Mid Tudor Crisis 1536-69

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Mid Tudor Crisis 1536-69
In 1973, Witney Jones declared that the trouble
shadowed reigns of Edward VI and Mary stand in
apparently sharp contrast with the Tudor high
noons of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.
However, Historian such as David Loads argue that
there was no general crisis of authority as the
Royal Supremacy still remained in tact during the
rule of a child (Edward VI), and a Queen (Mary I).
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Henry VIII King 1509-47
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The Reformation Church Henrys VIIIs changes
1529-47
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• In 1532 King Henry VIII had not yet secured the
  Tudor dynasty. Katherine had not given birth to a
  boy.
• To get a son, he would have to have a divorce
  from Katherine and re-marry someone who was young
  enough to have children.
• The Pope would not allow Henry a divorce.
• Henry decided to break away from the Pope and the
  Catholic church and create his own Protestant
  Church of England.

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• Cardinal Thomas Wolsey has fallen from the Kings
  favour since he failed to settle on a solution to
  the Kings Great Matter. Wolsey died in 1530.
• Thomas Cromwell became the kings chief advisor.
• The Pope would still not allow Henry to have a
  divorce as it is against the principles of the
  Catholic Church.

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Henry VIII and the Break with Rome
In November 1534 Henry passed The Act of
Supremacy declaring that he was 'the only supreme
head on earth of the Church in England'
The Treasons Act 1534 made it high treason,
punishable by death, to refuse to acknowledge the
King as such.
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Religious Reform 1529-39
1) Coverdale's Bible in English.
2) Ecclesiastical Injunctions (1536-8) In 1538
quarterly sermons should be based upon the
scriptures. Images of Saints to be removed from
churches.
3) Ten Articles (1536) Only the sacraments of
Baptism, Confession/Penance, and Communion were
allowed.
4) The Great Bible (1539) By 1541 Coverdale had
revised the Great Bible five times.
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The Dissolution of the Monasteries
In 1535 the Valor Ecclesiasticus showed the
inspection, of all the religious houses in the
Kingdom. Cromwell built up a picture of the
corrupt moral and spiritual laxity of the regular
clergy. The Act for Suppressing, (closing down)
the Smaller Monasteries was justified.
Religious houses worth less than 200 a year were
closed down. Their buildings, estates and other
form of income were now the property of the
Crown. The dispossessed inmates could either
transfer to other houses or join the secular
clergy.
This may point to Henry VIIIs reforms being
about gaining money
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The Dissolution of the Monasteries
In 1539 a second Act of Dissolution was passed.
All monasteries were to be dissolved. The
last surrendered in 1540.
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Protest The Pilgrimage of Grace
In October 1536, people in Lincolnshire rose up
in protest at the changes that were being imposed
and they were joined by other communities.
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Motives for these Reforms
It is possible that Henry VIII made these reforms
because he felt that the church needed reforming,
and was influenced by the changing ideas in
Europe.
However, there is question about how much these
reforms were religiously motivated
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Religious Policy after 1540 The Catholic
Backlash
With Thomas Cromwell's exit 1540, there ended the
driving force behind religious reform. By 1540
the Lutheran powers had served their purpose of
providing some political security in the
aftermath of the Break with Rome.
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1. The reaffirmation of the 7 Sacraments and
   meritorious works.

2) The Act of Six Articles (1539) reasserted
transubstantiation, communion in one kind,
clerical celibacy, and confession.
3) Robert Barnes and Thomas Garret burnt for
heresy (1540)
4) The Act for the Advancement of True Religion
(1543) denounced translations of the scriptures,
e.g. William Tyndale's 'New Testament' . The act
also limited the reading of licensed Bibles to
the nobility and the gentry.
5) The King's Book (1543) confirmed religious
orthodoxy, i.e. Catholic beliefs and practices.
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Henry VIII Faction and rivalry at Court 1540-7
In 1540 the fall of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIIIs
chief adviser in the 1530s brought about a period
of increased political instability. There was a
growth in the rivalry between factions at court.
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The Factions at Court
The Reformists
The Conservatives
Led by Thomas Howard (Duke of Norfolk) and
Stephen Gardiner (Bishop of Winchester) They
were opposed to a Protestant Church in England.
Led by Archbishop Cranmer and Edward Seymour
(Duke of Somerset). They wanted the church to
become more Protestant. They were not satisfied
by the Anglo-Catholicism established by Henry
VIII and Cromwell in 1534.
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Disputes between the factions
In 1540, the disgrace and execution of Cromwell,
the architect of the Reformation, had been a
success for the conservatives.
This was confirmed by Henry VIIIs marriage to
Catherine Howard, the Duke of Norfolks niece.
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Catherine Howard
The conservatives hoped to influence the king
though his new wife.
However, Catherines trial and execution for
adultery in 1542 marked a victory for the
reformists.
For the next 5 years the two factions strove for
supremacy at Court.
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Katherine Parr
The Kings final marriage to Katherine Parr, a
committed Protestant, showed that the
conservatives were losing ground.
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However...
The Reformists
In 1546 the reformists gained an advantage when
the Duke of Norfolk was arrested and put in the
Tower of London for treason and Stephen Gardiner
was dismissed from the Privy Council.
It was against this background that Edward VI
came to the throne in 1547.
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Mid Tudor Crisis 1536-69?
Some historians see the disputes as a sign of
increasing dynastic weakness.
Others argue that factions were a normal part of
Tudor politics, and that such rivalry was
necessary for healthy government.
Nevertheless, Henrys death marked the beginning
of 11 years of less stable government and this
has prompted many historians to see it as a
period of crisis.
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Edward VI 1547-53
Henry VIII was succeeded by nine year old Prince
Edward, his son by his third wife, Jane Seymour.
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The Somerset years 1547-9
As Edward VI was too young to rule, Edward
Seymour (from the conservative faction of Henry
VIIIs court) ruled for him as Lord Protector
Somerset until 1549
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During the Somerset year, the political situation
deteriorated steadily. Three major problems were
inherited from Henry VII
1) Religious Policy Somerset was a moderate
reformer but Edward VI favoured more radical
change. The Duke of Norfolk and Bishop Gardiner
were opposed to change.
2 Foreign Policy Should the war with France and
Scotland begun by Henry VIII in 1542 be
continued? Although the government was already
bankrupt, Somerset continued the war and thereby
further crippled the countrys finances.
3) Economic Policy The economy had been
neglected by Henry VIII. Population levels had
been increasing rapidly since the 1530s, causing
prices to rise and making it difficult for young
people to find jobs. There was a fall in demand
for English textiles abroad, which caused growing
unemployment among cloth workers.
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By 1549 there was widespread discontent among the
mass of the population, leading to large-scale
popular uprisings in Norfolk and the West Country
due to way Somerset handled the three issues.
The Western Rebellion/Prayer Book Rebellion 1549
Although the rebellions were eventually
suppressed, Somersets enemies on the Council
seized the opportunity to overthrow him and take
power.
The Norfolk Uprisings/Kets Rebellion 1549
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The Northumberland years 1549-53
From the ensuing power struggle, John Dudley,
Earl of Warwick emerged as the new leader. He
was made Duke of Northumberland and Lord
President of the Council. He ruled the country
as Lord President Northumberland for the remained
of Edward VIs reign.
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Although the popular discontent had been subdued,
Northumberland faced the same problems as his
predecessor.
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1) Foreign Policy Somersets fall from power
caused a temporary breakdown in military
leadership. This enabled the French to gain the
initiative in the war and they went on the
offensive. This, combined with a lack of money,
forced Northumberland to make peaces with both
France and Scotland.
This annoyed many of the ruling elites who
thought that this was a humiliating defeat.
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2) Religious Policy At the same time,
Northumberland allowed increasingly radical
reforms to be introduced into the Church of
England, eg alters were ordered to be removed and
the church service was modeled on the Lutheran
system of worship.
Such a move not only angered the Catholic elites
at home, but also upset Charles V, Emperor of the
Holy Roman Empire, Englands major continental
ally.
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3) Economic Policy Northumberland had learned
form Somersets mistakes and introduced measures
to try to restore stability. The Privy Council
and the government were reorganized, finances
were reformed, and debts created by the war began
to be paid off.
Although the economic situation continued to
worsen, new poor laws were introduced to help the
poorest sections of society.
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Lady Jane Grey
Edward died in 1553.
In an effort to prevent the Catholic Mary I from
becoming Queen, Northumberland crowned the
Protestant Lady Jane Grey.
The ruling elites, both Catholic and Protestant,
rallied to the support of Mary. Northumberland
was arrested and quickly executed. Early in 1554
Lady Jane Grey was also executed.
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Mary I 1553-58
Mary I was the daughter of Henry VIII and his
first wife Katherine of Aragon. She was
Catholic, like her mother.
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Mary I was very popular upon her accession to the
throne. She had two main aim
1) to return England to Roman Catholicism
2) to create closer links with the Habsburgs, her
mothers family headed by the Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V.
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To create closer links with the Habsburgs, Mary
married Charles Vs son Philip II of Spain
Although the Council and Parliament somewhat
reluctantly agreed to the marriage, there was
increasing opposition to the proposal.
Many of the ruling elites feared that England
would be dominated by Spain and drawn into the
Habsburg was against France.
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To return England to Roman Catholicism in the
first year of Marys reign, Parliament agreed to
repeal and thereby ignore all the Protestant
legislation passed under Edward.
Yet, some ruling elites disliked the idea of the
royal supremacy over the church being ended,
while others feared that they might have to
return the Church lands which had been sold off
to the ruling elites during the reigns of Henry
VIII and Edward VI.
In the end Mary had to compromise and although
papal authority was restored, no attempt was made
to reclaim any church lands that had been sold.
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At the same time, the Marian government began
another round of financial reform to reduce costs
and increase revenues, and initiated a thorough
review of the navy.
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However, Mary also persecuted and executed
Protestants which made her increasingly unpopular
with all levels of society.
Popular discontent was made worse by the steadily
worsening economic situation and rising
unemployment
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Anti-Spanish feelings rose when Philip II
involved England in his war with France.
As a result, Calais, Englands last continental
possession was lost to the French.
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Mary I death in 1558 was greeted with just as
much enthusiasm as had been her accession five
years earlier.
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Elizabeth I 1558-1603
After the short reigns of Elizabeth's brother and
sister, her 45 years on the throne is often
viewed as having provided valuable stability for
the kingdom and helped forge a sense of national
identity.
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As the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn,
Elizabeth remained Protestant.
One of her first moves as queen was to support
the establishment of an English Protestant
church, of which she became the Supreme Governor.
This Elizabethan Religious Settlement held firm
throughout her reign.
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It was expected that Elizabeth would marry, but
despite several petitions from parliament, she
never did.
As she grew older, Elizabeth became famous for
her virginity, and a cult grew up around her
which was celebrated in the portraits, pageants
and literature of the day.
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In government, Elizabeth was more moderate than
her father and siblings. One of her mottoes was
video et taceo "I see, and say nothing".
This strategy, viewed with impatience by her
counsellors, often saved her from political and
marital misalliances.
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Though Elizabeth was cautious in foreign affairs
and only half-heartedly supported a number of
ineffective, poorly resourced military campaigns
in the Netherlands, France and Ireland, the
defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 associated
her name forever with what is popularly viewed as
one of the greatest victories in English history.
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Within 20 years of her death, she was being
celebrated as the ruler of a golden age, an image
that retains its hold on the English people.
This strategy, viewed with impatience by her
counsellors, often saved her from political and
marital misalliances.
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Mid Tudor Crisis 1536-69?
The extent to which Elizabeths reign signified
the end of the Mid Tudor Crisis is contested as
by the end of her reign, a series of economic and
military problems had weakened her popularity,
while dying childless left the Tudor dynasty
vulnerable once again.