society including the church

• what is bastard feudalism?

  • Instead of land, annual payments were given by the nobility to knights to retain them
  • knights could be called upon for military service or advice for the nobility which could threaten the monarchy
• what concept was accepted in english society in 1485?

  the great chain of being; ordered by God with a strict hierarchy

  • it put the church in a powerful position to control people
  • make the church an important ally of the government
• in 1485, how did society stop the king from becoming a dictator?


  • he ruled under God
  • was expected to consult wi the his advisors
  • needed to summon parliament from time to time to get support and pass laws
• what did the cloth industry create?


  the most wealth
• what % was the cloth industry in Englands exports?


  80%
• where was cloth exported to?

  • netherlands
  • spain
  • holy roman empire
  • venice
• what was the cloth trade controlled by?

  the Merchant Adventures (a powerful company in London)
• why was cloth in demand at home and abroad?


  it was high quality
• how did the cloth industry help the crown?

  it bought in valuable income to the crown through custom duties on exports
• how did Southern England and the Midlands farm?


  open field farming with a variety of crops
• what did farming depend on?

  the region
• how did the hilly northern and western regions farm?


  livestock farming was more common
• why were woodlands and forests important in farming?

  for timber and grazing
• what happened to some areas of land?

  it was divided into strips then given by the local landowner to tenants

  • tenants could lose their strips when landowners wanted to change farming methods
• who could receive a strip of land?

  tenant farmers
• how could tenant farmers lose their strip of land?


  if the landowner wanted to change farming methods
• how much land did the catholic church own?


  1/3
• what did the church have of its own?

  • own hierachy
  • own legal system
• why was the church so powerful to ordinary people?

  peoples fears of going to hell were strong
• how did the church help the community?


  The church helped the community find a sense of identity and collective purpose

  • there were gatherings to worship and celebrate Holy days and other festivals with dancing and drinking
• how did the church have some faults?

  some immoral churchmen kept mistresses and were ignorant and couldn’t even recite the Lord’s prayer
• what was the churches influence in politics?


  • operated its own law courts
  • bishops and abbots had a political role; sat in the house of lords
  • churchmen were the best educated so their skills as administers were valued
  • henry was keen to work with the church as it could be a useful ally of his claim was challenged
• why was Henry keen to work with the church?


  it could be a useful ally if his claim was challenged
• why were churchmen valued?


  they were best educated so their skills as administers were valued
• what percentage of the English population lived in the countryside in 1485?


  90%
• what was huge in english trade?


  sale of wool, wine and leather
• how important was limiting the rights of foreign traders?

  • limiting foreign traders meant English people bought from English traders which helped to improve the economy
  • in 1489 Henry limited the export of English raw wool and made it illegal for foreigners to buy English raw wool for use in the continent
• what was society like when Henry got to the throne?


  • the feudal system was more about social status
  • knight; less about military service and more about status and power in the community
  • merchants were becoming wealthier and wanted more representation and power
  • people paid their rent in cash rather than feudal status
  • church had its own hierachy which interacted with the social hierarchy
• what were cardinals?


  senior churchmen and they elected popes
• what were archbishops?


  senior churchmen in each church
• what were bishops?


  regional leaders of the church
• what were parish priests?


  Local religious leaders in charge of a specific church or parish, they had special rights
• what was a yeoman?


  a farmer who owns/rents land in the country
• what was primogeniture?


  the eldest son inherits everything
• what was changing in English society?


  • the population was recovering after the black death
  • Henry avoided appointing nobles to bishopricks as his predecessors had done
  • these led to changes which gave more opportunities for people to advance themselves and their families
  • however most people died when they were born, particularly in rural areas
• what is enclosure?

  putting fences around land that had been previously open to everyone and restricting access; for example the village green or fields
• what did people believe about enclosure?


  • the country would struggle to feed itself
  • people were leaving their families and breaking the old social structure
  • vagrancy and begging was on the rise which broke social order
  • urban areas led to moral decay
• how did enclosure and the cloth industry work together?


  the cloth industry was 80% of England exports and the high quality of wool meant it was in high demand abroad and at home and the wool was farmed through enclosure of sheep
• what created the most jobs?


  agriculture creates the most jobs
• what created the most wealth?

  the cloth industry