1C. The Tudors: England, 1485-1603
Part one: the consolidation of the Tudor Dynasty: England, 1485-1547
Henry VII, 1485-1509
Henry Tudor’s consolidation of power
At first, Henry seemed weak because he was a usurper with only a weak claim to the throne.
He could claim that God wished him to be king because he had let Henry win at Bosworth.
There were a number of Yorkist princes e.g. Edward, Earl of Warwick and John de la Pole, Earl
of Lincoln who had better claims to the throne. Both were nephews of Edward IV.
Henry had little active support from the nobility of England.
Three of the last four kings of England had been violently overthrown during the Wars of the
Roses: Henry VI in 1461 and 1471 – then murdered by Edward IV; Edward V murdered by
Richard III; Richard III killed at Bosworth
In reality Henry was in a strong position because:
He married Elizabeth of York and quickly had a son, Prince Arthur, thus gaining support from
many Yorkists. They were now satisfied that an heir of the murdered Edward V would rule in
the future.
He had the support of Lancastrians, since Henry VI’s direct line had died out with the death of
his son Edward, Prince of Wales in 1471.
Richard III’s only son had died as a child in 1484.
Henry had not gained the throne with the aid of a great nobleman. He did not owe anything to
anybody and would not face a revolt by a previously loyal supporter.
Whereas Edward IV had been overthrown by his greatest ally, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick
in 1470.
Richard III had faced rebellion in 1483 from Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, who had
supported Richard’s coup against Edward V.
There were no ‘overmighty’ noblemen left who might mount a serious challenge to Henry’s
kingship.
During the Wars of the Roses, the Dukes of York (ie Edward IV and his father Richard before
him), Richard Earl of Warwick, and Richard Duke of Gloucester were all sufficiently powerful
to overthrow the king.
By 1485, these men were dead and their great lands, which sustained the political instability of
the period, had largely been inherited by Henry as the new king.
1
, Henry also had no brothers and only one uncle. Edward IV had been overthrown by his brother,
George Duke of Clarence. Edward V was overthrown by his uncle. Lack of close relatives was a
major bonus for Henry VII.
The Wars of the Roses, although they had unseated several monarchs, had not seriously
undermined the machinery of government, which, for the time was fairly sophisticated.
Henry’s defeat of Richard III was seen as God’s judgement on a regicide, a man who had
overthrown and killed the rightful king, Edward V. Although Henry was also a usurper, he had
killed a tyrant.
Henry VI, whose reign had seen the start of the Wars of the Roses, was a weak man who
suffered a serious mental breakdown, rendering him unfit to govern.
Henry VII was an able politician who had learnt his trade as a powerless refugee. He therefore
worked hard to retain his office.
The nobility was not a serious threat to Henry’s position.
There were no ‘over-mighty subjects’ left after Bosworth who could unseat the king.
Henry had few close relatives of the type who had caused trouble during the Wars of the Roses.
He had no brothers, no adult children before his death and only one loyal uncle.
The nobles who fought against him were ‘attainted’, but allowed to win back lands and titles
only gradually, through loyal service e.g. the Earl of Surrey. He did not get back his father’s
dukedom of Norfolk until 1513.
(Bills of Attainder were widely used to deal with opponents in the fifteenth century. The
accused was denied a trial and was declared guilty by Act of Parliament. Life, property and
titles were all forfeit.)
The Earl of Lincoln, who was loyal at first but then joined Lambert Simnel, was killed at Stoke
in 1487.
The Earl of Northumberland was killed in a brawl in Thirsk in 1489 leaving a minor to succeed
him. Government of the North was entrusted to the Earl of Surrey, who had no lands in that
area.
Sir William Stanley, Henry’s Chamberlain was executed in 1495 for negotiating with Warbeck.
The Duke of Buckingham was a minor.
How did Henry control the nobility?
At first Henry conciliated them by calling Parliament quite often (the nobility sat in the House
of Lords), calling several ‘Great Councils’ of the nobility to discuss policy e.g. one to discuss
war with France and one to decide on withdrawal from France.
He played the part of a military leader, offering armed men to Brittany, defeating Simnel at
Stoke and invading France.
2
, As the reign went on, Henry became increasingly repressive towards the nobility.
He used Bonds and Recognizances more frequently and more systematically, to keep great men
and even minors, like the Duke of Buckingham, enmeshed in a series of financial constraints,
fines and suspended fines.
1485-1499, 11 peers gave bonds and recognizances. 1502-1509, 36 peers gave bonds and
recognizances. Lord Mountjoy alone gave 23 bonds.
When Henry died in 1509, hundreds of Bonds were cancelled and the two men most associated
with Bonds and Recognizances, Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley were executed, as the
nobility took control of the new king.
He exploited his rights over royal wards (minors) more systematically. Wardship brought in
£350 in 1487, £1,600 in 1494 and £6,000 in 1507.
Henry created the post of Surveyor of the king’s wards in 1503. This helped to ensure that great
families did not use marriage as a way of building up substantial or geographically concentrated
lands.
In 1501, Henry declared that all major landowners were tenants-in-chief to the king. This
increased his power over them.
He took measures against illegal retaining of armed men by the nobility. An Act of 1504 echoed
that of Edward IV in 1468.
Henry tried to introduce licences or ‘placards’, which allowed nobles to retain a certain number
of men.
Only one known prosecution of a peer for illegal retaining – Lord Burgavenny in 1506. Much
retaining in later years done by Henry’s servants, who could be relied on.
Henry exploited the desire common amongst the nobility during the Wars of the Roses to be
loyal or at least to avoid rebellion against the Crown. The Pretenders did not receive much
support from the barons.
The nobility did not play a prominent in central government, but their control in the localities
and over their own lands was largely unimpaired.
None of the nobles had been able to build up a great territorial power-base, which might
threaten the king.
Government
Henry took the business of government very seriously.
In all areas of government and administration, Henry employed many so-called ‘new men’ –
men of gentry status who owed their power and prestige to royal office.
Sir Reginald Bray, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and financial expert. His department
educated many of the new men.
3
, Sir Thomas Lovell was Chancellor of the Exchequer and Treasurer of the royal household.
Sir Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley, financial experts who were later put in charge of the
Council Learned in the Law.
Sir Edward Poynings, important military commander, not from the aristocracy.
These new men often collected taxes personally. They acted as subsidy commissioners,
collected benevolences and even customs duties.
They were often appointed to commissions of the peace to oversee justice in the shires.
They often acted as royal stewards administering crown lands and raising and retaining armed
men for the king.
Bray and Lovell raised 300 men for the king in 1492, similar to the number of men raised by
earls and dukes.
The King’s Council, often with the king in attendance, became the true centre of government,
dividing into inner councils with specialist functions.
Henry’s administration became increasingly oppressive and unpopular. In his last years, after
the deaths of the Queen and his eldest son, Arthur, he became even more insecure and more
tyrannical.
Henry VII and Parliament
Parliament under Henry VIII fulfilled the same functions as p[previously and was made less use
of as the reign went on.
There was no significant change in the relationship between Crown and Parliament during the
reign.
Henry called 7 parliaments during his reign, with growing infrequency.
There were parliamentary sessions in 1485, 1487, 1489, 1491, 1495, 1497 and 1504.
First parliament was crucial in recognizing that Henry was king because of his victory at
Bosworth. NB Parliament did not make Henry king, he was appointed by God.
This parliament also granted Henry tunnage and poundage (taxes on imports and exports) for
life.
Remaining 6 parliaments mainly called because the king needed extra money.
Standard parliamentary tax was the Fifteenth and Tenth. A fixed amount of money (worth about
£30,000 each) raised from communities.
Parliament of 1491 granted 3 Fifteenths and Tenths for invasion of France and Parliament of
1497 granted 2 for war against the Scots.
Parliaments continued to pass laws suggested by the Crown. During Henry's reign 20% of new
laws concerned attainders and a further 20% concerned law enforcement.
4
Part one: the consolidation of the Tudor Dynasty: England, 1485-1547
Henry VII, 1485-1509
Henry Tudor’s consolidation of power
At first, Henry seemed weak because he was a usurper with only a weak claim to the throne.
He could claim that God wished him to be king because he had let Henry win at Bosworth.
There were a number of Yorkist princes e.g. Edward, Earl of Warwick and John de la Pole, Earl
of Lincoln who had better claims to the throne. Both were nephews of Edward IV.
Henry had little active support from the nobility of England.
Three of the last four kings of England had been violently overthrown during the Wars of the
Roses: Henry VI in 1461 and 1471 – then murdered by Edward IV; Edward V murdered by
Richard III; Richard III killed at Bosworth
In reality Henry was in a strong position because:
He married Elizabeth of York and quickly had a son, Prince Arthur, thus gaining support from
many Yorkists. They were now satisfied that an heir of the murdered Edward V would rule in
the future.
He had the support of Lancastrians, since Henry VI’s direct line had died out with the death of
his son Edward, Prince of Wales in 1471.
Richard III’s only son had died as a child in 1484.
Henry had not gained the throne with the aid of a great nobleman. He did not owe anything to
anybody and would not face a revolt by a previously loyal supporter.
Whereas Edward IV had been overthrown by his greatest ally, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick
in 1470.
Richard III had faced rebellion in 1483 from Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, who had
supported Richard’s coup against Edward V.
There were no ‘overmighty’ noblemen left who might mount a serious challenge to Henry’s
kingship.
During the Wars of the Roses, the Dukes of York (ie Edward IV and his father Richard before
him), Richard Earl of Warwick, and Richard Duke of Gloucester were all sufficiently powerful
to overthrow the king.
By 1485, these men were dead and their great lands, which sustained the political instability of
the period, had largely been inherited by Henry as the new king.
1
, Henry also had no brothers and only one uncle. Edward IV had been overthrown by his brother,
George Duke of Clarence. Edward V was overthrown by his uncle. Lack of close relatives was a
major bonus for Henry VII.
The Wars of the Roses, although they had unseated several monarchs, had not seriously
undermined the machinery of government, which, for the time was fairly sophisticated.
Henry’s defeat of Richard III was seen as God’s judgement on a regicide, a man who had
overthrown and killed the rightful king, Edward V. Although Henry was also a usurper, he had
killed a tyrant.
Henry VI, whose reign had seen the start of the Wars of the Roses, was a weak man who
suffered a serious mental breakdown, rendering him unfit to govern.
Henry VII was an able politician who had learnt his trade as a powerless refugee. He therefore
worked hard to retain his office.
The nobility was not a serious threat to Henry’s position.
There were no ‘over-mighty subjects’ left after Bosworth who could unseat the king.
Henry had few close relatives of the type who had caused trouble during the Wars of the Roses.
He had no brothers, no adult children before his death and only one loyal uncle.
The nobles who fought against him were ‘attainted’, but allowed to win back lands and titles
only gradually, through loyal service e.g. the Earl of Surrey. He did not get back his father’s
dukedom of Norfolk until 1513.
(Bills of Attainder were widely used to deal with opponents in the fifteenth century. The
accused was denied a trial and was declared guilty by Act of Parliament. Life, property and
titles were all forfeit.)
The Earl of Lincoln, who was loyal at first but then joined Lambert Simnel, was killed at Stoke
in 1487.
The Earl of Northumberland was killed in a brawl in Thirsk in 1489 leaving a minor to succeed
him. Government of the North was entrusted to the Earl of Surrey, who had no lands in that
area.
Sir William Stanley, Henry’s Chamberlain was executed in 1495 for negotiating with Warbeck.
The Duke of Buckingham was a minor.
How did Henry control the nobility?
At first Henry conciliated them by calling Parliament quite often (the nobility sat in the House
of Lords), calling several ‘Great Councils’ of the nobility to discuss policy e.g. one to discuss
war with France and one to decide on withdrawal from France.
He played the part of a military leader, offering armed men to Brittany, defeating Simnel at
Stoke and invading France.
2
, As the reign went on, Henry became increasingly repressive towards the nobility.
He used Bonds and Recognizances more frequently and more systematically, to keep great men
and even minors, like the Duke of Buckingham, enmeshed in a series of financial constraints,
fines and suspended fines.
1485-1499, 11 peers gave bonds and recognizances. 1502-1509, 36 peers gave bonds and
recognizances. Lord Mountjoy alone gave 23 bonds.
When Henry died in 1509, hundreds of Bonds were cancelled and the two men most associated
with Bonds and Recognizances, Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley were executed, as the
nobility took control of the new king.
He exploited his rights over royal wards (minors) more systematically. Wardship brought in
£350 in 1487, £1,600 in 1494 and £6,000 in 1507.
Henry created the post of Surveyor of the king’s wards in 1503. This helped to ensure that great
families did not use marriage as a way of building up substantial or geographically concentrated
lands.
In 1501, Henry declared that all major landowners were tenants-in-chief to the king. This
increased his power over them.
He took measures against illegal retaining of armed men by the nobility. An Act of 1504 echoed
that of Edward IV in 1468.
Henry tried to introduce licences or ‘placards’, which allowed nobles to retain a certain number
of men.
Only one known prosecution of a peer for illegal retaining – Lord Burgavenny in 1506. Much
retaining in later years done by Henry’s servants, who could be relied on.
Henry exploited the desire common amongst the nobility during the Wars of the Roses to be
loyal or at least to avoid rebellion against the Crown. The Pretenders did not receive much
support from the barons.
The nobility did not play a prominent in central government, but their control in the localities
and over their own lands was largely unimpaired.
None of the nobles had been able to build up a great territorial power-base, which might
threaten the king.
Government
Henry took the business of government very seriously.
In all areas of government and administration, Henry employed many so-called ‘new men’ –
men of gentry status who owed their power and prestige to royal office.
Sir Reginald Bray, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and financial expert. His department
educated many of the new men.
3
, Sir Thomas Lovell was Chancellor of the Exchequer and Treasurer of the royal household.
Sir Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley, financial experts who were later put in charge of the
Council Learned in the Law.
Sir Edward Poynings, important military commander, not from the aristocracy.
These new men often collected taxes personally. They acted as subsidy commissioners,
collected benevolences and even customs duties.
They were often appointed to commissions of the peace to oversee justice in the shires.
They often acted as royal stewards administering crown lands and raising and retaining armed
men for the king.
Bray and Lovell raised 300 men for the king in 1492, similar to the number of men raised by
earls and dukes.
The King’s Council, often with the king in attendance, became the true centre of government,
dividing into inner councils with specialist functions.
Henry’s administration became increasingly oppressive and unpopular. In his last years, after
the deaths of the Queen and his eldest son, Arthur, he became even more insecure and more
tyrannical.
Henry VII and Parliament
Parliament under Henry VIII fulfilled the same functions as p[previously and was made less use
of as the reign went on.
There was no significant change in the relationship between Crown and Parliament during the
reign.
Henry called 7 parliaments during his reign, with growing infrequency.
There were parliamentary sessions in 1485, 1487, 1489, 1491, 1495, 1497 and 1504.
First parliament was crucial in recognizing that Henry was king because of his victory at
Bosworth. NB Parliament did not make Henry king, he was appointed by God.
This parliament also granted Henry tunnage and poundage (taxes on imports and exports) for
life.
Remaining 6 parliaments mainly called because the king needed extra money.
Standard parliamentary tax was the Fifteenth and Tenth. A fixed amount of money (worth about
£30,000 each) raised from communities.
Parliament of 1491 granted 3 Fifteenths and Tenths for invasion of France and Parliament of
1497 granted 2 for war against the Scots.
Parliaments continued to pass laws suggested by the Crown. During Henry's reign 20% of new
laws concerned attainders and a further 20% concerned law enforcement.
4
