religion, humanism, arts and learning Flashcards
What was the role of the Catholic Church during Henry VII’s reign?
All English people belonged to the Catholic Church and were under the jurisdiction of the Pope in Rome.
What was central to the lives of most people in the fifteenth century?
Ordinary people’s religious experience was central to their lives.
What was the focus of religious experience for ordinary people?
The parish church, of which there were over 8000, was the focus of religious experience.
How did the Church contribute to popular entertainment?
The Church’s festivals, linked to the agricultural year, provided much-needed enjoyment.
What did guilds and confraternities offer to ordinary people?
They offered charity, good fellowship, and the chance to contribute to the local community.
Guilds and confraternities are voluntary associations created to promote works of Christian charity or devotion.
How did the Church help maintain social control?
The Church encouraged good behavior, obedience, and stressed the values of community.
What employment opportunities did the Church provide?
The Church provided employment opportunities and the chance for social advancement, exemplified by figures like Cardinal Wolsey.
What was the political significance of the Church?
The Church played a significant role in international relations and domestic matters.
Who held the highest position in the Church?
The Pope in Rome held the highest position, wielding considerable spiritual power and being the head of a substantial state in Northern Italy.
What is the meaning of ‘Erastian’?
Erastian is the view that the State should have authority over the Church.
What is a diocese?
A diocese is an area under the pastoral care of a bishop in the Christian Church.
What was the relationship between Church and State during Henry VII’s time?
The relationship between Church and State was Erastian, with the king firmly in control.
Who sought a dispensation for Henry VII to marry Elizabeth of York?
Thomas Morton sought a dispensation for Henry VII to marry Elizabeth of York.
How did the popes respond to Henry VII’s use of Church wealth?
The papacy had no objection to the way in which Henry used the wealth of the Church to reward churchmen.
How was the Church in England administered?
The Church in England was administered through two provinces, Canterbury and York, each under an archbishop, and seventeen dioceses under bishops.
Which dioceses enjoyed considerable wealth in the late fifteenth century?
Dioceses such as Winchester and Durham enjoyed considerable wealth.
What was common for senior churchmen in the late fifteenth century?
It was common for senior churchmen to enjoy positions of significant influence and power within the kingdom.
What was common for senior clergy during the medieval period?
It was common for senior clergy to participate at a high level in the political process.
Who were the two churchmen that exercised most power under Henry VII?
The two churchmen were John Morton and Richard Fox.
Which office of State was often monopolised by clergymen?
The office of the chancellor, the highest adviser to the king, was often monopolised by clergymen.
What skills did the heads of wealthy religious houses need?
They needed management and administrative skills, as well as spirituality to maintain the reputation of their houses.
What was central to religious experience in late medieval communities?
The parish church was central to religious experience.
What did Eamon Duffy say about the age of the parish church?
He described it as emphatically the age of the parish church and of those who worshipped there.
What were the seven sacraments necessary to reach heaven?
The seven sacraments are Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick, Penance, Holy Orders, and Eucharist.
What is the central religious experience of the Catholic Church?
The central religious experience is the Mass, during which the sacrament of Holy Communion is performed.
What is transubstantiation?
Transubstantiation is the belief that the substance of bread and wine changes into the substance of Christ’s body and blood during the consecration at Mass.
What is grace in the context of Catholic belief?
Grace is the pure state a soul needed to be in to enter heaven.
What is purgatory in traditional Catholic thinking?
Purgatory is the state in which the souls of the dead are purged of their sins before they can enter the kingdom of heaven.
What does Corpus Christi mean?
Corpus Christi literally means ‘body of Christ’. It is a feast of the Catholic Church that celebrates the ‘blessed sacrament’.
Its importance developed from the thirteenth century with the increasing emphasis on transubstantiation.
What is a benefactor?
A benefactor is a person who makes a charitable donation.
What are chantries?
Chantries are chapels where Masses for the souls of the dead took place.
What is intercession in a religious context?
Intercession is the action of saying a prayer on behalf of another. In traditional Catholic thinking, it was the role of the priest to intervene with God on behalf of an individual.
Why was the Mass important?
The Mass was important for two reasons: it was a sacred ritual in which the whole community participated, and it was a sacrifice performed by the priest on behalf of the community.
What was emphasized at the feast of Thrimp Christ?
The importance of the consecrated bread was emphasized at the feast of Thrimp Christ, which was one of the important festivals of the fifteenth-century Church.
What was the role of lay people in parish churches during the late-medieval period?
Lay people invested in their parish churches, funding the lavish rebuilding of many churches and paying for objects that accompanied services.
What was the purpose of the money left by the dying to the parish church?
The money left by the dying had a triple purpose: to enhance the beauty of worship, to ensure the remembrance of the benefactor, and to reduce the time the benefactor would spend in purgatory.
What was the central function of a chantry priest?
The central function of a chantry priest was intercession for the soul of his patron.
What were confraternities?
Confraternities, also known as religious guilds or lay brotherhoods, were groups that gathered to provide for funeral costs, pay chaplains for Masses, maintain church fabric, make charitable donations, and socialize.
What role did guilds play in local communities?
Guilds were sources of local patronage and power, running schools, almshouses, and maintaining infrastructure like bridges and highways.
How did parishes raise funds during the late-medieval period?
Many parishes raised funds through church-ale festivals, which involved drinking and a range of entertainments.
What was one way individuals could gain relief from purgatory?
Going on pilgrimage.
What were common pilgrimage sites in England?
The tomb of Thomas Becket at Canterbury and shrines like Walsingham in Norfolk.
What criticism did some late-medieval writers have about pilgrimage?
Some, like Thomas à Kempis, were critical of pilgrimage as a practice.
What was the significance of Rogation Sunday?
It involved the community walking around parish boundaries to pray for protection, reinforcing the importance of the parish.
How did individual religious experience change by the fifteenth century?
It became more important, emphasized by mystics who believed in personal communication with God.
Who was Lady Margaret Beaufort?
Henry VII’s mother, known for her piety and widespread donations, especially to Cambridge University.
What percentage of adult males in England were monks by around 1500?
Approximately one per cent.
What was the oldest and most common religious order?
The Benedictines.
What role did larger Benedictine houses like Durham serve?
They operated as cathedral churches for their diocese.
What prompted the foundation of the Cistercians and Carthusians?
The lack of zeal shown by Benedictines.
Where were Cistercian monasteries typically located?
In more remote rural areas, such as Fountains and Mount Grace in Yorkshire.
From where did many monks in larger houses typically come?
They were often drawn from the wealthier parts of society.
What were the three main orders of friars that arose in the thirteenth century?
The Dominicans, Franciscans, and Augustinians.
How did the recruitment of friars differ from that of monks?
Friars recruited from lower down the social scale than larger monasteries.
What happened to the orders of friars by the late fifteenth century?
Their great days were over, but they continued to receive substantial bequests.
What is the definition of pilgrimage?
A journey to a place of religious devotion.
What is heresy?
The denial of the validity of the key doctrines of the Church.
What is anticlericalism?
Opposition to the Church’s role in political and other non-religious matters.
What does laity refer to?
Refers collectively to those who were neither priests nor members of a religious order.
What was the status of nunneries?
Nunneries enjoyed much less prestige, populated by women deemed unsuitable for marriage.
What was the notable exception among nunneries?
The Bridgettine foundation at Syon near Isleworth in Middlesex.
What characterized the Lollards?
They were critical of the beliefs and practices of the Church, stressing the understanding of the Bible and favoring its translation into English.
Who founded Lollardy?
John Wycliffe founded Lollardy in England in the second half of the fourteenth century.
What were Lollards skeptical about?
They were skeptical about transubstantiation and the principles of the Eucharist.
Where did Lollard views persist?
In parts of southern England, particularly in south Buckinghamshire and around Newbury in Berkshire.
What happened to the Lollard movement after 1414?
Its popularity declined after the failed Lollard uprising, leading to fewer numbers and a loss of intellectual coherence.
What was introduced into English law in 1401?
The burning of heretics.
What did historians like Christopher Haigh argue about anticlericalism?
They argued that specific outbursts of anticlericalism were rare and often politically motivated.
What is ‘Humanism’ derived from?
‘Humanism’ was derived from ‘humanist’ (‘umanista’ in Italian).
What was the focus of humanists during the Renaissance?
They were concerned with establishing the reliability of Latin and Greek translations to purify religious ideas.
What is Christian humanism?
The movement that applies humanist approaches to biblical texts.
Who were the earliest humanist scholars of significance in England?
William Grocyn (c1449-1519) and Thomas Linacre (c1460-1524).
Where did Grocyn and Linacre experience humanist approaches to the classics?
In Florence in the late 1480s.
What did Grocyn lecture on at Oxford?
The ideas of Plato and Aristotle.
What was Linacre particularly influenced by?
The scientific thinking he acquired in Italy.
What degree did Linacre take at the University of Padua?
A medical degree.
Who was even more influential as an educator than Grocyn and Linacre?
John Colet (1467-1519).
What did John Colet see humanist scholarly approaches as a means of?
Reforming the Church from within.
Who was John Colet’s most important ally in the reform process?
Desiderius Erasmus.
When did Erasmus first visit England?
In 1499.
What did Desiderius Erasmus epitomise?
The spirit of the new learning.
What was the title of Erasmus’s influential book published in 1504?
The Handbook of a Christian Soldier.
What did Erasmus’s book seek to regenerate?
Christianity through emphasis on education and rejection of some traditional ceremonies.
What was John Colet’s one surviving sermon highly critical of?
The standards of the clergy.
Who was Sir Thomas More?
A distinguished lawyer and humanist scholar, author of Utopia.
What position was Sir Thomas More appointed to in 1529?
Lord Chancellor.
Why did Sir Thomas More resign in 1532?
In despair at Henry’s religious changes.
What happened to Sir Thomas More for denying the royal supremacy?
He was executed for treason.
Who began printing in England in 1477?
William Caxton.
In which regions was printing more significant than in England?
Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy.
Was there a connection between printing, humanism, and the new learning in this period?
There was little connection.
What is the Renaissance?
A cultural and intellectual movement which, beginning in Italy, emphasised a revival of interest in classical learning and the arts.
What is scholasticism?
A system of philosophical analysis in the medieval period.
How did humanism and the Renaissance impact England during Henry VII’s reign?
They had made little impression on England, with intellectual life dominated by traditional medieval scholastic philosophy.
What types of schools provided education during this period?
Song schools and reading schools provided elementary education, while grammar schools offered what we would now consider secondary education.
How many new grammar schools were founded between 1460 and 1509?
53 new grammar schools were founded.
What was central to the grammar school curriculum?
The study of Latin.
What was the significance of the 1480s in education?
It saw the beginnings of a humanistic approach to teaching, particularly at Magdalen College School in Oxford.
Which universities were central to university education?
The ancient universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
What developments occurred at Oxford and Cambridge during this period?
Oxford experienced substantial expansion with new colleges, while Cambridge benefited from the foundation of Christ’s College and St John’s College.
What was the most important popular art form of the time?
Drama.
How were plays presented during this period?
Plays were sometimes presented in association with church-ale festivals and by troupes of players sponsored by nobility.
What were mystery plays?
Dramas performed at the feasts of Corpus Christi by guilds in towns and cities, important for moral and religious messages.
What role did music play in the fifteenth century?
Music was enjoyed at various levels, from local groups to choral pieces in cathedrals, marking the beginnings of a musical renaissance.
What change occurred in music during the fifteenth century?
Single-line chants began to give way to polyphonic choral music.
What is the Eton Choirbook?
The Eton Choirbook is the most important surviving source for music from around 1505, comprising a collection of 93 separate musical compositions.
Who were the two most important composers in the Eton Choirbook?
The two most important composers were Thomas Browne and Robert Fayrfax.
What was Thomas Browne’s connection to the political establishment?
Thomas Browne was employed in the household of the Earl of Oxford.
How did Robert Fayrfax benefit during Henry VI’s reign?
Robert Fayrfax benefited regularly from the patronage of Lady Margaret Beaufort and the king.
What types of instruments were used in music performed at court or wealthy homes?
Instruments included trumpets, shawms, sackbuts, stringed instruments, recorders, and lutes.
What types of songs did Browne and Fayrfax compose?
Browne and Fayrfax composed secular songs for entertainment, as well as popular carols.
What architectural style was prevalent during this period?
The Gothic perpendicular style was prevalent, indicated by the massive building and rebuilding of parish churches.
What are some notable churches built in the Gothic perpendicular style?
Notable churches include Saint Mary Redcliffe in Bristol and the major wool churches of East Anglia, such as Lavenham and Long Melford.
What approval did Henry VII give regarding architecture?
In 1502, Henry VII approved the Gothic architectural style for the Lady Chapel at Westminster Abbey.
What was the state of English culture in terms of printing during this time?
The printing industry was still focused on traditional medieval culture, with works printed by William Caxton.
What works did William Caxton print?
William Caxton printed works such as Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and other traditional medieval works.
What influence began to change tastes by the time of Henry VII’s death?
Humanist influences from Italy began to change tastes, making humanist scholars more fashionable.
What is a minstrel’s gallery?
A minstrel’s gallery is a form of balcony inside a great hall where a minstrel performed for the nobility.
What is a shawm?
A shawm is a medieval and Renaissance wind instrument, a forerunner of the oboe, with a penetrating tone.
What is a sackbut?
A sackbut is a medieval wind instrument, a forerunner of the trombone.
What does secular mean?
Secular refers to something not connected with religious or spiritual matters.
What is Gothic architecture?
Gothic architecture is characterized by pointed arches and large windows, prevalent in Western Europe from the twelfth to sixteenth centuries.
What is the perpendicular style in architecture?
The perpendicular style is the dominant form of church architecture in England from the late fourteenth to early sixteenth century, emphasizing vertical lines.
What does chivalric refer to?
Chivalric refers to the code of conduct for medieval knights, emphasizing bravery, military skill, generosity, piety, and courtesy to women.
