The Pilgrimage of Grace, 1536-1537, and the Exeter Conspiracy, 1538, Volume 1 (of 2)

This volume opens with a meticulous reconstruction of the political and religious climate that sparked the great northern uprising of 1536‑37. By weaving together original letters, court records, and contemporary chronicles, the authors reveal how discontent over Henry VIII’s reforms festered into a coordinated movement across Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and beyond. Maps and detailed footnotes bring the landscape of revolt to life, letting listeners picture bustling market towns, remote monasteries, and the uneasy march of rebel forces toward the heart of the kingdom.

Beyond the battlefield, the narrative follows the uneasy negotiations, the shifting loyalties among nobles, and the fragile truces that momentarily halted bloodshed. Richly contextualized, the study shows how local grievances intertwined with broader anxieties about the Crown’s authority. Listeners will gain a vivid sense of the human drama and the complex web of motives that propelled the Pilgrimage of Grace before the story turns toward the next, unresolved conspiracies of the late 1530s.