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England 1509–58

The dissolution of the monasteries

  • 3 things to know
  • AS Unit 1

Overview

Valor Ecclesiasticus, two consequences of the dissolution for ordinary people and lost to learning by the dissolution.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Numbers

What was the Valor Ecclesiasticus?

Key term

What were the visitations of 1535 intended to establish?

Key term

Why should the commissioners' reports be treated cautiously?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What was the Valor Ecclesiasticus?

    Model answer

    The Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1535 was a nationwide survey valuing every ecclesiastical benefice and monastic estate in England and Wales.

  2. 2

    Why was the Valor Ecclesiasticus compiled?

    Model answer

    It was compiled so that the Crown could assess the first fruits and tenths now owed to it, and it revealed just how much wealth the monasteries held.

  3. 3

    What were the visitations of 1535 intended to establish?

    Model answer

    Cromwell's commissioners were sent to report on the moral and financial state of the religious houses, and their reports emphasised scandal and laxity.

  4. 4

    Why should the commissioners' reports be treated cautiously?

    Model answer

    The commissioners knew what conclusion was wanted, worked at great speed, and collected gossip as readily as evidence.

  5. 5

    What did the Act of 1536 dissolve?

    Model answer

    The 1536 Act dissolved the smaller houses with an annual income of less than £200, on the argument that vice flourished where communities were small.

  6. 6

    Give the financial motive for the dissolution.

    Model answer

    The Crown's ordinary revenue could not meet the cost of war and defence, and monastic land offered a windfall of capital and a permanent rental income.

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