Later Tudors Overview
Stability of the Monarchy:
Under Edward
Issues of Age
Edward succeed Henry VII in 1547
Henry issue third succession act in 1543
Device for succession first issued May 1553
Only 9 years old
Henry had established a regency council
Weakness of Government and Finance
1547 vagrancy act passed- punished idle people by forcing them to work as slaves for
2 years
France declare war on England 8th August 1549
1525-51 population rise from 2.3 mill to 3 mill
Poor harvest in 1548
Somerset continue debasing coinage leading to the silver content being 25% by 1551
In 1530 food prices 69% higher than in 1508
Price rise from 1508-1549 214%
Devise for the succession was initially drawn up in May 1553, it named the male
members of the Grey family as the successors however this was then altered to
make Jane Grey the heir
There was an ‘anti-somerset’ faction at court that included figures such as Paget,
Warwick and Wriothesley
Somerset and Northumberland
Somerset’s religious policy was slow and cautious, and he was only a moderate
protestant
Somerset had a good reputation due to his 1540s campaign against Scotland
Somerset established commissions in 1548 1549 to look into enclosure- this made
him look like a sympathiser and may have encouraged unrest
Somerset overthrown in 1549- after Edward claimed he was holding him prisoner
The councils religious conservatives didn’t trust Northumberland
Warwick emerged as leader in 1550 and took the title Lord President
Northumberland
1549 Somerset issue proclamations forcing landowners to reverse the policy of
enclosure
The Scottish wars cost Somerset 1-2 million
Warwick released Somerset from jail and his daughter married Warwick’s son
Somerset continued to plot (although this may have been fabricated) and led to the
Privy Council ordering his execution
Somerset executed January 1552
Treaty of Boulogne signed by Northumberland to end the war with France and
Scotland
Somerset dissolution of Chantries produce £160,000 annually
, 19 members of the council accuse Somerset of Malice and Evil government
Northumberland reduce debt from £300,000-£180,000
Northumberland’s role in the new device for the succession in 1553: Married his son
Guildford Dudley to Lady Jane Grey, as a protestant he would lose power if Mary
became Queen, Edward playing a greater role in government attending privy council
meetings – professional force was dismissed in 1552 and Mary wasn’t captured
suggesting that this was not Northumberland’s plan
Religion
Somerset:
o July 1547 the Book of Homilies and the Erasmus Paraphrases were
introduced into all churches
o Had to conduct services in English and have an English bible
o Chantries were dissolved
o Repealed the act of Treason
- Led to iconoclastic attacks and pamphlets attacking mass
- As a result the government had to issue a series of proclamations
between Jan to April 1548 to restore order and limit preaching
- September 1548 the council had to ban all public preaching
o Act of uniformity passed in January 1549
Northumberland:
o Religious change increase in pace
o New ordinal brought in in 1550
o Conservative bishops removed
o New Treason Act passed
o Stone altars replaced
o Second Act of Uniformity
o Second prayer book and Act of Uniformity
o Forty-two articles outlining doctrine and beliefs was drawn up but never
became law
By 1547 an English Bible was available in all churches
Dissolution of the monasteries 1536-40
First book of common prayer in December 1548
o Clergy who refused were fined or imprisoned
o In Yorkshire and Oxfordshire opposition broke out against the first book of
common prayer
First act of uniformity January 1549
o Clergy were allowed to marry
o Singing masses for souls of the dead were not approved
o Belief in purgatory and transubstantiation upheld
o Services in English
Second act of common prayer January 1552
July 1547 Royal injunctions order the removal of superstitious images
1547 dissolution of the Chantries to fund war against Scotland
In 1547 the treason act was repealed and there was an outbreak of iconoclasm
April 1552 second act of uniformity
8% of wills in Kent had a protestant preamble
Stability of the Monarchy:
Under Edward
Issues of Age
Edward succeed Henry VII in 1547
Henry issue third succession act in 1543
Device for succession first issued May 1553
Only 9 years old
Henry had established a regency council
Weakness of Government and Finance
1547 vagrancy act passed- punished idle people by forcing them to work as slaves for
2 years
France declare war on England 8th August 1549
1525-51 population rise from 2.3 mill to 3 mill
Poor harvest in 1548
Somerset continue debasing coinage leading to the silver content being 25% by 1551
In 1530 food prices 69% higher than in 1508
Price rise from 1508-1549 214%
Devise for the succession was initially drawn up in May 1553, it named the male
members of the Grey family as the successors however this was then altered to
make Jane Grey the heir
There was an ‘anti-somerset’ faction at court that included figures such as Paget,
Warwick and Wriothesley
Somerset and Northumberland
Somerset’s religious policy was slow and cautious, and he was only a moderate
protestant
Somerset had a good reputation due to his 1540s campaign against Scotland
Somerset established commissions in 1548 1549 to look into enclosure- this made
him look like a sympathiser and may have encouraged unrest
Somerset overthrown in 1549- after Edward claimed he was holding him prisoner
The councils religious conservatives didn’t trust Northumberland
Warwick emerged as leader in 1550 and took the title Lord President
Northumberland
1549 Somerset issue proclamations forcing landowners to reverse the policy of
enclosure
The Scottish wars cost Somerset 1-2 million
Warwick released Somerset from jail and his daughter married Warwick’s son
Somerset continued to plot (although this may have been fabricated) and led to the
Privy Council ordering his execution
Somerset executed January 1552
Treaty of Boulogne signed by Northumberland to end the war with France and
Scotland
Somerset dissolution of Chantries produce £160,000 annually
, 19 members of the council accuse Somerset of Malice and Evil government
Northumberland reduce debt from £300,000-£180,000
Northumberland’s role in the new device for the succession in 1553: Married his son
Guildford Dudley to Lady Jane Grey, as a protestant he would lose power if Mary
became Queen, Edward playing a greater role in government attending privy council
meetings – professional force was dismissed in 1552 and Mary wasn’t captured
suggesting that this was not Northumberland’s plan
Religion
Somerset:
o July 1547 the Book of Homilies and the Erasmus Paraphrases were
introduced into all churches
o Had to conduct services in English and have an English bible
o Chantries were dissolved
o Repealed the act of Treason
- Led to iconoclastic attacks and pamphlets attacking mass
- As a result the government had to issue a series of proclamations
between Jan to April 1548 to restore order and limit preaching
- September 1548 the council had to ban all public preaching
o Act of uniformity passed in January 1549
Northumberland:
o Religious change increase in pace
o New ordinal brought in in 1550
o Conservative bishops removed
o New Treason Act passed
o Stone altars replaced
o Second Act of Uniformity
o Second prayer book and Act of Uniformity
o Forty-two articles outlining doctrine and beliefs was drawn up but never
became law
By 1547 an English Bible was available in all churches
Dissolution of the monasteries 1536-40
First book of common prayer in December 1548
o Clergy who refused were fined or imprisoned
o In Yorkshire and Oxfordshire opposition broke out against the first book of
common prayer
First act of uniformity January 1549
o Clergy were allowed to marry
o Singing masses for souls of the dead were not approved
o Belief in purgatory and transubstantiation upheld
o Services in English
Second act of common prayer January 1552
July 1547 Royal injunctions order the removal of superstitious images
1547 dissolution of the Chantries to fund war against Scotland
In 1547 the treason act was repealed and there was an outbreak of iconoclasm
April 1552 second act of uniformity
8% of wills in Kent had a protestant preamble
