Henry VII Consolidation of Power

Attainders

Special laws passed by Parliament which allowed someone to be declared guilty of treason without going through the process of trial
Henry asked his 1st Parliament to issue attainders against men who had opposed him at the Battle of Bosworth Field
He also reversed attainders of he thought that it would secure loyalty
During his reign, Henry VII passed 138 attainders
During his reign, Henry VII reversed 46 attainders

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Henry VII abandoned Edward IV's policy of distributing lands to loyal followers
He was concerned not to create a new group of nobles who could rise up and become a threat
The number of people classed as nobles fell by 1/4 under his reign
Vacant lands were absorbed into his domain, making him the largest landowner in the country
When he needed royal agents in local communities, he looked to men lower down the social scale as they would be dependent on him for position and status

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Retaining was the practice by which a nobleman kept a large number of men as his personal staff
They could put pressures on tenants or on juries to return the verdicts their master desired
Henry regarded them as lawless
Laws were passed in 1485 and 1504 against illegal retaining
The 1485 Act: Parliament, Lords and Comons had to swear they would not retain illegally
The 1504 Act: nobles were required to obtain a special license from the King before they could retain large numbers of men
Nobles found ways to avoid this - e.g covering up records of wages to servants

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He married Elizabeth of York to establish monarchical authority
By marrying her, he was joining together two opposing families that had caused years of bloodshed
Henry also established authority by concieving his first child (Arthur)
Henry engaged in royal progressions - traditional events which allowed the King to be displayed to the people
The royal progressions meant Henry could visit shrines and set up votive candles to ensure the safe delivery of his child

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Henry used the Church by appealing for papal conformation which he recieved from Pope Innocent VIII
Using the Pope was a smart move as the Pope was deemed almost equally valuable to God himself, thus creating the impression God comfortably acknowledged Henry's rule
Henry made Parliament certify his reign had commenced the day before the Battle of Bosworth Field
This meant he could condemn those that fought against him with treason

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