| Popis: |
This chapter explores three concentric elements within the political structure of early Tudor England: the individual in society, the county and, finally, the broader ‘Tudor State’. These features will be examined in a biographical manner through the lives and careers of two members of the same Somerset gentry family: Sir Amias Paulet (c. 1457–1538) and his son, Sir Hugh (c. 1500–73), of Hinton St George, near Crewkerne in the south of the county. What stands out about the Paulets is their continuity within the county from the beginning of Henry VII’s reign to the end of Henry VIII’s. In many ways, the Paulets were a typical gentry family, with father and son experiencing similar careers. Amias and Hugh were both lawyers at Middle Temple, London, with Amias acting as treasurer in 1520 and 1521; both were involved in county administration as both sheriff and justice of the peace (JP); both were members of parliament (MPs); both were involved as soldiers during England’s wars with France (in 1512–13 and 1544–46 respectively) and in suppressing rebellions in the south-west (in 1497 and 1549 respectively); finally, both married well into prominent and wealthy south-west families. But what marks the family apart is their ubiquity within county affairs and their political progress throughout the entire Tudor period; they navigated their way through particularly troubled waters but seemed to weather each storm and ultimately profited from their loyalty to their monarch. |
