4.2 The Ten Articles
Having secured his Queen and his heir, Henry followed his great audit by redoubling his efforts to free himself from subservience to Rome. For the Church of England to be successful, it had to have articles outlining the principal tenants of the faith for its followers. The chief means of doing this became a bill that Archbishop Cranmer who had been diligently working to complete, what would become known as the Ten Articles of 1536. Although most of the articles closely resembled that of established (Roman) Christian doctrine—including the belief that the communion Eucharist underwent transubstantiation into the body of Christ, observance of the saints and the special status of the Virgin Mary, and the sacrament of confession—three of the statutes would demonstrate a clear break from what had come before.
Presented to Parliament on July 11th, the Ten Articles were the foundation for the Church of England, decreeing the religious statutes that subjects were bound to obey in their worship. While civil law was now the legal system, a massive change from the cannon law system that the Vatican still practiced, the role of proper authority and the civil law was to be reinforced in society by altering how they were framed during worship.
What further distinguished these articles from anything that came before them was that they established several different reformist principles as key to the doctrine of the Church of England. Three key principles outlined the most dramatic changes to this new church that varied from the Catholic points of worship. One of the main tenants adopted was that through faith alone could one be redeemed and granted access to heaven. This doctrine held that without the intermediation of a Priest or any other clergy, a lay person had the power to directly connect to God. For centuries, lay persons had been told that their only route to heaven lay through the guidance of a Catholic cleric. To change such a key doctrine was not only a culture shock that would take time to absorb; it was a dramatic sign to the Pope that Henry meant business with his new church.
Another new article in the English church made baptism mandatory for all persons, including infants, as a prerequisite to any possibility of salvation, for any chance to be released from purgatory, and to prevent from being expelled from the community of believers and banned from worship. One of the last substantial changes was decreeing that redemption could also be earned through acts of charity. Good works by believers could be documented or simply be well known in their community, and so long as they were practicing reformers, these acts would make one eligible for God’s redemption. Such acts included caring for the sick, feeding the homeless, and teaching children to read. Registrars would survey the churches around the country to ensure accurate recordkeeping of compliance with the Articles.
While many historians and laymen have acknowledged England as a revolutionary force during the Reformation, the actual doctrine of the church at its founding varied in only three key articles while retaining heavily Catholic influences in the other seven principles. The articles described above were reformist in nature and papist followers were highly resistant to these changes, however, the Church of England in doctrine would not become the Protestant establishment that modern historians think of today until decades later. Germany and other eastern European nations had taken far more Lutheran courses of religious policy than England was willing to take at this time. Perhaps history has remembered the intense effect the creation of the Church of England had on history and its own people; instead of understanding that its initial foundations still lay much grounded in Catholicism.
Cranmer would continue to keep his pledge to the King and follow up these articles with further guidance for the people with the publishing of The Institution of the Christian Man in 1537. Known as the Bishops’ Book, it was developed by a committee of forty-six bishops, theologians and clergy; its entire premise was to not only support the Ten Articles but to be the official book validating the break with Rome. The book established Ecclesia Anglica, or Anglicism as it is presently known. Only later, as the monastery dissolution campaign continued, would the religious statutes be further eroded. Reformers were pleased that the King had embraced their cause and had structured his church around a few of their key beliefs. The articles would take adjustment for the whole of the realm including scholars who vigorously debated amongst themselves the impact this would have on the country. However, not all reformers freely embraced the Ten Articles.
One significant reformer risked his life to fight the principles of this new doctrine, Hugh Latimer. For such an important figure during the Reformation, little is known of Latimer’s childhood and his early years. Even his birth date cannot be stated with specificity, but it is estimated that when he came into the Queen’s service, he was nearly 50. By 1514 he had received a Master of Arts from Cambridge University, and the following year was ordained as a Priest. By the Queen’s recommendation, Latimer had been appointed to the post of the Bishop of Worcester, nominated by Cranmer in 1535. His passion for reform came by embracing the ideals of a German reformer named Phillip Melanchthon, a contemporary of Martin Luther. It was Latimer’s intent to spread Luther’s principles into England by every means allowable. For his arguably radical views at the time, his appointment to the Bishopric was controversial.
Latimer’s confirmation only enabled a larger spread of his ideals. Even before his appointment, he had already built a mass following of faithful evangelicals who praised his exceptional mind for persuasive arguments on religion. His strong disagreement to the Ten Articles was because he felt they were not strong enough. Latimer was what a person could call a radical at this time for enhancing the spread of reform. His books were among those that Anne had given Henry to read in the early years of their courtship. For a time, on Cromwell’s advice, Henry had Latimer arrested, until Anne sought his release. His arrest was on technical grounds, since the law from Wolsey’s time on possessing heretical material had not yet been overturned. Latimer technically committed treason by openly resisting the state’s religious policies and Cromwell said he had no choice but to arrest him. Latimer did not spend long in jail and after his release continued his relationships with both the Queen and Cromwell with no ill feelings. Instead, he focused his anger on eradicating the papist heretics from the clergy.
For the common people who could barely read and write, it’s understandable to recognize their difficulty in adapting to the changes in their faith. Prior to the Anglican movement, sermons were heard in Latin, and parishioners trusted their Priest to instill divine guidance without understanding what was actually being said. This very manipulative approach allowed the clergy who were educated in Latin to devise sermons to fit their own unique brand of Catholicism. With the Articles now in place, and what seemed to be only few changes, the embrace of the people was at first a mixed reaction. The changes that were made at this stage were certainly dramatic.
The crown would shape people’s belief using a campaign of fear, primarily requiring the oath of Henry’s supremacy, public burnings of heretics, imprisonment, and torture. The monasteries were also still being shut down, so in addition to awaiting dissolution, they were to be teaching the new Articles. This allowed Cromwell a convenient excuse to imprison long time political enemies within the clergy. Still, with little surviving evidence beyond the official accounts, opposition to the reforms would soon enough make their presence known. The current way of business, and the tactics by which the state dealt with perceived political enemies, truly bothered Latimer. He strongly believed that people should hear and know in their own language what they were to learn, what they were being accused of and why they were being held. In essence, though a radical for his time, he was a crusader for peace and for justice in a time that did not allow his rare brand of activism.
Despite the Catholic Church’s massive following, it had surprisingly miscalculated how little real power it had to counter such intense attacks by so popular a king. Rome had arrogantly relied on the power it had previously accumulate
d to protect it from scandal, just as it had for the centuries during which it had deemed itself untouchable. Notwithstanding the vows of poverty enforced by some orders, to enter the clergy was generally one of the most financially rewarding career paths a person could take, provided one was politically savvy enough to maneuver through church politics. Unfortunately this possibility of riches also attracted the most devious, corrupt and deceptive persons. In an age without any but the loosest type of “background check,” anyone with sufficient intellect, charm and enough acting ability to put on a devout façade was welcome into the organization.
Parliament had already been securing indictments for closing monasteries, claiming to be cracking down on the corrupt abuses of the Catholic Church; but really it was as a disguise to build up the royal treasury, which had been much depleted. English currency had been debased once already in 1526 because of the expense of maintaining the lavish court. In the face of this desperation, the wealth the monasteries held appeared limitless. Realizing that the monasteries held the solution to the country’s financial problems, Cromwell put forth the results of the massive survey, with the support of Anne and Lord Rochford, and followed by sending out agents to visit the churches and monasteries to regain millions of pounds in recompense. If church fines alone were still not enough to replenish the royal coffers, the King’s simply taking back ownership of all lands and then leasing them back to their former owners or new renters at a higher price would be an even more lucrative plan.
Anne had done her part in private to persuade Henry of the abuses of corrupt churches and monasteries, but she balanced the calls for fines with a call for mercy on those houses that received good reports. While Anne supported closing corrupt monasteries, her true purpose was to reform them. She did not believe that simply shutting down the corrupt monasteries was effective, and became deeply involved in drawing up her own designs on how to re-indoctrinate the houses into the new order. Reports that Cromwell had sought to shutter the monasteries to confiscate all the wealth did not please the Queen.
Anne would get wind of this and immediately put a stop to it. She yelled at Henry in person, setting him on the defensive, demanding to know why he was allowing his minister to make him seem such a fool by not using the monasteries as they should be, to re-educate the poor in accordance with their new church doctrine. This argument was one of the worst fights between Henry and Anne, recorded by courtiers down the hall, and lasted for a good hour. By the end, perhaps tired of his wife’s awful nagging, Henry convinced Anne that he would take at least half the monasteries and convert them to educational uses, while the wealthiest ones would be forfeited to his control to sell off their goods for the benefit of the treasury.
Based on their only partial listing of the houses surveyed, Parliament had to pass legal summons before the King could properly act on closing monastic houses. To adjust for this, the Valor was used as absolute evidence to warrant such a wide legal proviso as allowing his majesty to shut down monasteries at will. The final Valor findings encompassed some twenty-two volumes of record. Henry ordered that Parliament review the report and take appropriate action.
On February 4th, 1535, Parliament passed a controversial Act called the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries Act. This would be the first of two suppression Acts passed in the realm. This Act specifically enabled the King to seize the revenues from those monasteries that were making less than 200 pounds per year, and that all of these deemed “lesser” monasteries for that reason were to be closed within one year. All assets would revert back to the crown. The monks, Priests, nuns, and other clergy that filled those houses that were to be dissolved were now effectively homeless. To avoid another tongue lashing by the Queen, Henry further ordered that any poor who were being housed at a closing monastery be moved to other monasteries to be cared for until further accommodations could be found for them.
Despite the real impact on the monasteries being seized, in one sense, Parliament’s passage of the law was merely for show; Cromwell’s agents had already started closing down these buildings months earlier, before the final verdict from the King even arrived. In a desperate attempt to placate the King, some monasteries attempted to bribe the King’s ministers, offering thousands of pounds and priceless goods to save their stations. Such ploys were unsuccessful, and the attempts were used only to further document corrupt behavior.
Due to the overwhelming amount of goods and money passed from these houses to the crown, Cromwell had authorized special courts to distribute property and authenticate values. Though Henry had made clear to Anne he supported and even valued her cause, the truth was that the royal exchequer was near empty due to their massive cost of maintaining his court, and he wanted his wealth back. There would be times where he would have to sacrifice the pledge made to his wife to fill his accounts. The Court of Augmentations was established in 1536 and heard cases mainly on behalf of Cromwell and royal agents for the transfer and remittance of goods. The court was fully functional with its own staff of legal advisers, lawyers, clerks, and accountants.
For his part, Cromwell had, over-optimistically, or foolishly, assured Henry that the reformation was going well, despite some discontent, especially in the north. In so understating the threat, he failed to estimate just how great that discontent was, particularly with the new order’s dispensing with various holidays (chiefly the feast days for observance of Catholic saints). The previously loyal subjects in the north were heavily Catholic and clung deeply to their faith, its traditions and its Holy Days. Holy Days were a long-held and beloved tradition. On these days all work ceased, and subjects were free to worship and spend time with their families. Meanwhile, as minister, Cromwell saw only the economic disadvantage brought to the realm by even one day’s lack of productivity. It was sheer greed that motivated this momentous decision.
Cromwell recommended to the King that he declare these days invalid. Historians have judged that these actions were chiefly done by Cromwell, which is certainly partly true, but not wholly accurate. The King’s minister would never have acted so boldly without his master’s permission; to do so, especially with such division at court, would risk death. The express command for the injunctions came from Henry, with Cromwell merely the initiator and executioner. The decree from Henry stated that all subjects would work on these Holy Days, and that they were to be treated as any other day. With the elimination of the Catholic Holy Days, so too went those days off during which the faithful common people had previously been able to rest from their backbreaking, ill-compensated labor.
When Anne heard of the removal of the Holy Days she was livid. Contemporary reports from Cromwell’s groom show that Anne physically struck him about the head for what he had done, and she repeated her threat of having him removed from his post. She fully intended to make good on it. The elimination of the Holy Days the people held so dear would not be tolerated. The people’s anger was collectively gathering far more than either Cromwell or Henry could ever have imagined. In fact, the angriest among the people had already started to discuss the possibility of an uprising against the King.
In addition to heated political rhetoric based on religious reform, there were also practical considerations for the people to be restless. The wheat crop harvest of 1535 had been hit hard by lack of rain, and the scarcity of the staple crop led to high inflation. This, in turn, led again to the devaluation of English currency, a reduction in the labor force, and a continued downward economic spiral. Even royalty had difficulty obtaining enough rations of wheat to feed the massive court, and in most cases these were limited to the use of the King, Queen, and their children. Henry had decreed that workers found to be stealing rations of wheat would spend days in the stocks and/or pays a fine; however, the Queen insisted that such offenses not lead to executions. She refused to put her subjects to death for trying to feed their families in a difficult harvest year.
Farmers and other agriculture workers
were some of the hardest hit by the season, but many religious houses also held farms or other businesses that were hit twice as hard. Farming provided year-round crops to feed the Priest, nuns, monks, clerks, and servants, along with the ability to sell extra crops for a profit. These properties would now be diverted to the crown. The state could manipulate prices and reinstate economic controls at will. One catastrophic downside to the closing of the monasteries was the termination of charity towards the poor.
With the wheat shortage, the dejected state of the country’s poor, starving, and sick became more obvious. They came out in record numbers, protesting in front of the palace gates begging for rations of food—even simple bread—just to feed their families. Many died right before the gates from illness due to starvation, and other illnesses such as consumption (tuberculosis). The Queen, while fearful, also genuinely grieved at the suffering of her people, and immediately called for Elizabeth and the Prince to be brought to her, where she could watch them herself should a riot break out. Though the Yeoman Warders were on heavy guard, with additional troops keeping watch, it was still better to be safe than sorry. It would take close to three weeks to cautiously bring the royal children to Anne using back roads and an additional contingent of guards, but they would eventually make it so the family could weather the food riot together.
The religious houses were the only structured entity within the kingdom that fed, housed, and cared for the sick, dying, and the poor on their own income. Cromwell highly disagreed with the King’s measures towards the rioters and thought that the sick and dying at the monasteries should be left to their own devices to die, as they were burdens on English society. He continued to enact reprehensible reforms, allegedly at the King’s request. With the elimination of their income, those houses that were allowed to stay open could no longer afford to offer critical services to the poor, leading to violence, chaos, crime, and continued talk of revolution. Those who relied on the church to provide daily sustenance found none and searched for any means to survive the brutal living conditions. Crime became rampant, especially in the larger cities.
Had the Queen Lived: Page 11