English society at the end of the fifteenth century

Nobility

• major landowners they sat in the house of lords but there were a shrinking force within henry’s reign

• Nobility/Peerage: By around 1485, England had 50–60 noble peers (dukes, earls, barons)

• acts of attainders and bonds had limited the power of those disloyal

Gentry

• Knights and esquires—around 375 knights in 1490

• In 1500, estimates include 500 knights and 800 esquires, plus about 5,000 gentlemen (parish gentry)

clergy

• The Church owned about one-third of all land

• Around 35,000 clergy, plus 10,000 monks and nuns

Wool Trade:

• Shift from raw wool export to domestically produced woollen cloth—clothiers organized production across rural homes, shipped through Bristol, London, Europe

Henry VII outlawed retaining

making it illegal for the nobility to maintain private armies or large numbers of retainers without royal permission

in 1486 peers and MPs were required to take an oath against illegal retaining or being illegally retained

in 1487 a law against was established

and it was reinforced by an Act in 1504- a license was requried to retain

peasants/commoners

2 million at the turn of the century

economics

Prices doubled between 1500 and 1540, and doubled again by the early 17th century. By 1550, wheat cost three times what it had in 1300

printing press

introduced by William Caxton in 1476—boosted literacy and circulation of texts

demographics

• Most of England—75% rural,

• Major cities—Norwich, York, Bristol, Exeter, Newcastle each had populations of 8,000–12,000

• london 50k

controlling the nobility

• Henry VII narrowed the peerage to about 50 noblemen and was wary of creating new peerages

• He used attitudes and legislation to restrain nobles: 138 attainders during his reign, with 56 in 1509 alone

• To curb retainers: introduced a 1487 law against retaining, reinforced by a 1504 Act requiring licences; notable case: Lord Burgavenny fined £70,550 in 1506

Yorkshire rebellion

• Caused by resentment over tax to fund Brittany campaign.

• Led to the murder of the Earl of Northumberland in April 1489

cornish rebellion

• Triggered by taxation for the Scottish campaign.

• A more serious threat; rebels marched to London halted at Blackheath

• 1497