Religious Reform Flashcards
How many religious houses were dissolved in the 1520s by Wolsey?
20
When were smaller monasteries dissolved?
An Act of Parliament in 1536 justified the dissolution of smaller monasteries, defined with those of an income of £200 per annum or less. Smaller religious houses were labelled ‘corrupt’.
When was the Act to dissolve remaining religious houses passed?
- By March 1540, all remaining monastics had been dissolved.
How many religious houses were dissolved during the Dissolution?
825
How many nuns were expelled from their institutions?
2,000
By how much did Crown revenue increase due to the Dissolution?
The King’s income doubled, as he sold monastic land to over 40,000 nobles and merchants, who sold shares to independent farmers. This increased the number of landowners who would oppose a return to Catholicism.
According to Valor Ecclesiasticus, what percentage of a monastery’s income was granted to the needy?
2%
How many monks and friars were dispossessed?
8,000 monks and friars were dispossessed but all but 1,500 found employment after. In 1551, this cost the Treasury £44,000 annually.
What did the Act of the Ten Articles do?
In 1536, this promoted Lutheran ideas, such that only three sacraments- Baptism, Penance and Eucharist, were necessary to obtain salvation.
What did Cromwell’s Injunctions do?
The first set, in 1536, restricted the number of holy days to be observed and discouraged pilgrimages. The 1538 set condemned the worship of relics and images, and required clergymen associated with this to recant.
What did the 1537 Bishop’s Book do?
This proclaimed only Baptism and the Eucharist as essential to attain salvation. It emphasised salvation by faith, though suggested that this did not preclude the importance of good works. It established a doctrinal basis for the new Church of England, for which it served as the official formulary.
What was the English Bible?
Previously, the Bible was solely available in Latin, which the majority could not understand. The 1538 Injunctions required every parish church to acquire an English Bible. However, in 1543, four years succeeding the first edition of the English Bible, the Act of the Advancement of True Religion restricted the public reading to upper class men.
What did the 1539 Act of Six Articles do?
It confirmed transubstantiation, and the denial of this was deemed heretical, with 500 arrested for doing so. Clerical marriage was banned. It reasserted Catholic doctrine and reversed previous religious change.
What was the King’s Book of 1543?
This endorsed traditional views of the mass, transubstantiation, confession, and Church ceremonies.
