The Pilgrimage of Grace
In 1536 King Henry VIII changed England from the Catholic Church called the Church of England; it was this that caused the Pilgrimage of Grace. The Pilgrimage of Grace was a widespread revolt and it started in late 1536 and finished in early 1537. It was well documented at the time so we have a wealth of information on it.
Between 1536 and 1537 a number of revolts against the king took place in Northern England and collectively they were known as the ‘Pilgrimage of Grace’. However, historically, the Pilgrimage of Grace specifically refers to the revolt that occurred in Yorkshire between October and December 1536.
The first uprising occurred in Lincolnshire between the 2nd and the 18th of October 1536, though the revolt didn’t last long, it did represent a major threat to the government due to it not just being ‘common people’ who rebelled but Nobles too. The Nobles were a major threat to the government because the…show more content… They received a decent welcome from the people of Lincoln, but once in the city things started to go wrong. The nobles who were part of the rebellion soon realised, but of course too late, that they had too much to lose and should not be there. On the king’s orders the Duke of Suffolk and an army headed towards Lincoln and there was no chance the rebels could beat them. The Duke gave all rebels the opportunity to return home without bloodshed and promised that King Henry would look into the matters that angered them. The nobles seized this chance to leave along with a large majority of the rebels. Those who stayed most likely got what King Henry had promised to anyone who acted against him, no mercy. King Henry acted harshly because he believed in the Great Chain of Being which was that anyone who challenged the king was challenging God. He also feared that other countries who were Catholic may invade as a result of the