Hello and welcome to today's history lesson.

My name is Mr. Merrett, and I'll be guiding you through today's lesson.

So let's get started.

Today's lesson is looking at the beliefs of the Church of England from 1534 to 1558.

And by the end of this lesson, we'll be able to explain how the beliefs of the Church of England changed based on who was the monarch at the time.

In order to do that, we need to use some key terms. And our key terms for today are monastery, dissolution, and uprising.

A monastery is a building occupied by a community of monks living under religious vows.

Dissolution means the act or process of bringing to an end an official organisation, and an uprising is an act of resistance or rebellion.

Today's lesson will consist of three separate learning cycles, and our first learning cycle is looking at the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

So let's get started.

The changes that Henry VIII made in England during his reign are sometimes referred to as the Henrician Reformation, as it would be misleading to say that England experienced a true Protestant reformation at this time.

Henry mainly wanted change in order to gain the power to end his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, thus ending his Great Matter as well as gain more money.

Henry did introduce some Protestant reforms, such as the rejection of the pope's authority over the Church of England.

However, key Catholic teachings, such as the belief in transubstantiation during the Eucharist, and the need for regular confessions to a priest, persisted.

Indeed, as the end of Henry's life approached, he actually pushed back against the changes implemented by his reformist ministers, such as Cromwell and Cranmer, and instead reverted to Catholic beliefs.

Shifts in belief could be troublesome for Henry's subjects, as Henry's response to those who did not believe the same as him, generally speaking, was to execute them.

This is what happened to one of his former ministers, the philosopher and lawyer, sir Thomas More.

Right, let's have a quick check for understanding.

It's a discussion question.

I want you to think, to what extent was Henry VIII a committed Protestant? Pause the video, I want you to think about this, and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Hope you've done okay with that task.

Let's go on and think about what you could have said then.

So you could have said that Henry introduced some Protestant ideas, but these are mainly to give him the power to end his marriage and gain money.

You could have said that the Church of England still followed many Catholic beliefs, like transubstantiation and confession, and as Henry got older, he rejected moves to introduce more Protestant reforms to the Church of England.

If you've got different ideas, that's absolutely fine, but hopefully you got some of those on the screen there in front of you as well.

So the most notable change to religion that the people of England experienced during the Henrician Reformation, was the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

There were more than 800 monasteries, and other religious houses in England, when Henry confirmed that he was the supreme head of the Church of England in 1534.

And the job of these monasteries was to worship God, but they also performed functions for their local communities, such as nursing the sick, sheltering travellers, many of them offered a basic education, and generally speaking, they provide food during times of hardship as well.

However, they were also, for Henry, at least, a reminder of the power of the pope.

The church owned roughly 1/3 of all the land in England and it generated more than three times the amounts of wealth that Royal Estates made each year.

And therefore in 1536, Henry set about transferring this wealth from the Catholic Church to himself.

On the screen in front of you there, there's a map of some of the major monasteries in England at this point in time.

It doesn't give you them all though.

Now Henry paved the way for this reform in 1535 by commanding Cromwell to perform a survey of the monasteries, and Cromwell's survey found that many monasteries were corrupt.

And although some undoubtedly were, it's likely that Cromwell's findings were exaggerated.

And the reason being is that Cromwell had an agenda.

He wanted to find corruption in these monasteries, because he wanted a good reason, or at least a good reason to say to the public, about why these monasteries should be closed.

In 1536, the next year, the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries Act was passed, which ordered the closure of monasteries that made less than 200 pound fee per year.

And this accounted for more than 300 of the monasteries in England at this point in time.

Some of these monasteries had as little as 12 monks in them, and that was it.

So there were lots and lots of monasteries around, but many of them were very, very small.

And these smaller ones were closed.

Henry's agents took everything of value and sold it, as well as the land that the monasteries owned as well.

And this made Henry a enormous sum of money.

The monks, generally speaking, were sent to bigger monasteries that may or may not have been nearby.

Some went abroad to monasteries abroad, but many of these went to local larger monasteries instead.

Now, the Second Suppression Act in 1539 saw the remaining monasteries closed as well.

And by 1540, roughly 50 monasteries were closed each month.

So this is a really, really quick enterprise, from Henry's perspective.

The monastery buildings were also torn down to prevent the monks from returning, and in the process destroying some beautiful examples of architecture.

The majority of the monks were taken care of.

6,500, roughly 6,500 out of the roughly 8,000 monks in England, at this point in time, were given new jobs, and they all received a pension.

And the pension was the equivalent of roughly a year's wage for a manual labourer.

So not a huge amount of money, but enough money to get by on.

But because it was given out to so many people, it amounted in total to about 44,000 pounds per year that Henry's government was paying.

And again, in modern money, that's roughly 19 million pounds a year that Henry's government was paying to support these monks.

Having said that, nuns were excluded entirely from any sort of aid, and they weren't allowed to get any other job as well.

So for nuns, this was a particularly tough time.

It wasn't a great time for monks, but they were taken care of.

There were opportunities to continue doing what they wanted to do, as long as they left the country, but for nuns, no help whatsoever.

Right, let's have a quick check for understanding now.

So what name was given to the closing of the monasteries in England from 1536 to 1540? Was it the Closing of the Monasteries, was it the Destruction of the Monasteries, or was it the Dissolution of the Monasteries? Make your choice now.

Okay, if you chose C, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, then very well done.

That's the correct answer.

Well, let's go for our first task for today.

So I have a table on the screen in front of you, and all I'd like you to do is to complete the table.

The table tells you about the consequences of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and it looks at the positives, and generally speaking, the positives work in favour of Henry and the Reformists, and it also looks at the negatives.

And generally speaking, the negatives usually impact everybody else.

So I'll look at the first line for you to help you out.

So one of the positives for Henry and the Reformists was that a symbol of the pope's authority was removed.

One of the negatives for everybody else was that beautiful architecture was destroyed.

So what I'd like you to do is to complete that table, there's at least two spaces available for each column.

If you can go at more than that, that's fantastic, but try and come at the minimum of two at least.

So pause the video now to do that, and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Hope you got on okay with that task.

Let's think about then what you could have said.

So you could have said, in regards to positives, that Henry gained a lot of money.

In regards to negatives, Catholics were unable to practise their religion from this point on, certainly not in public and not in England.

For a positive, Henry was able to divorce Catherine and resolve his Great Matter.

For a negative, monasteries and nunneries were no longer there to help communities.

And in terms of a positive, corrupt monasteries were punished.

And in regards to negative, monks and nuns lost their job, nuns in particular really suffered.

If you've got some different ideas, that's fantastic, but hopefully you got some of those in the screen in front of you as well.

Okay, let's move on to our second learning cycle for today, which is looking at how did the people respond to Henry's changes.

So the response to Henry's reforms differed quite simply.

In the South of England, and in East Anglia in particular, stronger ties to Protestantism were present, due to trade with an immigration of German Protestants.

And these areas saw very little to no unrest.

The North of England, however, was strongly Catholic.

And this area saw a number of rebellions caused by the Henrician Reformation.

In 1536, during the Lincolnshire Rising, 40,000 protestors occupied Lincoln Cathedral, demanding that they be allowed to remain Catholic.

In 1536, the Pilgrimage of Grace saw 30,000 rebels take over York.

And they were led by a London lawyer named Robert Aske.

So this demonstrates that it wasn't simply a case of the lower classes, the peasant classes, being quite upset.

The fact that you've got this London lawyer who would've come from the gentry, and what most likely means that there were issues across the class divide with these changes that was made.

Now Aske managed to negotiate a peaceful settlement with the king's forces under the Duke of Norfolk, that was sent to confront them.

Realistically, the Duke of Norfolk probably would've dealt with Aske in a peaceful way, because Aske's peasants would've vastly outnumbered any forces that Norfolk was carrying with him.

Now, however, when the promises that Norfolk made were not kept, another uprising, the Cumberland Rising, occurred the next year.

And this uprising was dealt with extremely harshly, and it saw more than 200 ringleaders executed.

And they actually included Robert Aske, who wasn't actually involved in the Cumberland Rising at all.

It was simply a way for Henry to get his revenge on him.

Right, let's have a quick check for understanding now.

So true or false statement on the screen there? The 1536 uprising was known as the Pilgrimage of Grace.

Is that true or is that false? Okay, if you chose true, then very well done.

That's the correct answer.

But let's justify that statement now.

Why is it a true statement? Is it true because it was centred in Bristol and was a protest over the power of the pope, or is it true because it was centred in York and was a protest against the Dissolution of the Monasteries? So choose your justification now.

Okay, if you chose B, then congratulations.

That is indeed the correct answer.

So the causes of the uprising were primarily resentments at the religious changes, although there were other factors as well.

One of the major reasons for the uprisings was anger at the loss of the monasteries.

The benefits that the monasteries provided were not replaced, leaving many communities worse off.

Henry and his ministers did say that they would build hospitals to replace the care that monasteries used to give sick and injured people.

And although there were some hospitals built by Henry and the ministers, in reality there was nowhere near as many hospitals replaced as were lost.

Many people in England had a very positive opinion of Catherine of Aragon, and they reacted angrily to the way in which Henry was treating her.

And although many nobles were either in favour, or outwardly indifference, to the religious changes being made, many hated the man tasked with carrying them out, Thomas Cromwell, because he was not of noble birth.

So nowadays we consider it quite snobbish.

During this period in time, there was something called the Great Chain of Being, and it was understood that it was right that God is at the top and the king is below him, and below them are the nobles and the gentry.

And then you've got the commoners down at the bottom.

And it was believed that that was the way that things should be.

So for a commoner, a man of common birth, like Thomas Cromwell, to rise above the Great Chain of Being and actually issue commands and orders out to his betters, out to the nobles and the gentry, that really, really struck a nerve with some people.

Right, let's have a quick check for understanding again then.

So choose two reasons for the uprisings that occurred in England in the 1530s.

Was it anger at the closure of the monasteries, was it discontent at the raising of taxes, was it fear of a French invasion, or was it hatred towards Thomas Cromwell? So choose two of those issues on the screen now.

Okay, if you chose A and D, then very well done.

Those are the correct answers.

Right, so another quick task now then.

So I want you to think, how did the people of England feel about the changes that Henry VIII made to their religion? And I'd like you to give two examples, at least, to support your points.

And try as well, if you can, to make sure to discuss the experiences of those in the North of England and the South of England.

So demonstrate that there is diversity in reaction to Henry's closures in the monasteries, and other changes that he made to the religion as well.

So pause the video, whilst you do this, and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Have you gotten okay with that task? So let's think then what you could have said.

So you could have said the opinion of people in England about the changes that Henry VIII made of their religion was mixed.

For example, many people in the North of England were unhappy with the changes, as the people there were committed Catholics.

They showed their resentment with a number of uprisings, such as the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536.

By contrast, people in the South of England were more accepting of Protestantism due to regular contact with German Protestants, so the South experienced no uprisings.

If you've got different examples to myself, that's absolutely fine, as long as you explain how they support your points.

Alright, let's go for our third, and final, learning cycle of today, which is looking at what changes were made by Edward VI and Mary I.

So on the 28th of January 1547, King Henry VIII died.

As a son and heir, Edward was only nine at the time.

England was ruled by a regency council dominated by Protestants, and hated by Edward's protector, the Duke of Somerset.

Somerset was what we would call a moderate Protestant, which meant that he wanted England to be more Protestant, but not at the expense of upsetting the large numbers of Catholics in England.

Somerset was concerned that if he made massive changes, are made in the significantly more Protestant country very quickly, then the Catholic majorities in the areas, such as the North of England, would rise up in bigger rebellions than Henry saw.

Now, churches did become more Protestant-looking in England under Edward's reign.

So gold and silver ornaments were removed, the altar was replaced by a communion table, and the clergy were forbidden to wear their vestments, which are special clothes worn by priests.

Other changes also made England a more obviously Protestant country as well.

For instance, priests were allowed to marry, church services were spoken in English, and the common people were encouraged to read copies of the English language Bible, as well as other Protestant literature written in English.

However, some Catholic influences remained under Edward's.

And a good example of this would be "The Book of Common Prayer," which was written by Thomas Cranmer, who was a Protestant, but it also retains some Catholic prayers, and also retained the belief in transubstantiation as well.

So the Church in England, unlike many other Protestants around Europe, believed in transubstantiation, which was generally speaking a Catholic belief.

Somerset relaxed the government's position on religious beliefs by not punishing people for failing to attend church.

So Catholics who didn't wanna go to Protestant churches, they weren't punished.

If you were a Catholic priest who refused to perform Protestant services, then you could be fined or you could be imprisoned.

But unlike under Henry, you wouldn't be killed.

So it was a step back in that respect.

Having said all of that, there were still religious uprisings in the West Country, regardless.

After Edward's untimely death in July, 1553, his sister, Mary, ascended the throne.

And Mary I was a committed Catholic, and immediately reintroduced Catholicism to England.

Heresy laws were revived in 1554, which banned people from following any religion other than Catholicism.

And it provided the death penalty for those that broke these laws.

And in the following year, the Act of Supremacy reinstated the pope as the head of the Church in England.

Persecution of Protestants followed, beginning with those who had helped to make England Protestant.

And Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, the man who wrote the argument that Henry used to end his marriage to Mary's mother, Catherine of Aragon, he was burnt alive at the stake after several years in prison.

So a really quite nasty end for Cranmer.

In total 284 Protestants were executed in this manner by Mary.

By the time of Mary's death in November, 1558, the people of England were understandably concerned about what their next monarch would insist that they believe.

Right, let's have a quick check for understanding now.

So I'd like you to choose two ways in which Edward VI's reign made England a more Protestant country.

So was it belief in transubstantiation, was it that church services are spoken in English, was it that priests were allowed to marry, or was it that the selling of indulgences was permitted? So choose two of those issues on the screen now.

Okay, if you chose B and C, then very well done.

Those are the correct answers.

Let's have another check for understanding.

What type of Christianity did Mary I follow? Was it Anabaptist Protestantism, was it Lutheran Protestantism, or was it Roman Catholicism? So choose one of those types of Christianity now.

Okay, if you chose C, Roman Catholicism, then very well done, that's the correct answer.

And one more quick check for understanding.

I'd like you to identify two changes that Mary I made to religious laws in England.

Did the Act of Supremacy make the pope the head of the church, did she bring back heresy laws, did she introduce fines for Protestants, or did she outlaw non-English priests? Choose two of those changes in the screen now.

Okay, if you chose A and B, then very well done.

Those are the correct answers.

Right, let's go for another task now then.

So I'd like you to give one example of how religion in England changed from Henry's reign to Edward the VI.

And after that, I'd you like to give one example of how religion in England changed from Edward's reign to Mary I.

So pauses the video now while you do that task, and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Hope you got on okay with that task.

Let's think about then what you could have said.

So you could have said, religion in England became more obviously Protestant under Edward VI's reign compared to Henry VIII.

For instance, under Edward, the common people were encouraged to read the English language Bible.

Under Mary I, however, England became a Catholic country again.

In 1554, shortly after she became queen, she created a law which made the pope the head of the Church in England again, just like he had been before Henry VIII changed the English religion.

If you've got different examples to myself about how religion changed between the three monarchs, it's absolutely fine, as long as you've identified this changes.

Well, let's summarise today's lesson now then.

So, religion in England under Henry VIII was not a full Protestant reformation.

Many Catholic beliefs remained, which Henry defended.

The Dissolution of the Monasteries gained Henry a huge amount of money, and reduced support for local communities.

In the North, people were unhappy with Henry's religious changes, and there were a series of uprisings protesting them.

When Edward VIII became king in 1547, he changed the church to make it more Protestant, although the English church changed again back to Catholicism when his sister, Mary I, became queen in 1553.

Thank you very much for joining me today.

Hopefully you enjoyed yourself.

Hope you learned something, and hopefully I'll see you again next time.

Bye-bye.