Religion, ideas and reform

• Weakness in the church noted for some time, foundations in people's dissatisfaction with the church and criticisms brought by Martin Luther in Germany in 1517
• Corruption in the church included:

  • Pluralism: members of the religion gaining profits from more than one post
  • Simony: buying church office
  • Non-residence: receiving profits of a post but not performing associated duties
  • Cardinal Wolsey as a prominent example
• Anti-clericalism involved opposition to the political and social importance of the clergy, objections to Canon law influence, and objections to legal privileges of the Church
• The murder of Richard Hunne challenged the church's authority, leading to dissatisfaction after his unjust arrest and death
• Decline of Monasticism:

  • Religious houses open to criticism
  • Precedents for dissolving monasteries existed by the 1530s
  • Cardinal Wolsey dissolved around twenty houses in the 1520s
  • Some historians suggested monasticism was outdated and lost direction
• Changes to the English Church included:

  • The King becoming the supreme head of the Church confirmed by the Act of Supremacy in 1534
  • Appointment of Cromwell as Vicegerent in Spirituals in 1534, outranking archbishops and bishops
  • Creation of six new dioceses to improve Church administration
• Dissolution of the Monasteries:

  • Origins in the Valor Ecclesiasticus survey by Cromwell
  • Smaller monasteries dissolved by 1536 Act of Parliament
  • Larger monasteries dissolved by 1539 Act
  • All religious houses dissolved by March 1540
• Attack on Traditional Religious Practices:

  • Royal Injunctions in 1536 and 1538 discouraged pilgrimages and veneration of relics
  • Required each parish to acquire an English Bible and encourage reading
• Changes to Church Doctrine:

  • Ten Articles in 1536 proposed three necessary sacraments, ambiguous definition of Eucharist
  • Bishops' Book in 1537 restored four omitted sacraments with lower status
  • Six Articles in 1539 reasserted Catholic doctrine, denial of transubstantiation deemed heretical
  • King's Book in 1543 revised Bishops' Book with conservative emphasis
• Change and Continuity:

  • Changes included destruction of Pope's jurisdiction, dissolution of monasteries, and influence of Humanism on religious culture
  • Continuity seen in church hierarchy remaining intact, traditional services, and Latin used in services
• Renaissance impact:

  • Renaissance characterized by rebirth and adoption of classical ways
  • Humanism emphasized education and rejection of traditional ceremonies
  • Desiderius Erasmus promoted regeneration of Christianity through education and rejection of traditional ceremonies
• Education:

  • John Colet reshaped St Paul's School in London with humanist curriculum
  • Platonist educational principles became widespread
• Visual Culture:

  • Henry commissioned Italian sculptor for tombs at Westminster
  • Northern Renaissance painters dominated Henry's court
• Henry's Patronage:

  • Henry supported humanism and promoted well-educated diplomats
• Architecture:

  • Lady Chapel and tombs exemplified late Gothic and Renaissance influence
  • Gothic prevalent, with Henry showing conservatism compared to Wolsey's classical influence