The Pilgrimage of Grace and Religion in Northern England

I start reading a non-fiction book at the back: I check for an index, look at the list of works cited or consulted and glance at the notes. At the back of this book, Insurrection: Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell and The Pilgrimage of Grace, I read the Acknowledgement from the author, Susan Loughlin, and saw something that could strike fear into a reader's heart: this book was based upon her doctoral thesis or dissertation.

Obviously, however, Loughlin either wrote an extremely readable and accessible thesis or rewrote it ably to make it accessible to a non-academic though educated and interested reader. She kindly sent me a copy of her book for my opinion of it and I think it is not only a great study of the Pilgrimage of Grace but also a convincing test of the Christopher Haigh theory of the English Reformation as something which was imposed from above and slowly adopted in the country.

Loughlin argues cogently that the Pilgrimage of Grace was a mostly grassroots protest against the religious changes that were being proclaimed and slowly enforced in 1536 and the dissolution of the smaller monasteries that Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's Vice Regent in Spiritual matters was coordinating.

As the publisher describes the book:

Autumn 1536. Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn are dead. Henry VIII has married Jane Seymour, and still awaits his longed for male heir. Disaffected conservatives in England see an opportunity for a return to Rome and an end to religious experimentation, but Thomas Cromwell has other ideas. The Dissolution of the Monasteries has begun and the publication of the Lutheran influenced Ten Articles of the Anglican Church has followed. The obstinate monarch, enticed by monastic wealth, is determined not to change course. Fear and resentment is unleashed in northern England in the largest spontaneous uprising against a Tudor monarch – the Pilgrimage of Grace – in which 30,000 men take up arms against the king. This book examines the evidence for that opposition and the abundant examples of religiously motivated dissent. It also highlights the rhetoric, reward and retribution used by the Crown to enforce its policy and crush the opposition.

Loughlin also examines the pattern of patronage and bribery the Crown and Cromwell practiced to enforce loyalty to the monarch and acceptance of the religious changes, in addition to the punishment Henry VIII wanted meted out to those he regarded as rebels. It's rather terrifying because this patronage seems to have a corrupting effect on the recipient, who grovels before Cromwell, begging to be useful and begging to be accepted as loyal and true--but he will have to keep proving it, and will receive more honors, and so on, and so on, in a pattern of sycophancy. And of course, the process of sharing and selling the lands and buildings of the larger monasteries, the Court of Augmentations, would create an even closer bond between the recipients and the monarch, so that even those who were devout Catholics and did not agree with Lutheran doctrine or theology would go along with the religious changes, at least apparently. 

This is a fascinating exploration of the background and aftermath of the Pilgrimage of Grace--and of course the actual events of the uprising in the North--with the addition of an excellent discussion of the connections between the Pilgrimage of Grace and the Northern Rebellion of 1569. Highly recommended.

Crucial Days for the Pilgrimage of Grace

Henry VIII's representatives and the leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace were negotiating during early December, 1536, according to this article posted by Susan Loughlin, author of Insurrection: Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell and the Pilgrimage of Grace:

The truce held throughout the month of November, although there are numerous references to Henry’s contempt for the rebels and his correspondence is suggestive that he was biding his time, waiting for the rebels to slip up. On 21 November the Pilgrims’ council met at York, where Robert Bowes gave an account of his visit to the king at Windsor and reassured them as to the king’s mercy. Henry was willing to pardon all but ten ringleaders. There were many among the Pilgrims who hated and distrusted Cromwell and Aske was of the view that there were many in the south of the country who longed for the Pilgrims to arrive there. Heresy was deeply unpopular in the North and Cromwell was perceived as its principal advocate and the main provider of evil counsel. By making Cromwell the author of their misfortunes, the Pilgrims were seeking to frame their movement as not being against royal authority.

The Pilgrims representatives were summoned to a second appointment to discuss the situation with the Duke of Norfolk. In the lead up to the meeting, the issue of a free and general pardon for all rebels was a major part of the debate. The meeting took place at Pontefract between 2 and 4 December and Norfolk had been advised by the Privy Council that it would not be honourable for Henry to grant a free pardon: the king was of a view that his honour would be gravely diminished. However, the rebels’ military strength and resolve obliged Norfolk to grant the free and general pardon, and it reserved no one for punishment.

The Pilgrims based their negotiating position on the original five articles given to Norfolk on 27 October and produced the twenty-four Pontefract Articles on 4 December. Of these, ten are undoubtedly exclusively religious grievances and are discussed in detail in Insurrection: Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell and the Pilgrimage of Grace. Heresy, heretical bishops, the Dissolution of the monasteries and the Royal Supremacy were all criticised and the Pilgrims petitioned that the king’s daughter by Katherine of Aragon be declared legitimate (she had endured the demotion from princess to ‘Lady Mary’ following her father’s marriage to Anne Boleyn and the subsequent Act of Succession, 1534). The rebels also wished to have a parliament convened in either Nottingham or York in the near future.

Things seemed to go the Pilgrims' way, as Thomas Howard, the Duke of Norfolk, knew the king did not have the requisite forces to fight them:

On 6 December it was agreed that these twenty-four articles were to be taken to the king and a general pardon be granted. In addition, the restored abbeys were allowed to remain.

Two days later, Lancaster Herald brought the general pardon and confirmation that a parliament would convene at York (although no date was specified). The gentlemen met with Norfolk at Doncaster and tore off their Pilgrim badges (of the Five Wounds of Christ) and dispersed.

The question is, did Henry VIII ever intend to follow through on these promises?