User:CassidyMarriott/sandbox/The Urban Reformation in England

The Urban Reformation in England

During the English Reformation, a series of events in the sixteenth century by which the church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church, England underwent various, stages of religious transformation. The circumstances that resulted in the religious transformation of this period were both religiously and politically motivated. Furthermore England's religious laws changed under each Tudor monarch a situation which caused disunity and disarray. Towns and cities played a crucial role in determining the religious practices of their inhabitants. Urban centers tended to embrace Protestantism more quickly than other places because of their diverse economies and connections to other cities. The study of two English towns, Norwich, and Halifax and their respective religious laws and practices shed light on English people’s opinion of, and response to, the changes in government’s religious policy in the sixteenth century. In addition, this study analyses how urban centers reacted to the changing policies of the English monarchs during the reformation period.

Background

Overview

The English Reformation was a part of the greater European protestant movement that swept across Europe in the sixteenth century. The movement defined as the Protestant Reformation was the schism in Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther in 1517 when he published his ninety-five theses. The movement quickly spread across Europe in part due to the efforts of other protestant reformers, such as John Calvin and Huldrych Zwingli.  The success of the protestant movement was in part due to the decline of feudalism, the rise of nationalism, the rise of the common law and Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press which increased the circulation of the bible and inspired the growth of literacy across Europe.   

Reformation during the reign of Henry VIII

King Henry VIII of England by Hans Holbein the Younger. Thyssen- Bornemisza Museum, Madrid.

When Henry VIII came to the throne in 1509, he was a devout Catholic. He reportedly attended up to 5 masses a day. Furthermore, his defense of the Pope against Luther, in his book, Assertio Septem Sacramentorum, earned him the name, defender of the faith. However, by the late 1520s, Henry sought an annulment from his wife Catherine of Aragon because she had failed to give him a son. In 1527, Henry requested an annulment from Pope Clement VII, on the grounds of canonical impediment, Catherine of Aragon had previously been married to Henry's elder brother Arthur who had died in 1502. The Pope refused to annul the marriage and Henry faced serious opposition to his attempt to annul his marriage. By the early 1530s Henry was forced to charge the whole English clergy with praemunire to get them to agree to his annulment. In 1532, Henry forbade obedience to the authority of the Pope of any foreign leader, with the enactment of the Statute of Praemunire.  In 1534, the Act in Absolute Restraint of Annates, made all annates to Rome illegal and punished cathedrals who refused to accept Bishops appointed by the King. The 1534 Act of Supremacy, declared Henry the head of the Anglican church, severed any remaining ties with Rome. Despite Henry’s break and eventual excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church, the practices and beliefs practiced by Henry’s Anglican church were largely in line with the Roman Catholic practices.

Reformation during the reign of Edward VI

King Edward VI of England, in whose reign the reform of Anglican Church moved in a more Protestant direction.

In 1547, Henry VIII died leaving his nine-year-old son as the heir to the throne. Edward had been raised Protestant however given his age his direct role in the religious politics of his reign is uncertain. Because of Edward’s youth, Edward Seymour was appointed Lord Protector of England. Seymour was made Duke of Somerset and was invested with near sovereign powers. Edward Seymour was a protestant and implemented policies which moved the Anglican church in a more Protestant direction. In 1547, Edward’s government placed a new and more tightly controlled injunction against images. The injunction required all stain glass, shrines and statues be removed. All Vestments and Chalcis were either destroyed or sold. Additionally, the celibacy requirement for clergy was lifted and all processions were banned. Other changes during Edward’s reign such as the 1550 replacement of stone altars for wooden communion tables and the 1551 appointment of Protestant minister rather than Catholic ministers signaled the public break with the past and the establishment of a new Protestant order. Finally, in 1552 a radical new prayer book was published and Edward’s parliament abolished the six articles established under Henry VI.

Reformation during the reign of Mary I

Queen Mary I of England restored the English allegiance to Rome.

In 1553, after Edward’s death and the failed attempt to name Protestant Lady Jane Grey queen, Mary Tudor laid claim to the throne. Queen Mary I was the daughter of Catherine of Aragon and as such was a devout Catholic. Mary immediately acted to return England to the Tradition of Catholicism by repealing all reformation legislation and trying to reestablish a relationship with the Pope. In order to Mary to ensure the continuation of the Roman Catholicism in England she need to produce an heir thereby preventing her half-sister Elizabeth from ascending the throne. Mary married Philip the Second of Spain, but the union produced no children. By 1555 the tone of Mary’s reign changed. Protestant protests and rebellions compelled Mary’s government to reinstate the hearsay laws. As a result, the Marian Persecution began. Over the course of her reign, 283 Protestants were burnt at the stake for heresy and hundreds of others were imprisoned. In the latter years of Mary I’s reign, the Catholic church began to reestablish its power. However, Mary died childless in 1558, and her younger Protestant half-sister. Elizabeth, succeeded her.

Reformation during the reign of Elizabeth I

Queen Elizabeth I of England reached a moderate religious settlement

By the time that Elizabeth I ascended the throne in 1558, England had endured multiple significant changes in religious policy in a relatively short amount of time. Thus, religion was a significant concern for Elizabeth. Her government’s religious policy had to be carefully calculated. Elizabeth could not be Roman Catholic because that church had declared her illegitimate but she was also opposed to radical Protestant reform because she had witnessed the turmoil such reforms had created during her brother Edward’s reign. Basically, Elizabeth supported Henry VIII’s vision and established a church that included most opinions. The 1558 Act of Supremacy revoked the laws passed during Mary I reign that repealed Henry VIII legislation that had separated the English church from the Catholic church in Rome. Furthermore, the act established Elizabeth as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. This title essentially made Elizabeth the head of the church without directly calling her the leader. Such a condition was necessary for two reasons. First, it mollified those who felt a woman could not rule and secondly it assuaged English Catholics. Under Elizabeth any effort to reinstate Catholicism was prevented through the removal of many Roman Catholic counselors and destruction of stone altars, vestments, statues and other ornaments. The 1558 Act of Uniformity demanded that English people attend Anglican church services and use the new common prayer book. This bill was more conservative as it revoked harsh penalties for Catholics and was ambiguous on the subject of transubstantiation and the Eucharist, a controversial issue that divided Catholics and Protestants. Although Elizabeth experienced opposition to her moderate Protestant Anglican church, the length of her reign surpassed that of any of her processors and cemented her religious policies.   

Norwich

Map of England. Yellow dot indicates the location of Norwich.

The Town of Norwich: The Heartland of the English Reformation

The city of Norwich, located on the banks of the River Wensum in East Anglia, sit approximately 100 miles northeast of London. The city, which is a part of the country of Norfolk was the largest English city after London from the middle ages up until the Industrial revolution. Historically Norwich is famous for the religious diversity it experienced during the English reformation.

Norwich was not unlike other English towns in that it was quick to accept the Protestant reforms first established under Henry VIII. In fact, AG. Dickens called Norwich “the heartland of the English Reformation.” Although the doctrinal changes instituted under Henry VIII were relativity moderate, especially considering what was to come under his son Edward VII, Norwich quickly became a center of Protestantism. In a letter, dated May 1530, Bishop Richard Nix of Norwich complained to William Warham, the Archbishop of Canterbury that the people were being influenced by Protestant religious texts circulating in the area. This was one of the first signs that Protestant ideas had spread to Norwich. Protestantism was quickly adopted in Norwich because of the town’s robust and global economy. Norwich’s prosperous textile market connected the town to other markets domestically and abroad. These connections to London and other affluent places led to the spread of information as well as goods. Protestantism flourished in Norwich in the 1500’s because the city’s magistrates practiced religious toleration in order to protect their town from outside intervention. Furthermore, when working in the public domain, magistrates made a concerted effort to set aside their religious prejudices. A practice that mirrored today’s separation of church and state. In 1939 the publication of the Six Articles, which reinforced existing heresy laws and reasserted traditional catholic doctrine as the basis of faith for the Church of England, led to the assault and arrest of Protestants across England. Although several citizens of Norwich were arrested in violation of the Six Articles, their punishment was relatively mild. A Norwich shoemaker and two of his friends were arrested for reading the Bible. Though they were imprisoned for their crime, their imprisonment was extremely brief. The treatment of these people indicates that Norwich magistrates were lax about enforcing religious laws.

Norwich during the reign of Edward VI

Norwich always had a reputation for being a center of toleration, because the cities’ magistrates practiced religious toleration in their dealing with all Norwich citizens. However, throughout the period known as the English Reformation the respective religious policies of the different monarchs changed, therefore what the city magistrates had to tolerate changed. During the reign of Edward VI, England entered a period of more radical Protestant reforms. The city’s reaction to the radical changes in government policy was to remain tolerant toward all types of religious activity. However, the radical changes in government policy led many citizens of the already heavily protestant Norwich, to engage in religious practices that were so far outside the scope of anything anyone had previously experienced that it caused uproar among the city’s more conservative citizens. Religious fragmentation and conflict followed and the town fell into disarray. Citizens attacked buildings, furniture and other church objects in a movement historians refer to as iconoclasm. Norwich leaders scrambled to try and prevent the destruction of church objects by professing the virtues of religious diversity.

The Marian Persecution in Norwich

Mary I was faithfully Catholic and when she succeed the throne she reestablished the authority of the Roman Catholic Church in England. Mary’s parliament repealed religious reform legislation and reinstated heresy laws. As a result, the Marian Persecution began and hundreds of protestants were burned as heretics. Norwich, being a cathedral city was the sight of over 40 burnings. Interestingly the people burned in Norwich were not actually from the city, they were brought in from outside towns and villages. While the magistrates had to abide by the heresy laws, they were largely successful at protecting the people of Norwich from the persecution. Several vocal protestant residents of Norwich were punished for heresy as magistrates could not protect those who widely broadcasted their beliefs. Both Elizabeth Cooper and Cicely Ormes were arrested for standing up in Church and declaring their loyalty to the Protestant church. They were both burnt as heretics. However, Protestants who quietly and discretely practiced their religion were safe in Norwich during the Marian period. Ultimately, despite the pressure of Marian Catholic reforms, magistrates, and citizens continued to practice religious tolerance and therefore largely escaped the Marian regime unscathed.

Although Norwich remained a center for Protestantism during the Marian period, the town did not challenge the revival of Catholic religious directives. In fact, Norwich embraced the return of Catholic traditions. Corpus Christi pageants, purchases of cloth for Lent and Palm Sunday, the doctrine of purgatory and the guild’s annual celebration are just some of the many things that were reinstated during the turn toward Catholicism. In late 1554 and early 1555, Norwich diocesan authorities made a concerted effort to re-equip local parishes with ornaments of the Catholic faith like chalices, mass books, candlesticks, and altar cloths. However, because so many Catholic ornaments were sold in 1550, parishes and guilds were never returned to their original state of splendor. It should be noted that Norwich did not re-adopt all Catholic practices. The guild’s celebration was held on the Sunday after Trinity instead of the April 23 feast of Saint George as the Catholic church directed. During the Elizabethan period the guild's procession was also held on the Sunday after Trinity. This merge of Catholic and Protestant tradition indicates that the Norwich city magistrates did not completely accept the monarch’s religious directives.

Norwich during the Elizabethan Settlement

Queen Elizabeth’s accession to the throne in 1558 brought a return to the moderate Protestant religious policies first instituted under her father Henry VIII. It was during the reign of Elizabeth I that Norwich became the leading center for Protestantism. However, the city retained its policy of religious toleration and Catholics suffered no magisterial persecutions. In the late 1500s the region’s Archbishop directed the master of Corpus to appoint an orator to give biannual public sermons in Norwich, a clear sign of the city’s value to England’s Protestant community.

Halifax

Map of Halifax c. 1884

The Town of Halifax

The English town of Halifax is located in the county of West Yorkshire on the banks of the River Calder. During the sixteenth century Halifax became a center for Protestant Radicalism. Unlike other inland towns which were slower to adapt to the changing religious practices that defined the era, the population of Halifax appears to have swiftly altered their religious practices. Prior to 1530 and the start of the English Protestant Reformation there is no known evidence of a Protestant presence in the town. However, by the 1560s the town was a well-known Protestant haven. A center of woolen manufacture from the fifteenth century onward, historians believe that the town’s economic connections to larger cities and established trade routes explains the rapid spread of Protestant ideas in Halifax during the sixteenth century.

Some historians contend that a number of anticlericalism cases played a role in Halifax’s relatively swift shift from Catholicism to Protestantism. “Parishioners who found themselves embroiled in conflicts with their priests often came to believe that the Henrician government was their ally.” Lay men and women used the authority and royal supremacy of Henrician government to their advantage against clerics. In 1534, Halifax parishioners filed a suit against priest, Dr. Robert Holdesworthe. They claimed that he was neglecting his duties because he did not arrange divine services to be held in his absence or provide “‘bread, ale, and wine’” to the locals who washed the altar. Furthermore, they claimed he was guilty of extortion because in order to participate in the Easter commination he forced his congregation to pay a traditional but illegal tax to Rome.

Through the establishment of a grammar schools, and charitable funds Protestants increased their influence in Halifax toward the end the 1500s and early 1600s. The town also saw a great increase in the number of annual sermons preached on Protestant principles. A 1569 letter, Archbishop Edmund Grindal commented that the people of Halifax were very receptive to the word of God, and therefore the preachers in Halifax enjoyed high conversion rates.

“...one poor parish in Yorkshire, which by continual preaching had been better instructed than the rest, (Halifax, I mean) was ready to bring three or four thousand able men into the field to serve you against the said rebels…For obedience proceedeth of conscience: conscience is founded on the word of God, the word of God worketh this effect by preaching.”

By the 17^th century Halifax became a center of Puritanism, a radical form of Protestantism. The Puritan tradition was long celebrated in Halifax.

Unlike with the city of Norwich, the historical record does not include sufficient information to detail the influence the English Reformation had under each successive monarch. However, wills from the town of Halifax have provided historians with a valuable resource for studying the urban reformation in Halifax.

The Tradition of Wills in Halifax

Much of the evidence which has led historians to conclude that Halifax a center for Protestant activity has been gathered from the wills of people who lived and died in Halifax during the English Reformation. Up until 1526, all English wills followed the traditional format, which declared that a person’s soul was entrusted to God, Virgin Mary, and the saints. However, after 1526, a new tend emerged which signaled a subtle but significant break from Catholicism and move towards Protestantism. Any mention of the Virgin Mary and the saints was omitted from many wills.  Halifax was one of two northern towns to experience this phenomenon, and in 1535 the town officially adopted the new will format published by English Protestants. Of the forty-one wills written between April 1538 and October 1540, nineteen of those wills omitted any of mention the Virgin and the saints. Some wills even went so far as to mentioned the saving power of Christ’spassion in the preamble.

The following will of Richard Amber demonstrates the omission of the Virgin Mary and the saints.

“I bequeath my soul to God, verily believing myself to be the one of the chosen number that shall be saved through Christ and my body to be buried in the churchyard of Halifax among the chosen brethren of Christ’s holy church.”

In addition to the omission of the Virgin and the saints, many wills incorporated Protestant terminology and communicated the belief that salvation was achieved through Christ alone. The wills of William Holmes and Robert Thomson of Halifax rejected the intercession of saints. Each of their wills included the following passage:

“commending their souls ‘unto Christ Jesus, my maker and redeemer, in whom, and by the merits of whose blessed passion, is ally my whole trust of clean remission of all my sins.”

Historian Patrick Collinson has argued that wills provided an essential window into the lives of everyday people in Halifax. Furthermore, he contends that the wording of wills is evidence of the shift from Catholicism to Protestantism because “for most of the population, religious life centered around the parish church or the local chapel, and each figured regularly in the wills of testators between 1480 and 1550.” Essentially wills were representative of the lives of parishioners and were therefore a declaration of their respective religious beliefs.

Although wills have certainly provided historians with evidence to suggest that Halifax had strong ties to Protestantism, wills are by no means ironclad. Wills were not necessarily written by the deceased party so the views expressed in the documents may have belonged to someone else. Furthermore, preambles to wills were often standard and duplicated to be used for various people. Wills that include memorial sermons or donations to religious orders are more accurate indications of a person's faith. That said, because England's religious policies changed which such frequency, trustees were known to use creative accounting to alter how funds were allocated if the original destination was no longer legal.

See Also

Reformation

English Reformation

Henry VIII of England

Edward VI of England

Mary I of England

Elizabeth I of England

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