New men is a term referring to various groups of the socially upwardly mobile in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

during the House of Lancaster, House of York and Tudor periods. The term may refer to the new aristocracy, or the enriched gentry. It is used by some historians when referring to

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Com ...

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

s who held important positions in government, most notably during the reign of Henry VII. In the late Middle Ages social mobility was not generally seen as a good thing, and could be regarded as dangerous to the social order. There had always been social mobility, as the economy expanded continuously, but much of it was in the church, which was more acceptable. In the 15th century the heavy losses from the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

at the top of society, followed in the 16th by much more rapid economic growth and the English Reformation, after which fewer clergy worked in administrative roles, and which liberated in the Dissolution of the Monasteries vast quantities of assets for the agile nobility and gentry to acquire, all worked to greatly increase upwards mobility at the top of society.

Administrators

These new men were most usually lawyers, clerics and financial administrators who had come to the notice of the King and had been granted ministerial positions because of their own skills rather than because of a noble background. Common examples of new men are John Morton,

Richard Foxe Richard Foxe (sometimes Richard Fox) ( 1448 – 5 October 1528) was an English churchman, the founder of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He was successively Bishop of Exeter, Bath and Wells, Durham, and Winchester, and became also Lo ...

and

Reginald Bray Sir Reginald Bray (c. 1440 – 5 August 1503) was an English administrator and statesman. He was the Chancellor of the Duchy and County Palatine of Lancaster under Henry VII, briefly Treasurer of the Exchequer, and one of the most influent ...

. Cardinal

Thomas Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's Lord High Almoner, almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the ...

could be considered a new man, although by the time of his rise to power new men were not so new and were in fact becoming the norm within government. New men were first used in order to ensure the aristocracy were not allowed to become over-mighty by giving positions to people with little money, land or influence. This was in many respects a success - as it increased efficiency within government by the use of competent ministers and moved away from the previous policy bias towards the nobility. However, many new men used the influence they gained to secure new lands and great wealth and were essentially corrupt. Men like

Edmund Dudley Edmund Dudley (c. 1462Gunn 2010 or 1471/147217 August 1510) was an English administrator and a financial agent of King Henry VII. He served as a leading member of the Council Learned in the Law, Speaker of the House of Commons and Presi ...

and

Richard Empson Sir Richard Empson (c. 1450 – 17 August 1510), minister of Henry VII, was a son of Peter Empson. Educated as a lawyer, he soon attained considerable success in his profession, and in 1491 was a Knight of the shire for Northamptonshire in Par ...

were resented by both the nobles and the general population for the harsh taxes they collected uncompromisingly. This led to their execution on dubious charges of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

.Lee, Cathy. "Britain, 1483-1529" Nelson Thornes Ltd, 2008, p100 The existence of new men has been disputed by several historians, who feel that middle class professionals have always been a part of government throughout British history. Other historians have claimed that the use of new men, rather than being invented by the British Kings, was borrowed from the French monarchs' tendency to use the middle classes to help govern. However, it is commonly agreed that there was a sudden rise in this type of administrator in government towards the end of the 15th century and this, rather than being a paradigm shift, occurred over a sustained period of time.

Notes

References

*Siegel, Paul N., "English Humanism and the New Tudor Aristocracy", ''Journal of the History of Ideas'', Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1952), pp. 450–468, University of Pennsylvania Press
JSTOR
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Men 15th century in England 16th century in England

Administrators

See also

Notes

References