The Reigns of Edward VI (1547-1553) and Mary I (1553-1558)
The young Edward VI
Edward was born in October 1537, the son of Jane Seymour and third child of Henry
VIII.
He was very clever, especially at languages and theology. He seems to have been
very serious.
In spite of what historians have assumed, Edward was not physically weak.
Recent research has shown that in his early teens he was beginning to have
significant influence on the Council’s decisions, in particular over religious change.
The Regency Council and Somerset
Edward Seymour, the Earl of Hertford (and soon to become Duke of Somerset),
gained control of the Regency Council and was to rule on Edward’s behalf.
He had important supporters within the Council who also wanted moderate religious
reform to continue, and they combined to block those who were more conservative
in their beliefs.
Somerset also tried to implement social reforms following the bad effects on the
peasants of land enclosures and price rises in Henry VIII’s reign.
Among historians Somerset used to be thought of as the ‘Good Duke’ because he
tried to help the poor. However, more recent assessments of him have stressed his
weakness in making decisions and the fact that the country reached a major crisis by
1549.
To some extent he faced an impossible situation. As Lord Protector he had a lot of
power, but his position was by definition temporary until Edward came of age.
Religious reform, 1547-49
Somerset had personal sympathy with key Protestant ideas. As Lord Protector,
however, he recognised the sensitivity in making religious changes and tried to adopt
a moderate and cautious approach.
Thomas Cranmer, who remained Archbishop of Canterbury, supported him in this,
however this cautious approach was not easy to maintain because a lot of pressures
built up:
- Exiled Protestants who had fled persecution in the 1530s and 1540s began returning
from the Netherlands and Germany. They settled in towns along the east coast,
where their radical demands caused frequent clashes within the local community.
- The reform faction was in control of the government and keen to see reform get
under way, but English bishops were split fairly evenly on whether to support further
changes.
- The relaxation of press censorship led to a massive increase in the number of
pamphlets and writings against Catholicism and to the free circulation of the writings
of Martin Luther and John Calvin to the horror of religious conservatives.
, At first, the government adopted a logical policy, which helped to stall for time. A
full-scale enquiry into the state of the Church of England was launched, with
commissioners sent out to investigate what was happening in every parish.
Measures were introduced which undid the Six Articles Act and rules that provided
for services and Bibles to be in English were strengthened.
Parliament met in November 1547 and passed the Treason Act which repealed the
Six Articles Act and the heresy, treason and censorship laws which had stifled
religious debate in the last years of Henry’s reign.
The Chantries Act abolished Chantries (small religious houses with lands to support
priests who sang masses for the dead).
The Act of Uniformity
In 1549, the Act of Uniformity was passed. This Act was designed to impose a single
standard of worship across England in order to end the religious confusion and
argument that had been growing since 1534.
Terms: English was to be used as the language of worship; congregations should be
offered both bread and wine during communion (this was a clear breach with the
Catholic tradition of reserving wine for priesthood).
However, it did not go as far as to create a full Protestant Church. Services were
conducted along familiar lines (apart from the language) and priests dressed and
behaved as always.
Alongside the Act, Archbishop Cranmer introduced a new Prayer Book setting out
the form that services should take. It was a masterpiece of vagueness.
Given the weakness of the Regency government, the achievements of Somerset’s
religious policies were impressive, even though they did contribute to the causes of
rebellions in 1549.
Foreign policy under Somerset
Somerset was bound by Henry VIII’s will which involved the arrangement of a
marriage between Edward VI and Mary Queen of Scots.
However, this was not wanted in Scotland and Somerset had to deal with the twin
threats of Scotland and France.
He hoped to isolate Scotland by agreeing to an alliance with France, however, the
French king, Francis I, died in 1547 and the new King, Henry II, was keen to assert
himself. He renewed the Anglo-Spanish alliance and sent a fleet or warships with
4,000 troops to Scotland.
The Scottish army was large but poorly equipped compared with the English cannons
and cavalry. A little way south of Edinburgh the Scots were defeated at the Battle of
Pinkie. This gave Somerset control of all the border region, but success was limited
as the English army was not strong enough to occupy the whole of Scotland.
Mary Queen of Scots, the heir to the Scottish throne, was moved to France with the
intention of her being married to the heir to the French throne, who later became
Francis II.
, This meant that Somerset’s costly foreign policy (£600,000) had cemented links
between France and Scotland, with the prospect in the future of a marriage that
would unite the two thrones.
In the summer he withdrew troops from Scotland to deal with the rebellions that
had broken out and also to protect the south coast against a possible French
invasion.
Somerset was not decisive enough in leadership, however he did inherit a difficult
diplomatic and military situation, leading to a war which could not be won.
Economic problems under Somerset
The reputation of the ‘Good Duke’ rested on his apparent desire to help those who
had had suffered from the consequences of the enclosure of land.
A commission was established to investigate the legality of recent enclosures and
once more, government inspectors toured the country.
The investigation of enclosures was a well-meaning policy, but led to frustration and
fury among the rich and poor.
The really major economic problem was inflation which occurred in the first half of
the sixteenth century and politicians of the period did not really understand this
phenomenon. The biggest rises affected foodstuffs such as bread, cheese and meat.
The rising population exacerbated the problem.
Both rising prices and population growth seemed to have reached a peak in the
1540s, causing massive economic and social problems among the poorer classes,
even when there was a good harvest.
By 1549, social unrest, fuelled by economic and religious concerns, led to rebellions
in different parts of the country.
Western Rebellion, 1549
As the government sent its agents out to check on the state of the Church and the
progress toward limited reform from 1547, there were signs of resistance to change
from local communities.
The agitation was often instigated by concerns over religious change. However, other
factors were also important, including concerns of gentry family gaining Church land
after the dissolution of the monasteries. The latter was coupled with general
economic and social discontent resulting from inflation and enclosure.
In Somerset and Bristol mobs tore down fences and hedges that had been erected to
enclosure pastureland. However, many of the riots were ill-focused and reflected a
sense of desperation from the poorer classes.
Religion provided the focus needed. The leaders of the revolt in Cornwall demanded
the restoration of Catholic doctrines and practices, including the mass in Latin and a
ban on the English Bible.
The Western Rebellion grew out of these riots in Cornwall and Devon and a full-scale
rebellion had ensued by mid-June.
