The State of the Pre-Reformation Church

The State of the Pre-Reformation Church

There are various ideas about the state of the church before the

Reformation. Some individuals say that the church was still

considered to be a pillar of hope and comfort for the English people

to look up to and gain reassurance from in the 1500s. Others however

say that the church was in a horrific state, promoting wrong doing and

malevolence. The question to be further considered is whether the

church during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries

fulfilled its functions while keeping the good English people

satisfied.

It has been argued that the pre-reformation church was a corrupt and

failing institution and therefore Henry had to totally overthrow the

running of the church and appoint himself as the Supreme Head in order

to reform church practice. Traditionally many historians have argued

that the people of the early sixteenth century agreed with Henry in

his decision because the church in England was a deeply unpopular

institution. Anti-clericalism according to this line of argument was

widespread. As G R Elton puts it, "People in England thought little of

Priests".

The clergy were widely despised. At the top, Archbishops and Bishops

were disliked for their wealth and ostentation with Wolsey being an

obvious example. He was never seen without fine clothes and expensive

jewellery and had several homes - Hampden Court being his prominent

residence. This was in sharp contrast to the example set by Jesus in

the New Testament, even if the people didn’t understand the bible as

it was in Latin, they would have been able to draw comparisons with

their own existence with...

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...y, for fear of rebellion and losing favor. The only way that

these people would start to understand the true state of the church

would be if it was published by a person against the Catholic Church,

but, with many people literate, reliance would have had to be

emphasized on word of mouth.

The exactions of the church were also bitterly resented and created

disharmony during the reign of Henry VIII. Most obvious was the tithe

whereby each man had to pay / of his annual income to the church. But

there were other payments too. Priests could charge for weddings,

churchings, confessions and taking communion to the sick. There were

also mortuary fees and charges for funerals, which would frequently

take the form of the best animal or gown. If you wanted to go to

Heaven after death, paying for these masses was essential.