Royal Supremacy and Reformation

Question 1

What are the four main historical interpretations of the Henrician Reformation?

Answer 1

The four main interpretations are rapid reform from above, rapid reform from below, slow reform from below and slow reform from above

Question 2

What must be remembered about the term ‘Reformation’?

Answer 2

‘Reformation’ in England wasn’t a specific event, and ‘reformation’ is a historians term

Question 3

What are the three points of contention in regards to studying the early reformation?

Answer 3

The motive and pace; was it advanced via official coercion or horizontal expansion; was it powerful by 1553 or an Elizabethan job

Question 4

What is the main criticism of pre-1980s historiography from C. Haigh?

Answer 4

C. Haigh criticises traditional and revisionist historiography because it is written as a history of English Protestantism rather than the reformation - making it appear as inevitable

Question 5

What are two smaller criticisms from C. Haigh of pre-1980s historiography?

Answer 5

C. Haigh criticises that there is little clarity of whether it was a centre or periphery action, nor clarity of the motivations of Elizabeth’s settlement

Question 6

Who is the doyen for the rapid reformation from above interpretation?

Answer 6

G. Elton trailblazer the rapid reformation from above interpretation

Question 7

Who is the doyen for the rapid reformation from below interpretation?

Answer 7

A. Dickens is the leading historian for the rapid reformation from below interpretation

Question 8

Who is the doyen for the slow reformation from above interpretation?

Answer 8

P. Williams dominates the slow reformation from above interpretation?

Question 9

Who is the doyen for the slow reformation from below interpretation?

Answer 9

P. Collinson is the central historian for the slow reformation from below interpretation

Question 10

Briefly outline G. Elton’s interpretation of the reformation:

Answer 10

G. Elton thought the reformation to be part of Cromwell’s arsenal which by 1553 had made England the most Protestant country in Europe

Question 11

Who is a supporting study for the historical interpretation of rapid reformation from above?

Answer 11

P. Clarke: he studied Kent local politics and administration (e.g. wills) and found the 1540s to be a breakthrough

Question 12

What is an issue with the interpretation being rapid from above?

Answer 12

Interpreting the reformation as rapid from above does not interrogate the extent to which reforms were accepted at a local level

Question 13

Briefly outline A. Dickens’s interpretation of the reformation:

Answer 13

A. Dickens stresses religious rather than political roots of the reformation and said that there was a clear need for personal religious involvement to increase

Question 14

What is an example of an English religious root of the Reformation?

Answer 14

Lollardy- a 14th century christian reform movement- was said to act as a foundation for the Reformation

Question 15

How can we criticise A. Dickens’s interpretation of rapid reformation from below?

Answer 15

Rapid reformation from below does not show the general pace because it concentrates on atypical heretics, and suggests Catholic institutions to be insufficient for the public

Question 16

What is a post-1980s change in ideas of reformation from below?

Answer 16

reformation from below now acknowledges the social use of magic and communal rituals in parish needs

Question 17

What is a contemporary source which undermines the interpretation of the reformation being rapid from below?

Answer 17

Late-Elizabethan Kentish preacher Josias Nicholas examined 400 parishioners and found only 40 understood basic doctrine, only 4 believed justification by faith

Question 18

What must be considered about variations in the permeance of the English Reformation?

Answer 18

A rapid reformation cannot be said to have occurred in urban AND rural England equally- assimilation was usually dependent on special circumstances such as trade links to Protestants on the continent

Question 19

Briefly outline P. Williams’s interpretation of the reformation developing slowly from above:

Answer 19

P. Williams suggests that the Reformation had more impact on law than on parishes, that there was hostility to change until the brutal suppression of the 1549 Western Rebellion, and that there was no major Protestantism until a 1570s coup

Question 20

How can P. Williams’s interpretation be shortened?

Answer 20

P. Williams believes that there was hardly any reformation of religious practice in England until 1559

Question 21

How can P. Williams’s 1570s political coup for the Protestant cause be exemplified?

Answer 21

The idea of a 1570s coup can be seen in the 1568 purge of the Lancashire Ecclesiastic Commission and the death of the conservative EoDerby 1572

Question 22

Briefly outline P. Collinson’s interpretation of reformation developing slowly from below:

Answer 22

For P. Collinson, Elizabethan puritanism = the evangelical phase of English protestantism where radical preachers helped spread Protestantism through the parishes

Question 23

Who is a supporting historian for the interpretation of reformation developing slowly from below?

Answer 23

M. Spufford: studied Cambridgeshire and found most parishes had little Protestant presence until 1560s and little enthusiasm until 1590s

Question 24

What is the issue with “rapid” and “slow” interpretations of the English reformation’s development?

Answer 24

while rapid interpretations too easily interpret an absence of opposition to be a presence of support, slow interpretations suggest lacking records of heresy to indicate no protestant presence

Question 25

How does C. Haigh claim the reformation in England to have developed?

Answer 25

C. Haigh claims that impact came with changes in clerical patronage and administration- this varied geographically

Question 26

What was the impact of Supremacy on English kingship?

Answer 26

Supremacy added a further dynamic of power to kingship and also political discourse

Question 27

What was one contemporary-perceived weakness of Henry’s kingship?

Answer 27

Contemporaries were acutely aware of Henry lacking popular approval as well as “divine support” in the form of a male heir

Question 28

How does L. Wooding characterise Henry VIIIs reformation?

Answer 28

L. Wooding suggests that Henry VIIIs reformation was both evangelical and Catholic, reforming and traditional, with a core aim of elevating majestic authority

Question 29

What can be said about Henry VIIIs goals 1533-39?

Answer 29

Between 1533 and 1539, L. Wooding suggests that Henry pursued a new style of Godly kingship but was never wholly successful

Question 30

How can we illustrate Henry’s pursuing of a new style of Godly Kingship in the 1530s?

Answer 30

Henry VIII redrafted the coronation oath so his duties were carried out ‘according to HIS conscience’

Question 31

How did Henry VIII communicate his new style of kingship to the political nation and beyond?

Answer 31

The 1536 Hans Holbein Portrait of Henry VIII was a tool of propaganda: first ever full-length portrait of a monarch it had no traditional kingly images such as the sceptre, says a lot that it was commissioned after Jane fell pregnant

Question 32

What was a way Henry manipulated space around him into a form of propaganda during the 1540s?

Answer 32

In the 1540s Henry widened access to the chamber, politicising space around him as a tool of patronage like his father had done

Question 33

What is a piece of propaganda which helped/tried to legitimise the break from Rome?

Answer 33

Hans Holbein’s 1534 miniature Solomon and the Queen of Sheba acted as an allegory of the submission of the Church to Henry VIII by using biblical references

Question 34

Between 1535-45 what occurred in the Royal Portfolio?

Answer 34

Between 1535-45, Henry acquired 32 houses and palaces, redesigning many in the French court style to give the royals more privacy and larger gardens

Question 35

What is L. Wooding’s interpretation of the 1534 Act of Supremacy?

Answer 35

Supremacy according to L. Wooding was political. Although a religious act, this was ambiguous, whereas its political dynamic was unmistakeable.

Question 36

What shows the extent to which the Act of Supremacy and the legitimacy of Anne as queen was upheld?

Answer 36

The extent to which the Act of Supremacy was upheld can be shown in the beating of two women for criticising Anne’s legitimacy in summer 1533

Question 37

Who was the first person of note to significantly challenge supremacy?

Answer 37

The Maid of Kent, legitimised by the Archbishop of Canterbury, criticised supremacy. In one of her visions she denied Henry the sacraments- suggesting God had turned against him

Question 38

When was the threat of the Maid of Kent eradicated?

Answer 38

The threat the Maid of Kent posed was eradicated with her denunciation and execution in 1534

Question 39

When was Bishop John Fisher executed, why?

Answer 39

John Fisher was executed 22 June 1535 after the Pope made him a cardinal in an effort to save him, he had been too outspoken in support for Catherine and refusal to take the oath of supremacy

Question 40

What was Thomas More’s reaction to the Act of Supremacy etc?

Answer 40

Thomas More, rather than becoming an outspoken critic like Fisher, became a passive conformist

Question 41

How can the idea that Henry thought himself to be leading a moral crusade be supported?

Answer 41

Historical interpretations of Henry viewing the break as a moral crusade can be supported by his consistent use of scripture as justification- such as Leviticus in his annulment

Question 42

Why are interpretations of Henry’s reformation being the product of faction problematic?

Answer 42

Interpretations of Henry’s reformation being the product of faction are problematic because it is fundamentally at odds with what we understand as Henry’s personal character

Question 43

What two interpretations of motivations for supremacy have some, but not wholly, convincing features?

Answer 43

Both the idea that supremacy was driven by random impulses of Henry and by fluctuations in international alliances have credence

Question 44

What is an issue with studying the reformation in general?

Answer 44

The terms ‘Protestant’ and Catholic’ are anachronistic- these didn’t exist in contemporary times, evangelical and conservative is better

Question 45

What is L. Wooding’s interpretation of the impact of an English Bible?

Answer 45

For L. Wooding, an English Bible is not indicative of religious zeal but rather a continuation of humanist-style reform- this is supported by Mary Is desire for an English Bible

Question 46

Outline the propagandic dimension of the Great Bible?

Answer 46

The front page of the great bible had Henry in the centre handing out vernacular bibles with subjects crying ‘vivat rex!’ (god save the king!)

Question 47

How can we support the claim that Henry VIII was personally invested in the reformation?

Answer 47

The Ten Articles of 1536 were accompanied with a notation that they were the product of Henry’s own labour

Question 48

What was the content of the 1536 Ten Articles? What should be remembered about them?

Answer 48

The Ten Articles dealt with the topics of salvation and ceremony, but their intention is not explicitly clear. They were not an act of parliament.

Question 49

What is a curious difference between the Ten Articles of 1536 and the Six Articles of 1539?

Answer 49

The Ten Articles were not an act of parliament, whereas the Six Articles were. There is arguably some foundation for an argument of leanings here - although E. Shagan suggests they are not discontiguous

Question 50

From 1535, what was a requirement for every parish?

Answer 50

From 1535 onwards, Henry forced supremacy to be declared every Sunday across the kingdom

Question 51

What are the two uncompromising points of Henry’s belief for both evangelism and conservatism?

Answer 51

While Henry emphatically denied the validity of justification by faith alone, Henry also vehemently criticised purgatory as a Roman fabrication

Question 52

What happened in January 1536?

Answer 52

In January 1536 Henry sustained a bad fall, a few days later Anne miscarried a boy. Took 3 weeks for her demise.

Question 53

When was Anne executed?

Answer 53

Anne was executed 19 May 1536

Question 54

What was the outcome of Anne Boleyn’s demise?

Answer 54

Anne’s demise religified politics- she had been a figurehead of the evangelical movement and her fall led to polarisation and blame-game

Question 55

When was the second act of succession passed?

Answer 55

The second act of succession was passed in 1536, it bastardised Elizabeth

Question 56

What was the Valour Ecclesiasticus?

Answer 56

The Valour Ecclesiasticus was a valuation of all ecclesiastical incomes, it hadn’t been carried out since 1291

Question 57

What are the two historical interpretations of Henry’s opinion of monasteries?

Answer 57

Some historians think Henry to have found monasteries as lacking morality and spirituality, while others thought dissolution to have been no more than a money grab

Question 58

What is L. Wooding’s interpretation of Henry’s approach to monasticism?

Answer 58

For L. Wooding, Henry wanted to ‘prune’ rather than ‘uproot’ monasticism

Question 59

What was the legitimising precedent Henry VIII used for the dissolution process?

Answer 59

Henry VIIs reign had seen monasteries dissolved to make way for colleges which were more fashionable

Question 60

What was the intellectual context for dissolution of the monasteries?

Answer 60

Erasmus provided intellectual justification for dissolution because he had mocked monks in his 1511 Praise of Folly

Question 61

What monasteries were the first to go?

Answer 61

The first monasteries dissolved were those worth £200- bribery to be valued over this was commonplace

Question 62

What caused Henry to harden his position on monasteries?

Answer 62

The Pilgrimage of Grace hardened Henry’s position on dissolution- he found monasteries to be challenging him for loyalty

Question 63

What had been a grievance of the Pilgrimage of Grace?

Answer 63

The Pilgrimage of Grace had in part been motivated by the fear that parish churches would follow monasteries

Question 64

What does L. Wooding stress about grievances in Tudor popular protest?

Answer 64

L. Wooding claims that since religion was central to all social life, political economic and social grievances cannot be disentangled from religious ones even if religion is not explicitly referred to

Question 65

What should be noted about the religious nature of the pilgrimage of grace?

Answer 65

While Pilgrimage of Grace is a historical name, they did still mobilise religious iconography such as the Five Wounds of Christ

Question 66

What were the grievances of the pilgrimage of grace called?

Answer 66

The pilgrimage of grace grievances were the 1536 Pontefract Articles- which noted Mary and monasteries as chief concerns

Question 67

Where is Henry’s hardened position towards monasteries evident?

Answer 67

In the 1539 Act of Dissolution, Henry didn’t justify his actions and just ordered dissolution of all monasteries that remained

Question 68

What are two curious points which should be noted regarding the dissolution of monasteries?

Answer 68

Henry and Jane met all four orders of monks in 1537 in Fleet Street. He also had to contend with the loss of social and economic functions.

Question 69

When was Prince Edward born?

Answer 69

Prince Edward was born 12 October 1537, shortly after Jane passed away from complications (likely the placenta- Royal Surgeons wouldn’t have known to look, midwives would)

Question 70

How can Henry’s distaste for outright evangelism be seen?

Answer 70

Henry’s distaste for outright evangelism can be seen in the 1537 Bishops Book- it was issued without his approval and he immediately demanded a revision

Question 71

How can 1530s authority of Henry VIII be summarised?

Answer 71

Henry VIIIs authority in the 1530s was constantly on the defensive- such as constant justifications and defensive language in statues.

Question 72

How did Henry VIII expand his idea of enlightening subjects?

Answer 72

Henry’s moral liberation was expanded by the 1536 and 1543 Acts for Wales and 1541 Act for Ireland making him king

Question 73

How does L. Wooding characterise the Six Articles?

Answer 73

L. Wooding claims the Six Articles not to have been a reversion to catholicism because the 10 hadn’t been a step to protestantism- rather they expressed what Henry wouldn’t compromise on

Question 74

How can the claim that Henry saw himself as steering between two extremes be staked?

Answer 74

Henry in the 1544 opening of parliament criticised the ‘discord’ beneath his rule

Question 75

What does L. Wooding say about the idea of a via media?

Answer 75

A via media would imply going between two religions, however at this point, Henry was navigating between two actually political identities

Question 76

What do L. Wooding and E. Shagan (2000s) agree with regards to the reformation?

Answer 76

Both millennium historians L. Wooding and E. Shagan agree that the centrepiece of the English reformation was the Supremacy not theology

Question 77

What is a recent change with historical interpretation of the reformation?

Answer 77

There is a 2000s argument that Supremacy had no likelihood of reform- it was unintended consequences

Question 78

How does E. Shagan characterise the reformation?

Answer 78

E. Shagan claimed that the via media was religion without ideology, catholic- but not necessarily papal

Question 79

What is an issue with studying contemporary opinions of the Supremacy?

Answer 79

E. Shagan notes that many fled England following the supremacy rather than speak out- we can therefore not know the true extent of discontent

Question 80

What is a catholic text which tried to assert the supremacy of the Church of Rome?

Answer 80

The Church of Rome was argued to be coterminous as the Church of Christ in Reginald Pole’s Pro Ecclesiasticae Unitatis Defensione (1535)

Question 81

What are two contemporary concepts which have emerged as historiographical schools with regards to the nature of the Reformation?

Answer 81

Contemporaries tended to either interpret the reformation as the Henrician Schism or Heresy

Question 82

What was the Henrician Schism to contemporaries?

Answer 82

Contemporary catholics/traditionals who were loyal to Henry VIII often described reformation as a schism to de-emphasise its impact

Question 83

What was the Henrician Heresy to contemporaries?

Answer 83

The idea of Henrician Heresy was that Henry was at fundamental odds with the Church of Rome- but there is no indication of how he was perceived to be heretical

Question 84

What, according to L. Wooding, was the way conformist catholics aided Henry VIII in supremacy?

Answer 84

L. Wooding suggested that conformist catholics used Humanist appeals to scripture for arguments to form their arguments

Question 85

What is a contemporary source for conformist catholics during the henrician reformation?

Answer 85

Stephen Gardiner’s De Vera Obedientia (1535)

Question 86

Outline the jist of Stephen Gardiner’s De Vera Obedientia (1535):

Answer 86

Stephen Gardiner’s De Vera Obedientia (1535) outlined that allegiance to Rome was a historical accident rather than God’s Will

Question 87

How does Stephen Gardiner characterise the power of the Church of Rome?

Answer 87

The Church of Rome in De Vera Obedientia is suggested to have jure humano power

Question 88

When was the Act of Treason passed? What did it do?

Answer 88

The Act of Treason was passed November 1534, it made it treason to question the validity of Henry and Anne

Question 89

From when did Henry and his allies begin to use praemunire to charge threats?

Answer 89

Praemunire had been used prior to the reformation, but in the reformation era it was used to suggest enemies to hold allegiances to foreign monarchs

Question 90

What was the impact of using praemunire to charge enemies of the reformation?

Answer 90

The impact of praemunire was that it further politicised the reformation by making it about loyalty

Question 91

What does E. Shagan say is an example of unprecedented intrusion of the crown into ecclesiastic policy?

Answer 91

E. Shagan claims that the abrogation of most Saints Days in July 1536 (bar three) was an unprecedented religious intrusion of the crown

Question 92

What does G. Bernard argue as the motivations of the Henrician Reformation?

Answer 92

G. Bernard suggests that the Henry was the ‘principal architect’ of a personal policy of a middle way

Question 93

What does G. Bernard attribute as the cause of constant fluctuations in the historiography?

Answer 93

G. Bernard suggests that over-reliance on John Foxe’s Actes and Monuments (1563) has warped historical interpretations to an Elizabethan mindset

Question 94

What were Henry’s personal aims of the reformation according to G. Bernard, and what did this cause?

Answer 94

G. Bernard said Henry had consistent hostility to the papacy and firm defence of the supremacy- and that fanatics seized this as a foundation of theological critique

Question 95

What happened religiously with regards to Jane Seymour’s death?

Answer 95

When Jane Seymour died in 1537 Henry ordered 1000s of Masses for her soul

Question 96

What role did Catherine Parr have in reformation propaganda?

Answer 96

Catherine Parr compared Henry to Moses, this had a similar effect as Elizabeth being referred to as Deborah

Question 97

What is an important thing to remember about G. Bernard et al. arguing that the reformation was a middle way?

Answer 97

G. Bernard et al. argue that the reformation was a middle way, but that his moderate nature does not make him any less reformist

Question 98

What is a criticism of interpreting the reformation as a middle way, and what is a counter-criticism?

Answer 98

The middle way is criticised for saying it solved religious discord while being built on discontiguous beliefs - yet, to say Henry was idiosyncratic and not valid in his beliefs delegitimises the English reformation against Tridents and Lutherans

Question 99

What does E. Duffy argue about the practical middle way sought in the reformation?

Answer 99

E. Duffy argued that veneration of images declined but what remained were given explanations

Question 100

Why is the impact of Actes and Monuments (1563) so damning for historical interpretations?

Answer 100

Actes and Monuments (1563) depicts hopeful and rose-tinted ideas of the Ten Articles of 1536 as a conscious step towards evangelism

Question 101

How can E. Duffy’s argument of a middle-way in images be exemplified?

Answer 101

The idea that Henry sought to maintain some images is evident in the Bishops Book which warned of the dangers of images, but noted their devotional utility

Question 102

How does G. Bernard interpret the Six Articles of 1539?

Answer 102

G. Bernard interprets the Six Articles of 1539 as a fundamental continuation of Henry’s policy of unity rather than evidence of a Catholic revival

Question 103

Who suggested that the marriage to Anne of Cleves was not a factional decision?

Answer 103

C. McEnteart argues that the marriage to Anne of Cleves was part of the middle way, as the Dukes of Cleves were neither Romanists nor Lutheran