DOCSLIB.ORG

The Impact of Reformation on North-East England

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Impact of Reformation on North-East England Northern History, XLV: 1, March 2008 THE IMPACT OF REFORMATION ON NORTH-EAST ENGLAND: A PRELIMINARY SURVEY DIANA NEWTON University of Teesside IN THE AUTUMN of 1547 a royal injunction was issued which included an order to ‘deface all popishe ornaments in parishe churches’ throughout the kingdom. When the visitors charged to enforce it arrived in Durham they found an extremely willing accomplice in Robert Horne (later to become the Dean of Durham). For he enthusi- astically assisted them in their task of mutilating the Corpus Christi shrine in the town’s St Nicholas church; taking it upon himself to smash the relic to pieces with his own feet, the better to thoroughly obliterate this emblem of civic religious ceremony whereby was enacted the whole of salvation history. Quite literally, he was endeav- ouring to stamp out what he regarded as the most visible manifestation of Augustine of Hippo’s fundamentally erroneous doctrine of soteriology: that no human could escape the consequences of Adam’s first sin.1 Grounded in the ‘tragedy of the Fall’, this bleak tenet had loomed over the Christian Church for more than a thousand years and Horne was determined that it should be utterly expunged from the diocese of Durham. On this evidence, it would seem that Durham was ripe for reformation. But, of course, this is far too simplistic. Interpretations of ‘The Reformation’ are many, varied, shifting and kaleidoscopic — illustrating the ambiguities and paradoxes of late-twentieth-and-early-twenty-first-century historical scholarship. The terminol- ogy for the events occurring in the English and Continental Church in the sixteenth Published by Maney Publishing (c) University of Leeds and seventeenth centuries has also been modified, so that they are increasingly ren- dered as ‘reformation’ or ‘reformations’.2 And, at the same time, the focus of interest in (the) reformation(s) has broadened out from the strictly political and ecclesiastical, based upon central archival records, to the social and cultural, drawing on local archival records and extending to printed and literary material and beyond. It is 1 A Description of All the Ancient Monuments, Rites and Customes Belonging or Beinge Within the Monastical Church of Durham Before the Suppression; Written in 1593, ed. J. T. Fowler, Surtees Society, XV (1842), 59. For a discussion of Augustine’s position on the question of sin and salvation see Diarmaid MacCulloch, Reformation: Europe’s House Divided, 1490–1700 (2003), pp. 106–10. 2 The course of the changing terminology was summed up by Patrick Collinson in his opening address to a confer- ence on ‘The reception of Continental Reformation in Britain and Ireland’ at the British Academy in September 2007. Ą The University of Leeds, 2008 DOI: 10.1179/174587008X256601 38 THE IMPACT OF REFORMATION proposed that this broad brush should be applied to the diocese of Durham leading to a major study of the impact of reformation on the north-eastern reaches of the kingdom.3 This article introduces a number of the themes that will be addressed.4 Much of the most recent work about the impact of reformation at the parish level has exploited extant churchwardens’ accounts. Unfortunately, there are none for the diocese of Durham before 1580. However, there are diocesan records such as epi- scopal and spiritual chancellor’s visitation books, together with correction books.5 And there are some act and visitation book of the archdeacons of Durham and of Northumberland.6 There are also consistory court records from 1531.7 These chiefly concern cases relating to moral offences, defamation, matrimonial and probate disputes, as well as disputed faculty applications and payment of church rates and tithes, and, most usefully, a few cases concerning ritual and doctrine or clergy disci- pline. And there is a fine collection of probate records.8 This material will provide the backbone of the proposed study. I According to Peter Marshall, the years between 1547 and 1553 (the reign of Edward VI), witnessed an ‘unprecedentedly intense campaign’ to transform the character of the English Church in a similar manner to China’s cultural revolution in the 1960s, ‘when central government worked with cadres of true believers to undermine unreli- able elements in positions of authority, and radically reconstruct the outlook of the people as a whole’.9 In many respects Durham appears to fit rather nicely into this model. Certainly, the person in the highest position of authority, Durham’s conser- vative Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall, who managed to steer his way safely through Henry VIII’s reign, was perceived by the Edwardian Council with deep suspicion; to the extent that he was arrested on highly dubious treason charges and his diocese subject to an audacious plan which resulted in its temporary dissolution between March 1553 and April 1554.10 Robert Horne, on the other hand, with his destructive feet enthusi- astically treading the party line, was an ideal candidate to lead the ‘cadre of true believers’ vital to implementing the Edwardian reforms. It is going to be difficult Published by Maney Publishing (c) University of Leeds 3 In the plethora of current work on the reformation years, there are surprisingly few regional or local studies of the reformation apart from Christopher Haigh, Reformation and Resistance in Tudor Lancashire (Cambridge, 1975), Susan Brigden, London and the Reformation (Oxford, 1989) and Glanmor Williams, Renewal and Reformation: Wales, c.1415–1642 (Oxford, 2002). 4 These include some that have already been published in Diana Newton, North-East England, 1569–1625: Gover- nance, Culture and Identity (Woodbridge, 2006) and Newton, ‘The Clergy, Identity and Lay Society in the Diocese of Durham’, Northern History, XLIV (2007). 5 D(urham) U(niversity) L(ibrary), DDR/EV/VIS/1–2: Durham diocesan episcopal and spiritual chancellor’s visitation books: general series, three volumes, 1577–1587 and 1662–1670; and chancellor’s visitation correction books (Northumberland archdeaconry), four volumes, 1595–1618. 6 DUL, DDR/A/ACD: Act and visitation book of the archdeacon of Durham, 1600–1619; DDR/A/ACN: Act and visitation books of the archdeacon of Northumberland, 1619–1624. 7 DUL, DDR/EJ/CC: Consistory court causes and general records, 1531–1854. 8 DUL, DPR I: Durham Probate Records, c.1526–7–1858. 9 Peter Marshall, Reformation England, 1480–1642 (Oxford, 2003), p. 58. 10 David Loades, ‘The Dissolution of the Diocese of Durham, 1553–54’, in The Last Principality. Politics, Religion and Society in the Bishopric of Durham, 1494–1660, ed. David Marcombe (Nottingham, 1987). DIANA NEWTON 39 to assess just how large the cadre of true believers was in the diocese of Durham at large. For, while recent studies have shown that the injunctions of 1547 resulted in the removal of all religious imagery from many parish churches, evidence for that co-operation comes largely from churchwardens’ accounts. For Durham, such evi- dence will have to come from court records which will provide instances of lack of co-operation: evidence that carries with it concomitant limitations, it always being more difficult to prove a negative. The same difficulty is encountered in assessing reaction in Durham to the earlier injunctions issued by Henry VIII in 1536. These have been described as effectively declaring war on the cult of saint, which was the ‘heartbeat of medieval popular religion’.11 Yet the evidence, again from churchwarden’s accounts elsewhere in the kingdom, demonstrates that from 1536 offerings and images were disappearing from parish churches.12 In this instance, though, the absence of churchwardens’ accounts in Durham is more than compensated for by the fact that thousands of people were prepared to risk their lives in the Pilgrimage of Grace, in the same year.13 In part motivated by opposition to the religious changes taking place, this indicates that their effects were making themselves felt sufficiently to cause deep concern and prompt radical action. The Pilgrimage may ultimately have failed but there seems to have been little evidence that the injunctions had the immediate and drastic effect they had elsewhere in England. Henry VIII himself expressed his dismay at the number of shrines remain- ing in the North of England when on progress in 1541.14 The shrine of St Cuthbert and some of the ‘ancient monuments’ connected with it certainly were still in the cathedral in the 1560s according to an account of George Dobson, one of the choris- ters there.15 And, throughout the ‘highly charged religious atmosphere’ of the entire 1560s, when the diocese was exposed to the full blast of reformation change under James Pilkington, who became Bishop in 1561, there appears to be just one charge of iconoclasm levelled against him. This concerned the secularization of the redundant collegiate church of Auckland where ‘he allowed both shooting and bowling’.16 An associate of John Knox, Bishop James Pilkington was a much more reliable leader to implement the ‘cultural revolution’ in Durham than his predecessor had been. Yet he seems to have been remarkably restrained in this particular aspect of his task. Published by Maney Publishing (c) University of Leeds By contrast, Dean William Whittingham — in the stamp of Dean Horne and who has been described as the ‘great villain of the Geneva gang’17 — had no compunction in indulging in iconoclasm. A proto-aficionado of re-cycling, he apparently converted 11 Marshall, Reformation England, p. 54. 12 Robert Whiting, ‘Abominable Idols: Images and Image Breaking Under Henry VIII’, Journal of Ecclesiastical History, XXXIII (1982). 13 Recent accounts of the Pilgrimage include R. W. Hoyle, The Pilgrimage of Grace and the Politics of the 1530s (Oxford, 2001) and its impact on Durham is presented in Michael Bush, Durham and the Pilgrimage of Grace, Durham County Local History Society (Durham, 2000).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Value of Books
    The Value of Books: The York Minster Library as a social arena for commodity exchange. Master’s thesis, 60 credits, Spring 2018 Author: Luke Kelly Supervisor: Gudrun Andersson Seminar chair: Dag Lindström Date: 12/01/2018 HISTORISKA INSTITUTIONEN It would be the height of ignorance, and a great irony, if within a work focused on the donations of books, that the author fails to acknowledge and thank those who assisted in its production. Having been distant from both Uppsala and close friends whilst writing this thesis, (and missing dearly the chances to talk to others in person), it goes without saying that this work would not be possible if I had not had the support of many generous and wonderful people. Although to attempt to thank all those who assisted would, I am sure, fail to acknowledge everyone, a few names should be highlighted: Firstly, thank you to all of my fellow EMS students – the time spent in conversation over coffees shaped more of this thesis than you would ever realise. Secondly, to Steven Newman and all in the York Minster Library – without your direction and encouragement I would have failed to start, let alone finish, this thesis. Thirdly, to all members of History Node, especially Mikael Alm – the continued enthusiasm felt from you all reaches further than you know. Fourthly, to my family and closest – thank you for supporting (and proof reading, Maja Drakenberg) me throughout this process. Any success of the work can be attributed to your assistance. Finally, to Gudrun Andersson – thank you for offering guidance and support throughout this thesis’ production.
    [Show full text]
  • CHRIST CHURCH LIBRARY NEWSLETTER Volume 1, Issue 1 Michaelmas 2004
    CHRIST CHURCH LIBRARY NEWSLETTER Volume 1, Issue 1 Michaelmas 2004 Introducing OLIS at Christ Welcome to the Library Church This spacious College Library is an important At present the main catalogue and all management resource centre, primarily intended to provide functions of our library are run via Heritage 3.1 This undergraduate and graduate members of the college is a DOS-based library management system. with the books needed for their courses. We are happy to have you among our readers and The Library is currently in the process of preparing we’ll do everything we can to help. For queries, book the migration of all holdings onto OLIS, the Oxford recalls, book suggestions, please ask any member of Libraries Information System. At the moment only the staff at the front desk. part of the early printed books collection is available in OLIS. OLIS is the library catalogue and library system of Upper Library Tours the University of Oxford. It contains records for over eight million items (mainly books and periodicals) Undergraduates and postgraduates are invited on held by libraries within, or associated with, the Saturday of 0 week to a tour of the Upper Library. If University of Oxford. you could not join in at the date mentioned above, please find a member of staff on your first visit to the It can be searched using the internet and is open to Library so that you can be given a quick tour. the general public, not just members of the University. It contains both bibliographic data, such as an item's author and title, and Oxford-specific holdings data, for example which OLIS libraries have a copy and whether these copies are currently on loan.
    [Show full text]
  • DISSERTATION-Submission Reformatted
    The Dilemma of Obedience: Persecution, Dissimulation, and Memory in Early Modern England, 1553-1603 By Robert Lee Harkins A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Ethan Shagan, Chair Professor Jonathan Sheehan Professor David Bates Fall 2013 © Robert Lee Harkins 2013 All Rights Reserved 1 Abstract The Dilemma of Obedience: Persecution, Dissimulation, and Memory in Early Modern England, 1553-1603 by Robert Lee Harkins Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Berkeley Professor Ethan Shagan, Chair This study examines the problem of religious and political obedience in early modern England. Drawing upon extensive manuscript research, it focuses on the reign of Mary I (1553-1558), when the official return to Roman Catholicism was accompanied by the prosecution of Protestants for heresy, and the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603), when the state religion again shifted to Protestantism. I argue that the cognitive dissonance created by these seesaw changes of official doctrine necessitated a society in which religious mutability became standard operating procedure. For most early modern men and women it was impossible to navigate between the competing and contradictory dictates of Tudor religion and politics without conforming, dissimulating, or changing important points of conscience and belief. Although early modern theologians and polemicists widely declared religious conformists to be shameless apostates, when we examine specific cases in context it becomes apparent that most individuals found ways to positively rationalize and justify their respective actions. This fraught history continued to have long-term effects on England’s religious, political, and intellectual culture.
    [Show full text]
  • S-2365-12 Visitationyorks
    12 ingbah(s lli.sitation of tork.sbirt, WITH ADDITIONS. (Continued from Vol. XIX, p. 262.) AGBBIGG AND MOBLEY WAPENTAKE. He.llifu, 2° April 1666. of ltatborp-1jall. ABMS :-Ar~cnt, a cockatrice with wings addorsed and tail nowed Sable, crested G ules, I. JVILLIAJl LANGLEY, of Langley, 2 If. 6, mar, Alice ... They had i!!llue- II. TIIOJlAS LANGLEY, of Lanyl,iy, mar, . They had issue- l/enry (III). Thomas Lmiyley, L" Chancel/our of Enyland 1405-7, 1417-22, Bishop of Durham 1406, Cardinal 1411, d. 20 Nov, 1437, bur. in Durham Ca.thedra.l, M.I. (see Diet. Nat. Biog.). · III. HENRY LANGLEY of Dalton; mar .... dau, of . Ka.ye, of W oodsome (Glover). Thomas (IV). Robert Langley (see Langley, of Sheriff Hutton). IV. TIIOJEAS LANGLEl', of Rathorp Hall, in Dalton, in com. Ebor., Inq. P.M. 27 Aug. 10 Hen. VIII, 1518, sa.yH he d. 28 ·Apr. l11.11t; mar. Mar91, dauqhter of ... Wombioell, of Wombicell, They had issue- Richard (V}. Agnes, named in her brother Richard's will. V. RICIIARD LANGLEY, of Rathorp /Iall, ret. fourteen a.t his father's Inq. P.M. Will 28 Sept. 1537, pr. at York 2 Oct. 1539 (Test. Ebor., vol. vi, 70); mar. Jane, daughter of Thomas Beaumont, of Mir.field. They had issue- DUGDALE'S VISITATION OF YORKSHIRE. 13 Richard (YI). Thomas Langley, of Meltonby, named in his father's will ; mar. Agnes, da. of IVill'm Tates. They had issue- Margaret, l Alice, J Glover. Jane, Arthur, } Alice, named in their father's will. Margaret, VI.
    [Show full text]
  • '[A] Litle Treatyse in Prynte and Euen in the English Tongue': Appeals to The
    University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-2010 ‘[A] litle treatyse in prynte and euen in the english tongue’: Appeals to the Public during the Early Years of the English Reformation Bradley C. Pardue University of Tennessee - Knoxville, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Intellectual History Commons Recommended Citation Pardue, Bradley C., "‘[A] litle treatyse in prynte and euen in the english tongue’: Appeals to the Public during the Early Years of the English Reformation. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2010. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/733 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Bradley C. Pardue entitled "‘[A] litle treatyse in prynte and euen in the english tongue’: Appeals to the Public during the Early Years of the English Reformation." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in History. Robert J Bast, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Thomas Burman, Palmira Brummett, Heather Hirschfeld Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R.
    [Show full text]
  • Cambridge University Reporter Special No 3
    CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY REPORTER S PECIAL N O 3 M O N D AY 6 N OVE M BER 2017 VOL C X LV I I I ROLL OF THE REGENT HOUSE AND LIST OF MEMBERS OF THE FACULTIES Roll of the Regent House: Promulgation 1 List of Members of the Faculties: Promulgation 51 Architecture and History of Art 51 Engineering 67 Asian and Middle Eastern Studies 51 English 70 Biology 52 History 71 Business and Management 55 Human, Social, and Political Science 73 Classics 56 Law 75 Clinical Medicine 57 Mathematics 76 Computer Science and Technology 62 Modern and Medieval Languages 78 Divinity 63 Music 79 Earth Sciences and Geography 64 Philosophy 79 Economics 65 Physics and Chemistry 80 Education 66 Veterinary Medicine 83 PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY ii CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY REPORTER [S PECIAL N O . 3 Colleges are indicated by the following abbreviations: Christ’s CHR Homerton HO Queens’ Q Churchill CHU Hughes Hall HH Robinson R Clare CL Jesus JE St Catharine’s CTH Clare Hall CLH King’s K St Edmund’s ED Corpus Christi CC Lucy Cavendish LC St John’s JN Darwin DAR Magdalene M Selwyn SE Downing DOW Murray Edwards MUR Sidney Sussex SID Emmanuel EM Newnham N Trinity T Fitzwilliam F Pembroke PEM Trinity Hall TH Girton G Peterhouse PET Wolfson W Gonville and Caius CAI © 2017 The Chancellor, Masters, and Scholars of the University of Cambridge. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the University of Cambridge, or as expressly permitted by law.
    [Show full text]
  • The College and Canons of St Stephen's, Westminster, 1348
    The College and Canons of St Stephen’s, Westminster, 1348 - 1548 Volume I of II Elizabeth Biggs PhD University of York History October 2016 Abstract This thesis is concerned with the college founded by Edward III in his principal palace of Westminster in 1348 and dissolved by Edward VI in 1548 in order to examine issues of royal patronage, the relationships of the Church to the Crown, and institutional networks across the later Middle Ages. As no internal archive survives from St Stephen’s College, this thesis depends on comparison with and reconstruction from royal records and the archives of other institutions, including those of its sister college, St George’s, Windsor. In so doing, it has two main aims: to place St Stephen’s College back into its place at the heart of Westminster’s political, religious and administrative life; and to develop a method for institutional history that is concerned more with connections than solely with the internal workings of a single institution. As there has been no full scholarly study of St Stephen’s College, this thesis provides a complete institutional history of the college from foundation to dissolution before turning to thematic consideration of its place in royal administration, music and worship, and the manor of Westminster. The circumstances and processes surrounding its foundation are compared with other such colleges to understand the multiple agencies that formed St Stephen’s, including that of the canons themselves. Kings and their relatives used St Stephen’s for their private worship and as a site of visible royal piety.
    [Show full text]
  • Episcopal Tombs in Early Modern England
    Jnl of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 55, No. 4, October 2004. f 2004 Cambridge University Press 654 DOI: 10.1017/S0022046904001502 Printed in the United Kingdom Episcopal Tombs in Early Modern England by PETER SHERLOCK The Reformation simultaneously transformed the identity and role of bishops in the Church of England, and the function of monuments to the dead. This article considers the extent to which tombs of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century bishops represented a set of episcopal ideals distinct from those conveyed by the monuments of earlier bishops on the one hand and contemporary laity and clergy on the other. It argues that in death bishops were increasingly undifferentiated from other groups such as the gentry in the dress, posture, location and inscriptions of their monuments. As a result of the inherent tension between tradition and reform which surrounded both bishops and tombs, episcopal monuments were unsuccessful as a means of enhancing the status or preserving the memory and teachings of their subjects in the wake of the Reformation. etween 1400 and 1700, some 466 bishops held office in England and Wales, for anything from a few months to several decades.1 The B majority died peacefully in their beds, some fading into relative obscurity. Others, such as Richard Scrope, Thomas Cranmer and William Laud, were executed for treason or burned for heresy in one reign yet became revered as saints, heroes or martyrs in another. Throughout these three centuries bishops played key roles in the politics of both Church and PRO=Public Record Office; TNA=The National Archives I would like to thank Craig D’Alton, Felicity Heal, Clive Holmes, Ralph Houlbrooke, Judith Maltby, Keith Thomas and the anonymous reader for this JOURNAL for their comments on this article.
    [Show full text]
  • Archbishop War Hams Visitation Of
    18 Jan. Archbishop War hams Visitation of Monasteries, 15 n Downloaded from INCE the publication of Dr. Jessopp's volume of' Visitations of the S Diocese of Norwich, 1492-1582,'l the general nature of the results that may be expected from a further study of these documents is now well known as far as that period of monastic history is con- http://ehr.oxfordjournals.org/ cerned. But although the complaints brought to light in Warham's visitation of the diocese of Canterbury are remarkably similar in character to those of the Norwich visitation, fresh evidence for different districts is still desirable, and even if the publication of these documents be not otherwise useful, they at least give precise details on the number and names of the inmates of many houses which cannot be obtained elsewhere. Some account of Warham's visitation, is, however, specially desirable since the statements at Georgetown University on September 4, 2015 made by Mr. Froude1 are misleading and have been copied by others. Speaking of Morton's visitation, 1499, he says, ' Evils so deep and abominable would not yield to languid treatment; the visitation had been feeble in its execution and limited in extent. In 1511 a second was attempted by Archbishop Warham.3 This inquiry was more partial than the first, yet similar practices were brought to light: women introduced to religious houses ; nuns and abbesses accusing one another of incontinency; the alms collected in the chapels squandered by the monks in licentiousness. Once more, no cure was attempted beyond a paternal admonition.' These statements are not warranted by the manuscript evidence of ' Warham's Register' * to which Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Durham E-Theses
    Durham E-Theses The parish ministry in the diocese of Durham, c.1570-1640. Freeman, Jane How to cite: Freeman, Jane (1979) The parish ministry in the diocese of Durham, c.1570-1640., Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1867/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk ABSTRACT Some one thousand clergy served the parishes of the diocese between 1570 and 1640. They were drawn from diverse backgrounds but northerners of yeoman or professional family apparently predominated. Initially they included a substantial group of able non-graduates but the proportion of university-trained clergy had increased to 56% by the early 1630s. The bishops, the greatest patrons of the diocese, favoured men of proven ability. The dean and chapter, also very influential, and lay patrons were more often susceptible to local or personal connections.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter IV Attitudes to Pastoral Work in England. C. 1560-1640. the Career Structure and Material Rewards Outlined in the Preced
    195 Chapter IV Attitudes to Pastoral Work in England. c. 1560-1640. The career structure and material rewards outlined in the preceding chapters are the aspects of the parish ministry which left records obviously capable of analysis and even of measure- ment. No doubt they Shaped the lives and attitudes of the clergy. To see the parish clergy only in these terms, however, is to exclude the pastorate itself, the service which justified the continuance in a Protestant community of a separate order of church officers. Naturally enough the English clergy of the later 16th and early 17th centuries commonly held that theirs was both an honourable and an arduous office, by virtue of the ministry which they performed. The two went together, according to George Downame. "The honour and charge as they be inseperable, so also proportionable; for such as is the weight of the Burden, such is the height of the Honour; and contrariwise." 1 Before the burden and honour are examined as they appeared in the work of the Durham clergy, it would be helpful to know by what standards their efforts were judged. What expectations did clergy and laity entertain of the personal and professional conduct of the pastor? i. Contemporary writing on the pastorate. The most public and formal duties of the minister, those of the liturgy, were laid down in the Prayer Book, although with sufficient ambiguity for both the opponents of vestments 1. G. Downame, 'Of the Dignity and Duty of the Ministry' in G. Hickes, Two Treatises (1711), ii, pp. lxxi-lxxii.
    [Show full text]
  • Heresy and Popular Protestantism in England, 1527-1553 William Saffady Wayne State College
    Wayne State University Wayne State University Dissertations 1-1-1971 Heresy and Popular Protestantism in England, 1527-1553 William Saffady Wayne State College Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations Recommended Citation Saffady, William, "Heresy and Popular Protestantism in England, 1527-1553" (1971). Wayne State University Dissertations. Paper 951. This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@WayneState. It has been accepted for inclusion in Wayne State University Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@WayneState. HERESY AND POPULAR PROTESTANTISM IN ENGLAND, 1527-1553 by. i >; l ■ - William Saffady Submitted to the Office for Graduate Studies Graduate Division of Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OP PHILOSOPHY 1971 DOCTORAL COMMITTEE HISTORY: EUROPEAN APPROVED BY: be* ^ Adviser Date Second/Reader ACKNOWLEDGEMENT For their assistance in the completion of this study, I would like to thank Professor Goldwin Smith, my dissertation advisor who directed the project; Professor Alfred H. Kelly who was kind enough to read the entire manuscript; Professor Irwin B. Horst of the University of Amsterdam who allowed me to see his own dissertation on a similar subjeot; Miss Grace Showalter of the Menno Simons Historical Library; Miss Geraldine Bethea of the Inter-Library Loan Division, Wayne State University Libraries; and my wife, Kathryn Saffady. 11 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION.................................. 1 Chapter I. Popular Protestantism and Religious Primitivism............. ......... 5 II. Native and Continental Influences In English Popular Protestantism • • . • 45 III, Popular Protestant Communities • • • 34 IV, English Popular Protestantism In its Contemporary Setting ,,,••••• 111 CONCLUSION...................................
    [Show full text]