Religious Change in the Tudor
Monarchy
(1547-1558)
To what extent did England become Protestant under Somerset?
Needed to first dismantle Catholic practices as there was still large-
scale support for Catholicism, especially after the Dissolution of the
Monasteries saw many Catholics courageously martyr themselves
The majority of the clergy were against change, so reforming the
Church immediately was not an option. Slow cautious change.
The Church was first inspected through a Royal Visitation. Cautious
change
July 1547- Book of Homilies and Erasmus’ Paraphrases were set as a
model sermon to be shared in every church. Promote humanist,
moderate Protestant teachings
Churches had to remove “superstitious” imagery and statues, as it
came under idolatry. Moderate Protestant teachings
It was argued that under Henry VIII’s will, no reform to the Church
shall be made until Edward’s 18th birthday
1547- Chantries Act: Justified as an outlook against superstition, but
mostly to raise money for a war against Scotland. Direct attack
against wealthy, perhaps former monastery owning Catholics. Did
not really affect the general population
Repealed the Treason Act, allowing radical, unlicensed preachers to
rebel against moderate measures with no consequence
Measures and injunctions were enacted between Jan-May 1548 to
control radical preachers
Success in the War against Scotland gave the government a
stronger position by 1548, leading to the Act of Uniformity in 1549
i) Sacraments are just communion, baptism, confirmation,
marriage, and burial
ii) Clergy can marry
iii) Singing masses for all the souls of the dead was not approved
iv) Laity could receive communion in two kind
v) Catholic beliefs still persisted: worship of saints was not banned,
only discouraged
Visitations carried out to see whether clergy could recite Scripture
There was radical opposition at a grassroots level (1549 Prayer Book
Rebellion), but the strong Church leadership could prevent any truly
treasonous acts
England did become significantly more Protestant near the end of
Somerset’s rule, after the Act of Uniformity in 1549. The Act enforced the
, key Protestant practices and inspections were regularly carried out to
keep expectations upheld. Visitations ensured Scripture was understood
fully, and not just recited. It also consolidated more cautious measures
from earlier on in the period, with the dissolution of the chantries and the
imposition of the Book of Homilies. Despite grassroots level opposition, as
well as iconoclastic radicalism in the clergy and laity, the Church
leadership was strong, albeit too moderate and cautious to reform the
Church just yet.
How radical were the religious changes under Northumberland?
By the time of Somerset’s fall, majority of Catholic practices had
been attacked and destroyed, but moves towards radical Protestant
reform had been slow and cautious
After Northumberland’s triumph, the factionalism between the
Catholics and Reformists gave certainty to the next step in making
England a Protestant state and finishing what Somerset had started
1550- The New Ordinal: Revised the procedure of ordination for
priests. This annoyed Hooper as he did not approve the swearing
towards Saints and the need to wear a surplice. He ended up being
imprisoned for refusing to preach, but a compromise was reached
with some difficulty. More stricter Protestants like Hooper did not
appreciate the cautious measures and wanted to condemn heretics
by instantly reforming the Church
There were significant difficulties in imposing religious changes, and
it was made clearer in the campaign against images in the churches
i) July 1547: Royal Injunctions ordered the removal of superstitious
images
ii) February 1548: All images to be removed
iii) December 1549: Proclamation orders the destruction of the
remainder of the images
Northumberland deprived Conservative bishops like Gardiner of
their sees and gave the Reformists a majority amongst the bishops
1552: Parliament could enact wide-scale Protestant reform
i) Treason Act: Offence to question Royal Supremacy
ii) Second Act of Uniformity: Imprisonment for those who defy the
Book of Common Prayer and do not attend Church
iii) The Book of Common Prayer was enforced in all parishes with
immediate effect. There were slight revisions and liberties taken
in using it.
iv) Cranmer wrote and passed the 42 Articles, providing a liturgy for
Protestant belief
Monarchy
(1547-1558)
To what extent did England become Protestant under Somerset?
Needed to first dismantle Catholic practices as there was still large-
scale support for Catholicism, especially after the Dissolution of the
Monasteries saw many Catholics courageously martyr themselves
The majority of the clergy were against change, so reforming the
Church immediately was not an option. Slow cautious change.
The Church was first inspected through a Royal Visitation. Cautious
change
July 1547- Book of Homilies and Erasmus’ Paraphrases were set as a
model sermon to be shared in every church. Promote humanist,
moderate Protestant teachings
Churches had to remove “superstitious” imagery and statues, as it
came under idolatry. Moderate Protestant teachings
It was argued that under Henry VIII’s will, no reform to the Church
shall be made until Edward’s 18th birthday
1547- Chantries Act: Justified as an outlook against superstition, but
mostly to raise money for a war against Scotland. Direct attack
against wealthy, perhaps former monastery owning Catholics. Did
not really affect the general population
Repealed the Treason Act, allowing radical, unlicensed preachers to
rebel against moderate measures with no consequence
Measures and injunctions were enacted between Jan-May 1548 to
control radical preachers
Success in the War against Scotland gave the government a
stronger position by 1548, leading to the Act of Uniformity in 1549
i) Sacraments are just communion, baptism, confirmation,
marriage, and burial
ii) Clergy can marry
iii) Singing masses for all the souls of the dead was not approved
iv) Laity could receive communion in two kind
v) Catholic beliefs still persisted: worship of saints was not banned,
only discouraged
Visitations carried out to see whether clergy could recite Scripture
There was radical opposition at a grassroots level (1549 Prayer Book
Rebellion), but the strong Church leadership could prevent any truly
treasonous acts
England did become significantly more Protestant near the end of
Somerset’s rule, after the Act of Uniformity in 1549. The Act enforced the
, key Protestant practices and inspections were regularly carried out to
keep expectations upheld. Visitations ensured Scripture was understood
fully, and not just recited. It also consolidated more cautious measures
from earlier on in the period, with the dissolution of the chantries and the
imposition of the Book of Homilies. Despite grassroots level opposition, as
well as iconoclastic radicalism in the clergy and laity, the Church
leadership was strong, albeit too moderate and cautious to reform the
Church just yet.
How radical were the religious changes under Northumberland?
By the time of Somerset’s fall, majority of Catholic practices had
been attacked and destroyed, but moves towards radical Protestant
reform had been slow and cautious
After Northumberland’s triumph, the factionalism between the
Catholics and Reformists gave certainty to the next step in making
England a Protestant state and finishing what Somerset had started
1550- The New Ordinal: Revised the procedure of ordination for
priests. This annoyed Hooper as he did not approve the swearing
towards Saints and the need to wear a surplice. He ended up being
imprisoned for refusing to preach, but a compromise was reached
with some difficulty. More stricter Protestants like Hooper did not
appreciate the cautious measures and wanted to condemn heretics
by instantly reforming the Church
There were significant difficulties in imposing religious changes, and
it was made clearer in the campaign against images in the churches
i) July 1547: Royal Injunctions ordered the removal of superstitious
images
ii) February 1548: All images to be removed
iii) December 1549: Proclamation orders the destruction of the
remainder of the images
Northumberland deprived Conservative bishops like Gardiner of
their sees and gave the Reformists a majority amongst the bishops
1552: Parliament could enact wide-scale Protestant reform
i) Treason Act: Offence to question Royal Supremacy
ii) Second Act of Uniformity: Imprisonment for those who defy the
Book of Common Prayer and do not attend Church
iii) The Book of Common Prayer was enforced in all parishes with
immediate effect. There were slight revisions and liberties taken
in using it.
iv) Cranmer wrote and passed the 42 Articles, providing a liturgy for
Protestant belief
