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The Dissolution of the Monasteries
The dissolution of the monasteries was a period between the years of 1536 and 1541 where the countries of England, Wales and Northern Ireland went under radical changes. At the time when Henry VIII started to disband the monasteries, there were over 900 religious houses in the three countries. People relied heavily on them, and they were a core part of the country. The monasteries provided many essential services, such as education and healthcare. They also acted as ‘hotels’ for travellers on long journeys. King Henry VIII found it fit to seize all of the land and the assets of the Catholic Church in these countries, as for he was the Head of the Church in England, and the Pope had no control over the country anymore.
The monasteries contained many riches, such as stained glass, lead and gold. Many people were angry with the monasteries, claiming that the monks lived extravagant lifestyles and were breaking their religious vows. These claims were further reinforced by a man named Desiderius Erasmus, saying that “In withdrawing from the world into their own communal life, they elevated man-made monastic vows of poverty, chastity and obedience above the God-given vows of sacramental baptism; and elevated man-made monastic rules for religious life above the God-given teachings of the Gospels”. Erasmus was a very intelligent prominent figure, who had once been the personal tutor to King Henry VII, Henry VIII’s father. One significant factor of the seizure was the amount of land obtained. Until Henry VIII’s takeover, the Catholic Church had owned around 25% of the land in England, land that was worth much money. To obtain all of this Henry needed a legitimate reason, and Henry was a pragmatic man, and what he wanted he would get.
Henry VIII sent one of his most trusted advisors, Thomas Cromwell, and his officials to go around to every monastery in the land and question the monks. Their job was to find all the negative things about the monasteries and question the locals about the behaviour of the monks and their lifestyles. The officials asked the monks questions like, ‘Do you attend every service?’ moreover, ‘What sort of food do you eat, and what clothes do you wear on your back?’
Cromwell and his officials dug up as much dirt as they could and presented it to Henry, who then, reinforced by his evidence, set out to essentially ‘raid’ the monasteries. Henry then went and stripped all of the lead off the roofs, all of the glass from the windows and all of the precious metals from the altar. He did this to every monastery in his path, until all that remained was the empty shells of once magnificent buildings, abandoned and left to be absorbed into history. Of course, this did not happen without significant complaint and anger from many. This triggered many significant events, such as the Pilgrimage of Grace and the Lincolnshire rising, by people who were angry with Henry, who relied on the service of the monasteries. The northern gentry had concerns over the new Statue of Uses. The poor harvest of 1535 had also led to high food prices, which likely contributed to discontent among the commoners. These uprisings were quickly quashed by false promises and the execution of rebellion leaders, such as Robert Aske, a barrister from London who had made his discontent very public, securing his fate eventually. Their gruesome executions were a warning to many others, don’t mess about with the king.
Henry VIII was able to obtain a vast sum of money from the selling of the treasures of the monasteries, and the land they stood on, but this came with a cost. Countries like Spain and Italy began to turn on him, angry with how he had ‘ditched’ them to obtain wealth and power.
Source References:
Pilgrimage Of Grace - Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_pilgrimage_of_grace
The Dissolution of the Monasteries
The dissolution of the monasteries was a period between the years of 1536 and 1541 where the countries of England, Wales and Northern Ireland went under radical changes. At the time when Henry VIII started to disband the monasteries, there were over 900 religious houses in the three countries. People relied heavily on them, and they were a core part of the country. The monasteries provided many essential services, such as education and healthcare. They also acted as ‘hotels’ for travellers on long journeys. King Henry VIII found it fit to seize all of the land and the assets of the Catholic Church in these countries, as for he was the Head of the Church in England, and the Pope had no control over the country anymore.
The monasteries contained many riches, such as stained glass, lead and gold. Many people were angry with the monasteries, claiming that the monks lived extravagant lifestyles and were breaking their religious vows. These claims were further reinforced by a man named Desiderius Erasmus, saying that “In withdrawing from the world into their own communal life, they elevated man-made monastic vows of poverty, chastity and obedience above the God-given vows of sacramental baptism; and elevated man-made monastic rules for religious life above the God-given teachings of the Gospels”. Erasmus was a very intelligent prominent figure, who had once been the personal tutor to King Henry VII, Henry VIII’s father. One significant factor of the seizure was the amount of land obtained. Until Henry VIII’s takeover, the Catholic Church had owned around 25% of the land in England, land that was worth much money. To obtain all of this Henry needed a legitimate reason, and Henry was a pragmatic man, and what he wanted he would get.
Henry VIII sent one of his most trusted advisors, Thomas Cromwell, and his officials to go around to every monastery in the land and question the monks. Their job was to find all the negative things about the monasteries and question the locals about the behaviour of the monks and their lifestyles. The officials asked the monks questions like, ‘Do you attend every service?’ moreover, ‘What sort of food do you eat, and what clothes do you wear on your back?’
Cromwell and his officials dug up as much dirt as they could and presented it to Henry, who then, reinforced by his evidence, set out to essentially ‘raid’ the monasteries. Henry then went and stripped all of the lead off the roofs, all of the glass from the windows and all of the precious metals from the altar. He did this to every monastery in his path, until all that remained was the empty shells of once magnificent buildings, abandoned and left to be absorbed into history. Of course, this did not happen without significant complaint and anger from many. This triggered many significant events, such as the Pilgrimage of Grace and the Lincolnshire rising, by people who were angry with Henry, who relied on the service of the monasteries. The northern gentry had concerns over the new Statue of Uses. The poor harvest of 1535 had also led to high food prices, which likely contributed to discontent among the commoners. These uprisings were quickly quashed by false promises and the execution of rebellion leaders, such as Robert Aske, a barrister from London who had made his discontent very public, securing his fate eventually. Their gruesome executions were a warning to many others, don’t mess about with the king.
Henry VIII was able to obtain a vast sum of money from the selling of the treasures of the monasteries, and the land they stood on, but this came with a cost. Countries like Spain and Italy began to turn on him, angry with how he had ‘ditched’ them to obtain wealth and power.
Source References:
Pilgrimage Of Grace - Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_pilgrimage_of_grace
