The Pilgrimage of Grace

1539

Was the massing of 30,000 armed rebels in the North of England a protest or a rebellion?

This was to be the first big test of the Tudors' power. The rebels, led by Robert Aske, did not want to get rid of King Henry VIII, but to stop some of the changes he was carrying out in England.

Most of their reasons were religious, but their were economic and power reasons too.

The Five Wounds of Christ - one of the most powerful religious symbols of Medieval times was worn by the rebels. The badge shows the wounded hands, feet and heart of Christ.

Henry VIII and Robert Aske, played by Ray Winstone and Sean Bean in ITV's epic 'Henry VIII' (2003). Like Sean Bean, Robert Aske was a proud Yorkshireman.

Demands

1. Restoration of the dissolved monasteries and nunneries

2. End to the changes in the inheritance laws (Statute of Uses)

3. Reduced taxes in times of need.

4. Removal of Thomas Cromwell

5. Removal of Protestant Bishops

Methods

No bloodshed - only one person was killed in the protest. The Pilgrimage was not a full scale rebellion, although it had the potential to be one due to its massive size. The government were forced to listen to their demands.

However, the Duke of Norfolk, the king's negotiator, admitted that he had no intention of keeping any promises at all.

Aske and the rebel leaders returned from London after a month, believing that they had won.

Results

The next year Henry took his revenge and the ringleaders of the rebels were rounded up and arrested. Aske was executed on 12 July 1537, and 178 others were also killed.

Timeline

Early-Modern

How have these changed? Crime, Protest, Punishment and Policing.

What happened in?

Early-Modern

c.1500-1750

Kett's Rebellion, Pilgrimage of Grace, Gunpowder Plot, Vagabonds, Poaching, Smuggling, Highwaymen, Witchcraft, Corporal Punishment, Bloody Code........more

Industrial Britain

c.1750-1900

Theft and robbery, Poverty, Police, Transportation, Prisons, Luddites, Swing Riots, Chartism, Prison Reformers, Dock Strike........more

Twentieth Century

1900-2000

Suffrage Movement, Conscientious Objectors, General Strike, Hanging, Youth Detention, Fingerprinting, DNA, Surveillance, Drug Crime, Hooliganism, Community Service, Race Crime.........more

Who were?

Robert Aske, Matthew Hopkins, Jonathan Wild, Dick Turpin, John Howard, Elizabeth Fry, Derek Bentley........more

Pilgrimage of Grace: Who's Who

Henry VIII ruled from 1509 until 1547. During this

time he famously had six wives in his quest for a male heir.

In demanding a divorce from his first wife, Catalina de Aragon, he angered the Pope and the Spanish king. They refused his wishes, so Henry being Henry, he set up his own church - the Church of England, and made himself its head in 1534.

This was to cause a massive rebellion called The Pilgrimage of Grace in 1539 led by Robert Aske.

Robert Aske was a high-ranking soldier in Henry's army, a landowner and a lawyer from East Yorkshire who had powerful connections in London. On hearing of the closure of 55 monasteries and nunneries in his home county he gathered support for a protest against the Reformation.

The 30,000 'Pilgrims' used the banner of the five wounds of Christ as their symbol and demanded an end to the destruction of the Catholic Church in England.

Aske was also angered at the economic impact of the dissolution of the monasteries - the poor and the sick had been helped a great deal by the church in the North of England.

Thomas Cromwell was one of Henry's chief advisers. Cromwell had recommended many monasteries for dissolution, and the lands sold on to small farmers to create both support for the changes and money in Henry's bank. Many religious shrines such as the one to St. Thomas Becket were destroyed, further angering Catholics. Cromwell fell out of favour with Henry in 1540 after the Anne of Cleves divorce and was executed.

The Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Howard, master of survival in Henry's court, was a ruthless and cunning political genius. He had two of his nieces, Ann Boleyn and Catherine Howard, married to Henry, then beheaded to protect his power. His rivalry with Thomas Cromwell ended in success as well!

He was charged with treason by Henry when he suspected he might take power from the young Prince Edward, but lucky old Norfolk escaped when Henry died the day before the execution was to be carried out! Mary reinstated him, and he then gained favour with Elizabeth too, by putting down a rebellion.

Rarely has history seen such a slippery snake of a character!