Royal Justice and the Making of the Tudor Commonwealth, 1485–1547

Sheds new light on the relationship between Crown and society at the dawn of the Tudor regime.

Laura Flannigan (Author)

9781009371360, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 16 November 2023

322 pages
23.4 x 15.9 x 2.3 cm, 0.61 kg

The dawn of the Tudor regime is one of most recognisable periods of English history. Yet the focus on its monarchs' private lives and ministers' constitutional reforms creates the impression that this age's major developments were isolated to halls of power, far removed from the wider populace. This book presents a more holistic vision of politics and society in late medieval and early modern England. Delving into the rich but little-studied archive of the royal Court of Requests, it reconstructs collaborations between sovereigns and subjects on the formulation of an important governmental ideal: justice. Examining the institutional and social dimensions of this point of contact, this study places ordinary people, their knowledge and demands at the heart of a judicial revolution unfolding within the governments of Henry VII and Henry VIII. Yet it also demonstrates that directing extraordinary royal justice into ordinary procedures created as many problems as it solved.

Introduction. Part I. The New Justice System: Chapter 1. The principle and problem of justice
Chapter 2. Conciliar justice at centre and periphery
Chapter 3. 'Travailing between the prince and petitioners': the court of requests
Part II. Seeking and Requesting Justice: Chapter 4. Geography and demography
Chapter 5. Disputes and dispute-resolution
Chapter 6. 'Your poor orator': petitioning the king
Part III. Delivering and Contesting Justice: Chapter 7. Before the king's honourable council
Chapter 8. Answers and arguments
Chapter 9. 'A final peax': passing judgment
Conclusion. Justice and the Tudor Commonwealth.

Subject Areas: British & Irish history [HBJD1]