The Pre-Reformation Church

Question 1

What was Heresy?

Answer 1

When someone believes in any other faith other than that of the monarch (Catholic)

Question 2

Who was the most significant heretic?

Answer 2

Martin Luther - Founder of the Protestant faith

Question 3

What did Martin Luther believe?

Answer 3

Faith was the most important thing ‘Justification by Faith Alone’
Priests were the same as every other person
Bible should be translated to all languages

Question 4

What was Henry named by the Pope and why?

Answer 4

‘Defender of the Faith’ because he passionately defended the Catholic Faith

Question 5

What book did Henry write to defend the Catholic Faith?

Answer 5

‘Assertio Septum Sacramentorum’ (In Defence of the 7 Sacraments)

Question 6

How big a threat to the church was heresy? Why?

Answer 6

Not much of a threat - Lutheranism had a limited impact outside of Germany.
Easier to stop ideas entering because England is an island.
Few Lutherans in England - only small group of scholars in Cambridge - White Horse Group (Wider population not interested)
Few Lollards - not widely supported

Question 7

Who were the Lollards?

Answer 7

Followed 14th Century theologian John Wyclif

Question 8

What did the Lollards call for?

Answer 8

English Bible
Closure of monasteries
Priests to be treated as normal people

Question 9

What did William Tyndale do?

Answer 9

Wrote an English Bible in 1525 and smuggled them into England

Question 10

What was the punishment for being caught with an English Bible or being a heretic?

Answer 10

Executed

Question 11

What was Anti-Papalism?

Answer 11

The belief that the Pope shouldn’t be the leader of the Church in England

Question 12

Why were people anti-papal?

Answer 12

Church shouldn’t be led by a foreign Pope

Question 13

How did Wolsey cause anti-papal feelings?

Answer 13

He brought the powers of the Pope into England - some people didn’t welcome interference from Rome.
His behaviour - wealth and illegitimate children

Question 14

How big a threat to the church was anti-papalism? Why?

Answer 14

Not much of a threat - Limited in England as Pope was seen as remote figure without much day-to-day control of the church (no need to oppose him)
Some people who didn’t support the Pope preferred Erastianism

Question 15

What was Erastianism?

Answer 15

The belief that the King should be head of the church not the Pope

Question 16

Why were Erastian beliefs limited in England?

Answer 16

King had already established himself as protector of the church in England after conflict with the Pope in the 13th Century
The King not the Pope had control over appointments in the Church

Question 17

When was the Pope’s power shown to be limited?

Answer 17

When Henry overruled Wolsey’s choices for Church appointments on at least 2 occasions (1518 + 1528 when Wolsey tried to appoint his son Bishop of Durham)

Question 18

What was anti-clericalism?

Answer 18

Anger towards the clergy who began to see the clergy as corrupt

Question 19

What caused anti-clericalism?

Answer 19

Bishops and Priests abusing their positons of power and failing to meet their duties
Some monks and priests had illegitimate children
Simony
Absenteeism

Question 20

What was simony?

Answer 20

When church positions were sold to the highest bidder and not given to the most suitable candidate

Question 21

What was absenteeism?

Answer 21

When bishops didn’t live in their diocese but still collected the tax

Question 22

When was the Hunne Affair?

Answer 22

1514

Question 23

What was the Hunne Affair?

Answer 23

Richard Hunne (merchant) refused to pay extortionate mortuary fee when his son died.
Church accused him of heresy + arrested him.
While awaiting trial he was found hung in his cell.
Church officials claimed suicide - supporters convinced it was murder.
Church still found him guilty and took his property.
Led to several years of anti-clerical feelings in London (summed up corruption of the church)

Question 24

How much of a threat was anti-clericalism?

Answer 24

More of a threat than heresy and anti-clericalism (Hunne Affair) but still not a major threat - most popular books of the period were religious texts which firmly upheld the Catholic Church
Many people actively defended the church
Open challenges limited.

Question 25

How did Henry and Wolsey try to combat anti-clericalism?

Answer 25

They conducted visitations on Monasteries to try to remove corruption - showed the government weren’t ignoring the problem
Wolsey closed some monasteries abusing their powers.

Question 26

What was a popular religious text of the period?

Answer 26

‘The Pilgrimage of Perfection’

Question 27

How did people show their devotion to the church?

Answer 27

Through bequests (donations) of money in their wills

Question 28

Give an example of anti-clericalism

Answer 28

John Colet’s sermon in 1511 attacking the clergy for greed, wealth and power

However he was a lone voice as it was not common for people to openly discuss problems the church had