Breadth study: Changing relationship between state and church

Question 1

What was the role of the Tudor church before 1529?

Answer 1

Before 1529, the Roman Catholic Church in England was enormously powerful. Since the early Middle Ages, the Church has grown in wealth and influence.

Question 2

Define the term ‘ Purgatory ‘ .

Answer 2

In the doctrine of the Catholic Church, it was believed that Purgatory was the intermediate place that existed between Heaven and Hell.

Question 3

Why were prayers so important to Tudor society ?

Answer 3

Due to the belief that purgatory was an unpleasant place for the soul, therefore , prayers would lead to the souls of the dead having a shortened time being purified in purgatory.

Question 4

Define the term ‘ Humanist’.

Answer 4

Humanist thought emerged in Europe in the later Middle Ages as part of the Renaissance ( the ‘ rebirth of education and thinking ).

Question 5

Give an example of a Humanist and their views upon religion.

Answer 5

Humanists such as Desiderus Erasmus did not want to break from the Catholic Church , but they were often critical or the superstition, wealth and corruption within the Church.

They argued that the Church needed to be reformed from within.

Question 6

Define the term ‘ Indulgences’.

Answer 6

A document that could be bought from Church officials,it offered forgiveness for sins and promised to declare the amount of time that a soul would spend in Purgatory.

Question 7

Who was the head of the Catholic Church and what were his powers?

Answer 7

The pope , who it was believed was placed in this position by God.

Technically, the pope had the power to appoint senior churchmen such as cardinals, archbishops and bishops.

Question 8

What practices did the church permeate upon ordinary people’s lives?

Answer 8

Every aspect, including children being baptised into the Church and later going through a confirmation of their Christian faith. The Church also performed marriages and funerals, and was often a key source of alms ( charity for the poor) and care for the sick and elderly.

Question 9

Through which aspect did the Church truly control peoples lives and ‘afterlives’ ?

Answer 9

Through the teachings that Heaven , Hell and Purgatory were real places; how people lived their lives on earth could affect what happened to their souls after death.

Question 10

What did the Church preach that would help the souls of the people ?

Answer 10

That in order to help their souls , they would have to perform good works , confess their sins to a priest , pray to the saints for help, and going on pilgrimages.
Attendance at regular Church services was also crucial!

Question 11

The Church was the main source of education and learning. What guarded the Church’s right to monitor and censor ideas and what would it do?

Answer 11

The papacy, it would prosecute those who seemed to challenge the Church’s teachings as heretics; if found guilty of heresy, the punishment could include burning at the stake.

Question 12

What language were the Church services and Bible in under Henry Vlll?

Answer 12

In Latin, not English , which meant most of the congregation would not have been able to understand what their priests were saying.

Question 13

Give an example of someone in power who took a career in the Church due to its opportunities to rise to the top of society, despite a lowly background.

Answer 13

Thomas Wolsey is a good example of this route into power. He began his career as the son of an Ipswich butcher, yet through a Church education and career, he was able to rise to be Henry Vlll’s Chancellor and chief minister.

Question 14

Define the term ‘pluralism ‘ .

Answer 14

Many clergymen held multiple posts ( a practice known as pluralism) , which meant that they had little contact with the people they were supposed to serve. This led to anticlericalism.

Question 15

During the Tudor period, the Church was the biggest landowner in England due to what ?

Answer 15

This was due to the wealthiest in society leaving money in their wills to pay for priests to pray for their souls after their deaths , also as the Church was endowed with vast landed estates.

Question 16

In which remote regions of England were religious traditions and festivals still a part of everyday life?

Answer 16

Yorkshire , Lancashire , Cornwall and Devon.

Question 17

How were the relations between the Tudor state and Church before 1529?

Answer 17

The relationship between the temporal power of the monarch and their government ( the state) and the spiritual power of the Church was often harmonious in the period before 1529. At other times in the period, the monarchy and the Church could become rivals.

Question 18

In the church-state relationship, what tensions would usually arise over?

Answer 18

Tensions tended to arise over the power and privileges of the Church, especially when they appeared to be undermining or challenging the power of the monarchy over England; particular flashpoints were the appointment of senior churchmen and the Church’s rights over sanctuary and benefit of clergy.

Question 19

Define the term ‘ sanctuary ‘.

Answer 19

Under English law, anyone accused of a crime could seek sanctuary in a church. This meant that they were protected by the Church from arrest by the authorities. Someone seeking sanctuary could take advantage of this arrangement for 40 days.

Question 20

Which Tudor monarch claimed the right to override the law of sanctuary?

Answer 20

Henry Vll claimed the right to override this law when the accused person had committed treason ( the most serious crime).

Question 21

Define the term ‘ benefit of clergy’.

Answer 21

Any criminal who could prove that they were a member of the clergy could be tried in a Church rather than a royal court and avoid harsher punishments.

Question 22

Why did further tensions rise over the ability of the papacy, based in Rime ?

Answer 22

Because of its control and ability to intervene in English Church affairs. English monarchs tended to guard their powers and rights to control the English Church very carefully ; papal foreign intervention could be seen as an attack on the power of English monarchs.

Question 23

Why did Henry Vll particularly need the support of the Church?

Answer 23

As a usurper, the support of the Church equates to the support from God for his victory at the Battle of Bosworth and the death of Richard III.

Question 24

Give an example of when Henry Vll’s relations with the papacy were good.

Answer 24

A sign of this was when he was able to ensure that the pope appointed Henry’s own candidate, John Morton, to the top position in the English Church, Archbishop of Canterbury.

Question 25

Define the term ‘ Anticlericalism’.

Answer 25

Dislike or criticism of the Church and it’s clergy. Anticlerical sentiment can be found as early as the 14th century; it was not new in the reign of Henry Vlll.

Question 26

What did anticlericalism pave the way for?

Answer 26

Anticlericalism paves the way for the growth of Protestantism, it was possible to be a member of the Roman Catholic Church, yet be critical of it.

Question 27

Give an example of anticlericalism being expressed in Parliament.

Answer 27

A good example of this was when they met in the years between 1512 and 1515. In 1512, there was another Act to limit benefits of the clergy; although on its own, this Act may be seen as a continuation of the process begun under Henry Vll.

Question 28

Despite criticisms under which monarchs’ reign did state-Church relations remain relatively cordial?

Answer 28

They remained cordial in the early years of Henry Vlll ‘s reign. Henry regarded himself as a loyal Catholic.

Question 29

Name one of the most powerful men in the European Catholic Church during Henry Vlll ‘s reign.

Answer 29

Wolsey , whom secured a whole series of top- level positions in the Church , including the bishoprics of Durham , Bath and Wells , and Tournai( France), which Wolsey held simultaneously!

Question 30

Define the term ‘ annulment ‘.

Answer 30

The annulment of a marriage means that the marriage was never valid in law. It is different from a divorce , which ends a marriage which has been broken down , but was legal to begin with.

Question 31

Define the term ‘ annates’.

Answer 31

Payments that churchmen made to Rome when they were appointed a new position in the Church.

Question 32

Define the term ‘ convocation ‘.

Answer 32

The Church’s own version of Parliament, which included representatives of local parish clergy plus bishops.