Prompt Cast
The Role of Competent Civil Servants in Shaping the Transition from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern Period
TLDR This episode explores how the education and training of civil servants in the late medieval and early modern period shaped their understanding of royal power and the common good, making them ideal candidates for serving the king and the state. These competent civil servants played a key role in raising revenue for the king and were characterized by seriousness, hard work, meritocracy, professionalism, efficiency, and modernity.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
During the transition from the Middle Ages to the early modern period, the power of the state increased significantly, and this episode explores the role of competent civil servants in shaping this emerging world.
04:55
During the transition from the Middle Ages to the early modern period, the power of the state increased significantly, and this episode explores the role of competent civil servants in shaping this emerging world.
09:43
During the transition from the Middle Ages to the early modern period, the power of the state increased significantly, and this episode explores the role of competent civil servants in shaping this emerging world.
14:10
The education and training of civil servants in the late medieval and early modern period, particularly in England, emphasized the study of ancient texts, history, rhetoric, and the law, which shaped their understanding of royal power and the common good, making them ideal candidates for serving the king and the state.
18:51
Richard, a common-born and well-educated individual, was a representative of a new type of civil servant that emerged in Europe during the late medieval and early modern period, characterized by seriousness, hard work, meritocracy, professionalism, efficiency, and modernity, although they were also unscrupulous and ruthless in advancing their own interests, and their presence would shape government for centuries to come.
24:06
Richard, with his legal background, linguistic skills, accounting knowledge, and belief in the king's authority and responsibility to serve the public good, joined Thomas Lovell and his colleagues in the complex realm of royal finances, which were becoming more complex across Europe due to the rising costs of war and the need for sophisticated means of raising revenue and accounting for expenditure.
28:44
Richard, an ambitious and competent royal official, played a key role in raising revenue for the King through various means such as Crown Lands, customs duties, feudal prerogatives, illegal trade, and direct taxation.
33:28
Richard, a royal official, used his position to generate wealth for himself through fees, investments, partnerships, and pressure on merchants, while also wielding immense power through his ability to impose taxes and ruin noble families through financial bonds.
38:24
City-states like Venice and Genoa were the first to develop sovereign long-term debt, allowing them to take out immediate loans for large amounts of cash and pay lower interest rates, while larger territorial states like England and France were forced to engage with short and intermediate-term credit at higher interest rates.
42:49
In 1492, Columbus's first voyage was funded through a complex series of financial transactions and a public-private partnership, with a quarter of the capital coming from the seaport of Palos, a quarter from a consortium of investors, and the other half theoretically provided by Isabella and Ferdinand, but in reality covered by the same consortium of investors through a short-term loan paid back via the sale of indulgences.
47:30
Around 1500, the royal government relied more on skilled rising commoners, like Richard, who were effective servants but broadly disliked, contributing to ongoing resistance to Henry VII's rule, and when Henry VII died in 1509 and was succeeded by his son Henry VIII, Richard and other loyal servants of Henry VII were left in an awkward position, with some able to remain useful to Henry VIII, while others, like Richard Emson and Edmund Dudley, were made scapegoats for Henry VII's actions and executed.
52:16
Kings like Henry VII were expanding their power and control over their subjects, but whether or not the subjects actually benefited from this was another matter entirely.
Categories:
History
Society & Culture
