Henry VII

The Great Chain of Beingwas the belief that God chose who would be king, and who would be king after that, and that god also chose where people would be within society.

What was the Great Chain of Being?

The Great Chain of Being was the belief that God chose who would be king, and who would be king after that, and that god also chose where people would be within society.

What was the main religion in 1485?

Catholic Christianity.

How was the Church structured?

• God

• The Pope

• Cardinal

• Archbishop

• Bishop

• Parish priest

• Deacons

• The Laity

Why was the church important to people during 1485?

• It was part of the social fabric of the community.

• It was the most common building to be found across the country. - This shows that it was universal and usually the only thing that everyone believed in. It also served as a place of community for people.

• Building and maintaining their church was a sign of their devotion to God - in Louth, Lincolnshire, fundraising produced £305 to build the parish church and more money was raised between 1501 and 1515 to construct a magnificent spire. - This amount of money was quite a significant amount of money at the time, as the people who were funding it were most likely farmers and only making pennies every day.

• Nearly 2/3 of English parish churches were built or rebuilt during the 15th century.

• There were many gifts to churches of plates and jewels. - This shows that the church was very important, as gifts such as those would have been extremely expensive and valuable, which shows the value of the institution.

• Most people went to church regularly because the church was a special place, and most of the population believed in its basic teachings. - This shows that the curch was very important to people, as they were dedicated to stopping their work and potential time to make money to go to church.

• It bound villagers together into one community.

What were the reasons for the Catholic Church’s power?

• It owned about 1/3 of the land and had considerable wealth.

• The church had its own legal system, and clergy were tried in church courts.

• In theory, the Pope in Rome decided on all matters, both religious and political - there was a constant flow of paperwork between England and Italy, dealing with legal cases and administrative issues. However, the Pope’s primary focus was often on the Papal states (areas around Rome).

What are some of the criticisms of the Catholic Church?

• The church had a hierarchy from Archbishops to Bishops, all the way down to poor parish priests who earned less than £15 a year. The wealth was not distributed fairly, and the Pope lived a very lavish lifestyle. The wealth meant the poor could not relate to them.

• The church had its own legal system, and clergy were tried in church courts.