In the 14th and early 15th century, rulers in Europe were undertaking the task of re-establishing the power of the monarch after its age of weakness in the Middle Ages. The age that led up to the Renaissance was a constant struggle for the monarchs. They depended on councils of nobles and the church for financial and military support, while the nobility and church were constantly searching for more power. This contained the monarch’s ability to accomplish goals for their nation without the approval of someone else. They lacked the ability to make any move without first seeking consent from the nobles and/or church. This soon changed. When the Renaissance came around, scholars and thinkers started to develop new political ideas that influenced
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The rulers eagerly utilized these ideas. During the Renaissance Era, the “new monarchs” in England, France, and Spain attained control by developing taxing systems, manipulating government councils, and increasing their influence over the church; tactics which were modeled after Machiavelli’s “fox-like” and “lion-like” concepts of an ideal ruler. The monarchs in England exemplified both sneaky and aggressive techniques. First of all, they portrayed shrewd and “fox-like” characteristics by reorganizing the royal council to provide themselves with more power. The ruler placed bankers and lawyers in a new Royal Council instead of the nobles that originally held a similar importance. This meant that the king received his support from the wealthy landowners instead of aristocrats who formed previous assemblies. Consequently, the nobility no longer had control of the monarch they way it had during the Middle Ages. As a result of the men in the king’s council who were affluent and capable of supporting the throne, the royal finances were strengthened. Another example of the “fox-like” trait is how they married Louis XII and Anne of Brittany. The …show more content…
It arranged marriages that established more power for the monarchy, and curbed nobility’s power in a very “fox-like” manner. One strategic marriage was the union between Isabella and Ferdinand. Their marriage instituted a dynastic union between their two nations that provided both with more power and influence. A second tactical marriage was between their second daughter to the Archduke Philip. This union joined Spain and Portugal together. Both of these marriages gave the nation of Spain an extra ally and more power. Another “fox-like” action was the way that the monarch suppressed aristocratic power by excluding higher nobility from a royal council that had administrative,legal, and law-making abilities beneath the monarchy, and instead choosing smaller landowners. This practice was similar to that of England and France, who both had a Royal Council that ignored the nobility and instead included urban landowners. A quality that wasn’t found in either of the other two “new monarchies” was the manner of the “lion-like” characteristics of Spain. Isabella and Ferdinand began the inquisition, which was a fierce political move towards making friends in high places while getting rid of Jews and Muslims. These two groups were given the choice to leave or convert forcefully. Showing “lion-like” aggressiveness, enforcement of the Inquisition was thoroughly carried out. Overall, through the inquisition, strategic
The rulers eagerly utilized these ideas. During the Renaissance Era, the “new monarchs” in England, France, and Spain attained control by developing taxing systems, manipulating government councils, and increasing their influence over the church; tactics which were modeled after Machiavelli’s “fox-like” and “lion-like” concepts of an ideal ruler. The monarchs in England exemplified both sneaky and aggressive techniques. First of all, they portrayed shrewd and “fox-like” characteristics by reorganizing the royal council to provide themselves with more power. The ruler placed bankers and lawyers in a new Royal Council instead of the nobles that originally held a similar importance. This meant that the king received his support from the wealthy landowners instead of aristocrats who formed previous assemblies. Consequently, the nobility no longer had control of the monarch they way it had during the Middle Ages. As a result of the men in the king’s council who were affluent and capable of supporting the throne, the royal finances were strengthened. Another example of the “fox-like” trait is how they married Louis XII and Anne of Brittany. The …show more content…
It arranged marriages that established more power for the monarchy, and curbed nobility’s power in a very “fox-like” manner. One strategic marriage was the union between Isabella and Ferdinand. Their marriage instituted a dynastic union between their two nations that provided both with more power and influence. A second tactical marriage was between their second daughter to the Archduke Philip. This union joined Spain and Portugal together. Both of these marriages gave the nation of Spain an extra ally and more power. Another “fox-like” action was the way that the monarch suppressed aristocratic power by excluding higher nobility from a royal council that had administrative,legal, and law-making abilities beneath the monarchy, and instead choosing smaller landowners. This practice was similar to that of England and France, who both had a Royal Council that ignored the nobility and instead included urban landowners. A quality that wasn’t found in either of the other two “new monarchies” was the manner of the “lion-like” characteristics of Spain. Isabella and Ferdinand began the inquisition, which was a fierce political move towards making friends in high places while getting rid of Jews and Muslims. These two groups were given the choice to leave or convert forcefully. Showing “lion-like” aggressiveness, enforcement of the Inquisition was thoroughly carried out. Overall, through the inquisition, strategic