control of the nobility

• Another threat that Henry VII had to contend with was the power of the English nobility.
• Prior to 1485, England had been tormented by 30 years of disputes involving the nobility, known as the Wars of the Roses.
• These wars were not so much about the dynastic destination of the crown of England as about faction between two opposing camps of noble families.
• To ensure future loyalty, Henry VII put most of the nobility on a kind of probation using Acts of Attainder, Bonds and Recognizances.
• Acts of Attainder were Acts passed by parliament stating that a family's land was taken from them for good because of disobedience towards the crown, usually involving the execution of a member of the family also.
• In all, 138 Acts of Attainder were passed, although 46 were eventually wholly or partially repealed.
• Bonds were written obligations where the aristocrat agreed to pay a penalty if certain conditions set by the King were not met.
• Recognizances usually involved a previous debt or misconduct towards the King, with the aristocrat signing an obligation promising to behave him-self in future.
• There was a very considerable fine for breaking the terms of the recognizance.
• Two thirds of the aristocracy were placed under the supervision of the crown one way or another from 1485 - 1509.
• Many of these cases were probably exaggerated or completely fabricated.
• Henry's priority was to have the nobility answerable to him and completely under his direct control.
• Dudley and Epsom, his chief tax collectors, confessed before their execution by Henry VIII, that the King wished "to have many persons in his danger at his pleasure".
• Notable nobles who fell under this sort of direct supervision included Lord Stanley, Lord Dacre and Lord Clifford.
• The King would often preside over the hearings in person and on some occasions he would cross-examine the accused himself.
• John Guy maintains that Henry VII's policy was "politically necessary" but "morally dubious".
• David Loades maintains that Henry VII introduced nothing new, stating that he rebuilt the foundations of the royal authority, using, as it were, the same bricks as his predecessors, but in a different order.
• J R Lander insists that Henry VII had to be ruthless, otherwise, "how else could Henry VII control such a mob of aloof, self-interested magnates?"