Religion, ideas and reform

• Role of the Church up till 1529

  • Most people went to Catholic churches and took Mass.
  • Church was still the centre of people's' lives
  • Some corruption, e.g Wolsey, guilty of pluralism and absenteeism
  • 'benefit of clergy' criticised, a priest could claim and be tried in a more lenient Church court rather than the King's courts.
• The Reformation- Lutheranism

  • Bible in German not Latin
  • Bible as the basis for belief, not the Roman Catholic interpretation for it.
  • Preaching, communion and congregational singing stressed.
  • Rejected ideas and ceremonies not in The Bible.
  • Virgin Mary emphasis disliked of Catholic idea.
  • Much simpler ceremonies.
• Acts which facilitated the split with Rome

  • Act in Restraint of Appeals 1533
  • Act of Supremacy 1534
  • Act of Succession 1534
  • The Treason Act 1534
• The Dissolution of Monasteries 1536

  • The 30 richest monasteries were as rich as the wealthiest nobles
  • Acquired over centuries by people who hoped to 'buy' their way to Heaven.
  • Cromwell, survey of the wealth of the Monasteries.
  • Act for Lesser Monasteries began dissolution in 1536
  • Great Monasteries dissolved from 1538 onwards
  • 1540, the last monastery had been dissolved.
• Impact of the Dissolution of the Monasteries

  • Couldn't educate people or give charity to the poor
  • Henry and the nobles massively increased the amount of land they owned.
  • Contributed to the social discontent and rebellion.
  • Destruction of libraries of books, images, icons and statues
  • Monks and nuns left in poverty and suffering hardship.
  • 1547, Crown made £800,000 from sales.
• Impact of Wolsey and Cromwell on the Church

  • Wolsey, too much time of diplomacy, little time for peoples concerns of the Church
  • Some monastic reforms suppressed around 29 monasteries, mainly to obtain revenues.
  • Cromwell, known to have advanced religious ideas.
  • he passed the radical 'Act in Restraint of Appeals', laying down for no outside interference in the Church.
  • Legal and Judicial impact.
• How had the Church in England changed by 1547.

  • Between 1533-1534 series of Acts passed changing the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church in England.
  • Acts which made the King the master of the Church of England but little change in actual religious belief.
  • Services still Latin and priests still celebrated Mass.
  • Henry VIII still seemed to be Catholic and still 'Defender of the Faith' until his ex-communication.
  • Historians argue England was fundamentally Catholic at the time of Henry's death.