Religion, Ideas and Reform

Question 1

In what ways did humanism begin to become more prominent in education?

Answer 1

Began to take root in schools such as St Paul’s school London (under John Colet) - appointed a humanist as head and chose governor members drawn from a city guild rather than clergymen and curriculum included work by Erasmus and teaching methods derived from humanist principles + appointed a humanist head William Lily
Magdalen college school (oxford) also adopted Platonist educational principles

Question 2

What had happened by the end of Henry VIII’s reign?

Answer 2

Humanist influences gained a lasting hold on university curricula and university education or legal training came to replace the church as the way to rise to prominence in politics (Wolsey had been cleric but Cromwell was a lawyer)
Wolsey gave his personal commitments to education improvement by founding his college and a school in his home town of Ipswich

Question 3

How many times did Erasmus visit England?

Answer 3

Four times, his most important = 1509 -1514

Continues to do se 1514-1521 corresponding with his English friends while absent

Question 4

What were some of Erasmus’s achievements?

Answer 4

He was appointed the first professor of Greek at Cambridge University, Published a Greek New Testament complete with a Latin translation in 1516, attended court and was a friend of Fisher and More - More showed his support in 1518 when the Greek New Testament caused controversy at Oxford leading some dons to condemn the study of Greek

Question 5

What were Erasmus’s ideas and what were they known as?

Answer 5

Erasmianism - influenced younger English humanists who were often described as ‘Christian Humanists’ as were keen to establish the truth about Christian texts

Question 6

In what ways did Henry embrace humanism?

Answer 6

Appointed humanist tutors to Prince Edward and Princess Elizabeth and his sixth wife (Katherine Parr) who had had a humanist education, gathered a humanist circle around her and patronised the arts and literature

Question 7

Give three ways in which the Renaissance influenced England under Henry VIII?

Answer 7

More schools became influenced by humanist approaches to education
Classical learning spread as humanist groups firmed in Oxford and Cambridge so knowledge of it spread among elite groups
Henry VIII saw himself as a promoter of new ideas and of humanism
The crown needed well-educated diplomats who could communicate with their counterparts in other countries in a fashionably elegant style

Question 8

Give three other ways in which the Renaissance influenced England under Henry VIII?

Answer 8

Visual culture (paintings, sculptures ect) combined Renaissance elements with traditional gothic styles 
Well-educated diplomats emerged who could communicate elegantly with their counter-parts abroad
English humanists became influential in Church and government - (e.g Thomas More = influential humanist writer, Lord Chancellor 1530-1532, both an intellectual, a lawyer and a statesman

Question 9

When were church doctrines and practices changed from and were they significant?

Answer 9

Between 1532 and 1540, when Henry VIII’s reforms of the church. Archbishop Cranmer played a major role in this, particularly after his appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1532
At this stage in reformation doctrinal changes less significant than the challenge on traditional religious practices but there was no consistent pattern of doctrinal change - reflecting king’s inability to make up his mind definitely about such matters

Question 10

What abuses did the church in England suffer from in the early 16th century?

Answer 10

Corruption including pluralism, simony and non-residence
Corruption of the legal privileges to the clergy and clerical misconduct (which gave rise to some anti-clericalism)
Best example of a corrupt clergyman = Wolsey but many guilty as the crown used church office to reward clergy
Worldly monasteries that no longer fulfilled their spiritual function, leading Wolsey to dissolve around 20 houses in the 1520’s.

Question 11

What is pluralism?

Answer 11

Receiving the profits of more than one post

Question 12

What is simony?

Answer 12

Buying Church office

Question 13

What is non-residence?

Answer 13

Receiving the profits of a post but being absent from that post

Question 14

What gave to rise to Protestantism and what was the outcomes?

Answer 14

Martin Luther’s attack on the church in Germany from 1517 with people rejecting papal authority and believing in faith alone - he was a German Monk gained support of many secular rulers in Germany who withdrew their territories from allegiance to Catholicism
But little evidence of a significant move to Protestantism in England following this

Question 15

What did German protestants do and what was the outcome? - influence of the German reformers in London

Answer 15

Came to London and eastern England in the 1520’s and a group based in Cambridge included Thomas Cranmer (most influential) met for religious dicussion - leading figure = Robert Barnes who had been converted to Protestantism by Thomas Bilney (both would be burned as heretics later in reign) while their ideas attracted some Christian humanists there was little committed attempt to spread Lutheran Protestantism before ‘the kings great matter’ brought discussion of religious issues
Otherwise evidence for committed evangelism is thin

Question 16

Who reformed church and what measures like at first?

Answer 16

Thomas Cranmer (reformer with humanist connections) with the help of Thomas Cromwell - at first measures were quite hesitant

Question 17

What protestant beliefs were initially introduced?

Answer 17

Justification by faith (the belief that a person can achieve grace of faith alone regardless of good works)Consubstantiation (the belief that the bread and wine of the Eucharist are spiritually the body and the blood of Christ without physically becoming so at the point of consecration ( as opposed to Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation)

Question 18

What was the early protestant doctrine introduced a natural consequence of and what else happened?

Answer 18

The break from Rome and the population was (often reluctantly) forced to accept Lutheran influences on their faith
As well as legislation, relics and images were destroyed and an English Bible was introduced

Question 19

How did Henry show his personal dislike for the early moves towards Protestantism?

Answer 19

He was responsible (along with the conservative faction at Court, including Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester and the Duke of Norfolk) for the six articles of 1539

Question 20

What was the position of the church in England as the time of Henry’s death?

Answer 20

An odd mixture of Protestant and Catholic doctrine

Question 21

What religious change occurred in 1536?

Answer 21

The Ten Articles stated that only three sacraments (penance, baptism and Eucharist) were necessary for salvation - praying to saints to forgive sins was rejected but confession was praised - showing a mixture of Catholic (confession praised) and Lutheran (praying to saint for remission of sin rejected) influences - ambiguous
The first set of royal injunctions pronounced against superstitious beliefs on pilgrimages and restricted the number of holy-days to be observed as well as more moral conduct encouraged. Also required the clergy to teach parishioners about the Ten articles, teach the Lords Prayer, creed and commandments in English -
Taken much further with the issue of the second set two years later in which pilgrimages and veneration of relics and images was condemned - clergy who up help these were required to publicly recant

Question 22

What religious change occurred 1536-40?

Answer 22

Dissolution of the monasteries

Question 23

What religious change occurred in 1537?

Answer 23

The Bishop’s Book restored the other four sacraments (though at a lower status) - more conservative document than the ten articles

Question 24

What religious change occurred in 1538?

Answer 24

The Second set of royal injunctions - ordered the removal of images, the continuance of baptisms, marriages and burials and the placing in churches of a large bible in English

Question 25

When was the first English bible introduced?

Answer 25

The earliest English bible had been published in parts by Tyndale 1525-26 but Coverdale printed the first complete English bible in 1535 (few would be able to read it - still relied on images)

Question 26

What religious change occurred in 1539?

Answer 26

The first edition of the Great Bible, edited by Cranmer, (had image of H offering the word of God to Cranmer and bishops on one hand and Cromwell and politicians on the other) was published by Coverdale at Henry VIII’s request
This was the first English bible authorised for public use and was distributed to every church and chained to the pulpit
The Six articles reasserted Catholic doctrine and denial of transubstantiation was deemed heretical (two reforming bishops resigned) - triumph for the conservatives

Question 27

What religious change occurred in 1543?

Answer 27

The King's Book revised the Bishops Book - it was largely conservative, with some protestant/Lutheran features
H became fearful of allowing the wrong people to read the wrong parts of the bible so The Act for Advancement of True Religion restricted the public reading of the bible to upper class males as women and men of other classes had seemingly increased in incorrect opinion and fallen into division and dissent among themselves. - social control came first

Question 28

What were the spiritual reasons for the dissolution of the monasteries?

Answer 28

Papal loyalty - monks were loyal to the authority of the Pope in Rome
The monasteries were bastions of Catholic doctrine - Henry and Cromwell were keen to remove any chance of return to Catholicism on religious grounds
Perceived corruption - Some monasteries were seen as having poor standards of behaviour and piety

Question 29

What were the non-spiritual reasons for the dissolution of the monasteries?

Answer 29

Nobles loyalty - Noble’s loyalty could be bought with land acquired from the monasteries ; they would entrench change and resist the restoration of papal authority
To finance Henry’s arms - a much welcome addition to the royal coffers (particularly as raising taxation could provoke rebellion)
Monasteries were outdated - The 1535 Poor Law provided support within villages, making monastic welfare outdated and printing reduced the need for scribes

Question 30

What was probably a large reason for Henry of the dissolution of the monasteries and what is it unlikely he was motivated by?

Answer 30

The lure of monastic wealth was likely significant for Henry
He was conservative in his religious views and heavily opposed the destruction of religious objects so it is unlikely religious ideas motivated him even if they did Cranmer and Cromwell

Question 31

What were the three key events in the dissolution of the monasteries?

Answer 31

1535 - Cromwell set up the Valor Ecclesiasticus (a survey to assess the Church’s wealth) - four ‘visitors’ assessed monastic institutions, identifying any weakness or corruption - as this was their task not fair-minded (although they also gave some praise) - they gave enough evidence to allow the dissolution
1536 - Act of Parliament = Dissolution of the smaller monasteries (with an income of under £200 per annum or less) - presented an improving monasticism as it was argued the smaller religious houses had allowed standards to slip
1539 - following the rebellion as the heads of religious houses that had been implicated in the rebellion voluntarily surrendered to the crown- another act passed Dissolution of the greater monasteries (this had been carried out by March 1540)
Possibly Cromwell’s intention all along to get rid of the monasteries once the softening up process had taken effect

Question 32

In what ways was there continuity in religion under Henry VIII?

Answer 32

The hierarchy of the Church remained largely intact
There was little attempt to alter the interior of the churches
Services remained largely traditional in form (they were still held in Latin and music continued to be important in services in cathedrals and collegiate churches)
The Six Articles Act in 1539 and the fall of Cromwell in 1540 weakened the cause of religious reform

Question 33

In what ways was there change in religion under Henry VIII?

Answer 33

The jurisdiction of the Pope had been replaced by the more visible authority figure of the King
The monasteries had been dissolved - many monastic buildings fell into ruin and there had been a massive transfer of resources from the Church to the Crown through the dissolutions
Parish churches were required to possess Bibles in English (though many of them did not)
Religious doctrine had been influenced by Protestantism and humanism - contributing to the undermining of the traditional church

Question 34

What happened to renaissance ideas in the reign of Henry VIII and why?

Answer 34

They began to flourish at least among the elite groups within society - partly due to the king who encouraged thinkers like More and Erasmus - humanism looked poised to achieve even greater influence

Question 35

What is important not to exaggerate?

Answer 35

The importance of Erasmian Humanism - it’s scope was quite limited and much of the change that took place stemmed from the influence of new religious thinking rather than simply scholarly Renaissance humanism

Question 36

What are some examples of the Renaissance ideas influence on visual cultural and what shouldn’t be exaggerated?

Answer 36

Henry commissioned an Italian sculptor to produce the tombs of his parents and his grandmother - both tombs were produced in the Renaissance style and are in the Lady Chapel of Westminster which Henry VII had commissioned in the gothic style = contrast but shouldn’t be assumed Renaissance influenced predominated in the reign e.g. dominant painters in Henry’s court were from the ‘northern renaissance which owed more to gothic influences than Italian renaissance
Tapestries more esteemed then - most Flemish in origin displaying chivalric themes from medieval culture
While Italian Renaissance influences were becoming more fashionable, England’s main cultural links reflected the close commercial links which existed between England and the Low Countries

Question 37

What were Henry’s personal preferences on culture like v that of Wolsey?

Answer 37

Henry more conservative in his building tastes than Wolsey - surviving evidence shows a continuing taste for gothic, whereas Wolsey’s palace at Hampton Court clearly exhibited more classical influence
Henry also a patron of music and musicians and was himself an amateur composer of some skill but Wolsey was also a noted music patron - again most significant influence on church heard music was Flemish

Question 38

What was anti-clericalism and what are examples?

Answer 38

Opposition to the political and social importance of clergy, often viewed as a weakness of the Church
Some common lawyers objected to the influence of canon law and there were objections to the legal privileges of the clergy
Clerical misconduct caused considerable criticism e.g. the death of Richard Hunne

Question 39

What was the death of Richard Hunn and was it significant?

Answer 39

1514 - A London merchant was found dead in his cell in the Bishop of London’s prison - he had apparently hung himself but it was evident to the coroner’s jury he couldn’t have and therefore that he had been murdered with a poor attempt to cover it up (likely torture had gone wrong)
Case disastrous for the reputation of the church in the short-term but time between this and the break from Rome suggests that by then it was much less likely to have been at the forefront of the minds of the critics of the Church

Question 40

Who else was capable of stirring anticlerical passions?

Answer 40

The Crown - e.g. the 1529 attack on the clergy in Simon Fish’s ‘supplication of the beggars’ (he was an English Protestant convert), the book was dedicated to Henry and it was a vicious attack on many aspects of the Catholic Church which was portrayed in exaggerated terms to be corrupt, treacherous and greedy
However, disputes between clergy and crown were rare leading some to conclude anti-clericalism was less a cause and more a consequence of the reformation

Question 41

What lead to the decline of monasticism and was this true for all orders?

Answer 41

The operation of the religious houses was open to criticism
Precedents for dissolving the monasteries had existed by the 1530’s e.g. Wolsey secured the dissolution of around twenty houses in the 1520’s to fund the establishment of Cardinal college in Oxford
Some argued monasticism was part of a bygone era that had lost sense of direction and that larger monasteries had become substantial businesses with huge resources - ease of speed of dissolution supports this
But some orders such as the Observant Franciscans and Bridgettines were flourishing until the final days of the dissolution

Question 42

What happened to the two most influential humanists in royal circles (Sir Thomas More and Bishop Fisher)?

Answer 42

They paid with their lives for their opposition to religious changes

Question 43

What were not all reformers?

Answer 43

Humanists and all many humanists were either not reformers at all or like Bishop Gardiner, went along with reforms in which they did not believe to maintain their lives and positions

Question 44

What is the evidence that a humanist approach to reform persisted during the final years of Henry VIII’s reign?

Answer 44

Cranmer continued to enjoy the king’s favour even when he was subject to attack by enemies such as the Duke of Norfolk
The King turned to Humanist John Cheke to be the tutor to son and heir Edward and Roger Ascham to be tutor to Elizabeth
There was a humanist circle around the King’s last wife (Katherine Parr) and she herself had a humanist education (unusual for woman of the time)

Question 45

What was important about Erasmian reformers?

Answer 45

Not the influence it had on religion policy during Henry’s reign but that it was in a position to influence policy-making during the reign of his successor
However, by the time Edward came to the throne the moderation of many humanist reformers was replaced with more radical strands of reform

Question 46

What changes occurred to the Church’s structure?

Answer 46

King becomes supreme head
King appoints Cromwell ‘Vicegerent in Spirituals’ in 1534 - meaning Cromwell outranked Bishops and archbishops, second only to the king, giving him considerable power over the church, the post however died with him
Six new dioceses (areas under jurisdiction of a bishop) created - attempt to improve the church’s administration
No other changes made to the structure of church as spiritual jurisdiction remained in hands of Archbishops and bishops (different from reformed churches in Europe)

Question 47

Define veneration?

Answer 47

The honouring with awe and reverence of a religious object

Question 48

In what other way did humanism look as though it would have great influence in Edward’s reign?

Answer 48

The undoubted humanism of Catholic martyrs like More and Fisher shows how diverse humanist influence had become
Wider renaissance culture had become entrenched at court and in the circles of the wealthy and well educated and would retain its cultural prominence for the rest of the century