I will focus this dissertation on the driving force of the rebellion; the common people or as Geoffrey Moorhouse described them: “the ugly power of the mob.” The study will aim to decipher the motivating factors of this group with an aim to differentiate them from the rebels further south in Yorkshire.7 I will also consider how the rebellion in Yorkshire influenced the commons in Cumberland and Westmoreland to join the largest rebellion in English history.
In the first chapter economic grievances will be considered in detail. Rising taxation, tyranny of local landlords and the enclosure movement had a disproportionate impact on the north-western counties of Cumberland and Westmoreland. The economy was almost entirely agrarian and therefore enclosure posed a significant threat to the farming communities. The extraordinary taxation and entry fines levied against the commons rose ominously during the reign of Henry VIII. In Cumberland the impact of the rising taxation was felt doubly hard due to the county’s l
ocation on the border of Scotland. In this chapter a close look will also be taken at the earl of Cumberland, Henry Clifford, as he was seen as a prime example of a tyrannical landlord. I will conclude by arguing that, although not the catalyst for the revolt in Cumberland and Westmoreland, economic discontent played a huge role in swelling the numbers of the rebels and will be considered as the most important grievance the rebels held.
The next chapter will take a look at the religious grievances of the rebels. Any study of The Pilgrimage of Grace must be carried out in the context of the English Reformation as this caused significant upheaval in the lives of the people of England. The Dissolution of the Monasteries is cited by most historians as the cause of the Pilgrimage of Grace and therefore it will be seriously considered in this study. Clerical involvement will also be taken into account to determine how far they influenced the rebels. The chapter will conclude by arguing that religion played an important