Society

• The remnant of the feudal system was still apparent in the law, social relationships and attitudes
• Economic pressures , especially from the Black Death in 1348 to 1349 increased social mobility
• Conservative minded upper classes attempted to uphold traditional values by passing sumptuary laws however these failed
• During the Black Death in 1348-49 between 30 to 40 percent of Englands population died of the plague
• Further outbrakes of the plague reduced englands population by a half
• The nobility comprised of 50 to 60 men dominated landownership
• Peerage was not a closed caste and as members of the nobility died they were replaced by those who bought or earned the kings favour
• The crown relied on the noble families to keep order in the countrysides
• Henry VII was reluctant to create more peerage possibly as a result of distrust
• Henry VII only trusted Lancastrians such as the Earl of Oxford or Lord Daubeney who had significant political influence
• Henry VII didn’t trust The Earl of Northumberland even though he helped at the Battle of Bosworth and betrayed Richard III. Nevertheless he still had control over the north
• Henry VII also kept the nobility under control using bods and recognisance to minimise the power that nobles could collect by limiting knights and gentlemen a noble may have (also known as bastard feudalism)
• Magnates having retainers was sawn as an act of violence/abusive/controlling especially after the Wars of the Roses
• To control bastard feudalism Henry VII had Parliament pass acts in 1487 and 1504 which allowed for strong action to be taken against nobles who were held to abuse the system
• In 1486 peers and MP’s were required to take and oath against illegal retaining or being illegally retained (definition undefined)
• In the late fifteenth century gentry was anyone who had significant land ownership in their own right
• Sir Reginald Bray sought knighthood as confirmation of their social status
• In 1490 there were about 500 knights, this should usually mean imposing military obligations however this was soon dying
• According to John Guy peer and knights together owed 15-20 percent of the country’s land
• A gentlemen was anyone who was defied as such by their neighbour
• The gentry was not a fitted caste, it could be:

  • a possession of knighthood
  • a coat of arms authenticated by the College of Arms
  • considerable income
  • courtly connections
• The church was hugely important, not only as a spiritual role but also as a landowner
• At the lower parish level, curates and chantry priests were modestly rewarded for their spiritual aid to the people
• Bishops and abbots of larger religious houses were important figures entitled to sit in the House of Lords and often had political roles to undertake
• Henry VII appointed those who were legally trained as Bishops, two of the most important men were John Morton and Richard Fox
• Richard Fox began serving Henry VII when he was still exiled to Brittany
• The top of the commoners were those which successful trade (merchants) and craftsmen
• On the lower level there were some educated professionals and whom the most numerous indervidules were lawyers and had considerable influence
• Shops keepers were also moderately respected along with skilled tradesmen
• In the countryside the middling sort comprised of yeomen farmers who farmed substantial properties
• The decline in population as a result of the Black Death lead to less demand for land resulting in a drop in land values
• Peasants earned income through working of Yeomen land and earning through their labour or used their grazing rights and also plant vegetables to sell or eat
• Regional variation came form many places such as agricultural variation
• South and east if the line from Teesmouth and Dorset, mixed farming predominated in more densely populated counties (especially Norfolk, Suffolk and Kent)
• In the more sparsely populated areas in the north and west pastoral farming predominated with the rearing of sheep, cattle and horses
• Grain farming and fruit growing happened in Herefordshire and the Welsh bordering counties
• Londoners often looked down on the northerners for their perceived savagery, while the northerners were envious of the southerners riches
• Regional identity was also reinforced through local government structures
• Justice was increasingly administered at the county level often using jails and major churches
• Local identities were also reinforced through saints’ and cults