Detailed notes and assessment into the AQA A Level A2 Course on Religious Conflict and the Church in England . Covers the topics on the evolution of the church under Edward and Mary Tudor. Used for exam preparation for which I achieved an A*.
Chapter 13 super-notes: Part 2- A more Protestant nation: The Party and the King- 1547-
1553
Key chronological timeline:
1547- 28th January- Henry dies
- 31st January- Edward proclaimed king- Somerset proclaimed Protector
- September- Somerset invades Scotland- victorious at the Battle of Pinkie
1549- May- August- Era of riots, rebellions and commotions
- October- Warwick launches a coop against Somerset
1550- Warwick becomes President of the Privy Council
- Treaty of Boulogne is signed
1552- Somerset is executed
1553- Edward dies
Legacy of Edward V:
- Inherited the throne at 13
- Uncle- Richard III made Protector
- Within months- Richard III made king- Edward and brother Richard imprisoned in
the Tower of London
- ‘Princes in the Tower’- disappeared- probably murdered
Henry’s will:
- Wanted to avoid the fate of Edward V
- Employed 3 strategies:
1. Edward- crowned King soon after his accession
2. Government- ruled by balanced Privy Council- assigned 16 members as the ‘new
men’- Regency Council
3. Edward educated by Protestant sympathising tutors- ensure separation from Rome
- Contents:
- Appeared Catholic leaning- invoking ‘the name of God and of the blessed Virgin our
Lady Mary’
- Stated that the throne should pass to the children of Katherine Parr, then Lady
Mary, then Elizabeth- following Edwards’ death
- Legitimacy of the will is questioned- Henry never signed it- subsequently signed
with the dry stamp- 26th January- day before his death- time when he was unable to
make changes
Controversial clauses within the will:
- Exclusion of the Stuarts from the Tudor line
- Secured the Tudor line- prevented members of the Regency Council seizing power
- Edward Seymour- had schemed with Sir William Paget- likely making changes to
Henry’s will
- Added material as part of the ‘unfulfilled gifts’ clause- promises Henry said he’d
reward- would be implemented after his death- how much was true?
- Lands and honours- distributed to the ‘New Men’
Did Henry bequeth a crisis to Edward?
1. Difficulties of succession:
, - Edward- 10 year old king- couldn’t rule in person
- Initiated faction struggle in seizing power over the realm
- Allowed for Somerset’s and Paget’s manipulation of power
2. Religious change:
- Protestantism- to become religious doctrine
- Strong catholic support remained- clergy, nobility, laity
- As shown by the Pilgrimage of Grace
3. Foreign Relations:
- War on two fronts
- Scotland and France- disagreed with religious change- threat
- Trade at Antwerp- reduced- contributing to economic crisis
4. Financial crisis:
- Bankruptcy- Henry’s wars
- Tudor coin- weakened due to the uncertainty over who wielded power
- Reduction in cloth exports
- Inflation
- Debasement of the coinage
Edward Seymour’s rise to power:
- by the 1st February 1547- Edward Seymour secured leadership as Lord Protector of
the Realm- ‘for better conduct of the business’- secured majority support of the
Regency Council
- Factions- Conservatives weakened by the disgrace of Northumberland and
execution of the Earl of Surrey
- Reformists- took control of the council
- Decision to create a Lord Protector- based on: Seymour’s personality, support of
William Paget, need for strong militaristic leader
- Not planned for by Henry
Edward, Protestantism, education and involvement in government:
- Reigned- 1547- 1553
- Coronation- Cranmer- preached sermon, drawing similarities with his and King
Josiah’s reign- envisioned a long reign where Protestantism could be enforced
- Early death not envisioned
- Education- training to be king:
- taught Latin, Greek, French
- essay criticising Catholicism in French remains
- wrotes plans for development of the economy- that would’ve established a
bureaucracy not in place until the 19th century
- diary- kept and accurate account of events- including Somerset’s execution
- by 1549- taking an active role in the governing of England
To what extent was England a Protestant nation by 1553:
The Duke of Somerset:
- Main aim- construction of a Protestant church in place of Henry’s Catholic doctrine
- Contraversial reputation:
, - ‘Good Duke’- sought to establish a Protestant commonwealth, a link between the
commons and king- negotiations
- Others- emphasised he was incapable of effectively dealing with problems- but
Henry’s England was troubled
Somerset’s policies:
1. Foreign Policy:
- Imperative war continued to maintain national pride
- Needed to secure a marriage between Mary Queen of Scots and Edward- unify the
states
Success?
- 1547- joint naval invasion at the Battle of Pinkie- decisive victory for troops
Failures:
Scotland and France:
- England- lacked military strength and funds
- 1548- Somerset issued an appeal to Scotland- proposing a union of the houses-
refused
- June 1548- French landed at leith with 6,000 troops and took Mary away-
preventing union
- 31st July 1547- in response to the Pro-Protestant party collapsing in Scotland-
France sent over force- captured the castle of St Andrews
- 8th August 1549- France declared war on England
Costs:
- Henry- spent £2,100,000 on wars- funded by the sale of crown and monastic land-
revenue left insufficient to fund a war
- Required grant of Parliamentary taxation- annoyed MPS- £189,000 out of £335,000
spent on defences
- Huge waste of money- £580,000 out of £1,386,000 spent on military affairs during
Edward’s reign
- Exploitation of people to pay for wars- dissolution of the chantries- granted
£110,000- but upset the laity
- Debasement of the coinage- to raise money- £537,000 between 1547-1551- greatly
weakened the economy- caused issues of inflation later on
2. Increasing Crime:
- Passed the Vagrancy and Public Order Act in 1547- any able-bodied person out of
work for more than 3 days- branded with a V and sold into slavery- any children
sent to work as apprentices- regarded as barbaric by some- supported by able-
bodied men
3. Enclosure:
- Issued proclamations against practice
- Issued proclamations against the increase in prices on wool
Failure:
- Exacerbated the economic problems of the countryside
- Lost the support of the landed elite- saw enclosure as a means to increase their
wealth
- Caused unrest- lost the support of the Privy Council
4. Support of Edward:
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