A tumultuous year It is 1536, and the kingdom of Henry VIII is in turmoil. King Henrys first wife, Catherine and his bastard son, Henry Fitzroy, have died suspiciously. Henrys second wife, Anne Boleyn, has been executed, and he has married his third wife, Jane Seymour, only a fortnight later. Meanwhile, Chancellor Lord Cromwell is dissolving monasteries and abbeys, trampling religious traditions, and unsettling the community. Rumours are circulating that Cromwell is about to steal the Church silverware as well, and Nicholas Meltona shoemaker from the town of Louthand his friends decide they have had enough. Determined to protect the peoples treasure from royal coffers, Melton and his friends take the keys of the church of Saint James from its reluctant churchwardens. After they secure the building and lock away the towns treasure to keep it safe, their protest quickly gets out of hand, disturbing the peace of the kingdom. Rather than listen to his subjects, King Henry behaves like a tyrant, threatening them with condign punishment. So, the simple act of protecting community treasure turns into a widespread rebellion as Melton, now known throughout the land as Captain Cobbler, risks everything Captain Cobbler shares the tale of a Lincolnshire shoemaker as he matures from boyhood to adulthood, and now challenges the might of a tyrant king.

Operating principally from original sources, it revises the standard work of the Dodds and appraises the research produced in the subject over the last thirty years.

Autumn 1536. Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn are dead. Henry VIII has married Jane Seymour, and still awaits his longed for male heir. Disaffected conservatives in England see an opportunity for a return to Rome and an end to religious experimentation, but Thomas Cromwell has other ideas.The Dissolution of the Monasteries has begun and the publication of the Lutheran influenced Ten Articles of the Anglican Church has followed. The obstinate monarch, enticed by monastic wealth, is determined not to change course. Fear and resentment is unleashed in northern England in the largest spontaneous uprising against a Tudor monarch – the Pilgrimage of Grace – in which 30,000 men take up arms against the king.This book examines the evidence for that opposition and the abundant examples of religiously motivated dissent. It also highlights the rhetoric, reward and retribution used by the Crown to enforce its policy and crush the opposition.

This book attempts both to take stock of directions in the field and to suggest alternative perspectives on some central aspects of the period.

During the Pilgrimage of Grace for a short time Henry VIII lost control of the North of England and there was a very real possibility of civil war. Protesting against the king's betrayal of the 'old' religion, his new taxes, and his threat to the rights of landowners, the poor and the powerful united against their king and his henchman Thomas Cromwell, raising an army of 40,000.The leader of the Pilgrimage was the charismatic, heroic figure of Robert Aske, a lawyer. Under his influence and persuasion most of the Northern nobility joined the rebellion and gathered for battle at Doncaster where they would have outnumbered the king's soldiers by 4 to 1. But Aske had an unshakeable belief in justice and fair dealing, which was to prove his undoing. He was persuaded by the king's men to abandon military force and negotiate terms in London. Once there he was arrested, charged with treason and hanged in chains. Another 200 'pilgrims' were executed in the North as a 'fearful spectacle'.

One of Open Letters Review's Ten Best Historical Novels of 2020; First Place Winner, 2021 Chaucer Award for pre-1750s historical fiction "Highly recommend both as a standalone and series read. Wertman's work is among the best Tudor fiction on the market" - Historical Fiction Reader His mother, Jane Seymour, died at his birth; now his father, King Henry VIII, has died as well. Nine-year-old Edward Tudor ascends to the throne of England and quickly learns that he cannot trust anyone, even himself. Struggling to understand the political and religious turmoil that threatens the realm, Edward is at first relieved that his uncle, the new Duke of Somerset, will act on his behalf as Lord Protector, but this consolation evaporates as jealousy spreads through the court. Challengers arise on all sides to wrest control of the child king, and through him, England. While Edward can bring frustratingly little direction to the Council's policies, he refuses to abandon his one firm conviction: that Catholicism has no place in England. When Edward falls ill, this steadfast belief threatens England's best hope for a smooth succession: the transfer of the throne to Edward's very Catholic half-sister, Mary Tudor, whose heart's desire is to return the realm to the way it worshipped in her mother's day.

This is the first full account of the Pilgrimage of Grace since 1915. In the autumn and winter of 1536, Henry VIII faced risings first in Lincolnshire, then throughout northern England. These rebellions posed the greatest threat of any encountered by a Tudor monarch. The Pilgrimage of Grace has traditionally been assumed to have been a spontaneous protest against the Dissolution of the Monasteries, but R. W. Hoyle's lively and intriguing study reveals the full story. Professor Hoyle examines the origins of the rebellions in Louth and their spread; he offers new interpretations of the behaviour of many of the leading rebels, including Robert Aske and Thomas, Lord Darcy; and he reveals how the engine behind the uprising was the commons, and notably the artisans, of some of the smaller northern towns. Casting new light on the personality of Henry VIII himself, Professor Hoyle shows how the gentry of the North worked to dismantle the movement and help the crown neutralize it by guile as events unfolded towards their often tragic conclusions.