Henry VIII - Opposition to the Reformation Flashcards
Elizabeth Barton - Beginnings
- Gained a large following after an event in which she fell ill and claimed to see visions of the Virgin Mary, saying she would get better. When the recovery took place, as predicted, many people began to see her as being a prophet / someone closely tied with God
- 1528 - Threatened Wolsey with God’s retribution if he proceeded with the divorce and sent a similar message to the Pope
Elizabeth Barton - Ending
- A priest named Bocking (amongst others) compiled 700 copies of books containing all of Barton’s revelations, alerting Cromwell. The books were seized and Barton was taken for interrogation by Cranmer
- In September Barton’s accomplices were arrested and interrogated
- 23rd Nov 1533 – Cranmer staged a public humiliation in which Barton confessed fraud and a sermon was preached against her
- Apr 1534 – Barton and her main publicists are executed for treason
Opposition Amongst Nobles
- 1534-35 – A substantial section of the nobility disliked foreign policy and also disliked it enough to talk treason to a foreign ambassador. There was genuine outrage against Henry’s treatment of Catherine, the Emperor and the Pope, as well as a fear that he was flirting with heresy
- 1536 – rebellion finally occurs, but it is disorganised and regional
Opposition of Lord Darcy
Claimed there were 600 of his peers and gentlemen in the North opposed to royal policy and hoped that Charles V would mount a crusade against Henry. However, Charles was busy being decisive elsewhere
Opposition of Lord Hussey
Hussey had thought that the clergy might have raised a rebellion by preaching against the king’s heresy. It was the fear of such an outcome that lead to Cromwell striking against the priests who supported Elizabeth Barton
Opposition of the Warden of Benedictine College and a Herne Franciscan
- The warden of Benedictine College in Oxford preached regularly against the king
- Easter 1535 – A Franciscan at Herne defends pilgrimages
Dealing With the Carthusians
- May 1535 - 3 Carthusian priors are executed
- Jun 1535 – 3 Carthusian monks are executed
- Richard Reynolds was executed with the Carthusian priors
Dealing With the Secular Clergy
-The secular clergy were asked to sign an agreement which stated that:
- The Bishop of Rome had no authority in England
- Regulars would have to swear that they would never pray for the Pope
- They would pray for Henry as supreme head and for Anne as queen
- They would renounce all canon law which conflicted with the laws of the land
Churches That Disobeyed Cromwell
- Oxhill in Warwickshire
- Stoke Dry in Rutland
- Witnesham in Suffolk
- Harwich in Essex
- Croydon in Surrey
- Dymchurch and St Paul’s Cray in Kent
- Kingsbury in Somerset
Opposition to Cromwell’s Removal of the Pope From Holy Books
- The vicar of Stanton Lacy in Shropshire glued slips of paper over the Pope’s name, believing it to be only a temporary law – this was a common view
- The abbot of Woburn kept copies of the papal bulls for when they might be needed again
Reasons for Opposition Rising in 1536
- There were new attacks on pilgrimages, saint’s days
- The English Bible was to be used in every church
- Royal officers were throwing monks and nuns from their house, paying off their servants, pulling lead from their roofs and sending their valuables to London
Examples of Opposition in 1536
- At Norton Abbey in Cheshire, ejected canons raised several hundred of their neighbours and besieged the suppression commissioners in the abbey tower
- The commissioners heard about the incident and sent out a small party to reconnoitre. As the commissioners approached, the priory gates were locked and defended by armed canons, servants and townsmen
- The convent of St Mary’s Winchester offered the king 500 marks to avoid suppression
- In Lancashire, five houses threatened with liquidation were invited to bid for exemption
Reasons for the Lincolnshire Rebellion 1536
- Poor harvest of 1535
- Subsidy collectors were raising the second installment of taxes granted in 1534
- Discontent occurred over enclosures and the cost of rent in certain areas
- Oct 1 – The vicar of Louth warned his congregation that the officials were due the next day and that they were to make preparations; the church plate was locked away and was guarded by a watch
The Yorkshire Rebellion 1536 - Beginnings
- Oct 6 – Robert Aske, a Yorkshire lawyer, takes the role of “chief captain” of a congregation of the discontent commons of south-east Yorkshire
- Aske demanded an end to suppression, repeal of the statute of uses, reduction of taxes and punishment of Cromwell, Cranmer and the heretics
- Henry was persuaded to offer negotiations and Aske summoned a rebel council at York to discuss the proposal. 800 representatives of rebel areas met at York on 21-5 of November and after much debate they agreed to make a treaty with Norfolk
Terms of the Treaty Agreed Between Henry and the Yorkshire Rebels
-The treaty included:
- 3 economic articles (on rents, enclosures and tax)
- 6 on legal and administrative matters
- 6 political articles (especially on the royal succession, the punishment of Cromwell and others, and the holding of a free parliament)
- 9 dealt with religious grievances (most of which were at the head of the list)
-The rebels managed to restore at least 16 of the 26 northern monasteries which had actually been dissolved
