DISSOLUTION OF THE MONASTRIES

How monasteries were in England in 1536?

825

What are the two types of monastries?

open and closed

When and how many monastries had Wolsey closed down as they had ‘decayed’?

1520s, 29

What was Cromwell made in 1535, what did this mean?

Vice gerent in spirtualis, in control of church admin and affairs

Who were Cromwell’s two comissioners?

Dr Leigh and Dr Leyton

What did Dr Leigh and Dr Leyton create?

Valor Ecclesiaticus

What was Valor Ecclesiaticus?

a book compiling information on how corrupt each church was and how much money each church had

How was Valor Ecclesiaticus bias?

likely to exaggerate bad reports as the commissioners wish to gain favour with Cromwell who in turn wants favour from the king who wishes to shut the monasteries down

How much time did the commissioners spend at each monastery?

a very small period, often less than 2 hours

When is the first act of dissolution?

1536

What does the first act of dissolution say?

seizure of religious houses with a value of under £200, this was 300 but 67 remained open (links with the nobility)

Where did the money from the dissolved monasteries go?

to the crown

Where does the first act of dissolution pass through?

Parliament

Why did it in some ways make sense to close down the small monasteries?

so few monks, often a waste of money

What happened to displaced monks and nuns?

sent to other often larger, monasteries

What do some historians say about Cromwell and the first act of dissolution?

Cromwell was in fact concerned for the reform, hesitant and unsure how quickly he could proceed

Why was the first act of dissolution slower in the north?

concern for their reaction

What evidence is there that Henry may never have intended to close all the monasteries?

smaller houses permitted to enter larger ones, Henry founded two new religious houses in 1536/7

Why may have Henry opened two new religious houses in 1536/7?

to appease people after the pilgrimage of grace

Why did Henry become determined to close down to monasteries in the north, and what happened to the south?

reaction and revenge for Pilgrimage of Grace, commissioners sent to southern monasteries but not all shut down

What happened to the northern heads of religious houses following the pilgrimage of grace?

declared traitors, attainder passed and executed, monks forced to leave monasteries seized as well as assets

When was the voluntary surrender introduced, why was it not really voluntary?

1537, pressured into and scared of consequences after seeing what happened in the north

What is an example of a voluntary surrender|?

Lewes priory, sussex

How many monasteries had surrendered by 1538?

202

When did Glastonbury abbey refuse to surrender, what happened?

1539, Abbot Whiting accused of robbing the abbey, next day, he the secreteriat and treasurer were all dragged up to Glastonbury tor and hung, drawn and quartered

What is the dissolution often referred to as?

the vandalism of culture

What does Hoskins say about Henry and the dissolution?

Stalin of Tudor England

What does Haigh say about the dissolution?

avarice cloaked in spiritual reform

What does Youings say about the dissolution?

revolution of land ownership, second only to the northern conquest

How does the dissolution help the gentry class?

they buy the old monastic land from the crown

How do we know that pre reformation, religious life was very important?

huge number of abbeys!

What do modern historians stress about the dissolution?

the religious aspects

What roles did monasteries play in medieval life?

helped the poor and the sick, educated boys, received pilgrims, kept records and acted as chroniclers

What religious views did Cromwell have?

very anti monastic, even helped with the funding for the creation of the english bible

What did Cromwell hope to do with the money generated, what actually happened?

help with literacy and spark new religious ideas, was used on the defences of England

What impact did the dissolution have on the peasants?

increased poverty and the number of vagabonds

How many abbots were eliminated from the house of lords?

29

what happened to the clergy after the dissolution?

If abbots cooperated they remained wealthy, but monks received £5 per annum and nuns £2 which was barely enough to live at a subsistence level

Why was finance a cause for the dissolution?

relations with the french broke down so they had no alliance and no french pension, monasteries owned one quarter of all cultivated lands and valor ecclesaiticus found that church wealth was 10x that of the crown, Cromwell promised to make Henry the ‘richest king in Christendom’

How were social motivations a cause for the dissolution?

monasteries had less of a role since the poor law (1535) meant that JPs stopped begging through charitable contributions, printing press meant that scribes were no longer needed

How much money did the dissolutions provide Henry with?

£140,000 per year, his annual income previously was £10,000

How many monks were pensioned off by 1551, how much did this cost?

7000, $44,000 per annum

How was the money from the dissolution used in the navy?

built new fortifications along the south coast and new cannons for ships and forts

How are the dissolution and enclosurement linked?

sheep farming and enclosurement was increased due to the increase in land available, making profits for landowners but making people redundant

What wars did the dissolution fund?

wars with France and Scotland

What happened to art and literature?

they were destroyed, building were ;abandoned after being ransacked

In 542, six new bishoprics were created, where and who were they sympathetic to?

chester, gloucester, bristol, peterborough and westminster, sympathetic to the religious work of cromwell

What were the new post dissolution priests well versed in?

liturgy and doctrine so were able to provide services

What in the governmnent was established by Cromwell as a result of the dissolution?

4 new epartments of finance

Despite being small, where did Henry aftwerward asssist with education?

in cathedral grammar schools and university college

How many of worcester priory’s 600 books survived?

6

How many monks immediately became priests of England?

8000

What was the clergy like after the dissolution like in regards to education?

well educated