Henry VII nobility

• The act of attainder was used to confiscate the property of those who had committed treason, in Henry VII’s reign, he had attained 138 men and only reversed 46
• Acts of attainders led to nobles losing their right to possess their land as well as the right to inherit it, the loss of such land spelt economic and social ruin for many. However, attainders were reversible and were thus used by Henry as a sanction for good behaviour
• The use of attainders was effective because good behaviour could result in their reversal and therefore encouraged loyalty as those attained sought to reverse their social and economic decline
• 138 were attained, only 36 were reversed
• Bonds and Recognisances : these were written agreements whereby nobles who offended the King either paid for their offence or paid money as security for future good behaviour.
• Bonds and recognisances were effective as they discourages potentially disloyal nobles as the sums involved reached £10,000 for a peer, e.g Marquess of Dorset ( £100,000 for bad behaviour)
• As with attainders, this policy became more severe as his reign progressed, between 1485-1509, 36 out of the 62 noble families were involved in such agreements
• Another way Henry reduced the power of the nobility was by reducing retaining. This was the nobles’ practice of recruiting followers who formed local fighting forces - when used on the behalf of the King it strengthened Monarchy. This could be abused and used to raise up an army against the King
• Henry restricted retainers to 100 men per nobleman, which meant that he had control over them.
• In 1487, Henry passed a law stating that no one could serve two masters at once, meaning that nobles couldn't hold multiple offices simultaneously. This prevented nobles from having too much power and influence within government
• To reduce retaining, he passed 2 laws, in 1487 and 1504, that meany that you now had to have a license to retain men and fined you £5 for every person illegally retained.
• He even fined his own mother , and also Lord Burgavenny in 1506, it costed him £70,000 ( reducing retainers)
• Although Henry was unable to abolish retaining, the absence from records of any illegal retaining suggests that the policy was partially successful, and helped the King’s financial position
• A peerage is a title granted by the monarchy, and Henry limited the number he created ( only 3 created under him , compared to 9 under Edward IV)
• Because he limited the number of nobility, when he did, the elevation of a peerage was highly valued when it happened
• Past monarchs had often rewarded noble service through the grants of land, but this had created the ‘over mighty subjects’ which factored into the causes of the War of the Roses and diminished the wealth of the crown as it gave away royal land. Henry abandoned this.
• He re established the Order of the Garter. He created 37 Knights of the Garter. This was seen as a great honour for the recipient and was reserved for those who gave excellent service. This was effective as it gave prestige with no power or land
• Every 25 years, 25% of noble families died out , so Henry stopped making more. Because the nobility got smaller, they also got more easier to control. It also meany that he got richer, by absorbing the lands from noble families that died out
• Patronage : the giving of positions of power ; titles and land , etc
• Henry changed the relationship between patronages and the nobles, as previously it was used by monarchs to essentially buy loyalty , and hope it would be given to him. But under Henry, Patronage was now the result of loyal service
• Henry believed patronage wasn't a hereditary right, but a privilege regardless of rank. Upper class had to earn it
• Patronage was usually granted to men who had been loyal both before and after Bosworth such as

  • Earl of Oxford
  • Lord Daubeney ( led royal forces against Cornish revels )
  • Reginald Bray
  • Edmund Dudley

  Last two are examples of men who were not nobles and received Patronage
• King’s Council / Great council

  • Member ship of the King’s council was a sign of great trust, and 5 of his key councillors had supporter him before Bosworth
  • A summons to the Great council was a very clever way to ensure noble support for measures Once a policy has been agreed , the nobility had supported it - making it very hard to criticise the decision.
• He also insisted on Feudal rights to overpower the nobles. The feudal system placed the King at the head of the social ladder and all land was held directly from him by tenants-in-chief, often nobles. In return for this land, they had various obligation, in the same way that their tenants had obligations to them
• He asserted his power over nobility through feudal rights such as Marriage, Wardship, Relief, Livery
• Wardship : When a noble died without an adult son or daughter, the crown took control of the estate until the child came of age. This allowed the crown to exploit the estates during this time , to maximise income
• Relief : A tax paid when someone inherited a title or lands. It was set at £100 per year for life, so the more titles/lands one acquired, the higher the relief fee became
• Marriages

  • The king exploited this so as to profit from arranged marriages of heirs
  • He controlled who married who, no one could marry without his permission, this was to prevent leading magnates marrying great heiresses
  • Fined Katherine Woodville £2000 for getting married without his permission
• Relief = this was payment to the crown ( King) when land was inherited
• Livery = this was a payment to the king to recover land from wardship
• Henry had no close male relatives, who were able to take the throne, he was more focused on nobility ( inevitably)