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Henry VIIs government - chapter 2 - Coggle Diagram
Henry VIIs government - chapter 2
Councils and the Court
COURTS
The Council Learned - body developed during second half of HVIIs reign, at first under Bray's leadership, main function was to maintain King's revenue and exploit his prerogative rights, made the system of bonds and recognisances work effectively and were able to entrap many of the King's subjects - it was seen as a rather shady operation = not a recognised court of law and those summoned before it had no chance to appeal. it was an expression of the king's will and was important for the maintenance of his authority and the raising of finances. Richard Empson was a fiercely ambitious lawyer and bureaucrat whose ruthless approach defined the behaviour of the council learned. Empson and Dudley were the leaders and were severely disliked - their downfall brought much rejoice.
the Great Council - a gathering of the House of Lords without the House of Commons, no clearly defined functions, an occasional body rather than a permanent one, usually concerned with issues relating to war
three main functions = advise the king, administer the realm on the king's behalf and make legal judgements. - three main types of councillor = nobility, churchmen and laymen (lawyers)
most notable = John Morton - a churchman and lawyer, a public Lancastrian but made peace with Yorkists to serve EIV under whom became the Bishop of Ely, worked against RIII and promoted to Archbishop of Canterbury in 1486, became a cardinal in 1493.
Sir Reginald Bray - faithful servant of HVII, helped raise funds for him for the BOB, influence exercised in his role as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, led Council Learned in the Law, more powerful than most nobles.
court and household
SERVICE DEPARTMENTS - kitchen, buttery etc, supervised by the lord steward
GUARD CHAMBER - to guard access to the royal quarters
THE CHAMBER - overseen by the Lord Chamberlain, used for holding public audiences and dining, the centre of court communications and court patronage.
PRIVY CHAMBER - the kings private quarters, used for both work and leisure, met his personal friends and servants in these rooms
Relied heavily on the royal court, influenced by continental courts like Burgundy and France. the royal court was to be found wherever the king was - focus of a personal monarchy and place for royal ceremony.
the court distributed rewards and status
courtiers enjoyed paid positions or the right to receive free food.
different levels to the court
the household proper - responsible for looking after the king, the courtiers, the guests and other hangers-on. supervised by the lord steward.
Chamber - presided over by the lord chamberlain, the lord chamberlain and other senior household officials were influential in court, the position of lord chamberlain was both a powerful one and a matter of trust (broken by William Stanley who was involved with perkin warbeck).
Parliament
comprised of House of Commons and the House of Lords, met occasionally but not central to the system of government
two main functions - to pass laws and grant taxation to the crown. had a further subsidiary function where local issues and grievances could be passed on to the kings officials by local MPs
only the king could call parliament - HVII called 7 parliaments (5 in the first ten years of his reign and 2 in the remaining years)
early parliaments were concerned with raising revenue and issues of national security eg first two parliaments passed the acts of attainder
other parliaments granted extraordinary revenue - taxation granted to enable the king to wage war - the most usual form was fifteenths and tenths
Fractional taxes of fifteenths and tenths were made in 1487, 1489-90, 1491-92 and 1497, yielding £203,000
Final parliament in 1504 did manage to limit the demand for extraordinary revenue so the king would no long seek more revenue by these means