3.4 Lincolnshire Rising, Pilgrimage of Grace and Bigod’s Uprising.

Hey guys! It’s been a while. Exams are looming on the horizon and now is the time most people are starting to revise. So here are *not-so-detailed* notes on the Lincolnshire Rising, Pilgrimage of Grace and Bigod’s Uprising – all the rebellions covered in this chapter. 

Lincolnshire Rising

Date,Duration	October 1536
Leadership	Nicholas Melton, Shoe-Maker; Vicar of Louth Church.
Support	Monks from Lincolnshire abbeys’,Lincolnshire parish clergy,Some Gentry members,3000-10,000 rebels.
Causes	Rapid and radical changes imposed by Henry VIII/Cromwell (1535-36)Triggered by presence of Gov. Commissioners overseeing dissolution.
Aims/Motives	Set of Demands using Language to make it clear they weren’t rebelling against Henry but blamed his “evil counsellors” who “misled” the king.Article complained about 1534 subsidy & inability of the Lincolnshire men to pay. Reflects why both Gentry, Landlords and commons joined.
Key Events/ Outcomes	2-3 Oct. – Attack on Government commissioners at Louth. 4 Oct. – Lincolnshire gentry took leadership of the rebellion, murder of Dr Raynes (bishop of Lincoln). 8 Oct. – Lord Hussey flees Lincolnshire, rebels march to Lincoln.9 Oct. – Petition drawn up. Grievances over Dissolution, “evil counsel”. 10 Oct. – Royal army under the Duke of Suffolk reaches Stamford; Beginning of rebellion in the East and West Ridings of Yorkshire. 11 Oct. Lincolnshire commons persuaded to go home by the Suffolk’s representatives; North Riding of Yorkshire rises in revolt.
Henry’s Mistakes/Successes	(m) Local Nobility (Hussey & Clinton) fled. Henry’s defence. (s) Swiftly putting down rebellion. (m) Lulled into false security after putting the rising down. Disbanded the royal army and sent Suffolk to deal with it himself.
Rebel mistakes/successes	(m) Rebel organization – didn’t delay to wait for the Yorkshire rebels. (s) Rebel Organization – their level of organization posed a threat.(m) Gentry quick to back down when threatened with punishment.
Threat to Henry’s Government	Gentry became involved. Gathered momentum quickly. Gained Involvement of Clergy and monks – church helped Tudors keep control & reinforced ideas of obedience. More serious had the rebels from Lincolnshire & Pilgrimage of Grace coordinated. Organization of the rebels.

 

 

Pilgrimage of Grace

Date,Duration	October 1536-Feb 1537
Leadership	Landowners – Sir Robert Aske
Support	30,000 rebels.Well trained fighters from Military.  No local nobility tried to supress the rebellion.  Nobility
Causes	Religious Change – Fear of Dissolutions which provided local charity.Ø  Fear of New taxes – Cromwell’s subsidy Act authorised the collection of £80, 000.Ø  Hardships – Poor Harvest in the previous year. Enclosure. High rents.
Aims/Motives	Dissolution of the Monasteries. Religious reform. Rebels feared social and economic consequences.Ø  Pontefract Articles revealed wider hardships faced such s enclosure and rack renting.Ø  Clergy views were reflected in articles about attack on traditional privileges ie. Benefit of the clergy.Ø  Majority of rebel complaints were religious.
Key Events/ Outcomes	10 Oct. – rebellions begin in East Riding, Yorkshire. 19 Oct. – Henry VIII disbands army gathered in Bedfordshire.Ø  21 Oct. – Rebels besiege Skipton Castle. Lord Darcy surrenders Pontefract Castle & joins rebels.Ø  23-24 Oct. – Norfolk and his army reach Newark-on-Trent. Negotiations begin.Ø  27 Oct. – Representatives present their petition.Ø  2-18 Nov. – Petition presented in London to King. Offered more negotiations.Ø  21 Nov. – Rebel council met at York to discuss offer.Ø  2-4 Dec. – Pontefract articles drawn up. 24 Articles.Ø  6 Dec. – Norfolk and rebels meet.Ø  8 Dec. – King’s pardon published. Rebels disperse.
Henry’s Mistakes/Successes	(m) Henry’s resources were stretched thing because: Duke of Suffolk restoring order in Lincolnshire, sent 2nd army home.Ø  (m) Errors meant it took 3 weeks to prepare a strategy.
Rebel mistakes/successes	(s) Peaceful rebellion. (m) Aske taking Henry’s word and disbanding rebels.
Threat to Henry’s Government	High. 50, 000 rebels (across England incl. Lincolnshire). Gentry’s involvement and organization. Organization And obedience meant rebellion was harder to put down. However,Risings were not co-ordinated or simultaneousØ  No intention to overthrow the king.
Historians	Bush – “Rising of the commons” – stressed manifestoes were issued with “Common consent”. Debate about extent which it was genuine popular anger, or to which grievances of clergy were imposed. Bush = genuine anger.

 

Bigod’s Rising, 1537

Date,Duration	January-February 1537
Leadership	Sir Francis Bigod
Support	Few hundred support
Causes/Aims/Motives	Local grievances over landholding. Feared the Kinds pardon was to get the rebels to disperse.
Key Events	Bigod planned to capture Scarborough and Hill. Bigod was captured in Cumberland in February  In Yorkshire, Westmorland and Cumberland commons feared gentry would turn on them. Rebels attacked Carlisle but put down
Outcomes	Aske and Bigod were arrested, convicted of treason and hanged.  50 Lincolnshire rebels and 130 Northern Rebels were executed. Rebellion remained entirely northern with some sympathies in the south.
Henry’s Mistakes/Successes	Secured loyalty and obedience through threat of punishment/arrest (Gentry turned on the Commons)
Rebel mistakes/successes	Bigod’s uprising was a reason for Henry to punish those who had rebelled previously and re-establish loyalty from and power over the gentry/nobility.
Threat to Henry’s Government	Very little threat. Whilst it had potential the swiftness of the suppression and the lack of support failed to prove as a significant threat.

 

Did the rebellion pose a threat to Henry’s government?

Threat

Not a threat

Support – Gained around 30, 000 support across North England. Support included Gentry, Nobility and members of the church.   Resources – Henry didn’t have the resources to put down the rebellion.  Henry had 8000. Rebellion had 30,000.v  Organization – the organization of the rebels meant they were harder to put down. The speed of the rebellion also took the Crown by surprise.  Weakness – Henry was unable to quickly put down the rebellion, lack of resources also meant it took longer to strategize. Aims – Restoration of Monasteries possible threat to Henry’s power and demonstrated unpopularity.

Loyal – Threat to Cromwell and Richard Rich, not Henry. “Loyal Rebellion”. Pontefract Articles support this. Rebels were trying to change his decisions.Ø  Elton: Not to overthrow the king.v  Peaceful – Aske encouraged use of “pilgrimage” (spiritual) to convey this and negotiations in Doncaster.v  Regionalised – Only popular in the North and risings weren’t coordinated.v  Organization – the incoordination between Lincoln and Grace meant Henry was able to deal with both effectively.