Religious Opposition

• When was the Treaty of Nice signed?

  1538
• What did the Treaty of Nice state?

  • It was a temporary truce between the French and the Hapsburg Empire
  • This led to fears of a joint French-Hapsburg invasion by the Catholic powers (the Catholic Crusade)
• When was John Lambert executed?

  November 1538
• Why was John Lambert executed?

  Due to his rejection of transubstantiation. Henry maintained belief in the real presence of the Eucharist and punished those who openly disagreed
• When was Anne Askew burned?

  1546
• Why was Anne Askew burned?

  Heresy (denying transubstantiation)
• How did Thomas More oppose the Reformation?

  • He was reluctant to support Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn
  • He refused to swear the oath accepting the Act of Succession in 1534
  • He supported papal authority
• How was Thomas More punished?

  • He was sent to the Tower of London in 1534
  • His trial was rigged by Thomas Cromwell, where evidence provided by Richard Rich claimed that he overheard More saying that he didn't accept Henry as head of the church
  • Charged with treason and executed in 1535
• How did the Aragonese faction oppose the Reformation?

  • Consisted of a small group of nobility led by Henry Courtenay (Marquis of Exeter)
  • Supported Catherine over the divorce question
  • Lord Darcy and Hussey joined the Pilgrimage of Grace
• How was the Aragonese faction punished?

  • Henry executed Henry Courtenay in 1539
  • Darcey and Hussey were executed in 1537
• How did John Fisher (Bishop of Rochester) oppose the Reformation?

  • He told Henry that his actions towards Catherine were wrong
  • He believed in the power given to the papacy and to oppose it was a mortal sin
  • He refused to swear an oath of acceptance of Henry's divorce in 1535
  • The Pope made him a Cardinal in May 1535
• How was John Fisher punished?

  He was accused of high treason, tried, and then executed June 1535
• How did Elizabeth Barton (the nun of Kent) oppose the Reformation?

  • She had visions from 1528, stating that Henry would end up in disaster if he abandoned Catherine of Aragon
  • She was under the protection of a monk, Dr Edward Bocking, who used her to create a wider campaign against the changes in the church
• How was Elizabeth Barton punished?

  • She and her mentors were arrested in September 1533
  • After a public humiliation at St Paul's Cross, where Elizabeth confessed her visions were false, they were executed in April 1534
• When was the Lincolnshire Rising?

  Autumn 1536
• How many protestors were in the Lincolnshire Rising?

  40,000
• What three government commissions were taking place at the same time as the Lincolnshire Rising?

  • Overseeing the closure of the smaller monasteries
  • Assessing and collecting the 1534 subsidy
  • Examining the state of the clergy
• How did the Lincolnshire Rising end?

  • Henry ordered them to disperse or face serious punishments, saying he would consider their demands if they went home peacefully
  • The leaders ordered their forces to disperse and the rebels fled
• When did the Pilgrimage of Grace take place to and from?

  8th October 1536 to the 6th December 1536
• How did the Pilgrimage of Grace begin?

  It was led by Robert Aske in South Yorkshire
• What took place on the 16th October 1536?


  • Robert Aske and 10,000 men entered York, where he was handed the town by the mayor, and drew up rebel demands.
  • Nine other regions raised their own armies at this time, including Northumberland, Durham, North Yorkshire, and Cumberland.
  • This resulted in a serious military threat of 30,000 men
• What were the demands that the rebels drew up in York called?

  The York Articles
• What did the York Articles state?

  • It argued against the dissolution of the monasteries
  • It argued against the tax on sheep and cattle
  • It argued against the high positions given to 'common' men, including Cromwell and Richard Rich
  • It argued against the increasingly Protestant bishops, including Canterbury
• What battles took place during the Pilgrimage of Grace?

  • Many of Henry's forces were still in Lincolnshire
  • A royal force under the leadership of the Earl of Shrewsbury was sent to Nottingham
  • Lord Darcy, the keeper of Pontefract Castle, surrendered to the rebels very quickly
  • Robert Aske's force of 30,000 men met the Duke of Norfolk and his force of 8000 men at Pontefract. Aske dissuaded his men from fighting and instead negotiated with Norfolk, who convinced him to send 2 representatives to London to meet the king and present their demands in person
• What was Henry's personal reaction to the Pilgrimage of Grace?

  • He said that their demands were too vague, and that they should clarify them to the Duke of Norfolk.
  • He promised to pardon all involved in the rising, except the ringleaders, if they returned home
  • He instructed the Duke of Norfolk to issue a general pardon to prolong the truce, and the pilgrims issued their Pontefract Articles.
  • Robert Aske travelled south to meet with the King
• When were the Pontefract Articles issued?

  2nd December 1536 to 4th December 1536
• What did the Pontefract Articles state?

  • That Protestants be imprisoned
  • A return to papal supremacy
  • A reversal of the dissolution of the monasteries
  • Cromwell and Richard Rich be punished
  • Statutes for enclosure to be implemented
  • Mary made legitimate
  • A Parliament in Nottingham or York
  • The liberties of the church to have their old customs
• What did the rebels in the Pilgrimage of Grace call themselves?

  Pilgrims
• What did the rebels in the Pilgrimage of Grace wear?


  Badges of the Wounds of Christ, which had a crown, thorns, the name of Jesus, a chalice, a host, and the wounds of Christ
• When was the Cumberland Rising?

  January 1537
• What took place in the Cumberland Rising?

  • Aske lost control over the north and the rebels became restless
  • The rebels began to rise under Sir Francis Bigod. They aimed to capture Hull and Scarborough, but failed
• What was the response of the government to the Cumberland Rising?

  • The Duke of Norfolk defeated the rebels at Carlisle, martial law was declared, and 74 men were hanged.
  • Gentry leaders were rounded up and 100 were executed in London
  • Darcy, Aske, Hussey, and the leaders of the Pilgrim hosts were all executed