“Rebellions sparked by religious belief were more dangerous than courtly conspires in the
years 1536-1569.” Assess the validity of this statement.
In the period 1536-69, England saw four different Tudor monarchs on the throne: Henry VIII (1509-
1547), Edward VI (1547-1553), Mary I (1553-1558) and Elizabeth I(1558-1603). They all possessed
contrasting religious beliefs which gave rise to significant religious turmoil throughout these years.
Upon their succession, each monarch was desperate to implement their own religious policy, often
giving very little consideration to the facets of their predecessor’s policy. Due to the reason that
religion was such an influential and pervasive force in society, such frequent fluctuation and
inconsistency in religious doctrine unsurprisingly provoked rebellions sparked by religious belief. The
latter posed a direct threat to royal authority and, on occasion, brought royal government perilously
close to collapse. Despite the fact that courtly conspires were also a danger between 1536-1569,
they were not as dangerous due to the sheer difference in the number of people involved. It was far
easier, for instance, to execute a disloyal courtier as opposed to beheading 40,000 rebels.
In 1536 during the reign of Henry VIII, a major rebellion named the Pilgrimage of Grace took place.
Although some secular motives contributed to the outbreak of this rebellion in 1536-37, such as
resentment of taxation, the rebellion has been accepted as being predominantly sparked by religious
belief. In the short term, the resentment at the dissolution of the monasteries and attacks on
traditional Catholic practices, exacerbated by fears of an attack on parish churches, contributed to its
outbreak. The rising began in Louth, Lincolnshire in early October 1536, triggered by rumours that
Cromwell’s commissioners were intending to strip the parish church of its ornaments. Led by Robert
Aske, the rebels moved from York to Pontefract where they seized the castle and formulated their
demands (the Pontefact Articles). From here, they moved on to Doncaster where they presented
their petition to the Duke of Norfolk; by which time they had 40,000 men. Henry VIII decided to
grant a general pardon and to promise that Parliament would consider their demands. The rebels
dispersed, however, further rebellion broke out in Cumberland in early January 1537. This gave
Henry the excuse to arrest and execute rebel leaders, including Robert Aske, who was hanged at
York. This rebellion was exceptionally dangerous because it was the most serious challenge to royal
authority seen in the Tudor period thus far. Moreover, together, the Lincolnshire Rising and the
Pilgrimage of Grace comprised the largest single rebellion in the history of Tudor England as a result
of the number of people involved. Tudor historian, John Guy (Tudor England, 1988), said that “the
Pilgrimage of Grace was threatening because nobles, gentry, clergy and people combined forces, and
because they shared an ideology. Indeed, this revolt was neither a clash between different social
groups nor a split within the governing class, but a popular rising by northerners in general.”
Religious belief was the shared motive that united the north of England against Henry, resulting in
the threat they posed being organised and, thus, dangerous.
Henry VIII’s reign was also plagued by courtly conspires of which the majority centred around the
problems that arose from his multiple marriages. Although the death of Jane Seymour following
complications after childbirth in 1537 was a sorrow for Henry, it provided an opportunity for
Cromwell and the Protestant reformers at court to encourage a foreign Protestant marriage. As
France and Spain has signed a truce in 1538, there was the danger of a joint attack on England and a
Protestant alliance seemed to provide some security. Cromwell arranged a marriage between the
King and Anne, sister of the Duke of Cleves in Germany, but Cromwell had been misinformed about
her appearance, so when she arrived in England in 1539 Henry took a violent dislike towards her and
demanded the marriage should be cancelled. Although Cromwell complied, the fiasco weakened his
relationship with Henry at a time when the King was already becoming unhappy with the tone of
Cromwell’s religious changes. Furthermore, Cromwell’s enemies made good use of the collapse of
