December 20: The Dissolution of the Monasteries
Today's treat is an article from author Judith Arnopp, who is the writer of one of my favourite novels, "The Winchester Goose". Over to Judith...
Arden Priory and the Dissolution of the Monasteries
I was lucky enough to study medieval monastic history beneath the tutorage of Janet Burton, an expert in the field of medieval monasticism. I signed up to the module expecting to study a simple life, goodly men praying for the souls of their fellows. The monks and nuns of my imagination were self-denying, nurturing, healing. The nuns were Ingrid Bergman-type figures, their faces shining with religious goodness, mouthing gentle prayers in softly lit chapels, accompanied by strains of plainsong. A single lecture with Janet shattered that ideal. Popular history tends to focus on the larger, richer abbeys like Fountains, Glastonbury and Rievaulx, institutions which somewhere along the way, lost sight of the simple life. By the time of the dissolution, these abbeys had become immensely rich and, in many cases, were no strangers to corruption.
The Cistercian order was formed by a group of monks who, disillusioned by the breaching of monastic law, vowed to adhere closer to the rule of St Benedict and shunned the extravagances of stained glass, patterned floor tiles and multitudinous chapels. Sadly, however, they too succumbed to temptation and their self-imposed regulations were also breached. But it was difficult to avoid. By way of securing their place in Heaven, laymen endowed lavish monetary gifts on the abbeys: gifts of land, chapels, windows etc. They paid for prayers to be said for their souls for all eternity. Ultimately, the wealth of the monasteries outstripped that of the crown and this affluence drew the greedy eye of Cromwell and his king. Investigations begun in the time of Cardinal Wolsey were stepped up and accusations of corruption increased. This probably had less to do with moral outrage than the desire to justify plundering the Holy Church.
Cromwell’s campaign to close the monasteries began slowly. Picking up where his old master, Wolsey, had left off, he began chipping away at smaller, less profitable foundations or houses where moral decay had become the rule rather than the exception. Abbey treasures went straight into the king’s coffers and their lands became the property of the crown, leased to the king’s favourites by way of securing both their loyalty and ensuring their support for the dissolution of the monasteries. But some of the smaller abbeys that were closed at this time were barely scraping a living.
Arden Priory was situated in an unpopulated region on the edge of the North Yorkshire moors, the inhabitants are now nothing more than a whisper on the historical record. There was nothing romantic about the cheerless life they led. The nuns at Arden were living on the edge of civilisation, closed off from the world, from family and friends, and all comforts. Assisted by just a few servants, the women undertook all manual work themselves, even caring for livestock, cooking, cleaning, nursing … everything. Even today, with the benefit of twenty-first century luxuries of glazing and heating, life in rural North Yorkshire can be hard; in 1536, it was extreme.
Arden Priory was founded in 1150 by Peter de Hoton, and confirmed by Roger de Mowbray between 1147 and 1169. It was never a rich foundation. One can only imagine the misery of a life of unceasing labour, meagre accommodation, glassless windows, and fasting, overworked and ill clad.
In 1397, long before the dissolution, there were just six nuns at Arden: Christina and Elizabeth Darrel, Elizabeth Slayne, Alicia Barnard, Agnes of Middleton, and Elizabeth of Thornton. They were overseen by the prioress, who is named simply as Eleanor. At this time it seems that relations between the nuns was not good. The sisters accused the prioress of pawning the church silver, selling wood without consent and providing so few candles in the quire that there was insufficient light to say the offices. They also complained that the buildings were in a state of disrepair. But this doesn’t necessarily suggest the prioress was corrupt, it rather points to dire need. Janet Burton in her book Monasteries and Society in the British Isles in the Late Middle Ages says:
“What emerges from their complaints is that this small community of seven women, living in the bleak environment of the North Yorkshire Moors, was suffering conditions of extreme poverty and hardship. It was life on the edge.”
This picture of hardship, so far from my initial imaginings, has stayed with me during the ten years or so since I first heard of Arden. Being so far from the ‘concourse of men’ there were few rich benefactors, so the priory would have had little chance of increasing its wealth. If there was such a degree of poverty in the fourteenth century, what was the financial state by the time of the dissolution? ‘Valor Ecclesiasticus’ (a survey of church finances in England, Wales and parts of Ireland made in 1535 on Henry VIII’s orders) suggests that very little had changed. It seems that poverty was always the rule at Arden.
The priory was visited by the king’s commissioners on 8th May 1536 and it was suppressed the following August. At the time of dissolution, there were just six sisters, three of whom received pensions of twenty shillings each, two received ten shillings, and one received six shillings and eight pence. Sister Elizabeth Johnson, who was an octogenarian with limited hearing, was granted forty shillings ‘toward her sustenance.’ The church ‘treasure’ seized by the king’s men consisted of a gilt chalice weighing 14.5oz and a flat piece of white silver weighing 8oz, and two bells valued at ten shillings. According to the ‘Valor Ecclesiasticus’ in 1536, the value of the house was £12. 0s and 6d. It is noted that the nuns also had an image of St Brigid, to whom they made offerings for cows that were ill or had strayed.
This suggests a reality quite different from the tales circulated in 1536 of corruption and ungodliness. Motivated by his favour of the new learning, Cromwell and his men put forward stories of nuns indulging in sexual misconduct with monks, murdering their own infants, and enjoying lewd and promiscuous lives. Even if they’d had the inclination, I would be surprised if the nuns of Arden would have found either the time or the energy for such practices.
The dissolution was almost universally resented by monks and traditionalists. Monasteries were a lifeline; from the time of birth to death, common people relied on them for charity, employment and for healthcare. The closures united the populace, both rich and poor, culminating in widespread protests that posed the greatest threat to the crown during Henry VIII’s reign.
The first rising took place in Lincolnshire in October but was quickly put down, only to spring up again in Yorkshire when the people of the north, led by lawyer Robert Aske, embarked upon what became known as a ‘Pilgrimage of Grace’.
Gentry as well as common folk joined the peaceful march to persuade the king to change his mind; monks and laymen, nuns and children were among those who took to the road to preserve their way of life. The Pilgrimage of Grace was the most threatening uprising during Henry VIII’s reign, the rebels reaching more than 30,000, far outnumbering the royal army. After initially agreeing to consider their complaints, however, the king managed to get the upper hand. He ‘invited’ Robert Aske to spend Christmas at court, promising to consider the proposals, but when unrest broke out again in the East Riding, it provided the king with the excuse he needed. The Duke of Norfolk was sent to deal with the rebels. The leaders were executed, and there were widespread hangings of common people serving as a deterrent to further protesters. Robert Aske was hung in chains on the walls of York and left there to die a long and excruciating death. One by one, the abbeys fell, monks and nuns were turned out, some abbots were tortured and executed. By 1540, the last abbeys were closed, their lands distributed among the nobility, the remains of once-glorious buildings subjected to neglect and decay.
This crucial episode of Tudor history is seldom visited in fiction but the plight of those affected by the dissolution has always intrigued me. When I sat down to write Sisters of Arden, I was unsure where the story would lead me. The records of Arden are scanty but by piecing together what little we know with wider records of the dissolution and the Pilgrimage of Grace, I was able to put together a fictional account of the events from the perspective of a group of insignificant nuns.
Author Bio: A lifelong history enthusiast and avid reader, Judith holds a BA in English/Creative writing and an MA in Medieval Studies. She lives on the coast of West Wales where she writes both fiction and non-fiction based in the Medieval and Tudor period. Her main focus is on the perspective of historical women but more recently is writing from the perspective of Henry VIII himself. Her novels include:
A Matter of Conscience: Henry VIII: the Aragon Years
The Heretic Wind: the life of Mary Tudor Queen of England
Sisters of Arden: on the Pilgrimage of Grace
The Beaufort Bride: Book one of The Beaufort Chronicle
The Beaufort Woman: Book two of The Beaufort Chronicle
The King’s Mother: Book three of The Beaufort Chronicle
The Winchester Goose: at the Court of Henry VIII
A Song of Sixpence: the story of Elizabeth of York
Intractable Heart: the story of Katheryn Parr
The Kiss of the Concubine: a story of Anne Boleyn
The Song of Heledd The Forest Dwellers Peaceweaver
Judith is also a founder member of a re-enactment group called The Fyne Companye of Cambria and makes historical garments both for the group and others. She is not professionally trained but through trial, error and determination has learned how to make authentic looking, if not strictly HA, clothing. You can find the re-enactment group on Facebook and Twitter and her sewing pages Tudor Handmaid on Facebook. You can also find her on Twitter and Instagram. Webpage: www.judithmarnopp.com Author page: author.to/juditharnoppbooks Blog: THIS LINK
Sisters of Arden
