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1350–1550 How did nation-states develop in this period? 71

A Gold Coin of Ferdinand and Isabella This large gold coin, known as the

“double excelente,” was issued by the Seville mint in 1475, one year after Isabella
had become queen in her own right of Castile and Ferdinand had become king
because he was her husband. (Ferdinand would become king of Aragon in 1479
when his father died.) The front (right) shows the royal couple both seated on
thrones, wearing crowns and holding scepters, conveying the idea that the
marriage was the union of two equal rulers. The back (below) depicts an eagle
with a halo and their coats of arms, more symbols of power. Minting coins
provided a way for Renaissance monarchs to enhance their economies
and also to show royal might and communicate other messages.
and also to show royal might and communicate other messages.
(© Fitzwilliam Museum/Bridgeman Images)

Europe. His son Louis XI (r. 1461–1483) improved
Europe. His son Louis XI (r. 1461–1483) improved
upon Charles’s army and used it to control the nobles’
upon Charles’s army and used it to control the nobles’
Uncorrected proofs have been used in this sample.
separate militias and to curb urban independence. The
separate militias and to curb urban independence. The
Copyright © Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers.
army was also employed in 1477 when Louis conquered
army was also employed in 1477 when Louis conquered
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers.
Burgundy upon the death of its ruler Charles the Bold.
Burgundy upon the death of its ruler Charles the Bold.
Three years later, the extinction of the house of Anjou
Three years later, the extinction of the house of Anjou
with the death of its last legitimate male heir brought
with the death of its last legitimate male heir brought
For review purposes only. Not for redistribution.
Louis the counties of Anjou, Bar, Maine, and Provence.
Louis the counties of Anjou, Bar, Maine, and Provence.
Two further developments strengthened the French
monarchy. The marriage of Louis XII (r. 1498–1515) Welsh house of Tudor worked to restore royal prestige,
and Anne of Brittany added the large western duchy of to crush the power of the nobility, and to establish order
Brittany to the state. Then King Francis I and Pope Leo X and law at the local level. All three rulers used methods
reached a mutually satisfactory agreement about church that Machiavelli himself would have praised — ruth-
and state powers in 1516. The new treaty, the Concordat lessness, efficiency, and secrecy. Edward IV and sub-
of Bologna, approved the pope’s right to receive the first sequently the Tudors, except Henry VIII, conducted
year’s income of newly named bishops and abbots in foreign policy on the basis of diplomacy, avoiding
France. In return, Leo X recognized the French ruler’s expensive wars. Thus the English monarchy did not
right to select French bishops and abbots. French kings have to depend on Parliament for money, and the
thereafter effectively controlled the appointment and Crown undercut that source of aristocratic influence.
thus the policies of church officials in the kingdom. Henry VII did summon several meetings of Parlia-
ment in the early years of his reign, primarily to con-
England firm laws, but the center of royal authority was the royal
council, which governed at the national level. Henry VII
English society also suffered severely from the disor- revealed his distrust of the nobility through his appoint-
ders of the fifteenth century. The aristocracy dom- ments to the council: though not completely excluded,
inated the government of Henry IV (r. 1399–1413) very few great lords were among the king’s closest advis-
and indulged in disruptive violence at the local ers. Instead he chose men from among the smaller land-
level, fighting one another, seizing wealthy travelers owners and urban residents trained in law. The council
for ransom, and plundering merchant caravans (see conducted negotiations with foreign governments and
“Fur-Collar Crime” in Chapter 1 ). Population contin- secured international recognition of the Tudor dynasty

ued to decline. Between 1455 and 1471 adherents of through the marriage in 1501 of Henry VII’s eldest son,
the ducal houses of York and Lancaster contended for Arthur, to Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of Ferdi-
control of the Crown in a civil war, commonly called nand and Isabella of Spain. The council dealt with real
the Wars of the Roses because the symbol of the York- or potential aristocratic threats through a judicial off-
ists was a white rose and that of the Lancastrians a red shoot, the Court of Star Chamber, so called because of
one. The chronic disorder hurt trade, agriculture, and the stars painted on the ceiling of the room. The court
domestic industry. Under the pious but mentally dis- applied methods that were sometimes terrifying: accused
turbed Henry VI (r. 1422–1461), the authority of the persons were not entitled to see evidence against them,
monarchy sank lower than it had been in centuries. sessions were secret, juries were not called, and torture
The Yorkist Edward IV (r. 1461–1483) began estab- could be applied to extract confessions. These procedures
lishing domestic tranquility. He succeeded in defeating ran directly counter to English common-law precedents,
the Lancastrian forces and after 1471 began to recon- but they effectively reduced aristocratic troublemaking.
struct the monarchy. Edward, his brother Richard III When Henry VII died in 1509, he left a country at peace
(r. 1483–1485), and Henry VII (r. 1485–1509) of the both domestically and internationally, a substantially

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