Why Henry VIII Closed the Monasteries
There were 800 monks and nuns in 1500s they had strict rules, The rule
of St. Benedict for monks of the Benedictine order was prayer should
take place eight times a day, all monks should sleep in separate beds,
all monks must rise quickly when signal is given to attend the
services and all monks must not grumble about the colour or rough
material of their clothes.
The rule of St. Augustine for the monks of the Augustine order was
love god and your neighbour and monks should spend their time when not
praying, coping books, looking after the poor and old, nursing the
sick and crippled, teaching children and looking after travellers.
Between 1536 and 1539 Henry V111 and Cromwell decided to close the
monasteries because the monks are not flowing rules and take all the
wealth to defend the country.
In order to complete this essay I am going to explain below in detail
why the monasteries were closed by Henry V111 between 1536 and 1539
and I am going to evaluate the evidence about the stage of the
monasteries at the time of their decision.
Henry V111 and Cromwell had sent around people to report that the
monks are not following the rules, for example: that the monks are
playing dice and spent much money on gambling, monks are not answering
the door and the prior of the crossed friar's monastery in London in
bed with a woman. When Henry V111 had the evidence that the monks were
not following the rules, he felt he could close the monasteries.
This evidence may not have been reliable because inspectors were
employed by Cromwell who wanted to please Henry V111 and look for
negative thing about monks; Cromwell was protestant (probably employed
protestant inspectors) so likely to be used against catholic monastery
and might be good reason for women to be there (for example: sick)
monastery might really be poor.
Modern historian can use the benefit of hindsight to help them by
looking at all the evidence and have a less biased opinion, they can
After many failed attempts to obtain a divorce from his first wife Catherine of Aragon, King Henry VIII took momentous steps that led to "The Reformation," a significant occurrence in the history of religion. Prior to the reformation, all of England's inhabitants including King Henry VIII prescribed to Catholicism. In fact, King Henry VIII was such a strong supporter that he was given the title "Defender of the Faith" by the pope for his efforts in protecting Catholicism against the Protestants. However, all these changed upon the pope's denial of Henry's request for a divorce.
The middle ages began when William the Normans took over England. William liked to regard himself as a reformer. He would not allow the pope to interfere with what he regarded as the king’s lawful business. He regarded himself as the head of the Church in England. William appointed his close friend, Lanfranc, as the archbishop of Canterbury. They both ruled England until William’s death. William Rufus who was William the Normans’ son took over the throne. Rufus uses the Church as a source of income for his kingdom. While he was ill, he appointed Anselm to take over Lanfranc’s position. Anselm on the other hand, accepts papal authority and he wanted to reform the church back to the rule of the Pope. He insisted to have the pope as the head of the church and not the king. When Rufus passed away, Henry I took over the throne for a short period. Stephen then took over the throne after the death of Henry I. Stephen had a hard time governing England. In fact, he tried to bribe the church in order to keep his throne. Upon his death, Henry II started to reign as the King of England. He believes that the law must be equal for all and universally applied to all. The Archbishop then was Thomas Becket. Thomas Becket and Henry had some disagreement especially on the issues of whether a secular court has the right to trial a clergy. The main issue was between the Church and the state which was part of a long and...
closer to God. The monasteries were a place to get away from evil and anything
In Dr. Osman’s lecture and in Life and Miracles of St. Benedict, monasteries were portrayed as places for people to escape the harsh times and live together worshipping God. In The Dark Ages, the narrator discusses how many nuns and monks would try to escape because they were forced to go there, some even going as far as scaling the walls of their convent or monastery. These holy places offered many people the escape and religious freedom that they craved, but not everyone loved the strict life that monks and nuns lived. (The Dark Ages, “Marriage of Monks and
During the Reformation many different protests uprose, two of which had a large effect on that time.
Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and Henry VIII all challenged the Roman Catholic Church in their own ways, but all of them ended up breaking away from the church and forming their own churches or alliances. Overall, most of them, with the exception of Henry VIII, disagreed with the Catholic Church over its doctrines, such as those of indulgences and salvation. All of them ended up formed new religions that rivaled the Catholic Church, and Zwingli, Calvin, and Luther all published writings that stated their dissenting theological beliefs.
While both Henry VIII and Martin Luther identified corruption in the Church, Martin Luther sought to purify it when Henry VIII was only driven by his desire for an heir. Martin Luther did many things to try to please God such as constantly repent, fast, and bow down in humble reverence to his Creator, but Luther found the forgiveness process to only get more difficult, because truly, not one human being is without fault. Luther began noticing corruption in the Roman Catholic Church, and was soon convinced it had fallen away from many key truths of the Bible, perverting others and leading them astray with many unethical sources including the grotesque sale of indulgences. Henry VIII was also well aware of the Church’s critical situation,
...void money at all costs, but many cannot resist women or wine, all without recognizing the hypocrisy. It is important to note that while the observance of these superficial rules makes men of religion and monks think that they are getting closer to the original ideals of Christianity, they are actually straying farther from one of Christianity’s most basic principles, simplicity. Each monk points to his own sacrifices and particularities of faith, never remembering that Christ judges each based off of his own standard of charity. However, the thing which Erasmus criticizes the most about monks, and one of the biggest sources of corruption he sees in the church, that they hold the key to the confessional. They know that they hold the power to rectify a person’s relationship with God, and can abuse this power freely, despite the fact that this is highly immoral.
Henry V looks like the perfect leader; however, despite all the heroic speeches, Henry is still irresponsible at times. In Act I, Henry relies on Bishop of Canterbury to give him the reasons to go to war. He asks, "Why the law Salic that they have in France or should or should not bar us in our claim (19)?" And once more, he asks, "May I with right and conscience make this claim (23)?" Based on these statements, Henry is putting the responsibility of a King to decide to go to war onto a Bishop. This shows that King Henry is irresponsible. Furthermore, in Act III, sc. 3, after Henry has conquered half of Harfleur, he demands the governor to open the gate, or he will not take the blame for his soldiers' doings. King Henry says, "Take pity of
In closing, the decline of the monasteries and ultimately the “City of God” was due to the rise in the “City of the World.” The “City of the World” was the anti thesis of the “City of God.” They can be seen otherwise as church and state. When one was strong and powerful, the other could not be. The two could not exist in equilibrium. So therefore the stronger survived, and with the change of the times, this was the “City of the World.” The king, who at one time in history was strongly influenced by the church, took control of the Durham Priory, and all its worldly possessions.
The main strenghts of cluniac monasticism lay in its independence, it’s early spiritual energy, it’s observence of the benedictine rule and it’s sainly abbots. These provided very well for Cluny for a significant period, but over-growth of the order led to a slackening in observence of the Rule, and with the disasterous abbacy of Pons and a basic shift in religious opinion these strenghts became weaknesses that
Son of a copper miner, Martin Luther was born in November 10, 1483 in Eisleben.He decided to study in the University of Erfurt to become a lawyer and increase the Luther’s family success, but before long, after a terrifying thunderstorm, Martin promised that if he ended up save he would become a monk, and he did so. Luther ended up joining the monastic order, and soon became an Augustinian friar. In 1510, he visited Rome to support a group of augustinian monasteries and he didn’t like what he saw. He was angry with all that corruption in Rome, especially when the minister sold indulgences.
The Foundation Charter of Cluny outlines the rulings set by Duke William and established what would come to be known as the ‘cluniac reforms’. The charter focuses on spiritual salvation and is dedicated to honouring the Apostles Peter and Paul presenting them as the patrons of the monastery. It highlights the monastery’s freedom from lay authority and specifies the ownership of the monastery and that the abbot could not be subject to external influence. Duke William also stipulates that the monks and all their possessions come under the named abbot Berno. The Foundation Charter of Cluny was hugely influential affecting not only the original abbey of Cluny but also the several later establishments, which adhered to the charter set by Duke William I in 910. Duke William I focuses great...
Many bishops and abbots (especially in countries where they were also territorial princes) bore themselves as secular rulers rather than as servants of the Church. Many members of cathedral chapters and other beneficed ecclesiastics were chiefly concerned with their income and how to increase it, especially by uniting several prebends (even episcopal sees) in the hands of one person, who thus enjoyed a larger income and greater power. Luxury prevailed widely among the higher clergy, while the lower clergy were often oppressed. The scientific and ascetic training of the clergy left much to be desired, the moral standard of many being very low, and the practice of celibacy not everywhere observed. Not less serious was the condition of many monasteries of men, and even of women (which were often homes for the unmarried daughte...
In the middle ages Friars, Monks and Prioresses had very specific roles in society. A Friar had to follow the mendicant order while living off of charity, preaching, educating, attending to the sick and absolving people from their sin. The Prioress was the head of a group of nuns. She would have had a low social standing as she belongs to the Theocracy. Her roles included growing vegetables and grain, producing wine and honey, providing medical care for the community and being in charge of the Priories. Lastly, the Monk’s role was to remain in his cloister and study religious texts; “And that a monk uncloistered is a mere/ Fish out of water, flapping on the pier…”(177-178). All of these people were supposed to model holiness; they were bound to the community and had no personal possessions. They are supposed to be selfless Christians dedicated to the Church.