access to history’

. e[e@ AS ae for Edexcel

 DYNAMIC
PEAR
WN PNG

Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors, 1485-1603 is available as a Student eTextbook.

Student eTextbooks are downloadable versions of the printed textbooks that teachers can assign
to students. Students can:
»® Download and view them on any device or browser
» Add, edit and synchronise notes across two devices
Access their personal copy on the move

Find out more and sign up for a free trial — visit: www.hoddereducation.co.uk/dynamiclearning
Rebellion and
Disorder under the
Tudor S 1485-1603 for Edexcel
ROGER TURVEY

—— €y HOBDER comes
OTIS #8 HACHETTE Uc
The Publishers would like to thank the following for permission to reproduce copyright material:

Photo credits: p4 Wellcome Library, London, Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence
CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/(detail of Burleigh); p6 World History Archive/TopFoto; p57 Wikimedia
Commons/Public domain; p74 Heritage Image Partnership Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo ; p78 National Archives; p86 Wellcome
Collection/Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) (detail of face); p102 Wikimedia Commons/Public domain; p111 Art
Collection 2/Alamy Stock Photo; p119 ‘A Thankfull Remembrance of God’s Mercie’/British Library, London, UK/© British Library
Board. All Rights Reserved/Bridgeman Images; p130 Historical Images Archive/Alamy Stock Photo; p131 Wikimedia Commons/
Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Acknowledgements: Boydell Press, Tyrone’s Rebellion by Hiram Morgan, 1993. Cambridge University Press, Authority and
Disorder in Tudor Times 1485-1603 by Paul Thomas, 2001. Cambridge University Press, Bacon’s History of the Reign of King
Henry VIl by J. Rawson Lumby, 1885. Cambridge University Press, Queen Elizabeth |, by J.E. Neale, 1934. Cambridge University
Press, The Early History of English Poor Reliefby E.M. Leonard, 1900. Cambridge University Press, The Pilgrimage of Grace
1536-1537 and the Exeter Conspiracy 1558 by M.H. Dodds and R. Dodds, 1915. Cambridge University Press, The Polarisation
of Elizabethan Politics: The Political Career of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, 1585-1597 by P.E.J. Hammer, 2005. Cambridge
University Press, Tudor Constitutional Documents, A.D. 1485-1603 by J.R. Tanner, 1922. Fontana, Church and People 1450-1660
by Claire Cross, 1976. Henry Colburn, Letters of the Kings of England: Now First Collected from Royal Archives, and Other Authentic
Sources, Private as Well as Public, Vol. 1, edited by J.0. Halliwell, editor, 1848. Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Calendar of State
Papers, Spain (Simancas), Vol. 4, 1587-1603, 1899. History Review, ‘The Pilgrimage of Grace, October-December 1536’ by Nick
Fellows, History Review, September 2000. John Murray, The Reign of Elizabeth by B. Mervyn, 2001. Longman & Co., Kett’s Rebellion
in Norfolk: Being a history of the great civil commotion that occurred at the time of the reformation,.in the reign of Edward VI, by
F.W. Russell, 1859. Longman, The Tudor Age, 1485-1603 by Rosemary O'Day, 1995. Macmillan, Documents Illustrative of English
Church History by H. Gee and W.J. Hardy, 1914. Matthew Parker Society, Correspondence of Matthew Parker, letters written by
and to him, from A.D. 1535, to his death, A.D. 1575, Vol. 49, edited by J. Bruce and T.T. Perowne, 1853. Methuen, England under
the Tudors by G.R. Elton, 1955. National Archives (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/elizabeth-monarchy/
elizabeths-first-speech/). Oxford University Press, The Pilgrimage of Grace and the Politics of the 1530s by R.W. Hoyle, 2001.
Rosemont Publishing, Tudor Placemen and Statesmen: Select Case Histories by N.P. Sil, 2001. Routledge, Tudor Government by
T.A. Morris, 1990. University of Birmingham, The Philological Museum (www.philological.bham.ac.uk/polverg/). University of
Wisconsin, ‘Elizabethan progresses, 1559-1603’ by Nancy Schmid, 1971 (http://digital library.wisc.edu/1793/54711).
Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked, the Publishers will be
pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.

Although every effort has been made to ensure that website addresses are correct at time of going to press, Hodder Education
cannot be held responsible for the content of any website mentioned in this book. It is sometimes possible to find a relocated
web page by typing in the address of the home page for a website in the URL window ofyour browser.

Orders: please contact Bookpoint Ltd, 130 Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4SE. Telephone: +44 (0)1235 827827.
Fax: +44 (0)1235 400401. Email: education@bookpoint.co.uk. Lines are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Saturday,
with a 24-hour message answering service. You can also order through our website: www.hoddereducation.co.uk
© Roger Turvey 2018

First published in 2018 by s

Hodder Education
An Hachette UK Company
Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y ODZ

www.hoddereducation.co.uk

Impressionnumber 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Year 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018
All rights reserved. Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, no part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or held within any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher or under licence from the Copyright
Licensing Agency Limited. Further details of such licences (for reprographic reproduction) may be obtained from the Copyright
Licensing Agency Limited, www.cla.co.uk.

Cover photo: © Archivart/Alamy Stock Photo

MIX Produced and typeset in Palatino by Gray Publishing, Tunbridge Wells
Paper from Printed in the UK by CP! Group Ltd
responsible sources A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
See FSC™ C104740
ISBN 978 1510423473
: Contents

Dedication

quis! Government and administration: changes in governance

at the centre
The monarchy and government
Central government
Crown, court and household
Church and state
WU
FR
BWNCrown and parliament

Gaining the cooperation of the localities

1 Regional and local government
2 Governing the localities
3 Patronage and reward
4 Royal progresses

Henry VII and the challenges to the succession, 1485-99

af Establishing the Tudor dynasty
2 The pretenders
3 Defending the dynasty

Henry VIII and the challenges to religious change, 1533-7

i The Henrician Reformation
2 The Lincolnshire rising and the Pilgrimage of Grace
S The suppression of rebellion
4 Key debate

Edward VI and the challenges to royal authority: agrarian

discontent and the Kett rebellion, 1549
Mid-Tudor crisis and the causes of rebellion
N Kett’s rebellion and the challenge to royal authority
Warwick and the suppression of rebellion 101

Queen takes queen: Elizabeth Tudor, Mary Stuart and

the revolt of the northern earls, 1569-70 106
Elizabeth | and Mary, Queen of Scots 107
The revolt of the northern earls das
The failure of the rebellion and its impact 118
PH
BWNThe key debate 122
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

at/573,8 Trouble in Elizabethan Ireland: Tyrone and

the Nine Years’ War, 1594-1603 125
1 Cause of Tyrone’s rebellion and the Nine Years’ War 125
2 The lrish in revolt 132
3 The end ofthe war and the defeat of Tyrone 138

Study guide 9 144

Glossary of terms ISS,
Further reading 161
Index 163

XX

Dedication
Keith Randell (1943-2002)
The Access to History series was conceived and developed by Keith, who created a series to ‘cater for
students as they are, not as we might wish them to be’. He leaves a living legacy of a series that for over
twenty years has provided a trusted, stimulating and well-loved accompaniment to post-16 study. Our
aim with these new editions is to continue to offer students the best possible support for their studies.
 CHAPTER 1

~ Government and administration:

F Chen ges in governance at the
:

centre

Good governance was dependent on a sound working relationship between the crown,
church and parliament. The wealthiest and most powerful nobles and gentry sought to
become members of the court and household which enhanced the power and authority of
the crown. The crown’s relationship with parliament was also significant since the
institution represented the views and opinions of a cross-section of the kingdom’s
landowning elite. Statutes from parliament, along with royal proclamations, rebalanced the
relationship between the monarch and parliament and altered the nature ofthe
relationship between the church and state. These issues are examined as five themes:
* The monarchy and government
Central government
Crown, court and household
Church and state
Wn
Sie
a Crown and parliament

Key dates :
1526 Eltham Ordinances 1540 First minutes recorded of Privy Council
1529-36 Reformation Parliament meeting by specially appointed clerks
1532/3 Cromwell emerged as the king's chief Thomas Cromwell executed
minister 1543 Second Act of Union.
1535 Cromwell appointed vicegerent in 1549 Cranmer’s First Book of Common
spirituals Prayer
1536 Act for the Dissolution of the Smaller 1552 Cranmer’s Second Book of Common
Monasteries Prayer
Ten Articles 1553 Forty-Two Articles
First Act of Union 1558 Sir William Cecil became principal
1537 Council of the North re-established secretary and chief minister
1539 Act for the Dissolution of the Larger 1559 Act of Supremacy, Religious Settlement
Monasteries 1585 Office of lord lieutenant became
Six Articles permanent

Om KEY TERMS
Dei gratia Latin for by the
grace of God.
Divine right Belief that
monarchs were chosen by
God to rule the kingdom and
Die eyes iowa lo
challenge their right to rule
was the same as challenging
God.
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485-1603 for Edexcel
The monarchy and government —
> or Banvicane was the monarchy’5ee in GaCHATIOAE aie!
administration in the period between 1485 and 1603?
The nature, power and limits of monarchy
To appreciate the way in which the government and administration operated
and changed in this period, it is important to gain an understanding of the
nature of the authority wielded by the monarch. Equally important is an
understanding of how personal, political, diplomatic, religious and financial
factors affected both the growth and the practical limits of royal power in the
period between 1485 and 1603.
Divine right monarchy
English monarchs claimed to rule dei gratia or by the will of God. This belief
in divine right, that, as a person apart, the monarch was regarded as God’s
instrument on earth, was supported by the church. Parish priests would
regularly remind their parishioners of the terrible torments of hell that awaited
those who dared rebel against the crown. In practical terms, this meant that any
rebellion against the monarch was regarded as being the same as a rebellion
against God. This is why the charge of treason, to betray one’s king or queen
and country, was regarded as a serious crime. This is why the rebellions that
plagued the Tudors were doomed to failure. Unless the rebels aimed to remove
and replace the monarch they could not succeed. 2
‘
The powers of monarchy
The monarch was expected to act as the protector and enforcer othe laws of
the kingdom. The old Latin maxim Rex is Lex and Lex is Rex (the king is the law
and the law is the king) demonstrates the extent to which English monarchs
had come to identify with the processes of law-making. Although they came to
hold a highly privileged position within the legal structure of the kingdom, they
could not ignore or break the law but were expected to set a good example by
acting within the accepted structure.
This does not mean that English monarchs were weak or had little power; on the
contrary, their powers were extensive, but there were limits to their authority.
For example, the monarch alone could:
raise troops
wage war
conclude peace
conduct foreign affairs
summon and dissolve parliament
pardon offenders
_ Chapter | Government and administration: changes in governance at the centre

@ manage the coinage

@ arrange the marriages of members of the royal family.
| oo @~ KEY TERMS
These political, military and economic powers constituted what became known
as the royal prerogative. Royal prerogative Certain
rights and privileges enjoyed
The limits of monarchy by the monarch such as
making war, negotiating
On the other hand, the monarch could not: peace treaties, and calling and

e levy taxes closing parliament.

@ make laws at will Schism A term used
e set aside the rights of the subject by historians to describe
e behave as a tyrant, especially as the church had long taught that it was lawful Fades break with the Pope
to kill a tyrant.

In short, the monarch had a duty to respect the notion that all who lived within
the kingdom, from the lowliest peasant to the mightiest noble, were bound by
the common ‘weal’ or good.
Even a king as powerful as Henry VIII recognised the need to give legal basis to
his break from Rome by seeking the consent of his people, via parliament, and
by framing the schism in English statute law. The fact that he may have bullied
and harried his subjects into consenting to the break with Rome did not alter the
fact that he had to be seen to be seeking their support. This balance of rights and
duties between monarch and subject allowed for cooperation, compromise and
even partnership.

The monarchy in government

The Tudor monarchy was one in which the ruler was directly responsible for
policy and closely involved in the business of government. An agenda for the
monarch’s attention might require his or her signature on state papers several
times a day. Because monarchy was personal, everything depended on the
monarch’s willingness to devote themselves to business.
Henry VI and Elizabeth had been models in this respect; they were focused and
hard working. However, Henry VIII frequently behaved as though he wanted
government to take care of itself. Henry did almost all his work by word of
mouth, so that state papers had to be either read to him or summarised for him.
Nor was Henry willing to delegate his authority on a consistent basis. He always
reserved for himself the freedom to intervene as and when he wanted.
In contrast, his daughter Mary found the business of government a burden
for which she had had little training or preparation. Nevertheless, from the
beginning of her reign, she indicated that she would take an active part in
governance. This she did throughout her short reign, working long hours in
trying to solve problems that would have tested the limits of her father’s abilities.
Since Mary was the first woman to rule Tudor England in her own right, issues
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

William Cecil, 1587 Involved in the trial

and execution of
Mary, Queen of
Lord Burghley Scots
1598 Died and is buried
1520 Born in Bourne, Lincolnshire, the son of
in Stamford Baren
Richard Cecil and grandson of Dafydd ap
Seisyll (anglicised to David Cecil) of Allt-yr- Sir William Cecil was an academic and skilled
Ynys. Attended St John’s College, Cambridge administrator who first came to prominence in the reign
J 547 Served in the household of Lord Protector of Edward VI. He served the Duke of Somerset and
“| Somerset survived his patron's fall from power in 1549 to serve in
550 Appointed secretary of state and the administration of the Duke of Northumberland. As
privy councillor under the Duke of a Protestant he declined to serve in the government of
| Northumberland Mary | but he remained on good terms with the Marian
regime. He rose to prominence again in 1558 with the
y 55I Knighted
Sos accession of Elizabeth |, who relied on him as her chief
356 Retired from public life in the reign of Mary | adviser. Cecil's power was such that he was effectively
558 Appointed secretary of state by Elizabeth the queen's chief minister who ran her government,
57| Raised to the peerage as Baron Burghley presided over the Privy Council, managed the
kingdom's finances and oversaw the business of
Syn Succeeded the Marquis of Winchester as lord
parliament.
treasurer

@ KEY TERM
Privy Council Elite body
of councillors drawn from
the nobility and gentry who
met with the monarch on
a regular basis to offer their
advice, frame laws and
govern the country.
of gender complicated the early days of her reign. On the other hand, Elizabeth
used her femininity as an additional weapon in her ruling armoury. She could
charm her male companions while they sought to outdo each other in flattering
her. ~
‘“
The most successful ministers were those who were flexible enough to
accommodate the different brands of personal monarchy. Among the most
flexible was Sir William Paget (1505-63), a particularly able miniSter who served
four monarchs during a long and successful career: Henry VIII, Edward VI,
Mary and Elizabeth. Sir William Cecil was another flexible friend of monarchy,
having served both Somerset and Northumberland in the reign of Edward VI
before re-emerging from retirement during Mary’s reign to become, arguably,
the most powerful and influential chief minister of the sixteenth century.
SOURCE A
‘wcunning niin consetroeitenteie nse vaieiirecatcntraaeoiea ae ioteaiso otitis aes eseninitesscncietsirieniinee intense

~) Study Source A. Why
might readers of Smith's
book conclude that
England was governed by
a royal dictatorship?
Adapted from Sir Thomas Smith’s De Republica Anglorum, 1583. Smith was a
university-trained scholar and political thinker who served as a member of
parliament in five parliaments between 1547 and 1572. He served as an envoy
on five foreign embassies between 1548 and 1571 and was appointed to the
Privy Council in 1572. His book, the political treatise De Republica Anglorum
(The English Republic), was completed in 1565 but not published until after his
death.

The monarch of England, king or queen, has absolute in his power the authority
of war and peace, to defy what prince it shall please him, and to bid him war,
and again to reconcile himself and enter into league or truce with him at his
_ Chapter | Government and administration: changes in governance at the centre

pleasure or the advice only of his Privy Council. His privy council be chosen
also at the prince's pleasure out of the nobility and of the knights, and esquires,
such and so many as he shall think good, who does consult daily, or when need
is of the weighty matters of the realm, to give therein to their prince the best
advice they can.
The prince is the life, the head, and the authority of all things that be done in
the realm of England. And to no prince is done more honour and reverence
than to the king and queen of England, no man speaks to the prince nor serves
at the table but in adoration and kneeling, all persons of the realm be
bareheaded before him: insomuch that in the chamber of presence where the
cloth of estate is set, no man dare walk, yea though the prince be not there, no
man dare be there but bareheaded.

Summary diagram: The monarchy and government

¢ Powerful element e¢ Powers of monarchy

¢ Personal element e Limits of monarchy

© Central government
® How far did the character of government change in the period
| between 1485 and 1603?

The king’s council

Medieval English government revolved around the king himself and the men he
chose to sit on his council. The functions of the council were three-fold:

@ to advise the king over matters of state ‘

e to draft, pass and enforce laws
e to raise and administer the kingdom’s finances.

During Henry’s reign there was a total of 227 councillors, most of whom rarely
attended meetings. When all the active members were present the council
numbered about 40. The difficulty in controlling this large council led Henry to
rely on a small, core group of councillors who met with the king regularly. This
elite group included the chief officers of state, the lord chancellor, John Morton,
the lord privy seal, Richard Fox, the lord treasurer, John, Lord Dynham, and a
handful of others. These men gave stability to the new regime because Henry
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—|603 for Edexcel

kept them in office for so long. For example, Morton served as lord chancellor
|@ KEY FIGURES
for fourteen years until his death in 1501, while Fox served as lord privy seal for
Thomas Wolsey 22 years until the king’s death in 1509.
(1473-1530) Elizabeth, too, followed this principle of continuity in employment by relying
The son of an Ipswich butcher, on an elite group of trusted councillors, such as William Cecil, Lord Burghley;
Wolsey rose to prominence Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester; Sir Francis Walsingham and Sir Christopher
through the church. He was a
Hatton. Cecil served as Elizabeth’s chief minister for 40 years (1558-98), holding
talented academic, cleric and
the posts of secretary of state (1558-72) and lord treasurer (1572-98). Leicester
administrator who served as
the king’s chief minister too served on her Privy Council for 26 years (1562-88).
1514-29. As Archbishop of However, Henry VIII's council was anything but stable. He hired and fired
York, cardinal and papal legate,
ministers at will, which served to undermine the continuity and efficiency
he dominated the English
of his councils. Able men like Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (1514-29), Thomas
church. His failure to secure
the annulment of Henry VIII's Cromwell (1532-40) and Sir Thomas More (1530-2) served the king in turn as
marriage to Catherine of his chief minister but were sacrificed when the king did not get his way. Only
Aragon contributed to his Wolsey enjoyed anything like a long and stable relationship with the king but
dowrfall. when he failed to deliver the divorce demanded by the king he was sacked and
Thomas Cromwell died prior to his trial for treason.
(1485-1540) SOURCE B
/vvvicisreiisnraisorciairitei cisions inet anton eeeitietaeairniiraidnivaeaieaoeeiteeo AHHH
The son of an ale-house
keeper, Cromwell was a
talented lawyer and politician,
who served as the king’s chief
minister |533—40. He is
credited with being
responsible for the reform of
government and for being the
architect of the Henrician
Reformation.

Study Source B. What

significance can you attach
to the fact that Cromwell
was painted by the king's A portrait of Thomas Cromwell painted in 1532/3 by Hans Holbein, court
personal portrait painter? painter to Henry VIII.
_ Chapter | Government and administration: changes in governance at the centre

SOURCE C
MM
TL

Adapted from Polydore Vergil’s Anglica Historia (The History of England), 1513
(available at www.philological.bham.ac.uk/polverg/). Study Source C, Why did
Henry VII think it was
Henry VII established a Council in his household by whose opinion all things important to rely on such
should be justly and rightly governed and causes brought to it to be decided a small group of
without the bitterness of lawsuits. And for this Council, he chose men councillors?
renowned for their shrewdness, loyalty and reliability, John, Earl of Oxford;
Jasper, Duke of Bedford; Thomas Stanley, Earl of Derby; John Morton, Bishop
of Ely; Richard Fox, Edward Poynings. And he chose other wise men to council
for specific business among whom were Rhys ap Thomas, a Welshman;
Thomas Grey, Marquis of Dorset, a good and prudent man; George Talbot,
Earl of Shrewsbury, wise and moderate in all things; Thomas, Earl of Ormond,
an Irishman; William Say, a prominent knight; Thomas, Earl of Surrey, a man
ofgreat wisdom, reliability and loyalty.
‘vain anastasia cetacean SeeHSSteAsoessHeSAOSH EAEA
@"_ KEY FIGURE
A ‘revolution’ in government and the development of the
Thomas More
Privy Council (1478-1535)
The most significant reform of the council is said to have occurred in the latter The son ofa London lawyer,
half of the reign of Henry VIII. In the opinion of Geoffrey Elton (writing in More was a prominent
humanist scholar with an
1953), a ‘Tudor revolution in government’ took place in the 1530s in which the
international reputation. He
king’s chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, attempted to modernise and reform the served in parliament and was
government. appointed to the king’s
Elton’s main contention was that during the period 1532-40 a series of changes council by Henry VIII, who
valued his advice and skills as
were made that collectively marked a transition from medieval household to
an administrator. He
modern bureaucratic forms of government. succeeded Wolsey as the
king's chief minister but his
Elton’s theory can be broken down into four component inability to accept Henry VIII
parts: as head of the church led to
his dismissal and execution.
e The structure and organisation of central government. The ‘administrative
revolution’ was responsible for a radical change in the structure and
organisation of central government. The major part of this recasting of @ KEY TERM
central administration revolved around the reorganisation of the financial
Humanist University-
departments and the creation of the Privy Council. The result was that educated participant in
government by the king was replaced by government under the king. the intellectual movement
e The role of parliament and the scope and authority of statute law. The essential associated with the
ingredient of the Tudor revolution was the concept of national sovereignty revival of the learning
of classical Greece and
and the creation of a sovereign law-making parliament. In using parliament
Rome. Humanists sought
to enforce the Reformation, the crown was emphasising that nothing lay a better understanding of
outside the competence of parliamentary statute. The result was that king and the scriptures and were
parliament had been replaced by king-in-parliament. dismissive of superstitious
e The relationship between church and state. By bringing the church firmly under beliefs and practices in the
church.
the control of the king, the royal supremacy had initiated a ‘jurisdictional
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—|603 for Edexcel

revolution’ in the relationship between church and state. The independence of

the church had been quashed and the balance of power between church and
state had tipped firmly in favour of the latter. The result was that church and
state had been replaced by church in state.
e The extension of royal authority in the regions. By bringing the outlying regions
of the kingdom under the control of the central government, Cromwell
was aiming to create a nation that was a jurisdictional entity. He gave
more authority and purpose to the Council of the North and reformed the
government of Wales by empowering the Council of Wales and the Marches.
Although short lived, he also set up a Council of the West. The result was that
a fragmented polity was replaced by a unitary state.

Elton argued that, as these developments were one of the major turning points
in the history of British politics and government, they well deserved the title of
revolution.

Defining medieval and modern government

Elton’s argument turned on his definition of medieval and modern forms of
government and his assessment of what happened in the 1530s. In his book,
The Tudor Revolution in Government (1953), Elton argued that modern forms
of government were very different from medieval methods of administration.
Medieval systems of government were based on royal officers working within
the household and accountable only to the king. In contrast, modern systems
of government were bureaucratic, being based on departments of state staffed
by professional salaried officials who worked according to agreed procedures.
In this way, the bureaucratic departments could function efficiently without the
constant supervision of the monarch, who might be lazy, weak or, in the case of
Edward VI, a child. Therefore, the ‘system’ was paramount. Elton concluded that
because of the nature and scale of the changes that took place in the structure of
government in the 1530s, the English administrative system crossed the line that
divides the medieval from the modern. He identified two changes as being of
particular importance.

The replacement of a household system of finance by a bureaucratic

system
e Inthe medieval system, most of the king’s income was received by individual
officers whose conduct was not properly regulated and whose accounts were
not regularly audited. These officials worked within the royal household.
Many of these officials were appointed to the offices because of their family
connections and patronage and not on merit or administrative ability.
e Under Cromwell's new system, legally constituted and properly regulated
departments received and paid out money and were efficiently audited. They
were staffed for the most part by professionally trained administrators who
owed their promotion to merit and ability rather than patronage. The most
_ Chapter | Government and administration: changes in governance at the centre

important of these new departments were the Court of First Fruits and Tenths
and the Court of Augmentation. They were tasked with administering the
king’s income and assets from the church.

The establishment of the Privy Council

Elton argued that at some time in the 1530s (probably in 1536 to deal with
the Pilgrimage of Grace, see page 76), the informal medieval system of a
large council, with between 70 and 90 members, was replaced by a more
formal Privy Council system in which an elite group of about twenty trusted
permanent councillors assumed responsibility for running the government.
Elton summarised his argument by claiming that ‘when an administration
relying on the household was replaced by one based exclusively on bureaucratic
departments and officers of state, a revolution took place in government’,

According to Elton, the Privy Council’s small size and the eminence and
competence of its members enabled it to function effectively during periods of
crisis such as the rebellion known as the Pilgrimage of Grace and even during
the royal minority of Edward VI (see pages 91-2). The creation and importance
of the Privy Council by 1540 is not in doubt, but some historians have rejected
Cromwell's part in its creation. Responding to criticism from historians who @r" KEY TERM
claim that the Privy Council was structured along lines prefigured by Wolsey
in his Eltham Ordinances of 1526 (see page 13), Elton pointed out that the Eltham Ordinances A set
Cardinal's chief adviser at the time was none other than Thomas Cromwell. of instructions drawn up in
Cromwell's death in July 1540 did not witness the end of the Privy Council, 1526 to reform the king's
court and royal household,
which continued to evolve after his death. which included the king’s
private or privy council.
The reform ofthe Privy Council after Cromwell and the
notion of collective responsibility
It was only after Cromwell’s execution in 1540 that the Privy Council emerged
to become a distinct institution at the heart of Tudor government. For example,
the earliest surviving registers containing the minutes of Privy Council meetings
date from 1540. One of the key features of the Privy Council after 1540 was the
notion of collective responsibility. The councillors appointed by the king had
equal status regardless of their titles so that no one individual could dominate
the government as Wolsey and Cromwell had done. ‘
The Duke of Northumberland governed the country in the absence of an
adult monarch (see page 102). Tellingly, Northumberland took the title lord
president of the council. Under him, the Privy Council evolved into an effective,
professional, bureaucratic institution that developed an expertise in law, finance
and administration. It was recognised by Philip of Spain, who encouraged his
wife, Mary, to adopt a system whereby a small inner council of trusted ministers
was appointed to offer the queen advice.

@ KEY TERM
Lord chancellor Highest
legal and administrative office
in the English government,
often equated with being the
monarch's chief minister.
10
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel
During the reign of Elizabeth, the Privy Council developed to become an
integral and indispensable part of central government. The queen quickly
recognised, no doubt encouraged by Cecil, the benefits of having a professional
group of administrators to help govern the country. The Elizabethan Privy
Council consisted of some twenty councillors (the membership fluctuated
during her reign), most of whom were either the holders of great offices of state
or who served the queen in her household. For example, the Earl of Leicester
held the household post of master of the horse while Sir William Paulet, Marquis
of Winchester, occupied the office of lord treasurer.
The changing role of the principal secretary
The monarch had long been attended by personal secretaries who dealt with his
or her correspondence and general paperwork. These secretaries were part of
the monarch’s household staff, which gave them access to the royal person on a
daily basis. Chief among them was the principal secretary who took charge of
the monarch’s secretariat or secretarial office.
In the hands of an ambitious and talented politician like Thomas Cromwell,
the post of principal secretary became more significant. Unlike his predecessor,
Bishop Stephen Gardiner, Cromwell turned the office into a political position
with the power to run the government. For example, the highest political office
in the government was that of lord chancellor, a post held by both Cardinal
Wolsey and Sir Thomas More, but never conferred on Cromwell. Despite this,
it was Cromwell rather than the lord chancellor, Sir Thomas Audley, who ran
the government between 1534 and 1540. Cromwell’s influence with the king
ensured that Audley and the other ministers took their instructions from the
principal secretary.
Cromwell used his position to chair Council meetings, control access to the
king, monitor his correspondence and take charge of the royal seal, which was
needed to authenticate documents and thus make legal the crown’s policies and
decisions.
Dividing the secretaryship
Following Cromwell’s execution in 1540, the post of principal secretary was split
between two men, Sir Thomas Wriothesley and Sir Ralph Sadler. This change
was probably made in response to the increased workload facing the king’s
secretariat as government became larger and more complex. Neither man sought
to replicate Cromwell’s power, which led to a decline in the political authority of
the principal secretaryship from the 1540s.
Chapter | Government and administration: changes in governance at the centre

Cecil and the Elizabethan secretaryship

It was not until the reign of Elizabeth that the post of secretary again became
important. Elizabeth’s appointment of Sir William Cecil as her principal
secretary (he outranked the second secretary) transformed the post. Cecil
was a professional bureaucrat who had served in government in the reign
of Edward VI. Cecil served as the young king’s principal secretary for three
years (1550-3), so he was well placed to assume and develop the office when
appointed by Elizabeth a mere five days after her accession to the throne.

From principal secretary to secretary of state

Cecil’s administrative experience, allied to Elizabeth’s trust in him, enabled
Cecil to explore the powers and limits of the secretaryship. Under Elizabeth,
the role of principal secretary evolved into the office of secretary of state, which
brought with it membership of the Privy Council and responsibility for the
day-to-day running of the government. The secretary also controlled all written
communication to and from the queen, which gave the post holder enormous
power. Cecil was the nearest thing in Elizabethan government to a chief
minister.

Cecil held the post for fourteen years (1558-72), during which time it had
become a permanent and influential part of government. His successor, Sir
Francis Walsingham, held the post for seventeen years (1573-90). In fact, the
business of government had become so great that in 1577 a second secretary
of state, Sir Thomas Wilson (1577-81), was appointed to assist Walsingham.
Following Wilson’s death, after four years into his office, the queen did not
appoint a successor. Following Walsingham’s death, Elizabeth left the post @> KEY FIGURE |
vacant but the burden of the office fell on Cecil’s shoulders once again. Assisted
by his son Robert, Cecil was able to persuade the queen to formally appoint Robert Cecil
Robert as secretary of state in 1596. Sir Robert Cecil held the post for the (1563-1612)
remainder of her reign. The second son of William,
Lord Burghley, was short in
stature and suffered from a
curvature of the spine, but he
was as accomplished an
‘ administrator and politician as
his father. Cecil was groomed
by his father to succeed him
in office. His talent for
government impressed the
queen, who appointed him
secretary of state in 1596.
He succeeded his father as
the queen’s chief minister in
1598 and served until her
death in 1603.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

Summary diagram: Central government

Central government
in Tudor England

King’s council —

_
Revolution in government

Mane , Regional and

Parliament Privy Council local government

Thomas Cromwell and

king’s secretary

Principal secretary

Secretary of state

Crown, court and household

> Why was the court and royal household soimportant?
The court
Physically, the court consisted of a great hall and attached rooms which catered
for government business, public meetings and entertainment. Between the court
and the privy chamber stood the presence chamber or throne room in which
the monarch would dine and meet people in a more intimate setting. However,
the court was more than simply a place; it was a magnet to the ambitious and
power-hungry nobility and gentry. The Tudors had succeeded in making a place
at court not only desirable but essential if the ambitious were to make their
political and economic fortune. Becoming a courtier became a mark of status
and a means to enjoy the patronage dispensed by the monarch. As historian
David Loades has observed (1986), ‘One of the most striking political successes
of the Tudors was the extent to which they succeeded in making their Court the
centre of the aristocratic world’

Pane
_ Chapter | Government and administration: changes in governance at the centre

Some courtiers, such as Thomas Cromwell, also became members of the royal
household. Being in the presence of the monarch on a daily basis was an
© KEY TERMS
advantage in the cut-throat rivalry for royal patronage, which often led to the
formation of political factions. Whereas a strong monarch could control these Factions Rival or opposing
factions, a weak ruler might not. political groups led by
powerful noblemen or noble
The royal household families. Factions fought to
influence or control the
The royal household was where the monarchs lived and it was responsible for monarch.
their domestic needs. It existed on two levels — below and above stairs. Below Lord chamberlain Highest
stairs, the servants were employed to serve the royal family in the kitchens, ranking officer in the royal
laundries and gardens. Above stairs, the royal family lived in the privy chamber, household with responsibility
a series of private apartments which was attached to the royal court. The for the monarch’s privy
chamber or the household
household above stairs was staffed by members of the nobility and gentry.
above stairs.
The privy chamber lay at the heart of the household and during the reigns of
Henry VHI and Edward V1 it became the focus of political influence and power.
The structure and function of the household had remained fairly constant for
more than three centuries but this changed with the advent of the Tudors, who
were keen to reform the institution in line with the evolution in government.

Wolsey and the Eltham Ordinances

The first serious attempt to reform the household was undertaken by
Henry VIII's chief minister, Cardinal Wolsey:

@ In 1526, Wolsey drew up the Eltham Ordinances, which proposed to

downsize the household because it had grown too large and expensive.
e It also proposed a council of twenty ministers who would advise the king on
matters ranging from the household to the government of the kingdom.
e Its proposals were not implemented until after Wolsey’s death.
During Henry VIII's reign, the household became an important part of the
political system because many of its members — the king’s friends and servants ___ @_ KEY FIGURE
— were appointed to positions of power in the central government. The link
John Gates (1504-53)
between the royal household and the government of the kingdom became ever
A lawyer and royal official
closer.
who made his way to the
court and household by
The household in the reign of Edward marrying the sister of Sir
The household underwent some change during the reign of Edward VI because Anthony Denny. He became
it was dominated by the nobility. The Dukes of Somerset and Northumberland a justice of the peace in his
native Essex and sat in five
governed the kingdom on behalf of the boy-king and they filled the household
parliaments between |542
with their supporters in order to influence Edward and control royal patronage. and 1553. He became a
One of the most powerful members of the Edwardian household was Sir John powerful figure in the royal
Gates, who held the office of groom of the stool. The groom of the stool was households of Henry Vill and
responsible for the monarch’s most personal needs such as accompanying him to Edward VI, rising to the office
the privy or lavatory. Gates and Sir Anthony Denny had served as Henry VIII's of lord chamberlain.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—|603 for Edexcel

groom and by doing so accumulated significant power and influence because

they were able to control access to the king.
After Denny’s death in 1549, Gates dominated Edward VI's privy chamber and
controlled the household. He became a trusted ally of Northumberland whom
he supported in the coup to oust Somerset from power in the autumn of 1549.
Following Edward VI's death, Gates supported Northumberland’s attempt
to place Lady Jane Grey on the throne in place of Mary Tudor. In 1553, Gates
suffered the same fate as his ally, Northumberland, when both were executed for
treason by Mary.

SOURCE D
Me

Adapted from a contemporary description of the execution of Sir John Gates by

Study Source D. Why did an anonymous French observer, 1553, quoted in N.P. Sil, Tudor Placemen and
Queen Mary feel Statesmen: Select Case Histories, Rosemont Publishing, 2001.
compelled to execute Sir
John Gates? From fear of exciting jealousy should it be known how much he
[Northumberland] interfered in everything, he caused all affairs in which he
would not be seen to meddle to be set going by one Gates, a chamberlain, who
also brought him information ofall conversations which passed about the King.
For this Gates was always in the royal chamber, and was believed to be one of
those who mainly instigated the King to make a will against his sister [Mary].
MCC

Changes in the reigns of Mary and Elizabeth

The household, particularly the privy chamber, changed during the reigns
of Mary and Elizabeth because it was staffed by large numbers of women
who, ordinarily, had no political power and could not Hold government office.
According to historian Pam Wright (1987), during the reign of Henry VIII ‘the
Privy Chamber had been the cockpit of faction’ but under Elizabeth it changed
radically because ‘as women, her Ladies could not be faction leaders: their first
loyalties were to the Queen, not to one of her great men’.

However, many of Mary and Elizabeth’s female attendants were married to

courtiers who could influence the monarchs through their wives. Sir Walter
Raleigh complained that the ladies of the privy chamber were ‘capable of
doing great harm but no good’. Even some of the few male members of the
Elizabethan household such as the master of the horse, Robert Dudley, Earl of
Leicester, complained about the queen’s ‘babbling women’. During Elizabeth’s
long reign the political importance of the household declined as matters of
state were increasingly dealt with and discussed outside it, mainly in the Privy
Council.

14
Chapter | Government and administration: changes in governance at the centre

The Reformation and the division between Catholic and Protestant |

The period after Henry VIIl assumed the headship
of the English church in 1534 witnessed significant
change but also a measure of continuity in
the nature of worship and the evolution of
doctrine. Henry tolerated some minor changes
but he remained a Catholic at heart and he
was determined that England would remain
conservative in religion: Catholicism without the
Pope. Cromwell steered the church in a more
Protestant direction after 1534: the dissolution
of the monasteries, the passing of the radical Act
of Ten Articles and the publication of the Bishops’
Book. However, the conservatives, led by the
Duke of Norfolk, continued to oppose religious
change. The conservatives succeeded in passing
the pro-Catholic Act of Six Articles and in slowing
the pace of religious reform after 1540. Edward VI
introduced a moderate form of Protestantism and
was the first to attempt to set up a Protestant
church. Edward's ie witnessed the ep
the Reformists with the publication of the Book of
Homilies and First Book of Common Prayer. Under
the Duke of Northumberland, the pace of religious
reform quickened. Doctrinal developments led to
the more radical Second Book of Common Prayer.
The combination of prayer book, Bible translation
and chantry dissolution contributed to establishing
the reformed Protestant religion. However,
Mary | restored the Pope as head of the church,
reintroduced the Catholic Mass and re-established
the heresy laws. Adopting the tactics of the
European Counter-Reformation, Mary set about
returning the people to the ‘True Faith’. Elizabeth |
attempted to settle the potentially divisive
issue of religion by establishing an Anglican
church acceptable to moderate Protestants and
Catholics. By pursuing a policy of moderation and
toleration, Elizabeth hoped to satisfy both sides
of the religious divide by establishing the religious
of settlement.

Summary diagram: Crown, court and household

Household

Henry VIII
Thomas Wolsey and the Eltham Ordinances
TEs

Noble-dominated
Edward VI a
household

Mary |

Female househol a |

Elizabeth |! ae

@_— KEY TERMS
Reformation Parliament
Parliament that met between
1529 and 1536 which
transformed the church by
breaking from Rome and
making Henry VIII supreme
head of the church in
England.
Annates Money equivalent
to about one-third of their
annual income paid to the
Pope by all new holders of
senior posts within the church
in England and Wales.
16
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel
Church and state
> How did the ue between church and state change in the
period between 1485 and 1603?
Church-—state relations
The church was an important institution that dominated the daily lives of the
people. It preached, informed and educated the people while also controlling
them by the power and mystique of God-given authority.
The church also influenced the politics and government of the kingdom through
parliament in the House of Lords and by virtue of the appointment of clerics
such as Cardinal Wolsey to run the government. Prior to the Reformation,
church-state relations had been rarely confrontational but this changed during
the 1530s.
The depth and strength of popular piety and the failure of the church to meet
the spiritual needs of its parishioners were significant factors in promoting
religious reform. Humanism, the printing press and the spread of Renaissance
learning fuelled criticism of the church, but it was the marital problems of
Henry VIII that were instrumental in bringing about the Reformation.
The origin of change in church-state relations
The king’s unsuccessful quest for an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of
Aragon had a significant impact on church-state relations because it involved
the framing and passing of laws through parliament that greatly affected the
church. The Pope’s failure to grant Henry the annulment led the frustrated king
to turn nis anger on the church.
SS
In the guise of religious reform, Henry used parliament to force the church in
England to support his case against the Pope. Clerics who opposed him were
persecuted and punished, but those who supported him were rewarded and
promoted.
Between 1529 and 1536, the laws passed through the Reformation Parliament
altered the relationship between the church and state. For example, the Act in
Restraint of Appeals and the Act of Annates contributed to severing England’s
ties with Rome.
The church was forced to submit to the will of the crown and abide by the law of
statute. The church lost its independence and much of its wealth, and also had to
accept a new leader when Henry VIII replaced the Pope as head of the church in
England.
_ Chapter || Government and administration: changes in governance at the centre

“The Acts of Supremacy of 1534 and the impact oftne

Reformation
The Act of Supremacy confirmed Henry VIII's assumption of power over the
English church. Henry was now in a position to do as much or as little as he
liked in respect of reforming the church.

The Act of Parliament gave Henry’s supremacy the authority of statute law and
those who disobeyed this law — such as those who still regarded the Pope as
head of the church — could be punished under that law. Therefore, the Act was
significant because it enhanced the power of both the monarchy and parliament
and altered the relationship between church and state.
Constitutionally, the Act was important because it set a precedent meaning that
any ruler who wished to alter or reverse the Acts passed regarding the church
and religion could only do this through the force of parliamentary statute. This
enhanced the role of parliament, which grew in confidence and authority.
It can be argued that the Act marked the true beginning of the Reformation
because its impact was felt almost immediately:
e In 1535, Henry appointed his non-clerical chief minister, Thomas Cromwell,
as vicegerent in spirituals, which empowered him to run the church.
@ In 1536 and 1539, two Acts were passed dissolving all monasteries (see
pages 74-5).
@ In 1536, the Act of Ten Articles reformed the doctrine and ceremonies in the
church, moving it in a more Protestant direction (see page 75).
@ In 1539, the Act of Six Articles moved the church back to a more Catholic
outlook.

The Edwardian Reformation

At the beginning of Edward VI's reign, Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of
Canterbury, issued his Book of Homilies, a set of official model sermons,
followed by his English prayer book. Cranmer had the full backing of the
young king’s chief minister, Lord Protector Somerset, who encouraged a
more moderate reform programme. Issued in March 1549, Cranmer’s Book of
Common Prayer has been described as his greatest achievement, but it was
too conservative for the Protestant reformers and too radical for the Catholic
conservatives — it even provoked the western rebellion. This was a rebellion of
commoners and some landowners in Cornwall and Devon who were protesting
about the religious changes.

Following Somerset's fall from power in October 1549, Cranmer set to work on
a more radical edition of his prayer book which had the full support of the new
leader of the government, Lord President Northumberland. Issued in 1552, the
Second Book of Common Prayer was explicitly anti-Catholic and was adapted

@ KEY TERMS
Forty-Two Articles Drawn
up by Thomas Cranmer as a
summary of Anglican doctrine
in the Protestant faith in the
reign of Edward VI.
Heretics Religious non-
conformists who reject the
teachings and rules of the
Catholic Church.
Elizabethan Religious
Settlement Used to
describe the organisation,
ritual and teachings of
the Church of England
as enforced by Acts of
parliament.
18
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel
and adopted by the Elizabethan regime to become the standard work available
to an increasingly Protestant clergy.
By publishing his prayer books, Cranmer was laying the foundations of the
Anglican Church. His aim was to firmly establish a Protestant church attended
by like-minded Protestant parishioners. This was no easy task. He was forced
to adapt and work within the limits imposed by the belief system of two
contrasting leaders — Somerset and Northumberland — while fending off the
attacks of the conservative bishops and traditional parish clergy.
The Forty-Two Articles
The Forty-Two Articles drawn up by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer in 1553
were intended to act as a summary of Anglican doctrine under Edward VI.
Cranmer intended that the articles should be short extracts that would explain
and demonstrate the faith revealed in scripture and to incorporate a balance of
theology and doctrine. Completed in 1552, they were issued by royal mandate
on 19 June 1553. With the coronation of Queen Mary and the reunion of the
Church of England with the Roman Catholic Church, the Articles were never
enforced.
Mary | and the Catholic Counter-Reformation
The five-year reign of Queen Mary witnessed a Catholic Counter-Reformation
which attempted to stem the tide of Protestant reform. Pursuing a policy of
religious persecution, some 300 Protestants were burned as heretics and
Mary attempted to undo all of Edward’s religious changes. With the aid of her
husband, Philip of Spain, Mary tried to force the Catholic faith on both the
church and people. However, her reign was too short and her methods too brutal
to reconvert the people to Roman Catholicism.
The Acts of Supremacy of 1559 and the Elizabethan Religious
Settlement
Following the precedent set by Henry VIII, Elizabeth sought parliamentary
support to reach a religious settlement that satisfied both Protestants and
Catholics. In the volatile circumstances of the time, caused by the frequent
and often bewildering changes in religion, the majority of the population were
ripe for conversion to either faith, which is why the settlement of religion was
thrashed out in Elizabeth’s first parliament. Meeting within eight weeks of her
accession, between January and April 1559, parliament enacted the so-called
Elizabethan Religious Settlement.
The Act of Supremacy was passed to
@ undo Mary I’s restoration of the Pope as head of the Church in England
e restore the monarch as head of the English church
@ justify the position of Elizabeth as a woman as head of the church by taking
the title Supreme Governor.
~ Chapter | Government and administration: changes in governance at the centre

The legislation reconfirmed the royal supremacy, set out the way in which
the church was to be run, and established the content and conduct of services
in every parish church. Elizabeth was anxious to avoid conflict and hoped to
establish a via media or middle way. @ KEY TERMS

To ensure the nation’s compliance, the Act of Uniformity was passed, followed Act of Uniformity An Act
by a new oath of supremacy. The government hoped that by being deliberately passed through parliament
vague on some aspects of doctrine the legislation would appeal to Protestants that enforced religious
conformity.
without alienating Catholics. In short, the Settlement was a compromise capable
of either a Catholic or Protestant interpretation. It seemed to work since only 300 Convocation An assembly
of the senior clergy that
out of 8000 parish priests and chaplains refused the oath of supremacy.
discussed church matters,
By 1563, the Religious Settlement was firmly established when Convocation passed church laws and
agreed to pass the Thirty-Nine Articles. Based on the Forty-Two Articles of regulated the way the church
was run.
faith introduced by Edward VI, the new Articles set out the mainly Protestant
doctrine and ceremonial basis of the Elizabethan Anglican Church. However, Puritans Protestants who
some Protestants, mainly the Puritans, were disappointed with the Settlement. wished to reform the Anglican
Church by eradicating ail trace
They regarded the Settlement as a betrayal of the faith for in their eyes only an of Catholicism and Catholic
entirely non-Catholic church would suffice. practices.

The Settlement: success or failure?

If the Settlement had been designed to avoid religious conflict and possible
civil war (as happened in France) then it must be hailed a success. It lasted
almost intact for some ten years, until 1570, during which time the church had
the opportunity to establish itself, evolve and refine its clerical and doctrinal
position. As early as 1563, Cranmer’s Forty-Two Articles had been revised by
Archbishop Parker, who published his Thirty-Nine Articles.
In political terms, the Settlement may also be considered a success. Elizabeth
had succeeded in establishing a state church under the domination of the crown.
This meant that religious opposition to the Settlement would be regarded in
the same way as political opposition to the state. The laws of treason could be
applied to stamp out opposition. This fact, allied to a misunderstanding of the
queens role in the church, caused some continental Catholic critics to describe
the Church of England as a mere parliamentary religion devoid of any truly
spiritual conviction. This was unfair since Elizabeth had, from the beginning,
ensured that the bishops would retain their:
e responsibility for the administration of the church
e supervision of the clergy
e influence over doctrinal development.

In religious terms, the Settlement had mixed success. It largely succeeded in

establishing a broadly based national church which excluded as few people as
possible. Until at least 1570, the Settlement made conformity as easy as possible
without provoking opposition or disagreement. In theological terms, the Thirty-
Nine Articles were widely accepted and remained at the doctrinal heart of the

@ KEY TERMS
Recusants Catholics in
Elizabethan England who
remained loyal to the Pope
and refused to conform to
the state religion.
Papists English Catholics
who remained loyal to the
Pope in Rome.
* Study Source E. Why was
Parker so pessimistic
about the survival of the
Religious Settlement?
20
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel
church. On the other hand, the Settlement failed not only to attract the Puritans
but to make use of their religious enthusiasm. Devout Catholics were likewise
marginalised, which encouraged their opposition and non-conformity. These
became known as Recusants, Catholics who refused to:
® accept or acknowledge the Religious Settlement
e conform to the Anglican Church
e recognise the queen as head of the church.
The Settlement after 1570
Shortly before his death, Archbishop Parker confided to Cecil his concern
over the permanence of the Religious Settlement. His chief concern was the
threat posed to the queen and the Anglican Church by Mary, Queen of Scots
and recusancy in the kingdom. Parker was equally pessimistic regarding the
Puritans, whom he considered almost as threatening as the papists.
SOURCE E
Adapted from a letter written by Archbishop Matthew Parker to Lord Burghley,
1572, quoted in J. Bruce and T.T. Perowne, editors, Correspondence of Matthew
Parker, letters written by and to him, from A.D. 1535, to his death, A.D. 1575,
Matthew Parker Society, Vol. 49, 1853.
If that only desperate person [Mary Stuart] were away, as by justice soon it
might be, the queen’s majesty’s good subjects would be in better hope, and the
papists’ daily expectations vanquished. The pope does datly stir his flock to plot
against her Majesty.
The comfort that these puritans have, and their continuance, is marvellous [the
queen is] almost alone to be offended with the puritans, whose government in
conclusion will undo her and all others who depend on her.
A disillusioned Parker died in 1575, ‘apprehensive of what the future might hold
for Elizabeth and her church’. In the opinion of historian Claire Cross (Church
and People 1450-1660, Fontana, 1976):
He ought to have had more confidence in the queen's determination [to rule] and
in Cecil’s support for the royal supremacy and for uniformity in religion. The
partnership between the supreme governor and her chief minister lasted a further
twenty years and largely through their efforts ... the religious settlement survived
without substantial change until the Civil War (1642-48).
Chapter | Government and administration: changes in governance at the centre

Summary diagram: Church and state

Church-state relations

Henry VIll’s divorce Changes in relations POD) eS

grant divorce

Reformation

Act of Supremacy
1534

Edwardian Reformation
1547-53

Mary |
Catholic Counter-Reformation
1553-8

Elizabethan Religious Settlement

1559

Crown and parliament

> How did the Leas babi the crown and inane
| change between 1485 and 1603?

Development ofthe concepts of sovereignty of FEW and

parliamentary privilege
The Reformation Parliament (1529-36) witnessed the beginnings of change
in the relationship between the crown and parliament. By piloting legislation
that effectively created an independent English church by transferring power
from the papacy to the crown, the sovereignty of statute law was established.
Although parliament remained an occasional body called when a monarch
required either laws or subsidies, a subtle change had occurred: ‘king-and-
parliament’ became ‘king-in-parliament’. This created the notion that the ‘king-
in-parliament’ had authority over the church but the king alone did not.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors |485—1603 for Edexcel

This idea was reinforced in the reign of Edward VI but challenged by Mary. But
even Mary was forced to go through parliament to repeal the Act of Supremacy
(1534) and restore the papal headship of the church. She was the first monarch
to encounter significant resistance in parliament to her attempt at Counter-
Reformation. For example, a large number of members of parliament (MPs)
refused to accept a bill that would have confiscated the property of those exiled
from England, such as John Aylmer, Miles Coverdale, John Ponet, Edmund
Grindal, Edwin Sandys, John Bale and James Pilkington.

By reasserting the primacy of the crown over the church by statute, Elizabeth
added to the growing sense of parliament’s importance beyond simply law-
making and revenue-raising. By gaining the right to legislate on religious
matters, MPs began to discuss their rights and privileges. The notion of free
speech became an issue which motivated some MPs, most notably Peter
Wentworth in 1576, to challenge the crown’s right to set limits on parliamentary
debates.
For the most part, parliament worked in close harmony with the crown and
although it never established itself as a permanent part of the government, it had
developed a sense of its importance. This was reinforced by the growth in the
numbers of MPs returned to the House of Commons. For example, in 1512 there
were 302 MPs in the Commons but this had grown by more than 50 per cent by
1586 when 462 MPs were returned for English and Welsh borough and county
constituencies. .

The extent of change in the relationship between crown

and parliament =
The relationship between crown and parliament changed substantially during
the sixteenth century. The parliaments of Henry VII were indistinguishable from
those of his predecessors: they were called infrequently, met for a short time, and
then only for specific needs such as legislation, mainly attainders, and taxation.
This occasional use of parliament continued in the reign of Henry VIII but this
changed with the Reformation Parliament.

The Reformation Parliament 1529-36

It lasted for seven years, although it did not sit continuously, and dealt with
matters not normally associated with parliamentary business: religion and the
church. The use Henry and Cromwell made of parliament to legalise the break
with Rome and the increasing frequency with which it was called to legislate on
religious matters marked a significant shift in the relationship between crown
and parliament.

This is not to suggest that parliament suddenly became a powerful institution

with authority to act independently of the monarch. The relationship between
the two was still essentially that of a master and servant but a precedent had

22
Chapter | Government and administration: changes in governance at the centre

been set and from this time on parliament grew in importance. However,
there has been some debate regarding this development, with Geoffrey Elton
claiming that this marked a revolutionary change in the competence and power
of parliament. Elton’s critics disagree, claiming that the change was more
evolutionary than revolutionary.

The role of parliament and the relationship between church

and state
Elton claimed that Cromwell’s work radically enhanced the power of the state
and the competence of parliament within the state. It is claimed, with some
justification, that Cromwell not only paved the way for royal government to
take control of the English church but also masterminded the method through
which this could best be achieved: by means of parliamentary statute. By making
Henry VII the supreme head of the church in England, Cromwell had created a
revolution in the relationship between church and state.
In using parliament to enforce the Reformation, Cromwell had established the
principle that king-in-parliament constituted the highest form of authority in the
kingdom. To support his case, Elton compared the volume of legislation passed
during Henry VIII's reign, some 37 years, with that passed between 1258, the
middle of the reign of Henry III, and 1509, around 251 years. For example, in
the printed Statutes of the Realm, the laws passed between 1258 and 1509 filled
1094 pages, whereas those passed by Henry VIII filled 1032 pages. Clearly, the
workload of parliament had increased dramatically.

Crown and parliament in the reign of Elizabeth

Although parliament continued to be summoned in the reigns of Edward VI
and Mary, it was in the reign of Elizabeth that the institution experienced a
more rapid pace of change. The reign witnessed a growing assertiveness in
the Commons, with MPs requesting to debate matters usually reserved for the
crown, such as in 1563 and 1566 when the queen’s marriage and the succession
were raised in parliament.
The reason for this increasing assertiveness was two-fold:
@ growing experience and confidence of MPs who had sat in a number of
parliaments
e the rise of asmall radical group of Puritan MPs, such as Peter Wentworth and
Sir Anthony Cope, who were demanding freedom of speech.

In light of this development, it became necessary for the crown to actively

control the Commons and Lords by appointing parliamentary managers to
set agendas and steer debates away from matters that came under the royal
prerogative. For example:

e In 1576, Elizabeth issued instructions to parliament restricting its right to

freedom of speech.

@ KEY TERM
Prorogue Discontinue a
session of parliament without
dissolving it.
24
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel
e In 1572, and again in 1586, Elizabeth forbade parliament to debate the fate of
Mary, Queen of Scots, citing this matter as being part of her royal prerogative.
Occasionally, more drastic steps had to be taken to stifle unwanted debate in the
Commons. For example, in 1587, Elizabeth imprisoned Wentworth and Cope,
because they wanted to change the Religious Settlement by moving the church
and its doctrine in a more Puritan direction. This is significant also because
it demonstrated the limitations of parliamentary powers and privileges: MPs
were allowed to go so far but no further. The ultimate power rested with the
crown, which not only had the prerogative to summon, prorogue and dismiss
parliament but also retained the right to veto any bill or halt any debate it
thought fit.
Only twice did the ruling monarch face a revolt in parliament when a number
of members conspired to reject royal instructions or refuse to cooperate. For
example:
e Mary faced opposition to her religious policies in 1555, but she was still able
to reverse the supremacy and break with Rome with parliament’s help.
e Elizabeth faced the wrath of parliament in 1601 over the controversial issue
of monopolies. Only after meeting a delegation of MPs and promising to
deal with the issue did parliament consent to pass the measures requested by
Elizabeth.
There is no doubt that the relationship between the crown and parliament had
changed during the Tudor period, with the latter institution gaining ever greater
prominence and powers, but the crown remained the most powerful part of
government. “
.
Increasing borough representation in the Commons over
the period x
The Tudor period witnessed a remarkable phenomenon — as the House of
Commons expanded the House of Lords contracted. The reason for this was
two-fold:
e Henry VII cut the numbers in the Lords by a half when the heads of
monasteries were removed as their institutions were dissolved. In 1547, the
Lords had 84 members.
e The increasing urban population led to a corresponding rise in the number
of borough constituencies being created. In 1547, the Commons had 342
members.
“Chapter | Government and administration: changes in governance at the centre

After 1547, the number of MPs in the Commons rose rapidly. For example, the
number of new borough constituencies in:
e Edward VI’s reign was 20
@ Mary I's reign was 21
e Elizabeth I's reign was 62.

Some of these borough constituencies were rotten boroughs, that is villages

given representation as a favour to local noble landowners or designed to
support the crown by nominating members likely to support the monarch in
parliamentary debates. However, other boroughs were created to reflect the
growing economic importance of a particular town.

The increase in borough representation led to a corresponding increase in

merchants and lawyers being elected to parliament. An increasing number
of borough MPs owed their seats to neither noble nor royal patronage, which
enabled them to act independently in the Commons. From this a radical group
of MPs emerged, men such as Peter Wentworth, member for Barnstable; Thomas
Norton, member for Berwick; and Sir Anthony Cope, member for Banbury.

The influx of mainly borough MPs with legal training did much to raise
awareness of the issue of rights and privileges. They were skilled and confident
enough to challenge the existing system by suggesting areas for improvement or
reform.
SOURCE F
Adapted from the Journal of the House of Commons, written by a clerk who Shick Roueee EN aise
recorded a speech given by Peter Wentworth in the Commons chamber, 1576. is ee c
Wentworth’s speech °
Amongst other things Mr. Speaker, two things do great hurt in this place: the unpopular with the
one is a rumour that runs about the House and this tt is: ‘Take heed what you majority of MPs in the
do, the Queen’s Majesty likes not such a matter. Whosoever prefers it, she will Commons?
be offended with him’. On the contrary, ‘Her Majesty likes such a matter.
Whosoever speaks against it, she will be offended with him’.
The other: sometimes a message is brought into the House, either commanding
or inhibiting debate which is very injurious to the freedom of speech and
consultation. I would to God Mr. Speaker, that these two were buried in hell,
I mean rumours and messages, for wicked undoubtedly they are.
Upon this speech in the House, out of reverent regard for Her Majesty’s honour,
stopped his further proceeding before he had fully finished his speech. Mr.
Wentworth being excluded from the House it was agreed and ordered that he
should be committed to the serjeant’s ward as a prisoner.
Pn
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

Summary diagram: Crown and parliament

Crown Parliament

E Parliamentary statute and

Change in relationship privilege

Reformation Parliament Relationship between church

1529-36 and state

Parliament and
crown under Elizabeth

Increasing borough
representation

eASHE CECT EEE EEE OPEC EE PPEE PEEP EEC

s “Uy

and patronage. The 1530s marked a significant

2 step in the evolution of parliament. It was used
The concept of divine right monarchy suggests that
the crown could rule as it wished without restraint,
z but this was not so, The crown may have been the
: most powerful part of government but there were
= limits to its power. The crown depended on the
: work of talented ministers, men who served and
= advised the monarch on all aspects of government.
2 The crown, court and royal household lay at the
: heart of government and was the centre of power,
: privilege and patronage. The Tudors drew the
: nobility and gentry into a close relationship with the
monarchy, making them dependent on royal favour
\V
70 AAU LAAT
to effect changes in the constitutional relationship
between church and state. Henry VIII became head
of the church with the power to effect changes in
the state religion. He was followed by Edward V's
Protestantism and Mary's Catholic Counter-
Reformation. Elizabeth cemented the state's control
of the national or Anglican Church, Parliament
too developed a sense of its own importance
by legislating on matters as diverse as religion,
finance, law and defence. During the sixteenth
century, parliament's financial power and its ability
to influence legal matters and law-making grew in
strength.
TMM
CC
CC
ene ennnt
Chapter | Government and administration: changes in governance at the centre

SSSA ALENT AEEaA aa aL EAN UE ET ENE

_() Refresher questions

/
_ Use these questions to remind yourself of the key
material covered in this chapter.
| L What was divine right monarchy?
oe
2 How significant was the monarchy’s role in
' government and administration in the period
| = between 1485 and 1603?
|3 How far did the character of government change
| __ inthe period between 1485 and 1603?
4 Why was the court and royal household so
important?
5 How did the relationship between church and
: state change in the period between 1485 and
1603?
6 How significant were the changes in religion in the
period between 1529 and 1581?
7 When and why was the Anglican Church
ished?
ee
8 How did the relationship between the crown and
parliament change between 1485 and 1603?
9 Why did borough representation increase in the
period after |530?
10 How far had the balance of power between the
crown and parliament changed by |603?

Question practice
ESSAY QUESTIONS
1 To what extent did the role of the Privy Council in governance change in the years 1485-1603?
2 To what extent did the relationship between crown and parliament change in the years 1485-1603?
3 How far do you agree that the authority of parliamentary statute was transformed in the years
1485-1603?
4 ‘The relationship between church and state changed very little in the years 1485-1603.’ How far do you
agree with this statement?
 CHAPTER 2

Gaining the cooperation of

the localities
The relationship between crown and country was key to the effective government of the
kingdom. The crown was keen to promote its authority beyond the court and extend its
power into the localities. One aspect ofthis policy to gain the cooperation of the localities
was the crown’s ability to reward its subjects via the power of patronage. Patronage took
many forms — titles, lands, offices and money — and it was the prospect of enjoying royal
favour that inspired the ambitious to follow and serve the crown. To make more visible and
cement the crown’s authority, the monarch regularly visited the regions on royal progresses.
These issues are examined as four themes:
%* Regional and local government
%* Governing
the localities
* Patronage and reward
* Royal progresses

Key dates :
1513 = Subsidy Act passed 1543 Second Act of Union passed
1533 = Publication of Apologye by Sir Thomas More 1563 The Statute of Artificers passed
1537 = Council of the North re-established 1574 Royal progress to Bristol
1535 Royal progress to Gloucestershire 1585 = Post of lord lieutenant made permanent
1536 — First Act of Union passed 1601 Poor Law passed
1539 Council of the West established -

Regional and local government

> How was Passel Ae)ofan inaneaitintant “ett Age sil state
this have contributed to unrest and rebellion?

Regional government
The regional division of the kingdom of England was marked by councils set up
to govern distant and separate parts of the realm:
e Six counties of the north of England were governed through the Council of
the North, based in York.

28
_Chapter 2. Gaining the cooperation of the localities

North/North-east
Henry Percy,
Earl of Northumberland |
Thomas Howard,
Earl of Surrey

Lancashire, Cheshire
and North Wales
Thomas Stanley,
Earl of Derby

North Midlands
Lord Hastings

Wales and the Marches CS

Jasper Tudor,
Duke of Bedford East Midlands and
East Anglia
John de Vere,
Earl of Oxford
West Midlands
George Talbot,
Earl of Shrewsbury

South-east
South-west The king and lesser
Giles, Lord Daubeney household men
Edward Courtenay,
Earl of Devon

Divisions of power: localities governed by the nobility in the reign of Henry VII with the location of regional
councils. 4

e Wales and four western counties of England were governed through the
Council of Wales and the Marches, based in Ludlow.
e Four counties of the south-west of England were governed through the
Council of the West, based in Exeter.
@ Three of the four provinces of Ireland were governed through Provincial
Councils led by lord presidents which were overseen by the Council of
Ireland, based in Dublin.

@rer KEY TERMS
King’s writ did not run
Semi-independent lordships
where the king’s written
orders were not recognised
and had no force in law.
Marcher lordships Semi-
independent lordships in
Wales and the border region
ruled by noblemen possessing
special authority from the
crown.
County Palatines Secular
and/or ecclesiastical lordships
ruled by noblemen or bishops
possessing special authority
and autonomy from the rest
of a kingdom.
Justice of the peace (JP)
Chief magistrate in quarter
session courts responsible
for general administration in
a county.
30
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—|603 for Edexcel
Regional division was complicated by:
e The existence of semi-independent lordships which were self-governing units
in which the ‘King’s writ did not run’. The crown had limited power in
the Marcher lordships of Wales, and the County Palatines of Durham
and Chester. In Ireland, the province of Ulster lay outside English control for
much of the period and power was vested in an elite group of native Irish
lords.
e Ethnic and racial differences. Wales, Ireland and Cornwall had their own
language and culture. They did not speak English and were more inclined
to follow their own local leaders than those officers sent to govern them
by a distant London-based government. This sometimes led to friction,
defiance and rebellion, such as the Cornish rebellion of 1497 and the western
rising of 1549. Ireland witnessed frequent outbreaks of rebellion throughout
the period, with the most serious being the Nine Years’ War (or Tyrone’s
rebellion) 1594-1603.
e Cultural differences. Within England there were great differences between
regions, counties and even neighbouring villages. For example, Yorkshire
folk resented being taxed and governed by southerners, which led in part te
the Yorkshire rebellion of 1489, the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536-7 and the
northern rising (or the rebellion of the northern earls) in 1569-70.
The crown’s drive to forge stronger links between central and local governments
caused friction in these distant regions. Regional loyalties were strong and
there was often resentment at what was regarded as outside interference. The
extension of royal government was accompanied by a strengthening of royal
justice. This led to greater control being exerted over ldtal officers such as the
justice of the peace (JP) (see page 32).
Officiais appointed by the London-based government were unwelcome in
regions where local lords had been passed over in favour of royal nominees. This
sometimes soured relations with localities, such as in 1569 when the northern
earls — Westmorland and Northumberland — rebelled.
Re-establishing the Council of the North 1537
The Council of the North was established in 1472 to govern the northern
counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumberland, Westmorland, Durham and
Northumberland. It lapsed after the death of Richard III until re-established in
1489 by Henry VII. After Henry VII’s death in 1509, the Council lapsed again,
meeting infrequently. However, the shock caused by the Pilgrimage of Grace
forced Henry to re-establish the Council as a means of strengthening royal
control of the north. Thereafter, the crown appointed powerful noblemen to
the presidency of the Council with the express instruction of keeping the peace,
raising revenue and extending royal justice into the remoter parts of the north.
Chapter 2 Gaining the cooperation of the localities

The Council of the West 1539

The Council of the West was founded in 1539 to oversee the government of the
western counties of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset. The chief architect
of this regional council was Thomas Cromwell but when he fell from power a
year later in 1540, the Council’s future was thrown into doubt. Its first and only
lord president was the local landowning magnate, John Russell, Earl of Bedford,
who governed the region until his death in 1555. It is thought that the Council
had ceased to exist by the end of Henry VII's reign.

The Council of Ireland

The Irish proved very difficult to control because they resented royal interference
in their affairs. In fact, many opposed English rule in Ireland. The Irish Council
was headed by a succession of English administrators or lord deputies who
were sent to govern the Irish usually by force rather than persuasion. Ireland
had its own parliament but this was closely controlled and an English army was
stationed in the country. To demonstrate his power in 1541, Henry VII adopted
the title King of Ireland. Thereafter, Henry VIII's successors began establishing
provincial councils led by lord presidents who attempted to subjugate and
govern the provinces of Leinster, Munster and Connacht. Ulster proved the most
difficult province of all to master and the English only took control after the
failure of the Nine Years’ War in 1603 (see page 125).

The Council of Wales and the Acts of Union 1536 and 1543
The Council of Wales and the Marches was established in 1471. It lapsed during
the reign of Richard III before being revived by Henry VII in 1493. Between 1536
and 1543, the government and administration of Wales were transformed by
Cromwell’s reforms. Lawlessness and disorder were the main problems facing
the crown in Wales because the country was split between crown lands and
Marcher lordships. Cromwell realised that better government would only be
achieved through a uniform system of administration and justice. @ KEY TERMS

By virtue of the Acts of Union, Wales was fully integrated into the English state. Acts of Union Acts
The Welsh were forced to adopt English law, speech and customs. For the first passed through parliament
time, Welsh members were elected to parliament and JP's were appointed to the (86 ee ae wi
England politically, legally and
newly created counties of the principality. aciniictratively

Local govern ment Hundred A subdivision of a

county.
The structure of local government in England had a long and stable history.
The primary administrative unit was the county, which was subdivided into
hundreds. The key offices in local government at county level were those of
the JP and the sheriff, while the hundreds were run by bailiffs and constables.
During the sixteenth century, another layer of local government was established
with the introduction of the office of the lord lieutenant.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

The changing role of the JP

The JP grew to become the most important and powerful royal official in local
government. First established in the twelfth century, the JPs were selected from
the landowning elite and were appointed to the commission of the peace for life.
Office holders were expected to be well educated, of sufficient wealth to support
themselves (an annual income of at least £20) and to be resident in the county
in which they served. Although the office was unpaid, it was much coveted by
aspiring local landowners because of the administrative, judicial and financial
powers attached to the post. The average number of JPs per county rose from ten
in 1485 to between 40 and 50 by 1603.

Judicial role of the JPs

The JPs met and dispensed justice in local courts known as quarter sessions,
which met four times a year. Here they dealt with cases of assault, burglary, riot,
witchcraft, failure to attend church and vagrancy. For more serious offences, the
JPs sent criminals to the senior courts or Courts of Assize, which were staffed by
judges appointed by the crown. The highest criminal court was the Court of the
King’s Bench, which could override decisions made at the quarter sessions and
assize courts.

After 1485, justices were commanded to read out a proclamation at the

beginning of each session stating that grievances against office holders could
be taken either to an assize judge or to the king. The number of complaints
against JPs rose steadily throughout the sixteenth century because some were
either corrupt or inept. Clearly, the crown had to rely on the justices’ own self-
interest as leaders of society for the upholding of law and order. The crown’s
only control over them was the threat of removal from the commission if they
acted improperly, which would be regarded by most JPs as a considerable social
disgrace. =

Administrative role
Justices were not simply concerned with the maintenance of peace and public
order, they were also expected to govern and administer the county on behalf
of the crown and central government. For example, they were responsible for
licensing alehouses, maintaining roads and bridges, overseeing the weekly
markets, regulating wages and imposing poor rates.

In 1586, the Privy Council issued a ‘Book of Orders’ which set out for the first
time in print the duties and responsibilities expected of JPs. This was reissued
in 1595 with additions to the list of tasks. For example, it listed 306 statutes that
they were responsible for enforcing, of which 175 had been passed by Tudor
parliaments.

32
_ Chapter 2 Gaining the cooperation of the localities

SOURCE A

Adapted from a letter written by Edwin Sandys, Archbishop of York, to Lord

Burghley, 1587, quoted in T.A. Morris, Tudor Government, Routledge, 1990. Study Source A. Why vee
might Lord Burghley not &

I have noted on paper, enclosed, such justices as in my opinion may be be too alarmed by the
dismissed from the commission of the peace. I deal with no knights, lest I should contents of this letter?
be accused of showing affection; but I assure you some of them be of the baddest
sort, unworthy to govern, being so far out of order themselves. And to speak the
truth, although there be many gentlemen in Yorkshire, yet it is very hard to
choose fit men for the office.
Robert Lee. He is a notable adulterer, one that gives offence and will not be
reformed.
Peter Stanley. A man noted to be a great fornicator. Of small wisdom and less
skill.
Thomas Wentworth. A very senseless blockhead, ever wronging his poor
neighbours. He bought grain in the beginning of last year in every market, and
heaped it up in his houses to sell at the dearest.
Francis Alford. This man lives much in London. A man of small living, less
skill and no countenance.
san arate iar tonite 4n attains aaic ne rine eins erate Sere ee R Hee SHON HSKG ASAE

Local government in action

The justices were responsible for enforcing the laws drawn up by the Privy
Council and passed into law by parliament. Many of the more prominent JPs
were themselves members of parliament (MPs) so that they were part of the
process that resulted in the passing of the 175 statutes between 1486 and 1601.
Among the list of statutes passed were those dealing with:

e finance
® employment
@ poverty and vagrancy.
@ KEY TERMS
Finance: the Tudor subsidy of 1513
The Subsidy Act of 1513 was significant because parliament had succeeded Subsidy Act 1513 Wolsey’s
in establishing an agreed form of directly assessed subsidy. Prior to this date, attempt to raise money to
pay for the war in France
subsidies had been levied on communities rather than individuals, which was
by assessing the value of a
often haphazard and unfair. However, in 1513 Henry VIII's chief minister, person's goods.
Cardinal Wolsey, drew up a new system of taxation by which parliament granted
Subsidy A grant of money
taxes assessed on property values and real incomes.
made by parliament to the
The 1513 subsidy was the first major extension of the taxation system since monarch, usually for a specific
purpose.
the late fourteenth century. The burden of subsidy collection fell on the county
justices, which added to their steadily increasing workload.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

Employment: the Statute of Artificers 1563

The Statute of Artificers was a legislative achievement that marked a change in
attitude towards the poor and vagrant. The poor and vagrant had been treated
with suspicion for much of the period because:
e the government feared riots and rebellion from idle, disgruntled, able-bodied
poor
e the landowning elite were afraid of crime comunitted against their property.
This attitude had changed somewhat during Elizabeth’s reign when it became
apparent that punishment alone was unlikely to solve poverty and vagrancy.
This more enlightened attitude resulted in the passing of the Statute of Artificers
because it encouraged apprenticeships for men and directed women into
domestic service. Justices were made responsible for operating and enforcing the
statute. ;

Poverty and vagrancy: the Acts for the Relief of the Poor 1598
and 1601
The JPs were in the forefront of the drive to understand and improve the plight
of the poor and vagrant which culminated in the more enlightened Acts of 1598
and 1601. These Acts were designed to supersede the near dozen statutes passed
between 1495 and 1576 by setting up a uniform system of poor relief applicable
across the kingdom. Although it no longer had the resources to help as it had
prior to Elizabeth’s reign, the church encouraged charity and philanthropy.

The most generous benefactors to the poor were the merchants and fellow
townsmen who helped fund hospitals and schools. The passing of the Poor Laws
during the sixteenth century had encouraged a significant change in attitude to
the poor and vagrant. A greater understanding of the causes of poverty meant
the rich were more inclined to relieve than suppress their less fortunate fellow
citizens. x

The limits to the power and influence ofJPs

The weakness in this type of local government was that the crown was
dependent on the goodwill of its officials. However, there were limits to the
powers exercised by justices. Just as the crown was dependent on them for
the maintenance of law and order in the counties, the justices, in turn, were
dependent on lesser officials to abide by and enforce their orders. By law, every
hundred had to provide itself with a high constable and every parish with
a petty constable. However, this was not easily done as people found such
responsibility made them unpopular and there was no significant fee for doing
the job. Frequently, JPs had to apply considerable pressure to fill these positions
and, as a result, many petty crimes went unpunished.

34
Chapter 2 Gaining the cooperation of the localities

The sheriff
The sheriff was the chief law officer in the county responsible for apprehending,
detaining and prosecuting outlaws and other law breakers. The office was the
closest thing the Tudors had to a police officer. During the sixteenth century, the
sheriffs were entrusted with additional responsibilities, for example:
@ Sheriffs became the crown’s representatives in every county throughout
England. In effect, they became the ‘eyes and ears’ of the monarch.
@ They took on greater responsibility for the conduct and management of
parliamentary elections.

Unlike the JPs, who were appointed for life, the sheriff was selected by the crown
annually and paid a salary of £5, so that the monarch could exert greater control
over these local officials.

The lord lieutenant

The post of lord lieutenant dates from the reign of Henry VIII and was
developed as a result of war. It was a military post responsible for mustering and
training troops either for the defence of the kingdom or for campaigns abroad.
Prior to Henry VIII’s reign, the sheriff was responsible for maintaining order
and for organising the local militia. However, the increasing threat of invasion
by foreign powers, with whom England was at war at various times during the
sixteenth century, necessitated the establishment of a post dedicated to military
matters. The post was also a way that the crown could extend its power into the
localities and through which it could exert greater control of local government.
The day-to-day running of local government and justice was the responsibility
of the JPs assisted by the county sheriff. The lord lieutenancies added another
layer of government, but one which answered directly to the monarch.

The lord lieutenants in the reigns of Henry VIII and

Edward VI
The first lord lieutenants were appointed by Henry VIII during his war with
France and Scotland in 1512-13. The richest and most powerful landowners
in the country were commissioned to organise local defence. Those counties
bordering Scotland and the Channel coast were especially vulnerable to
invasion. The status and power of the lord lieutenants were such that the
majority of post holders were recruited from the nobility.
The first lieutenancies were temporary, designed to deal with specific matters
such as invasion from abroad or rebellion at home. The Pilgrimage of Grace was
a serious threat that required the appointment of lord lieutenants in 1536 so that
troops could be deployed to suppress the rebellion. Edward VI too had cause to
appoint lord lieutenants in 1549 to put down the Kett uprising in Norfolk and
the western rebellion.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

The lord lieutenants in the reigns of Mary and Elizabeth

A step towards making the lord lieutenancies permanent was taken by Mary,
who divided the kingdom into ten lieutenancies with the post holders given
responsibility for military matters within a defined geographical region.
However, her plan did not survive her death and the commissions lapsed when
Elizabeth ended Mary’s war with France and made peace in 1559.

During Elizabeth's reign, the lord lieutenants were commissioned on a

temporary basis to deal with emergencies such as the northern rebellion of
1569-70 (see page 113). However, she did introduce one significant change when
provision was made for the appointment of deputies.
The outbreak of war with Spain in 1585 transformed the office of lord lieutenant
because by its end in 1604 the post had become permanent. To guard against
invasion and potential rebellion by English Catholics in support of the Spain,
each county was assigned a lord lieutenant and deputy.

The lord lieutenants had to ensure that their troops were properly mustered,
armed and trained. They were also responsible for discipline and leadership in
battle should the Spanish Armada succeed in landing an army in England. This
shared fear of invasion and mutual interest in the kingdom’s defence enhanced
the link between the central government, with the Privy Council at its heart, and
the localities.

Summary diagram: Regional and local government

4
Regional and local government

Provincial
or regional Ireland
councils

Local Justices of Lord

government the peace lieutenants

Local government in action

=
Tudor subsidy Statute of Artificers Acts for Relief of the Poor
A513 1503 1598 and 1601

36
Chapter 2 Gaining the cooperation of the localities

Governing the localities

> How did tae ovenimene forthe: foculities ernceninnthe period
: between 1485 and 1603?

Extending the powers of the crown

Henry VU and Henry VIII believed that the best way to maintain peace and
promote law and order was by enhancing and extending the powers of the
crown. The authority of central government was strengthened and its power
over the regional councils was extended. Royal commissioners were appointed @ KEY TERM
to collect taxes, local law officers were selected to enforce the king’s laws and the
powers of courts such as the Star Chamber were extended. Star Chamber Powerful
court of law that sat in
Cromwell’s constitutional and government reforms in the 1530s, the so-called Westminster and was staffed
‘revolution in government’, further enhanced the power of the crown when by privy councillors dispensing
Henry became the head of the church. The unification of church and state under justice in the name of the
Henry made him, arguably, one of the most powerful monarchs in English monarch.
history.

The extension of royal authority in the regions

It is perhaps in the area of regional and local government that Geoffrey Elton’s
thesis, the so-called ‘revolution in government’, is most vulnerable to criticism.
Elton’s argument turned more on what Cromwell intended than what he
achieved. Cromwell may have intended to extend royal authority into the wilder
and remoter parts of the kingdom but his success in this field was limited. He
had no choice but to depend on the unpaid cooperation of local gentry acting as
JPs and on the willingness of powerful noble landowners or influential clerics,
who invariably filled the offices of president of the regional Councils of the
North, West and Wales
Only in respect of his reform of the government and administration of Wales
and the Marches can anything approaching an Eltonian ‘revolution’ be detected.
Between 1536 and 1543, the semi-independent power of the Marcher lordships
was swept away, Wales was divided into shires as in England, and the Welsh
were given representation in parliament for the first time. In addition, the
Council of Wales and the Marches, which had been a household institution of
the Prince of Wales, was bureaucratised and given statutory authority to govern
this region of the realm whether there was a prince or not.

Compromise and cooperation

The success of the crown in governing the localities depended on maintaining
a balance between compromise and cooperation. According to historian T.A.
Morris (Tudor Government, Routledge, 1999):

@rr KEY TERM
Yeomen Social class of richer
peasants who may have been
as wealthy as some of the
gentry but were below them
in social class.
“) Study Source B. How far
can this speech be taken
as an example of
Elizabeth's policy of
compromise and
cooperation?
38
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—|603 for Edexcel
Unable to levy taxes at will, and with an income largely dependent upon customs
duties and rents from crown lands, the monarch could afford neither a standing
army nor a large bureaucracy with which to control the localities. Effective royal
government, therefore, depended upon an effective working partnership with the
greatest and the wealthiest of the crown’s subjects.
The ‘greatest and the wealthiest of the crown’s subjects’ were, of course, the
nobility and gentry, the landowners who dominated the political, social and
economic life of their respective regions. This powerful class made up the
so-called ‘political nation’, the men with the power and influence to govern the
kingdom at both national and local level.
However, the sixteenth century witnessed a change that threatened to upset
this long-established hierarchy of social, political and economic power. The
development of towns, trade and guilds enabled a class of entrepreneurs and
merchants to emerge.
With wealth to spare and ambition to fulfil, urban-based merchants and
tradesmen sought to enhance their social and political roles by dominating
municipal government and by investing in rural estates. Some sought to
influence the affairs of the kingdom by becoming MPs. The more militant of
them formed a hardcore of disgruntled MPs who actively pushed the boundaries
of MPs’ rights and privileges. The 1593 parliament had been particularly
troublesome, with some of the middle-class militant members having to be
removed or imprisoned for opposing or criticising the crown on the raising and
collection of additional taxation.
The countryside, too, witnessed the growth of a morethrusting and demanding
class of lesser landowner, the yeomen. Men like Robert Kett in Norfolk (ee
page 96) sought to have their voices heard and opinions respected, but when this
was not forthcoming it led to rebellion. \
SOURCE B
MCC
Adapted from a speech given by Elizabeth three days after her accession to an
assembly of prominent nobility and gentry at Hatfield Palace, 1558 (available at
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/elizabeth-monarchy/elizabeths-
first-speech/).
For counsel and advice, I shall accept you of my nobility and such others of you
the rest as in consultation I shall think meet and shortly appoint; to the which
also I will join to their aid and for ease of their burden others meet for my
service. And they which I shall not appoint, let them not think the same for any
disability in them, but for that I consider a multitude doth make rather discord
and confusion than good counsel.
HUTTE, US. Utter Geese ee cine N HRV S Ke toiieineieiisiseiiisnisineninnitn
Chapter 2 Gaining the cooperation of the localities

Impact of increasing literacy in the merchant and

yeoman class
In his publication of 1533 entitled Apologye, Sir Thomas More estimated that
nearly 60 per cent of the population of England was literate. This was due in
large part to the work of guild schools and church or monastic schools which
provided a basic education for the population at large. The rising class of urban-
based merchants and tradesmen, and rural-based yeoman, the richer peasants,
were more proactive in seeking an education.

As the world of business evolved and became more complex, it was important
for this class of ambitious entrepreneurs to understand the legal paperwork that
went with it. As the demand for education rose, so did the schools to cater for
it. For example, during Elizabeth’s reign some 160 new grammar schools were
established. This had a significant impact on literacy levels among the merchants
and yeomen farmers; for example, by 1600 the literacy rates in the yeoman class
rose:
e in Durham from 63 per cent in 1560 to 77 per cent
e in East Anglia from 45 per cent in 1560 to 68 per cent.

Literacy rates improved in line with economic growth so that a wealthier

merchant and yeoman class showed a greater awareness of and interest in
politics, government and local office. Whereas the yeomen were increasingly
filling the lesser offices of bailiff and constable, a growing number of merchants
and tradesmen were being returned to parliament as representatives of their
municipalities.

Summary diagram: Governing the localities

Governing the localities

ej Wane
Extending the powers of the crown

Compromise and cooperation +

iG
ae
Extending royal authority in the regions |
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

Patronage and reward

> How important was the power of patronage?

The power of patronage

In the opinion of historian Rosemary O'Day (The Tudor Age, 1485-1603,
Longman, 1995):
Patronage made the early modern world turn round. He who possessed patronage
possessed power — power to control people, politics and events; power to delegate
power; power to command respect.
The monarch was the wealthiest and most powerful person in the kingdom.
The monarchs had the financial and material resources to reward and enrich
their subjects. This power of patronage was a powerful tool in the hands of an
intelligent and shrewd monarch. A weak monarch could impoverish the crown
by rewarding subjects too easily and weaken the monarchy by alienating those
left unrewarded. Therefore, it was important for monarchs to spread their
rewards as widely as possible.

Henry Vil and patronage

Henry VII was well aware of the power of patronage. He inherited an
impoverished crown on the brink of bankruptcy. His twin aim was to secure
his dynasty and make the crown solvent. Henry VII realised early the power of
reward. To maintain his position on the throne he needed to reward his most
powerful subjects but he could do this only if the crown had the money, land
and titles to do so.
Hency followed a strict policy of rewarding only the most faithful and keeping
the rest in suspense with the prospect of future patronage. It was an effective
policy. For example, his uncle, Jasper Tudor, was given the title Duke of Bedford
(to add to his existing title of Earl of Pembroke), and office as governor of Wales
and the English border counties. Henry VII differed from previous monarchs in
that he expected people to earn the right to royal patronage.
In this respect, he laid the foundations of a service nobility, rewards given for
serving the crown rather than being simply based on traditional and long-
standing titles and landholdings. Thus, ancient nobility such as the Howard
Dukes of Norfolk had to compete for the king’s favour alongside more recent
noble creations such as the Stanley Earls of Derby.

Patronage and the court

The Tudor court was the centre of a web of patronage. The leading courtiers who
were nearest to the monarch would be the first to receive royal rewards. This
might come in the form of money, land, titles or offices. In this way, the monarch

40
Chapter 2 Gaining the cooperation of the localities

was able to build up a court network of dependent courtiers who would be loath
to rebel or resist the sovereign for fear of losing their privileges. This did not
always work, as the following examples show:
The Earl of Lincoln rebelled against Henry VII in 1487.
Lords Darcy and Hussey rebelled against Henry VIII in 1536.
Sir Thomas Wyatt and the Duke of Suffolk rebelled against Mary Iin 1553.
The Earls of Westmorland and Northumberland rebelled against Elizabeth I
, Vine1569:
e The Earl of Essex rebelled against Elizabeth I in 1601.

The Boleyns and patronage

When Anne Boleyn became the king’s mistress in 1527 she, too, became a
source of patronage. Ambitious men flocked to Anne in the hope of impressing
her and thereby benefiting from her generosity. When she became queen in 1533
she also had her own household.
Anne’s family also became a source of patronage. Her father, Thomas Boleyn, is
a good example of a man made rich and powerful by virtue of royal patronage.
Boleyn had come to the king’s notice due to his diplomatic service, for which he
was rewarded:

e in 1521 by being appointed treasurer of the royal household

e in 1523 when he was made a knight of the garter.

However, it was through the personal relationship of his daughters, Mary and
Anne, with Henry VIII that Boleyn gained his greatest reward. In 1530, he
obtained an important government office as lord privy seal and also the titles
the Viscount Rochford, Earl of Wiltshire and Earl of Ormond.

Relationship networks linked to patronage

Those courtiers in receipt of the crown’s patronage were themselves often
besieged with requests for rewards. In this way, powerful courtiers could @ KEY TERM
establish networks of support in the kingdom. For example, in Elizabeth’s reign,
the queen’s favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, was in a position to Favourite Royal favourites
reward several hundred men who thus became his clients. were especially close to the
monarch and were well
This enabled Leicester to extend his influence and exercise some authority in rewarded for their loyalty.
regions in which his client base was strongest. For example, as Baron Denbigh They were often resented by
he commanded significant support in north Wales, and in Warwickshire and the jealous rivals at court.
west Midlands he and his brother, the Earl of Warwick, ruled almost as kings.

Some of Leicester’s clients were themselves powerful men in their own locality
but they lacked the essential ingredient of a place at court. It has been estimated
that by 1547 there were over 200 posts at court and in the royal household that
ambitious men could compete for — and competition could be fierce.

@ KEY TERM
Monopoly A licence granted
by the crown to favoured
individuals or groups which
gave them the sole right
to trade in or produce a
particular commodity, such as
wine or starch.
» Study Source C. What
does this source reveal
about the frustrations of
ambitious noblemen
seeking Elizabeth's
goodwill and favour?
42
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—|603 for Edexcel
Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, was, like his stepfather, Leicester, a man with
a large following who expected to benefit from Leicester's patronage. Essex, in
turn, depended on the patronage and generosity of the queen. As Elizabeth’s
favourite, Essex was well rewarded with offices, lands and lucrative monopolies,
among which the import of sweet wines was the most valuable.
However, Essex was too arrogant and took Elizabeth’s generosity for granted.
His failure to defeat the Irish rebels, allied to his disregard of the queen’s
instructions, contributed to his eventual downfall. Elizabeth made him and she
could also break him. His attempt to salvage some pride by knighting a large
number of his followers in Ireland angered the queen, who felt he had abused
his powers by bestowing royal patronage too freely and, more importantly,
without her consent. A popular rhyme from the time made fun of those lowly
men who had received the honour of knighthood: ~
A knight of Cadiz,
And a gentleman of Wales,
And a laird of the North-country,
A yeoman of Kent
With his yearly rent
Will buy them out all three.
When Elizabeth removed her patronage she all but ruined Essex. He was left
in considerable debt and lost some of his followers because he could no longer
reward them.
Adapted from a letter written by Robert Devereux, Eari of Essex, to William
Cecil, Lord Burghley, 1596, quoted in P.E.J. Hammer, The Polarisation of
Elizabethan Politics: The Political Career of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex,
1585-1597, Cambridge University Press, 2005. —
Iam myself, I protest, engaged and have spent more than my estate is worth;
my friends, servants and followers have also spent more than they are worth.
My care to bring chaos into order and to govern everyman’s particular temper
takes much of my time both of recreation and of rest. And yet I am so far from
receiving thanks from Her Majesty. I have had not one word of comfort or
letter, or message or anything whatsoever. I see no man so harshly dealt with
and as I look for the reason I see none other than it be a fault to strive to do her
Majesty more service than she cares for. Well I will not amuse her or justify
myself.
Chapter 2 Gaining the cooperation of the localities

Problems with patronage

The main problem with patronage was that there was never ever enough to go
around. Many ambitious men were left dissatisfied with their rewards, which
caused resentment. The competition for reward at court bred faction. The
more powerful the courtier the larger the faction. Thus, faction fights at court
sometimes broke out over personal envy or over issues such as the change
in religion. For example, at the court of Henry VIII, the break with Rome
and proposed changes in church doctrine witnessed the clash between the
reformists under Cromwell and the conservatives under Norfolk. To add to this
potentially toxic mix of bitter rivalry there were other competing factions such as
that attached to the Boleyns and the Duke of Suffolk. At the court of Elizabeth,
too, the favour shown to the Earl of Essex bred resentment and there were plots
against him.
A strong monarch was needed to manage these competing factions. Henry VII
and Henry VIII were able to control factions but the boy-king Edward VI was
unable to do so. This contributed to the faction fight between Somerset and
Northumberland which led to a change in the government. Elizabeth managed
to contain the rivalry within her court until the last decade of her reign when
age and the loss of Burghley finally overcame her. The Essex rebellion of 1601
was due in large part to the anger and frustration caused by the loss of royal
patronage.

Summary diagram: Patronage and reward

Relationship networks
linked to patronage

The household

The power of patronage

Henry VIII The Boleyns

Problems of patronage
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485-1603 for Edexcel

Royal progresses
> forw important were oe progresses?

Royal progresses Boone London and the home counties

Royal progresses were an integral part of the sovereign’s routine. Although the
court and royal household were more firmly based in the royal palaces in and
around London, they were flexible enough to be itinerant and move beyond
the capital and home counties. During the winter months, the royal household
tended to restrict its travel to those palaces located in and near London, or in
the Thames Valley. It was the summer months that witnessed the true royal
progresses. Each year the monarch went on progress in order to see and be seen
by the people.
The royal household would publish an itinerary along with the names of those
courtiers who would be accompanying the monarch. The monarch travelled
with such a large entourage that only the wealthiest landowners could afford to
host the royal party. To save money, the monarch tended to visit and stay in the
mansion houses of their most favoured courtiers. The courtiers were expected to
foot the bill for the privilege of having the monarch stay with them. It is perhaps
ironic, given their later dissolution, that Henry VIII also enjoyed staying at
monastic houses while on progress. His favourite abbey was Reading but he also
stayed at Tewkesbury and Abingdon.

Sir Nicholas Poyntz and the royal progress to.Gloucestershire 1535

When Sir Nicholas Poyntz of Iron Acton in Gloucestershire was informed that
the king intended to visit his house the following year, August 1535, he was
determined to impress his sovereign. Poyntze employed over 350 labourers and
spent nine months building a magnificent new east wing on to the existing
moated manor house. Poyntz spent a small fortune building the new wing
but Henry and Anne Boleyn spent no more than three days at Iron Acton.
Unsurprisingly perhaps, Poyntz found himself heavily in debt in 1546, for which
he was taken to court for not paying his rents to the king!
Although the visit of the monarch was a sign of favour it did not guarantee
continued patronage. Within ten years of the king’s visit, Poyntz was no longer
part of the king’s ‘inner circle’ of favoured courtiers. In fact, he found himself in
court on charges of assault for which he spent some time in the king’s prison.
SOURCE D

Adapted fom a memoirenter iyoGentian Gecdmant aAER stadentltin

> Study Source D. How
London, who witnessed the queen on progress, 1588, quoted in T.A. Morris,
might this source be used
Tudor Government, Routledge, 1999.
to support the existence
of the cult of Elizabeth? In the Strand near St. Clement’s Church suddenly there was a report that the
Queen was gone to Council at Somerset House, and I was told ‘Ifyou will see

44
Chapter 2 Gaining the cooperation of the localities

the Queen you must come quickly’. Then we all ran and there we stayed an
hour and a half, and the yard was full, when the Queen came out in great state.
_ Then we cried ‘God save your Majesty’. And the Queen turned to us and said
‘God bless you all, my good people’. And the Queen said again to us ‘You may
well have a great prince but you shall never have a more loving prince’. And so
the Queen and the crowd there, looking upon one another awhile, her Majesty
departed. This wrought such an impression upon us that all the way along we
did nothing but talk what an admirable Queen she was and how we would
adventure our lives in her service.
"ovean tigations aioe eects Receive eK RTT SKUSE ISK SKNR TERESA

Elizabethan progresses
Like her father and grandfather, Elizabeth, too, enjoyed her summer progresses.
Aware of the need to show herself to her people, Elizabeth also wanted to
impress her subjects with her power and authority. The progresses enabled the
crown to keep in personal touch with local officials and with the general public.
According to historian Nancy Schmid (‘Elizabethan progresses, 1559-1603’,
1971, http://digital library.wisc.edu/1793/54711):
The people and the officials were appreciative of this royal attention and it
contributed to the favorable public opinion which Elizabeth enjoyed during her reign.
The public exposure which the progresses gave to Elizabeth created a bond between
the Queen and her subjects which enabled her to govern with a freer hand than she
would have been able to do otherwise.
Elizabeth tended to stay longer at some of her courtier’s houses. For example, in
the summer of 1575, she spent nearly three weeks at the Earl of Leicester’s home
of Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire. The visit almost bankrupted him. Not
only were hosts expected to pay for the royal visit, there was also an expectation
that the queen would be presented with a gift in honour of her stay. For example,
in 1595 Sir John Puckering hosted the queen at his house in Kew, during which
he presented her with a gift of jewellery valued at over £400.

Clearly, the costs involved in hosting the royal party could be enormous. For
example, the mayor and civic dignitaries of Bristol spent over £1000 hosting
Elizabeth and her entourage on her visit in 1574. For the Bristol municipal
authorities, the queen’s visit was regarded a privileged occasion, with an
opportunity to strengthen ties to the crown in the hope of gaining some royal
patronage. It is clear that Elizabethan progresses afforded a unique opportunity
for cities and towns to petition the queen for grants, licences, charters and
privileges. The Bristol authorities were keen to secure a royal charter that
would enable them to trade more freely and to reduce the crown’s taxes on their
commercial activities.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

Summary diagram: Royal progresses

Around London and

home counties

Royal progresses ~

Sir Nicholas Poyntz Beyond London and Elizabethan progresses:

and Gloucestershire home counties e Bristol
¢ Kenilworth

HUES CEU EU EEE CTE ez

: ibidete Zz

its authority out into the farthest reaches of the

The subdivision of the kingdom into regional
councils and counties assisted in the effective
: administration of the realm. Central government
: relied on the cooperation and goodwill of officials
: such as justices of the peace, sheriffs and lord
2 lieutenants to run regional and local government.
: The period was marked by the development of a
: network of personal relationships by patronage.
: This policy was designed to increase the crown’s
5 power at the centre while at the same time extend
Ede aseate sivas isuiiouniisiin eahunen aianain cananonananilesnitdesonesasusuraie tenirannsleniea teeeantcca ee oR ee
kingdom. The Tudors were determined to govern
every part of their kingdom no matter how far from
London or how remote the location. By rewarding
landowners of various social ranks they hoped to
bind the political nation into a close relationship with
their sovereign. In large part, this policy relied on
the crown’s having the wealth and other material
resources to grant lands, titles and positions at court.
It also involved royal visitations to localities beyond
London and the home counties. Royal progresses
ensured that as many people as possible would be
able to see the monarch.
eee
C

46
 Chapter 2 Gaining the cooperation of the localities

)
LLG LLL EN ARR ERR RAREST RR STE EE OORT a,

SOULE,
) Refresher questions
Use these questions to remind yourself of the key 5 How significant an office was that of sheriff? |
SAR
ESSAmaterial covered in this chapter.
ESLER
LOEEOL 6 Why was the post of lord lieutenant made
1 How was regional and local government organised permanent in 1585?
| and why might this have contributed to unrest and 7 How successful were the Tudors in extending their
: rebellion? power into the localities?
2 What were the Acts of Union 1536 and 1543? 8 Why did Tudor monarchs go on annual progress |
3 How and why did the role of justices of the peace and how important was it?
change between 1485 and 1603? 9 Why did patronage empower the monarchy?
4 How did the government of the localities change in 10 What was the link between royal favourites and the
the period between 1485 and 1603? grant of monopolies? }
sRGB RR RG RTI RTS I RE BS PER IIS OTE STE TET OTE LIOR

Question practice
ESSAY QUESTIONS
1 To what extent did the role of localities in governance change in the years 1485-1603?
2 How accurate is it to say that the lord lieutenant became the most important royal official in the localities
in the years 1485-1603?
3 How accurate is it to say that royal progresses did little to enhance the power and authority of the monarch
in the period between 1485 and 1603?
4 Howsignificant was royal patronage in strengthening the relationship between crown and country in the
years 1485-1603?
 CHAPTER:

Henry VII and the challenges to the -

Succession, 1465-99
Henry Tudor’s hold on the throne depended on how quickly he could establish the dynasty.
Following his victory at Bosworth, Henry put in place measures to secure the throne. First
among them was the need to control the nobility and heal the divisions between the
competing Yorkist and Lancastrian factions. To protect his position, Henry had to overcome
the challenges posed by the pretenders, Simnel and Warbeck. To defend his dynasty, Henry
had also to deal with the potential threat posed by foreign powers such as Burgundy, France
and Scotland. Henry sought to dissuade these powers, including Ireland, from supporting
the pretenders. These issues are examined as three themes:
%* Establishing the Tudor dynasty
* The pretenders
* Defending
the dynasty

Key dates
1485 After victory at the Battle of 1489 Rebellion in Yorkshire
Bosworth, Henry was crowned as ~ Earl of Northumberland killed by
King Henry VII rebels _*
1486 Jan Marriage of Henry and Elizabeth of 149] Wane began his challenge for
York the English throne
Sept — Birth of ason and heir, Arthur 1495 Sir William Stanleyand Lord
1487 June = Simnel and the Battle of Stoke Fitzwalter executed for treason
Nov Elizabeth of York was crowned 1497 Rebellion in Cornwall
Queen of England 1499 Warbeck and the Earl of Warwick
1489 Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, executed
released from gaol

48
Chapter 3 Henry VII and the challenges to the succession, !485—99

© Establishing the Tudor dynasty

> What measures did Henry Vi take toestablish and:secure the Tudor
eee

Henry Tudor and Bosworth

To many of Henry’s contemporaries, the Battle of Bosworth on 22 August
1485 was just one more battle in the long dynastic struggle for the crown that
dominated the second half of the fifteenth century. On this occasion, the victor
happened to be the obscure Lancastrian claimant, the 28-year-old Henry, Earl of
Richmond. The Lancastrian victory at Bosworth was an impressive feat of arms
but the young victor knew that to secure the crown he had just won would take
considerably more than just a single success in battle.

The impact and aftermath of Bosworth 1485-7

Henry Tudor was a usurper whose claim to the throne was open to challenge
Decause it was so weak. He was aware that recent history was against him.
Richard III’s two-year reign had been successfully challenged, so Henry knew
that he must do all he could to consolidate his hold on the throne. Henry’s claim
to the throne rested on his victory in battle. That he had defeated and killed
King Richard III was regarded as a sign that God had approved of Henry’s
assumption of power. However, Henry’s victory at Bosworth did not guarantee
his survival and for the first two years of his reign (1485-7) his hold on the
throne remained shaky. This precarious situation is shown by the fact that he
faced a minor rising led by disaffected Yorkists: Francis, Lord Lovel, and the
Stafford brothers, Thomas and Humphrey.

The Wars of the Roses: Lancastrians versus Yorkists

The Wars ofthe Roses were a dynastic struggle
between the noble families of Lancaster and
York. Both sides believed that the crown of
England rightfully belonged to them. The result
of this rivalry was war; between 1455 and 1487,
Lancastrians and Yorkists fought a series of
pitched battles to secure control of the crown.
_ Ties of kinship, friendship and clientship made it
almost inevitable that many of England’s noble
| families would be drawn into the conflict between
Lancaster and York.
__ The origin of the dynastic conflict can be traced to
the reign of the Lancastrian king, Henry VI (1422—
61; 1470-71). Henry VI was a weak-willed and
_ indecisive monarch who failed to rule the kingdom
effectively. During his reign some ofthe nobility
began to grumble while others plotted to either
control or replace him. Henry’s weak government
enabled powerful nobles to build power blocks
in the kingdom which led to faction fighting at
court. The strong leadership of Richard, Duke of
York, contrasted with the weakness of his cousin,
Henry VI. The king’s reliance on, and enrichment
of, favourites was greatly resented. This tension
between the crown and the nobility led to dynastic
civil war, the Wars ofthe Roses.
Following Henry VI’s death in 1471, the
Lancastrians supported the dynastic claims of
Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond. Henry Tudor
challenged the rule of the Yorkist kings Edward IV
(1461-9; 1471-83) and Richard III (1483-5).

@ KEY TERM
Sanctuary A place of safety
within a church or monastery
guaranteed by the authority
of the church.
50
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel
Defeating the Lovel and Stafford rising 1486
Trouble broke out while the king was on royal progress to his northern capital
of York. This was a public relations exercise in an unruly area, whereby the king
showed himself to his people to secure their support. Since Bosworth, Lovel and
the Stafford brothers, faithful adherents of Richard, had been in sanctuary at
Colchester. The church offered protection from the law for up to 40 days but, by
the fifteenth century, sanctuaries were becoming a source of dispute with the
crown.
As Henry travelled north in April 1486, the rebels broke sanctuary: Lovel
headed north and planned to ambush the king, while the Staffords travelled
to Worcester to stir up rebellion in the west. Henry heard of this while he was
at Lincoln. Nevertheless, he continued with his progress, but sent an armed
force to offer the rebels the choice of pardon and reconciliation or, if they fought
and lost, excommunication and death. The rebels dispersed, but Lovel evaded
capture and fled to Flanders. The Staffords sought sanctuary once again. Henry
felt that it was unreasonable for declared traitors to be allowed sanctuary a
second time, so the Staffords were arrested and sent to the Tower of London.
Humphrey was executed but Thomas was pardoned and remained loyal
thereafter.
Henry’s policy of ‘calculated mercy’ — severity towards the major ringleaders
and clemency to the rank and file — proved successful. The royal progress to the
disaffected areas inspired the required reaction of loyalty and obedience. Henry
was seen as the upholder of justice and order. Although, with hindsight, the
rising appears rather insignificant, it still proved alarming for Henry.
\
Rival claims to the throne
Following their defeat at Bosworth there were still some important Yorkists alive
with strong claims to the throne:
. . hae.
e Edward, Earl of Warwick. Warwick was the ten-year-old nephew of Richard III,
the son of his brother George, Duke of Clarence. Henry successfully disposed
of him, at least temporarily, by sending him to the Tower. Although it was a
royal stronghold, the Tower was also a royal residence, so Warwick lived in
relative comfort although without the freedom to come and go as he pleased.
He was executed in 1499.
® John de la Pole, the Earl of Lincoln. Richard had named his other nephew,
Lincoln, as his heir. However, both Lincoln and his father, the Duke of
Suffolk, professed their loyalty to Henry and the king accepted this. Whereas
Suffolk remained loyal to Henry until his death in 1492, Lincoln rebelled and
was killed at the Battle of Stoke.
e Edmund de la Pole, the Earl of Suffolk. Edmund was the younger brother of John
de la Pole. He succeeded his father as duke in 1492 but his dukedom was
demoted to an earldom in 1493. This seems to have caused him to rebel and
challenge Henry VII's throne.
 Chapter 3 Henry Vil and the challenges to the succession, 1485-99

Henry VII's aims

The greatest challenge facing Henry Tudor was to remain king. His predecessors
had fared badly in this respect: Henry VI (1422-61, 1470-1) and Edward IV
(1461-70, 1471-83) had been usurped twice, while Richard III (1483-5) had
lasted less than two years before being killed. Henry Tudor was a usurper,
therefore he had one aim: to secure his kingship and establish his dynasty by
handing on an unchallenged succession to his descendants. His policies at home
‘and abroad were shaped and dictated by this aim. His goals were simple: to
establish and strengthen his dynasty. To achieve his goals Henry would have to:
establish effective government
maintain law and order
control the nobility
secure the crown’s finances.

Henry would also need good advice, friends abroad and a considerable amount
of luck.

Measures to secure his throne

With little knowledge of England and limited experience in government, Henry
knew that he had to prove himself a strong king. In an era of personal monarchy,
the ruler was responsible for policy, which meant that everything depended on
the king’s energy, interest and willingness to work.
Henry put in place a series of measures to secure his throne and safeguard the
succession:

@ He dated the official beginning of his reign from the day before Bosworth
(22 August 1485). This meant that Richard and his supporters could be
declared traitors. This was doubly convenient because it meant that their
estates became the property of the crown by act of attainder.
e He deliberately arranged his coronation for 30 October, before the first
meeting of parliament on 7 November. Thus, it could never be said that
parliament made Henry VII king.
e He applied for a papal dispensation to marry Elizabeth of York. This was
necessary because they were distant cousins. Henry and Elizabeth were
married on 18 January 1486, finally uniting the Houses of Lancaster and York.

After Bosworth, Henry’s most immediate and perhaps greatest problem was
ensuring that he kept the crown. Although many potential candidates had
been eliminated from the succession during the Wars of the Roses and their
aftermath, it was not until 1506 that Henry could feel really secure on his throne.
By that time the most dangerous claimants to the crown were either dead or
safely locked away.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

SOURCE A
Extract from Polydor Vergil’s Anglica Historia (The History of England), 1513
» Study Source A. How (available at www.philological.bham.ac.uk/polverg/).
does Vergil’s description
of Henry VII help us Henry reigned for twenty-three years, seven months, and lived for fifty-two.
understand how and why By his wife Elizabeth he had eight children and left three surviving ones, Henry
he was successful in Prince of Wales, Margaret, and Mary. His intellect was great and clever, and
establishing the Tudor he was not averse to learning, his spirit excellerit and bold even amidst the
dynasty? greatest perils. He managed his affairs with deliberation and gravity, so that he
easily gained a reputation for prudence, since that he was not unaware that
many eyes were fixed on the rise and fall of his fortune, and therefore that a
sovereign should surpass others in wisdom as well as in power. For who would
give a man anything ifhe knows him to be empty-headed? Furthermore, he was
moderate, honest, frugal, affable, and kindly. He hated pride and arrogance so
much that he was rough and harsh towards men marked by those vices. No
man enjoyed such sway with him that he dared act as he please. He said this
was his practice, so that he would be called a king who chose to rule rather than
be ruled. He was a very severe champion ofjustice, and this one thing did the
most to procure him popularity, since he gave the common people a life free
from harm at the hands of the powerful and of rogues. But there coexisted with
this severity a mercy he readily displayed to those who had suffered injuries.
For at one time or another he recompensed and relieved those of his subjects
who had been ill treated by his judges. This was a sure sign that, just as he
himself said, he resorted to this severity for the sake of curbing the fierce spirits
ofapeople brought up amidst factionalism, not out of a lust formoney-making,
although those who were wounded in this way exclaimed these were the darts
of greed, not severity. Indeed, this modest sovereign did not despoil his subjects
of their fortunes immoderately, for he left behind him a kingdom most wealthy
in all respects. This is made plain, among other things, by the immense amount
of gold and silver annually brought into the island by merchants plying to and
fro, whom he very frequently helped with interest-free loans, so that the flow of
commerce, both useful and necessary for all men, would be more abundant in
his realm.

Managing the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions

To maintain his hold on the throne, Henry would have to manage the rival
Yorkist and Lancastrian factions both at court and in the country. Henry hoped
that by marrying Elizabeth of York, the daughter of King Edward IV, he might
begin to heal the rift between the competing factions. By uniting the Houses of
Lancaster and York, Henry hoped to dissuade the Yorkists from challenging his
kingship. However, Henry was realistic enough to realise that this alone was not
enough to guarantee his position.

Henry was prepared to give the Yorkists, particularly Richard’s supporters at

Bosworth, an opportunity to prove their loyalty to him. The three most notable
surviving Yorkists were:

52
Chapter 3 Henry VII and the challenges to the succession, 1485-99

@ John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln

@ Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey
e Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland.

All three were pardoned because they seemed prepared to work with the new
regime. Lincoln was the only one who betrayed the king’s trust:
e Lincoln was invited to join the king’s council. He remained loyal until 1487
when he fled the court and was killed at the Battle of Stoke in 1487.
@ Surrey had fought on the Yorkist side with his father, the Duke of Norfolk,
who died at Bosworth, and Henry kept him in prison until 1489. Surrey
was released when Henry became convinced of his good intentions. Surrey
remained loyal and was rewarded by Henry VIII in 1514 when he was
restored to the dukedom of Norfolk.
e Northumberland was released at the end of 1485 and was given the
opportunity to prove his loyalty by resuming his old position as governor
of the north of England. He was killed defending the new regime in the
Yorkshire rebellion in 1489.
Ex-Yorkists were therefore not automatically excluded from the Tudor court:
loyalty was the new king’s only requirement for them to regain royal favour.

Threats to the dynasty: rebellions in Yorkshire (1489) and

Cornwall (1497)
To ensure the long-term survival of his dynasty, Henry had also to deal with
domestic challenges such as the rebellions that broke out in Yorkshire in 1489
and in Cornwall in 1497. These rebellions stemmed not from dynastic causes but
from the king’s demands for money.

Yorkshire
Henry planned to go to the aid of Brittany, which was being threatened by
France. The parliament of 1489 granted him £100,000 to pay for it. The tax
caused widespread resentment because it was raised in a new way, as a sort of
income tax. The tax was particularly badly received in Yorkshire, which was
suffering the after-effects of a bad harvest the previous summer. The people also
resented the fact that the counties to the north of them were exempted from the
tax because they were expected to defend the country from the Scots. Henry
Percy, Earl of Northumberland, put their case to the king, but Henry refused to
negotiate. When the Earl returned north with the news he was murdered. The
Earl of Surrey defeated the rebels outside York. As a gesture of reconciliation the
king travelled north to issue a pardon to most of the prisoners.

Cornwall
It was another request for money that ignited a rebellion in Cornwall. In
January 1497, parliament voted for a heavy tax to finance an expedition north
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

to resist the expected invasion of the Scottish king, James IV, and the pretender
Perkin Warbeck. The Cornish, who were traditionally independent, refused to
contribute to the defence of the northern part of the kingdom. A rebel force of
about 15,000 men marched to London and reached Blackheath outside the city
in June. The Cornishmen were confronted by a royal army and defeated. It has
been estimated that about 1000 rebels were killed in the battle and that the rest
swiftly fled. The rebellion did not seriously endanger Henry’s throne but it had
shown that he could not afford to be complacent in his efforts to establish and
secure the dynasty.

Summary diagram: Establishing the Tudor dynasty

Establishing
the Tudor dynasty

Battle of Bosworth:
Henry VIl secured the throne MESSI,

First parliament Henry’s reaction to

surviving Yorkists

Threats to the dynasty

Lovel and Stafford rising Yorkshire rebellion Cornish rebellion

The pretenders
P How much of a threat were the pretenders and how did Henry VII
defeat them?

The pretenders: Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck

When Henry came to power he was a largely unknown and untried nobleman.
Few of his subjects believed that the civil wars were over or that he would
remain king for long. The uncertainty of his rule, the continuing political
instability and the economic dislocation caused by war affected nobleman and
commoner alike. Therefore, Henry had to deal with the disgruntled protesters
against such things as high taxes, alongside the dangerous pretenders or rival
claimants to the throne. As a usurper, Henry was aware that what he had done

54
Chapter 3 Henry VII and the challenges to the succession, 1485-99

to Richard II] in 1485 others might do to him, which is why he could not afford
to ignore or treat lightly any protest or rebellion. It was clear that the main
@rr KEY FIGURES |
threat to his position came from the pretenders Lambert Simnel and Perkin
Lambert Simnel
Warbeck. (c.1476-1525)
The careers of the pretenders, Simnel and Warbeck, were of great significance to Simnel’s origins are obscure
Henry VII. They presented such a dangerous challenge to his hold on the crown but he is thought to have
because: been the son of an organ
maker who was taken as a
e they gained the support of some powerful English nobles, such as the Earl of pupil, in 1486, by an Oxford
Lincoln priest, Richard Symonds. The
@ of their entanglement with other European states, particularly Burgundy and ten-year-old Simnel was used
Scotland by the Yorkists to impersonate
one ofthe princes in the
e they lasted for such a long time: 1487-99.
Tower.

Simnel and the Battle of Stoke 1486-7 Perkin Warbeck

(c.1474-99)
Simnel’s patron, Richard Symonds, had initially intended to pass off his young
Warbeck’s origins are obscure
protégé as Richard of York. However, in the light of rumours about the fate of the but it is thought that he was
Earl of Warwick, he seems to have changed his mind and to have decided that from Tournai in France. He
Simnel would now impersonate Warwick. Moving to Ireland, Simnel received became embroiled in the
the support of the lord deputy, the Earl of Kildare. Kildare was one of the most dynastic conspiracy when he
powerful nobles in Ireland and his influence enabled Simnel to be crowned arrived in Cork, Ireland, in
King Edward VI in Dublin in May 1487. The pretender was also supported by 149] on the ship of his
master, a Breton merchant.
Edward IV's sister, Margaret, Dowager Duchess of Burgundy. She sent money
He was the figurehead of the
and a force of 2000 German mercenaries to Ireland, led by an experienced field
Yorkist plots against Henry VII
commander, Martin Schwarz. Backed by this formidable army, Simnel landed in until his capture (1497) and
England, where he was supported by the Yorkist nobleman John de la Pole, Earl execution in 1499,
of Lincoln.
Although the conspiracy had begun in the autumn of 1486, Henry himself
does not appear to have been aware of it until New Year 1487. The real Earl of
Warwick was taken out of the Tower and exhibited in London to expose the
imposter. However, the sudden flight of the Earl of Lincoln to join Lord Lovel in
Flanders at the court of his aunt, Margaret of Burgundy, made clear the gravity
of the situation. Lincoln then accompanied Lovel and Schwarz to Ireland in May
1487. It is probable that the earl had been involved from an early stage. Lincoln
knew that Simnel was an imposter, but possibly planned to put forward his own
claim to the throne when he judged the time to be right.

The Battle of Stoke 1487

On 4 June 1487, Lincoln and his army landed in Lancashire, marched across
the Pennines and then turned south. He received less support than he expected
because people were weary of civil strife. The king was prepared and the two
armies met just outside Newark at East Stoke on 16 June 1487. Lincoln’s 8000
men faced a royal army of some 12,000.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors |485—1603 for Edexcel

The Yorkist forces were decisively defeated. Lincoln, Schwarz and Kildare’s
younger brother, Thomas, all perished, along with nearly half their army. It
is likely that Lovel, too, was killed. Simnel and Symonds were both captured.
Symonds was sentenced to life imprisonment in a bishop’s prison. Recognising
that Simnel had been merely a pawn in the hands of ambitious men, Henry
made him a turnspit in the royal kitchen. He was later promoted to be the king’s
falconer as a reward for his loyal service.
Henry’s calculated mercy was apparent yet again. He could afford to be
generous to Simnel because Symonds was now in prison and the real
ringleaders were dead. As a deterrent to others in the future, those nobles who
@ KEY TERM
had fought at Stoke were dealt with swiftly in Henry’s second parliament, which
Attainted Accused of met from November to December 1487. Twenty-eight of them were attainted
treason. and their lands were confiscated. :
Some historians view Stoke as the last battle of the Wars of the Roses. Certainly,
Henry never again faced an army composed of his own subjects on English
soil, although further rebellions did follow. Stoke could have been a second
Bosworth, with Henry this time in the role of Richard II. What was most
important was that Henry was victorious. However, the fact that such an
unlikely scheme almost succeeded acted as a warning to Henry as it showed
how vulnerable his kingship was. The country was still unsettled, which
revealed the fragility of Henry’s hold on the throne. It was no coincidence that
on 25 November 1487 his wife, Elizabeth of York, and mother of his heir, was
finally crowned queen. This was designed to:
unite the nation
secure the goodwill of the people
satisfy disaffected Yorkists
strengthen the dynasty.

Perkin Warbeck 1491-9

Further troubles arose for Henry in the autumn of 1491 when Perkin Warbeck,
a seventeen-year-old from Tournai in France, arrived in Cork, Ireland, on the
ship of his master, a Breton merchant. He seems to have deeply impressed the
townsfolk, who assumed that he might be the Earl of Warwick. Warbeck denied
this, claiming instead to be Richard, Duke of York, whose murder in the Tower
was assumed but had never been proved. The known figures behind Warbeck
were men of humble origin but there is evidence to suggest that Warbeck’s
appearance in Ireland was no accident but the first part of an unfolding plan. It
is likely that Charles VIII of France, and probably Margaret of Burgundy, were
behind the elaborate plan to use Warbeck to put pressure on Henry.

Warbeck and France

The conspiracy achieved international recognition from the rulers of Ireland,
Scotland and France. Charles VII welcomed Warbeck at the French court and

56
 Chapter 3 Henry Vil and the challenges to the succession, 1485-99

SOURCE B

Study Source B. Why

might an artist take the
trouble to draw the
portrait of a rebel and
pretender to the English
throne?

A contemporary drawing of Perkin Warbeck.

by the summer of 1492 approximately 100 English Yorkists had joined him in
Paris. However, the Treaty of Etaples, which Henry VII negotiated with France in
November, meant that Warbeck had to find a new refuge, so he fled to Flanders
where he was accepted by Margaret of Burgundy as her nephew.

Warbeck and Burgundy

It is unlikely that Margaret believed Warbeck to be whom he claimed but, in the
absence of any genuine Yorkist claimant at liberty, supporting him would have
been her best opportunity to dislodge Henry. Margaret calculated that faithful
Yorkists would be prepared to back anyone to gain their revenge on Henry VII.
Margaret’s support of Warbeck worried Henry to the extent that in 1493 he
temporarily broke off trade with Flanders, even though this threatened the cloth
industry which was so important to the English economy.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

Warbeck and the Holy Roman Empire

Not content with Margaret’s support alone, Warbeck found an even more
influential patron when Maximilian, the newly elected Holy Roman Emperor,
recognised him as Richard IV in 1494. However, Maximilian did not have the
resources available to finance an invasion of England.

SOURCE
‘ivmnuiunnin nN
C
HenHiNnANUEENNONHHsAHeneenii i tcniiinnisieniitiriieeiiveiirtiiiinseyieiiteiis reais tecnica eines neiiinieiitnaiicgitsiiniteraineit annette

Adapted from a letter written by King Henry VII to Sir Gilbert Talbot, 1493. This
» Study Source C. What was one of hundreds of letters the king sent to his most loyal supporters.
does this source reveal
Quoted in J.O. Halliwell, editor, Letters of the Kings of England: Now First
about Henry’s attitude Collected from Royal Archives, and Other Authentic Sources, Private as Well as
towards the pretenders Public, Vol. 1, Henry Colburn, 1848 (available at https://archive.org/details/
and those that supported lettersofkingsof02halluoft).
them?
Trusty and well-beloved we greet you well. Not forgetting the great malice that
the Lady Margaret of Burgundy bears continually against us — as she showed
lately in sending here a feigned boy [Simnel], surmising him to have been the
son of the Duke of Clarence, and caused him to be accompanied with the Earl of
Lincoln, the Lord Lovell, and with great multitudes of Irishmen and Germans
whose end, blessed be to God! was as you know well. And now how she
perseveres with her malice against us by the untrue contriving of another
feigned lad called Perkin Warbeck, born in Tournai in Picardy which at his first
coming into Ireland called himself the bastard son of King Richard, and after
claimed to be the son of the Duke of Clarence, and now claims to be the second
son of King Edward IV. She [Margaret] intends to usurp us by promising the
Flemings and others of the archduke’s subjects along with certain captains of
strange nations, that they will be granted duchies, counties, baronies and other
lands within this our realm as their reward. This she does to induce them to
land here to destroy and disinherit the noblemen and other of our subjects in
this realm. We therefore, in order that we may be always prepared and in
readiness to resist her malice, will and desire you to be ready on horseback,
armed and armoured at the head of 80 armed men on horseback together with
archers armed with billes and staves to be appointed and ready to come upon a
day's warning to do us service in war. And you shall have for every horseman
well armed and defensively attired 12d. per day; for every archer 8d. per day,
all to be paid from the time of our coming out to war to the time of your going
home again. And in so doing you will earn and deserve our thanks.
Given under our seal at our castle of Kenilworth 20th July 1493.
‘uunuitsvisnieiviuisnnisaiaioininsieiincn isin ene toting isi nnieinoeieennstoreisiiennenninninani

The conspiracy and executions of Stanley and Lord Fitzwalter

In the meantime, Henry’s intelligence network had informed him who was
implicated in plotting treason, both at home and abroad, and in the parliament
of 1495 acts of attainder were passed against a range of suspects. The most
important victim was Sir William Stanley, Henry’s step-uncle and the man who

58
Chapter 3 Henry Vil and the challenges to the succession, 1485—99

had changed the course of the Battle of Bosworth. As Chamberlain of the king’s
household, he was one of Henry’s most trusted officials. Henry must have been
disappointed and frightened by his betrayal. His execution showed that Henry
would spare no-one, no matter how eminent. Lord Fitzwalter, his steward, was
also executed. It appears that a supposed adherent of the conspiracy, Sir Robert
Clifford, revealed vital names to the king. It is probable that Clifford was in
Henry’s service from the beginning, for he received a pardon and rewards for
breaking the conspiracy.

Warbeck and Scotland

The efficient work of Henry’s agents and the king’s swift reaction meant that
Warbeck’s attempted landing at Deal in Kent in July 1495 was a fiasco. He
failed to gather sufficient local support and he set sail for Ireland, ruthlessly
abandoning those of his men who had already gone ashore. He laid siege to
the town of Waterford for eleven days without success. Warbeck then departed
for Scotland where he met with more encouragement when James IV gave him
refuge and support. It is difficult to be certain how far James was convinced
by Warbeck, if at all, but he did go so far as to give him his cousin in marriage
together with an annual pension of £1200.
These actions were enough to challenge Henry’s government and to threaten
the marriage alliance with Spain, between Catherine of Aragon and Arthur,
Prince of Wales. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella would not contemplate
sending their daughter to marry the heir to a contested crown. Fortunately
for Henry, the Scottish invasion of England was a disaster. Warbeck received
no support south of the border and retreated, horrified at the way the Scots
had raided and pillaged the countryside. James did not take advantage of the
rebellion in Cornwall to attack again. Disillusioned with Warbeck, he thought
that Henry’s conciliatory offer of his eldest daughter, Margaret, in marriage was
more to Scotland’s long-term advantage. In September 1497, a seven-year truce
was agreed at Ayton which was formalised in 1502 — the first full peace treaty
with Scotland since 1328.

Warbeck’s failure
Warbeck himself eased the situation by returning to Ireland in July 1497, hoping
for more success there. However, he found that even Kildare was temporarily
loyal to Henry, so he set sail for the south-west of England hoping, as a last
resort, to find support from this traditionally rebellious area. Again, he was to
be bitterly disappointed; having landed in Devon, he was driven out of Exeter
and Taunton and only a few thousand joined him. Within a fortnight it was all
over, and Warbeck once again abandoned his followers. This time he fled to the
sanctuary of Beaulieu Abbey in Hampshire. In August 1497, he was persuaded to
give himself up and to make a full confession.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

As a foreigner, it would have been difficult at this stage to accuse him of treason
under English law. Henry allowed him to remain at court with his young
Scottish bride, but Warbeck was not content with this and foolishly escaped in
1498. He was recaptured, publicly humiliated by being forced to sit in the stocks
twice, and was then imprisoned in the Tower. As for his wife, she remained at
court and became a lady-in-waiting to the queen.

The plot and execution of Warbeck and Warwick

Historians have long argued over the truth of whether Warbeck and Warwick
conspired to plot an escape from the Tower and murder the king. Some suggest
that the prisoners were the victims of a cynical attempt by the king’s agents to
manipulate them into conceiving a plot. Others believe that Warwick, weary of
imprisonment, was persuaded by Warbeck to join a conspiracy. The truth will
probably never be known and all that can be said with certainty is that Henry’s
patience with Warbeck had been exhausted. The pretender, and his powerful
foreign backers, had succeeded in causing Henry eight years of considerable
anxiety and expense that the king could well have done without. Consequently,
in 1499, Warbeck was charged with trying to escape yet again and this time he
was hanged.

The Earl of Warwick was found guilty of treason and was executed a week later.
Although Warwick himself might not have been dangerous, he was always there
for others to manipulate and weave plots around. Very probably pressure from
Spain forced Henry to act in this way. Ferdinand and Isabella wanted to ensure
that their daughter was coming to a secure inheritance.

Summary diagram: The pretenders

The pretenders
Lambert Simnel c= Perkin Warbeck
1486-7 1491-9
Foreign support

Battle of Stoke
1487 lreland
Burgundy
France
Holy Roman Empire
Scotland

ois
Conspiracy and execution:
° Sir William Stanley
e Lord Fitzwalter

60
Chapter 3 Henry VII and the challenges to the succession, 1485—99

©crDetending the dynasty

a Why, ie with ivnaesSUCCESS,did Beng defend thenasty against
‘the challSUES Sey France, Scotland and Ireland?
i
ar os we ow oe ~

Henry's Pesan with arciahi's

powers
Henry’s vulnerable position in dynastic and financial terms made non-
intervention on the continent the most sensible approach in his foreign policy.
Dynastic threats dominated his dealings with foreign rulers, which is why the
issue of security lay at the heart of the treaties he concluded with France, Spain,
Scotland and Brittany.

Henry’s aim in foreign policy was defensive because of the nature of his
succession, by usurpation. As there were several claimants to his throne, Henry
had to be constantly on his guard against possible invasion. The most serious
claimants were the pretenders, Simnel and Warbeck, both whom successfully
sought aid from foreign powers. The most vulnerable border was the northern
one with Scotland because it was traditionally the back door into England, and
one which the French were always keen to exploit. However, Henry could not
afford to ignore Wales, through which his own armed invasion had come, or
Ireland, which was volatile and prone to challenging the authority of the English
crown. Of all the foreign powers, Burgundy proved to be Henry’s most serious
and consistent enemy.

Consolidating support
In the first two years of his reign (1485-7), Henry’s actions in foreign affairs
were deliberately designed to give him time to consolidate support. He had to
ensure that he had at least nominal support abroad if he was to secure his throne
at home:

e As France had helped to finance the expedition which had led directly to
Bosworth, Henry seized the opportunity to maintain good relations with
England’s traditional enemy. He immediately negotiated a one-year truce
with France, which was subsequently extended to January 1489.
@ In July 1486, he succeeded in persuading James III of Stotland to agree to a
three-year truce.
e In July 1486, Henry negotiated a commercial treaty with Brittany, the other
country to offer him hospitality during the long years in exile.
@ In January 1487, he concluded a twelve-month treaty with Maximilian, King
of the Romans, the heir to the Holy Roman Emperor.

Henry had done his best to ensure that he would not suffer invasion from his
principal foreign rivals and, for the time being at least, he was confident that
they would not offer assistance to the other claimants to the throne. Perhaps

@ KEY TERMS
Hundred Years’ War
The war with France which
was fought intermittently
between |338 and 1453.
Dowry Money or property
paid by the bride's father on
his daughter’s marriage.
62
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel
most importantly for Henry, these treaties revealed that he was accepted as King
of England by his European counterparts.
Simnel and foreign support
The pretender Simnel’s claim to the throne caused various diplomatic
problems because he received support from Ireland and Burgundy. Whereas
Irish antagonism was not unusual, that from Burgundy was. Throughout the
Hundred Years’ War against France, Burgundy had been England’s main ally.
It was also the main outlet for the sale of English cloth. However, Margaret, the
Duchess of Burgundy, the sister of Edward IV, had supported the Yorkists in
the recent civil war and was willing to provide 2000 mercenaries for Simnel’s
cause. Fortunately for Henry, English support for Simnel was very limited, which
enabled him to defeat the rebels at the Battle of Stoke in 1487.
Undeterred by this reverse, Margaret continued to plot against Henry. Either
alone or in concert with other foreign powers such as France and Scotland,
Burgundy lay at the heart of conspiracies to unseat Henry Tudor. Warbeck
proved especially useful for Burgundy, which supported and part funded
the pretender’s protracted plot against Henry for nearly eight years. To deter
Burgundy and any other potential threat to his throne, Henry sought allies to
help him defend his dynasty.
Henry's allies: Spain and Brittany
The most significant achievement of Henry VII's foreign policy was the alliance
negotiated with Spain in the Treaty of Medina del Campo signed in March
1489. Spain emerged as a major power in the late fifteenth century after the
unification of the country in 1479. Initially, England and Spain were commercial
rivals, but both were willing to sink their differences in a common animosity
towards France. *
Early in 1488, Henry suggested a marriage between his eldest son, Prince
Arthur, and Ferdinand and Isabella’s youngest daughter, Catherine of Aragon,
when they reached marriageable age. Besides providing a handsome dowry,
Ferdinand agreed not to help any English rebels or fund any invasion by
continental challengers.
The fact that the Tudor dynasty had been recognised as an equal by one of the
leading royal families of Europe was of major importance to a usurper who was
desperately keen to secure international recognition of the legitimacy of his
position as king.
Henry’s attempt to secure Brittany’s support by protecting its independence
from an aggressive France was not so successful. Henry’s support for the
Bretons, confirmed in the treaty of Redon in February 1489, enraged the French
Chapter 3 Henry VII and the challenges to the succession, 1485-99

king, Charles VIII, who resolved to support rival claimants to the English
throne. Unable to prevent a French takeover of Brittany in December 1491, and
in view of the threat posed by a hostile France, Henry raised an army of 26,000
men, crossed the Channel in October 1492 and laid siege to Boulogne. The
French king, Charles, was eager to be rid of his English aggressor, so nine days
after Henry had set foot on French soil he was offered peace and on 3 November
the Treaty of Etaples was signed.

Henry makes peace: France and the Treaty of Etaples

Charles's only concerns were to keep Brittany and to encourage Henry to remove
himself and his army from France. Therefore, he promised to give no further
aid to English rebels, particularly Warbeck, and to pay most of Henry’s costs of
intervening in Brittany. This totalled 745,000 gold crowns, payable at the rate of
50,000 crowns a year. In contemporary English currency this equated to £5000
a year (£2.4 million today), approximately five per cent of the king’s annual
income. Henry had not only won a glorious victory but he had:

@ prevented Charles VII from helping Perkin Warbeck

e secured a lucrative pension from the French.
The Treaty of Etaples endured until the end of Henry’s reign. It was a vital
element in the king’s effort to defend his dynasty, for it eliminated potentially
the most serious threat to his throne.
SOURCE D
unannounced gnu aint itary scat atiinigiattetgiinissniiot cinta

Adapted from J. Rawson Lumby, Bacon’s History of the Reign of King Henry VII,
Cambridge University Press, 1885. Francis Bacon’s history was first published in
Study Source D, Why
was Bacon so dismissive
?
&
1622 and here discusses the Treaty of Etaples (available at https://archive.org/
of the Treaty of Etaples?
details/baconshistoryreOO0lumbgoog).

A peace was concluded by the commissioners. To continue for both the kings’
lives, where there was no article of importance, being in effect rather a bargain
than a treaty. For all things remained as they were, save that there should be
paid to the king seven hundred and forty-five thousand ducats for his expenses,
and twenty-five thousand crowns yearly for costs sustained in aiding the
Bretons. There was also assigned by the French king unto all the king's
principal councillors, great pensions and rich gifts. This the king did permit to
save his own purse from rewards and to make more popular a business that
was displeasing to his people. For certainly the king had no great fancy to own
this peace... But the truth is this peace was welcome to both kings. To
Charles VIII because it assured him the possession of Brittany [and] to
Henry VII because it filled his coffers. But it caused discontent among the
nobility and gentry who had invested much of their time and money in the
hope of a successful and lucrative war.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485-1603 for Edexcel

Warbeck and foreign support

The significance of Warbeck’s career to Henry in the field of foreign affairs was
that it involved other rulers in England’s dynastic problem. During a career
spanning eight years, Warbeck received support from Ireland, France, Burgundy
and Scotland. The significance of this support for the challengers from abroad
greatly complicated Henry’s foreign policy. This was particularly evident in:
e 1489 in the treaty with Spain, as Ferdinand and Isabella did not wish their
daughter to marry the heir to an insecure crown
e 1493, when Henry went as far as disrupting England’s cloth trade by placing
a temporary embargo on commercial dealings with the Netherlands because
Philip and Margaret were offering Warbeck aid.
It also highlighted the long-term problem of possible invasion of England via
Scotland. It came as something of a relief to Henry when, in 1497, Warbeck was
finally captured and peace was made with Scotland.

Scotland and the Truce of Ayton 1497

Relations between Scotland and England were always tense, with the Scots
taking any opportunity to cross the border and cause problems for their overlord,
the King of England. The kings of Scotland traditionally owed allegiance to the
English kings, although they resented this and were always looking for ways
to avoid it. James IV of Scotland was no exception and, despite a truce made
with Henry when he came to the throne in 1488, he welcomed Perkin Warbeck
to his court when he arrived in Scotland in 1495. He even went as far as to
give Warbeck his cousin in marriage, which appeared extremely threatening
to Henry. However, Warbeck’s invasion of England with Scottish help came to
nothing; he gained no support south of the border and, when the Scots heard
that Henry was sending an army to oppose them, they took flight.
James IV lost faith in Warbeck and accepted Henry’s terms for a peace. The truce
of Ayton was concluded in 1497, but it was not until Warbeck had been executed
that it became a full treaty of peace. The treaty was sealed by the marriage
of James to Margaret, Henry’s eldest daughter, in August 1503. However,
Scotland did not abandon its ancient pact with France; this meant that the peace
depended on the continuation of good relations between England and France,
but while Henry lived this did not pose a problem.

The Holy League and Magnus Intercursus 1496

Henry’s involvement with the Holy League was motivated by Charles VIII's
successes in Italy. The other European rulers feared that France was becoming
too powerful and in 1495 the Pope, Ferdinand of Spain, Maximilian of the Holy
Roman Empire, Venice and Milan formed the League of Venice with the aim
of driving Charles out of Italy. England was not included because the theatre of
conflict was outside the country’s usual sphere of interest, but by 1496 Ferdinand

64
Chapter 3 Henry VII and the challenges to the succession, 1485-99

suspected that Henry wished to improve rather than simply preserve good
relations with France. The Spanish king was fearful of losing England’s goodwill
to the French. Certainly, Charles appeared to be ingratiating himself with Henry
by offering assistance against Warbeck. Henry welcomed this offer and French
aid did much to erode Warbeck’s ability to attract foreign funding and military
support.

Thus, when Ferdinand secured England’s entry in the revamped League of

Venice, now called the Holy League, in the summer of 1496, Henry agreed
to join, but only on condition that England would not be obliged to go to war
against France. Ferdinand reluctantly agreed to this. Henry’s diplomatic skill
showed itself when during this period he also managed to secure a commercial
treaty with France while maintaining good relations with his allies in the
League.

It may be said that 1496 marked a turning point for Henry in his bid to defend
his dynasty from challenges to his throne. He had established England as a
powerful player in the international scene, formed closer relations with both
France and Spain and, more significantly, concluded a commercial treaty, the
Magnus Intercursus, with Maximilian, the Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of
the Netherlands and Burgundy. By the terms of this treaty, Henry induced
Maximilian to abandon the pretender, Warbeck, establish peace and resume
trade between England and Burgundy. Maximilian’s stepmother, Margaret,
was effectively sidelined by this treaty and she ceased to be a serious threat
to Henry.

Summary diagram: Defending the dynasty

Defending the dynasty

Lambert Simnel Henry VII’s Perkin Warbeck

and foreign support relationship with and foreign support
foreign powers

easy
Spain
ne
Brittany France Scotland Holy Roman
Medina del Campo Redon Etaples Ayton Empire
1489 1489 1491 1497 Holy League and
Magnus Intercursus
1496
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—|603 for Edexcel

TTT LLL Lc coco ccc

\

marriage to Elizabeth of York, followed by the

The chaos of the Wars of the Roses enabled
Richard Ill to seize the throne from the rightful
king, Edward V. This encouraged noble claimants
like Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, to challenge
Richard for the crown. Following his victory at the
Battle of Bosworth, Henry VII's primary aim was
to establish and consolidate his dynasty. Given his
weak claim to the throne, Henry VI! faced many
difficulties but his strong and ruthless leadership
s
helped him in seeking to secure his kingship. His
%Y\
COCA AAMAAAA AVA LOU CUUU UVES
birth of ason and heir, Arthur, contributed to
the security of his throne. Nevertheless, he had
to deal with pretenders such as Lambert Simnel
and Perkin Warbeck, who challenged his kingship
and the succession. Backed by disaffected Yorkists
and funded by foreign rulers such as Margaret of
Burgundy and James of Scotland, the threat posed
by the pretenders was real and dangerous. Foreign
intrigue allied to domestic troubles, such as the tax
rebellions in Yorkshire and Cornwall, made Henry’s
task of securing the dynasty all the harder. However,
by 1499 Henry had all but secured the dynasty.
OyAWWA
AWN
EA
UUAT
ALATA
VAA

Use these questions to remind yourself of the key 6 How significant a danger to Henry VII was Perkin
material covered in this chapter. Warbeck?
I How significant was Henry Tudor’s victory at the 7 Why did France and Scotland support the plots and
: Battle of Bosworth? conspiracies against Henry MI?
| 2. How did Henry VII secure the throne? 8 Why might Margaret of Burgundy be described as
Sj ?
3 Why did Henry VII consider it important to marry ey oe
Elizabeth of York? 9 What were Henry VII's aims in foreign policy?
| 4 Why did the people of Yorkshire and Cornwall 10 When did Henry feel secure on the throne?
rebel?
5 How serious a challenge to Henry’s kingship was
Lambert Simnel’s rebellion?
teR
DRC
CLASES
CSSIMRAN
SRNR

sasoneenenemenmebeeemmimmmmmimmmmmmmeaa eta
Chapter 3 Henry Vil and the challenges to the succession, 1485-99

Question practice
ESSAY QUESTIONS
1 How far was Lambert Simnel’s challenge responsible for Henry VII's insecurity?
2 How significant was the threat posed by Burgundy and Scotland to Henry VII's security?
3 To what extent did Perkin Warbeck challenge Henry VII’s security in the years 1491-9?
4 How significant was the threat posed by Yorkist and Lancastrian factions to Henry VII's security?

SOURCE QUESTIONS
1 Assess the value of Source A (page 52) for revealing the character of Henry Vil and the reasons for his
success in establishing the dynasty. Explain your answer, using the source, the information given about its
origin and your own knowledge about the historical context.
2 Assess the value of Source C (page 58) for revealing Henry VIl’s attitude to the pretenders and how he
intended to deal with them. Explain your answer, using the source, the information given about its origin
and your own knowledge about the historical context.
 Henry VIIl and the challenges to
religious change, 1533-7
What began as the king’s desire for a divorce — the king’s ‘great matter’ — led to the break
with Rome and the dissolution of the monasteries. The Reformation motivated some of the
king’s subjects to challenge the religious changes. The most serious challenge manifested
itself in rebellion, the largest of which in the sixteenth century was the Pilgrimage of Grace.
Led by Robert Aske, the rebels aimed to persuade the king to reverse the changes. The
extent of the support for and threat of rebellion was such that the king resolved to crush
the rebels. These issues are examined as three themes: .
% ==The Henrician Reformation
%* =The Lincolnshire rising and the Pilgrimage of Grace
* ~The suppression of rebellion
The key debate on pages 87-9 ofthis chapter asks the question: Why has the threat posed
by the Pilgrimage of Grace become the subject of debate by historians?

Key dates | ;
1529-36 Reformation Parliament 1535 Execution of John Fisher and
1533 Act in Restraint of Appeals Sir Thomas More ©
Cromwell appointed Henry VIII's Valor Ecclesiasticus
principal secretary 1536 The Ten Articles
1534 Act of Supremacy Closure of the smaller monasteries
Treason Act The Lincolnshire rising
Henry VIIl became head of the church The Pilgrimage of Grace
in England 1537 The Pilgrimage of Grace suppressed
The Bishops’ Book

68
Chapter 4 Henry Vill and the challenges to religious change, 1533-7

The Henrician Reformation

= What v
was he noni ee al eee oe een in
, Os

The king’s ‘great matter’

The religious changes initiated by Henry VIII and his chief minister, Thomas
Cromwell, stemmed from the king’s desire to annul his marriage to Catherine
of Aragon. Henry and Catherine had married in 1509 and after nearly eighteen
years together they only had a daughter, Mary, to succeed them. Having failed
to provide a son and heir, Henry looked to replace Catherine with his new love
interest, Anne Boleyn. Henry hoped that Anne would succeed where Catherine
had failed. The process of securing the annulment of Henry VIII's marriage is
known as the king’s ‘great matter’ because it occupied royal and government
business for over seven years between 1527 and 1534.

Thomas Cromwell and the king’s ‘great matter’

Thomas Cromwell's rapid rise to principal secretary and chief minister in less
than three years (1529-32) was almost certainly due to his ability to convince
Henry that he had a solution to his ‘great matter’. To secure the annulment of
his marriage Henry needed the Pope’s approval but this was not forthcoming.
Therefore, if Pope Clement VII was reluctant to grant the annulment then
pressure would be applied to the church in England to persuade him to do
as Henry wished. By forcing the church in England to support the king’s
annulment, Cromwell hoped that the Pope would be forced to follow suit.
However, this did not happen and as each year passed the pressure exerted by
Henry and Cromwell on the church in England increased.
However, what began as pressure soon escalated into something altogether
much bigger. The scale and ruthlessness of Henry’s attack on the church, for that
is what it became, gathered momentum until it reached a logical, if unintended,
conclusion — schism and reformation.

Cromwell and parliamentary legislation

Cromwell used parliament to pass laws restricting papal powers and stipulated
that punishments would be meted out to those who opposed or acted contrary to
the new arrangements. The uniqueness of the approach suggested by Cromwell
appealed to Henry. The idea of using parliament to bring about a revolution
in the relationship between church and state was innovative. It was also very
shrewd. It ensured that the representatives of the landed and merchant classes,
on whom the king depended to exercise his authority throughout the country,
would be fully implicated in, and beneficiaries of, whatever was done.

” Study Source A. How
might the Pope challenge
the justification to the
passing of this Act?
@rr KEY TERMS
Act of Supremacy An Act
passed through parliament in
1534 recognising Henry VIII
as head of the church in
England. Another Act was
passed in |559 in which
Elizabeth became supreme
governor of the church.
Cure of souls The church,
in the person of the parish
priest, had the duty to
care for the souls of its
parishioners.
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel
The passing of two pieces of vital parliamentary legislation marked the first
official steps in the process of reducing the Pope’s influence in England:
e Actin Restraint of Annates (1532) (see page 16). The Act forbade the payment
to the Vatican of up to 95 per cent of annates. Henry hoped that this financial
penalty would encourage the Pope to grant the annulment.
e Actin Restraint of Appeals (1533). The Act declared that final authority in
all legal matters, lay and clerical, resided in the monarch and that it was
therefore illegal to appeal to any authority outside the kingdom on any such
matters.
SOURCE A
The preambie to the Act in Restraint of Appeals, 1533, quoted in J.R. Tanner,
Tudor Constitutional Documents, A.D. 1485-1603, Cambridge University Press,
1922 (available at https://archive.org/details/cu31924030504322). This Act justified
what was being done.
[T]hat this realm of England is an empire, and so hath been accepted in the
world, governed by one Supreme Head and King having the dignity and royal
estate of the imperial Crown of the same, unto whom ... all sorts and degrees of
people divided in terms ofSpirituality and Temporality, be bounden and owe to
bear next to God a natural and humble obedience [to the king].
The break with Rome
It is to Cromwell that historians turn to explain why the decision to break
completely with Rome was eventually taken. Cromwell used the argument that
this was the only way of being sure that the annulmént would be granted.
A combination of political and legal pressure exerted through the so-called
Reformation Parliament (1529-36) resulted in the submission of the English
clergy and the gradual cutting of the church’s ties with Rome. As the king’s
power over the church in England increased, the Pope’s authority diminished.
By 1534, Henry assumed full control over the church, which resulted in the
passing of the Act of Supremacy.
The Act of Supremacy
Henry VIII became supreme head of the church in England, which gave him
the legal authority to make any changes he wished. With the assistance of the
Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, Henry set about doctrinal reform.
The Act of Supremacy asserted that the king of England:
@ hada God-given right to the cure of souls of his subjects
®@ was head of the national church
@ owed no obedience to the ‘Bishop of Rome’.
Chapter 4 Henry Vill and the challenges to religious change, 1533-7

This was based on the premise, expounded in the Act in Restraint of Appeals,
that ‘this realm of England is an empire ... governed by one Supreme head and
King’. It claimed that this had always been so and that the papacy had usurped
jurisdiction over the English church.
With the passing of the Act in November 1534, a complete break with Rome
was achieved. Cromwell's success was only possible because the Pope was
unprepared to bow to any threat, thus enabling Henry to be persuaded that
it was only by throwing off allegiance to Rome that his annulment could be
achieved. Once it had been accepted by the king that there could be no going
back, the task of those who wished to see an end to papal power in England
became much more straightforward.

The king’s religious changes

The break with Rome allied to the proposed reforms of church doctrine proved
too much for some of Henry’s subjects. It led to conflict between conservatives
and reformers at court:
e The Conservatives, led by Bishop Stephen Gardiner and Thomas Howard,
Duke of Norfolk, resisted religious change, wishing to keep the church
Catholic.
e The reformers, led by Cranmer and Cromwell, were keen to move the church
in a more Protestant direction.
The conflict at court mirrored the rising discontent in the country. There were
some notable casualties of the king’s royal supremacy:
e The executions of Sir Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher (1535).
e The persecution of the Franciscans and Carthusians.
In 1535, Cromwell initiated a survey to determine the state of the monasteries.
The results of the survey were contained in the Valor Ecclesiasticus, which led to
the passing of the Act for the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536. The Act of
Ten Articles (1536) and the publication of the Bishops’ Book in 1537 moved the
church in a distinctly reformist direction.

Supremacy and vicegerent (vicar-general)

The terms of the Act of Supremacy empowered the king ‘to reform and redress
all errors, heresies and abuses in the same’. This was significant because the
routine management of the church in spiritual as well as temporal matters
passed from clerical into lay hands. Henceforth, it would mainly be the king and
his representative, rather than the Archbishop of Canterbury and the clerical
hierarchy, who would direct the nation’s religious affairs.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485-1603 for Edexcel

@" KEY TERM
Vicegerent Cromwell
became the king’s deputy in
church affairs.
Henry wasted little time in exercising his new powers. One of his first acts
as supreme head was to appoint his representative to oversee the church. In
January 1535, Cromwell was appointed as the king’s vicegerent in spiritual
matters. It empowered him to exercise the authority that legally belonged to the
king.

Act Extinguishing the Authority of the Bishop of Rome

Cromwell sought to eradicate every vestige of papal authority in England.
Through his careful management of the Reformation Parliament, Acts were
passed that, collectively, led to the enhancement of royal authority and the
extinction of papal power. The most important of these acts was the aptly named
Act Extinguishing the Authority of the Bishop of Rome (1536), under the terms
of which the Pope was denied:
the collection of clerical taxes
the power of appointment to church offices
the authority to determine matters of religious doctrine
the right to grant dispensations and personal exemptions
the use of his title in England, being known, henceforth, as the Bishop of
Rome.

The Treason Act

Clerics who persisted in recognising or defending papal authority were deemed
to be traitors and were dealt with by means of the Treason Act. Drawn up by
Cromwell immediately after the Act of Supremacy, the Act made it treason
to deny or question the validity of the king’s supremacy. For those who broke
the law by daring ‘to slanderously and maliciously publish and pronounce, by
express writing or words, that the king should be heretic, schismatic, tyrant,
infidel or usurper’, there was only one punishment: death.

The royal supremacy in action: the dissolution of the monasteries

1536-40
The principal cause of the dissolution of the monasteries was financial. The
crown was in dire need of an additional permanent source of extra income.
The monasteries were thought to be an easy target because they were already
in crisis having suffered a decline in popularity and in recruitment, and it was
rumoured that the monastic orders preferred papal primacy to royal supremacy.
Humanists had condemned them as a drain on the commonwealth and the
monastic vocation had declined to such an extent that many houses were staffed
by dwindling numbers of inmates. Fewer than 10,000 monks, friars and nuns,
inhabiting over 800 monastic institutions, were sustained by perhaps one-
fifth of the cultivated land in England and Wales. As events were to prove, the
closure, confiscation of goods, and subsequent sale and lease of monastic land
did much to enrich the English crown.

12
Chapter 4 Henry VIII and the challenges to religious change, 1533-7

As early as 1533, there had been talk of the crown assuming control of church
property and estates, and of employing bishops as salaried officials. There was
a generally held perception that the monasteries no longer commanded enough
respect to justify the great wealth with which they were endowed. After Henry
had become head of the church, a plan was put forward to survey the wealth and
possessions of the monasteries before any subsequent action was taken.

Visitation and the Comperta Monastica

In 1535, Cromwell began to flex his ecclesiastical muscles by exercising his
powers as the king’s vicegerent. His first objective was to assess the state of the
monasteries, so he assembled a team of agents who were entrusted with the task
of visiting the nation’s religious houses. @ KEY TERM
Much of the work done in compiling the Comperta Monastica (also known Comperta Monastica
as the Compendium Compertorum) was carried out by some of Cromwell’s most A book compiled by
trusted ‘servants’, Thomas Legh, Richard Layton, John ap Rhys, John Tregonwell Cromwell's agents
which contained lists of
and John Vaughan. They were handpicked by Cromwell because they were
ee transgressions and abuses
able, ambitious and supported his reformist agenda. Cromwell’s agents were admitted by monks and nuns.
especially dismissive of relics, pilgrimages and miraculous tokens, and they were
instructed to:
e record whether the monasteries were complying with the oath of supremacy
e detail any alleged offences against the crown.

Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1535

The Valor Ecclesiasticus represented Cromwell’s most ambitious project to date.
It was the greatest survey of ecclesiastical wealth and property ever undertaken
and has been described a kind of Tudor Domesday Book. The Valor valued taxes
paid to the crown from ecclesiastical property and income that had previously
been paid to the Pope. Unlike the handpicked commissioners who worked on
the Comperta, the work of the Valor was undertaken by local gentry.
In what was a colossal undertaking, every parish and every monastic
institution in England and Wales was visited. The government gained a solid
understanding of the scale of the wealth of the church. According to the Valor,
the net annual income of the church was put at between £320,000 and £360,000
(in today’s values this would range from £103 million to £122 million).

The impact of the Valor Ecclesiasticus and Comperta Monastica

The Valor and the Comperta provided the ammunition for those determined to
close the monasteries. The Valor provided a list of itemised expenditure as well
as income, which Cromwell manipulated and then used to show evidence of
widespread corruption. Cromwell was able to demonstrate the bankruptcy of
monasticism by revealing that in spite of the considerable income enjoyed by the
religious orders, only three per cent was regularly allocated to charitable works.
The misapplication of funds, fraud and clerical corruption were highlighted by

Study Source B. Why was
Henry VIII apparently bent
on the utter destruction of
these magnificent religious
houses?
SOURCE B
The ruins of Rievaulx Abbey near Helmsley in Yorkshire by Ale xander Francis Lydon, c.1880.
74
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel
Cromwell, who managed to convince an initially sceptical king of the necessity
and value of the exercise.
Even more damning, and certainly more sensational, were the tales of
widespread immorality and sexual perversion contained in the Comperta. To help
ensure that the reports compiled by his agents would be believed, Cromwell was
able to provide the signed confessions of monks and nuns who had admitted
breaking their vows of chastity. The more lurid tales dwelt on the stories of
monks taking part in homosexual practices and nuns who had borne children.
The dissolution of the smaller monasteries 1536
The test of Henry’s supremacy over the church was whether it could be imposed
on the people and in the localities. The work of Cromwell’s commissioners
fuelled rumours that the government intended to close the monasteries and
seize their wealth. These fears were realised in part by the passing of the Act for
the Dissolution of the Smaller Monasteries in March 1536.
i yor oa OG AAA MOT TT
Chapter 4 Henry Vill and the challenges to religious change, 1533-7

The Act made clear that the real reason for their dissolution was financial. The
test of their fitness to continue was whether they had an annual income of
more than £200. Those houses that failed to meet this financial test were to be
dissolved and their property was to pass to the crown. Consequently, 399 houses
were suppressed, with the inmates given two options: to continue their vocation
by transferring to a larger monastery or abandoning their vocation and rejoining
society. To avoid protest or opposition, the heads of the dissolved houses were
more generously provided for by being pensioned off. Some religious houses,
67 in total, were exempted from dissolution but the price of their continued
existence was high in that they had to pay a heavy financial penalty.

The destruction of the remaining monasteries 1538-40

In 1539, an Act was passed making legal what had already occurred, namely
the closure of the remaining monasteries. Following the suppression of the
Pilgrimage of Grace (See page 76), the process of dissolution was revived but
conducted piecemeal. Cromwell’s commissioners were instructed that all
monasteries regardless of their size, wealth or powerful connections were to be
closed and their property seized. The remaining religious communities went
quietly but for those who resisted there could only be one outcome — death.

The Ten Articles

The Act of Ten Articles in 1536 was a clear move towards Protestantism. This
contributed to the unease felt by critics of Cromwell and the government's
religious policies. The central doctrine of the Catholic Church — the Seven
Sacraments — was rejected, leaving only three: Baptism, Penance and the
Eucharist.
Cromwell intended to follow up the Ten Articles with a much fuller explanation
of what was permissible and what was not in a revised doctrine. He planned to
enlist a dedicated group of bishops and theologians who would work under his
authority. After six months’ work, a draft text had been completed, the details of
which showed a distinct shift towards a more strongly Protestant position.

The Bishops’ Book

Entitled The Godly and Pious Institution of the Christian Man, the Bishops’ Book,
as it was popularly known, appeared in July 1537. Although it was not the
definitive doctrinal statement that Cromwell had sought — there was evidence
of conservative influence — he was satisfied with the results. In the opinion of
historian Keith Randell (1992), ‘the publication bore all the signs of being a step
in the “softening up” process that was such a typical and successful strategy of
Cromwell’s’. Certainly, the suppression of the Pilgrimage of Grace removed an
obstacle and greatly assisted this ‘softening up’ process.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485-1603 for Edexcel

Summary diagram: The Henrician Reformation

The Henrician Reformation

The king’s ‘great matter|

Chief architect Cromwell Vicegerent

of reformation

Parliamentary legislation King’s religious

Break with Rome changes

Act of Supremacy

Comperta Monastica Ten Articles

and
Valor Ecclesiasticus Act Extinguishing
the Authority of the
Bishop of Rome Bishops’ Book

Dissolution of
the monasteries
Treason Act

The Lincolnshire rising and the

Pilgrimage of Grace
What caused the Lincolnshire rising and Pilgrimage of Grace and
' how serious a threat were they to the government?

Rebellion in the north

The Pilgrimage of Grace was a widespread popular revolt that took place
between late 1536 and early 1537 in the north of England. Although it is only
strictly accurate to use the phrase ‘Pilgrimage of Grace’ to describe the uprising
in Yorkshire between October and December 1536, the term is normally
applied to all the rebellions that took place in the north of England, including
Cumberland (now a part of present-day Cumbria), Durham, Lincolnshire and
Northurnberland. It has been estimated that between 30,000 and 40,000 people
took part in these rebellions and they proved to be the largest and, arguably, the
most serious outbreaks of violence in the sixteenth century. They were caused
mainly by resentment over the changes in the church and the dissolution of the
monasteries but there were also underlying economic, social and political factors
at work. Historians continue to argue over the extent to which they threatened

76
Chapter 4 Henry Vill and the challenges to religious change, 1533-7

the king, but there is no doubt that they did threaten the maintenance of law
and order in the north.

Resistance to the dissolution in the north

Apart from those few institutions which lent support to the Pilgrimage of Grace,
most of the religious houses acquiesced in their dissolution. In 1535, the majority
of monks and nuns had sworn an oath to accept Henry’s authority as supreme
head of the church. However, in some areas, most notably in the north, there
was a violent reaction against the closures. There were far fewer petitions to buy
or lease monastic property in the north, mainly because the religious houses
were held in greater esteem. In some instances, Cromwell’s commissioners were
prevented from conducting their business by angry mobs determined to defend
the monasteries. Those commissioners who continued to operate in the face of
local protests were partly responsible for stirring up trouble in Lincolnshire in
the autumn of 1536.

The Lincolnshire rising

The Lincolnshire rising lasted around two weeks and began in Louth on
2 October 1536 when the townspeople rioted on the strength of rumours that
the king intended to close the town’s church as well as the nearby monastery.
The community was proud of its church, having invested substantial sums in
its repair and enlargement. The rumours were believed because Cromwell’s
commissioners who, like their master, were hated, had only recently visited the
monastery. The Vicar of Louth, Thomas Kendall, made matters worse when he
stated that the king intended to:
e confiscate the treasures of all the parish churches in England
® tax baptisms, marriages and funerals.

News of the riot in Louth soon spread to neighbouring towns and villages
and riots broke out in Caistor, Horncastle and Sleaford. Within a few days of
the initial outbreak of the rising, some 30,000 people had joined the riots. The
Lincolnshire rioters had been encouraged to join by word of mouth, lighted KEY TERM
beacons and the ringing of church bells. It was a call to arms and the volunteers
gathered as if on an official muster for the king. Muster The method by
: which the crown mobilised
As the rioting groups merged they came to Scrivelsby and forced the sheriff of the people for war by calling
Lincolnshire, Edward Dymoke, to assume the leadership of their movement. out the militia. Each county
Dymoke’s apparent support for the rioters encouraged other gentry to join the was obliged to raise, train and
maintain a militia of able-
movement. At Horncastle, the Bishop of Lincoln’s chancellor together with one
bodied men for active service.
of Cromwell’s agents were murdered by an angry mob. The rioters marched on
the city of Lincoln hoping to present the king with a list of their demands. These
demands included:

® anendto the closure of the monasteries

@ the dismissal of Cromwell
e the arrest of heretical clerics such as Archbishop Cranmer and Bishop Latimer.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485-1603 for Edexcel

oS Sty,
8 SoyerGat SafQoises
. iy, ResS ies syetift we dee fe a Ref fj
joe trusts atl
as comes Hey ton.
pe YS :
Ces Says ateyet ave

Shor oy o
C Shar rags

° ger
vetyes PGHes
igyanae} we. ,

‘ . Sellpatyl nenaeeeGe
y

Me

gt oft
sh
inode! Gy
ss $e

A contemporary document showing questions put to the Vicar of Louth,

arrested as part of the Lincolnshire rising against the dissolution of the
monasteries which marked the start of the filenimage of Grace in 1536.
‘yoni nutans gigantic aati tac ce aetna ignition vivitar taieinsreitveiioieiaienain

78
Chapter 4 Henry Vill and the challenges to religious change, 1533-7

Shocked at the murders, Dymoke deserted the rioters and declared his support
for the crown. Alarmed by the news of the rising in Lincolnshire, Henry VIII
dispatched an army of 8000 men under Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk.
Suffolk was ordered to crush the rebellion and to arrest the ringleaders, who
were to be executed without trial. However, given the scale of the rising, Henry
had to restrain his impulse for vengeance and he let it be known that he was
prepared to hear the rebels’ complaints. This served to satisfy most of the rebels
who quietly went home to wait on their king. However, Henry had no intention
of meeting the rebels’ demands: he hoped that once they had disbanded he
could strike at their leaders.

With the arrival of the army, the rebellion collapsed as the remaining rebels
sued for peace. Denied effective leadership, the people dispersed. An angry
Henry VIII described Lincolnshire as, ‘The most brute and beastly shire of the
whole realm.’

Transcript of some of the questions put to the Vicar of Louth from the document 0.
What does Source D
on page 78. ®
reveal about the state's
1537, Interrogatories [questions] for the vicar of Louth concerns and the
information it required?
First where and when had ye the first communication of the insurrection in
Lincolnshire and with whom, what fashion means and ways devised you to set
the said insurrection forward and by whose had comfort or consent.
What was done day by day and by whom
For what causes [reasons] made ye join it and what was your intent. How did
you communicate your intent
And who conveyed them [instructions] through the county from place to place,
so shortly [quickly] and by what means
What fashion caused you to cause [encourage] them to come to set forth [join]
in every place or of so many
By whose study and diligence that was done
Who was the gretyst [greatest] stures [stirrers] faulters [culprits] and promoters
thereof from time to time .
How come they to gather and how many were they
How were they victualled [fed] and by whose help
Who was their special hayders [aiders] comforters or councillors or helpers
when they were there
Whose consent or policy used you most to keep you together & what intend you
then to do
What caused them to go home after the proclamation and who menyd
[persuaded] then them most to tarry [remain] still

|@r KEY FIGURE
Robert Aske (1500-37)
The son of Sir Robert Aske of
Aughton, near Selby in
Yorkshire. Aske was a London
lawyer with powerful family
connections, being a cousin of
Henry Clifford, Earl of
Cumberland.
80
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors |1485—1603 for Edexcel
How fortuned [fortunate] it that there was so many as well gentlemen as other
taken as they pretended against their will and no fray [affray, public disorder]
made nor no stroke strykyn [stricken]
Why told you not your parishioners when they assembled first that their
rumours and tales was untrue and their pretence and doings contrary to the
laws both of God and nature and also of this realm. And contrary to their
fidelity and obedience toward their prince commended by good and promised
by a virtue of another by then and sent also to anybody to have told that same
to their neighbours
What caused you to smite your parishioners of Louth of the backsliding [of]
them to go forward lately for they should have goods and riches plenty at
London
MC
The Pilgrimage of Grace
As the Lincolnshire rising collapsed, the people of Yorkshire rose in rebellion.
Fuelled by rumours of wholesale monastic closures and encouraged by news of
the Lincolnshire rising, a lawyer, Robert Aske, assumed control of the revoit in
the East Riding of Yorkshire.
Aske never intended to join, let alone lead, a rebellion. He stumbled into the
Lincolnshire rising while travelling south through the county to London for the
beginning of the law term. Aske was captured and persuaded to join a band of
rebels. Soon Aske was taking the lead in decision-making and organising the
rebel bands in the north of the county. On contacting the main rebel group at
Louth, Aske then travelled to Yorkshire to raise support for the rising there. Due
in large part to his charismatic personality, allied to the fact that he provided the
rebels with a clear sense of purpose, Aske succeeded in recruiting 10,000 men.
It was Aske who came up with and made popular the description of their
enterprise as a ‘Pilgrimage of Grace’, adopting the Five Wounds of Christ as
their banner. Aske insisted that all those who took part in the rising swear an
oath to prevent treachery and ill-discipline in the rebel ranks. The majority of
pilgrims behaved themselves and when they marched on the city of York on
16 October 1536 they were welcomed by its citizens.
York
At York, Aske issued a proclamation that laid out the aims of the rebellion. The
proclamation set out to:
® persuade the king, by a show of armed force, to abandon his attacks on the
church
e stop any further monastic closures and to return England to Rome.
Chapter 4 Henry Vill and the challenges to religious change, 1533-7

Aske assumed that the king was a caring monarch who had been misled by his
wicked and low-born councillors, especially Thomas Cromwell. It was hoped
that the king would change his religious policy when he realised that the cost
of not doing so would be bloody civil war. Although Aske and the other leaders
believed they would not need to fight the king’s forces, they were prepared
to resist if forced to do so. It was Aske’s efficient arrangement of his men in
conventional army formations that turned the Pilgrimage into a potentially
threatening uprising. As the rebels moved south, they recruited additional
followers, including members of the gentry — Sir William Babthorpe, Sir Ralph
Ellerker and Sir Thomas Percy — and nobility — Lord Hussey.

Pontefract
From York the rebels moved on to Pontefract, where they laid siege to the castle.
The siege did not last long as the castle, a royal stronghold guarding the main
road south, was lightly garrisoned — 300 troops — and in a poor state of repair.
The garrison commander, the 69-year-old Lord Thomas Darcy, surrendered
the castle on 21 October and joined the pilgrims. Another reluctant recruit was
Edward Lee, Archbishop of York, who had sought shelter in the castle after the
rebels had taken York.
Marching south at the head of around 35,000 well-armed and horsed pilgrims,
Aske presented the king with a formidable challenge. Preoccupied with
regaining control of Lincolnshire, the king did not initially appreciate the
seriousness of the Pilgrimage of Grace, and a royal army of 4000 men under
the command of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, took more than a fortnight
to arrive. Outnumbered and playing for time, Norfolk arranged a truce. At
Doncaster Bridge on 27 October, the duke met Aske and the rebel leaders to
discuss terms. Fortunately for Henry, Aske clung to the hope that conflict
could be avoided and that the king might settle for a negotiated peace. Norfolk
managed to convince the rebel leaders that the king was grateful to them for
opening his eyes to what had been going on. It was suggested by Norfolk that
Henry would seriously consider their demands.

The Pontefract Articles

Aske convened a meeting and, working closely with Darcy, the Pontefract @ KEY TERMS
Articles were drawn up. Among the 24 separate articles the rebels demanded:
< Entry vied
Sch custom
fines Asure Ofnaby
e the legitimisation of Princess Mary .
e@ Cromwell and others of the king’s ‘evil councillors’ to be dismissed Was paid ov aking une
® ameeting of parliament in York tenancy by inheritance or by
@ anend to the closure of the monasteries sale.
e the restoration of links with the Pope Enclosure The enclosing
@ the repeal of entry fines and a reduction in taxation of open or common land by
® anend to the enclosure of land without consent. boundary fences and hedges.

|@_ KEY FIGURE
Francis Bigod (1507-37)
Son of Sir John Bigod of
Hinderwell, Yorkshire. Bigod
was an MP and JP who had
served as one of Cromwell's
agents in the north.
82
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel
It was agreed that Norfolk would present the demands to the king and return
with his answer. In the interim, a royal pardon was issued to satisfy the rebels of
the crown’s good intentions.
The king had no intention of meeting their demands, so he played for time by
delaying his response. After some weeks he required the rebels to renew their
demands and set them down on paper so they could be properly considered by
him and his Privy Council. Aske accepted the king’s invitation to go to court
over Christmas but during this time there were further outbreaks of violence
and unrest across the north. Aske and the Pilgrimage leadership condemned
these risings, claiming they had nothing to do with them. However, it gave the
king an excuse to strengthen his forces in the north — an army of 8000 men
under the Earl of Shrewsbury was sent to support Norfolk — and to act ruthlessly
in putting these various risings and protests down.
Bigod’s uprising
Francis Bigod was an unlikely rebel because he was a Protestant, had helped to
compile the Valor Ecclesiasticus and had enforced the royal supremacy. However,
unlike Cromwell, Bigod wanted monasteries reformed rather than dissolved.
Bigod initially opposed the Pilgrimage of Grace but after his capture by the
rebels he was persuaded to join their cause.
Distrustful of the king and doubting that Aske would succeed in gaining
royal acceptance of the Pontefract Articles, Bigod, in January 1537, revived the
rebellion in Yorkshire. Bigod’s men were defeated and he fled to Cumberland,
where he was captured the following month. He was. tried and hanged in June
1537. i
By May 1537, Henry felt strong enough to strike. The Pilgrimage leaders were
commanded to meet with the king in London, where they were arrested. Aske
was blamed for the renewal of rebellion in Yorkshire and he, along with Darcy
and some fifteen other leaders, was arrested, tried and executed at York in
July 1537.
Chapter 4 Henry Vill and the challenges to religious change, 1533—7

Summary diagram: The Lincolnshire rising and the Pilgrimage of Grace

Causes of rebellion
in the north

Lincolnshire rising

Pilgrimage of Grace

Robert Aske

Pontefract

;Pontefract arictes |

The suppression of rebellion

> What measures did Henry VIII take to suppress the rebels? Why did
the rebellions fail?

Suppression ofthe Lincolnshire rising

The fact that the Lincolnshire rising lasted a mere fortnight suggests that it
was a relatively minor and unimportant uprising, but this is not the case. It
was dangerous because it was more than simply a disturbance by the common
people: it was led, and perhaps organised, by members of the landowning
gentry. These are the people that the crown would normally rely on for support
in putting down a rebellion. Although many gentry willingly joined the
uprising, some, like Dymoke, were forced to do so.

Suppression ofthe Pilgrimage of Grace

The size and geographical scale of this rebellion shocked Henry, and for a while
the dissolution process was halted. Once the dust had settled and the ringleaders
were dealt with, the dissolution was begun again. The first monasteries to be
closed were those houses that had supported the rebels but this gave way to a
more widespread dissolution that took no account of size, wealth or whether the
monks living within these institutions had been obedient or not.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors |485—1603 for Edexcel

Failure of the rebellions

The Pilgrimage of Grace failed largely because of the naivety of the rebels and
their loyalty to Henry VIIL They were naive enough to:
® proclaim their loyalty to Henry VIII, wishing only to remove his ‘evil
councillors’
e trust the king’s promises that their complaints would be taken seriously and
that they would be pardoned.
Aske made a serious error in agreeing to disband the Pilgrimage in return for
the promise of a pardon and parliament. It may be argued that it was the failure
of the pilgrims to press home their advantage which allowed Henry to suppress
the rebellion. Aske and his co-conspirators achieved none of their aims:

No parliament in the north of England was ever convened.

Their grievances were never fully addressed.
The religious changes continued and accelerated.
The dissolution of the monasteries continued.
®@
®
©
@ Cromwell was not dismissed.

The role of Thomas Cromwell

There is no doubt that Cromwell played a pivotal role in both the Henrician
Reformation and the defeat and suppression of the northern rebellions. As
the king’s vicegerent in religious affairs, he exerted the most influence of any
individual (with the possible exception of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas
Cranmer) on the life of the church. As a reflection of Cromwell’s powerful
influence in royal circles, he was described by his enemy, Cardinal Reginald
Pole, as ‘an agent of Satan sent by the devil to lure King Henry to damnation’.
This explains why Aske and his fellow rebels were so determined to get rid of
Cromwell. .

Cromwell responded by cynically using the rebels’ loyalty to the king to

outmanoeuvre them. He advised Henry to:

® prolong negotiations so as to gain time to raise a larger army

e feign sympathy with the rebels’ demands so that a trusting Aske would order.
his forces to disperse.

Following the suppression of the rebellions, Cromwell resumed his reform of the
church and the dissolution of the monasteries. By 1540, all 800 monasteries had
been dissolved.

84
Chapter 4 Henry Vill and the challenges to religious change, 1533-7

SOURCE E
Se TT TOM aa MLL CCC CCC CT

Extract adapted from Thomas, Lord Darcy’s reply, via a herald, to the Duke of
Norfolk, who had tried to persuade him to join the royal army by betraying Study Source E. Why
might Darcy's reply be a
Robert Aske, 1536, quoted in R.W. Hoyle, The Pilgrimage of Grace and the
Politics of the 1530s, Oxford University Press, 2001. considered ironic and
contradictory?
Ifyou speak with the King’s highness you shall show him, or else you shall
show my lord’s Grace your master [Norfolk], and other the foresaid true
noblemen of the Council that ifthe King’s Grace do not send and grant unto us
our petitions, which we sent unto his Highness by the Duke’s Grace your
master, whatsoever letter, bill, or pardon shall be sent else unto us we will not
accept or receive the same, but send it to his Highness again. Ifyou be a true
man you will report the same, for that thing that moves us to this [rebellion] is
the faith we bear unto God, to the King’s person, and all his true noble blood
and the commonwealth. I cannot do it in no wise, for I have made promise to
the contrary, and my coat hitherto was never stained with any such blot. And
my lord’s Grace your master knows well enough what a nobleman’s promise is,
and therefore I think that this thing comes not of his Grace’s device, nor of other
nobleman'’s, and ifI might have two dukedoms for my labour I would not
consent to have such a spot in my coat. For I had rather my head stricken from
my body than I would defile my coat armour. For it shall never be said that old
Thomas shall have one traitor’s tooth in his head. For my part I have been and
ever will be true to the King our Sovereign lord and I defy him that will say the
contrary, for as I have ever said one God, one Faith and one King. For he that
promises to be true to one, and deserves him, may be called traitor: which shall
never be said of mefor what is a man but his promise.
I have served above fifty years the king’s majesty and his father and should not
in my old age enter rebellion with the commons and He [God] be my judge,
never lost a king a truer servant and subject without any cause but lack of
furniture [arms] and by false reports and pickthanks [sycophants].
Cromwell is the chief causer of this rebellion and mischief, and 1s likewise the
causer of the apprehension of us that be noblemen as he does daily work to
bring us to our end and to strike off our heads.

Impact ofthe rebellions

Although the rebellion never seriously threatened the king, it did threaten the
maintenance of law and order in the north of England, which is why it was
doomed to failure. No king could allow a rebellion to go unpunished, no matter
how loyal the rebels claimedto be. It would have set a dangerous precedent.
In fact, under interrogation, Aske admitted that he had been willing to fight if
Henry had not conceded the grievances expressed in the pilgrims’ petition.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485-1603 for Edexcel

died. Remained a
‘Thomas Howard, prisoner throughout
Edward VI's reign
Duke of Norfolk
1553 Released from
the Tower on the
1473 Born
accession of Mary.
1513 Fought at the Battle of Flodden. Rewarded Took part in the trial and execution ofJohn
with the title Earl of Surrey. Appointed lord Dudley, Duke of Northumberland
high admiral (1513-25)
1554 Served against Wyatt's rebels. Died later that
520 Appointed lord lieutenant of Ireland (1520-2) year, aged 80
SL) Appointed lord high treasurer (|522—47)
Norfolk was among the most powerful nobles in
bys) Appointed warden-general of the Northern
England. He was well connected, having married as his
Marches
first wife, a daughter of Edward IV, and as his second,
553 Appointed earl-marshal the grand-niece of Edward IV's queen. His Yorkist
536 Presided over the trial of his niece Anne background counted against him during Henry VII's reign
Boleyn but he gradually proved his loyalty and was rewarded for
58i/ Put down Pilgrimage of Grace with severity his service.

540 Contributed to downfall of Cromwell
542 Disgrace and execution of his niece Catherine
Howard damaged his position at court.
Recovered to take command of an army
against the Scots
S44 Appointed lieutenant-general of the army in
France
Ousted from royal favour by his rival at court,
Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford. Norfolk's
son was executed for treason
1547 Imprisoned in the Tower of London awaiting
execution but spared when Henry VIII
Norfolk actively encouraged his nieces, Anne Boleyn
and Catherine Howard, to become involved with
the king but their disgrace and execution damaged
his position at court. Norfolk was a religious
conservative who favoured Catholicism. The death
of Henry VIII saved Norfolk's life but the accession of
the pro-Protestant Edward VI ensured his continued
imprisonment. He resumed his career under Mary but
he never regained his former powerful position at court
or in government. a

By deceiving Aske and appearing to sympathise with some of their grievances,

Henry effectively disarmed and dispersed the rebels. To deter other would-be
rebels, Henry dealt ruthlessly with the ringleaders Aske, Bigod, Darcy and their
senior captains. Norfolk was tasked with displaying the crown’s power in the
north by deploying military forces in strategic areas and by invoking martial law.

Extent of repression
Besides the ringleaders, some 200 rebels were put to death in the aftermath of
the uprisings. Norfolk moved through the northern counties with an armed
force hunting down insurgents. As a result of his efforts:

e 34 insurgents were executed in Lincolnshire

e 74 rebels perished under martial law in Cumberland and Westmorland

86
Chapter 4 Henry VIII and the challenges to religious change, 1533-7

@ the majority of the remainder were hanged in Yorkshire, although some of

those who perished came from Lancashire, Durham and Northumberland.

The ringleaders were put on trial and executed. These included:

® Sir Francis Bigod, Sir Thomas Percy, Sir John Bulmer, Sir Stephen Hamerton,
Nicholas Tempest, George Lumley, John Pickering, William Wood and Adam
Sedbergh were all executed at Tyburn in London.
e Abbots James Cockerell and William Thirsk of Guisborough and Fountains,
respectively, were hanged.
e Bulmer’s wife, Margaret Cheyne, was shown no mercy for her support for the
pilgrims; she was burned at Smithfield in London.
@ Thomas, Lord Darcy, was beheaded on Tower Hill, Sir Robert Constable was
hanged at Hull while John, Lord Hussey, was beheaded at Lincoln. Robert
Aske was hanged at York.

Summary diagram: The suppression of rebellion

Suppressing the rebellions

Thomas Reasons for the failure of Duke of

Cromwell rebellion Norfolk

Zs
Bigod’s failed uprising

Hectares
Impact of the rebellions

Key debate
ae Why has the threat posed by the Pilgrimage af Grace become the
_ subject of debate by historians?

Traditional interpretation
Historians have tended to judge the Pilgrimage of Grace by how dangerous it
was. At the beginning of the twentieth century, historians were in no doubt
that it posed a serious threat to Henry VIII. The sheer size of the rebellion,
both in terms of the numbers who took part and the geographical scale of its
influence, was considered the crucial factor. In addition, the fact that members
of the gentry and nobility took part in the uprising added to its seriousness since
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485-1603 for Edexcel

these were the men charged with keeping the peace and on whom the crown
depended for support.
EXTRACT |
From M.H. Dodds and R. Dodds, The Pilgrimage of Grace 1536-1537 and the
Exeter Conspiracy 1558, Cambridge University Press, 1915, pp. 3—4.

It was evident by this time that there was no chance of winning over Darcy. For
a short while the royalists entertained some hope of winning over Aske [but] the
reports from the north showed no signs of giving way on the part of the rebels.
On the contrary, it was doubtful whether they would consent to treat at all. If
they were really so excited and so confident it was quite evident that they would
not humbly accept any answer which the King might choose to make.
It may be asked why the royalists should fear the prospect of battle. Norfolk and
the nobles with him were on Henry’s side, but the sting lay in the fact that they
would be fighting for Cromwell. They would be the protectors of the man whom
they detested. While they were risking their lives, and spending their money in
his hated cause, he would be enjoying the King’s favour, and poisoning the
King’s mind against them. In the circumstances it is not surprising that Norfolk
was ready to do almost anything rather than fight.

This interpretation still exerts a strong influence even today. With some
modification, the Pilgrimage of Grace continues to be viewed as a serious threat.
EXTRACT2

From Nick Fellows, ‘The Pilgrimage of Grace, October-December 1536’, History

Review, September 2000, pp. 24, 27. ~
os

The Pilgrimage represented not only a serious challenge to Henry, but nearly
resulted in his replacement by his daughter Mary. The size of the force meant
that they could challenge the crown in battle, but this was not+their aim. They
wanted to negotiate, but to support this with the potential threat that their
numbers gave them.
The government had been pressured into accepting the demands of the pilgrims
by the existence of nine separate hosts, creating a huge force and the fear that if
the negotiations failed the rebels, under compulsion from the commons, would
rehost, march on London and — as in 1381 and 1450 — achieve their goals by
military force.
MMMM

Revisionist interpretation
However, more recently, historians have moved to disagree with this
assessment. They point to the fact that despite the quality of Aske’s leadership
and organisational skill, he was focused on negotiation rather than
confrontation. Aske was no match for Henry VIII when it came to diplomacy
Chapter 4 Henry Vill and the challenges to religious change, 1533-7

and negotiation. As if to emphasise the weakness rather than the strength of

the rebellion, revisionist historians point out that the gentry and nobility of
the north were far from united in the face of the challenges facing them. For
example, Robert Aske’s own brother sided with the crown, as did Lord Darcy’s
two sons, who refused to join the Pilgrimage. The most persuasive argument put
forward by historians who regard the Pilgrimage as not serious is the fact that it
achieved nothing: it was a failure.

_ EXTRACT 3
‘onus ta icuicvaanacai siti itoring iiaieotn iain see eei eee

From Paul Thomas, Authority and Disorder in Tudor Times 1485-1603,

Cambridge University Press, 2001, p. 93.

Significantly, as with most other Tudor rebels, he [Aske] was both loyal and
conservative. For all the main Tudor rebellions fell short of attempting to
remove the sovereign. These were polite rebels with limited, or confused, and
often wildly disparate shopping lists of demands.
In forcing a truce upon the government in October 1536 and apparently
negotiating a settlement in December, the rebels showed signs of being unable to
comprehend or exploit their level of success. Crucially, their demands remained
limited, their spokesman Aske remained credulous and respectful of the king
and the duke of Norfolk, and the rebels never stirred southwards, enabling
Henry to lull his own court into misleading complacency about the extent of the
revolt.

Nevertheless, the fact remains the Pilgrimage of Grace was the largest rebellion
in sixteenth-century England, and that any uprising, no matter how large or
small, was, by its very nature, a threat to law and order and the stability of the
realm.

Cee ez

passed. The break with Rome led Henry to greater

reform and the dissolution of the monasteries.
This caused unrest and resentment, particularly in
the north of England. Resentment turned into riot
Historians continue to debate the reasons why
and then rebellion. The Lincolnshire rising and its
the Reformation took place and why the English
ssuccessor, the Pilgrimage of Grace, witnessed the
church broke with Rome. The role and influence of largest rebellion in the sixteenth century. For a short
Henry VIII, Cromwell and the Pope are pivotal in period, the Reformation was halted, but following
reaching an understanding of the events connected the brutal suppression of the rebellions it was
with the Reformation. The church was cowed resumed and the dissolution of the monasteries was
Ss
into submission and the Act of Supremacy was completed.
Zz COONAN
V)EE
\S~
UE
DUO
UY
VU
LAA
VALU
VAN
EEOC CCC CCC
ZT TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTeeeee eee eee OOOO
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

Refresher questions
Use these questions to remind yourself of the key 6 Why was there opposition to the break with Rome
material covered in this chapter. and the dissolution of the monasteries?
1 What was the king’s ‘great matter’? 7 Why did the rising in Lincolnshire lead to the
Pilgrimage of Grace?
Why did the crown attack the church?
8 What were the Pontefract Articles and why were
3 How significant was Cromwell's role in the
they drawn up?
Reformation?
9 Why did the rebellions fail?
:4 What was meant by the royal supremacy and what
impact did it have? 10 Why was the crown’s suppression of the rebellions
so brutal?
_ 5 How significant was the compilation of the Valor
Ecclesiasticus and Comperta Monastica?

Question practice

ESSAY QUESTIONS
1 ‘Neither the Lincolnshire rebellion nor the Pilgrimage of Grace posed a serious threat to Henry VIII's rule.’
H
ow far do you agree with this statement?
An ow accurate is it to say that the break with Rome was the primary cause ofthe Pilgrimage of Grace?
3 ‘The dissolution of the monasteries was a mistake that was never intended by Henry VIII.’ How far do you
agree with this statement?
4 4How far do you agree that Robert Aske’s leadership was mainly responsible for the failure of the Pilgrimage
of Grace?

SOURCE QUESTIONS >

1 Assess the value of Source D (pages 79-80) for revealing the attitude of the authorities to the rebels and
the crown’s approach to their prosecution. Explain your answer, using the source, the information given
about its origin and your own knowledge about the historical context.
2 Assess the value of Source E (page 85) for revealing the character of Lord Darcy and the reasons for his
refusal to betray Robert Aske. Explain your answer, using the source, the information given about its origin
and your own knowledge about the historical context.

90
_ Edward VI and the challenges to
royal authority: agrarian discontent
and the Kett rebellion, 1549
The period following the death of Henry Vill was a turbulent one. Henry VIII was succeeded
by a son too young to rule, which meant that the kingdom was governed by an elite group
of nobles led by the Duke of Somerset. The nobles faced considerable difficulties in ruling
the kingdom, not least in managing a growing social and economic crisis. Rising prices,
falling wages and the unpopularity of enclosures led to rural discontent and eventually
rebellion. Led by Robert Kett, the rebels posed a serious threat to the state because they
openly challenged royal authority. The Kett rebellion was eventually suppressed by the Ear!
of Warwick. This is explored as three themes:
% =Mid-Tudor crisis and the causes of rebellion
* Kett’s rebellion and the challenge to royal authority
% =Warwick and the suppression of rebellion

Key dates
1547 Jan Henry VIII died and was 1549 June The western or prayer book
succeeded by nine-year-old rebellion broke out
Edward VI July The Kett rebellion broke out in
1548 Somerset's enclosure commission Norfolk
began its work Oct Fall of Somerset

Mid-I'udor crisis and the causes

of rebellion
> What was the nature of the mid-Tudor crisis? What were the
primary causes of Kett’s rebellion?

Edward VI, Somerset and minority rule

The death of Henry VIII in January 1547 came as a shock to the nation. Given
the youth of his successor, many people feared the uncertainty that would
inevitably follow the strong and stable rule of one of the most powerful
monarchs in Europe. It was accepted that the nine-year-old Edward VI would,

|@" KEY FIGURE
Edward Seymour
(1500-52)
He was knighted by Henry VII!
and then elevated to the
peerage as Earl of Hertford.
Seymour was the uncle of
Edward VI. After Henry VIII's
death, Seymour assumed the
title Duke of Somerset, and
ruled England as lord
protector 1547-9. Due to his
autocratic rule and
unpopularity with the nobility,
he was removed from power
and later executed.
@ KEY TERMS
Lord protector Legal title
given to a senior nobleman
appointed to govern the
kingdom on behalf of a child
monarch.
Mid-Tudor crisis Name
given to the period between
c.1547 and 1558 which
witnessed a series of social,
economic, religious and
political crises that mainly
affected the governments of
Edward VI and Mary |.
92
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors |485—1603 for Edexcel
until he came of age, rule in name only. The first part of Edward’s reign was
dominated by the personality and power of Edward Seymour, Duke of
Somerset, who, as lord protector, ruled the kingdom on behalf of the boy-king.
It was a period of minority government in which the nobility took a leading role
in governing the kingdom.
It soon became apparent that Somerset was unequal to the task of governing a
country slipping further into crisis. He had inherited a kingdom racked by social
problems, bedevilled by economic depression and divided by religious tension.
Somerset's failure to appreciate the scale of the crisis and his apparent inability
to resolve the problems facing the nation led to a crisis in authority. Some
historians have labelled this period in English history a mid-Tudor crisis.
The causes of crisis and the challenging of authority
The mass of the people who made up the non-elites were not prone to violent
rebellion. For them, it was usually the last desperate act when all other attempts
to resolve their grievances had failed. They were generally disinterested in
politics and reacted only to those social, economic and sometimes religious
forces that affected their everyday lives. Theirs was a precarious existence living
on the edge of subsistence where a drought, a bad harvest or a price rise might
push them into despairing poverty. Predictably, rising crime and destitution
coincided with bad harvests and hunger, which often proved the spark for riot
and rebellion. Consequently, the causes of public disorder and rebellion can be
found mainly in the social and economic changes that occurred in mid-Tudor
England.
The Vagrancy Act
The 1547 Vagrancy Act contributed to the growing unrest. The maintenance of
public order was very much in the mind of Somerset’s administration when it
passed the Vagrancy Act of 1547. The harshness of this legislation showed little
concern for the poor. The Act was a savage attack on vagrants looking for work,
who were seen by the government as a cause of riots and sedition.
Under the new law, any able-bodied person out of work for more than three days
was to be branded with a letter V and sold into slavery for two years. Further
offences were to be punished with permanent slavery. The children of vagrants
could be taken from their parents and set to work as apprentices in useful
occupations. The new law was widely unpopular, and many of the county and
urban authorities refused to enforce it. Although it also proposed housing and
collections for the disabled, this measure had damaged Somerset’s reputation for
humanitarianism.
The maintenance of law and order
It appeared that the government was more concerned with avoiding riot and
rebellion than with helping the poor and solving economic problems. This
Chapter 5 Edward VI and the challenges to royal authority: agrarian discontent and the Kett rebellion, 1549

view is supported by three proclamations issued in 1548, aimed specifically at

maintaining law and order. These proclamations were emergency measures
passed by a government which realised that the economic and social conditions
were getting out of hand, and which feared the consequences. Unfortunately,
Somerset did not fully appreciate the scale of the economic and social crisis
facing him, which is why he was surprised by the outbreak of rebellion in 1549.
Somerset's failure to deal decisively with the problems facing the government
led to his downfall.

Adapted from an edict issued by the Mayor and Common Council of London to
raise a compulsory poor rate, 1547, quoted in E.M. Leonard, The Early History Study Source A. Why was “
of English Poor Relief, Cambridge University Press, 1900 (available at it considered so important ®
https://archive.org/details/earlyhistoryofen0Oleonuoft). to force people to pay
towards municipal poor
The Lord Mayor, aldermen and commons in this present Common Council relief and what might the
assembled, and by the authority of the same order that all the citizens and consequences be of
inhabitants of the said city shall forthwith contribute and pay towards the enforcing this edict?
sustenance and maintenance of the poor personages. It is also enacted and
agreed by the said authority that it shall be lawful for all petty collectors of the
said payments to distrain [force] every person that shall refuse or deny to pay
such sums of money he shall be assessed.
soso niet oto aan tii itn i iodination Senseo

Somerset and the crisis in authority

If there was a crisis in authority in the mid-sixteenth century it was in 1549, and
was created by a range of misfortunes. For example:

e There was a weak, insolvent government, overstretching its resources by

trying to fight a war on two fronts: France and Scotland.
e The government was attempting to introduce drastic religious reforms.
e It aroused the hostility of the elites and non-elites by its social and economic @p KEY TERM
policies.
e Prices, fuelled by the debasement of the coinage and increasing population Debasement of the
levels, had doubled since the beginning of the century. coinage A process whereby
the government tried to
e Arun of good growing seasons was ended by a wet summer which meant
preserve its gold and silver
that the harvest in 1549 was poor. This came at a time when agriculture was reserves by reducing the
already struggling to feed the rising population (some 3 million in 1549), amount of precious metal that
which led to a rise in food prices. went into making coins.

Growing unrest
Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that underlying discontent came
to the surface. Unrest in 1549 was widespread, with more than a dozen counties
affected by disturbances ranging from food riots to the destruction of hedges
and fences. Although many of these disturbances were local protests or were
stopped before they could cause serious harm, taken together they presented the
government with a major challenge.

@rer KEY TERM
Husbandmen Tenant
farmers who rented their land
from local gentry landowners.
94
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors |485—1603 for Edexcel
If Somerset had not been so arrogant and unwilling to withdraw troops from
Scotland and France, and if there had not been a power struggle developing in
the Privy Council, it is unlikely that the situation would have got out of hand.
However, Somerset's failure to get a grip of the escalating crisis led to the
outbreak of two major rebellions: the prayer book or western rebellion, and the
Kett rebellion. Ironically, once the government had mobilised sufficient troops,
both rebellions were suppressed with comparative ease.
Social and economic problems
Socially and economically, the period witnessed considerable change marked
by price inflation, growing population, rising unemployment, enclosures and
the debasement of the coinage. When these are added to the changes in religion
they generated a sense of national crisis. :
The rising population was matched by a rise in inflation, which meant that the
living standards of the masses declined. Work was more difficult to find, which
led to migration from the countryside into the towns. The economic crisis was
made worse by the growing instability of the Antwerp cloth market, which led
to widespread unemployment among textile workers in East Anglia.
Given that cloth was England’s biggest industry, this depression in the cloth
trade had serious repercussions for dependent communities across the country.
Grain prices, too, rose rapidly, a situation worsened by below-average harvests.
By 1549 the country was simmering with discontent.
Somerset was advised to end the debasement of the coinage as a remedy
for price inflation, but he refused. Instead, he turnec\his attention to illegal
enclosure and, in June 1548, a royal proclamation announced the appointment
of commissions to collect evidence and enforce laws restricting enclosures.
Somerset’s aims were two-fold, to: a
e reduce rural poverty
® increase grain production by discouraging sheep grazing.
Agrarian discontent and Somerset’s enclosure commissions
Rising prices and local food shortages increased the level of popular discontent.
The Privy Council was forced to take measures to appease public agitation but it
did not fully appreciate the cause of this discontent. The government blamed all
the economic problems on enclosure. It was felt that the fencing-off of common
land for sheep pasture and the consequent eviction of husbandmen and
cottagers from their homes was the major cause of inflation and unemployment.
Proclamations were issued against enclosures and commissioners were sent out
to investigate abuses. This action earned Somerset the title ‘the Good Duke’.
Chapter 5 Edward VI and the challenges to royal authority: agrarian discontent and the Kett rebellion, 1549

In June 1548, Somerset appointed John Hales to lead a six-member commission

@_ KEY FIGURES |
to investigate enclosure practices in the Midland counties. The commissioners
set about their task with determination but they were often blocked from John Hales (1516-72)
conducting their surveys by self-interested gentry landowners. This sometimes
A JP and MP for Preston in
led to ugly confrontations, as in Buckinghamshire when people rioted in support Lancashire, during his time in
of the commissioners who were being harassed by the local landowner, who parliament he became an
stood to lose his enclosed fields. Hales was blamed for inciting riots but he outspoken critic of
strongly denied the charge. One of Hales’s opponents was the Earl of Warwick, government policy,
who demanded his removal from the commission: Somerset refused. particularly in its treatment of
the poor. Hales’s demand for
social and economic reform
Impact of the enclosure commissions
brought him to the attention
The enclosure commissions proved controversial and divisive. Landlords of Protector Somerset.
opposed them and the common people became frustrated when they failed to Robert Kett
resolve enclosure disputes. To the landlords, enclosures were vital if they were to (1492-1549)
maximise the profits from their estates. The move from arable (crops) to pastoral Robert was the son of
(animals) farming — mainly based on sheep and wool - enriched the landlords Thomas Kett of Forncett,
but led to unemployment among farm labourers. Norfolk, a butcher and small
landholder. Kett was a tanner
As a result, the enclosure commissions led to an increase in unrest. Somerset's
by trade and a man of some
intervention only made things worse, for in trying to support the commissioners wealth who lived in
he passed further measures such as limiting the size of leaseholds and placing a Wymondham.
tax on wool. However, whereas many of the landowners succeeded in evading
the wool tax, the poorest in society could not.
This increased the tension between landlords and their tenants. Anger and
frustration led to the outbreak of serious riots, which in East Anglia turned into a
full-scale rebellion. The East Anglian rising led by Robert Kett proved to be the
most serious challenge to the government.

Summary diagram: Mid-Tudor crisis and the causes of rebellion

Somerset and
minority rule
L
fore Vagrancy Act |

ee
Challenges to

Growing unrest and Mid-Tudor crisis Social and

maintenance of law and the causes of economic problems
and order rebellion

Enclosure and Kett’s rebellion

the enclosure commissions
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

Kett’s rebellion and the

_ challenge to toyal authority
> How effective was Kett’s leadership v the rebellion? Did thevebes
' pose a serious a threat to the government?

The Kett brothers

Tanning was a lucrative trade and it has been estimated that Kett had
property worth in excess of £600 (£185,000 today). Kett also had a number of
landholdings which he was in the process of increasing by means of purchase
and enclosure. However, he was also guilty of attempting to enclose additional
common lands by claiming ownership of them. For this enclosure he was
prosecuted at Wymondham manorial court.

Kett, together with his brother William, who combined the trades of mercer
(a textile merchant) and butcher at Wymondham, was among the wealthiest
members of his community. This shows that, prior to the rebellion, Kett was a
man of substance and authority within the local community.

The causes of Kett’s rebellion

East Anglia was the most industrialised part of the country. Norwich was the
second largest town in England after London, and was a major textile centre.
The causes of the rebellion are symptomatic of the confused nature of popular
discontent with the economic changes. The rising was caused by unrest over
enclosures, high rents and unsympathetic local landlords. East Anglia had large
numbers of independent small farmers, who were being adversely affected by
the enclosing of fields and commons by the gentry and yeomen. The collapse
of textile exports had thrown large numbers of clothworkers in Norwich and
the surrounding countryside out of work. In June 1549, there were riots at the
neighbouring market towns of Attleborough and Wymondham, and some new
fences that had been put up by Sir John Flowerdew were pulled down.

Sir John Flowerdew

Flowerdew was a lawyer who had bought up church property in the area.
This made him unpopular with the locals, who resented him as an outsider.
Furthermore, he was in dispute with the townspeople of Wymondham over
the local abbey, which he had bought and was demolishing. The townspeople
had bought the abbey church for use by the parish, and were incensed when
Flowerdew began to strip the lead from the roof.
Given historian Anthony Fletcher’s perceptive observation (2008) that the gentry
were ‘detaching themselves in manners and values’ from the mass of the people,
Flowerdew’s apparent insensitivity is not surprising. This detachment seems to

96
Chapter 5 Edward VI and the challenges to royal authority: agrarian discontent and the Kett rebellion, 1549

have coloured ruling-class views of the poor and of the danger they posed to
society, law and good order.

Agrarian discontent and the Kett rebellion

Unlike the West Country rebels, who seemed to wish for religion to be returned
to the good old days of Henry VIII, the Kett-led insurgents supported the
Protestant religious changes.

Although enclosure has been cited as the primary cause of the rebellion, it was
just one among many agricultural demands made by the rebels. Indeed, apart
from — examples, such as s Wymondham and Attleborough, there had @r KEY TERM
been relatively few enclosures in Norfolk during the previous 50 years. Similarly,
the requests that bondmen or serfs should be made free is strange because Bondmen Peasant farmers
there is no evidence that there were many unfree tenants in sixteenth-century who had no freedom to
Norfolk. choose where they lived and
worked. They were tied to
The major demands were for commons to be kept open and free for the manor on which they
husbandmen to graze their livestock, and that rents should not be increased were born and brought up.
excessively. The Norfolk rebels appeared to yearn for the favourable economic
conditions that had existed under Henry VI. This supports the notion that the
major cause of the popular unrest in 1549 was the harsh economic conditions
that prevailed in that year.

The beginnings ofthe rebellion

Trouble began in May 1549 with sporadic attacks on local enclosers which
escalated and spread as more and more people became involved. Among the
enclosers attacked was Sir John Flowerdew. Kett had opposed Flowerdew’s
acquisition of the abbey and the two men became embroiled in a bitter feud.
When protesters turned up to destroy Flowerdew’s enclosures in early July, he
paid them to attack Kett and pull down his enclosures. Confronted by an armed
mob outside his home, Kett is said to have agreed to the destruction of his
enclosures and to have offered himself as their leader.
Kett proved to be an inspirational leader who commanded respect, and as such
he posed a serious threat to the authorities. He quickly organised the protesters
and actively tried to recruit more followers. Within days, Kett’s followers
numbered over 10,000, a figure that swelled to over 16,000 as he led the
protesters on a march to England’s second largest city, Norwich. The city was
taken without a fight.

The challenge posed by Kett’s rebellion

Kett showed more organisational skill and decisive leadership than is usually
found in the leaders of popular risings. He quickly gathered an army of
16,000 men, set up camp for six weeks on Mousehold Heath on the outskirts
of the city and, in July, he captured Norwich. The rebellion is notable for the

@ KEY TERM
Tree of Reformation Used
to describe the location of
Kett’s council of justice, which
sat under an old oak tree.
«98
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485-1603 for Edexcel
discipline which Kett imposed, involving the election of a governing council and
maintaining law and order. He issued written warrants for the:
e collection of food supplies and weapons
e destruction of enclosures
e detention of local gentry.
Every gentleman that the rebels could arrest was tried before Kett and his
council at the so-called Tree of Reformation. Kett also encouraged Protestant
ministers to preach to the rebels on Mousehold Heath and to use the new prayer
book. Kett was instrumental in drawing up a list of grievances which focused on
the rights of commoners and tenant farmers.
Historian John Guy (1988) has argued that the rebellion was the closest thing
Tudor England saw to a class war. It is noteworthy that Kett’s governing council
was made up of representatives from the villages that had joined the revolt. It
was, in Guy’s opinion, ‘a remarkable demonstration of self-government’.
The demands ofthe rebels
The rebels drew up a list of 29 articles covering a range of topics. For example,
they wanted:
e landowners to stop enclosing common land
e rents to be reduced to the levels they were under Henry VII
® rivers to be open to all for fishing and that fishermen be allowed to keep a
greater share of the profits from sea fishing
@ all bondmen to be given their freedom
® corrupt local officials to be removed from office and punished
® incompetent priests removed from their churches, particularly those who
were unable to preach.
~\
Despite repeated warnings by the government that subjects should not take the
law into their own hands, Kett and his fellow protesters pressed on regardless.
They believed that the king and Somerset would not only recognise the justice
of their cause but also settle their demands amicably. They did not appreciate
the fact that no government could tolerate rebellious conduct, no matter how
justifiable the cause. To allow the rebels to go unpunished would encourage
others to follow suit and rise up against their masters.
Northampton’s failure to crush the rebellion
The Marquis of Northampton was dispatched a force of some 1400 men to deal
with the rebels. He offered Kett a pardon to end the rebellion but the rebel leader
refused. Northampton succeeded in recapturing Norwich but he was not strong
enough to hold it and he was forced to abandon it after only a day. Shocked
at Northampton’s failure to deal with the rebels, Somerset turned to John
Dudley, Earl of Warwick, for help and appointed him to command a second and
Chapter 5 Edward VI and the challenges to royal authority: agrarian discontent and the Kett rebellion, 1549

larger royal army. Warwick was an experienced military commander who was
determined to learn from Northampton’s mistakes.

Warwick’s leadership
The arrival of Warwick’s army, in late August, turned the tide against the
rebels. Warwick recaptured Norwich and hanged some rebels he found there.
However, this did not stop random attacks on the royal troops in the city.
According to historians Anthony Fletcher and Diarmaid MacCulloch (2008),
the rebels’ ‘tactics against the army in Norwich were arson at night and back-
street skirmishing in the daytime’. Unlike Northampton’s troops, the core of
Warwick’s army consisted of seasoned mercenary soldiers who coped better
with the rebels’ urban guerrilla tactics. The most experienced mercenaries,
some 1200 strong, were those recruited from Germany and Italy. They had no
sympathy or understanding of the plight of their peasant adversaries and so they
were utterly ruthless in their treatment of the rebels.

Warwick, Kett and the defeat at Dussindale

Warwick planned his campaign with care and precision. He marched out of
Norwich with his 12,000 men and moved against the rebels camped outside the
city. On 27 August 1549, Warwick inflicted a crushing military defeat on the
rebels after a bitterly contested battle. Their leader, Robert Kett, was captured on
the following day.
The rebel defeat was, in large part, down to Kett. Kett’s leadership skills were at
their best when he was tasked with inspiring and organising his men. He was a
charismatic speaker who talked a good fight but he was no military genius. He
lacked military training and tactical skills and when battle was joined he lost
his nerve. Moving his army from the well-protected high ground of Mousehold
Heath to the less defensive Dussindale valley was a grave mistake. His rag-tag
army of labourers, vagrants and farmers was crushed by well-armed and well-
aid professional troops.
pees : @ KEY TERM
Kett and his brother William were taken as prisoners to the Tower of London.
In November both were tried and found guilty of treason and sedition. Robert Sedition Action or speech
Kett was hanged from the walls of Norwich Castle in December, while William that incites rebellion.
was hanged from the steeple of Wymondham church.

SUI CEs seninnnttitowiuulnce in selwenntauin

Smee

Adapted from a letter written by the Duke of Somerset to a friend, Sir Phillip Study Source B. What
Hoby, English ambassador at the imperial court of Charles V, 1549, quoted in cee er es
F.W. Russell, Kett’s Rebellion in Norfolk: Being a history of the great civil sheur coger
commotion that occurred at the time of the reformation, in the reign of Harecar ind Wel
Edward VI, Longman & Co., 1859 (available at https://archive.org/details/ towards the rebels?
kettsrebellioninOOrussuoft).

We have to tell you of the troublesome uproar and tumult, practised in the
realm by a number of sedicious and evil disposed persons, to the great
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—|603 for Edexcel

disquietness, both of the King and his quiet and loving subjects. The tumults
and commotions were spread in many parts of Norfolk, where the
troublemakers continued their rebellion so stubbornly that the King was forced
to send his lieutenant, the Earl of Warwick, with the power to repress them and
bring them to their duties.
Knowing the better part of them to be such simple persons, as were either
constrained by force, or otherwise seduced by those of the worst sort, Lord
Warwick thought it best to use such means for subduing of them as might be
done with least effusion of blood, and punishment only of the heads and
captains.
By his politic and wise handling of the matter, after the slaughter of more then
one thousande of the rebels, and execution of some of the ringleaders, he has
(thanks be to God) so honourably achieved and finished, as not the county
remains permanently in good order, but also the multitude so repent their
former detestable and naughty doings, as they abhor to hear them spoken of. So
you shall understand that, in Norfolk, the living God has so wrought by the
wisdom and manliness of my Lord of Warwick, that they also are brought to
subjection by such means.
One Kett, a tanner, being from the beginning the very chief doer among them
fled, and the rest of the rebels, casting away their weapons and armour, and
asking pardon on their knees with weeping eyes, were by my Lord of Warwick
sent home without injury and pardoned. The chief ringleaders, Kett and three
other chief captains, all vile persons, were taken, and are still held to receive
that which they have deserved. Thus, these vile wretches that have now of a
long time troubled the realme and who have gone about to destroy and utterly
undo the same come to confusion. So that we trust shortly that these traitorous
mutinies and rebellions are now at an end. Lauded be God.
And thus we bid you hearty farewell. .

Summary diagram: Kett’s rebellion and the challenge to royal authority

The Demands of
Kett brothers the rebels

TCuIrestor Kett’s rebellion and

Northampton’s failure
Reformation
the challenge to royal
to crush the rebellion
authority

ah
Warwick and
the rebel defeat at Dussindale

100
Chapter 5 Edward VI and the challenges to royal authority: agrarian discontent and the Kett rebellion, 1549

Warwick and the suppression

ot rebellion
> Why didoe rebelion
fail
afd whyw
was it so
co ruthlesslysuppressed?

Failure and suppression

The rebellion had been a disaster for the thousands who had taken part. The
vast majority of the protesters had believed that the king, Edward VI, and
Somerset were sympathetic to their cause. Their crushing defeat by military
force and the widespread repression that followed came as a great shock. They
did not achieve their demands and no parliament was called to redress their
grievances. As historian Roger Lockyer wrote (1964), ‘Whatever sympathy
Somerset might have felt for the Norfolk peasants, he behaved like any other
Tudor ruler when it came to dealing with rebels’.
Some of the government's supporters attacked and ridiculed Kett and his
rebels. Following the end of the rebellion, the Cambridge scholar and humanist
Sir John Cheke published The Hurt of Sedition, in which he accused Kett of
insincerity in wishing to establish a ‘commonwealth’ of citizens.

Impact of the rebellion

In political terms, the biggest casualty of the rebellion was Somerset, who fell
from power and was replaced by the Earl of Warwick. Somerset’s indecision
and refusal to assume military command of the armies sent against the rebels
undermined his authority. Most of the nobility and gentry had lost confidence in
his leadership and when his fellow councillors turned on him he had no choice
but to stand down as lord protector. With an army at his back and a victory to
his name, Warwick replaced Somerset as head of the government. In October
1549, Dudley assumed power as lord president of the council and took the title of
Duke of Northumberland.
Another casualty of the rebellion was Somerset's social reform programme,
especially the enclosure commissions, which was wound up. Many landowners
had resented and actively opposed Somerset’s enclosure*commissions.
The killing of at least 2000 rebels at the Battle of Dussindale had an enormous
social and economic impact on the communities involved. In many cases,
families lost their chief means of earning a living and some of them became
destitute. This increase in poverty in communities already struggling to survive
the harsh economic conditions simply added to the problems facing the poorest
sections of East Anglian society.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

I John Dudley, John was the son of Edmund

Dudley, one of Henry VII's
most efficient, if hated,
Earl of Warwick and ministers. He did not suffer
any ill effects from his father’s
Duke of Northumberland execution for treason in
1510. He was well connected, having married Jane, the
504 Born daughter of Sir Edward Guildford. Early in his career, he
523 Served in France and knighted for his military had served Henry VIII’s chief minister, Cardinal Wolsey,
service and had fought with distinction in the French wars.
He was favoured by Henry VIII and was appointed a
53 Appointed master of the Tower Armoury
member ofthe royal council. By the end of Henry VIII's
536 Commanded a troop of cavalry against the reign, the recently ennobled Earl of Warwick had
rebels involved in the Pilgrimage of Grace become one of the most able and influential peers
Inherited the title Viscount Lisle. Served as in England. He served as one ofthe sixteen elite
warden of the Scottish Marches nobles chosen by Henry VIII to govern the kingdom ome

Appointed lord high admiral. Became under Edward VI. A fiercely ambitious man, Warwick
member ofthe Privy Council eventually removed Somerset from power and ruled
England as lord president of the council from 1549 until
Appointed governor of Boulogne
the young king’s death in 1553. After a failed attempt to
Awarded the title of Earl of Warwick seize power in the name of his daughter-in-law, Queen
Defeated the Kett rebels and replaced Jane (Grey), he was removed from office by Mary | and
Somerset as head of the government executed in 553.
Became lord president of the council and
earl-marshal. Assumed the title of Duke of
Northumberland
Attempted to put his daughter-in-law, Lady
Jane Grey, on the throne to thwart Mary
Tudor's succession. The plot failed. Tried and
executed for treason

SOURCE C

. Why is Paget so openly
critical of Somerset's
handing of the rebellion in
Source C?
Adapted by the author from a letter written by Sir William Paget to Protector
Somerset, 1549.
I told your grace the truth and was not believed: well, now your Grace sees it,
what have you to say your Grace? The king's subjects are out of all discipline,
out of obedience, caring neither for protector nor king and much less for any
other royal official. And what is the cause? Your own levity, your softness, your
intention to be good to the poor. I know and understand your good meaning and
honest nature but I say, sir, it is great a great pity (as the common proverb goes
in a warm summer) that ever fair weather should do harm. It is a pity that
your gentleness should be taken advantage of by so great an evil as is now in
England by these rebels.

102
Chapter 5 Edward VI and the challenges to royal authority: agrarian discontent and the Kett rebellion, 1549

Consider, I beseech you most humbly, with all my heart, that society in a realm
does consist and is maintained by means of religion and laws. There can be no
other way or else chaos will reign. Look well whether you have either law or
religion at home, and I fear you will find neither. The use of the old religion is
forbidden by a law and the use of the new is not yet printed in the minds of
eleven of the twelve parts of the realm, what conformity men make outwardly
they do to please them in whom they see the power. Now, sir, for the law: where
it is used in England at liberty? Almost nowhere. The foot takes upon itself the
part of the head, and the common people have become a king, appointing
conditions and laws to the governors saying, ‘Grant this and that and we will
go home’. I know that in this matter ofthe common people every man ofthe
Council has misliked your proceedings and have wished it otherwise.

Warwick and the extent of repression

The government initially resorted to repressive measures after the rebels
had been defeated. The ringleaders were rounded up within days and 49 of
them were tried and executed within weeks. The rebellion had unnerved the
Norwich authorities, who expelled non-residents from the city. However,
unlike Henry VIII's savage repression after the Pilgrimage of Grace, Somerset’s
successor, Warwick, adopted a more measured response to the Kett rebels. With
the ringleaders disposed of, he wished to avoid antagonising the populace for
fear of causing another rebellion. Local law officers were instructed to enforce
the law and to deal immediately with any attempt to riot but they were to do so
as humanely as possible.

Summary diagram: Warwick and the suppression of rebellion

Failure of
Kett rebellion

Warwick and
the suppression of
the rebellion

Impact of Role of Kett

the rebellion
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

AULT LET TEC RGAE LUCAS CRS TSI

led by Robert Kett. Kett’s rebellion was dangerous :

because it challenged royal authority and threatened :
= the social hierarchy, the virtues of which were :
: Teieiene cr ccwara inci aeyl vires extolled weekly by an ere out-of-touch :
= sy church. The government's reaction was equally Z
: serious social, economic and religious problems, predictable — half-hearted negotiations before :

: Nels MTo Ela eine Melo iene = Seti the implementation of a rigorous military and i
2 historians have attached to the period covering judicial suppression. The Earl of Warwick's ruthless
: the eleven years between 1547 and 1558. The suppression of the rebellion did little to solve the Z
2 social dislocation, economic depression and long-term social and economic ills that plagued the
: religious tension led to serious rebellions like that kingdom. E
2 TIMER TT RTC GGT RTT ACCT ATVATG TT HEATH CVTTVCHTTGATCATTITTATITUATTMTLTOTT RUT TaTT TRA ERG NTRTRTTIRAT ATTIC TERETE TRCN

GEILE LLB LDPE RETESET DE ELTA ER NOELLE LEE ERE LESELE DEBE EE DEE LLL ELE ELT ETE EEE EEL ELS NEES LSE

Refresher questions
Use these questions to remind yourself of the key 6 What were the causes of the Kett rebellion?
material covered in this chapter. 7 Assess the roles played by Robert Kett and Sir John
| Why is this period often described as a mid-Tudor Flowerdew in the rebellion of |549.
crisis? 8 How significant was Kett’s capture of the city of
2 Why did Somerset face disorder and rebellion? Norwich? .
3 What were the effects of the economic crisis? 9 What was the Tree of Reformation and what
demands did the rebels present to the crown?
4 What was enclosure and why was it unpopular?
| 5 What was the purpose of the enclosure
10 Why did the rebellion fail?
( commissions?
LAL AS SANIT RA IA AANA A NE ESR RS ET ETT TIS NTE NT EE EEE GOERS por at ccc te nace eartetccsacee coca ecesnpecoctrmcectnnetntepnencceria
we

104
Chapter 5 Edward VI and the challenges to royal authority: agrarian discontent and the Kett rebellion, 1549

Question practice

ESSAY QUESTIONS
1 To what extent was the issue of enclosure responsible for the outbreak ofthe Kett rebellion in 1549?
2 ‘The Kett rebellion never seriously threatened the government of Edward VI.’ How far do you agree with
this statement?
3 How far do you agree that Robert Kett’s leadership was mainly responsible for the failure of the rebellion?
4 ‘The Earl of Warwick's ruthless suppression ofthe rebellion did little to solve the long-term social and
economic ills that plagued the kingdom.’ How far do you agree with this statement?

SOURCE QUESTIONS
1 Assess the value of Source B (pages 99-100) for revealing Somerset's character and his attitude towards
Kett and his followers. Explain your answer, using the source, the information given about its origin and
your own knowledge about the historical context.
2 Assess the value of Source C (pages 102-3) for revealing Paget’s attitude to Somerset’s leadership and his
failure to deal with the threat of rebellion. Explain your answer, using the source, the information given
about its origin and your own knowledge about the historical context.
 Queen takes queen: Elizabeth
Tudor, Mary Stuart and the revolt of
the northern earls, 1569-70 ©
Elizabeth enjoyed an unchallenged succession. The most pressing problem facing the new
queen was what to do about religion. Her attempt to settle the religious divisions by
appealing to both Protestants and Catholics met with some success but this consensus
came to an end in 1568. The arrival in England of the Catholic, Mary, Queen of Scots, in
1568 threatened the political and religious stability of the kingdom. Court politics, faction
and the challenge to her authority offered by an ambitious Duke of Norfolk added to
Elizabeth’s problems. The revolt of the northern earls posed a significant challenge to
Elizabeth. Caused by a combination of the economic and religious insecurities of the
northern nobility, the rebellion witnessed the capture of Durham and the siege of Barnard
Castle. The rebellion’s failure was followed by a period of repression which had serious
implications for Catholicism and Protestantism in England. These issues are examined as
three themes:
%* Elizabeth | and Mary, Queen of Scots
% The revolt of the northern earls
* =The failure of the rebellion and its impact
The key debate on pages 122-3 ofthis chapter asks the question: To what extent was Mary,
Queen of Scots a serious threat to Elizabeth and her regime? <

Le

1558 Mary | died and was succeeded by 1570 = Rebellion was suppressed
Elizabeth | Dacre rebellion
1559 ~~ Religious Settlement: Acts of Uniformity Pope excommunicated Elizabeth
and Supremacy : Westmorland and Dacre escaped
1568 = Mary, Queen of Scots sought refuge in 1572 Northumberland and Norfolk executed for
England treason
1569 ~The northern rebellion broke out
Capture of Durham and the siege of
Barnard Castle

106
Chapter 6 Queen takes queen: Elizabeth Tudor, Mary Stuart and the revolt of the northern earls, 1569-70

BKlizabeth I and Mary, Queen

of Scots
> What problems confronted Elizabeth in the period between 1558
and 1570 and why was her cousin Mary of Scotland considered such
: athreat?

Elizabeth |
Elizabeth was 25 years of age when she succeeded to the throne. During Mary’s
reign, Elizabeth lived a precarious existence partly because of her adherence
to the Protestant faith and partly due to her position as heir to the throne.
Unbeknown to Elizabeth, a group of prominent gentry laid plans to mount a
rebellion against Mary with the aim of establishing a Protestant regime with her
as queen.
The failure of the so-called Wyatt rebellion (1554) put Elizabeth in peril of
her life for she was arrested and imprisoned in the Tower. Suspected of being
party to the plot, Elizabeth was interrogated and for two months lived with the
constant expectation of being executed. However, no evidence could be found
against her and she was released and banished to an Oxfordshire manor where
she was placed under house arrest and kept under surveillance.
This experience had a profound effect on Elizabeth and shaped her personality
and future conduct as queen. She became cautious to the point of being
reluctant to take decisions, a fact that irritated and exasperated her ministers
and closest advisers. Her unwillingness to sanction the execution of those ‘near
to the throne’ such as Mary, Queen of Scots, has been taken as evidence of her
personal experience of what it was like to be an innocent person around whom a
web of lies had been spun.
The most important consequence of her experience was her unshakable belief
that she had been spared by God. This went a long way towards explaining both
the strong religious faith that she exhibited throughout her reign and her desire
to heal the religious divisions that threatened the stability of her kingdom.

The Religious Settlement

To heal the division in the religious lives of her subjects, Elizabeth embarked
on a policy of reconciliation embodied in the Elizabethan Religious Settlement.
Elizabeth was a conservative at heart who wished to avoid:
e adopting the more radical religious doctrine associated with continental
Protestantism
e retaining those elements of Catholic worship that she and her Protestant
subjects most objected to.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—|603 for Edexcel

The task confronting the queen and her Privy Council was fraught with danger
and it was to parliament that they turned to secure the nation’s compliance. The
two key pieces of parliamentary legislation on which the Religious Settlement
was founded were the Act of Supremacy and the Act of Uniformity. Drawn up by
the queen in conjunction with her ministers and the Archbishop of Canterbury,
Matthew Parker, the Settlement of 1559 was intended to clarify, regulate and
stabilise religion in the kingdom. The Settlement held firm for ten years until
challenged in a rebellion led by the northern earls.
SOURCE A
Adapted from the preamble and oath contained in the Act of Supremacy passed
SU a aici by parliament in April 1559, quoted in H. Gee and W.J. Hardy, Documents
Mie Norther eats accept Illustrative of English Church History, Macmillan, 1914, pp. 448-9 (available at
this oath in 1559 but https://archive.org/details/documentsillustrx00geeh). *
reject it ten years later?
All and every archbishop, bishop, and all and every ecclesiastical person and all
and every temporal judge, justice, mayor, and other lay or temporal officer and
minister, and every other person having your Highness’ fees or wages shall
make an oath according to the tenor and effect hereafter following, that is to say:
|a i Ns do utterly testify and declare that in my conscience that the Queen's
Highness is the only supreme governor of this realm and of all other her
Highness’ dominions and countries, as well in all spiritual or ecclesiastical
things and that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state. or potentate hath or
ought to have any jurisdiction, power, superiority, pre-eminence or authority
ecclesiastical or spiritual within this realm, and therefore I do utterly renounce
and forsake all foreign jurisdictions and do promise that from henceforth I shall
bear faith and true allegiance to the Queen's Highness, her heirs and lawful
successors, and to my power shall assist and defend all jurisdictions and
privileges granted or belonging to the Queen united and annexed to the
imperial crown of this realm. So help me God and by the contents of this Book
[Bible].
And that it may be also enacted, that ifany such archbishop, bishop, or other
ecclesiastical officer or minister, or any of the said temporal judges, justiciaries,
or other lay officer or minister, shall peremptorily or obstinately refuse to take
or receive the said oath, that then he so refusing shall forfeit and lose, only
during his life, all and every ecclesiastical and spiritual promotion, benefice,
and office, and every temporal and lay promotion and office, which he has
solely at the time of such refusal made; and that the whole title, interest, and
incumbency, in every such promotion, benefice, and other office, as against
such person only so refusing, during his life, shall clearly cease and be void, as
though the party so refusing were dead. And that also all and every such
person and persons so refusing to take the said oath, shall immediately after
such refusal be from thenceforth, during his life, disabled to retain or exercise
any office or other promotion which he, at the time of such refusal, has jointly,
or in common, with any other person or persons.

108
Chapter 6 Queen takes queen: Elizabeth Tudor, Mary Stuart and the revolt of the northern earls, 1569-70

Elizabeth and government

A key element in central government was the Privy Council and it is in its
composition that Elizabeth achieved her first notable success. Elizabeth made it
clear from the outset that she did not intend to repeat Mary’s error in having a
large Council since it proved difficult to handle and often led to faction fights. As
Elizabeth herself said, ‘a multitude doth make rather for discord and confusion
than good counsel’. Elizabeth expressed her intention to limit the number
of councillors and she proceeded to choose her closest advisers wisely and
sparingly. The most striking feature of her Council was the element of continuity
in that she retained some of Mary’s councillors while adding those of her own.
The two men most prominent in her government were Sir William Cecil (Lord
Burghley from 1571), who became her principal secretary of state, and Robert
Dudley (Earl of Leicester from 1564).

Court politics and faction

The first few years of Elizabeth’s reign witnessed a period of political unity. This
was the time when the regime was being established. Cecil’s close working
relationship with Elizabeth gave him unrivalled political prominence at court
and made him a target for rival factions. As Elizabeth’s chief minister, Cecil was
responsible for most policy decisions at home and abroad. In some respects,
Cecil’s position can be compared to that of Cromwell: both were powerful at
court, both had the confidence of the monarch and both were talented and
imaginative ministers.

Unlike in the reigns of Henry VII and Edward VI, Cecil’s rivals at court were
never outright enemies determined to cause his death. Self-interest and short-
term aims often pushed rival factions together. Cecil and his most serious rival,
the Earl of Leicester, sometimes found themselves on the same side and even
when both were enemies neither wished to see the other executed, only ‘cowed’
or ‘retired’.

Cecil’s chief rivals included:

e Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Dudley was the son of the former lord
president, the Duke of Northumberland, executed by Mary in 1553. He was a
Protestant and a firm favourite of Queen Elizabeth. He was appointed to the
Privy Council in 1562 and created Earl of Leicester in 1564. Their relationship
was so close that there was talk of their marrying but this never happened.
However, Elizabeth’s emotional attachment to Leicester gave him personal
access to the queen, which posed a serious threat to Cecil.
e Thomas Radcliffe, Earl ofSussex. Radcliffe was a talented soldier and
administrator. On his return from governing Ireland in 1565, he was
appointed to the Privy Council. He was neutral in religion, counting both
Catholics and Protestants among his friends and associates. Sussex was an
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

independent who tended to oppose Leicester and support Cecil. But this was
not always the case.
e Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk. Howard was a religious conservative who
leaned towards Catholicism. He was ambitious, arrogant but politically
incompetent. He tended to side with Sussex but his lack of courage and
honesty made him few friends. He disliked Cecil but hated Leicester whom
he considered to be his greatest rival. His desire for power led him to
contemplate a marriage with Mary, Queen of Scots, which eventually led to
his execution in 1572.

Marriage and the succession

As a woman ina male-dominated world, Elizabeth was expected to marry. It
was thought that she, like her sister Mary, would seek the advice and security
that marriage to a powerful man could offer. Moreover, the succession was at
stake; therefore in the opinion of her ministers Elizabeth had to marry to secure
an heir. However, Elizabeth was unusual in that she refused to bow to pressure
and conform to the social norm. She would not follow her sister Mary’s example
and be dominated by a man, let alone a Catholic prince. Her marriage and the
issue of her successor were matters for her alone, a point made clear by her
insistence that they were part of the royal prerogative.
Nevertheless, Elizabeth remained vulnerable, a fact made clear in the succession
crisis of 1562 when she succumbed to smallpox. Without a named successor, her
death might have plunged the nation into conflict and it was only her recovery
from the deadly disease that averted the crisis. Her natural successor was her
cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, but she was a devout Catholic. Mary’s succession
would not only imperil the establishment of the Anglican Church but also be
likely to be opposed by the largely Protestant nobility.

If, on the other hand, Elizabeth married a foreign prince to gain ason, England
would be likely to be dragged into the European power struggle. Marriage with
a member of the English nobility was also out of the question because it might
lead to envy, bitter rivalry and the growth in dangerous factions. Elizabeth’s
infatuation with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, certainly angered the Duke of
Norfolk, who plotted to remove both him and the queen.

@r KEY TERM Elizabeth had few options but one of the safest was to remain unmarried and
when the time was right to nominate a successor. Only when the Scottish (Mary,
Armada Used to describe Queen of Scots) and Spanish (Armada) threats had disappeared did Elizabeth
the Spanish invasion fleet of finally name James VI, King of Scotland, as her heir.
1588.
Mary, Queen of Scots 1542-87
Mary Stuart was directly descended from Henry VII and as such was Elizabeth’s
closest living relative. In the opinion of historian Mortimer Levine (2004),
Mary was Henry Tudor’s ‘only living descendant whose lineage could not be

110
Chapter 6 Queen takes queen: Elizabeth Tudor. Mary Stuart and the revolt of the northern earls,
1569-70

SOURCE B
uuaianinicn
Mn TOHHH Imm ME

Study Source B. What »,

might have motivated °
Elizabeth to commission
this drawing?

Contemporary drawing of Elizabeth | flanked by Burghley and Walsingham.

yyy agin instincts
ttieisti nissan

challenged with a charge of bastardy by alleging a doubtful marriage’. Elizabeth

was reluctant to recognise her cousin as her heir because she might yet marry
and have a son of her own. Mary was viewed with suspicion because she was
a Roman Catholic with strong ties to France. Through her mother, Mary of
Guise, Mary Stuart was half-French, she had been raised in France from an early
age and she married the heir to the French throne, Francis. Mary was briefly
Queen of France when her husband, Francis I, succeeded to the throne in 1559.
However, less than eighteen months later the sickly Francis died. Mary left
France for Scotland a year later in 1561. So long as Mary remained in Scotland,
she could be largely ignored by both Elizabeth and her leading councillors.
This changed in 1568, when Mary was forced to abdicate her throne and flee
south to England in search of shelter and protection. Mary’s rule in Scotland

@re KEY TERM
Excommunicate [o cast
a sinner out of the Roman
Catholic Church. When dead,
an excommunicate could not
be buried on consecrated
ground and the soul would
go to hell.
112
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485-1603 for Edexcel
had been a disaster: she lacked political skill and her Catholicism angered her
Protestant nobles. She married an English cousin, Lord Darnley, but they fell
out and she was implicated in his murder. She fled Scotland after losing the civil
war. She was succeeded as ruler by her infant son, James.
Mary’s arrival on English soil began a political crisis that would not be resolved
for nearly twenty years. Mary’s enforced detention encouraged plots and
conspiracies against Elizabeth. In 1586, Mary became involved in one such
plot and after its failure she was tried and executed in 1587 for conspiring to
assassinate Elizabeth.
Mary’s threat
Mary was considered a dangerous threat to Elizabeth and the Tudor regime
because English Catholics who distrusted Elizabeth and opposed her Protestant
reform of the Church saw Mary as a realistic candidate for the English crown. In
1569, a group of Catholic northern nobles, led by the Earl of Northumberland,
rose in rebellion. They failed in their aim to put Mary on the throne but the
shock of rebellion frightened Elizabeth and her ministers.
Elizabeth faced a number of options on what to do with Mary. She could either
release her or keep her prisoner in England:
e If Mary was released Elizabeth could either send her back to Scotland or help
her get to France. The dangers posed to England by a civil war in Scotland
and/or a French-led military expedition in support of Mary meant that release
was not a realistic option.
e If Mary remained under house arrest in England she could be watched and
her movements controlled. The danger here was the possibility of plots
being laid to free her and/or the Catholic powers uniting against Elizabeth
demanding Mary’s freedom. \
Although this second option was not without its dangers, it was the one chosen
by Elizabeth and her ministers. Some of her leading advisers, Sir William Cecil
and especially Sir Francis Walsingham, preferred a third option — the execution
of the troublesome Scottish queen. They worked for nearly two decades to
achieve their aim.
The danger posed by Mary’s imprisonment increased year on year:
@ In 1570, the Pope excommunicated Elizabeth and issued a pardon to all
English Catholics who dared rebel against the heretic queen of England.
e@ In 1571, the Ridolfi Plot was discovered which involved the Duke of Norfolk.
Norfo!k planned to marry Mary Stuart and raise the standard of rebellion in
collaboration with Spain. Norfolk was executed in 1572.
e In 1583 (Throckmorton), 1585 (Parry) and again in 1586 (Babington) a series
of plots to free Mary and remove Elizabeth from the throne were discovered
and put down. The plotters were executed.
Chapter 6 Queen takes queen: Elizabeth Tudor, Mary Stuart and the revolt of the northern earls, 1569-70

It was not until 1587 that Elizabeth reluctantly agreed to the execution of Mary,
Queen of Scots. She did so only because of the strength of evidence presented
to her that revealed her cousin’s involvement in the Babington Plot. With her
death, it was hoped that the crisis surrounding Mary would be ended. However,
it proved to be the excuse Philip of Spain needed to launch his Armada against
England in 1588. The failure of the Armada finally put paid to the Mary, Queen
of Scots affair.

Summary diagram: Elizabeth | and Mary, Queen of Scots

Court politics
and factions Mary, Queen of Scots

threat was it to Elizabeth?

The northern rebellion or revolt of the northern earls 1569

The northern rebellion used to be regarded as a religious rising but that
is no longer the case. The rebel leaders, the Earls of Northumberland and
Westmorland, had genuine religious concerns but their rebellion was mainly
about politics and the succession. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that
religious issues were interwoven with politics. The roots of the rebellion can
be found in the politics and faction of the day and the arrival on English soil of
the fugitive Mary, Queen of Scots, which provided a focus for the discontented
northern nobility.

Conspiracy and rebellion

The conspiracy that led to the northern rebellion is complex and consists of two
overlapping but disconnected strands.

|@"_ KEY FIGURES
Charles Neville
(1542-1601)
The son of Henry, fifth Earl of
Westmorland, and succeeded
his father in 1564. His
brother-in-law was Thomas
Howard, Duke of Norfolk.
Neville has been described as
being ‘more ofa bungling
malcontent than a cold,
calculating rebel leader’. He
escaped capture after the
rebellion and died in exile in
Flanders in 1601.
Leonard Dacre
(1533-73)
The second of four sons of
William, Lord Dacre of
Gilsland in Cumberland. He
suffered from a physical
disability — curvature of the
spine — and was referred to as
‘Dacres with the crooked
back’ by Mary, Queen of
Scots. He served as an MP JP
and deputy warden of the
West March.
114
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel
Strand 1
A plot was hatched at court by the Sussex and Leicester factions whereby the
Duke of Norfolk would be encouraged to marry Mary, Queen of Scots. The
plotters hoped to coerce Elizabeth either into nominating any children of the
match as her successor or into marriage whereby she would have children of her
own. Part of the arrangement was to be the elimination of Cecil as a political
force. He would be replaced by pro-Catholic sympathisers and the traditional
friendship with Spain, in the person of Philip II, would be renewed.
However, the plot failed when rumours of the Norfolk—-Mary marriage plan
reached the queen. Leicester confessed his part in the affair while Norfolk
panicked and left the court without permission. Racked by indecision, Norfolk
spent the best part of six weeks on his country estate at Kenninghall,
Norfolk. While Elizabeth feared he might rebel, Mary actively encouraged it.
Norfolk’s supporters in the north, his brother-in-law, Charles Neville, Earl of
Westmorland, and Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland, waited to see what
he would do. Westmorland was fully prepared to rise in support of Norfolk but
Northumberland was unwilling to ‘hazard myself for the marriage’. Eventually
Norfolk broke down under the strain: he wrote to Westmorland advising him
not to rebel; after which he submitted to Elizabeth. Norfolk was promptly put in
the Tower.
Strand 2 N
The second strand of the conspiracy involved the pro-Catholic Earls of
Northumberland and Westmorland. The earls, along with Lord Dacre, had
been sidelined by the Elizabethan regime, which did not fully trust them. On
a personal level, Elizabeth did not trust the earls because of their stubborn
adherence to the Catholic faith, but she also disliked their arrogance in
assuming that she would reappoint them to positions of power‘n the north.
Aware of the lingering sympathy for Catholicism that existed in the north,
Elizabeth opted to put men she trusted in positions of authority in the region:
@ The queen’s cousin, Lord Hunsdon, was put in charge of Berwick and half of
the border region.
e The Earl of Sussex was appointed president of the Council of the North in
York.
e James Pilkington, an enthusiastic Protestant, was appointed Bishop of
Durham.
Resentment at being passed over for offices which they considered to be
traditionally theirs by right was turned to outright anger by Pilkington’s
aggressive evangelical style. News of the failure of the Norfolk-Mary marriage
plan, together with the Duke’s arrest and imprisonment, added to their
frustration. They felt they had no choice but to lead a rebellion against an
aggressive, uncaring and, as far as their grievances were concerned, increasingly
deaf Protestant regime.
Chapter 6 Queen takes queen: Elizabeth Tudor, Mary Stuart and the revolt of the northern earls, 1569—/0

Freeing Mary, Queen of Scots

The issue that brought this rebellion to life was the detention and treatment of
Mary, Queen of Scots. Defeated in the Scottish civil war, Mary had fled south
in search of safety and when she arrived she sought political asylum. The
earls believed that Elizabeth’s detention of her Scottish cousin was unfair and
unjustified. They may have regarded this as the perfect opportunity to challenge
Elizabeth because they now had an alternative queen to put on the throne.

The rebellion begins

To attract as much support as possible the earls issued a proclamation at
Darlington on 16 November 1569, stating that the reason for their rebellion was
to resist the ‘new found religion and heresy’. They also claimed that they did not
intend to remove Queen Elizabeth from the throne, although they did demand
the release from detention of Mary, Queen of Scots. The pro-Catholic gentry and
peasantry flocked to join what they saw as a religious crusade. In all, some 6000
joined the rebellion, a fair number but nowhere near as many as the earls had
hoped. In fact, around a quarter of those recruits were the earls’ own tenants.
Among those who joined Northumberland and Westmorland in plotting
Mary’s escape from custody was Leonard Dacre. Dacre was one of many who
favoured the Catholic faith and who hoped that by rebelling they might, in
Northumberland’s words, ‘have some reformation in religion’ and the freedom
of Mary, Queen of Scots, ‘whom we accounted the second person and right heir
apparent’.

When the rebellion began, Dacre went to court instead of joining the earls and
was received by the queen at Windsor. Although she did not fully trust him,
he was permitted to return to Cumberland. Back home in Cumberland, Dacre
played the part of a loyal subject but behind the scenes he was plotting against
the queen. His attempt to involve Lord Montagu and the Earl of Cumberland in
the rebellion failed when they rejected his approach. Ironically, reports praising
Dacre’s conduct were sent to the queen by the Earl of Sussex and Lord Scrope.
By the end of December, Dacre had captured Naworth, Graystock, Kirkswold
and other property in Cumberland. He claimed to have done so in the name of
Queen Elizabeth. Up to this point he had signally failed to support the earls.

Although Dacre was conservative in religion, his treason was motivated by

bitterness over his failure to secure the barony by right of inheritance. Elizabeth
had blocked his attempt to succeed his nephew in the title and the estates that
went with it. Therefore, his overriding purpose in turning to rebellion was less
the restoration of Catholicism than the restitution of the Dacre family’s wealth
and power, with himself as head of the family.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

PC CM

~) Study Source C. What is
the significance of the way
in which the earls frame
their appeal for support?
‘ovvtvinuipnu tuations
Adapted by the author from the proclamation issued by the northern earls at
Darlington, 1569.
Thomas, Earl of Northumberland and Charles, Earl of Westmorland, the
Queen's most true and lawful subjects, and to all her highness’s people, send
greetings — Many newly set up nobles about the Queen have and do daily put
down and plot the overthrow of the ancient nobility, misuse the Queen's person
and have by the space of these twelve years now past, set up and maintained a
new-found religion and heresy contrary to God's word. For the amending and
redressing of these errors many foreign powers do propose shortly to invade
this realm which will be to our utter destruction ifwe do not ourselves speedily
defend against them. Therefore, we are now constrained at this time to go about
to amend and redress it ourselves, which ifwe do not do and the foreigners do
invade us we shall all be made slaves and bondsmen. This proclamation wills
and requires you, every one of you being above the age of sixteen years and less
than sixty, to do your duty towards God for the defence of his true and Catholic
religion. We urge you to come to us with all speed with all such armour and
weapons as you have. Do not fail us or you will answer at your peril. God save
the Queen.
inicio iit iets ets etna restive feito aise ake te eR

The capture of Durham

The rebel earls needed an eye-catching success in order to:
e attract recruits to their cause
e ensure the crown would take them seriously.
They marched on Durham, one of the most important cities in the region.
Durham was not strongly fortified so the rebels were able to take the city with
ease. Bishop Pilkington and his family were forced to flee the city dressed as
beggars.

By taking Durham, the rebels intended to establish a base from which to

conduct their rebellion but they also wished to take control of the cathedral.
The cathedral was one of the most important in the kingdom and on taking it
the earls tore down all evidence of Protestantism and restored the Mass. They
planned to march south to free Mary, Queen of Scots, who was being held in
Tutbury, but they only got as far as Brlamham Moor near York.

116
Chapter 6 Queen takes queen: Elizabeth Tudor, Mary Stuart and the revolt of the northern earls, 1569-70

The siege of Barnard Castle

Barnard Castle became a focus of the rebel earls because its constable, Sir
George Bowes, an influential local landowner, had refused to join the rebellion.
Seeking revenge for this rebuff, the castle was surrounded and besieged by 5000
rebels.

Bowes commanded a garrison of nearly 400 men and although he organised

a stern defence, his biggest weakness was the lack of adequate food supplies.
Bowes hoped to hold out until relieved by royal forces but they failed to arrive
in time. The siege lasted eleven days, during which the rebels took the outer
ward and forced Bowes into the keep. Starvation took its toll on the garrison and
when over 200 men climbed over the walls to join the rebels, Bowes was forced
to surrender.

When news arrived that a royal army of 10,000 men was marching north to
meet them, the earls panicked, disbanded their army and fled over the border to
Scotland. A rebellion which had begun on 9 November ended without a major
confrontation on 16 December 1569. The rebellion achieved very little. Apart
from the capture of Barnard Castle and Durham, the rebel army did no more
than march to and from Bramham Moor near York.

The Dacre rebellion

The rebellion was not over, for early in January 1570, Leonard Dacre rose in
revolt by publicly declaring his support for Mary, Queen of Scots. Elizabeth
ordered Lord Scrope to arrest Dacre and bring him to London for trial. However,
Scrope claimed that he had insufficient forces to take him in his stronghold at
Naworth. In a letter to Cecil, Scrope stated that ‘I dare assure you, that by the
force of this country he is not to be touched; for that although I may levy a good
number, yet very few will be found to execute their force against a Dacre’.
Elizabeth sent additional forces under the command of her cousin Lord
Hunsdon and together he and Scrope laid siege to Naworth Castle. Dacre struck
back by attacking the royal army in a pitched battle. Although Dacre had 3000
men to Hunsdon’s 1500, he was defeated near Hexham in late February 1570. In
a scathing assessment of Dacre’s generalship, Hunsdon said that a man who was
‘so bold in conspiracies, was faint-hearted in the field’. Hunsdon took possession
of Naworth and Gilsland and reported that: ‘I never heard any man so cried
out upon and cursed, both by men, women and children as Leonard Dacre; all
affirm that he persuaded them it was only for the maintenance of his title, and to
keep the possession, which otherwise would be taken from him by force’.
The northern rebellion was finally over.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485-1603 for Edexcel

Summary diagram: The revolt of the northern earls

Revolt of the northern earls

Conspiracy

Freeing of Mary,
Queen of Scots

Rebellion

|Capture of Durham | Dacre rebellion Siege of Barnard Castle

The failure of the rebellion and

its impact | s

be Why did the rebellion fail?

Failure
Some historians believe that the rising was part of a regional crisis in which
dissatisfied conservative nobility and northern gentry reluctantly rebelled out of
frustration and anger at:
e their treatment by southerners planted in the area to run their affairs
e their exclusion from office and power
e the treatment of the Catholic faith.
Crisis or not, the rebellion was a disaster for the north.

The rebellion failed because of the following:

e Poor leadership: incoherent and aimless. The earls did not inspire loyalty or
confidence because they were reluctant rebels, driven to revolt out of despair.
e The time ofyear: by being forced to rebel when they did, in mid-winter, the
earls lacked good weather and plentiful food supplies.
@ It was a distinctly northern phenomenon: the concerns of northerners
failed to move, let alone inspire the people of the Midlands and the south of
England into rebelling.

118
Chapter 6 Queen takes queen: Elizabeth Tudor, Mary Stuart and the revolt of the northern earls, 1569-70

@ The strong reaction of the crown: although slow to react at first, the crown’s
military forces under Lord Hunsdon and the Earl of Sussex were more than a
match for the dwindling rebel forces.

Impact of the revolt

The government was ruthless in its pursuit of the rebel leaders. Westmorland
escaped abroad but Northumberland was captured and executed. Norfolk was
eventually tried for treason and executed in 1572. The crown was equally severe
in its treatment of the commoners who took part in the rebellion. Nearly 800
people were tried for treason and ordered to be hanged on their conviction. In
the event, it is thought that just over a half or around 450 were actually executed.

The rebellion spurred the government into action by ordering the rigorous
enforcement of the Act of Uniformity and by insisting on regular and thorough
visitations. Most visitations went ahead without incident because they were
conducted with the full weight of the law and with the authority of the spiritual Why was the image in
head of the church behind them. Source D published?

ie eS
i ees

— SSS
Westmoreland Fridtiuby
(G2

Image from ‘A Thankfull Remembrance of God’s Mercie’ showing the rebel earls of Westmorland and
Northumberland plotting against Elizabeth. The background shows the defeat of the northern rebels and
the execution of Northumberland. It was published after Elizabeth’s death.
Tn nM

119

@ KEY TERMS
Papal Bull Legally binding
document containing a Pope's
explicit instructions which the
faithful were to obey.
Great Chain of Being
Belief in the divine order of
things. It was used by the
church to justify the hierarchy
of life from the king down
through the nobility, gentry
and peasantry.
“) Study Source E. How far
® does the information
contained in the source
help us to understand
Northumberland's
character and explain his
motivation?
120
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors |485—1603 for Edexcel
A turning point for the Elizabethan regime
The defeat of the northern earls represented a turning point for the Elizabethan
regime. The regime and the largely Protestant Religious Settlement it had
established by Act of parliament had survived its first test and would never be
seriously challenged again.
In May 1570, following the defeat of the northern rising, the Pope
excommunicated Elizabeth. In a move calculated to cause her maximum
damage, Pope Pius V made treason unavoidable for all true Catholics. The
publication of the Papal Bull was a declaration of war because English Catholics
were encouraged to rebel against the heretic Queen of England. The Pope would
be expected to uphold the law, discourage rebellion and abide by the notion of
the Great Chain of Being, but not in this instance. Pius believed that loyal
Catholics had a duty to replace a heretic queen, for which he offered them the
comfort of a papal pardon.
SOURCE E
MMMM
Adapted by the author from Q & A notes taken at the Earl of Northumberland’s
interrogation after he had been handed over by the Scots to Lord Hunsdon,
1572.
Q. What did you do when the Duke of Norfolk told you not to rebel?
A. Norton and Markenfield came to me and said we were already in peril due
to our meetings that we must either enter the matter without Norfolk or depart
the realm; it would be a great discredit to leave off a Godly enterprise that was
looked for in us throughout the kingdom, many of whom would assist us. I bade
them take time to consider; they were away 14 days-and then returned with the
gentlemen of the bishopric wishing to proceed. I said that I wished to consult
with the Earl ofDerby, Queen of Scots and Spanish ambassador. The first did
not answer; the other two thought it better not to stir. Some departed and I
wished to go with them ... but when I found I could not get away, I agreed to
rise with them.
Q. When did you first enter into this conspiracy?
A. We first began to talk of these matters when the Duke went into displeasure
from Court to his house in London, and it was rumoured in Yorkshire that the —
Council was wonderfully divided about the succession, and the Duke and other
noblemen had returned to their houses, and that the realm would would be in a
hurly-burly; so I sent to the Duke and assembled my friends to know their
inclinations.
Q. What was the intent and meaning of the rebellion?
A. Our first objective was the reformation of religion and preservation of the
person of the Queen of Scots as next heir, failing issue ofHer Majesty, which
causes I believed were greatly favoured by most of the noblemen of the realm.
I hoped my Lord of Leicester, and especially Lord Burghley, would have by this
time been blessed with Godly inspiration so that they may sway the prince, and
would bring Her Majesty to the truth. But I was deceived.
Chapter 6 Queen takes queen: Elizabeth Tudor, Mary Stuart and the revolt of the northern earls, 1569-70

Thomas Percy,
Earl of Northumberland
528 Born at Prudhoe, Northumberland
Sei Father, Sir Thomas Percy, executed for his
part in the Pilgrimage of Grace
Se: Percy restored in blood by parliament
554: Became MP for Westmorland
Dov Restored to the family title as Earl of
Northumberland and appointed a member of
the Council in North
Removed from the commission of the peace
because of his Catholic beliefs
Rebelled in favour of Mary, Queen of Scots
On failure of rebellion, Percy fled to Scotland
seeking refuge
Scots detained Percy and handed him over to
Lord Hunsdon, Percy was interrogated, tried
and beheaded for treason
Percy was the nephew and heir of Henry Percy, sixth
Earl of Northumberland. His father, Sir Thomas, was
also a rebel, who had been executed in 1537 for his
part in the Pilgrimage of Grace. The stain of treason
was removed in 1549, but he was denied the earldom.
Percy had to make do with an annual pension drawn
from some of his family’s estates. He served Queen
Mary |, who restored him to the earldom. He did
not welcome the accession of the Protestant Queen
Elizabeth, Bitter at what he regarded as the queen's
dislike of him, Percy became increasingly disaffected.
His removal from the commission of the peace in
1564 increased his bitterness. The catalyst for rebellion
was the coming to England of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Percy was angry at the way she, a fellow Catholic, had
been treated. He thought her detention was unfair.
In November 1569, Northumberland and Charles
Neville, Earl of Westmorland wrote to Pius V asking him
to excommunicate Elizabeth. In May 1570, the Pope
responded by passing the bull of excommunication
Regnans in excelsis. Within weeks of this letter to the
Pope, Percy rebelled and, like his father, was executed
for treason in 1572.

Summary diagram: The failure of the rebellion and its impact

Reasons for Impact of

; Failure of rebellion
failure rebellion

Turning point for

Elizabeth
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors |485—|603 for Edexcel

The key debate

> To what octane was Mary,‘Queen of Scots a seriouseiner ty
Elizabeth and her regime?

Traditional interpretation
The life and fate of Mary, Queen of Scots had long been seen as a tragedy.
In the three centuries after her death in 1587, writers and readers of history
tended to be sympathetic to her plight. Elizabeth and her spymaster, Sir Francis
Walsingham, together with the queen’s scheming chief minister, Lord Burghley,
were often vilified for their merciless destruction of the imprisoned Queen
of Scots. However, this perception was challenged in the 1930s by historians
who, having reviewed the evidence, were in no doubt that she posed a serious
threat to Elizabeth and her regime. Mary’s scheming and plotting justified the
Elizabethan regime’s treatment of her.

EXTRACT I

From J.E. Neale, oueen eieaberl icombndee University hitcc, 1934, ie‘278.

There could be no doubt whatsoever that Mary had been privy and consenting
to a plot to assassinate the Queen and to bring an invading army into England.
She denied any knowledge of it: that was natural for she was fighting for her
life. But here denials are worth noting against the damning evidence of
Babington and her two secretaries — not to mention the story of the secret post
which was carefully concealed as was the forged postscript. She was not
allowed counsel, but she defended herself with spirit? eloquence and ability.
Voluble and impassioned, she was very dignified and when the fierce debate
was over her mood changed and she vowed devotion to Elizabeth.

EXTRACT 2

From G.R. Elton,Praga Cader. Te Tudors, Prerhtent 1955, *370.

Later ages, more distant from the problem might well condemn her for the
death of the unfortunate Queen of Scots. Whatever the moralists and the
romantics may say, it is difficult to see what else could have been done about a
proven danger to the state, properly and lawfully convicted of a capital crime.
From the moment that Mary took refuge in England she created a situation
which could not be resolved in a way that was both sensible and moral. And yet
— the martyrdom of the Queen of Scots remains a stain on the record of
Elizabeth’s reign.

122
Chapter 6 Queen takes queen: Elizabeth Tudor, Mary Stuart and the revolt of the northern earls, 1569-70

Revisionist interpretation
However, more recently, historians have moved to review this assessment by
offering a more subtle interpretation. They point to the fact that Mary was
incarcerated in various, if comfortable, prisons for nearly two decades with little
effective contact with the outside world. She was at the mercy of her jailers and
was in no position to challenge Elizabeth directly. It was not Mary’s fault that
she was being used by others to threaten Elizabeth. Mary was as much a victim
‘of circumstance as Elizabeth, both of them were hostages to fortune.

EXTRACT 3
CC

From B. Mervyn, The Reign of Elizabeth, John Murray, 2001, p. 185.

Whether Mary, Queen of Scots, was a major threat to Elizabeth and to England
remains open to debate. With the benefit of hindsight it is clear that none of the
plots hatched on Mary's behalf actually developed into anything serious. The
danger, however, came not so much from Mary herself, but from the fact that
her arrival in England coincided with a major shift in circumstances which
threw England into mainstream European politics. It was now no longer
possible for Elizabeth to maintain a friendly, but distant relationship with the
Catholic powers. However much Elizabeth might have wished it otherwise,
Mary, Queen of Scots, was always the focal point of concerns about
Catholicism, the succession and national security.
‘uuu niu aannnaansav angina si piaontgino ncaa isatniguiy aati neisiavaaeisi cident insti tcavcna cide tsetse ao iconinsaneone

eeu ee eee ete) OL Lc

Zz\\"

inflamed suppressed religious passions and inspired

the political ambitions of disaffected northern
nobility. The revolt of the northern earls posed
The first ten years of Elizabeth I’s reign was generally @ serious challenge pO aS at authority ne i
calm, without any major religious or political had the added potential to become a dynastic feud
incidents. After the stormy reign of Mary | with tts fought between the supporters of the Tudor and
religious persecutions and burnings, this was no Stuart monarchies. In the event, the rebellion failed
mean feat. Elizabeth aimed to heal the religious to live up to its potential for political, religious and
divisions within the realm and rule for all. However, dynastic change. The earls of Northumberland and
this atternpt at a religious and political consensus Westmorland were not the stuff of which heroes
was shattered in 1568 with the coming Into England are made and their badly planned revolt fizzled out
of Mary, Queen of Scots. Elizabeth's Catholic cousin — when confronted by the might of the Tudor regime.
zA ~
A
% Dee
ww
777144 VNU VNU VNU VNU VAT LOU LUU SUSU ELUENT
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

| Refresher questions
| Use these questions to remind yourself of the key 6 Why was Mary, Queen of Scots, regarded as such
material covered in this chapter. a serious threat to Elizabeth?

1 What was the most pressing problem facing 7 What impact did Mary’s detention have on politics
Elizabeth on her succession? and religion in England?

_ 2 What was the Religious Settlement? 8 Why did the northern earls rebel?
3 Why was court politics and faction such a problem 9 Why did the rebellion fail?
for Elizabeth? 10 Why might this rebellion be regarded as a turning
4 Why were government ministers so concerned point in Elizabeth's reign?
about Elizabeth's marriage and her succession?
5 Why did Mary, Queen of Scots seek refuge in
England in 1568 and what was the impact of her
seeking political asylum?

Question practice
ESSAY QUESTIONS
1 ‘It was the rebellion of the northern earls, not the arrival of Mary, Queen of Scots in England, that posed the
greatest threat to Elizabeth and her government at the end of the 1560s.’ How far do you agree with this
statement?
2 How accurate is it to say that rivalry and faction at court posed a greater threat te Elizabeth than the
N
detention of Mary, Queen of Scots?
3 ‘The northern rebellion achieved far more than the rebel leaders had expected.’ How far do you agree with
this statement?
SS

4 To what extent was the rebel leadership responsi ble for the failure of the northern rebellion?

SOURCE QUESTIONS
1 Assess the value of Source A (page 108) for revea ing the methods used by the government to ensure
compliance with its religious legislation and the reasons why Catholics might refuse to take the oath.
Explain your answer, using the source, the inform ation given about its origin and your own knowledge
about the historical context.
2 Assess the value of Source E (page 120) for helpin g us to understand Northumberland’s character and
explain his motivation. Explain your answer, using the source, the information given about its origin and
your own knowledge about the historical context.

124
 _ CHAPTER7

— Trouble in Elizabethan Ireland:

Tyrone and the Nine Years’ War,
oda 603
By the last decade ofthe sixteenth century, England’s tense relationship with Ireland had
become hostile. This growing hostility led to the outbreak of the Nine Years’ War (also
known as Tyrone’s rebellion) in 1594. Led by charismatic leaders such as the Earl of Tyrone,
Hugh O’Neill, and Hue Roe O’Donnell, the rebellion caused a crisis for Elizabeth because it
threatened her authority over Ireland and invited enemies abroad, like Spain, to become
involved. The war was bitterly contested in a series of battles that eventually led to English
victory under Lord Mountjoy. The defeat of Tyrone led to the ruthless subjugation of the
Irish. These issues are examined as three themes:
* Cause of Tyrone’s rebellion and the Nine Years’ War
* The Irish in revolt
%* The end of the war and the defeat of Tyrone

Key dates
1594 Nine Years’ War (Tyrone’s rebellion) began 1599 Battle of Curlew Pass
lrish rebelled under Hugh O’Neill, Earl of 1601 Battle of Kinsale
Tyrone 1603 Defeat of Irish rebellion and the flight of the
1595 Battle of Clontibret rebel earls
1598 Battle of the Yellow Ford

€) Cause of Tyrone’s rebellion and

the Nine Years’ War .
m Why did the Earl of Tyrone rebel?

England and Ireland KEY TERM

The relationship between England and Ireland had long been characterised
; re The Pale A territory
by tension. English incomers, both settlers and conquerors, had involved Spice ae Une
themselves in Irish affairs since the late twelfth century. For much of the which had long been held and
medieval period, English monarchs were content to govern Ireland from a ruled by the English crown.
distance. They ruled from the Pale, an area of land around Dublin, from where

125
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

English governors maintained a watchful eye on the rest of the country. So

@ KEY TERM
Plantations Policy of
colonisation by establishing
English settlers in large
numbers on land previously
occupied by the Irish and Old
English.
long as the Irish maintained their allegiance to the crown and paid their taxes,
English kings were happy for a select few of the most powerful Irish noble
families to govern their fellow countrymen.
However, during the Tudor period, the crown gradually increased its power
in Ireland, demanded ever higher taxes and encouraged greater numbers of
English colonists to settle in the country. Two issues caused resentment to boil
over into open rebellion:
e The Reformation — the largely Catholic Irish wished to maintain their links to
Rome.
e The Plantations — especially of Munster and, later, Ulster.
In having himself crowned king of Ireland in 1541, Henry VHI hoped to exert
his authority and force the Irish to obey English laws and customs. This policy
of making Ireland English by means of an ever-tightening grip of royal authority

0 40 80
[Eten
en |eae |
km
0 GLENS
RECONNECT EE he ae
Atlantic ANTRI Me
Ocean ULSTER MS &
w
aes
Yellow oS
FERMANAGH | Ford
= ARDS
AS LOUTH . SU peNINSULA
3 CONNAUGHT
P MEATH Irish
\
s 3 Ye Sea

GALWAY Dublin

5 LEINSTER

@ Limerick

Waterford e
MUNSTER

@ Smerwick

Kinsale
tJ

Celtic
lreland in the sixteenth
Sea |__| The Pale
century.

126
Chapter 7 Trouble in Elizabethan Ireland: Tyrone and the Nine Years' War, 1594—1603

and the passing of English laws in a closely controlled Irish parliament was
continued by Henry VIII's successors. The intensity of English control and
colonisation increased substantially during the reign of Elizabeth.

Background to the Nine Years’ War

Trouble in Ireland was a constant concern for the English crown. Not only @r KEY TERMS
had the crown to worry about the native Gaelic-speaking Irish, it had also to
_concern itself with the so-called Old English, the descendants of the original Old English Descendants
settlers. The Old English had been resident in Ireland for some centuries and of Anglo-Norman colonists
they thought of themselves as Irish but were generally loyal to the crown. who
iy had long been resident
elena
; 5; in Ireland.
They formed an elite group who enjoyed enormous power over the native
Irish majority and who resented the crown’s interference in their affairs. This Clan A group of families that
share kinship, the heads of
resentment was made worse with the arrival of the new English, the settlers
which claim descent from a
and soldiers encouraged to colonise Ireland by the Tudors. The New English common ancestor.
threatened the power and privileges of the Old English.
The dilemma facing the crown was two-fold: to govern Ireland effectively:
e without causing resentment, opposition and rebellion
e at minimum financial cost without the need of a strong military presence.

Henry VII and Henry VIII had tried to govern through a select group of Irish
noble families who had been promised rewards in land, wealth and power.
These semi-autonomous Irish lords were overseen by a royal representative, the
lord deputy, who administered the kingdom from Dublin.
However, experience had shown that the Irish were difficult to control, almost
impossible to pacify and prone to rebellion if the opportunity presented
itself. This led the Elizabethan regime to exert greater control and influence
by drawing the Irish nobility into a closer political, cultural and financially
dependent relationship with the crown and court.
Educated in England and brought up in and around the court, Irish nobles such
as the Butler Earls of Ormond and O’Neill Earls of Tyrone still wielded great
power, but the crown-appointed lord deputies such as Sir Henry Sidney, Sir John
Perrot and Sir William Fitzwilliam came to exercise ever-greater authority. By
the 1590s this gradual shift in the balance of power pushed Tyrone and his allies
into rebellion.

Causes of the Nine Years’ War

The Nine Years’ War was but one among many rebellions in Ireland, but it was
the most serious in the sixteenth century. The causes of the war, which began in
Ulster, are many and varied but it was due, in the main, to the ambition of Hugh
O’Neill, who claimed headship over the whole O’Neill clan. Not satisfied with
the title Lord Dungannon, Hugh sought to persuade Queen Elizabeth to appoint
him Earl of Tyrone. This would support his claim to be the chief of the entire
O’Neill clan.

|@>" KEY FIGURE
Hue Roe O’Donnell
(1572-1602)
The eldest son and heir of
Sir Hugh O'Donnell, Lord of
Tyrconnell. His half-sister,
Siobhan, had married Hugh
O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone.
O'Donnell had to fight for his
inheritance and in the ensuing
contest he was imprisoned by
the English who favoured his
rival for the lordship.
“> Study Source A. How
® does this source help us
understand why the Irish
rose in rebellion?
128
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel
However, Hugh O'Neill was opposed by Sir Turlough Luineach O’Neill, who
also laid claim to rule the O’Neill clan. His rivalry with Hugh O’Neill was bitter
and violent and it led to political instability in Ulster. The northern province of
Ulster was a semi-autonomous region which had yet to succumb to full English
control. In a cynical attempt to control Ulster, Elizabeth played off the O’Neill
claimants against the other. Hugh O’Neill got the title as Earl of Tyrone but not
the power over the clan to go with it.
Hugh was supported by his neighbour and ally, Hue Roe O’Donnell, who was
bitter at having been passed over as heir to the lordship of Tirconnell. He blamed
the English government for encouraging his father to settle the lordship on his
half-brother. The bitter rivalry between Irish clan families turned into civil war
as they fought each other as well as opposing the increase in English influence
in Ulster. ;
One of those who sought to increase his power and influence in Ulster, at the
expense of the O’Neills and other Irish clan families, was Sir Henry Bagenal.
Besides seeking land, Bagenal tried to persuade Queen Elizabeth to appoint him
the first president of Ulster. Bagenal, and others like him, was determined to
eliminate native Irish power in the only province yet to fully submit to English
rule. It was Bagenal’s ambitions that drove O’Neill into open warfare.
SOURCE A
‘uujsvinnibnisasniciuiivisiiiiscntiiiteaise soni iniis cisions iano aie annette eta nenoattiatGARHE
Adapted from a letter sent by Cormac O’Neill to King Philip Il of Spain, 1596,
quoted in Hiram Morgan, Tyrone’s Rebellion, Boydell Press, 1993.
I, Cormac O'Neill, brother of the lord O'Neill, promise truly, that I will obey
and serve (God Almighty only excepted) you alone, wrevertheless deferring to
my brother who in this realm of Ireland is more powerful than the person who
calls himself deputy to the queen of the English.
At this time, the English made the whole of Ireland subject to themselves, save
only Ulster, in which Hugh O'Neill and myself live. We were accorded great
respect among the English, lest we should withdraw ourselves from their state,
or rather tyranny, and attack it as has now occurred. For when we realised that
almost the whole kingdom was thus being made subject to the English, I thought
that I should choose rather to obey God and you, King Philip, rather than to
prosper by fighting with the forces of the queen and by the wealth promised to me.
Those from other parts of Ireland I brought to join me as allies. When they had
been equipped to fight, I supplied them with all that was necessary to build up
their military strength. Those beggarly, untrained and exiled Irish whom I
gathered together and enlisted now have been disciplined and hardened in war.
Hugh O'Neill has been possessed of so much authority and glory by the queen
of the English that he was unwilling to be considered to be stirring up war. He
entrusted to me the plan which he had devised a little earlier, using me as his
agent. For he was always of the opinion that a regiment of soldiers should be
sent by you to help him against the hordes of Lutheran enemies who ceaselessly
Chapter 7 Trouble in Elizabethan Ireland: Tyrone and the Nine Years’ War, 1594—1603

deceive the Catholics under the pretext ofpeace. In order that this military help
should come across the sea quickly, O'Neill has instructed me to write to Your
Majesty. For three times messengers have been sent to you with letters, and
having been captured by the English, have been subjected to an unspeakably
cruel death. When O'Neill heard this he did not take it lightly and revealed
himself an enemy and declared war on the English.
Even ifall the Irish were to abandon you, L, as long as I live, will not desert
Your Majesty. May Your Most Invincible majesty prevail forever.

Plantation of Ulster
Bagenal was but one of many Englishmen, mainly military men, encouraged
to settle in Ulster by the aggressive policy pursued by the crown’s Irish
governors, Lord Deputy Sir John Perrot (1584-8) and his successor Sir William
Fitzwilliam (1588-94). Their determination to exert English control over
Ulster led to intrigue and conflict. Competing factions at court sought to
influence the queen into sponsoring their plans to pacify and govern Ireland.
The crown’s plantation of Ulster was a cause of much resentment and was
vigorously opposed by the Irish lords in the province.

Support for Hugh O'Neill and Hue Roe O’Donnell

The support Hugh O’Neill and Hue Roe O’Donnell received is significant
because it enabled them to turn a rebellion into a long war against the English.
It became a national struggle for independence because of the charismatic and
inspirational leadership of O’Neill. Within Ireland, O’Neill and O’Donnell
managed to heal the rift between some important clan families and recruit them
to their cause. This coalition of Irish lords shocked the English because they had
traditionally relied on Irish disunity to keep control of Ireland.

Equally significant was the support the rebel leaders obtained from outside
Ireland, principally Spain. Philip II was keen to have revenge on Elizabeth for
the Armada fiasco (1588) and the Irish rising provided him with the opportunity.
He was determined to help the Irish rebels with financial and military aid. He
believed that Spanish aid to Ireland would be an effective counter to England's
support of the rebel Dutch. Philip had been embroiled in a war with his Dutch
subjects for over ten years. The Protestant Dutch had been seeking to cut their
ties from Catholic Spain since 1568. From the mid-1570s the Dutch were aided
by Protestant England in their attempt to gain independence.
The lord deputy of Ireland, Sir John Perrot (1584-8), favoured splitting the
O’Neill lordship in Ulster between the two claimants. Perrot reasoned that
this would weaken their power and make it easier to control the O’Neills and,
through them, the province of Ulster. Ulster was the last province in Ireland
which enjoyed a measure of independence from English rule, a fact that Perrot
and his successors were determined to change. O’Neill’s opposition to the
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

SOURCE B MOM
suntv syyvreiinriuaseanooreiosrenroa rai iovetusrsacaccansiivianei teeta

“) What does the portrait in

@ Source B reveal about
Hugh O'Neill?

Nineteenth-century portrait depicting Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone.

MOM TM

division of the O’Neill lordship led him to join and subsequently lead the
rebellion against the crown in 1595. The successes enjoyed by the rebels were in
large part due to O’Neill’s military leadership. For example, he was active in:
® raising and training men from within his lordship
e encouraging English soldiers resident in Ireland to serve him
e hiring mercenaries from Scotland
& purchasing the latest military technology, weapons and munitions.

130
Chapter 7 Trouble in Elizabethan Ireland: Tyrone and the Nine Years’ War, 1594—1603

Hug h O ; Neill, Agreed to terms

Earl of Tyrone
1550 Born in the Lordship of Tyrone, the second
son of Matthew O'Neill, Baron Dungannon.
Educated in English and in English customs
Served in the Dublin household of the lord
deputy, Sir Henry Sidney
Inherited barony of Dungannon on death of
his father
Brought to court by Sidney
Granted title Earl of Tyrone
Married Mabel, sister of Sir Henry Bagenal
Tyrone proclaimed a traitor
Defeated the English at the Battle of the
Yellow Ford
Defeated in the Battle of Kinsale
of the Treaty of
Mellifont to end the
Nine Years’ War
1607 Fled abroad into
auay
pas
1616 Died and buried in Rome
Hugh was the son of Matthew O'Neill, Baron of
Dungannon, and as such had a claim to the headship of
the powerful O'Neill clan in Ulster. He was educated in
Dublin in the household of the English lord deputy, Sir
Henry Sidney, before completing his education at the
English court. Here he attracted the patronage of two
of Elizabeth's most influential privy councillors, the Ear|
of Leicester and Sir Francis Walsingham, Although he
adopted English speech and customs, and was popular
at court, O'Neill remained committed to his Gaelic
roots and family interests in Ulster. The young O'Neill
was locked in a dispute with Sir Turlough Luineach
O'Neill for headship of the O'Neill clan.

Summary diagram: Cause of Tyrone’s rebellion and the Nine Years’ War

Relations between England

and Ireland English
settlers

Causes of Tyrone’s
Ambition of Tyrone rebellion and Plantation of Ulster
Nine Years’ War

Religion Rebellion of
Hugh Roe O’Donnell

131
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

The Irish in revolt

The outbreak of the Nine Years’ War

The Irish lords of Ulster — Hue Roe O’Donnell, Hugh Maguire, Brian O’Rourke
— suspected that the crown intended to reduce their power while empowering
English sheriffs appointed to apply English law in the province. Encouraged by
two northern archbishops, Edmund Magauran and James O’Hely, they joined to
form a Catholic league.
Their plan was, first, to raise the people of Ulster in rebellion before extending
the league beyond Ulster. They hoped that by appealing to other disaffected
Irish lords such as Fiach Mac Hugh O’Byrne and Richard and Ulick Burke, the
rebellion would spread throughout Ireland.
Urged on by Hue Roe O’Donnell, Hugh Maguire was the first to revolt in 1593.
Suffering a defeat by the English at Tulsk, Maguire went on to raid Monaghan
and Enniskillen in 1594. At this stage of the Nine Years’ War, Hugh O’Neill
was not involved. Having successfully persuaded the queen to grant him the
Earldom of Tyrone, he was reluctant to risk losing this gain on a failed rebellion.
In fact, the crown looked to O’Neill for help in putting down the rebellion: it was
to be disappointed. .

O’Neill’s dilemma
O'Neill was torn between his duty to Elizabeth and his loyalty to his fellow
countrymen. He had become increasingly disillusioned with English rule
in Ireland and was particularly opposed to the lord deputy, Sir William
Fitzwilliam, whom he accused of corruption. The deaths of Leicéster in 1588 and
Walsingham in 1590 were a severe blow to O'Neill for he no longer had anyone
at court who could speak on his behalf. Bitter and frustrated, O’Neill decided to
throw in his lot with the rebels.

Anticipating future conflict, O’Neill had been building up his military power for
some time, so when he joined the rebels he led a well-armed and well-trained _
army. In addition, he opened discussions with King Philip IL, hoping to gain
Spanish support in money, materials and men. The cautious King of Spain
decided on a policy of wait and see.

The Battle of Clontibret 1595

The Battle of Clontibret marked the true beginning of the Nine Years’ War
because it witnessed O’Neill’s assumption of power as leader of the rebel forces.
O’Neill recognised the importance of eliminating the fortress garrisons the
English had established to intimidate and contain the Ulster lords. To eliminate

132
Chapter 7 Trouble in Elizabethan Ireland: Tyrone and the Nine Years’ War, 1594-1603

the string of garrisons along the southern border of his territory, O’Neill ordered
their siege. He paid particular attention to the key English garrison at Monaghan
Castle, hoping to draw the English out into the open and crush them ina
decisive battle.

The English responded by sending a relief column under the command of Sir
Henry Bagenal, marshal of the English army in Ireland. In May, Bagenal’s army
of 1750 men marched to relieve Monaghan, during which journey they were
‘harassed by O’Neill’s men. The Irish employed guerrilla tactics to wear down
the English forces, who were forced to march and fight in unfamiliar territory.

Having relieved the garrison, Bagenal continued on to Newry, but as he made

his way there he was ambushed at Clontibret by O’Neill’s superior force of 4000
men. The Irish under O’Neill supported by his allies, the MacMahons, Maguires
and a contingent of Scottish mercenaries, gained a notable victory over Bagenal,
who suffered heavy losses. However, the Irish victory at Clontibret was not as
decisive as O'Neill had hoped.

The Battle of the Yellow Ford 1598

Bagenal spent the next three years strengthening the English garrison castles
in Ulster. He was hampered by Elizabeth’s reluctance to fund a major military
operation in Ulster. The queen was convinced that the English forces deployed in
Ireland were sufficient for the task of suppressing the rebellion: she was wrong.
Based at Newry, Bagenal could do no more than supply and support the English
fortress garrisons. O’Neill realised that he had to eliminate Bagenal and so he
targeted the castle of Newry for destruction. By 1598, Bagenal’s lands had been
ravaged by the rebels and the garrison at Newry was under siege. At the same
time, the garrison fortress on the Blackwater was so closely besieged that its very
survival was threatened. Bagenal decided to send a relief force to save it.
Bagenal’s army never reached the Blackwater garrison, for in August 1598 he
was forced to give battle at the Yellow Ford. Bagenal’s force of 4000 men was
confronted by an Irish army of over 5000. In a closely fought contest, the Irish,
led by O’Neill, O’Donnell and Hugh Maguire, defeated the English and killed
their commander. The Battle of the Yellow Ford may not have been the decisive
victory O’Neill was seeking but it was a turning point. For example:
e Bagenal’s death dealt a serious blow to English authority in Ireland and it
persuaded Elizabeth to finally spend the money necessary to fund a large
army.
@ O’Neill’s victory inspired other Irish leaders to join the rebellion, which
spread across Ireland. What began as an Ulster rebellion became a national
insurrection.
e The Irish victory convinced Philip of Spain that O’Neill was worth backing
and that the rebellion might succeed.

|@" KEY FIGURE
Robert Devereux
(1565-1601)
The son and heir of Walter
Devereux, first Earl of Essex.
Essex was arrogant and
headstrong and he made as
many enemies as friends at
court. He became a favourite
of Queen Elizabeth which
added to his wealth and
power. However, in 1601 he
rebelled and was tried and
executed,
134
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel
Assessing the role of Sir Henry Bagenal (1556-98)
Henry was the son of Sir Nicholas Bagenal, whom he succeeded as marshal of
the army in Ireland in 1590. He was ambitious and aggressive towards his Irish
neighbours. He was particularly active in the land market, which he obtained
either by purchase or by plunder. Bagenal may have been hated by the Irish but
he was valued by his English compatriots.
He took a prominent part in suppressing the Irish rebellion. He commanded
the royal forces raised to oppose the rebels but he also had a personal interest in
destroying O'Neill. The two men had been bitter enemies ever since O'Neill had
asked Bagenal for the hand of his sister Mabel in marriage. On being refused,
O’Neill eloped with Mabel. Bagenal’s military exploits in the rebellion were
significant:
e In September 1593, he defeated O’Neill’s ally Hugh Maguire.
@ In February 1594, he captured Enniskillen after a nine-day siege.
e In May 1595, he raised the siege of Monaghan Castle but was defeated by
O’Neill at Clontibret.
@ In December 1596 and June 1597, Bagenal twice successfully relieved the
English garrison at Armagh.
e In August 1598, Bagenal was killed at the Battle of the Yellow Ford.
Reviving the campaign with a new commander:
Robert Devereux ,
Shocked at the defeat of an English army in open combat and angry at the death
of her marshal, Elizabeth turned to her favourite, Robert Devereux, the young
Earl of Essex. Essex had been pressing the queen to send him to Ireland, partly
because of his ambition to win glory on the battlefield but also, in part, to avenge
his father’s humiliation at the hands of the Ulstermen. \
Essex’s father had tried and failed to conquer and settle Ulster in 1575-6, which
led to his premature death. His son Robert had long hoped to succeed where his
father had failed and in March 1599 he got his chance. Elizabeth appointed him
lord lieutenant of Ireland and entrusted him with the task of suppressing the
Irish rebellion once and for all.
In April 1599, Essex arrived in Ireland to take command of English forces. The
queen expected Essex to crush the rebellion and to capture the ringleaders,
especially O’Neill. To assist him, the queen provided a formidable army
of 16,000 infantry and 1300 cavalry. Essex was supported by his long-time
companion in arms, Sir Conyers Clifford, president of Connacht.
Essex planned to crush O’Neill’s forces in Ulster by conducting a short but swift
campaign. However, he had underestimated the strength of the rebel forces and
the skill of its commander, O’Neill. At the same time, he had overestimated
Chapter 7 Trouble in Elizabethan Ireland: Tyrone and the Nine Years' War, 1594-1603

the effectiveness of his own forces, which were intended to fight pitched battles
rather than pursue an elusive foe. Outnumbered, O’Neill adopted guerrilla
tactics in hit-and-run raids which sapped the morale of the English troops and
drained their supplies of food and pay.

Unable to bring O’Neill to battle, Essex decided instead to lead an expedition

into Leinster and Munster to destroy O’Neill’s allies. He met with some success
by capturing Cahir Castle and relieving the garrison at Askeaton. Besides
reducing O’Neill’s allies, Essex intended that his operations would safeguard
Ireland from a rumoured Spanish invasion.

The Battle of Curlew Pass 1599

Urged by Essex to take the offensive against the Irish, Clifford led a military
expedition north towards Collooney Castle to relieve an English ally, O’Connor
Sligo. On his way there, Clifford’s army of nearly 2000 men was ambushed in
the Curlew Mountains by a force of 1800 Irishmen under the command of Hue
Roe O’Donnell. On 5 August 1599, Clifford was defeated and killed, losing over
200 men in the encounter. Clifford’s head was delivered to the rebel leader. Just
a short time before Clifford’s death, another English force of 600 men under the
command of Sir Henry Harrington was heavily defeated in Wicklow.

The truce of Bellaclynthe Ford 1599

It became clear to Essex that O’Neill and his allies would not be so easily
defeated and that the campaign was likely to last some months, if not years.
Unwilling to commit to a long military campaign in Ireland, beset by disease
and desertions and unable to sustain the costs of funding such a campaign,
Essex wished to end the campaign as soon as possible. When O’Neill offered
to meet with Essex to discuss terms, the latter at first rejected the approach but
after some persuasion he finally agreed. Essex met with O’Neill at Bellaclynthe
Ford and they agreed a truce. Elizabeth was furious, so Essex dispersed his army
and decided to return to court. His involvement in Irish affairs ended but the
rebellion continued.
SOURCE C
PTET Te

Adapted from a letter sent to the Earl of Essex by Queen Elizabeth, 1598, Study S e C. How
quoted in Hiram Morgan, Tyrone’s Rebellion, Boydell Press, 1993. Oe
might Essex have
It appears to us by your journal, that you and the traitor spoke together half an explained and defended
hour alone, and without anybody's hearing. Although we trust you with our his conduct?
kingdom, we are far from trusting a traitor. We are concerned at how this looks
and the example it sets and We marvel that you would do this without Our
consent.
oe Snes gttctti NH
‘yonneecsenvusiniuiennoneroieinsncivininsoyiie irvine netrirititeaiisiaieineaniir verison gene Sentero
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—|603 for Edexcel

Replacing Essex: Charles Blount, Lord Mountjoy (1563-1606)

Mountjoy was a career soldier who had served with and under Essex. In
February 1600, he arrived in Ireland as the new lord deputy. He was tasked with
the government of the kingdom and the suppression of the rebellion. Mountjoy
was under enormous pressure because he was expected to succeed where Essex
had failed the previous year. In April 1600, he scored a notable success when he
defeated an influential Irish leader, Florence MacCarthy, in battle. Not long after,
MacCarthy was captured and imprisoned in the Tower and took no further part
in the rebellion.
Besides mounting swift military raids, Mountjoy also employed scorched-earth
tactics by destroying the Irish countryside to deny the rebels food. This ruthless
policy proved effective in pushing O’Neill back towards Ulster but it also
impacted severely on Irish civilians, many of whom died of starvation. Blount
was determined to win this war of attrition no matter what the cost.

Florence MacCarthy (1562-1640)

Florence or Finnian was the eldest son of Sir Donough MacCarthy Reagh.
His claim to his father’s lands and headship of the MacCarthy clan was
challenged by his uncle. A family feud ensued in which the English authorities
played one side off against the other. Early in his career, Florence had been a
loyal subject of the queen but his attempts to seize control of the MacCarthy
lands without the crown’s permission led to his imprisonment in the Tower
of London. When the rebellion began in 1593-4, he remained neutral but, by
February 1600, he had decided tojoin O'Neill.

The Spanish expedition to Kinsale 1601.

In 1601, Spain, led by Philip II’s successor, Philip III, was ready to provide the
long-promised material support for the Irish. In September 1601, a Spanish
fleet of 28 warships sailed into the Irish port at Kinsale and landed 3300 men
under the command of Don Juan del Aguila. The Spanish landing in Ireland and
the taking of the port of Kinsale shocked the English government, which had
long feared an invasion. The Spanish had been advised to land in Munster by
O’Neill, who hoped it might lead to a general uprising in the province; he was to
be disappointed. The lord president of Munster, Sir George Carew, was proving
to be an effective campaigner who gradually wore down the Munster rebels.

The siege and Battle of Kinsale

Unlike the panic-stricken government in London, Mountjoy regarded the
Spanish landing as an opportunity to destroy O'Neill. The English, led by
Mountjoy and Carew, had reacted quickly to the news of the invasion and

136
Chapter 7 Trouble in Elizabethan Ireland: Tyrone and the Nine Years’ War, 1594-1603

soon laid siege to Kinsale with 12,000 men. The siege of Kinsale forced
O’Neill to march south with his allies during winter to relieve the Spanish
troops. Gathering an army of some 6000 men, O’Neill and O’Donnell left
the relative safety of Ulster to march across challenging terrain in difficult
weather conditions to support their Spanish allies. On Christmas Eve 1601, the
two armies clashed at Kinsale; after a bitterly fought contest the English were
victorious. O’Donnell left for Spain, seeking further military aid from King
Philip III, while O’Neill retreated to Ulster.
O’Donnell’s absence and subsequent death in Spain in September 1602 proved
to be a serious blow to the rebel movement. Although he lacked O’Neill’s
military genius for planning and conducting military operations, O’Donnell was
a skilled soldier and field commander. On the field of battle, he led by example
and inspired his men to fight with a ferocity that impressed his English enemies.
On 2 January 1602, a few days after the Battle of Kinsale, Aguila and the entire
Spanish garrison surrendered. O’Neill was pursued and harried on his retreat
to Ulster. His depleted army soon found itself under pressure from Mountjoy’s
forces, which deliberately burned villages, destroyed crops and killed animals to
deny the rebels food and shelter.

The siege of Dunboy 1602

The siege of Dunboy marked the effective end of the Nine Years’ War. Lord
President Carew conducted a wide sweep of the province of Munster to
eliminate the last pockets of rebel resistance. Dunboy was one among a number
of castles that were besieged and taken. However, Dunboy proved to be the
most difficult of them to capture. Garrisoned by 143 men, recruited by the local
Irish lord, Donall O’Sullivan Beare, the rebels were ably led by Captain Richard
MacGeoghegan. The rebels faced a besieging English army of some 5000 men
together with a fleet of enemy ships completing the encirclement. The assault on
Dunboy Castle came on 17 June after a near two-week siege. It ended the next
day with an English victory but at the cost of many dead on both sides. The rebel
garrison were either killed during the assault or hanged after their surrender.
With his remaining troops, O’Sullivan Beare made his way north to Ulster
hoping to link up with O’Neill. However, he lost most of his men on the march
north and when he arrived he found that O’Neill was in no position to offer aid.
Having destroyed his chief fortress at Dungannon in June 1602, O’Neill was
reduced to a guerrilla leader of an ever-diminishing band of dispirited rebels. In
December 1602, O’Neill was forced to surrender. By March 1603, terms had been
agreed between Mountjoy and O’Neill and the Nine Years’ War ended in an
English victory.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—1603 for Edexcel

Summary diagram: The Irish in revolt

The Irish in revolt

Battle of the Battle of Clontibret Battle of Curlew Pass

Yellow Ford 1595 Ae 1599
1598

tsTruce of Bellaclynthe Ford 1599

Spanish aid Battle of Kinsale Siege of Dunboy

for Rebels 1601 1602

Robert Devereux : : Charles Blount

Earl of Essex Ege Ree ace Lord Mountjoy

Sir Henry Bagenal

The end of the war and the

defeat of Tyrone
> Why did the war end in Irish defeat? \

Reasons for the war’s duration

The duration of the Nine Years’ War was unprecedented. Given the financial
and material resources available to the English crown, the rebellion should have
been crushed long before it was. However, the crown failed to fully appreciate
the scale or seriousness of the rebellion at its outset. Worse, it did not adequately
fund or resource the English armies in Ireland until the latter stages of the war.
In effect, the English were slow to react and slower still to respond with adequate
resources.
The problem lay in English policy towards Ireland and the mindset of the court
and monarch. The Tudors had long believed that Ireland could be governed on
the cheap. The policy followed by Henry VII and Henry VIII of entrusting the
government of Ireland to native lords such as Kildare and Ormond had all but
failed. From the reign of Edward VI, the policy had been one of gradual reform,

138
Chapter 7 Trouble in Elizabethan Ireland: Tyrone and the Nine Years’ War, 1594—1603

in effect, anglicising Ireland. However, reformist lord deputies such as Sidney

and Perrot were denied the consistent political and financial support necessary
for success.

The crown under Elizabeth had been reactive rather than proactive: it intervened
in Irish affairs only as a last resort and then did so as cheaply as possible. It took
the crown four years to fully embrace the challenge facing it in Ireland, but when
it did so the appointment of Essex to quell the rebellion proved to be a serious
mistake.

Sustaining a long campaign

Unlike the Irish, the English leadership in Ireland was corrupt and ineffective.
Fitzwilliam’s inept government of the country was matched by Essex’s failure
to lead the military effectively. The leadership qualities displayed by O’Neill,
who planned, organised and conducted the military campaigns with skill and
precision, far outshone those of his English counterparts. Similarly, the fighting
qualities of Hue Roe O’Donnell proved to be superior to those of his English
enemies. He was an inspirational battlefield commander, which set the tone for
raising the morale and fighting spirit of the rebel army. It can be argued that the
Irish benefited from a stroke of luck when they killed Bagenal, who had provided
stiff resistance in the early stages of the rebellion.
O’Neill’s success in putting together a confederation of Irish clans and keeping
them together for such a long time did much to prolong the war. Although
the Nine Years’ War was as much a civil war as it was a fight against the
English, O’Neill managed to do what many in the English government thought
impossible: to heal the divisions between the majority of rival Irish clans, and to
wield them into an effective fighting force.
There is no doubt that the Irish benefited from the fact that the terrain suited
them and they made better use of it than the invading English armies. It was
their country and their local knowledge often put the English at a disadvantage.
Support from outside Ireland, such as from Scotland and Spain, helped to
sustain the rebels with funds and troops. Scottish mercenaries, supplemented
by professional Spanish troops, were backed by motivated and well-trained Irish
volunteers.

Reasons for the failure of the rebellion

Although the rebellion spread throughout Ireland, its core was in the northern
province of Ulster. The national uprising envisaged by O’Neill and his
confederates never materialised. The uprisings in the other provinces were not
always fully co-ordinated with military movements elsewhere. This enabled
English provincial forces to deal with the rebels in piecemeal fashion. For
example, Munster was eventually reduced to a state of obedience by the swift
and effective campaign led by the talented lord president, Sir George Carew.
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485-1603 for Edexcel

Mountjoy’s terror tactics and scorched-earth policy were harsh but effective
because they reduced food supplies and demoralised the peasantry who wished
for peace. Volunteers dried up and there were increasing desertions in rebel
ranks.
The Spanish invasion proved to be too little, too late. Philip III of Spain sent
insufficient numbers of troops and when they landed at Kinsale the Spanish dug
in rather than push out of the port town. This made it easier for the English to
isolate and contain them. This forced O’Neill, against his better judgement, to
march south to support his Spanish allies in an ill-prepared winter campaign.

SOURCE D
MMMM

Adapted from a letter sent to King Philip ill of Spain by Mateo de Oviedo, the
% Study Source D, Why
Spanish archbishop-elect of Dublin, 1600, quoted in Calendar of State Papers,
® might this letter have Spain (Simancas), Vol. 4, 1587-1603, Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1899
helped to persuade the (available at www. british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/simancas/vol4/pp653-657).
Spanish king to commit
himself in the Irish I came to Ireland by your Majesty's orders to obtain full information from the
rebellion? Catholics, and urge them to continue in the service of the faith and your
Majesty. I can assert that your Majesty has in this island the most brave and
faithful vassals that any king can have, such, indeed, that ifthey were not
already devoted to Spain, it would be necessary to obtain their adhesion by all
possible means.
As the oft-promised aid from Spain was hourly expected, when we arrived with
empty hands, only again to repeat the old promises, they were overcome with
sorrow and dismay, especially as they had news of the enemy in force, both by
land and sea. Although O'Neill and O'Donnell are full of courage, they cannot
prevail over the other chiefs, who fear the long delayin the arrival of support,
and suspect that they are beings played with. We have done our best to stiffen
them by every possible argument, assuring them of your Majesty's desire to
help them, pointing out the many costly attempts that have already been made
to do so, and again promising that support shall be sent by your Majesty with
all speed. This has quietened them somewhat, and they promise to wait five
months, as they think that they cannot in any case hold out longer than that
without help, at least in money to pay their men. They have done great things
this summer, and O'Neill has overrun all Munster and submitted it to your
Majesty, whilst O'Donnell has subjected Connacht. I may say that O’Neill had
almost prevailed upon the earl of Essex to desert the Queen’s cause and join
that of your Majesty, and surrender all the realm to you. O'Neill in the course
of the negotiations promised him, Essex, on behalf of your Majesty, that you
would show him signal favour, and as Essex was distrustful in consequence of
certain injuries he had inflicted on Spain, O'Neill gave him his son as a
hostage. What more could the most loyal Spaniard have done? It is also certain
that very lately O’Neill was offered the surrender of the city of Cork, but he
had to refuse it, as he knew not how to hold it without Spanish aid.
‘usurpcncgevgvicistnsi etnias tinnitus racironsccnciinecatoncvacncyinicyancvneenivecraenevssvesioivrcivereirenceiinii
Chapter 7 Trouble in Elizabethan Ireland: Tyrone and the Nine Years’ War, 1594-1603

Reasons why the English were victorious

The superior numbers and military resources available to the English meant that
they could endure a long war. Some of the English military commanders were
exceptionally gifted. Men such as Sir Henry Bagenal, Sir George Carew and
Lord Mountjoy were more than a match for their Irish counterparts.

English financial resources were such that the crown had a greater capacity to
reward those who served against the rebels. Some Irish clan leaders were bribed
into surrendering, remaining neutral or even joining the English war effort.
Alongside bribery, the crown also used the twin threats of confiscation and
execution to encourage the Irish lords to submit.
The siege and eventual defeat of the Spanish invasion force at Kinsale was a
turning point. It showed that the Spanish could not be relied on for the level of
support necessary for a successful outcome to the rebellion. The Spanish were
equally disillusioned by the Kinsale disaster and they were reluctant to commit
troops and resources thereafter. The accession of James I to the English throne in
March 1603 ensured a swift end to the rebellion because it:
e turned off the flow of Scottish mercenaries to Ireland
e witnessed a change in English foreign policy which led to peace talks with
Spain.

Epilogue
In August 1604, England and Spain signed the Treaty of London, which
established peace between the two nations and ended a conflict that had
endured since 1585. The prospects of a successful rebellion in Ireland were
virtually nil. In 1607, O’Neill and Rory O’Donnell, Earl of Tyrconnell, fled
Ireland for the continent where they eventually died in exile. The so-called
‘flight of the earls’ set the seal on the Nine Years’ War.

Summary diagram: The end of the war and the defeat of Tyrone

Reasons for the duration of the war

Reasons why the Irish were defeated

aE
Reasons why the English were victorious |

Epilogue
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485-1603 for Edexcel

\\VHEEECUEEE ECE EEE EEE EEE PEELE EEC EEE ECE EEE EEE ECE EEE EEE EEE CEP EEEEEEE EEE PRUETT UEC CEE EEE,

with titles and land met with limited success, as did

their policy of anglicisation. By education and court
ty
|LUDA
appointments, the crown hoped to anglicise the
Irish nobility but Hugh O'Neill's experience showed
The threat posed by rebellion in Ireland was real
that this did not always guarantee success. Royal
and serious and to face a united Ireland in rebellion
indifference allied to iacompetent officials stirred
was the stuff of nightmares. The crown had for too
the Irish into rebellion. The threat to England from
long governed on the cheap with short-term fixes
foreign invasion through Ireland was a real cause for
rather than investing in long-term reforms. Service concern. The Spanish landing at Kinsale frightened
in Ireland was generally unpopular and the only way the government but the crown was fortunate to
to attract recruits for war was in offers of land taken have on hand men of ability, like Mountjoy and
from the native Irish. This developed into a full-scale Carew, who made up forthe mismanagement of
policy of plantation where native communities were men such as Essex and Fitzwilliam. The English
sometimes displaced by immigrant settlers from crown was lucky to have survived the Nine Years’
England. The crown’s attempt to reward Irish lords War and it knew tt.
OOOOH
TTT
TN
HUTTE
OOOO
OOOO
EEUU
LUN
LU
ENONE
ONO
OOOO
OHNE
TTT
RR
oe
A
eo MG
QTM EET

| q Refresher questions
Use these questions to remind yourself of the key 6 Which battle proved to be the most decisive?
material covered in this chapter. Explain why.
I What were relations like between England and 7 Why did Essex seek a truce with O'Neill?
Ireland? 8 Why did Spain involve itself in the Irish rebellion?
Why did the Earl of Tyrone rebel? 9 What caused the cleaner at Kinsale?
Why did the rebellion last nine years? 10 Why did the war end in Irish defeat?
What were the Irish plantations? =
WN How
wh significant a role did Sir Henry Bagenal and
Hue Roe O'Donnell play in the Nine Years’ War?

142
Chapter 7 Trouble in Elizabethan Ireland: Tyrone and the Nine Years’ War, 1594—1603

Question practice

ESSAY QUESTIONS
1 ‘Royal indifference allied to incompetent officials stirred the Irish into rebellion by 1594.’ How far do you
agree with this statement?
2 How accurate is it to say that English power in Ireland was never in any real danger from the Spanish
landing at Kinsale?
3 To what extent was Hugh O'Neill responsible for the failure of the rebellion?
4 To what extent was Lord Mountjoy responsible for English success in defeating the Irish rebels?

SOURCE QUESTIONS
1 Assess the value of Source A (pages 128-9) for revealing the causes of the Irish rebellion and why the rebel
leaders wanted Philip's aid. Explain your answer, using the source, the information given about its origin
and your own knowledge about the historical context.
2 Assess the value of Source D (page 140) for revealing the reasons why Philip of Spain decided to support the
Irish rebels. Explain your answer, using the source, the information given about its origin and your own
knowledge about the historical context.

13
STUDY GUIDE
Edexcel A level History

Sources guidance
Edexcel’s Paper 3, Option 31: Rebellion and Digarder under the Tudors, c.1485—
1603 is assessed by an exam comprising three sections:

e Section A is a source analysis assessment. It tests your knowledge of one of

the key topics in depth.
e Section B requires you to write one essay from a choice of two, again testing
your knowledge of key topics in depth (see page 150 for guidance on this).
e Section C requires you to write one essay from a thoice of two. Questions
relate to themes in breadth and test your knowledge of change over a period
of at least 100 years (see page 156 for guidance on this).

The sections of the exam relate to the sections of the paper in the following way:

Sitatelies | lest your Challenges to authority:

Elite | knowledge Challenging the succession 1485-99
SectionB [fa the key Challenging religious changes 1533-7
|_| topics in Agrarian discontent: Kett’s rebellion 1549
| depth Queen takes queen: the revolt of the northern earls
1569-70 if
Troublesome Ireland: Tyrone’s rebellion 1594-1603

Section C | Tests your Controlling a fractious nation - changes in Tudor

knowledge government Be
of the e Changes to governance at the centre
themes in ¢ Gaining the cooperation of the localities
breadth

The following advice relates to Paper 3, Section A. Paper 3 is only available at

A level, therefore there is no AS level version of this paper.

Paper 3 Section A questions

Section A of Paper 3 comprises a single compulsory question which refers to one
source.

The question
The Section A question will begin with the following stem: ‘Assess the value of
the source for revealing ...’. For example:
Assess the value of the source for revealing the reasons why Lord Protector
Somerset fell from power in 1549 and the part played in his downfall by the Ear!
of Warwick. Explain your answer, using the source, the information given about
its origin and your own knowledge about the historical context.
Study guide

The source
The source will be a primary or contemporary source: it will have been written
contemporary to c.1485—1603, to the period that you are studying. The source
will be around 350 words long. It will be accompanied by a brief passage which
will set out the essential provenance of the source. Here is an example:
SOURCE |

From John Clapham’s ‘Certain Observations’ which he wrote in 1603. Clapham

was one of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley’s, senior secretaries. This extract is
focused on the problems facing the government in the reign of Edward VI and
the consequences of the Kett rebellion for Edward Seymour, lord protector and
Duke of Somerset.

Edward VI, being but of the age of nine years succeeded his father in the
kingdom. During the time of his minority the protection of the state was by
advice of the privy councillors committed to the Duke of Somerset, the King’s
uncle by the mother’s side, who then caused ecclesiastical government to be
altered.
At this time there were commotions in diverse counties within the realm, partly
about enclosures, and partly for the restitution of the old religion. The most
dangerous of all the rest was that rebellion of Kett the Tanner in Norfolk, which
was suppressed by the Earl of Warwick, a man of great wit and courage,
having oftentimes made proof of his skills in government. There were also
factions among the Lords of the Privy Council. For the Earl of Warwick, by
nature ambitious and bold to attempt where advantage was offered, opposed
himself against the Protector, who, being a man of a softly nature and easy to be
abused, was made the means to hasten the destruction of himself and his
followers.
Many complaints about misgoverning the realm were exhibited against the
Protector by the Earl of Warwick, who then began more openly to show himself,
as having to do with a man weak in action and exposed, in a manner, to the
power of his adversaries. Hereupon the Protector was displaced and committed
to prison, from whence afterwards either his innocency or the favour of the
time procured his deliverance and re-establishment of his former greatness,
albeit he did not long enjoy it. For the Earl of Warwick grew more jealous and
distrustful of his own safety than he was before, doubting that the Protector
might be incited to revenge. The Protector on the other side was persuaded by
the followers of his faction that he was to expect no assurances of his life or
estate, so long as the Earl of Warwick lived.
The Protector was advised to make a desperate attempt by surprising the Earl
and killing him in his bed, but either his heart fainted in the execution or his
conscience moved him to desist from committing an act so unlawful. However,
the Earl having secret intelligence took advantage of the occasion to serve his
own turn, and shortly after new accusations were preferred against the
Protector who, being brought to public trial, was condemned offelony and the
Earl of Warwick, then Duke of Northumberland had him executed.
MM
 Study guide: Edexcel

Understanding the question

To answer the question successfully you must understand how the question
works. The question is written precisely in order to make sure that you
understand the task. Each part of the question has a specific meaning.
Assess the value of the source[1] for revealing the reasons why Lord Protector
Somerset fell from power in 1549/2] and the part played in his downfall by
Robert Kett[3}. ia
1 You must evaluate how useful the source could be to a historian. Evaluating the
extent of usefulness involves considering its value and limitations in the light of
your own knowledge about the source's historical context. Important information
about the context of the source is included in the information given about the
source.
2 The question focuses on two specific enquiries that the source might be useful for.
The first is the reasons for the downfall of Lord Protector Somerset.
3 The second enquiry is the part played by the Earl of Warwick.

In essence, you should use the source, the information about the source and
your own knowledge of historical context to make a judgement about how far
the source is useful to a historian engaged in two specific enquiries. Crucially,
you must consider both enquiries; an answer which only focuses on one of the
enquiries is unlikely to do well.

Source skills
Generally, Section A of Paper 3 tests your ability to evaluate source material.
Your job is to analyse the source by reading it in the context of the values and
assumptions of the society and the period from which it came.
Ss
Examiners will mark your work by focusing on the extent to which you are
able to:
e Interpret and analyse source material: =
— Ata basic level, this means you can understand the source and select, copy,
paraphrase and summarise the source to help answer the question.
— Ata higher level, your interpretation of the source includes the ability to
explain, analyse and make inferences based on the source.
— At the highest levels, you will be expected to analyse the source ina
sophisticated way. This includes the ability to distinguish between
information, opinions and arguments contained in the source.
e Deploy knowledge of historical context in relation to the source:
- Ata basic level, this means the ability to link the source to your knowledge
of the context in which the source was written, using this knowledge to
expand or support the information contained in the source.
— Ata higher level, you will be able to use your contextual knowledge to
make inferences, and to expand, support or challenge the details
mentioned in the source.

146
Study guide

— At the highest levels, you will examine the value and limits of the material
contained in the source by interpreting the source in the context of the
values and assumptions of the society from which it is taken.
e Evaluate the usefulness and weight of the source material:
— Ata basic level, evaluation of the source will be based on simplistic criteria
about reliability and bias.
— Ata higher level, evaluation of the source will be based on the nature and
purpose of the source.
— At the highest levels, evaluation of the source will be based on a valid
criterion that is justified in the course of the essay. You will also be able to
distinguish between the values of different aspects of the source.
Make sure your source evaluation is sophisticated. Avoid crude statements about
bias, and avoid simplistic assumptions such as that a source written immediately
after an event is reliable, whereas a source written years later is unreliable.

Try to see things through the eyes of the writer:

How does the writer understand the world?
What assumptions does the writer have?
Who is the writer trying to influence?
What views is the writer trying to challenge?

Basic skill: comprehension

The most basic source skill is comprehension: understanding what the source
means. There are a variety of techniques that you can use to aid comprehension.
For example, you could read the source included in this book and in past papers:
e Read the sources out loud.
e Look up any words that you don’t understand and make a glossary.
@ Make flash cards containing brief biographies of the writers of the sources.
You can demonstrate comprehension by copying, paraphrasing and
summarising the sources. However, keep this to the minimum as
comprehension is a low-level skill and you need to leave room for higher level
skills.

Advanced skill: contextualising the sources

First, to analyse the sources correctly you need to understand them in the
context in which they were written. Source 1 (page 145) reflects John Clapham’s
view. Your job is to understand the values and assumptions behind the source.
@ One way of contextualising the source is to consider the nature, origins and
purpose of the source. However, this can lead to a formulaic essay.
e Analternative is to consider two levels of context. First, you should establish
the general context. In this case, Source 1 was written later than the time
of Somerset’s downfall. Secondly, you can look for specific references to
 Study guide: Edexcel

contemporary events, people or debates in the sources. For example, when

considering the reasons for the downfall of the Lord Protector Somerset, the
details in the source can be put in context in the following way:
— ‘Being a man of a softly nature’: this reveals that Somerset was ill-suited by
nature to govern the realm.
— ‘Easy to be abused’: Somerset was easily manipulated.
— ‘Many complaints about misgoverning the’‘realm’: Somerset was clearly out
of his depth and was simply not fit to rule the kingdom.
— ‘That rebellion of Kett the Tanner in Norfolk which was suppressed by the
Earl of Warwick’: Somerset was unable to deal with the rebellion which
was left to the more able Warwick, which exposed Somerset’s weakness.
— ‘The Earl having secret intelligence took advantage of the occasion to serve
his own turn’ this suggests that Warwick was‘ambitious and an
opportunist by taking his chance to eliminate Somerset.

Use context to make judgements

® Start by establishing the general context of the source:
— Ask yourself, what was going on at the time of the source was written, cr
the time of the events described in the source?
— What are the key debates that the source might be contributing to?
® Next, look for key words and phrases that establish the specific context. Does
the source refer to specific people, events or books that might be important?
e Make sure your contextualisation focuses on the question.
@ Use the context when evaluating the usefulness and limitations of the source.
For example: e

Source | is valuable to a historian investigating the reasons for the Duke

of Somerset's downfall because it highlights the nature and scale of his
incompetence. First, there is considerable evidence in the source to suggest
that Somerset was weak and ill-suited to govern the kingdom on behalf of the
boy-king Edward. For example, Somerset was ‘a man of a softly nature [and] a
man weak in action’. Indeed, he was a man ‘easy to be abused’ which suggests
that Somerset wag, in large part, the author of his own downfall. Secondly,
Somerset was undermined by Warwick who was not only ‘a man of great wit and
courage’ but was ‘by nature ambitious and bold’. This suggests that Somerset
was displaced by a more able and cunning rival who seized his opportunity to
remove the Lord Protector from power.

148
Study guide

Clearly, for these reasons Somerset's downfall was all but inevitable once his
attempt to suppress the Kett rebellion had failed. Finally, Somerset had lived
a privileged life; ao the uncle of the king he had vast estates, great wealth
and wielded considerable authority but he lacked the ability and skill to rule
effectively. In this sense the source is extremely useful as it points to a variety
of complementary reasons to explain Somerset's downfall, specifically that he
was an inexperienced politician and an inept power-broker at court. The outbreak
of rebellion and Somerset's failure to deal with it enabled Warwick to seize his
opportunity to remove and replace the lord protector.

This passage makes inferences from details in the source to uncover a variety
of motives, showing that the passage is of considerable use for this enquiry.
Significantly, in order to do well it would also have to deal with the other
enquiry: the extent of the source’s usefulness for revealing the part the Earl of
Warwick played in Somerset's downfall in 1549.
 Study guide: Edexcel

Essay guidance (1)

The following advice relates to Paper 3, Section B. Paper 3 is only available at
A level, therefore there is no AS level version of this paper.

Essay Skills
In order to get a high grade in Section B of Papei’3 your essay must contain four
essential qualities:
focused analysis
relevant detail
supported judgement
6
@
©
® organisation, coherence and clarity.

Section B: the nature of the question

Section B questions are designed to test the depth of your historical knowledge.
Therefore, they can focus on relatively short periods, or single events. Moreover,
they can focus on different historical processes or ‘concepts’. These include:
8 Cause
2 consequence

e change/continuity
e similarity/difference
e significance.
These different question focuses require slightly different approaches:

Cause 1 How far was Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries

oS responsible for the outbreak of the Pilgrimage of Grace?

Consequence 2 To what extent was the brutal suppression of the Kett rebellion
- due to the rebels’ failure to negotiate a peaceful settlement with
the crown?

Continuity and 13 ‘Henry Vil and Edward VI were challenged by rebellion because
change they were unfit to govern the kingdom.’ How far do you agree
- | with this statement?

Je | 4 ‘Both Henry VIII and Elizabeth | faced rebellions because of

their religious policies.’ How far do you agree with this
statement?

15 How significant was the Battle of Stoke in maintaining

Henry VIl’s hold on the throne between 1485 and 1499?

Some questions include a ‘stated factor’. A common type of stated factor question
would ask how far one factor caused something. For example, for the first
question in the table:
How far was Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries responsible for the
outbreak of the Pilgrimage of Grace?

150
Study guide

In this type of question you would be expected to evaluate the importance of

“Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries’ — the ‘stated factor’ —- compared to
other factors.

Planning your answer

It is crucial that you understand the focus of the question. Therefore read the
question carefully before you start planning. Check:

e The chronological focus: which years should your essay deal with?
e The topic focus: what aspect of your course does the question deal with?
e The conceptual focus: is this a causes, consequences, change/continuity,
similarity/difference or significance question?
For example, for question 5 you could point these out as follows:
How significant{1] was the Battle of Stoke[2] in maintaining Henry VII’s hold on
the throne[3] between 1485 and 1499/4]?

1 Conceptual focus: significance, specifically to the success of Henry VII in

maintaining his hold on the throne.
2 Topic focus: the Battle of Stoke.
3 Topic focus: reign of Henry VII.
4 Chronological focus: 1487-1499.

Your plan should reflect the task that you have been set. Section B asks you
to write an analytical, coherent and well-structured essay from your own
knowledge, which reaches a supported conclusion in around 40 minutes:
e To ensure that your essay is coherent and well structured, your essay should
comprise a series of paragraphs, each focusing on a different point.
e Your paragraphs should come in a logical order. For example, you could
write your paragraphs in order of importance, so you begin with the most
important issues and end with the least important.
e In essays where there is a ‘stated factor’ it is a good idea to start with the
stated factor before moving on to the other points.
e To make sure you keep to time, you should aim to write three or four
paragraphs plus an introduction and a conclusion.

The opening paragraph

The opening paragraph should do four main things:

answer the question directly

set out your essential argument
outline the factors or issues that you will discuss
define key terms used in the question — where necessary.
 Study guide: Edexcel

Different questions require you to define different terms, for example:

A level question _ _ — Key terms . :

6 ‘Henry Vil faced rebellions in the early Here it is worth distinguishing between
years of his reign because of his the notions of ‘early years’ and ‘seizure’
seizure of the crown at Bosworth.’
How far do you agree with this
statement?

How accurate is it to say that divisions | In this example, it is worth distinguishing

within the Irish nobility were the main between divisions between the Irish
reason for Elizabeth’s decision to send_ | nobility and Elizabeth’s decision to send
an army to Ireland in 1599? an army to Ireland

Here’s an example introduction in answer to question 6 above:

There is no doubt that Henry VII faced rebellions because he had set a bad
example by seizing the crown[1]. Although Henry VII faced rebellion in the early
years of his reign, between 1485 and 1489, he did not feel secure on the throne
until the latter years of his rule, certainly not until at least 1499[2]. Henry VII,
who took the crown through Battle at Bosworth, was challenged in the same
violent way at the Battle of Stoke after less than two years on the throne.
What Henry VII had done to Richard Ill, his enemies were determined to do to
him: removal by force[3].
1 The essay starts with a clear focus on the question.
2 This sentence simultaneously defines the meaning of ‘early years’ and provides
an initial answer to the first part of the question.
3 These two sentences simultaneously define ‘seizure’ and provide an initial answer
to the second part of the question. ee

The opening paragraph: advice

e Don’t spend more than a couple of sentences on general backround
knowledge. This is unlikely to focus explicitly on the question.
e After defining key terms, refer back to these definitions when justifying your
conclusion.
e The introduction should reflect the rest of the essay. Don’t make one
argument in your introduction, then make a different argument in the essay.

Deploying relevant detail

Paper 3 tests the depth of your historical knowledge. Therefore, you will need to
deploy historical detail. In the main body of your essay your paragraphs should
begin with a clear point, be full of relevant detail and end with an explanation
or evaluation. A detailed answer might include statistics, proper names, dates
and technical terms. For example, if you are writing a paragraph on the way in
which Henry VII won the throne at Bosworth, you might refer to the size of the
opposing forces, the course of the battle, the role of Stanley and his forces, and
the death of Richard III.

152
Study guide

Writing analytically
The quality of your analysis is one of the key factors that determines the mark
you achieve. Writing analytically means clearly showing the relationships
between the ideas in your essay. Analysis includes two key skills: explanation
and evaluation.

Explanation
Explanation means giving reasons. An explanatory sentence has three parts:
e aclaim: a statement that something is true or false
® areason: a statement that justifies the claim
® arelationship: a word or phrase that shows the relationship between the
claim and the reason.

Imagine you are answering question 1 in the table on page 150:

How far was Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries responsible for the
outbreak of the Pilgrimage of Grace?

Your paragraph on Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries should start with
a clear point, which would be supported by a series of examples. Finally, you
would round off the paragraph with some explanation:
Therefore, Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries was one reason for the
outbreaks of rebellion[1] because[2] his action caused widespread anger, which
led to resentment powerful enough to encourage rebellion{3].
1 Claim.
2 Relationship.
3 Reason,

Make sure:
e The reason you give genuinely justifies the claim you have made.
e Your explanation is focused on the question.

Reaching a supported judgement

Finally, your essay should reach a supported judgement. The obvious place to do
this is in the conclusion of your essay. Even so, the judgement should reflect the
findings of your essay. The conclusion should present:

e aclear judgement that answers the question

@ an evaluation of the evidence that supports the judgement
e finally, the evaluation should reflect valid criteria.
 Study guide: Edexcel

Evaluation and criteria

Evaluation means weighing up to reach a judgement. Therefore, evaluation
requires you to:

@ summarise both sides of the issue

@ reach a conclusion that reflects the proper weight of both sides.

So, for question 1 in the table on page 150:

How far was Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries responsible for the
outbreak of the Pilgrimage of Grace?

the conclusion might look like this:

In conclusion, Henry VII's dissolution of the monasteries was largely responsible

for the outbreak of the Pilgrimage of Grace because his action caused so
much anger and resentment that it led to open defiance of the crown. The
monasteries were popular in the north of England and the aggressive actions of
royal commissioners visiting the religious houses led to rising opposition to the
crown’s religious policy[1]}. On the other hand, hatred of Cromwell and political
faction also played a part[2]. Cromwell was a hate-figure for the nobility at
court 90 they ensured that his ruthless reputation was spread far and wide. He
was blamed for the break with Rome and for the dissolution of the monasteries.
It provided the rebels with a convenient scapegoat because by blaming Cromwell
they could still profess their loyalty to Henry VIII. They believed the king had been
badly advised and was being manipulated by his devious chief minister. They
begged the king to dismiss Cromwell which, in part, would have encouraged them
to end the rebellion and return home: rather naively they thought, no Cromwell,
no dissolution[3]. However, it is equally clear that political faction contributed
to the rebellion because disaffected nobles like Darcy and Hussey had been
marginalised at court. Their support for Catherine of Aragon and opposition to
the reformists at court had angered the king. They were seeking an opportunity
to remove the man whom they blamed for their problems, Cromwell. Although
they were motivated in part by their Catholic faith to defend the monasteries,
they were equally inspired by their hatred of Cromwell. However, their naivety
played into the king's hands and Henry manipulated Aske, Darcy, Hussey and
the other rebel leaders into surrendering. It is far too simplistic to blame
Cromwell alone for the dissolution of the monasteries for the king, too, was a

154
Study guide

willing participant in their closure. Therefore, it can be argued with conviction

that the dissolution of the monasteries was largely responsible for the rebellion
known as the Pilgrimage of Grace[4].
1 The conclusion starts with a clear judgement that answers the question.
2 This sentence begins the process of weighing up the different factors involved in
causing rebellion by acknowledging that others also played a role.
3 The conclusion summarises the role of Cromwell and political faction.
4 The essay ends with a final judgement that is supported by the evidence of the
essay.

The judgement is supported in part by evaluating the evidence, and in part by

linking it to valid criteria. In this case, the criterion is the distinction between
Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries and the role of Cromwell and
political faction at court between the reformists and conservatives.
 Study guide: Edexcel

Essay guidance (2)

The following advice relates to Paper 3, Section C. Paper 3 is only available at
A level, therefore there is no AS level version of this paper.

Essay skills
Section C is similar in many ways to Section B. Therefore, you need the same
essential skills in order to get a high grade:
focused analysis
relevant detail
supported judgement
@®
©@ organisation, coherence and clarity. +

Nonetheless, there are some differences in terms of the style of the question and
the approach to the question in Sections B and C.

Section C: the nature of the question

Section C questions focus on the two themes in breadth:
e Changes to governance at the centre.
e Gaining the cooperation of the localities.
Questions can address either theme, or both themes. There are two questions in
Section C, of which you must answer one. However, you are not guaranteed a
question on both themes, therefore you have to prepare for questions on both of
the themes. ~
»

Section C questions are designed to test the breadth of your historical

knowledge, and your ability to analyse change over time. Therefore questions
will focus on long periods, of no less than 100 years. \
Section C questions have a variety of forms. Nonetheless, they have one of two
essential foci. They will focus on either:
e the causes of change: for example, the factors, forces or individuals that led to
change
or
e the nature of change: the ways in which things changed.
Significantly, the exam paper may contain two causes of change questions or
two nature of change questions: you are not guaranteed one of each. Finally,
questions can focus on different aspects of change over time:
e Comparative questions: ask you to assess the extent of change and continuity
of an aspect of the period.

156
Study guide

® Patterns of change questions: ask you to assess differences in terms of the

rate, extent or significance of change at different points in the chronology.
® Turning point questions: ask you to assess which changes were more
significant

‘Comparative | | ‘the office of the justice of the peace was more powerful in
question _| 1603 than it had been in 1485.’ How far do you agree with this
statement?

Patternsof > | How far did the structure and functions of the royal household
iclilel-we(ttcriee) | Change in the years 1485-16037
Turning point How far do you agree that the Reformation Parliament was the
Pees | | key turning point in the relationship between the crown and
parliament in the years 1485-1603?

Planning your answer

It is crucial that you understand the focus of the question in order to make an
effective plan. Therefore, read the question carefully before you start planning.
Different questions require a different approach. Here are suggestions about
how to tackle some of the common types of question:
‘The office of the justice of the peace was more powerful in 1603 than it had
been in 1485, How far do you agree with this statement?

This is a comparative question which focuses on change and continuity. In this

case you should examine the significance of ‘was more powerful’, the stated
factor, and compare it to other possible examples of change and continuity over
the 118-year period.
How far did the structure and functions of the royal household change in the
years 1485-1603?

This is a patterns of change questions which focuses on the nature of change.

Here you should examine the changes in the structure and functions of the
household in the years 1485-1603. You should consider how far these changes
took place at an even rate, as opposed to changes in fits and starts.
How far do you agree that the Reformation Parliament was the key turning point
in the relationship between the crown and parliament in the period 1485-1603?

This is a turning point question which focuses on the nature of change.

Therefore, you should examine the significance of the stated turning point, and
compare it to two or three other turning points from the period 1485-1603.
Significantly, you should not just focus on the Reformation Parliament 1529-36,
you must consider other possible turning points. Additionally, when considering
how far an event was a turning point you must consider both the changes it
caused and the ways in which things stayed the same.
 Study guide: Edexcel

Advice for Section C

In many ways, a Section C essay should display the same skills as a Section B
essay (see page 150). However, Section C essays focus on a much longer period
that Section B essays and this has an impact on how you approach them.

The most important difference concerns the chronology. In order to answer a

Section C question properly you must address the whole chronology, in this case
the period 1485-1603. In practice, this means choosing examples from across the
whole range of the period. Specifically, it is a good idea to have examples from
the early part of the period, the middle of the period and the end of the period.
For example, if you were answering the question:
How far do you agree that the Reformation Parliament was the key turning point
in the relationship between the crown and parliament in the period 1485-1603?

the question states a possible turning point from 1529 to 1536 — towards the
latter half of the period. Therefore, if you are considering other possible turning
points you should choose one from the early part of the chronology and one
from the middle to make sure you cover the whole period.
Equally, if you are dealing with the question:
How far did the structure and functions of the royal household change in the
years 1485-1603?

you should analyse examples of change in the structure and functions of the
royal household throughout the whole period. This could include developments
such as:

e Early: continuity rather than change in the structure and functions of

the household during the reign of Henry VII and the first half of that of
Henry VII, 1485-1526.
e Middle: change marked the period between 1526 — Eltham Ordinance -
and 1553 during the reigns of Henry VII — adult king - and Edward VI-
boy-king.
e Late: more radical change was evident from the accession of Mary I through
the long reign of Elizabeth I, 1553-1603. Change from a male to a female
household.

In so doing, you would be addressing the full chronological range of the

question.

158
Glossary of terms
Act of Supremacy An Act passed through parliament
in 1534 recognising Henry VIII as head of the church
in England. Another Act was passed in 1559 in which
Elizabeth became supreme governor of the church.
Act of Uniformity An Act passed through parliament
that enforced religious conformity.
Acts of Union Acts passed through parliament (1536—
43) uniting Wales with England politically, legally and
administratively.
Annates Money equivalent to about one-third oftheir
annual income paid to the Pope by all new holders of
senior posts within the church in England and Wales.
Armada Used to describe the Spanish invasion fleet of
1588.
Attainted Accused of treason.
Bondmen Peasant farmers who had no freedom to
choose where they lived and worked. They were tied to
the manor on which they were born and brought up.
Clan A group offamilies that share kinship, the heads
of which claim descent from a common ancestor.
Comperta Monastica A book compiled by Cromwell’s
agents which contained lists of transgressions and
abuses admitted by monks and nuns.
Convocation An assembly ofthe senior clergy that
discussed church matters, passed church laws and
regulated the way the church was run.
County Palatines Secular and/or ecclesiastical lordships
ruled by noblemen or bishops possessing special
authority and autonomy from the rest of a kingdom.
Cure of souls The church, in the person ofthe parish
priest, had the duty to care for the souls of its
parishioners.
Debasement of the coinage A process whereby the
government tried to preserve its gold and silver
reserves by reducing the amount of precious metal
that went into making coins.
Dei gratia Latin for by the grace of God.
Divine right Belief that monarchs were chosen by
God to rule the kingdom and that their word was
law. To challenge their right to rule was the same as
challenging God.
Dowry Money or property paid by the bride’s father on
his daughter's marriage.
Elizabethan Religious Settlement Used to describe
the organisation, ritual and teachings of the Church of
England as enforced by Acts of parliament.
Eltham Ordinances A set of instructions drawn up in
1526 to reform the king’s court and royal household,
which included the king’s private or privy council.
Enclosure The enclosing of open or common land by
boundary fences and hedges.
Entry fines A custom by which a fixed sum of money
was paid on taking up a tenancy by inheritance or by
sale.
Excommunicate To cast a sinner out of the Roman
Catholic Church. When dead, an excommunicate could
not be buried on consecrated ground and the soul
would go to hell.
Factions Rival or opposing political groups led by
powerful noblemen or noble families. Factions fought
to influence or control the monarch.
Favourite Royal favourites were especially close to the
monarch and were well rewarded for their loyalty. They
were often resented byjealous rivals at court.
Forty-Two Articles Drawn up by Thomas Cranmer as a
summary of Anglican doctrine in the Protestant faith in
the reign of Edward VI.
Great Chain of Being Belief in the divine order of
things. It was used by the church tojustify the
hierarchy of life from the king down through the
nobility, gentry and peasantry.
Heretics Religious non-conformists who reject the
teachings and rules of the Catholic Church.
Humanist University-educated participant in the
intellectual movement associated with the revival of
the learning of classical Greece and Rome. Humanists
sought a better understanding of the scriptures and
were dismissive of superstitious beliefs and practices in
the church.
Hundred A subdivision of a county.
Hundred Years’ War The war with France which was
fought intermittently between 1338 and 1453.

Husbandmen Tenant farmers who rented their land
from local gentry landowners.
Justice of the peace (JP) Chief magistrate in quarter
session courts responsible for general administration
in a county.
King’s writ did not run Semi-independent lordships
where the king’s written orders were not recognised
and had no force in law.
Lord chamberlain Highest ranking officer in the royal
household with responsibility for the monarch’s privy
chamber or the household above stairs.
Lord chancellor Highest legal and administrative office
in the English government, often equated with being
the monarch’s chief minister.
Lord protector Legal title given to a senior nobleman
appointed to govern the kingdom on behalf of a child
monarch.
Marcher lordships Semi-independent lordships in
Wales and the border region ruled by noblemen
possessing special authority from the crown.
Mid-Tudor crisis Name given to the period between
c.1547 and 1558 which witnessed a series of social,
economic, religious and political crises that mainly
affected the governments of Edward VI and Mary I.
Monopoly A licence granted by the crown to favoured
individuals or groups which gave them the sole right
to trade in or produce a particular commodity, such as
wine or starch.
Muster The method by which the crown mobilised the
people for war by calling out the militia. Each county
was obliged to raise, train and maintain a militia of
able-bodied men for active service.
Old English Descendants of Anglo-Norman colonists
who had long been resident in Ireland.
The Pale Aterritory established around Dublin which
had long been held and ruled by the English crown.
Papal Bull Legally binding document containing a
Pope’s explicit instructions which the faithful were to
obey.
Papists English Catholics who remained loyal to the
Pope in Rome.
Plantations Policy of colonisation by establishing
English settlers in large numbers on land previously
occupied by the Irish and Old English.
160
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—|603 for Edexcel
Privy Council Elite body of councillors drawn from the
nobility and gentry who met with the monarch on
a regular basis to offer their advice, frame laws and
govern the country.
Prorogue Discontinue a session of parliament without
dissolving it.
Puritans Protestants who wished to reform the
Anglican Church by eradicating all trace of Catholicism
and Catholic practices.
Recusants Catholics in Elizabethan England who
remained loyal to the Pope and refused to conform to
the state religion.
Reformation Parliament Parliament that met between
1529 and 1536 which transformed the church by
breaking from Rome and making Henry VIII supreme
head of the church in England.
Royal prerogative Certain rights and privileges enjoyed
by the monarch such as making war, negotiating peace
treaties, and calling and closing parliament.
Sanctuary A place of safety within a church or
monastery guaranteed by the authority of the church.
Schism A term used by historians to describe England’s
break with the Pope in Rome.
Sedition Action or speech t{iat incites rebellion.
Star Chamber Powerful court of law that sat in
Westminster and was staffed by privy councillors
dispensing justice in the name of
the monarch.
Subsidy A grant of money made by parliament to the
monarch, usually for a specific purpose.
Subsidy Act 1513 Wolsey’s attempt to raise money to
pay for the war in France by assessing the value of a
person's goods.
Tree of Reformation Used to describe the location of
Kett’s council of justice, which sat under an old oak
tree.
Vicegerent Cromwell became the king’s deputy in
church affairs.
Yeomen Social class of richer peasants who may have
been as wealthy as some of the gentry but were below
them in social class.
Further reading
General texts
Michael Bush, The Pilgrimage of Grace (Manchester
University Press, 1996)
Accessible and wide-ranging coverage ofthe rebellion
S.B. Chrimes, Henry VII (Yale University Press, 1999)
Excellent biography of Henry Tudor and history of his
reign
A.G. Dickens, The English Reformation (Batsford, 1989)
A ground-breaking work on the causes and course of
the Reformation
Eamon Duffy, Reformation Divided: Catholics,
Protestants, and the Conversion of England
(Bloomsbury Continuum, 2017)
Eamon Duffy, The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional
Religion in England, c.1400 to c.1580 (Yale University
Press, 1992)
G.R. Elton, England Under the Tudors (Methuen, 1955)
General but thorough coverage of the main aspects of
the Tudor period
Nick Fellows, Disorder and Rebellion in Tudor England
(Hodder Education, 2001)
A brief but very informative and up-to-date analysis
Anthony Fletcher and Diarmaid MacCulloch, Tudor
Rebellions (Pearson, 2008)
Popular, much revised, edition covering all Tudor
rebellions with useful primary sources
John Guy, Tudor England (Oxford University Press,
1988)
Accessible and useful general analysis of the history of
Tudor England
Christopher Haig, English Reformations: Religion,
Politics and Society Under the Tudors (Oxford
University Press, 1993)
An in-depth analysis of the nature, scale and impact of
the Reformation
Jennifer Loach, Parliament Under the Tudors (Oxford
University Press, 1991)
Excellent study of the role and development of
parliament in Tudor government
David Loades, The Tudor Court (Batsford, 1986)
David Loades, The Mid-Tudor Crisis, 1545—65
(Macmillan, 1992)
A focused account of the so-called mid-Tudor crisis
J. Lotherington, The Tudor Years (Hodder & Stoughton,
1994)
A set of informed essays dealing with politics,
government and religion in each reign
Paul Thomas, Authority and Disorder in Tudor Times
1485-1603 (Cambridge University Press, 2001)
P. Williams, The Later Tudors: England, 1547-1603
(Oxford University Press, 1995)
Chapter 1
G.R. Elton, The Tudor Revolution in Government
(Methuen, 1953)
A thought-provoking and controversial work on the
nature and scale of the changes in Tudor government
G.R. Elton, Thomas Cromwell (Headstart History, 1990)
Short but incisive discussion of Cromwell bringing all of
Elton’s research up to date
T.A. Morris, Tudor Government (Routledge, 1999)
Valuable survey of the key features and structures of
Tudor government
Chapter 2
John Guy, editor, The Tudor Monarchy (Arnold, 1997)
Solid and accessible survey of monarchy
Alan G.R. Smith, The Emergence ofaNation State
. 1529-1660 (Longman, 1984)
Thorough survey of power politics in Tudor England
with a useful survey of the development of
government
David Starkey, editor, The English Court from the Wars
of the Roses to the Civil War (Longman, 1987)
Very good coverage of most aspects of the court and
royal household

Chapter 3
lan Arthurson, Documents of the Reign of Henry VII
(Cambridge University Press, 1984)
A wide and useful range of sources to help guide
readers through the key aspects of Henry’s reign
Sean Cunningham, Henry VII (Routledge, 2007)
Accessible discussion of Henry's claim to and retention
of the throne
Roger Lockyer and Andrew Thrush, Henry VII
(Longman, 1997)
Accessible account with selected sources on key
aspects of the reign
Chapter 4
Nick Fellows, ‘The Pilgrimage of Grace, October—
December 1536’, History Review, September 2000.
Informative and well-written revisionist essay
Diarmaid MacCulloch, editor, The Reign of Henry VIII:
Politics, Policy and Party (Macmillan, 1995)
A set of informed essays dealing with politics and
government in Henry VIII's reign
Richard Rex, Henry VIII and the English Reformation
(Macmillan, 1993)
J.J. Scarisbrick, The Reformation and the English People
(Blackwell, 1984)
Analysis of the reaction to and impact on the people of
England of religious change
Chapter 5
Jennifer Loach, Edward VI (Yale University Press, 1999)
Full coverage of Edward's life together with an analysis
of his influence on political and religious affairs
David Loades, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland
1504-1553 (Clarendon Press, 1996)
In-depth analysis of Northumberland’s role and impact
as governor of England under Edward VI
162
Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—|603 for Edexcel
Diarmaid MacCulloch, Tudor Church Militant:
Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation (Penguin,
1999)
Expert analysis of the reformation and the challenges
faced by the government
Chapter 6
Claire C. Cross, The Elizabethan Religious Settlement
(Headstart, 1993)
Brief but focused review of key events
John Guy, My Heart is My Own: The Life of Mary, Queen
of Scots (HarperPerennial, 2004).
Comprehensive narrative of Mary’s life
Christopher Haigh, Elizabeth | (Longman, 1988)
Expert narrative combined with critical analysis of
Elizabeth, her government and key features of her reign
D.M. Pallister, The Age of Elizabeth: England under the
Later Tudors, 1547-1603 (Longman, 1983)
Broad themes examined in a critical academic style
Chapter 7
Ciaran Brady, editor, Worsted in the Game: Losers in
Irish History (Lilliput Press, 1989)
Critical analysis.ofthe role and fate of the key players
in Irish rebellions .
y
Steven G. Ellis, Tudor Ireland: Crown, Community and
the Conflict of Cultures, 1470-1603 (Longman, 1985)
Broad coverage of English rule in Ireland
Hiram Morgan, Tyrone’s Rebellion (Boydell Press, 1993)
Expert analysis of the Irish rebellion
 Index
Acts
Dissolution of the Monasteries 71
Restraint of Annates 16, 70
Restraint of Appeals 16, 70, 71
Supremacy 17, 18, 22, 70, 71, 72, 108
Ten Articles 15, 17, 71, 75
Uniformity 19, 108, 119
Agrarian discontent 95-6, 97
Annulment of Henry VIIl’s marriage 16,
69, 70, 71
Apologye 39
Armada 36, 110, 113, 129
Aske, Robert 80-1, 82, 84, 85, 86, 87,
88-9
Bagenal, Henry 128, 129, 131, 133, 134,
139, 141
Battles
Bosworth 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 56, 59, 61
Clontibret 132-3, 134
Curlew Pass 135
Kinsale 131, 136-7
Stoke 55, 62
Yellow Ford 131, 133, 134
Bigod, Francis 82, 86, 87
Bigod’s uprising 82
Bishop of Rome 70, 72
Bishops’ Book 15, 71, 75
Boleyn, Anne 41, 44, 69, 86
Boleyn, Thomas 41, 43
Bondmen 97, 98
Book of Common Prayer 15, 17
Catherine of Aragon 16, 59, 62, 69
Cecil, Robert 11
Charles VIlIl: 56, 63, 64
Church and state 7, 8, 16, 17, 23, 37, 69
Comperta Monastica 73
Cornish rebellion 30
Council of Ireland 29, 31
Council of the North 8, 28, 30, 114
Council of the West 8, 29, 31 — Eltham Ordinances 9, 13
Council of Wales 8, 29, 31, 37
Counter-Reformation 15, 18, 22
Court, the see Royal Court
Courts (criminal) 32, 37
Cranmer, Thomas 17-18, 19, 70, 71, 77,
84
Cromwell, Thomas 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 15, Ferdinand of Spain 59, 60, 62, 64, 65
U7) D2, 23), ah, V,4AS 10), 735, Finance 4, 5, 8, 9, 33
77, 81, 82, 84, 109 Forty-Two Articles 18, 19
king’s ‘great matter’ 69
role in breaking with Rome 70-1, 72 Gates, John 13-14
role in suppressing rebellions 84 Government and monarchy 2, 3—4
vicegerent 17, 71, 72, 73, 84 ‘Great matter’ 69
Crown and parliament 21-2, 23-4
Crown, court and household 12-14 Henry VI: 49, 51
mennhy Vils3e29e3 Onsies 7 pio 4 > Sei,
Dacre rebellion 117 D/O Sel OMS S
Debasement ofthe coinage 93, 94 household and court 40-1, 43
Destruction of the monasteries 75 parliament 22, 51,
Devereux, Robert 42, 134 Privy Council 7
Dissolution of the monasteries 15, 71, reakelalinyy WANN 3). 4h, 77, sy, ANG), Dey, SMb, BIS), 37h,
H2, HAAS. US), 1h ye 41, 53, 70, 79, 84, 86, 88, 91, 126
Divine right 2 annulment of marriage to Catherine
Dudley, John, Earl of Warwick and Duke ANS, (SS), TAO), T/A
of Northumberland 86, 98, 102 break with Rome 3, 22, 24, 43, 70, 71
Dudley, Robert, Earl of Leicester 6, 14, ‘great matter’ 69
41,109, 110 household and court 43, 109
parliament 22, 24
Edward IV: 49, 51, 52, 55, 62 Privy Council 14
Edward VI: 4, 8, 9, 101, 102, 109, 138, progresses 44
145 Holy League 64, 65
challenges to authority 92, 93 Holy Roman Empire 58, 64
household and court 13-14 Howard, Thomas, Duke of Norfolk 40,
minority rule 91-2 71, 81, 86, 110
Elizabeth |: 3, 4, 6, 15, 22, 34, 36, 39, 41, Humanists 7, 72
HO Ons les OM SAS Hundred Years’ War 62
household and court 14, 43, 109-10 Hundreds 31, 34
Irish troubles 125-8 Husbandmen 94, 97
marriage prospects 110-11, 114
parliament 23-4, 25 Isabella of Spain 59, 60, 62, 64
principal secretary 11
Privy Council 10, 109 James Ill, King of Scotland 61
progresses 45 James IV, King of Scotland 54, 59, 64
Religious Settlement 18-19, 107-8 James VI of Scotland and James | of
Elizabeth of York 51, 52, 56 England 110, 141
Elizabethan Religious Settlement 18-19, Justices of the peace 30, 31, 32, 33, 34,
107-8 35), 2y/
Enclosure commissions 94, 95, 101 Kett, Robert 35, 38, 91, 95, 96-9, 101
Enclosure of land 81, 94—5, 96, 97, 98, Kett’s rebellion 96-103
101 King’s council 5—6, 53
Essex rebellion 43
Excommunication from the Catholic League of Venice 64, 65
church 50, 112, 120 Lincolnshire rising 77-80, 83
 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485—|603 for Edexcel

Literacy 39 O'Donnell Hue Roe 128, 129, 132, 133, Rotten boroughs 25
Local government 37-9 ISIS), TESA ASHE) Royal Court 12-13, 40-1, 43, 44, 109
Lord Burghley see William Cecil O’Neill, Hugh, Earl of Tyrone 127, 128, Royal household 13-14
Lord chancellor 5, 6, 10 DOs Ons aul: Royal prerogative 3, 23, 24,110
Lord lieutenants 31, 35, 36 Royal progresses 44—5
Lord protector 4, 17, 92, 101 Paget, William 4, 102
Lovel and Stafford rising 50 Parker, Matthew 19, 20, 108 Schools 34, 39
Lovel, Francis 49, 50, 55, 56 Parliamentary constituencies 24, 25 * Seymour, Edward, Duke of Somerset 4,
Parliamentary privilege 21, 22, 24, 25, Sy AVAL, Sibyf alts} ale), Spal Xd Wey ela Shs}.
MacCarthy, Florence 136 38 101, 102, 103
Magnus Intercursus 64, 65 Patronage 8, 12, 13, 40-1, 42, 43 Sheriffs 31, 35, 132
Margaret, Dowager Duchess of Percy, Thomas, Earl of Northumberland Siege and Battle of Kinsale 131, 136-7
Burgundy 55, 56, 57, 58, 62, 64 81, 87, 114) 121 Siege of Dunboy 137
Mary |: 3,4, 14, 15, 36, 41, 69, 86, 102, Pilgrimage of Grace 9, 30, 35, 75, 80-1, Simnel, Lambert 54, 55, 56, 61, 62
107, 109 82, 83, 84, 86, 87 ‘recognised as ‘Edward VI’ 55
Catholic Counter-Reformation 18, 22, Plantation of Ulster 129 Star Chamber 37
24 Pontefract Articles 81, 82
Statute law 3, 7, 17, 21
household and court 14 Poor people 32, 34, 92,95
parliament 23, 24, 25 Poverty 34, 92,94, 101
Taxation 3, 22, 30, 33, 37, 38, 45, 53, 54,
Mary, Queen of Scots 20, 24, 107, Pretenders 54—60
Ue Ys, I, My, IS), AAS)
TOS alee ele Olea Principal secretary 10, 11, 69, 109
Ten Articles, Act of 15, 17, 71, 75
execution 112 Privy Council 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 32, 33,
Treason Act 72
marriage prospects 114 36, 82,94, 102, 108, 109
Treaties 61-3, 64, 65, 131, 141
Maximilian, Holy Roman Emperor 58, Puritans 19, 20, 23, 24
Tree of Reformation 98
61, 64, 65
Truce of Ayton 64
Mid-Tudor crisis 91-5 Rebellion of the northern earls see
Truce of Bellaclynthe Ford 135
Minority rule 91 Northern rising
Tudor, Jasper 29, 40
Monarchy Rebellions
Tyrone’s rebellion see Nine Years’ War
divine right 2 failure 84, 101, 118-19
government 2, 3—4 impact 85, 101, 119
limits 2, 3 in the north 76-7
Vagrancy 32, 33, 34, 92,99
Valor Ecclesiasticus 71, 73, 82
see also Royal prerogative repression 86-7, 101, 103
Monasteries see also individual rebellions and Vicar-general see Vicegerent
destruction 75 revolts Vicegerent 17, Al, 72, 73, 84
dissolution of 15, 71, 72, 74-5, 76, 78, Recusants 20
84 Reformation 15, 16, 17, 18, 23, 69-75 Warbeck, Perkin 54, 55, 56—60, 61, 62,
immorality 74 Reformation Parliament 16, 21, 22, 70, 63564—5

wealth 73 WD recognised as ‘Richard IV’ 58

Monopolies 24, 42
More, Thomas 6, 7, 10, 39, 71
Nine Years’ War 30, 31, 125-131, 139,
141
end of 137, 138
outbreak 132
reasons for English victory 141
reasons for failure 139-40
Northern rising 30, 120
Regional government 28-37
Council of Ireland 29, 31
Council of the North 8, 28, 30,
114
Council of Wales 8, 29, 31, 37
Council of the West 8, 29, 31
Revolt of the northern earls 113-17
Richard III: 30, 31, 49, 50, 51, 55, 56
Ridolfi Plot 112
Rivals to Tudor throne 50
Wars of the Roses 49, 51, 56
Western rebellion 17, 35, 94
William Cecil, Lord Burghley 4, 6, 10, 11,
PAB), ANONS), ANNO), UAV, “Nails AIL7A WANS
Wolsey Thomas 6, 9, 10, 13, 16, 33
Eltham Ordinances 13
Wyatt rebellion 107
Yeomen 38, 39, 42, 96
Yorkshire rebellion 30, 53

164
 access to history

Rebellion and Disorder under

the Tudors 1485-1603 (Aza

Access to History is the most popular, trusted and wide- Series editor
ranging series for A Level History students. Michael Lynch

> Contains authoritative and engaging content, including

Government and administration, challenges faced
“Author” : é
by Henry Vil and Henry VIII, the mid-Tudor crisis and
» Dr Roger Turvey isa >
troubles in Elizabethan Ireland. - Fellow of the Royal
> Includes thought-provoking key debates that examine ~ Historical Society,
Fellow ofthe Society
the opposing views and approaches of historians, such as
of Antiquaries
To what extent was Mary, Queen of Scots a serious threat
and Fellow of the
to Elizabeth and her regime? Chartered Institute of
Educational Assessors.
> Provides exam-style questions and guidance to help
‘He is currently Head °
students understand how to apply what they have
of History ina state '
‘learnt. . secondary school. He
is the author of over
twenty books and forty
articles published in
This book is suitable for a variety of courses including: academic journals.
Edexcel: Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors
1485-1603

Z6c-EEL

ISBN 978-1-5104-2347-3

MMII e
510"42 73