During the reign of Henry VII all English people belonged, at least theoretically, to the Catholic Church and were under the jurisdiction of the Pope in Rome. Although prayers in the Mass were always said for the Pope, what really counted for ordinary people was their own religious experience, which was central to the lives of most people living in the fifteenth century.
Lives were lived and regulated according to the Church's major ceremonies.
The parish church, of which there were over 8000, was the focus of religious experience. The Church provided the focus of popular entertainment. Its festivals, which were closely linked to the agricultural year, provided much-needed enjoyment and its guilds and confraternities offered charity, good fellowship and the chance for ordinary people to contribute to the good of their local community.
The Church made it easier for the social and political elites to maintain social control through its encouragement of good behaviour, obedience and stress on the values of community. It also provided employment opportunities and, for a few like Cardinal Wolsey, the opportunity to advance themselves socially through the attainment of high office in Church and State.
The political role of the Church was significant, both in terms of international relations and in domestic matters. The highest position in the Church was held by the Pope in Rome, who not only wielded considerable spiritual power but was also the head of a substantial state in northern Italy.
It is typical both of Henry VIIs carefulness and the Pope's influence that he sought, through Thomas Morton, a dispensation to marry Elizabeth of York. On the other hand, successive popes did little at this time to interfere directly with the running of the Church in England; the relationship between Church and State was Erastian. The king was firmly in control and popes were generally eager to grant the favours demanded by the king.
The papacy had no objection to the way in which Henry used the wealth of the Church to reward those churchmen to whom he had given high political office.
The Church in England was administered through two provinces, Canterbury and York, each under the jurisdiction of an archbishop, and seventeen dioceses, each under the control of a bishop. Some of these dioceses, such as Winchester and Durham, enjoyed considerable wealth, and it was common in the late fifteenth century for senior churchmen to enjoy positions of significant influence and power within the kingdom.
It was common for senior clergy to participate at a high level in the political process. During much of the mediaeval period it was normal for the most senior figures within the Church in England to be drawn from the senior ranks of the aristocracy. Margaret Beaufort's great uncle, for example, had been a cardinal and Bishop of Winchester. The two churchmen who exercised most power under Henry VII were John Morton and Richard Fox.
Some offices of State, especially that of the chancellor (the highest adviser to the king), were monopolised by clergymen. The most senior clergymen were, on the whole, highly competent and conscientious professionals, often with legal training, who performed their duties to both Church and State effectively. The abbots, who were heads of the wealthiest religious houses, shared membership of the House of Lords with the bishops. They also had to possess a range of management and administrative skills to keep their complex organisations running effectively, as well as demonstrating the spirituality necessary to maintain the reputation of their houses. Not all heads of house lived up to all of these demands, and criticisms of the monastic life were increasing.
Guilds and Confraternities: voluntary associations of individuals created to promote works of Christian charity or devotion
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