Edward VI

Question 1

What is Thomas Cranmer homily on obedience in 1547?

Answer 1

This was read in parish churches to establish that obedience to the authority and the king was in the will of God. This would enforce Edward’s power and to decrease religious divisions

Question 2

What were the challenges for Edward VI?

Answer 2

• The country was religiously divided
• Crown finances were slim after wars in the 1540s
• There were many rising political figures
• Coinage was debased to pay for wars so inflation rose and real incomes declined
• Lack of long - term security due to selling crown lands

Question 3

What was the regency council like?

Answer 3

• It had 16 members and 12 extra to assist when required
• Decisions were made by a majority
• Members were balanced between protestants like Hertford, Cranmer and Sir Anthony Denny and religious conservatives like Thomas Wriothesley and Lord st John
• Many lawyers and administrators were chosen to secure good government but noble families were under represented
• Hertford became protector losing the conciliar government

Question 4

How did the Duke of Somerset/Hertford/Edward Seymour gain power?

Answer 4

• His supporters included Viscount Lisle, Cranmer and Sir William Paget with promotions within peerage and substantial grants of crown lands
• He gained control by governing members of his won household as Sir Thomas Smith became a member of the privy council
• The earl of Southampton was soon arrested as she felt resentment
• No widespread control causing fears about the breakdown of law and order
• He became arrogant and dictorial
• Rivalries began including Thomas Seymour who tried to convince Edward VI to hate Somerset and he plotted with Southampton
• In August 1549, Warwick, Southampton and the earl of Arundel, lord st John unsuccessfully broke Somerset as Mary didn’t support them
• In October, the conspirators had a stand - off in London
• He eventually surrendered and soon returned to government where he organised a coup causing his execution on the 22nd of January 1552

Question 5

How did the Duke of Northumberland rise to power?

Answer 5

• He soon replaced Somerset but in February 1550, he became lord president of the council
• Many conservatives wanted Mary to run a regency causing a coup against them in December 1549
• He promoted himself to Duke of Northumberland and lord Chamberlain
• His hardman, sir John Gates became vice - Chamberlain of the household
• Hoak believes he was, “one of the most remarkable abled governor of any European state at the time,”
• Successful government through the privy council
• Paget made guidelines to increase operations in the privy council
• Cecil became key administrator
• Northumberland made enemies like Paget making government less conciliar
• He and Gates had possession of the dry stamp with which he could affit the king’s signature to documents

Question 6

What were the key aims and events of foreign relations in 1547?

Answer 6

Aims:
- reinstating Edward VI on the Scottish throne as Edward I’s heir
- Enforce the marriage alliance between Mary and Edward
- Defeating the Scots through forts on the border allowing an alliance with France
- He defeated the Scots at the battle of Pinkie in September 1547 with 30 warships, 50 supply ships and 4000 troops
- Berwick was used as a base with 16,000 infantry and 4000 cavalry
- Another army for Carlisle with 2000 men and 500 cavalry marched to Scotland
- That Scottish army was large but weak compared to the English canons and cavalry

Question 7

What were the outcomes in foreign policy from 1547-49?

Answer 7

• Somerset had little control of the border
• Fort proved difficult and expensive to garrison
• They couldn’t capture Dunbar and Edinburgh castle
• He failed to block the firth of forth allowing the French to relieve Edinburgh
• Queen Mary was taken to France in August 1548 to marry the Dauphin
• The use of the military was unaffordable as they were £600,000 in debt
• He failed to secure the marriage alliance
• There was a threat of war in 1549 and a French invasion of southern England when the country was vulnerable due to rebellions and rivalry in government removing troops from Scotland

Question 8

What were the economic changes to the land under Somerset?

Answer 8

• There was an investigation on the legality of recent enclosure and the government sent inspectors around the country
• Many poor families in Midlands and the South lost their land and customary rights
• The gentry were angered by inspectors as they lost their livelihoods
• Inspectors made little changes so wealthy landowners supported the crown
• Enclosure increased because there was a large profit from wool and cloth by having a large flock of sheep
• Hales argues that enclosure is the root problem of many of England’s social and economic problems
• A sheep and cloth tax was imposed in march 1549
• The tax didn’t reduce enclosure but rather, it put pressure on small farmers in upland areas

Question 9

What were the other economic changes under Somerset?

Answer 9

• Inflation increased
• Real wages decreased
• The debasement of coinage raised £537,000 but it devalued coins
• There was a poor harvest in 1548
• Food prices in bread, cheese and meat rose

Question 10

Why were the rebellions a large threat?

Answer 10

• England had a lack of resources and military at the time
• The issues from rebellions were widespread
• They challenged the power of the king and regency council
• Guy believed it almost turned into a war against the classes
• The government couldn’t cope with the number of rebellions in the summer
• England was vulnerable to invasion
• Cities were taken over
• Major rebellions weren’t east to suppress
• Troops were removed from the Scottish border

Question 11

Why weren’t the rebellions a large threat?

Answer 11

• The system worked as the loyalty of the nobles was shown through their lack of involvement and their ability to suppress rebellions
• A lack of clear leaders show a lack of co-ordination and organisation so the rebellions couldn’t grow
• No attempts to march to London
• The government had full control of its forces

Question 12

Where did most of the rebellions take place?

Answer 12

South East of England

Question 13

What happened in Suffolk?

Answer 13

Sir Anthony Wingfid was able to reduce unrest with parsons and promises of improvement and as a consequence, a rebel was hung and the earl of Arundel had a suppress further rebels

Question 14

What happened in Leicestershire and Rutland?

Answer 14

The marquis of Dorset and the earl of Huntington suppressed rebels in August and September leading to executions

Question 15

What happened in Yorkshire?

Answer 15

In July 1549, a chantry commissioner was killed but local gentry could suppress the rebellion

Question 16

What happened in Wiltshire?

Answer 16

Rebels in May were suppressed by Sir Willa Herbert and his retainers after they attacked his park

Question 17

How many rebellions were there in 1549?

Answer 17

27

Question 18

What were the reasons and aims of the rebels in the Western rebellion in Devon and Cornwall?

Answer 18

• Religious grievances especially in relation to the new prayer book which they had a lack of experience so it spread to the loss of community
• Mistrust in rural labourers and landowners
• Resentment over sheep tax
• To reverse religious reforms

Question 19

What were the actions of the Western rebels in 1549?

Answer 19

6 Jun: Cornish rebels camped at Bodmin
11 Jun: Rebels in Devon started at Sampford Courtenay
20 Jun: They joined together
21 Jun: unrest began between rebels and Sir Peter Carew, a Devon MP
23 Jun: Rebels camped at Clyst St Mary, near Exeter
2 Jul: Rebels besiege Exeter
4 Aug: Rebels were defeated at Clyst heath
17 Aug: Rebels were finally defeated at Samptfort Courtenay

Question 20

What was the outcome of the Western rebellion?

Answer 20

Lord Russel was appointed by Somerset as a rising noble to create an army of foreign mercenaries to defeat them

Question 21

What were the reasons and aims of the Kett’s rebellion in East Anglia?

Answer 21

• Class antagonism
• Hatred of local convert officials
• Resentment of the abuse by landowners of the Norfolk fold course (an area to graze sheep on enclosed common land in Norfolk and Suffolk)
• The release of pent - up frustration about the local administration of the Howards
• Somerset made a proclaimation about enclosure in April and they wanted government to act on these reforms

Question 22

What were the actions of the rebels in 1549?

Answer 22

8 Jul: Hedges were torn down in Wymondham
9 Jul: Protestors went to Norwich
12 Jul: Rebels led by Robert Kett camped on the mousehold heath where order was maintained and negotiations with civic authorities in Norwich
21 Jul: Rebels fired on the city and captured it a day after
1 Aug: John Dudley failed to recapture Norwich
27 Aug: Warwick managed to recapture the area

Question 23

What were the outcomes of the Kett’s rebellion?

Answer 23

• The earl of Northampton and John Dudley failed to suppress the rebellion
• Somerset set an army of foreign mercenaries under the command of Warwick to deal with the rebels
• Kett was convicted of high treason and was hung

Question 24

What were the religious changes under Somerset?

Answer 24

• Radicals like John Hooper and Thomas Become were in the household
• In 1549, a moderate common book of prayer was written by Cranmer with a single form of English services
• Gardiner thought he could still imply the acceptance of transubstantiation
• The act of uniformity in 1548 laid down the Bible’s publication
• In February 1547, the denunciation of images in London was supported by Ridley and led to iconoclasm (the breaking of images)
• In July 1547, injunctions reflected the radical attitudes in government through attacking lights, images, stained glass, processions and practices associated with Candlemas, Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday
• In December 1547, chantries, guilds and lay brotherhood’s were abolished and their property and money seized by the crown for foreign policy

Question 25

What was the percentage of Protestants in London in 1547?

Answer 25

20% through the role of Nicholas Ridley. Kent, East Sussex, Essex, Bristol and east Anglia were key areas of support

Question 26

What happened to humanism under Edward VI?

Answer 26

• The injunctions required parish churches to have a copy of paraphrases of Erasmus
• Nicholas Udall gained encouragement from government
• Cecil encouraged humanist scholars at Cambridge
• Peter Mary, Martin Bucer and Philip Melanchtonan were invited to England
• Less reform took place Northumberland as Cranmer and Northumberland had a strained relationship as he was under Hooper’ s influence
• Religious change had a lack of impact
• Two groups were radical protestants and evangelical humanists
• Hugh Latimer believed a radical overhaul of the church through the work of Martin Luther

Question 27

What happened in foreign policy from 1549?

Answer 27

• The war with France and Scotland ended
• He reduced the foreign policy expenditures to stabilise the crown and internal problems
• The French gave England £133,333 to recover Boulogne port
• English garrisons were lost
• Through the treaty of Boulogne in 1550, Boulogne was returned to improve crown finances
• The alliance with France created a marriage alliance between Edward and Henry II’s daughter Elizabeth
• Relations with Charles V were bad due to a shift to Protestantism

Question 28

What other changes took place?

Answer 28

• A Counter-Reformation began to take place in Europe
• William Cecil (secretary of state) and Thomas Gresham from the treasury were in charge of royal finances
• The government tried to increase revenue by raising custom and excise rates

Question 29

What happened to the cloth trade?

Answer 29

There was a drop in exports in the summer of 1551 due to a temporary problem with trade at Antwerp creating unemployment in East Anglia and the West of England

Question 30

What were the economic changes under Northumberland?

Answer 30

• Walter Mildmay produced a detailed analysis of royal and plans to streamline it
• Money was brought in from churches
• Chantry land was sold off
• A renewed interest in a north-east passage round North America
• In 1552, Sebastian Cabot set up a company via the support from city merchants and privy council members
• In may 1553, Hugh Willoughby was sent to find a route but he and two ships perished
• Richard Chancellor reached the port of archangel establishing links with Ivan IV through the Muscovy company
• He only debased silver once and by 1553, there was the same silver content in coins as in 1527
• Poor harvests in the 1550s saw an increase in grain prices
• The treason act of 1550 restores law and order
• The sheep tax was repealed in 1550
• Anti-enclosure legislation was enforced and commissions ended as it threatened the gentry and common people
• The poor law in 1552 made parishes responsible for raising money for deserving poor
• By 1553, English ships traded around the gold coast and in West Africa but they couldn’t travel around the Cape of good hope to get to India or China

Question 31

What were the changes to plunder the wealth of the church?

Answer 31

• Property of bishoprics were reduced as for example, the diocese of Gloucester and Worcester were combined, the bishops of Exeter and Winchester made substantial grants to their property and there was a plan to divide the bishopric of Durham
• In January 1553, the crown started to confiscate church plates

Question 32

What were the percentage changes to leaving money to the church?

Answer 32

From 70% to 32%
In Lincolnshire and Huntington, from 66% to only 10%

Question 33

What did Duffy argue?

Answer 33

It attacked the history and collective memory of each parish which encouraged a climate of discontent

Question 34

What were the changes in continued protestant reforms?

Answer 34

• The more radical book of common prayer in 1552 introduced:
• removal of remaining conservative ceremonies
• rewriting of baptism, confirmation and burial services
• radical reform of communtion like a shift from wafer to bread
• ban on the use of popish vestments
• restriction in the use of church music
• Shift to Zwinglian reformation
• The forty-two article act was passed in June 1553 had Zwingli and Bullinger influences but it wasn’t enforced
• Bullinger had close links to English reformers
• Edward had supported the movement

Question 35

What were the effects of Protestant reform?

Answer 35

• Conservatives didn’t accept the prayer book
• Reflective of Cranmer’s beliefs
• Showed the influence of Zwinglian in Eucharist declaration
• Services became more simplistic
• Affected religious experience
• The destruction of Catholic habits
• There was a lack of public support to increase change

Question 36

What happened to succession in 1553?

Answer 36

• In February 1553, Edward was taken ill and by the end of march, the Venetian ambassador reported he was dying
• In June 1553, Mary and Elizabeth were removed from the line of succession
• Northumberland tried to alter the succession based on the facts Mary was already deemed illegitimate in 1554 and Henry’s sister Mary’s heirs were next in line. This benefitted Northumberland as Mary’s granddaughter was Lady Jane Grey who was married to his son from may 1553 which would give him control over the throne and she was protestant
• Edward was supportive to maintain protestantism
• he signed the devyse days before his death on the 6the of July 1553 but it never went through parliament
• Northumberland took 3 days to instigate plans and Grey was proclaimed Queen on the 9th but she only reigned for 9 days
• Many people especially in London saw her as a usurper
• The privy council supported Northumberland as it was Edward’s dying wish
• support grew especially in Berwick and king’s Lynn
• Could were formed so Northumberland swore loyalty to Mary near cambridge so he, his son and grey were locked in the tower of London
• Mary was reluctant to execute grey as she was his pawn as a symbol of protestantism. This came into fruition when her father, the Duke of Suffolk, led an attempted rebellion causing her execution for treason