The Religion of the Yorkshire Gentry, 1509–31: The Evidence of Wills

Abstract

Using the evidence of wills, this paper focuses on the religion of the Yorkshire gentry from 1509 to 1531. The religion of this group of testators in the years immediately preceding the Reformation has not been studied before. It is argued that they remained resolutely committed to their traditional faith. Belief in the fundamental pre-Reformation Christian doctrines of purgatory, mass, the ‘communion of saints’ and the efficacy of intercession was almost universal. Furthermore, the majority believed that redemption could be achieved through charity and good works. There was also continuing support for the religious orders, but the parish church remained the primary focus for their piety. The flexibility of medieval religion, which accommodated both communal and private faith, has been suggested as a reason why the Yorkshire gentry remained so committed to Catholicism. However surrogate pilgrimage, bequests to local saints and funeral anniversaries, as strategies for the afterlife, appear to have been in decline.