From the Medieval Church to the English Reformation: John Wycliffe and King Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries, 1536–1539

• Authors: Chylińska Bożenna

Title variants

PL

Od średniowiecznej krytyki kościoła do angielskiej reformacji. John Wycliffe a likwidacja klasztorów przez Henryka VIII w latach 1536–1539

• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The English Reformation did not closely follow the Lutheran or Calvinist doctrines, retaining much of the medieval Catholic tradition. However, still in the Middle Ages, a scholastic, charismatic preacher, John Wycliffe, posed a serious challenge to the unity of the Church in England. It can be claimed that his fierce criticism of the ecclesiastical vices, particularly the clergy’s excessive wealth, strongly radicalized anticlericalism in England in the coming ages. Therefore, inevitably, Wycliffe’s preaching must have influenced King Henry VIII’s own Reformation which was essentially a political, and to a much lesser degree liturgical, revolution. Accordingly, although the religious doctrine and worship changed very little in England, the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536–1539, which brought the Tudor dynasty enormous wealth, became the most important upheaval of the English Reformation.

PL

Reformacja angielska poszła własną drogą; nie stosując się ściśle do zasad luteranizmu czy kalwinizmu zachowała wiele cech średniowiecznej tradycji katolickiej. Jednak jeszcze w średniowieczu pojawił się w Anglii charyzmatyczny kaznodzieja i uczony, John Wycliffe, stanowiąc poważne zagrożenie dla jedności kościoła. Można przyjąć, że jego ostra krytyka wad duchowieństwa, zwłaszcza upodobania do bogactwa, zradykalizowała na następne wieki angielski antyklerykalizm, co musiało wpłynąć na reformację Henryka VIII, która była jego osobistą, bardziej polityczną niż liturgiczną, rewolucją. W ten sposób, choć doktryna oraz wiara w Kościele w Anglii uległy jedynie niewielkim transformacjom, likwidacja klasztorów w latach 1536–1539, która przyniosła monarchii Tudorów ogromny majątek, stała się najbardziej rewolucyjną przemianą angielskiej reformacji.

Keywords

EN

English Reformation; John Wycliffe; Church of England; King Henry VIII; Dissolution of the Monasteries

• Publisher: Wydział Neofilologii, Uniwersytet Warszawski
• Journal: Acta Philologica
• Year: 2015
• Issue: 47
• Pages: 5-13

Contributors

author

Chylińska Bożenna

• Uniwersytet Warszawski

References

• “The Act for the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries.” 1536. English Historical Documents, 1485–1558. Ed. C. H. Williams. Vol. V. London and New York:Routledge, 1967. 769–771.
• “The Act of Supremacy.” 1534. Culture and Belief in Europe, 1450–1600. An Anthology of Sources. Eds. David Englander, Diana Norman, Rosemary O’Day, and W. R. Owens. Oxford, UK and Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell Publishers, 1993. 442–443.
• George W. Bernard. “The Dissolution of the Monasteries.” History: The Journal of the Historical Association 96.324 (2011): 390–409.
• George W. Bernard. The Late Medieval Church: Vitality and Vulnerability before the Break with Rome. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012.
• Bishop Cuthbert. “A License Granted to Sir Thomas More.” N.d. Documents on the Changing Status of the English Vernacular, 1500–1540. Statutes of the Realm. Collected by R. Potter. Rhode Island College. Web. 15 Jun. 2015.
• Calvin, John. “To the Most Mighty and Most Illustrious Monarch, Francis, Most Christian King of the French.” 23 Aug. 1535. Institutes of the Christian Religion. 1535. Trans. Henry Beveridge. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.,2009. xx-xxxii.
• “The Dissolution of the Monasteries (1535–1538): Cromwell’s Agent’s Report.”England: The Autobiography. 2000 Years of English History by Those Who Saw It Happen. Ed. John Lewis-Stempel. New York: Penguin Books, Ltd., 2005. 116–117.
• Duffy, Eamon. The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England 1400–1580. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992.
• The Holy Rule of St. Benedict. c. 530. Chapters: XXXIII, XLVIII. The 1949 Edition. Trans by Rev. Boniface Verheyen. Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Web. 25 Jun. 2015.
• “John Bartelot [agent] to Cromwell.” 1535. Three Chapters of Letters Relating to the Suppression of Monasteries. From the Originals in the British Museums by Thomas Wright, Esq. London: The Camden Society, 1843. Letter XXV. 59–60.E-Book.
• “In the Year of Death, Wycliffe Wrote to Pope Urban VI.” 1384. A letter from the archives of the Christian History Institute. Web. 20 Jun. 2015.
• Lahey, Stephen Edmund. John Wyclif. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
• Lockyer, Roger. Tudor and Stuart Britain, 1471–1714. London: Longman Group, Ltd., 1995.
• Milton, John. “Areopagitica: A Speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicensed Printing to the Parliament of England.” 1644. The Prose Works of John Milton. Ed. J. A. St. John. Vol. II. London, 1844–56. 90–92.
• “Richard Pollard [agent] to Thomas Cromwell, Wells, 15 November, 1539.” Letter CXXX. Three Chapters of Letters Relating to the Suppression of Monasteries.
• From the Originals in the British Museums by Thomas Wright, Esq. London: The Camden Society, 1843. 261–263.
• Rule of St. Francis of Assisi. 1223. Chapter II: “Concerning Those who Wish to Adopt this Life”; Chapter IV: “That the Brothers Should not Accept Money”;Chapter VI: “That the Brothers Should Appropriate Nothing for Themselves”; andon how Alms Should Be Begged; and Concerning Sick Brothers.” OFM Communications Office. Web. 19 Jun. 2015.
• Wycliffe, John. How the Office of Curates Is Ordained of God. N.d. Great Voices of the Reformation: An Anthology. Ed. Harry E. Fosdick. New York: The Modern Library, 1952. 5–27.
• Wycliffe, John. Tractatus De Pseudo-Freris. N.d. The English Works of Wyclif Hitherto Unprinted. Ed. F. D. Matthew. Millwood, N.Y.: Kraus Reprint Co., 1978. 317–331.