Border barons and Royal justice: The Dacres trials in 1525, 1534

Abstract

This article compares the trials against two members of the Dacre family, the Barons of Dacre – Thomas and William. The relationship between the monarch and the nobility has traditionally been considered one of the key moments in the development of states in the Middle Ages and early modern times. Subordinating the aristocracy and restricting its independence is seen as one of the main goals of royal policy. Both Dacres held important posts in frontier administration, acting as Wardens of the Border Marches on the Scottish border. In addition, the Dacres owned vast tracts of land in the northern counties and were one of the most powerful families in northern England. A comparison of the two trials thus sheds light on royal politics in the northern lands, the relationship of the Dacre family of Gillsland to the Tudor monarchy and their place in the social microcosm of the Anglo-Scottish frontier. The study is based on an analysis of the public papers of the early Tudor era: the correspondence and records of court proceedings. As the study shows in the trials of 1525 and 1534, the Crown did not seek to wipe out the influence of the Dacres barons entirely, but to limit it by punishing them for their neglect of royal laws and excessive autonomy. At the same time, the initiative to persecute the Dacres came from the provincial gentry, those with whom the barons, for various reasons, failed to deal. The Crown was only responding to these challenges.