OCR A-Level History Tudor Rebellions: Causes - Religious causes of rebellion

When were religious causes most significant in Tudor rebellions?

Religious causes played a key role in a number of rebellions between 1536 and 1569; in Ireland, defence of the Church or opposition to Protestant reforms was the pretext for Kildare's rebellion in the 1530s and four rebellions in Elizabeth's reign, though religion was almost certainly a cloak for political objectives in each case.

Why was religious devotion a powerful motivator for rebellion?

Religious devotion convinced many that rebelling against the king could be justified if the Church was under attack; although rebellion was a sin and an act of treason, some clerics felt justified in protesting changes to traditional Catholic practices, and in 1536, 1549, and 1569 the clergy exhorted true believers to rise up and overthrow Protestant heresy.

How did the rebellions in eastern England in 1549 differ religiously from those in the west?

The rebellions in eastern England in 1549 and Kent in 1554 reflected support for the Protestant faith; Kett's rebels wanted to advance the Edwardian Reformation more effectively, while in the Western rebellion of 1549 Catholics wanted to preserve it against the new reforms.

What triggered the religious grievances behind the Pilgrimage of Grace in Lincolnshire?

Two sets of ecclesiastical commissioners travelling through Lincolnshire alarmed local people: one was authorised by the Bishop of Lincoln to investigate the condition of parish clergy, the other by the government to close down the smaller monasteries; rebels demanded their abbeys be preserved and that the government keep its hands off church plate and ornaments.

What religious fears spread from Lincolnshire to Yorkshire in 1536?

Fears and rumours spread that over 100 monasteries and abbeys were to be closed, that the dissolution would affect education and social services, and that spiritual information and preaching provided by monks would disappear; in Lancashire, monks encouraged common people to rise up before trouble broke out in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire.

What was heresy as a religious grievance in the Pilgrimage of Grace?

Rebels were concerned that a diversity of religious beliefs among the king's council was encouraging heretical ideas; the Act of Ten Articles of July 1536 had agreed that continental reformers such as Luther and Bucer should be identified as heretics but in practice did not stop the spread of Protestant ideas.

What was the government's assault on saints, pilgrimages, and holy days and why did it cause grievance?

Government intervention against saints, pilgrimages, and holy days meant a great deal to ordinary people; at Kirkby Stephen in Westmorland there was uproar when a priest failed to offer prayers for the forthcoming St Luke's Day, and the Durham protesters carried the banner of St Cuthbert in their march.

What financial grievances against the Church motivated some rebels in 1536?

Rebels resented the restoration and defence of clerical privileges such as benefit of clergy and first fruits and tenths; they also wanted the restoration of clerical liberties, resented Cromwell's role in enacting the divorce from Rome, and wanted the pope restored as head of the Church, claiming the Act of Supremacy was contrary to God's law.

What religious reforms triggered the Western rebellion of 1549?

The Western rebellion was largely triggered by the Edwardian religious reforms introduced in June 1549; thirteen out of fourteen articles drawn up by rebel captains at their camp near Exeter showed that what they wanted was restoration, not reformation, as they marched under the banner of the Five Wounds of Christ.

What specifically did the Western rebels reject in 1549?

The rebels rejected the new English prayer book, which they called a Christmas game; the English Bible and the revised liturgy of 1547; and they resented that apart from the clergy, few would have been able to read or understand the liturgy, but they knew it was no longer in Latin, which was unacceptable.

What did the Western rebels demand in 1549?

The Western rebels demanded the return of papal relics and images, the restoration of chantries, at least two monasteries in every county, a Latin Mass celebrated with bread only, and a return to the Act of Six Articles of 1539.

What was the religious character of Kett's rebellion, and how did it differ from the Western rebellion?

Kett's rebellion was in part a protest at the slow rate of progress Protestantism was making in eastern England; unlike the Western rebels who were Catholic, the Norfolk rebels wanted to advance the Reformation, demanding a better educated and resident clergy, competent teaching of the catechism and primer for children, and good-quality sermons.

Why did Norfolk have a distinct Protestant tradition by 1549?

Norfolk had an anticlerical tradition and by 1547 was fertile ground for a proactive Protestant reformation; the Bishop of Norwich, William Rugge, was old and unsympathetic to radical reforms, and there was a strong feeling that the quality of ministers was not good enough to advance the Reformation.

What social religious grievance did the Norfolk rebels have against the clergy?

There was resentment at priests who indulged in the property market since they should have been devoting their time to spiritual duties; the rebels also objected to priests prosecuting parishioners for unpaid and unfair tithes.

How significant was religion as a cause of Wyatt's rebellion?

Ostensibly Wyatt's rebellion was caused by secular and political factors, though it also had a religious undercurrent; there were no revolts or uprisings in Mary's reign against her Catholic reforms, and Wyatt's agenda was political rather than religious, advising his colleague that it was not so much as name religion that motivated them.

Why was Kent a significant location for Wyatt's rebellion in terms of religion?

Kent was a strongly Protestant county and had been in the forefront of reform since the 1530s; many people had been concerned at Mary's attachment to Roman Catholicism and her intention to marry Philip of Spain, and there was much local support for Protestantism in Maidstone, which supplied 78 rebels.

Why did Wyatt resist playing the religious card in 1554?

Wyatt believed that xenophobia about the Spanish marriage would generate greater national support than religious grievances; his fellow conspirators in Leicestershire, Devon, and Herefordshire had Protestant leanings, and Wyatt was reluctant to alienate potential supporters for whom the religious issue was not the primary concern.

What was the stated religious objective of the Northern Earls' rebellion?

The Earl of Northumberland declared under interrogation in 1572 that their first object was the reformation of religion and the preservation of the person of the Queen of Scots; the cause of the rebellion was a new found religion and heresy contrary to God's word, which they intended amending and redressing.

What evidence suggests genuine Catholic commitment among the Northern Earls' rebels?

The leading protagonists — Northumberland and Westmorland — were Catholic; rebel proclamations at Darlington, Staindrop, and Richmond suggest widespread Catholic sentiment; the banner of St Cuthbert was taken from Durham Cathedral; and Francis Norton paraded with the Five Wounds of Christ, as his father had done thirty years before.

What evidence casts doubt on the depth of popular Catholic commitment in the Northern Earls' rebellion?

Many northern aristocratic families had retained the Catholic faith despite Elizabethan statutes, but only some paid the fine for non-attendance at church; wealthier nobles could celebrate Mass privately, while for ten years the government had made no concerted attempt to enforce the Act of Uniformity, so the loss of the old faith had not yet been sharply felt by many ordinary people.

What role did political motives play alongside religion in the Northern Earls' rebellion?

The Earl of Sussex believed that religion was a cloak for political motives, as the rebel leaders had used it to rally popular support; recent research has also cast doubt on a privy councillor's claim that the common people were ignorant and popish, since 90 per cent of the known rebels were not tenants of the leaders and had joined for entirely non-feudal reasons.

What were the religious characteristics of the Pilgrimage of Grace 1536?

Catholic; reaction to the closure of monasteries and other Protestant reforms; regional in seven northern counties; religion was the main cause.

What were the religious characteristics of the Western rebellion 1549?

Catholic; reaction to the new English prayer book; local to Devon and Cornwall; religion was the main cause.

What were the religious characteristics of Kett's rebellion 1549?

Protestant; demanded further Protestant reforms; local to Norfolk; religion was a subsidiary cause alongside economic and social grievances.

What were the religious characteristics of Wyatt's rebellion 1554?

Protestant; fear of Catholic reformation under Mary; local to Kent; religion was a subsidiary cause, with politics primary.

What were the religious characteristics of the Northern Earls' rebellion 1569?

Catholic; reaction to Protestant reforms; regional in four northern counties; religion was the main stated cause, though political motives were also present.