The Pilgrimage of
Grace, Robert Aske
& Vagabonds
Paper II examination
(Mr Cumming 2005)
Source A
Notes by the eminent Historian D Cumming, 2004
Darcy’s head was put on London Bridge
Constable was hung in chains “above the highest gate” in Hull
Aske kept in Tower of London – and charged 6s 8d per week for the pleasure.
Aske then hung, drawn, quartered and hung in chains in York– allowed to be
dead before being butchered thanks to the ‘King’s mercy’!
Source B
Henry VIII, orders given to the Duke of Norfolk
(January, 1537)
“Cause such dreadful executions upon a good number of the inhabitants
hanging them on trees, quartering them, and setting the quarters in every
town, as shall be a fearful warning.”
Source C
Written by the Historian G Moorhouse, 2002, discussing Robert Aske
“There may not be another significant figure in English History of whom we
know so little. We know what he did every day of his life – sometimes every
hour – for 9 months of 1536-7 but otherwise it is almost a complete blank. We
can guess that he was in his early thirties, though the precise date of his birth
is unrecorded, and we can suppose that he was physically a robust man: no
one else could possibly have survived the life he led duing those months, which
included riding horses over long distances, day after day. But he had only one
eye. This we know for sure…yet we have no idea how he lost the missing
one…
The Askes were local gentry, married into the most powerful family in the area
of Aughton.”
Source D
The Haberdashers Association, published in 2002
“Aske seems to have been a devout man who found that he agreed with the
rebels' opposition to Henry VIII's religious policies, and objected in
particular to the dissolution of the monasteries. Able and energetic, and with a
charismatic personality he used his legal skills to draft a statement of the
rebels' aims, and devised an oath by which they swore not to seek their own
profit but to take part in a religious Pilgrimage of Grace”
Source E
The Historian Lucy Wooding (2002)
“The Pilgrimage of Grace, Moorhouse is sure, had the potential to topple Henry
VIII from his throne. But the justification for the rebellion was, like so many
Tudor rebellions, essentially a conservative one. These were men whose loyalty
to their King was inextricably interwoven with their loyalty to their God.”
Source F
The Tudor writer Edward Hall, Chronicles (1542)
“They called this... a holy and blessed pilgrimage; they also had banners
whereon was painted Christ hanging on the cross... With false signs of
holiness... they tried to deceive the ignorant people.”
Source H
The Learning Curve website (2004) explains why the numbers of
vagabonds increased in the 16th century
“That more people were unemployed and on the road was not, in fact, their
own fault. Population was rising: it doubled from 1500 to 1650. Farming was
going through a crisis and, in years of bad harvest, the very poor had to leave
their homes and seek work or starve to death inside them. Trade suffered
occasional depressions. There was, of course, no dole or welfare. The
monasteries, which had given charitable help to such people in the past, were
all dissolved in 1536-9.”
Source I
Woodcut of a Vagabond being punished, 1536
Source J
From the Catholic ‘new advent’ encyclopaedia, 2005
“King Henry authorized Norfolk to promise a general pardon and a Parliament
to be held at York within a year. Aske then dismissed his followers, trusting in
the king's promises. But these promises were not kept, and a new rising took
place. Upon this, the king arrested Aske and several of the other leaders, who
were all convicted of treason and executed.
The loss of the leaders enabled Norfolk to crush the rising. The king avenged
himself on Cumberland and Westmoreland by a series of massacres under the
form of martial law. Though Aske had tried to prevent the rising he was put to
death.”
Source K
From the website ‘EnglishHistory.net’ 2005
The king's forces were hopelessly outnumbered. Worse, their soldiers lacked
equipment and the desire to fight their countrymen. And the rebel forces were
far more experienced in battle, having fought the Scots near-continuously
during Henry's reign. Faced with such odds, the king turned to diplomacy. The
rebels, after all, did not seek to overthrow him. Their primary desire was for
the dissolved monasteries to be restored. They also criticized the king's 'lowborn' advisers, particularly Thomas Cromwell.”
Answer ALL the questions
1. Study Sources A & B.
What can you learn from sources A & B about Henry VIII’s punishment of
the rebels?
(4)
2. Study Sources C & D.
How far does source D support the portrayal of Robert Aske given in source
C? Explain your answer using both sources.
(8)
3. Study Sources E & F
Compare the value of sources E & F for someone enquiring into the
Pilgrimage of Grace.
(8)
4. Study Sources H & I
How important was the closure of the monasteries in causing the changes in
the punishment of vagabonds in the 16th century? Explain your answer using
sources H & I and your own knowledge.
(10)
5. Study Sources J & K
Why was it difficult for the Tudor authorities to bring the Pilgrimage of
Grace under control? Explain your answer using your own knowledge and
any of the sources you find useful.
(10)
Total 40 marks
Extension:
6) Study source L & M.
How far do sources L & M agree about the rule of Henry VIII?
(8)
(Source L) Jasper Ridley, Henry VIII (1984)
”According to Holinshed, who wrote 25 years after Henry's death, 72, 000 thieves
and vagabonds were hanged during his reign. It is over 2 per cent of the 2,800,000
inhabitants of England.”
(Source M) John Bowle, Henry VIII (1964)
”His rule was humane, his executions sporadic... he never killed anyone with his
own hand... The number of victims... was not large.”
By Mr D. Cumming
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