Learner resource 2– The contract
Introduction
When analysing the nature of royal power, it is all too easy to make generalisations about the quantity of control or focus on a particular method of wielding power, but without extending analysis sufficiently. For example, it can lead to understanding of fluctuations in power on a simplistic level when comparing individual monarchs. However, for your Themes topic on France 1498-1610, you will need to assess the characteristics and reasons for these fluctuations between individual monarchs in conjunction with an overriding theme of the increase in French royal power. This development is also set within the context in which it was customary for power to devolve from a series of negotiations, feudal loyalty, dynastic inheritance and local government controls. In this respect, it is misleading to assume that French royal power was static throughout the period or that monarchs expected to wield power in exactly the same way. As with any key historical question, you will need to carefully examine long-and short-term motives or causes of political change, however you will need to do this at the same time as comparing the similarities and differences between monarchs in terms of their priorities, concerns and personal relationships. This need not be complicated if you summarise your notes carefully under categories which help you reach a conclusion. The following activity encourages you to focus on one monarch at a time in order to define features of their rule and ‘exercise of power’ in relation to typical influences. As ‘influence’ is also subjective, this exercise gives you an opportunity to analyse how any one feature of royal power or a specific action might be explained differently. How far did their personality, experience, relationships or religious perspectives shape the way they approached their role as a French monarch?
Activity
Copy the table below to create a template which you can use to analyse each monarch. You will probably find it easier to complete for the most prominent monarchs which historians tend to focus on, such as Francis I. However, with careful use of all the reading material you have encountered, you should be able to find sufficient evidence for each section after you have completed your study of the first Themes topic ‘Monarchy and Central Government’. As you study the second Themes topic (Local Government), you might also decide to add further details.
Version 11© OCR 2016
The Development of the Nation State: France
1498–1610 delivery guide
______ / How did this help to maintain or extend royal power? / How did this cause limitations or restraints on royal power?
Personality:
- temperament
- style of kingship
- expectations
- image
Experience (political and military):
- prior to reign
- during reign
Relationships (the three Estates):
- clergy
- nobility
- Third Estate
Religious Involvement:
- personal belief
- support of the Church
- attitude to heresy
- international tension and war
Version 11© OCR 2016
The Development of the Nation State: France
1498–1610 delivery guide
Extension activities/questions
Depth Studies:
- When studying Francis I and Henry IV, these notes will be useful and you could add further details.
- When reading historical interpretations related to the issues here, identify which points and examples (or conclusions from your chart) support or contradict the viewpoints you encounter. Which historians tend to generalise and if so, how?
- Which historians focus on one or two specific aspects to create their interpretation? What are the strengths and limitations of this?
- Which views do you find most convincing and why?
Version 11© OCR 2016
The Development of the Nation State: France
1498–1610 delivery guide