Essay: ‘Edward VI's reign between 1547 and 1553 represented a crisis for royal authority’
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Course
Unit 2 - Historical Issues: Periods of Change
Institution
AQA
This document is an essay I wrote in response to the statement ‘Edward VI's reign between 1547 and 1553 represented a crisis for royal authority’. I scored very highly on this essay and obtained an A*.
1
‘Edward’s reign between 1547 and 1553 represented a crisis for royal
authority’- Assess the validity of this view
Between 1547 and 1553, England was governed primarily by two nobles, the Duke of Somerset
and the Duke of Northumberland in place of the infant King Edward VI. When assessing whether
his reign can be considered as a crisis for royal authority, it is important to consider four central
factors; religious policy, social policy, foreign policy and legislation relating to the succession. It can
be argued that the greatest threat to Edward’s royal authority was the crisis surrounding the
succession. However this was only in the last couple of months during his reign and does not
account for the years prior to this. Although, there was inconsistencies in the strength of royal
authority it can be argued that it was not altogether a crisis.
One of the most contentious issues surrounding whether there was a crisis with royal authority is
the implementation of religious policy. During Somerset’s rule (1547-49) royal authority can be
considered as threatened as a lot of his religious policies lacked clarity and decisiveness. For
example, the First Prayer Book (1548) still contained many Catholic sacraments and the idea of
Purgatory was still unclear. This caused social confusion as there was a blur between Catholic and
Protestant teachings. The fact that one of the first religious doctrines in Edward’s reign was so
unclear and did not make the religious position of the Crown certain, it undermined his royal
authority. Whereas, Northumberland was more politically ambitious and so to remain in the King’s
favour, he made a more decisive move towards Protestantism. This is exemplified through his
implementation of the Second Prayer Book (1552), the Second Act of Uniformity (1552) and New
Treason Act (1552). The Act of Uniformity created an official Protestant liturgy and the New
Treason Act actively sort to remove all traces of Catholicism and made it an offence to question
royal supremacy. Therefore, this shows the strength in his royal authority and his desire to
establish the position of the Crown. Overall, it is evident that there was an inconsistency in royal
authority between 1547 and 1553, but the more decisive moves towards Protestantism secured
thee royal authority. However, despite the fact that the religious changes were more definite, it did
spark rebellions amongst the people; the most notable being the Western Rebellion.
Another important factor to consider when assessing whether there was a crisis relating to royal
authority is the implementation of social policy. The Western Rebellion (1549) was caused by
religious changes, particularly the translation of the Bible into English. The main areas where the
rebellion occurred was in Exeter and Devon, which was particularly concerning as the south of
England was considered more tolerant to Protestantism. Somerset neglected the development of
social policy in order to pursue his interests in Scotland and so, initially failed to suppress the
rebellion. Even though it was eventually suppressed, 3000 people died as a result, property was
confiscated and distributed and some people were executed without trials. This shows the
ineptitude of the government being able to deal with social unrest. However, it can be argued that it
did not threaten royal authority as the rebels were not interested in overthrowing the government
but rather getting their voices heard. Therefore, it cannot be justified as a crisis for royal authority.
In addition to this, the government had to deal with other rebellions, the most significant of these
being the Kett’s Rebellion (1549). This was in response to the contentious issue of enclosure and
this rebellion centred around Norwich. Despite, Somerset being anti-enclosure in March 1549 he
increased personal property and sheep tax by 5%- these were the principal reasons for enclosure
and was a threat to tillage. The fact that he relied on the military support of foreign mercenaries
indicates that he did not have enough royal authority within England to deal with it internally.
However, like the Western Rebellion, they were not attacking the monarchy and just wanted to
have their voices heard. Therefore, it can be argued that it was not a direct threat to royal authority.
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