Question

What does the author mean when he writes that the nobles had "resumed their ancient license in its utmost extent"?

Answer 1

It seems that you have missed the necessary options for us to answer this question, so I had to look for it. Anyway, here is the answer. What the author means when he writes that the nobles had "resumed their ancient license in its utmost extent" is that the nobles had sought to strengthen their positions of power as much as possible. Hope this helps.