Pilgrimage Of Grace

Samantha Oh AP Euro DBQ Essay

Period 9 10/28/07

Pilgrimage of Grace

The Pilgrimage of Grace started because many people were dissatisfied with King Henry VIII's actions. The King's decisions to form a new religion sparked a controversy with the devout Catholics, but others were angry, not necessarily with the religion aspect, but just with the mannerisms of the King. For example, the King's decision to make a new religion without a Pope was not revered by some men because they strongly disagreed with heresy. Other people believe that the King was being unfair when he took away their land for his own benefit and profited from it. Some people believe that the King made inexcusable decisions on his behalf, while others believe the King was justified in his decisions.

The King wanted to maintain order in his lands, and he wants to prove he is a worthy leader. According to Richard Morrison (doc. 7), who was a representative of Thomas Cromwell, a ruler has to be someone who is very wise, someone who has the ability to govern people in the right fashion. Cromwell believes that the King has the ability to do so; more so than the Pope. Since he believed this, Cromwell did not want a Pope to govern because he believed that the King was wiser, and that he would do a better job than the Pope. The governed should be happy with the fact that they have a wise ruler. Cromwell thinks that a wise ruler is necessary for the commonwealth. This is a viable fact because the common people would be much better off if they had a good leader than if they didn't. Cromwell may agree with this due to the fact that there have been very bad papal leaders in the past. Henry VIII (doc. 9) believes that he King has to be forgiving. After the march, the King excused those who were once against the church because he felt that everyone needs a second chance. If the marchers agreed to apologize and realize their mistakes, the King would simply excuse them. The King had to this because a larger march would have broken out if he was not reasonable with the marchers. If he had punished the marchers, it might have made them angrier, and make them want to rebel because their rights are lessened. The King was understanding because he realized that the marchers were falsely informed, causing them to be upset with the King.

Robert Aske was totally against the King, and all of his decisions. (doc. 5) Aske believes that the new Protestant religions are committing heresy, which is an extremely high offense, and that a pope should be ruling the church as it did in Rome. Some of his beliefs were that the King should have the monasteries' houses returned, Thomas Cromwell should be punished, and to have the Parliament convene in places nearby. He believes the Kings actions are wrong, (doc 11) especially the ones about