Changes in governance at the centre - Key Terms

Paper 3: Rebellion and disorder under the Tudors, 1485-1603. By Alison Gundy. Series editor: Rosemary Rees.

Patronage

The distribution of land, offices or favours, through direct access either to the monarch or to their chief ministers.

The Eltham Ordinances

Reforms that proposed a smaller Council of 20 men who would travel with the king. It was also an attempt to reduce the number of ‘hangers-on’ around the king and thus reduce the size and cost of the Household. Although the Ordinances were presented as a cost-cutting measure, in reality it was another attempt by Wolsey to restrict access to the king and control the political influence of those close to him in the Chamber.

The dry stamp

An embossed stamp was made of the king’s signature. This could be stamped onto documents; the signature could then be inked in. Possession of the dry stamp could give the holder considerable power over aspects of government such as grants of land, offices and titles.

Faction

An informal group of people at Court who had similar aims or ideas. Factions would seek to influence the monarch by gaining positions which allowed access to their ruler. Factions became increasingly common with the religious and political upheavals of the 1520s and 1530s. They often formed around key individuals with particular religious beliefs; in the 1530s and 1540s, historians often refer to a ‘conservative’ faction which sought a return to Catholicism and Rome, and a ‘reformer’ faction which worked for more religious change.

Seal

Tudor documents were made official by the use of a wax seal. Hot wax would be poured into a mould to create a design when the wax cooled. A seal also gave a measure of security for secret or controversial instructions. When the seal was broken, it would be obvious that the document had been read. There were a variety of seals which represented different institutions of government. The monarch had their own privy (private) seal; the keeper of this seal could therefore wield great power. The Lord Chancellor had control of the great seal. The fact that the Council also acquired its own seal suggests that it was becoming an important institution of government in its own right.

Act of Attainder

A medieval innovation that allowed a king to declare someone guilty by Act of Parliament without the need to put them on trial. Under an Act of Attainder, all property of the accused was declared forfeit. This was a particularly powerful political weapon, and Henry VII used it against his Yorkist enemies and those who plotted against him. Acts of Attainder were reversible and Henry used this as a way to control those he did not trust; good behaviour could secure a complete or partial reversal of the original Act.

Purgatory

In the doctrine of the Catholic Church, it was believed that Purgatory was the intermediate place that existed between Heaven and Hell. It was believed that most people’s souls would go to Purgatory on their deaths. As the name implies, Purgatory was where a soul was ‘purged’: the soul would undergo purification until it was pure enough to go to Heaven. Purgatory was not supposed to be a pleasant place for the soul, which was why prayers for the souls of the dead were so important in shortening the time a soul spent being purified.

Humanist

Humanist thought emerged in Europe in the later Middle Ages as part of the Renaissance (the ‘rebirth’ of education and thinking). Humanists such as Desiderus Erasmus did not want to break from the Catholic Church, but they were often critical of the superstition, wealth and corruption within the Church. They argued that the Church needed to be reformed from within.

Indulgences

A document that could be bought from Church officials, it offered forgiveness for sins and promised to decrease the amount of time that a soul would spent in Purgatory.

Sanctuary

Under English law, anyone accused of a crime could seek sanctuary in a church. This meant that they were protected by the Church from arrest by the authorities. Someone seeking sanctuary could take advantage of this arrangement for 40 days. After this time, they had to give themselves up to the authorities for trial or confess that they were guilty and leave England. Henry VII claimed the right to override this law when the accused person had committed treason (the most serious crime).

Benefit of clergy

Any criminal who could prove that they were a member of the clergy could be tried in a Church court rather than a royal court and avoid harsher punishments.

Anticlericalism

Dislike or criticism of the Church and its clergy. Anticlerical sentiment can be found as early as the 14th century; it was not new in the reign of Henry VIII. Although anticlericalism did pave the way for the growth of Protestantism, it was possible to be a member of the Roman Catholic Church, yet be critical of it.

Annulment

The annulment of a marriage means that the marriage was never valid in law. It is different from a divorce, which ends a marriage which has broken down, but was legal to begin with.

Annates

Payments that churchmen made to Rome when they were appointed to a new position in the Church.

Convocation

The Church’s own version of parliament, which included representatives of local parish clergy plus bishops. Convocation was split into a lower and upper house, and was responsible for deciding how much tax the Church should pay to the monarchy and for making its own canon (Church) laws. The power of the Convocation was attacked by Henry VIII in the 1530s.

Statute law

Written law, rather than accepted custom or tradition. It can only be passed by the law-making body; in Tudor England, this was parliament.

Proclamation

A command issued by the monarch that was then relayed across the country by messengers, often when parliament was not in session. It was accepted that proclamations would be obeyed, but they carried less weight than statute law. It was common for proclamations to be turned into statue law when parliament next met.

The Books of Common Prayer, 1549 and 1552

Thomas Cranmer wrote both Books of Common Prayer. These set out the liturgy (wording) to be used in all Church services. The use of the Prayer Books was enforced by statute law.

Real presence

The Catholic belief that the actual presence of Christ existed in the bread and wine. This was made possible through transubstantiation.

Puritan

The word was originally a term of abuse. Puritans saw the Reformation of the Church as incomplete and wanted further reform. They tended to emphasise the importance of preaching and the Bible.

Royal prerogative

The customary rights and privileges which the Tudor monarchy claimed were due to them. These rights included the right to choose who to marry and to summon and dismiss parliament. More controversially, monarchs also claimed the right to additional financial exactions, which were not controlled by parliament. Henry VII used his royal prerogative to raise money by making demands on his nobility as his tenants (as was his right). Elizabeth used her prerogative to grant monopolies to the highest bidder. The royal prerogative and how far it could be extended was a source of tension between the monarchy and parliament.

Parliamentary bill

A bill could be introduced in the House of Lords or Commons; it would be discussed in both Houses, and if it was agreed by both Houses and the monarch, it would become an Act of Parliament. Bills were often introduced by the government, but could also be introduced as ‘private’ bills by any Member of Parliament.

Petition

This was different from a bill in that it was a document addressed to the monarch, complaining about a particular issue. Petitions could be made within parliament as a way to bring the monarch’s attention to a complaint, but it was up to the monarch to read or listen to the petition and act on it. Using a petition was therefore a less aggressive tactic than introducing a bill, which could alter the law or prerogative.