C+-+THE+DISSOLUTION+OF+THE+MONASTERIES,+1536-1539

__** SECTION C: The Dissolution of the Monasteries, 1536-1539 **__

“The dissolution destroyed the last possible refuge of Papalism, enriched the crown and anchored the new order firmly in the self-interest of the land owning classes who purchased the estates. It did all this with the thoroughness and amazing ease which characterised all Cromwell’s achievements.” ** Geoffrey Elton //England under the Tudors// (1956) **

The **Dissolution of the Monasteries** is seen as a defining moment in the reign of Henry VIII - but the important questions that you need to have answers to are: - What were the motives for why they were dissolved? - What were the effects of the dissolutions? When answering these sorts of questions, you should remember that most reasons can be broken down into one or more of the synoptic elements: __** Religion, Politics, Economics and Society **__ but don't forget that they are all linked closely together and any one of them can not occur in isolation.

**//__SYNOPSIS OF DISCUSSION __//** //Melvyn Bragg and guests (Diarmaid MacCulloch, Professor of the History of the Church at Oxford University; Diane Purkiss, Fellow and Tutor at Keble College, Oxford; George Bernard, Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Southampton) discuss Henry VIII and the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Was Henry’s decision to destroy monastic culture in this country a tyrannical act of grand larceny or the pious destruction of a corrupt institution? When he was an old man, Michael Sherbrook remembered the momentous events of his youth: “All things of price were either spoiled, plucked away or defaced to the uttermost…it seemed that every person bent himself to filch and spoil what he could. Nothing was spared but the ox-houses and swincotes…” He was talking about the destruction of Roche Abbey, but it could have been Lewes or Fountains, Glastonbury, Tintern or Walsingham, names that haunt the religious past as their ruins haunt the landscape. These were the monasteries, suddenly and for many shockingly, destroyed during the reign of Henry VIII. The conflict was played out with a mix of violence, heroism, political manoeuvring and genuine theological disputation. But what was lost in terms of architecture, painting, treasure and in the religious habits of the monasteries themselves and of the common people who lived with them? //

What about the effects of the Dissolution on English Society and Culture? Click on the links below to explore the views of **English Heritage**

EFFECTS ON SOCIETY AND CULTURE IMAGES OF THE DISSOLUTION PHOTOS OF THE RUINS

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= Henry VIII's Enforcer The Rise and Fall of Thomas Cromwell BBC Documentary =



__**The Lincolnshire Uprising and the Pilgrimage of Grace** __  After the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries in 1536, there was a general concern for the well being of the common people of England by the King. Groups of potential rebels met up to discuss how they would be able to prevent the closure of all the monasteries, and as the rumours that they heard, even the possibility of the closure of churches altogether. This was the time to react. What followed was an organised movement of some 30'000 rebels in the Lincolnshire Uprising and the Pilgrimage of Grace. But how would the King respond to the greatest threat that could have rocked his kingdom? How serious were the Uprisings of 1536? Read through some of the responses between various people in October 1536 at the time of the uprising. What was being "officially" said about the rebels and how should they be dealt with? Remember that these are written by people at the time when the events are going on - they will have been feeling the hopes and fears of such an event. The emotions that would have been there might have clouded their judgement, can we trust what they are saying? media type="custom" key="24884976" align="center" media type="custom" key="24884978" align="center"

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 This video has been made to deliberately leave out the words used by the "pilgrims", using the information from the **Lincolnshire Articles**, the **Proclamation** of Robert Aske and the **Oath** taken by the Pilgrims, can you work out the true motives behind the rebellions and are you able to judge the methods used to tackle the dissolution by Robert Aske?