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The Church in 1529 (The Political and Social Role of the Church (church…
The Church in 1529
The Political and Social Role of the Church
monasteries and parish churches
wealth
responsible for collecting Church taxes
some clergymen held more than 1 position = could get income from multiple lands
some money went to Rome
in 1520s Rome received approx £4500 pa
Henry got £12500 pa in taxes in 1520s
people paid Peter's Pence of 1 penny to Rome
Tithes
everyone had to give 10% of what they had produced that year
could be in crops + produce
stored in tithe barn intended to help support priest but often sold
Monasteries
often very close to parish
very wealthy + politically powerful
Members of nobility would give gifts of land/gold
Property was given when someone accepted into religious institution
Churchmen as royal advisers
Pope had power over Henry VIII
Abbots and bishops sat in House of Lords w/ nobility
instrumental in advising king
Henry VIII could use wealth of Church to reward advisers and give them prestige
Cardinal Wolsey
principal adviser to the king (responsible for day to day government of the country)
Chancellor = ultimate authority over legal system
Archbishop of York (second most important position in CofE
Legatus a latere (right to act on behalf of pope)
From 1514 = chief minister + most important person in government
exploited position to achieve outcomes that enhanced both Henry's position + his own
church teachings on monarchical authority
church taught obeidence to the monarch in temporal matters
Pope had authority to excommunicate if heretic or tyrant
Under pope, archbishops (interpreted canon law) in archdioceses + then bishops in dioceses
Liturgy
collective term for practices of the CHurch
Henry dependent on church 4 social control
personally unknown outside small circle of nobility
Church was physical centre of each parish
church courts
could fine someone for not attending Church + breaking the 10 commandments
slander + adultery brought before Church court
couldn't execute except for charge of heresy
excommunication
very bad
couldn't attend attend church service, obtain forgiveness for their sins or participate in mass
used for proving wills
people would leave significant amount to the church
Church law known as cannon law
Popular Piety and the Church's Spiritual role
The Role of Priesthood
central to spiritual lives of members of the Church
representative of God on earth
only priest able to administer sacraments
forgiving of sins
would hear confession of parishioners + forgave their sins once they completed penance
relied on to interpret word of God (in latin)
Lay religious guilds
Wealthy were able to finance building of personal chantry chapels were preist would say masses for individual/family
Those who could afford it joined guilds - provided chapel + priest for those who contributed 2 common fund
Ensured prayers were regularly said for dead person's soul + provided funeral
played active roles in religious festival
Cared for ppl = provided benefits to members in difficult financial circumstances
Key Beliefs
Purgatory
People born w/ original sin but every time they disobeyed God's laws would acquire more sin
Unless lived saintly life would spend time in purgatory where they would be judged before going to heaven
Time in purgatory could be reduced through earning indulgences
going on pilgrimage
Wealthy people would sometimes pay someone to go on a pilgrimage for them
praying to saint
touching relic of saint
Prayer said for soul after death to reduce their time in purgatory
Wanted to avoid hell + go to heaven
Participation in rituals of church, receiving sacraments, doing good works + prayer could affect soul after death
Saying prayers for soul of dead + giving gifts to church examples of good works
Pilgrimages also good work
seven sacraments
took place throughout a person's life
Most important was mass
Bread + wine would transform into the body + blood of Christ through priest's prayers
included
Baptism
confirmation
marriage
confession
last rites
The importance of Printing
more literacy in nobility, gentry and merchants
religious books were popular so Nobility could read their own bible instead of just listening to a priest
first book printed in English in 1475 = increase in reading material = rise in literacy
also growing market of Narrative tales e.g. Canterbury Tales: stories told by a group of pilgrims (most narrative tales had a strong religious basis) = increase in piety
Early Reformers and Humanists
Erasmus, More and Colet
Erasmus
Dutch humanist + theologian
Using humanist techniques, prepared important new Latin + greek editions of New Testament
critical of some Catholic practices but remained Catholic + agreed w/ papal authority
wrote a series of discourses on biblical texts to demonstrate how the word of god should be interpreted in actions of Christian practices
More
lawyer, author, adviser to Henry
leading humanist scholar and fervent catholic
Lord Chancellor 1529-1532
Colet
Leading theologian
studied Greek and Latin texts as well as writing of early Fathers of Church
highly critical of many of practices of the Church
The Legacy of the Lollards and the impact of religious belief and practice
Lollardy
was an underground movement in 16th cenutry
difficult to see how many people called themselves lollards
majority were literate craftsmen and merchants
beliefs
Chritianity should be based on the Bible, not on priest's interpretations
individual's relationship with god = priest should not be a go-between
predestination and rejected transubstantiation = heresy
outwardly conformed to Catholic practices but thought only those who rejected catholic beliefs could go to heaven
Impact of Lollardy
John Pykas executed for heresy because he was a lollard in 1527
once it was established that it was viewed as heresy, support for the movement melted away
only small surviving groups that held secret meetings e.g. one in High Wycombe
Those who were lollards were encouraged to outwardly conform
Humanism in England as represented by Erasmus
Growth of availability of books lead to support for the new learning which was known as humanism
affected politics and economics
based on rediscovery of Latin and Greek texts
development of ideas based on published texts rather than religious beliefs
Believed in Catholic principles but wanted to purify religious ideas from mistakes of translation
wanted direct knowledge from earliest greek texts of Christian Gospels to initiate a harmonious new era of univesral agreement
forward thinking and searching for knowledge + wanted to reform church from within
Henry and Catherine considered themselves humanists b/c wanted to purify church and remove superstition
Henry dismissed pilgrimages
Henry supportive of rewriting Bible in Latin but based on original greek texts
More helped Henry to write Defence of the Seven Sacraments in response to Luther attacking the Church
as a result he was rewarded title "Defender of the Faith"
Lutheranism
started by Martin Luther in 1517
beliefs
salvation by faith alone rather than good words
impact
changed religion in Europe
arrived in England thorough circulation of books sold in 1520
end of 1520 = public burning of lutheran books in Cambridge
Tyndale and Fisher
Tyndale translated the Bible into English in secret
Obedience of a Christian man by Tyndale = argued for English Bible to be available for all
Fisher = a supplication for the beggars: church could be cleansed if Henry established his authority over it
Concept of Royal supremacy
called for king to become Head of the Church hand bring religious change
Luther sought a monarch who would serve true religion + that power should come from the people = they would take instruction from Monarch but not accept religious power from him
Tyndale wanted change through godly prince because based on the laws of Moses, God required people to obey thier ruler
alternative was damnation
only a few attracted to Lutheran ideas BUT both Cranmer and Cromwell were influenced by them and they were Henry's key advisers
Abuses and Criticisms of the Church
anti-clericalism
Hunne Case
1511 Refused to pay mortuary fee of his baby son
Oct 1514: house searched - found lollard Bible - arrested
Dec 1514: found dead in cell - probs murdered to protect clerical privileges
Supporters considered him a martyr
Merchants most critical b/c literate + wanted to be able to read religious books
Behaviour of the clergy
Pirests + monks expected to live up to vows of chastity + obey laws of church
Gossip about priests having affairst + some having children (may be just hearsay)
Some priests criticised for greed, laziness + sexual impropriety
Benefit of the clergy
if priest suspected of committing certain offences, could claim benefit of the clergy + be tried at church court instead of King's court
could escape death penalty
could be accessed by anyone who could recite neck verses + by laymen who could read latin
The extent and impact of Simony
sale of an ecclesiastical title
happened most often w/ priests w/ rich parishes selling position to highest bidder instead of most learned
nepotism and absenteeism
Nepotism
Promotion of family members to lucrative positions rather than allocating on ability
Wolsey
Swore vow of chastity but had two children w/ wife
Gave Tho mas Wynter Provost of Beverley Minister + Dean of Wells
Both carried very large incomes
Absenteeism
priests would hold right to more than one parish to increase income = pluralism
would take money from both parishes but be absent in one or more
Would employ partially educated cleric to do his job in his absence
Sometimes cleric would only be able to recite Latin services + couldn't read or write
Didn't live up to expectations of the people + ideals of the church
Wages would be less than agricultural labourers