Reformation in England

Question 1

What was Cromwell at the heart of?

Answer 1

• The break with Rome.
• The closure of the monasteries.
• The role of Parliament in the Reformation.

Question 2

How did Cromwell rise to power in the 1520s?

Answer 2

Wolsey was impressed by Cromwell’s legal expertise and in 1524 he appointed him to be his legal advisor.

Question 3

How did Cromwell impress Henry?

Answer 3

Through the way he passed through legislation in Parliament.

Question 4

What happened in 1534?

Answer 4

His replacement position of Bishop Stephen Gardiner as Henry’s principal secretary became permanent.

Question 5

Why did Wolsey go from King’s Councillor to principal secretary and chief minister in 3 years?

Answer 5

Through his ability to convince Henry that he had a solution to his ‘great matter’ - how to end the king’s marriage to Catherine so that he could wed Anne Boleyn.

Question 6

What did the Reformation mean for Henry?

Answer 6

• Removed England from the authority of the Pope, a source of outside interference that was resented.
• The royal supremacy made Henry more independent and more powerful than any other English Monarch.
  -Enabled him to rule an undivided kingdom where Church and State were merged into a single sovereign state.
  -Put the Church under control of the state.
  He was able to reduce the political power of the Church and exploit its vast wealth.
  Religious differences deepened the rift between political factions at court.

Question 7

What was Wolsey aware of?

Answer 7

The Pope would never be persuaded to rule in Henry’s favour and the only way forward was to remove the Pope’s power in such matters and give it to someone who would do as the king wished.

Question 8

What was the head of the Church, Archbishop of Canterbury, William Warham opposed to?

Answer 8

The annulment.

Question 9

What was Wolsey’s key decision to reform the Church until the Archbishop of Canterbury died?

Answer 9

To use Parliament to pass laws restricting papal powers by recognising that these powers in fact resided in the Crown of England, and stipulating the punishments for those who opposed or acted contrary to these arrangements.

Question 10

What two pieces of Vital Parliamentary legislation marked the first official steps in the process of reducing the Pope’s influence in England?

Answer 10

The Act in Restraint of Annates 1532
The Act in Restraint of Appeals 1533

Question 11

What was the The Act in Restraint of Annates 1532?

Answer 11

Forbade the payment to the Vatican of up to 95% of annates - 1/3 of the annual income paid to the pope by all new holders of senior posts within the Church in England and Wales.
Henry hoped this financial penalty would encourage the Pope to reconsider his position in regard to the annulment or risk losing the payment of annates entirely.

Question 12

What was the Act in Restraint of Appeals 1533?

Answer 12

Declared that final authority in all legal matters, lay and clerical, resided in the monarch and it was therefore illegal to appeal to any authority outside the kingdom on any such matters.

Question 13

Why was the Act in Restraint of Appeals 1533 so significant?

Answer 13

• Ensured that the final verdict on the validity of Henry and Catherine’s marriage would be taken out of Rome’s hands.
• In order to justify the change, the right of the pope to make decisions affecting Henry and his subjects was publicly denied.
• The fact that Anne had become pregnant injected a sense of urgency into the work, which is why it passed through both Houses of Parliament and received royal assent so swiftly.

Question 14

What did Cromwell do to those within the Church who resisted?

Answer 14

Charge the entire clerical class with praemunire - a legal provision, forbidding clerics to take any action that cut across the powers of the Crown, especially recognising any external authority without the monarch’s explicit permission.

Question 15

What would Henry withdraw the indictment of praemunire for?

Answer 15

• A grant of £118,000.
• The awarding him of the title of ‘sole protector and supreme head of the English Church and clergy.

Question 16

What was the Pardon of the Clergy 1531?

Answer 16

Convocation agreed to accept the king as their ‘Supreme head’. Also absolved the the church of any wrongdoing and the indictment was withdrawn.

Question 17

What was the Supplication against the Ordinaries 1532?

Answer 17

The H o C presented Henry with a petition.
- It claimed that the Church was riddled with corruption.
- Challenged the Church’s right to have its own courts and laws independent of the crown and state.
Henry the demanded the convocation to agree to respect his kingly authority and acknowledge his right to govern the Church.

Question 18

What was the Submission of the clergy 1532?

Answer 18

-Document gave Henry the power to veto church laws.
-Henry could choose Bishops, even if it wasn’t approved by Rome.
-Clergy accepted Henry as their lawmaker, not the Pope.
-Clergy promised not to issue new laws currently being drafted without royal license.

-Led to Lord Chancellor, Thomas More, resigning.

Question 19

Who did Henry make Archbishop of Canterbury in 1532?

Answer 19

Thomas Cranmer.

Question 20

What did Cranmer do after Anne Boleyn became pregnant in January 1532?

Answer 20

Married Henry and Anne in a secret marriage ceremony.

Question 21

What did Cranmer announce after Catherine failed to attend the hearing in May 1532?

Answer 21

Announced that the papal dispensation had been invalid, so Henry and Catherine had never been legally married, and that the secret marriage between Henry and Anne was legal.

Question 22

What was the First Act of Succession in March 1534?

Answer 22

-Registered Henry and Anne’s marriage as valid.
-The crown would be passed to Henry and Anne’s children.
-The nation would be forced to take an oath to uphold their marriage and any attack or denial on the marriage was treason.

Question 23

What was the Act of Supremacy 1534?

Answer 23

-Henry was the Supreme Head of the Church of England.
-Henry was given the right to carry out visitations of the monasteries.
-Required Government officials and the clergy to take an oath recognising the king’s supremacy.

Question 24

What was passed in December 1534?

Answer 24

The Treasons Act - crimes like calling the king or queen a heretic.

Question 25

What was Cromwell appointed to in January 1535?

Answer 25

Vice Vicar - gave him the power to exercise the authority that legally belonged to the king.

Question 26

What did the 1536 ‘Act Extinguishing the Authority of the Bishop of Rome’ deny the Pope of?

Answer 26

• Access to and collection of clerical taxes.
• The power of appointment to Church offices.
• The authority to determine matters of religious doctrine.
• The right to grant dispensations and personal exemptions.
• The use of his title in England, being henceforth known as the Bishop of Rome.

Question 27

What happened to Anne Boleyn in May 1536?

Answer 27

She was beheaded and Henry married Jane Seymour the next day.

Cromwell convinced Henry she was having an incestual affair with her brother.

Question 28

What was passed July 1536?

Answer 28

The Act of Seven Articles - The 7 sacraments of the Catholic doctrine were rejected, with only 3 being recognised - Protestant.

Question 29

What did the ‘Royal Injunctions to the clergy’ issued by Cromwell order the clergy to do?

Answer 29

-Defend royal supremacy in sermons.

-Give money for educational purposes to teach children the Lord’s prayer, the 10 commandments and other scripture.

-Abandon pilgrimages ( Protestants didn’t believe in relics and praying to dead people).

Question 30

Why was the 1537 Bishops book more Protestant?

Answer 30

• Four ‘lost’ sacraments were rediscovered but stated to be of lesser value.
• No evidence of transubstantiation.

-Mass was glossed over.

-Special status of priests understated.

-Purgatory present only by implication.

Question 31

What was the Matthew Bible 1537?

Answer 31

A Protestant version of the Bible, published in English.

Question 32

What were the September 1938 Royal Injunctions to the clergy issued by Cromwell?

Answer 32

• The English Bible was to be replaced in ever parish within 2 years.

-All births and deaths were to be registered in every parish.

• People actively discouraged from pilgrimages.

-All relics removed from Church.

Question 33

Why was John Lambert put on trial in November 1538?

Answer 33

He rejected transubstantiation - Shows Henry’s commitment to the Catholic belief in Christs real presence in the Eucharist.

Question 34

What were the 1939 Act of Six Articles?

Answer 34

Confirmed Transubstantiation, private masses and the hearing of confession by priests.

Banned the marriage of priests, the marriage of anyone who had taken the vow of chastity and the taking of communion by lay people.

Question 35

Why did Henry pass the Act of Six Articles?

Answer 35

The Truce of Nice between Charles and Francis brought a temporary halt to the Habsbourg-Valois conflict and created a real possibility of a joint invasion of England by 2 Catholic countries.

Question 36

What was the 1536 Dissolution of the smaller monasteries?

Answer 36

Monasteries that earned an annual income of less than £200 would be dissolved and their property would pass onto the crown.

67 monasteries were exempted from the dissolution but they had to pay a heavy financial penalty for their continuation.

Question 37

What was the Pilgrimage of Grace 1536?

Answer 37

A widespread revolt in the north of England, led by Robert Aske, with 40,000 members.
It was due to resentment over the changes to the church and dissolution of the monasteries.

Question 38

What were the demands of the rebels during the Pilgrimage of Grace?

Answer 38

-The papal headship of the Church restored.
-Mary be made legitimate again.
-The punishment of Legh and Layton, Cromwell’s main advisors.
-Attacked Cromwell for being of low birth.

Question 39

What were the events of the Pilgrimage of Grace?

Answer 39

1. Lincolnshire Uprising triggered by London commissioner taking artefacts out of monasteries.
2. Rebels march to Lincoln, where they are joined by local monks.
3. Rebels meet with Duke of Suffolk and give their first set of demands.
4. Robert Aske takes leadership and seizes Pontefract Castle, where the Pontefract Articles are compiled.
5. Henry agreed to demands and asked Aske to meet on Christmas.
6. Rebellion amounted to little and Henry captured Aske for execution.
7. 178 people executed.

Question 40

How serious was the Pilgrimage of Grace?

Answer 40

Not very - the rebels didn’t want violence or to kill Henry.

Question 41

What happened to Henry in December 1538?

Answer 41

He was excommunicated by the pope - he was banned from attending communion and his soul was damned to hell.

Question 42

What was the Dissolution of the Monasteries Act of 1539?

Answer 42

All monasteries were closed and their land passed to the crown. All 800 monasteries were closed.

Question 43

What did Henry write in 1543?

Answer 43

The Kings Book - revised the Bishops book, defended transubstantiation and the six articles. Encouraged preaching and attacked the use of images.

Question 44

What did Henry do in 1546?

Answer 44

Named a heavily Protestant Council of Regency for Edward - ensured a Protestant-influenced inheritance for Prince Edward.

Henry didn’t want Edward to be made illegitimate by the Catholic Church for not being born of the legitimate Catherine of Aragon.

Question 45

Who was Sir Thomas Moore?

Answer 45

Lord Chancellor before Cromwell - resigned but later executed.

• He refused to swear the oath accepting the Act of Supremacy.
• Didn’t agree with Henry’s divorce from Catherine.
• Supported papal authority.
• Didn’t believe the government should be under control of the lay people.

Question 46

Who was John Fisher?

Answer 46

Bishop of Rochester - Executed.

• Believed in powers given to the papacy and any opposition was a mortal sin.
• Strongly disagreed with the divorce and told Henry.
• Refused to swear oath accepting the divorce.
• Pope was about to make him cardinal.

Question 47

Who was Elizabeth Barton?

Answer 47

• An epileptic nun of Kent.
• Opposed the divorce as she had “visions” and by 1928 they were centred on the king’s marriage, that if he would be dead in a month.
• She told Henry about her vision and so was executed in 1534.
• Manipulated by a Canterbury monk, Dr Edward Bocking.

Question 48

Who were the Carthusian monks and Franciscan friars?

Answer 48

Disagreed with the monk of Rome and resisted changes.
Houses were closed, some imprisoned and some executed. Others died of starvation rather than surrender.

Question 49

How Protestant was England by 1547?

Answer 49

• Transubstantiation still upheld in mass.
• Clergy not allowed to marry and if they did they had to give up their livings or send their wives away.
• Act of six articles = banned clerical marriage, brought back confession and transubstantiation.
• John Lambert and Anne Askew burned for denying transubstantiation.
• 1540 - Henry married Catherine Howard, Catholic from England.
• Cromwell executed partly due to his beliefs.
• If Henry had of died in 1546, he would’ve left a conservative, Catholic regency.