History Publications
Ecclesiastical prisons and royal authority in the reign of Henry VII
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-1-2019
Volume
70
Issue
4
Journal
Journal of Ecclesiastical History
First Page
750
Last Page
766
URL with Digital Object Identifier
10.1017/S0022046918002671
Abstract
After his appointment as chief justice of King's Bench in 1495, John Fyneux pressured the ecclesiastical hierarchy through indictments for escapes which explored which officials had responsibility for the prisons and how they were managed, and thereby successfully asserted the royal right of oversight. By the end of Henry VII's reign his bishops, faced with ruinous fines like other lords, had largely accepted their role as gaolers under royal authority, and thus contributed to the bureaucratisation of the hierarchy which Henry VIII would exploit to such good effect.
Notes
McGLYNN, M. (2019). Ecclesiastical Prisons and Royal Authority in the Reign of Henry VII. The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 70(4), 750-766. doi:10.1017/S0022046918002671