Sidenote: this doc contains notes for rebellions 2, 3, 4 and 5, but not for the 2 breadth
studies or the first rebellion
PILGRIMAGE OF GRACE
- Henry was not a religious reformer, but some of his advisors were (eg Cromwell.
Cranmer)
- Break with Rome was being imposed from the top downwards – taking hold in
London/South East, but in the North, traditional Catholic practices remained dominant
- Cromwell keen to implement structural and doctrinal changes:
- Appointed Vicegerent of Spirituals in 1535 – post specially made for him, gave him
enormous power over the Church
- Preaching controlled through govt licenses, and clergy ordered to give sermons against
the pope and in favour of the marriage to Anne Boleyn
- April 1535: royal letters sent to all bishops, JPs, and nobility, ordering them to imprison
clergymen who still preached in support of the pope’s authority
- Act of Ten Articles (1536): first attempt to define the new doctrine of the English
Church – mostly in line with Catholic belief, but the Article on the Eucharist was
deliberately ambiguous in language – number of sacraments (necessary for the
salvation of the soul) decreased from 7 to 3
- Issued a set of Injunctions to the clergy in 1536: attacked traditional practices eg
pilgrimages, emphasis placed on relics and images, worship of saints – Holy Days were
also banned
- Henry prepared to accept these changes as they undermined the authority of the
Catholic Church
- Increasing pressure on the localities to implement these changes, but was met with
increasing alarm in the North
- Princess Mary declared illegitimate in 1534
- Act of Supremacy made provision for an oath to be taken - 1534 Treason Act:
prosecuted those who refused to swear the oath as traitors - eg Sir Thomas More (had
once been Henry’s Chancellor) executed in 1535
,- Legislation meant that Henry could claim that the break with Rome was legal bc it had
the support of the English people
- Conservative faction emerged at Court (those who wanted to see a restoration of
Catholicism)
- Eg Duke of Norfolk, Earl of Northumberland, Lord Darcy and Lord Hussey
- Saw Princess Mary as a natural figurehead
- 1535-36: Court-based plot to remove Henry and replace him with Mary (obvs
unsuccessful)
- monasteries (for men) and convents (for women) played an important role in the
spiritual life of England
- monks and nuns prayed for the souls of the dead to shorten their time in purgatory
- provided support for the poor and cared for the sick and elderly
- importent centres of learning - before the introduction of the printing press, monks
were usually responsible for the preservation of old texts/books
- monasteries were local employers and landlords - many farmers leased land from
monks and monasteries also provided employment on their estates for both unskilled
labourers and skilled craftsmen
- English monasteries had grown in wealth and power during the Middle Ages: by the
1530s, there were 900 religious houses in England and 12,000 ppl in religious orders
- North was often hit by social/economic hardship, and monasteries provided a vital
lifeline to local communities in times of need
- ultimately, monasteries/convents owed obedience to the Pope in Rome - Henry could
not risk presence of wealthy institutions taking orders from Rome/foreign countries
- monasteries also felt to be promoting the belief of prugatory (reformers against this)
- since the monasteries were wealthy, they were a tempting prize for Henry - if foreign
powers threatened Catholic invasion bc of the dissolution of the monasteries, he could
use the income to defend England and reward supporters
- process of dissolution began in 1535 with the Valor Ecclesiasticus - surveyed Church
property and revealed wealth
,- 1536-47: raised £1.3 million from dissolution
- followed by visitations of monasteries (to find evidence of corruption to use against
them)
- this evidence used by Cromwell to justify 1536 Act of Parliament - authorised
dissolution of the smaller monasteries worth less than £200 per year
- some communities feared that their local parish churches were under threat too
(cause of rebellion in Lincolnshire)
CAUSES OF REBELLION
religious:
- many believed that teachings of the Catholic Church would prepare them for afterlife,
so undermining this caused fear of what would happen after death
- 'Pilgrimage of Grace' suggests religious motivation - reinforced by the oath which
Pilgrims had to take
- rebels carried a banner which showed the 5 wounds of Christ
- trigger for many of the local risings was the closure of a smaller monastery in the
region (eg Lincolnshire)
- rebel list of demands had a clear focus on religion - Pontefract Articles: 9 out of 24
grievances were religious
- uniting factor between commons and gentry/nobility
social/economic:
- northern parts of England often suffered from social/economic hardship - made worse
by govt demands for taxation in the 1534 subsidy: supposed to be a fairer method of
taxation, but controversial as it had been introduced during peacetime - also led to
rumours that the govt were planning other new taxes - subsidy hit the North particularly
hard as it coincided with 2 years of bad weather/poor harvest - commissioners also had
to inquire into the persons ability to pay: govt intrusion in localities
- tenants also concerned about entry fines (paid to the landlord when a tenant died and
was succeeded by an heir) and enclosure (where land was increased for farming,
tenants were forced off land - particular grievance in York as it was mroe populated)
, - may explain why poorer peasants and agricultural workers joined the rebellion as they
were most affected by economic hardship - however, does not explain involvement of
gentry/nobility, indicating that there were other factors
political:
- some members of nobility/gentry became involved (eg Sir Thomas Percy, Lord Darcy,
Earl of Northumberland's brother)
- could be that the Pilgrimage was the result of a Court-based plot by the conservative
faction, who aimed to restore Mary to the throne and remove Cromwell
- Northumberland had been in contact with Eustace Chapuys (ambassador for the Holy
Roman Emperor at Henry's Court)
- Chapuys closely connected to the conservative faction
- Lord Darcy and Lord Hussey had both spoken to Chapuys in 1534 about an armed
rebellion
- Catholic sympathies of nobles help to explain demands: eg repeal of the 1534 Act of
Supremacy and the removal of Cromwell
- however, Chapuys himself never got involved with the rebellion so don't place too
much emphasis on him
- some of the nobility/gentry could have got involved to try and moderate the rebellion
from within as it was too large to use force against it - most of the impetus came from
below, with commons trying to recruit gentry and not the other way around
- rebel articles reflected demands from different social groups
- another explanation for their involvement could be the 1535 Act of Uses: attempt by
Henry/Cromwell to prevent landowners avoiding the financial demands made by the
king (as technically all landlords were tenants of the King)
- monarch had rights to land if heir was a minor, profitable source of income
- landowners tried to get around this with a legal device called an 'enfeoffment of uses'
(landowner created a group of trustees for land so if heir died, it was technically in the
lands of someone else and not the King)
- Act of Uses restricted these enfeoffments to raise moe money for the crown - resented
by landowners
studies or the first rebellion
PILGRIMAGE OF GRACE
- Henry was not a religious reformer, but some of his advisors were (eg Cromwell.
Cranmer)
- Break with Rome was being imposed from the top downwards – taking hold in
London/South East, but in the North, traditional Catholic practices remained dominant
- Cromwell keen to implement structural and doctrinal changes:
- Appointed Vicegerent of Spirituals in 1535 – post specially made for him, gave him
enormous power over the Church
- Preaching controlled through govt licenses, and clergy ordered to give sermons against
the pope and in favour of the marriage to Anne Boleyn
- April 1535: royal letters sent to all bishops, JPs, and nobility, ordering them to imprison
clergymen who still preached in support of the pope’s authority
- Act of Ten Articles (1536): first attempt to define the new doctrine of the English
Church – mostly in line with Catholic belief, but the Article on the Eucharist was
deliberately ambiguous in language – number of sacraments (necessary for the
salvation of the soul) decreased from 7 to 3
- Issued a set of Injunctions to the clergy in 1536: attacked traditional practices eg
pilgrimages, emphasis placed on relics and images, worship of saints – Holy Days were
also banned
- Henry prepared to accept these changes as they undermined the authority of the
Catholic Church
- Increasing pressure on the localities to implement these changes, but was met with
increasing alarm in the North
- Princess Mary declared illegitimate in 1534
- Act of Supremacy made provision for an oath to be taken - 1534 Treason Act:
prosecuted those who refused to swear the oath as traitors - eg Sir Thomas More (had
once been Henry’s Chancellor) executed in 1535
,- Legislation meant that Henry could claim that the break with Rome was legal bc it had
the support of the English people
- Conservative faction emerged at Court (those who wanted to see a restoration of
Catholicism)
- Eg Duke of Norfolk, Earl of Northumberland, Lord Darcy and Lord Hussey
- Saw Princess Mary as a natural figurehead
- 1535-36: Court-based plot to remove Henry and replace him with Mary (obvs
unsuccessful)
- monasteries (for men) and convents (for women) played an important role in the
spiritual life of England
- monks and nuns prayed for the souls of the dead to shorten their time in purgatory
- provided support for the poor and cared for the sick and elderly
- importent centres of learning - before the introduction of the printing press, monks
were usually responsible for the preservation of old texts/books
- monasteries were local employers and landlords - many farmers leased land from
monks and monasteries also provided employment on their estates for both unskilled
labourers and skilled craftsmen
- English monasteries had grown in wealth and power during the Middle Ages: by the
1530s, there were 900 religious houses in England and 12,000 ppl in religious orders
- North was often hit by social/economic hardship, and monasteries provided a vital
lifeline to local communities in times of need
- ultimately, monasteries/convents owed obedience to the Pope in Rome - Henry could
not risk presence of wealthy institutions taking orders from Rome/foreign countries
- monasteries also felt to be promoting the belief of prugatory (reformers against this)
- since the monasteries were wealthy, they were a tempting prize for Henry - if foreign
powers threatened Catholic invasion bc of the dissolution of the monasteries, he could
use the income to defend England and reward supporters
- process of dissolution began in 1535 with the Valor Ecclesiasticus - surveyed Church
property and revealed wealth
,- 1536-47: raised £1.3 million from dissolution
- followed by visitations of monasteries (to find evidence of corruption to use against
them)
- this evidence used by Cromwell to justify 1536 Act of Parliament - authorised
dissolution of the smaller monasteries worth less than £200 per year
- some communities feared that their local parish churches were under threat too
(cause of rebellion in Lincolnshire)
CAUSES OF REBELLION
religious:
- many believed that teachings of the Catholic Church would prepare them for afterlife,
so undermining this caused fear of what would happen after death
- 'Pilgrimage of Grace' suggests religious motivation - reinforced by the oath which
Pilgrims had to take
- rebels carried a banner which showed the 5 wounds of Christ
- trigger for many of the local risings was the closure of a smaller monastery in the
region (eg Lincolnshire)
- rebel list of demands had a clear focus on religion - Pontefract Articles: 9 out of 24
grievances were religious
- uniting factor between commons and gentry/nobility
social/economic:
- northern parts of England often suffered from social/economic hardship - made worse
by govt demands for taxation in the 1534 subsidy: supposed to be a fairer method of
taxation, but controversial as it had been introduced during peacetime - also led to
rumours that the govt were planning other new taxes - subsidy hit the North particularly
hard as it coincided with 2 years of bad weather/poor harvest - commissioners also had
to inquire into the persons ability to pay: govt intrusion in localities
- tenants also concerned about entry fines (paid to the landlord when a tenant died and
was succeeded by an heir) and enclosure (where land was increased for farming,
tenants were forced off land - particular grievance in York as it was mroe populated)
, - may explain why poorer peasants and agricultural workers joined the rebellion as they
were most affected by economic hardship - however, does not explain involvement of
gentry/nobility, indicating that there were other factors
political:
- some members of nobility/gentry became involved (eg Sir Thomas Percy, Lord Darcy,
Earl of Northumberland's brother)
- could be that the Pilgrimage was the result of a Court-based plot by the conservative
faction, who aimed to restore Mary to the throne and remove Cromwell
- Northumberland had been in contact with Eustace Chapuys (ambassador for the Holy
Roman Emperor at Henry's Court)
- Chapuys closely connected to the conservative faction
- Lord Darcy and Lord Hussey had both spoken to Chapuys in 1534 about an armed
rebellion
- Catholic sympathies of nobles help to explain demands: eg repeal of the 1534 Act of
Supremacy and the removal of Cromwell
- however, Chapuys himself never got involved with the rebellion so don't place too
much emphasis on him
- some of the nobility/gentry could have got involved to try and moderate the rebellion
from within as it was too large to use force against it - most of the impetus came from
below, with commons trying to recruit gentry and not the other way around
- rebel articles reflected demands from different social groups
- another explanation for their involvement could be the 1535 Act of Uses: attempt by
Henry/Cromwell to prevent landowners avoiding the financial demands made by the
king (as technically all landlords were tenants of the King)
- monarch had rights to land if heir was a minor, profitable source of income
- landowners tried to get around this with a legal device called an 'enfeoffment of uses'
(landowner created a group of trustees for land so if heir died, it was technically in the
lands of someone else and not the King)
- Act of Uses restricted these enfeoffments to raise moe money for the crown - resented
by landowners
