Henry VII - Religion, Humanism, Arts, and Learning Flashcards
What did all people belong to during the reign of Henry VII?
The Catholic Church under the jurisdiction of the Pope in Rome
What was central to the lives of people?
Their own religious experience
Lives were lived and regulated according to the Church’s major ceremonies
How many parish churches were there and what were they the focus of?
Over 8000
Religious experience
What did the church provide?
Popular entertainment
Festivals
Guild and confraternities
What did the church make easier?
Made it easier for the social and political elites to maintain social control through encouragement of good behaviour, obedience, and stress on the values of community
What did the church provide employment wise?
Employment opportunities and for some the opportunity to advance through attainment of high office in Church and State
What was the relationship between the church and the state?
Erastian - the view that the state should have authority over the church
How was the church in England administered?
Through two provinces, Canterbury and York - each under the jurisdiction of an archbishop
17 dioceses - each under control of a bishop
What two churchmen exercises the most power under Henry VII?
John Morton and Richard Fox
What were the seven sacraments?
Baptism Confirmation Marriage Anointing of the sick Penance Holy orders Eucharist
What was the central religious experience of the Catholic Church?
Mass, where the priest would perform Holy Communion (Eucharist)
Sacrifice performed by the priest on behalf of the community
Sacred ritual in which the whole community participated
Where did a lot of investment in the church come from and where did this money go to?
Many lay people invested in their parish churches
Rebuilding, objects which accompanied services, foundation of chantries
Saw as a way of benefiting the religious experience for themselves and for their community
What was a confraternity?
Groups of men who gathered together to provide collectively for the funeral costs of members, to pay chaplains for Masses for members, to help maintain church fabric, to make charitable donations, to socialise
Varied in size and wealth
Some ran schools and almshouses, maintained bridges etc
Monastic orders
One per cent of adult males by c1500 were monks living in monasteries
Oldest and most common religious order was Benedictines
Friars
Worked among lay people and largely supported by charitable donations
Three main orders: Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustinians
Recruited from lower down social scale than larger monasteries
Nunneries
Much less prestige
Mostly populated by women who were deemed unsuitable for marriage
Most poor
Syon was an exception
What was Lollardy?
Critical of beliefs and practices of church
Placed stress on understanding of the Bible and favoured it’s translation into English
Sceptical about transubstantiation and principles of the Eucharist
Considered Catholic Church corrupt
What were Lollards views considered?
Heresy - denial of validity of the key doctrines of the Church
What happened with Lollards in 1414?
Failed uprising then became fewer in number
Who were the earliest humanist scholars of significant in England?
William Grocyn and Thomas Linacre
What did Grocyn do?
Began to lecture at Oxford the ideas of Plato and Aristotle
What did Linacre do?
Influenced by scientific thinking he acquired in Italy and took a medical degree at the University of Padua
Who was an influential educator?
John Colet
Saw humanist scholarly approaches as a means of reforming the Church from within
Who was Colets important ally?
Desiderius Erasmus Dutch scholar First visit to England in 1499 Epitomised the spirit of the new leaning Friendship with Thomas More would give huge boost to humanist ideas in early years of Henry VIII
Did humanism make a big impact of England?
Little impression
English intellectual life continues to be dominated by traditional medieval scholastic philosophy which humanists considered to be too formal and old fashioned
What were developments in education?
Song schools and reading schools provided elementary education for the very young
Secondary education took place in grammar schools
Some had already been in existence but the number increased - 53 new grammar schools between 1460 and 1509
Access still depended on where you lived
Central was study of latin
1480s saw development of humanistic approach to teaching
University education stayed with Oxford and Cambridge
What was drama like at the time?
Most important art form
Plays sometimes in association with Church ale festivals
Set out moral and religious messages
What was music like at the time?
Enjoyed at various levels
Underwent beginnings of a renaissance
What was art and architecture like at the time?
A lot of building and rebuilding of prism churches
Vast number of churches built in gothic perpendicular style
English culture still followed the gothic traditions of northwestern Europe
New industry of printing still limited
By 1509 humanist scholars became more fashionable
