The social impact of religious and economic change (14) Flashcards
What direction did religious policy under Edward Vi seem to be moving?
Towards Protestantism
What was Somerset’s religion?
He was a genuine, somewhat late, convert to Protestantism, and he welcomed religious radicals such as John Hooper and Thomas Becon into his household.
Religious policy under Somerset proved cautious how is this exemplified?
By the moderate Book of Common Prayer written in 1549 by Archbishop Cranmer, who was himself cautious by temperament and anxious to avoid an increase in religious tension.
What was the two key objectives of the moderate Book of Common Prayer?
1) It established a single form of services within the Church of England.
2) It translated the services into English to enhance understanding of the key texts.
What was the more radical approach to adopt in some areas?
To embrace religious reform.
What were the 4 policy changes under Somerset?
1) Denunciation of images in London- Feb 1547
2) Injunctions issued- Jul 1547
3) Dissolution of chantries and religious guilds- Dec 1547
4) Introduction of Book of Common Prayer- May 1549
How were the social impact of these religious changes highly significant?
Given that they amounted to a sustained attack on the religious experience of ordinary people and enabled a renewed plundering of the Church’s resources.
What did the injunctions of 1547 attack?
Many traditional Catholic practices.
What was Northumberland’s twofold strategy?
1) he wished to continue the protestant reforms initiated by Somerset.
2) He sought to plunder more of its wealth.
Give a reason for radical reform.
The tactically cautious Cranmer was beginning to move in a more radical direction. This was reflected in the much more radical Book of Common Prayer which he introduced in 1552.
Give three other reasons for radical reform.
1) More radical senior clergy such as Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London, and the even more radical John Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester, were becoming more influential.
2) Eminent continental reformers such as Martin Bucer and Peter Martyr had moved to England and were becoming influential in decisions on religious matters.
3) Most importantly it reflected the increasing influence, as the reign progressed, of Edward VI on the policy-making process. The king took his role as head of the Church very seriously believed it was his mission to destroy idolatry.
Where was the firmly Protestant nature of official doctrine confirmed?
In Cranmer’s Forty-Two Articles of Religion.
What declined after 1540?
Expenditure on church goods.
What were peoples views about leaving money to the Church?
There was little point is there was a chance that their legacy might be confiscated by the Crown.
What was the thought about wills?
Many wills have not survived and in any case most people did not leave them.
What were the three religious changes?
1) The removal of alters and reforms to Church services, combining Lutheran and Calvinist elements.
2) The 1552 Book of Common Prayer accompanied by another Act of Uniformity These: removed remaining conservative ceremonies and gave Protestant form to the baptism, confirmation, burial and Communion services.
3) Cranmer’s Forty-Two Articles of Religion 1553; these provided an official Protestant statement of doctrine.
What were traditional practices like?
Not entirely destroyed; in 1550 the radical reformer John Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester and Worcester, admitted that the pace of reform was hampered by an uncooperative public.
What was there a loss of?
Charitable functions of monasteries and chantries including care for the sick and elderly and the provision of education, would have impinged on many communities.
Name 3 interconnected economic factors which helped bring about discontent during Somerset’s period of rule.
1) Inflationary pressures
2) Agrarian issues, particularly enclosure and harvest failure
3) Taxation
What was the rate of inflation like during Henry VIII reign?
Had been increasingly rapid during the later stages, bringing about a marked reduction in real wages for many people, particularly those at the lower end of the income scale.
What did Somerset carry on doing?
Carried on with Henry’s disastrous policy of debasing the coinage in order to finance the war against Scotland.
How much debasing the coinage raise but what was the problem?
It raised £537,000, but it heightened the inflationary pressures and added to the social distress that many were feeling at the time.
What reinforce inflationary pressures even more?
A bad harvest in 1548.
What became a serious political issue during Somerset’s protectorate?
Enclosure
