Pilgrimage of Grace
Encyclopedia
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular rising
Popular revolt in late medieval Europe
Popular revolts in late medieval Europe were uprisings and rebellions by peasants in the countryside, or the bourgeois in towns, against nobles, abbots and kings during the upheavals of the 14th through early 16th centuries, part of a larger "Crisis of the Late Middle Ages"...

 in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 during 1536, in protest against Henry VIII's break with the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 and the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...

, as well as other specific political, social and economic grievances. It was done in action against Thomas Cromwell. Technically the term Pilgrimage of Grace refers specifically and inclusively to the uprising around York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

, though sometimes it is used in relation to the risings in general which took place around Northern England
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...

; first from Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...

, twelve days before the actual Pilgrimage of Grace.

Lincolnshire Rising

The Lincolnshire Rising was a brief dissent of Roman Catholics against the establishment of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 by Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

 and the dissolution of the monasteries set in motion by Thomas Cromwell's suggested plan of asserting the nation's religious autonomy and the king's supremacy over religious matters.

It began at St. James Church
St. James Church, Louth
St. James' Church, Louth is a parish church in the Church of England in Louth, Lincolnshire, England. It is notable for its tall spire.-History:...

, Louth
Louth, Lincolnshire
Louth is a market town and civil parish within the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.-Geography:Known as the "capital of the Lincolnshire Wolds", it is situated where the ancient trackway Barton Street crosses the River Lud, and has a total resident population of 15,930.The Greenwich...

, after evensong
Evening Prayer (Anglican)
Evening Prayer is a liturgy in use in the Anglican Communion and celebrated in the late afternoon or evening...

 on 1 October 1536, shortly after the closure of Louth Abbey. The uprising was only against the attempt to suppress the religious houses, these being Catholic, and was not against the king himself. It quickly gained support in Horncastle, Market Rasen
Market Rasen
Market Rasen is a town and civil parish within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies on the River Rase northeast of Lincoln, east of Gainsborough and southwest of Grimsby. According to the 2001 census, it has a population of 3,200....

, Caistor
Caistor
See Caistor St Edmund for the Roman settlement in Norfolk or Caister-on-Sea for the town in NorfolkCaistor is a town and civil parish situated in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. As its name implies, it was originally a Roman castrum or fortress...

 and other nearby towns. Angry with the actions of commissioners, the protesters/rioters demanded the end of the collection of a subsidy, the end of the Ten Articles, an end to the dissolution, an end to taxes in peacetime, a purge of heretics in government, and the repeal of the Statute of Uses
Statute of Uses
The Statute of Uses was an Act of the Parliament of England that restricted the application of uses in English property law. The Statute was originally conceived by Henry VIII of England as a way to rectify his financial problems by simplifying the law of uses, which moved land outside the royal...

. With support from local gentry, a force of demonstrators, estimated at up to 40,000, marched on Lincoln
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....

 and, by 14 October, occupied Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral is a historic Anglican cathedral in Lincoln in England and seat of the Bishop of Lincoln in the Church of England. It was reputedly the tallest building in the world for 249 years . The central spire collapsed in 1549 and was not rebuilt...

. They demanded the freedom to continue worshipping as Catholics, and protection for the treasures of Lincolnshire churches. It was led by a monk and a shoemaker, and involved 22,000 people.

The moratorium effectively ended on 4 October 1536, when King Henry sent word for the occupiers to disperse or face the forces of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 1st Viscount Lisle, KG was the son of Sir William Brandon and Elizabeth Bruyn. Through his third wife Mary Tudor he was brother-in-law to Henry VIII. His father was the standard-bearer of Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond and was slain by Richard III in person at...

, 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 at Tyburn. Most of the other local ringleaders met the same fate over the next twelve days, with a lawyer from Willingham being hanged, drawn and quartered for his involvement. Soon, however, the Lincolnshire Rising helped inspire the more widespread Pilgrimage of Grace.

Pilgrimage of Grace, the early Tudor crisis

The movement broke out on 13 October 1536, immediately following the failure of the Lincolnshire Rising, and at this point was the term 'Pilgrimage of Grace' used. The causes of the expostulations have long been debated by historians, but several key themes can be identified:
  • Economic grievances. The northern gentry had concerns over the new Statute of Uses. The harvest of 1535 had also led to high food prices, which may have contributed to discontent.
  • Political grievances. Many people in northern England had disliked the way in which Henry VIII had 'cast off' Catherine of Aragon
    Catherine of Aragon
    Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...

    . Although her successor, Anne Boleyn
    Anne Boleyn
    Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...

    , had been unpopular, both as Catherine's replacement, a rumoured Protestant and a Southerner, her execution in 1536 on trumped-up charges of adultery
    Adultery
    Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...

     and treason
    Treason
    In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...

    , had done much to undermine the monarchy's prestige and the king's personal reputation. There was also anger at the rise of Thomas Cromwell
    Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex
    Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex, , was an English statesman who served as chief minister of King Henry VIII of England from 1532 to 1540....

     who was 'base born' and the aristocracy objected to this strongly.
  • Religious grievances. 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 baptism might be taxed. The recently released Ten Articles and the new order of prayer issued by the government in 1535 had also made official doctrine more reformed. This went against the conservative beliefs of most northerners.

Robert Aske
Robert Aske (political leader)
Robert Aske was an English lawyer who became the leader of rebellion in York. He led the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536 and was executed by Henry VIII for treason in 1537.-Biography:...

 was chosen to lead the insurgents; he was a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...

, a resident of the Inns of Court
Inns of Court
The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. All such barristers must belong to one such association. They have supervisory and disciplinary functions over their members. The Inns also provide libraries, dining facilities and professional...

, and the youngest son of Sir Robert Aske of Aughton
Aughton, East Riding of Yorkshire
Aughton is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north west of the market town of Howden and south west of the market town of Pocklington.It lies west of the B1228 road and east of the River Derwent....

 near Selby
Selby
Selby is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Situated south of the city of York, along the course of the River Ouse, Selby is the largest and, with a population of 13,012, most populous settlement of the wider Selby local government district.Historically a part of the West Riding...

. His was an old Yorkshire family from Richmondshire
Richmondshire
Richmondshire is a local government district of North Yorkshire, England. It covers a large northern area of the Yorkshire Dales including Swaledale and Arkengarthdale, Wensleydale and Coverdale, with the prominent Scots' Dyke and Scotch Corner along the centre. Teesdale lies to the north...

 (Aske Hall
Aske Hall
Aske Hall is a Georgian country house, with parkland attributed to Capability Brown, north of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It contains an impressive collection of 18th-century furniture, paintings and porcelain, and in its grounds a John Carr stable block converted into a chapel in...

). In 1536 Aske led a band of nine thousand followers, who entered and occupied York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

. There he arranged for the expelled monks and nuns to return to their houses; the king's newly installed tenants were driven out and Catholic observance resumed. The success of the rising was so great that the royal leaders, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal was a prominent Tudor politician. He was uncle to Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, two of the wives of King Henry VIII, and played a major role in the machinations behind these marriages...

 and George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury
George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury
George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, 4th Earl of Waterford, 10th Baron Talbot, 9th Baron Furnivall, KG was the son of John Talbot, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury and Lady Catherine Stafford, daughter of the 1st Duke of Buckingham....

, opened negotiations with the insurgents at Scawsby Leys near Doncaster, where Aske had assembled between thirty and forty thousand men.

Henry authorised Norfolk to promise 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. Trusting in the king's promises, Aske dismissed his followers.

Suppression

In February 1537 a new rising took place in Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....

 and Westmorland
Westmorland
Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...

 called Bigod's Rebellion
Bigod's Rebellion
Bigod's Rebellion of January 1537 was an armed rebellion by English Roman Catholics in Cumberland and Westmorland against King Henry VIII of England and the English Parliament...

 (not authorised by Aske) under Sir Francis Bigod, of Settrington
Settrington
Settrington is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It once had a railway station that lay on the Malton and Driffield Railway.-History:...

 in the North Riding of Yorkshire
North Riding of Yorkshire
The North Riding of Yorkshire was one of the three historic subdivisions of the English county of Yorkshire, alongside the East and West Ridings. From the Restoration it was used as a Lieutenancy area. The three ridings were treated as three counties for many purposes, such as having separate...

. Upon this the king arrested Aske and several of the other leaders, such as Darcy
Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Darcy
Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Darcy , was an English statesman and rebel leader, who was executed for his part in an English rebellion known as the Pilgrimage of Grace.-Origins:...

, Constable
Robert Constable
Sir Robert Constable was an English nobleman. He was the eldest son of Sir Marmaduke Constable and his wife Joyce Stafford...

, and Bigod, who were all convicted of treason and executed. Aske was hanged in chains from the walls of York Castle
York Castle
York Castle in the city of York, England, is a fortified complex comprising, over the last nine centuries, a sequence of castles, prisons, law courts and other buildings on the south side of the River Foss. The now-ruinous keep of the medieval Norman castle is sometimes referred to as Clifford's...

 as a warning to other would-be 'rebels'. Sir Francis Bigod, Sir Thomas Percy, Sir John Bulmer, Sir Stephan Hamilton, Sir Nicholas Tempast, Sir William Lumley, Sir Edward Neville, Sir John Constable, Sir William Constable, Sir Robert Constable
Robert Constable
Sir Robert Constable was an English nobleman. He was the eldest son of Sir Marmaduke Constable and his wife Joyce Stafford...

, Adam Sedbar, Abbot of Jervaulx
Adam Sedbar, Abbot of Jervaulx
Adam Sedbar or Sedbergh was the 23rd and last Abbot of Jervaulx Abbey in Wensleydale, YorkshireAdam Sedbar had been elected abbot of the Cistercian abbey of Jervaulx in 1533 when Henry VIII introduced his plans for the Dissolution of the MonasteriesHe was persuaded in 1536, somewhat reluctantly,...

, the abbots of Barlings, Sawley, Fountains
Fountains Abbey
Fountains Abbey is near to Aldfield, approximately two miles southwest of Ripon in North Yorkshire, England. It is a ruined Cistercian monastery, founded in 1132. Fountains Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved Cistercian houses in England. It is a Grade I listed building and owned by the...

 abbeys and the prior of Bridlington were executed in July 1537. In all, 216 were put to death; lords and knights, half a dozen abbots, 38 monks, and 16 parish priests. The loss of the leaders enabled the Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal was a prominent Tudor politician. He was uncle to Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, two of the wives of King Henry VIII, and played a major role in the machinations behind these marriages...

 to quell the rising and martial law was imposed upon the demonstrating regions, ending predication.

Successes and failures

The Lincolnshire Rising and the Pilgrimage of Grace have traditionally been seen as complete failures. They did, however, achieve several results that suggest otherwise.

Successes

Contrary to popular myth, there were some partial successes because of the rebellions:
  • The government postponed the collection of the October subsidy. This had been a major grievance amongst the Lincolnshire organisations.
  • The Statute of Uses was negated by a new law, the Statute of Wills
    Statute of Wills
    The Statute of Wills was an Act of the Parliament of England. It made it possible, for the first time in English history, for landholders to determine who would inherit their land upon their death by permitting bequest by will...

    .
  • Four of the seven sacraments
    Sacraments of the Catholic Church
    The Sacraments of the Catholic Church are, the Roman Catholic Church teaches, "efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper...

     that were omitted from the Ten Articles, were restored in the Bishop's Book
    Thirty-Nine Articles
    The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion are the historically defining statements of doctrines of the Anglican church with respect to the controversies of the English Reformation. First established in 1563, the articles served to define the doctrine of the nascent Church of England as it related to...

     of 1537. This marked the end of the drift of official doctrine towards Protestantism
    Protestantism
    Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

    . The Bishop's Book was followed by the Six Articles of 1539.
  • An onslaught upon heresy
    Heresy
    Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...

     was promised in a royal proclamation in 1538.

Failures

  • England was not reconciled to the Catholic Church, except during the brief reign of Mary I of England
    Mary I of England
    Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...

    .
  • The dissolution of the monasteries continued unabated, with the largest monasteries being dissolved by 1540.
  • Great tracts of land were seized from the Church and divided among the monarchy and its supporters.
  • The moves towards official Protestantism achieved by Cromwell were not reversed except during the five-year reign of Mary I of England
    Mary I of England
    Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...

     (1553–1558).

See also

  • Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Darcy
    Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Darcy
    Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Darcy , was an English statesman and rebel leader, who was executed for his part in an English rebellion known as the Pilgrimage of Grace.-Origins:...

    , beheaded because of his involvement.
  • John Hussey, 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford
    John Hussey, 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford
    John Hussey, 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford was Chief Butler of England from 1521 until his death...

    , beheaded because of his involvement.
  • John Longland
    John Longland
    John Longland was the English Dean of Salisbury from 1514 to 1521 and bishop of Lincoln from 1521 to his death in 1547.He was King Henry VIII's confessor and was said to have been one of those who first persuaded the King that he should annul his marriage to Katherine of Aragon.During the English...

    , Bishop of Lincoln
    Bishop of Lincoln
    The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral...

     during the period.
  • Prayer Book Rebellion
    Prayer Book Rebellion
    The Prayer Book Rebellion, Prayer Book Revolt, Prayer Book Rising, Western Rising or Western Rebellion was a popular revolt in Cornwall and Devon, in 1549. In 1549 the Book of Common Prayer, presenting the theology of the English Reformation, was introduced...

  • Somerset Herald
    Thomas Trahern (officer of arms)
    Thomas Trahern was Somerset Herald, an English officer of arms. His murder was a setback to Anglo-Scottish relations.-Prelude:...

    , murdered in 1542 by William Leech of Fulletby, fugitive ringleader of the Lincolnshire rising.
  • Rising of the North
    Rising of the North
    The Rising of the North of 1569, also called the Revolt of the Northern Earls or Northern Rebellion, was an unsuccessful attempt by Catholic nobles from Northern England to depose Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots.-Background:When Elizabeth I succeeded her...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK