The Dissolution of the Monasteries

Question 1

How many monasteries & monks were there originally in england?

Answer 1

800 monasteries
10,000 monks&nuns combined

Question 2

What did monasteries provide for the local community?

Answer 2

Monasteries provided charity, healthcare, education and had a role in the justice system

Question 3

How much of England’s land was owned by monasteries?

Answer 3

1/3 of englands land was owned by monasteries

Question 4

How much did the top 20 monasteries earn a year?

Answer 4

over £1000, as much as leading nobled

Question 5

How large was the influence of monastery leaders in politics?

Answer 5

30 monastery leaders in the house of lords

Question 6

how many monasteries were dissolved 1536-1540?

Answer 6

800 monasteries dissolved 1536-40

Question 7

What were “Cromwell’s visitations”

Answer 7

1535: Cromwell sent 6 officials to inspect the monasteries

Question 8

What were the findings in the visitations?

Answer 8

-Hundreds of monks not celibate
-some nuns even had children
-Monastery in Yorkshire accused of working with pirates

Question 9

Why may the reports from the visitations not be reliable?

Answer 9

Inspections done too fast to be thorough, (120 HOUSES IN 70 DAYS VISITED)

Commisioners often bullied the monks and nuns while questioning

Focus was on the negative and sometimes evidence was exaggerated or made up

Question 10

How many claims of homosexual practices were there? How many were proved?

Answer 10

181 claims of homosexual practices
only 12 proved true

Question 11

Public opinion on visitations?

Answer 11

Monasteries largely supported, if visitation results were true this support would diminish

Question 12

Evidence against monasteries being corrupt

Answer 12

Most monasteries were actually very good, one example gave 22% of its income to charity

Question 13

How many monks executed for refusing the oath of succession

Answer 13

18, proving most were loyal to henry

Question 14

Henry’s financial motives for dissolving the monasteries?

Answer 14

-closing monasteries would make a lot of money to fund defence against invasion of France and the HRE due to England’s break from rome

-Cromwell’s report revealed monasteries were very wealthy, with this wealth Henry could become more politically prominent

-Henry wouldnt have to raise tax to make money, which would be unpopular

Question 15

Henry’s religious motives for dissolution of the monasteries

Answer 15

-monasticism isnt mentioned in the Bible and therefore Protestants such as Cranmer wanted to see monasteries closed

-Selling land to nobles would make them part of religious reforms .eg Duke of Norfolk quickly enriched himself

-Cromwells visitations proved monasteries did not live up to the ideals of religious life

Question 16

Henry’s political motives for the dissolution of monasteries

Answer 16

-Many monks were loyal to the pope and disagreed with Henry making himself head of the church

-Dissolving monasteries would silence angry monks after break from rome

-monks & nuns supported the pope over the crown

-Protestants in Scandinavia and Germany had closed monasteries and shown dissolution was possible

Question 17

When was the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries?

Answer 17

1536

Question 18

What did the 1536 Dissolution of Lesser Monasteries do

Answer 18

-300 monasteries making under £200/yr were closed

-60 of the 300 survived but had to pay to be exempt

-Commisioners took all valuables from dissolved monasteries (lead from roofs, doorknobs, bells)

-Head of House compensated for compliance

-Monks could leave monastic life or go to larger houses

Question 19

What was public view of Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries

Answer 19

Seen as a cash grab

Question 20

When was the Start of the Dissolution of larger houses

Answer 20

1538

Question 21

What happened in the dissolution of larger houses

Answer 21

-done piece by piece, no specific act

-done for vengeance on Pilgrimage of Grace and because Henry &Cromwell wanted money

-Anyone who opposed changes were executed in their monastery eg Reading and Colchester monastery

-Surrender of these houses confirmed by second Act of Dissolution 1539.

Question 22

When were there no monasteries left?

Answer 22

1540

Question 23

Which act confirmed the closure of monasteries?

Answer 23

The Second Act of Dissolution 1539

Question 24

Who were the winners in the Dissolution of the Monasteries?

Answer 24

-Religious reformers/protestants who opposed the idea of monasteries

-Henry VIII became a lot richer from selling land

-Genrtry and Nobility gained land, and the landless could buy land

-Henry opened new grammar schools to make up for monastic education loss

-Heads of House handsomely rewarded for complying.

-Cromwell made money and spread protestantism

Question 25

How much were Junior Monks paid to adjust to life without monastery

Answer 25

small pension of £5-10

Question 26

Who were the losers of the Dissolution of the Monasteries?

Answer 26

-Monks and nuns who lost their homes

-Monks and Nuns given small one time payment

-Nuns could not get married or get a job so suffered the most

-Many monks became beggars

-Local communites lost charity, healthcare and education

-Farmer rent became more expensive as nobility charged more than the Church

-added to increasing poverty

-cultural vandalism (art, books lost/destroyed)

Question 27

What was The Valor Ecclesiasticus.

Answer 27

Name of the survey of the finances of the church of england