Henry VIII: Religion - Reform of the Church - Causes of the Dissolution of the Monasteries Flashcards

1
Q

How many religious houses were there in the early 16th century?

A
  • At least 825 religious houses in England and Wales

- Over 500 were monasteries, others being nunneries and friaries

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2
Q

What were the monasteries’ reputation like in the Middle Ages?

A
  • Established as places where people could devote their lives to saying prayers on behalf of souls of the living and dead
  • Held powerful reputation within Church
  • Lived apart from communities
  • Owned much land and hired many labourers
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3
Q

How did monasteries help the community?

A
  • Places of shelter for travellers
  • Sources of medicine and food for needy
  • Centres of education for wealthy
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4
Q

How did the reputation of monasteries change by the 16th century?

A
  • Some monasteries became wealthy and acquired servants and luxuries
  • Used money they received from renting
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5
Q

Why did Henry focus on monasteries?

A
  • Henry became Supreme Head of Church

- Questions regarding reform of Church institutions had to be addressed

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6
Q

What was the Valor Ecclesiasticus?

A
  • In 1535, Valor Ecclesiasticus was created
  • Survey set up by Cromwell to inspect the wealth and abuses of the monasteries
  • Four visitors inspected all monastic institutions around country, but had been instructed to find evidence of weakness and corruption
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7
Q

What was the impact of the Valor Ecclesiasticus?

A
  • Discovered that corruption was common in smaller monasteries, probably exaggerated
  • Justified the introduction of an Act of Parliament in 1536 to dissolve smaller monasteries
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8
Q

What was the Act of Parliament in 1536?

A
  • Dissolved smaller monasteries, those with income of under £200 per annum or less
  • Claimed to preserve and improve quality of monasticism, arguing smaller religious houses let standards slip
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9
Q

What did the Valor Ecclesiasticus reveal about the wealth of the Church?

A
  • Monasteries were wealthy institutions
  • Survey revealed monasteries could double the Crown’s annual income
  • Henry had expensive foreign policies (funding wars), so this was a major factor for dissolution
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10
Q

What benefits did seizing monastic lands have?

A
  • Gave Crown additional property to distribute to gain support from nobility and gentry at times of instability
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11
Q

What power-related issues did monasteries hold?

A
  • Acted as permanent reminders of Catholic Church

- Monks and nuns acted as potential centres of resistance to royal supremacy

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12
Q

What issues did monasteries pose to new Protestant ideas?

A
  • Primary role of monasteries was to pray for salvation of souls, this did not align with new Protestant theology of individual faith in God
  • Monasteries were outdated and irrelevant institutions to reformers
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