Henry VIII: culture, society, economy and exploration Flashcards
what had the biggest impact on society during the reign of Henry VIII?
the dissolution of the monasteries
- main benificiaries were the king, nobility and gentry at the expense of the poor
- created a new gentry class who bought up land that changed England’s traditional elite to a wider ruling class
what was religion like by the end of Henry’s reign?
- most people were still Catholic
- studies of wills revealed the continued use of Catholic language
- protestantism was creeping in but slowly and amongst minorities
what was the main economic issue under Henry?
enclosure
- in 1517 wolsey set up a commission to investigate how much land had been enclosed bringing forwards investigations and legal cases
what had a serious impact on the economy in Henry VIII’s reign?
- foreign policy
- trade embargo against Spain in the Netherlands coincided with one of the worst harvest failures of the century in 1527
- widespread unemployment and price rises
what attempt did Henry make to tackle economic issues?
- Wolsey undertook a re-coinage in 1526
- increased the number of coins in circulation but decreased the weight of silver
- stimulated exports but contributed to price rises as coins were worth less
- successive debasement of coinage caused rapid inflation
what three humanist advancements were there during Henry VIII’s reign?
- Henry encouraged thinkers like More and Erasmus
- St Pauls and Magdalen College Oxford were at the forefront of reform and by the end of Henry’s reign humanism had gripped universities
- Wolsey established a school in Ipswich
how did Henry act as a patron of the arts?
- literature such as More
- visual culture e.g. the italian sculptor Torrigiano produced the tombs of HVII, Elizabeth of York and Margaret Beaufort
- dominant painters at court in northern renaissance style e.g. Holbein
- Hampton Court (Wolsey) displayed classical influence
- lots of Flemish influence in music
