A Study Of The Transformation From Aristocracy To Bureaucracy In Tudor Period

Tudor Dynasty(1485-1603)was in the transition period from the feudal state in Middle Ages to the modern capitalist country,in the meantime,there had lots of profound changes including in politics,economy,ideology and social life.The transformation from aristocracy to bureaucracy,which is this article discusses,is the important manifestation of the changes in that political field.This paper first reviews the performance and development of the typical aristocracy period in Britain.In the late slavery society of Britain,the group of aristocracy has emerged and gradually wielded the power of tribes.From ordinary tribal council to the Witenagemot with specific records,the aristocracy had developed unobviously.From Curia Regis to Concilium,with the independence of Exchequer,Royal Chancery and other similar court authorities,aristocracy had become the main form of rule in the early feudal period in Britain.Include the imperator of Britain--the king,and his relatives or someone he trust,also include who became grandees and could inherit the peerage after serving cover secular and religious,these persons assisted affairs of state.These nobilities who participated in political affairs usually do not have clear positions or positions were not permanent;most of duties were received by the king's commission or at his own initiative;the offices were also not permanent or had permanent place.Those "meetings" that organized to deal with some temporary affairs were held irregularly as well,they didn't have organizational rules or clear leaders,thus not constituting the property of government agencies or career officials.In the period of aristocracy,reign over was not institutionalized,the state affairs were not clearly distinguished from the royal household.With the establishment of Tudor Dynasty,the traditional aristocracy had declined,the composition and quantity of aristocracy also had changed,in addition,the special geographical position of England,the characteristics of feudal hierarchy and the influence of monarch on the political system,all of these began to shocking the long-running aristocracy.Tudor monarchs had reformed political system since Henry? from the aspects of administration,legislation,judicature and finance.Especially during the reign of Henry ??Concilium was transformed into the Privy Council,government organization has been institutionalized,and the private sector has become the state institution.The change of officers;family background also provided an important condition for the emergence and development of bureaucracy.The government has become more secular after Reformation,and continued to consolidate and promote the bureaucracy in late Tudor,constantly improving the state institutions and refining the rules of the functional departments.The way of office-holding also has changed,which provided more opportunities for low-grade nobles even the commons to become officials.As a result,the nature of the imperial court officials at that time was different from that of typical aristocracy time,and the individual quality rather than the origin has become the criterion for being an official,government management mode has become more and more professional.The transformation from aristocracy to bureaucracy in Tudor period was the significant manifestation of social development,it affected the evolution of government agencies and the change of some relevant regime;it had a direct and profound influence on the aristocracy group;at the same time,it impacted the long-formed obsession of hierarchy even influenced the concept of nation state.This transformation also provided an example of government innovation for other countries.In a word,the transformation had complicated reasons and multiple manifestations,and its significance was profound.The dissertation is from these perspectives,on the basis of a great deal of relevant historical materials and some research results at home or abroad,to showing the process of the transformation from aristocracy politics to bureaucracy politics.Analyze the reasons and conditions for this transformation,and try to explore its influence on Britain's ransition to modern polity.