The Henrician Reformation

Question 1

In what years did Henry VIII reform the Church?

Answer 1

1532-1540

Question 2

Who assisted Henry with the reform of the Church?

Answer 2

Cromwell and Cramner

Question 3

Name three weaknesses of the Church

Answer 3

Corruption, anticlericalism and decline of monasticism

Question 4

Name three examples of corruption that were present at this time

Answer 4

Pluralism, simony and non-residence

Question 5

Give an example of a corrupt clergyman

Answer 5

Wolsey

Question 6

When did precedents for dissolving the monasteries begin?

Answer 6

1530s

Question 7

What were the large monasteries essentially?

Answer 7

Substantial businesses with huge resources in terms of land and buildings. The ease and speed the monasteries were dissolved confirmed this

Question 8

When was Protestantism beginning to be seen in England?

Answer 8

1517 - following Martin Luther’s attack on the Catholic Church

Question 9

In what year did the Act of Supremacy occur?

Answer 9

1534 - King becomes supreme head of the Church

Question 10

How many new dioceses were created?

Answer 10

Six - created a change to the church structure. New areas under the jurisdiction of a bishop

Question 11

What did Henry VIII appoint to Cromwell that gave him considerable power over the Church?

Answer 11

Vicegerent in Spirituals, 1534. Meant Cromwell was second only to the King - outranked bishops and archbishops

Question 12

In what year did Cromwell set up a survey to discover the wealth of the Church?

Answer 12

1535 - gave him a broadly accurate indication of the resources which were available for the Crown to plunder

Question 13

What were sent around the country to inspect all monastic institutions?

Answer 13

Four ‘visitors’ sent around to inspect to find evidence of weakness and corruption to justify the dissolution of the monasteries

Question 14

In what year was there an Act of Parliament to dissolve smaller monasteries?

Answer 14

1536 - gave Cromwell the right to dissolve monasteries with an income of £200 per annum or less.

Justified as an argument for preserving and improving the quality of monasticism - smaller religious houses had allowed standards to slip

Question 15

What year was the Pilgrimage of Grace?

Answer 15

1536 - began in Yorkshire

Question 16

By what date had all remaining religious houses been dissolved?

Answer 16

March 1540

Question 17

When did the first edition of the Great Bible appear and what did it contain?

Answer 17

Appeared in 1539. First English Bible, allowing all people to read it

Question 18

What did the Act of Advancement of True Religion do?

Answer 18

1543 - allowed only upper-class men to read the Bible - Henry VIII worried the Bible now being more accessible would mean people would read the wrong parts of the bible. Women and men of other classes had ‘increased in divers naughty and erroneous opinions’.

Question 19

In what year did the Ten Articles occur and what did it mean?

Answer 19

1536. Ambiguous document that encouraged both Lutherian and Catholic influences on the development of doctrine.
      e. g. Confession praised (Catholic), but only 3 sacraments (baptism, penance and Eucharist) were necessary to salvation (Lutherian)

Question 20

What did the Bishop’s Book restore?

Answer 20

The four sacraments omitted from the Ten Articles (implies Catholicism), but were given a lower status. Therefore a more conservative document than the Ten Articles.

Occurred the year after the Ten Articles in 1537

Question 21

What act reasserted Catholic doctrine?

Answer 21

The Six Articles Act of 1539 restored Catholic doctrine.

Denial of transubstantiation was heretical. Was a triumph for the conservatives. Founded on the assumption that there had been too much religious controversy and that this undermined good order of society

Question 22

What evidence can be used to indicate CONTINUITY?

Answer 22

• hierarchy of Church remained
• services remained largely in traditional form
• Six Articles Act 1539
• Fall of Cromwell 1540
• services continued to be held in Latin

Question 23

What evidence can be used to indicate CHANGE?

Answer 23

• jurisdiction of the Pope had been destroyed - King was much more of a visible authority figure than the Pope - Act of Supremacy 1534 confirms this
• monasteries had been dissolved
• had been a massive transfer of resources from Church to Crown through dissolution
• Parish Churches were required to possess Bibles in English
• Religious culture had been influenced by humanism