Aspects of religious change, regional culture and resistance in Yorkshire, c.1530-1580

Studies of England during the Reformation period have been broad-ranging and
often controversial. Ever changing perspectives and altering interpretations of the
archival materials, alongside a lasting interest in the process of religious change make
this a topic of enduring interest. For Yorkshire, first studied by Dickens some 70 years
ago, recent approaches have opened the way for a return to the ecclesiastical archives
and have created a need for their re-interpretation in the light of work by historians
such as Shagan and Hoyle.
This thesis examines religious change in Reformation Yorkshire in the context
of regional culture and .resistance. The extent to which these three issues were
intertwined influenced the ways in which Yorkshire towns, villages and parishes
received religious change, the ways in which they resisted it, and the ways in which
elements of reform became adopted as part of evolving local cultures. The county
witnessed extremes of belief on both sides of the confessional divide, from early
engagement at Hull to continued conservatism at Whitby, whilst the majority of the
population continued to attend church and conform to the religion they were offered.
Resistance to change ranged from open rebellion to sullen acquiescence, and included
more subtle and underground forms of opposition. As religious change became more
embedded in societies it is possible to see its influence in even the most traditional
forms ofregional culture.
Drawing on the extensive. ecc.lesiastical archives for the Diocese, and taking
Dickens' interpretations as a starting point, this thesis demonstrates the complexity and
diversity of the process of religious change in a region traditionally perceived to be
isolated, backward and Catholic, and through local examples emphasises the continued
importance of regional studies to a fuller understanding of the interaction of change,
culture and resistance in early modern English religion.