Catholicism Under Henry VIII

Extent of Religious Change, 1529-1536

Between 1529 and 1536, Henry VIII took steps which increased his personal authority over the Church. In these years the Reformation is primarily driven ‘from above’ (i.e through legislation).

Events in 1529

Between March and July Papal Legates consider Henry VIII’s case for annulment at the Court at Blackfriars.
Henry is summoned to Rome.
In October, Wolsey is criticised for placing the Church’s interests above the King’s. He falls from the King’s favour.
In November, Parliament convenes. The Parliament is dominated by anti-clericalism. Acts restrict fees payable to the clergy.

Events in 1530

In January, a mission visits the Pope, led by Anne Boleyn’s father. They petition the Pope to grant an annulment.
The Pope rejects the petition.
In November, the English clergy are accused of Praemunire (asserting the Pope’s supremacy).

Events in 1531 and 1532

In 1531, the Clergy are pardoned of Praemunire but have to pay a fine.
The Convocation of Canterbury agrees to recognise Henry VIII as the Church of England’s head.
In 1532, Parliament drives legislation which severs ties between England and Rome:
- The Supplication against the Ordinaries.
- The Submission of the Clergy.

Events in 1533

Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII marry in secret.
Thomas Cranmer is appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.
Parliament passed the Act in Restraint of Appeals. This prevents Catherine from appealing to Rome.
Parliament annuls Henry VIII and Catherine’s marriage, and endorses Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn’s marriage.

Events in 1534

The Succession Act and the Act for the Submission of the Clergy are passed.
The Act for First Fruits and Tenths is passed. This enables Henry VIII to tax the Church.

Events in 1535

Cromwell becomes the Vicegerent in Spirituals. He is able to alter the organisation of the Church of England.
Cromwell begins visitations to religious institutions. -The first English bible is published, the Coverdale Bible.

Events in 1536

Parliament passes the Statute of Uses, Act for the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries, and the Act for the Court of Augmentations.
Anne Boleyn is executed.
Henry VIII marries Jane Seymour.
Parliament passes the Second Succession Act.
The 10 Articles are issued.
Royal Injunctions are issued which constrain the clergy.
Hostility to religious change erupts in the Pilgrimage of Grace.

Survival of Catholicism in Regions

Despite the legislative changes and the break from Rome, Catholicism survived in many regions. In fact, we can still argue that Catholicism was the religion of the majority.

Theology vs. community

Revisionist historians have emphasised that most laymen were not concerned with the theological disputes which Protestant Reformers were preoccupied with. Instead, they were concerned with daily rituals and the social function of the Church.
Duffy on the centrality of the Church in community life (1992): The liturgy provided “a means of ordering and...negotiating social relations.”

The “Slow Reformation”

Revisionists have argued that instead of a swift and comprehensive Reformation, the Reformation was protracted, uneven and slow.
Haigh on the Reformation in Elizabethan England (1993): England was a “Protestant nation, but not a nation of Protestants.”
Clearly the uptake of Protestantism was difficult and Catholicism largely survived.

Regional variation

Haigh (1982): “The Reformation in England was not an inevitable development, it was a contingent product of a series of conflicts and crises and of the interaction of social, geographical and political influences which varied from region to region.”
Manning (1970): Reformed doctrines had made very little progress outside of a small minority among the gentry and the townsmen, and the artificers of southeastern England.
Therefore, areas in the North and West of England remained resistant to, or untouched by Protestant influences. E.g. the Lincolnshire Uprising and Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536, and the Northern Rebellion in 1559.

1Monarch & Government

1.1Tudor Monarchs

1.1.1Henry VII

1.1.2Henry VIII

1.1.3Edward VI

1.1.4Mary I

1.1.5Elizabeth I

1.1.6Succession Disputes

1.2Changing Role of Parliament

1.2.1Parliament & Henry VII

1.2.2Parliament & Henry VIII

1.2.3Parliament After the Reformation

1.3Principal Servants to the Crown

1.3.1Principal Servants to the Crown

2Religious Changes

2.1Tudor Monarchs & Religious Change

2.1.1The Henrician Reformation

2.1.2Impact of Religious Change Under Henry VIII

2.1.3Religious Change Under Edward VI

2.1.4Religious Change Under Mary I

2.1.5Elizabethan Settlement

2.2Catholicism & Survival

2.2.1Popular Attitudes to Catholicism

2.2.2Catholicism Under Henry VIII

2.2.3Catholicism Under Elizabeth I

2.2.4Catholic Nobility

2.3Protestantism & Puritanism

2.3.1Protestant Influences

2.3.2Protestantism Under Edward VI

2.3.3Protestantism Under Elizabeth I

3State Control & Popular Resistance

3.1Tudor Control of the Country

3.1.1Councils

3.1.2Role of Nobility

3.1.3Justices of the Peace

3.1.4Lord Lieutenant

3.2The State & the Poor

3.2.1Reasons for Growth of Poverty

3.2.2Punishments for Paupers

3.2.3Role of Charities

3.3Resistance to Tudor Rule

3.3.1Resistance to Tax & Subsidies

3.3.2Uprisings Against Henry VIII

3.3.3Uprisings Against Edward VI

3.3.4Uprisings Against Elizabeth I

3.3.5Decline of Popular Resistance

4Economic, Social & Cultural Change

4.1Patterns of Domestic & Foreign Trade

4.1.1Wool & Cloth

4.1.2Exploration & Trade

4.2Changing Structure of Society

4.2.1Population

4.2.2Dissolution of Monasteries

4.2.3Enclosure

4.3Cultural Change

4.3.1Education & Literature

4.3.2Impact of Religious Change

4.3.3Patronage

4.3.4The Arts

4.3.5Cult of Gloriana

5Historical Interpretations

5.1Significance of Threats to National Security

5.1.1Spain

5.1.2The Spanish Armada

5.1.3Ireland

5.2Court Politics

5.2.1Court Factions

5.2.2Essex's Rebellion

5.3Elizabeth & Parliament

5.3.1Conflict with Parliament

5.4Social Distress in the 1590s

5.4.1Social Distress in the 1590s

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