Term Paper on "History British History to What Extent Was England's Reformation Ever Popular"

Term Paper 7 pages (2209 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

English Reformation

The Protestant Reformation shook the Catholic Church to its very core; it fundamentally and publicly brought into question the divine authority of the ecclesiastical hierarchy and its doctrines. Ever since the birth of the Catholic Church in the Roman Empire, Church officials actively attempted to make their privileged positions in society impervious to assault -- this process progressed for centuries and, indeed, tens of centuries. For many years this single faith dominated nearly every aspect of European society and was a strong force in maintaining the status quo.

However, the underlying contradictions between the teachings of faith and the observed practices of the official representatives of that faith gradually emerged as a blemish upon the Church, and European society as a whole. The mid to latter centuries of the Medieval age saw growing opposition to Catholicism on these grounds, and the sixteenth century Reformation was the most serious of these threats. But King Henry VIII of England, when he initiated and enforced the English Reformation in 1534, appeared to have very few of these objections in mind. Certainly, he was aware that reform efforts within the Church would be beneficial, but he remained a Catholic until his death. Fundamentally, the Church of England was a creation of Henry VIII's, and was a consequence of his attempt to produce a stable and lasting Tudor legacy.

The Church, on the other hand, survived in a number of ways; many clerics immediately sought to remedy the structural and ideological weaknesses that were responsible -- partly -- for the success of the Reformation. These actions became known as the Counter-Reformation; yet within England, the newly established Church continued its methodical breakup of Catholic practices and systems even without mass public support. Consequently, Papal efforts to bring England back under control were futile and even less fruitful than they were in Germany. In other portions of Europe, the Counter-Reformation was as much about addressing the most apparent abuses of ecclesiastic authority as it was about formally defining and enforcing the doctrines of Catholicism. In this way, the Church both made concessions and strengthened its authoritative status with many Protestants. Nevertheless, England firmly became "a protestant nation, but not a nation of Protestants" by the end of the sixteenth century (Haigh, 10).

Even though it is often said that support of the English Reformation by the masses was lacking, it is difficult to deny that the English lower classes possessed a history of tension with the Catholic Church. One major crisis that the Catholic Church faced since Constantine first established the Holy Roman Empire made it a somewhat questionable entity in the eyes of many commoners: the Church was wealthy and corrupt. These two negative attributes of the Church cannot rightfully be separated from one another when discussing their social implications. Once Christianity became politically backed its practitioners were afforded the ability to methodically undertake procedures that would ensure its survival. These included: stomping out pagan religions, combating internal heresy, and generating wealth and power through taxes. The latter aspect was, by far, the most hated consequence. So, by the fifteenth century the Catholic Church had become so wealthy and corrupt that popes, cardinals, and even bishops lived like kings relative to the peasantry: "Most of these [religious] communities had fallen far from the pursuit of Christian perfection which was the ideal of their founders. Few truly religious houses remained. Spiritual corporations had, over the centuries, become economic corporations." (Brigden, 80). This caused many to question the legitimacy of Church taxes, since so much of their hard earned money went into easing the lifestyles of the clergy.

The great schism managed to amplify these negative characteristics of the Church by undermining the pope's ability to bring heretics to justice. Consequently, people like John Wycliffe and John Ball found themselves able to speak out against the excesses of the clergy: "From 1377 Wycliffe called upon the Church to give up its property on the alms of the faithful." (Cowie, 77). He also denied the authority of the pope and condemned the abuse of secular power exhibited by lords and kings by forever tying peasants to their lands. John Ball effectively took these notions to the streets -- when he was forbidden to preach within churches -- and put forward the idea that tithes could not justly be paid unless the payer was wealthier than the receiver. (Cowie, 79). Essentially, peasants and even those within the Church became able to actively spread ideas denouncing the Church because the mechanisms of authority were crumbling.

Of course, this freedom did not last; the peasants' revolt was eventually put down violently, and there is little data regarding the English peasantry's religious positions through the rest of the medieval period. Additionally, the English found themselves embroiled in other internal conflicts that lasted nearly the entire century between the revolt and the Reformation. Specifically, the English Civil War between the York's and the Lancaster's left the entire kingdom drained; consequently, it could be argued that the stability that Henry VIII offered was one of the key factors that allowed him to chart such a radical course for his subjects. Still, the occurrence of the peasants' revolt should not be overlooked in English history: it was one of the very few documented instances in feudal Europe during which the peasantry came forward and made their political, social, and religious notions known. Accordingly, it should be used as an indicator -- even though it was over a century removed from the Reformation -- of how the idea of Protestantism was likely to have been received by the public. So, it is reasonable to assert that if Luther had posted his Ninety-five Theses a century earlier, then much of England would have openly embraced Protestantism.

Despite the fact that the ideological backing for much of the Reformation may have found a willing home in the minds of many Englishmen, to understand the reformation as a movement from the ground up would be to elementally misunderstand it -- the English Reformation came from the top down. Henry VIII was the primary catalyst for the English Revolution and it is virtually impossible to imagine its success without him. However, Thomas Cromwell played a highly independent role as Henry's chief minister; this is particularly true -- though often contested -- regarding his role in the dissolution of the monasteries.

It has been proposed by many scholars, including A.G. Dickens, that Cromwell was strongly influenced to carry out the violent termination of the English monasteries by a number of radical publications. Among these may have been Marsiglio's Defensor Pacis and Machiavelli's The Prince (Dickens, 110). Additionally, "In Antwerp, the greatest commercial and financial capital since ancient times, Cromwell perfected the knowledge of commerce and finance which he displayed to such advantage during his years of power." (Dickens, 110). Essentially, it is the belief of many that the closing of the monasteries was almost solely the work of Cromwell; furthermore, if he were financially intelligent and a decidedly amoral individual -- like his literary influences would suggest -- then it is very likely that the additional 100,000 pounds in annual revenue that renting out monastic lands would generate was exceedingly attractive.

However, although the influence of Cromwell is very compelling, it is difficult to reconcile the image of the independent-minded and dynamic king Henry VIII with Dickens' vision of a ruler continually manipulated by his advisors. Yet, it would seem that such an aggressive overhaul of the Church hierarchy was incongruous with Henry's devout religious foundations. After all, even by the time of Henry's death "the Church in 1547 did not look protestant. Few people would have noticed many changes in the day-to-day practice of their religion." (Newcombe, 1-2). From this point-of-view, it appears straightforward to assert that all Henry VIII wanted was to remarry, and that Cromwell was the one who initiated the dismantling of the Church.

Even though Henry remained a Catholic, and even though the actual practices of Christian faith changed little in England during his reign, "Henry was not a conservative, however much his attachment to the mass and rejection of Lutheran ideas might make him appear like one. He did believe that in various respects the Church did need reform." (Bernard, 327) G.W. Bernard contends that Henry VIII did not need Cromwell or his other advisors to recognize the same abuses of power and perversions of faith that the peasants noticed in 1381.

Judging from the king's own publications, it would seem that one of his leading concerns was that he be perceived as a ruler who was elementally in search of the true mode of Christian faith. In 1543 his King's Book made philosophic decrees on the position of free will: "all men be also to be monished, and chiefly preachers, that in this high matter they looking on both sides, so attemper and moderate themselves, that neither they so preach the grace of God, that they take away thereby freewill, nor on… READ MORE

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