The role of Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, in the polity of the Lancastrian monarchy
For too many years the common assumption has been that both Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, were simply the pious endeavours of a young and unworldly king, and were united in aim and conception in much the same way that the double foundation of William of Wykeham had been over six decades before. It is the aim of this thesis to show that this is a misconception, and to prove that far from being the private acts of a pious king, the foundations were, on the contrary, public acts of the Lancastrian monarchy, with their motivation owing more to the needs of government than to Henry VI' s personal will. The availability of alien priory resources, the anxiety felt by certain groups that such resources should be used towards socially useful purposes, the political legacy of Henry V, the burgeoning of humanistic studies in Italy and their uptake in England, and the key roles played by the Earl of Suffolk, Thomas Bekynton, and William Waynflete, all helped to shape the religious motives which lay behind royal patronage towards an educational end. The thesis examines the way in which the aims of royal pious founders developed into a mature public concept of the religion of the state, reaching its apogee
Selway, Katherine E.
History
The role of Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, in the polity of the Lancastrian monarchy. For too many years the common assumption has been that both Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, were simply the pious endeavours of a young and unworldly king, and were united in aim and conception in much the same way that the double foundation of William of Wykeham had been over six decades before. It is the aim of this thesis to show that this is a misconception, and to prove that far from being the private acts of a pious king, the foundations were, on the contrary, public acts of the Lancastrian monarchy, with their motivation owing more to the needs of government than to Henry VI' s personal will. The availability of alien priory resources, the anxiety felt by certain groups that such resources should be used towards socially useful purposes, the political legacy of Henry V, the burgeoning of humanistic studies in Italy and their uptake in England, and the key roles played by the Earl of Suffolk, Thomas Bekynton, and William Waynflete, all helped to shape the religious motives which lay behind royal patronage towards an educational end. The thesis examines the way in which the aims of royal pious founders developed into a mature public concept of the religion of the state, reaching its apogee
role college king college cambridge polity lancastrian monarchy common_assumption college king college cambridge simply pious endeavour young king united aim conception much way double foundation william aim_show misconception prove far private act pious king foundation contrary public act lancastrian monarchy motivation owe needs government henry personal will availability alien priory resource anxiety felt certain group resource use towards socially useful purpose political legacy henry burgeon humanistic study italy uptake england key_role play earl suffolk thomas william help_shape religious motif lay_behind royal_patronage towards educational end examines_way aim royal pious founder develop mature public concept religion state reach apogee