Edward VI Somerset era Flashcards
When did Henry VIII die?
28th January 1547
How old was Edward when he took the throne and how soon was Edward Seymour made regent?
9 years old, Seymour became Protector 3 days after he took the throne
When did Edward Seymour gain the title of Duke of Somerset and what was one of the first things that he did?
He gave it to himself after becoming Lord Protector, then he disassembled the regency council set up by Henry
What was Henry’s initial plan for Edward’s reign?
Edward’s privy council would be balanced, with all 16 members governing together with equal powers until Edward came of age
How many people were on Edward’s original regency council?
16
How was Edward Seymour able to take power from the regency council?
The will was never signed by Henry. The Duke of Norfolk had been arrested and Bishop Gardiner was expelled from the Privy Council. The Council were allowed to bestow gifts and titles intended for people before Henry died, but nothing was ever made official.
Seymour was simply able to assume power as he had recently been in favour with Henry, was Edward’s Uncle, and had good military skills
What and when was the Vagrancy Act?
1547- it was an unpopular law that basically had unemployed able-bodied people threatened with a ‘V’ branding and 2 years of slavery if they remained out of work for more than 3 days. Children of these vagrants were made to work as apprentices.
It was an unpopular Act, but it did also order local officials to provide housing for those who couldn’t work
Why was the Vagrancy Act a failure?
None of its legislation was ever actually put into effect, but that was kind of good because people hated it
Why were the Gentry landowners annoyed with Somerset in 1548-49?
New laws were made that raised taxes on sheep and cloth. There was also a push on enclosure, so people who made their wealth from sheep farming feared their livelihood.
How did Somerset approach enclosure, and what was the issue with putting legislation around this?
He commissioned an investigation around its legality, which many people liked because they thought it could lead to a reversal around of enclosure. However, it was difficult to deal with this because the government needed the support of the landowners (who were the ones enclosing land) to maintain law and order
What was the biggest economic problem in the 1540s and why was this the case?
Inflation- Henry VIII had started debasing the coinage in 1544
When was Somerset’s Act of Uniformity passed?
1549
What did Somerset’s religious settlement look like?
One single form of worship was imposed, English was the language used for this worship, and congregations were offered bread and wine during communion (a tradition saved for the priesthood in Catholicism).
It did not create a full Protestant Church though because services were still similar to how they had always been
Who introduced a new Prayer Book in 1549 and what did it do?
Archbishop Cramner. It pacified both Protestants and Catholics, but was vague in order to do so
What did Parliament do about religion in 1547?
They met in November and reinforced religious change. They used the Treason Act to undo the Act of Six Articles.
What and when was the Chantries Act? What was the benefit of it? Who imposed it?
November 1547 by Parliament? It abolished the Chantries, which removed the Catholic tradition to have them pray for the souls of the dead. It also raised money for the war with Scotland
