Pilgrimage of grace Flashcards
1
Q
What were the main causes of the PoG?
A
- religious change - fear of dissolution of monasteries which provided needed charitable social safety net
- fear of new taxes - prompted by passage of Cromwells subsidy act authorising collection of 80k
- poor harvests in previous year
- shifts in power balances at court - old supporters of Catherine of Aragon losing out
2
Q
what were the factional causes of PoG?
A
- Catherine of Aragon’s supporters had links with
several leading rebels caught up in the rebellion - Among the Lincoln rebels, Sir Robert Dymoke had once been her chancellor, Sir Christopher Willoughby a knight of the body and Lord Hussey chamberlain to Princess Mary
- their political grievances were just one of many
factors that contributed to the rebellion of 1536
3
Q
religious causes of PoG?
A
- attacks on traditional practices such as pilgrimage and worship of saints - fear these actions would affect their souls after death
- discontent over the dissolution of monasteries (Charity for the destitute + Accommodation for men travelling in search of work)
- wider discontent over direction of Henry 8th religious policy: introduction of the ten articles (1536) which Cut the number of sacraments from 7 to 3, Banned worship of images, Denied that it was possible for prayers to save souls from purgatory
- concerns about the loss of Saints’ days
- symbolism of the rising shows a significant religious element – Ballad, Banner
- pilgrim ballad - by monks of sawley
4
Q
what was the variance in causes of unrest?
A
- In Cumberland - resentment at tithes rather than the closure of the monasteries
-Lancashire and much of Yorkshire the dissolution + restoration of the true faith
prime concern - Lincolnshire fear that parish churches were going to be attacked that evoked
hostility
5
Q
Social/economic causes of PoG?
A
- Northern Ireland suffered from social + economic hardship - had suffered bad weather causing poor harvests in 1535 + 1536
- only one article regarding taxation
- many northern landlords began enclosure on land- allowed landlord to consolidate estates but forced tenant farmers off land
- taxation demands under 1534 subsidy exacerbated econ hardship - gentry objected this - Yorkshire argued king only allowed to collect tax in defence of the realm
- peasants now expected to pay a tax on how many cattle + sheep they owned
- entry fines from landlords increased
- nobles and gentry wanted more regional independence
6
Q
what was the grievance from aske regarding rent?
A
- rackrenting - landlords raising rents at rates greater than the customary entry fine. - ex. cumberland - had risen eightfold and tenants unable to pay evicted
- Aske wanted the fine to be statutorily fixed at two years’ rent
- Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland also raised the entry fines on
his properties in Yorkshire - Landlords accused of buying land + altering tenancy conditions to their own
advantage - result - common people denied right to catch rabbits + fish the rivers
7
Q
what are political causes of PoG?
A
- disaffected nobility wanted to increase their power + influence at court - nobles were angry + resentful of the position of Cromwell + anne boleyn
- opposition to cromwell - treason act, royal supremacy + heresy all seen as clear examples of cromwell’s work
- oath of pilrims swore loyalty but criticised his ‘evil councillors’
- crown’s attempts to impose the duke of suffolk upon linconshire as a great magnate may have initially sparked the rebellion
- rebels swore to protect king henry + heirs - but wanted to purify the nobility - the privy council + low-born advisers
- argonese faction in court hoped to restore mary to succession - wanted cromwell removed
- Pontefract Articles which calls for the restoration of Mary to the succession
- BUT - popular unrest
8
Q
how were enclosures a grievance for rioters?
A
- rioting over illegal enclosures - Over 300 people in Yorkshire pulled down hedges + dykes + riots in Cumberland
- Both areas sent rebels in following
year to attack Earl of Cumberland’s lands - a landlord who enclosed his tenants’ lands - but in Lincolnshire - infringement on tenants’ rights - minor grievance among commons
9
Q
what was the lincolnshire rising?
A
- first violence
- Three government commissions were at work in the county, dissolving the lesser monasteries, enforcing the 10 Articles and collecting the subsidy
- The 4 commissioners enforcing the 10 Articles were seized
- A popular revolt at first
- Gentry assumed control after a week or so – they were seen as the “natural leaders” of society
- at least 10,000 rebels in Lincolnshire
- rumours - tax on white meat + horned cattle
- reality - subsidy 80,000 comparatively small + affected few - but many rebels claimed they could not afford it
- taxes on things like marriage + burials
10
Q
what happened in yorkshire?
A
- Similar fears + rumours in Yorkshire - risings (similar Lincolnshire)
- Over 100 monasteries and abbeys scheduled to be closed +
opposition to dissolution - dominant factor - rebels argued that range of social + economic services would be
affected, the poor and children’s education would decline, + ‘spiritual info + preaching’ provided by monks
= disappear - Although claims overstated - dissolution did motivate many people to protest
11
Q
what happened in lancashire?
A
- four monasteries were closed
- monks encouraged the common people to rise up, protest at the government’s religious policy + assist them in their restoration
- Even before trouble broke out in Lincolnshire + Yorkshire - suspected
some people in Lancashire were buying up arms
12
Q
what was the Louth Manifesto?
A
- first set of rebel demands after lincolshire rising:
- An end to peacetime taxation
- End to the dissolution of monasteries (16 of 55 northern monasteries had already been dissolved)
- Restoration of ancient church liberties
- A pardon for all rebels
- requesting that their abbeys should be preserved
+ wanting guarantees parish churches would not be
closed - They were proud of their 295-foot spire at Louth - did not trust the bishop and his chancellor to keep their hands off church plate and ornament
13
Q
what followed the louth manifesto?
A
- riots in Cumberland over enclosure, and hedges pulled down in Giggleswick, Yorkshire
- a rising in Yorkshire led by Sir Robert Aske. He was a lawyer and the younger son of an important Yorkshire family which had links to the Percy Earls of Northumberland
14
Q
how was the governement’s assaults another reason for protest?
A
- government’s recent assault on
saints, pilgrimages and holy days - in Westmorland - uproar when priest failed to offer prayers for forthcoming St Luke’s Day
15
Q
what was a concern voiced by rebel groups regarding heresy?
A
- heresy(blashphemy) was rife(widespread)
- A diversity of religious beliefs among the king’s council + convocation likely to encourage heretical ideas - had to
be stopped - Such allegations of heresy -
reflected opinions of only minority of clerics + educated laymen
16
Q
context:
A
- The pressure of population growth was causing unemployment
- The Subsidy was being collected – many opposed it because they felt an aggressive war with France was none of their business
17
Q
what was the size of the PoG?
A
- estimated that 50,000 took part in some phase of the Pilgrimage
- largest single gathering was the 30,000 strong rebel army assembled in Yorkshire
18
Q
what was the strategy of pog?
A
- elements of peaceful and religious protest, rather than violent rebellion
- only one man was killed
- Yorkshire rebels threatened to march south if demands ignored
19
Q
what were govt responses to this rebellion?
A
- king allowed norfolk to negotiate after their threat of marching south - on condition that they agreed to go home
- norfolk + shresbury - 8,000 men dwarfed by 30k rebels
- norfolk arranged truce gentry - promise whatever needed to disperse army - henry agreed
- escorted 4 rebels to windsor - what henry told them - not what they wanted to hear - eventually norfolk met with 40 pilgrims + promised parliament would resolve - aske accepted and rebellion over
- PROPAGANDA - penned Answers
to the Rebels, in which he defended his policies and ministers - but little impact on Aske + supporters - 132 hanged
- Privy Council took action against illegal enclosures in the wake of the Pilgrimage of
Grace - Henry halted further protestant reforms - faced no further rebellion
20
Q
Why did Henry suddenly not accept the terms? what event caused it?
A
Before the terms could be accpeted there was 2nd outbreak of rebellion in the north led by a protestant minor landowner - Sir Francis Bigod - number of very local grievances over landholding + feared the king’s pardon was just a ruse to get the rebels to disperse so that they could be punished.
Bigod’s rising gave Henry the excuse to crush the rebels by force and compel the local gentry & nobility to back him or face the consequences.
21
Q
what was the end of the pilgrimage?
A
- Aske and Bigod were arrested, convicted of treason and hanged
- 50 Lincolnshire rebels and 130 northern rebels were executed
- The rebellion thus remained entirely northern
22
Q
what was the leadership of pog?
A
- Multiple, with leaders from Commons giving way to gentry (a pattern typical of many rebellions)
- Shoemaker Nicholas Melton
- Robert Aske (lawyer to earl of Northumberland + cousin of cumberland) + bigod
- No noble leaders
23
Q
organisation of pog?
A
- linconshire rising evidence suggests no pre-planning - Priests were active in recruiting support, - Rumour played an important part in mobilising support
- a spontaneous rebellion
24
Q
what was included in the 24 articles of the Pontefract Manifesto?(the terms before bigod ruined it all)
A
- 3 were economic – including an end to enclosure
- 6 were legal or administrative – including a parliament to be held in the north
- 6 were political – including the removal of Cromwell and Cranmer (seen as a protestant ‘heretic’) and restoration of Mary to the line of succession
- 9 were religious – including restoration of Papal authority
25
Q
what was the impact of pog?
A
- Local nobles forced to negotiate with rebels and a general pardon promised
- Subsidy dropped
- Four sacraments resorted to prayer book (pro-Catholic outcome)
- Second wave of rebels led by Bigod treated much more harshly – sign of how concerned government was by this rebellion
26
Q
what was the duration?
A
Oct 1536-Feb 1537
27
Q
POG impact v no impact
A
- ignores the conservative religious policies that
were followed, such as the King’s Book - subsidy was abandoned
- entry fines were set at the level the rebels wanted
- pardon granted to the rebels was reneged upon
after the Bigod rising and large numbers were put to death - parliament did not meet in the north as promised
- after Bigod’s rising Henry reneged on his promises
