The castles and abbeys of England; Vol. 2 of 2: from the national records, early chronicles, and other standard authorsBeattie, William
History
The castles and abbeys of England; Vol. 2 of 2: from the national records, early chronicles, and other standard authors
Beattie, William
Abbeys -- England; Castles -- England
All the abbeys were totally dismantled, except in those cases where they
happened to be the parish churches also, or where they were rescued in
part by the petitions and pecuniary contributions of the pious
inhabitants, who were averse to the worshipping of God in a stable.
Cranmer and Latimer in some cases petitioned the king; but, as it is
proved by their letters, they were too dependent on the court, and too
fearful of its wrath to do very much. Latimer was the bolder of the two;
and even before the final dissolution, he ventured to condemn in public
the practice, which <g>Henry</g> had already adopted, of converting some of the
monasteries into stables, conceiving it a monstrous thing that abbeys,
which were ordained for the comfort of the poor, should be kept for the
king’s horses! “What hast thou to do with the king’s horses?” retorted a
noble courtier of the right stamp--“Horses be the maintenance and part
of a king’s honour, and also of his realm; wherefore, in speaking
against them, ye are speaking against the king’s honour!”[139] The
following were the
<g>Results.</g>--The men who had recommended the wholesale spoliation of the
church, had represented it as a never-failing <g>fund</g>, which would enable
the king to carry on the government with none--or but the slightest
taxes; and which would furnish him with the means of creating and
supporting earls, barons, and knights, and of forming excellent
institutions for the promotion of industry, education, and religion.
But, in the event, the property was squandered in a manner which is
scarcely accountable; for the king had the conscience to demand from
parliament “a compensation for the expenses he had incurred in reforming
the religion of the state:” and within a year after the completion of
his measures, “the obsequious parliament voted him a subsidy of
two-tenths and two-fifteenths for this express purpose. It is a striking
fact, that none of the objects contemplated and spoken of were promoted
by the money of the religious houses--always excepting the making and
supporting of certain noblemen.”[140] Pauperism increased; as the whole
body of the poor, which had been supported by the monks, who had funds
for that purpose, were thrown, clamorous and desperate--unprepared for,
and unprovided with, employment--upon the wondering nation, which had
not before been aware of the extent of the evil. Education declined most
rapidly; the schools kept in the monasteries were at an end; while
other schools, and even the universities, were deserted. Religion was
not promoted; for nothing but miserable stipends were given to the
preachers, and none but poor and unlettered men would accept the office.
To preach at <g>St. Paul’s Cross</g> had been a great object of clerical
ambition; but now there was a difficulty of finding a sufficient number
of preachers for that duty: and about four years after the final
suppression, Bonner, Bishop of London, wrote to Parker, then Master of
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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