The Crown and Urban Corporations, c. 1413–35

Abstract

This chapter is the first of four chronological chapters examining periodic shifts in the density, membership, and nature of the ‘urban sector’. During the reign of Henry V and minority of Henry VI, municipal governments (rather than individual merchants and lawyers) tended to be the most active protagonists within the urban sector. Moreover, relationships between towns within the urban sector were mediated through the organs of royal government rather than through horizontal ‘networked’ relationships. The first section of the chapter examines how the peculiarly bureaucratic and institutional character of the urban sector can be seen in the operation of naval defence, finance, parliament, and political communication in 1413–35. The second section goes on to explore the ways in which the urban sector of 1413–35 facilitated a shared political culture at urban and national levels, with particular emphasis on the use of councils and the public suppression of dissent.