mid tudor crisis

1549 - the Western Rebellion

aka prayer book rebellion, attacked and robbed Gentry, objected to new prayer book and act of uniformity, wanted reintroduction of six articles and mass in Latin (Catholic), six week siege of Exeter defeated by Lord Russell and Lord Grey when 4,000 rebels were killed

1549 - Kett's Rebellion

started as an enclosure riot in Norfolk, demands surrounded exploitation of peasants but also called for more Protestant reform, refused pardons, 16,000 rebels seized Norwich, massacre of 3,000 rebels at Dussindale led by Northumberland

1553 - Lady Jane Grey Plot

Mary aimed to take the throne from LJG ad Edward;s devise for succession had declared her illegitimate despite Henry's Third Succession Act (1543), LJG was Queen for 9 days before Privy Council realised their mistake and backed Mary, 1,000 men abandoned Northumberland as he marched to capture her

1553 to 1554 - Wyatt's Rebellion

mostly motivated by proposed marriage to Philip but also fears of England becoming recatholicised, failed to gain support in London as view was not popular so failed in 3 out of 4 locations, serious threat, Wyatt and Duke of Suffolk executed with 90 rebels although Mary originally wanted to prosecute more harshly

1547 - Henry VIII"s death

kept secret for three days while factions manipulated the beneficiaries of his will, regency council ignored "like and equal charge" and appointed Edward Seymour as Lord Protector

1547 - Somerset's rise to power

result of a loophole in Henry's will, unsurprising as he was uncle to the King and had an excellent reputation as a soldier

1547 to 1549 - Somerset's Government

successful; ruled by proclamation and consulted his servants to bypass the Privy Council, counter signed Edward's signature, faced opposition from ambitious men and the council complained he was authoritarian

1547 to 1549 - Somerset's finances

unsuccessful; needed to finance his foreign policy, worried about tax reform so opted for debasement which caused more inflation, value of wealth depleted, forced to overturn enclosures

1547 to 1549 - Somerset's foreign policy

relatively successful; split resources between Scotland and France but removed troops from Scotland to defend Calais and Boulogne, defeated scots in 1547 Battle of Pinkie

1547 to 1549 - Somerset's religious policy

pretty successful; swing towards Protestantism, no major reaction to new six articles, less severe Treason Act allowed people to practice more freely, issue of iconoclasm leading to public disorder

1549 - Somerset's coup

caused by short and long term issues as well as the fact he was determined to have full authority (passed over 70 proclamations in 3 years), rebellions, harmony of the tudor gov collapsed

1549 - the fall of Somerset

power declined to retreated to Hampton Court with Edward then moved to Windsor, King fell ill then claimed he was prisoner and abandoned Somerset, said he threatened him, Somerset could not contradict the king and was removed within a week but not executed until Northumberland had attempted reconciliation

1549 - triumph of Northumberland

majority of religious conservatives on the council didn't trust him so he removed them all by January 1550, placed his supporters in important positions, forced to ally with religiously radical members

1549 to 1553 - Northumberland's rule

Lord President, removed Catholic Bishops from parliament to pass laws, ended debasement, raised gov revenue, new treason act restoring censorship, anti enclosure legislation, improved trade relations

1553 - Edward's death

health deterioration in early 1553, Henry's third succession act meant the throne would go to Mary

1553 - Devise for Succession

declared Mary and Elizabeth illegitimate, throne should go to LJG, unclear who was responsible for it but not official law as Edward was not 18

1553 - Mary's accession

Northumberland failed to appreciate support for Mary, marched with 2000 soldiers to capture her but most deserted, she rallied support, people rang bells and celebrated when she arrived (she mistook this for support for Catholicism)

1554 - Mary's marriage treaty

an heir would inherit England and the Netherlands but not Spain, if no heirs then Philip had no claim to the throne, he was joint sovereign but had no authority in his own right, could not promote foreigners, England would help the Netherlands

1553 to 1558 - Mary's Government

increased Privy Council to around 50 members w specialised areas, factional rivalries (Gardiner and Paget), opposition towards marriage, ineffective style of gov, Parliament rejected heresy laws unless they met conditions, often took advice from outsiders, they tried to slow the restoration, dependent on a few key members

1553 to 1558 - Cardinal Pole

England's papal legate, ran gov on Mary's behalf, later appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, legateship removed in 1557 and ordered to return to Rome but Mary refused, trusted him deeply, died 12 hours after Mary

1549 - Henry VIII's religious legacy

English bible, protestants that denied the catholic faith were persecuted, monarch as supreme head of the church, catholic leaning six articles

1547 - Book of Homilies

a series of Protestant sermons allowed by the gov to put across reformist views, written by Cranmer, focus on justification by faith, prevented by Catholic preaching, Somerset was the driving force

1547 - Royal Injunctions

orders issued for the implementation of church policy, submitted through the advice of Somerset, required English preaching, destruction of images and the abolition of processions

1547 - Dissolution of Chantries

no need as Protestants don't believe in purgatory, Somerset needed the money to finance foreign policy, commissioners confiscated land and precious metals were melted into coins

1547 - Repeal of the Six Articles

removed the restored Catholic doctrine

1548 to 1549 - Iconoclasm

the destruction of religious images, commissioners took inventory and seized items left in much abused churches, objects not destroyed were hidden

1549 and 1552 - Prayer Books

the first was written in English but designed to appeal to moderate Catholics and Protestants, the second was fully Protestant (both written by Cranmer), shows a move towards more radical Protestantism under Northumberland

1549 and 1552 - Acts of Uniformity

the 1549 act made the prayer book official service and was headed by Somerset, the second also made it an offence to not attend church; mass and catholic doctrines were removed by this point so extreme reformers did not approve

1552 - 42 Articles

set out the beliefs of the Edwardian church and were highly protestant, his death meant they never became law

1550 and 1552 - Treason Act

enforced doctrinal uniformity and made it an offence to question royal supremacy or any of the articles of faith

1547 to 1549 - to what extent did England become Protestant under Somerset?

most Catholic traditions and practices were attacked and many destroyed but more radical Protestantism proceeded slowly and faced opposition

1553 - Act of Repeal

Parliament refused to repeal the act of supremacy, Mary gave up her title, act of repeal was passed undoing all of the Edwardian reformation and restored the church to what it was in 1547 under the six articles

1554 - Royal Injunctions

ordered Bishops to suppress heresy, removed married clergy, reordained those from Edward's reign, restored holy days, 243 priests lost their posts in Norwich

1554 - Heresy Laws

resulted in leading Protestants being tried and executed, burnings started in 1555, Hooper, Latimer, Ridley and Cranmer all burned by 1556, 274 executed during the reign

November 1554

Pole granted the realm absolution and 'welcomed the return of the lost sheep'

1555 - Bonner's Book of Homilies

contributed to Cranmer's book after it fell into disuse, commissioned by Pole to help the clergy but not much chance to be implemented

1553 to 1558 - Marian Exiles

about 800 committed Protestants left England to avoid persecution, mainly the gentry as others couldn't afford to move

1555 - Twelve Decrees

established seminaries and increased disciplines against abuses such as absenteeism, pluralism, simony and heresy

1553 to 1558 - Parliamentary Resistance

cautious of rash and controversial decisions, declined after Gardiner's death in 1555 allowing Mary to advance her Catholic ideas

1555 to 1558 - impact of Protestant burnings

letters sent to JPs suggest that there was little enthusiasm for the persecutions and it was only due to pressure from the central gov that local govs responded, large numbers attending suggest it was a spectacle, people welcomed the opportunity to sell produce, difficult to determine

1553 to 1558 - extent of Catholicism

papal supremacy was not fully restored and there was some resistance both from the public and parliament, however the exiles show that people still felt the need to flee