english society during henry viii

how did the social hierarchy function? how was this changed in henry vii’s reign?

• was NOT a strict caste system, allowed for a degree of social mobility

• clear social hierarchy, underpinned by the great chain of being → demanded loyalty and obedience, enforced by the social expectations of the church

• under henry’s reign, experienced increased social mobility with ‘new men’ from the gentry and lower nobility finding positions in key governmental roles and increased powers as JPs (profiting off of proximity due to personal monarchy) and nobility experiencing reduced powers from attainders etc

how were the nobility affected by the reign of henry vii?

• experienced a reduction in power and control → henry sought to prevent them becoming overmighty and a threat to the dynasty

• initial extreme threat after victory at bosworth (22nd aug 1485) due to yorkist loyalties → needed to encourage allegiance to new king henry and weaken their control as a preventative measure

  • backdated reign to allow for acts of attainders to be placed, feudal dues, bonds and recognaisances etc

who were the gentry?

• fell below the nobility in the great chain of being, were often great landowners and behaved in a fashion similar to nobility (more applicable to greater gentry)

• important members of the gentry had knighthoods → confirmed social status with title of sir

• often responsible for policing localities

• also included esquires → eldest sons of knights, younger sons of barons etc

how many knights were there in 1490? and later?

pre henry vii → 375 knights

in early stages of henry’s reign formed the order of the garter and 37 new knights

what changes did the nobility experience under henry vii’s reign?

• their military obligations became less significant

• increasingly expected their involvement in policing the localities → i.e. being a JP

  • 18 JPs per county approx

• henry preferred ‘new men’ in government, highly intelligent with a specialised skill set and could be trusted from vested interest in their new social position → indicative of growing social mobility of the gentry

examples of new men

• sir reginald bray → chancellor of the duchy of lancaster, chief financial advisor for the learned council

• richard empson → later in reign responsible for partial leadership of learned council

• edmund dudley → also participated in leadership of learned council

who were the yeomen?

• “middling sort” → farmers who owned and farmed substantial properties, often incredibly successful and wealthy enough to hire labourers to do heavy farming jobs

• benefitted from 1348 black death → decline in population reduced demand for land making it cheaper, able to be bought in large quantities and thus expand their estates

what nickname were yeomen given?

“the peasant aristocracy”

who were the husbandmen?

• fell below yeomen on the social scale

• farmers who kept smaller land and frequently has to supplement their incomes through working for the yeomen or gentry

who were the citizens?

• “middling sort” in cities

• social group primarily of educated professionals i.e. lawyers and wealthy merchants

• lower in the citizen class were: shopkeepers and skilled tradesmen

how did citizens make their money?

• merchants (e.g. merchants of the staple, merchant adventurers) → sold goods

• craftsmen → sold goods they had made for a good price

  • were highly influential and could rise social ranks to sit in high positions in town councils and local government (which would likely earn them prestige and wealth)

what proportion of english people lived in towns?

10% of population lived in towns (urban environment)

how did the citizens class experience change under henry vii?

• became increasingly influential → henry’s reliance on skilled lawyers to rule the country grew throughout the reign and often sought the advice of merchant companies with regards to drafting trading treaties

• experienced growth in both size and strength

what is the approximate population of england during the reign of henry vii?

3 million people

who were the labourers?

• formed the majority of the english population (a little less than 90%)

• employees who performed the heavy labour on farms and in craft shops

what was life like for rural labourers?

• experienced insecure social position → no guarantee they could retain employment in circumstances of bad harvest of dip in price of goods

• typically worked for yeomen or husbandmen or hand involvement in the cloth trade

• usually grazed their own animals and grew vegetables on common ground in order to sustain themselves

what changes did rural labourers experience under the reign of henry vii? why?

• lost common grazing areas from enclosure, now unable to farm own crops or rear own livestock → landowners closed off sections of land to increase production efficiency

what efforts were made to tackle enclosure? success or failure?

• 1489 anti-enclosure law → passed but had little practical effective making it a failure with minimal change enacted

• 1488 husbandry act → any farm over 20 acres should maintain common land → failed

evidence to show extent of enclosure by end of henry vii’s reign

1509 → only 3% land was enclosed

what was life like for urban labourers? any similarities between their lives and rural counterparts?

• typically worked for shopkeepers or tradesmen

• given hardest jobs, longest hours and lowest pay (comparitively) → same as rural labourers

what change could be seen in the labourers demographic?

• increasing amount of labourers were moving to towns/ urban areas AND population was increasing

  • consequence of enclosure

evidence of change to english society

• citizen class growing in size and strength → 10% population

• emergence of growing yeoman class → land cheaper after 1348 BD

• merchants increasingly rich and powerful

• more labourers moving to towns from enclosure (1488 and 1489 acts ineffective)

• increased role for gentry → policing localities, JPs, “new men”

structure of english society in early tudor period