‘Henry VII increased the power of the monarchy during his reign’ Assess the validity of this
view.
Henry VII came into power in 1485 after the Battle of Bosworth in which he claimed his
victory leading to him becoming the King of England. During his reign Henry helped English
prosper in multiple ways one being the increased power of the monarchy. It could be argued
that if anything Henry VII decreased the power of the monarchy. However,this essay will be
agreeing with the statement that Henry VII increased the power of the monarchy. The two
factors that will be discussed in this essay to corroborate my argument will be the increase of
land and limiting the power of the nobility.
Henry VII put multiple policies in place in order to assure that he was gaining land. Due to
the 138 acts of attainers which he passed,only 48 of which were reversed, Henry was able to
take land from those who disobeyed the king which could have dated all the way back to the
Battle of Bosworth.By using escheats, instead of the lands of the deceased being passed to
other nobles, Henry was able to keep them for himself which in turn increased land and
revenue for the royal finances.By the time Henry’s reign ended the size of the royal estates
had increased by 45% due to his attitude towards gaining land therefore simultaneously
increasing earnings and power for the monarchy. By the end of his reign Henry owned 5x
more land than the crown did under Henry VI and the annual income from crown lands
increased from £40,000 to £113,000 by the end of his reign. Others could argue that in
comparison to other countries such as France whose annual income was £800,000 and the
Holy Roman Emperor whose was £1,100,000 Henry was still poor in comparison. However,
Henry was well aware of this and by being lavish in his spending Henry managed to project
an image as a wealthy monarch in the eyes of his contemporaries, which was perhaps his
biggest achievement and contribution to the increased power of the monarchy during his
reign.
Another way in which Henry VII was able to increase the power of the monarchy during his
reign was through limiting the power of the nobility. Henry was able to limit the nobility's
power through multiple methods such as rewarding them with positions,which had virtually
no impact rather than increased status, rather than land. One of his most infamous methods
are his acts of attainers which essentially forced nobles to maintain their loyalty to Henry
otherwise they would be guilty without trial and all their possessions/titles could then be
seized. During his reign Henry imposed 138 attainers only 48 of which were reversed as
Henry hoped to win gratitude and future loyalty by restoring these lands and titles. Another
method which Henry used to control and limit the power of the nobility were bonds and
recognisances. These placed noblemen into debt to Henry consequently making them tied to
loyalty,duties and good behaviour to the King. The final method was attacks on retainers
which in 1487 and in 1504 laws were passed against seemingly outlawing the practice, fining
£5 per man. This served as a way of securing his position against potential uprisings and
also decreasing the power of the nobles. Therefore, through these methods of controlling the
nobility,Henry VII was able to increase the power of the monarchy during his reign.
view.
Henry VII came into power in 1485 after the Battle of Bosworth in which he claimed his
victory leading to him becoming the King of England. During his reign Henry helped English
prosper in multiple ways one being the increased power of the monarchy. It could be argued
that if anything Henry VII decreased the power of the monarchy. However,this essay will be
agreeing with the statement that Henry VII increased the power of the monarchy. The two
factors that will be discussed in this essay to corroborate my argument will be the increase of
land and limiting the power of the nobility.
Henry VII put multiple policies in place in order to assure that he was gaining land. Due to
the 138 acts of attainers which he passed,only 48 of which were reversed, Henry was able to
take land from those who disobeyed the king which could have dated all the way back to the
Battle of Bosworth.By using escheats, instead of the lands of the deceased being passed to
other nobles, Henry was able to keep them for himself which in turn increased land and
revenue for the royal finances.By the time Henry’s reign ended the size of the royal estates
had increased by 45% due to his attitude towards gaining land therefore simultaneously
increasing earnings and power for the monarchy. By the end of his reign Henry owned 5x
more land than the crown did under Henry VI and the annual income from crown lands
increased from £40,000 to £113,000 by the end of his reign. Others could argue that in
comparison to other countries such as France whose annual income was £800,000 and the
Holy Roman Emperor whose was £1,100,000 Henry was still poor in comparison. However,
Henry was well aware of this and by being lavish in his spending Henry managed to project
an image as a wealthy monarch in the eyes of his contemporaries, which was perhaps his
biggest achievement and contribution to the increased power of the monarchy during his
reign.
Another way in which Henry VII was able to increase the power of the monarchy during his
reign was through limiting the power of the nobility. Henry was able to limit the nobility's
power through multiple methods such as rewarding them with positions,which had virtually
no impact rather than increased status, rather than land. One of his most infamous methods
are his acts of attainers which essentially forced nobles to maintain their loyalty to Henry
otherwise they would be guilty without trial and all their possessions/titles could then be
seized. During his reign Henry imposed 138 attainers only 48 of which were reversed as
Henry hoped to win gratitude and future loyalty by restoring these lands and titles. Another
method which Henry used to control and limit the power of the nobility were bonds and
recognisances. These placed noblemen into debt to Henry consequently making them tied to
loyalty,duties and good behaviour to the King. The final method was attacks on retainers
which in 1487 and in 1504 laws were passed against seemingly outlawing the practice, fining
£5 per man. This served as a way of securing his position against potential uprisings and
also decreasing the power of the nobles. Therefore, through these methods of controlling the
nobility,Henry VII was able to increase the power of the monarchy during his reign.
