religious legislation in 1530s and 1540s Flashcards
1534: Act of Supremacy
and the Treason Act
● Recognised that Henry was the Supreme head of the Church. He has control of the Church, not the Pope.
● Made it an offence to slander the Supremacy or deny the kings new title. It was also illegal to fail to report
anyone who spoke out against the King’s new position (called misprision). 300 people were put to death with
this act between 1532 and 1540.
1536: The Act of 10
Articles
This included only the three sacraments approved by Protestants (baptism, the Eucharist and penance
(confessing of sins); the other four were ‘lost.’
● The core doctrine in the Ten Articles wasjustification by faith alone (sola fide) but it was moderately outlined
to make it acceptable to conservatives.
● The Articles affirmed thereal presence of Christ in the Eucharist (but transubstantiation was not mentioned
by name as this was what Catholics called it) - some more radical Protestant doctrine said that it was only
symbolic.
● Laity should not pray to images but only God.
● The saints could intercede but only God could answer prayers.
● All rituals removed except those named in the act.
August 1536 The Royal
Injunctions
Attacked Catholic practices of pilgrimages, relics and images, required the clergy to promote the 1536 Ten
Articles and to teach the Lord's prayer, creed and commandments in English.
1537 The Bishops’ Book
This found the four lost sacraments again and admitted their validity, but they were deemed to be lesser
sacraments as they weren’t in scripture.
● Said that justification through faith alone didn’t dispense the need for good works/deeds.
● Emphasised the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist again but didn’t mention the word
‘transubstantiation.’
● Mass was glossed over (only mentioned twice), special status of priests was understated - said their job was to
preach the Word of God, not the offering of Christ at Mass. Purgatory was not covered in detail.
● 10 Commandments were renumbered to highlight the bad practice of worshipping images.
● However, this did include the four sacraments that had been previously lost. However, four Catholic
sacraments were explicitly said to be of lesser value than the other three.
1537 Matthew Bible
In 1536 each parish church needed an English bible. Miles Coverdale’s Matthew Bible was published for the
first time in 1537. By 1538 every parish in England and Wales had a Matthew Bible, Coverdale’s translation
had been dependent on translations by Luther and Tyndale.
● It was dedicated to King Henry VIII and licensed for distribution by the King. Thomas Cromwell asked for
copies of the new Bible to be placed in all parish churches in England. Those who were more
conservative/catholic complained the bible was protestant in nature. Bishop Gardiner insisted that scripture
had to be interpreted, and that to allow ill-educated people to have access to the Coverdale bible would
misconstrue Christian teaching. Henry was sympathetic to this view. Henry recognised the only way in which
he could control the direction of religion was by restricting it to those who had a vested interest in
maintaining his power.
1538 John Lambert
executed for rejecting
transubstantiation
1536 Lambert was accused of heresy by the Duke of
Norfolk for denying transubstantiation but escaped punishment until 1538. The king attended his trial and
questioned him on it, and by doing so stated his own belief in the importance of the Eucharist and
transubstantiation. On the day of his death by burning 22 nd November 1538 Henry issued a royal proclamation
upholding transubstantiation, celibacy and forbade heretical liturgy.
1539 Publication of the
Great Bible
TheGreat Bibleof 1539 was the first authorised edition of the Biblein English, authorised by Henry VIII to be
read aloud in the church services of theChurch of England.
● 3,000 Bibles printed in Nov 1539.
1539: Act of Six Articles
Act of Six Articles (May 1539) = This reasserted the four lost sacraments and included severe penal clauses
backing it up. Labelled ‘the whip with 6 strings’ by reformists.
● Denial of Transubstantiation was to be punished with automatic burning, which was even harsher than it had
been pre-reformation.
The Kings Book, 1543
It emphasised the importance of the seven sacraments, ten commandments and the Lord’s Prayer.
It was far more conservative than the Bishops Book. It reaffirmed the traditional beliefs in aspects such as
the importance for masses for the dead and explicitly rejected Lutheran views on justification by faith
alone and free will.
