abuses and criticims of the church

• General Sentiment

  • the Catholic faith structured daily life for most people
  • few challenged Church beliefs; however, Humanists sought to purify the Church of corrupt practices
  • by the 16th century, broader criticsm emerged, particularly among the laity, against religious authorities
• General Sentiment

  Chaucer's Canterbury Tales:

  • written by Geoffrey Chaucer, featuring stories told by pilgrims traveling to Canterbury Cathedral
  • characters included various societal ranks and religious figures
  • some tales criticized church abuses, such as fraudulent pardoners selling false relics and indulgences
  • originally handwritten, later widely circulated due to the printing press, often read aloud and acted out
• Simony, Nepotism, Absenteeism and other practices

  • simony: sale of ecclesiastical titles for profit, undermining merit-based appointments
  • nepotism: favoring relatives for lucrative positions; e.g Cardinal Wolsey promoting his son despite vows of chastity
  • absenteeism and pluralism: priests holding multiple parishes for income, often neglecting duties and employing underqualified deputies
  • financial demands: tithes ( one tenth of goods or income), mortuary fees (payments for burials) burdened the laity, soemtimes exploited by the church for profit
• Anti-clericalism

  • difficult to gauge the extent of anti-clerical sentiment as much criticism was unrecorded
  • heightened from 1529-1540 druring Henry VIII's campaign against the church
  • criticism often came from literate merchants, and tradespeople, influenced by continental ideas and humanism
• Anti-clericalism

  Behavior of the clergy:

  • general respect for clergy, but some were criticized for greed, laziness, and sexual misconduct
  • abuse of 'benefit of clergy' allowed clergy to avoid harsh penalties, fostering resentment

  Case of Richard Hunne

  • mechant tailor in London, refused to pay mortuary fee, leading to disputes with the church
  • arrested in 1514 for possessing a Lollard Bible, found dead in custody under suspicious circumstances
  • widely believed the church murdered him to silence him; Hunne became a martyr
• Regional Differences:

  • areas like east anglia, with high literacy rates, were more critical of church practices and quicker to adopt new religious ideas
  • remote regions remained loyal to traditional practices and clergy