How Successful Was Henry Vii in Limiting the Power of the Nobility?
Since Henry VIIs reign started on the 22nd August 1485 he adapted many different techniques and ideas so keep his nobility from gaining too much power. Some of these ideas became successful however some didn’t achieve the goal and some even made it worse leaving the nobility with more power. He followed through with new ideas until his death and therefore the end of his reign on the 21st April 1509.
Henry VII was very keen to limit the power of his nobility because he saw the great and powerful nobles as dangerous, he thought that if they had a big enough army they could rise up against him and over throw him, this was a constant worry to Henry as he had risen up and usurped the throne himself. Therefore to avoid the possible danger he tried his very best to limit the power which the nobility had. One way in which he attempted to do this was to keep the nobility to a very small number, this was a successful method as it made it very easy for Henry to keep a close eye on each one and their families to make sure they wasn’t planning any revolts which could affect Henry and his hold on the throne. The tight grip allowed Henry to give clear instructions and to make sure they stayed in order and loyal however due to the huge cut in nobles local areas began to suffer due to the fact there was no one there to keep them in order, this led to a breakdown in laws over different towns.
From the beginning Henry wanted to make it clear who was the ultimate ruler and decided that power should be shared out between local governments and the Counsel of socially low-born ministers rather than the noble class which was seen in previous reigns. It was soon made apparent that Henry empowered men with legal training who shared his crown-centred view rather than others, this was due to the fact Tudor felt more secure knowing in the fact his powerful followers believed in what he was doing for the country. However this did not mean that he didn’t want the nobles to be behind him
Henry VII was very keen to limit the power of his nobility because he saw the great and powerful nobles as dangerous, he thought that if they had a big enough army they could rise up against him and over throw him, this was a constant worry to Henry as he had risen up and usurped the throne himself. Therefore to avoid the possible danger he tried his very best to limit the power which the nobility had. One way in which he attempted to do this was to keep the nobility to a very small number, this was a successful method as it made it very easy for Henry to keep a close eye on each one and their families to make sure they wasn’t planning any revolts which could affect Henry and his hold on the throne. The tight grip allowed Henry to give clear instructions and to make sure they stayed in order and loyal however due to the huge cut in nobles local areas began to suffer due to the fact there was no one there to keep them in order, this led to a breakdown in laws over different towns.
From the beginning Henry wanted to make it clear who was the ultimate ruler and decided that power should be shared out between local governments and the Counsel of socially low-born ministers rather than the noble class which was seen in previous reigns. It was soon made apparent that Henry empowered men with legal training who shared his crown-centred view rather than others, this was due to the fact Tudor felt more secure knowing in the fact his powerful followers believed in what he was doing for the country. However this did not mean that he didn’t want the nobles to be behind him