Overview

The practice of swearing oaths was at the centre of the English Reformation. On the one hand, oaths were the medium through which the Henrician regime implemented its ideology and secured loyalty among the people. On the other, they were the tool by which the English people embraced, resisted and manipulated royal policy. Jonathan Michael Gray argues that since the Reformation was negotiated through oaths, their precise significance and function are central to understanding it fully. Oaths and the English Reformation sheds new light on the motivation of Henry VIII, the enforcement of and resistance to reform and the extent of popular participation and negotiation in the political process. Placing oaths at the heart of the narrative, this book argues that the English Reformation was determined as much by its method of implementation and response as it was by the theology or political theory it transmitted.

Full Product Details

Author:   Jonathan Michael Gray (Virginia Theological Seminary)
Publisher:   Cambridge University Press
Imprint:   Cambridge University Press (Virtual Publishing)
ISBN:  

9781139086295

ISBN 10:   1139086294
Publication Date:   05 November 2012
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Undefined
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; Notes on the text; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. The theoretical basis of swearing oaths; 2. Oaths, subscriptions, and the implementation of the Parliamentary reforms of 1534; 3. The origin and motivation of the Henrician professions; 4. Responses to the oaths of succession and supremacy; 5. Oaths and the pilgrimage of grace; 6. Oaths, evangelicals, and heresy prosecution; Conclusion; Appendix A. The oaths of a bishop-elect to the Pope; Appendix B. The oaths of a bishop-elect to the King in restitution for their temporalities; Appendix C. The promise of the bishops to renounce the Pope and his bulls; Appendix D. The oaths of succession; Appendix E. Instructions for the visitation of the friars, their profession, and the profession of other clerical institutions in 1534; Appendix F. The professions of bishops and universities in 1535; Appendix G. Post-1535 Henrician oaths of supremacy; Bibliography; Index.

Reviews

'... adds much detail, texture, and thoughtful analysis, and all students of the topic should welcome it.' Peter Marshall, Sixteenth Century Journal 'This extremely well-researched and methodologically sophisticated monograph reminds us how central the use of oaths was in a society that had relatively few means of coercion available to it ... an extremely successful transition from dissertation to monograph - a far-from-easy thing to accomplish nowadays, especially in the context of the ridiculous time pressure to publish that bedevils the university system. The reconstruction of the verbal mechanisms of Henrician coercion, which remind one, in fact, of the passive-aggressive but still really malicious workings of some of the both worst- and overregulated university departments, is a major addition to the literature on the 1530s.' Michael Corrie Questier, Renaissance Quarterly

'... adds much detail, texture, and thoughtful analysis, and all students of the topic should welcome it.' Peter Marshall, Sixteenth Century Journal

Author Information

Jonathan Michael Gray is Assistant Professor of Church History at Virginia Theological Seminary.

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