Pilgrimage Of Grace Dbq Essay

The Protestant Reformation in England, starting in 1534 with the Act of Supremacy led to a disheveled nation affected by many new policies implemented by King Henry the eighth. Catholics protested the new policies with the Pilgrimage of Grace lasting from October 1536 to February 1537. Concerning participants in the Pilgrimage of Grace was Thomas Cromwell’s subjective orders and the effects resulting from the King imposing his authority over the peasants. Participants in this march were vying for the restoration of Catholic traditions and ways of life. All of this was in response to those who were against this movement and were working to raise the Crown’s authority after being worried about an uprising or revolt against the Protestant King.

A petition from 1536 written by a participant details their want for the replacement of monasteries, moving the Church back to Rome, and other Catholic policies reinstated. However The document describes specifically Thomas Cromwell and the laws he helped pass viewed as heretical.(Doc 5) Cromwell was instrumental in the transfer to Protestantism and had heavy influence in the decisions the king made. By voicing how unhappy they are with Cromwell, it is clear the decisions to remove monasteries, and other Catholic traditions affected the participants greatly enough to create one of a few reasons to start a protest, and to make it a goal to accomplish. In the same year, an anonymous pamphlet recounts how the Parliament is corrupt under the leadership of Cromwell, voicing what their goal is, which is a Parliament for each town that was based on an election.(Doc 6) It is inferred from this that the changes made in Parliament have not been satisfying or adequate to the writer, proving their are unhappy enough to express this concern and suggest a new idea. These two documents show corroboration when they speak of Cromwell because they both describe him as a heretical figure to be removed from England. Another piece of evidence dealing with the changes under the administration of

About 20 years before the Pilgrimage of Grace, the Protestant Reformation began when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the Wittenberg Church door. Around the mid 16th century religious wars began to break out all over Europe, and it was an era for revolts and rebellions. The news of wars and ideas most likely spread to England implanting the idea in the population that change can occur. In 1536 an oath taken by marches signifies the importance of religion guiding their decisions and describes how the pilgrimage should be for your love of God and to preserve Him.(Doc 1) The oath exemplifies the love the Catholics held for God, and how that was their “only” reason to go into the pilgrimage, and a goal was to serve God. Their lives and livelihood was centered around their religion, creating the inference that keeping the traditions of the Catholic Church alive was extremely important, and enough to protest against. This oath is qualified because it comes from a primary source exactly when it occurred. A ballad composed by Catholic monks in 1536 is another fine instance of how religion impacted the pilgrimage.The ballad says, “and held in bonds,” which implies that they are held back by Cromwell and can’t exercise their religious freedom.(Doc 4) By writing this ballad, it proves that they focused highly on religious matters opposed