Post by millie on Jun 30, 2013 20:03:17 GMT
The Pilgrimage Of Grace
The Pilgrimage of Grace is the title given to a widespread revolt against the rule of Henry VIII. The Pilgrimage of Grace started in late 1536 and finished in early 1537.
The first of the uprisings occurred in Lincolnshire in October 1536 and lasted about two weeks – from the 2nd to the 18th. While it did not last long, the revolt did represent a major threat to the government. This was because those in the rebellion were not just the ‘common’ people. Nobles were also involved in the Lincolnshire Uprising – a group of people whom the government had usually been able to rely on to support it.
By about October 5th, it is thought that 40,000 men were involved in the uprising. They marched to Lincoln. The Duke of Suffolk was heading towards Lincoln with an army and the chances of defeating it were slim at best. They took the first opportunity they were given to withdraw themselves from the rebels. Suffolk, as was almost a tradition, gave all the rebels the opportunity to return home without bloodshed and gave a promise that Henry would look into some of the policies that had angered them. The nobles seized their chance, as did many of the commoners. Those who wanted to take on Suffolk remained in Lincoln but the numbers of the rebels had been severely reduced. Henry had previously ordered that no mercy was to be shown to those who had dared to show disloyalty to the king. There seems to be little doubt that those who remained in Lincoln would have paid with their lives. But almost immediately Henry was faced with a far more serious rebellion in Yorkshire, which postponed any immediate punishment of the Lincolnshire rebels.
The Yorkshire Uprising – the Pilgrimage of Grace – was very similar to the one in Lincolnshire. ‘Commoners’ made up the bulk of the numbers while nobles were also in its ranks. Robert Aske, an able lawyer from an important Yorkshire family, became the accepted leader of the Yorkshire rebels. He wanted Henry to stop his attacks on the Church and the monasteries and return the country to following the Pope.
The support for Aske was widespread in Yorkshire. Men also joined from Durham, Northumberland and some from Lancashire. They gathered at York and then at Pontefract. There was a royal castle at Pontefract, which garrisoned 300 royal troops. It fell without firing a shot. In fact, the castle was in a poor state of repair and it is very likely that it could not have held out for a day let alone anymore time. Henry suspected the castle’s leader, Lord Thomas Danby, of being sympathetic to the rebels and that the 300 men in the garrison, likewise, were far from loyal. But the fact that it was a royal castle gave the rebels in Yorkshire a major boost in terms of confidence. Pontefract Castle surrendered on October 21st. At this stage, the so-called Pilgrims numbered 35,000 men. They were well armed and well equipped.
Henry ordered the Duke of Norfolk and the Earl of Shrewsbury north to confront the rebels. However, both men could only raise about 8,000 men so they would have been heavily outnumbered in battle. The one advantage they had was the fact that Aske did not want conflict. He still wanted a negotiated settlement and as a result Norfolk met Aske at Doncaster Bridge on October 27th. Norfolk came across as a sympathiser of the rebel demands and he persuaded them to disband while a deputation of them would be escorted to London by Norfolk himself. What they may not have known was that Norfolk was a political rival of Thomas Cromwell and used whatever opportunity he had to undermine Cromwell’s position – and the rebels gave Norfolk a perfect opportunity to continue his campaign against Cromwell.
Aske and the 300 other rebel leaders at Doncaster believed that they had won a great victory. He travelled to London at the king’s request to meet Henry who had asked to be briefed about the feelings of the people so that any future problems could be avoided. Aske saw this as a sign that the king was a decent person and that it was advisors who were failing the country. In fact, Henry was simply buying time. He had already determined that the north had to be taught a military lesson. However, he wanted from Aske as many names as was possible so that individuals could be brought to account.
In late January 1537, Aske returned to Yorkshire where he became a vocal supporter of Henry. Others were suspicious that the promised pardon had yet to arrive. At the same time it had become apparent to Norfolk that Henry would judge him by the way he put down the rebellion. Norfolk had feared that Henry had believed that he was sympathetic to the rebel demands and that now he needed to show above all else his loyalty to the king. Norfolk used a rebellion in Cumberland (February 1537) as the reason for his campaign even though the pilgrims had condemned what had happened in Cumberland.
By now the pilgrims were in disarray while the army of Norfolk was poised to strike when it chose to do so. With no chance of successfully fighting Norfolk’s army, the leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace agreed to Henry’s order that they should come to London to answer questions. By early May, fifteen of the main leaders were under arrest despite the promise of a pardon. Two juries were established in Yorkshire to decide whether the men should stand trial in London. The juries were made up of the friends of those arrested. This process was known as indictment. It was a heartless procedure as those who best knew the likes of Aske and Danby were now asked to essentially sign their death warrants as no trial in London would spare them. All the accused unsurprisingly were found guilty of treason. Most were executed in London but Aske was taken back to Yorkshire where he was executed. This was meant to be a gesture of how much in control of the events Henry was.
The rebels were defeated and anyone else thinking about getting involved in something similar would have known about the consequences. The defeat of the rebels simply showed the populace who held real power and it is no coincidence that the major impact of the Reformation against the monasteries occurred after the Pilgrimage of Grace – in 1538.
The Pilgrimage of Grace is the title given to a widespread revolt against the rule of Henry VIII. The Pilgrimage of Grace started in late 1536 and finished in early 1537.
The first of the uprisings occurred in Lincolnshire in October 1536 and lasted about two weeks – from the 2nd to the 18th. While it did not last long, the revolt did represent a major threat to the government. This was because those in the rebellion were not just the ‘common’ people. Nobles were also involved in the Lincolnshire Uprising – a group of people whom the government had usually been able to rely on to support it.
By about October 5th, it is thought that 40,000 men were involved in the uprising. They marched to Lincoln. The Duke of Suffolk was heading towards Lincoln with an army and the chances of defeating it were slim at best. They took the first opportunity they were given to withdraw themselves from the rebels. Suffolk, as was almost a tradition, gave all the rebels the opportunity to return home without bloodshed and gave a promise that Henry would look into some of the policies that had angered them. The nobles seized their chance, as did many of the commoners. Those who wanted to take on Suffolk remained in Lincoln but the numbers of the rebels had been severely reduced. Henry had previously ordered that no mercy was to be shown to those who had dared to show disloyalty to the king. There seems to be little doubt that those who remained in Lincoln would have paid with their lives. But almost immediately Henry was faced with a far more serious rebellion in Yorkshire, which postponed any immediate punishment of the Lincolnshire rebels.
The Yorkshire Uprising – the Pilgrimage of Grace – was very similar to the one in Lincolnshire. ‘Commoners’ made up the bulk of the numbers while nobles were also in its ranks. Robert Aske, an able lawyer from an important Yorkshire family, became the accepted leader of the Yorkshire rebels. He wanted Henry to stop his attacks on the Church and the monasteries and return the country to following the Pope.
The support for Aske was widespread in Yorkshire. Men also joined from Durham, Northumberland and some from Lancashire. They gathered at York and then at Pontefract. There was a royal castle at Pontefract, which garrisoned 300 royal troops. It fell without firing a shot. In fact, the castle was in a poor state of repair and it is very likely that it could not have held out for a day let alone anymore time. Henry suspected the castle’s leader, Lord Thomas Danby, of being sympathetic to the rebels and that the 300 men in the garrison, likewise, were far from loyal. But the fact that it was a royal castle gave the rebels in Yorkshire a major boost in terms of confidence. Pontefract Castle surrendered on October 21st. At this stage, the so-called Pilgrims numbered 35,000 men. They were well armed and well equipped.
Henry ordered the Duke of Norfolk and the Earl of Shrewsbury north to confront the rebels. However, both men could only raise about 8,000 men so they would have been heavily outnumbered in battle. The one advantage they had was the fact that Aske did not want conflict. He still wanted a negotiated settlement and as a result Norfolk met Aske at Doncaster Bridge on October 27th. Norfolk came across as a sympathiser of the rebel demands and he persuaded them to disband while a deputation of them would be escorted to London by Norfolk himself. What they may not have known was that Norfolk was a political rival of Thomas Cromwell and used whatever opportunity he had to undermine Cromwell’s position – and the rebels gave Norfolk a perfect opportunity to continue his campaign against Cromwell.
Aske and the 300 other rebel leaders at Doncaster believed that they had won a great victory. He travelled to London at the king’s request to meet Henry who had asked to be briefed about the feelings of the people so that any future problems could be avoided. Aske saw this as a sign that the king was a decent person and that it was advisors who were failing the country. In fact, Henry was simply buying time. He had already determined that the north had to be taught a military lesson. However, he wanted from Aske as many names as was possible so that individuals could be brought to account.
In late January 1537, Aske returned to Yorkshire where he became a vocal supporter of Henry. Others were suspicious that the promised pardon had yet to arrive. At the same time it had become apparent to Norfolk that Henry would judge him by the way he put down the rebellion. Norfolk had feared that Henry had believed that he was sympathetic to the rebel demands and that now he needed to show above all else his loyalty to the king. Norfolk used a rebellion in Cumberland (February 1537) as the reason for his campaign even though the pilgrims had condemned what had happened in Cumberland.
By now the pilgrims were in disarray while the army of Norfolk was poised to strike when it chose to do so. With no chance of successfully fighting Norfolk’s army, the leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace agreed to Henry’s order that they should come to London to answer questions. By early May, fifteen of the main leaders were under arrest despite the promise of a pardon. Two juries were established in Yorkshire to decide whether the men should stand trial in London. The juries were made up of the friends of those arrested. This process was known as indictment. It was a heartless procedure as those who best knew the likes of Aske and Danby were now asked to essentially sign their death warrants as no trial in London would spare them. All the accused unsurprisingly were found guilty of treason. Most were executed in London but Aske was taken back to Yorkshire where he was executed. This was meant to be a gesture of how much in control of the events Henry was.
The rebels were defeated and anyone else thinking about getting involved in something similar would have known about the consequences. The defeat of the rebels simply showed the populace who held real power and it is no coincidence that the major impact of the Reformation against the monasteries occurred after the Pilgrimage of Grace – in 1538.