Oaths and the English Reformation

The practice of swearing oaths was at the centre of the English Reformation. On the one hand, oaths were the medium through which the Henrician regime implemented its ideology and secured loyalty among the people. On the other, they were the tool by which the English people embraced, resisted and manipulated royal policy. Jonathan Michael Gray argues that since the Reformation was negotiated through oaths, their precise significance and function are central to understanding it fully. Oaths and the English Reformation sheds new light on the motivation of Henry VIII, the enforcement of and resistance to reform and the extent of popular participation and negotiation in the political process. Placing oaths at the heart of the narrative, this book argues that the English Reformation was determined as much by its method of implementation and response as it was by the theology or political theory it transmitted.

Acknowledgements; Notes on the text; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. The theoretical basis of swearing oaths; 2. Oaths, subscriptions, and the implementation of the Parliamentary reforms of 1534; 3. The origin and motivation of the Henrician professions; 4. Responses to the oaths of succession and supremacy; 5. Oaths and the pilgrimage of grace; 6. Oaths, evangelicals, and heresy prosecution; Conclusion; Appendix A. The oaths of a bishop-elect to the Pope; Appendix B. The oaths of a bishop-elect to the King in restitution for their temporalities; Appendix C. The promise of the bishops to renounce the Pope and his bulls; Appendix D. The oaths of succession; Appendix E. Instructions for the visitation of the friars, their profession, and the profession of other clerical institutions in 1534; Appendix F. The professions of bishops and universities in 1535; Appendix G. Post-1535 Henrician oaths of supremacy; Bibliography; Index.

Oaths were the medium through which the Henrician regime implemented its ideology and secured loyalty among the people and the tool by which the English people embraced, resisted and manipulated royal policy. By considering the central importance of oaths, Jonathan Michael Gray offers new insights into the English Reformation.

Jonathan Michael Gray is Assistant Professor of Church History at Virginia Theological Seminary.