Detailed notes on the changes to religion and the church under Mary and Edward Tudor from the A2 part of 'Religious Conflict and the Church in England '. Used for essay writing and revision as part of exam preparation that led to the accreditation of 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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