Religious life in Coventry, 1485-1558
This thesis is a study of religious life in Coventry between 1485 and 1558. Studies of this kind are necessary if we are to extend our knowledge of what was happening at the local level during the religious upheavals of the Reformation. Only when we know enough about how people in different areas reacted to the Reformation can we begin to establish general characteristics of religious change in the society. A study in depth of a Midland town has not yet been done. Coventry, because of its size and importance is a community particularly deserving of attention. It was one of the great provincial capitals of the late Middle Ages, ranking in terms of its population among the top ten urban centres outside London. Its importance owed much to its position as a centre of textile manufacture and, because of its geographical position, of regional and national trade. Coventry's economic importance was matched by its ecclesiastical status. Within its walls stood the great Benedictine cathedral priory, whose church was the see church of the 'twin' diocese of Coventry and Lichfield. Though the Reformation naturally dominates the period, considerable space has been devoted to establishing the character of religious life
Knight, Mark
DA Great Britain
Religious life in Coventry, 1485-1558. This thesis is a study of religious life in Coventry between 1485 and 1558. Studies of this kind are necessary if we are to extend our knowledge of what was happening at the local level during the religious upheavals of the Reformation. Only when we know enough about how people in different areas reacted to the Reformation can we begin to establish general characteristics of religious change in the society. A study in depth of a Midland town has not yet been done. Coventry, because of its size and importance is a community particularly deserving of attention. It was one of the great provincial capitals of the late Middle Ages, ranking in terms of its population among the top ten urban centres outside London. Its importance owed much to its position as a centre of textile manufacture and, because of its geographical position, of regional and national trade. Coventry's economic importance was matched by its ecclesiastical status. Within its walls stood the great Benedictine cathedral priory, whose church was the see church of the 'twin' diocese of Coventry and Lichfield. Though the Reformation naturally dominates the period, considerable space has been devoted to establishing the character of religious life
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