Henry VIII - The Pilgrimage of Grace

Question 1

When did Wolsey die and what was he on trial for?

Answer 1

1530 for treason and premunire (undermining the Crown by resorting to a foreign court of security) because he couldn’t get the annulment through

Question 2

What was the significance of Henry marrying Anne and coronating her and this being recognised by Cranmer in 1533?

Answer 2

Ignoring Pope’s power by remarrying even though the Pope hadn’t accepted their annulment, esp since Cranmer was Archbishop of Canterbury

Question 3

What did the First Act of Succession say in 1534?

Answer 3

Mary was illegititmate, Elizabeth and Anne’s other children were legitimate. Treason to deny/attack 2nd marriage

Question 4

What did the 1534 Act of Supremacy say?

Answer 4

Henry supreme Head of the Church
gave him right to carry out visitations
ordered that first truits and 10ths go to the crown
made calling monarchs heretics/schismatics treason

Question 5

When was the Valorus Ecclesiasticus published? What was it?

Answer 5

June 1535. The results of a commission for the valuation for all church property

Question 6

When was the order given for smaller churches to be dissolved? Why not larger churches?

Answer 6

1536 for churches with less than £200 pa income because they were corrupt while bigger churches were praised for doing their jobs properly and weren’t in danger of dissolution

Question 7

When did the dissolution of larger monasteries start and end?

Answer 7

Started in 1538, last monastery in Essex dissolved in March 1540

Question 8

How much monastic wealth was spent on poor relief?

Answer 8

~5%

Question 9

How many monks and nuns lost their homes and pensions?

Answer 9

9,000

Question 10

How much did the Dissolution of Monasteries contribute to Royal Revenue?

Answer 10

£100,000 pa but by end of Henry’s reign 50% monastic land had been sold off

Question 11

What happened to More and Fisher?

Answer 11

They refused to swear the Oath to the Act of Succession and were both executed in 1535

Question 12

How much opposition was there to the Henrician Reformation?

Answer 12

most clergy took oaths, a few monks didn’t
18 were from the same Carthusian monastery, Charterhouse –> executed
65 people executed for treason 1534-39

Question 13

What were the key events of the Lincolnshire Uprising?

Answer 13

2nd Oct - Bishop of Louth arrived to carry out visitation
Men of Louth marched to capure commissioners
3rd Oct - 3,000 people met at Louth + gov commissioners fled
Chancellor of Bishop of Lincoln killed
10,000 rebels marched to Lincoln and nobles fled
Drew up a set of articles and sent it to London
10th Oct - received threat from King if they continued
11th Oct - Gentry asked Suffolk for a pardon and commons disbanded w/o gentry

Question 14

What were the events of the PoG in East Yorkshire?

Answer 14

Began in Beverley on 10th Oct
16th Oct - had gathered 10,000 and taken over York
restored 2 religious houses + Aske issued proclamation of peace
19th Oct - captured Hull and Pontefract Castle which Lord Darcy tried to defend but eventually joined rebels

Question 15

What were the events of the PoG in North Yorkshire?

Answer 15

11th Oct - rose up w/ support from leading nobility e.g. Lord Latimer, Sir Christopher Derby
Captured Barnard Castle and met up with Aske
16th Oct - rebellion broke out in Westmorland
21st Oct - rebel army beseiged Skipton Castle where Earl of Cumberland was trapped

Question 16

What evidence suggests that this was a serious rebellion?

Answer 16

9 rebel hosts across the North, answering to Aske
covered most of North and North East England
30,000 rebels, some with military experience
support from northern gentry

Question 17

Which area remained loyal to the Crown and why?

Answer 17

Lancashire because Earl of Derby remained loyal to Henry as he had been given lots of power, helped put rebels down

Question 18

How did Henry deal with the PoG?

Answer 18

23rd Oct - Norfolk and Earl of Shrewsbury marched with 8,000 men –> very outnumbered
27th Oct - met rebels at Pontefract - wrote 5 articles and sent them to King who send an angry reply
Drew up 24 articles and gave them to Norfolk
6th Dec - met Norfolk at Doncaster and asked for pardon which was granted –> started disbanding
8th Dec - Aske went to London, treated courteously

Question 19

When was Bigod’s rising and why did it happen?

Answer 19

Jan 1537 - some rebels realised they’d been tricked
Rising led by Francis Bigod (erastian) - captured Beverley but only few 100 rebels joined
Feb - Bigod captured
16th Feb - rebels attacked Carlisle but put down by Christopher Dacre

Question 20

How did Henry take advantage of Bigod’s rising?

Answer 20

used it as an excuse to punish all rebels as it happened after the pardon
Carlisle rebels hanged
Some gentry turned against rebels to avoid punishment
144 people including Aske, Bigod, Hussey and Percy executed

Question 21

What were the causes for the Lincolnshire rebellion?

Answer 21

economic - Act of Uses, 1434 subsidy
political - taking council of people of ‘low birth’ and ‘small reputation’ e.g. Cromwell/Richard Rich
religious - ‘suppression of religious houses’, bishops who had ‘falsified the faith of Christ’ e.g. bishop of Canterbury and Rochester

Question 22

What were the causes of the PoG?

Answer 22

religious - 9/24 Pontefract Articles were religious, triggered by dissolution of smaller monasteries, banner w/wounds of Christ, ‘pilgrimage’, wanted care of souls returned to See of Rome
political - wanted Parliament in the North, northern nobility e.g. Hussey, Northumberland, Lord Darcy involved, Act of Uses, wanted to restore Mary to succession, removal of Richard Rich/Cromwell
social/economic - new taxes hit North hard due to bad harvests, complaints about enclosure, 1934 subsidy

Question 23

What were the strengths of Aske’s leadership?

Answer 23

he put forward the ‘pilgrimage’ title - gave it legitimacy and showed it was peaceful
forbade violence and disorder
good use of communication and organisation of large numbers of people
wrote Pontefract Articles by getting representatives from each host to discuss demands and Pilgrim captains to finalise them - representative demands
Aske spoke to Norfolk on behalf of rebels

Question 24

What were Aske’s weaknesses?

Answer 24

he was too idealistic - stayed loyal to Henry
rebels wanted to overthrow Norfolk’s army (which they could have) but Aske wouldn’t allow it - said they could trust Norfolk

Question 25

What were Norfolk’s strengths?

Answer 25

he encouraged Henry to negotiate rather than fight rebels as they were outmatched
got Henry to make concessions and give them more time e.g. Parliament in the North
allowed restoration of monasteries until Parliament met which wasn’t authorised but made rebels disband
rank and position made rebel leaders trust him

Question 26

What did Norfolk introduce to deal with the Carlisle rebels?

Answer 26

Marshall Law

Question 27

What tactics did Henry use to trick the rebels?

Answer 27

Advised by Norfolk - Made a series of promises that seemed to address their grievances but didn’t formally write them up so he was able to retract them and the rebel’s couldn’t prove they existed
Vague promises - parliament in the North, general pardon and a truce w/rebels which meant he didn’t have to discuss controversial things like dissolution

Question 28

What were the religious consequences of the PoG?

Answer 28

dissolution accelerated (can’t be sure that was due to PoG)
attacks on shrine worship (1538) led to shrines e.g. Thomas Beckett’s being removed
Bibles made available in English

Question 29

What were the economic consequences of the PoG?

Answer 29

Tourist industry in Canterbury collapsed when Beckett’s shrine was removed

Question 30

What were the political consequences of the PoG?

Answer 30

Members of the Yorkist faction killed e.g. Henry Courtenay, Henry Pole
Cromwell’s (reformist) position strengthened
Duke of Norfolk’s (conservative) position strengthened
Henry reorganised Council of the North (1537) w/ some pilgrims as members e.g. Robert Bowes and went on a progress to York (1541)

Question 31

How far did Henry go in repressing the North after the PoG?

Answer 31

144-200 people killed
Northumberland had to make Henry his heir, returning Percy estates to Crown
many abbots killed
Aske hung in chains as a warning
Some who weren’t involved in the Pilgrimage e.g. Thomas Miller, who helped negotiate with the Pilgrims were punished harshly