Chapter 10 - The Dissolution of the Monasteries Flashcards
1
Q
The role of the Monasteries
A
○ Played a huge part in English life
○ Very wealthy
○ Abbots sat in the house of lords, political and social influence
○ Provided
▪ Food
▪ Agricultural jobs
▪ Education for wealthy children
▪ Help for the poor
▪ Medicines for the sick
Dissolution of the monasteries between 1536 and 1540 destroyed all this
2
Q
Reasons for the dissolution of the Monasteries
Political
A
- The need to break the power of Rome
- The presence of Monks and Nun’s in political situations provided a potential threat to Henry’s plans
- The religious houses would continue to be connected to Rome and Henry and Cromwell wanted to break as many ties as possible
- The centres of the power were in Europe and Henry didn’t want the monasteries reporting to anyone outside of England
- Henry wanted to keep the good opinion of the gentry, who were for the dissolution of the Monasteries as it freed up land for them to purchase
3
Q
Reasons for the dissolution of the Monasteries
Financial
A
The wealth of the monasteries could be channelled into the king’s pocket, allowing him to gain more financial power
4
Q
Reasons for the dissolution of the Monasteries
Religious
A
- Commissioners in 1535 discovered that religious houses often did not fulfil their religious duties and were instead lazy and greedy, with evidence of sexual relationships, which was forbidden.
- These visitations described the Monks and Nun’s as ‘morally lax’ giving the king due cause to shut them down.
- More recent historians challenged this claiming
- Visits were often very short
- Much of the evidence was fabricated
- Many of the nuns who had had children had them prior to becoming nuns, it was common for widows to join a nunnery
- Calculations showed only 1 confession to homosexuality in every 30 monasteries
4
Q
Earlier Actions for the dissolution of the monasteries
A
- March 1536 – act passed for dissolution of smaller monasteries – 300 with less than £200 a year
- Members given opportunity to move to bigger religious houses
- King had power to exempt houses as he saw fit, he exempted 67
- When these were closed, commissioners acted fast in sending the money and valuable goods straight to the tower of London
- Materials from the buildings were plundered by the commissioners and local people
5
Q
Later actions for the dissolution of the monasteries
A
- Debatable whether henry was encouraged by this successful mission or by the monastic involvement in the pilgrimage of grace, but in 1539, Henry and Cromwell passed an Act of Parliament
- This act legalised the voluntary surrender of all monastic properties to the King
- Commissioners visited monasteries and used bribes and bullying to encourage abbots to surrender their property
- These efforts achieved lots but not all abbots were willing to do the king’s bidding, most notably Colchester, Glastonbury and reading. In these cases false evidence was used against them
- By 1840, the 800 religious houses were removed.
- Monks were often able to find positions as priests and abbots were given pensions
- Nuns were thrown back on their families and forced to uphold their vows of chastity
6
Q
The impact of the dissolutions
Political
A
- Allowed Henry to impose his authority in political control and in the localities
- Financial gains allowed him to reinforce his defences
- Replacement of Abbots with Bishops gave him more control over the country and its church
7
Q
The impact of the dissolutions
Religious
A
- Represented final break of links with European Catholicism
- Organisation of CofE was boosted by 8000 new priests, all well versed in liturgy and doctrine, solving the problem of ill-educated clergy
- Six new bishoprics in Oxford, Cheshire, Gloucester, Bristol, Peterborough and Westminster, took over abbot responsibilities
- The dissolution provided hundreds of educated monks, ready to take over the many vacancies within parish churches due to absenteeism.
8
Q
The impact of the dissolutions
Socio-economic
A
- Abbeys had been greatest landowners in the country, principal centres of charity and medical care
* Monastic hospitals were lost and help for the poor, with devastating effects on the communities
* There were limited sources of relief for the poor and Tudor governments struggled to deal with the problem - The sale of former monastic property meant there was also a transfer of power
* Significant amount still owned by the king
* Rented out to gentry
* Majority of those who purchased the land were established families but some were merchants and lawyers
* Statute of Wills 1540 gave them ownership of their property - Destruction of Monastic libraries caused great cultural loss
* Worcester priory lost 594 of their 600 books
* Many of the earliest Anglo Saxon manuscripts were lost at this time
* Some were burned as buildings were ransacked
* Many precious possessions were also lost in the dissolution - Henry did invest some of his new wealth into education, setting up a small number of grammar schools across the country
* The subsequent increase in literacy could be attributed to this however it was also considered an effect of an increase in reading materials.
9
Q
The impact of the dissolutions
Financial
A
- As a result of the dissolution, 4 new departments of finance were established between 1535 and 1542
- Court of Augmentations
* Property and financial problems, pensions, mortgages, debts etc. - Court of First Fruits and Tenths
* Collected from the churches money that would have originally been sent to Rome - Court of Wards and Liveries
* Dealt with monies owed to the king as feudal lord - Court of General Surveyors
* Established out of old household surveyors’ department, administered crown lands, handled cases and registered leases - Alongside the two financial departments already in existence
* The Exchequer
* The Duchy of Lancaster - The 4 new courts were set up so that the crown could have more control over its lands and finances
