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Topic 14- Social Impact of religious and economic change under Edward VI -…
Topic 14- Social Impact of religious and economic change under Edward VI
A. Social impact of religious change
Major Religious changes:
Key Chronology:
Jul 1547: issue of royal injunctions which are radical in nature
Dec 1547: Dissolution of the chantries
Jan 1549: Act of Uniformity, which laid down the publication of the book of prayers
May 1549: Book of common prayer introduced
March 1552: Second act of uniformity, laid down the publication of the second book of common prayer
Dec 1552: revised book of common prayer introduced
Jun 1553: Forty-two articles of religion published
Religious change under somerset:
somerset seemed to be a genuine protestant, and he welcomed religious radicals such as John Hooper and Thomas Becon into his household
for the most part religious policy was cautious- this is shown in the moderate book of common prayer 1549 written by AB Cranmer
Cranmer was cautious to avoid religious tension
it had two key objectives:
Established a single form of services within CofE
Translated the services into English to enhance the understanding of the key texts
it had included an ambiguous Eucharist declaration which the Catholic Bishop Gardiner (prisoner in the tower) thought could imply the acceptance of transubstantiation
social impact of this change:
these policies enabled a renewed plundering of the church's resources, and the Injunctions of 1547 attacked many catholic practices
the attack on the chantries and the plundering of their assets by the crown destroyed the means of connecting the dead to the communities they had been apart of
there were widespread fears that this would only be the start of systematic asset stripping of the church
the attack on guilds and confraternities meant the crown confiscated money and property which had previously underpinned charitable activities, feats and celebrations
Religious change under northumberland
he had a twofold strategy in relation to the church: continue the protestant reforms, and plunder more of its wealth
the wider political context helped to shape a more radical approach to protestantism
the cautious Cranmer was moving more radically- reflected in the more radical Book of common prayer 1552
more radical senior clergy, such as Nicolas Ridley (bishop of London) and John Hooper (Bishop of Gloucester
eminent continental reformers such as Martin Bucer and Peter Martyr had moved to England and were becoming more influential in decisions on religious matters
The King rook his role as head of the church very seriously and believed it was his mission to destroy idolatry
The firmly protestant nature of official doctrine was confirmed in Cranmer's Forty-Two Articles of Religion- although did leave some ambiguity between competing varieties of protestantism
impact on society of the religious changes:
evidence from wills (though debated) suggests that under Edward VI people were much less likely to leave money to their parish church
in 1550 radical John hooper admitted that the pace of reform was hampered by uncooperative public opinion
crisis at parish level made worse by fear of crown attack on church plate- many parishes tried to avoid this by selling their treasures- these actions were justified as in Jan 1553 the church started confiscating church plate
some resourceful parishes started hiding their treasures
B. Social impact of economic change
economic changes under Somerset:
he continued HVIII's disastrous policy of debasement- it raised £537,000 for war with scotland but it heightened inflationary pressures rapidly
a poor harvest in 1548 reinforced inflationary pressures even more
enclosure was also a serous political issue during Somersets protectorate
like Wolsey, somerset set up a commission to investigate the problem and issued a proclamation against encolsure
enclosure commissioners were appointed, but little was achieved apart from rising execrations of the poor and annoying landowners
the proclamation may have been the wrong thing to do, as the rate of enclosure had already been slowing down
somerset introduced a sheep tax to deter enclosure- instead it mostly added to the financial pressures on small farmers in upland areas with little choice but to rely on sheep
increased tax was also a burden, it was used to finance war with scotland- most wars were increasingly funded through land sales and borrowing
Economic changes under Northumberland
Northumberland achieved a level of stability in national finances
he brought an end to the wars against Scotland and france- this brought an immediate reduction in crown expenditure but also brought in £133,333 due to French payment for Boulogne
he did succumb to one final temptation of debasement but then abandoned the practice
he did achieve an increase in crown finances with some of it being from unscrupulous methods, including melting church plate for bullion
under Walter Mildmay, a commission produced detailed analysis of the shortcomings in royal financial administration- most did not come to fruitio until the reign of Mary I
C. Rebellions:
The Western (Prayer Book) Rebellion 1549:
causes:
caused particularly due to religious grievances- it has been described as a 'prayer book rebellion' however the rebels did not have enough time to experience the prayer book fully
it was most likely the religious grievances were based on the rebels wanting to reverse religious reforms which were destroying the ways locals traditionally enjoyed religion e.g. wanting mass in latin again
the rebellion was also provoked by distrust between rural labourers and landowners, and grievances over taxation
the peasant labourers resented the sheep tax which they saw as the imposition of an ignorant government in London- made worse by insensitive local officials
Events:
06 Jun: formation of Cornish rebel camp near Bodmin
11 Jun: start of Devon rebellion at Sampford Courtenay
20 Jun: Two rebellious groups converged on Crediton
21 Jun: Dispute between rebels and Sir Peter Carew, a Devon JP and coutier
23 Jun: Rebels camp at Cyst St Mary, near exeter
02 Jul: Rebels besiege exeter
28 Jul: Lord Russell began his advance on the rebels
04 Aug: rebels defeated at Cyst Heath
17 Aug: final defeat of rebels at Sampford Courtenay
The Kent Rebellion 1549:
causes:
there was little evidence of religious conservatism amongst the rebels and leadership
much of the causes of the rebellion can be seen through a sense of 'class antagonism'
hatred of local government officials
resentment of the abuse by landowners of the Norfolk fold course system
Release of pent-up frustration about the maladministration locally of the Howards
Events:
08 Jul: tearing down of hedges near Wymondham
09 Jul: protestors begin heading towards Norwich
12 Jul: Rebels begin camping on Household Heath, overlooking Norwich; other camps set up in East Anglia
21 Jul: Rebels begin firing on the city
22 Jul: Norwich in the hands of the rebels
01 Aug: Marquess of Northampton fails to recapture Norwich
27 Aug: rebels defeated by the Earl of Warwick at the Battle of Dussindale
suppression of the rebellions:
Somerset had appointed Lord Russell, a rising nobleman with estates in the West Country, to deal with the West rebellion- eventually he had enough forces, including foreign mercenaries, to defeat the rebels
the goats original attempt to crush the Kent rebellion by the Marquess of Northampton ended in a humiliating failure
somerset was forced to send an army including foreign mercenaries under the command of Warwick to deal with the rebels
27 Aug- rebellion was brutally suppressed with Kett convicted of high treason and hanged
D. Intellectual Developments, including humanist and religious thought
reign of EVI witnessed the contest between two reforming traditions: evangelical humanism (associated with the teachings of Erasmus) and more radical forms of Protestantism
moderate humanism still exerted some influence:
AB Cranmer had been influenced by humanism,
Sir John Cheek (Humanist) had been EVI tutor
William Cecil encouraged humanist scholars at Cambridge
the humanist influenced reformers Peter Martyr and Martin Bucer were invited to work in England during EVI's reign
a more militant and less comprehensive approach to reform gained pace under Northumberland- partly due to the strained relationship between Northumberland and Cranmer
Northumberland was under the influence of the radical figure John Hooper whom Cranmer found divisive
with the increase in radical reform in 1552 and 1553 it looked as if the movement was gaining ground- EVI death ruined this
never before in English history had the whole population been subjected to such quick religious change, many people found it disorientating