Henry VIII & Society 2

Impact of the Dissolution of the Monasteries

The dissolution of the monasteries affected all of society. The winners were the Crown, the nobility and the gentry. The losers were the monks, nuns and the many communities deprived of their services.

Landowners

The gentry bought up land to increase their standing locally. The gentry were growing in importance in the 16th century, helped by buying monastic lands.
Some of the land came with the right to appoint minor clergy, like parish priests.
Members of the nobility also built up their landholdings.

Communities

Monasteries had often provided education for those who could afford it.
Some new grammar schools were founded in place of schools that had been attached to monasteries.
Monasteries also provided care for the sick. In London in 1538, for example, St Mary Spital and St Bartholomew’s hospitals were closed.
Abbeys also provided help for the poor.

Monks and nuns

Thousands of monks and nuns had their vocations and homes taken - as did the people who worked for them, on their farms for example.
Some monks became priests or learned trades.
Nuns were worse off. They were not allowed to marry but it was hard for a woman to earn enough to live and they could not become priests.

Rebellion During Henry VIII's Reign

Henry VIII was faced with several rebellions during his reign.

The Amicable Grant 1525

The Amicable Grant was designed to fund Henry's war in France.
It met with hostility. Across East Anglia people refused to pay and some rebelled. Up to ten thousand marched on Lavenham, Suffolk.
The Grant was abandoned. Henry VIII made peace with France instead, giving up his claim to the French throne. Wolsey was blamed. He raised no further taxation.

Causes of the Pilgrimage of Grace

Rumours about taxes and closing down churches triggered riots in 1536 in Lincolnshire.

Course of the Pilgrimage of Grace

The riots grew to become a rebellion of 40,000 people, called the Pilgrimage of Grace.
The rebellion was led by the gentry.
The rebels issued a range of demands, including ending the Statute of Uses (a property law that Henry VIII passed), Princess Mary to restored to the succession, the dismissal of Cromwell, stopping enclosure, elections and the Catholic Church to be restored to all its former rights.

Aftermath of the Pilgrimage of Grace

Henry VIII agreed to pardon the rebels and said Parliament would look at their demands.
Fresh rebellions in the north in January 1537 gave Henry VIII the excuse he needed to execute the rebel leaders and go back on his promise.

Historical debate about rebellion

There has been considerable historical debate about the causes of Tudor rebellions.
For example, Marxist historians focus on material causes and discount factors such as religion.
Today, religion is being taken more seriously as a factor.
Lockyer and O'Sullivan remind us of the complexity of the Pilgrimage of Grace's causes: “The Pilgrims’ Articles were a mixture of economic, political and religious grievances.”

Historical assessment

Historians Anthony Fletcher and Diarmaid MacCulloch (2014) remind us that the rebels linked their Pilgrimage to the idea of the commonwealth:
- 'The cliché of ‘commonwealth’ was dangerously ambiguous in troubled times: did it refer to the whole realm, as when government spokesmen expressed their concern for the commonwealth, and prepared schemes of reform to benefit it? It might equally refer only to the commons without the gentry and nobility, as seems to be the case in the title of "the Pilgrimage of Grace for the commonwealth" in 1536.'

1Consolidation of the Tudor Dynasty 1485-1547

1.1Henry VII 1485-1509

1.1.1Henry VII's Consolidation of Power

1.1.2Henry VII & Succession

1.1.3Henry VII's Councils & Parliament

1.1.4End of Topic Test - Henry VII Part 1

1.1.5Henry VII & Justice, Finance & Policies

1.1.6Henry VII's Relationship with Foreign Powers

1.1.7Henry VII & Society

1.1.8End of Topic Test - Henry VII Part 2

1.1.9Henry VII & Regional Issues

1.1.10Henry VII & Economic Development

1.1.11Henry VII & Cultural Development

1.1.12End of Topic Test - Henry VII Part 3

1.2Henry VIII 1509-1547

1.2.1Henry VIII's Consolidation of Power

1.2.2Henry VIII & His Government

1.2.3Henry VIII & His Government 2

1.2.4End of Topic Test - Henry VIII Part 1

1.2.5Henry VIII & Succession

1.2.6Henry VIII's Relationship with Foreign Powers

1.2.7Henry VIII & Society

1.2.8End of Topic Test -Henry VIII Part 2

1.2.9Henry VIII & Society 2

1.2.10Henry VIII & Economic Development

1.2.11Henry VIII & Religion

1.2.12End of Topic Test - Henry VIII Part 3

2England: Turmoil & Triumph 1547-1603

2.1Instability & Consolidation 1547-1563

2.1.1Edward VI, Somerset & Northumberland

2.1.2Edward VI & Authority

2.1.3Edward VI & Relations with Foreign Powers

2.1.4End of Topic Test - Edward VI Part 1

2.1.5Edward VI & Rebellions

2.1.6Social Impact of Religious & Economic Changes

2.1.7Edward VI & Cultural Developments

2.1.8End of Topic Test - Edward VI Part 2

2.1.9Mary I & Her Rule

2.1.10Mary I & Relations with Foreign Powers

2.1.11The Social Impact of Religious & Economic Change

2.1.12End of Topic Test - Mary Part 1

2.1.13Elizabeth I & Her Rule

2.1.14Elizabeth I & Relations With Foreign Powers

2.1.15Impact of Economic, Social & Religious Change

2.1.16End of Topic Test - Elizabeth I Part 1

2.2The Triumph of Elizabeth 1563-1603

2.2.1Elizabeth I & Court

2.2.2Elizabeth & Government

2.2.3Elizabeth I & Succession

2.2.4End of Topic Test - Elizabeth I Part 2

2.2.5Mary Queen of Scots

2.2.6Relations with Spain

2.2.7End of Topic Test - Elizabeth I Part 3

2.2.8Elizabeth I & Society

2.2.9Elizabeth I & Rebellion

2.2.10Elizabeth & Economic Development

2.2.11End of Topic Test - Elizabeth I Part 4

2.2.12Elizabeth I & Religious Developments

2.2.13The English Renaissance

2.2.14Elizabeth's Last Years

2.2.15End of Topic Test - Elizabeth I Part 5

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