Edward's reign under Somerset

Penry Williams on Edward

‘Edward was a cypher in politics, exercising little influence of his own. He was like the king on a chessboard having little room for manoeuvre, but crucial to the development of the game. Control of the person determined the possession of power.

The Traditional view of his reign

Given his age, the traditional view argues that his reign was more centred on the regency governments rather than the king himself.

The Revisionist view of his reign

Revisionists argue that he wielded considerable power himself as he grew older - the key question was not if but when he would become a powerful figure in government.

How Edward became king

Henry died on the 28th January 1547 & his death was kept a secret from Edward for 3 days. Edward then later was crowned king in February in Westminster Abbey at 9 years old. Due to his age, a minority government was introduced into his reign. Henry had left a 16 member regency council to oversee his reign until Edward was 18 & this was largely dominated by the radicals, meaning they also dominated the reign. 

Edward’s preparation for the role of king - love and affection in his upbringing

He grew up ‘among the women’ until he was 6 years old and was cared for by a nurse. After his mother died, neither Anne of Cleves or Katherine Howard had much to do with him but Catherine Parr offered him maternal affection during her marriage to henry & he called her mother. Henry saw him infrequently & reports on his progress were sent to Henry’s ministers not him.

Edward’s preparation for the role of king - attendants & protection in his upbringing

Edward had an army of personal servants to look after him & 3 gentlemen & 5 grooms were always present with him as well as one being in his bedchamber at night. He was hardly ever left alone & was forbidden from doing contact sports like jousting. The walls & floors of his apartment were washed 3 times a day & the cleanliness & quality of his food was a top priority.

Edward’s preparation for the role of king - education

He began formal education in 1545 & had two principal teachers called Richard Coxe & Sir John Cheke - both were humanists & Coxe was a protestant. An exclusive palace school with 14 boys was established to keep him company. He was often beaten during his studies if he made mistakes & had a royal whipping boy when he became king. He devoted himself to his interests in logic, natural philosophy & astronomy due to Coxe’s influence. He was also trained to be a gentleman and was taught about statecraft & government - he learned the religions of all the nobility/gentry members.

Edward’s preparation for the role of king - interests, personality & relations with others

He was naturally studious, intelligent & devout - he wrote in Greek while listening to long sermons - & enjoyed things like horse riding, hunting and archery. He was also fascinated by the Hundred years War. Many viewed him as a serious child, he rarely showed examples of childish excitement & when he did he always kept self disciplined. He was often cold towards others as well as distrustful & vindictive but he did display warmth to his aristocratic friend Barnaby Fitzpatrick.

Edward’s preparation for the role of king - health

Despite popular belief he wasn’t really a weak or sickly child. He had a fever at age 4 and measles & smallpox when he was 14 but was otherwise in good health until a fatal case of septicaemia in February 1553.

The failure of Henry’s plan for a regency council

He had aimed in his will to create a balanced regency council of 16 members, where they would all govern together with equal power. However, these plans went awry before his death when Gardiner was expelled from the council & Norfolk was arrested - unbalancing the Privy Council to the side of the protestants. Henry’s plan also failed as the Privy Council needed a chief executive to make the final decisions, meaning power couldn’t be equal. With Norfolk gone, Edward Seymour became the most dominant figure.

Somerset’s actions after Henry’s death

At the time of his death he was still only the Earl of Hertford & one of the 16 members of the council appointed in Henry’s will. However, after his death he completely ignored Henry’s intentions in his will - he kept his death secret for 3 days so he could exploit the loopholes in his will as he had custody of it & the dry stamp. He then immediately personally fetched Edward to the Council & was named Lord Protector on February 1st. He was viewed by many as the obvious choice for his role due to being the king’s uncle, a strong military reputation & being in favour as a reformer during Henry’s reign.

How Somerset secured power

He then implemented a new vague clause in Henry’s will, concerning gifts Henry had been intending to provide, as he knew new titles could help win over his opposition. Councillors were gifted new titles & status through land & former monastic property - e.g. Lord Lisle became Earl of Warwick & William parr became Marquis of Northampton. Somerset even bought off his potential opposition, Lord Chancellor Wriothesley with the Earldom of Southampton.

Somerset’s position as lord Protector

He augmented his own power & prestige by taking lots of land for himself & awarding himself the Duke of Somerset, which is evidence of his manipulation, arrogance & greed. He had achieved sole power by the end of February & become a substitute king to Edward - he now had the power to appoint or dismiss members of the Privy Council & they were dependent on him for their offices.

Somerset’s domestic policies - the Privy Council

He effectively bypassed using the Privy Council while he was in power due to his style of government being arrogant and autocratic. He had his own set of advisors outside of it which was made up of his household servants & was nicknamed ‘the new council’. When he did meet with the Privy Council members, it was at his own residence - Somerset House.

Somerset’s domestic policies - parliament 

Henry & Cromwell’s practice of frequent parliaments continued - there were 2 in 6 years & 1551 was the only year without one. However it was only used to pass religious laws, not to establish/destroy the protectorate or the Act of Succession. Somerset became more independent of parliament & was granted quasi-royal powers in March 1457. He used more proclamations (laws without parliament) than any other Tudor monarch - over 70 in less than 3 years.

Somerset’s domestic policies - the king

Somerset was strict with him & reduced the number of servants in his household & kept him under the control of Michael Stanhope (Somerset’s brother in law). Edward wasn’t involved in politics & often complained about the lack of pocket money Somerset gave him. However the scale of crown expenditure was so great that Somerset was forced into land sales & borrowing.

Somerset’s domestic policies - his personality

He was selfish & greedy & his government style was often dictatorial, alienating members of the court & creating resentment within the members of the Privy Council. He was accused of ‘malice & evil government’ by 19 councillors at his downfall. He rarely delegated his powers & ruled autocratically - took sole custody of dry stamp when it had been left up to 4 councillor’s control & insisted the king’s signature wasn’t valid without his. His personality worsened the problems of the period.

Somerset’s domestic policies - measures taken to ending enclosure

Enclosure was viewed as the root of many social & economic problems. Somerset appointed enclosure commissioners & government investigators were set to go out & investigate the legality of recent enclosures - only 1 went ahead. Proclamations in June 1548 were issued enforcing all statutes against enclosure for grazing & Somerset passed an Act protecting tenants on his estates. A 5% tax on personal property & a special tax on sheep were also passed in March 1549. He raised the hopes of the poor with his commissions & became a ‘poor man’s friend’.

Somerset’s domestic policies - the failure of enclosure policies

The anti enclosure measures achieved little apart from creating instability & were not viewed as particularly advanced. Somerset upset both sides by worrying the rich & disappointing the poor. Many gentry landowners objected to the interference in enclosure from the government as they made their wealth from sheep farming. They were angered by the new laws from 1548-49 which raised sheep & cloth taxes & Somerset needed their support to maintain local law & order.

Somerset’s domestic policies - the problem of inflation

Inflation was a major economic phenomenon at the time due to the rising population causing pressure on agriculture & wages being unable to keep up with rising prices. A poor harvest in 1548 worsened the issue & caused unrest & rioting & rebellions broke out in 1549. Somerset didn’t really understand why this was a big problem.

Somerset’s domestic policies - how Somerset dealt with inflation

He attempted no reform of the government’s finances & continued old policies to make money. The most prominent was the debasement of the coinage which raised £537000 from 1547-51 but this was short sighted, caused high inflation, disrupted trade abroad & made it hard for the government to obtain loans. Thomas Smith suggested the solution of restoration of the coinage but Somerset ignored this in favour of ready cash.

Somerset’s domestic policies - 1547 Vagrancy Act

Brought in to deal with the fear of the rapidly increasing poor causing disorder in the towns, it caused able bodied people who’d been out of work for 3 days to be branded with a v & sold into slavery for 2 years. Further offences could be punished with permanent slavery & children of vagrants were taken away to work as apprentices. The law was unpopular but was never actually put into effect & was merely an attempt to alleviate the concerns of the gentry. 

Successes of Somerset’s domestic policies

Was seen as the ‘poor man’s friend’ & was aware of the struggles of the poor. Raised money for the government in the short term through a tax on sheep, debasement of the coinage & the dissolution of the chantry. Used more proclamations than any other Tudor monarch to get things done. Understood the problem of vagrancy & successfully tried to deal with it.

Failures of Somerset’s domestic policies

They exacerbated inflation. He ignored the king & didn’t appreciate his role which led to his downfall & Edward turning against him. He had sole control of the dry stamp & disregarded others in the council. He achieved little on enclosure & poverty increased while he was in power. He didn’t follow through on a lot of his policies.

Religious reform under Somerset - his approach to it

He adopted a moderate & cautious approach as he recognised the sensitivity in making religious changes. Cranmer who was the Archbishop of Canterbury supported him on this. Issues arose like the return of exiled protestants who’d fled persecution in the 1530s & 40s who had radical demands & caused clashes in communities & the English bishops being split on whether or not to bring in further change.

Religious reform under Somerset - general religious ideas of the time

A massive increase in pamphlets & writings about religion occurred due to a relaxation in press censorship. The ideas of both Luther & Calvin, who had more extreme ideas than Luther grew among protestants & became rival ideas within the religion. 

Religious reform under Somerset - policies put in place

Somerset initially got the government to stall for time by them launching a full scale enquiry into the state of the Church of England & sending commissioners out to investigate every parish. Henry’s Act of 6 Articles was undone, leaving the Church of England without an official doctrine & rules that provided for services & for Bibles to be in English were strengthened.

Religious reform under Somerset - the dissolution of the chantries (December 1547)

The chantries were used for people to pray for the dead which was a Catholic practice. Somerset abolished them due to the protestant belief in faith alone over outward worship. By doing this he also raised money for the country after Henry had sold land gained in the dissolution & spent it all on wars.

Religious reform under Somerset - iconoclasm (began February 1547)

This was the most dramatic change for most people as it was visual changes to the appearance of churches. Royal injunctions (July 1547) caused images to be demolished, pictures of saints in stained glass windows to be destroyed & wall-paintings to be covered. This annoyed & angered both the laity & the ordinary people.

Religious reform under Somerset - the Act of Uniformity (January 1549)

Was passed to impose a single standard of worship of across England in order to end the growing religious confusion amongst the people. It declared English as the official language of worship & that congregations to be offered both bread & wine for communion (Catholics reserved wine for the priesthood). However a full protestant church wasn’t created.

Religious reform under Somerset - Cranmer’s book of common prayer (May 1549)

He introduced a new prayer book alongside the Act of Uniformity which set out the form services should take. It attempted a clever compromise between the two religions as it didn’t entirely deny the idea that the the bread & wine in mass turned into the ‘real presence’ of Christ, however it still gave the impression that the priest was simply commemorating an event - reassuring protestants.

Religious reform under Somerset - successes

The Book of Common Prayer was cleverly ambiguous - it was protestant but Gardiner accepted it as he could interpret it in a Catholic manner. Somerset kept Charles V on his side. A compromise was sensible due to England still being very much divided over religion. He dismantled the conservative religious obstacles from the 30s without creating a divide. Toleration of different faiths existed - like Mary - & no one was executed for opposition. Somerset’s achievements were impressive considering the weaknesses of the Regency government. A move towards Protestantism occurred through priests being able to marry & imaged being removed but Catholics were pleased with the retention of alters & traditional vestments.

Religious reform under Somerset - failures

Many protestants/radicals were demanding further change than Somerset offered & were disappointed. He ended up angering both sides by going neither too slow or too far with his changes. His policies played a big part in the 1549 rebellions. Somerset unleashed heated & difficult to control religious debate by lifting past press censorship. He created religious ‘chaos’ rather than solving the confusion. Opponents like Bonner the Bishop of London had to be imprisoned.

Somerset’s foreign policy - his aims

Scotland was at the centre of his interests due to his successes in Scotland in the 1540s consolidating his career. He wanted to implement the 1543 Treaty of Greenwich & marriage between Edward & Mary Queen of Scots to unite the two crowns. He hoped to wear Scotland down through the imposition of forts & garrisons, hoping they would persuade the Scots that resistance was useless.

Somerset’s foreign policy - his early measures

He won a great victory at the Battle of Pinkie in September 1547. However, he then tried to build his garrisons which failed due to strategic mistakes & influences beyond his control. This increased Scottish hostilities. He also failed to capture either Dunbar or Edinburgh or to enforce the naval blockade of the Firth of Forth which allowed Scottish resistance to stay alive.

Somerset’s foreign policy - the impact of the French

The Scots received aid from France & it’s new leader Henry II - determined to assert his superiority over England - which was unlucky for Somerset. However he didn’t combat French influence & failed to work with the ‘Assured Scots’ who were opposed to French influence. 6000 French troops landed in Scotland in June 1548, establishing forts & capturing English ones & taking away Mary Queen of Scots to marry the heir to the French throne instead - removing the central point of Somerset’s policy. 

Somerset’s foreign policy - His response

Unwilling to admit defeat & withdraw from the French due to the financial & psychological investments he had made in Scotland, Somerset sent 3 more armies there in 1548 & 1549 as defensive measures to safeguard his earlier wins. However the cost was damaging - over half a million pounds - which was 50% more than Henry VIII in only half the time.

Somerset’s foreign policy - the conclusion

He also faced humiliation from France as Henry declared war in August 1549. He offered to return Boulogne immediately but Henry demanded Calais as well & the loss of both was impossible to accept. However this only caused more expense as the French were beaten off in Boulogne. Somerset withdrew his forces from Haddington (his chief Scottish fortress) in September 1549 after damaging his reputation & uniting the Scottish & French even more strongly against England. 

Somerset’s foreign policy - was it successful?

No as conquest of Scotland was virtually impossible for geography & cost reasons, however it was also impossible for him not to do anything after the 1540s - backing away from war wouldn’t have been an honourable opening to Edward’s reign. He simply followed in the footsteps of Henry VIII and it didn’t pay off for him.

The Western Rebellion 1549 - causes

It was caused by many factors including resistance to religious changes in local communities, concerns over gentry families gaining church land for their own use, social & economic discontent over inflation, population increase & changes in land use for sheep farming. These issues sparked spontaneous local riots with mobs killing those trying to remove Catholic symbols from churches & tearing down hedges/fences for enclosure.

The Western Rebellion 1549 - events

Grew out of riots in Cornwall & Devon over the restoration of Catholic doctrines & practices & groups formed to resist when the government ordered the new prayer book to be used in churches - creating a rebellion by mid June. Led by Humphrey Arundell & Robert Welsh, the rebels advanced past Exeter & set up camp & brought the south to a standstill. They then provided a list of demands/articles (mostly for a return to Catholicism) & waited for the government to them rather than marching to London. The local gentry failed to control it.

The Western Rebellion 1549 - Somerset’s response

He initially underestimated it as news surrounding it travelled slowly. When it did become a serious threat, it was difficult for the government to respond as Somerset’s foreign policy had made sure troops were needed to defend against both Scotland & France. It was ended in mid August when the royal army finally defeated the rebels at Samford Courtenay. Its estimated 3000 were killed & Welsh was hanged without trial from a church.

Kett’s Rebellion 1549 - causes

Was caused by widespread economic & social issues from another bad harvest & rapid price rises & the mistaken belief that the government were profiteering from this situation in the absence of a strong king. Some of the demands as the rebels however, like dismissing inadequate clergy, suggested they were supporters of Protestantism & reform, unlike the Western rebellion.

Kett’s Rebellion 1549 - events

Gangs emerged to break enclosures in May & June & Robert Kett’s property was attacked. He however agreed to end enclosure on his estate & offered to lead the rebels. The rebels set up camp in Norwich & also didn’t march to London & instead ran a peaceful campaign of demands to end enclosures, improve local government & secure better quality clergy men - a list of articles was produced on July 12th. The local gentry failed to deal with it & were powerless. It was ended by the Earl of Warwick (Northumberland) at the end of August with a combined total of 4000 deaths in battle (3000 rebels). Kett & 49 others were executed.

Evidence that the rebellions weren’t a serious threat

The aims of the rebels were disparate & there was no attempt made at cross-regional cooperation. The rebellions weren’t specifically directed at Edward & there was no march to London or attempts made to remove him. The government kept control of tis forces & were never really in danger. There was a alck of aristocratic/gentry leadership. 

Evidence that the rebellions were a serious threat

They had effective leadership & organisation & were geographically spread across the country. The local gentry failed to effectively deal with the uprisings & central government had to intervene. Raising troops was difficult & expensive & the government was reluctant to ask for the peasants’ support - troops from distant countries were employed. Somerset was forced to bring back troops from Scotland & end his policy of garrisoning the northern border. London was garrisoned & protected with artillery. Somerset’s position was catastrophically weakened.

How both rebellions contributed to Somerset’s fall

They threatened a complete breakdown of government in 2 regions of the country & Somerset’s response was slow to both. While neither revolt forced religion or enclosure policy to change they both scared the government & gave those opposed to Somerset’s leadership a chance to strike.

Somerset’s arrest & execution

The council ordered him to be arrested on the 11th October & he was imprisoned in the Tower. He was released in February 1550 & was allowed to re join the Privy Council as his only real crimes had been incompetence & panic. However rumours begun circulating that he was gathering support to take power back & he was arrested again & tried for treason. He was executed January 1522.