How Far Did Edward Iv Restore the Authority of the Monarchy

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How far did Edward IV restore the authority of the monarchy in the years 1471 – 1483? Edward IV was very successful at restoring order in England between 1471 and 1483. As this was his second reign, Edward was very experienced, so he had good knowledge in what to do to support England. Edward IV improved royal finances drastically. His methods included increasing the effectiveness of certain existing methods to bring income to the crown, this included: * Ordinary revenue, this came in annually from crown lands and custom duties but also included the profits of justice (fines) and feudal dues on the lands retained in return for military services. Crown lands mean that Edward gained land from nobles so if a noble was to die, the king gained his land. This situation happened many times, with the Duke of Clarence and Warwick. Custom duties are taxes on imported goods. Edward IV was innovative and was interested in business and especially key commodities: tin, wool and cloth. Feudal dues included wardship, bishop vacancies and profits of justice. Wardship was when the king could claim the income of a child. The king was therefore able to inherit all of the land until the child became old enough. * Edward IVs extraordinary revenue included taxation and benevolences. Benevolence is a compulsory gift of money demanded by the King. Everyone except the nobles and the clergy had to pay this. Another way that Edward gained money through extraordinary revenue was through parliamentary grants. This was a sum of money granted by parliament for emergencies, including war or defence. Edward was aware that he had a good backing from his parliament and that they were prepared to help him when the country felt threatened. However, Edward was careful not to abuse this right as he had learnt from previous Lancastrian kings who had taken advantage of parliament, forcing
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