Crown Servants

· Enhancing the power of the monarch they are serving

· Wolsey and Cromwell came from humble beginnings

o Reliant on Henry to keep their power

· Wolsey

o Son of an Ipswich butcher

o In 1509 he became an almoner (someone who distributed money to the poor)

o He became a member of the king’s council in the same year

o Pleased the king through the war effort against France 1512-14

o 1514 – Wolsey made archbishop of York

o 1515 – Wolsey made cardinal and Lord Chancellor

o 1518 – Wolsey made legate a latere

o From 1525 his relationship with the king started to unravel

§ Unable to secure a divorce for Henry

o 1529 – outlived his use to the king and charged with praemunire

· Cromwell

o Self-made man

o Son of a cloth maker

o Served as a soldier in the French army

o Learned accountancy and law

o 1516 – working for Wolsey

o 1523 – became an MP

o When Wolsey fell from power, Cromwell recovered quickly

o 1531 – member of Henry’s Council

o Strong religious convictions

o Cromwell had enemies at court

o Reliant on Henry’s support

o The marriage to Anne of Cleves was a mistake – angered Henry

· Henry’s relationship with his chief ministers was dictated by his personality and style of rule

· Wolsey’s successes

o Organisational abilities

§ Allowed Henry to afford foreign war and then play international peacemaker

o New form of taxation – the subsidy

§ Allowed Henry to collect more taxation from his subjects.

o Attempted legal, social and economic reform

o Prosecuted in Star Chamber local officials who were accused of corruption

§ Used it at the court of Chancery to encourage ordinary men to seek justice for their grievances

§ 1517-18 launched a national enquiry to investigate illegal enclosure

· Wolsey’s failures

o Personality and ambition led to criticism

o He held multiple positions in the church

§ Used the profits from these positions to live a grand lifestyle

o Backlog in the Star Chamber

o He used his position to prosecute personal feuds

o Upset the landed gentry and nobility

o Amicable grant

· Wolsey and Henry VIII

o As long as he fulfilled the king's wishes, he remained in power

o Contemporary critics say that Wolsey only prosecuted the nobility because he resented them for the power that they had in their own right

· Cromwell and parliament

o By passing Acts of Parliament, the break from Rome was made legal under English law

o Cromwell exploited the anti-clerical feeling in parliament

o 1533- Act of restraint of appeals

· Cromwell’s role in government and fall from power

o The dissolution of the monasteries caused a massive rebellion

o Fell from power because of the marriage to Anne of Cleves

o He had been protecting protestants accused of heresy

	Created by Holly Dodds almost 8 years ago

These are my notes I have taken from the textbook on monarchy and government - formats a bit dodgy as its copied from word