Kingship in the Middle Ages: politics, thought and evolution in England, 1422-1509

Norton, Sarah (2023) Kingship in the Middle Ages: politics, thought and evolution in England, 1422-1509. Doctoral thesis (PhD), Manchester Metropolitan University.

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Abstract

In fifteenth century England, there were significant changes to the way kingship operated and was viewed. The king’s status was reduced and the sacrality of his office damaged. This was not a result of the Wars of the Roses alone. The role of the people within politics grew, and ideas about elective and meritocratic kingship became popular, affecting the strength of the English crown. It is the argument of this thesis that such ideas were imported from the continent. Although it is generally believed that humanism was absent from England until the sixteenth century, it appears to have been present and influencing existing ideologies in England from the 1430s. The most prominent of these was commonwealth ideology. Under humanist influence, commonwealth ideology in England grew to be a powerful political tool, used by politicians and commonality alike. The commonwealth appears to have been viewed as the foundation of kingly power. As this thesis argues, ideas about conciliar and elective kingship in favour of the commonwealth temporarily took precedence over divine right and hereditary monarchy. At the same time, there was a rise in populism, and even the lowest members of society believed they had a role in endorsing and validating kingship. Henry VII quickly set about restoring the divinity of the monarchy after he took the throne, but between c.1437 and 1485, kingship was defined not by divinity, but by service to the commonwealth. This thesis therefore brings the date of humanism in England forward, showing that it was present long before the sixteenth century. It also shows the role of the people within politics, highlights the brief period where ideas of populism and commonwealth were pre-eminent, and shows how kingship evolved during a time of civil unrest and political upheaval.