The Dissolution of the Monasteries Was a Very Serious Loss to English Religion and Society in the 1530s. Assess the Validity of This View.

'The Dissolution of the Monasteries was a very serious loss to English religion and society in the 1530s.' Assess the validity of this view.

Prior to dissolution, monasteries in England played a key role in both a social and religious capacity. The initial Act passed in Parliament permitted the dissolution of the lesser monasteries earning less than £200 per year. Shortly afterwards, the dissolution of all monasteries was permitted, and the eradication of care and Catholicism began.

Throughout English history, up until the dissolution, monasteries had played a vital role in the well-being of the surrounding community. It is highly likely that many communities existed because of the monastery in their vicinity. The monasteries provided food, jobs, medical care and a sense of purpose to communities and society in general, the ever present influence of God had a huge impact on the attitude of society, and is largely responsible for the control King Henry and his advisors had over the country of England. The dissolution of the monasteries resulted in the loss of all of these factors, leading to the collapse of many communities, immediate evidence of this being the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536.

Not only was the general population hugely affected, but possibly even more so, the monks, friars and nuns. 8,000 monks and friars were evicted and 2,000 nuns. However, it was not all that bad, with all but 1,500 monks finding other jobs – mainly as priests, with most being treated well and getting pensions, although nuns did badly as they could not get a job, none of the evictees could marry. From a social perspective the treatment of these religious figures is extremely reasonable, with most of them having the opportunity to lead a new life related or unrelated to the church. Of course, there was resistance, and so executions took place, but in proportion to survival it’s nothing.

Everything appears to be very bleak for the labouring population of England, however, some schools and colleges were founded or re-endowed by the Crown using cash from monasteries. Alongside this, some monasteries were bought by local communities to use as parish churches, these clearly weren’t such serious losses to religion, with 6 monastic churches becoming new cathedrals. Other monastery buildings were bought and converted for agricultural and industrial purposes. Although, these examples are part of a minority, with the majority of monasteries being destroyed and having a detrimental effect on both society and religion. It cannot be forgotten that the lost monasteries were popular places of refuge and shelter for travelers and members of communities alike.

Following on from this, the dissolution