The Tudors Notes

Tudor Revision

Condition of the Church in 1529

Overall Themes: Reformation from above or below

Key Questions: Was the Church in 1529 in desperate need for reform? Was the Church in 1529 in dire condition? Etc

Historians: Duffy (Catholic) – from above Dickens – from below
Critics: John Colet – English churchman – problems with corruption, greed and priests having fun at the expense of doing their duty. Simon Fish – Protestant lawyer. Wrote Supplication for the beggars, which contains misrepresentations about the behaviour of the clergy.

Argument: From above, there were some problems with the church but most people were happy with the church shown by the lack of complaints.

Themes: 1.Clergy Behaviour – immorality -incompetence
-financial abuses (simony (sale of ecclesiastical title) and mortuary fees)
-ignorance/ neglect (due to pluralism) 2. Evidence of satisfaction – (see below)
3. Theology – Majority still believed in traditional beliefs, only small numbers of reformers and church itself did not change that much after the reformation so can’t have been that bad.

Types of evidence that could be used:
• Priests – Immorality – Bishop of Ely had 3 children, Wolsey had two, and a brothel only for priests was found in London in 1514
But only 2 non celibate bishops.
Visitation records from 1511-12 where Archbishop Warham visited 260 parishes and found only 6 priests suspected of sexual misconduct.

-Incompetence + Ignorance + Neglect- the Bishop of London examined quality of London priests – only declared 14 ‘adequate’ and banned 21 and suspended 16.
-only 54% of Gloucester priests could recite the 10 commandments in early C16th.
-25% of priests were found to be pluralists in Lincoln, in Canterbury this was 50%.
Harper Bill protests that clergy were paid so little, so even pluralists didn’t have enough to live on.
Only 4% complained and this was mainly about their age rather than neglect –they just wanted pastoral support rather than deep theological guidance.

-Financial – mortuary fees (Hunne Case where Richard Hunne was ordered to give his baby’c christening gown as a mortuary fee for the priest, but he refused, he had a property dispute with the priest, was arrested for having a Lollard bible and was murdered in prison.) simony, pluralism. Sale of holy relics such as
But Scarisbrick found 60% of people left money to church in wills – wouldn’t have if they felt they had had too much already.

• Satisfaction – Complaints – during the period 1514-21, a survey found that only 4% complained in the Lincoln survey.
-Wills – Scarisbrick found that only 4% of people did not leave something in their will to the church – must have been well loved and 60% left money to church.
-Paid for improvements to churches – eg. Morebath had statue of Jesus painted in 1529 and new seats in 1534.

o Theology - ↑recruitment – eg. York in 1473 – 75 new recruits but in 1508 there were 363
 People wanted to be priests as there was an element of respect and shows demand for priests.
-Fraternities and guilds- hundreds across the country e.g. Coventry 13 full time priests praying for souls
Shows belief in Catholicism + purgatory and commitment as well as popularity.
-↑Popularity of pious publications. E.g. Book of Hours used as a prompt to prayer.

The King’s Great Matter

Overall Themes: -Reasons for divorce - Preparation for the divorce

Key Questions: Why did Henry need a divorce? How did Henry obtain the divorce?

Historians: David Loades (most recent) and most historians believe it was to get an heir.
David Starkey thinks it was because of his courtship with Anne Boleyn.

Argument: Henry claimed it was because it was a sinful marriage, but he would not have waited 18 years into his marriage before realising this, it was because he was increasingly worried about the succession.

Themes: 1. Need for a male heir to secure the succession
2.Belief that his marriage was sinful
3. Anne Boleyn

Types of evidence that could be used:
• Heir – Prompt for annulment was linked to questioning of Mary’s legitimacy by the French, during negotiations for marriage of Mary to Francis 1 or his second son.
- Catherine was last pregnant in 1519 (now 1527 – 18 years after marriage) and had 6 miscarriages and still births and had only given Henry 2 living children – Henry who died after 52 days in 1511 and Mary who was still alive but was a woman in a patriarchal society which had civil war the last time there was a female Queen.
- Disputed succession – the Tudor reign is insecure due to its relative newness and therefore it needs a strong King. There could be claims to the throne from Princess Mary, Henry Fitzroy and Richard le Pole (until his death in 1525).

• Sinful Marriage – Henry believes it explains why their marriage is heirless (Mary does not count because she is a girl)
- It is based on the bible passage Leviticus 20:21 which says that they shall be childless because it is incest.
- However there is another passage, Dueteronomy, which says the brother must take his dead brother’s wife.

• Anne Boleyn – Henry was attracted to Anne in around 1526 after tiring of her sister Mary.
- Henry thought he could marry Anne by simply getting an annulment from the Pope and then he would have the possibility of getting an heir as well.
- Letters between them from 1526-28

How Henry attempted to get an annulment 1529-32:
1. Against divine/ natural law
2. Legal loophole
3. Persuade the Pope to let the case be tried in England

1. Against divine/ natural law
- Uses Leviticus quote ‘ If a man takes his brother’s wife it is an impurity he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness, they shall be childless’ to argue that it is a natural law put in place by God during the creation that can never be overturned
Clever as not criticizing the Pope’s previous decision – just saying that he can’t decide that
-Problem as he has a child, so Cranmer loosely translates it to mean son.
-Problem as later in Deuteronomy God has changed the law so it can’t be unchangeable so he writes to European universities asking them to decide if it is divine law. Debate depends on consummation of Catherine’s previous marriage, so embarrasses her, so Henry decides it no longer matters, because they promised to marry it is a marriage.