English Reformation Parliament
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The English Reformation Parliament, which sat from 3 November 1529 to 14 April 1536, established the legal basis for the
Background
By the mid-1520s,
Wolsey was unable to convince Clement to grant a divorce. Frustrated with Wolsey and the English clergy as a whole,[7] Henry then turned to combating the influence and the benefits that the Catholic clergy enjoyed in England, hoping that pressure on the Church would influence the Pope to support his cause.[8] However, England was not all that powerful and important enough in Europe at this time for the Pope to pay it much attention.[9]
Henry then consulted with his advisors including Thomas Cromwell to address the influence of
Acts
The major pieces of legislation from the Reformation Parliament included:
1529 Clergy legal privilege removed
An Act was passed to prevent the clergy from being subject to separate canonical courts. Instead, they were now to be tried in the same way as everybody else in England was and not be looked upon favourably by the courts.
1530 Praemunire charges reinstated
In October 1530 Cromwell surprised even his mentor Wolsey by taking praemunire action against the English clergy, essentially accusing them of appealing to a power outside of the realm (i.e., the Pope) - not for a specific reason but rather the entire principle of papal authority over English law.[12] The clergy were therefore charged with treason. Once the clergy acknowledged Henry as the head of the Church of England, charges were dropped.[13]
1532 Rome deprived of a portion of Annates normally remitted
The session of 1532 saw plan and purpose that had not been evident in earlier sessions.[14]
The first Act of
1533 Act in Restraint of Appeals
This act removed the Pope from any jurisdiction over the English crown, affairs, or lands; the English monarch was now the ultimate authority. Henry used the argument that England was an empire and therefore not subject to the Pope’s control.[15] Ultimately, as “supreme head” of the church,[16] this act provided Henry the ability to legally divorce Katherine and marry Anne Boleyn.[17] Most importantly, it provided the foundation for subsequent legislative reform concerning the English church and the monarch’s authority.[18]
1534 Act Concerning Peter's Pence and Dispensations
Payment of Peter's Pence (a tax collected annually from householders) to the See of Rome was abolished. The Act also eradicated pluralism in the clergy (the right to hold more than one parish) and forbade English clergy from attending religious assemblies abroad.
1534 The First Succession Act
The Succession Act of 1533 (passed in 1534) declared Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon's marriage invalid and Mary therefore illegitimate, which established his daughter Elizabeth (later Elizabeth I) as his heir.[19]
1534 Treasons Act 1534
Henry wanted to silence critics of these changes to legislation and heirs (for example,
1534 Act of Supremacy; Annates reserved to the English Crown
The second Act of
1536 Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries Act
This act decreed that smaller
Under the guise of addressing corrupt and usury practices of the clergy, Cromwell sought a way to not only extend Crown control of the clergy but also seize their assets. In doing so, Cromwell found a way to enrich the Crown’s struggling treasury. This action would also continue to limit the clergy’s authority.[23] In reality, the corruption of the clergy was most likely not as severe as Cromwell purported, and most laity seemed satisfied that their spiritual and pastoral needs were being met.[24]
Dissolving monasteries had been Cromwell’s goal for some time. By starting with the smaller monasteries first, he could avoid the accusation of displacing monks and nuns who could find a home elsewhere in larger, richer monasteries. It would also avoid angering influential patrons and supporters at Court, who largely supported those monasteries. Additionally, dissolution would also provide a means to win loyalty by enriching landowners by bestowing them these smaller monastic lands.[25] Abbots agreed, in the hopes that the larger monasteries would be spared.[26]
Aftermath
These eight sessions of Parliament began the separation of canonical law from
As a result, it also transferred significant wealth away from the English Roman Catholic Church to the Crown,[29] with the added benefit of helping to boost the English economy.[30]
See also
- Scottish Reformation Parliament, commencing 1560
References
- .
- ^ UK Parliament. "Reformation Parliament". Retrieved 13 March 2023.
- ^ UK Parliament. "Reformation Parliament". Retrieved 13 March 2023.
- ^ History of Parliament Trust. "KS3 > The Reformation > Parliaments > Reformation Parliament". Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ISBN 9781118532225.
- ISBN 9781118532225.
- .
- JSTOR 2671186. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ISBN 9781118532225.
- ISBN 9781118532225.
- ^ History of Parliament Trust. "KS3 > The Reformation > Parliaments > Reformation Parliament". Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- JSTOR 20476841.
- JSTOR 20476841.
- ^ Elton, G. R. (1955). England under the Tudors. London: Methuen. p. 130.
- ^ History of Parliament Trust. "KS3 > The Reformation > Parliaments > Reformation Parliament". Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- .
- ^ History of Parliament Trust. "KS3 > The Reformation > Parliaments > Reformation Parliament". Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ISBN 0-521-07655-2.
- ^ History of Parliament Trust. "KS3 > The Reformation > Parliaments > Reformation Parliament". Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ISBN 0-521-07655-2.
- ISBN 0-521-07655-2.
- ^ History of Parliament Trust. "KS3 > The Reformation > Parliaments > Reformation Parliament". Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ISBN 0-521-07655-2.
- JSTOR 24417597.
- ISBN 0-521-07655-2.
- ISBN 0-521-07655-2.
- S2CID 143359563. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ UK Parliament. "Reformation Parliament". Retrieved 13 March 2023.
- ^ History of Parliament Trust. "KS3 > The Reformation > Parliaments > Reformation Parliament". Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ISBN 0-521-07655-2.
- Lehmberg, Stanford E (1970). The Reformation Parliament 1529-1536. The Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-07655-2.