1.5

How was power shared during the Middle Ages?

Kings shared power with nobles and the Church, with nobles holding the most power.

• Changed after 1500

Rise of New Monarchs consolidating power

New monarch consolidated power under themselves taking away power from the nobles and the church

Methods of Control

Top down religious reform, Taxation and Bureaucracy expansion, Determining the religion of subjects, Alliance with commercial and professional groups, and promotion of secular states

Top down religious Reform

Monarchs took control of religion to centralize power.

• Henry VIII: Created Church of England; declared himself Head of State Church.

• Elizabeth I: Act of Uniformity required attendance at Anglican services.

• Mary Tudor: Tried to restore Catholicism.

Taxation and Bureaucracy expansion

• Monarchs centralized tax collection and law enforcement through bureaucracies.

• Examples:
  

  • Spain (Ferdinand & Isabella): National property taxes; large bureaucracy for taxes and justice.

  • France: Similar structure

Concordat of Bologna

An agreement where the pope collected French Church income, but the French king appointed officials.

Determining religion of subjects

Monarchs used religion to control unity and loyalty.

• Only choices being catholic or protestant

Peace of Augsburg

Allowed rulers in the Holy Roman Empire to choose between Catholicism and Lutheranism for their subjects.

Alliance with commercial and professional groups

• Monarchs gained support and resources through alliances with merchants and bankers.

• Examples:

  • Medici Family (Florence): Banking power.

  • Fugger Family (Augsburg): Banking influence in Germany.

How did banking help consolidate monarch power?

It created a strong alliance between monarchs and wealthy banking families.

Promotion of Secular states

Reduced Church influence in politics; monarchs asserted independent authority.

• Debate began in Italy but would be taken up by French, British, and Dutch authors

Examples of promotion of Secular states

Examples:

• Machiavelli (Italy): Advocated republicanism.

• Jean Bodin (France): Supported absolute monarchy via divine right and apposée Machiavelli

Republicanism

government structure in which elected representatives make laws and wield power by the consent of the governed

Divine Right

king ruled under god and defying the king was defying god’s will and that only god was able to judge them

How did Henry VIII use religious reform to consolidate power?

He created the Church of England, declaring himself head of the state church after the pope denied his divorce.

Treason Act under Henry VIII

Made it a capital crime to deny the Church of England as the state church but many folks remain secretly catholic

What did Mary Tudor attempt to do during her reign?

Restore Catholicism in England when she became queen

Elizabeth 1st

ended the persecution of anglican bishops occurring during her predecessor’s reign and steered England back to anglicanism aka protestantism

• Angelica’s church = Church of England

How did Elizabeth 1st of England consolidate power?

1. Top down religious reform

2. Act of uniformity

Act of uniformity

English subjects had to attend anglica church services once a week or pay a fine