Crown, church and parliament Flashcards
Church State Relations
Influenced politics and government through parliament
Relations were harmonious until Break from Rome
Laws passed by Henry VII relating to the church
Henry passed laws tightening controls over who could claim benefit of the clergy - not an attack on church powers instead an attempt to ensure clergy claimants were genuine
Tensions between Henry VII and the Church
Henry cautious to uphold the traditional privileges of the Church except when they threatened his power e.g. overriding sanctuary laws to arrest Humphrey Stattford who plotted to rebel in 1486
Harmony between Henry VII and the Church
Henry VII needed the support of the church as this equated to support from God for his victory at Bosworth
Relations with the Church before 1529
remained cordial as Henry regarded himself as a loyal catholic and published a book ‘The Defence of the Seven Sacraments) in support if the Catholic Church attacking reformer ideas of Martin Luther
Awarded the title ‘Defender of the Faith’ by the Pope
Church’s power before 1529
Biggest landowner in England
retained its prominent part in the everyday life of people – salvation through the seven sacraments
main source of education and learning and key source of alms for the poor,
Background to AOS - laws passed
Act in Conditional Restraint of Annates 1532
Act of Submission of the Clergy 1533
Act in the Restraint of Appeals 1533
Act in Conditional Restraint of Annates
1532 - temporary stop to payments to Rome
Act of Submission of the Clergy
1533 - church could no longer pass cannon laws and call convocation without the permission of the king - forced to aceept the king’s authority
Act in the Restraint of Appeals 1533
stripped the Church of legal power by stopping the legal appeals so citizens could no longer take legal cases to the pope
Act of Supremacy 1534
Confirmed Henry VIII as the head of the English Church under English law
Significance of AOS 1534
Henry had already been the head of the church for over a year, it could be argued that it’s significance was limited - under way in 1522-33 with the Submission of the Clergy and Act in Restraint of Appeals
Relationship between Church and State during Henry VIII’s reign
AOS - turning point in the relationship = reinforced royal control over the English Church and ensured the allegiance of the clergy to Henry VIII not the papacy
dissolution of the monasteries between 1536-1539
Changes to the Church under Henry VIII - summary
The Act of Ten Articles 1536
Injunctions to the clergy
return to traditional Catholic beliefs through Act of six articles in 1539
Changes to the Church under Henry VIII - Act of 10 articles
The Act of Ten Articles (1536) – mostly Catholic, changes sacraments necessary for salvation from seven to three,
Changes to the Church under Henry VIII - Injunctions to the clergy
1536/38 –discouraged superstitious practises such as pilgrimages.
Changes to the Church under Henry VIII - return to traditional Catholic beliefs
Return to traditional Catholic beliefs with 1539 Act of Six Articles reinforced Catholic doctrines on transubstantiation and celibacy for priest
However never any suggestion that England should return to Rome, and Henry indeed retained his supremacy over the English Church
Significance of AOS 1534
set precedent that any ruler that wished to alter/reverse the doctrine regarding the church, could only do so through parliament
Changes to Church doctrine under Edward
1549 Act of uniformity
New book of common prayer 1552
42 articles 1552
1549 Act of uniformity
Introduced Thomas Cranmer’s new English Book of Common Prayer
New Book of Prayer 1552
More Protestant version of the Common Book of Prayer – moved away from transubstantiation towards a more protestant version which denied the real presence
42 articles 1552
altered the nature of the English Church in a more fundamental way and paved way for 39 articles under Liz
Mary’s goal towards the church
Aimed to restore the English Church to Rome -
Opposition to Mary’s reforms towards church
unpopular = Protestants rebelled let by Thomas Wyatt
Mary’s aim of returning the monasteries
unable to return the monastic land which had been legally sold to new owners - led to compromise these church lands would not be returned
made hard for her to restore catholic church to former landed power
Repealing the 1534 AOS
Repealed the Act of Sup by her own act of parliament in 1554
unable to make a lasting impression and return to Rome was reversed after her death
Re-establishing the royal supremacy after Mary’s repeal
Liz had to find a via media (middle way) which could satisfy both the Catholics and the Protestants
How the house of lords were a problem
Half of the House of Lords were Catholic (bishops appointed by Mary)
Cecil and Elizabeth needed to convince the House of Lords to pass the necessary legislation for the new supremacy
The Elizabethan Religious Settlement/Act of supremacy 1599
name given to the religious and political arrangements made for England during the reign of Elizabeth I that brought the English Reformation to a conclusion.
Bill of supremacy
compromised as supreme governor
last for the rest of the reign and became the basis for what is known as the Elizabethan Church of England
Bill of uniformity under Elizabeth
Passed at the same of AOS 1599 - reimposed the radical 1552 Prayer Book + Fines for those who refused to attend weekly Church services) - idea that if this was opposed it would not affect the bill of supremacy
Oath of Supremacy under Elizabeth
any person taking public or church office in England to swear allegiance to the monarch as Supreme Governor
Opposition to the Oath of Supremacy
All but 1 of Mary’s bishops refused and were deprived of their posts so protestants were appointed in their place
Summary of the changing relationship between crown and parliament
Parliament did gain greater prominence and power however the crown remained the most important powerful part of parliament
The role of parliament
sole right to grant taxation and the sole right to pass laws: when a monarch needed money for war they’d summon parliament
How is parliament divided
House of Lords (hereditary peers and bishops)
House of Commons (elected MPs) – 2 MPs per county, nobility exercised patronage to ensure their clients were elected
Henry VII’s first parliament
acknowledged his right to the throne and passed acts of attainder
Henry VII’s relationship with parliament
followed medieval patterns of master and servant as parliament was called periodically due to needs for grants of tax/laws
Frequency of Parliament being called during Henry VII’s reign
7 times in his reign
Prefered not to have
ambitious foreign policy so infrequently called parliament.
Obedience/opposition by parliament to Henry VII
Each occasion he requested money, parliament accepted – apart from 1504 when he was forced to accept a smaller sum as a result of opposition from the Commons
Henry VIII’s parliament before the reformation
met four times between 1509 and 1529 to grant taxation to fund Henry’s wars
Parliament’s opposition to Wolsey
1523 for the amount of taxation he needed - MPs were landowners so feared increased taxation
Reformation Parliament
1529-36
Henry and Cromwell used parliament to legalise the break with Rome, increasing frequency of parliament being called to legislate on religious matters
Significant change in relationship with parliament during Henry VIII’s reign
king-and-parliament became king-in-parliament - notion that the king-in-parliament had authority over the church but the king alone did not
The most powerful institution in the country was the king acting in conjunction with parliament rather than without it
The impact of AOS on the role of parliament
enhanced the power of parliament - set a precedent that future monarchs would have to call parliament to change Acts passed in the 1530s e.g. Mary had to recall parliament in order to repeal AOS
Parliament under Edward
remained consisted to Henry VIII
Mary’s use of parliament
Forced to go through parliament to repeal AOS 1534 and restore papal headship of the church
The first significance resistance from parliament
Mary’s attempt of counter-reformation
large number of MPs refused to accept a bill that would have that would have confiscated the land of those exiled from England
Sir Anthony Kingston locked doors, forced vote defeating bill
Parliament under Elizabeth
worked in harmony with the crown but rs came to strain when england went to war with Spain–
How did parliament’s role increase during Elizabeth’s reign
Liz forced to call parliament more regularly to raise taxation, which developed parliaments importance during war with spain
Growing assertiveness of parliament in the commons during Elizabeth’s reign
MPs had growing experience and confidence sitting for a number of years + growth of puritan MPs demanding freedom of speech
Elzabeth’s control of parliament - ensuring her royal prerogative
1576: Liz restricted the freedom of speech of parliament
1572: Liz forbade parliament to debate the fate of mary queen of scots
How did Elizabeth deal with opposition in parliament
Puritians elected as MPs Cope and Wntworth attempted to change the religious settlement by adopting a more Puritan doctrine
Liz sent them to the TofLon - significant because it demonstrates the limitations of parliamentary powers, as ultimate power rested with the Crown
