After Darwin last week, I'm now turning to another English historical figure who celebrates an anniversary in 2009, King Henry VIII. Born in Greenwich (like myself), Henry became King of England and Lord of Ireland exactly 500 years ago, in April 1509. Like most schoolchildren, my image of Henry VIII is of a wine-guzzling womaniser who wedded 6 times in search of a male heir. This much is true, but his legacy to England was immense - not only by giving birth to the nation's greatest monarch, Elizabeth I, but also in the way he changed the religious and social fabric of the country forever.
However, his desire to rid England of the Catholic Church was not motivated by deep-held religious convictions, but because Rome stood in the way of his mission to remarry and have a baby boy. Perhaps the best fictional portrayal of this key moment in history is the film, A Man for All Seasons, in which England's finest actor Paul Schofield is immense as the principled, unyielding Thomas More. I recommend it highly, and here I'll try and blog on the effects that Henry's "dissolution of the monasteries" (i.e. cleansing of the Catholic church) had on England.
In the 1530s, there were approx 800 monastic establishments in England including nunneries, as well as monasteries for friars and monks. The practical function of monasteries was prayer, so they served a public role, especially in the North. Monasteries were also big employers in the community, and performed a charitable role by giving alms to the poor.
Benedictine monks were dominated by the daily office of “hours”, a strict regime punctuated by the ringing of bells, starting with “matins” at 2am. Monks had an ideal of self-sufficiency, in terms of both farming and learning. Monasteries and nunneries were ahead of their time by providing education to both men and women, including commoners. Although today we think of prayer as more of a spontaneous act, back then members of the community followed a tight regimen. For believers, the monastery acted as the crucible between heaven and earth.
In 1535, Henry VIII's Chief Minister Thomas Cromwell, who had acquired his legal expertise under Cardinal Wolseley, organised a survey of monastic wealth, a key document highlighting the immense riches of the Catholic church and supporting the dissolution of the monasteries. At the time, there was even unrest within the monastic community itself, with a belief that accumulated wealth had caused too much hypocrisy and corruption. When dissolution came about, Cromwell was the main “fixer” under the guidance of King Henry.
It’s also important to consider Henry VIII’s personal background, a key factor that helped his decision to dissolve the monasteries. When Henry decided not to marry Catherine of Aragon and instead pursue his passionate love for Ann Boleyn, he saw a convenient time to break with a disapproving Rome. So, the two men act in unison – the big idea comes from Henry, and the practicalities are ironed out by Cromwell.
In 1536, Henry VIII gets Act of Parliament approval for dissolution, a process that had already began to a much lesser degree in 1510 with the reform of smaller monasteries within the monastic community. Radicals like Wolseley had seen the monasteries as a “relic” – for him, there was too much praying in monasteries and not enough of a social conscience. Still, news of the parliamentary act caused rebellion in the north of England and led to the “pilgrimage of grace”, a popular uprising in York, which was crushed by false promises and trickery from Henry and led to the hanging of abbots in public as a warning to rebels. Some monks and friars negotiated and received pensions and financial pay-offs, while others (such as those at Glastonbury) were faced with violence.
There was a growing feeling among the public of “where is God?” at a time when all these monasteries are being dissolved without punishment, and this created a culture of unbelief in the English people and a loss of “street cred” for the Catholic Church. Many monks became parish priests in the newly established Church of England, others received a pension, but worst hit were the nuns, who were mostly married off and deprived of an education for hundreds of years, beginning a “dark age” for women.
Dissolution was obviously a huge blow to the traditional religious way of life in England and paved the way for the Reformation, “a vacuum into which Protestantism flows”. An example of how England lost its mediaeval sense of piety towards religious objects is seen in the example of the statue of “Our Lady of Walsingham” being dragged from Norfolk to Smithfields market in London to be burned. The process of dissolution unleashed passionate feelings.
The wealth acquired by Henry was mostly used to fight the war against the French, part of an established tradition of high defence spending in the UK that is still visible today. The king’s commissioners stripped the roofs of monasteries which led to their deterioration, and allowed local people to plunder all that remained. Thankfully though, many cathedrals (including the magnificent monastery in Canterbury) are still standing.
Sadly though, it was the upper classes who profited most from the process by acquiring land, the proceeds of which went to Henry to fuel his warring ambitions. Perversely, those most opposed (rich Catholics) became those most enriched. Henry mainly squandered the money on forts on the south coast, but it was put to some good uses – such as Trinity and Christ Church colleges in Oxbridge. However, one of the tragic consequences was the increase in “vagrancy” during the late Tudor period, as many poor lost the safety net of alms houses. So, after all, it was one man's appetite for a male heir and for war against France that changed a country forever.
However, his desire to rid England of the Catholic Church was not motivated by deep-held religious convictions, but because Rome stood in the way of his mission to remarry and have a baby boy. Perhaps the best fictional portrayal of this key moment in history is the film, A Man for All Seasons, in which England's finest actor Paul Schofield is immense as the principled, unyielding Thomas More. I recommend it highly, and here I'll try and blog on the effects that Henry's "dissolution of the monasteries" (i.e. cleansing of the Catholic church) had on England.
In the 1530s, there were approx 800 monastic establishments in England including nunneries, as well as monasteries for friars and monks. The practical function of monasteries was prayer, so they served a public role, especially in the North. Monasteries were also big employers in the community, and performed a charitable role by giving alms to the poor.
Benedictine monks were dominated by the daily office of “hours”, a strict regime punctuated by the ringing of bells, starting with “matins” at 2am. Monks had an ideal of self-sufficiency, in terms of both farming and learning. Monasteries and nunneries were ahead of their time by providing education to both men and women, including commoners. Although today we think of prayer as more of a spontaneous act, back then members of the community followed a tight regimen. For believers, the monastery acted as the crucible between heaven and earth.
In 1535, Henry VIII's Chief Minister Thomas Cromwell, who had acquired his legal expertise under Cardinal Wolseley, organised a survey of monastic wealth, a key document highlighting the immense riches of the Catholic church and supporting the dissolution of the monasteries. At the time, there was even unrest within the monastic community itself, with a belief that accumulated wealth had caused too much hypocrisy and corruption. When dissolution came about, Cromwell was the main “fixer” under the guidance of King Henry.
It’s also important to consider Henry VIII’s personal background, a key factor that helped his decision to dissolve the monasteries. When Henry decided not to marry Catherine of Aragon and instead pursue his passionate love for Ann Boleyn, he saw a convenient time to break with a disapproving Rome. So, the two men act in unison – the big idea comes from Henry, and the practicalities are ironed out by Cromwell.
In 1536, Henry VIII gets Act of Parliament approval for dissolution, a process that had already began to a much lesser degree in 1510 with the reform of smaller monasteries within the monastic community. Radicals like Wolseley had seen the monasteries as a “relic” – for him, there was too much praying in monasteries and not enough of a social conscience. Still, news of the parliamentary act caused rebellion in the north of England and led to the “pilgrimage of grace”, a popular uprising in York, which was crushed by false promises and trickery from Henry and led to the hanging of abbots in public as a warning to rebels. Some monks and friars negotiated and received pensions and financial pay-offs, while others (such as those at Glastonbury) were faced with violence.
There was a growing feeling among the public of “where is God?” at a time when all these monasteries are being dissolved without punishment, and this created a culture of unbelief in the English people and a loss of “street cred” for the Catholic Church. Many monks became parish priests in the newly established Church of England, others received a pension, but worst hit were the nuns, who were mostly married off and deprived of an education for hundreds of years, beginning a “dark age” for women.
Dissolution was obviously a huge blow to the traditional religious way of life in England and paved the way for the Reformation, “a vacuum into which Protestantism flows”. An example of how England lost its mediaeval sense of piety towards religious objects is seen in the example of the statue of “Our Lady of Walsingham” being dragged from Norfolk to Smithfields market in London to be burned. The process of dissolution unleashed passionate feelings.
The wealth acquired by Henry was mostly used to fight the war against the French, part of an established tradition of high defence spending in the UK that is still visible today. The king’s commissioners stripped the roofs of monasteries which led to their deterioration, and allowed local people to plunder all that remained. Thankfully though, many cathedrals (including the magnificent monastery in Canterbury) are still standing.
Sadly though, it was the upper classes who profited most from the process by acquiring land, the proceeds of which went to Henry to fuel his warring ambitions. Perversely, those most opposed (rich Catholics) became those most enriched. Henry mainly squandered the money on forts on the south coast, but it was put to some good uses – such as Trinity and Christ Church colleges in Oxbridge. However, one of the tragic consequences was the increase in “vagrancy” during the late Tudor period, as many poor lost the safety net of alms houses. So, after all, it was one man's appetite for a male heir and for war against France that changed a country forever.
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