Chapter 12- Religion, ideas and Reform

Question 1

did renaissance ideas flourish during Henry’s reign?

Answer 1

• The King himself encouraged thinkers such as More and Erasmus and some of his cultural patronage such as commissioning effigies on his parents’ tomb showed Italian influence in England

Question 2

who was the most significant humanist voice in English education?

Answer 2

John Colet

Question 3

how did colet show his initiative in his refounding of St Paul’s School, London?

Answer 3

firstly, he appointed as the school’s governors members drawn from a city guild rather than choosing clergymen.

secondly, the school’s statutes laid down a curriculum, including some works by erasmus, and teaching methods derived from humanist principles.

he reinforced the type of school he envisaged by appointing William Lily (a humanist) as head.

Question 4

how did Cardinal Wolsey give his personal commitment to educational improvement?

Answer 4

by founding his college and also a school in his hometown of Ipswich
- he endowed a Greek professor in Oxford

Question 5

what schools were at the forefront of educational reform?

Answer 5

schools like St Paul’s and Magdalen college, Oxford, firmly adopted platonist educational principles.

Question 6

what does platonism refer to?

Answer 6

the ideas of the greek philosopher plato, interest in his ideas had been revived in fifteenth century Florence and had then spread around much of Europe.w

Question 7

what did platonist education inspire?

Answer 7

The founding of Corpus Christi and Cardinal colleges in Oxford and St Johns college in Cambridge

Question 8

how was erasmus received in English intellectual circles?

Answer 8

with enthusiasm, he was a friend of fisher and more and he had some influence on a younger generation of English humanists.

Question 9

why is it important not to exaggerate the scope of Erasmian humanism?

Answer 9

its scope was quite limited and much of the change that took place stemmed from the influence of new religious thinking rather than simply scholarly renaissance humanism.

Question 10

Erasmus’ visits to England

Answer 10

• he visited England four times
• held a professorship at Cambridge from 1509 to 1514
• well known figure in Henry’s court
• 1516 published a Greek new testament

Question 11

why did more signs of the influence of renaissance ideas on English culture appear in Henry VIII’s reign?

Answer 11

knowledge of classical learning increased amongst the elite groups in society
a growing number of schools became influenced by humanist approaches to education
Henry VIII saw himself as a promoter of new ideas and of humanism
the crown needed well-educated diplomats who could communicate with their counterparts in other countries in a fashionably elegant style.

Question 12

who was the most important English humanist writer?

Answer 12

Thomas More

Question 13

which other English writers also demonstrated humanist influences?

Answer 13

Thomas Lupset and Thomas Starkey

Question 14

what shows how renaissance ideas also had influence on visual culture?

Answer 14

Henry VIII commissioned the Italian sculptor Pietro Torrigiano to produce the tombs of his parents and of his grandmother, Lady Margaret Beaufort.

Question 15

balance between gothic and renaissance architecture

Answer 15

• renaissance architecture was often in a perpendicular setting to gothic architecture such as in the Lady Chapel and the chapel of King’s college Cambridge’ screen celebrating Henry and Anne’s marriage.

Question 16

painters at Henry’s court

Answer 16

• Dominant painters were from the northern renaissance which had more gothic influence
• Hans Holbein was the best known, and the Fleming Lucas Horenbout was best paid
• tapestries were the most popular, with chivalric themes from medieval culture

Question 17

what is evidence that Henry was more conservative in his building tastes than Wolsey?

Answer 17

surviving evidence of Henry’s building programmes show a continuing taste for the gothic, whereas Wolsey’s Hampton court clearly exhibited more classical influence.

Question 18

Did Henry enjoy music?

Answer 18

• generous patron of music and composed himself
• Wolsey similarly composed
• Flemish music was the most popular

Question 19

what is evident across the cultural range?

Answer 19

that while Italian renaissance influences were becoming more fashionable, England’s main cultural links reflected the close commercial ties which existed between England and the Low Countries.

Question 20

what did Henry VIII do between 1532 and 1540?

Answer 20

unforeseen to all,
he withdrew the church from the jurisdiction of the papacy
established the king as supreme head of the church
dissolved the monasteries
began to alter the church’s doctrine and practices.

Question 21

what offences involving corruption were associated with the church?

Answer 21

• pluralism (receiving the profits of more than one post)
• simony (the purchase of church office)
• non-residence ( receiving the profits of a post but not being present to perform the duties associated with it.)

Question 22

what is the best example of a corrupt clergyman?

Answer 22

Cardinal Wolsey
clergy were often corrupt as the crown used church offices as a way of rewarding its officials who were clergymen

Question 23

what is anticlericalism?

Answer 23

opposition to the social and political importance of the Clergy

Question 24

what examples of legal opposition to the Clergy were there?

Answer 24

some common lawyers objected to the influence of canon law, and there were objections to the legal privileges of the clergy

Question 25

what is an example of clerical misconduct which caused considerable criticism?

Answer 25

the murder of Richard Hunne

Question 26

what was the murder of Richard Hunne?

Answer 26

in 1514 Hunne, a London merchant, was found dead in his cell in the bishop of London’s prison. he had died in a torture attempt that had gone wrong and it had been dressed up as a suicide.

Question 27

what was the impact of the murder of Richard Hunne?

Answer 27

it was disastrous for the short term reputation of the church. but the time which had elapsed between the case and the start of the break with Rome suggests that by then it was much less likely to have been at the forefront of the minds of critics of the church.

Question 28

what was the Supplication of the Beggars?

Answer 28

a book written by Simon Fish (an early English protestant convert) in 1529 which was dedicated to Henry VIII. it was a vicious and powerful attack on many aspects of the Catholic Church, which was portrayed in exaggerated terms as being greedy, corrupt and treacherous.

Question 29

what precedents for dissolving the monasteries already existed by the 1530s?

Answer 29

Wolsey had secured the dissolution of around 20 houses in the 1520s to fund the establishment of cardinal college, Oxford.

Question 30

what monastic orders were flourishing right up to the final days of the dissolution?

Answer 30

Observant Franciscans and Bridgettines

Question 31

what does the speed at which the monasteries were destroyed show?

Answer 31

- Monasteries were outdated and had lost sense of direction to the extent that they were substantial businesses with land and buildings

Question 32

what evidence is there for early Protestantism in England

Answer 32

- little - Martin Luther started his attack on the Catholic church in 1517 - Some Lollard beliefs survived and there was evidence of the German reformers being in London and at the east ports in the 1520s

Question 33

intellectual discussions of Protestantism

Answer 33

- Reformers at Cambridge who met to discuss - Led by Robert Barnes and Thomas Bilney who were both burned as heretics - Cranmer part of the group who would become Archbishop.

Question 34

relationship between humanism and reform

Answer 34

- Two most influential humanists, Bishop Fisher and Sir Thomas More both paid with their lives with their opposition to reform - Cranmer- a reformer, also had humanist connections - many humanists such as Gardiner went along with reforms to stay alive

Question 35

evidence of humanist approach to reform

Answer 35

- in the final years of Henry's reign, Cranmer continued to enjoy the King's favour despite attacks from the Duke of Norfolk - King used humanists John Cheke to tutor Edward and Ascham to tutor Elizabeth - Katherine Parr was humanist and was a generous patron of the arts - humanists and reformers were more interested in being in a place to influence Edward

Question 36

three changes to the church's structure

Answer 36

- King became supreme head of the church - King appoints Cromwell Vicegerent in Spirituals in 1534 which gave him power over all the archbishops - six new dioceses were created to attempt to improve church administration

Question 37

What wasn't changed at all in the structure of the church

Answer 37

- spiritual jurisdiction remained in the hands of bishops and archbishops

Question 38

1st stage of the dissolution of the monasteries

Answer 38

- Cromwell sets up survey called the Valor Ecclesiasticus in 1535 to give him an indication of the resources and wealth of the church.

Question 39

2nd stage of the dissolution

Answer 39

Four visitors were sent round the country to find evidence to convict the monasteries They had been told to find evidence of weakness and corruption the most fair minded- Tregonwell mixed criticism with praise for their holiness

Question 40

third stage of the dissolution

Answer 40

Act of Parliament 1536 allowed dissolution of monasteries with a yearly income of less than £200 per annum - presented as a way to preserve and improve the quality of monasticism, saying the smaller houses had let the standards slip

Question 41

final stages of the dissolution of the monasteries

Answer 41

- after the POG, heads of religious houses implicated surrendered to the Crown - Cromwell had always intended to get rid of all the monasteries and passed an act in 1539 to dissolve all the remaining monasteries - by March 1540 all were gone

Question 42

what was passed to attack traditional religious practices

Answer 42

- 1536 injunctions which encouraged moral conduct but also limited the number of holy days, discouraged pilgrimages - 1538 pilgrimages and veneration of relics and images were condemned as works devised by men's fantasies - clergy who upheld these had to publicly recant

Question 43

what did the injunctions say regarding the bible

Answer 43

- required each parish church to have an English bible - encouraged every person to, 'read the same, at that which is the lively word of God, that, every Christian man is bound to embrace,' - in practice few would be able to read the bible and religious messages still came from imagery

Question 44

design of the bible

Answer 44

- first edition appeared in 1539 and showed Henry offering the word of God to Cranmer and his bishops and Cromwell and other politicians

Question 45

reversal of liberty offered by the english bible

Answer 45

Henry became fearful of allowing the reading of the bible because it could loosen bonds of social control - The Act for the Advancement of True Religion in 1543 restricted the public reading of Bible to upper class men and upper class women only in private - the act said the other classes had increased, 'naughty opinions,' and fallen into, 'division,'

Question 46

Who were the two women that defied the rules around reading the bible

Answer 46

- Joan Bocher smuggled Tyndale's banned new testament to women at court, and was burned to death in 1550, refusing to recant - Anne Askew was forced from her home and moved to London, becoming connected with Catherine Parr. She was tortured and burned to death in 1546

Question 47

which two protestant beliefs were introduced

Answer 47

- Justification by faith - consubstantiation no consistent pattern- shows King's indecisiveness

Question 48

first measure to change doctrine

Answer 48

- 1536 ten articles ~ Said only Eucharist, Baptism and Penance were necessary to salvation ~confession was praised ~ praying to saints for remission of sins disallowed but for other purposes was allowed. Shows both Lutheran and Catholic influences

Question 49

Second measure of doctrine

Answer 49

- 1537 Bishops Book ~ restored the four sacraments omitted from the ten articles but with a lower status Reversal of previous doctrine

Question 50

third measure of doctrine

Answer 50

1539 Six Articles Act ~ Reasserted Catholic doctrine and denial of transubstantiation was heretical Shows there was too much religious controversy and that this undermined order of society. Caused two bishops to resign

Question 51

fourth measure of doctrine

Answer 51

1543 King's Book ~ revised the Bishop's book to emphasise largely conservative values but had some Lutheran elements

Question 52

continuity in the change

Answer 52

- hierarchy of the church largely intact - no change to interior of churches and services still traditional - passing of Six Articles in 1539 and fall of Cromwell in 1540 weakened cause of reform - services were in Latin, music important role

Question 53

Change in the church and culture

Answer 53

- Jurisdiction of the Pope destroyed - monasteries dissolved with buildings in ruin - transfer of resources from church to crown - English bible held at many parish churches - Religious culture influenced by humanism - much of traditional Catholic church in doubt - renaissance culture had firmly entrenched court and wealthy circles and would keep its cultural prominence.