The Pilgrimage Of Grace:Approach To Social Contradiction In English Transformational Period

From the mid-14th century to the1530s, England is in the initial stages of transforming fromthe late Middle Ages being to a modern society. During that period, the England economyexperiences ups and downs from recession to recovery; the political process is more variable, fromstrife to reconstruction; the social order is not settled with accumulation of many contradictionsand problems. This state has not only put pressure on the England’s development towards amodern society, but also prepared conditions and created opportunities for the England’s changeand progress. Having suffered from the Black Death, the England’s economy faces brutaladjustment. At the end of the15thCentury, the England’s economy begins to recover and developsrapidly, as changes occurs to its production and operation modes, but new social contradictionsalso come up; weak governance capacity of the government is completely exposed in the period ofthe Black Death, the Tudor’s government struggles to enhance its capacity to govern, however,due to the defects of its religious reform policies, belief conflicts are caused, which intensify socialcontradictions; the social chaos caused by the Black Death does not get completely settled becauseof the continuous plague, wars and unrest, leaving each social class a deep historical memory. Allthese changes under pressure push all people in the north of England in the Tudor’s era into thestream of transition to a modern society.Due to the Reformation the Pilgrimage of Grace Riots take place in October,1536. However, itis a stress response of the people of northern England facing various contradictions and pressuresduring modern transformation; it is also a total outbreak of long-term accumulation of diversediscontent with social spirits and the secular society. The Pilgrimage of Grace Riots broadlyinclude the Lincolnshire riot. It can be divided into two stages. The first stage (from early Octoberto early December of1536) is provoked by the unrest in Lincolnshire. Pilgrims of northern shiresgradually forms nine armed braches headed by Aske. Backed by force, they conduct negotiationswith Duke of Norfolk sent by the Henry VIII’s government as its representative. The riotrepresentatives express their dissatisfaction and demands through forming twenty-four articles,and the two sides reach a truce agreement. The second stage (from early December of1536toFebruary of1537), twenty-four articles are presented by the riot representatives to Henry VIII, butHenry’s government does not positively respond to public demands while even sticks to repressionstrategy. However, taken in a large number of people, fearing further intensification of thesituation, Henry’s government on the one hand negotiates and consults with the riot representatives and agrees to truce, on the other hand secretly appease differentiation and activelyraise military preparations. During the time of waiting for a formal reply from the king, riotsconstantly occur across the north, which eventually causes Henry VIII’s giving up his initialcommitments and brutally suppressing the riots in different places. The riot leaders are executed,including Aske. The whole riots last nearly five months, related to the main shires and counties inthe north, with participants including the nobility, gentry, clergy, and all kinds of civilians. Thereare many factors leading to the riots: the changes and adjustments made by Henry VIII on hisgovernance policy, especially the shock and discomfort caused by the religious reform; thenorthern lagging in social development and disadvantages of its status as well as the impact of thedissolution of the monastery, etc. Moreover, evil Ministers, government taxes, the enclosuremovement, high prices, and flooding rumors take the effect of inciting and provoking unrestseither for the entire riots or in some specific regions in the northern society. It exposes thatprofound influences can be made by many social contradictions tangled together.Henry’s government successfully solves the large-scale mass riots and gets experience in socialgovernance from the process of dealing with the riots, which paves the way and providesopportunities for further promoting the reform, pushes forward religious reform and governmentalrevolution, as well as strengthens its military regime. All of these have made a good foundation forthe initial forming of the modern British constitutional system which is based on the principle ofparliamentary sovereignty. Meanwhile, Henry VIII also sees the extreme importance of reform andstability, so he makes some adjustments to laws and decrees which may lead to social conflicts.When noticing religious reform may once again trigger social unrests, Henry VIII does not hesitateto suppress the reformers afterwards. In contrast, the Pilgrimage of Grace Riots show the role ofthe public that plays in the riots of national integrity. The freedom and privileges in the northernregion of the country are directly taken over by the government after the Pilgrimage of Grace Riots,which also has important implications for the national development of England.