Western Civilization

The European State in the Renaissance

Q FOCUSQUESTION: Why do historians sometimes

refer to the monarchies of the late fifteenth century

as “new monarchies” or “Renaissance states”?

In the first half of the fifteenth century, European

states continued the disintegrative patterns of the pre-

vious century. In the second half of the century, how-

ever, recovery set in, and attempts were made to

reestablish the centralized power of monarchical gov-

ernments. To characterize the results, some historians

have used the label “Renaissance states”; others have

spoken of the “new monarchies,” especially those of

France, England, and Spain at the end of the fifteenth

century (see Map 12.2). Although monarchs in western

Europe succeeded to varying degrees at extending their

political authority, rulers in central and eastern Europe

were often weak and unable to impose their will.

The Renaissance State in Western Europe

Although the Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453; see

Chapter 11) had made it difficult for French kings to

assert their authority, the war had also developed a

strong degree of French national feeling toward a com-

mon enemy that the kings could use to reestablish mo-

narchical power. The process of developing a French

territorial state was greatly advanced by King Louis XI

(1461–1483), known as the Spider because of his devi-

ous ways. Louis strengthened the use of thetaille(TY),

an annual direct tax, usually on land or property, that

was imposed by royal authority; this tax gave him a

regular and reliable source of income. Louis repressed

the French nobility and brought the provinces of

Anjou, Maine, Bar, and Provence under royal control.

ENGLAND The Hundred Years’ War had also strongly

affected the other protagonist in that conflict. The cost

of the war in its final years and the losses in manpower

strained the English economy. Moreover, even greater

domestic turmoil came to England when a period of

civil wars broke out in the 1450s that pitted the ducal

house of Lancaster against the ducal house of York.

(The wars are popularly known as the “Wars of the

Roses” because Shakespeare a hundred years later cre-

ated the fiction that a white rose symbolized the York-

ists and a red rose, the Lancasters.) Many aristocratic

families of England were drawn into the conflict.

Finally, in 1485, Henry Tudor, duke of Richmond,

defeated the last Yorkist king, Richard III (1483–1485),

at Bosworth Field and established the new Tudor

dynasty.

As the first Tudor king, Henry VII (1485–1509)

worked to reduce internal dissension and establish a

strong monarchical government. The new king was par-

ticularly successful in obtaining sufficient income from

the traditional financial resources of the English mon-

arch, such as the crown lands, judicial fees and fines,

and customs duties. By using diplomacy to avoid wars,

which are always expensive, the king avoided having to

call Parliament on any regular basis to grant him funds.

By not overburdening the landed gentry and middle

class with taxes, Henry won their favor, and they pro-

vided much support for his monarchy. Henry’s policies

Van Eyck,Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride.Northern

painters took great care in depicting each object and became

masters at rendering details. This emphasis on a realistic

portrayal is clearly evident in this oil painting, supposedly a

portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini, an Italian merchant who had

settled in Bruges, and his wife, Giovanna Cenami.

ªNational Gallery, London//Art Resource, NY

292 Chapter 12 Recovery and Rebirth: The Age of the Renaissance

Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.

`ˆÌi`Ê܈̅Ê̅iÊ`i“œÊÛiÀȜ˜ÊœvÊ

˜vˆÝÊ*ÀœÊ*Ê

`ˆÌœÀÊ

/œÊÀi“œÛiÊ̅ˆÃʘœÌˆVi]ÊۈÈÌ\Ê