The governance and administration of the palatinate and Diocese of Durham in late medieval and Tudor England

The contrary themes of change and continuity highlight historiography about sixteenth-century England. These two themes are embodied in the governance of the palatinate of Durham, a semi-autonomous region in the north of England, in the medieval and early modern periods. As an ecclesiastical palatinate under the jurisdiction of a bishop, Durham was unique from the other palatinates of the kingdom in the medieval period, Chester and Lancaster. This thesis establishes that Durham remained a viable polity in the sixteenth century whose officers exercised privileges independent from the crown. The mid-Tudor period (1530--1569), which has been depicted by historians as one of termination for the palatinate, in reality witnessed the alteration of those rights. The changes that occurred in the administration of the palatinate were indirect consequences of the religious and political reformations, and also resulted from conflicts in the personal relationship between the bishop and his sovereign. The administration of justice in Durham is highlighted as an example of the bishop's continued authority in local government. The study of Durham in the late medieval and early modern periods, with a special emphasis on the mid-sixteenth century, as a semi-autonomous region within the kingdom will contribute to the understanding of Tudor state building and the local influence of the Tudor reformations.