The Early Parliaments of Henry VIII, 1510-1523

McGovern, Jonathan

An administrative study of Henry VIII’s early parliaments (1510 to 1523), which systematically explains and analyses every aspect of parliament in the early sixteenth century.
This book is an administrative study of Henry VIII’s early parliaments (1510 to 1523). It systematically explains and analyses every aspect of parliament in the early sixteenth century, from legislative procedure to the composition of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Some of the matters under discussion include statutory litigation – how parliamentary legislation was actually applied in the king’s courts – and the rules of precedence and inheritance of title in the Upper House. The book’s main purpose is to explain how parliament worked – what parliament did, how it was done and who was involved in doing it. It forms part of a burgeoning academic movement known as the New Administrative History, which seeks to restore a knowledge of administrative processes to its rightful place of importance in the historiography of early modern England. The book will be essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the early history of parliament.