by Geoffrey Moorehouse. In the 1530s, England and Wales boasted 650-plus religious houses, few of which were more prosperous or better run than the Benedictine chapter of the house and cathedral of Durham. But on New Year's Eve 1539, the monks celebrated their last mass in Durham Cathedral because their order was dissolved by royal decree as part of Henry VIII's attack on the Church. Across England, monks and nuns left their houses, chapters were stripped of their wealth, and their land sold: "the biggest transfer of wealth…the country had ever known" took place, enriching the monarch and many others. This admirable study looks at the transformation of England's religious life during those upheavals of the 1530s, with Durham as its focus. (Check catalog)
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The last divine office : Henry VIII and the dissolution of the monasteries
by Geoffrey Moorehouse. In the 1530s, England and Wales boasted 650-plus religious houses, few of which were more prosperous or better run than the Benedictine chapter of the house and cathedral of Durham. But on New Year's Eve 1539, the monks celebrated their last mass in Durham Cathedral because their order was dissolved by royal decree as part of Henry VIII's attack on the Church. Across England, monks and nuns left their houses, chapters were stripped of their wealth, and their land sold: "the biggest transfer of wealth…the country had ever known" took place, enriching the monarch and many others. This admirable study looks at the transformation of England's religious life during those upheavals of the 1530s, with Durham as its focus. (Check catalog)
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