Learning Objectives To understand how Henry kept the nobility under control. To understand how law and order helped Henry control England.

The nobility What are the nobility? Anybody with a title and land (e.g. Baron, Earl, Lord or Duke). They were the leading men in the country so it was essential that the King handled them well. In 1485, the number of nobles in England was quite low. There were around 60 noble families. Their numbers had been reduced mainly by the lack of male heirs surviving. This was caused partly due to deaths in the War of the Roses but mainly due to it being a time of high infant mortality and deaths from disease.

The nobility Henry was fortunate that during the reigns of Richard III and Edward IV, many powerful nobles had died and their lands had fallen into the hands of the Crown. Plus, many of the leading nobles who fought on Richard III’s side at the Battle of Bosworth were imprisoned and had their land taken away. For example, the imprisonment of the Earl of Warwick meant that all of his lands were taken over by the Crown. Henry was also fortunate to have very few male relatives, so Henry inherited most land owned by other Tudors too. For example, when his uncle, Jasper Tudor died without an heir in Other leading Earls also chose to back Henry and implement his wishes. The Earl of Oxford did this in his lands in East Anglia.

Henry's attitude towards the nobility Across 3. The absence of this and a police force meant that Henry rarely interfered with the authority of local nobles. 8. What other way (aside from creating more nobles) did Henry use to reward good service? 10. What have more recent historians described the role of the nobles as being? 11. What was the name of Henry's step-father who was able to exert considerable control in Lancashire and Cheshire? 12. What happened to the number of peerage families in England during Henry’s reign? Down 1. An example of Henry rewarding a man for loyal service is the Earl of Surrey being able to regain these and become the Duke of Norfolk. 2. What was Henry able to keep by not creating many new peerages? 4. J.R.Green and A.E. Pollard use this word to describe how Henry needed to deal with the nobility as he saw them as a danger (which has recently been challenged by other historians). 5. How many Earls did Henry create during his reign? 6. Who became the effective ruler of the north of England, showing that Henry did not always leave the nobility to rule their local areas? 7. What was the only way of obtainting royal reward? 9. How many barons were created during his time in power?

Information from D.Murphy et al, England , London, 2001 Henry's attitude towards the nobility

Methods Henry VII used to control the nobility In the box below are a number of ways in which Henry controlled the nobility of England. On the right of the page are some case studies. See if you can work out which of the methods below is being used. The Marquis of Dorset was suspected of having Yorkist sympathies and a connection to the Simnel conspiracy and other plots. The earl and his friends had to sign bonds totalling £10,000 as a pledge of their continued good behaviour. WHAT HAS BEEN USED? _________________________________ The Council Learned supervised by Sir Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley, supervised the systems of bonds and recognisances and to collect all money owing. It was hated by the nobles (particularly as Empson and Dudley were not nobles themselves). WHAT HAS BEEN USED? _________________________________ The Parliaments of 1487 and 1504 passed laws against the retaining of groups of armed men by individual nobles. In order for a noble to have his own armed followers, it needed to be licenced by Henry VII. WHAT HAS BEEN USED? _________________________________ The Burgavenny Case Lord Burgavenny was fined £70,500 (later reduced to a payment of £5000 to be paid in ten installments) for not controlling his retainers (armed men). This sent out a message to other nobles to control their men. WHAT HAS BEEN USED? _________________________________ The Oxford Case Even one of Henry’s closest allies and friends were not immune to these restrictions. The Earl of Oxford was heavily fined for illegal retaining of men. Henry wanted to enforce the law and to show that there would be no exceptions to it. WHAT HAS BEEN USED? _________________________________ EFFECTS Estimated that out of the 62 noble families most were at Henry’s mercy through bonds, attainders, and recognisances for at least some of the time. These methods weren’t new but they were used on a much larger scale than his predecessors. He could be regarded as an ‘innovator’ as he set up a new system to do this (e.g. the Council of the Learned in Law a.k.a. the Council Learned). He was not ‘anti-noble’, as he knew how important their support was, but he also knew it was important to control his subjects firmly. Alexander Grant (historian): ‘Recognisances…were the basis of a technique for exerting control over the nobility, through a system of suspended sentences requiring good behaviour, which could, in the most serious cases, threaten complete ruin for a magnate if he displeased the king. In this respect Henry VII can…be contrasted with his other predecessors.’

Summary: Did he succeed in controlling the nobility? Henry controlled the nobility by creating few new peerages, so limited their numbers. He enforced laws against livery and maintenance firmly and impartially. He used the system of bonds and recognisances harshly in the later part of his reign. This resulted in a back lash from the nobles after his death. In spite of his harshness, he still made good use of the nobility at a local and national level. They were also an important part of his Royal Council (see next lesson!). Society believed in good rule from above and by providing this for his subjects Henry VII’s nobility played a key role.

60

Jasper Tudor

J.R.Green and A.F Pollard

Livery

Recognisances

Parliaments of 1487 and 1504

Justices of the Peace

Weights and measures

60 How many noble families were there in England in 1485?

Jasper Tudor Who was Henry Tudor’s heirless uncle?

J.R.Green and A.F Pollard Which historians argued that Henry saw the nobility as a danger?

Livery What was the name given to the family coat of arms displayed on a soldier?

Recognisances What was the name given to the fines inflicted by Henry VII on many nobles?

Parliaments of 1487 and 1504 Which parliaments banned nobles from having bands of armed men?

Justices of the Peace Who had responsibility for maintaining law and order?

Weights and measures What was one of the things a JP checked?