| Pilgrimage of Grace | |||
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| Part of theEuropean wars of religion | |||
.svg) A banner bearing theHoly Wounds ofJesus Christ, which was carried at the Pilgrimage of Grace | |||
| Date | October 1536 – February 1537 | ||
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| Resulted in | Suppression of the risings, execution of the leading figures | ||
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ThePilgrimage of Grace was anEnglish Catholic popular revolt beginning inYorkshire in October 1536 before spreading to other parts ofNorthern England, includingCumberland,Northumberland,Durham and northLancashire. The protests occurred under the leadership ofRobert Aske. The "most serious of allTudor period rebellions", the Pilgrimage was a revolt against KingHenry VIII's break with theCatholic Church, thedissolution of the lesser monasteries, and the policies of the King's chief minister,Thomas Cromwell, as well as other specific political, social, and economic grievances.[2]
Following the suppression of the short-lived Lincolnshire Rising of 1536, the traditional historical view portrays the Pilgrimage as "a spontaneous mass protest of the conservative elements in the North of England angry with the religious upheavals instigated by King Henry VIII". Historians have observed that there were contributing economic factors.[3]
During the Tudor era there was a general rise in the population across England, concentrated in the areas around Yorkshire. This led to a series ofenclosures of once common lands. With increased competition for resources, lack of access to once common land, and a greater pool of available labour, led to an increase in the price of goods and a lack of employment, resulting in unrest amongst the population.[4]
In 1535, the year preceding the revolt, bad harvests led to a series of grain riots inCraven in June 1535 andSomerset in April 1536 where grain prices were 82% higher than those in 1534.[4]
The Lincolnshire Rising was a brief rising against the separation of theChurch of England from papal authority byHenry VIII and the dissolution of the monasteries set in motion byThomas Cromwell. Both planned to assert the nation's religious autonomy and the king's supremacy over religious matters. The dissolution of the monasteries resulted in much property being transferred to the Crown.[5]
The royal commissioners seized not only land, but the church plate, jewels, gold crosses, and bells. Silver chalices were replaced by ones made of tin. In some instances these items had been donated by local families in thanksgiving or in memory of a family member. There was also resistance to the recently passedStatute of Uses, which sought to recover royal fees based on land tenure.[6] On 30 September 1536, Dr. John Raynes,Chancellor of theDiocese of Lincoln, and one of Cromwell's commissioners, was addressing the assembled clergy in Bolingbroke, informing them of the new regulations and taxes affecting them. One of his clerks further inflamed matters regarding new requirements for the academic standards of the clergy saying "Look to your books, or there will be consequences",[7] which may have worried some of the less educated attendees. Word of his discourse and rumours of confiscation spread rapidly throughout Lindsey and soon reachedLouth andHorncastle.
The rising began on 1 October 1536[2] atSt James' Church, Louth, after Vespers, shortly after the closure ofLouth Park Abbey. The stated aim of the uprising was to protest against the suppression of the monasteries, and not against the rule of Henry VIII himself.[6]
Led by a monk and a shoemaker called Nicholas Melton,[8] some 22,000 people are estimated to have joined the rising.[9] The rising quickly gained support in Horncastle,Market Rasen,Caistor, and other nearby towns. Raynes, who was ill at Bolingbroke, was dragged from his sick-bed in the chantry priests' residence and later beaten to death by the mob, and the commissioners' registers were seized and burned.[6]
Angered by the actions of commissioners, the protesters demanded the end of the collection of a subsidy, the end of theTen Articles, an end to the dissolution of religious houses, an end to taxes in peacetime, a purge of heretics in government, and the repeal of theStatute of Uses. With support from local gentry, a force of demonstrators, estimated at up to 40,000, marched onLincoln and occupiedLincoln Cathedral. They demanded the freedom to continue worshipping as Roman Catholics and protection for the treasures of the Lincolnshire churches.[9]: 56
The protest effectively ended on 4 October 1536, when the King sent word for the occupiers to disperse or face the forces ofCharles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, which had already been mobilised. By 14 October, few remained in Lincoln. Following the rising, the vicar of Louth and Captain Cobbler, two of the main leaders, were captured and hanged atTyburn.[5]
Most of the other local ringleaders were executed during the next 12 days, including William Moreland, or Borrowby, one of the former Louth Park Abbey monks.[10]Thomas Moigne, a lawyer fromWillingham and one of the MPs for Lincoln, washanged, drawn and quartered for his involvement.[5] The Lincolnshire Rising helped inspire the more widespread Pilgrimage of Grace. Many historians emphasize that the Pilgrimage of Grace was a religious uprising driven by widespread opposition to the dissolution of monasteries and challenges to traditional Catholic practices.[11]
"The Pilgrimage of Grace was a massive rebellion against the policies of the Crown and those closely identified with Thomas Cromwell."[12] The movement broke out on 13 October 1536, immediately following the failure of the Lincolnshire Rising. Only then was the term 'Pilgrimage of Grace' used. Historians have identified several key themes of the revolt:
The northern gentry had concerns over the newStatute of Uses. The poor harvest of 1535 had also led to highfood prices, which likely contributed to discontent. TheDissolution of the Monasteries also affected the local poor, many of whom relied on them for food and shelter. Henry VIII was also in the habit of raising more funds for the crown through taxation, confiscation of lands, and depreciating the value of goods. A great deal of the taxation was levied against property and income, especially in the areas around Cumberland and Westmoreland where accounts of extortionate rents and gressums, a payment made to the crown when taking up a tenancy through inheritance, sale, or entry fines, were becoming more and more common.[13]
Many people in England disliked the way in which Henry VIII had cast off his wife,Catherine of Aragon.[14] Although her successor,Anne Boleyn, had been unpopular as Catherine's replacement as a rumoured Protestant, her execution in 1536 on charges ofadultery andtreason had done much to undermine the monarchy's prestige and the King's personal reputation. Aristocrats objected to the rise ofThomas Cromwell, who was "base born".[citation needed] Participants often carried banners bearing the Five Wounds of Christ and openly invoked God’s protection, underlining the rebellion’s religious symbolism and opposition to Protestant reform.[15]
The local church was, for many in the north, the centre of community life. Many ordinary peasants were worried that their church plate would be confiscated. There were also popular rumours at the time which hinted that baptisms might be taxed. The recently releasedTen Articles and the new order of prayer issued by the government in 1535 had also made official doctrine more Protestant, which went against the Catholic beliefs of most northerners. In The Pilgrimage of Grace Reconsidered, C.S.L. Davies argues that the revolt should be understood primarily as a response to religious reforms, rather than merely as an economic or political disturbance.[16]
Robert Aske was chosen to lead the insurgents; he was abarrister fromLondon, a resident of theInns of Court, and the youngest son of Sir Robert Aske ofAughton, nearSelby. His family was fromAske Hall,Richmondshire, and had long been in Yorkshire. In 1536, Aske led a band of 9,000 followers, each of whom had sworn the Oath of the Honourable Men, who entered and occupiedYork.[17][18] He arranged for expelled monks and nuns to return to their houses; the King's newly installed tenants were driven out, and Catholic observances were resumed.[19] When the King learnt that the monks had restoredSawley Abbey, he orderedEdward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby to "take the said abbot and monks forth with violence and have them hanged without delay in their monks’ apparel".[20]
However, the rising was so successful that the royalist leaders,Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, andGeorge Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, opened negotiations with the insurgents at Scawsby Leys, nearDoncaster, where Aske had assembled between 30,000 and 40,000 people.[19]
In early December 1536, the Pilgrimage of Grace gathered atPontefract Castle to draft a petition to be presented to King Henry VIII with a list of their demands. The 24 Articles to the King, also called "The Commons' Petition", was given to the Duke of Norfolk to present to the king. The Duke promised to do so, and also promised a general pardon and a Parliament to be held at York within a year, as well as a reprieve for the abbeys until the Parliament had met. Accepting the promises, Aske dismissed his followers and the pilgrimage disbanded.[19]
Jesse Childs (a biographer of the Earl of Surrey, Norfolk's son) specifically notes that Henry VIII did not authorize Norfolk to grant remedies for the grievances. Norfolk's enemies had whispered into the King's ear that the Howards could put down a rebellion of peasants if they wanted to, suggesting that Norfolk sympathized with the Pilgrimage. Norfolk and the Earl of Shrewsbury were outnumbered: they had 5000 and 7000 respectively but there were 40,000 pilgrims. Upon seeing their vast numbers, Norfolk negotiated and made promises to avoid being massacred.[citation needed]
In February 1537 there was a new rising (not authorised by Aske) inCumberland andWestmorland, calledBigod's Rebellion, underSir Francis Bigod, ofSettrington in theNorth Riding of Yorkshire. Because he knew the promises he made on behalf of the King would not be met, Norfolk reacted quickly to the new uprising after the Pilgrims did not disperse as they had promised.
The rebellion failed and King Henry VIII arrested Bigod, Aske, and several other rebels, such asDarcy,John Hussey, 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford, theChief Butler of England;Sir Thomas Percy, and Sir Robert Constable. All were convicted oftreason and executed. During 1537 Bigod was hanged at Tyburn; Lords Darcy and Hussey both beheaded;Thomas Moigne,M.P. forLincoln washanged, drawn, and quartered;Sir Robert Constable hanged in chains at Hull; andRobert Askehanged in chains at York. In total 216 were executed: several lords and knights (includingSir Thomas Percy, Sir Stephen Hamerton, Sir William Lumley, Sir John Constable, and Sir William Constable), 7 abbots (Adam Sedbar, Abbot of Jervaulx, William Trafford, Abbot of Sawley, John Paslew, Abbot of Whalley, Matthew Mackarel, Abbot of Barlings and Bishop of Chalcedon, William Thirsk, Abbot of Fountains and the Prior of Bridlington), 38 monks, and 16 parish priests. Sir Nicholas Tempest,Bowbearer of theForest of Bowland, was hanged at Tyburn, Sir John Bulmer hanged, drawn, and quartered and his wife Margaret Stafford burnt at the stake.
In late 1538, SirEdward Neville, Keeper of the Sewer (official overseeing service), was beheaded. The loss of the leaders enabled theDuke of Norfolk to quell the rising,[19] and martial law was imposed upon the demonstrating regions. Norfolk executed some 216 activists (such as Lord Darcy, who tried to implicate Norfolk as a sympathizer): churchmen, monks, commoners.[21]
The details of the trial and execution of major leaders were recorded by the author ofWriothesley's Chronicle:[9]: 63-4 [22][2]
Also the 16-day of May [1537] there were arraigned atWestminster afore the King’s Commissioners, theLord Chancellor that day being the chief, these persons following:Sir Robert Constable, knight;Sir Thomas Percy, knight, and brother to theEarl of Northumberland; Sir John Bulmer, knight, and Ralph Bulmer, his son and heir;Sir Francis Bigod, knight; Margaret Cheney, after Lady Bulmer by untrue matrimony; George Lumley, esquire;[23]Robert Aske, gentleman, that was captain in the insurrection of the Northern men; and one Hamerton, esquire, all which persons were indicted ofhigh treason against the King, and that day condemned by a jury of knights and esquires for the same, whereupon they had sentence to bedrawn, hanged and quartered, but Ralph Bulmer, the son of John Bulmer, was reprieved and had no sentence.
And on the 25-day of May, being the Friday inWhitsun week, Sir John Bulmer, Sir Stephen Hamerton, knights, were hanged and headed; Nicholas Tempest, esquire; Doctor Cockerell, priest;[24] Abbot quondam ofFountains;[25] and Doctor Pickering, friar,[26] were drawn from theTower of London toTyburn, and there hanged,bowelled and quartered, and theirheads set onLondon Bridge and divers gates in London.
And the same day Margaret Cheney, 'other wife to Bulmer called', was drawn after them from the Tower of London intoSmithfield, and thereburned according to her judgment, God pardon her soul, being the Friday in Whitsun week; she was a very fair creature, and a beautiful.
The Lincolnshire Rising and the Pilgrimage of Grace have historically been seen as failures for the following reasons:
Their partial successes are less known:
Historians have noted the leaders among the nobility and gentry in the Lincolnshire Rising and the Pilgrimage of Grace and tend to argue that the Risings gained legitimacy only through the involvement of the northern nobility and gentlemen, such asLord Darcy,Lord Hussey andRobert Aske.[27] However, historians such as M. E. James, C. S. L. Davies andAndy Wood, among others, believe the question of leadership was more complex.
James and Davies look at the Risings of 1536 as the product of common grievances. The lower classes were aggrieved because of the closure of local monasteries by the Act of Suppression. The northern nobility felt their rights were being taken away from them in the Acts of 1535–1536, which made them lose confidence in the royal government. James analysed how the lower classes and the nobility used each other as a legitimizing force in an extremely ordered society.
The nobles hid behind the force of the lower classes with claims of coercion, since they were seen as blameless for their actions because they did not possess political choice. This allowed the nobles an arena to air their grievances while, at the same time, playing the victims of popular violence. The lower classes used the nobility to give their grievance a sense of obedience since the "leaders" of the rebellion were of a higher social class.[28]
Davies considers the leadership of the 1536 Risings as more of a cohesion. Common grievances over evil advisors and religion brought the higher and lower classes together in their fight. Once the nobles had to confront the King's forces and an all-out war, they decided to surrender, thereby ending the cohesion.[29]
Historian Andy Wood, representing social historians of the late 20th century who have found more agency among the lower classes, argues that the commons were the effective force behind the Risings. He argues that this force came from a class group largely left out of history: minor gentlemen and well-off farmers. He believes these groups were the leaders of the Risings because they had more political agency and thought.[30]
The sub-prior of the AugustinianCartmel Priory and several of the canons were hanged, along with ten villagers who had supported them.[31] The monks of the AugustinianHexham priory, who became involved in the Pilgrimage of Grace, were executed.
Burton, Edwin (1911). "Pilgrimage of Grace". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Pilgrimage of Grace".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
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