Society

• There was a significant social change in Henry VIII's reign.
• This change was partly due to a growth in numbers of those engaged in professional and commercial activities and partly because of greater social mobility.
• however, the actual structure of society remained the same, with nobles and greater gentry wielding political and considerable economic influence, while the rural majority experienced little change.
• Henry relied on the landed elites:

  • he gave property and/or titles to nobles so they could exert royal authority in particular areas (E.g. Suffolk was given property in Lincolnshire after the rebellion in 1536)
  • He ensured full support by executing nobles (such as the Duke of Buckingham in 1521) when there was any doubt of loyalty.
  • He conferred knighthoods as a sign of royal favour.
• There were approx. 5000 gentry families in 1540. The gentry provided Henry's JPs and often undertook unpaid administration for the Crown. This group grew due to the increase of land availability following the dissolution of the monasteries. There was also an increase in legal training as it became more highly valued and local administration was increasingly performed by laymen rather than clergymen. Esquires (given a coat of arms) must make £10 PA and have £300 worth of assets.
• • Not to be neglected, however.
• Tudor Society Structure:

  • 4 groups of Society from Thomas Smith’s book in 1583:
  • Gentlemen = Nobility
  • Nobilitas major (parliamentary peerage, land elites, sit in HOL etc…).
  • Nobilitas minor (knights, esquired, gentlemen).
  • Citizens + Burgesses = Gentry
  • People of the cities and towns, middle of Genty’s political world.
  • Some were more superior (London), some less (countryside).
  • Yeomen = Yeomen
  • Middle sort of the countryside.
  • ‘Fourth sort of men’ = Ordinary people
  • No voice or authority.
  • To be ruled over, never to rule.
• Elites:

  • Society saw growth in professionals and merchants but nobility still held considerable power.
  • Peerage slightly increased through natural changes and attainders.
  • New peers rewarded for royal service or relation to the king.
  • Nobles expected to host their affinity but not too extravagantly to avoid suspicion from Henry.
  • Noble households crucial for local influence and raising royal armies.
  • Monarch exerted more control over nobility, holding them accountable for crimes.
  • Henry executed nobles like Buckingham, Courtenay, Countess of Salisbury, and Thomas More.
• Gentry:

  • About 5000 gentrified families by 1540.
  • Knighthoods granted based on royal favour and income.
  • Esquires bore coats of arms with minimum assets and income requirements.
  • Increase in gentry and Justices of Peace.
  • Gentry sought legal careers for social advancement.
  • Laymen increasingly filled local administrative roles post-Break from Rome.
• Commoners:

  • Little dramatic change for commoners.
  • Inflation raised living costs, leading to discontent over the Amicable Grant.
  • Few possessions and limited employment opportunities.
  • Government feared rebellion and disorder among commoners.
• Service Nobility:

  • Thomas Percy: member of the powerful Percy family, beheaded in 1537 for his part in the Pilgrimage of Grace.
  • Henry Courtenay: The Marquis of Exeter, arrested and executed for his role in a rebellion in 1538.
  • John Russell: 1st Earl of Bedford, played a big role in suppressing the major rebellion in the South-west in 1549.
  • Charles Brandon: Duke of Suffolk, raised to the title of Duke of Suffolk in 1514 and married Henry’s sister Mary in 1515.
• Control of the Regions:

  • Tudor Society was hugely divided regionally and by class.
  • Changes in Wales in 1536 with the Laws in Wales Act.
  • Changes in the English palatinates: Lancashire, Cheshire, and Durham.
  • Border Administration in the Anglo-Welsh Border and the Anglo-Scottish Border.
  • The Council in the North re-established as a power base in 1536.
• Social Impact of Religious Upheaval:

  • Monasteries were important to people, and their dissolution led to social consequences.
  • Role of the Justice of the Peace in maintaining control and legality in business arrangements.
• Rebellions:

  • The Amicable Grant Fiasco in 1525.
  • The Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536, largest uprisings in Tudor England.
• Economy:

  • Relatively little happened regarding trade and economy under Henry VIII.
  • Trade increased, cloth trade remained strong, while wool trade declined.
  • Exploration was not a focus for Henry VIII.
  • Economic booms and busts, enclosure, populations, and challenges faced by Henry.
• Pilgrimage of Grace:

  • Lincolnshire uprising (gentry included)
  • 16th October 1536, In Lincolnshire, Yorkshire
  • reaction against speed of religious reforms
  • Reaction against dissolution of monasteries.
  • High taxation!
  • Imposition of magnates
• Causes of the Pilgrimage of Grace:

  • V complex.
  • Break from rome at centre,
  • North impoverished by the rich south,
  • speed of religious reform,
  • dissolution of the monestaries,
  • Forced imposition of Duke of Suffolk as new magnate,
  • fear for parish churches.
  • resentment of taxatoin
• Amicable Grant Fisaco:

  • needed for War with France,
  • not affordable,
  • wolsey's bad decision - GREED
  • 1000 man resistance in Stanstead,
  • 4000 man uprising in Lavenham
  • Henry claimed he was 'unanware' and blamed Wolsey.