Faction in Tudor England

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Faction in Tudor England
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Council vs. Court

• Council

Where is power?
1529
1536
1540
1509
Court
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Sir Thomas More

• You often boast that you have the Kings ear and
  often have fun with him, freely according to your
  whims. This is like having fun with tamed lions
  often it is harmless, but just as often there
  is fear of harm. Often he roars in rage for no
  known reason, the fun becomes fatal.

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What is faction? Key Words
PATRONAGE
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What is faction?

• a small organised dissentient group within a
  larger one, especially in politics OED
• Why was there faction in Tudor England?
• Write a paragraph explaining your thoughts
  also, think what the most significant factor
  was.
• It is useful to think of faction at court as a
  pyramid, but for the relation between faction at
  the centre and faction at the provinces an
  organic simile is better. The analogy is with
  the plant whose root system spreads over a wide
  area but concentrates on a single stem. Indeed
  this picture is an apt one faction, like the
  plant, depended on two way traffic and support
  from the localities, like water and minerals from
  the roots, and honours and offices from the
  centre, as the products of photosynthesis from
  the sun of royal favour. Ives

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Factional politics in Tudor England?
Faction-dominated
H7
H8
ElizabethI
EDVI
Mary
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What factors influence faction?

• Patronage and influence over localities
• Role of monarch
• Personal monarchy
• Political climate
• Court vs. council?
• Rise of gentry?
• Role of Nobility?

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Ives

• Pp. 18-19
• What kinds of faction does Ives describe? Would
  you say that any of these predominate in Henrys
  kingship?

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Factional politics in Henry VIIIs reign?
Faction-dominated
1509
1526
1529
1536
1540
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Activity - Murphy

• Role play faction in 1530s, if works!
• What have we learned from this?

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Henry VIII and faction

• Where does Henry VIII fit into all this?
• Would you agree with Ives It is hard to avoid
  the conclusion that in the management of faction
  we do not have a case of like father, like
  daughter. Henry appears more a victim of the
  system than its master.

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The role of faction

• Ives argues
• It is clear that study of faction leads not only
  to an understanding of what is a distinct social
  and political reality, hitherto largely ignored,
  but to a consequent revision of the accepted
  perspective of sixteenth century history. In the
  past emphasis has been on the policy and
  character of the rulers, the aims of government,
  constitutional development, foreign affairs and
  religion, all set in a context of social and
  economic movement. We must now recognise that
  domestic faction provides the political and
  social circuitry which links these components
  together.

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The study of Henry VIII and government

• What approaches are there to studying Henry VIII?
• What factors affect the way in which we study
  Henry VIII, and, indeed history?
• Which way do you think is most valid, why?
• Read Randell for Wednesday please