AP Euro DBQ
By Connor Powell
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a movement led by Catholics in England with the purpose of stopping the religious reformation in England. In 1534, the Act of Supremacy made Henry VIII the sole head of the Church of England.Henry underwent a radical change from being a devout catholic to strongly against the Catholic Church. At one point he was even appointed the "Defender of the Faith." However Henry had been fed up with the Pope Clemente VI and the Pope's unwillingness to have his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled. Henry decided to cut all his ties to the Catholic Church and move on. Henry appointed Thomas Cromwell to be the Lord High Chancellor and head the King’s Council. Cromwell consequently implemented new taxes, increased royal power in the north of England, destroyed Catholic monasteries, and confiscated Church lands. This was enough to send many English citizens against Cromwell and the religious reformation. The concerns the participants had in the Pilgrimage of Grace were the unfairness of people like Thomas Cromwell and the rather abrupt absence of Catholicism. The goals were to restore monasteries, have the pope back as the supreme head of the Church, restore tenant rights by an Act of Parliament, and get rid of Thomas Cromwell. King Henry and many of his members of parliament were strongly against the Pilgrimage due to the fact they wanted to retain there almighty power.
There was a lot of concern expressed by the supporters of the Pilgrimage of Grace. Marchers were concerned “Because the rulers of this country do not defend us from being robbed by thieves and Scots, we have to rely on charity, faith, poverty and pity (Doc. 2).” In a ballad composed by a group of catholic monks, the monks express concern that the Church of England was replacing the traditional Catholic Church and its values. “Great God’s fame/ Does the Church now proclaim? Now to be Lame/ And held in bonds… (Doc. 5).” The monks are biased in their ridicule of the Church of England due to their allegiance to the Catholic Church. Imprisoned Catholic parish priest Nicholas Leche talks in his testimony about his concern that nobody was informed that participating in the pilgrimage was treason. “… Not one gentleman tried to warn the commoners of Lincoln that it was treason (Doc. 8).” It is hard to tell the legitimacy of this statement due to the fact the priest is imprisoned and we do not know whether he was forced to say this or not. During a testimony shortly before his execution, a gentleman by the name Robert Aske talked about his worry about the future of the country without the Catholic Church. “Once the monasteries in the north gave great help to poor men and laudable service to God. Now no hospitality is shown… (Doc .11).”
Not only were there concerns surrounding the Pilgrimage of Grace there were also many different goals of the Pilgrimage of Grace. The “Oath of Honorable Men” the protesters must have taken states, “ You shall not enter into our Pilgrimage of Grace for worldly gain. Do so for the love of God, for the Holy Catholic Church Militant…. (Doc. 1).” The Oath emphasizes that this pilgrimage was for the better of the world, not just the individual. The Oath continues on to set out the goals of the pilgrimage. “… For the preservation of the King and his heirs, for the purification of the nobility, and to expel all evil counselors…(Doc 1).” It is quite obvious that the protestors would pledge allegiance to the king and lay the blame on Cromwell instead because they were afraid that if they didn’t they would be executed for treason. The banner carried by the peasant marches at Horncastle depicted “Wounds of Christ,” a communion chalice, a plow, and a castle horn (Doc. 3). The banner shows the peasants desire to fulfill duty to the Catholic Church. It wasn’t only peasants who were against the reformation there were also selected gentleman who opposed the reformation. In a petition presented to the King’s Council by gentleman Robert Aske, he states some goals of the petition “To have the heresies of Luther, Wycliffe, Hus, and Tyndale annulled and destroyed… To have Thomas Cromwell, the Lord Chancellor, punished as a subverter of the good laws of this realm… To restore tenant rights by an Act of Parliament… (Doc. 5). Aske’s goals were to reinstate the Catholic Church, restore tenant rights, and have Thomas Cromwell punished and his methods denounced. Since Aske is wealthy, he wants what’s best for him and his social class so he can become wealthier. In (Doc. 6) a former member of parliament Sir Thomas Tempest wants the governmental structure changed and Thomas Cromwell exiled. “… The traitor Thomas Cromwell and his adherents, [should] be at least [exiled] from the realm… The current parliament has no authority or virtue. It is little more than a council of the King’s appointees (Doc. 6). “
Despite all the supporters of the Pilgrimage of Grace there were a very select few against the pilgrimage of grace. Richard Morrison -- a hired writer by Thomas Cromwell -- states in “A Remedy for Sedition” “When every man rules, who shall obey? Those that are of the worser sort must be content that the wiser rule and govern them (Doc. 7).” Since Thomas Cromwell hired Morrison, he will support Cromwell blindly because Cromwell pays his bills. King Henry weighed in on the turmoil in his pardon granted to marchers. He was concerned that the protestors had given comfort to their enemies and their protest was fueled by false tales “Committed rebellion that might have ruined your country. You have given comfort to your enemies… Your offenses proceeded from ignorance and false tales (Doc. 9).” King Henry obviously wants this rebellion to stop because it threatens his power. Despite Henry’s pardon there was severe punishment for the participants in the pilgrimage of grace. 144 people were convicted with clergy members having the highest rate of conviction (Doc. 10).
The concerns the participants in the pilgrimage of grace had were valid but due to the power of King Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell they could not achieve their goals. There was no stopping the religious reformation once it got going and the protestors in the pilgrimage of grace were going up against a stacked deck. Like so many other attempts to defy the government before and after it a powerful leader crushed the pilgrimage of grace.
By Connor Powell
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a movement led by Catholics in England with the purpose of stopping the religious reformation in England. In 1534, the Act of Supremacy made Henry VIII the sole head of the Church of England.Henry underwent a radical change from being a devout catholic to strongly against the Catholic Church. At one point he was even appointed the "Defender of the Faith." However Henry had been fed up with the Pope Clemente VI and the Pope's unwillingness to have his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled. Henry decided to cut all his ties to the Catholic Church and move on. Henry appointed Thomas Cromwell to be the Lord High Chancellor and head the King’s Council. Cromwell consequently implemented new taxes, increased royal power in the north of England, destroyed Catholic monasteries, and confiscated Church lands. This was enough to send many English citizens against Cromwell and the religious reformation. The concerns the participants had in the Pilgrimage of Grace were the unfairness of people like Thomas Cromwell and the rather abrupt absence of Catholicism. The goals were to restore monasteries, have the pope back as the supreme head of the Church, restore tenant rights by an Act of Parliament, and get rid of Thomas Cromwell. King Henry and many of his members of parliament were strongly against the Pilgrimage due to the fact they wanted to retain there almighty power.
There was a lot of concern expressed by the supporters of the Pilgrimage of Grace. Marchers were concerned “Because the rulers of this country do not defend us from being robbed by thieves and Scots, we have to rely on charity, faith, poverty and pity (Doc. 2).” In a ballad composed by a group of catholic monks, the monks express concern that the Church of England was replacing the traditional Catholic Church and its values. “Great God’s fame/ Does the Church now proclaim? Now to be Lame/ And held in bonds… (Doc. 5).” The monks are biased in their ridicule of the Church of England due to their allegiance to the Catholic Church. Imprisoned Catholic parish priest Nicholas Leche talks in his testimony about his concern that nobody was informed that participating in the pilgrimage was treason. “… Not one gentleman tried to warn the commoners of Lincoln that it was treason (Doc. 8).” It is hard to tell the legitimacy of this statement due to the fact the priest is imprisoned and we do not know whether he was forced to say this or not. During a testimony shortly before his execution, a gentleman by the name Robert Aske talked about his worry about the future of the country without the Catholic Church. “Once the monasteries in the north gave great help to poor men and laudable service to God. Now no hospitality is shown… (Doc .11).”
Not only were there concerns surrounding the Pilgrimage of Grace there were also many different goals of the Pilgrimage of Grace. The “Oath of Honorable Men” the protesters must have taken states, “ You shall not enter into our Pilgrimage of Grace for worldly gain. Do so for the love of God, for the Holy Catholic Church Militant…. (Doc. 1).” The Oath emphasizes that this pilgrimage was for the better of the world, not just the individual. The Oath continues on to set out the goals of the pilgrimage. “… For the preservation of the King and his heirs, for the purification of the nobility, and to expel all evil counselors…(Doc 1).” It is quite obvious that the protestors would pledge allegiance to the king and lay the blame on Cromwell instead because they were afraid that if they didn’t they would be executed for treason. The banner carried by the peasant marches at Horncastle depicted “Wounds of Christ,” a communion chalice, a plow, and a castle horn (Doc. 3). The banner shows the peasants desire to fulfill duty to the Catholic Church. It wasn’t only peasants who were against the reformation there were also selected gentleman who opposed the reformation. In a petition presented to the King’s Council by gentleman Robert Aske, he states some goals of the petition “To have the heresies of Luther, Wycliffe, Hus, and Tyndale annulled and destroyed… To have Thomas Cromwell, the Lord Chancellor, punished as a subverter of the good laws of this realm… To restore tenant rights by an Act of Parliament… (Doc. 5). Aske’s goals were to reinstate the Catholic Church, restore tenant rights, and have Thomas Cromwell punished and his methods denounced. Since Aske is wealthy, he wants what’s best for him and his social class so he can become wealthier. In (Doc. 6) a former member of parliament Sir Thomas Tempest wants the governmental structure changed and Thomas Cromwell exiled. “… The traitor Thomas Cromwell and his adherents, [should] be at least [exiled] from the realm… The current parliament has no authority or virtue. It is little more than a council of the King’s appointees (Doc. 6). “
Despite all the supporters of the Pilgrimage of Grace there were a very select few against the pilgrimage of grace. Richard Morrison -- a hired writer by Thomas Cromwell -- states in “A Remedy for Sedition” “When every man rules, who shall obey? Those that are of the worser sort must be content that the wiser rule and govern them (Doc. 7).” Since Thomas Cromwell hired Morrison, he will support Cromwell blindly because Cromwell pays his bills. King Henry weighed in on the turmoil in his pardon granted to marchers. He was concerned that the protestors had given comfort to their enemies and their protest was fueled by false tales “Committed rebellion that might have ruined your country. You have given comfort to your enemies… Your offenses proceeded from ignorance and false tales (Doc. 9).” King Henry obviously wants this rebellion to stop because it threatens his power. Despite Henry’s pardon there was severe punishment for the participants in the pilgrimage of grace. 144 people were convicted with clergy members having the highest rate of conviction (Doc. 10).
The concerns the participants in the pilgrimage of grace had were valid but due to the power of King Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell they could not achieve their goals. There was no stopping the religious reformation once it got going and the protestors in the pilgrimage of grace were going up against a stacked deck. Like so many other attempts to defy the government before and after it a powerful leader crushed the pilgrimage of grace.