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Religious Uprisings 1536-7 - Coggle Diagram
Religious Uprisings 1536-7
Henry's break from Rome
wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon so he could marry Anne Boleyn and have a son (male heir)
Pope refused to allow divorce
Henry wanted to break away and take Church's power and wealth for himself
ordered Parliament to pass Act of Supremacy = declared him as head of the Church
Bishops and Priests had to declare Oath of Supremacy accepting position and new marriage. Those who refused were burnt or executed
Henry and Secretary Thomas Cromwell wanted to take Church's huge wealth so they dissolved monasteries
Opposition
Sir Thomas More (previous Lord Chancellor) and Bishop Fisher executed for refusing to accept Oath
conservative faction of old northern nobility formed, opposing move away from Catholicism (Duke of Norfolk, Henry Percy and Lord Darcy)
wanted removal of Low borne Thomas Cromwell
Henry's aims
Boss - wanted to be Supreme Head of Church with no rivals
Reform - Thomas Cromwell wanted move towards Protestantism and reduce power of priests
Economic - seize wealth of the Church
Appointments - wanted to control who becomes bishops and archbishops
Katherine - divorce from her
Religious changes reflecting aims
Treason Act - death for refusing Oath of Supremacy
Cromwell appointed as Vicegerent in Spirituals = linking politics and religion
Monasteries ruthlessly dissolved in 1536 = were viewed as corrupt = Henry able to seize land and give it to supportive nobility. Later rise tax prices for peasantry
Priests have to have license from Henry and giver sermons against Pope
Number of Catholic Sacraments reduced from 7 to 3 decreasing power of Catholicism
Ban pilgrimages, relics and Holy Days = upsets peasantry they like days off
Reactions
Rage - nobles hate Cromwell for his influence, hate Henry's growth in power
Oppression - monks feel controlled by new boss closer to them geographically, many are executed
Monasteries - peasant unrest at losing connection to God and welfare (education). Northern peasants are extremely deprived and monasteries helped and acted as a safe space
Excommuncation - pope excommunicates Henry, splitting loyalties amongst Catholic nobles, priests and peasants
Old North hated Henry
old northern nobility (Henry Percy, Duke of Norfolk) had been Yorkists so always hated Tudor lineage
worse socio-economic conditions for lower classes in North
felt safer to rebel due to long distance from London and the King
2nd rebellion - Pilgrimage of Grace
led by lawyer and minor landowner Robert Asked who was middle class so trusted by all
powerful gentry such as Lord Darcy joined
supported by 30,000 commons who called themselves Pilgrims and took a Pilgrims Oath promising themselves to a religious, non-violent cause
took York with no resistance and Pontefract Castle
whole of North-East was in arms
only one person died and that was an accident
Ask forced pilgrims to disarm before going into towns and cities
carried Banner of the five wounds of Christ to signify religious aims
Role of Robert Aske
led the rebellion and led his pilgrims into York = rebels were well trained from recent wars in Scotland
rebelling against the dissolution of lesser monasteries
had support from all cross- sections in society
1st Rebellion- Lincolnshire
Began in Louth Lincolnshire, town proud of local church
led by shoemaker, Nicholas Melton = 'Captain Cobbler'
rebellion quickly supported by gentry who made it legitimate but still swore respect for Henry
10,000 rebels marched to Lincoln, rebellion fails
aim was to overturn religious changes, challenge economic policies and purge 'evil counsellors' of the King, not the King himself, end taxations, end to Ten Articles (guidelines for Church)
Trigger causes
triggered by rumours of Cromwell dissolving local churches and carrying away church silver
presence of Gov officials in region dissolving nearby convent and carrying out visitations of clergy escalated tensions
Consequences of POG
POG leaders executed (Aske and Darcy)
hundreds more rebels executed quelling the rebellion
Religious causes
extent and speed of religious reforms
Act of Supremacy and Dissolution of Monasteries = damaging their faith
local churches would close and Cromwell would remove silver
changes dedication of afterlife scared people
attacks on pilgrimages and worship of Saints threatened tradition
Political causes
gentry despised central government in London (viewed them as corrupt and radical)
government had demanded taxes in a time of peace
Pontefract articles = called for removal of Cromwell and Richard Rich (political move by discontented gentry)
Act of Uses opposed of by landowners
rebellion led by gentry but not started by them, tried to slow down momentum of rebellion
Socio-economic causes
abolition of many holy days meant workers lost days off= attacked social life
enclosure carrying on was feared as monastery land was sold off to landowners = affected poorest rebels
poor harvests in 1535 and 1536
North was hit hardest = worse off economic position
only affected the poorest
Pontefract Articles
A list of demands written by the rebels (Aske) and given to Henry, following negotiations
At this time the rebels were at their strongest, having just taken Pontefract Castle
Like a Parliament containing 'Lords, Knights and commons alongside the clergy'
To have the heresies of 'Luther, etc' destroyed
-To return taxes to their previous level
Lady Mary be made legitimate (she was Catholic so served as a future Catholic heir)
The supremacy of the church to be returned to the pope in rome
Punish Lord Cromwell and sir Richard rich
To have a parliament at Nottingham or York
Robert Aske
middle class - a middleman between the classes to ensure trust from everyone
he called the rebellion a 'pilgrimage', kept it no violent and selected the 5 Wounds of Christ banner
committed Catholic
End of rebellion he trusted Henry and declared loyalty to him, causing the rebels to disperse. Henry never fulfilled promises.
Henry VIII
persuaded by Duke of Norfolk to negotiate, yet his promises were left deliberately vague
3rd rebellion - Bigod rebellion
Led by Sir Francis Bigod who believed the Act of Supremacy had gone too far. Annoyed Henry hadn't fulfilled his promises.
Only joined by a few hundred rebels so failed badly
unrest gave Henry an excuse to punish all former rebels
Reasons for defeat
little support and rebels were punished