He also personally reviewed all
accounts and initialed every page, making sure that all payments
were made. He regularly ordered all men with an income of 800s.
[40 pounds] yearly from lands or revenue in hand to receive
knighthoods, which were avoided by those who did not want to
fight, or pay a high fee. As a result, the Crown became rich and
therefore powerful.
Henry's Queen, Elizabeth, was a good influence on his character.
Her active beneficence was a counteracting influence to his
avaricious predisposition. When Henry and his Queen traveled
through the nation, they often stopped to talk to the common
people. They sometimes gave away money, such as to a man who had
lost his hand. Henry paid for an intelligent boy he met to go to
school.
Henry had the first paper mill erected in the nation. He fostered
the reading of books and the study of Roman law, the classics, and
the Bible. He had his own library and gave books to other
libraries.
The age of entry to university was between 13 and 16. It took four
years' study of grammar, logic, and rhetoric to achieve the
Bachelor of Arts degree and another five before a master could
begin a specialized study of the civil law, canon law, theology,
or medicine. Arabic numbers replaced Roman numerals, making
multiplication and division possible. Humanist studies were
espoused by individual scholars at the three centers of higher
learning: Oxford University, Cambridge University, and the Inns of
Court in London.
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