1534-35 – Thomas Cromwell and the Valor Ecclesiasticus
- Henry gained money, power and the divorce from breaking with Rome
- However, he wanted increased wealth and saw the monasteries
- The monasteries had become very wealthy through being payed to pray for the dead
- They also owned 25% of the land but only had few monks
- Henry had three key reasons for dissolving the monasteries
- The main reason for the dissolution of the monasteries was for money
- Also, monks owed allegiance to the pope
- Cromwell and Cranmer were reformers who didn’t believe in monks
- Henry VIII believed it was his duty to reform the Church to bring people closer to God and to assert his authority
- Thomas Cromwell was Henry’s key enforcer and became vicegerent in spirituals when the Act of Supremacy was passed
- Cromwell has strong legal and practical framework through which to enforce the decisions
- The Treasons Act of 1534 made it an Act of treason to speak badly of the king, his family or against his supremacy in the Church
- This enabled heretics to be prosecuted more easily
- The Nun of Kent and Thomas More were both executed under this law
- The priests were ordered by the bishops who were ordered to carry out Henry and Cromwell’s policies
- Cromwell also had government agents called justices of the peace (JPs) to hell enforce his measures in towns and cities
- The Treasons Act of 1534 made it an Act of treason to speak badly of the king, his family or against his supremacy in the Church
- Monks, nuns and friars had sworn oaths of allegiance to the pope so, after the break with Rome, monastic orders had to swear a new oath
- The oath accepted Henry VIII as Supreme Head of the Church and stated that the Bishop of Rome had no more authority than other bishops
- They had to remove the word ‘pope’ from all service books and to commend the king and his fellows to God in prayer
- There was enormous pressure to swear the new oath and monks were examined individually about their faith and obedience to the king
- There were nearly 12 000 people living under monastic orders in 900 religious houses, collectively known as monasteries
- 260 monasteries with 4000 monks
- 300 monasteries with 3000 canons
- 142 nunneries with 2000 nuns
- 183 friaries with 3000 friars
- Monks, nuns and friars lived according to vows of poverty, chastity and obedience
- Monks and nuns lived insularly whereas friars lived in the community
- A canon was a priest who renounced private wealth but was not strictly abiding to religious rules
- Cromwell set up a commission, Valor Ecclesiasticus to survey all the monasteries in England and gather details about the people, lands and rental incomes of each house
- It began in January 1535
- It was presented as a way of reforming taxes but could’ve been a prelude to the dissolution of the monasteries
- Cromwell personally dislikes monasticism and objected to the wealth of the Church
- He had seen Wolsey close down some monasteries and replacing them with schools and colleges
- He knew closing the monasteries would bring the mignon great wealth
- Henry VIII also disliked the Church being so wealthy and liked the idea of confiscating some Church property to increase his own power and wealth
1535 – The Visitation of the Monasteries
- The Act of Supremacy gave Henry the right to inspect all religious houses and as vicegerent, Cromwell could also
- Visitations had been part of the Church for centuries and in the 1520s, Wolsey had closed some monasteries down as they were deemed ungodly
- During the autumn of 1535, Cromwell and his six agents conducted the visitations
- His six agents were known to dislike the Catholic focus on relics and miracles and doubted the spiritual value of monastic life
- His commissioners, their questions and speed of work implied Cromwell hoped the monasteries would fail
- At each monastery the commissioners asked 86 questions
- Some were factual and others were designed to test for failings
- They asked whether the current number of monks or nuns matched the number specified by the founder to claim some houses were not fulfilling the founder’s will
- Some questions were made to identify weak leadership
- Monks and nuns were quizzed as regards to their religious and moral standards
- Much of the findings were critical of the monasteries, reporting ungodly, sexual behaviour, lazy, unlearned monks and false relics
- There is evidence from bishops’ inspections that the Valor was much truth
1536-38 – The Process of Dissolution
- The visitations gave Cromwell the evidence needed to continue with the dissolution of the monasteries in a complicated and carefully orchestrated way, to ensure its legality
- The Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries Act was passed in 1536
- It gave the king power to close down religious houses with an annual income of less than £200, if they were failing to maintain religious life
- All property of the dissolved house would go to the Crown
- A new group of commissioners went to each of these small monasteries to carry out another inventory of its wealth and possessions, and assessed its performance in religious duties
- 243 of 419 small monasteries were closed and the rest remained open if they paid a fine
- Monks, nuns and friars were either given a pension and went to live in the community or were transferred to larger houses
- Anne Boleyn suggested to the king that the money made from closing the monasteries should be used for religious purposes
- Her influence was declining and monastic wealth went straight to the Crown
- The closures were highly visible and unpopular, helping to fuel the Pilgrimage of Grace
- The visitations continued and Henry and Cromwell insisted their policy of reform despite evidence that they aimed to close down all the monasteries
- The ‘voluntary dissolution’ of the larger monasteries began with Furness Abbey in Lancashire
- The monks had been involved in the Pilgrimage of Grace and the abbot was afraid of being charged with treason so asked to make a ‘voluntary surrender’ of the house
- This created a pattern for the larger monasteries; if a religious house dissolved itself the monks and nuns would be granted a generous pension
- Many did so after harassment by Cromwell’s men, forced oaths of allegiance, challenges to their loyalty and practices and accusations of treason
- If they did not, they may be accused of treason and closed anyway
- The second Dissolution Act was passed in 1539, and within a year all the monasteries were gone
- The Court of Augmentations, led by men such as Richard Rich, was set up to manage the income from the dissolution
- In all, 563 houses were dissolved, 8000 monks were pensioned off and the Crown’s annual income more than doubled to £250 000
- The resale of monastic land raised another £1.3 million
- By early 1538, most people expected that the friaries would also be dissolved
- In some houses all friars, except the prior, had already left and assets such as timber, chalice and vestments were being sold off
- Cromwell put Richard Yngworth, bishop of Dover, in charge of ensuring the friaries were forced to close
- He issued new instructions reinforcing the rules of each house and making friars resume a strict monastic life
- The rules were so strict that friars were essentially forced to surrender their houses
- If they did not surrender, they faced homelessness and starvation for failing to comply
- Yngworth reported to Cromwell about many details of the friary properties but found little worth in the estates
- Most friars were released from their vows and dismissed with around 40 shillings
- Most friars were officially allowed to become secular priests
- Only St Andrew’s Hall in Norwich and Greyfriars Church in Reading remain standing friars
1538 – The Effects of Dissolution
- Cromwell’s men destroyed many buildings and stole hundreds of valuable items
- The surrender of Boxley Priory in Kent, in January 1538, was particularly important because it was one of the most important sites of pilgrimage in England
- Pilgrimages and the relics people came to see were among the ‘superstitious’ practices denounced by the commissioners
- Other important shrines were lost when the bigger monasteries fell
- The first goods to be seized were the lead roofs, gutters and plumbing
- Buildings were burned down so it was easier to obtain these materials
- Building stone and late roofs were sold to the highest bidder
- Many monastic outbuildings were turned into friaries, barns and stables
- Ancient and precious items were melted down; the tombs of saints and kings were ransacked for goods
- Relics were destroyed or sold
- Monastic libraries were destroyed and some precious books were even used to wrap meat
- Many ordinary people had felt that monastic orders were there to pay on their behalf
- Monks and nuns looked after the shrines at pilgrimage sites and the religious houses themselves were a fundamental part of life
- Monks offered shelter to travellers, were landlords who also employed servants, craftsmen and labourers, grew crops, bred animals and were important patrons of fisheries and butchers
- People felt economically and spiritually deprived
- Local commissioners were instructed to make sure that abbey churches used by local populations were not destroyed
- This saved more than 100 monastic buildings
- A dozen or so wealthy families bought monastic buildings after the dissolution and donated them to the community
- Many of the gentry profited from the dissolution of the monasteries as they bought monastic lands for less than the market value
- Much of the gentry did not oppose the dissolution for this reason
- Most of the magnificent gothic church priories and abbeys were destroyed or left ruined
- Some of Henry’s new wealth was spent on cathedral grammar schools
- Monasteries had been a source of help for the poor and the dissolution had a massive impact on poor belief
- Most monks and friars found alternative employment as secular priests and were given pensions whilst the rest faced poverty
- Nuns were not allowed to marry or become priests, so most faced extreme hardship
- The abbeys provided many things to the local community
- Money for the poor
- Hospitality for the needy
- Faith for the spiritual
- Education for the weak in faith
- Education for the youth
- Beauty for the sight
- Maintenance for the infrastructure and transport
- Employment for the community
- Convocation was a group of leading bishops and they met to agree fundamental religious changes
- A group of radical bishops led by Hugh Latimer wanted to abolish the cult of the saints, relics, pilgrimages, holy days, images and the use of lights in churches altogether
- Older, Conservative bishops defended holy days and some other beliefs and practices
- They eventually issued the Ten Articles which was the first official doctrine of the Church in England
- These specifically approved images, the cult of saints and chantries
- They attacked the belief in purgatory and abolished all feast days that fell during harvest time and when the courts were in session
1536-37 – Resistance and Protest
- Until the autumn of 1536, resistance to religious reform had mainly come from individuals and there was no strong, organised opposition
- In October 1536, over 40 000 men in northern England rebelled against the king to stop the suppression of the monasteries
- The Bishop of Lincoln’s registrar visited Louth and rumours circulated in Lincoln that all the churches within five miles would be torn town
- The people of Louth stood and guarded their church with a recently-completed spire and seized the registrar when he arrived
- The townspeople were led by a shoemaker, Nicholas Melton, whose armed supporters were financed by church funds
- Melton led 3000 men to the nearby Legbourne nunnery and captured the royal commissioners there
- Local gentry took over leadership, however they could not control the crowds and Dr Raynes, who worked for the Bishop of Lincoln, was murdered
- The people convinced 60 priests to swear to be true to God and to them, and to ring bells throughout their parishes
- At least 10 000 men marched to Lincoln
- Lord Hussey, one of the country’s great noblemen, sympathised with the rebels but fled for fear of l=being murdered
- Monks from Barlings, Bardney and Kirkstead joined the rebel host, mounted and armed
- At Lincoln, a new set of articles was drawn up and sent to London
- Henry VIII dispatched the Duke of Suffolk to supress the rebels
- Anyone who did not surrender would be charged with treason
- The leaders of the Lincolnshire Rising backed down and pleaded for their lives
- The rising had come to an abrupt end, but unrest continued
- A few days after the Lincolnshire Rising, the Pilgrimage of Grace was a much bigger rebellion that started further north
- It spread across York, Durham, Westmorland, Cumberland, Lancashire and Cheshire
- The main cause of the rebellion was outrage towards the Church due to the changes implemented
- The people objected to the abbeys being torn down, the removal of precious items, the banning of holy days and the banning of prayers to the pope
- Priests and monks supported the rebels with money and food and spread rumours of Henry’s plans
- Only the smaller monasteries had been closed but people feared that the large ones would soon also be closed; detrimental to their way of life
- Some of the rebels had economic concerns
- Unemployment was increasing and closing the monasteries would make it worse as many worked for them
- Farmers were concerned about changes such as the introduction of enclosure which changed public farmland into private land for grazing sheep, and unmarked cattle were confiscation
- Taxes were introduced on marriages and christenings
- A lawyer called Robert Aske emerged as a leader
- He organised the people of Howdenshire into two companies and made them swear oaths to be true to God, the king and the commons
- The people did not believe that the acts of reformation were true to God
- Robert Bowes, Sir Christopher Danby and Lord Latimer were key leaders of the rebellion
- Over 10 000 rebels marched to York and entered the city on 16 October where Aske issued the mayor with a proclamation declaring their peaceful intentions
- Hull fell to the rebels on 19 October and groups also gathered from Richmondshire, Mashamshire, Debergh and Nidderdale
- They restored abbeys as they marched
- By late October, the rebellion was made up of over 30 000 men in nine well-armed companies
- The government was slow to act, and the uprising went uninterrupted for three weeks
- Bowes was sent to meet Henry at Windsor, and the king offered a pardon to all but ten of the leaders and offered to listen to the pilgrims’ grievances
- Bowes and the other leaders drew up the Pontefract Articles to present to the king; these included 24 religious, political and socioeconomic asks
- Put an end to heresy
- Return some powers to the poke
- Legitimise Mary
- Restore suppressed abbeys
- Release from the payment of taxes
- Have a parliament and courts in the north of England
- Stop the enclosure of farmland
- Make tenants more secure
- Bowes and the other leaders drew up the Pontefract Articles to present to the king; these included 24 religious, political and socioeconomic asks
- The rebels managed to restore 16 of the 55 monasteries that had been dissolved in March 1536
- The king invited Aske to spend Christmas in London, promising him the chance to bring the pilgrims’ grievances to parliament
- Aske trusted Henry and gathered 3000 rebels informing them of good terms for peace and encouraging them to disband
- Henry had lied and then rounded up 216 people, including Aske, who he believed to be responsible for the rebellion
- Aske was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered for treason
- Henry insisted that the punishment be carried out in York for people to see
- On 12 July 1937, Aske asked for forgiveness and was hanged nearly to the point of death, castrated, disembowelled, beheaded and his corps was cut into four pieces
1536-40 – Impact on Monasticism
- Some friars and priests encouraged the Pilgrimage of Grace by spreading rumours about Cromwell’s intentions for the Church
- After the rebellion, several monastery leaders were hanged for their role in it
- Leaders of religious houses became increasingly likely to give in to Cromwell’s voluntary dissolution for fear of being branded a traitor
- In 1539, the abbots of Colchester, Glastonbury and Reading were hanged, drawn and quartered for treason for failing to surrender their priories
- Their houses were dissolved and their monks given a basic pension of £4 per year
- Few other monks or nuns protested at all and the rest of the population were too afraid or too busy trying to survive
- The Tudor propaganda machine saw to it that most were convinced that their parish churches would remain safe
- Many who could afford it scurries to claim the jewels, plate, timber and lead that was sold off
- This was likely to have been for their monetary value rather than their religious value
- Only three monastic orders survived the dissolution
- Without their religious houses, and without funding, most orders could not continue
- The Dartford Priory in Kent attracted much support from the local community
- The nuns actively promoted learning, commissioned books and worked within their community
- This enabled them to continue living in Sutton at Hone
- Only the Carthusian monks and the Bridgettine nuns of Syon Abbey survived as communities beyond Elizabeth I’s succession in 1558 because they chose exile rather than abandoning their vocation
Explain why some people criticised monasteries in the 1520s and 1530s. [10]
Explain how the dissolution of the monasteries affected people in England. [10]
Study Sources 5, 8 and 11. How far do they convince you that the dissolution of the monasteries improved life for people in England? [20]