Breadth topic 2 – changes in sinews of power
How significant was royal income for the successful expression of political power in late
medieval England
- Royal finances were one of the key challenges
- The crown had a number of sources of income, including land, taxation, customs feudal dues,
pensions, fines and loans
- Financial stability was important for maintains royal authority; the king used this money for a
range of purposes which were central to providing effective government
Routine expenditure
- Maintenance of the king, his family, royal household
- Regular defence costs including the protection of Scottish and welsh borders, Calais and
areas of Ireland
- Administration costs of employing staff in key government departments
Exceptional expenditure
- Finance for key ceremonial costs, including coronations, royal baptisms, wedding ect
- Exceptional defence costs such as money for an invasion or to repel attacks, particularly from
France
Income
- During the period 1399-1509, there was a decline in the traditional incomes enjoyed by the
king, mostly due to the fall in tax receive from wool trade
- This was a serious problem, particularly for Lancastrian kings because of very high defence
costs
o Henry IV had difficulty with rebellions in wales and Scotland
o Henry V had waged a very expensive war with France
Henry V died heavily in debt, jewellery and ships had to be sold to pay back
money to the creditors of the crown
o The most catastrophic reign was of Henry VI due to his own ineptitude and costly
and unsuccessful war with France
By 1433, the accumulated debts of Henry V and Henry VI meant that the
crown was in debt of around £225,000
Rose to £372,000 by 1450
One of the main criticisms of Cade’s rebellions was Henry inadequate
finances
- Edward, took a range of measures to increase the efficiency of the crown lands and to
improve relations with key creditors. He also partook in unpopular measures such as
o Forced loans and gifts to fund the invasion of France
o This was largely successful due to him invading France, using his force not to fight
but as a diplomatic weapon
o This led to the 1475 treaty of Picquiny, which gave Edward an annual some of
£10,000 per annum and an additional sum of £15,000
o By 1483, Edward was the first king to die solvent
- Richard reign from 1483-85 was too short to have significant impact
o He did however pay for his own coronation and £800 to the crown which shows that
he potentially would have been successful in managing crown finances
- Henry VII built on the system used by Edward
o By 1509, Henry has increased his annual royal income by about 40% compared to
Edward
Land
, - Patronage was a crucial demonstration of royal power and granting land was a delicate
matter
- One method of a monarch gaining land was forfeiture; when a a lord or noble was found
guilty of treason he was liable to be executed as well as to give up his land to the crown
o This land could then be used by the crown to generate profit or given to other nobles
Duke of Clarence and Duke of Gloucester both received substantial amounts
of land when Warwick died in 1471
- Acts of attainders could also be passed which meant the land was lost permanently to the
family unless repealed
o Henry VII used lots of acts of attainder or threats of acts of attainder to maintain
control
- When a king did not have land to give away from traitorous nobles another option was to
give away crown land
o This occurred under Henry VI and led to poor funds, acts of resumption was passed
by parliament in late 1450 to try and regain land – Henry then passed 186
exemptions
To what extent was the Duchy of Lancaster an advantage for Henry VI
- When Henry Bolingbroke came to the throne he had substantial lands from the Duchy of
Lancaster
- This was very valuable and in theory was a great benefit to the king as it gave him substantial
source of private income as well as his own retainers
- Henry sought to increase his own popularity by promising to ‘live of his own’
- Under Henry IV the average annual income of the Duchy was £11,000 and of this it
contribute £1,120 per annum to government finances
Duchy of Lancaster under Henry V
- Made various practical decisions which led the average revenue to increase to £13,000 and
of this £4,400 supported government finances
Duchy of Lancaster under Henry VI
- Significant reduction in the annual government income of around £2000
- Other factors that contributed to Henry’s military problems included that Catherine of Valois
would receive 20,000 crowns
- Henry spent lots of his funds from the Duchy on setting up Eton college and King’s College,
Cambridge
What happened to income from Duchy lands after the fall of the House of Lancaster?
- Edward IV claimed the Duchy of Lancaster; took measures to improve effiency and the duchy
brought in around £10,000 per year
- The duchy was less significant for Edward as he negotiated the Treaty of Piquany in 1475
bringing in an additional 10,000 per year
Patronage and resumption
- Act of resumption were passed by parliament to regain lands that had been given away by
previous monarchs
- An act of resumption was passed by parliament in early 1450’s to regain much of the land
Henry had given away – 186 exemptions
- In 1461, when Edward came to the throne he passed another act of resumption which added
further to the crowns wealth and his personal wealth
o Estimated these lands would bring in an additional £30,000 per annum
- In 1485, Henry VII also passed an act of resumption, less wide ranging, however it did gain
significant estates which had belonged to Richard III
o From this Henry revived £42,000 per annum from these properties
o This was largely as a result of having a very small family
