Henry VIII 1529 - 1547 Flashcards
What is the traditional view of what the Church was like in pre-Reformation England?
- the Reformation happened because a reform was needed
- there was a variety of abuses and lacked spirituality
- Church must have been unpopular for the Reformation to take place
What is the revisionist view of what the Church was like in pre-Reformation England?
- Church was thriving and the Pope was not unpopular
- Most clergy were respected at a local level
- Lots of people becoming priests (Ordination)
- Had problems, but didn’t mean the Church was universally unpopular or on the verge of collapse
What were the problems with the Church in pre-Reformation England?
- poorly educated priests
- clerical abuses, e.g simony (buying and selling offices)
- pluralism (holding more than one office), e.g Wolsey
- absenteeism (Wolsey did not visit York until 1529)
- nepotism (passing on wealth to children)
- monks and nuns - remote, wealthy and morally lax
- benefit of clergy meant immunity from prosecution, e.g 1514 Hunne Case
How did Parliament reform religion in England from 1533-1535?
1533 - Act in Restraint of Appeals - prevented appeals to the Pope, and Pope could not interfere
1534 - Act of the Submission of the Clergy - gave king control of Convocation, prevented Church contact with Rome
1434 - Act of Succession - ended Catherine’s claim to be Henry’s wife, made Mary illegitimate, marriage to Anne declared legal and treasonous to criticise
1534 - Act in Restraint of Annates and Dispensations Act - stopped all payments to Rome
1534 - Act of Supremacy - Henry had control of the Church, including matters of doctrine and beliefs
1534 - Treason Act - crime to criticise changes, marriage and succession
How was religion in England reformed from 1536-1539?
1536 - Act of the Dissolution of the Smaller Monasteries
1536 - Act of Ten Articles - rejected 4 out of the 7 sacraments of Catholic belief, confirmed only baptism, Eucharist and penance
1537 - Matthew’s Bible - a Protestant version
1538 - Royal Injunctions - ordered English Bible to be present in all parishes, discouraged pilgrimages, ordered removal of relics
1539 - Publication of the Great Bible
1539 - Dissolution of the Greater Monasteries
How was religion in England reformed from 1539-1543?
1539 - Act of Six Articles - confirmed transubstantiation, forbade taking communion of both kinds
1540 - Fall and Execution of Cromwell - one charge his religion
1540 - Marriage to Catherine Howard - daughter of Catholic Duke of Norfolk
1543 - Act for the Advancement of True Religion - restricted access to Bible to upper classes, but still allowed English Bible
1543 - King’s Book - defended transubstantiation, encouraged reformed belief in preaching, attacked images
How was religion in England reformed from 1544-1547?
1544 - Introduction of English litany - replaced Catholic use of Latin, priests did not have to use
1545 - Act dissolving Chantries - not enforced by time of Henry’s death, but represented attack on Catholic belief of purgatory
1546 - Regency Council Established - significant number of supporters of Protestantism
1546 - Anne Askew executed - for denying transubstantiation
1546 - Reformists controlled Will - authorised using dry stamp, controlled by Reformist John Denny, Regency Council now a majority of reformers
What were the political causes for the dissolution of the monasteries?
- appointment of Thomas Cromwell, a protestant
- sale of monastic lands would tie purchasers to the new order
- Henry felt it would be an affront to his ‘Imperial Kingship’ if institutions could hold allegiances outside England
- Henry’s first Poor Law (1535) meant charitable role of monasteries no longer important as JPs controlling the situation
- dissolution was the only sure way of preventing a monastic rebellion
What were the religious abuses that caused the dissolution of the monasteries?
- blood of Christ as the Cistercian Abbey of Hailes was declared to be honey and saffron
- the ‘Black Book’ suggest 2/3s were filled with ‘abominable living’
What were the financial needs that caused the dissolution of the monasteries?
- there was a need to build up funds for war, as there was a possibility of the Pope launching a crusade against England
- monasteries owned 1/4 of all of England’s cultivated land
- monasteries had an income 10x that of the crown, as revealed by the Valor Ecclesiasticus
What monasteries did Wolsey dissolve and how did this differ from Cromwell?
- 29 small monasteries that were ‘decayed’
- all carried out legally and with Papal permission
What was the Valor Ecclesiasticus?
- in 1535
- an attempt to make a record of all the property owned by the Church in England and Wales
- carried out by unpaid commissioners (mainly local gentry)
Describe the dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries in 1536?
- Act passed stating all monasteries with an annual income of less than £200 should be dissolved and property would pass to crown
- just under 300 monasteries fell in this category
- monasteries quickly stripped of their land and wealthy goods by commissioners (though sometimes stripped before commissioners had arrived)
Describe the dissolution of the Greater Monasteries from 1538-40?
- the head of all houses involved with the Pilgrimage of Grace declared a traitor under an act of attainder passed by parliament
- the possessions of these houses were passed to the king
- by 1540, all remaining monasteries gone under same process as with Lesser Monasteries but without the preceding Act
What were the effects of the dissolution of the monasteries?
- wealth of the church reduced by 25%
- crown gained about £1.3 million
- Court of Courtenays set up in 1536 to deal with flood of money
- Henry received a lot of land, but had to sell £800,000 worth to deal with French and Scottish wars
- church lost 9000 clerics and 69 Abbots from the House of Lords
- little social/humanitarian damage as only 1500 out of 8000 monks and friars unable to find other employment in the Catholic Church
- Henry left about half of the additional wealth he had acquired when he died
What rebellions were there against HVIII in the second half of his reign?
October 1536 - Lincolnshire Rising
Jan-Feb 1537 - Cumberland Rising
Oct-Dec 1536 - Pilgrimage of Grace
Describe the Lincolnshire Rising in October 1536?
- caused by poor harvest, general unrest (e.g high taxes), rumours about churches being attacked
- Heneage, Cromwell’s investigator, tried to take an inventory of a local church
- Melton tried to stop him and 10,000 congregated to help
- gentry, priests and monks took control and wrote up list of demands
- Hussey and Suffolk quickly put rebellion down (even though Hussey supported Mary)
Describe the Cumberland Rising in Jan-Feb 1537?
- led by Francis Bigod (who was Protestant, but religion not the cause)
- Bigod captured, but rebels still continued
- 178 hanged, including Aske, Bigod, and Hussey
- an excuse to get rid of the leaders from the Pilgrimage of Grace
What were the events in the Pilgrimage of Grace in Oct-Dec 1536?
- Aske marched with 30,000 others under the banner of the 5 Wounds of Christ
- wrote up the York Articles
- Darcy surrendered Pontefract Castle to the rebels
- Norfolk sent to fight the rebellion, took the York Articles back
- Henry called for clarification, so Pontefract Articles written
- Henry agreed to them, and pardoned rebels (but did not keep his word)
What were the grievances that causes the Pilgrimage of Grace in Oct-Feb 1536?
- caused by dissolution of the monasteries, socio-economic
- angry at Cromwell, Cranmer, the dissolution, taxes, farming and enclosures
- called for removal of evil councillors, restoration of the old faith and the protection of the monasteries in the York Articles
Why was the Pilgrimage of Grace so dangerous?
- Well-organised
- A lot of people
- Many had experience with fighting
Other than the Pilgrimage of Grace, what other opposition to religious change did HVIII face?
- Sir Thomas More resigned as Lord Chancellor and refused to swear Oath of Supremacy, was executed
- John Fisher refused to swear Oath of Supremacy, was executed
- Carthusian monks and Franciscan friars disagreed with break from Rome so resisted changes, so houses were closed, some imprisoned and executed, other died of starvation rather than surrendering
- Elizabeth Barton opposed the divorce and prophesied Henry would lose the throne, was executed
What legal and social evidence suggests that England was Catholic in 1547?
- National Protestant numbers low
- Act of 6 Articles
- Legally not Protestant
- Transubstantiation upheld by Henry
- Catherine Howard was Catholic
- Wills still had Catholic wording
What legal and social evidence suggests that England was not Catholic in 1547?
- Statutes 1536-47 suggest Protestantism
- Anne of Cleves and Catherine Parr were Protestant
- Decline in the number coming forward for Ordination
What doctrinal evidence suggests that England was Catholic in 1547?
- Laity took Communion in one kind, Priest in both kinds
- Transubstantiation
- Clerical celibacy
- All sacraments had been restored
- Indulgences had been kept
What doctrinal evidence suggests that England was not Catholic in 1547?
- No monasteries
- Pilgrimages forbidden
- Prayers and responses were in English
- Bible had been published in English
- Images were prohibited
How did Cromwell rise to power?
- rose from lowly background (Putney) to become merchant and a lawyer
- spent time in Europe and developed Protestant beliefs
- advisor to Wolsey - helped with dissolution of 29 monasteries
- survived Wolsey’s fall and grew powerful as a minister of Henry
- had many roles in government and was immensely powerful
- key player in the Boleyn faction’s downfall
How did Cromwell make England more Protestant?
- a key player in the English Reformation and creation of Royal Supremacy
- put pressure on Bishops to agree to publication of Bible in English
- issued the Royal Injunctions
- supervised dissolution of the monasteries
- used parliament
What factors led to the fall of Cromwell?
- Anne of Cleves marriage
- Factionalism
- Protestantism
How did the Anne of Cleves marriage lead to Cromwell’s fall?
- in 1539, persuaded Henry to marry Anne of Cleves from small, Protestant German state (success for Reform faction)
- fears of Catholic crusade after Reformation (and Habsburg-Valois peace)
- Cromwell stressed need for alliance with Protestant states
- however, when arrived Henry found her to be a ‘Flanders mare’, did not consummate the marriage and quickly divorced
- renewed Habsburg-Valois hostilities made marriage unnecessary
- although, even after Cleves divorce, still seemed to favour Cromwell by appoint Earl of Essex, implying didn’t plan on removing him
How did factionalism lead to Cromwell’s fall?
- conservative faction drew Henry towards them by using Catherine Howard (Norfolk’s niece)
- meant Henry was more influenced by them and believed what he was told about Cromwell - that he was planning a full Protestant Reformation
- Henry was persuaded to pass an Attainder and Cromwell was executed on the same day he married Catherine Howard
- shows a shift towards the conservative faction and their seemingly growing power
How did HVIII leave the succession?
1544 Succession Act - stated after Henry died the crown would go to Edward and his heirs, then Mary and her heirs, then Elizabeth
Describe what happened with HVIII’s Will?
- written towards the end of 1546
- wasn’t signed by Henry but by dry stamp controlled by Reformist, Denny
- Denny and Paget both had access to the king meaning they could control what faction had access to the king
- meant Regency Council mostly Reformist
What encouraged factionalism towards the end of HVIII’s reign?
- not having a chief advisor
- deteriorating health
- less of control over nobility
What were the two factions during the latter part of HVIII’s reign?
- Conservatives - led by Norfolk and Gardiner, accepted break with Rome but opposed doctrinal changes, led plots against Cranmer and Catherine Parr
- Reformers - led by Seymour and Cranmer, accepted the break with Rome, wanted doctrinal change, influential in policy with Scotland, the fall of Catherine Howard, and the plot against Gardiner
What is evidence to suggest that HVIII was successful in controlling factionalism?
- Not manipulated by conservative plots against Cranmer and Catherine Parr
- Can be argued he encouraged factionalism as enjoyed having attention fought over
- Prevented one faction from dominating courts, and encouraged discussion of important matters
- Created balanced Regency Council
What is evidence to suggest that HVIII was not successful in controlling factionalism?
- influenced by plots against Cromwell, Gardiner and Catherine Howard
- fall of conservative faction in the last year as unable to maintain balance in court
- Denny, Paget and dry stamp meant Regency Council unbalanced
- caused him to sway in his policies
How does HVIII’s treatment of the plot against Catherine Parr demonstrate he was successful in controlling factionalism?
- Parr dangerous to conservatives as a reformer close to the king
- 1543 - Henry gave consent to Gardiner for her arrest, as annoyed with her debating of religion
- Catherine insisted she could never instruct the king on his religion
- Henry accepted this and dropped the arrest charges, but didn’t tell plotters
- When the Lord Chancellor arrived with soldiers to arrest the queen, the king attacked him
- Showed not going to be manipulated by factions
How does HVIII’s treatment of the plot against Cranmer demonstrate he was successful in controlling factionalism?
- Cromwell’s fall left Cranmer isolated and susceptible to attack, conservatives wanted him arrested on grounds of heresy
- launched plot against him, was brought before Henry
- Henry ordered Cranmer to investigate the charges himself, dropped due to lack of evidence
- showed in full control, able to protect a loyal servant and not manipulated by faction
- court depended on his will
How did the conservative faction fall?
- Removal of Gardiner - involved in the Parr plot, refusal to grant some of his lands to the king (a minor issue, showing rise of reformers)
- Execution of Surrey (Norfolk’s son) - suggested that through ancestor, Edward I, had claim to the throne, put part of royal coat of arms on family shield, caused panic due to succession of a minor so arrested and executed
- Arrest of Norfolk - on same charges as Surrey, sheer luck that Henry died before could order execution
What were HVIII’s foreign policy aims in the 1540s?
- unite Britain
- claim the French throne
- improve relations with Scotland
- military glory
- to be a major player in Europe
Describe HVIII’s foreign policy against Scotland from 1540-47?
1541 - Margaret died, tried to improve relations with James V but he did not attend the meeting, so Duke of Norfolk led army on raid across Scottish border
1542 - Battle of Solway Moss, 10,000 Scottish men routed by 3000 English, led to capture of leading Scottish nobles, shortly after James V died and Mary Queen of Scots took throne at 6 days old
1543 - Treaties of Greenwich called for peace and arranged marriage between Mary and Edward, but Scottish parliament rejected
1544 - Earl of Hertford (Seymour) led expedition into Scotland which resulted in the burning of Edinburgh, devastation of Lowlands and strengthened ant-English feeling
Describe HVIII’s foreign policy against France from 1540-47?
1542 - came to deal with Charles V that would have a joint invasion of France the following year
1544 - army of 40,000 went to Calais, Boulogne surrendered, 4 days later entered cities and began to strengthen fortifications
1544 - Charles made peace with France on same day, Henry now alone in war, started negotiating peace settlement
1546 - Treaty of Ardes signed, Henry could keep Boulogne for next 8 years, would be given back to French in return for £600,000 and France promised to resume pension of £35,000 a year
Evidence to suggest HVIII was successful in his foreign policy 1540-47?
- seen as a warrior king until the end
- had captured Boulogne
- surprising win at Solway Moss led to Scotland being ruled by a minor
Evidence to suggest HVIII was unsuccessful in his foreign policy 1540-47?
- had spent £2 million on foreign policy for little gain
- expense had to be covered by coin debasement and taxation, so currency now regarded with suspicion
- Henry received very little for Boulogne for the amount he had spent on fortification
- James V didn’t come to meeting, showing he didn’t think Henry was a major player
- uncertain diplomatic situation when died, uneasy peace with France and Scotland undermined by renewed Auld Alliance, danger of attack from both north and south
- Edward VI, a minor, could be exploited by the two main continental powers to strengthen their positions
What problems did HVIII hand over to Edward VI?
- enclosure - leading to less jobs, more vagrancy
- resentment of government influence, e.g religion
- rise in population - pressure on food supply, jobs and rents, contributed to inflation
- financial - over-ambitious foreign policy that was disastrously expensive, resulted in coin debasement and sale of crown lands
- gathering pace of religious debate
- an uncertain political situation
