‘Of good name and fame in the countrey’: standards of conduct for Henry VII's chamber officials.

SOUTHWELL, Robert, Sir, 1635-1702; PRIVY councils; PUBLIC finance; HISTORY of public finance; COURTS & courtiers; HENRY VII, King of England, 1457-1509; HENRY VIII, King of England, 1491-1547; BRITISH politics & government, 1485-1603; BRITISH economic policy; REIGN of Henry VII, England, 1485-1509; REIGN of Henry VIII, England, 1509-1547

Over the past forty years historians have argued at length about the nature and function of Henry VII's chamber machinery. This article looks at some of these issues through the lens of two documents produced by auditors in the office, one a comment on a 1512 statute, the other a pay dispute. It argues that attention to the personnel who made up the office and their assumptions and expectations suggests that while Henry VII did innovate in his methods and processes, such innovation had always to contend with the traditions of the office and the needs of the common law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]