The Mid Tudor Crisis 1547-1558

How old was Edward VI when he ascended to the throne?

He was 9 years old, meaning England was led by a Regency Council

What was Edward's education like?

- He was very intelligent and received excellent education

- Edward was also a keen sportsman, with a particular interest in horse riding

What was Edward's role in government?

- It is difficult to tell how much influence Edward had in governing the kingdom

- Although Edward was so young, some historians have argued that he began to have considerable influence in the later years of his reign

- He appeared to have a keen interest in the shape of England's religious settlement

Was Edward sickly and weak?

- Edward VI has often been remembered as a sickly and weak child

- But this image is not altogether true: he was healthy for the majority of his childhood, but died of a serious chest affliction in 1553

Who was the Duke of Somerset?

- Edward's uncle, Edward Seymour

- He became in charge of the Regency Council and ruled England for two years

What was the Duke of Somerset's relationship with Edward like?

- He was strict with Edward VI

- The boy had no direct involvement in government and limited pocket money but a thorough education

How did Somerset become Lord Protector?

- The reformist faction was the strongest when Henry VIII died

- Somerset was popular in 1547 after his victories against Scotland

- Soon after Henry's death, the Regency Council gave its power to Somerset

- Somerset rapidly took control of Edward and made himself Lord Protector

What was Somerset's Regency Council like?

- He rapidly promoted his own supporters to the Regency Council

- These included Thomas Seymour (his brother), John Dudley, the Earl of Warwick, Archbishop of Canterbury Cranmer, Sir William Paget, Sir Thomas Wriothesley, and the Earl of Arundel

- The Regency Council met in Somerset's home, Somerset House

- He was able to control who had contact with his government, and his retainers guarded him

How did Somerset rule?

- Autocratically

- Somerset ruled England using the dry stamp and royal proclamations

- In Henry VIII's last years, the dry stamp was used a great deal, so this was no big change

- The 1539 Proclamations Act said that proclamations had equal force as statute law

What was Somerset's religious policy?

- Somerset has a tricky balancing act to please reformists and traditionalist, Protestants and Catholics

- The Book of Common Prayer and the Act of Uniformity of 1549 were vague in the hope of being all things to all worshippers

- Some key Protestant steps were taken: dissolving chantries (financial need), acting against ornaments and images (Protestant pressure in London), clergy were again allowed to marry (enabling more Protestant clergy)

How and why did Somerset fall from power?

- Largely due to his failure to deal with the 1549 Kett's rebellion

- He had also alienated many in the Regency Council

- His foreign policy had been costly and ineffective

- Somerset's power had declined following 1549, with the Duke of Northumberland gaining power and influence in his place

- By 1552, Somerset was arrested, tried for treason, and executed

Who was the Duke of Northumberland?

- In 1550, John Dudley became the Lord President of the Privy Council.

- in 1551, he became Duke of Northumberland

- He was the most important figure in England until Edward's death in 1553

-

What were Northumberland's religious policy?

Northumberland took religion in a much more Protestant direction:

- January 1552: Treason Act - Questioning either the Royal Supremacy and the beliefs of the English Church became an offence

- January 1552: Second Act of Uniformity - Attendance at Church of England services became compulsory

- 1552 Prayer Book - All traces of Catholicism and the Catholic mass removed, including transubstantiation (a core Catholic belief about Holy Communion)

Was Northumberland a hypocrite?

- Northumberland used Catholic/conservative support to become Lord President of the Privy Council. Those men then lost their positions

- Northumberland oversaw Protestant changes though confessing himself to be Catholic on the scaffold

- Northumberland was governing in the name of Edward VI, who was a strong Protestant. Northumberland was being a good servant

What were Northumberland's financial policies?

- Arguably, Northumberland's most important priority was to stabilise England after the turmoil of Somerset's rule

- Northumberland tried to pay off England's debts. This was through selling off chantry lands (owned by priests before the Henrician Reformation)

- Ending debasement

- Increasing Crown revenue through trade expansion and raising custom duties

What was Edward VI's image?

- Edward VI's image-making was central to conveying his authority

- He tried to copy his father and emphasise his Tudor heritage

- There were clear limitations as he was just a boy

- Henry VIII had presented himself as a strong, virile man, but Edward could not do the same as a pre-pubescent boy

- Instead, Edward and his ministers crafted him as a second Josiah (a king in the Old Testament who pursued religious reform). This allowed him to emphasise his Protestant agenda

Did Edward VI have independence?

- Historians have debated over how much independence Edward had

- It is clear that Edward took an interest in religious reform

- The selection of the Duke of Northumberland may have reflected Edward VI's Protestant aims

Why was Edward's succession a problem?

Edward VI's untimely death triggered a succession crisis in England. This was because his successor Mary was a Catholic

What was the Succession Act of 1544?

- As Henry VIII sole male heir, Edward VI was first in line to be king, then Mary, then Elizabeth

- By this time, Yorkist claimants had been wiped out

- Henry VIII had excluded the Howards (the Duke of Norfolk's family) who could potentially influence the boy king and reverse the Royal Supremacy because they were Catholic

Why did Edward's death cause a crisis?

- In the winter of 1553, Edward became seriously ill with a chest affliction

- It became clear that Edward would not survive

- Next in line to the throne was Mary, but as a Catholic and a woman, she was considered a threat

- This triggered a succession crisis

What was the problem with Mary as successor to the throne?

- She would be England's first queen regnant (a monarch in her own right, not through her husband). It was thought unnatural for a woman to govern, and it was uncharted territory

- Mary was a Catholic and close to the Holy Roman Empire (Charles V was her cousin)

- She would undo the Protestant changes made by Northumberland, and he himself would be in danger of at least losing his position

What was Northumberland's (or Edward's?) succession plan?

- Most think Northumberland was behind the plan to put Lady Jane Grey (a Protestant) on the throne in place of Mary

- Edward agreed, or maybe was behind it? He wrote the 'Devise' to change the succession himself. This bypassed Mary and Elizabeth and instead passed the throne to LJG and her 'heirs male'

- Edward was not actually old enough to legally change the succession himself, and he died before the Devise was legalised by Parliament

- LJG married Northumberland's son, Guildford Dudley, six weeks before Edward died

What happened in the 9 days Lady Jane Grey was Queen?

- There was little support for LJG's claim to the throne (only being recognised in London, Kings Lynn, and Berwick)

- Mary was in East Anglia as events unfolded. Most people backed her as rightful heir; for most, the law was more important than religion

- Seeing this change, Northumberland surrendered to Mary near Cambridge

- Northumberland and LJG were executed

What was Somerset's foreign policy dictated by?

Franco-Scottish relations

What were relations with Scotland like when Edward inherited the throne?

Henry VIII's will declared Edward VI was to marry Mary Queen of Scots, but Scotland did not want this

What were the events of the Battle of Pinkie?

- Somerset invaded Scotland with 20,000 troops, supported by 30 warships and 50 supply ships

- In the west, 2,500 troops invaded from Carlisle

- The Scots were defeated, just south of Edinburgh

What was the outcome of the Battle of Pinkie?

- Mary Queen of Scots was taken from Scotland to France to prevent her being married to Edward VIII. Rather than divide Scotland and France, the policy had brought them together

- Although Somerset had control of the border region, he did not have enough resources to occupy all of Scotland

- Somerset set up garrisons in Scotland, expensive

- The cost was £600,000 that England could ill afford

- In 1549, he had do withdraw forces to tackle rebellions in England

What impact did Henri II of France have on Somerset's foreign policy?

- Henri II became King of France in 1547, and he renewed the Auld Alliance (between Scotland and France)

- He sent 4,000 troops to Scotland

- Somerset established a military base in Berwick

What was Northumberland's approach to foreign policy?

- Northumberland financial policies were clear in his approach to foreign policy

- There were cutbacks in troops on England's northern boarder and in France, both of which were very expensive

What was the Treaty of Boulogne 1550?

- A peace treaty between England, France, and Scotland

- It was a response to the Auld Alliance, which was costly to England

- It was also tactical because France was less anti-Protestant than the Holy Roman Empire

What were the terms of the Treaty of Boulogne?

- Boulogne was returned to the French

- England removed its garrisons from Scotland

- The English-Scottish border was put back what is was before Henry VIII began his campaigns against Scotland

- A marriage alliance between Edward VI and Henri II's daughter Elizabeth was agreed

Was Northumberland's foreign policy successful or a failure?

Failure:

- England had to remove garrisons from Scotland and restore the old border

- Boulogne was given back to the French

Successful:

- England's finances were dire and more of a priority

- The Holy Roman Empire was developing into a key threat

- The marriage alliance with France would be useful

What was the Western Rebellion of 1549?

A combination of religious and socioeconomic factors led to the Western rebellion. In conclusion, Somerset's forces handled the rebellion badly.

What were the causes of the Western Rebellion?

- Resentment of religious reform: the New Common Prayer Book of 1549 sparked the rebellion

- Hostility to enclosure: the enclosure commision of 1548 had ruined people's high hopes

- Increasing rents, rising prices, and falling wages

- The local gentry could not deal with the situation

What were the events of the Western Rebellion?

- The rebellion began on Sunday 10th June in Cornwall and later spread to Devon

- On 29th June, Lord Russell was sent to find a peace settlement

- From 2nd-6th July the rebels besieged Exeter

- On 8th July, Russell's last attempt to find a settlement failed

- On 12th July, Lord Grey was sent to help Russell but was diverted to unrest in Oxford

- On 28th July, Russell began defeating groups of rebels in Devon

- On 17th August, the rebels were defeated

What were the consequences of the Western Rebellion?

- The rebellion was put down

- Martial law (military government) was used to deal with the rebels. This indicates how dangerous the situation was

- Somerset's position in government was severely weakened

What was Kett's Rebellion of 1549?

Kett's Rebellion in East Anglia was the second rebellion Somerset's government faced. This strongly contributed to Somerset's downfall.

What were the causes of Kett's Rebellion?

- Enclosure and bad government were higher priorities than religion

- Local government was a key issue. The rebels attacked the gentry and JPs, accusing them of corruption and mismanaging government policy

- The New Book of Common Prayer did not spark this rebellion. Kett's rebels wanted more religious reform, such as improving the quality of the clergy

What were the events of Kett's rebellion?

- On 10th July, Kett led a march of yeoman and farmers to Norwich

- On 21th July, a full pardon was offered to the rebels with promises of dealing with corruption

- On 22nd July, the rebels took Norwich and set up camp on Mousehold heath

- Somerset wrote letters to the rebels to deal with their grievances

- On 30th July, the Marquis of Northampton arrived with a small army and retook Norwich. Negotiations with Kett failed

- On 23rd August, the Earl of Warwick (Northumberland) arrived with 12,000 men

- On 27th August, the rebels were defeated and 3,000 were killed

What were the consequences of Kett's Rebellion?

- Kett was hanged in November

- Most of the rebels were dealt with more leniently

- Somerset tried to be popular and cooperate with the rebels. This made him seem weak to his rivals at court

What was the purpose of rebellion?

- Historians such as Bush argue that rebellion was used as a form of negotiation in the Tudor period, because most commoners did not have a formal way to express their grievances.

- Kett's and the Western rebellion can be seen as commoners calling for the government to restore harmony. They were not trying to overthrow the government

What were the changes to church appearance under Edward VI?

Many ordinary sights in churches were changed:

- Altars were replaced by communion tables

- The clergy was not to wear vestments (their liturgical robes)

- All gold and silver ornaments were removed

- In 1547 iconoclasm (destroying images) swept across some churches. Somerset banned images from churches.

This was unsettling for the laity.

How did Protestantism spread under Edward VI?

- Under Somerset, press censorship had been relaxed. This led to a rise in pro-Protestant pamphlets spreading the Protestant message

- By 1553, the educated elites were more likely to be Protestant (but by no means all)

- The reach of Protestantism was still patchy. Protestant strongholds included London and the south-east of England

What were the incoherent religious reforms in Edward VI's reign?

- During Edward's reign, religious reform was inconsistent, showing that there was still internal division between key Protestant reformers

- This can be seen in the differences between the 1549 and the 1552 Prayer Books, the latter being more aggressively Protestant

- Whilst there was still considerable theological change, the ordinary layman mostly noticed the visible changes to the church.

Historical interpretation of Edward VI's religious reform

- After his death, Protestants championed Edward for vigorous reforms and used his example to pressure monarchs such as Elizabeth I

- But Edward's reformation was driven by a small group of church ministers (such as Cranmer)

- This does not reflect how the ordinary population viewed the Reformation

- Historians such as Haigh argue that most people were reluctant recipients of Protestantism

What was the impact of the population increase?

- Led to rising prices and falling wages

- Contributed to problems such as unemployment, vagrancy, and poverty

- There was a boom in the cloth industry and food prices began to rise

- Pressure on land led to increased rents but wages fell

What was vagrancy?

- Means being homeless without a regular source of income

- Increased as a result of problems in the countryside, such as enclosure

- Seen as a danger; people believed it was due to personal failure, not society

What was Somerset's response to rising vagrancy?

- Somerset passed the Vagrancy Act of 1547

- This stated that any able-bodied person out of work for more than three days was to be branded with a V and sold into slavery for 2 years

- It was very unpopular and never put into effect

What was Northumberland's repsponse to rising poverty?

A new poor law was passed in 1552. Parishes had to raise money to look after the deserving poor (those too old, young, or sick to work)

What is enclosure?

A process where landowners put small areas of land into one big farm. Using new farming techniques, this made the farms more productive and profitable

What was the problem with enclosure?

- Sheep farming was becoming more popular, with some wealthy landowners having flocks well over 10,000

- In response to higher food prices, some landowners (particularly in London, East Anglia, Kent, Surrey, and Sussex) began to enclose land

- This damaged the livelihood of small-scale and subsistence farmers

What was Somerset's enclosure commission?

- In 1548, Somerset ordered an investigation in the legality of enclosure in the Midlands and southern England

- It found that enclosed lands led to poverty and vagabondage

- Enclosure was promoted by too much sheep farming

What was the outcome of Somerset's enclosure commission of 1548?

- It led to: higher hopes from the ordinary people that the government was on their side, and fear among the landowning classes, especially the gentry, that their livelihoods were being attacked

- In 1548, bills to restrict animal farming and maintain the amount of land under cultivation were designed to encourage enclosure, but they failed to get through Parliament

- New laws to tax sheep and cloth were passed, but they were repealed a year later

What was Northumberland's response to enclosure?

- Enforced anti-enclosure legislation

- The unpopular enclosure commission was ended

- Acts were passed to protect arable farming

Who was influenced by humanism during Edward's reign?

- Mostly affected the educated elite

- This was because they were literate and could read key humanist texts

What were the key Renaissance ideas?

- The Renaissance continued to have an influence on intellectual thought in England during Edward's reign

- For example, science was becoming a more rigorous discipline and people were beginning to dismiss superstition

How were Humanist ideas encouraged during Edward VI's reign?

- Humanist ideas about education and human potential were encouraged

- Humanist ideas spread after works by humanist scholars, such as Erasmus, were translated into English

- In the mid-1500s, humanists were spreading their message through literature. This was helped by the printing press

How did religion impact Humanism?

- When is first developed, humanism was not associated with Catholicism or Protestantism

- By Edward's reign, humanists were becoming divided over their clashing religious beliefs

- Young humanists, in particular, were more likely to believe in Protestant doctrines

- This was also because Protestant humanists were involved in education, e.g., Richard Cox was Edward VI's tutor

Why did Mary I become queen on a wave of approval?

Unclear, could be that the succession had passed to the next Tudor (the legal heir), or because people wanted Catholicism restored

What were Mary's early years like?

- Daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon

- Received a thorough education

- After her father divorced her mother, Mary was deemed illegitimate

- Following years of conflict, Mary reluctantly recognised her father as head of the church

- Mary always remained Catholic

What was Mary I's primary aim?

To restore Catholicism to England

What was Mary I the first of?

- Mary I had no precedent for her role as queen regent (a monarch in her own right, not through her husband)

- Many people did not like the idea of being ruled by a woman

- This reflects the strength of patriarchal ideas in Tudor society

Who were Mary I's ministers as she ascended the throne?

- Following the plot to change the succession, Mary did not have many allies in the Privy Chamber

- Stephen Gardiner, a Catholic who had been imprisoned during Edward VI's reign, became a key adviser to Mary

- He was made Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellor

How did Mary change and use the Privy Council?

- Mary increased the size of the Privy Council and included more Catholics. She also included experienced moderates from Edward's reign, like Paget

- The Privy Council became increasingly important, especially managing the day-to-day business of government

- Mary did not consult her Privy Council over her marriage but turned to Charles V's ambassador, Simon Renard. She also relied on him heavily for advice

Was papal supremacy restored under Mary?

- Heresy laws were restored in 1554 by the Act of Repeal

- Denying the papal supremacy was heresy punishable by death

- The Act of Supremacy was passed in 1555

- This meant that papal supremacy over the English Church was restored

How did Mary treat Protestants?

- Following the heresy laws, Mary persecuted Protestants

- For example, Archbishop Cranmer was arrested

- 284 Protestants were executed

-Protestants who were burned at the stake soon became martyrs

- This is why Mary I was given the nickname 'Bloody Mary'

What were Mary I's relations with Parliament?

- Mary's religious legislation passed through parliament, although a significant minority of MPs opposed it

- In 1555, Parliament defeated Mary's bill to seize the property of Protestant exiles who had fled abroad

- Parliament would not agree to restore lands taken in the dissolution of the monasteries to the Catholic church

- Overall, Parliament cooperated with Mary. There was opposition to some measures, but not enough to derail her most important policies

Historical interpretation of Mary's royal authority?

- Mary I is often remembered as an unpopular queen; Protestants constructed this image after Mary's death

- Although she did execute Protestants, her father did the same; this forces us to question her nickname 'Bloody Mary'

- Historians such as Duffy suggest that many welcomed the restoration of Catholicism

What was the marriage issue of Mary I's reign?

- Mary I wanted to marry and produce a Roman Catholic heir

- She favoured her second cousin, Philip II of Spain, son of Charles V

- In 16th century marriages, the wife was subordinate to her husband. If this was so, Philip would become the effective king of England

- If this happened, it was feared that he would subordinate England's interests to Spain's

What was Mary's marriage treaty?

Parliament tried to limit Philip's power through a treaty in April 1554:

- Philip would have the title 'King of England' and would be joint sovereign, but would have no sovereign authority in his own right

- Any heir born would inherit England and the Netherlands but not Spain

- England would help the Netherlands if they were invaded by France

- Philip II could not have a claim to the English throne if Mary died without children

Was Mary and Philip's marriage unpopular?

- It was a marriage of political convenience, not love. Philip II spent little time in England

- In 1554, Parliament rejected a proposed law that would have included him alongside Mary with regard to treason

- In 1555, Parliament prevented Philip's coronation as king

Why was there an heir issue in Mary's reign?

- Mary was 37 when she came to the throne. Although she twice thought she was pregnant, she was not

- Without an heir, the Protestant Princess Elizabeth would become England's next monarch

- This was unacceptable to Mary because Elizabeth was Protestant, and Anne Boleyn (Elizabeth's mother) caused Henry VIII to divorce Mary's own mother

- Mary I only named Elizabeth as her heir when it was clear she as dying and only 11 days before her actual death

What was England's relations to foreign powers determined by during Mary's reign?

Mary's marriage to Philip; this thrust England into war

What were the Spanish interests during Mary's reign?

- At the end of Edward's reign, England was in peaceful terms with France

- Philip II wanted England to declare war on France to support Spain

- This demonstrated that Philip was placing Spain's interest above England's

When did England declare war on France?

- In 1557, England declared war on France and sent troops to join Spanish forces

- Spanish and English forces defeated France at the Battle of Saint-Quentin, but Spain did not have the money to secure a victory

What was England's military like under Mary?

- The Militia Act of 1558 improved the raising

- Lord Lieutenants were in charge of raising troops in each county; they had been used before but became permanent

- JPs and the Commissioners of Muster would also help in this task

- This replaced the traditional feudal way of raising an army that relied on local nobility. Although Lord Lieutenants were nobles, they were appointed by the Crown and could lose their posts

- The Royal Navy increased from 3 warships in 1555 to 21 by 1557

What was the French response to England foreign policy?

- In 1558, France seized Calais from England

- This was humiliating for Mary

- Calais ensured that England had a position on the continent; the loss of it meant England lost political power in Europe

What is the background to Wyatt's rebellion?

- Sir Thomas Wyatt and his supporters opposed Mary's marriage to Philip of Spain

- The rebellion was anti-Catholic and anti-Spain

- Wyatt wanted to replace Mary I with Edward Courtenay (a descendent of the Yorkists)

What were the grievances of the supporters of Wyatt's rebellion?

- While many supported Wyatt's anti-Catholic and anti-Spanish sentiments, the rebellion also served their own material interests

- Socioeconomic grievances were caused by the decline of the cloth industry in Kent

- There was unrest in Kent because of conflict amongst the local gentry who wanted to increase their power

What were the events of Wyatt's rebellion?

- Wyatt intended to coordinate 4 rebellions at once in March 1554, in Devon, Leicestershire, Wales, and Kent

- But only the rebellion that Wyatt successfully led began

- Wyatt had 3,000 men who he led to London

- The rebellion failed because Wyatt could not persuade Londoners to join his cause

What were the consequences of Wyatt's rebellion?

- It posed a threat to Mary as he threatened London, the capital

- Mary executed Wyatt and Lady Jane Grey (who had the potential to be used as a symbol for future rebellions) and her husband

- Princess Elizabeth was arrested because Mary feared she played a role in the rebellion, but nothing could be proved and she was released

What were the developments in education during Mary's reign?

- In 1556, Mary proposed that the places clergy were trained should be reformed

- She supported the development of seminaries, which taught Catholic theology

- Mary also focused on developing universities. For example, St John's college at Oxford was founded in 1555

What was the significance of the printing press during Mary's reign?

- It is often associated with Protestantism

- But Mary maximised the printing press when she restored Catholicism

- For example, the printing press was vital for producing new Catholic prayer books (which had been destroyed by Henry VIII and Edward VI)

What did people think of Mary's Catholic restoration?

- Difficult to establish

- The speed with which she was able to restore Catholicism suggests many supported her

- Towards the end of her reign, the persecution of Protestants was in decline; this could suggest Mary was successful in her policies

- Her untimely death meant she did not have enough time to consolidate her Catholic rule

What was humanism like under Mary I?

- It continued to develop

- Mary liked humanism

- Suggests humanism was not automatically Protestant

How did Elizabeth I present herself?

- She styled herself as a Protestant Queen, married to her country.

- Her motto 'semper eadem' (meaning 'always the same') reflects her aim to make England stable

What was Elizabeth's childhood like?

- Daughter of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII

- She was a disappointment to Henry as he wanted a male heir

- After her parents divorced, Elizabeth was declared illegitimate; this would later be changed and she would return to the line of succession

- Elizabeth was not involved in either the plot to change the heir to Lady Jane Grey or Wyatt's rebellion

What was Elizabeth I's character?

- Similar to her father, Elizabeth is said to have had a short temper

- She received a thorough education; she particularly enjoyed music and would become a patron of musicians when Queen

- Studied theology and was a moderate Protestant

What were Elizabeth's aims?

- To deliver a religious settlement that would satisfy as many people as possible

- She wanted the Church of England to be Protestant in doctrine, yet she still wanted to keep key aspects of traditional worship

- Elizabeth wanted to secure stability in England during a time of considerable socioeconomic instability

What was the Act of Supremacy 1558?

- Reiterated Henry VIII Act of Supremacy in 1534, by stating that the Church was England was independent of Rome

- Elizabeth was made Supreme Governor of the Church of England