Henry VIII - Religion Flashcards
How did Henry VIII use parliament to wrestle control from Rome?
December 1530, Clergy charged with praemunire, so Henry could exercise power through ecclesiastical courts, But in February, the Clergy was pardoned of praemunire in return for $119,000.
The Convocation of Canterbury recognised Henry as ‘protector and only supreme head of the church’.
in 1532, the Payments of Annates to Rome was banned, meaning Englands main source of papal revenue was gone - The clergy recognised the king, not the pope, as lawmaker.
In 1533, the Act in Restraint of Appeals made Henry ‘supreme head of the Church of England’ and Rome no longer had control of matrimonial cases.
in March 1534, the submission of the clergy made official, and the Act of Succession recognised Anne’s children as heirs to the throne (Mary was illegitimate).
In November, the Act of Supremacy made the clergy and officials swear oath to Henry being ‘Supreme head of the Church of England’.
Religious Change Post 1529 in England
The Ten Articles of Faith 1536 rejected the ‘seven sacrements’ of the Catholic Doctrine, leaving belief in only baptism, the Eucharist and penance - a clear move towards protestantism as purgatory was no longer.
August, Royal Injunctions issued to the Clergy to defend royal supremacy in sermons & abandon pilgrimages.
In 1537, Bishops Book, by Cranmer discovered four lost ‘sacrements’ - no more substantiation and priests status was understated (another move towards protestantism). John Lambert executed for rejecting substantiation, showing Henry’s commitment to catholicism,
1539, Act of Six Articles confirmed half a dozen catholic beliefs such as transubstantiation and private masses, and banned marriage of priests, appeasing European allies - this was a swing back to catholicism.
In 1543, Act for Advancement of Religion restricted access of the English Bible to upper class men and nobleswomen.
3 causes for the dissolution of monasteries
Financial motives - There were concerns about a Catholic Crusade from Francis I and Charles V on England.
- A massive building programme for fortifications took place and monastic wealth helped pay for it.
Ending opponents from the Break with Rome - Some of Henrys vociferous opponents of Henrys legislation came from monastic houses eg. Franciscans and Carthusians such as More who refused to swear an oath in the 1534 act of succession.
Continental influence - religious houses were being dissolved in Scandinavia and Germany. The ideas Erasmus, Tyndale & Fish criticising monastic life were gaining currency.
How did Henry dissolute the monasteries?
Henry signals to take church land in 1533. In 1534, Cromwell sends 6 man around England to carry out Valor Ecclesiasticus (Value of the church), while documenting corruption in religious houses.
First Act of dissolution closed smaller monasteries under the value of £200 and pensions were given as compensation to senior monks in 1536.
- 202 larger monasteries disbanded in 1538.
Second Act of dissolution closed the remaining monasteries in England in 1539.
560 monasteries had been closed and 8000 monks pensioned off. The crown had gained £1.3 million from the sales of monastic land in 1540.
Consequences of the dissolution of the monasteries
Henry was charged with squandering wealth from the sale of monastic lands. In 1543, there was a rush to sell land, with the profits financing wars with Scotland and France. Henry only made £2 million in the long term. Although half of monastic land remained in his possession until 1547, so he wasn’t fully relentless.
By 1547, the crown made £800,000 in cash.
The sale of monastic land meant a transfer of power to the laity. The power of patronage now lay with squires, JP’s and chief landowners.
Henry was also charged with cultural vandalism due to destruction of gothic church buildings, and the loss of books, images and reliquaries. Although, he invested his monastic wealth into new cathedral grammar schools in Canterbury, Carlisle and Trinity College, Cambridge.
John Fisher - opposition
John Fisher stood with Catherine’s Aragonese factions and believed the powers of the pope were given by God. He belonged to Charles V circle, urging him to used armed intervention.
Refused to swear an oath to the act of succession in April 1534 so was executed in 1535.
Elizabeth Barton - opposition
Barton got national fame in 1525 after a vision of Virgin Mary due to her mental illness. She did exhortations against the kings marriage to Anne Boleyn, and protested against the King in Canterbury. Bollings plans to publish Bartons prophecies forced Cromwell into action, and she was executed in 1534.
Causes of the Pilgrimage of Grace
Dissolution of the monasteries - Religious houses had a secular and spiritual role in the north, providing food, clothing and shelter to travellers & the poor. They acted as a safe house for goods, and provided tenancies for farmers. Rebels demanded restoration of monasteries.
Taxation - Cromwells initiative to tax in a time of peace gained opposition through the 1534 Subsidy Act. The rich opposed the Statute of uses, a federal tax on aristocratic inheritance.
Poor harvests in 1535 and 1536 led to rising food prices. Agricultural issues such as renewal of tenancies, enclosures and rack-renting fuelled opposition.
Pilgrimage of Grace
News of the Lincolnshire Rising on October 1st 1536 spread quickly, reaching Robert Aske, Yorkshire lawyer. He dispatched letters in the county calling for men to maintain the Holy church - nine ‘host’ armies arrived each with different origins. By the 10th, Aske became chief captain of 30,000 men with HQs in York before moving down to Pontefract.
The government was caught off guard and Pilgrims had took over the North. As their force was too large, Henry sent a delegation led by Duke of Norfolk to meet the rebels who presented their 5 Articles. An agreement was signed on the 27th - Henry offered no concessions, but would pardon the ten ringleaders.
Aftermath of the Pilgrimage of Grace
In December, the representatives of the host armies met in pontefract to finalise their demand for the 24 articles in a meeting between Norfolk and Aske.
Henry gave Norfolk permission to grant a truce for parliament to discuss issues the rebels raised. Aske agreed, but insisted monasteries were not suppressed before parliament met, accepted by the commons.
Parliament
The number of parliamentary members from 1532-40 rose to 323, showing their critical role in passing laws and taxes during the Break from Rome.
However, they required a seal of approval from the King.
