The Penguin History of Britain: New Worlds, Lost Worlds:The Rule of the Tudors 1485-1630 (66 page)

For Fulke Greville’s musings upon nobility, see ‘A dedication to Sir Philip Sidney’ in
The Prose Works of Fulke Greville, Lord Brooke
, ed. J. Gouws (Oxford, 1986). The most influential scholar of the late medieval nobility was K. B. McFarlane:
The Nobility of Later Medieval England
(Oxford, 1973). For the changing role of the nobility in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, see Laurence Stone’s commanding study,
The Crisis of the Aristocracy, 1558–1641
(Oxford, 1965). C. Carpenter,
Locality and Polity: A study of Warwickshire Landed Society, 1401–1499
(Cambridge, 1992) anatomizes Midland society, with vital conclusions for the whole polity. See also J. M. W. Bean,
From Lord to Patron: Lordship in Late Medieval England
(Manchester, 1989). Important studies of individual families are found in C. Rawcliffe,
The Staffords, earls of Stafford and dukes of Buckingham, 1394–1521
(Cambridge, 1978); M. E. James,
Society, Politics and Culture: Studies in Early Modern England
(Cambridge, 1986); S. Gunn,
Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, c. 1484–1545
(Oxford, 1988); G. W. Bernard,
The Power of the Early Tudor Nobility: A study of the fourth and fifth earls of Shrewsbury
(Brighton, 1985); and
The Tudor Nobility
, ed. G. W. Bernard (Manchester 1992). As a group the nobility are studied by H. Miller,
Henry VIII and the English Nobility
(Oxford, 1986); and the gentry by F. Heal and C. Holmes,
The Gentry in England and Wales, 1500–1700
(Basingstoke, 1994).

A compelling near-contemporary picture of the Gaelic lordships is found in
Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters
, vols. 4–6, ed. J. O’Donovan (Dublin, new edn, 1998). Richard Stanihurst, the Dubliner (1547–1618) gave an account of Gaelic society, and an exploration of why it needed reform, in his chronicles of 1577:
Holinshed’s Irish Chronicle
, ed. Liam Miller and Eileen Power (Dublin, 1979). The political structure of Gaelic Ireland is examined by K. Simms,
From Kings to Warlords: The Changing Political Structure of Gaelic Ireland in the Later Middle Ages
(Woodbridge, 1987) and ‘Gaelic warfare in the Middle Ages’ in
A Military History of Ireland
, ed. T. Bartlett and K. Jeffery (Cambridge, 1996); K. W. Nicholls,
Gaelic and Gaelicised Ireland in the Middle Ages
(Dublin, 1972); and M. O’Dowd,
Power, Politics and Land: Early Modern Sligo, 1568–1688
(Belfast, 1991). The power of the earls of Kildare is studied by S. G. Ellis in
Tudor Frontiers and Noble Power: The making of the British State
(Oxford, 1995). For Henry VII’s constitutional revolution, see B. Bradshaw,
The Irish Constitutional Revolution of the Sixteenth Century
(Cambridge, 1979) and
The Dissolution of the Religious Orders in Ireland under Henry VIII
(Cambridge, 1974); C. Brady, ‘Court, Castle and Country: the Framework of Government in Tudor Ireland’, in
Natives and Newcomers: The making of Irish Colonial Society, 1534–1641
, ed. C. Brady and R. Gillespie (Dublin, 1986) and
The Chief Governors: the rise and fall of reform government in Tudor Ireland, 153 6-1588
(Cambridge, 1994). Reports by the governors on Irish affairs between 1515 and 1547 are found in
State Papers, Henry VIII
, vols. 2 and 3 (London, 1834).

The magisterial and best introduction to English law and the legal system is
The Reports of Sir John Spelman
, ed. J. H. Baker (2 vols., Selden Society, 93–4, 1976–7). For the character of English law, see J. G. A. Pocock,
The Ancient Constitution and the Feudal Law
(Cambridge, 1987 edn). Important general material is found in E. W. Ives,
The Common Lawyers of Pre-Reformation England. Thomas Kebell: A case study
(Cambridge, 1983). For the treason law and those who suffered, see G. R. Elton,
Policy and Police: The enforcement of the Reformation in the Age of Thomas Cromwell
(Cambridge, 1972), Ch. 9. Wyatt’s ‘Defence’ is printed in K. Muir,
The Life and Letters of Sir Thomas Wyatt
(Liverpool, 1963). For the development of equity jurisdiction, see J. A. Guy,
The Cardinal’s Court: The Impact of Thomas Wolsey in Star Chamber
(Hassocks, 1977); A. Fox and J. Guy,
Reassessing the Henrician Age: Human
ism, Politics and Reform, 1500–1550
(Oxford, 1986); and W. J. Jones, The Elizabethan Court of Chancery (Oxford, 1967). Church courts and their jurisdiction are studied in B. L. Woodcock,
Medieval Ecclesiastical Courts in the Diocese of Canterbury
(Oxford, 1952); R. A. Houlbrooke,
Church Courts and the People during the English Reformation, 1520–1570
(Oxford, 1979); and R. M. Wunderli,
London Church Courts and Society on the eve of the Reformation
(Cambridge, Mass., 1981).

For arbitration, see E. Powell, ‘Arbitration and the law in England in the late Middle Ages’,
Transactions of the Royal Historical Society
, 5th series, 33 (1983);
Law and Social Change in British History
, ed. J. A. Guy and H. G. Beale (London, 1984). See also J. G. Bellamy,
Bastard Feudalism and the Law
(London, 1989); and I. Thornley, ‘The Destruction of Sanctuary’ in
Tudor Studies
, ed. R. W. Seton-Watson (London, 1924). For March law, see R. Robson,
English Highland Clans: Tudor Responses to a Mediaeval Problem
(Edinburgh, 1989); R. R. Davies, ‘The Law of the March’,
Welsh History Review
, v (1970); ‘The survival of the Bloodfeud in Medieval Wales’,
History
, liv (1969); ‘The Twilight of Welsh Law, 1284–1536’,
History
, li (1966); and J. Wormald, ‘Bloodfeud, Kindred and Government in Early Modern Scotland’,
Past and Present
, 87 (1980). For brehon law, see K. Nicholls,
Gaelic and Gaelicised Ireland in the Middle Ages
(Dublin, 1972); K. Simms,
From Kings to Warlords
(Woodbridge, 1987); and N. Patterson, Gaelic law and the Tudor conquest of Ireland’,
Irish Historical Studies
, xxvii (1991).

Tudor theories of obligation and of the social order are understood from contemporary treatises; for example,
The Tree of Commonwealth: A treatise written by Edmund Dudley
, ed. D. M. Brodie (Cambridge, 1948); John Cheke,
The Hurt of Sedition, 1549
(reprinted, Menston, 1971); ‘Defence of John Hales’ in
A Discourse of the Common Weal of this Realm of England
, ed. E. Lamond (Cambridge, 1954 edn); and
Humanist Scholarship and Public Order: Two Tracts against the Pilgrimage of Grace by Sir Richard Morison
, ed. D. S. Berkowitz (Washington, 1984).

The most accessible introduction to Tudor rebellions is A. Fletcher and D. MacCulloch,
Tudor Rebellions
(4th edn, London, 1977). See also R. B. Manning,
Village Revolts: social protest and popular dissent in England, 1509–1640
(London, 1988); and G. W. Bernard,
War, Taxation and Rebellion in Early Tudor England
(Brighton, 1986). For ‘Evil May Day’ and London’s disloyalty, see S. Brigden,
London and the Reformation
(Oxford, 1989). For the North, see M. A. Hicks, ‘The Yorkshire Rebellion of 1489 reconsidered’,
Northern History
, 22 (1986); and A. J. Pollard,
North-Eastern England during the Wars of the Roses
(Oxford, 1990). For the divisions in Lincolnshire society in 1536, see M. E. James, ‘Obedience and Dissent in Henrician England: The Lincolnshire Rebellion, 1536’,
Past and Present
, 48 (1970), and S. Gunn’s convincing rejoinder, ‘Peers, Commons and Gentry in the Lincolnshire Revolt of 1536’,
Past and Present
, 123 (1989).

For hierarchies and structures of power, see the essays in
The Experience of Authority in Early Modern England
, ed. P. Griffiths, A. Fox and S. Hindle (Basingstoke, 1996); and S. Hindle, ‘The Problem of Pauper Marriage in Seventeenth-Century England’,
Transactions of the Royal Historical Society
, 6th series, 8 (1998); for bondmen and their manumission, see D. MacCulloch, ‘Bondmen under the Tudors’ in
Law and Government under the Tudors
, ed. C. Cross, D. Loades and J. J. Scarisbrick (Cambridge, 1988).

For women in English society, see S. Amussen,
An Ordered Society: Gender and Class in Early Modern England
(Oxford, 1988); and
Women in English Society, 1500–1800
, ed. M. Prior (London, 1985).

For Henry VIII’s policy towards Scotland, see
State Papers, Henry VIII
, vol. 4 (London, 1836). For the possibility of uniting the kingdoms, see
Conquest and Union: Fashioning a British State, 1485–1726
, ed. S. G. Ellis and S. Barber (London, 1995);
The British Problem
c.
1534–1707: State Formation in the Atlantic Archipelago
, ed. B. Bradshaw and J. Morrill (Basingstoke, 1996); and
Scotland and England, 1286–1815
, ed. R. A. Mason (Edinburgh, 1987).

Edward’s personality and political concerns are still best discovered in
The Literary Remains of King Edward the Sixth
, ed. J. G. Nichols (London, 1857). For his political education, see
The Chronicle and Political Papers of Edward VI
, ed. W. K. Jordan (London, 1966) and
Sermons and Remains of Hugh Latimer
, ed. G. E. Corrie. (2 vols., Parker Society, Cambridge, 1844, 1845). Original letters of Edward and Mary’s reigns are printed in P. F. Tytler,
England under the Reigns of Edward VI and Mary
(2 vols., London, 1839); J. Strype,
Ecclesiastical Memorials, relating chiefly to religion under King Henry VIII, King Edward and Queen Mary I
(3 vols., Oxford 1822); and
The Letters of William, Lord Paget of Beaudesert, 1547–63
, ed. B. L. Beer and S. Jack (Camden miscellany, xxv, Camden Society, 4th series, 13, 1974). Important studies of Edward’s reign are W. K. Jordan,
Edward VI: the Young King
(London, 1968) and
Edward VI: the Threshold of Power
(London, 1970); M. L. Bush,
The Government Policy of Protector Somerset
(London, 1975); D. Hoak,
The King’s Council in the Reign of Edward VI
(Cambridge, 1976); and
The Mid-Tudor Polity
, c.
1540–1560
, ed. J. Loach and R. Tittler (London, 1980).

For economic problems, and attempts to solve them, see
A Discourse of the Common Weal of this Realm of England
, ed. E. Lamond (Cambridge, 1954 edn);
Agrarian History of England and Wales
, vol. 4,
1500–1640
, ed. J. Thirsk (Cambridge, 1967); D. M. Palliser,
The Age of Elizabeth: England under the later Tudors, 1547–1603
(London and New York, 1983); and C. E. Challis,
The Tudor Coinage
(Manchester, 1978). The rebellions of 1549 have been described in B. L. Beer,
Rebellion and Riot: Popular disorder in England during the reign of Edward VI
(Kent, Ohio, 1982); Julian Cornwall,
The Revolt of the Peasantry, 1549
(London, 1977). S. T. Bindoff,
Kett’s Rebellion
(London, 1949) and D. MacCulloch, ‘Kett’s rebellion in context’,
Past and Present
, 84 (1979) illumine East Anglian society.

Autobiographical accounts by evangelicals are found in
Narratives of the Days of the Reformation
, ed. J. G. Nichols (Camden Society, 1st series, 77, London, 1859). The advance of evangelical religion and the political manoeuvrings are explored in D. MacCulloch,
Thomas Cranmer
(New Haven and London, 1996) and S. Brigden,
London and the Reformation
(Oxford, 1989).
Beware the Cat, by William Baldwin: The First English Novel
ed. W. A. Ringler and M. Flachmann (San Marino, 1988). For the crisis of 1553, see
The Chronicle of Queen Jane and Queen Mary
, ed. J. G. Nichols (Camden Society, 1st series, 48, 1850);
Vita Mariae Angliae Reginae
, ed. D. MacCulloch (Camden Miscellany, xxviii, Camden Society, 4th series, 29, 1984); and M. Levine,
Tudor Dynastic Problems, 1470–1571
(London, 1973).

For Mary, see D. M. Loades,
The Reign of Mary Tudor: Politics, Government and Religion in England, 1553–1558
(London, 1979) and
Mary Tudor: A Life
(Oxford, 1989). For her council and privy chamber, see
Revolution Reassessed: Revisions in the History of Tudor Government and Administration
, ed. C. Coleman and D. Starkey (Oxford, 1986); and S. Gunn, ‘A Letter of Jane, Duchess of Northumberland in 1553’,
English Historical Review
, cxiv (1999). The opposition to the Spanish marriage is studied in
A Machiavellian Treatise by Stephen Gardiner
, ed. P. S. Donaldson (Cambridge, 1975); E. H. Harbison,
Rival Ambassadors at the Court of Queen Mary
(London, 1940); D. M. Loades,
Two Tudor Conspiracies
(Cambridge, 1965); and J. Procter, ‘The History of Wyatt’s Rebellion’ in
Tudor Tracts
, ed. A. F. Pollard (London, 1903).

For the restoration of the Catholic religion, see J. Loach,
Parliament and the Crown in the Reign of Mary Tudor
(Oxford, 1986); E. Duffy,
The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England, 1400–1580
(New Haven and London, 1992); R. Pogson, ‘Reginald Pole and the priorities of government in Mary Tudor’s Church’,
Historical Journal
, xviii (1975); and M. Aston,
England’s Iconoclasts
(Oxford, 1988). The martyrs are chronicled and celebrated by John Foxe in
Acts and Monuments
, ed. G. Townsend, vols. 6–8 (London, 1846–9); see also D. M. Loades,
The Oxford Martyrs
(London, 1970). For theories justifying resistance, see J. Ponet,
A Short Treatise of Politic Power
(Menston, 1970); Q. R. D. Skinner,
The Foundations of Modern Political Thought
, vol. 2,
The Age of Reformation
(Cambridge, 1978); and
The Cambridge History of Political Thought, 1450–1700
, ed. J. H. Burns (Cambridge, 1991).