"Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries purely out of greed" Do you agree?

“Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries purely out of greed” Do you agree?

Within 4 years Cromwell successfully destroyed the monasteries in England. I will argue that Henry’s professed motives for such a course of action can easily be shown to have been without foundation. However, to say, as the question does, that Henry was motivated solely by personal greed would be rash; his motives should be seen largely as enforcement of the reformation as well as the crown’s requirement for finance.

Henry said, on the basis of a survey commissioned by Cromwell, that corruption was widespread in the monasteries. This was the basis on which he went on to dissolve the monasteries. Henry was correct, the number of clergy had declined to about 10,000 and in many monasteries, contrary to living a life devoted to God, members of the clergy rented land, collected tithes as well as entertained superstitions such as indulgences in order to fund lavish lifestyles. Cromwell’s investigation into the moral standards of the monasteries stated that “sin, vicious, carnal and abominable living is daily seen and committed … to the great displeasure of Almighty God and to the great infamy of the King’s Highness.” Furthermore, a further inquiry into the finances of the monasteries, the Valor Ecclesiasticus, reported that on average one quarter of a monastic house’s wealth went to the head of the house, who was often an absentee leader.

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However, evidence has now shown that corruption was less widespread. Moreover, it was the case that in their ordinary functions such as providing shelter and food as well as education the monasteries were performing a valued role. This suggests that what was needed was not full scale dissolution of English monasticism, rather a reform in the way monasteries were run to prevent clergy abusing their position of importance to fund luxurious tastes. Furthermore, the notion that Cromwell, a man who previously was known to profit from monastic corruption, and Henry, who proceeded with a dissolution later described as ‘plundering’ and emerged substantially richer, were motivated to dissolve the monasteries out of a moral objection to corruption reeks of hypocrisy. It is for these reasons that Henry’s justifications should be seen clearly as an excuse. The implications for finances as well as enforcing the reformation should be seen as the main motives behind the action.

By 1534 Henry legally had control over the church. However, while legally the church had been reformed this was no reflected in the beliefs of the population; therefore, it was equally important for Henry to enforce the Protestant church. The treason act had recently been enacted and the dissolution of the monasteries should be seen in this context. The dissolution of the monasteries should be seen as part of the process of enforcement in its essential role in removing all physical symbols of Catholicism. Henry wished to ensure the security of the reformed Church, through the dissolution of the monasteries not only did Henry limit the threat from opposition but also, for the long-term, it would be significantly harder to revive the Catholic Church. The revival of Catholicism was a prospect, about which Henry worried due to the different religious views of his likely successor. In addition, the acquisition of monastic lands offered important opportunities not only for finance but also as a means for consolidating support within the nobility for the reformed church.

Henry also had to enforce the new ideology, one could argue that it was an opportunity for Henry to implement the Protestant theology, which saw no place for monasteries, rather placed emphasis on the individual’s relationship with God. Support for the view that ideological reform was a motive for the dissolution could be found in the argument that the dissolution formed part of a theme of ideological changes following the legal establishment of Henry as the head of the church. The period from the Ten Articles (1536) until the King’s Book (1543) was a time of theological reform, of which the dissolution can be seen as part. It is therefore relevant to consider a possible ideological motive behind the dissolution, however we should not add too much weight to this motive as the removal of catholic symbolism as well as the possibility for gaining support amongst nobility are more important motives to consider. Contrary to motivation from greed, the dissolution was an important method of enforcing the reformed church, but also finance was also a driving force for the destruction of the monasteries.

The Valor Ecclesiaticus, though its revalations of corruption helped Henry to justify his position, reveals much about the financial motives for the dissolution. The survey had shown that the crown income could be doubled with the seizing of crown property and land. Henry was in need of money for expensive wars but also, significantly, to buy support for the reformed church. It can be seen that the wealth gained from the dissolution links with the important aim of establishing the reformed church. While it is inevitable that greed was part of Henry’s motives when faced with this possible inflation of the crown accounts, it is clear that at this time Henry had more important uses for money in terms of foreign policy and the reformation. Therefore, it would be rash to place undue prominence on greed when it is clearly outweighed by other motives.

I conclude, therefore, that the dissolution was not driven, as some have suggested, by Henry’s personal greed. Seen in the context of a time when Henry needed to consolidate and enforce reformed church the objectives of destroying catholic symbolism, limiting threats from opposition to the new church as well as beginning ideological reform can be seen as fulfilling this aim. Furthermore, the monetary requirements should also be seen as an important motive, which, in terms of buying support, can also be seen as relevant to the consolidation of the reformation. It is flawed to suggest that the motive behind the dissolution was purely personal greed, money and more importantly the need for enforcing the reformation were the main motives.

Michael McLoughlin

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