Despite the importance of the Privy Council in Tudor England, few historians have closely investigated its operation. This study examines the Council's functioning in educational and social matters. By combining administrative and social history this study provides a better understanding of both the role of the Privy Council in the administration of the realm and the impact of social issues upon the central government. The principal sources used for this study were: The Acts of the Privy Council, the Lansdowne Manuscripts, State Papers Domestic, and the printed calendars of the Historical Manuscripts Commission. / The Marian and Elizabethan Privy Councils exhibited a wide-ranging interest in social matters, but only a limited involvement in educational ones. The councillors attended to issues that varied from the significant to the relatively trivial. They demonstrated concern for the maintenance of a stable society by repressing crime, endorsing the legitimacy of privileges, charters, and contracts, eliminating poverty and starvation, and requiring outward signs of social and religious conformity. The Council was also concerned with justice, such as, encouraging fair trials for criminals and equitable annulment settlements. In addition, it recognized the principle of local responsibility for a variety of matters, including poor relief, public works, and law enforcement. It relied heavily upon local officials, commissions, and subordinate councils for assistance in administering the realm, but made them accountable for their actions. Ironically, despite its attempt to stress local responsibilities, the Council's increasing activities tended to centralize power in its hands. One of the most efficient government institutions in the late Tudor period, the Privy Council attended regularly to social issues, consistently endorsing the principles of social order, justice, and communal responsibility. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-09, Section: A, page: 2858. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75168 |
| Contributors | MOCK, DAVID BENJAMIN., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 302 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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