The 1536 Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries: Same Suppression ...

shrines, pilgrimage, and idolatry, these things being in stark contrast to the new Lutheran ideas
emanating from Germany. 12
Explicitly stated, the visitors were looking into the condition of the monasteries because
there were doubts about the way the monasteries were being run, such as the degree of obedience
being applied. Moreover, colleges were duly visited for the same purpose, so monasteries were
not the only target, implying that the visitors either wanted to close certain colleges as well or
that they were genuinely concerned with reform. The Visitation Commissioners had a set of
articles or questions that they put to each monk. The questions inquired into various aspects of
the priory. For example, inmates were asked whether divine service was solemnly sung, said,
observed, and kept, as well as the qualification for each monk. They also asked for the number of
inmates in the house, its income, and how the lands had been acquired. Further, were the
religious fulfilling their duties to the founder‘s will or the statutes of the house, and was it
possible to do so if the house lacked an adequate numbers of monks or nuns? Most importantly,
the commissioners questioned the sincerity of the vocation of the monks and nuns. If they were
not staying true to their principal vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, then it could rightly
be shown that monasteries had slipped into a condition rife with corruption. 13
The Commissioners were also given a set of twenty-seven injunctions to be administered
to each monastery. These injunctions were meant to enforce stricter observance of the
Benedictines‘ Rules. 14 The religious were to continue to observe their rule faithfully, but now
they were to do so under the statutes of the realm, as opposed to the jurisdiction of the bishop of
12
Woodward, 60, 85; Bernard, 257-260; Bettey, 43.
13
Bernard, 249-51.
14
Bettey 44-5; Youings, 38.
24