments composed most of the Catholic Church land in England in the 1500s?

A

Monestaries

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21
Q

What is a JP?

A

Justice of the Peace

  • Formal title for a judge
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22
Q

What did one HAVE to be in order to be a JP?

A
  • A Landowner
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23
Q

Who did commoners largely pay their rent to?

A

Their local JP (Justice of the Peace)

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24
Q

In 1500, there were no central courts yet. What did people do for justice instead?

A
  • Peasants in the villages would go to their local JP for cases of minor infractions
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25
Q

What was the requirement to be a member of Parliament in 1500?

A
  • Had to own a minimum acerage of land
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26
Q

Why was Parliamentary membership reserved for higher landowners?

A
  • Because Nobles had a lot more to lose if their nation was in peril, so, they would naturally be more invested in its interest and lawmaking
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27
Q

List the hierarchy of 16th century land ownership:

A
  1. King
  2. Church (monasteries)
  3. Nobility
  4. Gentry
  5. Yeoman
28
Q

What were Yeoman?

A
  • A more well off farmer who typically owns his own land
29
Q

16th century serfs could only be described as:

A

Indentured servants

30
Q

In return for giving a portion of their produce to the lord, what did serfs receive?

A
  • Protection
  • A House and land to work on
31
Q

True or False: Serfs could technically leave the estate whenever they pleased.

A

FALSE
Serfs were indentured, and Lord’s had full power over where they went, who they buried, etc.

32
Q

What happened in terms of labour after the Bubonic Plague?

A
  • Labour shortages
  • The value of labour increased
33
Q

What were landowners forced to do to accommodate serfs following the Bubonic Plague?

A
  • Lower rent
  • Increase wages
34
Q

Explain the concept of tenancies:

A
  • You named 3 tenants in a lease
  • When all 3 died, your tenancy was all up
35
Q

Why was it ill-advised to name children in your tenancy?

A
  • Because of the high infant mortality rate
36
Q

16th century English houses were mostly made of ______________.

A

Wattle and Daub

37
Q

Each 16th century English household had a…….

A

24/7 burning central fire

38
Q

What is Primogeniture?

A

Passing all ancestral property down to the eldest son

39
Q

What is Partible Inheritance?

A

Dividing all ancestral property equally amongst all of your children

40
Q

What was seen as the problem with Partible Inheritance?

A
  • Each time you passed down land, your combined property got smaller and smaller
  • Especially since land given to female heirs was later incorporated into her future groom’s family estates
41
Q

16th century London was surrounded by a notable _________

A

Wall

42
Q

Instead of Police, 16th century London had _________

A

Volunteer night watchmen

43
Q

True or False: 16th century London was very controlled in terms of who comes in and out of the city.

A

TRUE

44
Q

Who did the City of London impose a noteworthy tax on in the 16th century?

A

Foreigners in the city

45
Q

The City of London authorities demanded all foreigners in the city be ___________.

A

Registered

46
Q

List of the 8 hierarchical tiers of 1500s English society:

A
  1. King
  2. Nobility
  3. Gentlemen
  4. Yeoman
  5. Husbandmen
  6. Cottagers
  7. Labourers (don’t own anything)
  8. Serfs
47
Q

Who were Cottagers?

A
  • Labourers who DID own a cottage and a perhaps little land to cultivate
48
Q

Who were Husbandmen?

A
  • A small farmer, often landless.
49
Q

What are the 5 sub-ranks within the Nobility?

A
  1. Duke
  2. Marquess
  3. Earl
  4. Viscount
  5. Baron
50
Q

True or False: Some Dukes were more powerful than other Dukes.

A

TRUE

51
Q

What determined a noble’s heightened power over other nobles? (3 things)

A
  • King’s favour
  • Strategic location of his Dukedom
  • By the Seniority of his title
52
Q

In what 3 ways could a serf make his way up in society?

A
  1. Marriage
  2. Making Money
  3. Brave and Extraordinary services to the King (ex. hero in battle)
53
Q

What were Sumptuary Laws?

A
  • Laws in place restricting luxury in apparel and food for all EXCEPT certain noble ranks and higher.
  • Defined the types, quality and quantity of items that each social group was allowed to wear
  • Ex. None shall wear any velvet gowns EXCEPT the wife’s of barons sons, knights, and all above.
54
Q

At what age do men typically marry in 1500 England?

A

25

55
Q

At what age do women typically marry in 1500 England?

A

20

56
Q

Typically, the higher up you are in society, the ____________ your marriage is.

A

Earlier

Why? –> The earlier you marry, the more time you have of producing heirs at the wife’s biological peak, thus, increasing the chances for a MALE heir.

57
Q

Why could most people at the time never conceive of Atheism?

A
  • Because the Church filled and centred people’s lives
58
Q

What acted as news stations in the 1500s in England?

A

Churches

59
Q

What served as social centres of most communities in the 1500s in England?

A

Churches

60
Q

What is Aristotelian Cosmography?

A

Geocentrism
- Most people believed the Earth was at the centre of the universe in the 1500s in England

61
Q

Explain the Great Chain of Being:

A
  • The notion that every single thing on Earth is hierarchical at it’s nature
  • Nature (Lion vs. Ant)
  • Religion (Angels, Archangels, etc.)
62
Q

What were the 6 levels of microcosm in the concept of the Great Chain of Being?

A
  1. God
  2. Angels
  3. Humans
  4. Animals
  5. Plants
  6. Inanimate Objects
63
Q

Why were Sumptuary Laws important? (3 things)

A
  • It showed people the order and hierarchy of England
  • Reinforced social hierarchy
  • Regulated foreign trade in luxury goods to bolster the home economy
64
Q

Why was the Great Chain of Being important? (3 reasons)

A
  • Justified political authority of the period
  • Cemented hierarchical framework
  • Reflected Religious beliefs and allowed for Church power
65
Q

Why are Monasteries important in 16th century England?

A
  • Gave vital social services (ex. hospital care, food for the poor, orphanage, education etc.)
  • Owned vast swaths of land, and thus, economic influence through wealth (they employed lay serfs)
  • Cemented the Catholic Church’s hold and influence in England
66
Q

Why was primogeniture important?

A
  • Minimized infighting amongst the nobility (because of it’s clear lines of succession)

Early Modern England (6 decks)

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