What did Elton describe the changes that had happened as?
A Tudor revolution in government
Who do most historians agree to be the person responsible for the significant changes?
Thomas Cromwell
What are some of the interpretations as to why there were significant developments of religious beliefs and practises beyond the dissolution of the monasteries?
- parliament and henry were influenced by Cromwell who was Lutheran
- developments seen as a response to the pilgrimage of grace and what was happening on the continent eg relationship between Francis and Charles.
- GW Bernard, Henry was the sole architect of the changes himself
What did the death of Catherine in January 1536 and the execution Anne in May 1536 offer?
An opportunity to reconsider position of the Church of England.
What did contemporaries believe about the steps taken by the King and Parliament in the early 1530s?
That they were temporary and that England would return to papal obedience. The dissolution of the smaller monasteries seemed to challenge that belief.
What was the Act of Ten Articles?
They were passed in July 1536. They were ambiguous and rather conservative. They were not an attack on the Catholicism, nor were they a comprehensive statement of belief. Instead they were intended to resolve certain disputed doctrinal and ceremonial questions.
What is did Act of Ten Articles establish?
– The sacraments of baptism, penance and the Eucharist – The nature of justification – The use of images in churches – The intercession of the saints – Rights and ceremonies – The doctrine of Purgatory.
What catholic beliefs were confirmed in the Act of Ten Articles?
The paragraph on the Eucharist seemed to confirm the Catholic belief that the body and blood of Christ were present at the mass, although the term transubstantiation was not used.
Where was there evidence of Protestant thinking in the Act of Ten Articles?
In the article on Purgatory and even then there was a recognition of there being a ‘state’ after death.
What did Cromwell do concerning the Act of Ten Articles?
In August 1536, issued injunctions making the act binding on the clergy
What was the Bishop’s book?
– Also known as the Institution of a Christian man
– Was the result of heated debates that were called to resolve a range of doctrinal and liturgical issues and to determine canon law
In what way was the Bishop’s book more Lutheran in its views?
Salvation by faith as emphasised, and there was no mention of transubstantiation.
What did another of Cromwells injunctions in 1536 require churches to have?
Each parish church to have an English Bible; shortly after the publication of the Bishop’s Book a Bible in English, Matthew Bible was published.
What did John Lambert dispute in 1538?
The existence of the real presence of God in the Eucharist.
Why was Henry personally involved in Lambert’s case?
His high-profile campaign antagonised Henry. Attacking traditional teaching on the Eucharist had always been considered a serious offence, and not only was Lambert burnt for heresy, but on the day of his execution Henry issued a royal proclamation. The Royal proclamation of upheld the real presence at the Eucharist, upheld clerical celibacy and forbade heretical literature.
Why was parliament called in early 1539?
– The Lambert case showed how far doctrinal deviation among the laity had gone.
– his excommunication and Pope Paul’s call for him to be overthrown.
What was the outcome of the parliament of early 1539?
The Act of Six Articles which was not a comprehensive statement of beliefs but a defence against heresy.
What were the main points in the Act if Six Articles?
– Of pounds of catholic doctrine of transubstantiation
– Defended communion in one kind (wafer for not wine)
– Upheld private mass
– Upheld auricular confession
– Forbade the clergy to marry
– Held that vows of chastity were binding on the divine law.
What was the Act of Six Articles intended for?
– For domestic consumption
– Intended to make a statement to foreign rulers that despite his break with Rome Henry was still essentially Catholic.
