Religion ideas and Reformation

• Weaknesses in the church noted for some time, rooted in dissatisfaction and criticisms brought by Martin Luther in Germany in 1517
• Corruption in the church included:

  • Pluralism: members of the religion profiting from more than one post
  • Simony: buying church office instead of earning it
  • Non-residence: receiving post profits without fulfilling associated duties
  • Cardinal Wolsey was a prime example of these corrupt practices
• Anti-clericalism involved opposition to the political and social importance of the clergy
• The murder of Richard Hunne challenged the church's authority, leading to criticisms and decline in trust
• Decline of Monasticism:

  • Religious houses faced criticism for their operations
  • Precedents for dissolving monasteries existed by the 1530s
  • Cardinal Wolsey dissolved around twenty houses in the 1520s to fund Cardinal College, Oxford
  • Some historians viewed monasticism as outdated and directionless
• Changes to the English Church:

  • The King became the supreme head of the Church confirmed by the Act of Supremacy in 1534
  • Cromwell appointed as Vicegerent in Spirituals, outranking archbishops and bishops
  • Six new dioceses were created to improve Church administration
• Dissolution of the Monasteries:

  • Origins traced back to 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:

  • 1536 and 1538 Royal Injunctions discouraged pilgrimages and veneration of relics
  • Required each parish to acquire an English Bible for parishioners to read
• Changes to Church Doctrine:

  • Transubstantiation: bread and wine becoming body and blood of Jesus
  • The Ten Articles, 1536: proposed three necessary sacraments, ambiguous definition of Eucharist
  • The Bishops' Book, 1537: restored four omitted sacraments with lower status
  • The Six Articles, 1539: reasserted Catholic doctrine, denial of transubstantiation deemed heretical
  • The King's Book, 1543: revised Bishops' Book with conservative and some Lutheran influences
• Change and Continuity:

  • Changes included the King's authority over the Pope, dissolution of monasteries, and requirement of English Bibles in parish churches
  • Continuity seen in church hierarchy, traditional services, and Latin usage in services
• The Renaissance:

  • Renaissance marked a period of rebirth and change from the Middle Ages
  • Humanism emphasized education and rejection of traditional ceremonies
  • Desiderius Erasmus promoted Humanism in England with Henry VIII's support
• Key points:

  • Education reforms by John Colet emphasizing humanist curriculum
  • Henry VIII's patronage of humanism and promotion of well-educated diplomats
  • Visual culture influenced by Northern Renaissance painters and Italian sculptors
  • Architecture showcased a blend of late Gothic and Renaissance styles