Key Terms (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes
Key Terms
Understanding the specialised vocabulary of Stuart Britain is essential for grasping the political, religious, social, and military developments of the period 1603-1702. This glossary defines the key terms you need to know, from the theory of absolute monarchy that underpinned royal authority, to the religious movements that divided the nation, to the parliamentary and legal concepts that shaped constitutional conflict. Each term is presented with clear explanations and relevant historical context to help you build an understanding of this transformative century.
Political and constitutional terms
- Absolute monarchy describes a system of rule where the monarch answers only to God and exercises unrestricted authority. The monarch's will and decisions alone create law. Absolutism generated anxiety in England because Catholic rulers in France and Spain were moving toward destroying the independence of representative institutions and even abolishing local assemblies and parliaments.
The connection between Catholicism, absolutism, and tyranny became firmly established in English Protestant thinking because Catholic monarchs were actively dismantling representative institutions, and the Catholic Church itself was organised hierarchically. This association would drive much of the religious and political conflict throughout the Stuart period.
- King-in-Parliament refers to a system of government where the monarch rules through Parliament rather than independently. Under this arrangement, the monarch could create statute law (the highest form of law) only after both houses of Parliament had debated and approved it, and the king had given royal assent.
A statute (Act of Parliament) that had received this approval took precedence over any previous law or custom, and could be altered only by another statute passing through the same process. This principle of parliamentary supremacy in lawmaking would become central to constitutional debates.
- Prorogued Parliament describes the dissolution of Parliament, requiring fresh elections before a new parliament could meet. The monarch retained the power to prorogue (dissolve) the existing parliament, creating a pause between parliamentary sessions. The Triennial Act established continuous parliamentary sessions, so any extended prorogation could be interpreted as breaking the law.
- Impeachment was a mechanism developed in medieval parliaments for bringing royal advisers and members of the nobility to justice. These individuals were summoned to trial before the House of Lords by a petition from the Commons. The procedure had fallen into disuse since 1459, but was revived in 1621 to impeach the monopolists Michell and Mompesson, and subsequently Lord Chancellor Bacon for bribery.
After this revival, the Commons increasingly deployed impeachment as a political weapon against unpopular ministers and advisers. This transformation of a legal procedure into a political tool would have significant implications for the balance of power between Crown and Parliament.
- Regency defines a period when someone other than the rightful monarch exercises rule on their behalf. The regent is typically a close relative of the monarch, such as a parent, sibling, or child, who governs during the monarch's minority, incapacity, or absence.
- Prime Minister emerged during George I's reign as a new role. The king, unable to speak English, depended on Robert Walpole to manage his government. Walpole became England's first Prime Minister, establishing a precedent for this crucial political office.
- Covenant refers to a contract or agreement binding the parties to fulfil specified obligations. The Scottish Covenant was a national agreement in which those who signed pledged to defend the existing Kirk if necessary by force of arms, and to remain united until its safety was guaranteed.
This was therefore an act of rebellion that Charles could not disregard. The Covenant represented the Scottish nation taking collective action to protect their religious institutions, setting the stage for military conflict.
- Vote of No Addresses was passed by the House of Commons on 3 January 1648, declaring that no further addresses (offers to negotiate) would be made to the King.
This decision reflected the anger and despair felt by most MPs at Charles's persistent refusal to enter genuine negotiations, but above all his perceived betrayal by signing an Engagement with the Scots. It marked a decisive turning point, closing the door on further negotiation and setting the path toward Charles's trial and execution.
Religious terms and concepts
- Kirk refers to the Scottish Kirk, a Presbyterian Church established by John Knox in 1560. When Mary, Queen of Scots, returned to Scotland from France in 1560, she discovered a Protestant Reformation already completed. The Kirk, governed by committees of ministers and elders rather than bishops, operated in many ways independent of the monarchy.
Worship centred on preaching and improvised prayers, both delivered by ministers who showed little hesitation in expressing their opinions. From the perspective of the English Monarch, this independence required control, but for many Scots, the Kirk symbolised both their religious and cultural identity.
- Presbyterianism describes a system of church organisation where individual congregations are governed by a minister working alongside lay Elders (senior members) under the supervision of an elected assembly called a Synod. This structure contrasts sharply with episcopal systems led by bishops.
- Sacraments are sacred acts or ceremonies. The fundamental point about sacramental religion is that taking part in the ceremony is considered a sacred act in itself, regardless of the spirit or level of understanding of the congregation participating.
This gave considerable power to the church that provided the sacraments, and could encourage mechanical or superstitious acts by the congregation, which reformers found objectionable. The debate over sacramental religion versus preaching-centred worship became a major fault line in religious disputes.
- Transubstantiation is the Catholic doctrine that the wine and bread taken in communion are miraculously transformed into the actual blood and body of Christ. This belief was central to Catholic worship but rejected by Protestants.
- Heretic/heresy was the term used by the Roman Catholic Church for those who challenged its teachings and denied its beliefs. Heretics could be 'excommunicated' (expelled from the Church) or imprisoned.
In extreme cases, if they refused to abandon their views, they were handed over to civil authorities to be burned alive. This severe punishment reflected the seriousness with which religious orthodoxy was treated and helps explain the intensity of religious conflicts during the period.
- Test Act imposed an Oath of Supremacy and an Oath of Allegiance on all office holders, requiring them to provide evidence that they had recently taken Holy Communion in the Church of England and to declare against the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation.
The Act's purpose was to exclude Catholics from public office. This represented a systematic attempt to prevent Catholic influence in government and administration, reflecting deep-seated fears of Catholic conspiracy and foreign influence.
- Recusancy describes a refusal to attend Anglican church services on a regular basis, which had been made compulsory during Elizabeth's reign. Absentees (usually Catholics) were required to pay fines. The fines provided useful revenue for the Crown.
- Occasional conformity was a practice developed by some Protestant Dissenters of attending Church services a few times yearly and taking Communion occasionally. This allowed them to avoid the restrictions of the Test and Corporation Acts and to hold public office.
It infuriated High Anglicans because Dissenters seemed to have found a way of circumventing the law, and because those who retained office by this method often used their positions to protect other Dissenters from persecution. This legal loophole became a source of significant political and religious controversy.
- Sectarians (or 'sectaries') was the term used to describe the Puritan Separatists. The forms of organisation and worship used in sectarian meetings tended to encourage open discussion between the minister and other members of the congregation. Within the army, frequent absence of ordained clergy encouraged talented speakers among the soldiers to lead worship and preach in their place.
The whole experience of radical religion helped to produce men of the 'middling sort' who were both willing and able to challenge the assumptions of their social superiors. This democratisation of religious practice had profound social and political implications.
- Predestination is the belief held by Calvin and his followers that God chooses beforehand those to whom he will grant salvation. This doctrine shaped much Puritan theology.
- Providence describes providential beliefs that were widespread among seventeenth-century Protestants. Although they appeared in their most extreme forms among radicals, they were based on the belief that God intervened directly in human affairs to ensure that the course of events conformed with His will.
Matters such as the victories of the New Model Army or Charles's refusal to compromise were therefore interpreted as acts of providence – evidence of God's judgement and purpose. Men like Cromwell sought to read these providential signs to know God's purpose before deciding what action to take.
- Millenarianism is the belief that the Second Coming of Christ was imminent. The Book of Revelation at the end of the New Testament foretold Christ's second coming, and many radicals believed that the English Civil War was sent to prepare the nation for this event.
- Deists formed a group that believed in God's existence on purely rational grounds. By definition, they denied the importance of inspired religion or sacred texts such as the Bible.
- Feoffees were a group of Puritan trustees empowered to raise money and buy up appropriated parishes in order to provide good preaching ministers for them. Established in 1626, they had acquired slightly over thirty parishes and were seeking to extend their work to the purchase of advowsons when Laud banned them and took over the parishes they had bought.
Although they shared his objective of improving the quality of the ministry, their preference for Puritans and emphasis on preaching earned them his disapproval. His action offended them on religious grounds, and many others saw it as an attack on property. This combination of religious and property rights concerns made Laud's intervention particularly controversial.
- Jesuit Order refers to the Society of Jesus, founded by Ignatius Loyola in 1534. This Catholic religious order was dedicated to supporting the papacy and defining itself in complete submission to the Pope's authority. Jesuit priests were among the most educated and dedicated in the Catholic world, frequently undertaking dangerous missions to inhospitable territories.
In England, however, their reputation as the vanguard of the Counter-Reformation ensured that they generated fear and loathing wherever they were mentioned. Jesuits became synonymous with Catholic conspiracy and foreign subversion in English Protestant minds.
- Mosaic Law refers to the Ten Commandments, the fundamental moral code in Christian teaching.
Social and economic terms
- Enclosures refers to fences used to designate private land, often taken from land that had previously been communal, and consequently much resented by the poorer members of the community. Enclosure represented a shift in land use and property rights that disadvantaged ordinary people.
- Excise Tax was placed on home-produced beer and cider, and on a range of imported goods. It was easy to collect and, in principle, differed little from customs duties.
However, it was unprecedented in England and proved highly unpopular with the population. The introduction of this new form of taxation represented an expansion of government revenue-raising powers that many viewed with suspicion.
- Farming out the customs describes the system whereby the Crown leased the authority to collect customs revenue to businessmen for a fixed sum. These 'farmers of the customs' were then able to keep as profit any figure over and above the amount they had paid to the King.
- Impropriation is the practice of taking over (appropriating) the collection of tithes (a 10 per cent tax on all households in a parish levied to provide income for the parish priest). This system allowed the impropriator to play a part in choosing the minister. Many parishes had come under the control of the local gentry in this way.
Another way of controlling the choice of minister was to buy up the advowson for the parish, which gave the holder the right to nominate a particular minister. Many advowsons were held by the King and the bishops, but a substantial number were acquired by the gentry and by borough corporations. This local control over religious appointments gave landowners significant power over their communities.
- Patronage describes a system of influence where a patron, usually rich and/or powerful, uses their position to help individuals secure an inferior position in return for their respect or support. This system created networks of obligation and dependency.
- Boroughs were towns that had been granted a royal charter giving them particular rights and privileges, such as the right to hold a market. In some cases, they also had the right to send two MPs to parliaments, and the number of these increased substantially in the later sixteenth century.
- Yeomen were independent farmers who usually owned at least some of the land they farmed and were able to achieve a reasonable level of prosperity. They were distinguished from the minor gentry by the fact that they worked their land themselves rather than renting it out.
- Feudal dues refers to payments made by the nobility and gentry, a relic of the feudal system when they were seen as holding their land as tenants of the King. These ancient obligations persisted into the Stuart period.
- Forced loan was a relic of feudalism where the king had the right to ask his wealthier subjects to lend him money in an emergency.
In fact, these loans were rarely paid back, so they represented a form of taxation outside parliaments. This circumvention of parliamentary control over taxation became a major constitutional grievance and contributed to the conflict between Crown and Parliament.
- Indentured servitude was a system by which convicts transported to the West Indies were forced to work on plantations for a set period of time.
For all intents and purposes, the indentured servants were slaves, except that they might look forward to eventual release. This brutal system represents the darker side of England's colonial expansion during the period.
Legal and judicial terms
- Habeas Corpus is a Latin phrase meaning 'to have the body'. A writ of Habeas Corpus issued by a court was the standard procedure for preventing someone from being held in prison indefinitely without being properly charged and brought to trial.
It was regarded as a crucial safeguard for personal liberty against the abuse of power by the monarch or those acting in his name. The protection of Habeas Corpus became one of the most important legal principles defended by Parliament against royal prerogative.
- Indemnity provided legal protection for ex-soldiers from any action undertaken as part of warfare. For example, troopers who had requisitioned horses as part of their wartime duties might find themselves sued or accused of theft if they did not have the protection of legal indemnity.
Given the range and type of actions that soldiers might well have carried out under orders, this was a serious matter for soldiers of all ranks. Without indemnity, the entire army could face legal consequences for actions taken during the civil wars.
- Books of Orders consisted of 314 books of instructions to JPs, detailing their duties in collecting Poor Law rates, treating beggars, enforcing law concerning storage of grain, controlling local markets, managing movement of goods, and maintaining upkeep of roads and bridges. Under Laud's supervision, the issue of instructions was followed up to ensure they were properly carried out.
Military and diplomatic terms
- Highland charge describes a disorganised but effective rushing attack made by Highland clansmen. In battle, they aimed to close the distance with more heavily armed forces rapidly to fight hand-to-hand, thereby negating their enemies' superior firepower.
- Ships-of-the-line refers to the largest warships of the time, representing the most powerful naval vessels available.
- Retaining was the practice, common among the medieval nobility, of keeping servants and supporters who were trained in military skills.
In effect, this created a private army which could be used to keep the peace, or to overawe rivals and even rebel against the Crown. The existence of these private military forces represented a significant challenge to royal authority and central control.
- Self-Denying Ordinance was proposed by a member of the War Party, Zouch Tate, and supported by Cromwell. The military failures of late 1644 led to recriminations among Parliament's generals, revealing their political and religious differences. While Cromwell accused Manchester and Essex of preferring negotiations to victory, Manchester and the Scots accused Cromwell of favouring political and religious radicals.
By separating military and political functions, the Ordinance allowed the political and religious divisions to be set aside while a new and more effective army was created. This pragmatic solution helped create the New Model Army, which would prove decisive in Parliament's victory.
Key figures and dynasties
- Hanoverians refers to King George I and his descendants, to whom the monarchy passed by the Act of Settlement following Queen Anne's death in 1714. This Protestant succession was secured by Parliament to prevent a Catholic restoration.
- Jacobites were those who remained loyal to James II and his line after the Glorious Revolution. Their continued support for the Stuart claim represented a threat to the new regime.
- Holy Roman Emperor was the head of the Holy Roman Empire, established in Germany in the early Middle Ages, bringing 329 small German states together under a single leader. By the late fifteenth century, the Austrian family of Habsburg had established a right to be 'elected' to the position, giving them effective control over modern Germany, Austria, and much of Central Europe.
- Stadtholder refers to the office in the United Provinces (the Dutch Republic, or Holland), which was normally governed by elected representatives of the Dutch states. However, the office of Stadtholder could, in times of crisis, be given to the House of Orange, to take emergency measures for the safety of the republic.
- Consort is the spouse of the ruling monarch, whether male or female. In this case, William refused to be consort of Queen Mary. He insisted on joint sovereignty with Mary, acting as king in his own right.
Political philosophy and ideas
- Machiavelli was a late fifteenth-century Italian political philosopher who broke with tradition by arguing in his most famous work, The Prince, that expediency was more important to a ruler than moral, principled behaviour.
In other words, a ruler should think mainly about self-interest and do the things that must be done, rather than worry about the rights and wrongs of his or her actions. This represented a fundamental shift in political thinking that challenged traditional Christian concepts of virtuous rulership.
- Whig historians were historians working in a nineteenth-century tradition that saw the rise of representative government as the product of a heroic conflict between Parliament and the Crown. This interpretation shaped how the Stuart period was understood for generations.
Medical and social practices
- Balance of the humours refers to the belief held by physicians that the body consisted of four elements called humours. If these were not 'balanced', illness resulted. When a person ran a temperature, it was believed this was due to too much blood, so the patient was 'bled', either by the application of leeches or by opening the veins in the foot or arm.
This medical theory shaped healthcare throughout the period. While we now know this practice was harmful, bloodletting was considered scientifically sound medical practice based on the prevailing understanding of human physiology.
- Hedonistic lifestyle describes a life lived in the selfish pursuit of pleasure, prioritising personal gratification over moral considerations.
Parliamentary documents
- Millenary petition was a list of requests given to James I by Puritans in 1603 when he was travelling to London to claim the English throne. It is claimed, but not proven, that this petition had 1000 signatures of Puritan ministers. This carefully worded document expressed Puritan disquiet regarding the state of the Anglican Church, and took into consideration James's religious views as well as his liking for debate.
Remember!
Key Points to Remember:
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Absolute monarchy versus King-in-Parliament represent the two competing visions of government that shaped constitutional conflict throughout Stuart Britain.
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Religious terms like Kirk, Presbyterianism, Test Act, and occasional conformity reveal the depth of religious divisions that drove much of the period's conflict.
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Legal protections like Habeas Corpus and parliamentary mechanisms like impeachment were crucial weapons in limiting royal power.
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Economic grievances over excise tax, forced loans, and enclosures connected constitutional and religious struggles to the material concerns of ordinary people.
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Understanding these key terms provides the essential vocabulary for analysing the complex political, religious, and social developments that transformed England from an absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarchy with parliamentary sovereignty.