Civi séance 3 henrician reformation
Christianity (le Christianisme) = the Christian religion; every one is christians
Christendom (la Chrétienté) = the whole body of Christians collectively; pop who are christians
Sacraments = symbolic ceremonies believed to communicate spiritual gifts from God
Church = the ecclesiastical organisation
≠ church = a building dedicated to Christian worship
Catholic = part of the Christian Church under the authority of the Pope
Reformation (Réforme) = the great religious movement to reform the doctrines and practices of the Church of Rome
Protestant = originally used for German Reformers then to all reformers
Bible = the Old Testament (Jewish Scriptures in Hebrew) + the New Testament (Christian Scriptures in Greek)
Pre-Reformation Tudor culture
Still a dominantly oral culture
cultural variations between the social orders
no educational system
low levels of literacy
major divide between the literate and the illiterate a Christian culture (authority of the Bible & teachings of the Church) most people’s contact with the Scriptures came from sermons
The christian Calender
People followed the seasonal cycles of harvests and crops, organised by the festive calendar of the Catholic Chruch
-winter Christmas cycle (the birth of Christ)
-spring Easter cycle (the passion and resurrection of Christ)
-summer Whitsun cycle (the descent of the Holy Spirit)
For the common people who had to work for their living, these cycles were an opportunity for celebration and rest.
Humanism and the Reformation in Europe
Rediscovery of authors of Latin and Greek Antiquity (Plato, Aristotle, Virgil, Homer, Cicero, etc.)
Scholars also studied the Hebrew and Greek versions of the Old and New Testaments (as opposed to the Latin Vulgate)
Erasmus of Rotterdam formulated reservations about the Pope and the Church even before Luther, but never encouraged reformation
“Erasmus laid the egg that Luther hatched” (Stephen Gardiner)
Humanism bc they have a classical education
What was wrong with the Church of Rome?
The reformers criticised the abuses of the papacy and of the Church’s hierarchy, and especially:
-the wealth, luxury and immorality of the Roman court
-the fact that many churchmen gave the wrong example (cf. cardinal Wolsey)
-the sale of sacraments (cf. indulgences)
-the changes introduced in some doctrines of the Church to increase its financial resources
-pilgrimages and the cult of relics and saints
-quantitative and repetitive devotions
-the ignorance of the clergy and the faithful
-the lack of adequacy between the doctrines taught by the Church and the word of the Bible
Martin Luther (1483-1546) was a German priest.
In 1517 his 95 theses rejected the Pope’ authority and infallibility, denounced the abuses listed above and opposed the celibacy of the clergy.
He redefined the doctrines of salvation and election, reduced the number of the sacraments, retained only the sacraments that were directly instituted by Christ.
Baptism (purification)
Eucharist (communion)
Penance (confession/absolution)
Confirmation (of baptism)
Matrimony (marriage)
Ordination (to priesthood)
Extreme unction (last rites)
Henry and the Lutheran Reformation
England = one of Europe’s most devout Catholic nations.
Henry responded to Luther in 1521 opposing his heretical doctrines, and was granted the title of Fidei Defensor (Defender of the Faith) by Pope Leo X.
Previous attempts at reformation in England: the Lollards following John Wycliffe (1320s–1385)
Henry remained a staunch Catholic, ordering several reformed heretics to be burnt at the stake
The Reformation Parliament (1529-1536)
summoned by the king to legitimize his new supremacy made King-in-Parliament the sovereign lawmaker and the supreme head of the Church
ecclesiastical change became a political matter the English were not in demand of religious reformation
even if there was some “resentment at the charges imposed by the clergy for their services.” (Roger Lockyer)
Doctrine & Belief
The English people’s view of the world and of human destiny was shaped by their religion determined by doctrine from above and by belief from below.
Doctrine is a matter for theologians (=people trained in abstract concepts) and can be changed by an act of religious and/or political authority (Kingin-Parliament).
Belief is what people adhere to, without any technical theological training and it takes often generations to alter.
Changes in doctrine can be sudden and fast, but changes in religious beliefs are always very slow.
Moreover, believers may reject/resist the new imposed form of their faith.
Away from Rome (1529-1539)
Supremacy: The Act of Supremacy 1534 replaced the authority of the Pope with that of the King
=> Dissolution of monasteries and religious orders (1536-1540) triggered by the Suppression of Religious Houses Act 1536
=> Protests and rebellions: in 1536-7 the Pilgrimage of Grace gathered about 30,000 men in Yorkshire, pacified by Norfolk’s army
Uniformity: The Ten Articles, 1536, attempted to formalise a compromise between reformed and catholic faith
=> took up early Luther’s reduction to 3 sacraments and nuanced the doctrine of Purgatory
Vernacular Bible and prayers: ordered Cranmer to prepare an English translation of the whole Bible published in 1539 and made compulsory in all the parishes
Away from Luther (1539-1547)
The move towards Luther’s theology mainly motivated by a negotiation for an alliance with the German Lutherans against Charles V.
When the international situation changed, Henry turned back to his Catholic beliefs, but not the Pope who excommunicated him in 1538.
Influenced by Gardiner and Norfolk, a draft of the Six articles of Faith was introduced in the Lords to be passed in June 1539, reaffirming the Catholic faith.
Norfolk’s party managed to persuade Henry that Cromwell was a ‘sacramentarian’ and a threat to the hierarchy of the Church, and Cromwell was arrested and executed for treason and heresy.
In May 1543, Parliament passed an act condemning all unauthorised translations of the Bible
The final years: New Wars
July 1543: Treaty of Greenwich arranged a marriage between Edward Tudor and Mary Stuart
December 1543: Scottish Parliament renounced the Treaty
May 1544: Edward Seymour attacked Edinburgh and occupied Scotland
May 1544: Norfolk attacked France
7 June 1546: The Treaty of Ardres stipulated that:
Boulogne was given to Henry until 1554
Henry was to stop his attacks on Scotland
The final years: Call for harmony
Because of a new war against France in 1544, Henry had to sell half of the lands confiscated from monasteries
In the speech to his last Parliament in 1545, he called for harmony between “papists” and “heretics”:
Fearing a Catholic reaction after his death, Henry drew closer again to the reforming faction, among whom Edward Seymour
Henry Howard Earl of Surrey executed in January 1547
The conservative faction was discredited, when Norfolk’s son, Surrey displayed the arms of his ancestors Edward II & III.
Religious, Social and Political consequences
Henry VIII’s decision to break with Rome deeply affected the English people’s religion and set off a long period of doctrinal instability.
By having his schismatic policies approved by Parliament (1529-1536), Henry VIII also changed the constitutional practice and created political expectations among the gentry and citizens who composed the House of Commons.
The dissolution of the monastic orders, who owned lands and were in charge of charity, hospitals and praying for the souls of the dead, disorganised the social structures leading to an increase in poverty.
As Church-lands were alienated to the Crown and then sold to private land-owners, the king created a new class of people whose fortunes were linked to the new ecclesiastical order and who were opposed to the return of Catholicism.