Wolsey's Domestic Policies

• How did Wolsey maintain his own personal wealth and status?

  • His palace at Hampton Court
  • His status as Papal Legate allowed him to travel in full clerical dress accompanies by a procession of clerics, attendants, 2 large silver crosses, a silver mace, the Great Seal of England, and 2 pillars of silver
• How did Wolsey defeat the Duke of Buckingham?

  • Henry had asked Wolsey to keep an eye on several nobles (including Buckingham, Suffolk, Northumberland, Derby and Wiltshire)
  • Henry eventually ordered Buckingham's arrest for treason, where he was tried, found guilty, and executed in 1521
• How did Wolsey make sure he kept in close contact with the King's Court?

  Wolsey had a weekly audience with the King every Sunday and sent frequent letters to the King via the Royal Secretary
• What did Geoffrey Elton state regarding Wolsey's capabilities as a judge?

  'Wolsey gloried in the majesty of a judge, and though he had no legal training, he possessed a remarkable natural ability for the task.'
• What was Wolsey's role in the Court of Chancery?

  He sat as a judge
• When did Wolsey propose a plan to improve the legal system?

  1516
• What did Wolsey's proposed plan to improve the legal system include?

  • To ensure it was more efficient
  • To ensure it provided cheap and fair justice
  • So that the Star Chamber would contain the traditional powers of both the council and the other statutory tribunals
• How did the caseload of the Star Chamber increase?

  From 12 annually to 120 annually under Wolsey
• Which noble was prosecuted as a result of the reformed judicial system?

  Sir Robert Sheffield
• Why was Sir Robert Sheffield prosecuted?

  He was a Royal Councillor and former Speaker of Parliament, who was imprisoned in the Tower of London as an accessory of felony
• What were the failures of the reformed judicial system?

  The system became overworked, resulting in Wolsey establishing overflow tribunals, such as that set up at White Hall in London in 1519, which became the forerunner of the Court of Requests
• How did Wolsey use the reformed judicial system for his own benefit?

  • He overturned common law decisions, used the law to attack those against whom he had a personal grudge, including Sir Amyas Paulet.
  • Wolsey summoned him to appear daily and threatened to confiscate his property if he left London without permission
  • Wolsey abandoned cases where his own position was threatened
• What was the new subsidy that Wolsey introduced?

  • It became the standard parliamentary tax
  • Required tax-payers to give details of their property and income to local officials who then determined how much they should pay
  • Based on a more realistic valuation of wealth and was the first time since 1334 that the crown was raising sums based on accurate assessments
• How many times was the new subsidy (introduced by Wolsey) levied between 1513 and 1515?

  4
• How much did the new subsidy (introduced by Wolsey) raise?

  More than £300,000
• How much did Wolsey raise in 1522 for the war in France?

  Over £250,000
• When was the Act of Resumption?

  1515
• What did the Act of Resumption do?

  Succeeded in restoring some income via crown lands to the King
• How much did Wolsey raise in subsidies throughout his time in power?

  Over £332,000
• How much did Wolsey raise in clerical taxation throughout his time in power?

  £240,000
• How much did Wolsey raise in forced loans throughout his time in power?

  £260,000
• Out of the intended £800,000, how much did the subsidy of 1523 actually raise?

  £300,000
• What rebellion took place in 1525 as a result of the failed Amicable Grant?

  10,000 men assembled in Lavenham in opposition. They were pardoned, and Wolsey himself had to pay the prison expenses and had to stage a display of clemency
• How much money did Henry VIII spend from 1509 and 1520?

  £1.7 million
• How did Wolsey defend the poor?

  Insisted that the laws of 1489 and 1514-1515 against enclosure and engrossing should be obeyed
• What took place during the enclosure commission between 1517 and 1529?

  Legal action was taken against 264 landowners, with 222 brought to court and 188 verdicts reached
• Was social justice Wolsey's priority?

  In 1523, Wolsey was forced to sacrifice whatever gains he had made as he agreed to abandon his enclosure policy for 18 months in return for a large subsidy
• When did Wolsey introduce the Eltham Ordinances?

  1526
• What did the Eltham Ordinances do?

  They aimed to improve the chaotic finances of the Privy Chamber and bring about greater efficiency in the King's household
• How many times was Parliament called during Wolsey's time in power?

  2
• What were the disadvantages of the Eltham Ordinances?

  • Designed to limit the access of others to the King and therefore increase Wolsey's influence and control over government
  • The number of Gentlemen of the Bed Chamber was reduced from 12 to 6, and the more politically active ones removed
• How were Wolsey's relations with the nobility?

  • Tensions between Wolsey and the Howard family
  • Tensions between Wolsey and the Duke of Suffolk
  • Wolsey also interfered with marriage agreements of the nobles
• How did Wolsey reform the lifestyle of the regular clergy?

  • Introduced new statutes for the Benedictine and Augustinian orders
  • Intervened in some monastic elections and removed 4 inappropriate monastic heads
  • Between 1524 and 1529, he dissolved 30 religious houses and used the money to build colleges at Ipswich and Oxford
• In 1519, how many religious houses/cathedral chapters did Wolsey visit?

  60
• How did Wolsey plan to reform the hierarchy of the church?

  By setting up 13 new bishoprics in the secular clergy out of the monastic foundations
• What religious abuses did Wolsey represent?

  • Absenteeism
  • Pluralism (by being Archbishop of York, Bishop of Durham, and Bishop of Winchester)
  • Wolsey was also Abbot of St Albans and made other clergy pay him fees for permission to carry out their duties
  • Gained vast income from probate matters
  • Broke the vow of celibacy by having children
  • Much of the money Wolsey received for the building of colleges was still in his hands in 1529