The Household of James IV, 1488-1513 William Rendall
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Glasgow Theses Service Hepburn, William Rendall (2013) The household of James IV, 1488- 1513. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/5249/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] 1 The Household of James IV, 1488-1513 William Rendall Hepburn Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Humanities College of Arts University of Glasgow September 2013 2 Abstract This thesis examines the household of James IV and the people within it. It is the first dedicated study of the royal household in this reign, which contemporaries and historians agree was a high water mark for the Scottish court. Chapter 1 explores the historiography of the court in the fifteenth and sixteenth century and the distinction between the terms ‗court‘ and ‗household‘. The household was defined by the rules and structures it brought to the world of the court, and those people who served and received rewards according to them, whereas the court was defined as the space around the king and those who occupied it. Chapter 2 considers the forms of structure that the household brought to the court in more detail. The household had two main definitions. In its wider form, expressed by the bill of household from 1508, it encompassed any man of the social standing of gentleman or above, all of whom were theoretically entitled to the king‘s hospitality at court, as well as a long list of specified officers, servants and individuals sorted into groups which included the king‘s council, chapel royal and officers of arms. Across these definitions and sub-divisions, the household was also ordered according to hierarchy, and this ordering both respected forms of hierarchy in society more broadly, whilst offering opportunities to rise in status, at least in the environment of the court, through household service. Chapter 3 compares this blueprint of the household to the evidence for actual attendance and service at court by members of the household. It shows that the bill of household reflected those who were at court on or near the time it was written, but that the frequency and duration of their attendance varied according to seasons and events, and on a day-to-day basis because of the itinerant movements of the court. It also suggests that household officers operated within broadly defined areas, and that the area they operated in was not necessarily dictated by the office they held. Chapter 4 shows that there was more to life at court for members of the household than just providing service to the king. Members of the household were differentiated by the variety of rewards they could receive, and they could seek advantage for members of their family. The court was also a centre for events that promoted social integration whilst maintaining hierarchical divisions. Chapter 5 looks at some of the ways 3 the household had an effect on the world beyond the physical confines of the court. The wider impact of the household, or, at least, the idea of the household, can be detected in the rental of royal lands and the holding of non- household offices by members of the household, as well as the use of language in documents in the Register of the Great Seal, which also shows how an individual could be associated with the household without being formally attached to it.The household, then, gave structure to, and its members were physically at the core of, the court of James IV, and it provided a framework for day-to-day interaction outside of the formal business of institutions of government such as parliament, council and exchequer. It was an influence on the lives of its members both inside and outside the court. 4 Table of Contents Abstract ...................................................................................... 2 Table of Contents .......................................................................... 4 Acknowledgements ......................................................................... 6 Author‘s Declaration ....................................................................... 7 Conventions and Abbreviations ........................................................... 8 Chapter 1 - Introduction: Court and Household in Scotland and Europe ........... 9 Scotland and Europe in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries ............... 10 Princely Courts ....................................................................... 14 The Court of James IV ............................................................... 21 Court and Household ................................................................ 28 Sources ................................................................................ 39 Conclusion ............................................................................. 45 Chapter 2 - The Structure of the Household: Definitions, Sub-divisions and Hierarchies ................................................................................. 47 Definitions ............................................................................. 48 Sub-divisions .......................................................................... 59 Hierarchy .............................................................................. 69 Conclusion ............................................................................. 79 Chapter 3 - Attendance and Service in the Household at Court .................... 80 The Treasurer‘s Accounts as Evidence for the Attendance of Household Servants ............................................................................... 81 Service in Government and the Bill of Household as a Descriptive Source .. 88 The Household and the Itinerant, Seasonal and Occasional Court ............ 94 Duties and Activities in the Household........................................... 102 Conclusion ............................................................................ 114 Chapter 4 - Lives at Court ............................................................... 116 The Composition of the Household ............................................... 117 Family and Connections ............................................................ 125 The Rewards Available to Members of the Household ......................... 132 Entertainment and Spectacle ..................................................... 140 Relationships with the King ........................................................ 145 Conclusion ............................................................................ 155 Chapter 5 - Household, Court and Kingdom .......................................... 156 Members of the Household as Crown Tenants and Non-household Office- holders ................................................................................ 160 The Language of Household in the Register of the Great Seal ............... 172 5 Conclusion ............................................................................ 192 Conclusion ................................................................................. 194 Appendices ................................................................................ 199 Appendix 1: Fees and Allowances ................................................ 199 Appendix 2: Cloth and Clothing ................................................... 211 Bibliography ............................................................................... 220 Manuscripts .......................................................................... 220 Printed Primary Sources............................................................ 221 Secondary Sources .................................................................. 224 Theses ................................................................................ 237 Reference Works .................................................................... 238 6 Acknowledgements This PhD, and the MLitt that preceded it, were funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Without funding it would have been very difficult to carry out this research, and I am very grateful for this support. The academic community at Glasgow and beyond provided a stimulating and friendly context in which to carry out this research. My fellow students offered a forum for scholarly discussion, a social outlet and a sense of shared experience, none more so than Marie-Louise Leonard, whose friendship made the difficulties of the PhD easier and the escapes from it more fun. I owe thanks to many members of staff at Glasgow for the help and encouragement they have given me over the course of this thesis, but most of all to my two supervisors. I am privileged to have been supervised by Dauvit Broun, whose perceptive and generous nature benefited me enormously at crucial moments in the researching and writing of this thesis, especially during the final stages. Graeme Small, my principal supervisor, has helped me in too